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

Further Together: Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations

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May 2, 2022 • 35min

leading with "nice" with Mathieu Yuill

What makes a good leader? If you’re an executive director in a nonprofit, you're probably thinking about how you can be more effective and motivate your team to create a bigger impact. But what are these qualities you should have to inspire others? To learn more about what makes a great leader, I sat down with Mathieu Yuill, Founder of Leading with a Nice, consultancy that develops leaders. Mathieu has more than 25 years of experience in the field of communication and marketing, as well as a master's degree in management and leadership. Myths that Mathieu wants us to walk away from:Leaders only give orders. Leaders who inspire their employees are those who practice empathy, listen, and genuinely care about their employees' well-being rather than just the work.Leaders should hide any weaknesses. Honesty and trust are qualities of a good leader that requires being vulnerable, assessing one's own weaknesses, and communicating them to one's team.Mathieu’s  GET HG: qualities of leaders that inspireGratitude: Checking in with your staff and simply asking how things are going or offering them help is a way to express gratitude because you trust the person to do their job. You're also acknowledging that they're working hard and that you appreciate it.Empathy: Stepping into other people’s shoes to understand their circumstances. A leader who shows empathy toward their employees reduces employee absenteeism and has a more productive team. Trust: It is all about intent.  By communicating your desired outcome to your team and trusting them to choose the best path forward.Honesty: It is about understanding your own weaknesses and releasing control. Generosity: It is simply a matter of making time to mentor your employees and check in with them.Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“So if you have a report who's working on a project often what we do is we'll come by and be like, “Hey, you know, are you done with that yet? Or how far along are you?” That's checking up and that's like a doctor's appointment. Nobody likes it. But instead, check-in and be like, “Hey, how are things going? Is there anything I can help you with?”  That's actually showing gratitude and trust cause you're trusting the person they're doing their job and you're also acknowledging that they're working hard and you recognize like, “Hey, can I help you? Like I get this is a job that might need an extra set of hands.” That's a very simple way to show gratitude.””We need to understand how to communicate with each other and that's really the first base, the barrier to entry is do you know how to communicate with each other? ”Resources from this EpisodeLeading with NiceCrucial ConversationsCulture Code The Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Apr 25, 2022 • 42min

are you ready for a capital campaign?

A lot of people think that once they decide they want to start a capital campaign, they can just jump right in and start raising money. But it takes a lot of planning and preparation to make sure your campaign is successful. So, how do you know if your small nonprofit is ready to launch a  capital campaign?On today's episode, we’re talking all about Capital Campaigns with Sabrina Walker-Hernandez, Certified Consultant, Coach, Facilitator & Best Selling Author helping small nonprofits build relationships that convert into more donations. She's worked for 25 years in our sector from direct services operations all the way to executive leadership, and she took an organization with an annual budget of 750,000 to 2.5 million a year operations and launched a $12 million capital campaign in the US's third poorest county. Myths that Sabrina wants us to walk away from:You can start a capital campaign right away: If you are a small nonprofit, you need to build  your annual campaign before you go into a capital campaign because capital campaigns are all about individuals and relationships. And you want those individuals connected to you and your work before you ask them to dig deep into their pockets.You can ask any of your donors to give to your capital campaign: Yes - you can ask each and every donor to give towards your capital campaign (it’s not just about the big gifts), BUT you really need to have a relationship with them before you go and ask them for a special gift. You can't take a person from zero to $250,000.Sabrina’s thoughts on Capital CampaignRelationships first. Start with individual giving as you build your foundation. You have to have a relationship with people before you go and ask them for the amount of money that you're going to need to complete a capital campaign. Feasibility Study. Have a conversation with the individuals in the community to let them know about what you want to do and share your vision. Seek advice from people who want to be part of the campaign.  Identify the key person. The executive director doesn't necessarily have to lead, but you can identify a co-chair to lead the campaign or even hire a consultant that can guide you through the campaign. Phases of the campaign. You can start to secure your top gifts from your top donors and board members first. Depending on your strategy, you can also have mid-level, the corporate approach, and the foundation approach. Lastly, you can also have a community approach to get everyone involved. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“People will follow success. When we first launched this capital campaign and we talked about $12 million, people did not think it could be done. So we had to come out strong and so people will follow success, invest upfront in getting those top donors on board. It will break or make your capital campaign.”Resources from this EpisodeSupporting World HopeThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Apr 18, 2022 • 43min

