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!
Why Donors Really Leave (And It's Not What You Think)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Donor retention is the most under-discussed topic in major gift fundraising — and the most expensive mistake organizations make. In this episode, Mary digs into the real reasons donors go quiet, the exact moment most organizations lose a relationship they didn't know they were losing, and what the organizations with 80%+ retention rates do differently. Spoiler: it's not a better newsletter.
This episode is grounded in a chapter from Small Table Big Philanthropy about what it really means to treat your $1,000 donors like royalty — and how that mindset compounds into major gifts.
Grab Small Table Big Philanthropy at heyfundraiser.com — launching April 30. And if this episode helped you, share it with one fundraiser who needs to hear it.
🪑 The Small Table Intensive. Half a day. Build or rebuild your major gift program around fewer donors and deeper relationships, using the methodology from my book Small Table Big Philanthropy.
🎯 The Ask Workshop. Half a day. The exact words to use when it's time to ask for 5 and 6-figure gifts. Walk in nervous about the ask. Walk out with the script.
More from Mary:
📘 Mary's books. What to Say and Small Table Big Philanthropy. The books behind the methodology.
🔥 Major Donor Meeting Mastery. My step-by-step system for donor meetings that move the relationship forward.
👩🏻💻 Momentum Training. My complete packaging + ask system, all in one place.
💻 Connect with Mary Petersen
- Website: heyfundraiser.com
- YouTube: @heyfundraisers
- Instagram: @heyfundraiser
- LinkedIn: ...