#25: Major Gift Fundraising & Star Trek with Board Member Susan Bay Nimoy
Major gifts are critical for every arts organization. This episode with board member and philanthropist Susan Bay Nimoy (wife of late actor Leonard Nimoy) covers all things major gifts, including relationship building, how that takes time, and what the process is that compels her as a major donor to give generously.
Want to know what to say when building major donor relationships in the arts and ultimately soliciting a major gift? Download the Major Donor Fast Track Guide below.
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TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] Aubrey Bergauer: Hi, everyone. Today, I am fangirling a little bit because this episode taps into two subjects I love to talk about. The first, you know already, if you know anything about me, that's the business side of the arts and how to run our arts organizations like a business. But the second subject is kind of a well kept secret of mine that I now cannot keep a secret any longer, and that is that deep inside, I am a huge Trekkie.
Yes, I was raised on Star Trek and today's guest is Susan Bay Nimoy, who is a model board member at several arts organizations, both performing and visual, which we will get into of course in this episode. And she is also the wife of the late actor, Leonard Nimoy. I don't know about you, but like I said, I was raised on Star Trek.
Like, so many memories are sitting in my living room growing up. from being a little girl all the way through teenage years and [00:01:00] watching the show. So when I learned that Susan Bay Nimoy is a very active board member and philanthropist at multiple arts organizations, I was so eager to talk to her. And that conversation happened.
So you will hear today her share that Leonard's first love, in fact, was theater. Yes, he did TV and movies, as she says, for the paycheck, but he really loved theater. And she doesn't shy away from talking about that or talking about him. And that is right in tandem with how much effusive joy she brings as she talks about her own work.
It's really contagious, I think. To give the overview, we will cover Susan's role serving on boards at several different arts institutions, including performing arts and visual arts alike, like I said. She talks about the Hammer Museum. which is a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles that in 2023 finished a huge 90 million dollar [00:02:00] expansion.
So we'll hear about that. She also shares how she became the lead donor, the namesake donor of a new theater in LA called the Nimoy, and that is part of the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. And also you'll hear her talk about her role as a major donor at the Griffith Observatory, but I'll share more about all that when I Do her proper introduction.
For now, uh, the overview of today is that you will hear us talk about major gift asks a lot, and including relationship building, how that takes time to do that well. And what the process is for her that compels her to give so generously to these different institutions. And I want to mention the free resource for the episode on this topic.
It is the Major Donor Fast Track Guide. If you are in a top leadership role like executive director or artistic director or responsible for fundraising, either as a staff member or board member like Susan Bay nimoy in [00:03:00] this episode. This major donor fast track guide gives a lot of the tips for you to develop relationships and bring in those major gifts you need to fund your mission.
So I'm going to share more about my own major gifts learning journey at the end of this episode and how you can get that download too. But flagging it for you now here. So back to the agenda here, Susan also talks about making it easy for the customer. Whether that's parking, or traveling to the venue, or buying online, and I have to say out of the gate here how much I love that we get to hear a board member who is very in tune with customer needs.
You will hear herself described as 80 years old and saying these things, which I think is such a great compliment. Representation of our patrons and somebody who just identifies so well with the customer profile of our attendees. And as we wrap up this intro here, I came away from this conversation thinking two main things I want to share with you.
[00:04:00] One, I mentioned Susan Bay Nimoy is in so many ways a model, donor, and board member. I learned, and you will learn as well when you listen, that she doesn't just write big checks. She brings her network and her friends along with her. You will hear her talk about this. It's fantastic. This is exemplary board behavior.
Yes, of course, we are grateful for the generosity of our board members and also. We need their network and being able to bring that network into our organizations, that is just as important in my opinion. So sidebar, there is a whole episode on this topic if you want more on responsibilities of a board member.
This is literally episode number one. It's that important. Season one, episode one. So you can look that up. It's called "How to Fire a Board Member," but really it's about not firing them and recruiting them and getting it right in the first place so that we don't have to go down. the path of unhappiness with a board member.
