10 Nonprofit Fundraising Leaders to Follow
People are what fuel our passion for fundraising and events. At Swaim Strategies, we believe that we all do better when we work together. And that’s why we love learning from others in the industry.
There are so many fundraising thought leaders who’re doing incredible work. In this blog, we’re highlighting 10 people whose work goes beyond fundraising. These leaders are creating movements in mental health wellness, social justice, equity and empathic storytelling.
Read on to get inspired and make connections.
10 Nonprofit Fundraising Leaders to Follow
1. Samantha Swaim – Swaim Strategies
About Samantha: Samantha Swaim is the Strategic Director and co-founder of Swaim Strategies. With over 20 years of experience in event production and nonprofit fundraising, Sam is passionate about bringing people together to create a shared experience, build community and move a mission. Sam brings her background in theatre and TV production to her strategic role at Swaim. She believes that we are stronger when we work together.
Sam founded Elevate: A Conference for Fundraising Events, a yearly event that helps fundraisers think bigger about every step of planning a donor event. She speaks and educates widely about fundraising and strategy.
Why we love her: As our Strategic Director, we see the dedication and expertise Sam brings to the work daily. Sam leads in the fundraising and event spaces through her passion for social justice. Her teaching always centers accessibility and the idea that everyone benefits when we all have tools we need to succeed, including resources like books.
In 2020, when we were challenged to navigate a virtual world, Sam innovated through virtual and hybrid event solutions and created spaces that might not have otherwise existed.
Sam cultivates a supportive and caring working environment through her passion for her work, through helping others and by showing appreciation for our team at Swaim Strategies. Sam is an incredible leader in all spaces she enters.
We recommend Sam’s work as a fundraising and event planning expert. For those of you planning a hybrid event, Sam can help you make it effective and impactful.
Click here to find out if Sam’s available for your next training or speaking engagement.
2. Ian Adair – Association of Fundraising Professionals
About Ian: Ian Adair is the Director of Leadership Development and Credentialing at Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP). He’s a three-time nonprofit CEO with 25 years of nonprofit management, fundraising and communications experience in the nonprofit, education and corporate sector. Ian first became involved with AFP as a speaker at conferences and chapter events for more than 10 years. Today, he supports their leadership development at all levels.
Ian has spoken at conferences all over the world and authored curriculum for education, board of directors, employee training, wellness and recognition programs. He’s passionate about helping nonprofits thrive by creating strong boards, increasing mission awareness and cultivating partnership with stakeholders and donors.
Why we love him: We love how Ian is leading the conversation around mental health in the workplace, specifically in the nonprofit sector. His dedication to creating healthy workplaces is something we feel deeply connected to at Swaim Strategies. For more about Ian’s thoughts on mental health and nonprofits, check out his book, Stronger Than Stigma: A Call to Action: Stories of Grief, Loss, and Inspiration and his TEDx talk, The Intersection Between Leadership and Mental Health.
We recommend Ian’s work for new ways to think about mental health in the workplace.
3. Vu Le – Nonprofit AF
About Vu: Vu Le is the author of the website Nonprofit AF, a speaker and the former Executive Director of RVC, a nonprofit in Seattle that promotes social justice by developing leaders of color, strengthening organizations led by communities of color and fostering collaboration between diverse communities.
Vu’s dedication to changing the world for the better led him to nonprofit work, where he says he “learned that we should take the work seriously, but not ourselves”. Known for his straightforward approach, humor and irreverence, Vu writes weekly articles on his website, Nonprofit AF. Topics he writes about include community engagement, donor relations, fundraising, staff dynamics and more.
Why we love him: Vu is a leader in the space of community centered fundraising and works to break down barriers of white dominant norms in the nonprofit sector. He also leads support groups through Nonprofit AF, including Nonprofit Happy Hour, ED Happy Hour and EDs of Color. Click here to check them out.
We recommend Vu’s work for his refreshing perspective on all things in the nonprofit sector and for his Nonprofit Happy Hours.
4. John Lepp – Agents of Good
About John: John Lepp is a partner at Agents of Good, a fundraising and communications collaboration that’s focused on #donorlove. With more than 20 years of experience working with charities across Canada and around the world, John works to help people tell better stories that inspire donors to give online and offline. He has spoken internationally about how nonprofit professionals can humanize fundraising and be more vulnerable with donors. John is a marketer with decades of experience in design and direct response.
Why we love him: We love that John (along with Jen Love, who you’ll read about next) always center stories of impact. They work to create emotional connections, putting people first.
We recommend John’s work as a direct marketer and year-end appeal strategist.
Connect with John on LinkedIn.
