The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast
by Tammy Zonker
Welcome to The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast. I'm your host, Tammy Zonker, and I'm thrilled you're here. I've spent nearly three decades specializing in major gifts. I’ve seen how major gifts often form the backbone of an organization’s financial stability, and yet, I know many of us find this area particularly challenging. Time and again, I’ve been approached by fundraisers and nonprofit leaders eager to establish or supercharge their major gift programs. It’s become crystal clear that there’s a growing hunger for training and expertise in this area.I’ve had the incredible privilege of working with nonprofits from all around the world helping organizations collectively raise nearly one billion dollars. During this time, I’ve developed strategies and tools that have consistently helped organizations transition their mid-level donors into major donors through meaningful engagement. It’s a process that, when done consistently, can truly catapult an organization’s major gift fundraisin
Episodes
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Overcoming Internal Barriers to Major Gifts
A salary is certain. A gift is a gamble. That's what one CFO told his development director. She left his office sure she'd lost. Her program director was worried a big donor would hijack the mission. A board member said, "Our donors just don't give like that." Three skeptics. Three different…
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Staying Whole While Raising Big Gifts
Ever sat in your car after a donor visit just to catch your breath? Me too. And I think we need to talk about it. Raising big gifts is emotional work. In one week, you might hold a donor's grief, a board member's impatience, and your ED's worries about cash flow. Then you walk into the next…
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Human-Centered Major Gifts
A donor rode a city bus at 6:15 a.m. He hadn't been on one since college. The woman next to him had lived in that neighborhood for forty years. She was about to change his $250,000 gift. They were riding the route families take to the local food pantry. One hour and ten minutes. One transfer. And...
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Thinking Global: Cross-Border Major Gifts
A 6:45 a.m. call from London. A donor wanted to give $1.5 million to the children's hospital that saved her little brother. Her gift officer was thrilled. Thirty seconds later, she was terrified. Because the donor was a US citizen living in London. Her husband was British. The money was in…
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Bringing Relationships Back from the Brink
Her mother's name was spelled wrong. It was on the plaque. On dedication day. In front of her grandkids. The mistake didn't end the relationship. What came next almost did. The clinic took six weeks to fix it. Nobody called. The apology email said, "We apologize for any inconvenience." The family...
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Stacking the Deck for Year-End Major Gifts
My worst December as a fundraiser? I spent it chasing a stock transfer with no name on it. My plan had been "we'll get serious after the gala." The gala ended in mid-November. You can guess how that year went. Here's what I learned the hard way. December isn't where year-end is won. It's where…
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Impact Reporting That Deepens Commitment
One page changed everything. A donor said it was the first report she'd ever kept. Two years later, she made the largest gift in the organization's history. It wasn't a glossy annual report. No pie charts. No forty pages. Just one number she cared about, one note from a teacher, and one honest…
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Today’s Gifts, Tomorrow’s Legacy
One question. A lasting legacy. Andrea almost didn't ask it. She was afraid it would muddy her donor's renewal. Her donor, Walter, had given faithfully for eleven years. He was about to renew his major gift. And he kept asking one thing: "Will this program still be here someday?" Andrea realized...
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Calming the Waters: Supporting Anxious Donors
He went quiet for two months. She thought she'd blown the ask. She hadn't. The donor had watched his business take a hit, watched the news every night, and frozen. He wasn't saying no to her $250,000 proposal. He was saying he didn't know how to say yes to anything right now. Here's what she...
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Growing the Next Wave of Major Gift Talent
She gave me four minutes. It changed my career. Almost thirty years ago, I had a donor meeting with a man who genuinely intimidated me. My development director stopped by my desk and asked what I planned to ask him. I recited my agenda. She listened, then said, "That's fine. But what do you…
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When Clicks Meet Conversations: Digital and Major Gifts
The lobby test. Your website is the lobby of your building. It never closes the gift. But it absolutely sets the tone for everything that happens around it. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I tell the story of a six-figure donor who tried to give on her phone in December…
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Campaign Planning When the Future Is Fuzzy
"What's our plan if we only raise nine?" A campaign chair asked that in a planning meeting for a $14 million campaign, and the room went completely quiet. She wasn't being negative. She'd run a manufacturing business for thirty years, and she said, "I've never run a three-year plan that came in...
