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Mike Conway
Director of Gift Planning at PSU Foundation
Professional Background
Mike Conway is a dedicated professional with a passion for connecting individuals to opportunities that help make a difference in their communities and in the world. As a seasoned expert in the realms of gift planning and development, Mike has cultivated a rich career focused on philanthropy, community engagement, and organizational growth. Currently, he serves as the Director of Gift Planning at the PSU Foundation, where he utilizes his extensive expertise to guide individuals in making impactful contributions to causes that matter.
Previously, Mike honed his skills and expanded his knowledge bases through various roles in reputable organizations. Serving as the Major Gift/Planned Giving Officer at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), he was instrumental in enhancing the museum's outreach and funding efforts. His tenure at OMSI was marked by impactful strategies tailored towards increasing donor engagement and fostering a culture of giving that resonated within the community.
Before his impactful role at OMSI, Mike contributed to the mission of the Community Cycling Center as Development Manager. In this capacity, he was responsible for devising fundraising strategies and managing donor relationships, which played a significant role in broadening the center's reach and enhancing its programs. Mike's commitment to philanthropy is also reflected in his earlier positions as Development Officer at The Granada and Jodi House Brain Injury Support Center, where his organizational skills and keen understanding of community needs helped drive successful fundraising initiatives.
Additionally, Mike's experience as an Associate Trust Officer at Montecito Bank & Trust provided him with a unique perspective on financial planning and trust management, skills that he continues to leverage in his current role to ensure that contributions are directed effectively toward the intended purposes.
Education and Achievements
Mike Conway's academic journey has significantly influenced his professional approach and community engagement initiatives. He attended Humboldt State University, where he pursued a Bachelor of Communication, followed by a Master’s degree in Environment and Community, as well as Political Science. His educational background equipped him with the essential skills to articulate visions, build impactful relationships, and navigate the complexities of community-oriented philanthropy.
Throughout his career, Mike has been recognized for his unwavering commitment to making a difference. He has developed successful initiatives that unite donors with meaningful projects, a practice that aligns deeply with his personal mission to connect individuals with opportunities that matter. His collaborative approach has enabled organizations to strengthen their development goals while simultaneously nurturing the causes close to community members’ hearts.
Mike's rigorous academic training, paired with his extensive experience in gift planning and development, has positioned him as a valuable asset to every organization he has been associated with. His aptitude for understanding diverse organizational needs and aligning them with the interests of potential donors showcases his dedication to fostering collaborative partnerships that contribute to lasting change.
Notable Achievements
Mike Conway's voyage through nonprofit development has seen him achieve several noteworthy accomplishments that highlight his capabilities in fundraising and strategic planning. At the PSU Foundation, he has led numerous gift planning initiatives that have not only exceeded expectations but also empowered donors to contribute in ways that have profound impacts on student scholarships, community development projects, and various educational programs.
His time at OMSI is marked by a substantial increase in major gifts, further demonstrating his effectiveness in cultivating strong relationships with existing donors while attracting new supporters to the museum’s mission. Through targeted outreach and innovative engagement strategies, Mike has successfully enhanced the museum's financial prospects, paving the way for enhanced educational programs and community outreach efforts.
At the Community Cycling Center, Mike's efforts in expanding the center’s fundraising capabilities played a crucial role in advancing its mission to promote healthy transportation options and educational opportunities for underserved communities. His adept handling of donor communications and organizational partnerships ensured that the center could sustain its impact while broadening its influence in the community.
Moreover, his previous roles, including his contributions at Jodi House Brain Injury Support Center and The Granada, reflect a consistent track record of driving successful fundraising campaigns that significantly resonate with the community's needs. Mike's commitment to enhancing life quality through strategic fundraising demonstrates a profound understanding of the intersection between community needs and philanthropic support.
In conclusion, Mike Conway embodies the spirit of community engagement, making meaningful connections that foster impactful change. His educational background, professional experiences, and notable achievements illustrate a lifelong commitment to development and empowerment through philanthropy. His journey continues to inspire others to engage with their communities and contribute to causes that matter most to them.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of 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. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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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.
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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 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.
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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.