The ENGAGE Podcast

During a crisis, you need strategies that will help your organization cope with the situation effectively and come through on the other side. Knowing how to work with your board in these situations can help you continue to fulfill your mission. In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Blackbaud Senior Marketing Manager Tanya Fitzgerald in an excerpt from a webinar about effectively working with your board during a crisis.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• The board’s role during a crisis
• Using a crisis cycle to communicate with your board
• Breaking down the phases of the crisis cycle
• Top areas that an organization needs to focus on during a crisis
• Planning events during this time
• Keeping your mission at the forefront of the community’s mind
• How the board can help with a safety plan
• Communicating and sharing knowledge

Resources:

Tanya Fitzgerald

Webinar: Stay Cool: Proactively Working with Your Board During a Crisis

Financial Management Thought Leadership Webinar Series

Blog Post: 3 Steps for Developing a Passionate Nonprofit Board

Quotes: 

“Consider these six phases for crisis transformation and how your organization will be affected in the best case, the likely case, and the worst-case scenario.”

“You’re going to want to be prepared during the first warning sign.”

“The community is actually going to be receptive to this information more so than they normally were. Information they used to tune out, they’re focusing on now.”

It’s hard to believe that we’re already well into September and it’s time to start thinking about year-end audits. This year, many social good organizations will be having virtual audits, and now is the time to learn about how best to prep for them.

Mel Rancour, principal instructional designer for Blackbaud University’s Organizational Best Practices curriculum, joins today’s episode to talk about why you want to begin audit prep now, how this year is going to differ from previous years, and resources to help you get started with your preparations.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Why now is the best time to start audit prep
• How audit prep will be different this year
• The trickiest part of having a virtual audit
• What organizations should do first when preparing for an audit
• How organizations can make sure they’re fully prepared
• Resources on preparing for a virtual audit

Resources:

Mel Rancour

Webinar: Preparing for a Virtual Audit

Blackbaud University Organizational Best Practices Curriculum: Year-End and Audit Plans

Quotes: 

“Well, it is 2020, which has been a year full of changes and differences in policies and procedures and really any organizational and personal norms.”

“When you think about it, our policies and procedures for just about everything have changed.”

“Don’t forget, these guidelines need to be electronic.”

Too many nonprofits overlook the opportunities for planned giving. While planned giving may not be the most typical type of gift, it can be a powerful driver of growth for nonprofit organizations and can be a way of deepening donor relationships.

To talk about the modern landscape of planned giving, today’s guest is Patrick Schmitt. Patrick is the co-founder and co-CEO of FreeWill, a company that specializes in modernizing how organizations can take advantage of planned giving. Listen in to hear what Patrick has to say about how the thinking around planned giving is changing, how organizations can incorporate planned giving into their strategy, and how to steward donors through the planned giving process.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Patrick’s background and experience
• Why planned giving allows “average” donors to give much more than they otherwise could
• Why right now is the time to focus on planned giving
• What Patrick has seen change in the way people are thinking about planned giving in the last year or so
• How organizations can start incorporating planned giving into their fundraising strategy
• Ways to talk to and steward donors
• Giving donors choices
• Common questions that donors tend to have
• Getting people started with planned giving

Resources:

Patrick Schmitt

Free Will

Quotes: 

“We made it so easy for people to give 10 dollars, and yet in some cases, quite hard for them to give a hundred thousand dollars or a million dollars in the same way.”

“It behooves you to start much earlier than people do traditionally, to secure planned giving donors.”

“In some ways, we always talk about how fundraising is a highly specialized skill, and it is, but also, humans are humans.”

We’ve seen evolving challenges and change of 2020, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the racial justice movement. From economic challenges to increased service delivery demands, social good organizations have been impacted in many ways. While it is difficult to determine the future extent of economic impacts, there are valuable insights to be gleaned from historic trends in giving. 

In today’s episode, Ashley Thompson, Managing Director of the Blackbaud Institute, discusses the Institute’s new State of the Social Sector series with host Steve MacLaughlin. Listen to the interview to hear Ashley talk about what the data indicates about the social sector right now, how organizations can remain resilient and why organizations should look at history to help inform future actions.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• The new State of the Social Sector reports from the Blackbaud Institute
• Building resilient programs
• The historical impact of economic changes and challenges on social good communities
• Surprising findings in the Institute’s latest research
• How organizations can positively leverage the moment in 2020
• The importance of renewed focus on fundraising fundamentals
• The value of being nimble
• Making data actionable

Resources:

Ashley Thompson

State of the Social Sector Series

Blackbaud Institute Index

Quotes: 

“As we all know, 2020 is shaping up to be a real mixed bag.”

