The Groupfinity Podcast

#056 - Today I am speaking with Allegra Mangione, marketing strategy specialist and Founder of Catharsis, a marketing firm focused exclusively on nonprofits.  We discuss Allegra's 5 step strategic marketing roadmap for nonprofits.1 Identify Your Audience2 Set Marketing Goals3 Marketing Channels4 What messages do you share with your audience?5 EvaluateI love Allegra's advice on why it's important to niche down on your audience…“Charities and nonprofit organizations think, I wanna reach everybody - we have to reach everybody with our mission. The issue with that is if you're trying to reach everybody, you likely won't be able to reach anybody.” Be sure to stick around until the end to hear what in Allegra helped a client grow their Instagram following by 50% in a year.

#055 - Teri Beckman is the Founder and CEO of HIGOL, a consultancy firm that works to align leadership behaviors with business drivers to dramatically increase revenue, community impact and improve overall organizational performance.  Specifically, HIGOL helps mission driven CEOs grow revenue and impact by 50% in 12 months.After a long career working for nonprofits, even serving as Executive Director, Teri concluded that while technical knowledge is important, mindset is crucial if you want to be a change agent.“My capacity to grow and have impact didn't have much to do with my technical knowledge. I mean, that was important, but there was plenty of it out there, you know, to be able to access. What really made a difference was my mindset and as the capacity of my mind grew, so did the capacity for me to help an organization grow, for me to have more impact on the community.”In today's episode, Teri shares her 5 step framework to transform non profit organizations.  She has particular success with small volunteer led organizations.Teri's 5 step framework is:#1 Align around a shared vision;#2 Establish goals;#3 Three points you want to share with others about the organization;#4 Come up with a list of folks you want to talk to: and#5 Create a system to track your conversations.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear what in Teri's background she attributes to resiliency and ability to navigate the Pandemic.

#054 - Rachel Bearbower is the founder and CEO of Small Shop Strategies, a nonprofit consultancy focused on coaching nonprofit leaders how to detangle their systems, so they can focus their time and energy on building relationships and raising more for their causes.In just 3 years, Rachel has built a community where over a hundred nonprofit leaders are showing up for themselves and learning how to boldly fundraise, tell better stories and become even more impactful changemakers.In today's episode, Rachel shares the 4 templates every nonprofit leader should have locked and loaded and ready at all times to maintain connection with their donors:#1 An immediate automated thank you note or receipt;#2 Within 24-48 hours a heartfelt quick personal email that is NOT the receipt from your CRM that lets your donor know the gift was received and appreciated;#3 An email or video depicting the impact of their gift and reminding them that you did what you said you were going to do with their gift; and#4 A Connection email - Ask for their opinion / Send them an article / Find out why they gaveRachel emphasizes how important it is to ditch transactional relationships and develop real meaningful relationships with your donors - connect donors to the mission, connect them to what their gift actually did.“Donors don't want to fund the process. They want to fund the impact. And so you, the organization, you are the process, and so you wanna remove yourself. So instead of saying, help us buy new uniforms, it's, you can provide a kid with a new uniform.”The key takeaways from my discussion with Rachel are:#1 The best way to connect more and raise is to have a plan;#2 Communicate as quickly as possible after the donation comes in;#3 Automate and personalize your communication; and#4 Make your communication about the donor instead of your organization.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear now being a farmer in training helps Rachel be a lifetime learner and makes her a better nonprofit consultant.

#053 - Adora Drake is a professional digital marketing coach and consultant with a knack for creating marketing strategies. She helps leaders establish relationships with their audience by teaching them the tools for attracting the right fit people, becoming a thought leader, and bridging the gap between initial contact to the final transaction.Adora emphasizes relationship building.  She adds that when it comes to relationships, it is better to go a mile deep than a mile wide.  It is better to build deep meaningful relationships with a few people rather than shallow relationships with many.“So you're building a relationship. No matter where you are, whatever platform you are, make sure you're building relationships.”Adora teaches how we can use her SCALE Framework to convert social media followers to donors:S - Social MediaC - ContentA - AudienceL - LeadE- ExecutionThe key takeaways from my discussion with Minna are:  #1 Master 1 or 2 social media platforms rather than spreading yourself too thin across too many;#2 Find the platforms where your audience hangs out;#3 Consistency key; and#4 Nurture your new members with a welcome series.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear about the welcome series Adora uses in her own business.

#052 - Minna Taylor is a trained actress.  After earning her masters degree, she began teaching accent reduction to corporate clients as a side hustle in between acting gigs.  That experience is where she found the intersection of speech & voice, body language, and breathing."Communication is a physical activity. We think about it as just coming out of our mouth, but our whole body is behind it. And if we go back to that statistic, which is 7% of the information people receive is verbal, 93% is vocal and nonverbal that means our body is doing most of the talking. What I see time and time again and what I saw at the very start of my career was people's bodies silencing them.”Minna outlines the 3 characteristics of the most trusted people:1 Generosity;2 Curiosity; and3 LikabilityPeople come to her to increase confidence, to increase capacity, to speak up, to share their voice, to tell powerful stories, to influence people, and to become powerful agents of change.The key takeaways from my discussion with Minna are:#1 80% of your attention should be listening and 20% breathing;#2 Generosity is about energy and presence;#3 Curiosity is less about asking and more about how you choose to contribute without judging; and#4 We have to like someone before we can trust them.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Minna share how giving up a little control and being vulnerable leads to being more trusted.

