Katrina VanHuss

Katrina VanHuss

Katrina VanHuss has helped national nonprofits raise funds and friends since 1989 when she founded Turnkey. Her client’s successes and her dedication to research have made her a sought-after speaker, presenting at national conferences for Blackbaud, Peer to Peer Professional Forum, Nonprofit PRO, The Need Help Foundation and her clients’ national meetings. The firm’s work is underpinned by the study and application of behavioral economics and social psychology. Turnkey provides project engagements, coaching, counsel and staffing to nonprofits seeking to improve revenue or create new revenue. Her work extends into organizational alignment efforts and executive coaching.

Katrina regularly shares her wit and business experiences on her and Otis Fulton’s NonProfit PRO blog “Peeling the Onion.” She and Otis are also co-authors of the books, “Dollar Dash: The Behavioral Economics of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising” and “Social Fundraising: Mining the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape.” When not writing or researching, Katrina likes to make things — furniture from reclaimed wood, new gardens, food with no recipe. Katrina’s favorite Saturday is spent cleaning out the garage, mowing the grass, making something new, all while listening to loud music by now-deceased black women, throwing in a few sets on the weight bench off and on, then collapsing on the couch with her husband Otis to gang-watch new Netflix series whilst drinking sauvignon blanc.

Katrina grew up on a Virginia beef cattle and tobacco farm with her three brothers. She is accordingly skilled in hand to hand combat and witty repartee — skills gained at the expense of her brothers. Katrina’s claim to fame is having made it to the “American Gladiator” Richmond competition as a finalist in her late 20s, progressing in the competition until a strangely large blonde woman knocked her off a pedestal with an oversized pain-inducing Q-tip. Katrina’s mantra for life is “Be nice. Do good. Embrace embarrassment.” Clearly she’s got No. 3 down.

March 13, 2024 How to Keep Every Member of Your Organization Connected to the Strategic Plan

Here’s how to ensure everyone in your organization connects with the strategic plan in a way that makes them care about it.

February 13, 2024 Managing the Transition From a Working Board to a Governance Board

Here are five reasons to transition your board from a working board to a governance board, and how to protect your board members.

January 26, 2024 6 Ways to Avoid the Bad Board Syndrome

Here are six specific examples of how leadership can avoid having a bad board and maximize chances for success.

December 18, 2023 What to Do About Donors Who Require Your Nonprofit to Be ‘Woke’?

Are we in danger of alienating donors because we are too “woke” or “not woke enough?” Here’s how your organization can adapt.

November 20, 2023 Why Everyone Can’t Be in Your Nonprofit’s Community

If everyone is in your nonprofit’s community, you have a crowd with no shared idea. Here’s how to get the right people in your group.

October 12, 2023 Does Your Nonprofit Have a Community of Constituents? Probably Not.

Our society is declining, along with its support of social good. Here are strategic steps for building a community to address this.

September 5, 2023 Top 5 Things Your Boss Is Worried About

Nonprofit leaders deal with a lot in their roles. Here are five things that leaders across the industry are worried about.

August 16, 2023 The Meta Pixel: Is Your Nonprofit’s Data Vulnerable?

Here, I discuss the implications of the Meta Pixel for the nonprofit sector and what nonprofits should do.

July 7, 2023 DEI Training Isn’t Affirmative Action

Because good intentions don’t work against unconscious preferences for in-groups, we need laws that ensure diversity and inclusion.

June 19, 2023 Livestream Fundraising: Is It Really Just Peer-to-Peer Online?

Social fundraisers sometimes don’t want to believe online communities are real communities, but they use livestreaming to fundraise.

May 19, 2023 5 Social Fundraising Lessons That Can Influence Your Overall Development Strategy

If major gift fundraising is Morton’s, social fundraising is McDonald’s. We’re not talking about the food; we’re talking about scale. The great thing about the scale of social fundraising is that you get a lot of data. So, here’s what the fast food of fundraising has to offer other income channels.

April 5, 2023 Marie Kondo Defines Nonprofit Work Worth Doing

Evaluate the work you do each day with this clarifying question: What strategic plan objective does this task or project support? By doing so, you will go on a journey of discovery that could change your career.

March 21, 2023 National Resource Teams: Top 5 Reasons the Field Hates Them and What to Do About It

Understanding the sources of conflict between the field and national resource teams can help diminish the friction that often exists.

September 20, 2022 Where to Begin Building Trust

Trust is your nonprofit’s most valuable asset. Donors support your mission so you will make something they think is important happen.

August 10, 2022 What Your Peer Organizations Are Doing About Raises

Knowing what to do about raises is tough. “What if we have a recession?” “But we had a great year.” “But we didn’t address raises last year.” “But our headcount is like a leaky bucket.” So yeah, it’s hard.

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