What the Fundraising

In this podcast episode, Clay Buck, founder of TCB Fundraising, challenges the fundraising community to prioritize and recognize all donors at all levels to create a culture of philanthropy, highlighting that fundraisers often miss this opportunity in trying to meet monetary goals. "Generosity is alive and well. People are giving at all levels and doing all kinds of things. I believe, and have for 30 plus years, that there will always be somebody who needs and somebody who wants to help - these are intrinsic to human nature and intrinsic to living in community and society." 

With over 30 years of experience in all types of fundraising, Clay is an expert in the field of philanthropy and the power of individual giving. He is passionate about the idea of valuing every gift, every donor, and every level of involvement. He believes that fundraising is about relationships that ultimately yield money, but the relationship needs to come first, and that everyone in the organization, from the front-facing gift officer to the colleagues in marketing, has a role to play in fundraising. He advocates for the idea that fundraising is about engaging the community in solving problems and inviting them to join the mission - a concept that requires a shift in thinking and leadership. There is so much inside this episode for front-line fundraisers or anyone thinking about how to improve the culture of fundraising and the culture of philanthropy inside their organizations.

Here's what T. Clay Buck and I cover:

1. The Power of Valuing All Donors at Every Level: Explore how honoring and recognizing every gift and donor can transform the way we fundraise.

2. Exploring the Impact of Money and Relationships in Fundraising: Understand how to balance the monetary exchange and relationship-building when fundraising.

3. Empowering Fundraising Roles Beyond the Front-Facing Gift Officer: Discover how to value the roles of prospect research, donor relations, and marketing in the nonprofit sector.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

A big shout out to our sponsor Instil, the holistic tool that reimagines nonprofit technology in ways that deepen community relationships and nonprofit processes to maximize impact. The platform’s advanced UX design and real-time analytics supercharge donors, increase volunteer engagement, and smooth operations across your entire organization.

Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthefundraising_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

We are taking a closer look at donor relationships on this episode of What the Fundraising with my guest Carole Robin, whose class on interpersonal dynamics has been perennially among the most popular ever at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Why? Because, whether in the nonprofit or for-profit realm, we so often get relationships wrong, or just skip over them altogether at the expense of our desired outcomes. A co-founder of Leaders in Tech and co-author of "Connect: Building Exceptional Relationships with Family, Friends, and Colleagues," Carol is sharing with us the transformational power of naming our experiences and understanding those of others. If the vulnerability implied makes you nervous, then this is the resource you need in order to start getting comfortable – with curiosity, with inquiry, and with holding space for authentic connection. When we interact openly with others, expressing our feelings appropriately, we open all kinds of doors, explains Carole. 

You’ll hear about modest but invaluable tools to help break through when we feel stuck or unwilling to move out of our comfort zones. It’s all about learning how to take small steps toward transparency. “People do business with people,” says Carole. “They don’t do business with ideas or machines or products or strategies or money. So unless you get the people part right, you’re going to be limited in how successful you’re going to be.” When we define what it is to have a “strong donor relationship” are we looking at the things that truly sustain it? Are we as fundraisers willing to open ourselves up to difficult conversations and communicate honestly what we’re asking for and are able to offer? Integrity is powerful and it starts with being able to name how we feel. Fortunately, says Carole, we’ve got a chance to deepen our understanding and fluency with this language each and every time we have a human interaction: “It’s just a matter of making a commitment. So pay attention and see where the lesson is!”  

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. Learn how to create stronger, more meaningful relationships using feelings as part of your communication.

2. Understand how to give and receive feedback in a way that strengthens relationships.

3. Discover how to use inquiry and curiosity to deepen relationships with donors.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

A big shout out to our sponsor Instil, the holistic tool that reimagines nonprofit technology in ways that deepen community relationships and nonprofit processes to magnify impact. The platform’s advanced UX design and real-time analytics supercharge donors, increase volunteer engagement, and smooth donor management and operations across your entire organization.

Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthefundraising_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

With a goal of ending the War on Drugs and reducing trauma all over the world, Rick Doblin is on a mission to liberate psychedelics and make them accessible to all. Rick is the Founder and Executive Director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Research (MAPS). MAPS has raised $140 million in donations and grants over 36.5 years, with plans to increase that exponentially in the coming years.

