Melissa has served as an RNL strategist and donor engagement expert for over two decades, helping hundreds of institutions meet their fundraising goals. Over her career, she’s helped RNL innovate to adopt new channels and optimize outreach in a changing world. She currently contributes to data-driven strategy for programs which raise over $100M annually, providing insights, benchmarking and analytics to maximize the donor experience and fundraising ROI.
Previous Experience
Melissa joined RNL in 1999 as a student ambassador, and began in 2002 as a program center manager, then she rose in leadership roles including senior director of client services and operations. During her time at RNL, she has developed robust forecasting and analytics programs to drive client success. Melissa has also served in numerous volunteer positions for her sorority, Delta Gamma.
Education
Melissa holds bachelor’s degree in political science and speech communications from the University of Georgia, and an M.B.A. from Mississippi State University.
Presentations and Insights
- LinkedIn Live: #GivingTuesday Review
- 2022 Advancement Innovation Summit – Five Tough Fundraising Questions
“I’m excited to be focused on providing solutions that lead to the improvement of real peoples’ lives. The work we do to engage donors have a real impact, and the strategy we employ is crucial to amplifying that impact.”
“Data tells a story, and when we dig into the mountain of data we have on our donors, we have a real opportunity to pull levers and add nudges that move donors in the direction of doing more good. With a personalized, data-driven approach, we can guarantee that the story has the best possible happy ending.”