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Nonprofit LowdownAuthor: Rhea Wong
This is Nonprofit Lowdown where I review and recommend the best ideas, resources, tools, tricks and tips to run your nonprofit like a pro! Language: en Genres: Business, Non-Profit Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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#396 - How a Teacher-Turned-CEO Landed Her First Six-Figure Gift
Episode 398
Monday, 13 July, 2026
I love a good transformation story, and Lucy Madden's is one of my favorites.Lucy was a middle school science teacher who ran a snail mail pen pal program in her classroom, pairing her students with STEM professionals around the world. She watched her kids start imagining bigger futures for themselves, so she turned it into an organization: Letters to a Pre-Scientist. Now she's the CEO, and she's fundraising for it as a team of basically one.When we started working together, Lucy had 10 to 15 donors giving $1,000 or more, and those gifts felt random. In this episode, she walks through what changed: stepping away from grants, getting her board on board, and shedding the ick she felt about asking individuals for real money.The moment that stuck with me: Lucy called a donor just to say thank you for a $10,000 gift. On that call, the donor did the math on Lucy's growth plan herself and said, "You need $140,000. I think we can do that." It became a multi-year six-figure stock gift, the first stock gift her organization has ever received, on a budget of $500K.We also talk about why snail mail is her secret weapon (in programs and in fundraising), why she stopped throwing spaghetti at the wall, and what shifted internally that let her show up to donor conversations with actual confidence.If you've ever told yourself you're not a fundraiser, this conversation is for you.Important Links:Connect with Lucy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-madden/Letters to a Pre-Scientist: https://prescientist.org/My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
