We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Shwarzstein a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alex, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

I was first diagnosed with stage 3 vaginal cancer in December 2022, while I was still working in-house as director of development and communications for a local nonprofit. My team was incredibly supportive and flexible as they could be while I underwent 2 months of treatment during the spring of 2023. But within a few months back at work, I had to reckon with my own burnout. Like so many in the nonprofit sector, I had spent the years since COVID stretching myself thinner and thinner even as our workload grew. It took a life-threatening illness to make me realize that I needed to prioritize my own well-being.
By October 2023, I made the decision to turn my employer into the first client of my new consulting business, Mission Mavens. This was a strangely liberating moment for me – consulting had been my dream for years, but I hadn’t felt confident enough before to take the leap until that point. A hazy prognosis can really put other kinds of risk into perspective. So, when the cancer returned in January 2024, it was a little easier for me to take a step back as I went into treatment, knowing I had already set myself on a new path.
I am incredibly fortunate that my clients were supportive and flexible about my hours. However, this time, what the disease took from me was the lead time I’d expected to have to network and build relationships to secure future work. By the spring of 2024, I was genuinely scared I would not have any revenue by the fall.
Yet, I chose once again to turn a challenge into an opportunity. I started speaking openly about my health challenges on LinkedIn, and the response was overwhelming. It turns out that when you open up, people want to engage on a deeper level. I even wrote a post candidly discussing how I’m using my cancer to increase engagement – and it remains one of my most liked posts. That engagement has led to new business leads, proving that even in difficult times, there are ways to move forward. Perhaps I am making up for that lost time after all.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Fundraising is a passion of mine. I have more than 15 years of experience inside small and mid-size nonprofits. I’ve had the honor of working across many aspects of development, from direct mail to major gifts, to grants, marketing and communications.

The one throughline has been that wherever I’ve worked, I have either built new initiatives from the ground up or revitalized an existing program that needed a fresh approach. I am passionate about connecting local causes with the resources they need to thrive and serve our community.

Having worked inside both local and national organizations, I have gained valuable insights into what truly works – and what doesn’t. While there are lots of best practices that can be learned in books or webinars, the reality in most small and mid-size nonprofits is much more nuanced. I’ve learned through hands-on experience how and when to implement the best practices that will work for your unique needs – and when to think outside the box for resourceful solutions.

As a consultant, I use my greatest strengths to help essential nonprofits discover new ways to build and grow their fundraising. As a planner, I love working with organizations to clarify their goals and develop actionable, realistic plans to achieve them. Let’s work together to create a lasting and meaningful impact!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Without a doubt, networking has been a key to my growth. I spent the first 10 years of my career in New York City, where I rarely showed up to professional events. I’m an extrovert and a natural salesperson – and yet it felt impossible to sell myself. I kept going from one toxic job to the next feeling completely isolated and unsupported.

Everything changed when I moved back to the Bay Area. I made a conscious decision to approach things differently. I started attending every networking event I could reasonably say was work-related. Since my role at work was to raise money from individuals, it was pretty broad. I forced myself to go to local events for chambers of commerce, tech professionals, educators, everything from soup to nuts if I thought there was a chance I might meet someone influential or with high net worth potential. Fortunately, my boss at the time gave me the freedom to attend professional development events during the day. This gave me lots of opportunities to practice pitching myself as a representative of my organization. By the time I was laid off and needed to figure out how to pitch myself, I had a solid network of people I could call to meet for coffee and ask for leads.

My next job, which was my last in-house role, only expanded that network. As the head of external relations for a high-profile local organization, I was constantly refining my elevator pitch both for the organization and for myself and constantly meeting community leaders in other nonprofits, local government, the media, and more. When I finally decided to hang out my own shingle, I discovered I’d built myself an incredible network not only of professional contacts, but also people who were deeply, personally supportive during my illness.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth has been absolutely crucial to growing my consulting business. My first client was my former employer, and my second was an organization I had interviewed with for a job 4 years prior. When they reached out about a new job opening, I asked to have a conversation about their transitional needs instead – and ended up in a yearlong contract for interim services.
I also create posts frequently on LinkedIn, sharing small wins, updates on my health journey, and insights from my lived experiences that are relevant to my work. At the end of every post, I remind my network that I am open to taking on new clients. That simple act of putting myself out there has let to multiple opportunities – friends and former colleagues reach out for themselves or to pass on my name to others in their network. Being open, vulnerable, and consistent has made a big difference in building traction.

• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/alexshwarzstein