Carol Young: The Major Gifts Ramp-Up Counselor Behind Healing Strides’ Multi-Million-Dollar Growth

In the world of charitable leadership, there are nonprofit executives who manage programs and there are those rare leaders who build movements. Carol Young, founder and CEO of Healing Strides, stands firmly in the latter category. As a certified Major Gifts Ramp-Up (MGRU) Counselor and practitioner, Carol has demonstrated what happens when visionary leadership meets disciplined donor strategy. The result has been extraordinary. Millions of dollars raised. A nationally respected therapeutic riding center. And thousands of lives changed through the healing power of horses.

Healing Strides, located in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley, exists to promote wellness for people facing physical, emotional, and cognitive challenges through equine-assisted therapies in a safe and supportive environment. From children with disabilities to veterans navigating trauma, the organization has become a sanctuary of hope and transformation. Carol Young has guided this mission for more than a decade, shaping Healing Strides into a model nonprofit enterprise fueled by philanthropy rather than scarcity thinking.

What distinguishes Carol’s leadership is her unwavering commitment to the Major Gifts Ramp-Up model. Rather than relying on events, small gifts, or grants as primary revenue sources, she embraced the principle that major donors must underwrite mission scale. This shift was not merely tactical. It was philosophical. Carol recognized early that transformational impact requires transformational investment, and that major donors seek organizations prepared to receive significant commitments.

Under her guidance, Healing Strides moved beyond the constraints that limit many human-services charities. Facilities expanded. Programs deepened. Professional staff increased. The organization’s ability to subsidize services for participants strengthened, ensuring access regardless of financial circumstance. Today, community support enables Healing Strides to provide 100 percent of participant services on a subsidized basis. That level of philanthropic underwriting is a hallmark of successful MGRU implementation.

Carol’s success is rooted in disciplined application of the MGRU framework. She cultivated a high-functioning board committed to major gift engagement. She built authentic relationships with capacity donors aligned with Healing Strides’ mission. She presented compelling donor offers tied to measurable outcomes. And she maintained relentless focus on long-term donor partnerships rather than transactional fundraising.

This approach reshaped Healing Strides’ financial trajectory. Instead of incremental growth, the organization experienced step-change investment. Major donors funded infrastructure, facilities, horses, clinical programs, and scholarship access. Carol moved donors from passive supporters to active investors in human healing. The result has been millions raised and sustained organizational capacity.

Her leadership also demonstrates a key truth of Major Gifts Ramp-Up. Geographic size does not determine philanthropic potential. Speaking at an MGRU conference, Carol observed that many nonprofit leaders assume major gifts are reserved for large urban institutions. She challenged that myth directly. Every nonprofit, she emphasized, deserves transformational support when equipped with the right strategy and tools. Healing Strides stands as living proof.

Beyond financial growth, Carol’s work has produced measurable human outcomes. Veterans coping with trauma have rediscovered peace and purpose. Children with developmental challenges have gained strength and confidence. Families have found hope where isolation once prevailed. Healing Strides’ equine-assisted programs address physical mobility, emotional regulation, communication, and resilience across the lifespan. These outcomes are precisely what major donors seek to invest in. Carol understood this alignment instinctively.

Her personal leadership style further amplifies donor confidence. Carol communicates mission with authenticity and emotional clarity. She speaks not in abstract theory but in lived stories of transformation. She articulates vision while honoring the dignity of participants. Donors encounter not merely an organization but a cause embodied in leadership. This authenticity is central to MGRU success. Major donors invest in people before programs, and Carol Young exemplifies trustworthy, mission-anchored leadership.

Colleagues within the Major Gifts Ramp-Up community recognize her as both practitioner and mentor. As an expert MGRU Counselor, Carol now guides other nonprofit leaders in adopting the same disciplined approach that fueled Healing Strides’ growth. She demonstrates that major gifts strategy is transferable across sectors, whether human services, health, education, or arts. Her counsel carries credibility because it is grounded in lived results.

The Healing Strides story also illustrates the synergy between program excellence and philanthropic strategy. Carol never treated fundraising as separate from mission delivery. Instead, she aligned donor investment directly with participant impact. Horses, facilities, clinical staff, and scholarships became tangible expressions of donor partnership. This integration of philanthropy and program is a defining characteristic of advanced MGRU organizations.

Equally important is Carol’s resilience as a nonprofit founder. Leading a therapeutic riding center requires complex operational oversight: animal care, clinical programming, volunteer management, safety compliance, and facility maintenance. Yet she maintained strategic focus on donor development as the organization’s economic engine. Many nonprofits falter by prioritizing operations over revenue strategy. Carol sustained both, ensuring mission expansion remained financially viable.

Healing Strides today stands as a mature philanthropic enterprise. Hundreds of participants receive services weekly. Professional staff and volunteers collaborate in delivering therapeutic programs. Horses trained for equine-assisted work partner in human healing. The organization enjoys strong community reputation and donor loyalty. This level of stability is rarely accidental. It reflects years of disciplined Major Gifts Ramp-Up execution under Carol Young’s leadership.

Perhaps most importantly, Carol embodies the core philosophy that defines Major Gifts Ramp-Up. Donors are not simply sources of money. They are partners in solving human problems at scale. By inviting major investors into Healing Strides’ mission, Carol expanded both financial capacity and social impact. She transformed a therapeutic riding center into a regional beacon of hope supported by philanthropic leadership.

For nonprofit executives seeking proof that MGRU works, Carol Young offers compelling evidence. She founded and grew Healing Strides into a multi-million-dollar charitable enterprise. She built sustainable donor relationships. She delivered measurable human outcomes. And she now equips other leaders to do the same.

In every sense, Carol Young represents the highest standard of Major Gifts Ramp-Up counseling. Her work demonstrates that disciplined donor strategy, when combined with authentic mission leadership, can elevate any nonprofit from survival to scale. Healing Strides is her legacy in motion. The millions raised are impressive. The lives changed are immeasurable.

Carol Young: The Major Gifts Ramp-Up Counselor Behind Healing Strides’ Multi-Million-Dollar Growth was first posted at INSIDE CHARITY.