Podcast

Jamie McDonald

Jamie McDonaldJamie McDonald is a nationally known thinker and leader on social impact and movement building. Jamie serves as an advisor to socially motivated leaders at large companies, cutting edge startups, and nonprofits. Jamie is also the chief strategy officer for GivingTuesday, the global generosity movement.

In 2011, Jamie founded GiveCorps, a community building and online giving SaaS software platform that was acquired by Network for Good, the nation’s largest online charitable giving company, in 2015. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Jamie was a managing director at Deutsche Bank/Alex. Brown, where she enjoyed a 16-year career, and led several groups within investment banking, including the Private Equity Coverage Group, managing relationships with DB Alex. Brown’s private equity clients.

In 2015, Jamie was honored to speak to Giving Pledge members at the launch of American Philanthropy, the Smithsonian Museum of American History’s new permanent collection on philanthropy in the United States. She has also been featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the White House Social Innovation Blog, NTEN, The Baltimore Sun, and many others. She is featured in the recently released book, Women Make Great Leaders, by bestselling author Jill Griffin.

Jamie is deeply engaged in her beloved city of Baltimore. She was named Maryland Innovator of the Year in 2012. She was named one of Baltimore Business Journal’s “40 under 40.” She received the SiloBreaker award from Betamore in 2016. She received the Downtown Partnership’s award for impact on Baltimore in 2016. She received the William Donald Schaefer award for the City of Baltimore in 2017. She was recognized as an Activist to Watch in 2017.

Jamie McDonald attended Cornell University for graduate school, focusing on International Development in a joint program between the College of Human Ecology and the Johnson Graduate School of Management. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Philadelphia University.

Discussion guide

Many challenges populate the landscape, not only in philanthropy, as we grapple with an increasingly digital age. Women Give 2020 addresses three challenges from a donor perspective for philanthropy in the digital age—rethinking the definition of philanthropy itself, issues around curating organizations and building trust, and defining community. Is technology fulfilling its promise in philanthropy?

There are more questions than answers. Does technology empower us to give? Whom does it empower and is it empowering a more diverse community of donors? How has the rise of online giving affected donor engagement, loyalty, and retention? How are social and digital platforms addressing implicit bias while also making giving more accessible?

Data limitations and privacy issues around data are also challenges in understanding the digital fundraising landscape more fully. Although technology is ubiquitous, it is critical to remember that for fundraising it is still in adolescent stages.

DISCOVER research about technology and giving

REFLECT and DISCUSS

  1. Describe your experiences with technology and fundraising personally and professionally. Do you give more online or through more traditional ways?
  2. Is technology an asset or a liability for donors? How does it help and how does it hinder the donor experience?
  3. How can technology enhance the donor experience? For example, where have you seen or experienced effective donor engagement, customer service, and stewardship using technology?
  4. As a donor, how has technology affected the ways you choose to receive information about the causes you support?
  5. Although 80 percent of Americans own smartphones, digital divides still exist in this country by age, income, and access to high speed internet. What are ways to insure that the technology used is accessible to all?
  6. What are the obstacles to your organization’s ability to fully harness technology for good? How might the organization overcome them?
  7. Trust is a core value of the nonprofit sector – the trust that exists between donors and the organizations they support is a contract. How does trust factor into a discussion about the risks and rewards of technology and giving?