What the Fundraising

In this episode of What the Fundraising Podcast,

Capital campaigns don't succeed by luck; they succeed through preparation, education, and strong leadership. Today, let's discover why empowering board members with the right knowledge can transform uncertainty into confidence and lay the foundation for a successful fundraising campaign.

Meet Amy Eisenstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Capital Campaign Pro, who brings over 30 years of nonprofit experience, including two decades as a fundraising consultant. She is joined by Sarah Plimpton, Vice President and Chief Happiness Officer at Capital Campaign Pro, whose extensive background spans fundraising, campaign leadership, consulting, and nonprofit advisory work. Together, they share practical insights from their experience helping organizations raise transformational gifts and explain the inspiration behind their book, A Board Member's Guide to Capital Campaign Fundraising.

Today's discussion explores why board education is essential, when organizations should begin preparing for a campaign, and how the book can be used as an ongoing resource throughout the fundraising journey. Amy and Sarah explain how stronger partnerships between staff and board members lead to better campaign outcomes, why challenges should be viewed as opportunities for growth, and how redefining feasibility studies as "campaign readiness studies" creates a more strategic, relationship-driven approach. They also share actionable recommendations on strategic planning, organizational readiness, and building the confidence needed to execute successful capital campaigns.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Understand the role of board education in campaigns.

Learn when to start campaign preparation.

Build board confidence and fundraising knowledge.

Address common campaign fears and myths.

Strengthen staff-board collaboration.

Align campaigns with strategic goals.

Small changes can lead to significant cultural shifts over time.

Agency in giving is crucial for fostering genuine generosity.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Support for this show is brought to you by Donor Perfect. Our friends at Donor Perfect really understand fundraising on so many levels.

Stay aligned while working online with a seamless and secure payments experience for your donors and your team.

Empower donors to give where they are, whenever they like, automate data entry, and process online, monthly, and mobile payments, and accept payments over the phone.

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_malloryerickson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point.

After a week of executive coaching tools, reflections, and strategies, Mallory closes out this series with one of the most important foundations of sustainable growth: consciousness. In this episode of What The Fundraising, Mallory explores how increasing awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can help fundraisers move from stress-based reactions into more intentional, empowered action.

Many fundraisers spend their days in response mode—reacting to challenges, uncertainty, donor behavior, and endless priorities. Mallory shares how executive coaching helps create more space between what happens and how we respond, allowing us to make decisions from a place of clarity instead of fear, stress, or automatic patterns.

Listeners will learn how to build daily and weekly consciousness practices, give themselves grace while changing old habits, and embrace growth without perfectionism. This episode is a reminder that transformation does not require a complete overhaul—it happens one degree at a time.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Understand the role consciousness plays in fundraising success.

Recognize when you are operating from stress responses.

Create habits that increase awareness and intentionality.

Shift from reactive fundraising to proactive decision-making.

Practice self-compassion while building new skills.

Move away from perfectionism in your growth journey.

Use curiosity instead of criticism when reflecting on your actions.

Embrace small, consistent changes that create lasting transformation.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Support for this show is brought to you by Donor Perfect. Our friends at Donor Perfect really understand fundraising on so many levels.

Stay aligned while working online with a seamless and secure payments experience for your donors and your team.

Empower donors to give where they are, whenever they like, automate data entry, and process online, monthly, and mobile payments, and accept payments over the phone.

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_malloryerickson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point.

Fundraising is deeply human work. It requires vulnerability, connection, courage, and the ability to hold the hopes and dreams of an entire community. But in a profession that often carries immense pressure, it can be easy for fundraisers to forget something essential: they are already enough.

In this special executive coaching episode of What The Fundraising, Mallory Erickson offers a heartfelt reminder to fundraisers everywhere. She shares why self-love, self-compassion, and recognizing your own worth are not barriers to growth—they are the foundation for sustainable impact and meaningful change.