#051 - Rhea Wong makes a return trip to the Groupfinity Podcast, this time to discuss her new book - Get That Money, Honey! The No-Bullsh*t Guide to Raising More Money for Your Nonprofit.  Rhea points out that that mindset is a big limiting factor in fundraising.  We assume people will only give the minimum and we get too emotional about rejection, which impacts our ongoing fundraising efforts."I think people get so emotionally tied up in that if they don't give to my organization, that means all these bad things about me and I'm somehow inferior and less than, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's like, okay, let's just drop the story.  AND how could we do our job better without this disempowering story?"Storytelling is a key to your fundraising success because we all want to believe that our lives have meant something.  We all want to think about legacy and believe we lived on the planet and the world is a little bit better. You need to help your donor see themself as the hero in the story.  They are the hero, not you.Rhea tells why investing in systems is so important.  We're always freaking out about money and not spending it and we end up missing the forest for the trees.  Think about how to automate your organization to make you more efficient rather than just the amount of the expense itself.“If I spend money, it's either going to be because there's a monetary ROI, so it's gonna help me bring more money in, or It's going to give me back my time, or it's going to increase operational efficiency. If the expense that you're putting out doesn't do one of those three things, I think you really need to think about your expense.”The key takeaways from my discussion with Rhea are:#1 Evaluate your systems by mapping your processes to where the problems exist;#2 In Fundraising a story is important because it accesses the empathy part of our brain. And empathy is where generosity lies;#3 Don't spend your time doing stupid manual things like data entry. Spend the time creating relationships with humans; and#4 Your meetings should be 75% of them talking, 25% you talking.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear what Rhea learned from an FBI hostage negotiator.

#050 - Today I am speaking with marketing specialist and strategist Lynn Ruby.  Lynn works with small businesses, solo-preneurs and nonprofits who are really good at what they do, but still struggle and get intimidated by online marketing.  The pandemic brought about 3 primary changes to email marketing:  1) Email volumes exploded; 2) 75% of us tried new habits and those habits are sticking; and 3) Brand loyalty was shattered.“…. the volume of email drastically expanded during the pandemic and is continuing to go up after the pandemic. Consumers changed their values, they changed how they're doing things. Email was a big part of that and they're changing their loyalties to brands and all of those things are continuing to change” Lynn shares that if you are not clear and concise, your emails will get lost.  You are not competing with other nonprofits, you are competing with EVERYONE your tribe is getting emails from - large corporations with experienced copywriters.“...if you're a really small non-profit, if you're a larger non-profit, if you're a relatively medium sized business or medium sized non-profit, you're competing with them because they're setting the expectations of how email should be done and they do it very well.They're clear and concise with their messaging and their visuals. And if we as smaller entities cannot rise at least somewhat to that level that those big brands are doing because that's who our audience is also seeing emails from, we're going to be not as effective as we can be.”The key takeaways from my discussion with Lynn are: #1 Email is being used more than ever;#2 You need to move social media followers to your email list;#3 You need a subject line that causes the recipient to open it; and#4 Write the way you talk.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear why you should segment and personalize your emails.

#049 - Today I am speaking with digital marketing specialist Rishi Malhotra.  Rishi says there is a lot of interest in using paid search and paid social in fundraising efforts.  Rishi has a different perspective, however.“I'll probably say I get a lot of questions about using it directly for fundraising, but I would say, the best use case I've seen is typically, to use it to boost your, your email list.”He advises organizations to use paid search and paid social to drive your ideal tribe to a lead magnet - they trade their email address for the promised piece of collateral.  The good news is this strategy will not break the bank.  In fact, Google provides $10k in monthly grants to registered 501(c)3 organizations.The application is easy enough, but he says you may want to get a little implementation advice so you achieve your desired results.Rishi got his start advising small and medium sized businesses on search marketing.  Later he went on to hone his non-profit marketing skills at Blue State Digital.When I asked Rishi if this strategy works for small organizations he said…“I would say that if your goal is to grow and build your supporters and subscribers, and potentially donors, then I would say, it's worth doing whether you're small, whether you're large, if that is kind of in line with your goals. And I think you should pursue it.”The key takeaways from my discussion with Rishi are:#1 Include your location when picking your keywords;#2 Develop a Welcome Series for new subscribers;#3 Use negative keywords to fine tune your search parameters; and#4 The Google Grant Program approves most nonprofits, with only some exceptions.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear what you should be targeting for cost per click.

#048 - Today I am speaking with Gareth Pronovost about using Airtable to automate workflows to 1) save time; 2) reduce errors; 3) stay organized; 4) allow for a single source of truth; and 5) grow and scale their organization.  Gareth asks - are you overwhelmed by an endless sea of spreadsheets?”  I think most of us would say YES!The good news is Airtable DOES NOT require any coding experience.  You just need to know your processes.  Gareth tells us that the biggest payoffs come in email and reporting.  He calls it the compounding effect…“I challenge everyone to think about the compounding effect of 10 minutes a day.  It's like interest on your life - interest on the time that you have on this earth.  Why pay that interest?  Rather than type up that same email 10 times that takes you 10 minutes a day, do it one time.  And so what if it takes you an hour and a half to figure out how to build an automation? You'll have made that back in two weeks, and now you save yourself an hour a week into perpetuity."The key takeaways from my discussion with Gareth are:#1 You don't have to be tech savvy, you just have to be able to articulate your process;#2 Instantaneous replies make donors feel special and heard;#3 Improved collaboration in a remote environment; and#4 You can automate any internet tools that have an open API.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear about Gareth's courses and community.

