I’m Rod Romero, President & CEO of Delia Martín Agency in Glendora, California.
I grew up in Mexico in a village of about 75 people. We lived a subsistence lifestyle. No electricity. No plumbing. We had some good times, but there were many challenges. I can recall sitting at the dinner table with my family when we had almost nothing to eat. Sometimes my mother didn’t eat a single bite. But she never complained.
I decided to follow Christ in high school, and it was during this time, I volunteered to serve meals at a Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles. I immediately fell in love with the work they were doing. Little did I know that this would be my first step toward a 25+ year career raising funds for Missions around the country. When I finally decided to step out on my own and start a new agency, I knew that I wanted to invest all of my experience, energy, and resources toward serving Missions. I also knew my agency would not carry my name but rather one with deep significance to me personally. Having lost my brother, Martín, as an infant and then my mother, Delia, when she was just 47, I decided to honor them with the agency name: Delia Martín.
It wasn’t until after I’d settled on the name that I had a bit of an epiphany. The image of my mom watching us eat around the dinner table came rushing back, and it dawned on me what she was doing. And then I thought of my tiny brother — vulnerable, hopeless, and in need of compassionate help.
To me, this is a beautiful reflection of what our Mission partners do! Putting others first … feeding the hungry … caring for people at their weakest … bringing hope to those who need it most.
We want to tell your story
We want to tell your story
Great fundraising is really about people and how we can best use our resources to help them overcome life’s difficulties.
When we effectively share the heartfelt stories from those who are hurting and disadvantaged, our communities will rise up to meet the need.
No matter what medium we use – be it personal contact, direct mail, digital appeals or social media – the standard is always the same: Make it real, keep it simple, and let the stories speak for themselves.
Includes the annual fundraising plan plus the ability to do special messaging via appeals or digital. Example: Is a donor who has given only one gift of $20 in the last 12 months more valuable than one who last gave $100.
… excitement in the mail box
Our desire as an agency is to connect your donors with your Mission. See all the ways we can partner with you.
My relationship with Chris goes back to my time at Brewer Direct when he was hired as my supervisor. After Chris left Brewer, he worked for the Los Angeles Mission for a couple of years. He eventually ended up at The Midnight Mission, where he needed to build their donor base. In 2020 he engaged us to do a donor acquisition campaign to acquire 3,000 new donors. Even in a typically difficult market and in the middle of a pandemic, with our efforts together we not only met the goal but exceeded it.
I served Tim and The Light House Mission for two years while I was with Grizzard until I left the agency. Shortly after I left, the Mission terminated their relationship with Grizzard to take their fundraising in house. They did that successfully until Tim and I re-connected, and he asked if we could help him with a small donor acquisition campaign. The campaign was so successful that they engaged us year-round.
Eric became the Executive Director of the Great Falls Rescue Mission in 2004, and I served as his account rep during my time at two previous agencies. He had tremendous success, and after he left to become the new Director at Hiway 80 Rescue Mission I again served as his account rep. He is now the Executive Director at Shelter KC, and we are pleased to serve with him once again.
I served Shepherd’s House Ministries in 2014 when I was with a previous agency, but eventually the agency stopped helping them because they were considered “too small” and not cost effective. After launching Delia Martín in 2018, I reconnected with them and helped them with a small donor acquisition campaign that was very successful. Due to the campaign’s success, they engaged us year-round.
Jim Connell, Laura’s dad, started Lexington Rescue Mission, and I worked with him and Laura from day one. My first meeting with the Mission was in an empty building they had just acquired on Limestone Street. That was 20 years ago.
Faith Mission of Elkhart was one of the first Missions I worked with in 1996 when I was at Hemmings, Birkholm & Grizzard. Ross was the Development Director at the time before taking over as Executive Director when his dad, Tobe Swihart, retired. Faith Mission became Delia Martín’s foundational Mission partner when we launched in August of 2018.
Previous
Next
Your Story and Ours
Sharing heartfelt stories from those who are hurting. Bring our communities together to meet the need.
