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.

Ebony Lester

What do you do at Give Lively?

In my role at Give Lively, I get to know our fundraising platform really well from both the nonprofit and donor sides. I'm often the first point of contact for support requests, so I make sure they get routed to the right team and work directly with nonprofits and donors to fix technical and account issues through chat and email. I help people of all comfort levels with technology figure out how to use our tools and I handle new nonprofit leads that come in through support, passing them on to our memberships team. When something more complex comes up, I dig into the issue and, if needed, bring in business development, product or engineering to solve it, making sure the solutions are clear and easy to act on. With my teammates, I also spot ways users could get more value from the platform or clear obstacles that slow them down. Overall, I try to stay patient, empathetic and adaptable, since the needs of our users are always shifting in this fast-growing startup.

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

A typical day for me at Give Lively usually starts with a check of incoming support requests, chats and emails from nonprofits and donors who need help with something. I spend a chunk of my day acting on them, figuring out what each issue needs and either solving it myself or routing it to the right team. I then walk people through how-to questions to share the solution. Since our users range from tech-savvy to folks who need more hand-holding, I'm constantly adjusting how I explain things. What I enjoy most is that every conversation is a little different; one minute I'm troubleshooting a technical issue, the next I'm inspiring someone to feel more confident using the platform for the first time. By the end of the day it feels good knowing I've assisted that many more users move forward with their work.

What do you like to do outside of Give Lively?

Outside of work, I love to travel and try new restaurants. I’m also a big fan of museums and live concerts. I really enjoy hosting friends and family – there’s something special about bringing everyone together. When I’m not doing that, you can usually find me talking about or admiring muscle cars.

What excites you about Give Lively?

What excites me most about Give Lively is being part of a company that genuinely cares about nonprofit success. I love that Give Lively provides powerful fundraising technology to nonprofits for free, allowing them to focus more of their resources on their missions and the communities they serve.

I’m grateful to work for a company that cares about making a difference and to be part of a team that goes above and beyond to support nonprofits with the fundraising challenges they may face. Helping a nonprofit raise more, reach more people and ultimately do more good in the world is incredibly meaningful to me.

I’m also excited about the future and the opportunity to see how many more nonprofits we can serve. It’s inspiring to know that as Give Lively continues to grow, we can empower even more organizations to make a positive impact.