Small Nonprofit: Fundraising Tips, Leadership Strategies, and Community-Centric Solutions

Further Together: Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations

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Jul 14, 2022 • 41min

Building for inclusion with Christina Sackeyfio

RE-RELEASE CURATED BY BRIDGERAISE: https://www.bridgeraise.com/Anti-oppression, anti-racism, inclusion is an important conversation for our organization and there's so much work to be done around this. This interview with Christina Sackeyfio, Principal of Boldly Inclusive, articulates that space between an articulated inclusion or diversity effort and what you're actually putting into practice. Tune in to learn how to identify and address oppression, how to create an inclusive culture and how to benchmark your organization's effort on inclusion and diversity so you can track your efforts.Connect with Heather on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonheather/Liked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jul 11, 2022 • 42min

Corporate Fundraising Building Blocks with Heather Nelson

RE-RELEASE CURATED BY BRIDGERAISE: https://www.bridgeraise.com/We hear all the time about corporate fundraising as an ~easy~ solution to all of our funding needs and we see a lot of organizations not do it quite right. Not sure how exactly to get started?  We are joined this week by Heather Nelson, an incredible thought leader in the corporate fundraising space, who shares guidelines for creating that valuable partnership with corporations and businesses. In this episode, you’re going to learn:How to have the right conversation with the right person at the company or businessHow to build a successful corporate fundraising programAdvice on building and maintaining your relationship throughout the yearWhat your opportunities are in big or small businessesThe strategies you need to help turn employee engagement into financial supportCommon pitfalls and how to avoid themThrough exploring the relationship nature and the bottom line of corporations, Heather deep dives into what you can do to ensure that your partnership is one that is sustainable and lasts. That win-win partnership starts with a conversation.  Visit www.bridgeraise.com/smallnonprofit!Have a question that didn’t get answered in the episode? Need a cheerleader to help motivate you? Feel free to email Heather directly at heather@bridgeraise.com. We also love her partnership plan which you can find on her website [bridgeraise.com] along with more valuable resources!Liked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 27, 2022 • 46min

decolonization in fundraising with Martha Awojobi

The nonprofit sector has a problem with racism and white supremacy. Well, not just the nonprofit sector - a lot of sectors and really, society in general. But hey - this is a podcast for the nonprofit sector, so we’re going to be focusing on that in today’s episode with Martha Awojobi,  the curator of #BAMEOnline Conference, a series of online events that centers fundraisers of colour, showcases new talent, and gets to the heart of how we can dismantle structural racism in fundraising and in the wider charity sector. Martha is a consultant for non-profits specialising in event curation, recruitment and income generation with an anti-racist lens. The truth is that philanthropy has a long history of excluding people of color from their missions and communities—and it's not just about money. It's also about how we think about making change. Myths that Martha wants us to walk away from:Wealth is a product of individual hard work. The wealth in our sector didn’t come out of “hard work”. There was a history of wealth accumulation based on the  theft of knowledge and on slavery that has built the riches that we see in philanthropy.  White supremacy doesn’t exist in our sector. As a sector dedicated to “good work”, it’s hard to see that racism is also perpetuated. This is made worse by the fact that many people just put their head in the sand and don’t engage or want to talk about their privileges and how these systemic issues affect people of colour. We have to acknowledge that it exists and reflect on how we participate to create change. Five Stages of DecolonizationRediscovery and recovery. Acknowledging racism, colonial practices and harm is hard work. This is all about learning and unlearning and discovering the ugly truth of colonization. We are all products of a white supremacist society and the first step is to recognize it in yourself and really dedicate yourself to learning. Mourning. This is the social process that we are supposed to do together. It involves grief, anger, and sadness. It's not just for people of color, white people have to dehumanize themselves in order to participate in the system of racism. Learning to let go in sadness and anger is part of the process.Dreaming. This is about decolonizing the mind to bring in new ideas instead of using the same ideas that have been introduced by colonizers. This is perhaps the hardest stage, but also exciting.Commitment. Establishing the intention to manifest your anti-racist vision. Action. Select the steps that you want to take and do what you have to do. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“The lack of learning and the lack of willingness to learn, that lack of willingness to see yourself as part of the problem and to understand the white supremacist within - it's kind of all the nature of racism and white supremacy. To make it so ugly and so terrifying that people don't want to engage with it. ”Resources from this EpisodeBAME Online Conference 2022JMB ConsultingMartha Awojobi | TwitterThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 20, 2022 • 44min

