In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King and Dan Freeman sit down with Mark Dobosz, a nonprofit and philanthropic leader with more than four decades of experience across education, healthcare, senior living, small business development, and nonprofit governance.
Mark shares how his mother introduced him to service, generosity, and volunteerism before he ever considered fundraising as a career. He reflects on the unexpected opportunity that launched him into development work and the leadership decisions that shaped his understanding of sacrifice, mission, and responsibility.
Kyle, Dan, and Mark also discuss donor-centered fundraising, planned giving, board development, capital campaigns, succession planning, and the importance of building trust before making an ask.
Throughout the conversation, Mark challenges fundraisers to move beyond transactions and become conduits between a donor’s deepest values and an organization’s mission.
Key Topics
Moving from transactional fundraising to transformational philanthropyBuilding trust and discovering a donor’s values before making an askLeading through sacrifice, crisis, and organizational changeStrengthening boards through governance, succession planning, and gap analysisUsing donor history and relationships to build successful campaignsEpisode History
00:00 — Introduction and meeting Mark Dobosz
01:15 — How Mark’s mother shaped his understanding of philanthropy
03:30 — The unexpected opportunity that launched his fundraising career
09:00 — Sacrificing his position to protect an organization’s mission
14:00 — Why fundraising is not about the fundraiser
25:00 — Questions that reveal what donors truly care about
28:00 — Knowing when and how to make the ask
35:30 — Boards, succession planning, and building a fundraising campaign
Mark's Bio
Mark Dobosz is a nonprofit executive, philanthropic leader, author, and fundraising professional with more than forty years of experience helping organizations grow, navigate change, and build long-term impact.
His career spans education, healthcare, senior living, small business development, Western sports, nonprofit associations, major gifts, planned giving, organizational leadership, and board governance.
Mark currently serves as a vice president of philanthropy focused on major gifts and planned giving. Throughout his career, he has led multimillion-dollar fundraising efforts, built a national foundation from the ground up, managed complex budgets, guided capital campaigns, and partnered with boards and donors to align personal values with organizational missions.
He is also the author of Beyond the Ask and Beyond the Culture, which explore the shift from transactional fundraising toward transformational philanthropy and healthier organizational cultures.
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