Go Beyond Fundraising: The Podcast for Nonprofits

Are you overwhelmed by omnichannel fundraising? As tricky as this approach can be, it’s crucial to build deeper loyalty with your constituents.

On this episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast, we talk with Laura Hinrichsen, VP of Advertising, and Kacey Crawford, VP of Digital Strategy, about how nonprofits can master omnichannel fundraising and marketing. We break down crucial concepts, share practical tips, and discuss real-world success stories to help your nonprofit thrive in a competitive landscape.

Our two Allegiance Group + Pursuant experts also offer advice on breaking down internal siloes that may be holding your organization back. They’ll help you secure buy-in from each team and upper management so you can work together to achieve your goals.

Listen now to start building the foundation for an omnichannel strategy that puts your constituents front and center.

In this episode, Pursuant's CEO Trent Ricker sat down with Kevin Hagan, President and CEO of PAN Foundation, to talk about the effect of global crises on fundraising. With the current Ukraine crisis, we've seen nontraditional or so-called 'unorganized' giving, as people adopted unique ways to support and donate. In this dialogue, these nonprofit leaders discuss lessons that nonprofits can learn from grassroots efforts like these when it comes to funding specific missions.

The lines between responsibilities and budgets of the marketing and fundraising departments can often blur at nonprofits. Although each department brings important and unique assets to an organization, when they align and work together, they can create a more impactful experience for constituents.

In this episode, Pursuant CEO, Trent Ricker spoke with Sue Citro, Chief Experience Officer at Best Friends Animal Society about ways leaders can encourage collaboration between the fundraising and marketing departments to create optimal stewardship experiences.

As Chief Experience Officer, Sue ensures that the marketing communications, fundraising, and experience teams are working in unison to create the best experience possible for donors and people who interact with Best Friends Animal Society.

Many nonprofits tend to focus their ad dollars at the crucial end of the year when people are naturally more inclined to give. However, spreading your advertising budget across the year can set your year-end campaign up for optimal success.

In this episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast, Laura Hinrichsen, VP of Advertising, and Megan Morris, Director of Advertising, discuss the challenges of focusing solely on year-end advertising — and why a year-round ad strategy may be more effective. By hooking a prospect early, you can spend weeks or even months sharing your story with them. Then, when you ask for support at year-end, they’ll be more likely to act.

Our experts also share how a year-round ad spend can help you generate more leads and build your list. They wrap up with quick tips for navigating the presidential election.

When we look at generational giving, it’s easy to focus on baby boomers, millennials, and Gen Z. But tucked in between these groups is Gen X, which is projected to inherit $30 trillion in the Great Wealth Transfer through 2040. Could Gen X be the hidden key to the future of philanthropy?

In this episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast, we welcome Alyssa Boger, EVP of Client Strategy, as she unpacks this question and more. The oldest Gen Xers are nearing retirement age, while the youngest are reaching their peak earning years. These stages of life stand to shape their giving today and tomorrow. This is a group that seeks to make an immediate impact with their time, money, and advocacy.

We also talked about Gen X’s children, Gen Alpha. While they’re too young to engage with direct messaging, this generation’s online behaviors point to strategies that could reshape how you think about fundraising.

Digital advertising is full of mystery — it certainly doesn’t help that the rules seem to change every day. In this episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast, we aim to make digital advertising a little easier. Our guest, Allegiance Group + Pursuant VP of Advertising Laura Hinrichsen, joins us to dispel five myths about digital advertising.

From Google Ad Grants and Facebook advertising to last-click attribution and video content, this conversation highlights what you need to know for an effective digital advertising campaign.

It’s time to leverage your full potential in the digital space. Listen to the full episode now.

What if the key to transforming your fundraising efforts lies in a technology many fear? In this Go Beyond Fundraising Podcast episode, we explore the bold new frontier of artificial intelligence (AI).

Allegiance Group + Pursuant's Chief Strategy Officer, Trent Ricker, considers the nuanced role of artificial intelligence in enhancing human connections. Rather than replacing personal interactions, AI can be a powerful tool to augment our ability to build and maintain deeper, more sincere relationships.

Trent highlights the importance of leveraging technology to organize our lives better, prioritize effectively, and ultimately become more empathetic and attentive individuals. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation that explores how AI can help us achieve the very human goal of closer, more meaningful relationships between donors and nonprofit organizations.

Recent statistics show continued declines across all types of donors from 2022 to 2023 — except those who had given seven or more gifts, which increased. This growth highlights the significance of donor loyalty.

In this Go Beyond Fundraising podcast episode, Allegiance Group + Pursuant Chief Strategy Officer Trent Ricker discusses the value of fostering deep, meaningful relationships with donors. He emphasizes quality over quantity and says loyalty to an organization can lead to deep-rooted support that will last regardless of what’s happening in the short term.

Trent also explains the difference between transactional and relational fundraising. He urges nonprofit professionals to return to the basics and focus on stewardship, using data and donor preferences as a guide. He even shares how a positive stewardship experience turned a planned gift from his stepfather into family-wide support for a children’s healthcare organization.

Determining the health of your organization can be tricky. The success of one campaign or a decrease in one certain metric isn’t enough to know whether your fundraising efforts are working.

In this episode of the Go Beyond Fundraising podcast, we’re joined by Teena Wright, Annual Giving Director at Idaho Public Television, and Debbie Merlino, an Executive Vice President at Allegiance Group + Pursuant. Together, they outline the seven key database metrics you should track to get a better sense of where you stand.

They’ll also address some common questions:

- How often should you look at your data?

-How can you account for seasonality as you compare one time to another?

-What KPIs do you track for a campaign vs. long-term planning?

Listen to the full episode now to get the seven database KPIs that will give you a clear snapshot of the overall relationship donors have with your organization.

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s latest Quarterly Fundraising Report™ is out, and we’re digging in! In this episode of Fundraising Today, VP of Client Strategy Kristin Priest breaks down the key findings that compare overall philanthropic giving trends in 2022 and 2023.

 

The report tracks macro trends in donors, dollars, and retention, then looks deeper at each category. The leading takeaway is that all three show a continued decline, but there is a glimmer of good news. For instance, in 2022, donors were down 10%; but in 2023, they’re only down about 3.4%.

Join us as we discuss what the report means for fundraisers as we prep for the second half of 2024. Will we continue to see decreases, or is this the year that things start to stabilize? Kristin also shares five strategies fundraisers can use to acquire, engage, and retain donors.