Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast

If you’ve worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 10 minutes, you know just how incredibly difficult it is to find and keep great people. The staffing challenges in our sector aren’t new, but it seems like the challenges have become more pronounced over the last few years. At least that’s what I keep hearing from clients and friends in our sector.  Recently, my friends at Dickerson Bakker & Associates commissioned a new study on this topic, HELP WANTED: A National Study of Staffing Challenges in Nonprofit Fundraising. We sat down with Derric Bakker, President/CEO to discuss the findings, which I think you’ll find fascinating and helpful in your work (and you just might take comfort in having some hard data that validates what you’ve been feeling too!).  Here are some of the key learnings from this new study: 1. Our sector is indeed facing a severe shortage of qualified fundraisers in the marketplace (this most significantly impacts major gift fundraisers) 2. The idea of the 18-month turnover cycle is largely a myth (though there’s a small group of habitual job-hoppers that muddy the water on this topic) 3. Sadly (and of great concern), only 12% of survey respondents strongly affirmed their Board and executive leadership were actively involved in raising organizational support 4. Turnover is a big problem (mostly) for small(er) organizations 5. If we want to fix these problems, nonprofit hiring strategy and practices need to change significantly. After all, retaining your best talent starts with making the right hiring decision in the first place (and this is NOT just about the candidates) 6. Too few organizations are addressing the key issues that lead to the departure of fundraising staff, which serves only to perpetuate the problems for future hires 7. Organizations that were rated as “development friendly” had a greater likelihood of experiencing moderate or large increases in fundraising results in the last 2-3 years 8. CEO engagement in fundraising is critical to organizational success. In fact, the more a CEO enjoys and is involved in fundraising, the greater the likelihood that her or his organization’s fundraising income saw increases in recent years These insights just scratch the surface. You can download the full report here to help guide your organization’s hiring strategy and decision-making for success in the future!   Your mission is critical. Your resources are finite. You need a partner that can deliver customized, scalable, and relevant donor communications that increase response and maximize net long-term revenue for your cause.  You need Altus Marketing.

This conversation with Rev. Jeremy Montgomery, MBA-MA, President/CEO at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia, PA, is a deep-dive into change leadership like you’ve never heard before!  When he took the helm at Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in 2018, the organization was barely surviving. Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in the U.S., and also the poorest large city in the country. The Mission is the city of Philadelphia’s largest provider of men’s shelter services in the city. When he arrived, the Mission was engulfed in gang and drug activity — local gangs were actually dealing drugs right outside their doors.  The challenges they faced at the Mission were significant. From the external environmental risks of gangs and drugs to an internal culture that lacked clear communication, team members who didn’t understand what the goals were, how to achieve success, or how to partner and collaborate together to effectively achieve their mission.  In this podcast episode Jeremy walks us through what it was like to come into an organization like this, how he approached guiding and leading the organization through significant change, and the difficult decisions he had to make to help the organization go from surviving to thriving.  You’ll learn a ton about leading and navigating change in this conversation with Jeremy.        Your mission is critical. Your resources are finite. You need a partner that can deliver customized, scalable, and relevant donor communications that increase response and maximize net long-term revenue for your cause.  You need Altus Marketing.

Glenn Cranfield is President and CEO at Nashville Rescue Mission, and Host of the Real Hope podcast.  In this conversation, Glenn talks with me about four key values that guide his work and ministry at Nashville Rescue Mission, including: Extravagant Faith – Sometimes we’re forced into situations where all we have is faith. Impossible situations where people think there’s no hope.  Radical Hospitality – Understanding that the person who is with you in the moment is the most important person in the world, and treating them that way. Focusing on showing others love, dignity, and value.  Excellence – We can’t ever be perfect, and we know that. But we can strive to be perfect, and in that, practice excellence in all we do.  Culture of Honor – Imagine how amazing the world would be if we each individually would strive to put others above ourselves, and to show dignity, value, and worth to others.  We also talked about conflict inside organizations. Unlike some leaders in our sector, Glenn’s perspective is that conflict is both good and necessary. In fact, he makes a key point by sharing that the popular scripture verse (Prov 27:17), “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens the wits of another” requires conflict — because it’s only in coming into contact that two pieces of iron can sharpen each other. In the same way, it’s only in conflict that two people can sharpen one another. That’s not to say that every time we experience conflict we’ll come out agreeing. But healthy conflict means we’ll engage directly with one another, engage deeply to share and learn from one another, and come away with deeper understanding of the other’s perspective and a broader understanding of the situation in question.  There’s a lot more to this episode and Glenn’s leadership insights. I hope you are as inspired by this discussion as I was!   Your mission is critical. Your resources are finite. You need a partner that can deliver customized, scalable, and relevant donor communications that increase response and maximize net long-term revenue for your cause.  You need Altus Marketing.

