Rachel Brandell-Mayers

Executive Director, Prospect
Development 

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia

In the 50th published "People in Fundraising" interview, I am so pleased to spotlight Rachel Brandell-Mayers! She and I currently are co-heads of Apra International's Online Content Committee. We manage a team of great volunteers from the prospect research & management sector of fundraising, working to generate content ideas; line up speakers; and deliver the content to our wider Apra community.

Rachel leads by sharing a lyric from singer Ani DiFranco that has been a driver for Rachel's diverse career: "I do it...because the world owes us nothing, and we owe each other the world."

Other topics we cover:

*How she manages and connects with her Virginia Commonwealth University team, which works in a variety of settings (fully remote, hybrid, in-person)

*How Rachel strives for balance in her various pursuits (VCU role, volunteering, time with her young family), staying true to her values, and the importance of checking in with her family about shared goals and the activities that most fill her/their buckets

*Rachel's motivations to support nonprofits

Our conversation concludes with specific commentary about the challenges of systematizing social media content in the nonprofit world, generational changes in donor behavior, and the need to think more strategically about institutional messaging to donors.

Thank you for a wide-ranging, very personable, and thoroughly enjoyable conversation, Rachel!