The American Diabetes Association has fundraising down to an art and a science

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

A new approach
A petite dynamo of a woman, her personality underscored by the bright-red business suit she’s wearing on the day of this interview, Bennett leans in for emphasis to declare that “the days of mass marketing are over.”

Like many nonprofits in the new millennium, the ADA has taken a more donor-centric approach to development. And while the idea smacks of warm fuzzies and soft-focus, “let’s get together over a wine spritzer” attitudes, under Bennett the relationship-building ideal has taken a decidedly hardcore spin. The ADA development staff tracks every interaction it has with donors and prospective donors, and nothing is left to chance.