2014 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards Winners

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Kathy Swayze,
founder
Impact Communications

During her career, Kathy Swayze has contributed to the fundraising success of more than 200 organizations, raising many millions of dollars for positive change.

Again, we could look just at the numbers:

Swayze navigated fundraising messaging for the Foundation Fighting Blindness that combined sophisticated scientific research with emotional storytelling to help increase direct-mail revenue by more than 170 percent over six years.
She developed an institutional case for support and other communications that helped the AARP Foundation increase the number of its $1,000+ donors by 65 percent in one year.

But like our other stars, Swayze's impact goes beyond that. She recognizes the importance of storytelling in fundraising — a fact that sometimes gets lost amid the new and shiny things in the sector — and helps organizations tell their stories in ways that resonate with donors and other potential supporters while keeping their messaging consistent across all mediums.