Relish THIS: The Nonprofit Marketing Podcast

Today’s guest today is Ryan O'Donoghue, CEO of both the nonprofit First Descents and the for-profit company Stoke Broker. 

First Descents provides life-changing outdoor adventures for young adults impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions. Stoke Broker takes the wealth of expertise First Descents has developed over the past 20 years and applies it outside of the nonprofit space. Profits from Stokebroker, an adventure travel company, are then funneled back into FD to further fuel their mission.

It’s an interesting model that recognizes how work in the nonprofit space can be applied to create new revenue streams in the for-profit sector—revenue that then directly benefits the nonprofit that inspired it.

You’re really going to enjoy this conversation. 

Links:

First Descents: https://firstdescents.org

Stoke Broker: https://stokebroker.com

Ask: 

Share something that you are passionate about.

Is there a way that you can give a little extra today? 

My guest on today’s episode is Peter Downing, the Founder of Suffer Better. 

Suffer Better inspires athletes to give their all (plus a bit more through charitable contributions and volunteer time).

On the call we discussed a simple idea that can pay big benefits for nonprofits—giving stakeholders multiple ways to participate. Suffer Better does this by putting on races, selling merchandise, providing volunteer opportunities, encouraging special engagement and outreach with elected officials, and offering a variety of donation options. 

Another topic of conversation centered around “tangential targeting:” creating ways to engage with audiences who care about similar organizations but who may only be tangential to yours. Outreach to these groups provides a mechanism by which you can reach your targets through an intermediary, which often can be a more powerful connector than a traditional, direct approach.

Peter and I both are involved with The Colorado Outdoor Business Alliance (https://conservationco.org/coba/) and 1% For the Planet (https://onepercentfortheplanet.org), so we are very aligned in our focus on the outdoors and the environment. Our shared mission to give back made for a fun discussion detailing how those objectives align in his work and the events that Suffer Better promotes. 

I always enjoy talking with Peter, and I think you are going to love this episode. 

Links: 

Suffer Better: https://sufferbetter.com/

Colorado Outdoor Business Alliance: https://conservationco.org/coba/

Action:

Come run/ride in an event and pick up trash, follow the rules, and treat the outdoors with respect.

Are you missing opportunities to build relationships with your stakeholders?

On today's episode, I spoke with Dave Elmore, the Executive Director of Paradox Sports.

Paradox exists to increase climbing access for those with disabilities, expanding access to adaptive climbing programs and national climbing trips nationwide.

Paradox already does a great job with relationship-building and nurturing its stakeholders into the Inspire Phase of their Audience Engagement Cycle. 

In the episode, we discussed the ways organizations can leverage their stakeholders’ empathy and encourage them to spread the Paradox Sports mission to others. Here’s the short version: once you create an emotional connection, it becomes a no-brainer to ask your audience to help share your organization's mission with their networks. 

Dave and I also discussed an opportunity for which Paradox is particularly well-positioned: using a company called Tapkat to promote sweepstakes to their corporate partnerships’ mailing lists. Tapkat (https://tapkat.com) helps nonprofits drive revenue through sweepstakes—and those who can access partnership assets can see gains by using this service. 

Check out this episode for some great insights. I hope you love it.

Links:

Paradox Sports: https://paradoxsports.org

Tapkat: https://tapkat.com

Ask:

Help create diversity at your favorite climbing gym by asking them if they are accessible and open to adaptive athletes. If not, point them to Paradox Sports.

This week on a special episode of Relish This, Relish Studio’s marketing expert, James Lopez takes the reins…

To chat with Stu about his new book! 

Mission Uncomfortable: How nonprofits can embrace purpose-driven marketing to survive and thrive has been in the works for a while—

And Stu is beyond proud that it’s finally here and ready to share with you. 

Mission Uncomfortable is packed full of useful information and tools that nonprofits like yours (and purpose-driven for-profit businesses too!) can use to grow your audience and help build stronger relationships with all of your stakeholders. 

In today’s conversation, Stu and James review the book and talk about the audience engagement cycle, and how you can use it to think about your own audience. 

They discuss marketing as an investment you make to expand your mission, rather than an expense you spend on frivolous communication. 

And they also talk about ways to move a new stakeholder from initial interest in your non-profit to becoming an inspired, lifelong champion for your organization. 

This was a fantastic conversation and Stu and James had a great time discussing the book.

Links: 

Book: https://Missionuncomfortablebook.com

Ask: 

Download your FREE copy of Mission Uncomfortable and learn how to improve your nonprofit marketing today. 

I find myself falling into the “easy” trap all the time.

If I can do something easily, the thinking goes, it couldn’t possibly be worth anything, right?

But what seems simple to me may actually be incredibly valuable to someone else who hasn’t been steeped in marketing for the past 30 years. 

 On today’s show, my guest is Danielle Graczyk, the Founder of Canine Inspired Change. Her organization uses the healing power of dogs to help vulnerable youth create better connections with their communities.

