We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Melanie Ulle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Melanie below.

Melanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?

Philanthropy Expert has always been had a hybrid work environment. We started with an office but made work flexible for our team. Since the pandemic, we no longer pay for an office, or for coworking memberships for the team. We are entirely remote, which allows for a more diverse and geographically dispersed team. There was a time when everyone at PE was in Colorado. Now, we have someone in London, another in Minneapolis and still another in Anchorage. The rest of remain in Colorado as of today, but that could change. I could see a world inwhich I live abroad while working with clients for a few months each year.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

No child envisions the future and says, “I want to be a fundraiser.” Like all fundraising professionals, I fell into it. Fortunately, I view philanthropy as a true vocation. My professional experience includes philanthropic development, political fundraising, donor advising, and nonprofit management. Throughout my career, I’ve raised tens of millions of dollars, resulting in a significant impact for a broad range of organizations. I have advised donors to distribute over $20 million in philanthropic donations, which keeps that good philanthropic mojo flowing.

Proudly headquartered in Colorado and counting a worldwide network of nonprofits, foundations, and campaigns as clients, my company, Philanthropy Expert, is the trusted partner of organizations looking to increase the flow of dollars in both directions. And we do it from the frontline to the boardroom to the dance floor – with compassion and charm.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I hired my business partner, Erin Flores, when the company was founded. She was employee #1. She is the reason the company has scaled and why we have doubled in size and revenue in just the past few years. When you find a treasure like Erin, you do everything you can to keep and elevate her.

We are a great balance to each other. She is an 8 on the Enneagram and I am a 7 and together, we’re unstoppable.

She is in the process of buying Philanthropy Expert from me in an annual equity-sharing process we’ve created ourselves. I think the system we’ve created is extremely novel and cutting-edge and reflects a balance of both sweat equity and the financial benefits the company has reaped from our collective work.

Have you ever had to pivot?

During the pandemic, we definitely had to pivot to save the company from what could have been an abrupt and ugly demise. Our clients dried up overnight. We were prepared for the worst, and with some crafty networking and some great friends who popped in at just the right time, we were able to create a teaching program for development executives to encourage nonprofits to continue fundraising and keep us in the black. Phew! I also want to recognize that the PPP allowed us to help bridge the gap in revenue and I am forever grateful both for our ability to pivot and for the government’s commitment to saving small businesses.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.philanthropyexpert.org
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-ulle-she-her-hers-1009994/