Our Nest Mavens are more than just experts in their field. They are thought leaders and the keepers of great fundraising wisdom. Often, they are disrupters and champions of change. Always, they are champions of fundraisers and the amazing work they do to make this world a better place.
Mavens are the experts and connoisseurs of best practice fundraising today who will inspire the Nest community with their fundraising insights and thought-provoking new ideas in fundraising for the future.
Be a fierce advocate for professional fundraising.
Be a proud, present and engaged Maven of our Fundraising Nest Community Hub.
Be a part of our extended speaker network for delivering education events and training.
Conytribute to a knowledge bank that can be called upon for bespoke one-on-one mentoring and coaching.
Alex founded Dataphoria in 2009, to provide clients with better leads for better results. He aims to make up with campaign ROI, what he lacks in hair and has built a well-respected team of consultants in the North-West of Sydney. Combining over 40 years of experience in media planning & buying and direct marketing data strategy, the business is designed to provide strategic data and lead generation solutions for Australian marketers.
Prior to running Dataphoria, Alex worked for two credit bureaus, in their marketing services divisions. By constantly building on learnings from these organisations, Alex has become a trusted data, Privacy and compliance expert, working across large charities, health providers, global technology firms and more. Alex assists the Fundraising Institute of Australia and Professional Fundraising Regulatory Authority in providing resources and seminars on Privacy, cyber-security and other marketing topics.
“Dataphoria” is the feeling you get when data works for you. There are not too many data-driven marketers that haven’t shouted furiously at a spreadsheet, when things haven’t worked out, so Dataphoria aims to provide the opposite feeling. The agency has generated over 7 million responsive leads for Australian and NZ marketers at last count.
Alex’s passion is in leveraging disparate data points to build responsive data sets, when solving marketing challenges. Demonstrating his nerdiness, you actually need to pass a maths test to become an employee of his business.
Dominique is CEO and Founder of Change&Co, a specialist, boutique agency providing specialist copywriting and content strategy services to the not-for-profit and social impact sectors in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
She began copywriting for the NFP sector in 2003, and since then has written for more than 400 charities around the world including UNICEF, Médecins Sans Frontières Australia and Hong Kong, ChildFund, Act for Peace, Greenpeace, Fred Hollows Australia and New Zealand, Amnesty International Australia, Save the Children and Red Cross.
Dominique has extensive experience writing individual giving, donor care, regular giving, Bequest, major donor and acquisition packs and providing content strategy advice for NFPs across the globe, and is the person clients turn to for particularly curly copywriting challenges.
Dominique has presented at FINZ in New Zealand, bbCon and F&P conferences in Australia, and the IoF National Convention in the UK and has run offsite workshops and tailored, in-house training for more than 50 charities.
Sue is the director of Sue Barker Charities Law, a boutique law firm based in Wellington, New Zealand, specialising in charities law and public tax law. In 2019, Sue was honoured to be awarded the New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellowship Te Karahipi Rangahau ā Taiao, New Zealand’s premier legal research award, to undertake research into the question “What does a world-leading framework of charities law look like?”. The final report from the fellowship, entitled “Focus on purpose” was released in April 2022 making 70 recommendations for charities law reform in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ken Burnett is a writer, communicator and inspirational speaker. He is author of several influential books on donor development and communication, including Relationship Fundraising, the Zen of Fundraising, Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board, Storytelling Can Change the World and the latest, The essence of Campaigning Fundraising, all available on Amazon or at www.whitelionpress.com.
Chairman of Trustees at ActionAid from 1998 to 2003, Ken began his fundraising career with that charity in 1977 and since has been a leading fundraising strategist in the UK and around the world. He’s founder and a former trustee of SOFII, the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration, a former independent trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee and was a commissioner on the UK’s Commission for the Voluntary Sector and Ageing. In July 2015 Ken was invited as plenary guest speaker at the 1st China Fundraising Conference in Beijing. He was co-founder of the Commission on the Donor Experience, with the aim of putting the donor, rather than fundraisers’ targets, at the heart of fundraising strategies, in the belief that this will be more productive and sustainable for both causes and donors in the medium to long term. See their full output on www.sofii.org. Ken is a trustee of The World Land Trust.
