Pouring Out & Filling Back Up: A Fundraiser’s Guide to Renewal with Melody Wells

How a major gifts fundraiser prevents burnout by planning emotional refills on purpose.

Fundraising asks a lot of your brain, your heart, and your nervous system. In this conversation, Erin sits down with major gifts fundraiser Melody Wells to talk honestly about what it costs to pour yourself into donor relationships—and how she intentionally fills back up so she can keep doing the work she loves.

Melody shares how integrity and alignment (her version of ikigai) fuel her fundraising, why she refuses to take donor “no’s” personally, and how anxiety work and therapy unexpectedly prepared her to stay steady in the yes/no roller coaster of major gifts. She also walks through the three personalized “refill” categories she keeps on a written list—so when she’s emotionally depleted, she doesn’t have to think about how to recover.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why caring deeply about the mission both powers your work and drains your emotional reserves
• How Melody separates her worth from donor decisions—seeing both yes and no as not about her
• The concept of ikigai and how it helped her pivot from celebrity journalism into meaningful fundraising
• Why planning post-campaign recovery in advance is as important as planning the campaign itself
• Melody’s three renewal buckets: staycation/retreat, energy release, and empowerment & mental strengthening

Journal prompt:
Where does fundraising most “drain your cup” right now—and what would go in your own three categories of renewal to intentionally refill it?

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