90. Fueling Classical Education: A Christian School's $298K Gala [The $10M Story, Part 4 of 5]

Summary

The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast Episode 90: Fueling Classical Education: A Christian School's $298K Gala [The $10M Story, Part 4 of 5] Release Date: April 23, 2025

---

Introduction

In Episode 90 of The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast, hosts Jim Dempsey and Jason Galasinski delve into the inspiring journey of Chesterton Academy, a Christian school in the Chicagoland area, and its remarkable fundraising achievement—a $298,000 gala. This episode is part of the "$10 Million Story" series, highlighting five different nonprofit organizations that collectively raised $10 million in 2024.

---

Overview of the "$10 Million Story" Series

Jason Galasinski introduces the series as a celebration of God’s work through various nonprofits. The series features stories from over a hundred organizations that participated in the Perfect Vision Dinner program, collectively raising around $10 million. Jason shares the distribution of funds raised:

• 30% went to pregnancy centers
• 25% to Christian schools
• 15% to Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) chapters
• 30% to other organizations

Jim Dempsey adds, “God was so gracious” (01:09), emphasizing the divine blessing behind these efforts.

---

Guest Introduction: Mai Wilson from Chesterton Academy

The hosts introduce Mai Wilson, the founder of Chesterton Academy of the Immaculate Heart. Mai shares her background before starting the school and the motivations that led her to establish a new educational institution centered on faith, character, and intellectual rigor.

---

Origin Story: Starting Chesterton Academy

Mai Wilson recounts her transition from a stay-at-home mom to founding Chesterton Academy. Concerned about her second daughter’s educational path, Mai sought a high school that offered a rigorous, integrated Catholic curriculum—something she felt was missing.

“We were recapturing what Catholic education was supposed to be.” (04:00)

Mai and her husband connected with the Chesterton Schools Network, which supported them in establishing the school. Overcoming significant challenges such as securing funding and a location, Mai highlights the importance of faith and community support:

“It just came through a series of miracles in a very short time.” (11:07)

---

Fundraising Challenges

Initially, Chesterton Academy modeled its fundraising efforts after a nearby successful Chesterton school by hosting galas featuring auction baskets and wine pools. Despite perfect execution, they hit a fundraising ceiling, raising the same amount as the previous year.

“We realized we had raised the same amount that we did the previous year.” (16:34)

This stagnation prompted Mai to seek a more effective fundraising strategy, leading her to Fundraising Masterminds.

---

Introduction to Fundraising Masterminds' Perfect Vision Dinner Program

Upon discovering Fundraising Masterminds through an email from the Chesterton Schools Network, Mai was impressed by the Perfect Vision Dinner program, particularly its departure from traditional high-pressure fundraising methods.

“When no auction baskets were mentioned... I thought, no, never again.” (17:29)

Jim Dempsey praises Mai’s understanding of Chesterton students:

“I never found a Chesterton student that I wouldn't hire tomorrow.” (09:45)

---

Implementation of the Perfect Vision Dinner Program

Mai embraced the mentorship program, which provided a detailed roadmap for organizing a successful fundraising dinner. The program emphasized storytelling over auction-based fundraising, allowing nonprofits to share their mission and inspire donors authentically.

“It was just month by month just to say, hey, this is what we're told to do.” (20:28)

Key strategies included:

• Table Hosting: Engaging existing supporters to invite new guests personally.
• Non-Ticketed Events: Removing financial barriers to attendance, which significantly increased participation.
• Storytelling: Focusing on conveying the school’s mission and impact to inspire donations.

---

Event Execution and Success

The inaugural Perfect Vision Dinner for Chesterton Academy was held during the COVID-19 pandemic with just nine students managing most classes and administration. Despite the initial scarcity and ongoing challenges, the gala was a resounding success, raising $298,000—just $2,000 shy of their $300,000 goal.

“We just trusted you guys... I was amazed because people who came before who didn't give very much gave a lot.” (27:02)

The absence of auction baskets and the emphasis on storytelling resonated deeply with attendees, fostering a genuine connection and willingness to support the school’s mission.

---

Impact and Future Plans

The successful gala not only provided immediate financial support but also set the stage for future fundraising efforts. Mai highlights the program's role in allowing the school to dream bigger and expand its reach within the community and beyond.

