281: Smarter Email Strategies for Fundraising with Ashley Budd

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Feb 3, 2026

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This episode features a fascinating conversation with Ashley Budd, Senior Marketing Director at Cornell University and the author of Mailed It. She has spent over a decade leading digital innovation in advancement, helping organizations connect authentically with audiences and raise funds for meaningful causes.

Ashley shares her career journey from enrollment services to fundraising and explains how her work in digital marketing, mainly email marketing, became a key part of her success. She also talks about her first book on email marketing and her experience consulting and speaking with nonprofits and universities.

A significant focus of the discussion is how digital marketing supports modern fundraising. Ashley explains why email remains powerful despite crowded inboxes, and how understanding human behavior and proven patterns leads to better results. She introduces a custom GPT tool she co-created to teach people how to write effective emails, emphasizing learning skills rather than depending on AI forever.

The conversation also explores the balance between using AI tools and maintaining a human touch. Ashley highlights the importance of authenticity, consistency, and trust, introducing her "trust triangle" model of authenticity, empathy, and logic. She also discusses handling ghosting, managing unengaged audiences, adapting campaigns to changing conditions, and communicating during crises.

In this episode, you will be able to:

Understand how email marketing drives modern fundraising success.
Discover the evolving partnership between humans and AI in communication.
Learn how to write effective emails using proven behavioral patterns.
Recognize the limits of AI tools and the need for human judgment.
Apply authenticity, empathy, and logic to build audience trust.
Balance quality and quantity in email communication.
Handle unresponsive audiences with clarity and respect.
Adapt campaigns to changing digital behavior and expectations.
Respond confidently to crises while maintaining community trust.
Access practical tools and resources to improve email performance.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Support for this show is brought to you by Practivated. Practivated delivers AI-powered donor conversation simulations that let fundraisers practice in a private, judgment‑free space—building confidence, refining messaging, and improving outcomes before the real conversation even begins. Developed by fundraising experts with real‑time coaching at its core, it’s the smart way to walk into every donor interaction calm, prepared, and ready to connect. Learn more at practivated.com.

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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.