The Build Good Fundraising Podcast

Send us a textOn this podcast, we often focus on improving the craft of fundraising. But we rarely talk about the mindset is takes to be a fundraiser—and be proud of it.The truth is, most of us likely started out as reluctant fundraisers. We  "fell into" the job, and learned to love it along the way. And while there is plenty of training out there to learn best practice fundraising, there is little support to help fundraisers change their thought patterns and beliefs around fundraising.Enter today's guest, Cindy Wagman. She's the founder of The Good Partnership and author of Raise It: the reluctant fundraiser's guide to raising money without selling your soul. If you've ever felt like you're selling your soul when you're fundraising; if you've ever felt fear, panic or even guilt when asking donors for money, then this conversation with Cindy will be like healing balm for your soul.Today we’ll cover:[03:26] - What is a Small Nonprofit?    [06:18] - False beliefs about fundraising    [13:27] - Helping your program staff adopt the right mindset[16:54] - How practice changes the story around fundraising    [24:57] - The false belief that a donor will give when they are ready to give not when we ask    [27:53] - Giving the donor the freedom to make a choice    [31:04] - Why it might be arrogant not to ask for money    [36:49] - How to overcome fear of rejection    [41:07] - Scarcity Mindset           [42:19] - Cindy's encouragement for nonprofit leaders and fundraisersGet connected:Cindy would love to connect with you. Our listeners can get her book for 10% off at www.raiseitbook.com using the code BUILD. You can also find her at thegoodpartnership.comPlease 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 textIf you are struggling to use social media—particularly Facebook—to drive revenue and contribute to your fundraising, today's episode is for you.We are talking to Julia Campbell, the author of Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits. Julia runs a digital marketing consulting business, where she helps nonprofits stop spinning their wheels on social media and start getting real results.You'll learn how to give donors and supporters what they want. You'll hear why you shouldn't use social media as a megaphone to just promote your agenda. And you'll find out why you should be running Facebook ads all year round.Today we’ll cover:[02:11] - The Catch 22 of Digital Marketing    [08:07] - The business case for why social media matters in 2021    [12:19] - The number 1 thing nonprofits get wrong about social media    [20:00] - The power of targeted social ads    [23:02] - Why you should run ads all year long    [30:23] - Asking followers to start fundraisers for you    [37:14] - Julia's encouragement for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers    Get connected:Julia would love to connect with you. You can find her on her podcast, Nonprofit Nation, and at jcsocialmarketing.comPlease 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 textDid you know monthly donors are six times more likely to become legacy donors?They are the most committed and loyal to your organization. They're in the habit of giving to you every single month. And many have been with you for years.Yet, most nonprofits don't really consider monthly donors in their legacy marketing.That's why today's guest is going to show you a powerful way to create long term revenue for your organization by focusing on both monthly giving and legacy marketing together. Ligia Peña is an international legacy consultant with over 20 years of experience, working for large organizations like Greenpeace and small to mid-sized shops.So grab a notepad, pen and a cup of coffee...because Ligia brings so much value in this episode. Today we’ll cover:[03:57] - Common Legacy Giving Myths that need to be debunked    [13:05] - Examples of surprising and meaningful legacy gifts    [17:04] - If asking monthly donors for legacy gifts will hurt your monthly giving program    [23:07] - How to identify which monthly donors we should be reaching out to for legacy gifts    [31:48] - Understanding your donors when you don't have the right information[39:44] - How to start talking to your monthly donors about legacy gifts    [43:01] - Expectations and evaluating your legacy giving program    [50:50] - Ligia's encouragement for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers    Get connected:Ligia would love to connect with you. You can find out more about her and get access to free resources at globetrottingfundraiser.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 textHave you ever wished you could read your donors’ minds?  Today's podcast is going to give you a three-step framework you can use to gain some insight into your donors' preference and giving behaviour. We're talking to Cherian Koshy, Director of Development for the De Moines Performing Arts. Cherian is the world's only certified mind genomics advisor in the nonprofit sector. He spends a lot of time trying to figure out how donors think, how they make decisions, and how to use tools and research to actually lead our donors toward greater generosity.The approach he's going to share with you today has been used by some of the world's largest brands to create products that people actually want to buy. You can start using some of these principles too —even if you don't have a huge marketing and fundraising budget.  