The Build Good Fundraising Podcast

Lauren Isbell, the Executive Director at Nevus Outreach, sheds light on effective fundraising strategies that go beyond the event itself. She emphasizes the need for a holistic approach, capturing the importance of pre-event planning and post-event follow-up. Isbell advocates for nurturing donor relationships and customizing sponsor engagement. Discover how to make your fundraising events less of a one-night stand and transform them into ongoing supporter journeys. Plus, learn the art of the perfect 'Ask' to inspire lasting contributions!

Send us a textAfter longing for the kind of event we wanted to attend, we decided to create it ourselves.Today, Hannah and Mike walk through why we’re launching The Build Good Summit, an in-person fundraising summit in downtown Toronto happening May 22-23, 2025. The lack of world-class fundraising conferences in Canada has left fundraisers with two choices: spend thousands of dollars to attend conferences elsewhere, or miss out altogether.We’re putting an end to that.When you attend the BuildGood Summit, you’re joining our mission to bring Canada’s most ambitious nonprofits together, for good. By coming together and sharing methods that are working on our home turf—along with those working internationally—we'll all walk away with practical tips we can implement right now.In today’s show we talk about how we’re crafting the experience, how we use the flywheel approach ourselves to plan the conference, and how we chose the speakers.And if you stick around to the end of the podcast—listeners of the podcast get a special discount code to join us at the Summit. Don’t miss your chance to secure one of the 350 available seats. Claim your spot now at www.buildgoodsummit.com —➡️ Join our FREE training on how to build a fundraising flywheel that can 2x your revenue—without hiring more fundraisers or changing your tech and tools https://flywheel.buildgood.com 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. ➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Send us a textToday we're celebrating our 100th episode! Come sit down for a fireside chat (complete with Diet Coke) to share the honest story of how this podcast started, where it's headed, and what that means for BuildGood—and for you.Mike gets real about why the original podcast strategy was completely wrong—and why that might’ve been the best thing that could’ve happened. In today’s chat you’ll also hear how BuildGood has grown from a solo consultant to a team of 15 passionate fundraisers. Plus, you’ll learn some of the exciting results we’re seeing with clients—including one digital campaign that's generating returns that seem almost too good to be true.If you’ve loved the podcast so far you’ll love this peek behind the curtain at what's coming next—including some changes that listeners have been asking for.—➡️ Join our FREE training on how to build a fundraising flywheel that can 2x your revenue—without hiring more fundraisers or changing your tech and tools https://flywheel.buildgood.com 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

Send us a textToday we’re launching the Build Good Summit, and introducing the first speaker—Nathan Hill from NextAfter.Nathan and the NextAfter team recently analyzed how the fundraising of 211 nonprofits impacts donor retention.And in today’s chat, he’s sharing 3 key things you can do to retain more donors—backed by research and actual donor data.If you want to get fresh ideas to grow your revenue—and get together with other fundraisers who are doing interesting and innovative things to draw donors closer in to the mission—join ust at the Build Good Summit on May 22-23, 2025 in Toronto.You’ll hear from fundraising innovators who’ll focus on practical examples to grow your fundraising—stuff that’s actually working right now to help some of the most innovative nonprofits grow.You can get your tickets now at www.buildgoodsummit.com —➡️ Join our FREE training on how to build a fundraising flywheel that can 2x your revenue—without hiring more fundraisers or changing your tech and tools https://flywheel.buildgood.com 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. ➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Send us a textToday, BuildGood’s resident fundraising copywriter delivers a masterclass in how to craft fundraising copy that leads people toward greater generosity. Hannah Vermeer gets into simple, easy and effective ways you can change the words you use in your fundraising—and changing the words you use is free. It costs you nothing.  Whether it’s making your donor feel like they have an important and meaningful role to play, or crafting copy that’s easy to read and emotionally resonant, you’ll walk away with actionable insights to improve your copy immediately.If you want to create compelling, heartfelt, and effective fundraising copy, this episode is for you.—➡️ Join our FREE training on how to build a fundraising flywheel that can 2x your revenue—without hiring more fundraisers or changing your tech and tools https://flywheel.buildgood.com 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. ➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

In this insightful discussion, Dave Raley, a fundraising expert with nearly two decades of experience, shares his wisdom on building successful monthly giving programs. He explains the three types of monthly giving and the common pitfalls nonprofits face. Listeners learn about crucial steps for creating engaging value propositions and effective donor recruitment strategies. Dave also highlights how technology can bolster your fundraising efforts, all while creating a smoother cash flow and fostering long-term donor relationships.

Send us a text“Always be testing”. That’s popular fundraising advice. After all, the only way to get new insights to grow your fundraising is to try new stuff, test, iterate and optimize.  But how do you decide what to test? How do you set up a proper A/B test?  And how do you make sure you learn something meaningful from it? That’s what we get into in today's chat with Ronen Tal, the Director of Integrated Marketing and Fundraising at Nature Conservancy of Canada. He stewards a donor file of 40,000 donors contributing more than $10m in revenue each year. And he’s always testing new approaches to grow generosity. In our chat we get into:How to decide what to test Why you need a testing hypothesis—and how to create one The difference between trying new stuff and A/B testingHow to run successful A/B testsHow to interpret results to find actual insights To learn more about Ronen and his work, you can connect with him on LinkedIn.—➡️ Join our FREE training on how to build a fundraising flywheel that can 2x your revenue—without hiring more fundraisers or changing your tech and tools https://flywheel.buildgood.com 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. ➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Send us a textSocial media isn’t working for most nonprofits.If you’re watching your engagement drop while spending hours on content creation, you're likely about ready to give up on social media for good.And no one would blame you.That’s why we’re continuing our series on new donor acquisition by talking about these challenges head-on.We’re talking to Brynne Krispin from Cause Fokus about how to tap into the power of empathy to actually find supporters online through social media.In our chat, we get into: The challenges of using social media for fundraisingRealistic (and unrealistic) expectations from organic contentIncorporating empathy into your fundraising campaignsBrynne is a social media strategist for nonprofits and purpose-driven executives. Working with NGOs, thought leaders, and policymakers in DC for the last decade, she specializes in getting people to care about complex issues that might otherwise get ignored. Her team at Cause Fokus uses empathy-based marketing to turn passive audiences into loyal advocates—➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. ➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Kevin Harwood, a leading Canadian advertising specialist, shares his expertise on leveraging Google ads for nonprofit fundraising. He emphasizes that online advertising isn’t just about quick returns but building long-term donor relationships through storytelling. The discussion covers diverse formats like search, display, and video ads, offering insights for nonprofits with small budgets. Harwood also highlights effective engagement strategies, the importance of targeting demographics, and using platforms like YouTube to connect meaningfully with potential supporters.

Send us a textWe’re continuing our series on new donor acquisition—and today we’re getting into the basics of how you can use the Google Ad Grant to attract potential donors through digital content offers.The truth is, most nonprofits aren’t taking full advantage of the Google Ad Grant because they don’t know it works, or because they don’t have a clear strategy on how to use it. In today’s chat, Chris Barlow gets into everything you need to know to get started with the grant—and he also shares a simple strategy to attract new donors using digital content.  We get into the 3 key steps for a digital donor growth campaign:Creating a valuable resource for a community that aligns with your missionGetting the resource into donors’ hands using the Google Ad GrantConverting these new relationships into lasting supportChris is the founder and Customer Happiness Director at Beeeline, a consultancy that specializes in helping nonprofits grow their mission and donor base through digital marketing.—➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ ❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 Thanks for listening! ---- #Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. ➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com