The Raimy and Bini Podcast

Leora and Eitan Ashman share how a devastating stroke became the unlikely foundation of Koach Eitan, an Israel based nonprofit supporting brain injury survivors and their families. Leora gets real about building a nonprofit from lived experience, leading without a playbook, fundraising through relationships, and growing a mission while still living the story every single day.

They talk about messy beginnings, caregiver reality, purpose driven leadership, and what it actually looks like to turn personal pain into sustainable impact. A raw, honest conversation on the Raimy & Bini Podcast.

In this episode, Raimy and Bini invite Kevin Schulman on the podcast and then proceed to let him politely light a match to about 40 years of fundraising “best practices.”

Kevin is the founder of DonorVoice, a behavioral science fundraising agency, and managing editor of The Agitator DonorVoice blog. He studies why humans actually do what they do and applies that thinking to charitable giving.

Spoiler alert: it is not because you asked nicely.

They get into:

• Why “people give because we ask” is a myth
• Why persuasion is a trap and alignment is the real game
• How identity and personality should drive fundraising strategy
• What personalized matching really means (and why segmentation barely scratches the surface)
• Why most donor journeys collapse in year one
• Why unfinished stories hurt more than they help
• Why “engagement” might be the most misunderstood word in fundraising
• How generative AI can finally make smarter personalization possible

This conversation will probably make you uncomfortable.

In a good way.

If you are a fundraiser, nonprofit leader, or anyone who has ever thought, “There has to be a better way than this,” press play.

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1. The Agitator Blog link is here
2. The Charity: Water Test (mentioned in the epsiode) is here

In this episode, we sit down with Joseph Bornstein, founder and CEO of CauseMatch, to talk about what it really takes to build something meaningful in the nonprofit and tech worlds. Joseph shares the story behind CauseMatch, from his early days as a nonprofit founder to bootstrapping a platform that now supports organizations around the world.

We dive into leadership, values, team culture, and what it means to build a company that cares about people, not just products. Joseph opens up about the challenges of scaling, making hard decisions, supporting a team through crisis, and staying grounded in purpose.

We also talk about what nonprofits often get wrong, what they can do better, and why understanding your data, setting clear expectations, and building accountability systems can change everything. Plus, a look at how AI and technology are shaping the future of fundraising.

It is the last episode recorded in 2025, so we did a two-part special.

First, we looked back at last year’s predictions.

What actually happened in 2025.

Where we were right. Where we were off.

We talk about AI moving from a novelty into real workflows, the comeback of in person events, the ongoing growth of donor advised funds, and the reality check around monthly giving growth.

Then we go all in on 2026 predictions, including changes in tax law and how that may affect giving behavior, growing pressure on DAF dollars sitting unused, the rise of AI skill gaps inside nonprofits, donor privacy becoming a real trust issue, and why donor retention may finally become the main lever for growth.

Super fun episode!

In this episode, Raimy and Bini sit down with Meredith Rothbart, co-founder and CEO of Amal Tikva, for a wide-ranging and candid conversation about peacebuilding, leadership, and what it means to undertake long-term work amidst ongoing conflict.

Meredith shares her personal journey into this field, how Amal Tikva was built, and why she believes real peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians has never actually been tried. The conversation moves between big ideas and very human moments, from organizational strategy and field-building to trauma, burnout, and what leadership looks like after October 7.

They talk about what happens when nonprofits are asked to hold impossible complexity, how change really happens in deeply divided societies, and why strong systems, shared language, and coordination matter more than ever. Meredith also reflects on what it means to keep going when progress is slow, criticism is constant, and the stakes feel unbearably high.

This is not a political debate or a set of easy answers. It’s a thoughtful, grounded conversation about leadership, resilience, and staying committed to meaningful work over the long haul.

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https://www.amal-tikva.org

Winter finally showed up in Israel, and Bini and Raimy used that as the perfect excuse to have a big question conversation.

