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
Stop Selling Programs: How to Position Offers and Outcomes So Donors Understand Them
If your major gift opportunities sound like a menu of programs, you may be unintentionally teaching donors to restrict their giving. In this episode of Hey Fundraiser!, Mary goes deeper on Offers & Outcomes and shows how to positio...
You Found a Great Major Gift Prospect. Now How the Heck Do You Get in the Door?
You found the perfect major gift prospect. Great capacity, strong giving history, real connection to your mission...and they will not respond. In this episode of Hey Fundraiser!, Mary tackles one of the hardest parts of major gift fund...
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...