Hey Fundraiser!
Welcome to Hey Fundraiser, the podcast for nonprofit Executive Directors and major gift officers who are done guessing.
Each week, host Mary Petersen pulls back the curtain on what actually works in major gifts. Not theory. Not whiteboard frameworks. Real scripts, real strategy, and the exact moves you can use in your next donor meeting. Mary spent 25+ years as a working major gift officer and built a methodology that closes 5 and 6-figure gifts in months, not years, by going deep with a focused portfolio instead of chasing volume.
If you've ever frozen up before an ask, stared at a "wish list" of donors with no idea who to call first, or wondered why the industry keeps telling you a major gift takes 18 months to close, this is your show.
You'll leave every episode with one clear thing to do on Monday morning. Hit follow and start building real momentum.
Hey Fundraiser!
Latest Episodes
If I Had to Build a Major Gift Program From Scratch, Here’s Exactly What I’d Do
If Mary walked into a nonprofit tomorrow and had one year to build a major gift program from scratch, what would she do first, what would she ignore, and where would she spend her time? In this episode of Hey Fundraiser!, Mary breaks d...
How to Inspire Unrestricted Major Gifts and Build Donor Trust
Why do donors happily fund programs but hesitate to fund the people, systems, and infrastructure that make those programs possible? In this episode of Hey Fundraiser!, Mary breaks down how to inspire more unrestricted major gifts by bu...
5 Questions I Get As a Major Gift Coach
How many times can you follow up with a donor before you become annoying? How do you actually know when it’s time to ask? What happens if you ask for too much? Do you need a polished proposal before you ever talk about money? And where do you e...
Fundraisers: It’s Time to Make an Ask for Yourself
What if the professional development line in your budget isn’t an expense, but one of the smartest revenue investments your organization can make? In this episode, Mary shares what happened when 15 Executive Directors and fundraisers gathered a...
Why Your Best Fundraiser Is About to Quit (And How to Stop It)
Your best gift officer is going to get a recruiter's call this quarter. What happens next was decided by how you led this quarter.This week I'm sharing a session I delivered for nonprofit leaders at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Mana...