Meet Letty Lopez, BDI’s Director of Data Services
A career dedicated to serving nonprofits has given BDI’s Letty Lopez an incomparable gift.
“I have perspective,” she says. “When you’re having a bad day, sometimes it’s ‘a first-world problem.’ But this work keeps me grounded.”
This is the outlook Letty has cultivated through her time at BDI, helping important organizations weather situations without playbooks, and ever-evolving changes and competition within the industry.
While most of us were coming of age and finding our bearings in the professional world, Letty had already chosen her path. Through an internship at Grizzard Communications, she had forged a strong connection to nonprofit marketing and fundraising before she was out of high school.
“We were taking our general ed, and my classmates were like, ‘I have no idea what I want to do,’” she remembers. “And I said, ‘I think I know what I want to do. I think I already work where I want to work.’”
And ever since, her devotion to this vital work has only grown stronger.
Answering the Call
It was the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, that truly showed Letty the pivotal role nonprofits play, and her important role in helping them succeed.
“I was just getting into the office when it happened,” she remembers. “We were watching it on TV in the conference room. That was insane, unprecedented. And donors were graciously donating to the current campaigns for that cause,” she says. “The amount of donations that were coming in were so overwhelming for our clients.”
During challenging times like this, Letty and her team had to adjust their role with clients in order to ensure that incoming donations weren’t interrupted and essential services could continue to meet the growing need.
“We even had to jump in and offer data entry solutions with all the craziness going on,” Letty adds.
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 also brought a myriad of new fundraising challenges for Letty, who was working with the American Red Cross at the time and saw, in real time, what it takes to manage the needs of a natural disaster of this magnitude.
“We had emergency campaigns ready to go, but there was still work that was required,” Letty recalls. “It was my birthday weekend when it hit, but I came into the office to help.”
Navigating Shifting Terrain
Throughout her career, Letty has watched the world of nonprofit fundraising change in many ways, presenting new opportunities for growth and innovative strategies since coming to BDI.
“The expectations are definitely higher. Clients have a lot more choices,” Letty says of the current nonprofit climate. “The challenge is: how can we continue to help our clients grow with the resources they have?”
Alongside growing fundraising needs is the necessity to be nimble and cutting-edge, engaging with new audiences through strategies driven by data and technology.
“Today’s donor experience is different,” she continues. “Historically, donors have been older, and now they’re aging out. So how do we engage those younger audiences?”
Letty prides herself on the wealth of experience and knowledge she and the BDI Data Team bring to the market, along with their deep understanding of the one-to-one connection needed to turn concerned neighbors into devoted donors.
“We are in a unique position where there is a lot of staff that has come from different agencies and backgrounds, and that we’ve crossed paths or maybe we even worked with before. And I feel like we have an amazing brain-trust.”
A Tradition of Service
Having gotten to know BDI’s client partners and their varying needs over the years, Letty has also formed friendships and bonds that she treasures. Through their collaboration, she has seen great things accomplished, even when massive obstacles arise.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Letty was proud of how BDI stepped up for clients, going the extra mile to ensure organizations were able to continue serving those in need during the global health crisis. She was also inspired by how BDI worked to strengthen bonds and community within the agency as remote work became prevalent.
“BDI has been really good about engaging our staff, especially during the pandemic,” she says of the experience. “The People & Culture department and our committees did such a great job of trying to keep us connected.”
Beyond her position at BDI, Letty has also taken the lead with the agency’s Generosity Committee, which has involved a number of worthwhile endeavors with clients and organizations within the community, including the Thanksgiving Food Drive, sponsoring education for children and a Habitat for Humanity building event.
“It is always great to work alongside our clients on a volunteer event,” Letty states. “It helps us see firsthand how their work and our work impacts lives. It truly shows our staff the power of our client partnerships.”
When facing difficulties in a campaign or other daily task, Letty is always brought back to the gratitude that this work has instilled in her. And the drive to better the lives of others through powerful partnerships.
“It’s simple. If we don’t get the work done to get the mailings and the emails out, that affects people having food and shelter,” Letty states. “The biggest takeaway is perspective.”
Fun facts about Letty…
She and her boyfriend love baking and cooking, trying to create new dishes that are “joyful but also healthy.”
Letty loves a getaway or road trip, and can be counted on to ensure delicious snacks are on hand!
A self-proclaimed “reading super nerd,” Letty loves a good story – whether in a book or on the big screen. She’s also a big cinema fan of all genres, old and new!
Stay tuned for more Insider’s Outlook articles, where BDI team members share their insight!