So, okay, that's the first thing. [00:05:00] Model donor, model board member. The second big takeaway for me was no matter if you work at a museum in visual arts, contemporary art, or in performance art, music theater, or an institution focusing on education or science, or if you work at a venue housing any of these disciplines, Susan bounces between all of these disciplines, genres, the things she cares about effortlessly. And I say that to her eventually in the interview. I, she just comes across as effortless in blending artistic disciplines in the most wonderful way. So here we go. Welcome to season three, episode four with Susan Bay Nimoy
I'm Aubrey Bergauer and welcome to my podcast. I'm known in the arts world for being customer centric, data obsessed, and for growing revenue.
The arts are my vehicle to make the change I want to see in this world, like creating places of belonging, pursuing gender and racial equality, [00:06:00] developing high performing teams and leaders, and leveraging technology to elevate our work. I've been called the Steve Jobs of classical music at the Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony.
I've helped offstage roles managing millions of dollars in revenue at major institutions and as chief executive of an orchestra where we doubled the size of the audience and nearly quadrupled the donor base. And now I'm here to help you achieve that. that same kind of success. In this podcast, we are sorting through the data, inside and outside the arts, applying those findings to our work, leading out with our values, and bringing in some expert voices along the way, all to build the vibrant future we know is possible for our institutions and for ourselves as offstage administrators and leaders.
This podcast is about optimizing the business around the art, not sacrificing it. You're listening to the Offstage Mic.
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[00:08:44] Aubrey Bergauer: Again, today's guest is Susan Bay nimoy, and to properly introduce her, she is the former chair of the Institute for the Study of Women and Men, which is a gender studies institute at USC, University of Southern California. She is the former co chair of the [00:09:00] Environmental Leadership Forum of the California League of Conservation Voters.
She's a former board member of the Directors Guild of America. She is a former trustee on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. She is also a television and regional theater director. She's producer as well of documentaries on the history of Mother Jones and artists Liza Liu and Twyla Tharp.
Susan Nimoy has produced a short film called Eve, which screened at Sundance Film Festival, and she briefly mentions it at one point in our interview. She's currently serving on the board of advisors at the Hammer Museum, Symphony Space in New York, and the Griffith Observatory. You will hear her talk about all of those organizations in our conversation today.
She recently endowed the Nimoy Theater in Los Angeles as part of UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance, or CAP as she and others refer to it. That venue just opened last September. Susan, with all of this, wow, welcome and thank you for being here. I'm happy to [00:10:00] be here. So I want to dive in and talk about how did you originally get involved with non profit arts work?
The list is long of organizations you've served, really amazing. And eventually you came to these organizations in LA that you're very close with. So can you just kind of walk us through how did you originally get involved with nonprofit arts work and then specifically what led you to joining the board at those organizations?
[00:10:29] Susan Bay Nimoy: Well, As with almost everything else, I think it's people who reach out to you for one reason or another. In the case of, uh, the Hammer Museum, uh, I had served as vice chair at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. And I stepped off the board and I took a break. Uh, I wasn't happy with what was happening at MOCA.
And so I stepped off the board. And in that time, those three or four years, I became [00:11:00] interested in the Hammer Museum. I came in and I looked around and then I met Annie Philbin and the rest is history. Annie is one of the most dynamic, thoughtful, creative leaders I've ever encountered. And we became friends.
And as I've observed, the best recruiters give you time. They don't immediately demand that you turn over several hundred thousand dollars a year or whatever. They get to know you and you get to know them. And then all of a sudden, uh, or not all of a sudden, over time you want to be affiliated with the organization.
So I joined, uh, the board of overseers at the Hammer. I must say, after 25 years of Annie's leadership, it's going to be hard to find someone to follow in her footsteps. But it was my honor [00:12:00] and privilege to be able to support the Hammer in the way that I did and do. But it all comes down to the leadership.