“Just telling the story, it just opened up their heart.” (27:58)

Plans include:

• Increasing Attendance: Building on the momentum to attract more guests in subsequent years.
• Sustained Funding: Ensuring the school remains fully funded and debt-free for future academic years.
• Expanding Influence: Extending the model to other Lake County schools and potentially nationwide.

---

Key Takeaways and Insights

1. Faith and Community Support: Trusting in a mentorship program rooted in faith can lead to extraordinary fundraising success.
2. Storytelling Over Auctions: Authentic narratives about a nonprofit’s mission can inspire greater donor engagement and generosity.
3. Innovative Fundraising Strategies: Removing financial barriers and leveraging personal invitations can significantly boost event attendance and fundraising outcomes.
4. Persistence and Adaptability: Overcoming initial fundraising plateaus requires willingness to adopt new methods and strategies.

“God rewarded us.” (36:51)

---

Conclusion

Episode 90 of The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast showcases how Chesterton Academy leveraged the Perfect Vision Dinner program to achieve a significant fundraising milestone. Mai Wilson's journey underscores the importance of faith-based strategies, community involvement, and innovative fundraising approaches in advancing nonprofit missions. The episode serves as a testament to the transformative power of effective fundraising, inspiring other nonprofit leaders to adopt similar strategies to fully fund their organizations.

For more information on the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program, visit www.chestertoniheart.org or call 815-331-8047.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Jim Dempsey (01:09): “God was so gracious.”
• Mai Wilson (04:00): “We were recapturing what Catholic education was supposed to be.”
• Mai Wilson (11:07): “It just came through a series of miracles in a very short time.”
• Jim Dempsey (09:45): “I never found a Chesterton student that I wouldn't hire tomorrow.”
• Mai Wilson (17:29): “When no auction baskets were mentioned... I thought, no, never again.”
• Mai Wilson (27:02): “We just trusted you guys... I was amazed because people who came before who didn't give very much gave a lot.”
• Mai Wilson (27:58): “Just telling the story, it just opened up their heart.”
• Mai Wilson (36:51): “God rewarded us.”

---

Connect with Chesterton Academy:

• Website: www.chestertoniheart.org
• Phone: [phone]
• Location: Volo, Illinois

---

If you found this episode inspiring, be sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and share it with other nonprofit leaders who could benefit from Chesterton Academy’s story.

Transcript

[Jason Galasinski]

You're listening to the number one podcast for nonprofit leaders getting your nonprofit fully funded. This is the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast.

[Mai Wilson]

I just. I just trusted you guys. I said, we're just going to do the best we can and see what happens. I didn't feel like we were blindly going into it.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Mai Wilson]

There was a reason for everything, but we had never pulled it off before. So, you know, there was that. I don't know. You know, I think we will. But I was amazed because people who came before who didn't give very much gave a lot.

[Jim Dempsey]

I can't get my mind wrapped around $298,000. That is 2,000 short of 300,000.

[Jason Galasinski]

Welcome to another episode here at the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast. We are excited that you are here with us today. We're going to be continuing our series called the $10 million story. And this is deep. Different people, real people from our 2024 class that went through the Perfect vision dinner together, the entire class, over a hundred organizations, raised about $10 million. Can you believe that, Jim?

[Jim Dempsey]

Unbelievable. Yeah, God was so gracious.

[Jason Galasinski]

So we just are celebrating what God is doing, and we're telling the stories of the. Our amazing students and people, organizations, leaders that we have met over the last year. And we've just enjoyed interacting and getting to know people. And we just wanted you guys to have just a small taste of what we get to experience on a daily basis working with these folks. So I'm your host, Jason Galasinski, and with me, my co host, Jim Dempsey.

[Jim Dempsey]

Hi, Jason.

[Jason Galasinski]

Jim and I have been doing development for Christian organizations for over 60 years with combined knowledge, and we get to help raise funds for nonprofits to see.

[Jim Dempsey]

God on display and God work.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's just so much fun, and we just enjoy every moment of it. And so on this series, we got five different kinds of organizations. We've got someone coming in from a gospel rescue mission. We've got someone from Young Life, someone from Child Evangelism Fellowship, another one from Christian School, which is Chesterton Academy. And then. And finally our last one, we're going to end with a Maternity home story.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So we've got five different stories over these coming weeks, and this is our fourth one, so we got one more to go. Um, next week, we're going to be covering the Maternity home.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yep.

