There's a debate among experts who work with nonprofits over the driving factor behind end-of-year giving. Is the giving season really inspired by individual donors feeling more generous or have nonprofits created that sentiment through all of our marketing, outreach, and appeals? Danielle is joined by Farra Trompeter, Vice President at Big Duck and Marc Pittman, CEO of the Concord Leadership Group and Founder of FundraisingCoach.com for this episode to tackle this timely topic.

Before we wrap up our second season of Raise + Engage podcasts, let's take a look back at the "realest" highlights from our last six episodes and revisit some of the top tips shared during our open-mic sessions. Two of our favorite nonprofit pros and guests of the podcast in season one, William DaSilva of eSimpleIT and Chris Geady of Blackbaud, return to the podcast to share their favorite episode take-aways and what they hope others took away from the season.

So you want to create a moment with your audience but don't know where to start? Many nonprofits are turning their focus to campaigns about engagement instead of money. During this episode of the Raise and Engage podcast, you'll hear about two organizations - Save the Manatee Club and Surrey Women's Centre - that have recently run very successful engagement campaigns for the first time. Danielle will dig into why they chose to do an engagement campaign, how each organization chose their approach (one funny, one serious), and what the results have been! You'll also hear why Danielle thinks you should attend BBCON 2016 and she shares a sneak peek into some of the sessions she's working on! You don't want to miss this one!

The 2016 Digital Outlook Report results are in! This report, which is a collaborative research project from Care2, hjc, NTEN, and The Resource Alliance, discusses digital trends and how nonprofits can harness them to better serve their organizations. In this podcast, Mike Johnston, president and founder of hjc, joins Danielle to walk through the findings and highlight new best practices and unexpected insight along the way. Tune in to understand where you sit within the nonprofit digital world and begin to make the decisions, changes, and investments needed to properly align your organization to your digital strategy.

In the early 2000s, we had the first PalmPilot, the first peer-to-peer fundraising page, and first digitally crowdfunded initiative—all clearly shifting the world of peer-to-peer fundraising. Today’s changes are happening more quickly and less obviously, making it more critical than ever for us as nonprofit professionals to pay attention and ask ourselves: Are we adapting to the changing technology landscape? Are we paying attention to what our donors are saying? Are we challenging ourselves to embrace new fundraising trends and behaviors? In this podcast, guest host Emily Popson is joined by Senior Peer-to-Peer Consultant, Shana Masterson, to discuss how changing expectations and technology have shifted behaviors for donors and fundraisers and what that means for your peer-to-peer efforts.

Can all those event donors really convert into new volunteers, supporters, and advocates? Heck yes! During this podcast, two expert consultants, Taylor Shanklin and Amy Braiterman, will talk about the ins and outs of taking event donors on a new journey for the long run.

Head over to the #NoFilterNonprofit Hub to download our listener exclusive "10 Tips for Converting Event Donors".

What happens if your “Oh snap!” moment is a huge influx of new supporters? Is your team prepared? Do you have a conversion plan in place? Is the tech up to snuff? Tune into this podcast to learn from two wildly successful major gifts fundraisers, Kathryn Cousins of John J. College of Criminal Justice and Rachel Muir of Pursuant, who have raised, stewarded, and retained their fair share of donors.

There's been a shift in the nonprofit industry toward quality over quantity and engagement over acquisition. To develop stronger relationships with supporters and a more powerful brand, organizations need to give constituents a greater return for their investment. In this episode, Austin Graff, Social Media Manager at Honest Tea and Harmony Eichsteadt, Head of Community as The Good Life Project, join Danielle to answer the question, "Is engagement the new acquisition?", discuss their experiences with this important shift and share what it means for you.

Before we wrap up our first round of Raise + Engage podcasts, let's take a look back at the "realest" highlights from our first six episodes and revisit some of the top tips shared during our open-mic sessions. Our first guests, Jodi Smith of Sanford Health Systems, and Ali Burke of Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation, from episode one, return to the podcast to share their favorite episode take-aways with Danielle. Plus, we’ll dish out what’s coming up for the next season of Raise + Engage.

You have a job description, but on any given day, you're probably doing dozens of things outside the scope of that description. Combine that with the challenge of a fast-paced environment and the shifting priorities of funders, colleagues, and board members and it’s easy to fall short of doing your best. By being mindful of your limitations and capacity—and saying “no” when your plate is full—you can actually do more for your cause. In the sixth installment of the Raise and Engage podcast Danielle Johnson and Robin Anderson discuss the power of saying “no” at work.