Rick is here to shed light on how he went from fearing LSD to trying it, loving it, and advocating for it until it became a global movement of human rights, freedom, and healing. He shares with you his wealth of knowledge and experience in fundraising for controversial research on LSD, MDMA, psilocybin, and more.

By the end of this episode, you’ll learn how to strategically innovate a fundraising mission to tell a more influential and relatable story to donors. You’ll learn Rick’s greatest tips and advice on reducing stigmas and staying true to your purpose while advocating for a heavily stigmatized movement. Rick is an absolute legend in psychedelic research, fundraising, and drug policy reform, so tune in!

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How did psychedelic drugs become illegal in the United States, and what is the current state of psychedelic research?

2. How have psychedelic drugs been used in psychotherapy over the past 50 years, and how can they be used to reduce trauma?

3. What strategies have been used to raise money for psychedelic research, and how can donors be inspired to join the cause?

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

Many thanks to our sponsor, Keela for making this episode possible. Our friends at Keela offer nonprofits like yours a comprehensive fundraising and donor management software, equipped with powerful tools to expand your reach, increase fundraising revenue, and foster a dedicated community of supporters. Want a user-friendly platform that provides actionable data? Look no further than Keela. Check out Keela at keela.co/mallory. 

Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthefundraising_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

Jenny Nuccio is the founder and CEO of Imani Collective, a leading global ethical home decor brand that serves over 170 artisans in three locations in Kenya. She is an expert in social entrepreneurship, social work leadership, and management, and on this episode of What the Fundraising we are talking all about how she needed to learn the hard way that relationships with stakeholders, whether they be donors or consumers, are just as important as money when it comes to running her business. 

Throughout her fundraising journey, she has learned that the key to success is to show up authentically and be transparent in conversations, creating relationships with those who are involved in her movement. 

In this episode, we are diving deep into ….

1. Exploring the Relationship Between Fundraising and Marketing

2. Investigating How Discomfort With Asking for Money Can Impact Relationships

3. Examining Ways to Effectively Balance Authenticity, Transparency, and Patience When Fundraising

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Many thanks to our sponsor, Keela for making this episode possible. Our friends at Keela offer nonprofits like yours a comprehensive fundraising and donor management software, equipped with powerful tools to expand your reach, increase fundraising revenue, and foster a dedicated community of supporters. Want a user-friendly platform that provides actionable data? Look no further than Keela. Check out Keela at keela.co/mallory. 

Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatthefundraising_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatthefundraising

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@malloryerickson7946

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/mallory-erickson-bressler/

Website: malloryerickson.com/podcast

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-fundraising/id1575421652

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

Maya Angelou famously said, “Now that I know better, I do better.” It’s a sentiment that perfectly captures the spirit behind EmbraceRace, a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing children who are thoughtful, informed, and brave in taking on all aspects of equity and justice. On this episode of What the Fundraiser its founder, Andrew Grant Thomas, helps us explore difficult conversations – why we need to have them and what they can look like. It’s not always going to be pretty, and that’s okay! In fact, says Andrew, that’s the point. Progress is a process that requires us – as fundraisers, parents and community members – to chip away at false assumptions and structural racism in all its ugliness. The more we engage, the quicker we can break through to meaningful dialogue and understanding. 

Andrew shares fascinating insights from the frontlines of early childhood, where honest conversations need to start. You’ll learn about EmbraceRace’s four foundational pillars and how this vibrant nonprofit is guided by them. He also invites us to “imagine if we understood race in a way that allowed all the range of emotions to show and not disproportionately things like fear and anxiety and resentment.” We also discuss the concept of giving ourselves grace, which is not an excuse to step away when we mess up. To the contrary, when interactions around race (or any other sensitive topic) go awry, we must be brave and push forward. So long as there’s an effort to repair, says Andrew, an opportunity exists to grow and improve. In other words, it’s progress – not perfection!

Get all the resources from today’s episode here.

Follow along on Instagram 

Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn

Many thanks to our sponsor, Keela for making this episode possible. Our friends at Keela offers nonprofits like yours a comprehensive fundraising and donor management software, equipped with powerful tools to expand your reach, increase fundraising revenue, and foster a dedicated community of supporters. Want a user-friendly platform that provides actionable data? Learn more at Keela.