#047 Today I am speaking with Jess Campbell from Out in the Boons.  Jess' superpower is building meaningful relationships that then turn into donor relationships. The #1 question Jess is asked is - how do I find new donors?  Jess is a self described friend-maker, and relationship builder with big dreams.  She has developed an outreach method with a 100% response rate that allows her clients to develop new and authentic relationships with potential donors."And so the effort to go into a new relationship with authenticity is paramount. And so, yeah, I have this method that I have practiced to date that has a 100% response rate. And thus I've started teaching it to my fellow fundraisers so that they can make real relationships that potentially lead to friendships and ultimately donations down the line”.You'll have to listen to the episode to hear the steps.Jess is routinely asked about the effectiveness of sending mass emails vs taking the time to send tailored messages.  She says you have to put yourself in the shoes of the recipient.  How do you feel when you receive mass emails?  Mass emailing may save you time, but tailored messages yield better results.“When something is tailored and specific people feel very seen and that's all we want.  So I would just counter back that yes, you can do something in the masses that is vague and unspecific and you might get a very low return on investment.  Or you can do something that is going to be a little bit more time and a little bit more effort, but it will yield results. And so you just have to choose where you want to put your energy”.The key takeaways from my discussion with Jess are:#1 The follow-up game is the most important part of fundraising;#2 Tailored messages are more effective than mass emails;#3 Sending short messages of value can deepen a relationship;#4 Research says people have capacity for about 150 relationships- when you remove friends, family, and co-workers, that leaves about 75-90.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Jess' learnings from the pandemic.

#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:SalesforceKindfulBloomerangLittle Green LightBe 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 Inspiration2 Agreements3 Accountability4 Acknowledgement5 Renewal6 MasteryThe 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 taskPersonal connectionAlignment of goals between the donor and your organization or institutionResearch and information guiding your decisions AndKnowledge of a positive outcomeBe 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.  

#036 - Today I am speaking with Tracy Clark, the Founder and CEO of Clark & Clark, a nonprofit consulting firm she runs with her husband Robert Clark.  Tracy has been coaching and setting up non profit organizations for over 10 years.  Together, they have set up over 4,000 Nonprofits and received over 10 million dollars in grant funding.Clark & Clark teaches self-sufficiency and business development.  Their top priority is to see more minorities access the required funds to pursue their purpose. In this episode, Tracy shares how some nonprofits start a for profit business that sells products and services and then use the funds generated by that business to fund their programs.Tracy says:“even though they may have had some successful fundraising campaigns, what they're realizing is they want a little bit more control over the funding that's coming in.”Be sure to stick around to hear how Tracy started her 1st business at the age of 10.Check out Clark & Clark at - https://www.clarkandclark.org/ The key takeaways from my discussion with Tracy are:#1 Grant funders want you to demonstrate sustainability;#2 You can likely operate a business without a storefront;#3 Nonprofits face a lot competition so make sure you understand why people will want to support yours;#4 Make sure you do a good job of budgeting.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#035 - Today I am speaking with Chris Hammond.  Chris founded CGC as a full service consulting firm offering nonprofits strategy on communication, marketing, development, and fundraising.  They free up nonprofit boards and staff so they can spend more time on their missions and less on admin stuff.One of CGC's superpowers is Peer to Peer Fundraising.  They teach their clients how to leverage their supporters' networks to raise money by committing just 15ish minutes per week to educate their friends and family on this organization they love.This is A LOT less cost and stress compared to an annual gala and a lot.As for challenges organizations face, Chris says:“One of the biggest things we've seen our clients facing is change and evolving and innovating.”Be sure to stick around to hear how one of Chris' clients turned a $2,500 donor into a $15,000 donor.Check out CGC at - https://cgcgiving.com/The key takeaways from my discussion with Shane are:#1 Use a welcome email series to onboard new supporters;#2 Dealing with change is one of the biggest challenges for organizations;#3 Peer to Peer Fundraising is a more formulaic and predictable form of fundraising;#4 It is as important to have supporters open doors with potential donors as it is to have a super compelling message.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.   

