The Build Good Fundraising Podcast

Send us a textHave you ever run a phonathon? They're a tried-and-true way of engaging donors and raising money, especially for higher education institutions.However, running a successful phonathon in-house is no easy task.That's why on this weeks' show, we're talking to an OG phonathon strategist, Clinton Crow from LEAD Philanthropy. Clinton signed up to make phone calls at Alma Matter College when he was a student—and was named the school’s top student caller four years in a row. He’s never stopped calling since, and today he’s helped hundreds of organizations run their own phonathons, including PBS stations and museums.You can find out more about Clinton and LEAD Philanthropy right here: https://www.leadphilanthropy.com/---➡️ 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 🔔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/channel/UCUAcZhCGk8PZeDfJtt3TRvA ---- 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 textWould you like to acquire,  keep and upgrade new donors online? And do it all using marketing automation? It's possible—by building a digital fundraising factory. And it's not as complicated as you might think.Today on the show, we're talking to Dutch fundraising expert Ewald Verhoog on how to build a digital revenue engine from the ground up. Ewald is the author of "The almost definitive book about DIGITAL FUNDRAISING', the step by step method to double your individual income."The book details a blueprint on how to grow your fundraising by 1% per week—which means you can double revenue every 72 weeks. And on today's podcast, Ewald walks us through the framework. You can get the book for free (plus shipping) right here: https://www.fundraising.love/homepage16287651338191631997541708 ---- ➡️ 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 🔔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, subscribed to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and : ---- 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 textIs your nonprofit profitable? Do you plan to run a surplus every year? When you cost out projects for funders or donors, do you include a profit margin? If that sounds like something you would like to do, but struggle to do, today's episode is for you. Because we’re not talking about generating more revenue—we’re talking about how to keep more of your revenue, using Profit First.Simply put, Profit First is an easy method of distributing your income into different bank accounts that are designated for different purposes. Mike Michalowicz, founder of Profit First and author of a book by the same name, joins us on the podcast today to walk through how you can implement Profit First at your nonprofit. So you can invest for the future growth of your organization. LINKS Get Mike's book Profit First at https://profitfirstbook.com/Sign up for our FREE video mini-course on creating effective fundraising messages at https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/ABOUT BUILDGOOD Your fundraising team is maxed out. If you ask them to create appeals and newsletters that reliably bring in more donations… how will they have time to steward donors and build meaningful relationships?Our done-for-you fundraising services help you avoid ignoring—and disappointing—donors. So you can raise more money, and do more good.If you want your direct mail, newsletters, emails and landing pages created by a team of fundraising experts for less than the price of an employee, schedule a call at buildgood.com.

Send us a textMonthly donors...we all want more of them! Today we're going to hear how Greenpeace Canada uses a simple email strategy to grow monthly giving. And the good news is: you can do this, too!Greenpeace Canada focuses on using open and honest emails as a core strategy to ask people who have signed petitions to consider becoming a monthly donor. And in just two years, they've grown monthly giving by over 330%, which is amazing.To tell us how they did it, we're talking to Miriam Wilson, who leads digital fundraising and donor engagement at Greenpeace Canada. This is a really practical conversation, and I hope you leave encouraged by the fact that there is a low cost strategy to grow your monthly giving that nonprofits of any size can implement at any time.Today we’ll cover:[2:40] - How email conversions compare to other channels    [7:55] - Greenpeace's schedule for asking for monthly donors via email    [13:44} - Greenpeace's asking of prospects and first time givers    [18:21] - Crafting an effective monthly giving offer    [24:07] - Greenpeace’s 5 segments for email: strategy and segmentation    [39:31] - Miriam's encouragement for nonprofit fundraisers and leaders    Get connected:You can find out more about Miriam and Greenpeace on her LinkedIn profile. Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To learn more about how BuildGood can help you raise more money from individual donors, and take advantage of our free resources, visit buildgood.com.

Send us a textYour offer is the single most important thing that makes a difference in your fundraising. It's how you move donors toward greater generosity and inspire them to give. But not all fundraising offers are created equal.Many fundraisers struggle to create compelling offers for their causes because they don’t provide urgent and tangible services like food and water and medical care. Their beneficiaries are not kittens or children or an endangered species.The truth is: it is harder to fundraise for some causes than for others. Today on the show, we're talking to June Steward, a fundraising consultant and a copywriting expert, about how you can raise more money with unsexy offers. Today we’ll cover:[3:08] - What is an offer and what makes an offer great?    [08:42] - Tying your offer into your vision    [12:51] - Approaching fundraising for an unsexy offer    [15:10] - Linking your offer to the end benefit    [17:04] - Understanding features vs benefits    [24:26} - June and Mike brainstorm ideas around an imaginary cause    [36:40] - Thinking about what the donor wants to hear and know about your nonprofit    [39:30] - June's encouragement for nonprofit leaders, marketers and fundraisers    [46:16] - Mike's short action plan for your next offer    GET CONNECTED June loves connecting with other fundraisers. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter or sign up to her newsletter at www.junesfundraisingletter.com. For free resources to help you transform your unsexy offers, you can download slides, a features and benefits worksheet to work out your next appeal offer, and a case study where we transformed the offer and appeal content to raise 4 times the income. www.junesfundraisingletter.com/fp2021webinarPlease consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