Bini brings a headline that feels almost unreal: MrBeast and the Rockefeller Foundation teaming up. A Gen Z phenomenon and the most old-school foundation.

They dig into whether philanthropy is ready for disruption, what disruption even means in this space, and what real nonprofits should take from huge examples like this.

They talk about creators and micro influencers, trust and attention, donation pages as a major disruptor, and how technology keeps changing what donors expect. They also wrestle with the tension between foundations wanting more data and nonprofits just trying to do the work without drowning in reporting.

When they recorded this episode, they were thinking of those of you who feel overwhelmed by new tools, new platforms, and a new generation of donors.

They end with practical advice: name your actual problems, avoid shiny object chasing, and stay curious, because the next big idea might come from a place you would normally dismiss.

In this episode, Raimy and Bini take a clear-eyed look at GivingTuesday. Not the hype, not the pressure, just the real question every nonprofit wrestles with.

Does it actually help, or does it pull time and attention away from end-of-year giving, which is where the real momentum lives?

They walk through the story of how GivingTuesday started, how it grew, and why its timing makes it so tricky for fundraisers. They talk about what the data actually shows: Lower conversion rates, smaller gifts, and donors who are far more generous just a few weeks later.

More importantly, they get into what to do about it.

How to use the day without letting it run your calendar. How to turn it into a simple thank you, a soft setup for your end-of-year campaign, or a moment to highlight something small without draining your team.

It’s a grounded, honest look at a day that shows up every year, whether you’re ready or not. And it might help you feel a little saner as you head into December.

This week, Raimy and Bini sit down with Rabbi Tuly Weisz, founder of Israel 365 and one of the most active nonprofit leaders working at the intersection of Jewish life, Christian support for Israel, and public advocacy. This episode looks at how big ideas get built in the nonprofit world, how leaders handle pushback, and what it takes to hold onto a mission when the landscape gets loud.

With Rabbi Weisz, the conversation moves into where nonprofit leadership meets politics, faith, and community building. They talk about building partnerships outside the Jewish world, navigating criticism from every direction, raising awareness during moments of crisis, and what it means to lead an organization through sensitive work that not everyone understands.

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• Get Rabbi Weisz's new book 'Universal Zionisim' here

• To learn more about Israel365 and all the great work they do, click here

We’re back with Season 2!

We dive right into the GoFundMe fiasco: what actually happened, why it rubbed so many nonprofits the wrong way, and how the apology somehow made it worse. We talk about tipping, SEO, missing money, and what happens when tech companies forget to ask permission.

Raimy shares a tepid/lukewarm take on the debacle: that the damage wasn’t about lost dollars; it was about lost trust.

We talk about why keeping things simple still wins, why “sorry” is a complete sentence, and why every platform that serves nonprofits needs to listen before it launches.

Give it a listen and tell us what you think.

What do landscaping, grant writing for dummies, and pistachios have to do with faith-based fundraising?

More than you'd think.

In this episode, Raimy and Bini are joined by Evan Cox and Jon DeLange, the dynamic duo behind strategicfundraisingplan.com, who’ve helped hundreds of Christian ministries raise more money with less stress.

You’ll hear how Evan went from mowing lawns to mentoring ministries, why Jon thinks "our" is the most dangerous word in fundraising, and how the best donor strategy might start with a bag of chips and a personal text.

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Philanthropy and Fundraising

01:25 Personal Journeys into Fundraising

08:00 The Formation of Strategic Fundraising Plan

11:09 Understanding Christian Giving

13:35 The Ideal vs. Reality of Donor Relationships

17:39 Meeting Emotional Needs of Donors

22:03 Balancing Identity and Impact in Fundraising

27:47 Navigating Giving Priorities in Faith Communities

32:00 Cultural Priorities in Fundraising

34:34 Trends in Fundraising: Technology and Relationships

38:43 The Need for Authentic Connections

41:41 Blind Spots in Nonprofit Leadership

46:47 Rapid Fire Insights on Fundraising