[Jason Galasinski]

Um, but really, the. The exciting thing about this $10 million story is that, you know, out of all the money that was raised for the kingdom, you know, 30% of the people that went through the program were pregnancy centers. 25% were Christian schools, 15% were CEF chapters, and 30% were just other organizations.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So if you are a nonprofit leader and you're listening to this podcast and you kind of fall into one of these buckets, or if you just fall into, you know, ministry, nonprofit Christian work, anything under that umbrella of, you know, Christian camps, homeless shelters, really anything, it's a good distribution.

[Jim Dempsey]

I mean, it really is of different organizations.

[Jason Galasinski]

This podcast is for you, so definitely hit that subscribe button. You're in the right place. On this channel, we share a lot of tricks and tips and advice about how to get your nonprofit out of the barely surviving stage and into thriving, into the part where you're no longer talking to your board about how we're going to meet payroll, but you're talking to your board about how are we going to spend all the money we've raised? What are we going to do with all this money? It's just so exciting, right?

[Jim Dempsey]

It is.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's great. Well, we're going to bring on our special guest from a Christian school in the Chicagoland area. But before we do, I would love to turn our attention to this quick, two, three minute video so we can get into the mindset of what this Christian school is all about.

[Unknown Speaker]

Where are you going to send your children to high school? It's the formation that takes place at that key moment in their lives that will set the course for eternity. We were looking for a high school for our own children, and we wanted a school that had a rigorous integrated curriculum that was fully and faithfully Catholic and that was affordable. And that school didn't exist. So we started one education. We're recapturing what Catholic education was supposed to be. One of the key hallmarks of a Chesterton Academy is the integrated curriculum. They're reading the greatest literature of all time. The they're studying the history of the world, the history of our moment and how we got here. They're studying the intricacies of math and science and seeing how the world around them really works. They're invited to think about these great ideas, these ideas about what it means to be a human being, what it means to live in the world in which we are right now. And then they're invited to articulate their thoughts in a coherent, ordinary lives.

[Mai Wilson]

When we found out about Chesterton Academy, we were just blown away. My son Matthew, he literally read the brochure from the beginning to the end when he got a hold of it and he just looked at me and said, mom, I need to go to this school. This is where I want to go to school.

[Unknown Speaker]

Chesterton started with just a handful of students right here, here in this church. And now what we have is that the Holy Spirit has multiplied that across the country and even across the globe as Chesterton Academies are starting in other countries. One of the things I love about Chesterton Academy is just the life and the joy that our students have as you walk through the hallways, as you see them interact with each other, and there's this particular goodness in all of them. There's something here that's happening that you didn't think was possible, but you're seeing it incarnate before you.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow, Jason, that was outstanding. You know, I just, I really have a special place in the. In my heart for the Chesterton Academies. We. I started working the first one, actually you connected me with one in Nashville. And then I started helping Orlando and Dayton and have had helped a number and that have been part of our class.

[Jason Galasinski]

Class.

[Jim Dempsey]

And it's really, there's a whole real.

[Jason Galasinski]

Blessing, there's really a whole network.

[Jim Dempsey]

Absolutely. Chesterton schools that are growing by leaps and bounds. It's amazing.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. So I'd love to bring on our special guest, Mai Wilson. She joins us from the Chicagoland. Mai, thanks for joining us on the fundraising Masterminds podcast.

[Mai Wilson]

Hi, Mai, thanks for having me.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, as we were talking about the $10 million story and just all the things that we've gone through over this past year, could you go back and just share with our audience a bit about what motivated you to even start? Because you really founded the Chesterton Academy in the Chicago area. So what were you doing before you started the school? Why did you. How did you get to that point where you realized we really need something? And tell us a bit about that journey of what led you to start it.

[Mai Wilson]

Before I started Chesterton, I was a stay at home mom for about 20 years.

[Jim Dempsey]

Neat.

[Mai Wilson]

So my second daughter was coming up to high school and we really wanted something different for her. She was not on a very good path and we were looking for a high school, but there wasn't really anyone that we really wanted for her. So we found the Chesterton Schools Network and when my husband reached out, he said, hey, can you help us start a school? And they said, sure. So for her. So we, you know, was a quite a process to show that we had interested families. There was a great demand because I think a lot of families were looking for something different and they jumped on board when we announced that we wanted to start a school. So it was everything we wanted. So it was faith based, but it was formation of the whole person. So it wasn't just. It was intellect, character and spirituality. So we wanted her to have a good foundation in her faith in the Western traditions through history, literature, philosophy, they even teach Latin. So we were very impressed with what they offered, and the culture and the community was very well fitted to forming a future leader, really.