“What’s interesting, though, is that you see this continuation of generosity, kind of through the ages.”

“We talk about retention, and we talk about retention, and we talk about retention, but unfortunately, it’s still the same case.”

Running peer-to-peer fundraising events present a challenge in the current environment. However, the organizations that will be successful this fall are those who realize they must pivot and start proactively planning for these events.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Blackbaud’s Robyn Mendez, Principal Product Marketing Manager, and Shana Masterson, Principal Customer Success Manager, as they explore the topic of peer-to-peer fundraising in more depth. Robyn and Shana spoke with Steve MacLaughlin about the current state of peer-to-peer fundraising, what the data says about how peer-to-peer fundraising has been affected in recent months, and how organizations are reimagining their events. Listen in to learn more about how peer-to-peer fundraising is being changed and adapted.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• The current state of peer-to-peer fundraising
• What has been surprising about peer-to-peer fundraising in recent months
• What the data says about what’s been happening over the last six months
• How both organizations and participants are taking “wait-and-see” approaches, and why that may not be the best approach going forward
• How organizations are thinking about reimagining their events
• Changes to digital fundraising and how it’s changed engagements with peer-to-peer fundraisers
• Logical next steps for organizations planning for fall and spring

Resources:

Robyn Mendez

Shana Masterson

A Guide to Evolving Beyond Virtual: SPRING 2020 PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISING STUDY

The Time Has Come to Reinvent Fall 2020 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Events

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Idea Calendar

Quotes: 

“What’s happening is people aren’t registering, so as an indirect result of them not being super decisive about what’s happening in the fall, or conversely, what’s happening in the spring, it’s suppressing registration rates.” – Robyn Mendez

“The community is the thing that really drives people.” –Shana Masterson

“I think the idea of getting back to a more grassroots style program is one of the interesting, innovative things that’s happening as a result of the pandemic.” – Robyn Mendez

What is your personal brand, that is, how would others talk about you when you aren’t in the room? Whether you are looking for a new role or just want to be more effective in your current role, personal branding is important. But how is it possible to improve your personal brand and professional network when many people are still working remotely?

Today’s guest, Marcos Salazar, founder and CEO of Be Social Change, joins the podcast today to talk about what a personal brand is and why it’s important. Listen in to learn specific steps to take right now for building your personal brand and network during this time.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Marcos’ background as a social entrepreneur and why he started Be Social Change
• The definition of a personal brand
• The importance of building your personal brand no matter what your career aspirations are
• Actionable strategies for building your personal brand
• Tips on how to navigate networking in a virtual world
• Where listeners can learn more about networking and branding strategies

Resources:

Marcos Salazar

Be Social Change Webinars

Quotes: 

“Human beings aren’t static entities; we’re always growing and changing and having new experiences.”

“The way I think about your personal brand is it’s how you’re perceived by others.”

“Personal branding and networking are tied together, and these are the two most important things that you should be focusing on your career.”

We spend a lot of time, energy, and attention on engaging the right donors, building relationships with them, and reaching other key objectives. But those are mostly external activities, and one of the keys to improvement is looking inward. That’s where the idea of performance management comes into play.

Joining the podcast today is Stacy Rooney, a Principal Business Consultant at Blackbaud, to discuss the concept of fundraiser performance management. Listen in to hear Stacy and host Steve MacLaughlin talk about managing gift officers for optimal performance, portfolio management, and the effects of COVID-19 on fundraising and performance data.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Demystifying the topic of performance management
• How to optimize how portfolios are managed by gift officers
• Maturity models
• Using data to identify good performance and benchmark against peers
• The connection between activity and outcome
• Investing in officers as fundraisers
• Understanding where the focus currently is and where the focus should be
• How feedback and coaching factors in to fundraising success
• The impacts of COVID-19 on fundraising and data

Resources:

Stacy Rooney

Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management

8 Things Resilient Fundraisers Should be Doing Now

10 Things Fundraisers Can Do to Adapt During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Quotes: 

“It’s just like looking in a mirror. Do you like what you see? Is this where you want to be as an organization?”

