Philanthropy Podcast: A Resource for Nonprofit Leaders and Fundraising & Advancement Professionals

The challenge we face:

The COVID-19 pandemic flipped many workplaces upside-down and uncertainty has become a normal part of our fundraising world. There has been no shortage of professional development suggesting how we need to continue our work during this time, but what I felt was missing were discussions about how to lead in the current climate and in future occasions of uncertainty and stress. How can we reassure our internal team while keeping people motivated, how do we account for changes in expectations while not diminishing the need to raise funds, and how do we learn from this crisis to be better prepared for the next one.

As successful nonprofits see record fundraising numbers, how can their leadership choose the messaging to share with donors to continue to inspire belief in their mission and what can other nonprofits learn from that, how do you retain top talent when jumping off points are everywhere, and how do you find the stories to share that capture the impact of your efforts when you might be removed from the direct service work of your organization?

Lou Nanni discusses leadership during the time of COVID-19, how to motivate a team during times of great uncertainty and times of great success, the importance of adaptability, what are the greatest pressures on leaders today, how to hire people who will be "other focused", and how to find and tell the great stories that connect people to your mission.

In this episode we discuss:

 

• How do we inspire teams when we're facing circumstances we've never faced before?

 

• How can outside the box ideas help institutions to focus campaign communication on the impacts they can have?

• How can you continue to motivate a team and stay grounded during periods of tremendous success?

• What opportunities come out of crises and how can you seize those opportunities?

• How can you keep your benefactor and prospects aware of your actions when circumstances are changing on a daily basis?

• How do you emphasize the need for effective and efficient work during COVID-19 while being understanding of changed circumstances for staff and donors?

• What are the most important skill sets to emphasize for your employees during times of crisis?

• Where do you find the information and stories to share with your internal time during times of stress and crisis?

• What makes for stories that motivate your benefactors?

• How do we find the best stories that best convey the mission of our organizations when our operation might look different now than it has in the past?

• What makes for a great vision for your organization?

• What are the greatest and most important pressures on leaders today?

• How do you identify great hires who have the values your organization desires?

 

 

How you can help your colleagues and friends in the field today:

 

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Learn more about this episode's guest: Lou Nanni

Louis M. Nanni is the vice president for University Relations at the University of Notre Dame. In this role he oversees the University's efforts in development, advisory councils, special events and the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Prior to joining Notre Dame in 1999, Mr. Nanni had served for eight years as executive director of the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, Ind., establishing the center as a national model in addressing the complex issues involved in homelessness. As a leading authority on those issues, he addressed Congress during its debate of welfare reform measures and led training sessions for thousands of community service workers across North America, all the while continuing to form close personal relationships with the center's guests.

Mr. Nanni graduated from Notre Dame in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in government and the Program of Liberal Studies. For two years following graduation he served as a lay missioner working in a Santiago, Chile, shantytown as part of the Holy Cross Associates program sponsored by Notre Dame's founding religious order, the Congregation of Holy Cross. He then entered Notre Dame's pioneering international peace studies program, earning a master's degree in 1988.

Mr. Nanni became director of the world mission office of the Catholic Diocese of Orlando, Fla., in 1988 and worked extensively in the Dominican Republic on issues of pastoral support and economic development. He was elected to Notre Dame's Board of Trustees as a three-year, young alumni member in 1990.

Mr. Nanni and his wife, Carmen, a 1993 Notre Dame graduate, were presented one of three national exemplar awards by Notre Dame as part of a special University observance in May 1997. He previously served on the advisory council for Notre Dame's Institute for Church Life and in 1994 received the Notre Dame Alumni Association's Dr. Thomas Dooley Award for Humanitarian Service.

The Nannis have five children, Isabela, Louis, Katia, Gabriel, and Sofia.

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The challenge we face:

Entrepreneurs often don't fit the paradigms we use to assess the strength of a fundraising prospect. Their capacity to give doesn't increase in a linear fashion like other professions, their time constraints around becoming involved are often the inverse of other donors, and the most tax advantageous way to make their gifts is often to give before they actually have experienced the large liquidity events around selling a company or going public. That said, entrepreneurs give 50% more than other professionals making the same income and they often make transformational gifts to organizations once they have the means. They also bring a perspective and approach to providing advice to organizations that is unique to their line of work.

 

Dee Dee Mendoza discusses how some organizations have approached engaged entrepreneurs in their pre-exit philanthropy stage through the use of founders' pledges, recognition society engagement, and providing value to entrepreneurs that is needed at each phase of their company's lifecycle. If your organization wants to provide for its long-term health and have a competitive advantage in your sector, this episode will be an important piece of information in building your entrepreneurial approaches.