five fallacies of fundraising with Nicole McVan and Tanya Rumble

We love busting myths in this podcast and in this episode, we are diving into more fundraising fallacies and why most of them are actually harmful for our beneficiaries, donors and relationships in our sector. Here to share their Five Fallacies of Fundraising are Tanya Rumble and Nicole McVan. These two have been showing up on virtual stages for a while now and I’m so excited to have them on the podcast to share their framework and how it can help organizations and fundraisers.Tanya and Nicole's Five Fallacies of Fundraising: Wealth is built by the smartest and most capable people. In fundraising, we often think of white donors pictured with a racialized person or community member who's benefited from the funds that they donated. As fundraisers, we need to acknowledge the structural advantages that allowed donors to build their wealth and debunk the myth that they gained it only based on merit because this narrative creates more harm and deepens inequity in philanthropy. The donor is always right. The donor-first-at-all-cost mentality essentially gives away all of the power and creates zero or very limited boundaries for the individual fundraiser and for the organization. If we continue to please and follow our donors it will be difficult to feel a sense of control and can have a negative impact on the direction of our program and mission. Donor centricity should trump everything else. Fundraisers should not subjugate ourselves, keep donors away from work and give away our power. Donors, by and large, don't want to be on this pedestal. Oftentimes it's the charity themselves that creates these recognition grids for donors. This fills the sector with unrealistic expectations from donors and later on drains the resources of the organization for stewardship and donor recognition. Beneficiaries are deficient and need a donor to save them.  Saviorism is when we center ourselves in the story instead of our beneficiaries. As fundraisers, we need to take an asset-based lens when we talk about our communities and beneficiaries that have identities that have been structurally disadvantaged from time immemorial, and we need to be thoughtful about how we position those. Resources are scarce, and we must fight each other for funding. Charities and fundraisers are worried about losing donors because our sector is built on a scarcity mindset of there's never enough, and we're constantly having to go out there to earn the money to be able to survive. But the reality is there are tons of folks out there who think about your charity in a different way. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“We're not fundraising for fundraising's sake. We're fundraising to make a difference. And if we miss an opportunity to connect with the hearts and minds of our donors, to help them understand how they could change the behavior, not just give money, we're missing a massive opportunity to move our missions forward.” - Nicole M.Resources from this Episodephilanthropyandequitycop@gmail.comNicole McVan | LinkedInTanya Hannah Rumble, CFRE, MFA-P™ | LinkedInthegoodpartnership.comLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 13, 2022 • 33min