“We’ve had various profiles that we’ve thought of with the types of officers that might be really good at a certain aspect, and then you have some officers that are good at everything.”

“There are fundraisers out in the world that don’t like asking for money.”

Today’s episode features Derrick Feldmann, a speaker, researcher, and author of a new book, The Corporate Social Mind, which introduces a new cultural and strategic approach to social issue engagement by companies. Listen in to hear Derrick talk to Rachel Hutchisson about what prompted him to write his latest book, what surprises Derrick discovered in his own research, and what his golden principles are and how they can help the social good community.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Derrick’s background with the Ad Council and Influence SG
• What prompted Derrick to write his new book
• The most important points that Derrick hopes people will take away from his new book
• Derrick’s guidance for companies looking to be socially engaged
• Major findings from Derrick’s recent research
• What surprised Derrick in his study
• Derrick’s golden principles
• Where listeners can go to learn more

Resources:

Derrick Feldmann

The Corporate Social Mind

Cause and Social Influence

Quotes: 

“I’ve always let the research guide what I not only focus on, but also where my interests have really come out to play.”

“One of the core things we do throughout the book is talk about these eight traits.”

“As companies, you don’t have to be the leading voice, you don’t have to be the hero in all of this, but you do have to be a contributing voice.”

Many foundations would like to have a more defined measurement process around their grantmaking but aren’t sure where to start. Today’s episode focuses on that process: how to get started, how to iterate through the process, and how to report on your foundation’s accomplishments.

In an excerpt from a Blackbaud webinar, you’ll hear from Veronica Dickson of the FMH Foundation and Jessica Tudyk of the Mary E. Bivens Foundation about starting with the mission statement, talking to your board, and tracking data. To view the entire webinar, click on the link the Resources section below.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Starting with the mission statement
• Looking at the written donor intent and foundation’s history of giving
• Talking to the board about strategic planning
• Making sure you and your grantees understand your lingo
• Meeting nonprofits where they are
• The If/Then tree
• Which data is needed
• How to track data
• Keeping track of data changes

Resources:

Veronica Dickson

Jessica Tudyk

Webinar: "Measuring for Success: The Good, The Helpful and the Impactful"

Blackbaud Foundation Solutions Resource Hub

Quotes: 

“Our foundation is very big on follow up and making sure that the money went where it should have gone and for the purpose that it was intended.” –Veronica Dickson

“I think that’s really good advice with any foundation. Where do you start? Keep the main thing the main thing. Look at your mission statement.” –Veronica Dickson

“I that it’s important to remember that no two processes are going to look identical, they’re not going to look the same.” –Jessica Tudyk

What does branding mean for nonprofit organizations, and how has it evolved to now require a comprehensive digital strategy?

Joining the podcast today is Farra Trompeter, chief growth officer of Big Duck and the co-author of an article about branding in the Blackbaud Institute’s new 2020 npEXPERTS eBook. Listen in to hear Farra talk to Steve MacLaughlin about the evolution of the marketing and branding tools that nonprofits need to think about using, understanding your why and who your why is for, and the importance of staff in upholding brand image.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• How nonprofit branding has evolved over the past seven years since Farra’s article in the original npEXPERTS book.
• How the ways that nonprofits use communications and digital marketing tools has changed
• Knowing why you’re using the tools the way that you are
• Understanding the why for your organization
• The intersection between branding and culture
• The importance of staff members upholding the brand image
• Combining speed and accuracy in communications to build trust and engagement
• How outreach and communication has shifted over the last few months
• How it helps to get feedback

Resources:

Farra Trompeter

npEXPERTS 2020 - published by the Blackbaud Institute

Quotes: 

“Thinking about your audiences and goals as it connects to your mission I think has been around for a while, and it’s still the right way to go about deciding what approach you should take, and then related to that approach, what tools you should use.”

“The staff are the people who are representing the organization day in and day out, and if my experience with that staff person is not one that in some way reinforces what I’m hoping for, then again that organization is not going to be able to uphold that desired perception.”

“What I hope to see is that momentum continue through the summer into the fall. I hope it’s not just a moment.”