My takeaway from that engagement is my education in the world of contemporary art. Because once you join or ask to join a board like I did, there's all these amazing trips you take, you have access to curators, you can ask silly questions, dumb questions, any kind of question, to try to find entree into the world of contemporary art.
So I was privileged to have that. And then, uh, after several years on the board, I met Christy Edmonds and fell in love with another strong visionary. And she was then the Artistic and Executive Director of the Center for the Art of Performance. And she now heads MASS MoCA. in, uh, North Adams. She [00:13:00] just was amazing.
Took five years, four years for us to develop our relationship. I did a film for, which got into Sundance and she came and stayed with me and helped me through the process. And then she said, I have a dream. And I said, what's the dream? There's this theater on Westwood Boulevard called The Crest, which has been dark for several years, and I want to turn it into a legitimate theater.
That will be CAP's new location, because there's Royce Hall, there's downtown. And this will be a significant presence for Cath. So we talked about it. It was a, you know, an ask that was substantial, but over time I began to feel very connected to the idea because Leonard's most successful film, Three Men and a Baby, premiered there.
And it was a [00:14:00] huge success for him. Beshert is what my people would say. It just seemed like a continuation of Leonard's commitment to the arts. So he had passed obviously, but I said, okay. So that took a few, four years, five years for that to become a reality. I had to raise a lot of money from my funders and she raised a lot of money and bada boom, The Nimoy was born and it opened in September.
So it's all about relationships, the history of our giving. One day we were, Leonard and I were reading the paper and I saw that the Griffith Observatory in a little box at the bottom of the calendar section was looking for money to build a theater at Griffith Observatory, which they had never had. They have the Event Horizon, they have the Planetarium, but they don't have a teaching [00:15:00] facility.
They did not have a teaching facility or a performance space. So I called them on the phone. We went down to meet them. They had, they were so well organized and we said, okay, we'll give you the money to build the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater. at Griffith Observatory, and it flourishes. They have lectures, they have talks, they have, it's a wonderful addition to the life of the Griffith Observatory, that whole thing.
So, it comes from different places, but these individuals and these institutions that we've funded are very professional. They do it all right, they have the money or most of it, they, and it fits into, what we want to do. We gave money to build the Bay Nemoy Early Childhood Center at a [00:16:00] temple that my cousin, the rabbi was, was running.
And it has become one of the most important childcare centers in Los Angeles. It's a great, great thing. Lots of people that we've met along the way sent their kids and grandkids too. So it's diverse. It's But it's a living thing. I think I want to say it's a living thing. It's not it. It keeps on giving these gifts.
We give
[00:16:31] Aubrey Bergauer: you are touching on so many things that I like. I want to follow that thread and that thread. Just things that I really champion. So to echo some of this back, you obviously relationships was a huge one. You said. something I talk about all the time, which is just that it takes time. And so often in the arts, we have such pressure or desire to go for the next, ask too much too soon.
And a big part of my work is saying, no, no, no, no, no. It's a strategy to build these things over time. So I just, [00:17:00] so much of what you're saying, I really appreciate. And just the, the breadth of how many different projects and organizations you've supported is really amazing.
[00:17:09] Susan Bay Nimoy: I don't just write a check and walk away.
I make a personal commitment. When I chair these organizations, not only do I give to them personally, but I recruit people to give to them because I, I believe they make life better for so many people, especially artists. So I reach out to my community. They did a feminist show at MoCA, Connie Butler. who was chief curator at the Hammer, now runs PS1, said, this is going to cost 2 million to really do it right.
So I went, how do you divide 2 million? I don't know. That's as many people as I went to, to get 5, 000. And people would see me coming and would do this to me. But the point was it was [00:18:00] essential to me as a feminist, as a supporter of women artists. initially, to raise the money for the thing I believed in.