Today we’ll cover:[2:34] - The problem with getting donor feedback[6:20] - Getting specific about what you want your donor to do[12:08] - Planning the steps to your key behaviour[18:34] - Listing barriers and biases that may get in the way[30:02] - Knowing when to test and how to validate your work [37:21]- Getting into preference analysis[43:20] - Cherian’s encouragement for nonprofit leaders and fundraisersGet connected:Cherian would love to connect with you. If you want to learn more, you can find him on Linkedin and Twitter, as well as, cheriankoshy.orgPlease 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 textAcquiring new donors is hard—and expensive. It's also necessary. But are you missing out on your best source of donor acquisition? It's lapsed donors. It’s easy to forget about them, but that would be a tragic thing to do. Because you’ll be ignoring people who have proven that they care about the issue your nonprofit is trying to solve in the world. And because you'll be leaving money on the table. If you've never tried to re-activate donors who haven't given to you in a long time—or if your past efforts to win back lapsed donors have failed—it might be time to rethink your strategy. On today's podcast, we'll share The Win Back Formula—a simple 3-step framework that will give you your best shot at winning back lapsed donors.

Send us a textYou've heard it on this podcast. You've heard it at conferences, in books, and from consultants and other fundraisers: You should be using your data to make better decisions about your fundraising. And you've likely tracked the data like retention rates, average gift, and lifetime value. But now you're looking at some numbers asking, “What do they mean and what are the next steps?”Well, we've got some answers for you on today's podcast. Our guest this week is both a mathematician and a fundraiser. Kirk Schmidt is the outgoing director of operations for STARS, a helicopter EMS nonprofit in Canada, where he oversees the fundraising and revenue team. Kirk is going to go over some of the key metrics you're likely already measuring and then go further into how you can use those metrics in a more meaningful way. This is a very valuable episode if you're just getting started with data or if you've been measuring some of these numbers for a while. Today we’ll cover:[4:12] - Getting in the right mindset    [7:42] - Understanding retention rates    [9:34] - 3 Important retention rates    [12:20] - Understanding second gift conversion rate    [21:06] - Understanding reactivation rate and who is considered as lapsed    [28:50] - Understanding donor lifetime value    [35:54] - Avoiding lifetime value pitfalls    [40:35] - Understanding average gift numbers    [44:02] - Kirk's encouragement for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers    Get connected:Kirk would love to connect with you. You can find him on Linkedin where he’s always sharing new things he’s learning about understanding data and nonprofit organizations.Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. 

Send us a textYou already know that growing your monthly giving program, mid-level donor program, and legacy giving program are among the most lucrative fundraising activities your nonprofit can pursue. And chances are, you're already working on building all of them—but you're wondering if could be doing better. So if you already have a monthly giving program in place, today's show is going to be especially valuable for you.  We're talking to Erica Waasdorp, author of Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant and a brand new book called Monthly Giving Made Easy.  Erica is fellow direct response fundraising nerd, and in today's podcast she is going to share 5 tactics to level-up your existing monthly giving program.Today we’ll cover:[4:05] - Monthly Donor Monday        [5:47] - #1 Putting someone in charge of the program    [12:36] - #2 Growing your monthly donor file    [23:55] - #3 Cultivation and stewardship    [33:15] - #4 Create a Donor Retention Day        [38:10] - #5 Asking monthly donors to upgrade[46:02] - Erica's encouragement for nonprofits leaders and fundraisersGet connected:Erica would love to connect with you. You can find her book Monthly Giving Made Easy and follow her blog at her website: adirectsolution.comPlease 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 textFor many donors, the largest gift they will ever make to charity is the one they leave in their will. Carrying on their legacy and keeping alive the values that were important to your donors in their lifetime is a tremendous responsibility. It's also a tremendous opportunity for you to increase your organization's impact in the world. Most donors only include charities in their will that have done a great job of communicating shared values, stewarding them, and building the kinds of relationships