Marketing Without Guilt: How Pando Is Rewriting the Nonprofit Playbook

2025-11-07

Most nonprofits market through guilt-ridden storytelling.Pando markets through joy—and it's driving real results. In this episode of Humans of Growth, host Aly Hathcock sits down with Daniel Morford, Senior Director of Marketing and Events at The Pando Initiative, to explore how one education nonprofit rebranded itself, rebuilt trust with donors, and scaled into 40+ schools—without relying on trauma stories or outdated fundraising tactics. Inside the episode: How Pando crafted a feel-good brand in a pain-driven sec...

Most nonprofits market through guilt-ridden storytelling.
Pando markets through joy—and it's driving real results.

In this episode of Humans of Growth, host Aly Hathcock sits down with Daniel Morford, Senior Director of Marketing and Events at The Pando Initiative, to explore how one education nonprofit rebranded itself, rebuilt trust with donors, and scaled into 40+ schools—without relying on trauma stories or outdated fundraising tactics.

Inside the episode:

How Pando crafted a feel-good brand in a pain-driven sector
The marketing ops system behind collecting 60+ success stories every quarter
Why “initiative” beats “program” in donor messaging
The events-as-content playbook fueling brand awareness and donor retention
How red carpet experiences and food fests became emotional engagement machines
The role of local partnerships over national grant-chasing
Why authenticity and student voice are Pando’s most powerful growth levers

Daniel doesn’t just talk theory—he’s in the trenches building marketing systems that scale. This episode is for anyone building a brand with limited resources, big vision, and a mission worth celebrating.

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RESOURCES:

Learn more about the work the Pando Initiative does at Pandokids.org.

Get connected to Daniel here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-morford-187a45137/

Need help finding a marketing agency to scale your business? Check out PerissonNetwork.com

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