About Ben & Rainmaker

Hey, I'm Ben Mahoney– I help nonprofit Executive Directors run major gifts campaigns.

I spent 15 years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation working with hundreds of nonprofit leaders across the state. I watched incredible EDs doing transformative work struggle year after year with the same frustrating cycle: scrounging for grants, burning out on events, never quite breaking through to sustainable major gifts.

Here's what I realized: it wasn't that these leaders couldn't fundraise. Nobody had given them a clear, actionable framework to do it.

So, when I left the Foundation in 2025, I built one. I took everything I'd learned from 20+ years in the nonprofit sector– the patterns I saw in successful campaigns, the mistakes that tanked them, the specific moves that actually get board members engaged – and turned it into a 90-day process any ED can follow.

The Rainmaker Framework isn't theory. I piloted it with 30 nonprofits who raised $261,000 within a month of training. I've helped individual clients go from $7K fundraisers to $50K campaigns, launch their first six-figure major gifts efforts, and build sustainable funding that doesn't depend on the next grant deadline.

I'm not selling you some LinkedIn guru routine. I'm someone who spent two decades in the Louisiana nonprofit ecosystem in every circumstance — running a small nonprofit, working as a fundraiser, and later as a funder. I’ve seen what actually works when rubber meets road, and built a system so other EDs don't have to figure it out the hard way.

When I'm not running cohorts or building campaign strategies, you'll find me making music, opening the same door over over for cats and a dog (do they want to go in or out? PICK ONE), or watching bad TV with Walter, my partner.

Ready to stop guessing and start raising?