Podcast Summary: What the Fundraising, Ep. 279

Title: The Human Side of Fundraising and Community Building with Dāna James
Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Mallory Erickson
Guest: Dāna James

Overview

This episode dives deep into the human and relational aspects of fundraising, examining how vulnerability, duality, and true community-building can transform both organizations and the donor experience. Dāna James, an artist, engagement strategist, and alum/staff at Berklee College of Music, joins Mallory Erickson to discuss the nuances and complexities of human-centered fundraising, decolonizing generosity, and the importance of authentic curiosity and acceptance both individually and collectively.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Dāna’s Background & Philosophy

• (02:12 - 03:24)
  Dāna shares her journey from artist to “engagement strategist,” noting her lifelong curiosity in belonging and building community in traditionally structured spaces:
  • “Humanity is a group project. And if we can align ourselves a little bit more towards the collective, the song will sing and ring for all time.” – Dāna James (02:12)
  • Talks about her roots in both the arts and organizing, finding ways to effect change through connection.

The Human Complexity of Fundraising

• (04:20 - 08:14)
  • At Berklee, music acts as a shared language and unifier across a diverse ecosystem.
  • Inspired by leadership honoring “time, talent, and treasure,” Dāna describes how decolonizing wealth and generosity means recognizing gifts beyond the monetary.
  • The existing systems often fail to match the abundance of care and effort present among people.

Duality, Dissonance, and Authenticity

• (08:14 - 12:29)
  • Dāna explores the dualities leaders and fundraisers feel—being personally invested, yet having to operationalize relationships.
    • “There’s duality in my very existence... I don’t fear the dissonance.” – Dāna James (08:14)
  • She challenges the advice to "not take things personally" in fundraising, highlighting that the work is inherently personal for staff and donors.

Embracing Discomfort and Change

• (12:29 - 16:38)
  • Mallory discusses the struggle with instability and desire for certainty in fundraising, and how discomfort is ever-present in human relationships.
  • Dāna focuses on individual growth over fixating on organizational policy as the source of fulfillment:
    • “What if the game is just knowing how to deal with [change] when it comes? What if trying to avoid change... is not the game? What if the game is embracing change?” – Dāna James (12:31)

Power, Agency, and Collective Progress

• (16:38 - 18:33)
  • Dāna recounts a generational conversation with her father, highlighting societal progress and inherited fears.
    • “We cannot discredit our ancestors and the work that they’ve done. We have incredible power right now. We also have incredible fear that we’re holding.” – Dāna James (25:25 — repeated from the opening)
  • Growth comes from acknowledging vulnerability and intentionally choosing what risks we take to make change.

The Role of Listening & Curiosity

• (18:33 - 23:04)
  • True listening, both to ourselves and others, is an optional but essential “adventure.”
  • Dāna frames curiosity as keeping your “receiver on,” acknowledging that people’s resistance is often rooted in fear and vulnerability.
  • The importance of finding different ways to communicate—music, art, poetry—when words are insufficient.

Cross-Cultural & Artistic Perspectives

• (23:04 - 25:21)
  • Both Dāna and Mallory reflect on their diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, emphasizing how curiosity is a uniting value while acceptance remains challenging.
  • Dāna notes her experience as a Black woman in predominantly Jewish spaces, and her fascination with the shared intentions—and divisiveness—of different faith practices.
    • “Intention does not equal impact, and therein lies the labor, the practice, the work.” – Dāna James (25:25)

Acceptance and Breathing into Discomfort

• (25:54 - 29:12)
  • Mallory shares her yoga and meditation insights: discomfort is often amplified by resistance, not the experience itself.
    • “Where can we breathe in, in a way, in our fundraising that helps us realize the pain... is actually not in the act itself, it’s in our resistance to the act?” – Mallory Erickson (28:41)

Power Dynamics & Feedback

• (29:12 - 33:56)
  • Dāna urges leaders to be responsible for managing their own discomfort, especially when in power.
  • She emphasizes allowing for vulnerability in others and suggests adding supportive presences to conflict, not always isolating people in their pain.
    • “If the chord is too dissonant, you don’t have to take something away, you can add something... Often it’s another person, another voice.” – Dāna James (33:56)