So it's not, I just write a check, but I become an advocate for that which I raise money for. And that's been consistent throughout everything that we do. The same is true of Symphony Space in New York City. I can't think of the name of it, but it's at Symphony Space. And I then reach out like I did recently, and I said, there's this wonderful musical piece about, um, Gerhard Munch, the artist.
And it's a piece I saw in New York and I said, God, this would be beautiful in the Nimoy. So then I start gathering people together to make that a reality. I try to make things happen. That I believe in. That's how I advocate.
[00:18:57] Aubrey Bergauer: Yeah,
[00:18:58] Susan Bay Nimoy: I love that definition. [00:19:00] Not every funder takes, actualizes the gift by beyond writing a check.
Not every funder wants to do that. Lots of funders want to do it anonymously, which I totally respect, but I feel it's important to lend the name to make other people step up if they can. So it's the organization, the leadership in the organization, the things that seem to reflect our giving program. I get curious and I reach out, but most of the time it takes a long time for me to step up and give big where it makes a difference.
[00:19:44] Aubrey Bergauer: Yeah. What the, what you're saying completely aligns with the research on, to summarize it's, and for everybody listening, it's this idea that from local to nationally, people give when it aligns with their values. And I feel like not to [00:20:00] put words in your mouth, but that's a lot of what you're saying when you feel this alignment.
And then you're all in, and it's not just the check. As you said,
[00:20:06] Susan Bay Nimoy: art can change the way you see the world. It can give you a window into your own humanity. It can move you. It can connect you emotionally to so many things now more than ever. Do we need theater and art to help us understand what it is to be a human being?
And politics is important. All of these other things and the health of children and so forth, it's all important. We give to that. But to walk into a theater and have a transformative experience is something that has always moved us. Leonard did movies all the time to make the money to enable him to do theater.
It was very primal for him [00:21:00] because, you know, in theater you don't make the big bucks, but in television and movies you do. So theater was organic to him. He was an acting teacher. So together, in terms of art support and theater support, it just felt natural to us to be present. and to make that a part of our giving.
[00:21:21] Aubrey Bergauer: I love it. I'm switching gears a little here now. My book is called Run It Like a Business. So the question is, have you ever said or thought about a nonprofit? You know, we need to run this place like a business.
[00:21:35] Susan Bay Nimoy: Absolutely, all the time. I, in fact, uh, I was talking to Fred Frumberg, who's the programmer, chief programmer at CAP, and I said, what's your feedback from the audience?
They do give, they either send an email or hand it out. What are you interested in seeing? What moves you? It's [00:22:00] engagement with the community to get them feel like, to awaken them to feel connected and not responsible, but part of the community that keeps that entity alive. We're nothing. Without an audience.
I subscribe to that 100%. So it's not that you cater to an audience, but you're sensitive to what they want. And the diversity brings in whole communities. Every single performance at the Nimoy, for example, is Ethiopian, Hispanic, Spanish, Greek. It's all different. So, we have to reach out to the community. We don't have subscription.
You have to get people to come. Made in LA at the Hammer. Comes from artists from South Central Los Angeles. They speak about their life in their communities, their sexual [00:23:00] identity, the difficulties they've had as art makers. And there were lines around the block and continue to be. at the Hammer for Made in LA.
So, if you're an art institution, your Made in LA really is reaching out to community. The rest of the programming at the Hammer is really about showcasing artists who are really unique and wonderful. The Nimoy, on the other hand, is part of a community and we want to draw on that community to come to see a play or a musical performance.
So we care about what they care about, not to the extent that if they would like to see, you know, animals on the stage, not that kind of thing. So running it like a business, yeah, have to make sure that you raise enough money to do the projects that you want to do. You can't find [00:24:00] yourself unable to do the projects.
So you have to make sure you have the money available. You know, it is run like a business with a heart.