the smart nonprofit with Beth Kanter and Allison Fine

It's no secret that nonprofit organizations are a bit behind the times when it comes to technology. There are many reasons why nonprofits are slower to adopt new technologies, from a lack of funding and resources to the fact that many of them work on tight budgets, which can make tech seem like an unnecessary expense. Add to that the fact that as humans, we don’t generally like change - adopting new technology at small organizations can feel insurmountable.In today's episode, I’m talking with Beth Kanter and Allison Fine, authors of the new book “The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human-Centered in An Automated World” to share with us how we can integrate smart tech into nonprofit work to work more effectively and improve the impact of our work on the sector.Myths that Beth and Allison  want us to walk away from:Smart technology is neutral and infallible.  There are two things that can make smart tech biased. One is the assumptions and biases of the computer programmer who made the tool, and the second is the datasets on which the AI is being built, which it uses to learn and create its patterns. Cost is the main barrier for nonprofits to using smart technology. The number one barrier for nonprofits is not the resources and cost of the tools but the knowledge about what the tech does and how to use it to free up time for staff to work effectively. Beth and Allison’s tips on integrating smart tech into nonprofit work Readiness: The first step is really pinpointing the pain point from the end user's point of view. We have to go through radical prioritization of what the pain point is and make it tiny especially if you're a smaller organization.Setting: Know what are the tools or the technical partners that we should look for.  The vendors that you select with smart tech have to have values that are aligned with your organization. Mitigation of bias problems:  Be aware of the bias of the tools and try to mitigate the problems that it creates. One way you mitigate is to ask the developers what assumptions were built into it, how it was tested and then you can test it yourself.Go: This is where we start to implement. We implement it in really small pilots and set it up, learn as we go, and make it better. Favourite Quotes from Today’s Episode“It's really focusing on this reset, focusing on making the shift to smart tech so you can improve the culture of your organization. And both of them take this intentional work. And our dream is that organizations will embrace this because what we see if they do it again, this time to think time, to breathe a time to really improve the impact of their work on the sector. ” - Beth K. “You don't start to solve problems with a tool. You start to solve problems in conversation with a large group of stakeholders.” Allison F. Resources from this EpisodeThe Smart NonprofitThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 6, 2022 • 28min

everything you thought about your donors is wrong with Tim Sarrantonio

We've all heard the stereotypes about giving and donors: They're wealthy, they're old, and they're white. But what if those stereotypes are wrong? Perhaps it’s time to rethink what you thought about giving and donors, and start to understand who is actually giving and how you can reach out to in order to raise more money for your nonprofit. In today’s episode, we are going to debunk some of the myths that you know about giving and donors with Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand, NeonOne. NeonOne provides nonprofits and social good organizations with unified tools and services they need to help fulfill their mission. The team works hard to help social good organizations raise more money and build sustainable, long-term growth with software, services, and resources. Myths that Tim  wants us to walk away from:People with higher income are more generously.  Regardless of your income level, most people on average give between 1.5% to 2% of their income. People who earn more are NOT more generous!Philanthropy is for white people. The Urban Institute has done some multi-year analyses and the Federal Reserve in the US has done this too, where black families in the United States are more likely to give higher percentages of their annual income to charity versus other demographics.Giving makes people uncomfortable. When somebody gives, the brain's dopamine centers activate at a higher rate than either receiving or entering into a more transactional relationship. It’s important to understand that people actually WANT to give. Tim’s highlights on individual giving Showing gratitude: When creating a thank you note for your donors or designing an appeal, always focus on the person and not the transaction. You can highlight the generosity of the person instead of the amount of donation they gave. For example, instead of saying thank you for your generous gift - try thank you for being generous.When do people give:  Neon One found that Thursday is the day of the week that donors are most likely to give online and during the early afternoon around 11:30. Geographic analysis: Neon One also reports that donors are more likely to give to organizations that serve their local community. Small shops should look into the geography and demographics of the people who live in their community. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“And the best piece of actionable advice I can give a small shop is when you're designing something like an appeal, for instance, when you're writing your thank you notes or the emails that go out or thinking about when you are talking to somebody, ask yourself, am I looking at the person or am I looking at the transaction?”“ But ultimately, all people are generous. There are just different ways that they're showing their generosity. ”Resources from this EpisodeNeon One Individual Giving Report Neon One Resources The Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 30, 2022 • 29min

