The Brave and Balanced Fundraiser Podcast By Erin McQuade-Wright cover art

The Brave and Balanced Fundraiser

The Brave and Balanced Fundraiser

By: Erin McQuade-Wright
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The Brave and Balanced Fundraiser is the podcast I wish had existed during my 15 years in fundraising. It’s a love offering to the people behind the mission—the professional fundraisers who give their hearts and energy every day to make the world better.

This show isn’t about strategy, metrics, or money. It’s about you—the human being doing the work. Each episode offers real tools and soulful conversations to help you regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your purpose, and renew your energy so you can lead with clarity, compassion, and courage.

If you’ve ever felt stretched thin, overworked, or caught in the constant pressure to perform, this podcast is your invitation to return home to yourself. Join me to learn how to cultivate balance, resilience, and authentic impact—from the inside out.


Full Episode Transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/fkFZpmNYF3v

© 2026 The Brave and Balanced Fundraiser
Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • The Enneagram in Fundraising: Your Superpower and Your Growth Edge
    Mar 31 2026

    How Your Enneagram Type Shapes Donor Relationships, Major Gifts, and Sustainable Fundraising Success

    Have you ever wondered why certain parts of fundraising feel effortless — while others drain you?

    In this episode of The Brave & Balanced Fundraiser, Erin explores how the nine Enneagram types show up in fundraising. You’ll discover your fundraising superpower, your hidden growth edge, and how your unconscious personality pattern may be shaping donor conversations more than you realize.

    This is not a technical deep dive into wings or subtypes. It’s a practical, high-level lens to help you:

    • Understand your motivational pattern
    • Fundraise from your strengths
    • Notice where stress habits may be costing you
    • Regulate your nervous system before making the ask

    We all carry all nine types within us — but most of us have one dominant pattern that drives our behavior under pressure. When you understand your pattern, you stop fighting yourself and start leading yourself.

    Curious about your type?

    You can take a free Enneagram test here:
    Eclectic Energies (Free Test):
    https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test

    For a more in-depth, paid assessment developed by Enneagram researchers Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson:
    Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI):
    https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/rheti

    If this episode resonated and you’d like personalized support applying this insight to your fundraising and leadership, you can learn more about working with Erin at:
    https://vitalistcoaching.com

    Fundraising doesn’t require changing who you are.
    It requires becoming more conscious of who you already are.

    Send Erin a text

    Book your 1:1 Brave and Balanced Breakthrough Coaching Session here: https://calendly.com/vitalistcoaching/brave-balanced-breakthrough

    ✨ Stay Connected & Continue Your Fundraising Growth

    Listen to all episodes + subscribe:
    https://thebraveandbalancedfundraiser.buzzsprout.com

    Join the community:
    The Brave & Balanced Fundraiser Facebook Group
    👉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/braveandbalancedfundraiser

    Book a Brave & Balanced Breakthrough Call:
    A personalized 1:1 session to support your inner clarity and fundraising wellbeing.
    👉 https://calendly.com/vitalistcoaching/brave-balanced-breakthrough

    Learn more about Erin’s coaching & nervous-system based support:
    VitalistCoaching.com

    Connect on Instagram:
    @erinmcquadewright

    Show more Show less
    28 mins
  • Fundraising Resilience: What Are You Making It Mean?
    Mar 24 2026

    How donor “no’s,” board scrutiny, and grant rejections shape your nervous system—and how to build real resilience from the inside out.

    Fundraising is a profession built on exposure to rejection. Donors decline. Boards stress-test your plans. Grants fall through. Finance departments stay cautious. None of this is unusual—but what you make it mean about you can quietly erode your confidence over time.

    In this episode of The Brave & Balanced Fundraiser, Erin explores the hidden nervous system impact of repeated “failures to be perfect” and why resilience in fundraising isn’t about grit—it’s about recovery.