Mallory invites listeners to pause, reflect, and reconnect with themselves beyond their fundraising goals, job titles, and accomplishments. This episode is a reminder that the people moving resources toward what matters most deserve the same compassion and care they extend to others.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Recognize the true impact and importance of fundraising work.

Understand why fundraising is the work—not just what supports the work.

Practice self-compassion as a foundation for growth.

Release the belief that achievement determines your worth.

Reflect on the pressure fundraisers carry every day.

Build a healthier relationship with yourself.

Replace self-criticism with encouragement and care.

Celebrate the meaningful work you are already doin

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Support for this show is brought to you by Donor Perfect. Our friends at Donor Perfect really understand fundraising on so many levels.

Stay aligned while working online with a seamless and secure payments experience for your donors and your team.

Empower donors to give where they are, whenever they like, automate data entry, and process online, monthly, and mobile payments, and accept payments over the phone.

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_malloryerickson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point.

Fundraising is filled with uncertainty, vulnerability, and moments of discomfort—but what happens when those feelings start driving our decisions? In this episode of What The Fundraising, Mallory Erickson dives into the hidden ways fundraisers respond to discomfort and how those stress responses can unintentionally derail fundraising success.

Drawing from her executive coaching work and research on fundraiser behavior, Mallory explores how flight and freeze responses show up in everyday fundraising activities. From avoiding donor conversations to endlessly perfecting reports and strategies, these patterns can keep fundraisers stuck in cycles of busy work, scattered action, and missed opportunities.

Listeners will learn how to recognize when stress is influencing their fundraising decisions and how to build the capacity to sit with uncertainty, have deeper donor conversations, and take the actions that truly move their organizations forward.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Recognize how discomfort impacts fundraising decisions.

Understand the connection between stress responses and fundraising behaviors.

Identify when busy work is replacing meaningful fundraising action.

Learn why uncertainty can feel so dysregulating.

Understand how perfectionism can prevent fundraising progress.

Build awareness around avoidance patterns.

Develop more conscious responses to fundraising challenges.

Create stronger donor relationships through vulnerability and connection.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Support for this show is brought to you by Donor Perfect. Our friends at Donor Perfect really understand fundraising on so many levels.

Stay aligned while working online with a seamless and secure payments experience for your donors and your team.

Empower donors to give where they are, whenever they like, automate data entry, and process online, monthly, and mobile payments, and accept payments over the phone.

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_malloryerickson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point.

Have you ever felt torn between competing priorities—wanting to excel at work while also being present for your family, or saying "yes" to helping everyone even when you're overwhelmed? The tension you feel may not be because your values are unclear, but because they're competing with one another.

In this solo coaching episode, Mallory Erickson explores the difference between conscious-based values and fear-based values, and why understanding that distinction can transform the way you make decisions. She explains why it's impossible to express all of your core values all the time, and how consciously choosing which value to prioritize in a given moment can reduce guilt, overwhelm, and decision paralysis.

Mallory also introduces a powerful coaching exercise that helps uncover whether a value is truly yours or if it's being driven by fear, people-pleasing, or external expectations. Through practical examples and thoughtful reflection, she invites listeners to examine the beliefs underneath their values so they can make more intentional choices in both fundraising and life.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Identify your core personal values.

Understand why your values naturally compete with one another.

Reduce guilt when you can't honor every value simultaneously.

Recognize the difference between conscious-based and fear-based values.

Identify fear-based beliefs that influence your decisions.

Practice converting fear-driven values into conscious choices.

Make decisions with greater clarity and intention.

Build a values-based approach to fundraising and leadership.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Support for this show is brought to you by Donor Perfect. Our friends at Donor Perfect really understand fundraising on so many levels.

Stay aligned while working online with a seamless and secure payments experience for your donors and your team.

Empower donors to give where they are, whenever they like, automate data entry, and process online, monthly, and mobile payments, and accept payments over the phone.

Connect with me:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_malloryerickson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point