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
The Stewardship Multiplier: How Great Thank-Yous Build Bigger Next Gifts
Mary teaches the stewardship system from Small Table Big Philanthropy — the one that turns $1,000 donors into $10,000 donors and $10,000 donors into $100,000 donors. She covers the 48-hour post-gift sequence (why a phone call beats a letter eve...
From Reading the Book to Doing
In this episode, I will share how shifting from large galas to small, intimate dinners can exponentially increase major gift fundraising. Discover her three-step strategy to build sustainable donor relationships and learn about her Small Table ...
Small Table Big Philanthropy is Available TODAY!
Order Small Table Big Philanthropy at https://stbp.heyfundraiser.com/. This is the book your entire development team need.If you want to go beyond the book and actually build this out with me...
Small Table Big Philanthropy: A Sneak Peek Inside the Book
A week before the April 30 launch, Mary does a live teaching from the heart of the book. She covers the small table philosophy (why intimacy beats scale in major gift fundraising), the three-part strategy (Dinner → Match → Upgrade), the stairca...