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Recognition That Feels Right Today
A donor wall almost cost them their best donor. At the opening of a gorgeous new wall, one of their most generous donors leaned in and said, "I didn't give so my name could be up there. I gave for the kids. I wish the wall told me about them." That one sentence is the whole episode. On this…
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Build for What's Next
Urgency can steal our future. I’ve watched it happen in nonprofit teams everywhere. We race from grant deadlines to events to year-end goals, doing everything possible to meet today’s needs. But somewhere along the way, the relationship-building work that creates tomorrow’s major gifts gets…
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Donor Listening That Leads to Action
What if the ask isn't for money? What if it's a question? A donor of fifteen years told one of my clients, "Nobody ever asked me what I thought. They just told me what they'd done." He'd made peace with being a checkbook. I keep hearing versions of that story. Loyal donors who'd give more, and…
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Culture as Your Ultimate Major Gifts Strategy
If you vanished tomorrow, would anyone else in your building know how to talk about a donor with warmth? I've watched two organizations, same size, same budget, same tactics. One had a major gift officer carrying every donor relationship alone. The other had a program director who told donor...
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Healthy Boundaries with Major Donors
He asked to sit in on hiring. She almost said yes to that too. Here's what changed her mind. On this week's episode, I tell the story of a major gift officer whose biggest donor had slowly taken over her evenings, her weekends, and nearly her hiring decisions. We walk through the power dynamics...
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It Takes a Village: Internal Partners in Major Gifts
A gift once took eleven months to close. Not because the donor said no. Because one person was carrying five jobs. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I tell the story of a major gift that stalled for nearly a year, and what finally unstuck it. Spoiler: it wasn't a better pitch....
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Events that Actually Move Major Gifts
Her gala cost $40K. Her dinner cost $200. Guess which one got a bigger gift. On this week's episode, I tell the story of two events that happened the same spring, one an eleven-month gala, one a Wednesday dinner for eight people. Only one of them led to real major gift conversations. It wasn't…
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Working Smarter: Automation for Major Gift Officers
6:30 a.m. Calendar chaos already. By 10 a.m., she hadn't talked to a single donor yet. Six months later, same alarm, same portfolio. Totally different morning. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I walk through what changed for a major gift officer named Renee, and exactly which...
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Inclusive Major Gifts in Practice
A gala put them on stage. Then ghosted them for good. Three community leaders invited up front, never contacted again. Zero gifts. One hurt feeling that traveled fast. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I tell that story next to a very different one. A major gift officer who...
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Building Predictable Major Gifts Revenue
What if your major donors wanted to commit longer? Most of them already do. They just haven't been asked. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser podcast, I'm talking about one of the most underused strategies in major gifts: recurring and multi-year commitments. Not because donors...
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Beyond Cash: Unlocking Asset-Based Major Gifts
$5k a year. For 12 years. Then she sold her business. The fundraiser said, "congratulations," and changed the subject. Sixty days later, with one different question, that same donor transferred $400,000 in appreciated stock before the sale closed. Same donor. Same relationship. Different…
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Leading from the Major Gifts Seat
Your CEO is not your critic. They might be your scariest internal customer. Once I understood that, everything changed. For years I walked into meetings with my ED ready to defend my portfolio. Why hadn't the gift closed. Why we were behind. Why the donor needed more time. I left those meetings...
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Story and Data: What Major Donors Really Need
$150,000 gift. One question. 90 seconds. "Who is this changing for?" A development director walked into a meeting with a fund-of-funds founder and a 12-page impact report. He flipped through it in ninety seconds and asked one question: "Who is this changing for, and how do you know?" She closed…
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Designing Impact Together with Donors
"You brought me a brochure, not a conversation." A donor said that to one of my clients. It changed how we prep every donor visit now. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser podcast, I share the story of a $250,000 ask that became a $400,000 partnership plus two warm introductions,...