Translating Culture to Donor Communities

• (34:30 - 39:14)
  • The way teams engage internally directly impacts the donor community experience.
  • Dāna advocates for tracking and equalizing the value of time, talent, and treasure among donors, recognizing non-monetary contributions.
    • “Are we tracking the folks who give their time?... Is their giving any less valuable than the donor who gives $1,000 a year?” – Dāna James (35:20)

The Problem of “Othering” Donors

• (45:19 - 47:14)
  • Mallory shares her own experience of feeling disconnected as her profile has risen, paralleling how donors sometimes feel alienated from the community.
  • Dāna frames this as the result of systemic constructs—patriarchy, hierarchies, binaries—that rip the social fabric:
    • “We have a lot of effort put into certain things that rip up our social fabric, our energy of connection, our oneness.” – Dāna James (46:55)

Individual and Systemic Change: The “Both/And”

• (44:08 - End)
  • Both agree that change requires both systemic-level solutions and deep individual work—starting with one’s relationship to self, with ripple effects outward.
    • “That’s the thread between the system and the individual... starting with that relationship with self.” – Mallory Erickson (57:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Humanity is a group project. And if we can align ourselves a little bit more towards the collective, the song will sing and ring for all time.”
  – Dāna James, 02:12

• “There’s duality in my very existence... I don’t fear the dissonance.”
  – Dāna James, 08:14

• “What if we are in fact already good enough?... What if that’s there because we know we’re giving?”
  – Dāna James, 12:31

• “We cannot discredit our ancestors and the work that they’ve done. We have incredible power right now. We also have incredible fear that we’re holding. And both of those two things can be true.”
  – Dāna James, 25:25

• “Intention does not equal impact, and therein lies the labor, the practice, the work.”
  – Dāna James, 25:25

• “If the chord is too dissonant, you don’t have to take something away, you can add something... often it’s another person, another voice.”
  – Dāna James, 33:56

• “Are we tracking the folks who give their time?... Is their giving any less valuable?”
  – Dāna James, 35:20

• “You’re never gonna outthink your body.”
  – Dāna James, 41:16

• “That’s the thread between the system and the individual... starting with that relationship with self.”
  – Mallory Erickson, 57:17

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:12: Dāna’s background and community building philosophy
• 04:20: Engaging with time, talent, and treasure at Berklee
• 08:14: The problem with binaries in fundraising and leadership
• 12:31: Embracing change and reframing discomfort
• 16:38: Power, ancestral labor, and intergenerational conversations
• 18:33: Listening, curiosity, and their practical applications
• 25:21: The influence of cultural and religious backgrounds
• 28:41: Yoga and acceptance—breathing into discomfort in fundraising
• 29:12: Feedback, power dynamics, and vulnerability in the workplace
• 33:56: “Additive harmony” and support in conflict
• 35:20: Redefining donors and valuing all forms of generosity
• 45:19: The impact of othering donors and seeking belonging
• 57:17: Relationship with self as the nexus of personal and system change

Tone & Style

The conversation is raw, honest, and deeply compassionate, blending practical wisdom with introspective, sometimes philosophical insights. Both speakers maintain a tone that is supportive, challenging, and invested in change—using a mix of personal story, collective inquiry, and imaginative reframing.

Takeaways for Fundraisers & Leaders

• Recognize and honor all forms of generosity—not just monetary.
• Cultivate cultures where vulnerability and discomfort are safe to express.
• See yourself as part of a collective “group project,” not a solo performer.
• Use creative, artistic modalities to bridge communication gaps.
• Expand the definition of “donor” beyond hierarchical terms.
• Start systemic change with transforming your relationship to yourself—agency and acceptance ripple outwards.
• Be willing to name and address the forces (power, binaries, othering) that disrupt authentic community.

This episode is a call to embrace complexity, lead with curiosity, honor collective history and present-day gifts, and foster truly equitable, human-centered spaces in fundraising and beyond.