[Jim Dempsey]

I can tell you one of the things that I think blew me away from my very first dinner is just the quality of the students that are involved Chesterton schools. You know, I think the first dinner I ever helped was I think we had a freshman testimony and a sophomore testimony, and just the confidence and the communication skills and just the understanding of their faith just blew me away from the very beginning. And I don't think I've ever gone to a Chesterton dinner that I have not just loved the testimonies from the students, just the quality. I mean, it's just like I never, I don't think I found a Chesterton student that, that I wouldn't hire tomorrow. You know, as, as if I was an employer. And, you know, just from character, leadership, you know, I just. Those are, those are admirable qualities in our day and age, for sure.

[Jason Galasinski]

So my. When you were going back and you were, you were saying, you know, we, we saw that there was a need for this kind of school, we reached out to the network and we decided to start one. You made it sound like that was an easy thing, like you just went and bought a cheeseburger at McDonald's or something. Can you tell us a little bit about the process of, like, how did you actually, how do you actually start a school? Like, that seems like a very daunting task.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. What does it take?

[Mai Wilson]

Well, I mean, we, so we had to have information meetings originally to, to show that we had enough interest for them to take us seriously. Like, is there enough families for us to start a school? They want us to be successful. So we did that. We had to come up with some funding. They wanted funding, a location, a headmaster. And really, after two years, we didn't, we had, we had interested families, but there, you know, we didn't, we didn't really have that much funding. And honestly, until the pastor of the parish here, where our school is located, invited us, we didn't have a location. So it was very tough. So there was a lot of, there was a lot of red tape. And honestly, it just came through a series of miracles in a very short time. We had our location, we Got approval. We found a headmaster. We started school literally in about seven months.

[Jason Galasinski]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

So it was actually during COVID We had nine students.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

Taught most of the classes, and I did all the administration.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

Communication administration. So it was. It was a very sacrificial, you know, first year running on very little, but, you know, the students thrived. They. They. It was. They had in person class all year long.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

And nobody else had that. No, it's. You know, and after our first. After their first little short drama play that they did, they all became very close. So the drama program really brings them together. So.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

And it just. It just word of mouth. Hey, this is really great. They put the. You know, we. Our curriculum's given from the network, so we didn't have to come up with our own. But it was just implementing it.

[Jim Dempsey]

Sure.

[Mai Wilson]

And, you know, having daily mass at the church next door. It was just a. It was just a slow formation, a seedling, and then it just grows, you know, and then. And it's just word of mouth. More people came in to help. We found more teachers the next year. But it was. It's just very. I would just say everything. Everyone was sacrificing a great deal. They're sacrificing a lot of pay. You know what I mean?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

Because I really believed in the mission. Every parent who came to said, I wish I had this from when I was growing up. Every teacher who came said, I wish I had this one. You know, it was just something. So actually, it's not new, but it's something I think the Catholic Church had always done, but they had drifted away from. You know, a lot of schools are just preparing them for college.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yes.

[Mai Wilson]

College and job. We're like, no, we want to form you because it's good to form. You know, education is good in itself there. You don't have to have, you know, do it just for that reason or that reason.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Values, character, all those things.

[Mai Wilson]

And they really appreciated that. It. Taking that stress off of them.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

And the other thing that the parents really loved was we are no technology school.

[Jim Dempsey]

Oh, okay.

[Mai Wilson]

Phones, no. IPads, no. Chromebooks. Parents loved it. And actually, the students, they grew to appreciate that. Because, you know, if your school is based on the incarnation, we're supposed to be present to each other.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Mai Wilson]

You know, so having that presence, interacting with each other. They know how to form. They know how to form friendships. They know how to grow virtue. They know how to interact with people, you know, speaking. Speaking well, listening well. So that came from the. No, Technology policy.

[Jason Galasinski]

Wow.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, Ma, you mentioned a very important word early on, which was fundraising. Tell me your thoughts and feelings. I know that because I understand the Chesterton model. I know that tuition only covers so much, so that means you have to close the gap somehow, and that means fundraising. And tell me what your thoughts were the thoughts of other parents. What, What. How did they make you feel? Was that angst? Were you just delighted? I was so happy when I heard we had to raise money. You know, did that, you know, put a little pit in your stomach or what were your thoughts about having to raise money? What would it take? What would we do? Kind of bring me through your process of thinking about fundraising.