#034 - Today I am speaking with Shane Sams.  Shane has one of the most popular episodes on Pat Flynn's Smart Passive Income Podcast.  His episode #122 is one of SPI's most popular.  To put this in perspective, SPI has more than 500 episodes and over one million downloads.  Shane's episode has more downloads than Tim Ferris and Gary Vaynerchuck combined.Shane started the flipped lifestyle with his wife Jocelyn.  Their mission is to help 100,000 families flip their life by turning it upside down thru starting, building, and growing an online business.Although they primarily work with individuals, they also work with nonprofits and I think there is a lot of potential for our small mission driven organizations, especially those that rely on membership dues.  Our organizations can use what Shane teaches to start an online business and use the funds generated from that effort to fund their organization's programs and become less reliant on membership dues.Shane says that in building a successful membership group….“You've got to provide value with content. You've got to provide value by uniting the community and you've got to bring access to the people”.AND“People are only going to exchange their proof of work, which is money, for your proof of solution”.Be sure to stick around to hear how Shane, in his words, “about wrecked my lawnmower”.Check out Shane at - https://flippedlifestyle.com/The key takeaways from my discussion with Shane are:#1 You make money when you sell your knowledge, your wisdom, and you help people solve problems;#2 The membership model will work, whether you're for profit or non-profit, doesn't matter;#3 Create content that solves a problem and a place for your people to hang out and connect;#4 It's simple - you create content, you build an email list, you get people in your membership.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#033 - Today I am speaking with Sandi Fox.  Sandi is a digital strategist guru.  One of her superpowers is helping organizations incorporate text messaging as a communication channel in their fundraising efforts.  We are more likely to read texts vs emails because this is where we communicate with friends and family.  As a result, organizations are increasingly turning to text as a key communication channel.  In addition to fundraising, Sandi has some terrific advice on how organizations can use text messaging effectively as an organizing and general communication tool.Sandi says….….“and over 90% have a mobile phone. So it's about meeting people where they are and they're on their mobile phones, right?  So, it's become one of the best direct response tools in our tool set for digital because that means we really actually reach people - they are more likely to respond to our ask.”Check out Sandi at - https://www.smartasafox.org/The key takeaways from my discussion with Cody are:  #1 90% of people who receive a text message will read it within 90 seconds of receiving it;#2 Can be used by organizations of any size;#3 Best practice is 2-3 messages per month; AND#4 There is a cost - It's not free like social media so if you add it, be sure you don't forget about it.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#032 - Today I am speaking with Cody Hays.  Cody is the founder of Marketing Mission.  They provide “affordable marketing to make the world better”.  Cody shares some of his email marketing secrets to help get more of our emails opened and read.  Cody has some great tips and tricks that we can easily implement TODAY!  When considering what to automate, Cody says….“How much time will this save you? OR Will this save you from having to do something over and over and over and over again? OR do you just hate doing it? If you answered yes to any of that - automate it, right?  Because your time is better served, focusing on your zone of genius rather than doing something that's going to deplete your energy or waste your time.”Check out Marketing Mission at - https://www.marketingmission.org/The key takeaways from my discussion with Cody are:#1 Short and clear subject lines help get the reader's attention;#2 Using emojis in your subject lines can boost your open rate;#3 Invest in a good email automation tool; AND#4 Use your email to establish your expertise instead of just a diary of what is going on with your organization.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#031 - Today I am speaking with Julia Patrick.  Julia is the founder of the American Nonprofit Academy.  Her mission is to bring education, leadership, connectivity and collaboration to the nonprofit community.  She produces and hosts the nation's ONLY daily 30 minute nonprofit broadcast called The Nonprofit Show. She interviews nonprofit leaders from around the country and world.  There are almost 500 episodes in the archive.Julia shares that funders are looking for financial commitments from your board.“what percentage of your board is financially invested in your organization?”“Newsflash, if it's NOT 100%, then you're going to lose some funding. And that doesn't necessarily mean huge amounts of money. It could be a hundred dollars, it could be $10, but that is something that funders across this country are looking at.”She adds that you can be creative by scholarshiping younger board members who may not be able to meet the financial hurdle.Check out the American Nonprofit Academy at - https://americannonprofitacademy.com/The key takeaways from my discussion with Julia are:  #1 Be organized.  Have all of your meetings defined and scheduled for at least 12 months out;#2 Most funders are asking the question what percentage of your board is financially invested in your organization? If it's not a hundred percent, then you're going to lose some funding opportunities;#3 The same people get asked to to join these boards so you're probably going to hear a lot of nos before you hear yeses; AND#4 The pandemic has forced overdue changes in the nonprofit world.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.   

#030 - Today I am speaking with Maura Fitzpatrick.  Maura is a nonprofit consultant, specializing in brand messaging and marketing strategy for nonprofit founders.  Her superpower is helping nonprofits communicate their mission in a way that feels authentic to them and compelling to their donors, service users, and volunteers.Maura says that one of the keys to effective branding and marketing is developing personas for your target audience - your audience should feel like you're talking to them.  Maura smartly tells us:“...if you're for everyone, you're for no one”.Check out Maura's services on her website - https://www.maurafitzpatrick.com/#ServicesThe key takeaways from my discussion with Maura are:#1 Avoid mission creep - focus on one thing you're doing and do it well before you start expanding;#2 Who's your target audience like specifically, an actual person or persona - if you're for everyone, you're for no one;#3 Most of your content should not be asking for donations. Most of your content should be establishing authority as the expert in what you're doing; AND#4 You have to build trust and credibility with your community, and that takes branding and marketing.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#029 - Today I am speaking with Julia Campbell.  Julia is a Speaker, Author, Nonprofit Consultant and self proclaimed Activist.  She started the recycling program in her middle school when she was just in the 6th grade.  She started her business 11 years ago to help more nonprofits figure out the digital age.  Today, she shares her nonprofit social marketing ideas that can be used by both beginners and pros alike.“...stop thinking of social media as a transactional tool and really start thinking of it as a community building tool. It is not a money spigot you can just turn on. It is not an ATM….….social media is a value exchange. People give you their time and attention and you give them something of value to them. So to build, start building a social media community, you have to know who is in your community and who do you want to attract to your community”.Social media is Julia's super power, but she also offers resources on: 1 Storytelling2 Fundraising AND3 Email MarketingCheck out Julia's resources on her website - https://jcsocialmarketing.com/?doing_wp_cron=1639531283.3935990333557128906250The key takeaways from my discussion with Julia are: #1 Social media is NOT a transactional tool; it is a community building one;#2 Social media is a place where you educate your audience and get them excited about what you do;#3 Your message and content has to be strategically crafted for each channel; AND#4 The 90-9-1 Rule: 90% of users are lurkers, 9% contribute a little, 1% contribute A LOT!Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#028 - Today I am speaking with Dr. Beverly Browning. Dr. Bev is the author of 44 grant-related publications, including six editions of Grant Writing For Dummies and Nonprofit Kit For Dummies.  Her online courses are taught to thousands of students annually.  She also has a 16-week virtual Coaching/Mentoring Program.  Dr Bev says…."You will not get funded if you are not innovative, creative, and unique.”Dr. Bev offers resources on:1 Grant Writing and Funding2 Board of Directors Training3 Strategic Needs Assessment4 Professional Development Training5 Proposal Development and6 Internal Peer ReviewCheck out Dr. Bev's free resources on her website - https://bevbrowning.com/nonprofit-resources/The key takeaways from my discussion with Dr. Bev are:  #1 Funders are looking for nonprofit organizations that are filling gaps.#2 Check in with your local United Way to find potential funders.#3 The work is 80% research / 20% writing.#4 Don't go for funding until you've built a relationship with the funder.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.  