honest fundraising with Rickesh Lakhani

Having a “positive” relationship with your donors is a cornerstone of fundraising success. It's the key to building trust and earning loyalty, which is why so many fundraisers and executive directors are afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing. But what if you could be completely honest with your donors? What would that look like?With Rickesh Lakhani, we're discussing the importance of “honest fundraising'' in today's episode. Rickesh has over 15 years of experience in the social good sector, and he is the current  Executive Director at Future Possibilities for Kids. He believes that we are all responsible for each other’s success.Myths that Rickesh wants us to walk away from:Donors should only know about the good things in your organization. Being honest with your donors about the reality of your organization will help them understand how your organization works and how you are spending your funds. It can bring them closer to your organization and help you achieve more of your goals. Donations should only go to programs and services.  Allowing donors to understand unrestricted funds and how they will support your services in the long term will help your organization become more sustainable. Rickesh’s tips on starting an honest fundraising  Start with your team. Write down everything you wish donors knew about the work you do and tell them the realities of everything that happens within your organization that they aren't aware of.Communicate with donors.  Start having an honest conversation about fundraising with board members and annual donors, or with people you feel most comfortable with.Make it a practice. Building trust and relationships with donors doesn’t happen overnight, that’s why you need to make sure to include them in the conversation to help them understand how the organization works and how they can help in a more meaningful way. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“When I say honest fundraising, it's not that we've been dishonest, but there are specific things that we have been withholding from donors and proactively sharing with them that are keeping things the way they are and what we're wanting all this change we’re wanting donors to invest in the space differently and have a different relationship. And we're holding back on some of these conversations that we're all having amongst ourselves and we're not having with donors. And so I was like,  how are we going to expect them to understand and change what they're doing? If we, as the folks who are living this day-to-day, aren't letting them into that a little bit more?”“Trust is built through the good times and the bad, to the vulnerability.  ”Resources from this EpisodeRickesh’s Twitter Rickesh’s LinkedIn The Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 23, 2022 • 31min

the state of fundraising with Jacob O' Connor

Changes to the charitable sector? Indeed. You’ve probably felt those changes over the last few years—nothing like a pandemic to shake things up. You might have some anecdotes or stories of how things have changed, but today we’re diving into some of the research.In this episode, I’m talking with Jacob O’ Connor, Senior Vice President of Charity Engagement at Canada Helps, to discuss The Giving Report 2022 which highlights insights and generational giving trends facing Canada’s charitable sector that are taking place as charities are still struggling with demands and challenges from the ongoing pandemic, and now significant challenges brought about by historic inflation rates. Don’t worry if you’re not in Canada - guaranteed you will benefit from understanding these trends (because they are likely true where you are too). Key findings:Donors care about causes over affinity to specific organizations. The younger generation has a greater affinity for cause-based donations and support as opposed to giving to specific organizations. It’s important for nonprofits to know how they position themselves as contributors to these causes. This is a great opportunity for small organizations and underscores the importance of stewardship.Digital is here to stay. CanadaHelps saw a 119% increase year over year in giving in year one of the pandemic. Moreover, The Giving Report 2022 highlighted that younger generations find new and strategic ways to give online such as cryptocurrencies and securities. Jacob’s Key Insights on Giving Trends 2022The giving gap: Donors aged 55+  are actually giving twice the amount of the 25 to 54 age group. This gap is growing and as a sector, we need to think about where we will be when this generation no longer has the capacity to give?Cause-based donations: The way you tell your stories and engage with fundamental causes or movements, such as social justice and environmental issues,  will be very important to the next generation of donors. It’s important to know where your organization stands and how are you helping specific causes?Leveraging current trends and reports:  Further than just education providing insights, this report serves as a call to action that Canadians need to step up and engage with the sector and support the sector that gives us so much.Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“ Canadian charities have experienced rises in demand throughout the pandemic. In our panel, we saw that 11% of Canadians are accessing charitable services for their basic needs. This number,  if the effects of the inflation pandemic don't change, expects to go up to 26%, which is staggering. Charities are already struggling to meet the demands and then the effects of inflation. We need to do more, we need Canadians to step up.”“We want to amplify that the sector needs support. Even though the pandemic is coming hopefully to an end, inflation is here and yet it was a big drop over the last few years that we need to help the sector recover from. ”Resources from this EpisodeCanadaHelps.orgThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 16, 2022 • 26min