 

In this episode we'll discuss:

• Challenges around engaging entrepreneurs in traditional fundraising paths.
• The benefits organizations can offer to entrepreneurs during their company's early phases.
• How tax implications affect entrepreneurs and their giving.
• What a Founders' Pledge Society looks like.
• What people get wrong in engaging entrepreneurs.
• How to engage entrepreneurs while their wealth only exists on paper.
• How to book founders' pledge gifts for your record keeping.
• Places you can find more research on entrepreneurs and philanthropy.
• Why it's fun to work with entrepreneurs.
• How to get on the calendar of entrepreneurs in your portfolio or database.
• How to learn more from Dee Dee and stay up to date with the latest in this field.

 

How you can make your voice heard!

 

There will be two discussions in the Philanthropy Podcast Facebook group this week. The questions we're asking are:

1. Who are the entrepreneurs (and/or their companies) who have made a significant impact on your organization or just were great fun to work with? What's the story behind your collaboration?
2. Does your organization have any formal program for entrepreneurs? Take our poll and leave any details you'd like to share or questions you'd like to ask in the comments.

 

You can join our Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Group to share ideas, get advice, and simply enjoy the company of other listeners.

 

Learn more about this episode's guest, Dee Dee Mendoza:

Dee Dee Mendoza is managing director of West Coast Advancement for Dartmouth College, where she works largely with alumni in startups and venture capital. Her background in major gifts goes back more than 15 years, primarily in Higher Education. She has led efforts to launch Higher Ed's two most prominent pre-exit philanthropy platforms: the Dartmouth Founders Project, and the award-winning Berkeley Founders Pledge, the first of a new wave of these programs that incorporates the unique model she developed. Her teams' work has been featured in Currents magazine and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She continues to advance the field through independent research and as an advisor to numerous emerging programs.Links:

1. The Philanthropy Podcast - Website
2. The Philanthropy Podcast - Twitter
3. The Philanthropy Podcast - Instagram
4. The Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Group
5. The Philanthropy Podcast User Survey
6. Dee Dee's Website - Website
7. Dee Dee Mendoza - Twitter
8. Dee Dee Mendoza - LinkedIn
9. Additional research - Zoltan Acs
10. Additional reading - Platform Revolution - Parker, Geoffrey; Van Alstyne, Marshall, & Choudary, Snageet
11. UC Berkeley - Founders' Pledge
12. Dartmouth Founders' Project
13. Pledge 1%
14. Founders' Pledge UK
15. Inspired Money Podcast - With Andy Wang (Yeah, I linked to my appearance)
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The challenge we face:

The world of nonprofit fundraising is a place where uncomfortable realities surrounding sexual harassment and sexual violence need to be addressed. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 1 in 4 women in nonprofit fundraising have experienced sexual harassment and 1 in 14 men have experienced sexual harassment. The complexity of these realities can be illustrated by the fact that two-thirds of these incidents are committed by donors, one-third are committed by staff and of the incidents reported 35% are committed by board members. In a world where the #MeToo movement has empowered people to speak about sexual harassment and violence more openly, Sarah Beaulieu discusses our need to make our workplaces safer for our employees and volunteers by engaging in conversations to be proactively protective and supportive to ensure that everyone entrusted to our organizations knows that their safety is our most important priority in fulfilling our missions.

 

In this episode we'll discuss:

• How preventing sexual violence begins with having uncomfortable conversations.
• The effect the #MeToo has had in nonprofit fundraising
• How to change from an unsatisfying culture for your staff to a culture of safety and respect
• Scenarios in which your team members might find themselves and how to prepare for them.
• Steps you can take when someone comes to you with a report of sexual harassment or assault
• Where to find sample organizational policies relating to sexual harassment and violence
• Transparency about reporting and how confidentiality is handled.
• Five key ideas for framing before you train: know the facts, accept that conversations will be uncomfortable, see the whole picture, embrace the practical questions, get curious, not furious
• Who should intervene if a donor is harassing a fundraiser?
• The power of media if board members and organizations aren't responsive to a fundraiser's claim of sexual violence or a culture of ignorance
• How to shift power dynamics in concerning situations through bystander interventions
• What to do when you find yourself questioning your own behavior and if you have crossed a line?
• How to handle tough circumstances around resolving harassment issues that might impact the success of someone's career.
• How to address issues with donors and/or board members who are committing sexual harassment.

 

How you can make your voice heard!

 

There will be two discussions in the Philanthropy Podcast Facebook group this week. The questions we're asking are:

1. What have you seen work well in a place where you worked for ensuring that your employees and volunteers knew that the workplace was safe, that harassment wasn't welcome, or that you had their full support?
2. What was the nugget of gold you heard in this conversation or that you realized while you were listening to our conversation with Sarah?

