Fundraising is Funny

We're gearing up for Season 2 of Fundraising is Funny—but before we laugh together, we're getting brutally honest about the absurd challenges we face every day in the nonprofit industry. Inspired by the iconic Barbie monologue, Lynne and Clay share why it's literally impossible to be a fundraiser.

There may be some legitimate reasons to uninvite someone to an event, but in this episode we dive into what NOT to do. This story has us asking serious questions about the fundraising profession + how we treat those who leave our organizations but still have a passion for our mission. 

👊 Punchline: Be kind and generous no matter what situation presents itself. 

Resources Mentioned:

Jen Chang and Dr. Adrian Sargeant at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy

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Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

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Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

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Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Keela

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by Keela. Keela is the complete software solution for nonprofits looking to grow revenue, centralize and manage data, accurately track performance and deepen donor engagement. Learn more at www.keela.co

How to know if a nonprofit is a healthy place to work? Go to the nonprofit in person! A happy office is a good office 🥳 👊

Punchline: What are we spending our time on? What are we prioritizing? How do we think about the other people we work with? The office culture is everyone's responsibility.

Resources Mentioned:

Jen Chang and Dr. Adrian Sargeant at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Keela

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by Keela. Keela is the complete software solution for nonprofits looking to grow revenue, centralize and manage data, accurately track performance and deepen donor engagement. Learn more at www.keela.co

Branding guidelines don't stop the world from spinning. Fundraising is funny because sometimes we hold more tightly to organizational standards than we do to serving those who are fueling our mission.

👊 Punchline: Don't mistake your priorities. Question the things you cling to if they're creating a negative experience for those you serve. 

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Keela

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by Keela. Keela is the complete software solution for nonprofits looking to grow revenue, centralize and manage data, accurately track performance and deepen donor engagement. Learn more at www.keela.co

A feeling of belonging is important, but if we don't see ourselves, how do we belong?

👊 Punchline: You can create false belonging all you want to with membership cards, lapel pins, and tote bags, but it’s about creating a feeling of belonging.

Resources Mentioned:

Jen Chang and Dr. Adrian Sargeant at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Keela

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by Keela. Keela is the complete software solution for nonprofits looking to grow revenue, centralize and manage data, accurately track performance and deepen donor engagement. Learn more at www.keela.co

Fundraising shops can be a zoo! And we know your shop has all kinds of work styles. No one has to get eaten.

👊Punchline: When it comes to organizational values and outcomes we should all be pulling toward the same goal. Assume positive intent. Take care of your people and find a balance that works for you. 

Resources Mentioned:

Lynne's book: T-Rexes vs Kangaroos

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Givebutter

Taking a quick moment to share more about our sponsor: Givebutter, the all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform that’s empowering millions of changemakers like you to raise more, pay less, and give better.

Nonprofits use Givebutter to bring together multiple tools, including donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, CRM, email marketing, text messaging, and more—all for free, thanks to their 100% transparent tip-or-fee model. 

As the #1 rated nonprofit software company on G2 across multiple categories including donor management and auctions, Givebutter is on a mission to power the next billion changemakers. 

If you're a nonprofit, school, team, or any kind of group looking to raise money, sign up for your free Givebutter account to get started in minutes. Head to givebutter.com to claim your free account today. 

Ever had someone badger you over an "urgent" email that wasn't at all on your radar? We thought so. Because humans are funny like that. We all have different ways of communicating and preferred (and not so preferred) methods for doing so.

👊 Punchline: If you aren't communicating well with someone, ask them about their preferred style and adapt as necessary. We can meet in the middle - our favorite part of any sandwich! 🥪

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

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Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Find Good Jobs

Jobs

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Givebutter

Taking a quick moment to share more about our sponsor: Givebutter, the all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform that’s empowering millions of changemakers like you to raise more, pay less, and give better.

Nonprofits use Givebutter to bring together multiple tools, including donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, CRM, email marketing, text messaging, and more—all for free, thanks to their 100% transparent tip-or-fee model. 

As the #1 rated nonprofit software company on G2 across multiple categories including donor management and auctions, Givebutter is on a mission to power the next billion changemakers. 

