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© 2026 Positive Equation, LLC
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Missions to Movements is the nonprofit marketing and fundraising podcast that helps you grow recurring donors, scale monthly giving programs, and build digital campaigns that convert.
Hosted by Dana Snyder—speaker, strategist, and founder of Positive Equation—this show is packed with actionable nonprofit growth strategies, social media tips, and fundraising best practices.
Each week, you’ll hear how organizations are increasing donor retention, building thought leadership, and using digital fundraising to drive real impact. If you want to learn how to attract monthly donors, master nonprofit marketing, and transform your mission into a movement, this podcast is for you.
234 Episodes
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If you’ve ever sat at a board meeting thinking “we can't keep doing fundraising like this!” then it might be time to start championing monthly giving – which is one of the most practical shifts a nonprofit can make. Board strategist Christal M. Cherry and I are getting specific about what staff should bring to the boardroom, how to pilot change without triggering resistance, and how dashboards and donor milestones help boards actually see the impact of recurring giving. That level of predict...
The neat donor funnel sounds good in slides, but it doesn’t match how people actually decide to give. We dig into the real path supporters take today—bouncing from reels to Google to LinkedIn to your site—and why the strongest retention work happens long before the first dollar shows up. Instead of chasing one perfect subject line or a last-minute match, we focus on what actually converts: consistency, clarity, and leadership that lowers the emotional risk of giving. You’ll hear ...
A lot of movement builders might be thinking, who actually gets to be considered “legit”? We are celebrating Black History Month, and in a very short amount of time, BackBlack has built massive momentum, which is why I had to have one of my favorite repeat guests back on the show, Floyd Jones. This incredible case study unravels how they’ve helped move nearly $4 million to Black-led organizations, built a directory of close to 2,000 organizations, and driven tens of thousands of people to tak...
Quiet signals decide retention long before a donor hits “cancel.” We explore how to turn early indicators—failed payments, skipped emails, reduced engagement—into timely, human responses that save relationships and revenue. Drawing on the proven playbook of subscription businesses, we unpack how predictive insights can flag risk before supporters drift away and how small teams can deploy light-touch interventions that feel like care, not automation. You’ll hear why the best resul...
How do you build a storytelling rhythm that can fuel your fundraising efforts all year long? Max Kringen of Tellwell Story Co. is EXACTLY who nonprofits call when they want to stop guessing. We kick off by going behind the scenes of a Ronald McDonald House Charities gala where a beautiful, cinematic story helped raise more than $350,000 in one night. Max walks us through how Clara’s story was selected, the meaning of narrative transportation, and how organizations can reposition themselves ...
Donor flexibility is the quiet superpower of retention - and it’s about to become non-negotiable. We dig into why giving supporters control to pause, downgrade, skip, or shift billing dates doesn’t fuel cancellations; it prevents them. Pulling lessons from the subscription world and real stories that celebrate customer milestones, we translate those insights into practical steps any nonprofit can take to keep monthly givers connected through life’s ups and downs. If you’re ready t...
If a corporate partner had to tell a story about working with your nonprofit, what would they say? What companies want from nonprofit partnerships has FUNDAMENTALLY changed. That’s why I’m excited for you to meet a great friend of mine, Matthew Sutton, Director of Corporate Partnerships at United Way of Greater Atlanta, to talk about how corporate partnerships are evolving and what nonprofit leaders need to understand right now. Matthew shares why companies are going deeper with...
What if the smallest monthly gift unlocks the biggest lifetime value? We’re digging into our second Monthly Giving Prediction for 2026: lower entry points will become the norm in monthly giving - and they’ll outperform the high-ask mindset many of us grew up with. Donors aren’t less generous; they’re less willing to overcommit. That’s a signal, not a setback, and it’s time to design programs around the easiest yes. We break down recent data trends from major giving moments showin...
At my third annual Monthly Giving Summit, you’ll hear from someone who understands how repeat engagement, community and generosity actually get built into the DNA of a brand, raising over one million dollars along the way! Adriana Carrig, Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Little Words Project, is joining me to break down how she bootstrapped growth and focused on trust, transparency, and showing up consistently, which resulted in 14 retail storefronts, partnerships with Target and Disney, a...