shared platform/fiscal sponsorship 101 with Lizzie Howells

Charity vs. Nonprofit. You may or may not know that those two have different meanings! They both doing amazing, mission-centred work! But there are more rules and regulations for charities (if you’re in the  US, that’s a 501c3) which means it takes a lot more time and resources to get going. Many nonprofits have aspirations to become a charity, but one of the biggest questions I get asked along the way is - “how do we fundraise without charitable status?” You see - nonprofits cannot issue tax receipts to donors.Now - the short answer is that donors are not giving for the receipts.But the long answer is that there is a formal structure - in Canada called a Shared Platform and in the US Fiscal Sponsorship - that allows emerging nonprofits to issue tax receipts and then some!There are lots of reasons why this model is growing in popularity. So much so that Mackenzie Scott herself invested in today’s podcast guest’s organization - to the tune of $18.9 million.Join me for this conversation all about Shared Platforms with Lizzie Howell, Director, Shared Platform at MakeWay. With MakeWay’s shared platform, changemakers share a suite of centralized organizational supports, and coaching when needed, so more time and money can go towards building strong, vibrant, just communities and a healthier planet. Myths that Lizzie wants us to walk away from:Only big organizations can host a Shared Platform. MakeWay is unique in that they are the only Shared Platform host that has gone through an audit - so they have formalized the operations of Shared Platforms in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency. However, there are many smaller charities that also act as a Shared Platform for nonprofits that are aligned with their work.It’s just about issuing tax receipts. Established Shared Platforms do much more than allow your nonprofit to issue receipts for donations. They offer structure and support to help grow your impact. Lizzie’s thoughts around Shared PlatformSupport:  As part of a shared platform, you can have access to a wide range of operational administrative support on the backend including financial management, human resources, grounds administration, charitable compliance, risk management. You get to focus on doing the work that you want to do, and create change in the community. Efficient:  It's a way to operate within the charitable sector that's far more cost and time effective than becoming a new charity.Expertise: MakeWay has a great governance structure set up to support projects where they each have a steering committee who are responsible for providing strategic advice and direction for projects.Favourite Quotes from Today’s Episode“We really value the autonomy of projects to be able to make their own decisions around things like compensation, and again, different groups have, different values in terms of who they hire and what that looks like and at MakeWay, overrule, we have a commitment to equity, to economic well being, and we realize that we're in a position where we were providing guidance advice, and of course, with the legal employer.”Resources from this EpisodeMakeWayThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Apr 11, 2022 • 36min

leadership with Kishshana Palmer

Nonprofit leaders are always trying to do more with less. There never seems to be enough time in the day or enough resources to handle everything that comes along, but you still have to manage and lead your organization effectively.In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about leadership and management with Kishshana Palmer. Kishshana is an international speaker, trainer, and coach with a 20+ year background in fundraising, marketing, and talent management. When an organization wants to grow, find and retain people on their team, raise money, and more she is the fairy godmother they have on speed dial.Myths that Kishshana wants us to walk away from:You can do it all.  As a leader, you don't need to push yourself until you're exhausted because you think you have to. Invest in the systems and people around you that will allow you to let go of things and focus on what you do best.You don’t have enough time. Understanding how you work, what time of day it is, what fuels you, and where you busy yourself, so you don't have to do your work, this is everything you need to know if you want to regain control of your calendar.Kishshana’s tips on leadership and managementTaking rest and break: We have to rethink the way we approach rest. We need to release what used to work. And now start thinking about what is going to satisfy you in your adult life in this new season.The idea of bringing in play into the work is so important in order for us to start to grab those small pieces of reset that we need. You have agency and control:  You are the CEO of your responsibilities within the organization, regardless of your title in your organization. Understanding that you're actually in control of a lot more than you might think is critical when navigating the power dynamics within your organization.Leveraging resources: Leveraging tools and systems, developing your people and spending those dollars so that as you continue to grow. As you continue to deepen roots, you'll do so in a way that's healthy, that continues to attract folks who are there for longevity who want to have ties both to their work and ties to the community in a different kind of way, and who are healthy at work. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“Let it be the last year that at 2022, that I utter this foolishness because I want to be in a place where if something were to happen to me or if I just wanted to take a darn break that I have hired capable folks who can take on the work that needs to be done, to be able to move the ball down the field.” Resources from this EpisodeKishshanaco.comKishshana’s LinkedIn Kishshana's InstagramThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Apr 4, 2022 • 39min

