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Paul Krueger
Chief Executive Officer at Make-A-Wish Minnesota
Professional Background
Paul Krueger is a dedicated leader in the nonprofit sector, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Make-A-Wish Minnesota. From his extensive experience, he has fostered a commitment to granting life-altering wishes for children battling critical illnesses, continuing the organization's mission: "Together we create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses." Under Paul's leadership, Make-A-Wish Minnesota granted an impressive 231 wishes last year, positively impacting the lives of countless children and their families across the state. Paul's involvement with Make-A-Wish dates back to 2010, allowing him to accumulate a wealth of knowledge and expertise within this vital sector.
Before his current role, Paul served as the CEO of the South Dakota Mines Center for Alumni Relations and Advancement (CARA), where he was instrumental in developing and managing resources that further supported the university's mission and priorities. During his tenure, Paul and his talented team achieved remarkable fundraising success, raising over $20 million in two consecutive years. This fundraising prowess illustrates his ability to mobilize resources and support educational initiatives while enhancing the institutional excellence at South Dakota Mines. His impact in this role showcases his commitment to advancing educational opportunities for students and contributing to faculty and staff needs.
Prior to his time at CARA, Paul held the position of Director and Chapter Relationship Leader at Make-A-Wish America, where he managed relationships with 13 chapters nationwide. In this capacity, he provided valuable guidance on governance, leadership, strategic planning, and fundraising efforts. Additionally, he played a critical role in CEO searches for several chapters, demonstrating his capacity for identifying and cultivating talent in the nonprofit arena. Paul's successful tenure at Make-A-Wish America prepared him well for future leadership roles in the organization, continuing to equip him with the skills necessary to make meaningful impacts in the lives of children in need.
Paul has a rich history with Make-A-Wish South Dakota, serving as its president and CEO for over seven years. During this period, he led the chapter in granting more than 450 wishes, proving his unwavering commitment to ensuring that every eligible child's wish was granted. As a chief fundraiser, he not only bolstered the chapter's outreach but consistently grew its fundraising efforts, laying a strong foundation for future growth and success.
In addition to his extensive nonprofit experience, Paul has gathered over 13 years in higher education fundraising, public, and alumni relations at institutions like Augustana University and the University of South Dakota Alumni Association. This background has provided him with critical insights into donor engagement and relationship management, essential skills that contribute to his success in the nonprofit fundraising landscape.
Education and Achievements
Paul Krueger's educational journey laid a strong foundation for his distinguished career. He earned a Master's Degree in Administrative Studies from the University of South Dakota, equipping him with critical administrative and organizational management skills that have proved valuable throughout his professional endeavors. Furthermore, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism & Communications from Augustana University in South Dakota, which has enabled him to develop strong communication skills necessary for engaging various stakeholders, from donors to corporate partners.
Throughout his career, Paul has been recognized for his leadership and expertise, consistently working to strengthen communities through his volunteer efforts. In January 2023, he became a board member for Make-A-Wish South Dakota & Montana, allowing him to continue contributing to the organization's mission at a more strategic level. As a wish-granting volunteer, Paul remains directly involved in making dreams come true for children with critical health challenges, reflecting his deep commitment to the cause.
Paul is an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), allowing him to stay connected with the latest trends and best practices in fundraising. His involvement in the organization further enhances his effectiveness as a fundraising leader and showcases his dedication to continual professional development.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Paul has a strong community presence. He is a member of the Rapid City Downtown Lions Club, where he engages in various community service initiatives. Previously, he served as president of the Sioux Falls Downtown Lions Club, showcasing his leadership abilities and investment in community betterment.
Paul has also contributed his expertise to multiple organizations, having served as a past board member of the Sales & Marketing Executives of Sioux Falls and serving as special events chair for the Lincoln High School Band Parent Association. His involvement in these organizations extends beyond typical roles, as he actively leads efforts that make positive impacts in his community.
Achievements
Paul Krueger has a wealth of achievements that underline his exceptional career in nonprofit leadership and fundraising. Notably, his strategic direction at Make-A-Wish Minnesota has directly resulted in the successful granting of 231 wishes last year alone. This achievement highlights not just the organizational success but also the personal success he achieves alongside the families he serves, representing the heart of the mission behind Make-A-Wish.
During his tenure at the South Dakota Mines Center for Alumni Relations and Advancement, Paul achieved remarkable fundraising successes, reaching over $20 million in annual contributions in back-to-back years. This noteworthy accomplishment illustrates his capacity for building relationships with donors and executing successful fundraising strategies to meet educational needs.
Furthermore, with over 450 wishes granted during his leadership at Make-A-Wish South Dakota, Paul significantly improved the outreach and visibility of the chapter, ensuring more children received the joy of wish fulfillment during his presidency.
Paul's community engagement and leadership roles, including his work in the Lions Club and as a member of the AFP, illustrate his holistic approach to community service and dedication to fostering positive change through various initiatives. His ability to inspire others contributes not only to the missions of the organizations he leads but also extends to the broader communities he supports.
As Paul Krueger continues his journey at Make-A-Wish Minnesota, his unwavering dedication to making a meaningful difference for children facing critical illnesses is evident. His leadership and commitment to service resonate not only within the walls of nonprofit organizations but also throughout the communities he passionately serves.
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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.
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.
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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 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.
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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.