A Day in the Life: How Donor Ambassadors Build Meaningful Donor Connections

Every donor matters, and every engagement counts. Whether they’re a first-time supporter, a monthly sustainer, or a long-time mid-level champion, donors respond best when they feel seen, valued, and personally connected to the mission they support. 

That belief is at the heart of our Donor Advancement practice at Moore. It’s built on a simple idea: when you combine data, intelligence, and empathic relationship management, you create lasting donor relationships that drive long-term value and deepen affinity over time. 

Our Donor Ambassadors bring this philosophy to life every day. They’re dedicated relationship managers and fundraising professionals who serve as the voice of the mission — personally reaching out to donors on behalf of our nonprofit clients to express gratitude, share impact, and strengthen connections. By pairing custom outreach at scale with genuine human connection, they ensure every donor interaction feels personal, even across large and diverse donor bases. Every conversation is intentional and insight-driven. Sometimes it’s a heartfelt thank-you call after a recent gift. Other times, it’s a personalized email or text that opens the door to a deeper relationship. 

What began as a proven model for engaging and growing mid-level donor relationships has now evolved into a flexible framework that spans bridge portfolios (donors just below the mid-level threshold who show strong potential to upgrade), sustainer outreach, planned giving conversations, and other pipeline-building programs designed to deepen engagement and accelerate giving. No matter where a donor is on their journey, our Ambassadors make sure they feel connected and appreciated.  

To share what this looks like day to day, we spoke with two of our Donor Ambassadors: Valerie Baccinelli, who served in the role for nearly 4 years, and Shanna Romanillos, who joined the team in 2024 after a long career in philanthropy. Both bring a deep understanding of what it takes to build trust and connection. Valerie offers a look at how she championed mid-level donor participation, while Shanna shares how she’s helping expand Moore’s personalized approach through her work with sustainer donors — proving that no matter where a donor is on their journey, there’s always an opportunity to strengthen the bond.    

Tell us a little about yourself! 

Valerie:

Years ago, I was a canvasser for environmental nonprofits. We would get dropped into a neighborhood and go door-to-door, knocking until we raised $200. It gave me an appreciation for what it takes to fundraise and think differently than a marketer. It turns out I was really good at canvassing and connecting with strangers – I would get invited for dinner almost every night! Later in my career, I was recruited for this role, which I saw as another way to grow as a fundraising professional toward my goal of eventually becoming a development director. 

Shanna:

I’ve always worked in the philanthropic world, though my path has been a bit different. My first role was as an administrative assistant at a small foundation in Dallas, Texas, where the team was so small; you truly did everything. It was a unique start — most people begin by raising funds for a nonprofit or cause, but I started on the foundation side, providing grants to nonprofits. Being in that role helped me see the kind of impact nonprofits make and how much they depend on strong relationships, whether with a foundation or a donor, to support their work. 

I joined Moore THD in 2024 and was drawn to the Donor Ambassador position because it allowed me to use my skills for good while connecting with people who genuinely care about others and want to help create positive change.   

How would you describe the job of a Donor Ambassador? 

Valerie:

Ambassadors really act as an extension of the nonprofit’s team. We’re exclusively dedicated to one organization and its mission. We attend team meetings, receive staff updates, and stay informed on programs and stories that matter most to donors. Each Ambassador manages a portfolio of donors that’s built using data and analysis, including giving history, wealth indicators, engagement activity, and communication preferences. This helps ensure we’re reaching the right donors in the ways they prefer to connect. 

Our first touchpoint is usually to introduce ourselves and explain the Ambassador role, so donors know what to expect and how we’ll stay in touch. From there, it’s about building trust and maintaining a genuine relationship on behalf of the nonprofit. We reach out regularly by phone, email, or text to thank donors, share impact, and learn what inspires their giving. With every interaction, we’re also “filling in the blanks,” learning more about what each donor cares about and how they like to stay connected to the organization’s mission.    

Shanna:

When working with Sustainers, it’s a slightly different approach as they already trust and are committed to the nonprofit. It becomes more about keeping them informed on what interests them most, building their confidence in knowing that they are seen and heard, reaching out via their preferred method of contact so that what you have to share doesn’t get lost, and thanking them for ANY type of positive change in their current giving.  

Donors have said that my calls reminded them that they had been meaning to give more but kept forgetting. Or that they appreciate my personal outreach and offer to make additional gifts right then and there. 

Can you elaborate on how a Donor Ambassador fills in the blanks and what that means for the nonprofit? 

Valerie: 

We uncover the important factors (that would typically be missed) to maximize donor support and meet each individual where they are on their donor journey. Maybe the donor wants to donate but not be involved. That’s valuable information for nonprofits to know and respect. Having this insight can maximize the donor’s support rather than bombarding them with information they don't want. Others want to be informed but only like to receive direct mail. I’ve also communicated with some donors who can't see well anymore, so they prefer phone call updates, not emails or direct mail. 

