Beyond The Donation

Our Guest: Steve Johns, CEO of OneCause & Author of Fearless: Leadership Lessons at the Crossroads 

About Steve: In 2014, Steve moved to Indianapolis from Chicago, taking his 30+ years of financial management experience with him to join OneCause as their CEO. He enjoys his work and his family, especially as a new grandfather! 

(2:40) The book Fearless: Leadership Lessons at the Crossroads 
based on the experience of leading OneCause through the Covid19 pandemic 

(6:27) Leadership transparency & vulnerability 

“It’s almost like a paradox because people consider vulnerabilities sometimes to be a weakness, and I think that it really starts from a position of strength. You have to be strong enough to admit you don’t have all the answers.” - Steve Johns 

(9:50) Functioning in pandemic-pivots 

(13:40) Confidence amid chaos 

(15:15) OneCause, Nonprofits, and Donors overcoming together 

[16:38] Fundraising changes, evolution, and results from the pandemic 

[21:00] OneCause & DonorDock Integration 
The benefits & importance of data 

[25:00] Innovation emphasized 

Steve’s Golden Nugget: We have to tackle the donor retention issue, utilizing the golden rule. Be timely. Be responsive. Build relationship.  

 More About Steve: 

LinkedIn     Website     Leadership Book     Raise Conference 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: Sami Bedell-Mulhern, Founder of The First Click 

About Sami: Sami has been involved with the nonprofit space since 2006. She found her niche role helping small to medium-sized nonprofits with their digital marketing with her consulting. She loves helping organizations share their stories in a more impactful way. 

(3:30) The big mistake nonprofits make in their digital marketing 

(4:45) Nonprofits making an impactful web presence 

“Use your website to speak to the motivations of why the donors give... Speaking to the motivation of the visitor is critical.” - Sami Bedell-Mulhern 

(6:00) Tying your goals into your digital marketing strategy 

(7:01) The process of planning a website presence for an NPO 

(10:23) How to make your mission stand out  

“Understand you do what you do in a way that is uniquely you, that that’s okay, and you’re running your own race.” - Sami Bedell-Mulhern 

[14:29] Where Sami recommends you start 

[14:43] NPOs & social media 

[16:21] Relationship among digital presence channels 

                 Canva for Nonprofits 

[18:49] Social media and donor retention 

[21:03] Dissecting the “promo kit” 

[23:23] Other ways NPOs can successfully market without a large team or budget 

More About Sami Bedell-Mulhern: 

LinkedIn             Digital Marketing Therapy Podcast               Website 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: Dave Norris, CEO of ProofPact

About Dave: Dave is a former digital agency owner who found himself eventually working exclusively with nonprofits. It was then he recognized the importance of social proof and storytelling for nonprofits, with the result being the creation of ProofPact. 

(2:00) Common theme in struggles of nonprofit storytelling 
(3:06) Storytelling across multiple platforms 

“Lift up your community and be inclusive of your community, and when you do that, you are essentially creating content they’re going to want to share and socialize themselves to. Opening that door is really powerful.” - Dave Norris 

(5:25) Platforms/mediums with the best results 

(7:57) Mastadon, a decentralized social network 

(9:10) Measuring effectiveness of story marketing 

[12:15] AI’s potential for helping nonprofits 

[15:25] AI & Post-donation follow-up 

[18:00] Effectiveness of AI with users 

[19:25] Concerns with/about AI

Dave’s Pro Tip: Don't be afraid to lean on your community. Don’t be afraid to ask them for things (donations, sure) and ask them for their story. 

 More About Dave Norris: 

LinkedIn            ProofPact          BoldCrow 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: Rob Burke, CMO of DonorDock 

About Rob: Rob is the Chief Marketing Officer of DonorDock, having spent the last two decades in the marketing world. He developed a passion for photography and video at an early age, which spurred his entrepreneurial venture using storytelling and helping companies share their vision. 

(1:45) How nonprofits can leverage video for storytelling 

(2:05) "If you are talking about yourself, it’s probably not the story. If you’re talking about the impact you’re making, the impact your customers are making, or the impact your community is making, that’s the story you should be telling.” - Rob Burke 

(2:35) Budgeting for quantity and quality of video storytelling 

(4:28) Other ways to share the story 

(5:28) Determining and prioritizing where to air content 

[7:55] Donor Engagement Ebook 

[9:50] AI & Storytelling 

Rob’s Pro Tip: With storytelling effectively, every story has a binary action – a positive and a negative. If you can change from that in your story, that’s what you need to care about. 