What would it be like if nonprofit teams got past the labels and stigmas? Traded in silos for collaboration? This episode of What the Fundraising features a panel of 13 marketing and fundraising experts who are here to discuss how cross-departmental integration advances overall organizational goals by building both brand and donor relationships. They are sharing personal perspectives and busting false assumptions that hinder our best efforts – and desired outcomes for the causes we serve.

You’ll be taking notes throughout this rapid-fire discussion about the “3 Rs” – Revenue, Reputation and Relationships – that define our nonprofit strategies. Inside and out! When we recognize that these pillars are pivotal to strategic development and communications alike, we start to imagine the power of working together. If you’ve got cross-discipline talents to offer, you’re that unicorn we all want. Marketing that inspires contributions? Check! Fundraising that embodies your brand story? Check! As our panelists share their experiences and biases, we start to see consensus emerge around one key action point: Nonprofits as a whole thrive when teams – especially marketing and fundraising teams – form partnerships and work synergistically, based on mutual respect. “When we’re talking about organizations living their values … then everybody wins – the marketing, the fundraising, the CEO,” says Shereese Floyd, Founder of Witness My Life. “Everyone is happy when truly living from the inside-out.”

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

Follow along on Instagram 

Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn

Many thanks to our sponsor, Feathr for making this episode possible. Our friends at Feather help nonprofits like yours level up their digital campaigns every day through their nonprofit marketing platform. Don’t rely on magic this year. Check out Feathr to streamline your digital marketing campaigns and exceed your goals. Learn more and get started today at Feathr.co.

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

When it comes to making consumer choices, it’s well known that humans don’t always act rationally. In fact, as amply documented by economists, we very often actually act against our own best interests! On this episode of What the Fundraising, we’re getting down to the science of giving. Behavioral science, that is! If you haven’t been using the powerful tools and research out there, Evelyn Gosnell, managing director at Irrational Labs, is here to demonstrate all the ways in which you and your nonprofit might be missing out. She shares a ton of fascinating research and practical tools for tackling common fundraising issues, like building organizational trust and recapturing lapsed contributors. Understanding the evolutionary conditioning and reflexive responses behind human decision-making is key – and a first step towards unlocking what motivates donors, who after all are also the everyday users of Lyft, Google and other platforms that Evelyn and her team advise. 

You’ll learn how to build specificity and concrete bite-sized goals into calls to action as well as why we fundraisers don’t always have to project perfection. Flaws are fine with constituents, says Evelyn, so long as we can demonstrate at least incremental progress. We also explore how to design in-house pilot studies that pinpoint why some pitches appeal to our base of supporters while others do not. What are their norms, what resonates with their identity? Are you communicating something personal and immediate? There’s so much packed into this episode that you might need to listen twice. And you’ll definitely want to follow up by checking out all the resources (and behavioral science food for thought!) available at Irrational Labs. 

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

Follow along on Instagram 

Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn

Many thanks to our sponsor, Feathr for making this episode possible. Our friends at Feather help nonprofits like yours level up their digital campaigns every day through their nonprofit marketing platform. Don’t rely on magic this year. Check out Feathr to streamline your digital marketing campaigns and exceed your goals. Learn more and get started today at Feathr.co.

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

When we look at fundraising, we tend to silo marketing, acquisition, cultivation, and stewardship. But Simon Mainwaring, my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising, is explaining why in fact they are all a piece of the puzzle. He is breaking down for us the ways in which each element of the donor journey is a link in the chain that is indicative of the nonprofit’s overall brand. When we get the marketing right, our donors connect and invest for the long haul. As CEO of the strategic consulting firm We First Branding, Simon is all about locking in the messages that articulate purpose and motivate action. Working with nonprofits and for-profits alike, his focus is on heart-centered principles and storytelling that resonate universally. 

You’ll come away with actionable ways to define your organization’s narrative, audit the efficacy of its marketing messages, and make change through co-creative processes. If you’re looking for fresh ways to forge a meaningful and ongoing connection with donors in 2023, then you’ll want to join us in taking a look at the importance of perspective and tone. Are your fundraising communications too internally focused or self-serving? Do your contributors know exactly the impact their support is making? “If you tell the story in the right way it can really deeply resonate with people and inspire them to be a part of something larger than themselves,” says Simon. “And the way you do that is by building a brand.” It’s an iterative process and we’re here to get you moving in the right direction.

