Dolores McDonagh
Principal Consultant
@life
Dolores is from North Attleboro, MA but visits the rest of the team in Austin pretty regularly-via her favorite airline, Southwest! Dolores is a history buff, and a fan of David McCullough biographies. A die-hard Washington Nationals baseball fan, she makes her husband a baseball widower many months during the year. When Dolores isn’t using her web prowess for consulting, she uses social media and web tools like Skype and Facebook to keep tabs on her large Irish Catholic family. She also “ride herds” over two teenage sons, Ian, 16 and Noah, 14, and tries to keep up with her New Yorker subscription on her nook! Whew! All that and she sing too! Like her on Facebook in Venus d Minor, a female a capella octet, and help her edge ranking.
Place Matters. Making sure that our kids grow up in diverse, walkable neighborhoods and communities that nurture their minds, bodies and souls matters to me. Causes that support that passion that I support include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Gandhi Brigade, a local youth group in my community of Silver Spring, MD.
Where did you beg your parents to take you as a child?
Fenway Park, but since my dad was a Yankees fan, it rarely happened.
What was your favorite class in college?
American Material Culture where we studied all the “stuff” people have and what is says about us as a people.
If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
Benjamin Franklin – that guy was the coolest of all the Founding Fathers IMHO. Scholar, Scientist, Diplomat, Inventor. And he was a pioneer in my chosen profession – direct response fundraising. He made his fortune selling subscriptions through the 18th century version of email, was the first Postmaster general, and launched one of the matching gift campaigns ever.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Best gift we’ve ever received is our oldest son Ian. The courageous decision made by his birth mother changed all our lives forever for the better and we can never repay her.
@work
Dolores has over 25 years experience helping individuals change the world — one donation at a time. As a direct response fundraising consultant, she crafted and implemented numerous strategic fundraising programs for environmental, cultural and educational institutions. As Vice President for Membership at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Dolores was involved in every aspect of the organization’s marketing and fundraising efforts. She launched the organization’s first online advocacy, fundraising and engagement efforts integrating e-newsletters, grass roots advocacy, social media campaigns, and online appeals into the organization’s existing fundraising and marketing efforts. A veteran of numerous online campaigns, including marketing partnerships with corporations and local affiliates, Dolores has a proven track record of creating and implementing integrated campaigns that move the needle for organizations. She holds a BA in American History from Brown University, where she first logged on to the World Wide Web (to play a Star Trek game) in the late 1970’s.