from team to dream team with Ashlee Livingstone

The pandemic has changed the way that many teams work. More people are working from home, or in a hybrid arrangement. And as we rethink our culture, many of us  wonder how we can cultivate a sense of connection and create a unique and meaningful team culture in this ever-changing world? In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how to build team culture with Ashlee Livingstone, CEO of Our Forté. She has built her career creating curated and memorable experiences for people, and works collaboratively with leaders in building stronger cultures to help teams thrive. Myths that Ashlee wants us to walk away from:Building  team culture costs a lot of money. Applying humans first approach in teams does not have to cost you money. It just has to cost you time to focus on engaging with your team and making them feel that they matter. Team culture is all about company events. You need to do the foundational work ahead of time to build that team and show ongoing connection with them so that when it's time to have a year end celebration or a halfway point celebration, people are actually excited to go.Ashlee’s tips on developing teams with EDGEEngagement: Engagement is about connecting with your team and how are they connecting with each other? It is important for leaders to keep their current team members engaged and feeling connected to their colleagues. Development: Development looks like mentorship. It looks like understanding what your team member's goals and future is and what they want, not just what you see in them. Gratitude: To show gratitude you have to really know your team and you can ask them questions such as how do you like to be appreciated? What motivates you? Experience: Experience is about making your team feel empowered and heard. Helping them to enhance their experience at work.  Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“We can easily replace that person, people are replaceable, that mentality, even if you say it a couple of times, or you try and say it jokingly, that seeps into people. And so we guess the work that they're doing matters, but if they think they're replaceable or you can easily replace them, that's where they're not gonna feel connected to what they're doing.”“At the end of the day, people want to be seen and they want to be heard and they want to know that they matter.”Resources from this EpisodeOurForte.caTeams with Edge PodcastAshlee Livingstone’s LinkedIn Ashlee Livingstone Instagram The Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Mar 28, 2022 • 36min

working with consultants with Jess Campbell

Working with a consultant can be beneficial for nonprofits. They enable organizations to focus on keeping things running smoothly and efficiently by freeing up time for the bigger picture. But how do you find the right consultant for your organization? In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about working with consultants with Jess Campbell, Founder and CEO of Out in the Boons and a dear friend of mine. She is a trained nonprofit fundraiser who has worked with big and small organizations and runs a consulting business where she helps organizations to connect with the right consultants to get the help they need. Myths that Jess wants us to walk away from:Consultants only develop the plan. Some consultants like Jess, are committed to doing things differently. They are out there to help organizations not only get the plan, but also understand it and have the tools and resources they need to carry it out.Nonprofit consultants are always expensive. There is a large range in price for nonprofit consultants. The right consultant will have a pricing structure that works for you and your organization's budget.Jess’s tips on working with consultants Outsourcing helps you focus on your mission: Wearing multiple hats is common in our sector, but trying to do everything at once can lead you and your team to burnout. Getting help from a consultant allows your organization to do other tasks and focus on what really matters.Leveling of expectations: Before you decide to work with a consultant, Jess suggests that it is critical to identify the outcome that you want out of consulting, what your expectations and needs are to make this work effective for your organization. Matchmaking: In her own program, Jess uses matchmaking to match nonprofits with consultants based on their specific needs and areas of expertise. She also stresses the importance of finding the right match between the consultant's personality, working style, and the nonprofit's team.Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“And like you said, your experience working with coaches and consultants when you were in-house, I had a very similar experience. They came in, they wrote a plan, and then they left and I wanted to be more hands on. It's not in my nature to really set it and forget it as they say. And I think what I've learned in doing this for the last five or so years, is that it's so much more than a plan that folks need. It's really the execution. And I know that working with coaches and consultants can be such an investment. And so I've committed myself to doing it differently, which is really helping folks, not just get the plan, but understand the plan and then have the tools and resources to execute the plan.”Resources from this Episodeoutintheboons.me/the-rolodexJess Campbell InstagramThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Mar 21, 2022 • 37min

