As with all nonprofits, our donors allow us to do meaningful work out in the world, but there is one kind of donor, who feels the work they support is so vital that they make the commitment to donate on a monthly basis.
Tina Nole, the head of a creative agency in Seattle, is one such monthly donor – or “Monthly Steward” as Forterra calls them. But what was her journey to becoming one?
First, as Tina explains, she has an affinity with Forterra as her own clients are organizations she describes as “mission and impact driven and philanthropic”, but what lit the spark for her was an invitation to attend the Forterra Spring Fundraiser in 2024, featuring Michael Bennett, the Seahawks legend turned artist and philanthropist.
Tina says she has “high standards” when it comes to any organization’s annual event, but for her, she reminisces, “that evening in particular really stood out for getting it completely right on every level – Michael Bennett’s personal story was so authentic, his commitment to art and community was incredibly inspiring, and I could see he really cared about the world and about the Forterra mission.” Tina also credits Forterra CEO Michelle Connor and Ruth True, Chair of the Board for “creating an authentic, intimate conversation on stage – I learned a lot about the organization that night, and I felt every single person in the room cared about the mission.”
It wasn’t just the commitment to the mission, the impact areas discussed were compelling. ‘Designing Community’ was the title of the event that evening, and supporting marginalized communities is an area close to Tina’s heart, “everything seemed to align in what was being said, and it aligned with what I believed in – I had this visceral connection to what I was listening to.”
The more Tina learned over the next few weeks about Forterra’s impacts across many different communities, the more everything seemed to resonate. She also loved that “all Forterra’s impacts are tangible, I could see the results in the data.” It didn’t take more than a few weeks for her to decide that this was the kind of organization worth giving to – “I knew anything I gave was going to go somewhere important, and that made me want to give.” Trust was a big thing for her too, “when you choose an organization to give to, you want it to matter and you want to trust them, and I did.”
Seeing so much sustained impact across so many areas, Tina felt compelled to support this work not just through a one-time gift, but month after month. Two years later, she reflects, “it just feels really easy to carve a donation out of my budget when this kind of work makes such a difference.”
Since that first Spring Fundraiser in 2024, Tina has become a regular, attending both last year’s and this year’s event. She looks forward to the next one and the opportunity to hear more about the meaningful work that Forterra has done and will continue to do far into the future.
