AFP ICON Series: Jay Frost - Curiosity, Generosity, and the Future of Fundraising

In this episode recorded live at AFP ICON, Charity Jen welcomes fundraising veteran Jay Frost—award-winning speaker, consultant, and senior partner at DonorSearch—to reflect on what’s changing, what’s working, and what still inspires him about the world of philanthropy. With decades of experience in prospect research, capital campaigns, and international fundraising, Jay brings both sharp insight and contagious optimism to the conversation.

He shares why curiosity is his secret weapon, how AFP ICON continues to spark new thinking, and why generosity—in all its forms—is the throughline that drives real change. Whether you’re just getting started or decades into your fundraising journey, Jay’s reflections will leave you energized and ready to reimagine what’s possible.

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Some notable moments from this episode:

00:00 – Welcoming fundraising legend Jay Frost

01:15 – Jay’s take on the AFP ICON experience

02:30 – Curiosity and generosity as lifelong themes

04:10 – What’s shifting in donor behavior and engagement

05:45 – Words of wisdom for the next generation of fundraisers

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:25):
Hi friends, and welcome to From the Nest. I'm Jen Newmeyer,
aka Charity Jen and this episode is part of a
limited series recorded at the AFP icon conference. Between sessions
and coffee breaks, I got to speak with some incredible
changemakers doing meaningful work in their communities. You'll hear the stories,

(00:46):
their challenges, and what keeps them inspired. And now, Jay
Frost with Donor Search and the host of the Philanthropy
Mastermind series.

S2 (01:00):
Hi Jay, it is so nice to have you on
my show. It's a pleasure to be here. I know,
thank you for joining me here at icon. Delight to, uh,
to have you here. And, uh, we are talking a
little bit about the experience of, of being here. So
I would love to hear from you. Um, you know,

(01:23):
some of the, some of the highlights, uh, that you've
experienced so far here at Icon.

S3 (01:29):
They have been largely social. Yeah. So far I haven't
had a chance to go to sessions, I'm embarrassed to say,
but that's because I've spent so much time talking with
people about the work. Uh, the culture, you know, the
environment for all the things we do, um, and in
which we do them. And I've been doing that largely

(01:50):
in the exchange, because that's where I'm recording. Also some
interviews with people. Yeah. Uh, I'm trying to come up
to your level of podcasting. Um, but, uh, but the
experience for me so far has really been great in
terms of being able to get a sense about, um,
how people are reacting to this moment much more hopefully

(02:13):
than than I had imagined. And that's a very good thing.

S2 (02:16):
Ah, interesting. Okay. Yeah. Is this your. This is not
your first icon.

S3 (02:21):
Oh my gosh.

S2 (02:22):
How many how many icons have you been to.

S3 (02:23):
I don't know.

S2 (02:24):
Oh really.

S3 (02:25):
No no no. I mean I don't go to icon
every year. Okay. But I've been going to something like
this since I don't know, I think my first, uh,
conferences were not AFP at all. They were NSF for conferences. Wow.
The National Society of Fundraising executives. Yes. And so I
don't yes, that's my that's my early days. And I

(02:47):
spoke at those conferences. I don't I haven't submitted session
proposals for here so.

S2 (02:53):
Well you're very busy at the booth I mean and
like philanthropy masterminds is also very busy this year too.

S3 (03:00):
We're doing a lot.

S2 (03:01):
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I was really, really honored to
be a part of the the Cfre webinar series a
few weeks ago. So thank you for having me on that.

S3 (03:14):
The honor was was mine was ours. Um, I mean,
what you're doing is, is so impressive, both internally, but
also for all of us in the field. Uh, not
just the book. I mean, the messages you're sending out.
So I'm really, really grateful that you can make time.

S2 (03:28):
Yes. Thank you, thank you. And last night, you had
a special, uh, happy hour for some of the philanthropy
mastermind speakers and some other folks. That was really great. Like,
how how did you feel about that event?

S3 (03:43):
Oh, great. Well, okay. For several years, what's been happening
with this series, first of all, is that we've been
doing this since 2016. So this is our 10th year. Okay. And, um,
for the last several years, donor search has had these parties.
And instead of it just being come on over and
have a drink or whatever it is that people do, uh,

(04:03):
they've tried to set up a venue where people could
get together and really have a good conversation, meet new
friends as well as old ones. And, um, they've also
allowed us to celebrate a couple things. One is I
in a big way, and the other is this series.
And so the first part of last night was to
invite all the people who had been in the series

(04:24):
who happen to be here at Icon in Seattle. It's
not everybody, but it's a lot to just get together
and say thank you to them, but also just let
them meet one another.

