Fundraising—it's part charm offensive, part emotional trapeze act, part caffeine-fueled chaos. Some days you feel like a philanthropic superhero, and other days you're crying into your donor database while searching for the 'undo' button. But you don't have to go it alone. Enter the Rainmakers: the mythical, magical, magnificently strategic fundraisers who know how to play the long game—with flair. What's their secret? These 10 fundraising principles. We're talking about donor stickiness, connection asks, custom everything, and enough 'You' language to make even Shakespeare blush. Strap in, folks. You're about to take a rollercoaster ride through fundraising best practices—Robin Williams style.

Listen and learn . . .

Your first face-to-face meeting with a donor isn't a sales pitch or interview. And it's definitely not the time to comb through the details for your 30-page strategic plan. It's a discovery conversation—a delightful dance where you listen, learn, and laugh.

Apply the following 10 tactics to get your first meeting right and the odds of landing a second meeting (and ultimately a donation) jump to more than 70%. Not bad for the cost of a latte and scone.

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Here's a crash course in what "not" to do when fundraising, what donors secretly loathe, and a short list of how to ask for money without breaking into hives.

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Ah, the board retreat. A magical time when board members gather to dive into strategic discussions, unleash big ideas, and nod sagely at visionary plans. You laugh, you brainstorm, you may even awkwardly roleplay. By the end, you've covered walls with stickies and flipchart paper, deepened your culture, and high-fived over fresh possibilities.

And then… nothing.

Everyone returns home. Retreat outcomes are emailed but never opened. The notes from the flipcharts are filed away and the long list of follow-up ToDos sits unopened in Dropbox. Another week passes and the staff still waits for next steps. The energy? Gone. The ideas? Ghosted. And that beautiful vision for the future has faded into the background noise of daily operations.

Welcome to the infamous retreat afterglow hangover —where inspiration without implementation goes to die.

This podcast is your resuscitation manual for retreat outcomes. Because unless you want all that time, energy, and trust to evaporate like a dry erase marker, you need more than good intentions. You need action planning. You need structure. And most of all, you need ownership.

Listen in and learn . . .

Fundraisers know that most donor objections boil down to just two things: the amount you're asking for and the timing of the ask. But here's the good news—both are manageable. In this article, you'll discover practical tactics to navigate these common roadblocks, plus smart ways to handle the trickier, less common objections that inevitably pop up.

By the end, you'll not only be ready to face objections with confidence—you'll actually welcome them as opportunities to move the conversation forward and close more gifts.

Listen in and learn LOTS more . . . includes scripts too!

Encountering objections when asking donors for money is a given. One tactic for handling objections would be to develop and memorize canned responses to every possible type of objec­tion.

Experienced fundraisers know this tactic is futile, because a simple "ask" often triggers an avalanche of donor replies, ranging from polite deflections to excuses worthy of an improv show. A more effective approach is to master a simple process for handling objections that can be applied to any objection.

Below is a simple, three-step process for handling objections. Just repeat it until you land a "yes," a "no," or an agreement on next steps—whether that means another meeting, sending a proposal, giving a tour, or showing off the blueprints for that shiny new facility.

Experienced fundraisers know objections are part of the ask process, which is why they embrace them. There are dozens of reasons why donors throw caution signs that feel like red lights.

What follows is a high-level primer that unpacks why donors hesitate, paired with clear principles for handling those objections with confidence—so you can turn tough questions into lasting commitments.

Listen in and learn!

Cultivation is the golden hour before the ask. It's when you introduce someone to your nonprofit, show them the heart behind the stats, the faces behind the facts, and the mission behind the jargon.

And it isn't just about raising money—it's about raising friends, champions, connectors, and believers. Done well, cultivation deepens emotional connection, builds trust, and turns a casual observer into a loyal supporter. Done poorly, it feels like a used car sales pitch on a rainy afternoon. Listen in to learn more!

As fundraisers, we know that while individual giving dominates, finding the right foundation, corporate, or government grant can give your budget a real boost. Many of these funding sources make large, multiyear commitments, and for some nonprofits, these sources of funding are their only sources of funding.

And while unlocking these sources of funding can rain down large sums of money, they can also create a lot of wasted time and rejection letters. What follows is a set of tactics you can use to increase the probability of securing funds from these sources and to do it in a manner that is worth your time and effort. Listen in and learn!

Wait! A NEW type of board retreat!? One that's more engaging and more effective? No way. Check this out . . . ED's and board chairs know the routine all too well: gather the board in a nice setting, walk through the strategic plan, review the budget, and set some goals. There may be catered lunches and polished presentations, but often, even the most well-run retreats feel like slightly upgraded board meetings. The question is, how do you create a retreat that is energizing, inspiring, and transformative? One that sticks. The answer lies in a bold, refreshing approach: "experiential learning." Instead of passive listening and linear agendas, this method engages board members in real-world, mission-focused experiences that foster emotional connection, insight, and camaraderie. It's about stepping out of the boardroom and into the heart of the organization's mission—literally. Listen in on how to host an experiential board retreat . . .