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Gina Jackson
Director, Corporate Development & Community Relations at United Way of the Lower Mainland
Professional Background
Gina Jackson is an accomplished corporate development and fundraising professional known for her unwavering dedication to forging meaningful partnerships and advancing corporate priorities. Currently serving as the Director of Corporate Development & Community Relations at United Way of the Lower Mainland, Gina has adeptly guided efforts to maximize fundraising initiatives and enhance stakeholder relations. Her distinctive blend of experience across multiple sectors, including strategic communications, education, and public service, has equipped her with the expertise necessary to advise C-suite executives effectively, driving substantial donations to support community well-being through philanthropic endeavors.
Gina's career journey has seen her hold pivotal roles that have honed her strategic mind and developments in corporate outreach. As the Senior Campaign Manager at United Way of the Lower Mainland, she played a critical role in shaping and executing campaigns designed to engage the community and propel fundraising successes. Her formative experiences as a Recruitment Consultant with the globally recognized brand Hays further strengthened her recruitment and talent acquisition skills, while her role as a Strategic Communications Consultant at Media House International endowed her with valuable insights into effective communication strategies that resonate with diverse audiences.
Before committing herself to the world of corporate development and philanthropy, Gina gained notable experience as a Research Assistant in The House of Lords, UK, where she collaborated closely with Lord McColl of Dulwich. This role not only provided her with an understanding of government structure and operations but also instilled in her a deep appreciation for the importance of public service and advocacy. Furthermore, her tenure as President of the Loughborough Students Union during her time at Loughborough University showcased her leadership abilities and commitment to student welfare, making substantial contributions to the university community.
Education and Achievements
Gina's educational journey laid the foundation for her prosperous career in corporate development and fundraising. She pursued a B.A. (Hons) in Politics with Social Psychology at Loughborough University, where she developed critical analytical skills and fostered an understanding of the interplay between political frameworks and social behavior. The rigors of her studies not only enriched her knowledge base but also refined her strategic thinking capabilities, allowing her to navigate complex organizational environments effectively.
Prior to her university studies, Gina completed her early education at King Edwards - Handsworth, which was instrumental in shaping her academic trajectory and fostering her early interest in leadership and community engagement. The combination of her educational background and practical experiences has enabled her to cultivate a robust skill set that centers around stakeholder engagement, corporate responsibility, and effective communication.
Gina's remarkable journey through various professional landscapes has been marked by her commitment to service and her proactive approach in tackling the challenges of corporate and community development. Her remarkable achievements at United Way and beyond stand as a testament to her capabilities and her passion for making a positive societal impact.
Achievements
Gina Jackson has consistently excelled in positions of leadership and responsibility throughout her esteemed career. As the current Director of Corporate Development & Community Relations at United Way of the Lower Mainland, Gina has been instrumental in leading transformative initiatives that have significantly improved community welfare through funding and partnerships. Her ability to effectively match client and corporate priorities has resulted in increased engagement initiatives that resonate with stakeholders.
Moreover, Gina's prior role as Senior Campaign Manager was pivotal in shaping successful income generation strategies, leading to heightened fundraising outcomes and extensive community outreach programs. This success has established her as a trusted voice in philanthropic communications, inspiring others around her to engage with and support United Way's mission.
Her diverse past experience—including her time at Hays as Manager for Accounting & Finance and her role at Media House International as a Strategic Communications Consultant—has further equipped her with an exceptional understanding of business operations and the nuances of community engagement practices. Her comprehensive knowledge continues to serve her well in establishing and nurturing stakeholder partnerships, which are vital for the success of any fundraising endeavor.
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Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.