The Groupfinity Podcast

#046 - Today I am speaking with Sasha Lewis. Sasha has 20+ years of experience working with nonprofits.  Her focus is using donor-centric data to achieve greater fundraising success.  Sasha founded Moves Management Consulting to assist nonprofit organizations with technology, specifically using CRM to assist in fundraising.  Her advice is…

“Start with one of the little ones, find an investment of a hundred dollars a month and get something going because once you recognize how much it's going to save you when it's done, you're gonna wish you did it years ago”.

In this episode we explore the pros and cons of 4 popular CRMs for small nonprofits:

1. Salesforce
2. Kindful
3. Bloomerang
4. Little Green Light

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear how the pandemic made organizations put a higher value on technology.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Sasha are:

#1 The more robust systems may require you to hire an implementation specialist;
#2 Select a platform that is simple and straightforward to you;
#3 Getting a system that integrates with your existing tools will allow you to automate;
#4 Get out of the spreadsheet business and start with something. 

#045 - Today I am speaking with Tobi Johnson. Tobi has 25 plus years of experience with nonprofits.  Instead of simply moving to another job when she moved across the country 13 years ago, Tobi decided to start her own company where she could share her expertise and help organizations with volunteerism.

Tobi helps organizations of all shapes and sizes build their volunteer strategy by helping organizations replace old and ineffective approaches with new innovative and research-based practices.

One of her superpowers is showing organizations how to onboard new volunteers and make them feel like they are a part of something…

“This feeling of belongings ingrained in our nature as humans.”

“And when you are a volunteer and if you feel like you're on the outside looking in, you're just not going to engage and you're actually gonna become not as productive.”

“The time that belonging matters most is the time when you're onboarding new volunteers and welcoming people in to make sure that every single person feels like they belong.”

Through VolunteerPro, Tobi provides online volunteer management training, coaching & community to leaders of volunteers at all levels.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Tobi are:

#1 If your volunteers feel like outsiders, they are not going to engage and will not be as productive as they could be;

#2 Volunteers leave groups when they feel implicit promises are not kept;

#3 Make implicit expectations explicit by naming them;

#4 Giving informal recognition can much more powerful than formal recognition; 

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Tobi discuss using Bling for Belonging.

#044 - Today I am speaking with Linda Lysakowski.  In Linda’s thirty plus years as a philanthropic consultant, she has managed capital campaigns that have raised more than $50 million and has helped hundreds of nonprofit organizations achieve their development goals.

Today we talk about how to raise funds from your local business community.  Linda shares great actionable steps on how to build relationships with your local business leaders.  A great way to start a conversation is to simply ask for advice.

I might call that person and say, do you mind if I just take you to lunch one day? I'd like to talk to you about what we can do to improve the technology in our business or what we can do to improve the marketing or what we can do to improve our financial picture.

You could ask for advice in many, many different areas, but look at your needs and then try to find businesses that can help those needs.

Most business people are flattered by that.  Who doesn’t love talking about themselves and giving advice?  This simple ask can be the gateway to more financial support.

You know, the old saying that if you ask for money, a lot of times you get advice. And if you ask for advice, a lot of times you end up getting money .

Linda is a prolific writer and has authored more than 30 books.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Linda are:

#1 Hang out where the business leaders are;

#2 Invite them in so they can see what you are doing;

#3 You have to build relationships to understand what motivates each business to give;

#4 Your ask must show the economic and the social impact your organization is making on the community;

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear how one of her clients went from $0 to a half million dollars in less than 1 year.

#043 - Today I am speaking with Jarrett Ransom AKA “The Nonprofit Nerd”.  Jarrett is the Founder & CEO of the Rayvan Group where her titles include Nonprofit Executive, Keynote Speaker, Emcee, Coach, Entrepreneur, Community Builder & Leader, and Philanthropy Thought Leader.

Jarrett helps nonprofits strategically plan for the future -  extending 3, 5, 10 years and beyond.  This includes developing a broader framework of philanthropy where we can all see ourselves as philanthropists - it is not simply about money.

“It really is by definition, the desire to promote the welfare of others. So it has nothing to do with the amount of zeros at the end of a number of a donation.  It has everything to do with the most simplest act of giving. And for me, that's time, talent or treasure. So it's not just money.  We could give philanthropically of our time. We can give philanthropically of our talents of volunteer efforts. So I really want everyone to feel this empowerment and an embodiment of being a philanthropist.”

Jarrett advises us that relationship building is the foundation of effective fundraising.  We should be reaching out to our donors regularly and engaging them.  What are their goals?  What are their interests?  What is their legacy?  Our focus should be on listening to them so we can help them be better stewards of their philanthropic dollars.