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Peer Power: Ambassadors and Giving Circles
A $100,000 gift, made in a kitchen. The major gift officer wasn't there. Another donor was. ☕ She invited three friends over for coffee. She told them why she gave. She didn't pitch. She didn't ask. Six weeks later, one of those friends called me ready to make a major gift. That moment changed…
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Rethinking Major Gifts Metrics in 2026
Bad metrics ruin good fundraisers. Slowly. Quietly. Cycle after cycle. And almost nobody on the team is allowed to say it out loud. In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I'm sharing why the metrics most major gift programs lean on, raw visit counts, dollars to goal, dials made,...
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Pruning Your Portfolio to Grow Your Results
Pruning isn't loss. It's care. For years, fundraisers have been told that a bigger portfolio means a healthier pipeline. In my experience, the opposite is usually true. A focused list closes more gifts, and a focused fundraiser feels more human at the end of the week. In this week's episode of…
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Crafting Offers for Transformational Giving
"Fuzzy is the enemy of yes." That line came up this week while I was recording the podcast. And I cannot stop thinking about it. Most major gift offers I see in 2026 are not failing because the relationship is weak or the mission is unclear. They are failing because the offer itself is fuzzy. A...
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Trust-Building Conversations with Major Donors
Two donors. Same problem. Completely different outcomes. One development officer waited too long to call. By the time she reached out about a delayed project, the donor had already pulled back. A significant gift quietly disappeared. The other officer called early. She was honest. She said…
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A Modern Tech Stack for Major Gift Success
Too many tools? Too little clarity? And not enough hours to manage it all? This episode is for you. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I talk about what a healthy major gifts tech stack actually looks like, and what to do about everything that's built up around it. We cover the...
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Writing Donor Messages with AI, Not by AI
AI won’t replace your voice, but it can help amplify it. I’ve been talking with so many fundraisers who want to try AI but worry their donor communication will start sounding robotic. I get it. Authenticity matters more than ever in twenty‑twenty‑six. On this week’s Intentional Fundraiser…
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Take Back Your Week, Grow Your Major Gifts
My calendar used to tell on me. I’d get to Friday and realize I’d spent the whole week in meetings, email, and “urgent” internal stuff… while my top donors barely heard from me. Sound familiar? In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share how I started treating my calendar like a...
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From Mid-Level to Major: Mapping the Journey
Your next major donor might already be giving I’ve seen so many mid-level donors quietly reading emails, showing up at events, and faithfully giving year after year, without ever being invited into a deeper conversation. When we finally slow down, notice their behavior, and map a simple journey...
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Corporate Giving as a Major Gifts Lever
When one question unlocks three streams of giving In this week’s episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share the story of a longtime donor whose impact multiplied once we connected his personal philanthropy with his role as a corporate leader. We walk through practical ways to spot those...
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Next-Gen Major Donors and the New Rules of Engagement
The biggest donors aren’t “the future” anymore. They’re already here. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share what I’m seeing as younger, women, and values‑driven donors rewrite the rules of major giving. From shorter cultivation cycles to co‑designing impact and bringing...
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Your 2026 Case for Transformational Gifts
Your case might be costing you 7‑figure gifts. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share why so many cases still sound like they were written in 2019, and how I’m helping leaders like you update them for a 2026 donor mindset. I walk through the five elements of a modern case,...
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Making Your Major Gift Portfolio Shock-Resistant
One donor should never control your budget. In this week’s episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share a story of a strong organization that felt “safe” until one major donor hit pause and everything started to wobble. We walk through how to map your top 20 donors, spot concentration risk, and...