The definition of culture is the distance between who you say you are and how you act.  Ken Brissa became Chief Executive Officer at Phoenix Rescue Mission in February of 2020, just days before the country went into full crisis mode in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.   In the months since Ken began his leadership journey at Phoenix Rescue Mission, much has changed at the mission, throughout Phoenix, and across our nation. But the principles of leadership that helped shape Ken’s career before COVID have remained consistent. We sat down recently to talk about Ken’s leadership journey and experience in the nonprofit sector. In our conversation we covered critical topics like:  Why you should empower your team to build culture from the bottom up in your organization instead of pushing culture change from the top down. The importance of making communication (quantity AND quality) a key component of your leadership strategy. Why collaboration is a critical value for leaders, and how collaboration is more than just “working together”.  The value of “what if” scenario planning, and how it can help your organization respond more quickly and effectively to crisis situations. Why directly addressing conflict in your organization is essential to a grace-based culture.  The importance of identifying and cultivating a creative outlet, and how that can impact your emotional health.    Your mission is critical. Your resources are finite. You need a partner that can deliver customized, scalable, and relevant donor communications that increase response and maximize net long-term revenue for your cause.  You need Altus Marketing.

I’m continuing to explore a series of leadership conversations with nonprofit CEO’s, Executive Directors, and Chief Development Officers across our sector. In today’s conversation, you’ll hear a discussion with Elaine Streno, Executive Director at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.  With more than 20 years of leadership experience in East Tennessee, Elaine shares great wisdom and insights with us, including: The importance of humility and how that trait can influence leadership success Why working in the nonprofit sector shouldn’t mean personally sacrificing  Understanding that as a leader, you’re always under the microscope, and why that requires deep integrity How to have difficult conversations with employees without destroying relationships The importance and value of having strong relationships with your board Navigating the political and relational differences between front-line and administrative staff The difficulty of parting ways with long-term employees, and how to have those difficult conversations with care and compassion   Your mission is critical. Your resources are finite. You need a partner that can deliver customized, scalable, and relevant donor communications that increase response and maximize net long-term revenue for your cause.  You need Altus Marketing.

From entrepreneur to volunteer Board Chair, to nonprofit CEO, Erinn Rowe’s path to leadership at Harvest Hope Food Bank isn’t necessarily common, but neither are the needs of the food bank today.  I sat down with Harvest Hope’s new CEO, Erinn Rowe recently to talk about her journey from board chair to food bank CEO, what she’s learned along the way, and key leadership insights she’s gained throughout her career.  In this conversation we covered topics like: How values like empathy, integrity, and honesty are the critical building blocks of leadership and successful organizations The challenges of developing and cultivating corporate culture in an environment where some team members have never met face-to-face, and other COVID-related challenges How empathetic leadership creates emotional and psychological safety for teams The importance of honoring each team member’s humanity, and how an employee’s personal experiences impact their work Insights on how to live out your core values daily as a leader Why you can train for skills, but not for character — and how to address issues of character in your organization What it’s like to transition from volunteer board chair to full-time CEO, and what you can learn from that transition The value of clarity, honesty, and direct communication in organizations This is a great conversation that any nonprofit leader or future leader will gain value from — I hope you enjoy it!   Your mission is critical. Your resources are finite. You need a partner that can deliver customized, scalable, and relevant donor communications that increase response and maximize net long-term revenue for your cause.  You need Altus Marketing.

The world of philanthropy is changing by the day right now. From the pandemic to artificial intelligence, to the dramatic increase in giving through Donor Advised Funds (DAF), and even the gamification of giving. So much is changing so quickly. But one thing is clear…donors continue to dictate the terms. With so much changing, I was thrilled to sit down with my friend, Paul D’Alessandro, Founder of High Impact Nonprofit Advisors, and author of the brand new book, The Future of Fundraising: How Philanthropy’s Future is Here with Donors Dictating the Terms. Paul wrote this book after a lengthy and successful career in philanthropy where he’s met with more than 4,000 individual high net worth donors and raised more than $1 Billion for charitable causes!  You’ll want to check out this conversation that covers so many important topics, including: How Artificial Intelligence is impacting fundraising, and what that means for the future of the individual fundraiser The positives and negatives of donor advised funds, and what this giving vehicle holds for the future of our industry How platforms like Twitch and others impacting fundraising, and what that means for donor engagement and nonprofit revenue generation in the future The emerging risks to donor privacy and how that could negatively impact giving in the future The dirty secrets of fundraiser compensation     This episode of the Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast is brought to you by Altus Marketing.  At Altus Marketing, they believe that cookie cutters belong in your kitchen drawer, not in your fundraising agency’s tool box. That’s why they create fully custom fundraising campaigns, backed by sophisticated analytics and machine learning, that drive massive revenue growth for you. Check them out today to learn how their customized direct response fundraising solutions can improve donor engagement and revenue for your nonprofit. 