“we should be listening to our donors. We should be listening to hear back to that mission alignment, where do they wanna make a difference in the community”.

You can find Jarrett co-hosting the American Nonprofit Academy’s daily Nonprofit Show with Julia Patrick on YouTube.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Robb are: 

#1 Philanthropy is about the most simplest act of giving, time, talent or treasure;

#2 Stop asking and start inviting;

#3 Small consistent monthly or quarterly donations are typically better than a single lump sum donation; and

#4 Instead of only looking at a return on investment, we should focus on return on relationships.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Jarrett’s advice on fundraising in the pandemic.

#042 Today I am speaking with Rob Webb, founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Nonprofitcampaigns.com.  He founded the company in 2020 to offer online training as a result of seeing nonprofits struggle in the pandemic.  Rob is YMCA trained and has over 30 years of experience guiding volunteers and staff in creating High Impact Fundraising Campaigns.  One of Rob’s specialties is creating a culture of philanthropy.

“...what we found is so many nonprofit leaders - they view fundraising as drudgery. And they take that paradigm with them when they're talking with their volunteers and their board members.  And they do things unconsciously that drive that culture of charity, versus what we all try to preach was developing a culture of philanthropy.”

Rob teaches his clients that fundraising is all about relationships.  Create an active vs a passive relationship.  You have to get your hands dirty - talk to your donors and potential donors, spend time with them, find out what is important to them.  Start with your banker, insurance broker, your stock broker, people that you have a natural relationship with.  Just meet with them and ask for advice, not money.  Everybody loves to give advice.

The pandemic showed us how we were over reliant on “special events”.  Rob says we should rethink these events and view them as relationship builders rather than money makers.

“Nonprofits gravitate towards thinking special events are fundraisers.  Every nonprofit that really took it in the shorts during the pandemic was over reliant on special events.  I look at special events as FRIENDRAISERS more than fundraisers.”

The key takeaways from my discussion with Robb are: 

#1 Minimum levels of giving actually create maximum levels;
#2 Don’t become over reliant on grant funding; 
#3 Don’t view fundraising as drudgery - be positive; 
#4 Engage in ACTIVE not passive relationship building.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear about the importance of planned giving.

#041 Today I am speaking with Dr. Deborah Pruitt.  Deborah is a trained Cultural Anthropologist and applies a dynamic anthropological perspective to helping organizations achieve extraordinary results. More specifically, she helps her clients work collaboratively and unify around a collective vision. She’s found that it all starts with culture - many people have had experiences where they felt disregarded or disrespected.

“That was what led me to think deeply about how do we create a culture in a group that supports working together collaboratively for the same interests and same goals while also honoring the individuals in the group and their needs and what it is that provides the context and the space and the opportunity for them to bring their best and to do it together.”

She founded Group Alchemy to help clients build strategic plans that bring focus to the organization's purpose and strengthen collaborative problem solving.  In this episode, we discuss her 6 Elements of Group Alchemy to help groups, no matter the size, create culture so they could work better together.

1 Inspiration
2 Agreements
3 Accountability
4 Acknowledgement
5 Renewal
6 Mastery

The key takeaways from my discussion with Deborah are:
#1 Agreements don't really matter if you don't have accountability;
#2 Foundation is built on knowing why we’re here and what we’re are up to; 
#3 So many of our groups need to be freed from the management control model; 
#4 Instead of blame, Accountability is the ability to solve problems.

HOOK - Be sure to stick around until the end to hear how to get Deborah to send you a copy of her book.

#040 Today I am speaking with Polly Lagana.  Polly is a New York based Behavioral Scientist who has been researching happiness for years - it is her life’s work.  Her formula is PLEASURE + PURPOSE + COMMUNITY = HAPPINESS.  Through her research, Polly found that…

“people want to belong- they want to feel a sense of community - they want to feel like they're part of something”.

Polly discovered that quick interactions that aren't about asking for money carry a lot of weight with donors.  We should focus our relationship building on putting in time to develop those small connections, unrelated to the ask.

After moving to Switzerland she found philanthropy was BIG, but very quiet.  That is where she began to see the intersection between happiness, self satisfaction, donor satisfaction.

“Philanthropy actually comes out of this idea. That's part of you as a member of the community. It's a way to have a positive impact on your life”.

