Joe Burnett is the contributing editor, and Ken Burnett is a trustee, of Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (SOFII). SOFII "aims to be the most comprehensive, best organised, and most inspiring collection of fundraising related content from around the world." The site hosts case studies of fundraising from around the world and throughout recorded history.

SOFII hosts the "I Wish I’d Thought of That (IWITOT): The Americas" event on January 26, 2021, and a series of IWITOT events in the past. The showcase features great ideas in fundraising, presented by peers who did not create/participate in the case study. Joe and Ken join host Steve Boland to discuss what is "innovation" in a field that has case studies that are thousands of years old, adapting ideas to fit current times and needs, and much more.

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Nate Nordstrom is the Founder and CEO of Easy Board, "The easy way to organize board meetings, documents, and people." The tool is designed to help boards of directors share information with the least amount of barriers to use.

Nate joins host Steve Boland to talk about the ongoing challenge of coordinating information for boards, some of the decisions for Easy Board in their tools, the decision to launch a new product targeted for this use specifically, and much more.

Janay Richmond is the Director of Marketing and Membership for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), and Ryan Schlegel is the Director of Research for NCRP. The NCRP "promotes philanthropy that serves the public good, is responsive to people and communities with the least wealth and opportunity, and is held accountable to the highest standards of integrity and openness."

Janay and Ryan are among the co-authors of the report Black Funding Denied, which analyzes pubic data about community foundation giving specifically directed to Black communities. The report uses data from Candid to demonstrate an "ever-persistent resource gap" in funds designated for Black communities. Janay and Ryan discuss the origins of the report, transparency in philanthropic reporting, and much more. Additional information is available from other partners, including The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), Pocket Change, and more.

Courtney DeRonde is Managing Partner at TDT CPAs and Advisors, which outsourced accounting services at varying levels for businesses, including nonprofit organizations. Part of how TDT works with clients is in decision-making on what accounting systems do versus what information should be left in other data-management systems.

Host Steve Boland talks with Courtney about integrating accounting software like Quickbooks with outside systems (specifically donor relationship management software), using that information to monitor cash flow or forward projections, accounting for pledges in accounting software, and much more! Courtney has a free e-Book to help think through these issues.

Ken Ungar is the president and founder of CHARGE, whose "mission is to help clients unlock the power of sponsorship to enhance their brands and grow their business."

The world of sponsorship had often been associated with events in the past, but in a world of limited numbers of people doing in-person gatherings, that opportunity is changing. Ken talks about having a sponsorship policy (learn what questions to ask in that policy with this template), to conduct a readiness assessment (available on the CHARGE website), and to really consider the value proposition of giving a partner access to your nonprofit audience. Ken has a book on this topic, and shares his thoughts on corporate participation as sponsors, how this works with charitable gifts from the same organization or related groups, and much more.

Amadie Hart is the lead researcher of the recently updated "A Consumers Guide to Low-Cost Fundraising Software published by Tech Impact, which helps charities consider "...systems that facilitate work from any geographic location, that allow them to collect donations online, and that allow them to communicate directly with their donors."

Amadie joins host Steve Boland to discuss how the team decided which systems to review (for example, these systems are all cloud-based now), how use cases would be defined, information about pricing and so much more.

Spencer Brooks is the Founder and Principal of Brooks Digital, which "believe(s) in your mission and know(s) you have the tools and information to help your constituents, you just don’t know how to orchestrate it all together to boost traffic, engagement, memberships, and subscribers."

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations exist to protect health-care consumers, and charities want to stay on the right side of those rules while asking their clients and supporters to stay connected with them outside any direct service relationship. Spencer talks with host Steve Boland about how to ask for permission to share marketing information, three levels of HIPAA-compliant marketing for nonprofits, and even going back to build a relationship with past clients if permission wasn't originally requested. Check out the links provided by Brooks Digital for more information.

Mark Cross is the Sales Director at GoodUnited, which is "is the worldwide leader in 1:1 conversational messaging between nonprofits and their donors."

Mark joins host Steve Boland to talk about the "why" of using Facebook for fundraising, including the fact it is going to happen with or without your nonprofits engagement. Mark also gets into the "how" of using Facebook tools, including a blog post from GoodUnited with information about how to get approved with Facebook to get more information about Facebook fundraising. Despite acknowledged concerns about Facebook as a platform (see the StopHateForProfit campaign for example), many potential supporters will use this space and charities can benefit from being intentional about engagement and strategy.

Dominque Calixte is "a millennial and fundraising professional" with "an interest in helping to activate millennials as change-makers through philanthropy and effective DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) practice in the fundraising space."

Dominque joins host Steve Boland to talk about her perspective on Fundraising While Black. She shares her insights into systemic problems in hiring and advancing people of color in the fundraising space, and in nonprofit work more broadly. Topics include donor advised funds, access to networks, turnover in the field and more.

Steven Aguiar is the founder of Good Goes Further, which "empowers nonprofit leaders to understand, embrace, and wield their digital marketing powers for good."

Steven joins host Steve Boland to talk about using Google Ads to drive donations to charities. The Google Ads program donates search advertising to clients (learn more in our podcast on Google Ads) but once in the system it takes strategy and testing to direct search traffic into financial support for a mission. Steven talks about using pixels to re-market to past visitors, keeping up on the quality of search click throughs, augmenting donated search ads with paid tools, and much more!