[00:24:08] Aubrey Bergauer: Oh, with a heart. I love that. I like how you said also, you know, we talk about running like a business and you go straight to, and I agree with this. So reflect the community around you and build the community.
I mean, it's a whole chapter. I'm just totally with you on this. So thank you for that. Another businessy thing I've heard you, I think I've heard you say before, is that you talk about the Nimoy as a product and part of brand development, which I think also a hundred percent in agreement with. And it's essential.
[00:24:38] Susan Bay Nimoy: Because, you know, I, I received phone calls and emails from people who, when the marquee went up, and they saw the Nimi, they called me on the phone and said, what's this? That's branding. That marquee is branding. And so they drove, drove by and said, I didn't know you were blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. [00:25:00] And so, yes, you want to brand it.
I'm branding now. And I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to talk about it. Yeah, we don't want to run in a deficit. We don't, we don't need to do that. But we are not supported by UCLA. We have to raise the money for programming ourselves. Or they do. And I want to, I want it to survive, so I have to brand it for my community, so they see how essential it is.
Ticket prices are 30 a ticket, 15 for UCLA students. Where do you get to see great theater for 30, frankly? But we need to raise money for programming and I'm very mindful of that. So I'm out there on the streets. I'm out there on the streets. You know, as I say, people go like this when I
[00:25:53] Aubrey Bergauer: start talking to them.
For everybody, for everybody who's listening and can't see this, she's making an X like they're like, no way, Jose. [00:26:00] Like, yeah.
Oh my gosh. Yeah. It's too funny. It's too funny. Uh, okay. So now where I want to go with all of this, uh, we talked about the strength of the product and how that relates to brand development. Now talking about a challenge of the industry, we do have a strong product. I think that is. I think that's our biggest asset as an industry hallways, just no matter if it's visual art, performance art, just generally speaking, the quality of the product is so high.
But how do we get people into the theater, into the museum? So how do you think about this challenge from the perspective of all your various board roles, leadership roles? the building audiences.
[00:26:42] Susan Bay Nimoy: Well, I'm trying to go out to a diverse community. By that I mean, Women in Philanthropy is a growing organization in Los Angeles.
Angela Nazarian created it. And so I said to her, could you [00:27:00] use the Nimoy for your gathering of all these women who support the arts. And so I'm going out. It's not just a performance space, it's a A place where lots of things can happen. I reached out to David Byrne, the wonderful eccentric artist friend in New York, and I said, when you're mounting your show, would you like to use the Nimoy to create that show?
Yes, of course they would have to pay, because nothing really, there's people and staff, but I can offer you this space where it might be hard for you to find that space. for the St. Christ in New York City. I said to my son, who's chairman and CEO of Warner Music, I said, you must have artists who need to try out new music.
Why don't you use, we'll charge, they'll get paid. Why don't you [00:28:00] book one of your new and emerging artists performers in the Nimoy? So the Nimoy becomes a living space for artists and for gatherings. So I'm thinking about how the Nimoy can be used for other things other than just performance.
[00:28:21] Aubrey Bergauer: I think that's a really important and astute and savvy approach because I think too often we sort of Revere our spaces
[00:28:32] Susan Bay Nimoy: to like too far.
It's a living, breathing organism and it has to be multidisciplinary. The people engaged with the institution need to be thinking about how many ways. It's like, what's that thing my grandson plays with? It's a plastic thing and it's a city. He can build it in all these different colors and shapes. And it's sort of, I was thinking about it the other [00:29:00] day, how many different ways you can conceive an institution to be useful.
At the Hammer, we donated the funds to build out a space called the Bay Nimoy Studio. And I said to Annie Philbin, what does that mean? It's 2, 700 square feet. It's been a wedding site. It hosted a fabulous reception for the opening of the Nimoy. It's a dance rehearsal space. They show films, specific films, that are too small for the Billy Wilder.
