327: Thousand Day Planning: A Different Approach to Fundraising Leadership with Jay E. Davenport

In this episode of What the Fundraising Podcast,

What happens when we stop thinking about fundraising as simply asking for money and start thinking about it as relationship building, connection, and philanthropy?

In this episode of What the Fundraising Podcast, Mallory Erickson talks with Jay E. Davenport, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Penn State University, about building a culture where alumni engagement, fundraising, leadership, and philanthropy are deeply interconnected.

Drawing from his 32-year career in higher education, Jay shares how his experience at VCU shaped his philosophy around “base building”, nurturing relationships with people at every level of the fundraising pyramid and creating meaningful opportunities for engagement before a financial gift is ever expected.

Jay also shares how he approaches leadership and change management within an institution with deep history and tradition. Rather than abandoning what has worked, he believes in “innovating on behalf of tradition”, and finding ways to improve existing practices while honoring the institution's legacy.

A major focus of the conversation is Jay’s 1,000-day planning framework, which translates a big organizational vision into clear priorities, responsibilities, and milestones. He explains how this approach gives teams clarity about where they are going, how their individual work contributes to the larger mission, and what needs to happen next.

In this episode, you will be able to: 

Understand why donor engagement should come before the financial ask.

Think beyond major gifts and nurture lifelong relationships across the entire fundraising pyramid.

Build more connected and integrated alumni and donor experiences.

Lead organizational change while honoring institutional history and tradition.

Use a 1,000-day plan to turn a big vision into actionable priorities.