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If year-end fundraising feels like an all-gas-no-brakes sprint, this Working Session is your moment to regroup, refocus, and rally your strongest allies. We brought in fundraising expert and author Rhea Wong for a rapid-fire strategy session on two mission-critical moves: activating your board before December 31 and turning year-end gifts, signals, and conversations into a predictable 2026 pipeline — in under 30 minutes.
Rhea walks us through her signature approach to board engagement and donor outreach: one rooted in clarity, specificity, and creating micro-yes moments that move relationships forward.
You’ll learn how to give board members turnkey actions they’ll actually complete, how to structure two-call closes for warm prospects, and how to use January to set up a smarter, stronger pipeline for the entire year.
Top 3 Takeaways:
- Your Board Is Your Force Multiplier: Stop sending blanket emails. Start giving individuals clear, specific, low-friction tasks — from making their own gift to nudging warm contacts to posting on LinkedIn. Activated intentionally, your board becomes your most powerful surface-area expander.
- December Is for Decisions: Rhea breaks down her two-step outreach process — the R for R.O. (Reason for Reaching Out), the alignment call, the opportunity call, and the art of making a clear ask and then staying quiet.
- January Is Your Pipeline Launchpad: Retention workflows, short donor surveys, micro-engagement signals, and a simple “schedule time with me” link in your email signature can dramatically increase donor conversations. Plus her favorite January homework: donor interviews that build your 2026 avatar and deepen relationships with zero solicitation pressure.
This episode is packed with low-lift, high-impact tactics to help you close strong this year — and build a donor pipeline that carries you confidently into the next.
Welcome back to Working Sessions: hands-on, clarity-filled conversations designed to help you move real work forward inside your organization.
Let’s get to work.
Episode Highlights:
- Four Quick Board Actions for Year-End Fundraising (00:58)
- Getting Your Nonprofit and Board Members on LinkedIn (03:39)
- Making Board Engagement Fun & Effective (04:01)
- Removing Friction: Scripts, Emails & Turnkey Tasks (05:08)
- How to Move Unengaged Board Members to Action (05:39)
- December is for Decisions: Triage Your Donor List (08:08)
- The Two-Call Strategy for Major Gift Closes (09:10)
- 0:12:06 – Handling Objections & Building Consent at Every Step
- What to Do in January: Retention & Stewardship (14:25)
- Using Surveys & Engagement Data to Build Your Pipeline (15:16)
- Hot Prospect Lists & Calendar Link Pro Tips (17:43)
- Donor Interviews: Building Avatars & Deepening Relationships (18:15)
- Final Reflections, Resources, and Closing (19:27)
Episode Shownotes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/665
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