Why I Joined Gratavid - Frank Mumford

Gratavid recently appointed Frank Mumford as VP of Customer Success. In this blog post, he shares why he joined the company.

When I was eight years old, I remember driving with my dad on a very rainy afternoon and slowing down as he saw someone walking down the road without an umbrella.

At that moment, when the soaking wet person hopped in the car, it was the first time I experienced what giving back meant, to help others without expecting anything in return.

That was the start of a life of always trying to give to others.  For the majority of my career working for nonprofits, I have had the privilege to see firsthand what philanthropy can do for individuals in my community. 

When I entered back into the world of philanthropy, my first stop was in Higher Education at North Dakota State University, where I engaged with students, alumni, and faculty/staff. I saw how generosity could advance education, research, and opportunity. During my tenure at the University of Minnesota, through working with corporate partners, individuals, and other supporters, I watched youth find their full potential through rich programs.

Then I switched focus to look at the most pressing needs in my community and started working with The Salvation Army. I saw how building deeper relationships led to more opportunities to feed, house, and provide educational opportunity. This was when I first tried to utilize video in my strategy. 

In March of 2020, I was working as a major gift officer at Greater Twin Cities United Way.  We were suddenly met with a great need to find more creative ways to engage with our donors and still bring them to the scene. By great fortune, I was connected with Will Trapp, CEO of Gratavid, and it was a game-changer.

I had always dreamed of sharing personal videos while I was onsite at different service centers or when I volunteered weekly serving the community.  In the past, sharing a quick video was cumbersome, difficult, and not easily scalable.

Gratavid provided everything I had hoped for and more to meet my need of sharing what really matters with our organization’s donors, partners, and supporters.

For the rest of 2020, Will and I grew our relationship as I continually provided insight and feedback around possible new platform features and shared my successes with this new technology.  Towards the end of the year, Will asked if I would join his team to help bring my comprehensive knowledge of the nonprofit sector and my entrepreneurial spirit.

I knew leaving the United Way was going to be difficult, especially informing my assigned donors with whom I had the privilege to get to know on a deeper level.  Beyond the donors, those I worked with were supportive, kind, and always looked to how we could better serve our community. 

While a career change was unexpected, I kept coming back to one idea. I wanted to make the greatest impact on the most lives across the world. Gratavid gave me that opportunity.  

Will and I share the same vision. We want to build a company that puts the fun back into fundraising. We want to create easy, simple, and efficient tools to help non-profits communicate more effectively and engage deeper with their donors, partners, and supporters. We connected over our passion for building a business for the long run. We want long term relationships and friendships with our clients. We see Gratavid as an extension of all the organizations we work with. Their mission is our mission. 

And so I couldn’t be happier to say I’m joining Gratavid this week. I hope to see you along the way.