Go Beyond Fundraising: The Podcast for Nonprofits

How is your nonprofit's brand significant in the lives of your loyal users? That's the question branding expert Cynthia Round asks every organization that works with her. The reason? Studies have shown that building and maintaining an emotional connection with your users is what inspires their loyalty. In this episode, learn how Cynthia has worked with some of the nonprofit industry's most distinguished institutions to ensure they remain relevant in the lives of their most valuable supporters. Along the way, you'll discover: - Successful strategies for discovering what your donors care about beyond surface metrics - Tactics for creating an emotional connection with your audience - Ways to encourage buy-in of a new brand identity across your entire organization This was one of our favorite episodes to record. Please remember to leave us a review so other listeners can find us.

In this special episode, Taylor Shanklin sits down with Trent Ricker, CEO of the Pursuant Group and Doug Cogswell, CEO of Advizor solutions. Ricker and Cogswell share insights of the state of analytics in the nonprofit industry, and the exciting news of Pursuant and Advizor joining forces to continue to innovate in the area of analytics and insights in the nonprofit sector.

As part of our Digital Summit takeaways series, we sat down with Kim Richardson, Director of Client Strategy at Pursuant. Kim attended one of the Digital Summit events this year and had some "aha-moments" to share when it comes to storytelling and breaking through the noise.

It's no secret that fundraising is rewarding but challenging work. Too often, nonprofit professionals rely on the same strategies despite seeing diminishing returns. What breakthroughs could your nonprofit make if strategists were not afraid to challenge business-as-usual thinking? That's what we sat down to explore in this episode. Cherian Koshy, Director of Development at De Moines Performing Arts, has led his organization to invest in new thinking and tactics. Tune in to learn: - Data segmentation strategies that uncover hidden opportunities - Ways to maximize the limited resources you have to find the right supporters - The difference between setting goals and a strategic planning process New approaches can be a lot less scary (and less risky) when you have the right information in your hands. Discover how Des Moines broke through old models of thinking to reach supporters in incredibly relevant and personal ways.

We sat down with account-based marketing expert Sangram Vajre to discuss the "secret sauce" behind donor loyalty. Sangram is the co-Founder of Terminus, and author of "Account-Based Marketing for Dummies." In our discussion, Sangram applies the timeless principles and powerful tactics of account-based marketing to major gift fundraising. You'll learn: -How to create a culture of "donor obsession" at your nonprofit -The difference between personal and corporate brands and how to leverage personality for maximum donor loyalty -Strategies leading brands use to create tribes of raving fans Tune in to grab these insights and more!

In the second half of our conversation with author David Brier, we learn the three questions every brand should be able to answer: 1. Who are your prospective customers? 2. What are their values and priorities? 3. Who are we and how are we an extension of those values? David also tells the story of how he helped a 70+ year-old organization refresh their brand identity and become incredibly relevant to today's generation,

Brand guru David Brier joins us to discuss how nonprofits can drive deeper loyalty with their donors. David is a speaker and the author of "33 Steps to Transform the Brand You Have into the Brand You Need." Many nonprofits don't think of themselves as brands -- which David argues is a huge missed opportunity. In this discussion, David shares his thoughts on: - the tactics legacy brands use to keep their fans - how to move beyond a transactional relationship with donors - the biggest brand mistakes and pitfalls that your nonprofit should avoid. This is part one of a two-part series.

Over the last few years it’s become increasingly popular for for-profit brands to make bold, sometimes polarizing statements in their marketing. By doubling down on their core values, brave brands have been able to grow their bottom line and their tribe of raving fans. How can nonprofit marketers benefit by adopting these tactics? It takes the right combination of courage, data-driven decision making, and knowledge of what resonates with your most valuable supporters. Our latest Pursuant Listening Experience unpacks insights gleaned from the 2018 Digital Marketing Summit. Taylor Shanklin, VP of Marketing for Pursuant, and Leah Davenport, Digital Marketing Specialist, discuss what makes these marketing strategies so powerful. A few topics we explore in this conversation include: - How your nonprofit can take a bold stand without alienating valuable donors - Ways to win donor loyalty by leaning into your nonprofit’s core values - How to achieve breakthrough fundraising results through calculated marketing risks Today’s leading brands are abandoning wishy-washy messaging in favor of bold stances that set them apart. Tune in to learn how to apply these principles in your fundraising efforts.

Just how massively important is it to say "thank you" to your donors? Those two short words can have a massive impact. But, just how much...? These are the questions that latest body of research by Dr. Adrian Sargeant and Professor Jen Shang set out to answer. In the recently released study: The Role of Donor Acknowledgements, we learn about the effect of saying thank you and answer questions like: - How long after hearing "thank you" do donors feel good? - Does it matter how you say "thank you"? - What does saying "thank you" mean for our donors' subsequent behavior In this episode of the Go Beyond: Pursuant Listening Experience, Taylor Shanklin sat down with Dr. Adrian Sargeant and Professor Jen Shang of the Philanthropy Centre to unpack the latest body of research and the "aha" moments that the two uncovered from the study. Be sure to download the study on the Philanthropy Centre website here:https://www.philanthropy-centre.org/learning-to-say-thank-you/

In this episode: Brands slam your donors with thousands of marketing messages per day. This means your communication needs to be more focused than ever before. The only way you can speak to the right people at the right time about the right things comes down to your segmentation. Organizations that approach fundraising from a data-driven approach succeed in rising above the noise. Framing messaging within a donor's motivations enables you to engage them more deeply with your cause. In our latest episode, we sat with Matthew Mielcarek, VP of Analytics and Insights Strategy at Pursuant, to talk about what it means to be more strategic with segmentation and how to segment based on donor motivations. What you'll learn: - What motivation-based segmentation means - How clustering can help you identify segments based on motivation - Tips to get started if your data is all over the map