Small But Mighty Podcast for Non-Profits

In a post-Covid world, where events and community fundraising has become less reliable and much more challenging. More and more charities are shifting their focus up the donor pyramid a little to major donors.

In this episode, Bianca breaks down The Circle of Giving and the six key steps in the process of the move management protocols for major donors.

Resources mentioned in this episode can be found here.


Our Small But Mighty 'Short Stuff' episodes are advice for small non-profit success, delivered in under five minutes.

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

Small But Mighty is back for a sixth season! In this opening episode, hosts Bianca and Kirsty share key trends small non-profits need to be aware of in 2024.

With economic and cost of living pressures being seen globally, it's more important than ever for small charities to work smarter and not harder.

Episode highlights include:

 2:53 mins - The importance of relationships & collaboration between small non-profits and charities

8:39 mins -   Changes in determining the success of your non-profit's email marketing

13:29 mins - Why strengthening your donor relationships is more important than ever during the cost-of-living crisis

17:45 mins - Why you need to use video on social media in 2024

21:28 mins - The impact of AI in the small non-profit space

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

Australian fundraising legend Peter Dalton joins Bianca to talk about his latest book, Giving Hope: The Journey of the For-Purpose Organisation and Its Quest for Success.

Peter tackles a set of six fundraising dilemmas, and explains to Bianca how small non-profits can overcome them.

Peter has been a huge influence in the Australian non-profit sector, with more than 30 years experience in working in fundraising.

Among many well known campaigns in Australia and globally, he lead the Olivia Newton-John Wellness Centre campaign for the Austin Hospital in Melbourne.

You can buy Peter's book here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Giving-Hope-Journey-Purpose-Organisation/dp/9811361444

Episode highlights:

5.40 mins – strengths of small charities – major gifts and major donors – a different approach for start-ups/small charities - the most cost effective way of starting funding. 

7.15 mins - why a case for support is so important and tips of what is essential for a good one

8.15 mins – how to target a major single donor 

11.10 mins – What Giving Hope is all about for for-purpose organisations

18.20 mins – the six fundraising dilemmas and what they mean for small non-profits - The cost ratio dilemma 

23.20 mins - the tied funding dilemma

28.20 mins – the product vs misery vs hope dilemma

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

In our charity world, ‘overheads’ is a blanket term for any expenses a non-profit has, that aren’t program costs. 

In this episode of Short Stuff, Bianca shares why there's often too much emphasis on the issue of overhead expenses, why it's a mistake to use it to measure a charity's efficiency, what non-profits can do to educate donors.

The study mentioned in this episode can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345485033_Is_Overhead_A_Tainted_Word_A_Survey_Experiment_Exploring_Framing_Effects_of_Nonprofit_Overhead_on_Donor_Decision 

Our Small But Mighty 'Short Stuff' episodes are advice for small non-profit success, delivered in under five minutes.

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

It's time to bust some non-profit myths!

In this episode, Bianca and Kirsty bust four commonly-held myths about small organisations in the non-profit sector in 2022, including whether fundraising is trending down, if social media still works for non-profits anymore, high donor fatigue rates, and how many social media platforms you really need to be on.

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the grants and funding landscape for non-profits.

In this episode, Bianca talks to grants expert, Lindy Fentiman from Strategic Grants about new trends in grants landscape and how small non-profits can better communicate their impact to funders.

11 mins - Advice for small charities on how to communicate their impact to funders

13 mins - Why a non-profit's key messages are so important

20 mins - Three tips for how small charities can become grant-ready

The GEM Local program discount mentioned in this episode can be found here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/member-benefits/strategic-grants-exclusive-member-offer/ 

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

With so many recent changes on the Meta platforms – Facebook and Instagram – social media can be a discouraging space for small non-profits right now.

In this episode of Short Stuff, Kirsty shares why Instagram can still work for small charities and the three areas to focus on.

Our Small But Mighty 'Short Stuff' episodes are advice for small non-profit success, delivered in under five minutes.

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

Creating social change is a goal of many small non-profits. but it's not an easy task.

In this episode, Kirsty chats to Rhen Soggee, Executive Director and Co-CEO of ActNow Theatre, a socially conscious theatre company in Adelaide that's been a grassroots organisation for 14 years.

Rhen shares insights into how ActNow uses the arts and theatre to educate and inform on issues such a racism, gender and cultural diversity, and domestic violence.

Rhen also explains why it's important for small non-profit to take risks in the work they do, and the importance of diversity in non-profit leadership.

You can learn more about ActNow's work here: https://www.actnowtheatre.org.au/home

ActNow Theatre is a member of the Small Non-Profits Alliance. Learn about our free membership here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/ 

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

An annual supporter survey is a great way to check in with your donor base each year. It gives non-profits an opportunity to connect and learn more about donors, both as individuals and collectively.

In this episode of Short Stuff, Bianca shares a few simple points to remember when creating a donor survey, including technical tips and example questions.

The resources mentioned in this survey can be found here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/2022/02/14/donor-survey-sample-questions-downloadable-resource/ 

Our Small But Mighty 'Short Stuff' episodes are advice for small non-profit success, delivered in under five minutes.

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.

2021 was a challenging year for many small charities, particularly for digital and peer-to-peer fundraising. 

Peer-to-peer fundraising events were heavily affected during covid lockdowns, but virtual events have proved very successful for some charities able to pivot quickly.

So, in this episode Bianca chats to social entrepreneur and digital fundraising expert Tania Burstin, about digital fundraising advice and trends for small charities in 2022.

Tania is the founder of mycause.com.au – Australia’s leading online fundraising platform.

mycause.com.au has 6000 charity partners and has raised more than $140M for charities and Australian community groups. 

Tania shares insights into digital fundraising trends for 2022, and advice for small charities including:

-       Key mistakes in digital fundraising

-       How to engage major donors

-       Why getting marketing right is so important

mycause.com.au is a Service Partner of the Small Non-Profits Alliance.

For more resources created specifically for small non-profits join the Small Non-Profits Alliance for FREE here: https://smallnonprofits.com.au/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can also connect with the Alliance on Facebook and Instagram.