 

You can join our Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Group to share ideas, get advice, and simply enjoy the company of other listeners.

 

Learn more about this episode's guest, Sarah Beaulieu:

Sarah Beaulieu is an expert at engaging people in productive and meaningful conversations about sexual harassment and violence and founder of The Uncomfortable Conversation, a nonprofit that produces short-form videos that normalize conversations about consent, healthy relationships, advocacy and supporting survivors of sexual violence.Her 2016 TEDxBeaconStreet talk summarized five years of intensive research and over 100 interviews with men on sexual violence and harassment. Her opinion pieces have been published by Boston Business Journal, Providence Journal, Chronicle of Philanthropy. She has appeared on Fox News Providence, WHYY, Huffington Post Live, and Voice America. The Uncomfortable Conversation has been featured in the Philadelphia Metro, WHYY, NY Observer, AskMen and FoxNews, and at events like the Independent Television Festival, Civic Series, Calling All Crows 10th Anniversary Event, and an interactive screening event at HBO. Sarah frequently speaks with diverse audiences, including fraternity members, working professionals and students. Recent appearances include: Columbia University, Independent Television Festival, MIT, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, the Communications Network, SheGeeks Out, and Impact Hub NY.Sarah's work reflects lessons she learned through an early foray into public conversations about sexual violence. Her graphic, The Truth About False Accusation, generated international discussion and debate after being featured (and critiqued) on The Guardian UK, Washington Post and Slate.

Previously, Sarah held leadership roles in fundraising and communications at Brown University, Boston College, Be the Change and the GreenLight Fund. She is also a trained rape crisis counselor and served for five years on the board of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. She has a B.A. from Brown University and an MBA from Boston College.Links:

1. The Philanthropy Podcast - Website
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3. The Philanthropy Podcast - Instagram
4. The Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Group
5. The Philanthropy Podcast User Survey
6. Sarah's Beaulieu - Website
7. Sarah Beaulieu - Twitter
8. The Uncomfortable Conversation
9. Chronicle of Philanthropy - Survey of Sexual Harassment Article
10. Chronicle of Philanthropy - What Every Nonprofit Leader Needs to Know About Sexual Violence
11. 7 in 7 Challenge
12. Skills You Can Practice to Prevent Sexual Harassment 1 of 2
13. Skills You Can Practice to Prevent Sexual Harassment 2 of 2
14. The Uncomfortable Conversation - Facebook
15. The Uncomfortable Conversation - Twitter
16. The Uncomfortable Conversation - Instagram
17. The Uncomfortable Conversation - Tumblr
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The challenge we face:

Donors are becoming more sophisticated when it comes to charitable giving. One philosophy and social movement around philanthropy is effective altruism. Through effective altruism donors try to determine and support nonprofits that combine the most effective and cost efficient programming to impact our world. Fundraising professionals and nonprofit leaders need to be aware of this growing attitude toward funding nonprofits and ensure that our interactions with donors communicates clearly the value proposition of our organization.

In this episode we'll discuss:

• Effective altruism's approach to thinking about charitable giving and philanthropy
• How the approach fundraisers take to donors might be affected by effective altruism
• Does your fundraising communication plan need to change to address new questions about effectiveness that go beyond concerns about the cost of overhead?
• How donors interested in effective altruism may change their donation habits over time
• Can fundraising be one of the ten most harmful jobs on earth?
• How effective altruism considers both effectiveness and cost effectiveness of your programs
• Whether nonprofit fundraisers need to consider the effectiveness of their nonprofit in deciding if their work lives up to their own ethical standards and desires
• How effective altruism shifts the focus from storytelling to research around nonprofits
• What mindsets are needed for a donor to employ an effective altruism approach to their charitable giving

How you can make your voice heard!

There are two polls in the Philanthropy Podcast Facebook group for this episode. We want to know your opinion about:

1. Do you believe that fundraising for a below-average nonprofit qualifies as one of the ten most hurtful jobs? I invite you to leave your own opinion in the comments of that poll.
2. Have you noticed the ideas behind Effective Altruism impacting the behavior of your donors?

You can join our Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Group to share ideas, get advice, and simply enjoy the company of other listeners.

