The Nonprofit Science Podcast

Why do people really donate to nonprofits? It turns out, it's not just about generous donors but about the complex relationships between donors, beneficiaries, and the organizations that connect them. In this episode, Dr. Cassandra Chapman explains her Charitable Triad Theory and shares surprising insights into donor behavior. If you've ever wondered why some appeals work while others flop, or struggled with the tension between effective fundraising and ethical representation, this conversation offers a new framework for understanding donor psychology. Perfect for fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and anyone curious about the hidden forces that drive charitable giving.

Should your year-end appeal lean into heartbreak or hope? Make donors feel guilty or grateful? For decades, nonprofits have debated positive versus negative emotional appeals. But new research reveals we've been asking the wrong questions entirely. Comprehensive studies show the real power lies in sophisticated emotional combinations that mirror how people actually experience feelings. For instance, sadness paired with dignity outperforms pure sympathy appeals. The research reveals surprising patterns: guilt appeals work better when paired with self-benefit messaging. Anger drives donations when channeled toward justice rather than just problem-solving. And the most effective campaigns create "emotional sandwiches"—strategically layering different feelings to guide donors from concern through empathy to empowerment. Learn how to build a science-backed emotional journey for your year-end campaign that respects both donor and beneficiary dignity while maximizing impact.

Every day, nonprofits face an impossible choice: show genuine hardship to motivate giving or preserve dignity and risk raising less. New research reveals this isn't a personal failure- it's built into how our charitable system works. We explore groundbreaking studies showing fundraisers serve "three masters" whose needs fundamentally conflict, why poverty porn actually backfires with donors, and how one organization found a radical alternative. Their "narrative resilience" framework doesn't eliminate these tensions but offers a completely different way to navigate them. You'll discover evidence-based strategies for handling donor preferences that conflict with community needs, redistributing power in your storytelling, and building frameworks that acknowledge rather than hide these ethical tensions. Plus, learn why the emotional toll of "ethical whiplash" contributes to nonprofit burnout and what you can do about it. If you've ever felt trapped between doing what's right and keeping the lights on, this episode offers the science-backed navigation tools you need.

In this episode, we dive deep into the neuroscience and evolutionary biology that makes storytelling your nonprofit's most powerful tool. We explore groundbreaking research showing how stories literally synchronize brain activity across your audience, why our ancestors' campfire tales programmed us to respond to narrative, and how to strategically craft stories that drive action. From understanding the four key character perspectives to mastering narrative transportation techniques, you'll learn the exact framework top nonprofits use to turn everyday program activities into compelling donor communications. Plus, get five immediate actions you can implement today to systematically capture, organize, and deploy stories across your campaigns. Stop wondering if your stories work- understand exactly why and how they do.

Your most heart-wrenching fundraising appeal just flopped. But before you blame donor fatigue or economic uncertainty, consider this: neuroscience reveals that donors' brains process giving decisions in fundamentally different ways. Some donors need to feel your beneficiaries' struggles, while others need to understand their perspective. Some respond to your big-picture vision, while others need concrete details about exactly how their donation helps. In this episode, we dive into groundbreaking research showing how fMRI brain scans are revolutionizing donor segmentation. Forget demographics- age and income tell you almost nothing about why someone gives. Instead, we explore how to identify science-backed donor segments and most importantly, how to craft messages that resonate with each type. You'll learn a practical, step by step testing framework to discover your donors' true motivational triggers and dramatically improve your response rates, retention, and average gift size.

Every year, nonprofits watch more than half their peer-to-peer fundraisers raise exactly zero dollars. Meanwhile, a tiny fraction bring in thousands but the donors they attract rarely stick around. Sound familiar? New research reveals why P2P success has felt so unpredictable. The findings highlights something we've known- people give to people. P2p donors give because they care about their friend running the marathon, not necessarily because they've researched your organization. But understanding the "Champion Effect" is just the beginning. Researchers have decoded the network dynamics that predict success, discovered why mid-level social media users outraise influencers, and identified the four-month window that determines whether peer donors become long-term supporters. P2P fundraising has come a long way, but there is still an element of guesswork involved. Here's what the science says works.

Between 2018 and 2021, the equivalent of 48 million full-time volunteers vanished from the global workforce - not a typo, a crisis most nonprofits are experiencing in real-time. But here's what the research reveals: we're not actually losing volunteers, we're witnessing a fundamental shift from duty-based volunteering to what researchers call "reflexive volunteering." Think of it like the difference between your grandmother who volunteered at the same church for 40 years versus today's professional who juggles three different causes based on personal motivations and schedule flexibility. We unpack why demographics don't predict retention (spoiler: it's about job design, not age), what actually keeps volunteers coming back, and how to build an "engageability ecosystem" that works. Whether you're hemorrhaging volunteers or just starting a program, you'll leave with evidence-based strategies that challenge conventional volunteer management wisdom.

Your nonprofit posts consistently. You've built a decent following. Your content gets engagement. But deep down, you know your social media should be doing more for your mission than generating likes and comments. Here's the problem: for nearly two decades, nonprofits have been treating social media like a digital donation box. But research reveals a stunning truth—multiple studies show no significant relationship between social media use and fundraising success. So what are the organizations that ARE advancing their missions through social media doing differently? Host Sheela Mahajan examines research from a handful of studies to uncover what actually works. You'll discover why your audience consists of two completely different groups requiring totally different strategies, the three levels of social media sophistication (and how to reach Level 3), and how successful nonprofits use "co-creation" to transform followers into active mission partners. We also explore dialogic communication—the approach that separates organizations building genuine communities from those just broadcasting into the void. This isn't about posting more content or joining more platforms. It's about using evidence-based strategies that measurably advance your mission through authentic community engagement.

