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Meet Mark Duncan
Helping Executive Directors Become the Major Gift Leaders Their Missions Need
More than 30 years helping nonprofit leaders build donor relationships that lead to transformational gifts.
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I Never Planned to Become a Fundraiser
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If you had asked me in college what I wanted to do with my life, fundraising wouldn't have even made the list.
I dreamed about becoming a radio broadcaster. Some days I imagined teaching music. Other times I thought speech pathology might be my future. All of those ideas were quite different from what my parents had envisioned after I earned my degree in Communications.
Like many people, life had other plans.
I found myself working in the nonprofit sector during and after college while trying to figure out what came next. Then, in 1996, something happened that changed the trajectory of my career.
My supervisor walked into my office and said,
"We're going to do a capital campaign."
I remember looking at him and asking,
"What's a capital campaign?"
When he explained that we'd be meeting with generous individuals to raise money to transform our camp and retreat center, something clicked.
That day, I discovered the work I was meant to do.
Not because I loved asking people for money.
Because I realized fundraising was about something much bigger.
It was about connecting generous people with meaningful opportunities to make a lasting difference.
I was hooked.
Wanting to learn everything I could, I enrolled in the Principles and Techniques of Fund Raising course offered by The Fund Raising School at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. It was an intensive, week-long program that gave me the foundation for what would become a lifelong career. (Yes, this was back when fund raising was still written as two words.)
That experience confirmed what I'd already begun to discover.
Fundraising isn't about pressure.
It isn't about persuasion.
And it certainly isn't about twisting someone's arm.
It's about building relationships that earn trust, uncover shared purpose, and create opportunities for generosity.
Over the years, I've also learned something equally important:
The ask secures the gift. The relationship makes the ask possible.
The relationship creates the opportunity.
The ask gives the donor the opportunity to act.
Great fundraising requires both.
What I've Learned
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Over the past three decades, I've had the privilege of serving nonprofits in leadership roles, leading fundraising initiatives, coaching organizations, speaking at conferences, and helping nonprofit leaders build sustainable fundraising programs.
Along the way, I noticed something that kept happening.
Executive directors were being promoted because they were exceptional leaders—not because anyone had taught them how to raise major gifts.
Many believed they weren't "fundraisers."
They depended heavily on grants and special events because they didn't know another way.
They were uncomfortable talking with wealthy donors.
And when it came time to ask for a significant gift, fear often got in the way.
Not because they lacked passion.
Because no one had ever shown them a practical, relationship-centered process that built the confidence to ask.
I knew there had to be a better way.
Why I Created The Fund Coach
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I started The Fund Coach because I believe every nonprofit deserves a leader who is confident sitting across the table from a prospective major donor.
Not because they have the perfect script.
But because they've built a genuine relationship.
That's why I created the Relationship Fundraising Method.
It's a practical framework that helps nonprofit leaders move donors from transactional giving to relational engagement and ultimately to transformational generosity.
My goal isn't simply to help organizations raise more money.
It's to help nonprofit leaders become the major gift leaders their missions need.
Because when leaders gain confidence, organizations become stronger.
Donors become more engaged.
And missions can grow beyond what once seemed possible.
My Mission
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Today, my mission is simple.
To help executive directors build the confidence, relationships, and strategy needed to secure transformational gifts.
Because major gifts don't happen by accident.
They happen when nonprofit leaders are willing to build meaningful relationships—and confidently ask donors to invest in a vision that changes lives.
Ready to Become the Major Gift Leader Your Mission Needs?
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Whether you're looking to strengthen your fundraising strategy, gain confidence asking for major gifts, or build lasting donor relationships, I'd be honored to help.
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CHECK OUT THE MAJOR GIFT LEADERSHIP COHORT