Today's Five-Star Guest is Courtney Backen, Director of Community and Capacity Development for GiveMN and RaiseMN. Courtney leads the charge on resource and tool building for GiveMN and RaiseMN. With a background in fundraising for several Minnesota-based organizations like Friends of the Hennepin County Library, Environment Minnesota, and Minnesota Public Radio, Courtney helps provide fundraising tools and resources that take nonprofits and schools to the next level. Courtney graduated from Concordia College-Moorhead with an English Literature degree (her favorite authors are Haruki Murakami and Louise Erdrich) and received her master’s in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University. When she’s not fundraising, you can find Courtney knitting, shopping at Trader Joe’s or taste-testing the newest Haribo gummy flavor. RaiseMN is the answer to years of research, listening, and planning as the GiveMN board and staff sought to fill the critical gap identified by Minnesota nonprofits: a lack of confidence that organizational fundraising strategy and infrastructure will keep up with the demands of their missions, especially among small- to medium-sized nonprofits. Learn More About RaiseMN:  https://www.raisemn.org/ Learn More about GiveMN:  https://www.givemn.org/ Get on our waiting list for our new nonprofit & fundraising community filled with on-demand courses and live webinars that are exclusive to members! Learn all about what's in store to support you and your leadership team at www.DoGoodYOUniversity.com! Support This Podcast! Make a quick and easy donation here: https://www.patreon.com/dogoodbetter Special THANK YOU to our sponsors: Donor Dock - The best CRM system for your small to medium sized nonprofit, hands down! Visit www.DonorDock.com and use the Promo Code DOGOODBETTER for a FREE month! iTunes: https://apple.co/3a3Xenf Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2PlqRXs YouTube: https://bit.ly/3kaWYan Tunein: http://tun.in/pjIVt Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3i8jfDR Follow On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoodBetterPodcast/ Follow On Twitter: @consulting_do  #fundraising #fundraiser #charity #nonprofit #donate #dogood #dogoodBETTER #fargo #fundraisingdad About Host Patrick Kirby: Email: [email protected]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fundraisingdad/Want more great advice? Buy Patrick's book! Now also available as an e-book! Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing Good Available through Amazon Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1072070359