He’s also an amateur playwright, with three plays he’s written having been publicly performed, to consistent acclaim. He’s currently working on the 32nd anniversary edition of his classic text Relationship Fundraising.
Dr Cassandra Chapman holds a PhD in the psychology of charitable giving (University of Queensland) and is now an Associate Professor of Marketing and ARC DECRA Fellow, specialised in donor psychology and fundraising.
Having come to academia with a background in nonprofit marketing, Cassandra’s research focuses on the psychology of charitable giving, trust in nonprofits, and public responses to charity scandals. She uses diverse methods to understand when and why donors are more (or less) willing to give to particular causes and the implications such preferences have for how charities communicate.
Cassandra’s research has won national and international research awards, including the AFP Early Career Emerging Scholar Award (AFP, 2023), the Skystone Partners Prize for Research on Fundraising and Philanthropy (AFP, 2020), and the Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for an Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research (ARNOVA, 2019). She has published over 30 articles in international journals, such as Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Psychology & Marketing, and the Journal of Business Ethics, and serves as Associate Editor of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
Shanelle is a no-bull, no-nonsense, no guts/no glory type who you want in your corner fighting for your fundraising campaigns.
Shanelle is who you call when you want to try something new, get a new project off the ground or do something different to what everyone else is doing. Shanelle is who you call when you have steep targets and need a strategy that focuses on delivering actual donors and revenue and not just great engagement.
She is upfront with clients that her digital fundraising strategies may well challenge the way they view the online landscape, but she has integrity and will always recommend the best plan to achieve your goals.
Shanelle has spent the last 15 years transforming digital experiences for many of the largest organisations in Australia and the world including; The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Surf Life Saving, Plunket, Save the Children, White Ribbon, The Wilderness Society, Oxfam, The Heart Foundation, Plan International, Variety, Mission Australia, University of NSW, The Mater Hospital and more. She is ridiculously generous with her knowledge, exhausting with her enthusiasm (ask her team!) and downright brilliant.
When she’s not enthusiastically exploring and innovating in the digital fundraising landscape, she’s travelling the globe and partial to the odd Friday afternoon boogie, smelly cheese and vats of wine, sprinkled with sips of tequila.
With a fundraising career rich in capital and comprehensive campaigns internationally, Peter is passionate about fundraising impact and fundraiser leadership.
Peter has broad fundraising experience across all for-purpose sectors, and intuitional experience as Fundraising Director, Austin Health, where he initiated and served as Campaign Director for The Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal, and as Director of Fundraising, Cambridge University Hospitals.
A regular presenter at fundraising forums in Australia and internationally, Peter most recently co-authored Giving Hope: The Journey of the For-Purpose Organisation and Its Quest for Success which features his infamous … Six Fundraisers’ Dilemmas.
He is a former Fundraising Institute Australia National Chair and Arthur Venn Lifetime Achievement Awardee.
Hailey Cavill-Jaspers has been matchmaking companies to charities for almost 30 years. Through her company Cavill + Co, she’s built over 50 significant corporate-cause partnerships that have impact and longevity and have invested over $40m into societal projects. Partnerships such as Kleenex/Guide Dogs, Disney/Big Brothers Big Sisters, Vodafone/Hello Sunday Morning, MLC/Lifeline, Workwear Group/The Big Issue and Seek Volunteer – the latter now in its 24th year).
As well as matchmaking, Hailey has helped companies like Qantas & Kmart design a CSR/ESG strategy and helps companies to discard corporate jargon and embrace authentic purpose-driven communication. Hailey has authored over 10 publications on CSR, the neuroscience of altruism and the conscious consumer movement. After running training for 20 years for non-profits, Hailey founded BePartnerReady.com® with Georgia McIntosh, to empower & upskill non-profits & social enterprises through a low-cost high impact online training program. In her spare time, she loves to paint (canvas not walls), drink chai & vodka (not together) and making Ottolenghi salads. She lives in an eco ‘Hobbit house’ with grass on the roof but doesn’t have hairy feet.
