Contents

[Podcast] Martin Leifield On What Makes A Tremendous Fundraiser

 

Martin Leifield joins us to share his insights and experience, while also highlighting the characteristics of an effective fundraiser and the GCC methodology that helps you cultivate deeper donor relationships.

Martin would sit in his car rehearsing his ask with sweaty palms praying he wouldn’t get another rejection. Determined to master his craft he learned the power of embracing discomfort and through powerful human behavior techniques was able to raise over $500 Million for 3 organizations!  

Martin served as vice chancellor for university advancement at the University of Missouri–St. Louis for ten years. While there, he led a dramatic increase in fundraising, averaging $26.4 million per year. 

Prior to joining UMSL, Martin was associate vice president or university development at Saint Louis University where he led his team raising $158 million in 3 years.

Raising money became his #1 passion, and Martin has since been able to distill the art of fundraising into core fundamental principles and a clear formula that anyone can learn.

author avatar
Virtuous Team

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.

Summarize with AI

Giving USA 2026: How to Turn the Data Into Your Next Move

Giving USA 2026: How to Turn the Data Into Your Next Move

There’s a story in every study, data set, and list of numbers. And as a former fundraiser and the current Fundraiser in Residence at Virtuous, one of my…
5 Top Themes From the 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Report

5 Top Themes From the 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Report

TL;DR Revenue has grown to ~117% of 2021 levels. Donor files haven’t. The sector is generating more from fewer donors, which creates fragility underneath stable revenue. Second-gift conversion…
How to Use The 2026 Virtuous Benchmark Report for Human Services Nonprofits

How to Use The 2026 Virtuous Benchmark Report for Human Services Nonprofits

TL;DR Human Services had a quietly strong year. Several metrics moved in the right direction at once, with median gift, average gift, gift frequency, and donor expansion all…

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