From time to time, we will profile members of the Give Lively team, revealing more about who we are, what we do, and how we fit into a mix of dedicated and dynamic engineers, creatives, strategists, and advocates helping nonprofits do more with digital fundraising tools.

Like the focus of this week’s profile, the full Give Lively team is passionate about using tech for social good and providing a better fundraising experience to nonprofits and donors.

David DeParolesa

What do you do at Give Lively?

My primary role as the Chief Executive Officer is to guide the overall vision, strategy and execution of Give Lively. I work to ensure our platform remains a powerful, practical and free resource for nonprofits. 

Internally, this involves collaborating closely with our cross-functional team to build innovative fundraising tools, while constantly looking for ways we can better serve our member nonprofits and democratize access to top-tier, cost-effective tech. 

Externally, I cultivate the relationships that make our platform stronger, from partners like Charity Navigator and Shift4, who help extend our reach and capabilities, to the ongoing work we do to meet rigorous security and compliance standards so our members can fundraise with confidence.

What does a day in your life at Give Lively look like?

No two days are exactly the same, but they are all anchored in our mission. A typical day usually involves a mix of planning and team consultation. I might start by reviewing our platform's metrics to see how our member nonprofits are doing. From there, I frequently meet with team leads to discuss new features we are developing, and connect with folks who interact with our nonprofits daily to see how we're tracking toward key performance metrics. My day is highly collaborative, focused on unblocking my team, building momentum for our work and keeping us aligned on our goal of tech for social good.

What do you like to do outside of Give Lively?

I live in New York City, so life outside of Give Lively is full of restaurants, bars, shows and walking my toy poodle around the neighborhood, hoping to avoid a chicken bone.

What excites you about Give Lively?

We have an exciting roadmap of features that nonprofits have been asking for. Every time we release something new or improve the donor experience, I know that, first and foremost, there are thousands of users ready to use the feature and, second, we are directly empowering thousands of organizations to do more good in the world. Being surrounded by a team of dynamic, dedicated people who share that exact same passion makes the work incredibly rewarding.