Why monthly giving must move from a checkbox to core infrastructure and how that shift changes budgets, dashboards, and daily decisions. Practical prompts help you test your own reliance on recurring revenue and plan for a steadier 2026. LettrLabs is the proud presenter of Missions to Movements. LettrLabs helps nonprofits build lasting donor relationships through real, handwritten mail that’s fully automated - turning moments of intent into meaningful connection. From thank-yous to impact u...
We’ve officially entered what I’m calling the retention era. Recurring GivingTuesday gifts are growing year over year, and nonprofit benchmarks are showing 80%+ retention rates for monthly donors. In this solo episode, I’m breaking down three powerful signals that are shaping monthly giving RIGHT NOW across the subscription economy and in the nonprofit sector. I’m covering Recurly’s 2025 State of Subscriptions analysis of 67 million subscribers, including what brands are doing to combat slo...
In this special year-end recap episode, I’m revisiting seven of the most inspiring, quotable, “steal this idea” stories from 2025. You’ll hear the real numbers, tested strategies, and leadership insights you can carry straight into 2026. Here’s who you’ll hear from: Courtney Johnson from Culinary Care, who generated $300,000 across 20 corporate eventsChad Nelsen from Surfrider Foundation, who invested in recurring giving technology to reach 91% retention on auto-renew donorsLiz Bohannon, a k...
This year held some of my highest highs and lowest lows, and much of it happened faster than I expected. In this solo episode, I’m reflecting honestly about what 2025 looked like for me, both personally and professionally. You’ll hear what surprised me most, the growth of the Monthly Giving Summit, what it was like working 1:1 with 14 organizations through VIP intensives, the unexpected speaking gigs (including international!), and the journaling questions I’m sitting with. Of course,...
When a former classroom educator becomes the one writing the checks, EVERYTHING about grantmaking shifts. Dr. Maggie Sullivan Marcus of the Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation brings a rare, dual perspective shaped by years in the classroom and years in philanthropy. Her on-the-ground experience supporting multilingual learner programs is rooted in empathy, deep respect for educators, and a commitment to equity. We get into how small but strategic investments can spark outsized impa...
How can a 10X mindset replace incremental goals with focused, brave action that scales monthly giving and clarifies what to stop doing? • 10X mindset versus incremental growth • letting go of low-leverage work • applying bold goals to monthly giving growth • risk reframed as focus and resource questions Resources Mentioned: Join the Sustainer Slack Group — completely free. The Mini Monthly Giving Mastermind + Retreat "10x Is Easier Than 2X" - By Dan Sullivan and D...
If you've ever wrestled with the tension between being donor-centered and community-centered in your fundraising, today's episode is going to feel like a deep exhale. The incredible Tammy Zonker, founder of Fundraising Transformed, has helped raise more than $1 billion over her career, including facilitating a single $27 million dollar gift! We dive into Tammy’s hands-on case study from the Children’s Center in Detroit, where her team tripled philanthropy in three years and doubled it again ...
After an electrifying GivingTuesday, I’m here to share three BIG behind the scenes announcements that will directly support your recurring revenue goals and monthly giving programs in 2026: First, I’m thrilled to announce that my Sustainers Slack community is now 100% free! It has become one of the most generous, collaborative, and energizing spaces on the internet, and if you join, you’ll get monthly office hours, expert Q&As, and coworking huddles. We’re also going to talk about what’...
Most organizations rush straight from GivingTuesday into metrics, wrap-ups, and end-of-year planning, but if you do, you’re missing the most valuable moment of all: the DAY AFTER, when donors are still inspired and emotionally connected to the gift they just made. In this replay of my most downloaded episode ever, you’ll hear the super simple, text-only email that can dramatically strengthen donor relationships, why it works, and how the responses can uncover donor motivations you’d ne...
Fewer than five of charity: water’s donors wrote a check during a 75,000-piece direct mail test, yet direct mail STILL lifted revenue by 1.5-2%! Behavioral science expert and DonorVoice founder Kevin Schulman is here to talk about why traditional direct mail metrics fall short, why your “non-check-writers” may be your biggest missed opportunity, and how personality-based messaging can transform donor engagement. You’ll hear the inside story of a charity: water experiment that tested postcar...
When your mission depends on people not just caring, but acting, the right data and technology infrastructure is so important. I am thrilled to welcome Emma Bloomberg, Founder and CEO of Murmuration, a nonprofit civic tech organization equipping grassroots groups with the tools to engage communities more efficiently, track progress, and build lasting civic power. Emma shares how organizations on the ground can use voter files, civic data, and tailored analytics to understand who they’re rea...
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