[Mai Wilson]

Sure. So one of the most successful Chestertons was very close to us, and so they did a gala. So our fundraising model was to follow the successful, very successful school that was about a little over an hour away from us. So we did everything that they did. Locations, auction baskets, inviting people, doing wine pools. So we did that for about three years. And the last time that we did it, we thought it was very. A very well run event, very successful. We had our. We had sold out. So we maxed out our venue and we thought, this is going to be really great. And then after the dinner, we realized we had raised the same amount that we did the previous year. We thought, if this is the best we can do and we're hitting a ceiling for this kind of event, it will never be over this. And so that was when I thought, okay, we. We have to do something different. This is not working. It's not because we're doing it better. We're having a better place. It was just our method. So.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Jason Galasinski]

So then how did you. How did you get to the point where you, like, I understand that you realize you need to do something different, but, like, how did you come across fundraising masterminds? How did you get to the point where you realized these guys are providing the answer that I'm looking for?

[Mai Wilson]

Right. So I found out about fundraising masterminds from an email from our Chestnut Schools network promoting you guys saying if you would like to talk to them about fundraising, I immediately said, I gotta check. I have to check into it. That was where I was. I had to check into this. So I had a meeting with Jason, and it was music to my ears. When no auction baskets were mentioned, 80% of our effort went toward baskets, and it was 5% of what we got.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

So I thought, you know, no, never again. So it was the vision. Dinners were very, very different from our Mindset, totally different and involved. Different. A different kind of work. Not so much busy work, but a different kind of work. And what I liked was that it would help us to be fully funded for one year.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

That's what I wanted. I wanted to be fully funded for one year.

[Jim Dempsey]

I love it. My.

[Mai Wilson]

Because we had struggled so much, you know, so I was very hopeful and actually we. I was. I was sold on it. I wanted. I thought this, this is something that seems like you've been doing for a very long time. Very experienced, very knowledgeable, very professional. Sounds like you, you know, you've got a roadmap for us. So I was. I was on board and I wanted to do something different. I was ready to do something different. However, our board was a little bit more difficult. But, you know, we reached out to. Since you had helped other Chestertons, we reached out to three or four Chestertons, and they were all very happy with the results. They loved, was very effective. So we didn't have anything to lose. Right. We had to do another event. There was. It was. In order to finish out the year, we had to do another event. There was no choice.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Mai Wilson]

So really, this program takes a lot of faith. It does, yeah. It's faith in your organization. Right. Your abundance mentality. Faith that God is giving you this ministry and that he will provide for it and that it is a worthwhile ministry. So it's really renewing our faith in. In our ministry.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

So I. I really like. I really like, actually the Christian ideals that you and Jason also used to present this and how. Created this program for us. So I'm very grateful for that. And I would say, yeah, your program was very detailed. It's very well thought out. I thought, you know, coming from. From Chesterton's, who usually parents start this. They're not. They're not. They're not fundraisers. They're not, you know, teachers. They're. So for Chestertons to survive, we can't hire these kind of people. We don't have that kind of money, you know, but for you, but this is. Your program is something anyone can do. I can, you know, I mean, for someone who hasn't done it. So I thought, okay, I can do this. I don't have to rethink. So you feel you've already thought about everything. So I don't have to think about it. I'm like, this is great. I can just do what they tell me. And they say it's going to work. They had 30 years of doing it. So you know, I had faith in your experience and, and your professionalism to just really, to just go out on them and say, I'm going to do this. And we're just, you know what I mean?

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

Because so it really was just month by month just to say, hey, this is what, this is what we're told to do. Let's see how we can do this. Who can help us to do this. Yeah, I was very grateful for the, for the roadmap. I mean, very detailed roadmap.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. 268 steps.

[Mai Wilson]

Yeah, it was, it was great materials to resources that you have. It was great because I had to think about all that on my own before. And it was hard not having the experience to do it right. You know, from invitations to this to just about everything. I thought, yeah, great. Here's an example. Let's move on and let's do all.

[Jason Galasinski]

The wording and everything. Yep. Hey, my. So a lot of people, when they hear about what we do, they think that they know what it is. We were just talking to a guy in Canada who thinks, you know, I think this works in this part of the country, but I don't think it'll work in that part of the country. And, and as I was diving into it, you know, really what it boiled down to is he thought that it was like this high pressure gala where we're guilting people into giving them money. Is that, is that at all what the Perfect Vision Dinner is to you?

