Why understanding the brain changes fundraising

Cherian explains strategy over tactics and how knowing why techniques work improves deployment and outcomes.

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In this special episode of The Fundraising Elevator, hosts Kristin Steele and Samantha Swaim take listeners behind the scenes at the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference in San Diego, California. Recording live from the red carpet studio, Kristin and Sam talk to two sector experts about their new books.

Behavioral science expert Cherian Koshy’s book Neurogiving: The Science of Donor Decision Making is a groundbreaking exploration of how neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychology reveal the true drivers of charitable giving. This book is not about persuasion or pressure. It’s about understanding the generosity that already lives inside every donor—and removing the friction that gets in its way.

Veteran fundraiser Tammy Zonker’s book Calling All Heroes: Combining the Best of Donor-Centered and Community-Centered Fundraising for Greater Impact, delivers a compelling discussion about the crossroads at which the nonprofit sector finds itself. Here, traditional fundraising approaches are no longer sufficient to tackle the complex challenges of nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve. This book helps fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and advocates find common ground by uniting around shared values and focusing on human-centered practices that empower communities and build genuine connections.

Special thanks to The AV Department and the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference.

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This Episode Brought to You by:

Swaim Strategies: https://swaimstrategies.com

Utilizing over 20 years of nonprofit event strategy and production expertise, Swaim Strategies coaches and teaches organizations how to increase the impact of their fundraising events.

The AV Department: https://theavdept.com/

As a full-service event AV and video production partner, The AV Department’s technical event production and media content generation provide you with a range of experience and talent from a partner who wants to know you and work together year after year.

Bloomerang: https://bit.ly/4hLqLVw

Create the ideal giving experience with integrated fundraising tools and automated insights that maximize your impact. Keep donors close to the cause with mean-ingful outreach at the right time. Increase retention, major gifts, and all-around impact. Turn supporters into action-takers with tools that make it easy to recruit, organize, and engage volunteers at every level.

Feathr: https://www.feathr.co/

Feathr is a marketing platform built specifically for mission-driven organizations, offering simple tools for digital advertising, email campaigns, and audience engagement. The platform uses real-time insights and AI-powered segmentation to help you reach the right people at the right time—whether you’re nurturing existing supporters or discovering new ones who share your values. It’s marketing that meets people where they are, building relationships that last beyond a single click.

Speakers

Samantha Swaim

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-swaim-a28a9a4/

Substack: https://substack.com/@swaimstrategies

Kristin Steele

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-steele777/

Substack: https://substack.com/@swaimstrategies

Cherian Koshy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheriankoshy/

Tammy Zonker

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyzonker/

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