We are passionate about connecting people who care with causes that matter to make our whole world a better place. We know that your charity is doing good work – and there’s a simple way to jump from frantically raising money for yesterday to focused attention to a revenue stream that will keep giving long into the future. We teach people like you how to proactively ask for a legacy gift in a clear, action-oriented way.
We believe in a fundraising focus that sees people as PEOPLE, not just donors or board members or staff or clients.
We dream of a non-profit sector that no longer operates in a default “panic mode,” but has a long term vision and the resources to support it, enabling strategic and innovative programs and practices that WILL change the world, one step at a time.
We are Julia and Dave Magnuson-Ford, a daughter-father combo, and we have spent most of our careers working with and for non-profit organizations. (It’s a family thing, really.)
Tiny Frog Strategies was started because Julia wanted to help people and organizations make the leap from where they were to where they wanted to be, using coaching and project management methodologies. After testing out different waters, we’ve discovered that our favourite pond to play in is the one with small shop non-profits who want to grow (or start) their legacy giving program.
Julia Magnuson-Ford,
President & Founder
Julia is a project manager and coach, with more than ten years of experience working for and with non-profit organizations. She began her career working at her local food bank, learning to drive the forklift, ultimately leading to a position at the national association of food banks. From there, she worked for five years as a project manager coordinating full-service mail phone legacy giving campaigns for Canadian and American charities, including hospitals, universities, environmental, social service, and arts organizations.
Julia’s education includes a Bachelors of Arts majoring in international development studies and politics, and a Masters of Arts in political science with a major research focus on understanding non-profit & government relations in Canada. She has participated in numerous continuing education opportunities, including project management fundamentals, planned giving in a day, and completed B-school, an online entrepreneurial training.
An avid traveler, Julia worked as an international volunteer with Cuso International for 18 months, who sent her to Jamaica to help expand their program into the western end of the island. She fell in love, with the island and a man, and now spends much of her time there on her partner’s sailboat.
When in Canada, the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia is her home base. She has volunteer commitments in both Jamaica and Canada, and gives time to local sailing events, both on the water and off.
Julia has the gift of being a great, caring listener while also opening up her own successes, questions, and challenges to the client. She also encourages clients to take realistic, self-defined, concrete steps and all with a positive, humorous, and understanding attitude.
David is a fundraising professional with over 20 years of expertise in a variety of non-profit sectors including universities, hospital foundations, ecological and conservation organizations. He is recognized for his strategic planning acumen and ability to easily establish rapport with people across all demographics.
Dave brings expertise in the areas of leadership, education, and creative thinking in development work. He is committed to helping organizations raise friends as they raise funds through annual emphasis, capital campaigns, and legacy giving. Dave believes that relationship fundraising, education, and the deepening of commitment is integral to the expansion of an organization’s resource base.
He has been a member of Canadian Association of Gift Planners for 20 years, including on the executive team, the national board, and served as the chair of the local roundtable. He has presented at variety of conferences, both locally and nationally for CAGP and internationally at the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy Conference in San Francisco.
Dave’s education includes a Bachelors of Arts with an emphasis on statistical research, a Masters of Divinity, and work on a Doctorate of Ministry focusing on the “Trillion Dollar Inheritance Windfall” currently in process in the US and Canada.
When Dave is not at work, he can be found with his wife on their motorcycles, fishing for salmon in the Fraser River in BC, or in his boat, enjoying time on the water with friends and family.
Dave Magnuson-Ford
Vice President – Sales
I spent several years with David as a fellow Director on the National Board of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners. David not only has an extensive knowledge of Planned Giving but the entire spectrum of Fundraising. He has a clear vision of how to complete tasks and gets them done. It was a pleasure to work with him.
A conversation about death and taxes? How do you even begin? Here at Tiny Frog Strategies, we know that finding the right words to engage in a genuine conversation about legacy giving with your donors is not easy. So we thought we’d let you eavesdrop on ours.
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