What if your annual fundraiser could raise nearly $300,000 in a single evening without requiring months of donor fatigue or an all-day event?

In this episode, Trevor Bragdon sits down with Amy Ford, co-founder of Embrace Grace, to unpack the fundraising strategy that helped their organization grow a traditional golf tournament from $60,000 to nearly $300,000 annually. Amy shares the exact framework behind their Topgolf fundraising event, including sponsorship pricing, donor underwriting, silent auctions, premium swag, sponsor retention, and event execution.

Whether you're a nonprofit leader looking for a fresh fundraising idea or trying to increase the ROI of your existing events, this episode offers practical tactics that can be implemented immediately.

Learn More:

Embrace Grace: www.embracegrace.com

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com

Growth rarely feels comfortable in the moment.

In this episode of 7-Figure Fundraising, Trevor Bragdon shares a story from a flight home from Orlando where he met a woman flying for the very first time. What started as a simple conversation about turbulence and takeoff became a powerful reminder about what it feels like to learn something new.

Trevor explains how moments of embarrassment, overwhelm, and uncertainty are often unavoidable when developing new skills.. But he also shares the often-overlooked side of growth: people are usually willing to help once you take the first step.

If you’ve been hesitating to try something new, this episode is a reminder that discomfort is temporary, but growth can change everything.

Take the step. Book the flight to Chicago.

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com

On this episode of 7-Figure Fundraising, Trevor Bragdon sits down with Matt Paprocki, President and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, to break down one of the most important skills in fundraising: storytelling.

Matt explains why most fundraising stories fail before they even begin. Instead of creating emotional connection, many fundraisers summarize facts, report outcomes, or speak in vague language that donors quickly forget. In this conversation, Trevor and Matt unpack a practical storytelling framework built around three core ideas: situation, stakes, and shift.

Throughout the episode, Matt shares real examples from donor meetings, family life, leadership, and nonprofit work to show how stories create trust, emotional engagement, and long-term donor relationships. They also discuss how great storytellers use vivid details, dialogue, and emotion to pull listeners into a moment rather than simply describing it.

Whether you are a nonprofit founder, major gift officer, executive director, or communicator, this episode gives actionable tactics you can immediately use in donor conversations, pitches, presentations, newsletters, and public speaking.

If you want donors to remember your mission, start by giving them stories they can feel.

Follow Matt:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-paprocki-86337220b
Website: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/author/mpaprocki/

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com