If you're a nonprofit, school, team, or any kind of group looking to raise money, sign up for your free Givebutter account to get started in minutes. Head to givebutter.com to claim your free account today. 

We've seen a lot of hilarious things in our careers and on thing's certain - auctions never cease to amaze! From the countless hours of staff time consumed to the most random auction items, we've just gotta laugh.

👊 Punchline: How much time (and stuff) is wasted when we aren't intentional in our fundraising efforts? Evaluate what you're doing and be mindful of the message we're sending. 

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Givebutter

Taking a quick moment to share more about our sponsor: Givebutter, the all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform that’s empowering millions of changemakers like you to raise more, pay less, and give better.

Nonprofits use Givebutter to bring together multiple tools, including donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, CRM, email marketing, text messaging, and more—all for free, thanks to their 100% transparent tip-or-fee model. 

As the #1 rated nonprofit software company on G2 across multiple categories including donor management and auctions, Givebutter is on a mission to power the next billion changemakers. 

If you're a nonprofit, school, team, or any kind of group looking to raise money, sign up for your free Givebutter account to get started in minutes. Head to givebutter.com to claim your free account today. 

What are the gimmicks in our industry that have always made you laugh? (We know a few just popped into your head)

👊 Punchline: Honor your mission and your beneficiaries by not making it gimmicky and tell the truth.

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Givebutter

Taking a quick moment to share more about our sponsor: Givebutter, the all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform that’s empowering millions of changemakers like you to raise more, pay less, and give better.

Nonprofits use Givebutter to bring together multiple tools, including donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, CRM, email marketing, text messaging, and more—all for free, thanks to their 100% transparent tip-or-fee model. 

As the #1 rated nonprofit software company on G2 across multiple categories including donor management and auctions, Givebutter is on a mission to power the next billion changemakers. 

If you're a nonprofit, school, team, or any kind of group looking to raise money, sign up for your free Givebutter account to get started in minutes. Head to givebutter.com to claim your free account today. 

Have you had one of those situations where somebody has used numbers either against you or just not in a way that made sense for you? Tune into this episode as we share how to combat the number blues.

👊 Punchline: The reality is, what we measure as organizations can mean different things. Don't compare yourself to an organization that isn't doing the exact same thing. You only have to be better than or as good as your last year.

Connect with Fundraising is Funny

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

Connect with Lynne + DRG Group

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Connect with Clay + TCB Fundraising

Website | LinkedIn 

Our Amazing Sponsors

Bloomerang

This season of Fundraising is Funny is brought to you by our friends at Bloomerang. Bloomerang offers donor management and online fundraising software that helps small to medium nonprofits, like First Tee of Greater Akron, a nonprofit that empowers kids and teens through the game of golf. 

After just one year with Bloomerang they doubled their unique donors, improved donor stewardship, and raised more funds. Executive Director Josh Smith described their experience, “We love Bloomerang. It saves time. It’s helped us raise more funds.” To listen to the full interview with First Tee of Greater Akron visit bloomerang.com/funny. 

MSP Cultivate

This episode is brought to you by MSP Cultivate. New challenges arrive on your desk every day. New trends in communications are popping up faster than you can follow them, and technology affects everything you do. Our friends at MSP Cultivate help you find the right strategy and execution to help you accomplish your most fundamental goal: engaging and connecting with your donors. Learn more at www.mspcultivate.com. 

Givebutter

Taking a quick moment to share more about our sponsor: Givebutter, the all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform that’s empowering millions of changemakers like you to raise more, pay less, and give better.

Nonprofits use Givebutter to bring together multiple tools, including donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, CRM, email marketing, text messaging, and more—all for free, thanks to their 100% transparent tip-or-fee model. 

As the #1 rated nonprofit software company on G2 across multiple categories including donor management and auctions, Givebutter is on a mission to power the next billion changemakers. 

If you're a nonprofit, school, team, or any kind of group looking to raise money, sign up for your free Givebutter account to get started in minutes. Head to givebutter.com to claim your free account today.