New Year, New Donors: Finding, Engaging, and Retaining New Donors

Noah Gerding is a Consultant at Responsive Fundraising. He has devoted the past two decades of his professional career to the nonprofit sector, specifically in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. From creating or leading organizational strategy in individual or institutional giving and donor relations to communications, marketing, volunteerism, events or board governance, Noah’s contributions continue to help ensure that overlooked communities—supported by a wide variety of diverse nonprofits—are seen, elevating the voices of those both being served and those called to serve.

Ellen Bristol is the President of Bristol Strategy Group. Ellen Bristol considers herself a performance-management nerd and a geek for metrics. Or maybe the other way around. Her mission is to improve the success of nonprofit fundraising by adapting the most beneficial practices of high-performing sales team and their managers, to improve the performance of fundraising teams, including volunteers. She's known for her Leaky Bucket Assessment for Effective Fundraising, the only popular study of fundraising-team productivity in the sector.

Brian Lacy is a Data Consultant at NPO Info and is the principal of Brian Lacy and Associates, a fundraising and data services firm with more than 30 years of experience that provides leading industry resources and veteran talent to maximize opportunities across the giving spectrum. With Expertise in the North American market and connections across the philanthropic landscape, he and his team have worked from higher education to health care to religious and community charities and has created fundraising programs regardless of the size of team or budget. From annual giving solutions to major and principal giving strategies, they have helped more than 400 non-profits raise more than $1 Billion in philanthropic support.

Brianne Gerzevske is the Account Director at Meyer Partners. With over a decade of fundraising, donor relations and nonprofit management experience in the faith-based sector, Bri now works as a consultant at Meyer Partners to help organizations find success, joy and fun in their direct response programs. Bri is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and currently sits on the board for the St. Louis Chapter. She graduated with her MA in Nonprofit Management from Webster University in 2017 with high honors, and is a member of Delta Mu Delta (International Honor Society of Business). She has been a Certified Fundraising Executive since 2018. When she is not working or learning all the things, Bri is painting, blogging and hosting the "Lutheran Ladies Lounge" podcast on KFUO Radio.