I am so excited to drop this convo with my friend and powerhouse guest, Tisha Hyter. We’re talking all about something I’m totally obsessed with right now: the Primetime Woman – women aged 45–65 who are stepping into their full power, purpose, and philanthropic influence . Tisha and I go deep on: 💥 What it means to be a Primetime Woman 💰 Why this group is the most philanthropic cohort in history 👯♀️ How women are giving in community and using their skills – not just writing checks 👀 Why we’...
Aug 18, 2025•30 min
Welcome back to Nonprofit Lowdown — I'm Rhea Wong, and today you're getting the raw, unfiltered replay of the power session I co-led with my ride-or-die, Brooke Ritchie-Babbage, at AFP’s Fundraising Day in NYC. Here’s what we unpack: ✅ The ONE written give/get policy that shuts down the “I don’t fundraise” excuse. ✅ Our 2x2 skills map that sorts your board in 10 minutes flat. ✅ Real-world tools: board report cards, mini dinner salons, and a no-guilt off-ramp that gets even the most reluctant boa...
Aug 11, 2025•59 min
This week, I’m joined by the ever-brilliant Connor Kirkpatrick , Director of Development at Book Harvest. Connor’s a proud alum of my Big Ask Big Give program, and in this convo we go deep on: -Going from 8 to 24 major donors in 2 years -Using data + automation to build a scalable fundraising engine -What it really means to build a culture of philanthropy 💥 Connor proves that when you mix solid strategy with bold authenticity, fundraising magic happens. Important Links: Connect with Connor : ht...
Aug 04, 2025•39 min
Welcome to the FIRST episode of Fundraising Fri-Yay with me, Rhea Wong! 🎉 Kicking things off with a solo episode that gets real about the uncertainty we’re all feeling right now in the nonprofit world—tariff shifts, funding freezes, economic turbulence... it’s a lot . But here’s the deal: panic won’t pay the bills. So instead of reacting, let’s respond—with strategy. 💪 ✨ You’ll learn: 🔹 How to double revenue with a 10% lift in donor retention 🔹 Why monthly giving + donor-advised funds are yo...
Aug 01, 2025•11 min
I’m so excited to share this powerful convo with my friend and guest, Rhonda Allen, CEO of Dev Color . We went in on what it means to lead an org that centers Black technologists — especially in a moment when DEI is under fire and folks are playing it safe. In this episode, we talk about: ➡️ Navigating leadership as a Black woman in tech ➡️ What it really takes to fundraise when DEI isn’t “trendy” anymore ➡️ Why small, authentic human connections > big flashy events ➡️ How AI is reshaping our...
Jul 28, 2025•38 min
I had the real pleasure of sitting down with my brilliant friend Anysa Holder, Chief Advancement Officer at Easterseals NJ, on the latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown . 🙌🏽 We covered so much ground , including: 💥 What it’s like to stay in the nonprofit sector for 15+ years 💥 The emotional labor of fundraising (especially as women of color) 💥 Unpacking money trauma and mindset 💥 Why board training needs a major upgrade—and how Anysa’s leading that charge 💥 How to avoid burnout while stayin...
Jul 21, 2025•40 min
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start converting—join me live on July 23 .🎯 The Donor Reckoning™ is where real pipeline repair starts. There’s No fluff. No replay. Just results. https://go.rheawong.com/thedonorreckoning
Jul 20, 2025•3 min
Don’t lose your biggest future gifts to silence. Join me live on July 23 for The Donor Reckoning™. I’ll give you the tools to rebuild your trust sequence, so you can see massive results for the rest of the year! https://go.rheawong.com/thedonorreckoning
Jul 19, 2025•3 min
🎯 Join me for The Donor Reckoning™ live on July 23.You’ll walk away with the full playbook + the tools to implement it: my 24-Touch Revenue Rhythm & the Donor Decoder GPT There is No replay... Just results. https://go.rheawong.com/thedonorreckoning
Jul 18, 2025•3 min
Join me live on July 23 for The Donor Reckoning™.We’re unpacking the Signal-Driven System—and building your exit ramp from the panic loop. 🎟 Reserve your seat now. Only 300 spots, no replay. https://go.rheawong.com/thedonorreckoning
Jul 17, 2025•3 min
Join The Donor Reckoning™ on July 23 🎟 No replay. No fluff. Just truth + tactics. → Save your seat now (only 300 spots): https://go.rheawong.com/thedonorreckoning
Jul 16, 2025•3 min
I'm so excited to share this week’s conversation with my guest and friend Yukari Kane, CEO and co-founder of the Prison Journalism Project (@prisonjournalism) . Yukari is a former @WSJ tech reporter who made the leap into nonprofit leadership — and let me tell you, her story is incredible . We talk about what it’s like to run a growing org that operates at the intersection of journalism, education, and criminal justice reform. Here’s what we dig into: ✍️ How Yukari went from covering Apple to te...
