Livestrong CEO Suzanne Stone
in the room with 27 health investors

On December 16, 2024, Donor Dinners brought Suzanne Stone — President & CEO of The Livestrong Foundation — into an intimate fireside setting with 27 carefully selected guests. The room was filled with health investors, impact fund managers, nonprofit executives, and healthcare innovators from across Austin.

Suzanne shared her story: decades spent building one of the most recognized cancer research and patient support organizations in the United States, and the challenge of sustaining that mission through donor relationships. She spoke candidly about what moves major donors to give — and what doesn't.

The format was a 15-minute fireside conversation followed by 45 minutes of open Q&A. No slides. No pitch deck. Just Suzanne's story and a room full of people who had the capacity to act on it.

After the formal program, guests stayed for a buffet networking dinner — the unstructured time where the real introductions happen. Venture partners met nonprofit founders. Healthcare executives exchanged cards with impact investors. The evening ran three hours.

This event was not a donor dinner in the fundraising sense — it was a relationship-building dinner. Suzanne was not asking for money that evening. She was building the relationships that make future asks possible. That distinction matters: Donor Dinners is not a fundraising event. It is the room where the relationships that lead to fundraising are formed.

The Livestrong Foundation went on to host a dedicated donor dinner in Austin — the one that raised over $100,000 in a single evening. This Galaxy Fireside was the proof of concept that preceded it.

Following this fireside, Livestrong booked a dedicated donor dinner. That event raised over $100,000 in a single evening — far more than the cost of production.

Schedule a discovery call with Brendan to discuss how Donor Dinners can serve your nonprofit's goals.