
We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits 101. Donor Relations and Fundraising Collide... For Good - Mark Lanum
Meet Mark. This senior director of donor relations at Brown University believes the road to the next gift goes through stewardship. And the best way to accelerate that process is to strengthen the relationship between donor relations and frontline fundraisers. Join us as we talk about breaking down the silos in our fundraising shops and leaning into the future of donor relations. Mark is hysterical and made this conversation a complete joy. Come learn and laugh with us.
Episode Highlights
- Mark’s story and journey to where he is today (2:50)
- The new normal for donor relations (6:13)
- Current trends in donor relations (11:30)
- Fostering partnerships between donor relations and fundraising teams (16:33)
- Donor relations advisory groups (19:40)
- “Best practice” implies there's one way to do something. What's best is what accomplishes your goals. (23:00)
- Where to start with uniting your departments (30:00)
- Mark’s hack: ask people about the very first job they had (30:40)
- Mark’s One Good Thing: care about those you work with. (34:22)
- Mark’s request: connect with someone today who’s going to be able to be with you.
For more information and episode details visit: www.weareforgood.com/episode/101
The We Are For Good Podcast is co-hosted by Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE and welcomes the most dynamic nonprofit leaders, advocates and philanthropists to share innovative ideas and lessons learned 3x a week!
Want to hear insider details and to get our best roundup of tips, freebies, resources and show notes from each episode? Join the Good Community - it's free! Visit www.weareforgood.com/hello
About Our Sponsor Virtuous
You know we believe Everyone Matters - and we’ve witnessed the greatest philanthropic movements happen when you SEE and activate donors at every level. Here’s the thing, Virtuous created a fundraising platform to help you do just that. It’s much more than a nonprofit CRM. Virtuous is committed to helping charities reimagine generosity through responsive fundraising. We love it because this approach builds trust and loyalty through personalized engagement.
Learn more about Virtuous at www.virtuous.org/
📅 Don't Miss These Free Upcoming Events! 👇
APRIL 29: Working Session Live: Forecast Your Monthly Giving Growth in 2026 with Dana Snyder (and the pathways to get you there!)
MAY 14: ImpactUp: Story This quarter, we're going deep on your most powerful (and underused) tool - Story. Local meetups happening worldwide. Find one near you.
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