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

Follow along on Instagram 

Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn

Many thanks to our sponsor, Feathr for making this episode possible. Our friends at Feather help nonprofits like yours level up their digital campaigns every day through their nonprofit marketing platform. Don’t rely on magic this year. Check out Feathr to streamline your digital marketing campaigns and exceed your goals. Learn more and get started today at Feathr.co.

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

Sometimes it’s our job as integral change leaders to be the reality check – even when it’s not easy or means leaving money on the table. Bessi Graham, my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising, is helping us think in new ways about bravery – the willingness to stand up as nonprofits and claim our value propositions, state our limitations and insist on donor partners whose values align with our own. With 20 years of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies, Bessi is uniquely positioned to counsel fundraisers on how to balance charitable purpose and pragmatic financial reality. She is sharing with us concrete strategies for reorienting difficult conversations in ways that not only break through miscommunication but set nonprofits up to succeed. It starts with defining sustainability and the tools we need to meet our mission. The first challenge for nonprofit leaders is to reject feeling beholden. No more approaching the donor table from a place of scarcity! “Shifting your own apologetic nature is on you. How do you show up in the room differently?” asks Bessi. “Because power dynamics shift immediately when someone is engaged as an equal.”

You’ll come away from this conversation with a new framework for the difficult conversations we all need to have, at least from time to time. So much of what burns out nonprofit fundraisers is the struggle to make good on unrealistic expectations and navigate through unbalanced power dynamics that set us up for stress and failure. Bessi shines a bright light on how we can do things differently and this conversation felt like a great place to start!

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

Follow along on Instagram 

Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn

Many thanks to our sponsor, Feathr for making this episode possible. Our friends at Feather help nonprofits like yours level up their digital campaigns every day through their nonprofit marketing platform. Don’t rely on magic this year. Check out Feathr to streamline your digital marketing campaigns and exceed your goals. Learn more and get started today at Feathr.co.

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point

When it comes to Gen Z, there is a cultural investigation going on that is challenging older generations to reflect and in many cases reset. Danielle Farage, my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising, is a “Workplace Futurist” helping the first fully digital generation create a new sense of work-life harmony. As Director of Growth & Marketing at Café, a platform fostering development and collaboration within hybrid environments, Danielle’s mission is to leverage technology in bridging the gap between leaders and talent. The result? Workplace cultures that are more inclusive, equitable, and dynamic. Our conversation touched on everything from the biggest misconceptions about Gen Z’s collective commitment to self-care to the tendency among older generations to default to a workplace ethos that reflects different, less human-centric times. “We have an opportunity to reimagine the workforce and it’s not just about the younger generation. It’s about everyone,” says Danielle. “We have a serious opportunity to change the way things have been for the past however many centuries of work.”

Applying her prism as an advocate and educator to the nonprofit sector, in particular, Danielle helped me explore further the tendency among hard-working, committed fundraisers to stay focused on altruistic, empathetic external goals while internally working under toxic conditions. We have to pause and consider: How can we effectively market the core values of our missions if our own workplace practices don’t align? For leaders and team members alike, it all starts with offering vulnerability and authenticity. You’ll discover in this dynamic give-and-take the opportunity we all have to reshape our definitions of work, play, community, compassion, connection, and even marketing. Says Danielle: “The better we create a relationship with ourselves, the more confidently we can show up at work – and in life.” 

Get all the resources from today’s episode here. 

Follow along on Instagram 

Connect with Mallory on LinkedIn

Many thanks to our sponsor, Feathr for making this episode possible. Our friends at Feather help nonprofits like yours level up their digital campaigns every day through their nonprofit marketing platform. Don’t rely on magic this year. Check out Feathr to streamline your digital marketing campaigns and exceed your goals. Learn more and get started today at Feathr.co. And don’t forget to tell them that I sent you!

If you haven’t already, please visit our new What the Fundraising community forum. Check it out and join the conversation at this link.

If you’re looking to raise more from the right funders, then you’ll want to check out my Power Partners Formula, a step-by-step approach to identifying the optimal partners for your organization. This free masterclass offers a great starting point