Podcast Summary: "Feeling wheels and growth mindset: Lessons from 17 years at Wisconsin Humane Society"

Podcast: RKD Group: Thinkers
Host: Nipa Eason (B)
Guest: Sarah Trudeau, Director of Data and Annual Fund, Wisconsin Humane Society (A)
Date: November 13, 2025

Overview

This episode features a deep-dive conversation with Sarah Trudeau, who has spent 17 years growing with the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS), moving from adoption counselor to Director of Data and Annual Fund. The discussion explores scaling up a nonprofit, fostering a growth mindset, developing a monthly giving program, and the realities of compassion fatigue and self-care in nonprofit roles. It’s a candid, practical, and inspiring look at what it takes to make an impact in animal welfare and beyond.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sarah’s Path into Nonprofit Work

• Sarah grew up around nonprofits due to her family’s community engagement, though animal welfare was not the original path.
• Originally aimed for accounting, she discovered a passion for animal welfare after a part-time job at WHS.

  “I took a part time job at WHS and just completely and utterly fell in love. I fell in love with our mission, I fell in love with the people...” (04:01)

2. Scaling an Organization: Growth at WHS

• From two to six shelters over 17 years, plus a high-volume spay/neuter clinic and one of the Midwest’s largest wildlife centers.

• Fundraising budget grew from $2.4 million to nearly $15 million in that time.

• Need for rapid systematization and alignment due to widely separated campuses.

  “We had to quickly learn just how to systematize everything, how to scale things … fundraising wise, just tremendous growth.” (05:55)

• Importance of documentation to prevent loss of institutional knowledge during team changes.

  “Okay, yeah, no, we should document this stuff... so much isn’t written down and isn't documented.” (07:26)

• Overcoming challenges in integrating fundraising databases and aligning donor communications, especially during mergers or partnerships.

  “Getting all of those donors used to our language, used to our systems from a direct mail side...” (07:30)

3. Proudest Achievements

• Building new shelters and managing capital campaigns has made a tangible impact.
• Team growth: from two people in development to ~24.

  “To physically see your work in action is a really beautiful thing … building a team. I’m so proud of my team.” (09:50)

4. Growth Mindset & Organizational Culture

• Emphasis on feedback, open-mindedness, and willingness to change is institutionalized at WHS.
• Leaders are encouraged to seek and accept feedback, even when it’s hard to hear.

  “You have to sit with that and let the ego go to the side and know … that we can hear feedback and know that it's coming from a good place.” (12:09)

5. Monthly Giving (“Sustainers”) Program

• The journey: from 50–60 monthly donors to nearing 1,500 over 13+ years.

• Embracing subscription/donation models familiar to millennials.

• Success has primarily been through “unlocking challenge” campaigns rather than substantial investments in face-to-face fundraising.

  “We had maybe, maybe like 50 to 60 at that point. Now we're, we're getting really, really close to 1500.” (15:20) “Our biggest campaign … is an unlocking challenge. … I think that last one we got almost 150 within a 30 day period … no investment from our organization.” (15:32, 16:26)

• Monthly donors now generate around $500,000/year—a reliable, no-overhead income stream.

  “We’re inching closer to about 500,000 per year … that’s reliable income…” (16:56)

6. Reality of the Work: Typical Day & Problem-Solving

• No truly “typical” day; the role covers meetings, reporting, occasional travel to shelters, and hands-on help during peak periods.
• The staff shares a “problem-solving mindset,” adapting to community needs and responding rapidly to crises (e.g., intake of 121 cats in a single day, 47 from one home).

  “There is no standard day in animal welfare ... I had to spend ... I drove that week about 17 hours total ... but I was like, this is so pretty.” (18:02, 18:52) “The team just put their heads down… they put their head down and solved that problem and without complaining and just took care of those animals.” (21:39)

7. Communication and Donor Engagement

• Communication strategy has shifted over recent years to more holistic, community-aware messaging.

  “Our communications and marketing team ... are really trying to put a systematic lens on things ... we shifted that messaging probably really ... 5ish years ago. And it's just been a really beautiful change.” (27:34, 29:05)

• Messaging emphasizes interconnectedness of issues and the broader impact of each action.

8. Advice for Nonprofit Professionals and Self-Care

• Pace yourself; you cannot fix everything at once—avoid the “mouse wheel”.

  “It's easy to get caught in... a mouse wheel ... we're only one human, we're only one organization ... listening first... instead of automatically being the one... shifting things...” (29:49, 30:00)

• Give yourself and teammates grace; compassion fatigue is real and pervasive, even outside direct animal care.

  “Give yourself grace, give each other grace, give the world grace. Because the work that we do is really, really hard. Compassion fatigue is real.” (31:56)

• Leadership models and encourages healthy boundaries (e.g., “get off email at 5 o’clock,” taking vacations).

• Use of the “feelings wheel” to help identify and process emotions, especially after traumatic or overwhelming events.

  “Somewhere, I have a feelings wheel that I always keep really close to me. Yeah, it's something that I even look at on a regular basis ... trying to pinpoint that and really sitting with that...” (33:37, 35:39)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

On scaling and growth:

• “We had to quickly learn just how to systematize everything, how to scale things... if I had any clue how to do, I would say absolutely not. But we learned to do that.” – Sarah (05:55)
• “Direct mail still works.” – Nipa (08:43)

On organizational culture and mindset:

• “We’re constantly working through [open mindedness and willingness to change] from the top down... I think as a leader, that's really important.” – Sarah (12:09)

On cultivating monthly giving:

• “We haven't been able to make a huge, sizable investment ... It's really just kind of been these smaller campaigns that just build over time.” – Sarah (15:32)
• “That’s reliable income and similar to a large event ... where you have no overhead.” – Sarah (17:17)

On resilience and teamwork:

• “The team just put their heads down and ... stayed an extra, I think two or three hours ... and just took care of those animals.” – Sarah (21:39)

On self-care and compassion fatigue:

• “Give yourself grace, give each other grace, give the world grace. Because the work that we do is really, really hard. Compassion fatigue is real.” – Sarah (31:56)
• “If you need ... to step away for longer than just a moment, do that. Because the things you are going to see are tough ... it's really important to really connect with yourself and know what you're feeling.” – Sarah (33:37)

Important Timestamps

• Sarah’s introduction & nonprofit journey — [02:27]–[04:42]
• Organization’s scaling and team growth — [04:56]–[09:50]
• Growth mindset and feedback culture — [11:13]–[13:06]
• Challenges and successes in monthly giving — [13:32]–[17:34]
• Day-to-day realities and teamwork stories — [18:02]–[21:39]
• Organizational communication strategy — [27:16]–[29:05]
• Advice for nonprofit professionals and self-care — [29:49]–[35:39]

Memorable Moment

Sarah introduces her dog Louis, adopted from WHS, highlighting the personal connections formed over years with the organization:

“He came from WHS about ... almost nine years ago ... I knew within, gosh, five minutes of meeting him, I'm like, this is my dog. We connected right away.” (24:11)

Key Takeaways (as recapped by the host)

1. Scaling is hard for any organization: Prioritize aligning databases and communications as you grow.
2. Assume positive intent and keep a growth mindset: Continually seek feedback and flexibility.
3. Compassion fatigue is real: Prioritize self-care and encourage it within your team.

This episode is a practical, heartfelt manual for professionals and leaders in the nonprofit space, offering both strategic insight and honest, lived experience from the front lines of animal welfare.