the brain science of branding with Chloé Nwangwu

If you’re a regular listener, you will know that we love exploring brain science.  And I am so excited to be exploring that in the context of branding. While I’ve been diving deeper into my own study of neuroscience, I haven't seen it applied to branding ever before. In today’s episode, Chloé Nwangwu, Brand Scientist, Digital Diplomacy Consultant, and Conflict Mediator, shares with us the brain science behind brands and how you can leverage that to connect more with your audience and create more impact with your small nonprofit. Myths that Chloe wants us to walk away from:You can’t fundraise without rebranding.  Before rebranding, think about how it contributes to the memorability of your brand and how it impacts your mission or the work that you do because if it doesn't, it's best not to do it.Branding is about your personal preference. Knowing the preferences of your organization's most important stakeholders is essential when developing a brand for your nonprofit. If you're familiar with these patterns and trends in your industry, you'll have a better idea of how to stand out from the crowd.Chloe’s thoughts around brain science branding Brand vs Branding: A brand is simply a system of ideas that influences the behaviour of others. Branding is brand assets that are memorable. So the job that your branding is meant to do is meant to capture attention because that's how the memory process starts. And then it's meant to be stored within the right part of your memories, your memory network.Brain Science of Branding: The definition of brand building from a scientific perspective is creating memories for people to recall or remember.  If you want your brand and your branding to be effective to do the job that you need them to do, if you are looking to have the kind of impact in the world that shapes the future, repetition is required.Behavioural Design: We figure out the steps that our stakeholders usually take between where they are now and the kind of behaviour that we would like to see from them. We can create an effective branding strategy once we know what the uncomfortably specific behaviour is and once we understand where they currently are. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“A brand's branding is really anything that can serve as a memory anchor for that brand. That just brings us back to the idea of memorability and attentional capture. If it captures attention, it stands a chance of getting past the brain's filters, which means it stands a chance of getting sorted into the right part of the memory network. Once it does that, it can serve as a memory anchor so that when people are making decisions about who to vote for, who to donate to, who to support, who to buy from, you stand a chance of being on that short list of people that they're considering are their considerations.” Resources from this EpisodeNobiWorks.comNobiworks InstagramChloe Ngwangwu LinkedIn The Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Mar 14, 2022 • 36min

reclaiming your passion with Shilbee Dhalla-Kim

These days it's easy to feel like we're not passionate about our work. Very often we get into the sector because we are passionate about changing the world. And then something happens over time and we lose that passion. And now we layer over COVID and isolation (and now a new global conflict) and all the other things, and that passion feels like a very distant memory. In today’s episode, Shilbee Dhalla-Kim, Passion and Social Enterprise Coach, talks about how we can reignite the fire within us and find balance in doing our passion without burning out. Myths that Shilbee wants us to walk away from:Passion is always a good thing: When there’s only one thing that makes us feel good and we give all our energy to it but less energy to other important aspects of our life, this kind of passion becomes obsessive and not harmonious.Passion is always about your profession: Very often we determine our worth based on our job. And then what happens is our passion for our job becomes the only thing that we identify as a passion. And then we don't find worthiness and meaning and value for other elements of our lives, where passions can also exist. Shilbee’s thoughts around Passion Harmonious vs Obsessive: To recover from passion burnout, you need to identify which of the passions in your life currently, or passions that you had before, may have lost their essence. Which of these passions would you describe as harmonious? Or obsessive?  Practice detaching our identity to the passions: Attachment of our identity to passion can prevent us from seeing other things that we might be passionate about. When our passion is so linked to our identity, it can create fear and prevent us from doing something new or different.  We must be mindful of how our realities and beliefs might come up to prevent us from exploring other things that we are passionate about. Embodied values: We need to identify what are those values that will help us stay anchored and grounded towards this better world. Passion can be one of our access points to help clarify our embodied values. We need to ask ourselves, what's the value that I'm willing to fight for? Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“So we determine our worth based on our job. And then what happens is our passion for our job becomes the only thing that we identify as a passion. And then we don't find worthiness and meaning and value for other elements of our lives, where passions also can exist, like me drinking this tea and drinking it mindfully and enjoying this to me, activates passions. But I think we don't give ourselves permission or that time and space or the language to call it that.““ We need to shift those values in order to create systems and structures and policies and laws and cultures and relations that can ensure that all of us can not only survive but thrive. And so, what are those values that will help us stay anchored and grounded towards this better world? I believe passion can be one of our access points to help clarify our embodied values.”Resources from this EpisodeShilbee.comShilbee Kim InstagramThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Mar 7, 2022 • 36min