#027 - Today I am speaking with Gigi Lawrence. Gigi founded Nonprofit for Newbies,  a consulting and networking community, to help people start new nonprofits.  Gigi is a mompreneur who started off in the financial consulting world, but didn't feel fulfilled. She knew she wanted to help others, but was unsure how.  After she took a job as a nonprofit financial literacy program director she knew she had found her calling.  Gigi says…."If your foundation isn't structured correctly and you don't know how to explain your process. You don't know how to explain your programs in a way that others are going to understand and be motivated to move forward with those services or that program and being involved….....you have to be able to sell yourself, sell your organization, and in order to sell it, you have to know what you're selling and you have to believe in it.”Nonprofit for Newbies either advises or refers “newbies” to one of the independent contractors in their network on:1 Setting up their nonprofit (501(c)32 Grant writing3 Writing their business plan4 Fundraising5 Marketing6 Accounting7 Board Development, and8 MindsetAs of this interview, her Facebook Group has over 10k members.Gigi has a ton of free resources on his website -https://www.nonprofitfornewbies.com/social

#026 - Today I am speaking with Vicki Burkhart, Founder and CEO of The More Than Giving Company.  The company supports nonprofits with Virtual Assistants who allow nonprofit leaders to focus more on their mission and less on tasks.  Vicki says:”In most cases, they will come to us and say, I don't know where to tell you to start so things have gotten so out of hand that they are already in a chaotic state” ….. “once you have a VA, you will start to see the time come back in your day”.The company takes a different approach because it ONLY hires VAs with nonprofit experience.  In addition, their VAs typically have 3 - 5 years of experience as a VA and they are put through a certification program. The key takeaways from my discussion with Vicki are:#1 Four Major Obstacles to Nonprofit Success - lack of a plan; wrong board make-up; fundraising capacity; and lack of action.#2 Once you hire a VA, you will start to see time come back into your day.#3 Volunteer boards are finding they are spending way too much time doing the detail work and not enough time cultivating donors.#4 There is a direct correlation between time spent on the stuff you need to do and the minutia.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.   

#025 - Today I am speaking with Teresa Huff.  Teresa is a special ed teacher, turned stay at home mom, then turned grant writing guru.  She began her grant writing career working with a team of grant writers, writing big federal grants. She later branched out on her own, working with clients 1 on 1. When she realized she could help more people, she developed online courses.“I really liked teaching others because I can only write so many grants and I can only be an expert in so many areas, but I can teach other people to do it. And then they can go out and create a much bigger ripple effect together. That's why I love doing this  - supporting other nonprofits so they can maximize their impact and teaching grant writers how to do this as well, and to be much more successful to shorten the distance from point A to point B.”She has worked with over 2,100 students, helping many nonprofits triple their funding. Specifically, she:Works with nonprofits to strategically lay the groundwork for grant readiness;Trains and equips grant writers with the skills they need to be successful; andConnect the dots between the two so we can all maximize our impact.She has a ton of free resources on her website - https://teresahuff.com/The key takeaways from my discussion with Teresa are:#1 BUILD RELATIONSHIP - You're not talking to dollar signs, you're not talking to money. You're talking to people and working with people.#2 Funders want to see an established nonprofit and typically an established program that they can fund - they don't want to be your first or last dollar.#3 Be PATIENT - Grants can take a long time to write and it could take a long time to hear back.#4 Start small with local foundations.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode. 

#024 - Today I am speaking with Brock Warner.  Brock is an experienced and skilled fundraising executive.  He has over a decade of experience fundraising for social causes at senior levels in a variety of sectors.Brock is a best-selling author, coach, and digital fundraising professor.  He is a sought-after conference speaker, at conferences throughout North America.  He is actively shaping the next generation of professional fundraisers by bringing practical experience to life with engaging, honest advice.He shares some great nuggets, but one that really resonated with me was:“Ask for what you need, not just what you think you'll get”.He has a ton of free resources on his website - www.brockwarner.ca.The key takeaways from my discussion with Brock are:#1 You need to remain PERSISTENT with your social media strategy;#2 People give to people so you need to develop relationships with your donors;#3 Understand why people are giving to your cause; AND#4 You CANNOT say thank you enough.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.  

