From time to time we will profile members of the Give Lively team, revealing more about who we are, what we do and how we fit into a mix of dedicated and dynamic engineers, creatives, strategists and advocates helping nonprofits do more with digital fundraising tools.

Like the person who is the focus of this week’s profile, the full Give Lively team is passionate about using tech for social good and providing a better fundraising experience to nonprofits and donors.

Hillary Austin

What do you do at Give Lively? 

I’m a customer support specialist on the Customer Support team. I have been at Give Lively for almost two years, and I work directly with nonprofits, fundraisers and donors to provide assistance with software bug solutions, administrative changes and any other overall challenges users might face. I have been working in support for a little over five years and love the challenges that come with software user issues! My favorite part of my work is being able to assist so many renowned nonprofits.

What does a day in your life at Give Lively look like?

I work in the Pacific Time Zone, so my day begins a little later than the east coasters on the team, but also means I stay a little later, helping to ensure coast-to-coast assistance during normal working hours. I usually have a few meetings right after logging on; these are for our Special Interest Groups, as I’m quite active in Give Lively’s attention to sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. I then spend the remainder of my day answering support emails and live support tickets via chat.

What do you like to do outside of Give Lively?

My favorite thing to do outside of Give Lively is definitely going to the bookstore. I am an avid reader and can always be found with a book. My favorite book genre is a tie between fantasy and romance. My favorite book series is called “Skip Beat!” It’s a long-running manga that releases two new volumes a year and has been doing so since 2002.

What excites you about Give Lively?

What excites me most about Give Lively is learning about new nonprofits every day! I get to interact with so many different organizations and causes that I normally wouldn't have knowledge of, and I am incredibly grateful for that. I personally have an interest in nonprofits whose mission is to close the gender gap in technology and computer science for women, so Girls Who Code and Brown Girls Code have been my favorite nonprofits to work with thus far.