Nonprofit Lowdown

Listen in on my conversation with Karene Richards as she talks about her experience as a philanthropist and board member.  We directly confront myths about the lack of Black wealth and Black philanthropists and she shares some of her tips for engaging philanthropists of color.  Ultimately, it's all about relationships, people.  Karene majored in math, is a former banker and launched her own fitness consulting business.  When she's not helping people to pump iron, she models in bikini competitions and gives back to her community.  Seriously, check out the befores and afters from her biz. For more about Karene, visit: https://fithiddenfigure.com/

This interview was a total delight.  Join me and my friend Adili as he walks us through how he doubled his budget in one year via strategic partnerships and Facebook fundraising.  He shares how analysis of his competitive advantage led him to partner and generate revenues from bigger partners and the value of making others "the hero."  Adili is warm, knowledgeable and an all-around mensch.   To connect with Adili, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adili-kea-bbab75151/

If organizational change is hard, try doing it with a 100+ year old institution.  Join me and my friend Carole Wacey as we talk about how she bravely took the reins of WCC in NYC and took on the challenge of revamping its mission, its board, its staff and how it does business.  Listen in on the details of her cultural change efforts, how she dealt with dissenters and even an attempted coup (!). Carole is smart, straightforward and doesn't pull any punches.  This is a must-listen for EDs who are driving change. To connect with Carole, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carole-wacey-82397a160/

If you are like me, the world of online marketing and paid ads is just head-spinning.  Join me and my pal Rishi to talk about how to get started with a paid ad strategy, how to use your (FREE) Google ads grant and what paid ads are for.  If you have found your prospect pipeline and email list a little dry, then paid ads might be a strategy for you.  In this interview, we talk about WHY paid ads, how to best use them and what metrics we can track to know if our time and money are being put to good use.  We also dispel some misconceptions about paid ads (no, you probably won't get donations rolling in the door).  This is a really helpful primer for those who are new to paid ads. For more about Rishi, check out: https://risingroaddigital.com/about

Ever get the sense that your fundraising efforts are not driving forward your results?  Ever feel like you're experiencing paralysis by analysis?  Join me and Greg Warner, Founder and CEO of MarketSmart, to talk about how to use new technology to support the fundamental basics of fundraising.  How can you use surveys to start a conversation?  How do you lead with questions to build trust?  How are you the Yoda to your donor's Luke Skywalker?  This is a juicy conversation that overturns a lot of our assumptions about fundraising. To learn more about Greg, check out: https://imarketsmart.com/ For a free copy of Engagement Fundraising, click here

This episode will save you organizational change agents a lot of time and grief.  Have you ever been charged with leading change?  Ever wondered why the path was never as smooth as the plan?  Short answer: humans.  Nancy helps us to identify some of the major blockers of change, and how we reframe it.  She talks about empathy as the "Swiss Army knife" of change and how one little acronym (SCARF) can unlock your understanding of working better with humans.  This episode is chockfull of useful advice! For more about Nancy, click here: https://www.csrcommunications.com/about-us/ Some of Nancy's favorite resources: Influence Pre-suasion SCARF Model Nonviolent Communication

Have you felt your fundraising mojo drain a little?  Do you dread fundraising?  If so, this interview is FOR YOU.  Join me and my new friend Mark as we discuss all the ways in a little change of perspective can make you go from "ugh" to "Yasss!"  We talk about how to put your own positive energy towards fundraising, how to make it real for your donors and, most importantly, how to have fun with it.  It's your calling--let's try to find some joy in it. For more about Mark, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markaneidigsr/ 

Join me and my two friends, Evin and Jessica of America on Tech, to discuss their success as start-up founders.  Evin and Jessica are best friends and co-founders of a fast-growing organization that scaled from idea to national nonprofit in only seven years.  They discuss their lessons learned, what they wish they had done differently and how they were able to build hype from the beginning.  Learn how they their background in tech informed their start-up strategy and what is next for this dynamic duo.   For more about America on Tech, visit: https://www.americaontech.org/

This is a super-fun and nerdy conversation about how to systemize your fundraising systems as a small shop.  We also chat about specifics in major gift fundraising, Duane's favorite hacks and how to manage your time effectively (timeblocks!). Duane, a Director of Development at UC Irvine, shares his clear-eyed strategies on how to implement the habits and tools to be an effective fundraiser in a small shop.   For more about Duane, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duanerohrbacher Duane's list of favorite books: Atomic Habits Ultra-Learning  Deep Work

Are you overwhelmed with all of the different social media platforms?  Do you feel like social media is just one of those things you "have to do," but don't really know how to monetize?  Join me and my friend Steve Larosiliere, Founder of Stoked, to talk about his social media strategy and how he's been able to build followers, parlay his social media into donors and corporate sponsors and how to not get overwhelmed.  Steve is one of the most gifted and creative people I know in nonprofit. For more about Steve and Stoked, check out: https://www.stoked.org/