Steve MacLaughlin

Background

About Steve MacLaughlin

Steve MacLaughlin is the Senior Vice President of Product at GOBEL and bestselling author of Data Driven Nonprofits. MacLaughlin has more than 20 years of experience collaborating with nonprofits, government institutions, and technology companies to drive innovation and maximize mission impact.Before joining GOBEL, Steve held several leadership positions, including Vice President of Product Management at Blackbaud, where he led teams responsible for digital fundraising, data and analytics, payment solutions, and CRM systems. He has a track record of proven results leading successful software products from ideation to market launch. MacLaughlin has previously been accountable for $500M in revenue across multiple product lines with high retention rates and grew multiple new solutions from $0M to $30M+ in recurring revenue.Steve has been featured as a fundraising and nonprofit expert in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and on National Public Radio. MacLaughlin is particularly known for identifying the Nonprofit Data Paradox, which is the observation that the more data nonprofits accumulate, the less valuable it becomes if culture, systems, and leadership fail to leverage it effectively.MacLaughlin stands out as one of the foremost voices on nonprofit data strategy that blends practical frameworks, leadership insights, and reflections from real organizations to help nonprofits transition from data exhaustion to data empowerment. He is frequently invited as a keynote speaker and panelist on topics such as data-driven culture, nonprofit analytics, digital fundraising, and sector transformation at conferences in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia.Steve contributed to the book People to People Fundraising: Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities, a contributing co-editor of the book Internet Management for Nonprofits: Strategies, Tools & Trade Secrets, and the author of the bestselling book Data Driven Nonprofits. He has had original articles featured in many publications, including Advancing Philanthropy, Philanthropy Journal, Fundraising Success Magazine, The NonProfit Times, and Civil Society.Steve was previously on the board of NTEN, an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University, and is currently a nonprofit leadership facilitator with Georgetown University's New Strategies program. He earned both his undergraduate degree and a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Indiana University.