We have our board meetings and luncheons in there. It's a space that never existed at the Hammer until Annie conceived of it and we named it. And I love it. It's like that perfect black dress that you can wear day to night. You know, it depends on the jewelry and the shoes. Oh, I love that. So I love that.
I love that as a possibility. It's
[00:29:59] Aubrey Bergauer: [00:30:00] very exciting. I love black dress fashion analogy. I'm with you all day long. And I also like you're so natural, Susan, at what am I like blending the different organizations you support? Let's do the reception for the opening of the Nimoy at the space at the Hammer. And just like, I feel like you effortlessly make these connections, I have to say.
[00:30:17] Susan Bay Nimoy: Yes. And I, I let people know, for example, that it's one block from the Hammer. The Hammer is one block from the Nimoy. The Hammer has Lulu. which is our restaurant at the Hammer. And because of the Nimoy Theater, all these, the Persian restaurants, Japanese restaurants, American restaurants, which were on the verge of going out of business now are excited because people want to have something to eat.
Parking is 5. Where do you get parking for 5? There's street parking. So people go see Made in LA in [00:31:00] the afternoon. They have dinner somewhere and they go to see something at the Nimoy. So the Nimoy staff, they're all working together. We're all under the ages of UCLA and we know people are not going to the theater as frequently as they used to pre COVID.
So we make it easy for them. To come. That's what's important. You know, when I think of going downtown to the music center, I'm not driving at 80 years old, I'm not driving downtown, so I need to figure out, and also not taking other forms of transportation, so I have to figure that out. And you know, you leave at 4.
30, you have an early bite, and it takes forever to get there, and then, but once you get there, you're so glad you made the effort. But now we have the Ace Theatre downtown undercab. which we've had for a year or two, and we have Roy's, which is [00:32:00] very special, and then we have the name Roy. So we're making it really easy for people to get there.
[00:32:08] Aubrey Bergauer: It's so smart. There's research out of, it's a Yale professor, Zoe Chance, and she talks about the easier you make something to do for a consumer, the more they will do it. Which to say it out loud sounds very obvious, but at arts organizations, we don't often have conversations about how do we make this easier for the patron, for the customer.
So everything you're saying is so spot on. Well, you know, at the
[00:32:30] Susan Bay Nimoy: Hammer, for example, it's a vivid, uh, picture of what you've, you've just said, is they print out everything that's going on in the Billy Wilder. And then you can go online and see it all. Going online has changed our lives in terms of fashion.
You and I love fashion. In terms of fashion, all the brands use online as a shop. Online shopping has saved us in gas, easy to get, [00:33:00] and returns. So, that's the model that everything has. And, you know, UCLA, medical, they all do it online. So yes, you have to do that. Otherwise, you know, you're wasting paper.
[00:33:13] Aubrey Bergauer: Oh, Susan, you are so savvy.
I could talk to you all day. I have just two more questions, if I may. In the lobby of the Nimoy, there is a sign that says, live long and prosper. And it's, of course, an homage to your late husband, Leonard. But the message is that this is a place where the arts can live long and prosper. And Yeah, can you tell, what's the story behind that?
Can you just share with us how that, how the, how the sign came to be?
[00:33:42] Susan Bay Nimoy: This was Livlong, this is the Star Trek Livlong and Prosper, and it comes from a Hebraic tradition. The translation, I don't know, but Leonard is, is Jew, was Jewish. He was raised in an Orthodox home. He would see the [00:34:00] rabbis doing this.
She's making the Spock hands, everybody. Yeah, the high holiday. And the interpretation of this is live long and prosper. It's a greeting. Spock did it with this queen of some foreign land when he greeted her. It's in Jewish tradition and he used it in Star Trek. You say, Hello, Aubrey. Live long and prosper.
Goodbye, Aubrey. Live long and prosper. And
[00:34:30] Aubrey Bergauer: did you know they were going to I
[00:34:32] Susan Bay Nimoy: asked for it.