Sarah Lee is Chief Operating Officer at New Story, an innovative, growth-focused organization that behaves more like a Silicon Valley start-up than a traditional nonprofit. New Story is on a mission to solve the global homelessness crisis by creating solutions that are cheaper to develop, higher quality than traditional housing options, and able to get into market faster than typical solutions. In our conversation we talked about innovation and growth in the nonprofit sector, and how New Story is charging forward to change the way organizations address complex global challenges more effectively. Highlights from our conversation are:  Believing that nonprofit organizations should be held to higher (not lower) standards of effectiveness.How a 100% donation model and key investment partners help them achieve greater impact.The role that talent plays in their ability to deliver effective solutions and to grow and scale their impact.The need to balance advances in technology and innovation with mission delivery, and how organizations should think about that balance. The value of long-term thinking and how that changes the strategic approach for an organization. The importance of hiring people who embrace a "founder" mindset, and how that changes the way an organization operates. 

If you want to be a successful major gift fundraiser, one of the most important traits you'll need is courage. Courage to overcome the fear of failure that so many of us face in asking donors to invest in our causes. Fear of not just hearing "no", but failing our organizations and letting down those we're committed to serving. Julie Ordoñez is the Founder of Courage Lab, a coaching and training program to help fundraisers and nonprofit leaders face their fears and build the skills and resilience necessary to raise significantly more money for mission impact. But Julie isn't just a coach or teacher of fundraising theory. She's a proven front-line fundraiser. She's done everything from running a one-person fundraising shop to achieving success as a top 1% major gift fundraiser for United Way of Los Angeles. We connected recently with Julie to learn more about the importance of courage in fundraising, and what holds people and organizations back from achieving success in their fundraising efforts. Some of the key takeaways you'll enjoy from our conversation are:Fundraising problems are actually organizational leadership and culture problems that manifest in revenue challenges.The risks of believing that only you and your employees care deeply about your cause (and that your donors don't care as much as you do).The importance of empathy for fundraisers and donors alike.Why the way we each view money in our personal lives impacts our ability to make significant asks. No, COVID-19 hasn't diminished the capacity of major donors (mostly), and why this line of thinking destroys your fundraising potential.The importance of asking great questions and listening to donors.Why you should stop looking outside your organization for major donors and instead invest in building relationships with your current supporters.The value of prioritizing important tasks like actually calling and speaking to your donors, and why that's so difficult for many fundraisers. This episode of The Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast is brought to you by my friends at Virtuous. If you want to create meaningful connection with donors instead of putting distance between your supporters and your cause, you need to know Virtuous. The responsive fundraising platform created by Virtuous unifies fundraising, marketing, and donor development activities to deliver dynamic campaigns that engage supporters in more meaningful ways. Download a copy of their Responsive Fundraising Playbook today!

Matt Hackler is Vice President of Strategic Capacity Building with Feeding America. Like many of us, Matt says he "fell into" fundraising before joining Feeding America. In his current role, Matt leads a team of experts across multiple disciplines to help local member food banks increase their capacity to serve children, families, seniors and individuals experiencing hunger across the U.S.Matt and I connected recently to talk about COVID-19's impact on fundraising in general, on Feeding America nationally, and on individual member food banks. We covered a lot of ground, including:How food banks learned from the 2008 - 2010 financial crisis and changed their approach to crisis fundraising as a result.The spike in giving due to COVID-19, and whether donors who came on file as a result of COVID are "emergency response" donors, or "recession" donors (and what that means for your future fundraising efforts).When is the right time to stop talking to donors about COVID-19?The role of brand in fundraising, both nationally and in local communities across the U.S.How food banks have historically relied on volume-based tactical fundraising efforts instead of relationship-based philanthropy -- and why that needs to evolve for the future. Feeding America is seeing that donors who gave in response to COVID-19 are giving more frequently, retaining at higher rates, giving higher average gifts, and converting to monthly ongoing support at higher levels than the average donor -- and what this means for the future of hunger relief funding.Whether you're working in hunger relief or a completely different kind of nonprofit, you'll want to catch this episode with Matt. His insights are relevant no matter what your organization's focus! This episode of The Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast is brought to you by my friends at Virtuous. If you want to create meaningful connection with donors instead of putting distance between your supporters and your cause, you need to know Virtuous. The responsive fundraising platform created by Virtuous unifies fundraising, marketing, and donor development activities to deliver dynamic campaigns that engage supporters in more meaningful ways. Download a copy of their Responsive Fundraising Playbook today!