Join us for the Virtuous User Summit

August 19-21, 2025

📣 Responsive Nonprofit Summit • Free + Virtual 🎉

June 4-5, 2025

Practical Strategies. Real Results. Free to Attend.

The Responsive Nonprofit Summit June 4-5, 2025

Respond ’26 (User Summit) | Dallas, May 27–29. Practical learning, real connections, real results. Save $400 before Jan 16.

Already a Virtuous customer? Our Professional Services help with Data and Report Clean-Up, Custom Training, Consulting and Giving Page Optimization.

Contents

Building a Relationship-First Fundraising Culture with Marc Stein

In this episode of The Responsive Lab, hosts Carly Berna and Scott Holthaus sit down with Marc Stein, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Jews for Jesus, to unpack what it really looks like to put donor relationships first without sacrificing growth.

Marc brings a rare perspective shaped by decades as an entrepreneur, donor, board member, and now nonprofit executive. He shares how his team redefined success by shifting away from revenue-first metrics and toward meaningful partner engagement… and why that shift led to stronger retention, healthier teams, and sustained major gift growth.

You’ll hear how Jews for Jesus reduced portfolio sizes, rethought performance measurement, embraced transparency during missteps, and used both technology and volunteers to extend personal care at scale. Marc also tackles one of the hardest challenges in major gifts… how to ensure donors stay connected to the organization even when fundraisers move on.

Links from the episode:

Learn more about Virtuous at virtuous.org/learnmore and download your free Nonprofit CRM Checklist at virtuous.org/crmchecklist

Listen Now

Learn More

The Responsive Lab is brought to you by Virtuous.

Virtuous is a software company committed to helping nonprofits grow generosity. Virtuous believes that generosity has the power to create profound change in the world and in the heart of the giver. With that in mind, it’s their mission to move the needle on global generosity by helping nonprofits better connect with and inspire their givers. Learn more about Virtuous and download your free Nonprofit CRM Checklist at virtuous.org/crmchecklist

author avatar
Riley Young

What you should do now

Below are three ways we can help you begin your journey to building more personalized fundraising with responsive technology.

See the Virtuous platform in action.  Schedule a call with our team for personalized answers and expert advice on transforming your nonprofit with donor management software.

Download our free Responsive Maturity Model and learn the 5 steps to more personalized donor experiences.

If you know another nonprofit pro who’d enjoy reading this page, share it with them via Email, Linkedin, Twitter, or Facebook.

The Responsive Maturity Model
5 Steps to More Personalized Donor Experiences
Get Responsive Fundraising Tips
Get updates delivered directly to your inbox.
Building a Relationship-First Fundraising Culture with Marc Stein

Building a Relationship-First Fundraising Culture with Marc Stein

How relationship-first fundraising drives trust, retention, and major gift growth at scale… insights from Marc Stein of Jews for Jesus.
Digital Strategies to Drive Sustainable Fundraising Growth with Matt Lombardi

Digital Strategies to Drive Sustainable Fundraising Growth with Matt Lombardi

How smart digital engagement drives donor action, retention, and recurring giving. A practical conversation with Matt Lombardi.
Mid-Level Matters: Turning Overlooked Donors Into Loyal Supporters with Kel Haney

Mid-Level Matters: Turning Overlooked Donors Into Loyal Supporters with Kel Haney

Learn Kel Haney’s five-minute phone ask for mid-level donors and discover how real conversations can grow generosity for your nonprofit.

Grow generosity with Virtuous

Virtuous is the responsive fundraising software platform proven to help nonprofit organizations increase generosity by serving all donors personally, no matter their gift size.

“Virtuous truly understands nonprofits and the importance of our mission. And their open access to data and built-in custom reports gave us access to the data we need.”
Todd Shinabarger
Chief Information Officer