Alumni Spotlight: Jasmine Wu from National Taiwan University

As a Major Gift and Stewardship Fellow at Pine Street Inn last semester, Jasmine Wu of National Taiwan University turned raw data into actionable insight. Her portfolio assessment of 395 major donors uncovered giving trends that are already guiding the shelter’s FY26 fundraising strategy and boosting donor retention.

“Jasmine filled a major gap for us,” notes Jasmine’s mentor, Rebecca Titlow. 

Yet the numbers told Jasmine her own story, too. Coming from Taiwan, where homelessness is rarely discussed, she arrived with limited context. Through CFSI’s coursework and daily interaction with guests, chefs, and Homeless Court participants, she “learned to see the humanity behind the numbers” – a perspective she shared at our Spring Fundraiser as one of the program’s first nine National Taiwan University fellows.

Back in Taipei, Jasmine will continue her work with the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, supporting the education, wellbeing, and social integration of new immigrant families in Taiwan. Wherever Jasmine’s career leads, she said Boston and her experience with CFSI and the Pine Street Inn will travel with her.

Jasmine’s primary goal as the Major Gift and Stewardship Fellow is to develop and deliver a comprehensive action plan for engaging major donor prospects. Jasmine will work on segments of a pool of around 1100 identified donors, categorize them based on detailed research, and propose tailored engagement strategies for each segment. Jasmine will deliver a well-researched action plan for the segments identified, which will be used by the Pine Street major giving and stewardship team to enhance their donor engagement efforts. This work represents a significant contribution to Pine Street Inn’s fundraising efforts but also to enhance the participant's professional development in areas such as fundraising, donor relations, and strategic planning, aligning with their academic and career goals.

Jasmine’s role involves supporting a key project focused on assessing and segmenting major donor prospects. She will contribute by reviewing donor records, conducting research to categorize prospects, and reviewing and summarizing research from other organizations’ donor management strategies to inform her recommendations. Jasmine’s work is crucial as it directly supports the team’s goal of improving donor engagement, which is vital for increasing the contributions to Pine Street Inn.