Fridays 4 Fundraising

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly talks about why phone calls to donors still matter—even (and maybe in spite of) the age of digital efficiency. This week, start with your top 10 donors to begin making strides in donor retention and upgrades.

Links

• Check Out Donorbox
• Request a Discovery Call
• Sign up for How To Fundraise Without Burning Out workshop

Takeaways

• The importance of calling donors for relationship building
• Steps to effectively call top donors
• Using digital tools to enhance face-to-face interactions
• Managing fundraising burnout and stress

Chapters

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Fundraising Focus

00:38 Kelly's Weekly Fundraising Assignment

01:34 Introducing the Call Your Donors Series

01:58 The Impact of Donor Calls on Fundraising

03:51 Digital Tools vs. Personal Relationships

06:04 How to Identify Your Top 10 Donors

06:42 Simple Steps to Call Your Donors

08:00 Treat Every Donor as Valuable

08:52 Voicemail and Follow-up Tips

09:22 Upcoming Free Workshop on Burnout Prevention

11:36 Weekly Homework: Call Your Top 10 Donors

Keywords

fundraising, donor calls, nonprofit, relationship building, donor retention, burnout prevention, digital tools, fundraising strategy

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly shares practical strategies for nonprofit fundraising success, focusing on eliminating non-essential tasks to free up time for relationship building and mission impact. She emphasizes the importance of focusing on activities that directly support organizational goals.

Links

• Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive
• Schedule a Discovery Call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule
• Check Out DonorBox: https://donorbox.org/?kfl_ln=zdbknju

Takeaways

• Eliminate tasks that don't support primary goals or organizational survival.
• Use a three-question test to evaluate each task's importance.
• Focus on relationship-building activities to move fundraising forward.
• Automation and delegation are key to increasing productivity.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Fridays 4 Fundraising

00:45 Thank You to our First Sponsor: Donorbox!

01:28 This Week's Focus: Boost Productivity & Eliminate!

02:22 How to Eliminate Non-Essential Tasks

04:24 Resources to Support You

04:59 This Week's Assignment: Find things to eliminate on your to do list

Keywords

fundraising, nonprofit, productivity, task elimination, relationship building, Kelly McLaughlin, From Scratch Fundraising, nonprofit tips

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly shares a practical framework for nonprofit leaders to boost productivity by automating, operating efficiently, and delegating tasks. This episode offers actionable steps to free up time for relationship building and strategic growth via delegation--even when there's nobody to delegate to!

Links

• Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive
• Schedule a Discovery Call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule
• Check Out DonorBox: https://donorbox.org/?kfl_ln=zdbknju

Takeaways

• Automate repetitive tasks using tools like Zapier and QuickBooks.
• Delegate non-value-adding tasks to volunteers, contractors, or software.
• Use platforms like Volunteer Match to find volunteers for specific tasks.
• Hiring an accountant can save time and money, often more than the cost.
• Focus on relationship-building activities that drive fundraising.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Fridays 4 Fundraising

01:31 This Week's Focus: Framework for Productivity - Delegate!

02:50 How To Delegate - even when there's nobody to delegate to

06:49 Resources to Support You

08:00 This Week's Assignment: Figure out something you can delegate today

Keywords

nonprofit, productivity, delegation, automation, fundraising, volunteer, small nonprofit, efficiency, Kelly McLaughlin, From Scratch Fundraising

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly shares practical strategies for creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) to streamline operations, automate tasks, and build sustainable systems. She also introduces her Nurture and Grow consulting program to help organizations develop long-term fundraising strategies.

Links

• Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive
• Schedule a Discovery Call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule
• Check Out DonorBox: https://donorbox.org/?kfl_ln=zdbknju

Takeaways

• Create SOPs for recurring tasks to save brainpower and ease delegation/handoffs
• Prepare your organization to operate smoothly even in your absence

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Fridays 4 Fundraising

00:00 A Note from Donorbox

01:55 This Week's Focus: Productivity - Operate!

