Be Relentless!
Welcome to my blog, Be Relentless! Every month, I will pop into your inbox and share war stories, tips, useful ideas, lessons, and maybe even a few rants! I’ll typically focus on one of my greatest passions: fundraising. But I might also drift into leadership, goal setting (another great passion), or coaching. Or I may share wellness tips, hot takes on hot topics, or even talk cowboy hats (always a hot topic)! No matter the subject, I’ll be authentic, unscripted, no-nonsense, and fearless.
But for this one—my first—allow me to introduce myself. I am the founder of Relentless Pursuits, a consulting firm based in Denver, Colo., which focuses on fundraising, with personal-development coaching thrown in for good measure. I founded my company in 2014 (Happy 10th Anniversary to me!) after having worked for others for 25 years. I often refer to this as one of the best decisions of my life (and, P.S., I love my boss)!
I came up with the name, Relentless Pursuits, driving down Interstate 25 while I was still in my position as a healthcare executive. I was making what had become a regular, couple-of-times-a-week trip between Denver and Colorado Springs. I had already given notice that I was leaving. There was a lot of drama combined with a good dose of mayhem and even more stress, so going to work for someone else had not even crossed my mind. So there I was, tooling down I-25 at 6:30 a.m. with my thoughts only on what was next. It came to be like a lightning bolt—so much so that I actually pulled over into the breakdown lane to write it down—I just couldn’t risk forgetting it!
I had always loved the word “relentless,” even when someone used it in a less-than-positive light. It had been my mantra throughout my life: Be determined and refuse to give up. Pursue your goals despite inevitable obstacles. Create new paths when you find the one you’re on to be leading in the wrong direction. Yup… that fit me 100%. And “pursuits”—what you spend your time and energy on in order to achieve something—was the perfect complement and fit hand-in-glove.
Relentless Pursuits was born!
So here’s what I do: I help fundraisers and not-for-profit executives thrive in the demanding world of fundraising. I have an in-person Fundraising MasterClass; I lead a program called SHIFT, for not-for-profit teams; and I offer 1:1 coaching. Coming soon will be an online fundraising course, because I firmly believe that, if we want great fundraisers, we need to train people to be great fundraisers.
I base my work on what I consider to be the fundamentals of philanthropy: Love your work; add value; stay grateful; and, you guessed it: Be relentless. Above all, I live by the principle that fundraising is not about money. It’s all about relationships.
When I first called myself a consultant, I sort of cringed. While a consultant is, by definition, someone who provides expert advice professionally, so many of us have had bad experiences with those so-called experts—I know I have. So as I embarked upon my new occupation, I made a commitment to myself and those I would serve: I would do it differently. First, given that I had just come off of running three hospital foundations and multiple marketing teams in addition to serving as a Chief of Staff to the CEO of an 18,000-person organization, I knew I wanted to go it alone—no managing people, unwieldy teams, or bad staff Christmas parties. And I wanted my clients to know the buck didn’t just stop with me—it lived within me, day and night!
I wanted to make sure I could truly tailor the work to the client’s needs—no cookie-cutter approaches supposing that what’s good for one not-for-profit must certainly be good for all. And most importantly, I wanted to always be a “boots on the ground” fundraiser for one organization—in the trenches and living what other fundraisers lived so as not to ever lose touch with what my clients were experiencing. As I have grown my business, a major pet peeve of mine is fundraising consultants who haven’t sat across the table from a prospect in years. Really? (PSA: Get a new consultant if this is the case with yours!).
It's definitely not the case with me. I’m currently serving as the capital campaign director for the National Western Stock Show’s Honoring the Legacy Campaign, with a fundraising goal of $150 million. Over the course of my 30-year career, I have raised more than $200 million.
I can help you raise ambitious sums, too. To that end, I’m about to launch a brand new, in-person Fundraising MasterClass for not-for-profit executive directors, CEOs, and senior fundraisers. These strategic sessions will go deep into where the profession is headed, where you are, and how we can make you wildly successful.
So, that’s me in a nutshell! Thanks for reading and coming along on my exciting journey. You can find more information on my website angelalieurance.com. And always feel free to shoot me an email at angela@angelalieurance.com, or give me a call at 303-919-5214.
Until next month, stay relentless.
Big Love,