the power of "no" with Dr. William Clark

When you’re a small nonprofit, it’s hard to say no to any opportunity that comes your way. After all, you want to make the most out of every single day and help as many people as possible. But if you try to take on too much, it can be a detriment to your effectiveness as an organization. When should you say yes vs. no?We're talking with Dr. William Clark, founder of Eli Patrick & Co. which provides fundraising consulting to nonprofits. He has over 15 years of experience working in city government, nonprofit administration, and public housing operations. Dr. Clark assists nonprofits with developing sustainable revenue strategies and identifying talent acquisition solutions for growing businesses.Myths that Dr. Clark wants us to walk away from:Saying NO will cost you opportunities: In making important decisions, we need to think about things more intentionally rather than being driven by the need of the moment, which is most likely revenue for small nonprofits.You are always in control: If things didn't work out in your favour, remember that there are forces bigger than you that may have contributed to this as well, forces you couldn't and will never be able to control. You must accept the fact that you will not always be in complete control.Dr. Clark’s Tips on the power of "no"Know your capacity. One of the questions you can ask yourself is: Can you do the job? It is a question of skill, talent, money and partnerships and everything that goes into running a successful business, or non-profit.  Communicate.  Communicate consistently with folks that you work with, your consultant, your colleagues, and your board to get different perspectives and advice. When you said no when you should’ve said yes. Every organization has its ups and downs. It's fine to rethink things and reevaluate how we proceed so that we can build up this account of goodwill with the various people with whom we were doing business.Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Giving yourself space to grieve, grieve in the moment, grieve in potential loss, grieve in potential failure, grieving the fact that your view of yourself is not necessarily consistent with the situation. Grieve in the fact that some people may look at you slightly differently and it might not be favourable because of changes that they may blame you for. So I think a lot of it is just processing through. And as you've worked through that, you don't want to stay in that moment way too long, because there's still work to be done. There are still clients who are looking to you for services and resources and they need you. And so you need to process through these things, but get up, dust yourself off, get back on that horse. Learn from what happened and grow ”“ When it comes to yes-no, it’s just understanding the moment and living in that moment and responding as best as you can. And lastly being okay with that response. ”Resources from this Episodedrwilliampclark.comThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 9, 2022 • 27min

involving your board in fundraising with Elizabeth Abel

We constantly hear that if you don't have a fundraising board, you won't be able to raise funds as an organization. I don't believe that! In fact, I’ve had a lot of fundraising success without board fundraising. I know - call all the “gurus” and report this sacrilegious statement!How do we build a board that is all the things we require in leadership (subject matter experts, lived experience, community members) AND get them to love and embrace fundraising?In this episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, we talk to Elizabeth Abel, about how to motivate board members to fundraise. Elizabeth is the Senior Vice President at CCS Fundraising, a global fundraising consulting firm for nonprofits and an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania. She has designed, advised, and directed development initiatives and capital campaigns that have collectively raised nearly half a billion dollars, positively impacting tens of thousands of lives.Myths that Elizabeth  wants us to walk away from:Board members can’t be involved in fundraising: Board members can be one of the greatest assets to any nonprofit's fundraising efforts because they champion your mission, engage their networks and provide financial support. Board members should focus on major gifts:  You need to figure out how your board members want to be involved in fundraising, find out what are their strengths? And then how can you create that synergy that allows them to be fantastic multipliers and fundraising ambassadors?Corporate giving is better than individual giving: According to  Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020, individuals drove 69% of total giving in the US, which was about $324 billion. Corporations are estimated to have declined by 6.1% in 2020 to only about 17 billion. So there is a huge gap between where people think corporations are and where they are relative to individuals. Elizabeth’s Tips on Engaging Board Members to FundraiseFundraising Ambassadors. They bring a diverse set of experiences and skills and talents.  They are multipliers of all that you're doing programmatically, operationally, and of course your philanthropy.Recruiting and Engaging Boards. Many people just don't necessarily know what's expected of them so you can begin with setting expectations and educating board members in their role in fundraising. Best practices.  When considering how our board members can support our fundraising efforts, we want to prioritize relationship building. Elizabeth uses small events to engage and connect with donors as an example. Favourite Quotes from Today’s Episode“It's figuring out the ways in which your board members want to be involved in fundraising, what are their strengths? And then how can we create that synergy that allows them to be fantastic multipliers and fundraising ambassadors? ”Resources from this EpisodeElizabeth LinkedIn Elizabeth Instagram The Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show

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