[00:34:32] Aubrey Bergauer: Oh, you knew they were going to make the
[00:34:33] Susan Bay Nimoy: sign. You asked for it. Oh, amazing. Okay. I said, May I want a picture of Leonard in the theater or maybe house live long and prosper. And they love the idea. They had to go through a lot of channels to get permission, blah, blah, blah.
And then they put it right there inside. So as you enter and as you leave, and it's an admonition to everyone who comes to have a moment, live long and prosper.
[00:34:59] Aubrey Bergauer: And then [00:35:00] last question, continuing on this topic for the arts to live long and prosper. What's the future vision in your mind? If you could just paint the picture, the arts are living long, prospering, however many years in the future.
I can just invite you to pontificate a little.
[00:35:17] Susan Bay Nimoy: Well, you know, there's a economic factor in it, obviously. For me, the arts are a church or a temple or a mosque. It's where you go to refuel your soul. Without art and theater, music and dance. We would be deprived of something that makes us happy to be alive, wanting to connect with each other.
It's fundamental to me. When I think of my grandchildren and I think about people whose children are sick and they need help, St. Jude, is free. You bring your child there and [00:36:00] they, they help your child. So yes, of course, medical things are really critically important, but I grew up immersed in the arts and as an adult, that's the fountain I drink from.
I buy art. I live surrounded by it. I go to the theater, of course, And see all kinds of things. And I'm, I'm trying in my small way to bring that satisfaction out and ask people, it's a meal, come taste it. You know, it's, there are many ethnicities, many flavors, you know, come because you'll, you'll be happy you did.
That's the point.
[00:36:41] Aubrey Bergauer: I love it. If that's not a vision for the future of the arts, I don't know what is.
[00:36:46] Susan Bay Nimoy: Wouldn't you be sad if you didn't have music to hear in person?
[00:36:52] Aubrey Bergauer: Susan Bay Nimoy.
[00:36:53] Susan Bay Nimoy: It's my pleasure and I'm so grateful to you for wanting to talk about these things with me. [00:37:00] Amazing. Thank you. You're most welcome.
Thank you.
[00:37:03] Aubrey Bergauer: I hope you all enjoyed that conversation with Susan Bay Nimoy as much as I did. She really is an exemplary model, major donor, and board member in so many ways. But, I think if I'm being honest here, I would not have always recognized that. When I first became an executive director, I did not know a lot about how to best cultivate and ask for major gifts.
And especially, I did not know exactly what to say when I was going for those gifts. I had had prior experience with annual fund campaigns, corporate support, and donor stewardship, but when it came to major gifts and making the ask and securing that gift, I had a lot to learn. So, I did what I do, I read, I watched, I learned as much as I could, consumed the research, and then put it into practice.
And I went on, I'm happy to say, to secure many six figure gifts and then eventually my first few seven figure gifts as well. [00:38:00] Now, I have put a lot of those tips and literal sample scripts of things you need to say into a Major Donor Fast Track Guide so you also can experience the financial freedom, security, and joy that comes when you are able to align with a donor to support your work in a significant way.
So, it's for you, free right here. Download my Major Donor Fast Track Guide. Visit my website, aubreybergauer. com / 25. That's number 25 for episode 25. And get in the fast track for more major gifts right now. That's all for today, folks. Thanks so much for listening. And if you like what you heard here, be sure to Hit that button to follow or subscribe to this podcast.
If you're new, welcome. I am so glad you made it. And if you've been listening for a while, I loved so much that you were getting value from this. So if that's you, please take just two [00:39:00] seconds to leave a quick one tap rating. Full on review isn't even required if you're short on time. To all of you once more, thanks again.
I'll see you next time right here. On The Offstage Mic. The Offstage Mic was produced by me, Aubrey Bergauer, and edited by Novo Music, an audio production company of all women audio engineers and musicians. Additional podcast support comes from the Changing the Narrative team and social media brand management by Classical Content.
This is a production of Changing the Narrative.