Kaye Maree is the Director of Indigenous Impact Agency- Making Everything Achievable. Kaye Maree is an Edmund Hillary, Atlantic and Asia 21 Fellow and recent winner of the Kaiāwhina Totara Award for the Te Hapori Matihiko Awards in Technology
Kaye Maree uses her knowledge of community engagement, networks and development skills to support organisations to become more resilient and focused on building financial sustainability now and into the future.
Ian is the director of the international fundraising think tank Rogare (Latin for ‘to ask’; pronounced Ro-gar-ray), which he founded in 2014. Rogare explores fundraising’s most challenging ‘under-thought’ issues, to help fundraisers better use theory and evidence by translating academic ideas into professional practice, and building fundraising’s knowledge base.
Ian is recognised as a leading thinker on fundraising ethics, whose ideas have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing.
His main contribution to the field is the development of a new normative lens of fundraising ethics called Rights Balancing Fundraising Ethics, which aims to balance fundraisers’ duties to their donors with duties to beneficiaries – who have, surprisingly, been an absent stakeholder in fundraising ethics.
Rights Balancing Fundraising Ethics has gained considerable traction in the global fundraising profession, being incorporated into professional qualifications in the UK and Europe. Ian leads Rogare’s research agenda, with major work streams on ethics (including the ethical implications of using AI in fundraising), the philosophy of fundraising, the professionalisation of fundraising, gender issues, and the ethics of donor relationships.
He is a member of the certification committee of the European Fundraising Association, associate editor (ethics) of the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, and holds an honorary position at Kingston University Business School.
He’s been a member of the fundraising profession for well over 20 years, first as editor of Professional Fundraising, moving to PR/comms roles with Turner PR and the UK’s Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, where he was head of communications. Ian is also the executive director of the Chapel & York UK Foundation.
Outside of fundraising Ian follows both England and Ireland at cricket, mixes his own cocktails, and has forgotten more about The Beatles than you’ll ever know.
Laura is a senior level fundraising leader with over 17 years experience. She excels at coming into organisations, analysing their programs and creating a robust plan of work to get tangible results. She considers herself to be a good all-rounder who can build both fundraising programs and teams from scratch.
Having worked for charities in the UK and in New Zealand, Laura has a particularly good understanding of the small to medium charity space and how to bring about those small changes that can lead to visible growth in income. She is a fearless leader when it comes to getting investment strategies adopted at board level and advocates for an agile approach to fundraising – testing, learning and failing fast to get the best outcomes.
Laura has built and led award winning teams and champions the importance of investing in your staff to drive excellence in your fundraising. She also loves data, the insights it can bring and how to use it to bring efficiencies and provide the best possible donor experience.
Outside of work Laura is slightly obsessed with Greyhounds and is often found walking her two on the south coast of Wellington.
Nigel Harris is an established and highly regarded non-profit sector leader specialising in philanthropy and fundraising. With an outstanding track record in organisational growth and development, Nigel has crafted a unique range of experiences and insights in governance, executive leadership and applied fundraising practice.
Nigel is Managing Director of Nigel Harris & Associates, an advisory and consulting practice specialising in philanthropy and fundraising leadership. He also has affiliations with other agencies in the non-profit sector where he provides specialist advisory services.
In a career spanning 40 years, Nigel has held executive leadership roles in non-profit organisations for all that time, most notably serving as Chief Executive Officer of Mater Foundation (Queensland) for 24 years. Under Nigel’s leadership, Mater Foundation’s annual fundraising revenue grew from $2m to $73m, raising over $750m over that period and establishing the Foundation as one of Australia’s largest health charities and a major funder of medical research and clinical services.
