A JAX Talk by Monica Uriarte
At our latest JAX Talk, Monica Uriarte brought the room to a shared quiet realization: the most important asks don’t feel like asks at all.
Having raised over $100 million for community-centered initiatives and now serving as Director of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations at Samuel Merritt University, Monica works at the intersection of trust, decision-making, and what truly moves people to act. Her premise was clear: beneath every funding decision, every partnership, every “yes,” there’s an innately human question being asked — Do I trust this? Does this connect to what I care about?
It’s rarely the pitch deck. It’s rarely the data. People give to what they believe in, and belief is built through proximity, consistency, and relationships nurtured over time. Alignment isn’t discovered in a proposal. It’s cultivated long before one is ever written.
She also reframed the “no.” Not as a closed door, but as information: Is it timing? A relationship gap? An alignment that simply hasn’t had enough space to develop?
The real work, Monica reminded us, begins before the ask. And when it’s done well, the ask no longer feels like pressure.
It feels like an invitation.