#023 - Today I am speaking with Sandy Pfau Englund.  Sandy is a skilled nonprofit and tax law attorney.  When parents at her kids' elementary school recognized her articles, she was recruited to join the PTO.The PTO did not have its own EIN - it was using the schools.  It did not have tax-exempt status.  If you named the list of errors, it was making all of them.“It was overwhelming for the other volunteers. That's why I got recruited. You don't have someone that does tax-exempt and non-profit law that's the mom of the kids in your elementary school.  It's not just an everyday thing.”That led her to start Parent Booster USA - to help PTAs, PTOs, booster clubs, and chapters remain in compliance with the IRS and state regulators.  She wanted to make it easy - at least more accessible for groups to keep up with these regulations.She has a ton of free resources - her policy is that "for every paid service, we have to have a do-it-yourself guide" so that if someone wants to be a weekend warrior, they can.The key takeaways from my discussion with Sandy are:#1 Don't decide who can give and who can't - let them decide for themselves if they can give or not;#2 To be eligible for grants, you need to make sure your registration is up to date;#3 There is no such thing as a tax-deductible, Christmas Tree or anything else - if the buyer is getting something of value, you need to identify that value for them; AND#4 Fundraising benefits need to be for the WHOLE group, not for only one individual.Check out Groupfinity.com for the show notes and links for this episode.   

#022 - Kivi Leroux Miller is a communication and marketing guru.  She lends her superpower to nonprofits - helping them craft clear, effective, and timely communication to their communities, donors, volunteers, and partners.  She shares some easy and straightforward steps that we can apply to our own organizations.Kivi has several “Rules of 3” that help simplify all of this.  Be sure to stick around until the end to hear them all. The key takeaways from my discussion with Kivi are: #1 Be sure you are clear on 1) who you are talking to; 2) what you're saying to them; and 3) how you plan to deliver that message;#2 Your community is NOT the entire world - you need to fine-tune your target market;#3 Consistency is more important than frequency; AND#4 Create a 4-6 editorial calendar.

#021 - Kristine Ensor is an experienced and successful fundraiser and freelance writer.  She has figured out the power of community partnerships to drive long-term support.  The great news is YOU can do what Kristine has done!  Anyone can.  You just have to put in the work of finding the right partners and then cultivate those relationships.Kristine gives some great insight on just how to do that.  Collaborating with a few good partners can free you from the stress of dialing for new dollars every year.Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Kristine's first-hand account about how one volunteer day unexpectedly turned into years of financial and board support from the local office of a national cable tv provider. The key takeaways from my discussion with Kristine are: #1 Companies look for partners who actually do the work for the causes they believe in;#2 Networking is ESSENTIAL - relationship building is at the core of building strong partnerships; #3 Participating with your local chamber of commerce is a GREAT way to meet potential partners; AND#4 Don't stop after you've received a check - sit down with your partners periodically and find out what is working for them and figure out how you can provide more value to them.

#020 - Dave Evans, founder of Impact SEO. Dave got his Search Engine Optimization foundation by working for an SEO guru and then several startups. He now shares his deep knowledge of SEO with mission driven organizations making a positive impact in their communities.  His mission is to help impact organizations reach more people and communicate their mission more effectively.  He shows them how to get found on the crowded internet.Dave does a great job of laying out why it's so important for organization's to have a thoughtful SEO strategy.  AND it does not have to be hard.  Most of us can do this.The key takeaways from my discussion with Dave are:  #1 Focus on 3 pillars: Trajectory, Foundation, and Compound Interest;#2 You have to be clear on what your organization does and who you serve before you can make sure that message is clear on your website; #3 Produce relevant content so people searching for what you do will find you; AND#4 Non-profits can apply for a Google Ad Grant - $10,000 per month in ad spend.

#019 - Cindy is the Founder, President, and CEO of The Good Partnership.  Her specialty is working with small organizations.  In fact, her personal mission is “to help smaller organizations learn how to fundraise and better their systems and be more impactful”.Cindy shows us how effective fundraising starts with mindset and habits.  Instead of viewing fundraising as a necessary evil, something you dread doing, turn it into something you feel good about.  By changing your mindset and then repeating the right habits, you can be much more effective.The key takeaways from my discussion with Cindy are:  #1 Don't throw an event if you don't have a committee that can sell tickets and do sponsorships, because it's not worth your time;#2 Automating some things or even improving your systems incrementally, can have a HUGE impact on your organization's time; #3 the best fundraisers are deeply curious; AND#4 Best source of information about your donors is directly from them.In this episode, Cindy shares her secret around the “Yellow Brick Road of Yesses”!Cindy offers her Flipside Fundraising course a couple of times per year.  Click on the link in the show notes to learn more.

