Responsive Lab Podcast

In this episode of The Responsive Lab, co-hosts Carly Berna and Scott Holthaus sit down with fundraising strategist Kel Haney, who has made more than twenty thousand asks by phone and helped nonpro...

Show Notes

In this episode of The Responsive Lab, co-hosts Carly Berna and Scott Holthaus sit down with fundraising strategist Kel Haney, who has made more than twenty thousand asks by phone and helped nonprofits generate over twenty million dollars in mid-level giving.

Kel shares how she went from directing theater in New York to discovering the power of a well-structured donor conversation, and why a simple five-minute call can be one of the most effective tools a fundraiser has.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • How Kel’s theater background shaped her approach to authentic donor conversations
  • Why mid-level donors sit in the “messy middle” and need their own strategy
  • The four tent poles of Kel’s five-minute fundraising ask
  • Why scripts fail, and conversational structure succeeds
  • How fundraisers can “hold for the silence” and build confidence over time
  • Ways tools like Virtuous and Virtuous Momentum support personal outreach at scale
  • How organizations can segment, prioritize, and even outsource outbound donor calls

    • Links from the episode:

  • Connect with Kel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kel-haney/
  • Learn more about Kel’s work and schedule a convo: https://www.kelhaney.com/

    • Learn more about Virtuous at virtuous.org/learnmore and download your free Nonprofit CRM Checklist at virtuous.org/crmchecklist

    What is Responsive Lab Podcast?

    Welcome to The Responsive Lab, presented by Virtuous. In this podcast, we're exploring how nonprofits leverage technology to deepen donor engagement. Join us in the lab as we mix innovation with impact, tackling challenges and discovering new possibilities for the nonprofit sector.