upgrading your strategic planning process with Jennifer Riel

Strategic planning is one of those seemingly boring things that we need to do every once in a while to have a vision and clarity around where our organization is going. But I've never seen it done as an exciting or innovative process in most small organizations.In today’s episode, Jennifer Riel, IDEO’s global director of strategy (and probably one of the smartest people I’ve met), talks about how you can actually use that process to think about innovation and really have a strong impact on your organization.Myths that Jennifer wants us to walk away from:Strategy is about updating old plans: Doing the status quo may look risk-free, but it may be extremely risky because the world has changed, or we lack the capabilities, or whatever the case may be. Holding the same standard hinders us from seeing other possibilities that could lead us to where we want to be.Strategy is all about budget and a thick binder full of initiatives:  Strategy is a set of choices. And a choice means yes to some things and a no to other things, giving things up, trading things off. Real choices. And those choices are about how you are going to try to win in a particular way.Jennifer’s thoughts around Strategy “Winning” for nonprofits: Strategy is about making choices that will allow you to win and for nonprofits, winning means achieving ambitions and creating the change that we want to see in the world. Jennifer encourages not for profits to think of choices about what they can uniquely do and what should they uniquely do to create the change that they are after?Start with human-centeredness: Understanding the context in which you are operating is important for nonprofits.  You need to know what's happening in the community,  what are the folks that you are working with, and what is it that is working for them or not?  And use that to define the problem to be solved.Competitive advantage: For nonprofits, the competitive advantage is a reason a donor would give you the dollar instead of someone else, a reason to believe that you can achieve the outcome you're after more effectively or less expensively than someone else could. Knowing Your Capabilities:  You need to know the capabilities and systems that you will need as an organization in order to implement your strategy. Be honest about where you are.  Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“The starting place is to use your existing understanding of the world, your collective wisdom as a leadership team to say what is the problem we need our new strategy to solve. Start there, then explore the possibilities. So don't try to get to that answer right away, diverge a little bit and explore different playing fields, different potential sources of advantage. Those are the two fundamental questions. “Resources from this EpisodePlaying to Win by Roger Martin Jennifer Riel LinkedIn Jennifer Riel TwitterThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Feb 28, 2022 • 36min

leveraging LinkedIn with Dee Boswell-Buck

LinkedIn is known for being a professional social media platform that can help you find a job and make stronger connections with individuals in your industry. However, it’s also a great place for nonprofits to make new connections or do prospect research, or find people who can help or volunteer.In today’s podcast, Dee Boswell-Buck, Digital Marketing Strategist and Consultant of Boswell-Buck Creative, will talk about how nonprofits can leverage LinkedIn to advance their mission and grow visibility online. Myths that Dee wants us to walk away from:LinkedIn is only good for job seekers: LinkedIn is also a great way to build a business, share your content, connect with individuals who are aligned with your organization, start a conversation and move those conversations off of the profile. You can’t create meaningful connections on LinkedIn: If you are looking to build your online network, LinkedIn is a great place to start. In building meaningful connections, you have to be genuine with your message and engage intentionally with your audience.Dee’s thoughts around leveraging LinkedInOptimize Your Profile. Choose a great image for your profile picture. Include some important keywords about what you do in your banner or headline. In the summary section, highlight keywords about how you help, what your skills are, or other relevant services you offer. Build genuine connections. With LinkedIn, you can make connections with individuals within your industry or who share similar interests. You can engage with them by learning more about them before you send personalized or intentional messages. Be active and consistent. Dee suggests sharing content in your profile at least four times a week, by sharing relevant posts, and spending time to engage with your connections. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favorite quote on social media to share with us!“There's no set of rules, but you want to spend time on LinkedIn where you're actually engaging with those who you have connected with, or, you know, when you're surfing through engaging with posts that you like, because when you are engaging on content of others, and even if you're not connected with them, then that opens it up for others to connect with you. ”Resources from this Episodedeeboswellbuck.comThe Good PartnershipLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show

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