Holding an MBA majoring in fundraising as well as qualifications in Public Relations and Marketing, Nigel is also a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). In 2012 he was recognised as the Arthur Venn Australian Fundraising Professional of the Year and has also been recognised through other non-profit management awards.
Nigel has played a significant leadership role within Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) over the past 35 years, serving as Board Chair on two separate occasions and stewarding practice credentialing, professional development and self-regulation initiatives. He has also held several international voluntary appointments within the philanthropic and fundraising sector.
Currently a director and Deputy Chair of Act for Kids, Nigel also serves on the Boards of Leukaemia Foundation Australia, the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy (UK) and Braille House. He has previously served on the Community Council for Australia and CFRE International (USA) Boards. He is a Fellow of Fundraising Institute Australia, the Institute of Managers and Leaders and the CEO Institute. He is also a Past President of the Rotary Club of Albany Creek and has been active in community and sporting organisations for over 40 years.
In June 2022, Nigel was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of his contribution to the non-profit sector and the broader community.
As one of Australia’s first ‘first career’ fundraising professionals, Nigel has been immersed in the evolution of fundraising as a profession in Australia over the past four decades and he continues to be a significant influencer and innovator in the sector, nationally and internationally. Today, he is a sought-after presenter, writer, educator and mentor, specialising in executive leadership, governance, and organisational and professional development.
As Head of International Philanthropy for Chapel & York, Heather leads both charity management services and a global network of foundations. She is a seasoned leader, with over two decades of experience in the philanthropic sector, as well as a certified Quadrant 3 Leadership coach, an AFP Master Trainer and a certified yoga teacher. Her extensive background includes leadership and management; fundraising; marketing and communications; grant seeking; strategic planning and analytics.
A highly rated international speaker, she is passionate about giving back to the profession as a thought leader and volunteer. She has held the CFRE credential since 2009, is past Chair of the CFRE International Board of Directors and is Chair of Rogare, the international fundraising think tank. She is also an author who has written for key sector publications, including The Chronicle of Philanthropy (US), Fundraising Magazine (UK), Fundraising Europe (NL) and Fundraising Institute of New Zealand Newz Viewz (NZ).
Heather was named a Thrivent Fellow in 2013. She received the Jay Bleeke Award in 2014 for outstanding service as a young Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE) member and the ALDE Creativity Award in 2017 for her “#thanksGivingTuesday” initiative.
When not striving to make the world a better place through her work and volunteer efforts, you can find Heather running, practicing yoga, making noise on a saxophone or curled up with her hairless cat.
Dominique has over 20 years professional fundraising experience in New Zealand. She is currently working with a couple of charities on a capital campaign and a philanthropy programme and providing guidance and mentoring to a range of organisations and their people. Prior to this she was General Manager – Marketing & Fundraising for SPCA New Zealand. During her time at SPCA, Dominique led her team through a period of sustained change as the organisation transitioned from over 40 separately incorporated entities into one organisation while concurrently driving significant growth in fundraised income. The team’s performance has been recognised by the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand, the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand, and by TechSoup, winning multiple awards in 2019 and 2020, including the overall FINZ Supreme Excellence in Fundraising Award and Dominique was awarded the inaugural FINZ Fundraising Leader of the Year in 2019.
Before working for SPCA, Dominique managed capital fundraising campaigns for Coastguard New Zealand. Again, her work was recognised by FINZ with two awards for Best Capital Campaign in 2011 and 2014. For many years Dominique has guided and mentored people and organisations in the development of their fundraising programmes.
Her people first approach, supported by sound analysis and strategy development has seen her succeed in several large New Zealand charities. She brings a wealth of both skill and experience to her work with our clients, including having held both governance and management roles in social purpose organisations. Dominique was made a Fellow of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand in 2014, and she has previously served on the National Council and as a committee member for the Southern Division. She currently serves on the Institute’s Ethics Committee and on the boards of Orange Sky Aotearoa and the Student Volunteer Army where she is Chair of their Fundraising Committee.