Jul 14, 2025•33 min
This week’s episode of Nonprofit Lowdown is straight-up magic. 🪄 I sat down with my friend DiCo, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Debate League, and their story is nothing short of jaw-dropping. One minute, they're a public school teacher running debate club on Fridays. The next? A viral Humans of New York post, a GoFundMe that raises $1.3 million in two days, and suddenly they're leading a movement to bring speech and debate to all kids—especially those from historically excluded communities...
Jul 07, 2025•35 min
On the latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown , I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Dr. Dee Frayne (aka Dr. D), a life + business coach and former nonprofit exec who gets it . We went deep on what it means to burn out in a sector that’s often under-resourced, under-supported, and powered by people who care way too much to quit… until we’re forced to. We talked about: ✨ Why the nonprofit world can feel like a parking lot for potential change-makers ✨ How martyrdom and hustle culture are lit...
Jun 30, 2025•42 min
I’m so excited to share this week’s episode of Nonprofit Lowdown with you. I sat down with my friend and former student, Omri Preiss, the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Alliance for Europe — and we had a powerful, eye-opening conversation. We don’t often feature voices from outside the U.S., so this one is extra special. Omri is on the frontlines of preserving democracy across Europe, and what he shared about disinformation, authoritarian playbooks, and what’s at stake globally is both te...
Jun 23, 2025•38 min
I had the pleasure of sitting down with my friend and former student, Katy Troyer, the Executive Director of the KGSA Foundation — the U.S.-based fundraising arm for the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy in Nairobi, Kenya. We talked about what it’s really like to raise money for a cause that’s thousands of miles away, how the international development sector is shifting due to major funding cuts, and why community and storytelling are more important than ever. Katy shares how she's built a passionate ...
Jun 16, 2025•26 min
This week on Nonprofit Lowdown, I sit down with the phenomenal Dr. Nastassia Harris (@perinatalhealthequity) to talk about her journey from professor and nurse to full-time founder and CEO of the Perinatal Health Equity Initiative. We talk about: ✅ Making the leap into nonprofit leadership ✅ Facing fears around fundraising & salary ✅ “Burning the ships” and doing it scared ✅ Why YOU are the bottleneck in your org (and how to stop it) ✅ Building a donor base that actually cares ✅ Hiring lesso...
Jun 09, 2025•34 min
I’m beyond excited to share my latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown featuring one of my former students and now nonprofit powerhouse, Jehron Petty , founder and CEO of ColorStack . Y’all—Jehron started ColorStack during the height of the pandemic, fresh out of Cornell, and five years later? He’s leading a national org serving over 15,000 Black and Latino CS students with a $2.4M budget and a full-time team of 8 . In this convo, we dive deep into: - Why he focused on revenue first (yes, even as a ...
Jun 02, 2025•33 min
I got to chat with my friend and former student Amber Buck Hamilton, founder of Fig Leaf Development and a total rockstar in the fundraising world. We talked about: ✅ Why she left her high-level nonprofit job to start her own consulting biz ✅ How burnout, family, and values drove her decision ✅ What it really feels like to take the leap (spoiler: terrifying AND amazing) ✅ That pesky imposter syndrome ✅ And why there’s more than enough work to go around Amber is proof that you can build a career ...
May 26, 2025•33 min
I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with my friend and fundraising rockstar Maria Griffin on the latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown — and trust me, you need to hear this one. Maria is the Chief Advancement Officer at DREAM (yes, the same DREAM from the episode with Rich Berlin!) and she's about to launch her own consultancy to help nonprofits raise big money with big strategy. 💸 In this convo, we got real about what it actually takes to raise $20M+ annually, build a high-functioning de...
May 19, 2025•41 min
Hey friends—I'm turning my recent Leadership Connect session into a podcast episode because the conversation was too real not to share with a wider audience. If you’re a fundraiser, ED, or nonprofit leader navigating today’s uncertainty, this one’s for you. Yes, the economy is wobbly. Yes, federal and state dollars are shrinking. But no, that doesn't mean the money isn’t out there. In this episode, I break down: The 5 hidden leaks in your fundraising pipeline 5 power moves you can implement toda...