Every June, nonprofit leaders wait for the Giving USA report, but most miss the real value: understanding what the data reveals about donor behavior and strategic applications. Host Sheela Mahajan talks with Wendy McGrady, President and COO of The Curtis Group and chair of The Giving USA Foundation, about the 2024 findings. They explore why giving grew 6.3%, the continued "dollars up, donors down" trend, and why corporate giving remains low despite economic growth. Key insights include how donors are shifting to foundations and DAFs, why 42.9% donor retention undermines pipelines, which economic indicators predict giving success, and upcoming tax policy changes. This isn't just data analysis—it's a roadmap for evidence-based fundraising decisions.

Today we are joined by Dr. Chao Wu. Dr. Wu is a professor at the Wayne State University Mike Ilitch School of Business. His research focuses on enhancing operational efficiency in nonprofits by developing scalable, cost-effective solutions using experimental and quasi-experimental methods. During our conversation, we chat a lot about volunteer engagement, specifically answering the question: if I ask a donor to volunteer, will we lose their monetary gift? Our discussion goes in depth into the relationship between volunteering and donations, prompting the question: do we need to reframe how nonprofits think about volunteers altogether?

Today I am joined by Chris McGown, a planned giving expert with decades of experience in-house and as a consultant in this specific area of fundraising. During our conversation, we dive into what exactly is planned giving, what nonprofits need to know, how to identify donors who would be a good fit for planned giving. Importantly, we discuss research-backed strategies and how to incorporate planned giving into your overall fundraising strategy.

Today we are joined by Dr. Deva Woodly. Dr. Woodly is a Professor at Brown University, and her research covers a variety of topics, from media and communication to political understandings of economics, to race and imagination, and social movements. She is the author of several thought-provoking yet practical books, including Reckoning: Black Lives Matter and the Democratic Necessity of Social Movements . In this conversation, we dive into the role nonprofits play in social movements, we touch on what is and is not working in philanthropy, we consider how history can help nonprofits navigate through uncertainty, and much more.

Today we are joined by Kelli King Jackson. Kelli is the founder of Kelli King-Jackson, LLC, a social impact firm that advises leaders and organizations committed to investing in Black communities in the South. During this wide ranging conversation, we discuss how stereotype threat shows up in real nonprofit leadership and what to do about it, the intersection of race and gender in nonprofit leadership, and racialization in the nonprofit sector. Kelli is well-versed in nonprofit scholarship yet offers a practical perspective that helps us not only understand these issues but figure out how to approach them in real life.

Today we are joined by Dr. William Brown. Dr. Brown is a professor in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. His research focuses on nonprofit governance, strategy, and organizational effectiveness. During this conversation we consider key questions such as: What is systems change? How can we measure and monitor systems change activities? Is it possible to scale impactful programs? You'll walk away with an understanding of what systems change is and why it's important.

If you’ve ever tried to get your hands on research, you know there are several hoops you have to jump through. Most notably- the high cost of journal subscriptions and the time it takes to read long, complex academic papers. At the Nonprofit Science Institute we don’t believe it should be so difficult to get access to scholarly research that will help you improve your impact. And so, we are excited to announce the launch of our new online magazine coming up on June 1, 2025!

Have you ever had a donor threaten to pull their funding if your nonprofit cannot quantifiably show impact? Or have a donor request data in order to receive their donation? It’s no secret that today’s donors are curious. Many view their donations more like investments and like any savvy investor, they want proof that their investments are paying off. But what that means for fundraisers has never been very clear. On today’s episode, we consider research that offers guidance for fundraisers on how to share data with donors in a way that encourages future giving.

On the second part of this ask me anything-style podcast series, we consider researched-backed strategies to questions about evaluating a nonprofit’s advocacy program, considering whether you should participate in #GivingTuesday, how to effectively lead a team virtually (particularly when there is bad news), signs of dysfunctional nonprofit teams, and how to incorporate research into practice.

The Nonprofit Science Podcast has just reached 50 episodes. To celebrate this huge milestone, email subscribers were asked to submit questions for an Ask Me Anything- style podcast episode. On part one of this podcast series, we tackle how to lead a team that is struggling to get along, introducing AI to team members who are resistant to it, helping a nonprofit with too much data, get a nonprofit ready for strategic planning, and discuss how to improve outcomes for program participants.

March is Women’s History Month- a time to celebrate the accomplishments of women and to shine a light on the barriers we still have to overcome. We have made great strides in terms of advancing women to positions of leadership within nonprofits, but we also need to be aware that it takes a consistent effort to keep these leadership positions. So, this week let's revisit the challenge of how we can get more women into nonprofit leadership and prepare the next generation of women leaders for the uphill battle we have ahead of us.

Today on the podcast I am joined by Dr. Susan Appe. Dr. Appe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy and International Affairs at the University at Albany. She is currently working on research projects related to diaspora philanthropy centered on the transnational nexus of migration, development and philanthropy. During this conversation we talk about who diaspora philanthropists are and how their philanthropic behavior is changing the narrative about migrants, immigrant communities, and philanthropy itself.