Nonprofit CourageLab

Julie Ordoñez•nonprofit-couragelab.captivate.fm

Julie Ordoñez is a leading fundraiser, coach, speaker and founder of CourageLab, a 6-week group coaching accelerator for nonprofit founders, EDs and fundraisers ready to double their individual giving. Nonprofit CourageLab shares soul-shaking insights on how to become a more courageous leader and raise more money for your nonprofit. No one changed the world without first changing themselves. If you want to raise more money to change the world, you are in the right place.

Last refreshed: July 1st, 2025 at 7:24 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

How To Build Strong Relationships With Donors

Fundraising that survives economic downturn and recession comes from a strong relationship with your donors. If you know them, and they know you, they will stick by you. Here are the critical ways to build strong relationships with your donors: Get personal. Share about your life, even if it has nothing whatsoever to do with your mission. Ask powerful questions. Ask them why they give and you may find a much deeper connection with them. Pick up the phone. Why are we so afraid of the phone? Just ...

Sep 12, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 9

Million Dollar Strategy

What does it take to raise a million dollars? If you’re struggling, it’s not for lack of work ethic. In this episode I’ll cover the 3 keys to a million dollar strategy. You need impossible goals. If your goals are tiny, they inspire tiny gifts. Impossible goals force us to think bigger and get more creative. Prioritize meaningful fundraising activities. Don’t organize events that aren’t relevant to your people, just because you saw it being successful somewhere else. What is an activity that wil...

Sep 05, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 8

What’s Stopping You From 7-figure Gifts

Courage isn’t a feeling; it’s a muscle. Courage is feeling the fear and doing the thing anyway. It’s a skill you develop by doing more of what you’re afraid to do. In my CourageLab framework, we build courage in these ways: Build an attitude of abundance. Believe that your donors can give more. Rather than looking for evidence that they are maxed out, look for evidence that they are on your team. Humble yourself. Be willing to experience any emotion and work through it. What are you willing to d...

Aug 26, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 7

3 Keys to Major Gifts Success

My CourageLab program focuses on 3 major components to help you become a world class fundraiser and build a strong major gifts program. Courage: Humility that is fully developed looks like courage. It takes courage to have boundaries, to receive help, and ask for gifts. Being an exemplary leader takes guts. Strategy: Learn how to structure your time and which donors to focus on. As an executive, focus on the people you enjoy, maybe the top 20 donors and start there. Relationships: Build authenti...

Aug 19, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Build A Culture of Generosity

Who you are determines what you do. If your strategy doesn’t line up with who you are, it won’t work. Developing a culture of generosity IS your strategy. When generosity is rampant in your organization, it comes naturally to everyone involved. There are 5 keys to building a culture of generosity: An attitude of abundance Humility Focus on people and relationships Communication - both of frequency and quality Taking ownership Whatever you celebrate, you will see more of. If you’re ready to doubl...

Aug 19, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Challenge The Status Quo

When it comes to major gifts fundraising, we talk a lot about renewing gifts, usually to the same amount that was given last year. How do you move beyond the same $25k year after year and grow exponentially? It takes a lot of courage to challenge donors to step up in new, big ways. The goal has to be to uncover the passion within your donors and the impact that they desire to see, then leading them to extraordinary generosity. Try it out with a donor you’re close to. They might just say yes, or ...

Aug 19, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Redefine Humility

Welcome back! In this episode I want to talk about how to change what you believe about your donors and yourself. There’s an attitude in the nonprofit sector that borders on martyrdom. We tend to believe that no one else cares as much as we do, that rich people are greedy, and that we are the heroes because we work for pennies for what we believe in. In reality, humility, when fully developed, looks like courage. Asking our donors for more means that we are willing to sacrifice our image and our...

Aug 19, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Get Real About What You Need

We’ve all been there. Someone mentions in passing that they love your work and they’d love to help, they’ve shared on social media or come to an event, and you, being the nice person you are, thank them for being there and being supportive, even though what you really need is their monetary contribution. We have to stop accepting scraps and being grateful for that. Be ready at any moment to ask them to help in a way you actually need. Let’s be real, awareness doesn’t pay the bills. If your budge...

Aug 19, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Courage Is the Catalyst

I started this podcast because fundraisers everywhere are terrified to do their jobs. There was a gap in helpers for dealing with the fear that comes with asking people for money. Our lack of courage is stopping us from changing our communities faster. In order to change the world, we have to develop our personal courage. We put our comfort before the mission all the time. That’s why our organizations stay small. My CourageLab is really a lab. Let’s try some things out, experiment, and learn fro...

Aug 19, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 1

How to Ask for More & Raise Major Gifts

Aug 05, 2022•49 sec

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