 Our conversation covers a wide range of topics and focuses on leveraging the CIC team’s collective expertise training dogs to create opportunities for mission expansion, donor engagement, and growth for the organization. 

 And we discover that what seems simple and intuitive for Danielle and her crew actually represents a font of valuable information they can share to create new revenue streams and build relationships for their nonprofit.

 This show is packed with ideas for how to expand your organization’s reach. Check it out!

Links:

http://www.canineinspiredchange.org/

 Ask:

Join the pack! 

At Relish Studio, we like to think of marketing as a relationship-building activity.

And when you’re building a relationship, there’s no better way to slam the breaks on creating a bond than to ask too much too soon.

Today’s guest is David Fakunle, the Executive Director of Womb Work Productions. 

His organization is doing some great performing arts work in Baltimore (and the rest of Maryland) to heal and empower youth, families, and communities.

David’s team fosters social change through storytelling, and they have a great handle on what it takes to build trust and relationships across all their stakeholder connections.

One of the most interesting points we discuss is centered around getting in front of the right people at the right time. As you might imagine, it’s easier to engage financial and community support when you come from a place of confidence and patience—and leverage the power of your story to build trust. 

This is a really fun episode. I hope you enjoy it!

Links:

https://www.wombwork.com/

Ask:

Tell someone you love them.

As you surely know, starting a nonprofit can be challenging. 

Nonprofit leaders usually find themselves with way too much to do—and too little time and expertise to tackle every detail. 

That would be frustrating at the best of times, but even more so when you just want to get your organization up and running so you can start doing good for the world.

That’s why my guest today, Christian LeFer, created Instant Nonprofit. His business helps those creating and working within the nonprofit space overcome legal hurdles so they can stay focused on running their organizations.

As you might imagine, we talk a lot about the challenges associated with wearing too many hats as a leader, and about offloading the items that someone else can capably take care of. (And yes, if you’re curious, Instant Nonprofit has a host of valuable resources available to take things off your plate—from filing your paperwork to streamlining your Board meetings.)

On top of all that, Christian is just a really great guy and a great conversationalist! Hope you get a lot out of this episode.

Follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

Links: 

https://instantnonprofit.com

Ask: 

Take action and share it with us. Just hop in and get your feet wet. Examine your “why” and answer your call for adventure. 

Are you getting everything you can out of the materials you produce?

On today's show I had a fun conversation with Francie Saunders, one of the founders of Ubiquitous Empowerment. They’re an up-and-coming organization focused on helping under-served youth communities live happier, healthier lives through increased access to sexual health education and services.

The bulk of our conversation centered around all of the momentum Ubiquitous Empowerment built on social during their research phase—and how to leverage and repurpose the materials they create to get the most out of every asset.

We also discussed ways to leverage their reach and ability to serve online to help their fundraising efforts.

Francie is great, and the insights we uncovered are valuable. I hope you enjoy the show!

Links:

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/francie-saunders/

https://www.ubiquitousempowerment.com/

instagram.com/its.ubiquitous

Ask: 

Think about reproductive health and how it has affected you throughout your life. Then talk about it with others to help normalize conversations

On this week’s episode, I’m proud to talk to one of my favorite people—Kate Williams, Executive Director of 1% for the Planet.

1% for the Planet, if you’re not familiar with the organization, calls itself “a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions through memberships and everyday actions.”

Their mantra—”everyone has a 1%”—aims to rally purpose-focused businesses to give 1% of gross revenue to environmental causes.

Revenue commitments aside, one challenge many these organizations face is a reluctance to get out there and share the great stories they are creating. On today’s episode, Kate and I discussed this challenge, how 1% for the Planet knocks virtual events out of the park, and more.

LINKS:

onepercentfortheplanet.org

ASK:

Everyone has a 1%. Whether that’s time or money, look for your 1% and direct it to something that would make a difference.

Early in my freelance career (way before founding Relish Studio) I had the opportunity to cover for a friend going on an extended vacation. 

After meeting with the client and agreeing we were a good match, I came up with a rate that I thought would win the gig. 

They quickly agreed—and nearly immediately said, “We would have paid a lot more than that.”

You see, we had two different ideas about the “value” of the work I was to provide. Same effort and outcome… different numbers.

I bring it up because my guest on today’s podcast discussed this concept with me. 

Taylor Masamitsu is from Creating for Justice, a great organization that connects people who want new skills with volunteer experts who’ll teach them—all in the name of social justice. 

It's an interesting model that has a TON of potential as we see online learning and the social justice movement intersect.

Creating for Justice allows donors to tap into expertise at a very low rate—as low as $5 per month, in fact. Taylor and I discuss how to supercharge this giving potential so that more money flows back into the organization…And the solution may surprise you.

To find out the counterintuitive method of increasing cash flow for Creating for Justice, listen now to Episode 24 of Relish This.

Links: Creating for Justice site: https://www.creatingforjustice.org/

Ask: Ask yourself what unorthodox strategies you can use to create more value.