that are mutually uplifting and significant.That's why the state of your legacy giving program is also a great indicator of the overall health of your fundraising operations—because valuable donor relationships don't happen overnight.If you are ready to launch, build, or improve your legacy giving program, today's show is for you.We are talking to Hala Al-Madi from Amnesty International. Hala has been the Legacy Giving Marketing Officer at Amnesty International in Ottawa Canada since 2013. She has helped lead the program's growth from $600,000 to just over 1.4 million, and she's also grown the number of expectancies by 75%. And over the last few years, she's doubled the number of self identifying prospects. Hala introduced a range of marketing approaches to achieve this growth, including trickle email marketing, direct mail marketing, sharing testimonials of supporters, launching donor surveys, and creating high-touch supporter outreach points.Today on the podcast, Hala is going to share how Amnesty grew their program specifically by doing things that charities of all sizes and budgets can do. Today we’ll cover:[5:40] - Unpacking the Legacy Giving mindset    [10:17] - Donor stories, donor response, and donor love    [16:43] - How to market your legacy program    [23:20] - Using communications from other departments    [24:41] - Using donor surveys          [31:50] - Responding to the donor you survey    [34:36] - Legacy giving during a pandemic    [37:51] - Stewarding legacy donors     [39:44] - Hala's encouragement for nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and marketers    Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here. 

Send us a textOne of the biggest challenges in growing a nonprofit is donor acquisition and donor retention. Acquiring new donors  is hard work. And it can be expensive in the short term, especially if you consider that the first-time gift most donors make won't cover the cost of acquisition. What that means for your fundraising is that you have to have a donor retention strategy in place—because donors grow more valuable every year they're with you.Today on the podcast, Claire Axelrad is going to walk us through seven action tips you can easily implement to improve your donor retention. Most of these tactics are evergreen, and you'll find that most of them are really simple. It's just that not many nonprofits are using them. Some take more of a commitment, but the return on investment makes it well worth the effort and the initiative.Claire has over three decades of frontline fundraising experience, helping organizations raise millions in support. She writes an award-winning blog called Clairification, and she also runs the Clairification School online. Today we’ll cover:[3:14] - Action Tip #1: Including a handwritten note with your direct mail appeal.    [9:23] - Action Tip #2: Add a handwritten signature to your thank you cards    [13:06] - Action Tip #3: Add a Handwritten note to your Thank You letter    [17:36] - Action Tip #4: Enclose tribute giving envelopes in your newsletters    [24:33] - Action Tip #5: Include tribute gift envelope in Thank You letters  [29:17] - Action Tip #6: Include an invitation to a free event in the Thank You letter    [34:34] - What nonprofits can do if they don't have facilities they can invite donors to    [36:34] - Action Tip #7: Send at least one dedicated monthly giving appeal    {39:07] - Your best prospects to become monthly donors    [43:58] - Claire's encouragement for nonprofit leaders    Get connected:Claire would love to connect with you. You can find her at clairification.com or on twitter @charityclarityPlease consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing The Build Good 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 textHow would you like to have over 25% of your revenue come in automatically, on repeat, month after month, in a stable and predictable manner?Today's guest is going to show you how to do it.Harvey McKinnon is the master of monthly giving. He's helped thousands of organizations raise billions of dollars in monthly gifts by starting and growing lucrative monthly giving programs. His latest book, How to Create Lifelong Donors Through Monthly Giving, teaches nonprofits how to build a low cost revenue stream you can count on year in and year out. On today's show, Harvey is going to walk through how you can grow a lucrative monthly giving program or improve the existing program you have in place. Today we’ll cover:[3:54] - The benefits of a monthly giving program    [8:43] - How to tell if an organization is ready for a monthly donor program    [10:28] - How to find the right offer and ask amount    [16:49] - Asking for donations with direct mail    [21:26] - Is the phone an effective way to convert monthly donors    [27:32] - Specialized email campaigns for monthly giving    [32:00] - Strategies for upgrades      [34:20] - Should you include your monthly donors in your ongoing direct mail campaigns     [37:56] - The common problems monthly giving programs face    [41:36] - Harvey's encouragement for nonprofit leadersTo take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com