This dynamic half-day workshop led by two accomplished leaders will explore the critical balance between thanking donors meaningfully and strategically guiding them toward deeper engagement.
With a mix of strategy, storytelling, and a touch of humor, Angel and Mary make donor stewardship and cultivation exciting, effective, and actionable. Their engaging approach ensures that every nonprofit professional they work with walks away with fresh ideas and practical tools to elevate their donor relationships.
Attendees will learn practical, impactful ways to express gratitude, build trust, and move donors from one-time gifts to lasting relationships.
Participants will leave with a ready-to-implement action plan, ensuring they can put their new strategies into practice immediately.
About this powerful presenting partnership
Angel Benedict, CFRE, and Mary Saretski, CFRE, are dynamic, creative thinkers and problem solvers who have spent their careers transforming donor engagement.
Starting their journey together at the University of Alberta’s central advancement team, they quickly discovered a shared passion for building meaningful relationships and making philanthropy both impactful and fun. Since those early days, they’ve remained close colleagues—constantly bouncing ideas off each other, tackling challenges together, and pushing each other to think bigger and bolder. Simply put, they’re better together.
Angel, now the Executive Director of 880 CHED Santas Anonymous, leads with innovation and heart. Mary, as the Director of Donor & Stakeholder Relations at the Edmonton Humane Society, brings energy and strategy to connecting people with causes that matter.