03:05 How to Create Standard Operating Procedures

07:30 This Week's Assignment: Create a few SOPs

Keywords

nonprofit fundraising, SOP, standard operating procedures, automation, nonprofit strategy, Kelly McLaughlin, fundraising systems, nonprofit growth, donor relationships, fundraising success

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly shares practical strategies for nonprofit fundraisers to boost productivity through automation, effective use of tools like Zapier, and strategic planning. She emphasizes the importance of simplifying tasks, automating repetitive processes, and building sustainable fundraising systems.

Links

• Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive
• Schedule a Discovery Call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule
• Check Out DonorBox: https://donorbox.org/?kfl_ln=zdbknju
• Check Out Zapier: https://zapier.com

Takeaways

• Review your to-do list for automation opportunities
• Use tools like Zapier to automate repetitive tasks
• Leverage existing platform features for automation

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Fridays 4 Fundraising

00:40 Thank You to our First Sponsor: Donorbox!

01:43 This Week's Focus: Boost Productivity & Automate!

02:29 How To Boost Productivity through Automations

05:07 Resources to Support You

06:38 This Week's Assignment: Find things to automate on your to do list

Keywords

nonprofit fundraising, automation, productivity, Zapier, donor management, fundraising strategy, nonprofit tips, efficiency, system building

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly walks you through the WHY of a welcome series so that you can better understand HOW to build an effective welcome series.

Links

• Download the Welcome Series Template: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/email
• Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive
• Schedule a Discovery Call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule
• Check Out DonorBox: https://donorbox.org/?kfl_ln=zdbknju

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly talks about where to build your email list, depending on whether your strategy includes just donors or other audiences. She also discusses unconventional strategies that are wildly successful for list building for small nonprofits.

Download the Welcome Series Template: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/email 

Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive

Schedule a consultation call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule

Takeaways

• You don't always need an email marketing system that is separate from your donor CRM/donor database. In fact, there are some CRMs with great integrated email marketing tools.
• Think beyond social media when you think about list building. Offline methods are often far more powerful in helping you build an engaged email list.

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly talks about how to balance the need to gain data on your prospective donors with keeping your subscription forms lean.

Download the Welcome Series Template: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/email 

Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive

Schedule a consultation call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule

Takeaways

• Be strategic in identifying what data you really need from email subscribers to implement your email segmentation, and keep away from fluff.
• Use a simple form for high conversion, and pair with a back-end tagging strategy based on how you recruit new subscribers.

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly talks about why we need to think about donor relationships more like real-life relationships...because they ARE real-life relationships.

Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive

Schedule a consultation call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule

Takeaways

• Asking a stranger to donate to your nonprofit is about as nonsensical as asking a stranger to help you move or babysit your children.
• People need more interesting reasons to sign up for your email list beyond "get updates."
• We have to get people excited about our mission (WHY we exist) before we bore them with details like program updates.

Summary

In this episode of Fridays 4 Fundraising, Kelly talks about how to give your Annual Report life and staying power. We're re-thinking the role of annual reports—not as a one-time task, but as something that should be integrated into ongoing communication with donors. Kelly introduces the concept of impact meetings, where organizations can engage donors directly, share stories, and gather feedback, ultimately fostering deeper connections and loyalty. She encourages organizations to think creatively about how to leverage their annual reports throughout the year and to consider implementing impact meetings as a strategy for donor engagement.

Join Sustain & Thrive: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/sustain-thrive

Schedule a consultation call: https://www.fromscratchfundraising.com/schedule

Takeaways

• Sending out your annual report is not a one and done activity.
• Think about how you can roll out your annual report throughout the year.
• Impact meetings can enhance donor engagement and loyalty.
• Donors appreciate being involved in the organization's mission.
• Annual reports should facilitate ongoing conversations with donors.
• Engaging donors through Q&A sessions can provide valuable insights.
• Leverage annual report energy to discuss future plans with donors.
• Invite donors to see the impact of their contributions firsthand.
• There's no one-size-fits-all approach; find what works for your organization.
• Feedback from donors can lead to new ideas and strategies.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Fridays 4 Fundraising

00:48 This Week's Focus: Annual Report Meetings

01:17 How to Give Your Annual Report Life with Report Meetings

05:54 This Week's Assignment: Give Your Annual Report Life

Keywords

annual reports, donor engagement, impact meetings, fundraising strategies, nonprofit communication