[16:38] Wrap-up point on importance of demographics of your donor base 

More About Rob Burke: 

LinkedIn 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: Chris Larkin, Director of Development – San Diego State University 

About Chris: Chris is the Director of Development for San Diego State University covering Engineering, Business, and Athletics. Chris’ career has taken him along a journey from the private sector to business owner to major gift fundraising. As an alum of SDSU Chris is honored to finish his career at the place where it all started. 

(2:45) University Fundraising Team Structure 

(5:33) "I still celebrate each gift whether they give ten dollars or ten million. The act of giving is noble, and it’s acknowledging the act. That’s what it’s all about.” - Chris Larkin 

(5:45) Difference in Higher Ed Fundraising  

(7:02) “Activity equals revenue. Keep that pipeline moving and things continue to happen.” - Chris Larkin 

(11:20) Discernment in allocating funds 

(12:00) “[Donor] Relationships have collapsed because expectations weren’t met, because the intent was separated from the reality.” - Chris Larkin 

(13:50) Systems, Automation, and Manual Intention 

(15:30) Importance of Data in Relationship Management 

(16:17) Biggest Challenge(s) 

(18:00) Advice for Nonprofit Relationship Strategies 

Chris’ Pro Tip: Building trust is so essential. Pick good staff and hang on to them, so those relationships can be built, and can last.  

More About Chris Larkin & San Diego State University: 

Website         LinkedIn 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: Maddie Craig, Founder of Blue Cypher Bookkeeping 

About Blue Cypher Bookkeeping: Based in Fargo, ND, Blue Cypher Bookkeeping has a client roster from across the United States. From Maddie’s experience as a grant manager at a private foundation, she realized the need nonprofits had to organize their data and accounts record keeping and built her company around supporting that need. 

(2:13) Customer Snapshot 

(3:30) New Nonprofit Advice 

Golden BTD Nugget: “Surround yourself with the right people and the right resources that can help you... so you can run your organization the correct way.” - Maddie Craig 

(6:28) Tools for Nonprofit account recordkeeping  

(8:28) Accounting software security 

(11:11) Differentiating NPO tools 

(13:54) Fund Accounting 

Maddie’s Pro Tip: “Start saving digital files.” Scanned receipts, bank statements, etc. using cloud-based software makes it easier to find documents you need when you need them.  

More About Blue Cypher Bookkeeping: 

Website         Facebook        LinkedIn 

More About Maddie Craig: 

LinkedIn 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: Patrick Kirby, Founder of Do Good Better Consulting 

About Do Good Better Consulting: Patrick started Do Good Better as “a firm that helps nonprofits suck less at fundraising”, and he means that “with the most adoration”. The basics-of-the-basics is what Patrick loves helping NPOs master. Consulting, podcast, events, and Do Good YOUniversity are all plates Patrick is keeping spinning currently. 

(4:00) Five Day Fundraising Framework 

(7:25) "The last thing people remember is that handwritten thank you note.” - Patrick Kirby 

(9:30) “I have never, in the 20 years that I have been doing fundraising, never been punched in the face for calling to say ‘hi’ or ‘thank you’, and I’ve also never been punched in the face for asking for money.”  - Patrick Kirby 

(10:10) How to stay top-of-mind with your donors 

(11:00) A great question for donors 

(13:25) Do Good YOUniversity 

(18:40) Do Good Better on the road 

(22:15) Consulting 

Patrick’s Pro Tip: “Pick up the damn phone.” 

Golden BTD Nugget: The power of picking up the phone and to convey your enthusiasm and gratitude with your voice is hard to throw off. 

Patrick’s Bonus Tip: Don’t wait until the end of the year to call people to say thank you. 

More About Do Good Better Consulting: 

Website         Facebook        LinkedIn 

More About Patrick Kirby: 

LinkedIn 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast        DonorDock LinkedIn         Matt LinkedIn 

Our Guest: 
Rachel Cardwell, Executive Director, Friends of the Children Central Oregon 

About Friends of the Children Central Oregon: While FOTC has been around for about 30 years, with the original chapter being founded in Portland, OR, Rachel has been with FOTCCO for the last five years. She is leading this chapter in the journey of it growing from startup mode to something more stable. Friends of the Children Central Oregon serves three counties and focuses on amplifying the voice of the children it serves in their various communities. 