She used her research to create her SPARK Framework which results in happier donors who give more money more consistently and get others to give as well and join your donor community:
Simplicity of the ask and the task
Personal connection
Alignment of goals between the donor and your organization or institution
Research and information guiding your decisions And
Knowledge of a positive outcome

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear what Polly learned while living in Switzerland for 3 years.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Polly are:  

#1 Make it really simple and reduce the amount of choices for your donor.;
#2 People have short attention spans - keep your ask and pitch to 3 minutes; 
#3 Have your best messenger deliver your message; 
#4 This is the time to try new things - don't be afraid - don't let fear hold you back.

#039 - Today I am speaking with AJ Steinberg.  AJ is a professional event producer with a background in both fundraising and engagement neuropsychology.  She produces, consults, and trains but, above all else, considers herself an engagement strategist because…

“engagement is what it takes to work with volunteers and also to create engaging events.”

For over 20 years she has produced more than 100 successful events all over North America and raised millions of dollars for nonprofits from her Los Angeles based production company.  Some of her best advice is simple yet effective - make your volunteers feel like the superstars they are….

“I do not ever have an email that doesn't either end or begin with, Hey there, I, first of all, want to thank you for the time that you're putting into this. I love working with you. I make them feel like superstars because they are superstars.”

She is a recognized subject matter expert and trainer, presenting on subjects such as nonprofit event planning, event sponsorships, committee and volunteer leadership, generational giving, and guest engagement.

Check out AJ at - https://queenbeefundraising.com/

The key takeaways from my discussion with AJ are: 

#1 Community and engagement is the #1 most important thing when you're interacting with volunteers;

#2 87% of volunteers become more meaningfully involved with the organizations after they have their volunteer experience;

#3 Clear and regular communication with your volunteers is key to your event’s success; 

#4 Make your volunteers feel like the superstars they are.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear what AJ has to say about committee chairs being stuck doing all the work.

#038 - Today I am speaking with Jenni Hargrove.  Jenni is a nonprofit guru who advises nonprofits on management, marketing, and development strategies. She has amazing free resources on her website including her podcast The Nonprofit Jenni Show.  In this interview, she shares the risk many nonprofits face when they limit their fundraising efforts to only 1 big event per year.

“I always tell them that when they're thinking about stabilizing their revenue in the long term is that you need to think about your revenue streams sort of as a stool.  So that's why we don't like to have just one or two revenue streams because that only gives you one or two legs to stand on. You really want at least three different types of revenue streams. And so that, doesn't mean having three fundraising events that would only count as one leg on the stool because it's only one type of revenue.”

She began her career working in corporate philanthropy for a really big international corporation.  Her job included picking and choosing which nonprofits would get funded.  She wanted to create resources for the so many nonprofits she had to turn down.  AND Nonprofit Jenni was born.

“It is just much more fulfilling for me to be able to serve the 99% versus the 1%.”

Check out Jenni at - https://www.nonprofitjenni.com/ 

The key takeaways from my discussion with Jenni are:

#1 You need 3 legs to your fundraising/ revenue stream;

#2 Nonprofits can use social enterprises to fund their missions; 

#3 Consult with an accountant and an attorney when setting up your nonprofit; AND

#4 Corporate Foundations can be a better place to look for money than the corporation itself.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear all about the Nonprofit Jenni Book Club.

#037 - Today I am speaking with Rhea Wong.  Rhea is a New York based nonprofit consultant who trains nonprofit leaders to fundraise more money from high-net worth donors.  At the age of 26, she became the Executive Director of a nonprofit with a $250k budget.  The first day on the job, she Googled 2 things - 1)  what does an Executive Director do and 2) how to fundraise?

Rhea did something right - very right.  In her 12 years as the ED of that nonprofit, she grew that $250k budget into over $3 million through private philanthropy.

“So I'd figured out the foundations, the corporations, the events, the individuals and the one area that I thought had the most potential for growth were the major gift individuals.  When we look at the pie of philanthropic gifts, nationally, the biggest chunk of the pie are individuals.  They're responsible for upwards of like $350 billion or something.  So many nonprofits focus on, you know, the grants and like corporate sponsorships or whatever. It's really about the people.”

After working on projects for her ED friends, she decided to focus on major gift fundraising because that is where people had the most anxiety.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear all of Rhea’s great dating analogies for fundraising.

Check out Rhea at - https://www.rheawong.com/

The key takeaways from my discussion with Rhea are:

#1 Think of fundraising like a party and you just want to see who wants to come to your party;

#2 Don’t think you are taking something away from donors - you are inviting them to be part of something special;

#3 Fundraising is just a math problem - offers minus no's equals yeses. So the more you ask, the more nos you're going to get, but the more yeses you're going to get;

#4 If everybody's your donor, then nobody is your donor.

Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.