[Mai Wilson]

No, honestly, the beauty of the Perfect Vision Dinner is that we get to tell our story. And telling our story, we bring in God's mission, our mission, and we inspire them with, with what, you know, we've been entrusted to do this ministry. So in telling our story, I think people get inspired. So people, I think people always want to give to something, right? They don't until they know, until they hear, they won't know that this is who they want to give to.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right.

[Mai Wilson]

So I think getting people there, telling your story and actually getting, actually you've, you, you've got us to start thinking about our mission again. You know, falling in love with our mission again and thinking about where do you want to go? You know, having that, having that, where you started, where you are now, where you want to go, that whole story, it's very inspiring for people.

[Jim Dempsey]

It is.

[Mai Wilson]

And they, they want to give and they, they feel inspired. They, we give them hope. It's something that's something that they can't do physically.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Mai Wilson]

But they want to support financially yes. And. And that way they feel like they are also work, doing work, partnering with us, doing the work with us. So I don't think it's guilt at all. Nobody has to give. You know, when they come there, it's. Yeah, they can just. You know what I mean? So. But I think, I think that they want to. I don't, I really don't think that.

[Jim Dempsey]

Maya warms my heart that you get it. Yeah, really do. I mean, it's. That's exactly what it's about. It's about telling our story and just let you know. It's not having to beg or, you know, guilt somebody into something. It's just presenting an opportunity. Come join us. You know, great things are happening. God is working. Come join us. That's all it is. And, and it's so neat.

[Jason Galasinski]

So, Mai, what were some of the challenges that you went through as you were going through the program? Was it all just easy roses as you were going through, or did you have to. Were there some bumps along the way? How did the program. Or like, what were. What were two or three things that the program really helped you to understand from a fundamental development perspective that really didn't understand before it really shifted your mindset set in from fundraising to fundraising?

[Mai Wilson]

Well, I think the part about table hosting is a very personal way of bringing people to the dinner instead of just sending out mass mailings or making cold calls. I think the table hosting was really the key. It's friends inviting friends and really helped us to reach out further than our own school community. So we tap into the same one when we reach into them, but we tell them, reach out, you know, reach out further.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Mai Wilson]

And. And since it was a non ticketing event, which was scary, but actually very beautiful, people come. Yes, it's a non ticketing event and they're more. They're more comfortable asking people to come. Just to come and come and see.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Come and see.

[Mai Wilson]

So really, I think table hosting was very. So we do table hosting from our past gala, but this was different because the Pascalists were paid. That put a financial burden and almost a stop sign for people too. I can't go to that. So not charging actually just opened up many, many doors.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, we always use the analogy of imagine you were interested in a lady when you were younger and you kind of were wanting to date her, but you kind of got her in a room and you final mustered up the courage to ask her on her first date and you said, I'd like you to buy a ticket to date me.

[Jim Dempsey]

For 100, actually, I'd like you to pay for the meal. You know, I just.

[Jason Galasinski]

I like the ticket thing.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Don't you think I could get a bunch of girls lined up and just say, who wants to pay the highest price to come to my date?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Jason Galasinski]

I don't know. I don't know if I would be married by now.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, that's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

But, yeah, that's what we do with these dinners, right? We. We ask people to buy a ticket to come to an event that we want to share about our vision and what we're doing.

[Jim Dempsey]

Doesn't make sense.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. It's more like we want to invite them in.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And yet at the same time, we're. We're filling a room with potential investors, and we want to. Want to share with them what God is doing. We want to present them an exciting opportunity and give them a chance to partner with us.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, it's such a great way of doing it.

[Jim Dempsey]

I love that. Mike, tell me, when you set your goal for your dinner, and you had such a remarkable goal, you know, I'd love to. Love to know. Did you. Did you kind of set a. I know we always talked about kind of a reality goal and then a dream goal, but did you. Did you really see there was a possibility that you'd get over a hundred thousand or that you'd even get over 150, and then going past 200, was that kind of. You hoped it would happen, but somewhere behind there you were a little skeptical? Or did you feel like, no matter what, we're gonna. I trust these guys. We're gonna get this amount no matter what? I mean, where were you?