(3:20) Explanation of the Model and function of FOTC 

(5:30) Only professional mentoring program currently in the country.  

(11:30) Managing the pandemic 

(12:30) Moved into a virtual mentoring space, incorporating caregiver and parent outreach  

(14:40) Philanthropic Windfall from MacKenzie Scott Foundation 

(14:58) “That may have been the best day of my professional career!” 

Golden BTD Nugget (18:52): 
“Right after that feeling of relief came the weight of responsibility that we had to invest these dollars in ways that would make the biggest impact for youth in our region.” 

(22:00) Challenges FOTC OR is facing 

(25:30) More about working with private foundations 

Rachel’s Pro Tip: The most successful tool is in story-telling. The way you tell your story has to be compelling. Find the best story-teller on your team, and allow your donors to feel the part they play in your organization’s impact. 

More About Friends of the Children Central Oregon: 

Facebook        Twitter        LinkedIn        Instagram        Website 

More about Rachel Cardwell: 

Contact      LinkedIn 

More About Beyond the Donation: 

BTD Podcast     DonorDock LinkedIn     Matt on LinkedIn 

Our Guest:
Eddie Allen, Founder/CEO/Lead Guide of Pacific Northwest Fundraising. 

About Pacific Northwest Fundraising: After going through leadership training, Eddie landed on two main things. 1) he wanted to be involved with social services, and 2) be an advocate. This led to him pursuing a Development Director position with a nonprofit, then into founding PNW Fundraising. They specialize in what they call “Infrastructure Fundraising”. 

 (6:00) Foundational operation strategy of PNW Fundraising 

“No database, no donor development” - Eddie Allen 

(7:50) Navigating stigma against “spend money to make money” 

(13:37) Organization Evaluation & Giving Plan 

(15:44) “Even with what we named our podcast, ‘Beyond the Donation’, so much of fundraising happens after that donation.” - Matt Bitzegaio 

“Good relationship building is a key to good fundraising.” - Matt Bitzegaio 

(20:10) How PNW Develops Strategy 

E-book on Donor Engagement

Golden BTD Nugget: (Regarding donor engagement) “You can still have a cup of coffee via Zoom.” - Eddie Allen 

28:00 PNW Fundraising's reach across the nation 

Eddie’s Pro Tip: In thinking of potential economic downturn in 2023, plan to communicate with more mid-level donors. Also, have a low-cost entry level donation point in your organization to grow your donor base right now. 

More About PNW Fundraising: 

Facebook        LinkedIn        Website     How PNWF benefits nonprofits 

More About Eddie Allen: 

Contact        LinkedIn 

More About Beyond the Donation: 

BTD Podcast DonorDock LinkedIn Matt on LinkedIn 

Our Guest:
Grace Green, Partnership Success Specialist from Double the Donation 

About Double the Donation: Grace works with partners to establish meaningful technology providers to make matching gift automation a seamless process for organizations looking to take advantage of an existing resource that often goes underutilized. DTD is the leading provider for nonprofits raising more from corporate matching gift programs and volunteer grant programs, using 360 MatchPro. 

(2:20) Matching Gift Program 101 

(4:19) How Corporate Matching is a Win-Win 

(5:35) Number of Companies on Record for Matching Employee Gifts 

(7:48) Types of Charities Implementing Matching Gifts 

(8:52) How to Get Started with Matching Gifts 

(11:07) How Money Comes in to Your Organization 

(13:04) Double the Donation Resources Available 

(16:13) Integrations with DTD 

(21:00) Bringing it All Home – Killer tip from Grace! 

Golden BTD Nugget: A great tip for someone who is looking to get started with matching gift programs in general, is just start asking donors where they work. 

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get. If you don’t ask, you don’t know.” - Grace Green 

Grace’s Pro Tip: Especially toward year-end, remember to go back through the year and look at other donations made that could possibly be eligible for a matching gift, if the donor is able to go back and submit to their employer. This is also another way to connect with donors and keep them engaged and up to date with your mission! 

More about Double the Donation: 

Website        LinkedIn         360 MatchPro 

More About Grace Green: 

LinkedIn 

To Connect with Beyond the Donation Podcast: 

BTD Podcast       DonorDock LinkedIn        Matt on LinkedIn