John Lepp, author of Creative Deviations, is a direct response, marketing and graphic design expert with over 25 years of experience working with charities around the world to help them tell better stories and to inspire donors to give, both online and offline. He is a respected and coveted international speaker who has traveled the world helping fundraisers be more “human” and “vulnerable” to these other amazing humans we call donors.
If you’re looking for Ian MacQuillin MCIoF(Dip), you can usually find him at the intersection of the Venn diagram of ‘fundraising’ and ‘ethics’.
Ian is the director of the international fundraising think tank Rogare (Latin for ‘to ask’; pronounced Ro-gar-ray), which he founded in 2014. Rogare explores fundraising’s most challenging ‘under-thought’ issues, to help fundraisers better use theory and evidence by translating academic ideas into professional practice, and building fundraising’s knowledge base.
Ian is recognised as a leading thinker on fundraising ethics, whose ideas have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing.
His main contribution to the field is the development of a new normative lens of fundraising ethics called Rights Balancing Fundraising Ethics, which aims to balance fundraisers’ duties to their donors with duties to beneficiaries – who have, surprisingly, been an absent stakeholder in fundraising ethics.
Rights Balancing Fundraising Ethics has gained considerable traction in the global fundraising profession, being incorporated into professional qualifications in the UK and Europe. Ian leads Rogare’s research agenda, with major work streams on ethics (including the ethical implications of using AI in fundraising), the philosophy of fundraising, the professionalisation of fundraising, gender issues, and the ethics of donor relationships.
He is a member of the certification committee of the European Fundraising Association, associate editor (ethics) of the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, and holds an honorary position at Kingston University Business School.
He’s been a member of the fundraising profession for well over 20 years, first as editor of Professional Fundraising, moving to PR/comms roles with Turner PR and the UK’s Public Fundraising Regulatory Association, where he was head of communications. Ian is also the executive director of the Chapel & York UK Foundation.
Outside of fundraising Ian follows both England and Ireland at cricket, mixes his own cocktails, and has forgotten more about The Beatles than you’ll ever know.
Fi (Fiona) McPhee is the Managing Director and Founder of Revolutionise ANZ (part of Revolutionise Global) and a Director of The Benchmarking Project. Fi works Non-Profit and For Purpose Organisations throughout Australasia and North America from her base in the inspiring South Island of New Zealand.
Having lead Australia & New Zealand’s largest fundraising benchmarking and analytics programs for over 15 years, Fi’s insight into the fundraising market is unparalleled. After 24 years working with non-profits across fundraising, organisational culture and strategic planning, and with extensive programme implementation experience, Fi combines her deep expertise with Great Fundraising to drive culture change, strategic development and execution of strategic plans and campaigns with clients.
Having started as an on-the-tools fundraiser, Fi has led record-breaking fundraising campaigns and implemented new fundraising channels for a broad range of non-profits. And as a Fundraising Strategist with leading industry agencies, she’s developed successful integrated fundraising strategies and high-performing direct response fundraising programmes. Having acted as an advisor and consultant to a variety of start-ups supporting the for-purpose sector Fi has helped businesses grow from an idea to impact with a focus on business sustainability.
Fi’s expertise lies in bringing together evidence and people to identify problems and ambitions, unite and drive change, with a particular focus on growth.
Fi is a much sought after for her strategic audit, planning and design skill and has helped design some of the highest performing individual giving strategies for a range of causes including St John, Heart Foundation, CBM and UNHCR. Her work rarely ends with an audit or strategy as her clients often retain her to support the implementation and review of these strategies. Practically this work can span culture development programs, internal education program design and delivery, research, analytics and insight development as well as team and staff coaching.
Fi is an inspiring and enthusing facilitator and a regular presenter at local and international conferences. As a speaker and trainer Fi draws on academic research, action research, case studies, and best practice methodologies as well as her experience and insights from her time working with hundreds of for purpose organisations from across New Zealand, Australia, Southeast Asia and North America.
In addition to her day job Fi is a Mum, average skier, amateur hiker, serves on three not-for-profit boards, is a FINZ Fellow, an FIA Fellow, accredited by the Marketing Association and a member of the FINZ Ethics Committee.
