Bennie Gonzales

Bennie Gonzales is currently a Fundraising Coach at Tailored Fundraising. Prior to this, they worked as a Store Manager at Starbucks and a Pastor Principal at La Viña Quito.

Bennie has always been driven by their desire to help others. This began when they were working as a Store Manager at Starbucks. Although it was just a stop-gap job, they led their district in Customer Connection for two months with the highest scores the district had ever seen. Bennie also developed their partners, promoting four to supervisor roles. Her ability to motivate their team and create a positive customer experience is what allowed their to stay in the role for as long as they did.

In May 2007, Bennie moved to Ecuador to start the Vineyard Churches movement. Bennie quickly learned the language and culture, and trained and developed a team of leaders that would impact the community. They started with just their family of four, but by the time they left the church had 300 people and a solid leadership team. Their vision and mission was to love the city and make practical impact, which they did by feeding the homeless out of the back of their car with hot soup. By the time they left, they were feeding 500+ people at each event through partnerships with grocery stores and 100's of volunteers.

Bennie's experience in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors has given their a unique perspective that they use to help their clients as a Fundraising Coach today.

Bennie Gonzales has a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling from Capella University. Bennie also has a BA in Christian Ministries from Azusa Pacific University. In addition, they have certification from El Camino College in Certificate in Non Profit Management and from Vineyard Churches in Ordained Minister. Finally, they have certification from Church of the Nazarene in Licensed Clinical Practice Counselors.

Bennie Gonzales reports to Deb Evans, Lead Coach & Trainer. They are on a team with Hannah Weidman - Fundraising Coach, Jordan Lyons - Fundraising Coach, and Susie Berner - Fundraising Coach.