If you want to raise $250,000 gifts, but everyone you’re learning from is celebrating $5,000 gifts as their biggest wins, we need to talk about the rooms you’re putting yourself in.
Early in my fundraising career, I was working 12-hour days, Googling my way through donor meetings, and barely raising what we needed. Everything changed when I started surrounding myself with fundraisers who were raising WAY more than me.
I’m talking about people who were closing million-dollar gifts and actually showing me how they did it. Not another conference presentation about declining generosity. The real, nitty-gritty stuff that happens behind closed doors in donor meetings.
In this episode, we’re talking about:
* The million-dollar donor call I got to listen in on that changed my fundraising philosophy
* How I went from white-knuckling fundraising alone to raising $2.5 million and bringing in 150 new donors
* The fastest way to achieve fundraising growth and get new skills
* What successful major gift fundraisers know about navigating objections, complicated donor relationships, and making bigger asks
* Why the people you surround yourself with influence not just how much you raise, but how you raise it
* Why getting in the room with people who are already doing what you want to do is the fastest way to accelerate your growth
Here’s what I want you to understand: Success is contagious. So is playing small.
If you’re tired of figuring everything out on your own and ready to start raising the kind of gifts that actually move your mission forward, this episode is for you.
Ready to get in the room?
Join me for my upcoming 2-Day CourageLab Strategy Intensive, where you’ll surround yourself with ambitious nonprofit leaders who are making bigger, bolder asks, raising unrestricted revenue, and refusing to settle for fundraising as usual.
No sitting in a windowless conference room listening to information that could’ve been an email. We’re talking real strategy, real conversations, and real action.
If you’re a CEO or ED of a nonprofit doing great work, and you need to escape the echo chamber of struggling EDs who haven’t figured out fundraising yet, and get around CEOs who have, you should join us.
Early bird tickets are on sale now.
Apply below. Only 12 guest spots available.
➡️ 2-Day Strategy Intensive hosted by Julie Ordoñez
📆 December 3-4, 2026
📍Orange, CA
👩🏽💻 Get the details and apply here: https://julieordonez.com/strat-intensive-dec-26
P.S. There is a special team discount if you wanna bring a colleague.
Want 15 leads in 5 minutes? DM me "Breakfast burrito" on LinkedIn and I'll send you a pdf and 6-minute training to help you generate 15 leads for your nonprofit in minutes. It's totally free. All you need is an email to sign up. DM me "Breakfast burrito" - I'm from Texas, what can I say? - to get your pdf and mini training.
If you’re an ED or DD of a $1M+ making a difference in your community and you’re ready to make bigger, bolder asks, then DM me “CL” on LinkedIn and I’ll share details.