For one health disease and support nonprofit, we learned that many of the people we were speaking with not only lived with somebody who had the disease, but they were the primary caretakers. They were looking for information on how to set up their home environment in order to care for their loved ones, and also asked about resources for themselves. The DAs capture that rich detail and share it back with our nonprofit partners. From this insight, we created a mid-level outreach pamphlet specifically for caretakers that detailed how to care for their loved one, along with some home safety recommendations and ways to find resources for themselves. Making those points of connection is not only beneficial to the supporter, but it also makes the organization’s mission more tangible, which helps to make a broader case for support. 

Shanna: 

I learned quickly that every donor communicates differently. Some love phone calls, others prefer email, and some just want a quick text. My goal has always been to meet donors where they are and ensure we’re tracking those preferences so every interaction feels genuine and personal. 

When I first started, we were already reaching donors through phone, email, and custom handwritten notes, but some donors mentioned they preferred text messages. I made sure to track those preferences in their profiles. Once texting became available as another way to connect, I sent personalized messages that reflected what each donor had shared with me. They really appreciated it and would respond with things like, “Oh, you remembered! That’s great.”

Donors are also refreshingly honest with their feedback — “I like this, but don’t do that,” or “Maybe just a little less of this.” I always make sure those notes are captured in our system and transferred to the client’s system, too, so everything stays consistent and accurate on both ends. 

While your goal in connecting with donors is to engage, not solicit, how might the DA strategy impact gift giving? 

Valerie: 

During conversations with donors, it's not unusual for them to ask for help or for information about additional ways to give. For example, I would get a lot of inquiries about planned gifts. During calls, I’ve had donors let me know they would like to leave their second home to the nonprofit or, because they have no next of kin, have planned to leave their whole estate to the organization — these are amazing conversations and also are great data points for a planned giving officer to follow up on. 

Shanna: 

Just recently, a donor couldn't find my info and called the main line of our client and specifically asked for me as she wanted to make a $10K gift. The Development Assistant notified me so that I may reach out. Because of the trust I had built with the donor, she wanted to know the best way to donate, and I reassured her it was however she was most comfortable. I walked her through the process and promised to confirm once the check arrived. 

How would you prepare for your conversations? It takes work to build rapport with a voice on the phone. 

Valerie: 

I would go over the donor's experience with the organization and notes from past conversations, and plan where I might take the present discussion. I would also get a lot of strategic direction from the Account Manager – they share insights on donor engagement and other key analytics. And after a while, these become genuine relationships that you develop – you know about their lives and families, and many calls are similar to catching up with a friend. 

Shanna: 

As technology gets more savvy and people are more intentional about who they let contact them, Ambassadors have also had to learn new tips and tricks for even getting to the donor conversation. 

Call blockers have become a growing challenge, and many systems now require leaving a message before you can reach the donor. Since I use one myself, I started thinking about what I’d need to hear right away to decide whether to answer. These days, I often skip my name or simply say, “Shanna calling to thank you, not ask for money.” That approach usually sends me to voicemail instead of the “call again later” message. Keeping the message brief and leading with key information helps ensure I can at least reach their voicemail if I can’t connect with them directly. 

It sounds like DAs are the human element of THD's mid-level giving strategy. 

Valerie: 

Exactly. There’s an art to relationship management. No amount of analysis can replace the human connection, especially for nonprofits. The same can be said of the DA’s ability to connect the dots between the analytics and what we know about the donor. Our job is to create a game plan based on what we know and the strategic goal. 

Shanna: 

I think our primary role is to make connections. You're not just making calls; you're not just sending emails. That's only one layer. The goal is to make some sort of connection, whether that's through a text reply or something else, and then being able to hold on to it to get the next piece of the puzzle. Those tidbits of information build donor relationships and inform how you want to approach a donor and know what’s next for them.   

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your time as a Donor Ambassador? Any other feel-good stories? 

Valerie:  

Yes! This job is just one feel-good vibe! You're speaking to people who are already open to the organization’s mission and want to discuss making the world better. Mid-level donors are hungry for information that gives them evidence of how their support is having an impact. For a humanitarian nonprofit, it was strategically important to share how the donor made a difference in Ukraine. The organization published an awe-inspiring blog post about the work they were doing that provided tangible evidence of the innovative ways they were providing emergency care. This was a great way to show donors where their money was going. The DAs called to make sure mid-level donors had seen the post and if they wanted to discuss the article. Stories like this allow us to build rapport around their contribution to innovative solutions and results.   

One gentleman I called about Ukraine was excited to tell me he had gone to Staples to print out 100 copies of the blog post to share with his connections. He felt like he needed to spread the word for us. This enthusiasm is precisely what we hope for. 

 Shanna: 

Almost a year into my time with Moore, one of the donors I regularly spoke with said, “It really means a lot to know you actually send the emails yourself and that I get to talk to a real person.” This was after he made a $50,000 gift — a huge increase from his usual $100 donations. Moments like that remind me why I love this work. I always look forward to our conversations, and you never know when they will lead to an incredible surprise that shows just how powerful those personal connections can be. 

Takeaway 

Donor retention is key to the success of any nonprofit. Our Donor Advancement program is explicitly designed to help nonprofit marketers engage their donors with the mission in a meaningful way, amplify their lifetime value, and build a pipeline to planned and major giving. Our Ambassadors provide nonprofits with personalized stewardship and communication that will solidify the bond between their valuable donors.

 Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you take your donor advancement strategy to the next level.