First Day Podcast
The Fund Raising School is excited to launch the First Day Podcast from The Fund Raising School! Highlighting current news and research, this podcast provides fundraisers with the latest information in fundraising and philanthropy. Be more informed and stay up to date with the First Day Podcast from The Fund Raising School!
Episodes
May 24, 2026 • 16 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Connie Falcone, JD, founder and CEO of Firefly Athlete, for a conversation about what fundraisers need to know when sports and philanthropy collide. Connie brings serious insider credentials: seven seasons leading Cubs Charities, a 2016 World Series ring, and the proud title of “Connie from the Cubs.” Her work now focuses on helping ...
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May 17, 2026 • 21 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Janie Judd, founder and principal of Elevé, a national consulting firm that helps nonprofits “work better without losing what makes them human.” Their conversation tackles a challenge many mission-driven professionals know all too well: what happens when you care so deeply about the cause that you forget to care for the people carryi...
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May 10, 2026 • 15 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Mladenka Majerić, CEO of the Yellow Dot Foundation in Croatia and an international leader in nonprofit effectiveness, fundraising culture, and philanthropic development across Europe. Bill and Mladenka first connected at the Central and Eastern European Fundraising Conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 2025, and their conversation c...
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May 3, 2026 • 22 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes back Phil Purcell, Director of Planned Giving for the Central Territory of The Salvation Army, a veteran faculty member at The Fund Raising School, and nationally recognized expert on planned giving, nonprofit law, and charitable organizations. Phil joins the conversation fresh from leadership roles with the American Bar Association’...
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April 27, 2026 • 22 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes back Lindsay Marciniak, Managing Partner at CCS, for a data-rich conversation about the fifth edition of the Philanthropy Pulse Report. The report draws on responses from 618 nonprofit organizations across 47 states and 18 countries, giving fundraisers a broad look at both recent fundraising performance and the trends shaping the yea...
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April 19, 2026 • 19 mins
In this energizing and highly practical episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Lisa Hacker, Director of Philanthropic Planning for the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, for a thoughtful and forward-looking conversation about fundraising with millennials and Gen Z. The episode begins by challenging one of the sector’s most outdated assumptions: millennials are no longer merely...
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April 12, 2026 • 19 mins
In this timely and highly practical episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Jon Bergdoll, MA, interim director of data and research partnerships at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, for a clear-eyed conversation about what the 2025 federal tax policy changes could mean for charitable giving. The episode opens with an important reminder that taxes are...
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April 5, 2026 • 20 mins
In this thoughtful and instructive episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Michal Werner, CAP, CFRE, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey, for a rich conversation about major gift fundraising and the patience it requires. Framed around the idea that there is “joy in the journey,” the episode explores what happens when a donor w...
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March 29, 2026 • 15 mins
In this practical and timely episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Ruth Hansen, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, for a smart conversation about checkout charity and what it reveals about contemporary donor behavior. With her characteristic blend of research rigor and practitioner awareness, Ruth explores a form of giving that many people...
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March 22, 2026 • 15 mins
In this thoughtful and deeply human episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Alison Jane Martingano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, for a fascinating conversation about empathy, burnout, and what fundraisers can learn from research rooted in healthcare. With clarity, warmth, and just the right amount of scientific precision, Alison Jane un...
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March 15, 2026 • 21 mins
In this lively international edition of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D. welcomes Lynda Harwood-Compton, Director of Latch Fundraising, for a smart and spirited conversation about what it really takes to engage millennial and Gen Z donors around the world. Lynda brings both global perspective and practical wisdom, tracing her own journey from teaching blind children to leading an internati...
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March 8, 2026 • 22 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes Jeff Spitko, CFRE, Senior Director of Integrated Fundraising at the San Diego Foundation and a leading voice on digital fundraising strategy. Right out of the gate, the conversation challenges one of the most persistent myths in nonprofit fundraising: that digital fundraising is simply a matter of posting an online ask and waiti...
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March 1, 2026 • 22 mins
In this forward-looking episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., sits down with AI practitioner and marketing maestro Chris Strom of Sunrise Association to tackle a question that’s buzzing louder than a caffeinated chatbot: what can artificial intelligence actually do for fundraising? Chris doesn’t sugarcoat it. Yes, AI can be wrong. Yes, hallucinations happen. But as he explains, the ...
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February 22, 2026 • 23 mins
In this data-packed episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes back philanthropic powerhouses Genevieve Shaker, Ph.D., and Dan Heist, Ph.D., to unpack the brand-new Donor Advised Fund Research Collaborative report. And folks, the headline is clear: DAFs are not just “a thing,” they are a major thing. With $90 billion flowing into donor advised funds in 2024 and a record-setting ...
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February 15, 2026 • 18 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D. welcomes fundraising veteran Rick Shadyac, JD, former longtime leader of ALSAC, the fundraising powerhouse behind St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Major donors love bold vision. But how do leaders decide which big ideas are brilliant… and which are just bonkers? Rick’s advice is refreshingly practical: start with the problem you’re ...
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February 8, 2026 • 17 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D. welcomes Mladenka Majerić, CEO of the Yellow Dot Foundation in Croatia and a respected voice in philanthropy across Central and Eastern Europe. Right out of the gate, the duo tackles a deceptively simple but often neglected truth: fundraising doesn’t start with an appeal, a gala, or a clever email subject line, it starts with a strategic ...
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February 1, 2026 • 16 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., sits down with Carly Berna, Vice President of Marketing (and the impressively titled “Fundraiser in Residence”) at Virtuous. Carly shares findings from the latest Virtuous Benchmark Report, a treasure trove of data gleaned from over 570 nonprofits using the platform for at least three years. The result? A layered look at donor trends acr...
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January 25, 2026 • 16 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., welcomes back the ever-insightful Michele Dole, MS, CFP, Senior Vice President at Key Private Bank and cherished faculty member. Michele brings her unique perspective as both a former fundraiser and a current financial advisor, helping to demystify the world of wealth and financial advising for those in the nonprofit sector. From her ori...
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January 18, 2026 • 14 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., digs into the booming world of artificial intelligence and what its rapid rise might mean for your fundraising future. Bill highlights the many ways AI is already helping fundraisers: writing donor letters, prepping for meetings, and identifying potential major donors; all with greater efficiency and effectiveness. He shares real-life ex...
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January 11, 2026 • 19 mins
In this episode of The First Day from The Fund Raising School, host Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., sits down with sits down with A.J. Steinberg, CFRE, CEO of Queen Bee Fundraising and certified nonprofit rockstar, to talk about the not-so-small challenge of engaging Millennials and Gen Z as donors, volunteers, and board members. AJ opens with a truth bomb: nonprofits have talked about multi-generational giving for decades, but fear of...
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