Executive Team Member Spotlight — Madeline Ruffin-Thomas
Name: Madeline Ruffin-Thomas
Title: Vice President, Fundraising Strategies
Madeline has been with the Fuse family since May 2020 and has 20+ years of experience in nonprofit marketing and fundraising. As a Vice President at Fuse, she develops integrated and channel agnostic strategies to help nonprofits acquire, retain and deepen their connection with supporters. Madeline has a passion for data and the insights and opportunities it drives across all levels of a fundraising program. Her happy place is always a spreadsheet.
Getting to Know Madeline:
1. Q: How do you like to spend your free time away from the wonderful world of direct response?
A: I love hanging out with my family and doing crafts, having at-home spa days, going for boba, and doing generally wacky activities with my two daughters (the latest was a Labubu fashion show complete with music, commentary and ratings provided by me). I also enjoy true-crime podcasts and documentaries.
2. Q: Tell us about a favorite campaign that you’ve worked on.
A: What comes to mind is an annual planned giving survey that I launched for a client. It was my favorite not only because of the unexpectedly amazing response we saw from donors, but also because it taught me the value of being prepared for all outcomes — I went from hoping we received a few handfuls of responses to orchestrating a detailed system and managing dozens of staff who hand-keyed 25K returned surveys!
3. Q: What do you think is in store for our industry in the future?
A: I think all organizations will continue to face the need for ongoing program evolution to meet donors where we are — and where they are is always changing. Not only is the generational makeup of donor files evolving, but communication channels will continue to grow and become ever more fragmented. Some “best practices” in fundraising won’t rein supreme for years as they did in the past because the pace of change today — which is certain to accelerate even further in the future — simply won’t let them.
4. Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
A: Physical invulnerability — I could walk into dangerous situations to help people with no fear of getting hurt!
5. Q: What was your dream job as a child?
A: I had several! 1) oceanographer to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, 2) develop the next big new product/service (I had more than a dozen childhood business ventures), 3) weirdly, also be a fundraiser — my parents got a compelling Atlanta Humane Society Acquisition package in the mail and I took it and read it dozens of times and felt compelled to tell everyone about it and how we needed to do something to end animal cruelty!
6. Q: If you had to choose a different career path, what would it be?
A: Author of children’s/young adult books so I could bring all the stories I’ve made up for my kids to life
7. Q: Tell us about a unique or impactful test that sticks out in your memory.
A: I once tested a postcard vs. a self-mailer, declaring the postcard the winner because it generated the same response at a lower cost…only to get the rollout cost quoted and find out that it was more or less the same cost as the self-mailer. It taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of thorough planning for a test and never assuming something will be better, faster, cheaper, etc. This lesson drove the successful planning and execution of so many effective tests later in my career!
8. Q: What would be your entrance song?
A: “Dr. Worm” by They Might be Giants
9. Q: If you were a brand, what would your slogan be?
A: Finding something to learn out of every experience.
10. Q: Fill in the blank: The quickest way to my heart is _____________.
A: a kind word