A board of 68. A staff of 50. 70,000 students a year. Most organizations would call that unmanageable — Laurie Sallarulo turned it into a fundraising engine.
In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, host Rob Burke talks with Laurie, President & CEO of Junior Achievement of South Florida, about how she runs something big without letting it get slow. When she arrived almost twelve years ago, her first instinct was to cut the board in half. Instead she assigned every board member a relationship manager, wrote down exactly what "board member" means, and started sending quarterly report cards. Board members now notice when something's missing from theirs.
Laurie also gets into the four criteria she screens every board prospect against (including the one she calls "no jerks"), why she stopped tracking dollars in her weekly development meetings and started tracking meetings and asks instead, and how JA converts 5,000 annual volunteers into donors with a $10-a-month campaign and a QR code on every wall.
Plus: what to put in front of a donor when your program's real outcome is ten years out.
If your board is polite but passive, or your volunteer program has never produced a gift, this one's for you.
CHAPTERS
01:21 - From Brooklyn to banking to advertising to the nonprofit sector
02:36 - Which corporate habits transferred, and which didn't
02:52 - Running a nonprofit is running a business
04:27 - Why she didn't cut a 50-person board in half
05:03 - Giving every board member a relationship manager
06:00 - Getting clear on the give/get, the personal gift, and introductions
06:30 - Quarterly report cards — and why board members read them
07:00 - The overnight retreat that changed board relationships
07:20 - Four criteria for every board seat (including "no jerks")
08:05 - Welcomed vs. belonging: stewarding board members like donors
08:35 - Unreasonable Hospitality, The Power of Moments, and stewardship plans for everyone
10:25 - Mobilizing 5,000 volunteers a year through the school district
10:51 - Where volunteer-to-donor conversion stalls out
11:22 - It works both ways: 89% donor retention starts with engagement
12:15 - One Future: $10 a month, QR codes, and the end-of-day ask
12:50 - Turning employer partners and paid internships into gifts
13:46 - What development directors should expect from their chief executive
14:16 - Alignment: CEO, COO, and CFO leading development together
15:20 - Clarity on goals — and on the behaviors that get you there
15:45 - Tracking meetings, proposals, and asks instead of dollars
17:04 - Proving impact when the outcome is ten years away
17:30 - Fifth grade, eighth grade, high school: telling the full-spectrum story
18:10 - College grads who can tell their JA BizTown story
18:40 - Pre-apprenticeship: 100 students, $4 million in economic impact
19:16 - Tactical takeaway: ask everyone you know who else you should meet
20:13 - How to connect with Laurie and JA South Florida
RESOURCES MENTIONED
- Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
- The Power of Moments by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
LINKS
- Junior Achievement of South Florida: https://jasouthflorida.org
- Connect with Laurie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ljsallarulo/
- Learn how DonorDock helps you find clarity and build retention: https://donordock.com