Good Fundraising Podcast

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Good Fundraising Podcast.  Today I am speaking with Kirsten Bunch--coach, speaker, bestselling author, and former fundraiser--about mental fitness and why it's so important.Kirsten is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach™ with hundreds of hours of coaching experience.  She incorporates neuroscience-based practices and adult developmental theory into her programs, and importantly for this audience she understands the challenges of this sector.  Before she was a coach, Kirsten worked for decades in global development.If you are interested in working on your own mental fitness, Kirsten is offering a discount to Good Fundraising Podcast listeners for her next workshop coming up in April.  Go to   https://www.kirstenbunch.com/fundraisers to learn more and enroll.  I have some great guests lined up for this season, and as always if you have an idea for a topic or interview, please email me at hello@goodfundraising.net.

Welcome to Season 2 of the Good Fundraising Podcast!  Like a good fundraiser I have been off working on next year's budget, but I'm back with a great line up of smart and inspiring speakers who will share ways we can make nonprofits better.Kicking off this new season with me is Dorene Ocamb, Chief Development Officer at Armed Services YMCA National Headquarters.   Dorene and I talk about a sometimes overlooked area of diversity on our teams--neurodiversity--and why it's important to take it into account in our hiring, management, and culture-building processes. I have some great guests lined up for this season, and as always if you have an idea for a topic or interview, please email me at hello@goodfundraising.net.

Corporate partnerships are much sought-after but seldom well understood.  What do corporations want from their non-profit partners, and how can non-profits evaluate promising partnerships from the rest?Lauren Gray, Senior Director of Global Corporate Partnerships at the International Rescue Committee, joins me to talk about her extensive experience working with corporate partners across different verticals of the nonprofit space.  We discuss what makes a good partner, what nonprofits need to expect on their end, and how corporate giving priorities changed with the 2008 recession and what that moment can tell us about partnerships during and post covid.

Nonprofit fundraisers weather their share of storms in any given year, but an executive director has to contend with even more challenges.  In this week's episode, I speak with Rachel Herman, Founder and Executive Director of PAWS NY, about navigating growth and program changes for her now 10-year old organization.  Rachel shares her reflections on growing PAWS, making tough decisions during the spring of Covid, and how their programs have adapted to meet new needs for the people and pets of New York.To find out more about PAWS NY or make a donation, visit www.pawsny.org.And don't forget--we have only TWO more episodes before the end of 2020 and the first season of the Good Fundraising Podcast.  Since May, I've interviewed fundraisers from across North America, and now it's your turn!  Send me a voice memo (or an email, if you're shy) to hello@goodfundraising.net by December 11th with your thoughts about what our sector should keep from the lessons of this year.   Your insights will be featured on the season 1 finale!

You know that monthly giving can change your fundraising program's bottom line, but it's impact doesn't stop there.  Today I'm speaking with Joanne Wilson, Vice President, Advancement Operations at HSUS about how monthly giving helped transform organizational culture.

Fundraising events canceled?  You're in good company, but in the age of zoom you have more options than ever before. I'm joined by Oliver Hibbs, Director, Digital and Strategy Integration at Blakely Inc, to discuss strategy for how to not only bring your offline events online but also to engage new groups of donors with virtual event options. Resources:Digital engagement in 2020 and Beyond from BlakelyCreating an Amazing Donor Experience from Blakely

In this episode I recount some long-simmering thoughts about the bad habits non-profit leadership can get stuck in, if there's hope for change as the sector grapples with  fundraising and covid-19 response, and why it's important to try new things in our ways of working.Starting with our next "real" episode I'll be bringing you interviews with nonprofit thought leaders on a range of topics including when and how to launch new channels and what they might be, diversity in senior leadership, how funding impacts organization culture, and why so many of us talk a good game about donor-centric fundraising but aren't really doing it.  Got an idea for a topic?  Let me know at hello@goodfundraising.net!

Budgets: love them, loathe them, fear them--they are an unavoidable part of fundraising.  And they don't have to be dreaded.  If done well, the annual budget process can help your organization align on priorities, set clear goals, and plan ahead for future years.Fundraising veterans Erica O'Brien and Courtney Lewis have helped clients budget better for decades.  Now, at Fuse Fundraising (formerly MindSet Direct), they continue to support everything from integrated direct response programs, to the optimization of high-value and monthly-giving programs. 

It's the end of a year and the end of the first season of the Good Fundraising Podcast.  I'm going to review some of the innovations and lessons from this year that are worth keeping for our sector--thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts to this episode!And thanks for YOU for listening. This year the Good Fundraising Podcast had contributors and  subscribers from all around the world--shout out to the new listeners in Africa and Australia!As I take a brief break and start working on content for season 2, I'd love your thoughts.  Please drop me an email at hello@goodfundraising.net if you have an idea for an episode this season or if you'd like to contribute your expertise to an episode.