[Mai Wilson]

Well, I mean, I thought. I. In my heart, I think it was possible.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

You know, it's possible to do, but I really. I really. It was just blind trust. I just. Just trusted you guys. I said, we're just going to do the best we can and follow it the best we can. And then, I mean, we were like, we're just. We're just going to do it and see what happens. You know what I mean? So, I mean, from talking with other schools and from listening to you, I felt that. I didn't feel like it. You know, we were blindly going into it, Right?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

There was a. There was a reason for everything, but whether. But we had never pulled it off before. So, you know, there was that. I don't know. You know, I think we will, but. You know what I mean? I just didn't really have anything Any experience to back it up on him. But I just knew that, you know, let's just put our best foot forward and do what we can. I was amazed because people who came before who didn't give very much, gave a lot.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow, that is like so neat.

[Mai Wilson]

Just the different. Just telling, I don't know, just everything. Telling the story, it just opened up their heart. You know what I mean?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So, yeah, take us, take us into, like, the actual night of the event. How did you feel going into the event? Did you feel nervous? What was the program like? Can you describe it to us?

[Mai Wilson]

There was nervousness, but I think our students were very well trained from previous galas. They were greeters, good ushers. We trained them on how to speak to people. So they were. And really the people, our guests are there for them. So we wanted them to see the students as much as possible. And so there was nervousness, but there were no baskets or online auction thing to worry about. So it was, you know, on that. On that end there was, you know, it was better so that the stress level was less, but it was just. It was just being on, being on track, so everything was already scripted. So we just said, you know, we just have to go through this and. You know what I mean? Yeah, it. It actually was. It was. It was very smooth. And the best part, I think, was during the dinner where we usually sit our students at the table, we fed them separately this time.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Which is great.

[Mai Wilson]

Go around to every table. Good. You know, and people loved it because they came and I mean, came and asked them, thank you for coming, you know, and it was. The students are the ones. They come for them. Oh, yeah, we know they.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, they're your best selling point.

[Mai Wilson]

Yeah.

[Jim Dempsey]

Your best representative. Yeah. Yeah. You know, my. One of the things that I always hope for and dream for is. Is kind of opening up the opportunity to give you to dream big dreams. Do you feel like the dinner now has given you or opportunity to start to dream big dreams for your school to be able to say this dinner, future dinners or whatever, we're going to be able to do some things maybe we never even thought we were going to be able to do, or at least things we had hoped to do but never were there.

[Mai Wilson]

Absolutely. I mean, for our. For our first dinner, we more than doubled what we had ever been able to raise in the past.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Mai Wilson]

And that was not. We didn't even reach our attendance goal. I mean, 352. That's pretty. That's pretty amazing.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

That number of guests So I think they were very excited. So we have some ground so that they're looking forward to coming back next year.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

And we have the new people who will invite new people. So, so I, I see how this is working and extending, extended. Which you want to do is we have all of Lake County. We haven't tat. Do you know what I mean?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yes.

[Mai Wilson]

We're the only classical high school in all of Chicago in the Diocese of Chicago.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah.

[Jim Dempsey]

Boy, that is so, that's so exciting. I, I, that always warms my heart when I, I see that, you know, schools and ministries that, you know, they went from a. We're not sure we're going to make payroll next week to now we can start dreaming big dreams. That, that's always my heart. And I, you know, personally for your school and, and so many other Chestertons, I really wanted to get you to a point where you're dinner doesn't just help you get through the year, but that you're always one year ahead, that you're, you're always going to a new school year. Yeah, I know. Wouldn't that be neat that you're always going into a new school year just all prepared and ready. You've got that, you've got that, that amount of money sitting in there and just ready to, to move into a new school year with, without any debt, that you can always keep building into the future. That's what I want.

[Mai Wilson]

That is actually the Chesterton model. Is that you?

[Jim Dempsey]

It is. I know. Yeah.