May 12, 2025•48 min
I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Karla Altmayer, co-founder of Healing to Action, on Nonprofit Lowdown this week — and wow, this conversation is a must-listen. We talked about how her team is flipping the script on both gender-based violence and traditional fundraising. Instead of fancy decks or transactional asks, they’re hosting underground dinners that focus on authentic connection, shared values, and deep community building. As Karla said, donors aren’t just checkbooks — they’re ...
May 05, 2025•38 min
This week on Nonprofit Lowdown, I had the absolute pleasure of reconnecting with my friend Yully Cha, SVP of Research & Policy and Senior Advisor at Embrace Boston. We dove into a deep and inspiring conversation about what it really means to lead equity work in today’s climate—and why joy and belonging are central to the fight for justice. 💥 We talked about: ✨ The story behind the Embrace MLK monument in Boston ✨ The power of public space in shaping belonging and democracy ✨ Fundraising as ...
Apr 28, 2025•40 min
If you’re struggling with donor retention (let’s be real — who isn’t?), you need to hear this convo I had with my friend Sean Littman, founder of GiveSuite.com. We got into the real talk about why retention in the nonprofit sector is so dismal (below 40% — yikes), and more importantly, what to actually do about it. 💡 Here’s a taste of what we covered: -Why “continuing the conversation” works better than traditional follow-up -How to build trust before you ask someone to coffee -Why your quarter...
Apr 21, 2025•35 min
Nonprofit fam, you do not want to miss this one. On the latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown, I sit down with the brilliant, bold, and beautifully authentic Jacob Adams — founder + CEO of Inner Spark — to talk about what it really means to lead and fundraise with authenticity. 🙌🏽🔥 We go deep on: Being unapologetically real in funder relationships Why authenticity isn't just a buzzword — it's a strategy Navigating political + environmental uncertainty while staying rooted in equity Fundraising ...
Apr 14, 2025•26 min
Nonprofit Leaders, it's time to wake up and take action! In the latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown, I sit down with two experts, Michelle Flores Vryn and Evan Wildstein, to dive deep into a critical issue facing our sector: nonprofit staffing struggles. They discuss trends from their groundbreaking Social Impact Staff Retention Report, revealing that 7 out of 10 nonprofit staff are actively looking for new jobs in 2025 — a number that's still alarmingly high, and indicative of widespread burnou...
Apr 07, 2025•33 min
In this episode of Nonprofit Lowdown, I’m joined by my friend and former student, Kriste Peoples, the Executive Director of Women's Wilderness in Colorado. We talk about the power of community, what it’s like being a BIPOC leader in the outdoor space, and how we’re challenging the idea that the outdoors is only for certain people. 🌿✨ Kriste shares the incredible work Women’s Wilderness is doing to create outdoor experiences for women and non-binary folks, especially those from underrepresented ...
Mar 31, 2025•36 min
I’m so excited to share the latest episode of Nonprofit Lowdown where I sit down with my good friend and former student, Faith Galati, Executive Director of Breakthrough Sacramento. She’s here to talk about her incredible journey of turning her nonprofit’s fundraising around, and how she more than doubled her budget! 💡 What we dive into: Shifting your mindset: Faith shares how she went from a place of fundraising fear to an abundance mindset, unlocking new opportunities. Building a high-perform...
Mar 24, 2025•36 min
Hey, nonprofit fam! It's Rhea Wong here, bringing you an exciting new episode featuring insights from my recent webinar with the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference's Tactical Tuesdays. This one is all about major gift fundraising and why you should be leaning into your major donors NOW. Plus, I’m starting something new on my podcast—answering YOUR burning questions! Have a question about nonprofit fundraising or anything else? Email it to me at question@rheawong.com and I may feature it in an upc...
Mar 17, 2025•36 min
It’s Rhea Wong back with another episode of Nonprofit Lowdown, and today, we’re diving deep into a topic I’m passionate about—MARKETING! If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “I don’t have enough prospects in my pipeline,” or “Why are my donors not responding?” then this episode is for YOU. I’m breaking down two key issues that nonprofits face: 1️⃣ Why your donor pipeline is running dry. 2️⃣ Why the donors you DO have are ghosting you. Let’s face it—donors aren't ignoring you because they’re too...
Mar 10, 2025•26 min