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Discovery That Builds Trust, Not Pressure
Your discovery calls shouldn’t feel like a test. In my latest Intentional Fundraiser episode, I walk through how I help fundraisers turn tense, scripted discovery calls into relaxed, donor-centered conversations that still move major gifts forward. We unpack a simple four part framework, real...
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Turning Leaders into Effective Major Gift Partners
Leaders keep derailing donor visits? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a beautifully teed‑up donor conversation go sideways the moment a well‑intentioned CEO or board member “pops in” unbriefed. You’ve done the research, built the relationship, framed the invitation…and then the…
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Making Stewardship Personal, Scalable, Sustainable
“More touches” are burning teams out 😅 I talk with so many fundraisers who are trying to do heartfelt, hyper-personal stewardship for everyone… and ending up exhausted, guilty, and behind by December. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share a simple 3-tier stewardship system…
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AI-Powered Prep: Human-Centered Conversations
AI is already in your donor meetings. I’ve been hearing from so many fundraisers who feel torn. You want to use AI to save time, but you do not want donors to feel like they are talking to a robot instead of a real person. In my latest episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, I share how I use AI…
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Finding Your Real Top 25 Donor Prospects
Drowning in “prospect” names? If your major gift list looks impressive on paper but doesn’t translate into actual conversations or gifts, you’re not alone. I’ve sat with teams staring at hundreds of “top prospects” and quietly thinking, “Where do we even start?” In my latest episode of The...
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Your 2026 Major Gifts Plan: Aspirational but Realistic
Big goals without a real plan? That’s the fastest way to create burnout instead of breakthroughs. I’ve seen it too often: a board sets a bold fundraising target, the team nods, and suddenly everyone’s sprinting toward a number that doesn’t match reality. Sound familiar? In this week’s episode of...
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How ‘Calling All Heroes’ Elevates Fundraising and Community Impact
What does it really mean to be a hero in fundraising? After nearly 30 years working alongside major gift officers, executive directors, and nonprofit leaders, I've learned this: our sector's greatest challenges—poverty, injustice, inequality—are simply too big for any one person to solve alone....
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Creating Immersive Experiences that Move Donors to Action
Donors don’t remember stats. They remember how you made them feel! My keynote titled "Casting Your Donors in a Lead Role: The Power of Immersion," which I delivered last week at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, generated so much conversation. Last week, I witnessed 800 nonprofit…
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The Excellence in Major Gift Fundraising Seminar Experience
What if I told you the most powerful major gift fundraising seminar of your life could happen in your favorite chair, no travel required? I just experienced it firsthand, livestreamed for three days, and let me tell you, the connections and insights our faculty delivered in a virtual setting blew...
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Building a Human-Centered Fundraising Pipeline
Are you chasing numbers or building relationships? Most fundraisers are stuck on the hamster wheel. Chasing donors. Juggling events. Burning out. But what if the real breakthrough comes from slowing down? Here’s the playbook for human-centered, relationship-first fundraising: Schedule ONE...
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Why “Tips and Tricks” Are Failing Fundraisers
This one has been simmering inside me for months. It’s about the language we use in the nonprofit sector—and why we need to be more mindful of it. Specifically, I’m making a plea to eliminate phrases like “tips and tricks” when we talk about engaging donors. Because giving is not a “trick.”…
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About this show
Welcome to The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast. I'm your host, Tammy Zonker, and I'm thrilled you're here. I've spent nearly three decades specializing in major gifts. I’ve seen how major gifts often form the backbone of an organization’s financial stability, and yet, I know many of us find this area particularly challenging. Time and again, I’ve been approached by fundraisers and nonprofit leaders eager to establish or supercharge their major gift programs. It’s become crystal clear that there’s a growing hunger for training and expertise in this area.I’ve had the incredible privilege of working with nonprofits from all around the world helping organizations collectively raise nearly one billion dollars. During this time, I’ve developed strategies and tools that have consistently helped organizations transition their mid-level donors into major donors through meaningful engagement. It’s a process that, when done consistently, can truly catapult an organization’s major gift fundraisin
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Tammy Zonker
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