[Mai Wilson]

For the whole next year, which is, it's daunting.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's, you know, it's kind of easy on the spring dinners for sure, you know, because then they're almost getting ready to finish their school year anyway and they're, they're moving in there a little bit, a little bit challenging, a little bit harder for the fall. But you, you're, I know you can do it. So that's, that's exciting.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, I'm sure there's a lot of other Christian school headmasters listening to this or. And they've maybe never even done a gala before.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

A lot of Christian schools that might be thinking, wow, you ra. 298, 298,000 in your first dinner. And we're always telling people, you know, we'd love to get you that first hundred thousand, but to go, to go in strong and not only, you know, get the hundred, but go past, you know, three times that. Yeah, it is possible, as we saw in my But I would love to have some other conversations with some Christian schools and private schools around the country because there's, there's a need to get funding.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

We're not, we're not getting the funds from the government. You know, we don't have all kinds of foundations and things and grants that are funding these private schools. A lot of times it's just tuition and a lot of times tuition alone isn't enough to be able to accomplish the dreams. Like it might be enough to keep the lights on.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

But it's not enough to dream big.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Right. And so the Vision Dinner really gives you that chance to dream big. And if you are listening to this and you'd like to know more about the Perfect Vision Dinner, you can check it out. There's a QR code on the screen. Scan that code or click the link in the description and that'll take you to our website where you can learn more about the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program. This is a 21 week mentorship program where we walk you through step by step, exactly what Mai said, where we guide you through the process. Us to plan and execute a perfect Vision Dinner the way that we've been doing it for 40 years. And Jim, you've done over 2,500 vision dinners over your lifetime. Yeah, it's probably more like 3000 now. But anyways, we got a lot of experience doing dinners like this and we would love to get in touch with you. So get on the website, fill out the application. It's free to apply, but you do have to to apply to get into the program and then we'll get in touch with you and have a conversation and just like, just like Mai, you might be the next Christian school that gets fully funded.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So we're really excited about what the Lord is doing through this program.

[Jim Dempsey]

Now we got one more in the series next week and that is a maternity home. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

We're going to be bringing on someone from San Diego, California.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

And she's going to be talking about her experience. So it's gonna be really great.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Now, Jason, I am a person that likes to take things to completion. I can't get my mind wrapped around $298,000. That is 2,000 short of 300,000. Do you think our audience might be interested in making a donation to an unbelievable Christian school in the Chicagoland area that would get us over to thousand. That would get us over that 300,000 mark.

[Jason Galasinski]

There might be someone listening that might be interesting.

[Jim Dempsey]

My, why don't you Tell our audience how they can get to your website and how they can donate to or give to your school to get you well, to give no matter what. But to get us over that, I just, I, I want to be able to say Mike's dinner raised over 300,000. So. So what gives us a web address that people could get a hold of your school?

[Mai Wilson]

Sure. Our school is the Chesterton Academy of the Immaculate Heart and our web address is www.chestertoniheart.org. that's I H E A R T.org.

[Jim Dempsey]

I love it.

[Jason Galasinski]

Nice. If someone's listening to you in the Chicagoland area, how do they get a hold of you to check out this amazing school that you guys started?

[Jim Dempsey]

Same way.

[Mai Wilson]

Same way through our website. Or they can call us at 815-331-8047.

[Jim Dempsey]

Great.

[Mai Wilson]

Little Town called Volo.

[Jason Galasinski]

Nice.

[Jim Dempsey]

I love it. Yeah. Well, we want there to be a waiting list for individuals wanting to get in. There probably is already, but we want that waiting list to be exhaustive so that next year in your dinner you can say, we've got 100 people on the waiting list. No, but at least 25 on the waiting list that if we had more money and more space, we could do it. So that's great.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, Maya, any other. Any final words or thoughts about your story or about the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program you want to share?

[Mai Wilson]

Sure. So I would just say one of the quotes in the Bible that come to my mind is when I started doing the Perfect Vision Dinner training was a story about Jesus coming to the apostles and they had fished all night and had found nothing. And he said, cast your net on the other side and they caught an abundance. So I would just say that kind of mirrors how I feel. I love that about what you are doing that we, you know, we just did that and I mean, God rewarded us.

[Jim Dempsey]

Wow. So good. Well, thanks.

[Mai Wilson]

So thank you for all that you and you and Jason, you and Jim are doing.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, it's not ending here. We're gonna, we're gonna love you through it and, yeah, pray for you all the way through the next year. So neat.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, great. Thanks, Mike, for joining us on the episode today. Thank you for all the amazing work.

[Jim Dempsey]

That you do and make sure that if you like this, hit that, like, button and comment. If there's some things, some inspiring things maybe that you heard from this and be sure to share this with your friends. Certainly if you've got a Chesterton close by that you know of, send them my story. But also if you've got a Christian school that you know needs funding, definitely send them. Share this video with them and hopefully it'll inspire them.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, that's it for this episode of the Fundraising Masterminds. We will see you next time.

[Jim Dempsey]

Take care.