#018 - Dwight works at Swaim Strategies where he helps nonprofits maximize fundraising.  His superpower is relationship building.  He has been building and cultivating relationships his entire life.  Dwight believes “relationships are the key to life and the more you invest in relationships, the more enriched life will be.”2021 is NOT a time to relax. Spend the year investing in your donor relationships. Reach out to donors and figure out how you can add value to them.  Even if people or companies can't give this year, cultivating relationships now will set you up for future giving when they are in a position to give again.  Dwight walks us through 1) why this is important AND 2) how to do it.  He gives us some great tips on how to develop authentic, deep, and mutually beneficial relationships.  You need to commit to it, but the good news is, these are skills most of us already use in our personal lives.The key takeaways from my discussion with Dwight are:  #1 The fundamentals of development are the same as those in relationship building, listen to the donor and ask genuine questions;#2 Treat them the same way you want to be treated; listen to their priorities; #3 It's easier to cultivate and steward an existing donor relationship than to go out & get a new donor; AND#4 The most reliable and recession-proof types of gifts are from individual donors, not corporations.Be sure to check out swaimstrategies.com

#017 - Ashleigh and Cristina work with nonprofits to make sure they get their compliance matters right.  Today, they share their expertise on little known state fundraising rules when you are in one state, but you solicit funds in another state.  A lot of groups don't know these rules.  Others assume they are exempt, but that may not be the case.  Exemptions depend on type of organization and type of activity.  Each case is different and you need to know the rules and how they apply to your organization.  You need to check on your individual situation.  Some organizations can handle this on their own, but it can get tricky fast.  It is good to know professionals who can help us when we need it.

#016 - Sean is a coach, consultant, and trainer for nonprofit leaders.  Today, he shares some of his Facebook Fundraising secrets.  Using some of his strategies, some organizations have been able to raise over $10,000 in as little as 30 days.  One secret is you have to do the work.  The good news is, you likely already have the skills to do this.  If you know how to post on Facebook you can do this.Sean says that if you have 500+ Facebook friends, you can raise $1,000.  If 10 people in your organization do this, you can raise $10,000.  It only takes a month.The key takeaways from my discussion with Sean are:  #1 People are FAR more likely to give, if someone they know and like asks them;#2 Get people willing to do it, have them invite their Facebook friends, and post daily; #3 You will be surprised by the people who donate; AND#4 Don't assume someone doesn't have money to give - don't be both the buyer and the seller.Be sure to check out his website at nonprofitfixer.com.

#015 - Ellis is a nonprofit lawyer.  She started the Charity Lawyer Blog to help nonprofits make sense of compliance and legal matters.  Her motto is Nonprofit Law Simplified and that's just what she did in this interview.  She simplified a number of nonprofit legal and compliance requirements that a lot of small groups struggle with.    We talk about compliance requirements around:-getting your 501c3 started;-how to register with your state; AND -what you need to do every year going forward to stay in compliance.We also talked a good deal about when it makes sense to get a fiscal sponsor.Be sure to check out her website to access her registration guide, which is summarized by state.

#014 - Lindsay LaShell is a self-described “marketing activist”.  Her mission is to help organizations increase justice, equity, and sustainability by making their marketing more effective.Lindsay shares with us how important it is to be clear on what our audience wants from us and deliver that.It is ok for there to be a whole bunch of people who are NOT your people.  Any marketing strategy that is set up to say we don't want to alienate anybody, is going to do a terrible job of connecting with the right people.Lindsay is running a Pro Bono Marketing Bootcamp in December.  If your organization's budget was less than $200k in 2019, you are welcome to apply and snag a free spot.

#013 - James Speirs from ABC Fundraising shares with us how they pivoted when COVID hit from fundraisers primarily focused on food items to selling custom face masks online.  The face masks have been such a HUGE HIT, they've become their MOST POPULAR FUNDRAISING CONCEPT.It is pretty simple.  You give them your logo & background color and for a low initial $40 fee, you get a web-store with about 20 face masks available in both adult and youth sizes.  Eight are custom with your logo and the remaining are either general (eg American Flag, blank, dog, cat, etc….).  The variety makes customers buy more.  Their process reduces the risk to the group / organization because:  -You don't need to carry expensive inventory. -Low 50 face mask minimum (not 50 orders, 50 total face masks) -Masks are prepaid - they only produce the face masks that are ordered and pre-paid.-Very low upfront costs - only $25 set-up fee plus a $15 web-store fee.-Your group gets a check when the campaign ends a few weeks later.Customers place their order and pay directly in the web-store.  The variety in the web-store (20-ish masks) AND a discount when you buy 3 or more, results in 80% - 90% of the customers buying 3 or more face masks.  This has been a HUGE hit with schools, churches, youth sports, local businesses, and non-profits of all sizes.You simply send your logo and the ABC team will work with it and provide you with 8 custom face masks plus some generic options for your web-store.  You can be up and running in 24 hrs and have your funds in a month.  One of his groups earned $2,000 on a $40 investment - that is a WHOPPING 5,000% Return on Investment.  AND FURTHERMORE, they've opened their store again.  Once you pay the initial $40 fee, you can open and close your web store whenever you want.

