Justin is Funraise's CEO, a co-founder, and a bad-ass, experienced nonprofit fundraiser. Like a true fundraiser-turned-founder, he breaks down the concepts behind Funraise's mission everywhere he can make nonprofits' voices heard.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it...

Scaling takes sacrifice. Scaling is painful. Scaling usually isn't linear. 

As a founder or director with world-changing vision, you have to want it so bad that you're willing to give up most short and mid-term gains to keep your doors open for that long-term mission. 

It's like Elon Musk said, "Starting a company is like staring into the abyss while eating glass."

The good news is that you don't have to go through it alone. 

As a founder of both nonprofits and for-profits, I can relate to just how difficult scaling is—it's eating-glass-difficult. I can also vouch for the fact that it's not just you; leaders everywhere share your experience.

There's an answer that isn't, "Suck it up.": Let your fellow leaders support you.

You're not alone, nonprofit leader.

In early 2024, an intimate group of forward-thinking nonprofit leaders and industry experts convened in the Redwoods, led by Brett Hagler and the New Story team in partnership with Funraise. Camp Redwood allowed space for these scale-obsessed visionaries to exchange their ideas and experiences.

Before Camp Redwood, the goal was to embolden these talented individuals to keep taking big swings as they worked to scale their organizations. Post-camp, it was apparent that Camp Redwood fulfilled a need that's gone unmet by other events in this space, so we've got a new goal: support more visionary leaders like you.

Leaders, if anything about this email resonated with you, please raise your hand for our next Camp Redwood by filling out the linked interest form. This gathering will again be invite-only—if you or another social impact leader is interested, let's support one other.