Send us a textOn the eve of the new year 2022, there’s no mistaking that the world has changed—and that includes fundraising.  The role of charity and public society has certainly changed, but so have the expectations of donors. Today, we invite a few smart fundraisers to share their prediction about what will matter most in fundraising in 2022. Today we will be joined by:[02:41] - Dan Sonners, VP of Conrad Direct [10:50  ] - Becky Endicott, Co-Founder and Chief Storyteller at We Are for Good[19:57] - The Janzen Boys performing “Rudy”[26:05] - Brady Josephson, Managing Director of NextAfterPlease consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

Send us a textFew nonprofits are using the phone to talk to their donors and raise funds. It might seem old school. It takes time, and it can feel awkward to call somebody up on the phone and ask for their support. But phone fundraising can be a very effective tool to not only raise funds, but also deepen your connection with your donors. And get to know them for who they are.Today is a masterclass on how to structure a call and how to write a phone script that you can use to guide a donor toward making a gift. To help us do that, we're welcoming back to the podcast T. Clay Buck from TCB fundraising. Clay is a fundraiser’s fundraiser, who has written hundreds of effective phone scripts and has deep expertise in using the phone to connect with donors.Today we’ll cover:[03:03] - The business case for using the phone as a fundraising channel     [12:40] - Introducing yourself and your organization to the donor    [16:56] - Building relationships over the phone    [23:39] - Making the case for support    [28:27] - Being transparent and respecting donors' time    [30:00] - Handling objections from the donor    [36:05] - How to end the call after a refusal    [37:55] - Ending the call with a pledge    [45:12] - Adopting the attitude that you and the donor are working together    [48:05] - Clay's encouragement for nonprofits leaders and fundraisers    Get connected:Clay would love to connect with you. You can find him at tcbfundraising.com or LinkedIn.Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

Send us a textGood fundraisers know that stories work better than statistics, that characters work better than calculations and that whoever tells the best story wins. Still, we sometimes neglect the donor's personal story...the story they are writing with their life. And if we start to understand that story, and those characters, it might lead to transformation gifts. But how do you advance your donor's hero story? What messages will resonate? Today, we are talking to Dr. Russell James, about how to do that. Dr. James is a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Charitable Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. In our chat, he gets into his research and insight on how a donor’s story affects their giving. You will leave our conversation with clarity on how to best serve donors through their story and encourage donor generosity.Today we’ll cover:[03:41] - Why Dr. James wants to study the brain as it does estate planning and charitable giving    [06:26] - Enhanced Identity: The value fundraising brings the donor    [12:04] - Identity, Challenge, Victory, and the donor’s story[18:17] - Why the donor's hero story should be the dominant story of fundraising    [23:08] - Not all types of gifts tap into the hero story in the same way [29:50] - Delivering the victory to your donor    [37:50]- The gift is not the victory in your donor's hero story    [39:22] - Understanding the value of different assets from the donor's perspective    [46:11] - Russell's encouragement for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers    Get connected:Dr. Russell would love to connect with you. You can find him on LinkedIn, where he would love to provide all his research and resources for free. Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

Send us a textLinkedIn is a powerful tool for staying up to date on career opportunities, but it can also make you more valuable as a fundraiser and nonprofit leader by building your personal brand. If you're on LinkedIn and you're not very active, you don't know what to post, or you're not sure it's even worth your time, this episode is for you.Today, we are talking to Anthony Jones about how to create a personal brand on LinkedIn. Anthony is the outgoing Director of Digital Media and Marketing for Ducks Unlimited. For the last 19 years, he has led the organization's digital growth and online fundraising team—haivng raised over $40 million in online donations since 2010. Anthony is also a prominent face on LinkedIn. He's built a large following and his new company provides consulting and coaching services to help nonprofit leaders transform their profile pages into powerful brands for themselves and their organizations. Today we’ll cover:[03:45] - Isn't LinkedIn just an online resume?    [07:41] - Why everyone needs to consider their personal brand    [14:15] - Step 1: Optimizing your profile    [18:27] - Step: 2 How and why you should make posts    [23:08] - Finding your 4 pillars of posting    [27:30] - Step 3: Engaging with other users[30:41] - How to find content you can engage    [31:48] - Step 4: Making new connections and expanding your network    [35:32] - Should you concentrate your energy on your business’ page or your own?    [36:54] - How to encourage your team to build their brands on LinkedIn    [40:53] - Anthony's encouragement for nonprofit leaders, marketers, and fundraisersGet connected:Anthony would love to connect with you. You can find him on LinkedIn, sign up for his online course at buildyourbrandonlinkedin.com, or reach out to him about consulting at JohnAnthonyJones.com Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

Send us a textGift catalogues can be a great way to meaningfully engage your donors in the work you do—and they can raise a lot of money. But how do you create one? How do you optimize it? How do you develop the offers and the price points? How do you choose which gifts to feature more heavily than others? How do you put it all together? There's an art and a science to it all, and today we get into it all with Brian Tucker from True Sense.  Brian led the development of the World Vision gift catalogue in 2006, and he saw it grow over 300% in a five-year period. Since then he's helped lots of other organizations create effective and successful multichannel gift catalogue programs. On today's podcast, Brian gets into all the tactics and the strategies that go into creating a winning catalogue. Today we’ll cover:[03:01] - Why Nonprofits should consider having a gift catalogue    [07:27] - Print Catalogues and Year End Giving    [10:08] - How large the commitment to a catalogue is    [14:40] - Why you shouldn't treat your gift catalogues like a direct mail campaign    [21:39] - How to conduct a detailed product analysis    [29:54] - Bundling gifts and add-ons    [35:38] - Optimizing your digital catalogue    [43:15] - Fulfillment of a thank you card    [45:44] - Brian's encouragement for nonprofit leaders, marketers, and fundraisers    Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com