Learn more about this episode's guest, Eric Freidman:

Eric Friedman is an individual donor who has spent several years trying to understand how to maximize the impact of his giving, including traveling to Africa to see his giving in action. He is an actuary and graduated from Stanford University with majors in mathematics and economics. Links:

1. The Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Group
2. The Philanthropy Podcast on Twitter
3. The Philanthropy Podcast on Instagram
4. The Philanthropy Podcast Listener Survey
5. Reinventing Philanthropy: A Framework for More Effective Giving by Eric Freidman (Book)
6. Reinventing Philanthropy Website
7. Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism Can Help You Help Others, Do Work that Matters, and Make Smarter Choices about Giving Back by William MacAskill
8. GiveWell
9. The Ten Most Harmful Jobs - on 80,000 Hours Website by Robert Wiblin
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The Philanthropy Podcast Website Email Sean at The Philanthropy Podcast

This week, I'm going to go back to a topic that I interviewed a few guests about early on in the show, where we find joy in our work. As we near the end of many organizations fiscal years, that means reflecting on the year past, planning for the year ahead, and hopefully getting a jumpstart on some early success. Perhaps you're coming off a great year where you hit your goals and then some, or you might be coming off a year where you came in under budget. Either way, it's good to step back and remind ourselves why this work can be so meaningful and enjoyable. I interview Katy Hall about this topic in episode 3, John Chandler in episode 4, and Patrick Landry in episode 17, but today I'll take some time to give my answers to some of the questions I asked them and to reflect on some of the other reasons I love our work.

 

Links in this week's episode:

Please take the Philanthropy Podcast Listener Survey!

Episode 3 - The Joy of The Ask with Katy Hall

Episode 4 - The Joy of this Vocation with John Chandler

Episode 17 - The Joy of the Story with Pat Landry

 

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Today we talk about how 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017 affects the work of nonprofit fundraising and the ways donors are incentivized or disincentivized to give philanthropically through the tax code. We'll discuss the charitable tax deduction laws, the standard deduction changes, the impact of changes in SALT (State and Local Taxes)  deductability, the increase of the estate tax exemption, the reduction in marginal tax rates, which businesses and individuals benefit from the tax law changes, whose giving is likely to increase and decrease, and what tools nonprofits can use to encourage wise giving methods from their donors such as Donor Advised Funds, shifting from seasonal giving appeals to cause and need-based giving appeals, and more.

If you would like to improve your meeting scheduling, Philanthropy Podcast listeners are receiving a special offer of two free weeks for ScheduleOnce, the scheduling tool I use for quickly and professionally scheduling meetings with my donor prospects. Get your two weeks free at www.thephilanthropypodcast.com/scheduleonce

Audible is offering a free 30 day trial with one free audiobook download if you visit www.audibletrial.com/philpod. Right now I'm listening to Getting Things Done by David Allen as I've realized I need to tweak my time management and organizational system with my new job and Getting Things Done was highly recommended by a friend. Once again you can get your free 30 day trial and free audiobook download at www.audibletrial.com/philpod.

The Philanthropy Podcast Website Email Sean at The Philanthropy Podcast   This week on The Philanthropy Podcast, Brian Gower, Vice President of Research at Ruffalo Noel Levitz discuss the modern phonathon and its place in your fundraising plan. Brian touches on what you need in place before launching your phonathon, how phonathons aid data collection, the returns you might expect, how to integrate the phonathon and social media, thank-a-thons, how your phonathon callers can build your pipeline to development staff hiring and more. If you think you know everything about the phonathon or think this fundraising tool is stuck in the age of landlines and boring scripts, listen to Brian and realize that like all programs, if your fundamentals are sound and you're willing to stay with the times, any program can be a success for your office.    If you would like to improve your meeting scheduling, Philanthropy Podcast listeners are receiving a special offer of two free weeks for ScheduleOnce, the scheduling tool I use for quickly and professionally scheduling meetings with my donor prospects. Get your two weeks free at www.thephilanthropypodcast.com/scheduleonce   With that, please consider joining our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/thephilanthropypodcast or following us on Twitter at @PhilanthropyPod. You can also join our LinkedIn group by following this link and feel welcome to follow me on LinkedIn.    Links in this week's episode: Ruffalo Noel Levitz - Research and Papers - Research and Papers Fundraising Voices Podcast Brian Gawor - Twitter

The Philanthropy Podcast Website Email Sean at The Philanthropy Podcast   This week on The Philanthropy Podcast, we feature our first mini-episode, a preview of the 2018 Global Philanthropy Forum Conference with guest Jane Wales. Jane shares what sparked her interest in founding the Global Philanthropy Forum, what attendees can expect, and how to participate with the conference even if you are unable to attend through their online broadcasts.     This week's episode is brought to you by Audible. All listeners of The Philanthropy Podcast can receive a free month's trial of Audible and one free audiobook download at  http://www.audibletrial.com/PhilPod   You can join our Facebook community at www.facebook.com/thephilanthropypodcast or follow us on Twitter at @PhilanthropyPod. You can also join our LinkedIn group by following this link and feel welcome to follow me on LinkedIn.    Links in this week's episode: Global Philanthropy Forum Global Philanthropy Forum on: Twitter Global Philanthropy Forum on: Facebook Jane Wales: Twitter   Edelman Trust Barometer African Philanthropy Forum Living On One