What the Fundraising is the podcast for impact leaders and change-makers who are tired of doing things the old school way and are looking for best practices to raise money, run their organization, and think about the nonprofit sector in a whole new way.
Every Tuesday for 40-60 min, your host, Mallory Erickson, will be having real and raw conversations with some of the best personal and professional development experts, many of whom are outside the nonprofit sector. These are bestselling authors, world-renowned researchers, and TEDx experts, most of whom have never spoken to a non-profit audience before. They have come ready to share expertise, lessons, and stories that will fundamentally change the way you show up as a leader and fundraiser.
There are so many valuable lessons nonprofit leaders are missing because they are outside of their typical orbit, but no more. Mallory is bringing them in and helping to apply her guest's expertise to disrupt the nonprofit sector once and for all.
So if you are ready to learn how to upgrade your fundraising strategy, leadership skills, energy, habits, and mindset to bring in more funding and actually have some fun doing it, then this is the right podcast for you.
If you’re wanting to implement ideas you heard, visit MalloryErickson.com/Podcast for the top tips and tools, full transcripts, quotes, videos, and additional resources from each episode.
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What the Fundraising is the podcast for impact leaders and change-makers who are tired of doing things the old school way and are looking for best practices to raise money, run their organization, and think about the nonprofit sector in a whole new way.
Every Tuesday for 40-60 min, your host, Mallory Erickson, will be having real and raw conversations with some of the best personal and professional development experts, many of whom are outside the nonprofit sector. These are bestselling authors, world-renowned researchers, and TEDx experts, most of whom have never spoken to a non-profit audience before. They have come ready to share expertise, lessons, and stories that will fundamentally change the way you show up as a leader and fundraiser.
There are so many valuable lessons nonprofit leaders are missing because they are outside of their typical orbit, but no more. Mallory is bringing them in and helping to apply her guest's expertise to disrupt the nonprofit sector once and for all.
So if you are ready to learn how to upgrade your fundraising strategy, leadership skills, energy, habits, and mindset to bring in more funding and actually have some fun doing it, then this is the right podcast for you.
If you’re wanting to implement ideas you heard, visit MalloryErickson.com/Podcast for the top tips and tools, full transcripts, quotes, videos, and additional resources from each episode.
261: Building a Heartfelt Nonprofit with Mark Dombkins
What the Fundraising
37 minutes
3 days ago
261: Building a Heartfelt Nonprofit with Mark Dombkins
Building a nonprofit that genuinely connects with people requires more than a compelling mission; it demands empathy, strategy, and courage.
Mark Dombkins, Founder at Forever Projects, shares insights from his journey leading a nonprofit dedicated to ending the Tanzanian orphan crisis through income creation for women. He and his wife Anna live in Australia with their six children, three of whom they adopted while working in Tanzania between 2010 and 2013.
During the conversation, He mentions the importance of clarity and naivety in leadership, emphasizing storytelling as a powerful tool for inspiring generosity and trust. Mark emphasizes the importance of meeting donors where they are, understanding their realities, pressures, and motivations, rather than expecting them to adapt to an organization's mission.
He describes how his team grew brand awareness and future demand through lean, abundance-minded strategies such as community events. These gatherings weren't designed to convert donors immediately but to create joy, hope, connection, and insight, trusting that value-driven experiences would naturally lead to deeper engagement.
Mark also reflects on the constant tension between short-term fundraising pressures and long-term strategy, stressing the importance of supportive governance and the courage to say no to opportunities that don't align. For him, discomfort is a vital teacher, both in leadership immersion trips and in the discipline of reframing opportunity costs as signs of focus and progress.
Finally, Mark explores how innovation, culture, and identity shape giving. He notes that many major donors are motivated as much by new ways of solving problems as by the cause itself.
In this episode, you will be able to:
Discover how storytelling and empathy can transform donor engagement.
Understand the power of meeting donors where they are and creating meaningful community experiences.
Gain insights into balancing short-term fundraising pressures with long-term strategic vision.
Explore the discipline of saying no and embracing discomfort as a tool for growth.
Learn how innovation, culture, and identity shape giving and strengthen a nonprofit’s impact.
Agency in giving is crucial for fostering genuine generosity.
Get all the resources from today’s episode here.
Support for this show is brought to you by Practivated. Practivated delivers AI-powered donor conversation simulations that let fundraisers practice in a private, judgment‑free space—building confidence, refining messaging, and improving outcomes before the real conversation even begins. Developed by fundraising experts with real‑time coaching at its core, it’s the smart way to walk into every donor interaction calm, prepared, and ready to connect. Learn more at practivated.com
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Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast
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If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point.
What the Fundraising
What the Fundraising is the podcast for impact leaders and change-makers who are tired of doing things the old school way and are looking for best practices to raise money, run their organization, and think about the nonprofit sector in a whole new way.
Every Tuesday for 40-60 min, your host, Mallory Erickson, will be having real and raw conversations with some of the best personal and professional development experts, many of whom are outside the nonprofit sector. These are bestselling authors, world-renowned researchers, and TEDx experts, most of whom have never spoken to a non-profit audience before. They have come ready to share expertise, lessons, and stories that will fundamentally change the way you show up as a leader and fundraiser.
There are so many valuable lessons nonprofit leaders are missing because they are outside of their typical orbit, but no more. Mallory is bringing them in and helping to apply her guest's expertise to disrupt the nonprofit sector once and for all.
So if you are ready to learn how to upgrade your fundraising strategy, leadership skills, energy, habits, and mindset to bring in more funding and actually have some fun doing it, then this is the right podcast for you.
If you’re wanting to implement ideas you heard, visit MalloryErickson.com/Podcast for the top tips and tools, full transcripts, quotes, videos, and additional resources from each episode.
