Season 2 | Episode 5: Accelerating P2P Growth With Data-Driven Strategies With NAMI’s Mary Sorensen & Morgan Sills

NAMI’s Mary Sorensen & Morgan Sills drop in to share insights into their data-driven approach to both event & participant coaching and how it has contributed to NAMIWalk’s consistent year-over-year growth.

At its core, peer-to-peer fundraising is built on relationship-building and community – it’s all about the people. And at the same time, the most successful fundraising campaigns are equally driven by the numbers.

With hundreds of events, thousands of participants and an extensive supporter base, even minor adjustments can have an exponential impact, meaning it is critical to understand your key performance indicators and build intentional strategies to both maintain and grow each one.

In the episode, P2PPF’s Marcie Maxwell is joined by Mary Sorensen & Morgan Sills of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Mary & Morgan will delve into how their team is drilling down into their data from the national program level to individual markets and even to individual teams and fundraisers to find their greatest areas of opportunity for NAMIWalks.

In this episode, we’ll also explore:

– How small changes can lead to exponential growth

– Using data to gain strategy buy-in

– How to customize communications based on data

Mentioned Links
NAMI
NAMIWalks
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Podcast Guests

Mary Sorensen joined the NAMI National Staff in January 2022, and is the Director of Field Resource Development. In her role, she directs the strategy, planning and implementation of NAMI’s field-facing fund development programs, NAMIWalks and NAMI Do-It-Your-Way, to help build enhanced financial sustainability for NAMI field organizations. She is a graduate of Illinois State University and has spent 17 years in the peer-to-peer fundraising sector, helping to raise funds and awareness for nonprofit organizations at the local, state and national level.

Morgan Sills joined the NAMI National Staff in May 2021, and is a Senior Manager for the Field Resource Development Team and the NAMIWalks program and creative lead – where she, in partnership with the NAMIWalks and Creative teams, provides direct program management, consulting, training, resource development and support to NAMI Field Organizations across the country to grow unrestricted revenue through NAMIWalks. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has spent the past 12 years in fundraising positions for both NAMI and the American Cancer Society and has worked on a variety of successful peer-to-peer events such as NAMIWalks, Relay For Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and Men Wear Pink.

Podcast Host

Marcie Maxwell is the Managing Director of the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum. Marcie joined the P2PPF team in 2021 after 15+ years as a front-line fundraiser, national events & campaign director and fundraising consultant. In her role, Marcie serves as a primary thought leader and community builder for the peer-to-peer fundraising industry. She started her career in fundraising with 10+ years at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she ran local fundraising events, managed national volunteer partnerships and launched their national walk program. She then spent 5+ years as the Director of Chapter Fundraising Events with Make-A-Wish America, where she provided strategy, support & training to 60 chapters on the full event portfolio – walks, school fundraising, an endurance hiking program and galas & social events. In her most recent role at Charity Dynamics, she partnered with clients to provide strategic guidance and analysis to help them optimize and grow their peer-to-peer fundraising events & campaigns. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in Ethical Leadership from Christian Brothers University. She resides in Memphis, TN.