In this episode of the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast, learn how an average Christian school in the heart of Chicagoland raised $298K at their fundraising gala last year!

Join us for part #4 of the $10M Story as we sit down with Mai Wilson from Chesterton Academy of the Immaculate Heart. From launching a school in a borrowed church with just nine students to hosting a $298K gala that fully funded an entire year, we’re talking about the real steps, tough decisions, and bold faith that made it happen.

Hear how a stay-at-home mom with no fundraising background started a Christian school from scratch. Find out why they banned tech in the classroom—and why students and parents loved it. Discover what changed when they stopped selling tables and auction baskets. And learn how Mai raised $298K in one night—with no tickets, raffles, or sponsors involved!

So whether you’re running a small private school or are just tired of hosting galas that barely break even, tune in today to learn how to make a real difference in your organization through the Perfect Vision Dinner Mentorship Program. Learn what happens when you cast the net on the other side!

Don’t forget to check out Mai's website at chestertoniheart.org to learn more about her Chesterton Academy, and subscribe to our channel for more inspiring nonprofit success stories.

Next week, we’ll be talking about how a maternity home raised $592K in San Diego. Don’t miss out!

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Most nonprofits are under-funded. Even if you think your nonprofit is doing well, we've found you could be doing much better. However, most nonprofits don't have a clear development strategy that keeps them grounded. As a result, they "get creative" and "try new things" based on what is popular or trending, or they get comfortable with where they are at and don't realize the dangers they will be facing in just a few short years.

The Perfect Vision Dinner Course is a 20-week "live video" course that addresses this problem head on. The course was developed by Jim Dempsey after 38+ years as a Senior Development Director at Cru. After Jim had personally done over 2,500 vision dinners in his lifetime and raised over $1 billion worldwide, Jim and Jason have partnered together to bring you Fundraising Masterminds. Our first course, The Perfect Vision Dinner is a time-tested proven formula that will introduce our development system and grow your nonprofit to its maximum potential.

The course includes 20-hours of personalized development coaching from Jim Dempsey and Jason Galicinski and also includes a real-time community group where you have access to everyone attending the course and also our Masterminds throughout the course.

The goal for this course is to fully equip you with a Biblical basis for Development so that you can Win, Keep and Lift new partners to higher levels of involvement with your nonprofit.

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Episode Keywords:

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