"With everything that has happened in our world this year,  it feels like the stakes are even higher when it comes to our ability to really listen to each other and to find new ways to shift towards much needed collaborative ways of working."Kyla Shawyer, knows something about the need for new and improved ways of working together in the nonprofit sector.  Kyla has been leading transformational change in the global nonprofit sector for 15 years, having led programs at Operation Smile and later the Resource Alliance.  She is currently working at the intersection of systems innovation and leadership in the social good space, serving as both CEO & Co-Founder of Philanthropy & Fundraising North America (PFNA), a nonprofit executive leadership program that builds nonprofit capacity for fundraising growth and innovation, and as Creative Consultant for DSIL Global, a social innovation company.A few months ago I heard Kyla present on "Liberating Structures"--a set of tools that promises to revolutionize unproductive meeting culture and replace it with collaboration, problem-solving, and idea generation.  Every bad meeting I have ever been in over the last 20 years flashed before my eyes, and I quickly sent her an email to learn more. Resources:Liberating Structures WebsiteBook: The Surprising Power of Liberating StructuresLiberating Structures AppYou can find links to these resources and all our other episodes on the Good Fundraising website.

For our tenth episode, I'm speaking with Jenny Belardi, Director of Development at Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, about what makes a great major gifts program.Jenny shares what makes a great major gifts officer, building lasting donor relationships, and how her team is adapting donor cultivation to meet a socially distanced world.Resources:Jenny mentions hiring staff who share the qualities of a "curious chameleon."  You can find our more about this mysterious creature on the EAB website. 

We're back with part two of Ask the Fundraisers with Karin Kirchoff and Jenn Deerr!  This time we talk telemarketing, acquisition 101, and everyone's favorite topic: monthly giving.  If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing, sharing with a colleague, and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or your podcast platform of choice! And as always if you have an idea for a topic, drop me an email at hello@goodfundraising.net.

It's our very first Ask the Fundraiser!  Fundraising experts Karin Kirchoff and Jennifer Deerr from K2D Strategies answer fundraising questions submitted by you.There were so many great submissions, we've broken this into two knowledge-packed episodes, so join us later this month for part 2.

Giving has been up for many organizations, but revenue alone doesn't tell the whole story.As the COVID pandemic unfolded, the team at Blakely and their partners began surveying donors in Canada and the U.S.  Kimberley Blease, EVP at Blakely, joins me to discuss the findings of their latest survey through the end of May.Resources:You can find recordings of Blakely's webinars and findings on donor sentiments during COVID on their website.

To change or not to change your CRM.  It's a question more and more nonprofit groups are facing. What should you consider before making such a big investment in time and money?In this episode, I speak with Smita Vandakekalam, COO and Senior Strategist at Heller Consulting, about how she helps nonprofits navigate decisions surrounding CRM changes, and Heller's new white paper on the topic.Resources from Heller:What to consider before replacing your CRMNonprofit CRM pricingCombating burnout during a CRM implementation

Between COVID, long-overdue social justice reforms, and record unemployment it's tempting to settle for the "ok" or "good enough" job right now.  But you can still take the reins of your career and make steps towards better--yes, even now.I'm joined by Amy Koop, a career coach who will share some thoughts and frameworks for approaching professional challenges and change.Amy has had a bit of a unique career, with 20+ years of experience in the marketing agency world, including 6 years leading the nonprofit vertical for PMX Agency out of NYC, during which time she co-chaired the DMA Nonprofit Federation Conference and was a frequent speaker at nonprofit industry events.  She made a pivot in her career a few years ago, moving from NYC to San Francisco to lead PMX's retail digital marketing team, and for the past 3 years she's been with InnerWorkings agency, where she leads the Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods vertical supporting brands like adidas, Levi's and Nestle.  She's a Co-Active Trained Career and Life Coach as well, taking on a small number of clients on a referral basis and leading workshops on topics like Life Purpose and Career Planning.Resources:Amy's coaching website is www.mindsetpilots.com. Martha Beck at marthabeck.com.  Designing Your Life, which is the model out of the Stanford Design Lab Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, and she has a great blog and podcast. Brene Brown – any of her TedTalks or her book The Gifts of Imperfection or Dare to Lead are wonderful.  Another book recommended for people who are challenged by feelings  of insecurity or negative self-talk which is called “Positive  Intelligence” by Shirzad Chamine.  Meditation apps: 10% Happier, Calm, Headspace

Are you getting questions from leadership about whether or not you could make TV work for your organization?  Or maybe you think now is the time to take the leap but you don't have puppies, kittens, or millions of dollars to invest so you think it's off the table?I'm joined by Adrian White Slagle of Full Hearts who shares her extensive experience in the channel and demystifies some of the less visible aspects of a successful TV program.  We talk about audiences, investments, creative and how changes in media delivery might make taking the leap more possible now than ever before.Resources:IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau). Their mission is to empower the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy.  This is an important resource for performance-based marketers to find info and "keep up" with the evolution of marketing:https://www.iab.com/  iSpot.tv is a great resources for exploring what kind of creative is out there. There are DR and brand advertising spots as well as PSAs. https://www.ispot.tv/browse Full Hearts was founded in September 2019 and is made up of a team of professionals with an average of 20 years experience, each. With direct marketing and brand advertising backgrounds on both the nonprofit and commercial side, this hybrid agency structure brings the best of two worlds to clients to meet their individual needs: a focused, dedicated core team plus expansive agency resources through partnerships.http://withfullhearts.com/

Nick Ellinger joins me to talk about why and how to start a donor-centric fundraising approach in your program.  Nick is the Chief Brand Officer of Moore and author of The New Nonprofit: Six Models to Raise More Money.To hear more from Nick please check out his blog for Moore at mooredmgroup.com/blog, and you can purchase his book on Amazon.Got an idea for a topic?  Let me know at hello@goodfundraising.net!