S #1 Ep #012 - Greg Quiroga from Stellar SF Fundraising went from 100% live fundraising galas to 100% online events in a matter of weeks.  His customers are nonprofits and schools and they all shut down their scheduled events when we went to Shelter at Home in March.  Greg quickly pivoted and started advising his clients on virtual events.  You can't stop fundraising because of COVID-19.  As Greg puts it… “if you don't ask them for money one year, it will be harder to get it the next year.”  In this episode, Greg takes us inside some of his recent virtual events for fundraising and shares what is working.  If you are struggling with the decision to take your fundraising event virtual, there is something here for you.  A lot of it is ATTITUDE! You have to get over your fears and BELIEVE you can do it.Greg talks about using a variety of platforms including Zoom, YouTube, Facebook Live, and Twitch.  He says it is best if you can get guests to stream the event to their smart TV to limit distractions on the computer.These are tough times for sure, but many organizations are still raising money.  Your organization's costs are not going away so you still need to fundraise.  -Your supporters have likely done a number of virtual events for charity by now so they are accustomed to them.  -There are a number of virtual events to raise money around a number of great causes.  -Virtual events for adults are quite popular right now.  -In some cases, people are looking for virtual events to attend.  Virtual events in 2020 are exploding.  We even came across a recent post titled “Virtual Events To Attend This Week”.  If you are not asking, those funds are going somewhere else.Be sure to stick around ‘til the end when Greg shares his secrets on how to produce successful virtual events for fundraising.  The key takeaways in today's episode are:  #1 On average, virtual events are netting 90% of what they did as live events.#2 A lot of your success rests in attitude.  You have to believe you can do it.    #3 Keep it to 45 minutes to 1 hour.  People's attention span likely can't take much more than that.

S #1 Ep #011 - Dondrell Swanson and his team were hosting a 400+ person annual convention in March. Then the state and local governments put restrictions on large gatherings and ordered people to Shelter at Home.  He and his team had to decide whether to reschedule to a future date or cancel.  The venue was putting pressure on them to reschedule to a later date.  This particular event is in the springtime every year.  Moving to a later date was risky.  They were unsure as to how it would perform later in the year.Dondrell shares the team's thought process at arriving at their decision and what they learned.  If you face this situation now or if you will face it in the future, there are takeaways you can apply to your situation.

S #1 Ep #010 - Becky Urbano is the auction chair for her elementary school.  Their auction was scheduled to take place just days before the shelter in place was ordered due to the coronavirus pandemic.  She and her team had to scramble to change course fast.  In a matter of days, they had to cancel vendors and move their event online to a virtual one.  They lost deposit funds paid to vendors, but they were able to minimize other losses and still had a successful event.  They used social media more than they had in the past to inform the community and drive excitement. Becky's key advice:The key takeaways in today's episode are:  #1 Don't be afraid to ask your guests to donate their ticket funds#2 Be proactive and emotions must take a back seat  #3 Prepare for the worst-case scenario     They had to scramble fast to scrap their physical event and go virtual.  They did the best they could with the hand they were dealt, but still raised money.   Do what you can and don't worry about what was planned.  This covid-19 crisis has taught us that we have to do things differently.  You have to think out of the box.

S #1 Ep #009 - This is my interview with Christy Noel, VP of Marketing at MobileCause.  Nonprofits use MobileCause's online and event fundraising software to boost their fundraising efforts.  This episode was recorded in early April when organizations were faced with having to cancel or postpone their events due to the coronavirus pandemic crisis.  The social distancing and stay at home orders as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are adversely impacting nonprofit organizations' fundraising events.  You may have to decide to cancel your event.  Local authorities may force you to cancel your event.  Christy shares what you can do.  Specifically, she talks about transforming “in person” events to virtual ones.  Christy's key advice:#1 Don't drag your feet on moving to a virtual event.     #2 Don't assume you need to refund your ticket/registration funds.  Communicate with your guests and sponsors and come up with a way forward that works for both sides.#3 Add value to your sponsors by continuing to promote them.  You need to continue communicating with your guests and sponsors.  Let them know what you are doing.  Let them know how they can help.  Don't assume they know.  There are plenty of tools out there to help and we've listed some in the show notes

S #1 Ep #008 - This is my interview with Sam Swaim who is the co-founder of Swaim Strategies and we explore the question - Will coronavirus stop my nonprofit event?  Swaim Strategies works with nonprofits, large and small, to bring people together through events.  This episode was recorded shortly after many local government authorities implemented restrictions on large gatherings due to the coronavirus crisis.  Many organizations had events planned and were wondering if they could or should still host their event.  In this episode, we talk about what the decisions leaders of organizations are grappling with.  Sam shares what she is seeing and hearing from nonprofit event organizers.  On the one hand, you don't want to host an event that is not safe for your community.  On the other hand, you may have extended substantial financial resources towards the event.  What happens if you are forced to cancel your event because your local authorities have put a "shelter at home" order in place.  What can you do to protect your organization's finances?

S1 Ep #007 - This is Part 2 of my interview with Beth Sandefur, who is the founder and owner of Beth Sandefur Events.  She works with nonprofits to help them execute successful events.  Beth is a seasoned event planner with a strong background in development and hands-on experience with theatrical production. Her efforts focus on planning and execution of fundraising galas, typically with a large auction component. As a planner, she believes in working with clients to find the inefficiencies and redundancies in their systems to create a streamlined approach, keeping the organizational mission in the forefront.Beth taught us the importance of setting your goals and visualizing your outcome and working backward from there.  In this episode, Beth teaches us how to incorporate “Revenue Enhancers” to increase our fundraising yield.

S #1 Ep #006 - Beth is the founder and owner of Beth Sandefur Events.  She works with nonprofits to help them execute successful events.  Beth is a seasoned event planner with a strong background in development and hands-on experience with theatrical production. Her efforts focus on planning and execution of fundraising galas, typically with a large auction component. As a planner, she believes in working with clients to find the inefficiencies and redundancies in their systems to create a streamlined approach, keeping the organizational mission in the forefront.Beth taught us the importance of setting your goals and visualizing your outcome and working backward from there.