S2 (04:33):
Yes. Yeah, well, I really enjoyed that event. I met
so many interesting people. There were there were a few
folks even from Feeding America, which is like historically, before
I got into public media, I was with a food
bank in North Carolina, so it was wonderful even to
just chat with them.

S3 (04:51):
I didn't know they were there.

S2 (04:52):
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah. So and I think that's what
I love about like one of the many things I
think I love about icon is just being able to
kind of connect with, you know, people in, you know,
different sectors, sectors I've been in before. And of course
then just seeing all I mean it feels like feels
like visiting with friends again. You know like.

S3 (05:14):
Definitely. And you know, the thing is I'm not a
party person. I'm I'm a little bit shy actually. So
that's why I love to be on the other side
of the mic. Okay, this is more this is out
of my comfort zone. Very happy to be out of
that zone with you. But, um, going into the place where,
in fact, uh, you know, we we were all gathered
together for that initial party, whatever that was. And then, uh,

(05:37):
running into people who I'd known only virtually and then
talking with them for the first time.

S2 (05:43):
Yes.

S3 (05:43):
Some of them from other countries, which was a nice
surprise this year. Wow. Um, that was very, very special. Uh,
and it means that you can then start talking about
issues that they would have encountered, including at Customs and
Border Patrol, or, you know, how it feels to be
trying to raise dollars when you're not sure where philanthropy

(06:05):
is headed, especially because governments are retrenching and putting their
resources in other places. So the the pressure on philanthropy
to do more and different is greater. Um, and I
don't know where we would have that conversation if it
wasn't in a place like this.

S2 (06:19):
Right. Right. Exactly, exactly. What would you say is, um, uh,
sort of your takeaway from the conference is there is
there something that some connections that you've made or, um,
some illuminating gem of information that you'll take back? Wow.

S3 (06:39):
Illuminating gem. It sounds like, I don't know, a new
a new miniseries on Netflix or something. Um, yeah. When
you first said takeaway, the first thing I thought of
was the piroshki counter, because that's the only criticism I
have for this conference is I cannot seem to find
water or food. I'm sure that's my problem. Not the
not uh. So I had to go and grab those

(07:00):
piroshki and bring them back. But, uh, the rest of
the takeaways were largely about, um, I guess, why people
are continuing to do this work right now. Yeah. When
they could choose to do something different. Yeah. And that
that sounds like a grim assessment, but I don't I
don't mean it that way. Um, there's every reason for

(07:21):
us to be more energized than ever. Yeah, because the
needs are so real and the opportunities are so great,
but we've got so much on our shoulders that I
think if we look at it with wide, clear eyes
that it could be terrifying. And the fact that no
one is terrified, or at least they're they're weathering it

(07:41):
very well and happily is restorative for me. So I
don't know if that's a takeaway. Like if I went
to a session and somebody taught me something I didn't know,
I've learned some of that to including this equipment I'm
staring at right now to talk with you. But so
there's plenty of that. But I think for me, the
biggest takeaway is probably that, that it's okay. We're going
to be okay.

S2 (08:02):
Yes.

S3 (08:02):
That doesn't mean that the stuff happening to us is okay.
It's not. But we are okay.

S2 (08:08):
Yes. Yes. Well, I love that. I think that that
is a perfect takeaway to have. And it's very, very
uplifting and rewarding to hear that. So thank you for
sharing that. Well, I appreciate you stopping by and being
on the From the Nest with Charity Jen podcast, and it's.

S3 (08:26):
Great to be here in the nest, but I guess
now you just have to kick me out so I
can learn to fly.

S2 (08:30):
Okay. Thank you. Jay.

S4 (08:33):
Thank you. Thank you.

S1 (08:40):
Thanks for listening to From the Nest, where fundraising takes flight.
If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss the rest of
the incredible voices we met at the AFP icon conference.
You can hear from all of the nonprofit professionals, innovators
and changemakers by visiting charity. And if you need more

(09:02):
tools and insights from the field, head to Charity comm
to explore the resources I've gathered from AFP icon and beyond,
including strategy, tips, templates and more. And if you haven't yet,
check out my latest book, Digital Fundraising Transformation The Insider's
Guide to Revolutionize Your Strategy and Raise More. It will

(09:23):
help you supercharge your nonprofit marketing and fundraising efforts. Until
next time, keep lifting each other up.