Taking risks and standing up for what you believe in pays off. Marketing isn’t about creating a position that’s popular or easy to digest. It’s about understanding the moment and sharing your values in a powerful and compelling way.Kia Croom lived through generational poverty, and she won’t allow her experiences to be silenced. She believes strongly that her experiences are a critical part of the dialogue that will push nonprofits forward. Talking about diversity, she believe it’s a moral issue, but it affects everything in the organization; “If you look at it purely from a business case, it’s like watching your favorite basketball game or football game, and you’ve got this rich talent that’s on the bench that never gets an opportunity to get off the bench and make a play.”Kia believes that if these people are given the opportunity, they’re going to hit home runs, and her life is a testament to that conviction. Bio:Kia Croom is an experienced fund development executive with over 20 years of experience. To date she’s raised nearly half a billion dollars for nonprofits of all sizes nationwide in a variety of cause areas including STEM, housing and homelessness, youth development, education, HIV/AIDS, and more. She’s worked in a host of development functions including but not limited to major gifts, grant writing, creative messaging, content writing, digital marketing, and her favorite — brokering high-impact corporate strategic partnerships.Kia is incredibly passionate about racial and philanthropic justice in philanthropy and interested in working with agencies committed to addressing anti-black racism specifically by uplifting, strengthening, and supporting Black-led nonprofit organizations.Guest links:Kia’s LinkedIn profileThe Black Fundraiser’s PodcastKia Croom Fundraising & DevelopmentAdditional links:Million Dollar Consulting***Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr.co.Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence.