Episode Details

Dina Besic started Maxwell's Toy Box because her two-year-old son Max wanted a train table in his oncology playroom. Three years later, while working a demanding full-time corporate job, raising two kids, and navigating Max's cancer treatment, she built an organization that has supported over 5,000 children, donated $9,100 directly to families, delivered 8,500 toys, and created 4,064 joy packages for children receiving chemotherapy… and she doubled her fundraising year over year with the support of The SPRINT Method™.

In this episode, Dina shares how she got out of her own way, moved from begging friends and family to running peer-to-peer campaigns and securing corporate sponsorships, and shifted her donors from giving physical toys to unrestricted cash donations. We also talk about the identity shift that changed everything, and what she would tell the version of herself who was terrified to ask.

Topics:

• How 108 donated toys grew into an organization serving thousands of children and families 
• Moving supporters from donating physical toys to giving dollars the organization can put to work 
• How peer-to-peer fundraising opened the door to corporate sponsorships and new donor acquisition
• Getting out of draft mode when you’re the founder, fundraiser, marketer, and decision-maker
• What doubling fundraising looks like when you have a full-time job, two kids, and a nonprofit to run

For a full list of links and resources mentioned in this episode, click here.

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Resources:

• Easy Emails For Impact™: The $5K+ Fundraising Campaign System
• Purpose & Profit Club® Fundraising + Marketing Accelerator   
• The SPRINT Method™: Your shortcut to 10K fundraisers 
• Instagram, LinkedIn, website , weekly newsletter  
• [FREE] The Brave Fundraiser’s Guide: Stop getting ignored. Start raising more.
  
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