Getting the meeting is half the battle. In this installment of Abundant Vision Academy, Tom gets practical and tactical on exactly how to reach out to donors, what to say when you do, and how to keep the conversation moving when they push back.

You'll hear Tom's actual phone script, why you should never ask if it's a good time to talk, how to use a referral to get past a gatekeeper, and why meeting in a donor's home or office will tell you more than any wealth screening tool ever could. Tom also walks through how to handle the most common donor objections to meeting, including "I already gave this year" and "I support another organization that does the same thing you do," with word-for-word responses you can use immediately.

Plus, the story of an oral surgeon on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park, a missing receptionist, and how showing up unannounced with a gift turned into one of the best donor relationships Tom ever built.

This is Parts 4 and 5 of a 10-part series releasing every two weeks. Catch up on earlier installments before tuning in.

Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

Abundant Vision Academy, Parts 4 & 5: How to Contact Donors, Handle Objections & Get the Meeting

You can't close a major gift you weren't ready for. In this installment of Abundant Vision Academy, Tom gets into the mechanics of preparation: what has to be in place before you ever schedule a meeting with a donor.

This episode covers the full donor cultivation cycle from suspect to steward, why your vision has to be fundable before it's compelling, and how to build a major gift portfolio that actually works. Tom breaks down the difference between affinity and capacity, why 100 names in a portfolio is a setup for failure, and exactly how to mine your donor database to identify your best prospects before you ever pick up the phone.

This is Parts 2 and 3 of a 10-part series releasing every two weeks. If you missed Part 1, go back and start there.

Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

Abundant Vision Academy, Part 2 & 3: Meeting Prep, the Cultivation Cycle & Building Your Portfolio

Before you ever sit across from a donor and make an ask, there's work to do in your own head. In this episode, Tom opens the vault on Abundant Vision Academy, a major gift training program he built from 25+ years of frontline fundraising experience at places like Ohio State and OhioHealth, and he's giving it to you free, one part at a time.

Part 1 is called "First Things," and it covers the mindset foundations that separate fundraisers who close gifts from those who stall out. Tom walks through why rejection by a donor is never a rejection of you, what real commitment to fundraising actually looks like, how confidence in your organization's mission changes everything about how you show up in a donor meeting, and why the scarcity mindset is quietly killing your results.

This is the first installment in a 10-part series releasing every two weeks. Tune in, take notes, and come back for part 2.

Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

Abundant Vision Academy, Part 1: First Things (Mindset, Confidence & the Abundance Philosophy)

Early in his career, a colleague looked at Tom Dauber's resume and said: "I guess you won't be able to scare people with the threat of hell anymore, will you?" Tom didn't have a response. He just absorbed it.

Years later, he found the words he wished he'd had -- in a 60-page book by a Catholic priest named Henri Nouwen. In this episode, Tom walks through the ideas in A Spirituality of Fundraising that reframe the ask entirely. Whether or not faith is your framework, Nouwen's core argument applies: fundraising is the opposite of begging, your anxiety is your biggest obstacle, and the fundraiser who walks in needing the gift has already lost the room.

This one is for any fundraiser who has ever felt embarrassed to ask.

Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

Buy Nouwen's Fundraising Classic Here:  https://www.amazon.com/Spirituality-Fundraising-Henri-Nouwen/dp/0835810445/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NJOO4TQMKEOJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.hejcFfRXDXR3448Y8xHqqt8DhXxj8GRkoiGOBd_qHzZHo5w_-poNrQiw-pTmiZSYZLC3YovvbhreEKuaZsHdJmG1V94ttTaG3dY-Ii1AiujbieZ0pc18xKZveHlTto0GFqknqBtHZDq37vaQGchiC9DRrwHLLsJJhOOLD-oLZQOM93r0Hcy3ZT1UJwJ99iXGlCZH5R6E4BCkBTgxX7rjMj48pOUPnVlylRj6kSfe6o0.w_OGtHa3tdE6Zp7juEPWDjIq5uKTXe6B7qlMkwWizco&dib_tag=se&keywords=a+spirituality+of+fundraising&qid=1777665208&sprefix=a+spiritu%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-1

Stop Apologizing for the Ask: Lessons from Henri Nouwen

A friend texted Tom asking how to raise money for her kid's lacrosse team. His answer? The same three questions he's used for 30 years — from asking his Sunday school teacher for a $75 check at age 16 to running major gift campaigns at universities and health systems. In this episode, Tom breaks down the framework that scales from youth sports fundraising all the way to seven-figure campaigns, and explains why the single biggest mistake most fundraisers make is asking everyone instead of asking someone.

Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

Three Questions Every Fundraiser Must Answer

In the final part of my conversation with Jason Lewis, we move from diagnosis to direction.

If fundraising has drifted toward systems, scale, and transactional thinking, what does it look like to recover something more human?

Jason argues that the answer is not better technology or smarter dashboards. It is proximity. It is presence. It is getting fundraisers back in front of donors and letting real relationships shape the work.

In this episode we explore:

 * Why fundraising may have a supervision problem, not a fundraiser problem
 * How leadership culture shapes donor experience
 * The importance of increasing proximity and real conversation
 * Why young fundraisers should prioritize experience over optimization
 * What it means to operate by different rules, like Dorothy stepping into Oz

If you are leading a team, entering the profession, or questioning where fundraising is headed, this episode offers both clarity and encouragement.

Find Jason's Substack, The Butterfly Effect Here:  https://responsive.substack.com/

Looking for fundraising coaching?  Check out www.abundantvision.net

Back to the Relationship: Proximity, Presence, and the Future of Fundraising w/ Jason Lewis

In Part 3 of my conversation with Jason Lewis, we move into uncomfortable territory.

If fundraising feels transactional, the issue may not just be external systems. It may also be how we use data, how we scale, and how we supervise fundraisers inside our organizations.

Jason challenges the assumptions behind:

 * Wealth screening and hidden data
 * CRM systems and personalization
 * The pressure to grow donor files endlessly
 * The idea that more scale equals more impact

We also discuss what he calls the “supervisor problem” and how internal expectations can mirror the same distortions donors experience on the outside.

This episode invites leaders and major gift officers to examine whether the systems meant to help us are quietly shaping us into something we never intended to become.

Find Jason's Substack, The Butterfly Effect here: https://responsive.substack.com/

Looking for fundraising coaching?  Check out www.abundantvision.net

Personalization Isn’t Personal: Data, Scale, and the Supervisor Problem w/ Jason Lewis

In Part 2 of my conversation with Jason Lewis, we move from defining gift theory to examining what may be distorting modern fundraising.

If fundraising often feels transactional, there may be a reason. Jason unpacks how market thinking, grant structures, and subtle power dynamics shape the way organizations approach donors. What happens when generosity begins to resemble a purchase? What happens when philanthropy starts to operate like retail?

In this episode we explore:

 * How sales logic influences donor relationships
 * The impact of grant-driven and bureaucratic systems
 * Why hierarchy can replace mutuality
 * A revealing feasibility study story that exposes how donors experience these distortions

If you have ever sensed that something feels misaligned in the way fundraising operates, this episode will help you articulate why.

Find Jason's Substack, The Butterfly Effect here: https://responsive.substack.com/

Looking for fundraising coaching?  Check out www.abundantvision.net

Are We Treating Donors Like Customers? w/ Jason Lewis

Most fundraisers have never heard the term “gift theory.” Yet it may explain many of the frustrations we experience in our work.In this conversation, 

Jason Lewis and I explore a foundational question: what actually makes a gift different from a sale or a tax?

Jason introduces the concept of “modes of exchange” and explains how societies have historically organized themselves around three different ways of relating: gift, market, and coercion. 

We examine how modern fundraising may have borrowed too heavily from sales and bureaucratic models, and why that matters for donor retention, trust, and long-term relationships.

If you have ever felt that fundraising can become transactional, pressured, or overly mechanical, this episode will help you step back and reconsider the moral architecture behind what we do.Topics we cover:
      

       -Jason’s fundraising origin story
      -What gift theory is and where it comes from
      -Gift mode vs sales mode vs coercive mode
      -Why fundraising often feels transactional
      -Whether we are using the wrong toolbox in our profession

This episode sets the foundation for a deeper exploration of generosity, responsibility, and the true nature of the gift.

Find Jason's Substack, The Butterfly Effect here: https://responsive.substack.com/

Looking for fundraising coaching?  Check out www.abundantvision.net

Fundraising Beyond Transactions: Rediscovering the Logic of the Gift w/ Jason Lewis

This bonus episode features the full Q&A from the Brady Ware webinar. Thomas answers practical questions about overcoming fear, stretching vision responsibly, building donor confidence, and creating the structures that keep fundraising focused and sustainable. This final installment brings together the most actionable insights from the entire series.
Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net
Looking for accounting or advisory services? Visit bradyware.com

Bonus Q&A From the Brady Ware Webinar w/ Thomas Dauber

Spend 20 minutes each week with host Tom Dauber as he shares insights, tips and expert interviews to help you on your journey to #majorgiftmastery.  

THOMAS DAUBER

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