Leo has been a fundraiser for 43 years. He has helped raise millions of dollars for various causes in Australia as well as in New Zealand and the Asia region. His work involved him in strategic planning, implementation of direct marketing programs, major donor development, bequest programs, development of monthly giving programs, fundraising audits, and development and training of fundraisers.
He is now retired. Previously he was the Senior Strategist at Precision Fundraising, Partner at Robejohn, and was head of direct marketing at World Vision Australia, Marketing Director of World Vision Thailand.
Leo is a Fellow of Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA), a past Chairman of the FIA Board, former member of the CFRE board and former chair of the CFRE Exam Committee. He has been a member of the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) for more than 35 years. Twice President of FIA Victoria.
In 2013 Leo was named the Arthur Venn Fundraiser of the Year, a national award given by the FIA which recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to fundraising in Australia.
Clive has been advising, coaching and training for growth in the social purpose sector in New Zealand and Australia since 2000. During that time, he has been responsible for raising tens of millions for many of New Zealand’s leading charities. He is well regarded as a thought leader, an informed, enthusiastic practitioner and practical presenter.
Clive is a former President of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ) from 2011 to 2013, was a member of the FINZ National Council from 2009 to 2015 and was named a Fellow of the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand in May 2014. In 2021 Giving Architects was established in Australia through Founding Partner, Nigel Harris. The Giving Architects Australia team is working on multiple campaigns in Australia and work closely with Clive and the Giving Architects group on achieving great client outcomes.
He was the first New Zealander appointed to the Board of CFRE International in 2014. In December 2015 Clive was appointed to the International Advisory Panel of the Rogare Think Tank on international fundraising ethics, and Giving Architects are now an Associate Member of Rogare supporting their work in Australasia.
In 2017 Clive was appointed to the Responsible Investment Association of Australia Impact Investment Forum committee and has been directly involved in establishing New Zealand’s inaugural Impact Investment Advisory Board. Giving Architects are at the forefront of how effective impact investment solutions that work for many established charities.
Ligia Peña, CFRE is an International Legacy Consultant and Strategist at GlobetrottingFundraiser. The firm helps charities around the world develop their legacy and fundraising strategy. Over the years, she has helped develop legacy strategies in 15 markets across the globe for various non-profits and NGOs. A hardcore legacy nerd, Ligia is also pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Kent where she’s researching national legacy marketing campaigns as tools to change society’s behaviour towards gifts in wills.
As a sought-after and seasoned international presenter, Ligia has trained thousands of fundraisers in the science and the art of legacy fundraising. She’s also the author of the ‘Small Shop Fundraising’ chapter in the 2nd volume of Excellence in Fundraising in Canada, various articles in AFP’s newsletter Advancing Philanthropy, as well as a guest on many industry podcasts.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ligia calls Montréal, Canada home or any place with wifi. She fluently speaks Spanish, French and English (and manages in Portuguese and Italian).
Ashley’s experience and passion for telephone fundraising is impressive. It’s clear that Ashley values the importance of high-quality conversations and relationships in achieving lasting results for charities. As a pioneer of telephone fundraising in Australia and New Zealand, Ashley and his team are constantly learning and improving their approach to fundraising conversations.
Ashley is willing to share his knowledge with others in the charity sector, whether it’s with clients, other charities, or at conferences. Ashley has presented at FIA and FINZ conferences, bbCon and F&P’s fundraising forum. His message is clear; by improving the quality of fundraising conversations, Ashley believes that donors will feel more respected and appreciated, which can lead to improved donor engagement and retention.
It’s also worth noting that Ashley has been working to raise fundraising standards as a member of FIA’s Code Authority since 2019. This shows that he is committed to ethical fundraising practices and promoting the best interests of donors and charities alike.
Outside of fundraising, Ashley enjoys spending time with family, food, and dog walking. These hobbies likely help him recharge and stay focused on his work in the charity sector.