    You’ll learn:

    • Why personalization is the biggest threat to fundraising resilience
    • The cumulative nervous system effect of repeated rejection
    • How to tell if you’re becoming more resilient—or more reactive
    • Why resilience cannot be outsourced to donor behavior
    • Proven, research-backed tools to build internal steadiness

    This episode includes practical reframing questions, a 90-second emotional processing tool, and simple nervous system resets you can use immediately after setbacks.

    Journal Prompt:
    What am I making this mean about me?

    If you want support strengthening your resilience and leading from clarity instead of bracing, you’re invited to explore working with Erin. You’ll find the link in the show notes.

    Send Erin a text

    Book your 1:1 Brave and Balanced Breakthrough Coaching Session here: https://calendly.com/vitalistcoaching/brave-balanced-breakthrough

    ✨ Stay Connected & Continue Your Fundraising Growth

    Listen to all episodes + subscribe:
    https://thebraveandbalancedfundraiser.buzzsprout.com

    Join the community:
    The Brave & Balanced Fundraiser Facebook Group
    👉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/braveandbalancedfundraiser

    Book a Brave & Balanced Breakthrough Call:
    A personalized 1:1 session to support your inner clarity and fundraising wellbeing.
    👉 https://calendly.com/vitalistcoaching/brave-balanced-breakthrough

    Learn more about Erin’s coaching & nervous-system based support:
    VitalistCoaching.com

    Connect on Instagram:
    @erinmcquadewright

    Show more Show less
    28 mins
  • Reactive Boss, Constant Pivoting: How Fundraisers Handle Workplace Whiplash Without Burning Out
    Mar 17 2026

    How to stop managing everyone else’s anxiety and protect your clarity, confidence, and fundraising results.

    If your workplace feels like emotional whiplash—full speed ahead on a campaign one day, questioning the entire strategy the next—you’re not imagining it. Reactive leadership creates instability, and fundraisers often end up absorbing the emotional fallout.

    Here’s the hard truth: you cannot regulate another adult. Not your boss. Not your board chair. Not your colleague. (If that’s hard to swallow, Erin references The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins*.)

    What you can regulate is yourself.

    In this solo episode, Erin breaks down how nervous system dysregulation shows up as constant pivoting, second-guessing, and emotional contagion in fundraising workplaces—and how to stop unconsciously managing everyone else’s anxiety as part of your job description.

    You’ll learn how to:

    • Recognize when workplace chaos is a nervous system issue, not a strategy issue
    • Stop personalizing reactive leadership
    • Identify what overwhelm feels like in your body before it hijacks your decision-making
    • Welcome difficult emotions instead of suppressing them (and why neuroscience supports this)
    • Protect your clarity, confidence, and fundraising effectiveness—even when leadership feels unstable

    Erin also shares a simple regulation ritual you can try immediately—including a medicinal-strength lavender and chamomile tea practice—to help you discharge stress and return to steadiness.

    Because steady fundraisers raise more money.
    Clear-headed leaders make better decisions.
    And burnout is not a prerequisite for impact.

    Journal Prompt:
    What am I trying really hard not to feel?

    If you want support applying this in real time—whether you’re navigating a reactive boss or noticing your own leadership insecurity—Erin offers coaching designed specifically for fundraisers working in high-pressure environments. You’ll find the link to connect below.

    Send Erin a text

    Book your 1:1 Brave and Balanced Breakthrough Coaching Session here: https://calendly.com/vitalistcoaching/brave-balanced-breakthrough

    ✨ Stay Connected & Continue Your Fundraising Growth

    Listen to all episodes + subscribe:
    https://thebraveandbalancedfundraiser.buzzsprout.com

    Join the community:
    The Brave & Balanced Fundraiser Facebook Group
    👉 https://www.facebook.com/groups/braveandbalancedfundraiser

    Book a Brave & Balanced Breakthrough Call:
    A personalized 1:1 session to support your inner clarity and fundraising wellbeing.
    👉 https://calendly.com/vitalistcoaching/brave-balanced-breakthrough

    Learn more about Erin’s coaching & nervous-system based support:
    VitalistCoaching.com

    Connect on Instagram:
    @erinmcquadewright

    Show more Show less
    19 mins
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