The Cause+Effect Podcast

iDonate is a digital giving system and fundraising software provider that exists to help nonprofits grow. Founder and CEO Ray Gary shares his vision of bringing excellence to the nonprofit world by building a unified donor account across all channels. He emphasizes the importance of giving the donor the ability to dictate how and when they want to transact and ways to ensure your organization is raising the maximum amount of funds. He shares the importance of connecting people by moving them from transactions to relationships and maximizing the technology you invest in. The bottom line? It’s all about today’s donor.

Trent tackles the last four points of our 10-part series, Top Ten things to look out for in 2021. He talks of the critical need for nonprofits to emphasize new donor acquisition, prioritize data, invest the surplus wisely and bring back the QR code. Finally, he explains why you need to focus on these things today in order to set yourself up for growth tomorrow.

What kind of leader are you? Kevin is the lead pastor of The Fellowship Church, a vibrant, diverse congregation in Texas City, Texas. Kevin unpacks what it means to be ‘aggressively obedient’, how your self-worth related to Christ affects those around you more than you realize, and how his new podcast is equipping leaders to lead the hard way – from the heart. Whether you’re leading a massive organization or toddlers at home, this message is for you.

With now over four billion active users on social media, the potential for expanded reach is greater than ever. But with that opportunity comes some challenges. If your social accounts were shut down tomorrow, what would happen to your organization? Are you too dependent? Nils Smith dives deep into this social dilemma, unpacking ways to avoid pitfalls that accompany social media in 2021, and the overwhelming need to move people to your deepest level of engagement through an omni-channel approach.

If anything has taken off in the last decade, certainly it’s audio consumption. In part six of Trent’s 10-part series on things to look out for in 2021, Cory Verner, President and CEO of ONE Audiobooks takes the mic to unpack how to maximize your audiobook strategy. Cory has a gift for helping ministries and publishers leverage this format… a format with the highest engagement in publishing. He gives specifics on production, distribution and shares a few landmines to look out for along the way. When it comes to demographics, the data doesn’t lie: Everyone is listening.

In part 5 of our 10-part series, Erik Rogers, D+C Chief Strategist for Major Gifts, dives into the importance of a defined strategy to invest in your mid-level donors and why it’s crucial to the growth of your organization in 2021. Erik and Trent explore how to identify a mid-level donor, specific ways to cultivate that relationship and keep them engaged, and intentional strategies to see year-over-year growth as a result of their giving. Listen today! One takeaway: It goes beyond simply the next gift… it’s all about seeing donors become truly invested in the ministry.

If texting is not a part of your 2021 strategy, it will be after you listen to this. In part four of our 10-part series, Mike Cantrell, founder of Ministry by Text joins the podcast to lay out the importance of integrating text messaging as part of your omni-channel communication plan… and doing it effectively. Mike gives us the two most important things to think about as you launch your text strategy and offers proven tactics for utilizing this popular tool. Text has the highest open rate of any communication channel today… the time is now!

In part 3 of our 10-part series, Trent unpacks the need to clarify your brand and case for support in 2021. In a world that’s getting noisier by the minute, what makes you distinct from other organizations and how do you communicate that effectively? How good are you at listening and how do you determine the felt need of your audience? Are you telling your story consistently? So much has changed in the last year, but we’ve learned a lot! Listen today for practical steps will lead you toward more impact in 2021.

Part 2 in this 10-part series, Trent welcomes our friends from Engiven, a company on a mission to crypto enable the nonprofit community. They unpack its functionality and purpose, some macro trends they are seeing, and when and how this currency might normalize. Don’t be overwhelmed! It’s so much easier and more accessible than you think.

Part 1 in this 10-part series, Trent talks with Rick Dunham, Founder and CEO of Dunham+Company, about a number of factors that are likely to contribute to what happens to giving to charities in the U.S. in 2021. Should we anticipate similar levels of giving in 2021 that we saw in 2020, or are things about to get much worse? Rick and Trent discuss several factors and their likelihood to contribute the philanthropic landscape in 2021 and beyond.