HI, I’m Rebecca and I am a Fundraiser who is on a lifelong learning journey about our beautiful profession. I have been fundraising for many years across NZ, Australia, East Asia and Brazil. I really like individual giving work, especially regular giving, omni-channel appeals, digital fundraising, and donor pipeline work.
My happy place is writing practical strategies which are able to make a clear impact on a fundraising programme. In my work I am surrounded by talented people who have skillsets that often vary to mine, and I love working together to achieve big targets.
Terri Sheahan cut her teeth in Local Government media before establishing a freelance copywriting agency specialising in non-profit communications in the late 80s. (Yes: that long ago!)
A CFRE and Fellow of the Fundraising Institute of Australia, Terri has worked as a donor communications specialist across all cause areas in the not-for-profit sector.
Direct Mail is her speciality and donor-centric communications is her passion. She is also recognised as a sector authority on the crafting of a compelling Case for Support.
She has been a member of the Precision Fundraising team since late 2018 and in her current role as Head of Copy, she provides strategic guidance around direct mail strategy and other donor communication programs including Gifts in Wills and Regular Giving.
Terri also has experience as a hands-on fundraiser working in the major gifts and capital campaign spaces during her many years with Xponential Philanthropy. This included her role as the Director of a $16m Capital Campaign for Ronald McDonald House SEQ which won an FIA Award for Excellence.
Her work has been recognised through FIA Awards in both Capital Campaign and Direct Mail categories, and she has delivered professional development presentations at state and national levels in Australia and in New Zealand.
Terri loves raising money for good causes and is a vocal champion of fundraisers.
She is thrilled that the Fundraising Nest has hatched and is excited to do what she can to help fundraisers soar in the days ahead.
Watch Terri’s interview with Michelle here (intro @ 1:24:27).
Lynne Wester strongly believes that donor relations is the key to unlocking fundraising success and that organizations must be as dedicated to the donor experience, or DX, as they are to the ask itself. Lynne helps organizations when they need it the most – when crisis or opportunity arrive.
Lynne and her teammates at The DRG Group partner with nonprofits large and small on a variety of initiatives from developing sound strategy and vision to utilizing technology and creating meaningful donor engagement – all designed to positively affect the fundraising bottom line. In addition, she is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, access, justice and belonging, especially in the fundraising and nonprofit sector.
Lynne is regularly featured in publications such as the Washington Post, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and CASE Currents and has contributed to two books and authored four books of her own on a myriad of industry topics. She and T. Clay Buck, CFRE also host the number one fundraising podcast in the world, Fundraising is Funny.
Lynne received her B.A. from the University of South Carolina, holds a Masters in Strategic Fundraising and Philanthropy from BayPath University, and proudly sports a DUCKtorate from the Disney Institute. She volunteers at many nonprofits and serves on the board at the University of South Carolina.
Lynne Wester strongly believes that donor relations is the key to unlocking fundraising success and that organizations must be as dedicated to the donor experience, or DX, as they are to the ask itself. Sometimes referred to as the Olivia Pope of fundraising, Lynne helps organizations when they need it the most – when crisis or opportunity arrive.
Lynne and her teammates at The DRG Group partner with nonprofits large and small on a variety of initiatives from developing sound strategy and vision to utilizing technology and creating meaningful donor engagement – all designed to positively affect the fundraising bottom line. Her guidance has led her clients to be recognized on the national stage for fundraising innovation, creative communication, and groundbreaking donor relations work.
The DRG website in a unique industry tool filled with resources, samples and thought leadership on donor relations and fundraising. Lynne is regularly featured in publications such as the Washington Post, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and CASE Currents and has authored four books of her own on a myriad of industry topics.
Lynne received her B.A. from the University of South Carolina, holds a Masters in Strategic Fundraising and Philanthropy from BayPath University, and proudly sports a DUCKtorate from the Disney Institute.
Fundraising Nest – Brought to you by Michelle Berriman. Supported by Cory Hall and Precision.