5. Jen Love – Agents of Good
About Jen: As the other half of the partnership at Agents of Good, Jen Love helps people put donors at the center of their work by meaningfully engaging with them. By doing so, she believes we can make the world a better place. Jen describes herself as a storyteller, but not in the poetic sense. She prefers the “fumbling, arm-waving, half-sentence-speaking, let’s-get-to-the-heart-and-the-feelings sense”.
Why we love her: We love that Jen (along with John Lepp, who you just read about) always center stories of impact. They work to create emotional connections, putting people first.
We recommend Jen’s work as a direct marketer and year-end appeal strategist.
6. Kishshana Palmer – Kishshana & Co.
About Kishshana: Kishshana Palmer is the CEO of Kishshana & Co. She’s also an international speaker, trainer and coach with more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, marketing and talent management. The strategist behind many successful leadership initiatives, Kishshana has raised millions for nonprofits. She specializes in cultivating an internal talent pipeline, leadership and employee attrition and meeting diversity goals.
She’s also the founder of The Rooted Collaborative, a global online community for nonwhite women in the social sector. She’s the host of the podcast Let’s Take This Offline, an adjunct professor at Baruch College, a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer (CGT), A Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and an AFP Master Trainer.
Why we love her: We love that Kishshana is creating healthy leadership styles in fundraising, beginning at her own company. She’s also an advocate for equity in the workplace. She centers the people she works with and only works on projects that aligns with her human-centered values.
We recommend Kishshana’s work as strategic planner.
Connect with Kishshana on LinkedIn.
7. Marc A. Pitman – Concord Leadership Group
About Marc: Marc A. Pitman, CSP® is the founder of Concord Leadership Group and has decades of experience leading organizations and teams. Marc has dedicated his life to studying leadership, including earning a Masters in Organizational Leadership and certification as a FranklinCovey Coach. Using his in-depth knowledge and expertise, Marc helps leaders work more effectively.
We recently highlighted Marc’s book, The Surprising Gift of Doubt: Use Uncertainty to Become the Exceptional Leader You Are Meant to Be, on our blog. You can also grab a copy in the Elevate Nonprofit fundraising bookstore.
Marc speaks to audiences across the world about leadership and how nonprofits can advance their missions, meet revenue goals and strengthen relationships with staff and donors.
Why we love him: Our team has taken many of Marc’s leadership classes at his leadership academy. We love that Marc’s trainings are accessible and actionable.
We recommend Marc’s work as a leadership coach.
Connect with Marc on LinkedIn.
8. Kelly Russell – Artisan Auctions
About Kelly: Kelly Russell is a fundraising host and the founder of Artisan Auctions. She’s helped nonprofits and schools raise more than 140 million dollars in support of important work across the nation. Kelly leads her passionate team to produce donor-driven events that consistently break goals. Her mission? To help nonprofits and organizations fundraise for positive change.
Why we love her: We’ve worked with Kelly on countless events, from virtual broadcasts to large in-person galas. No matter the crowd, Kelly is incredible at energizing donors and engaging them to give. She is an expert at executing fundraising strategy live with her graciousness, ability to leverage crowd dynamics and knowledge of the organization’s mission.
We recommend Kelly’s work as a fundraising host.
Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.
9. Steven Screen – The Better Fundraising Co.
About Steven: Steven Screen is the co-founder of The Better Fundraising Co. He gets organizations excited about fundraising by helping them understand how to raise money effectively. Steven’s passion for fundraising and data-driven approach is at the core of The Better Fundraising Co. Steven is also a past winner of the Direct Mail Package of the Year.
Why we love him: We love how Steven puts donors first by making them the heroes of every organization’s story.
We recommend Steven’s work as direct mail strategist and campaign consultant.
Connect with Steven on LinkedIn.
10. Tammy Zonker – Fundraising Transformed
About Tammy: Tammy Zonker is a fundraising strategist and master trainer at Fundraising Transformed. An international speaker and trainer in the discipline of transformational philanthropy, she has led, trained and coached nonprofit social service organizations, private schools, colleges and healthcare organizations to raise more than a half-billion dollars.
Tammy uses her passion for donor development and mission impact to empower others to fundraise more effectively than ever before. As well as serving on the Nonprofit Quarterly’s editorial advisory board, Tammy has been awarded the Multichannel Campaign of the Year Award and the Campaign of the Year Gold Awards by Fundraising Success Magazine.
Why we love her: We love the expertise Tammy brings to storytelling tours. Click here check out her virtual tour of Children’s Center. Tammy is phenomenal at bringing donors into your organization, creating relationships and shaping stories that lead to transformational gifts.
We recommend Tammy’s work as a fundraising and donor development expert.
Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn.
In Conclusion
We hope that reading this blog has made you feel more invigorated about your own work.
What we love about the people on this list is that their work is fueled by a clear purpose to make the world a better place and to uplift people. A deep sense of purpose makes the work more joyful.
As we come to the close of another year, we invite you to reflect on your purpose and what makes your work meaningful.
