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

Further Together: Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations

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Sep 20, 2021 • 27min

beyond the boilerplate - grant writing that works with Shavonn Richardson

Grant writing. It’s one of those things that every organization struggles with. Often grant writing seems like it’s a bad investment of time and effort - you put 100 out there, you hear 1 back. So how can nonprofits be more “grant-ready” and less overwhelmed with the process. On today’s podcast, CEO of Think and Ink Consulting, Shavonn Richardson, walks us through the key steps to prepare for a successful grant writing cycle. Myths that Shavonn wants us to walk away“Let’s start writing right away!”. Getting straight into the writing without doing any pre-work is not necessarily a sign of proactiveness when it comes to grant-writing. There are steps to set your organization’s grant strategy and writing up for success, See tips below.Shavonn’s tips on preparing your organization to be grant-readyBuilding relationships with funders. Do the research to find funders that are truly in alignment with your needs and values and have a conversation with them before applying if possible. This step will help you narrow down the list of prospects. Conduct a logic model exercise. What is the theory of change that your program has, and how are you going to deliver the impact you want to deliver? Articulating the logic model of your program will help you anticipate and answer so many grant questions that by the time you write, it will feel effortless. Establish measure of success and track metrics consistently. You don’t have to follow a grantor's definition of success, but you do need to establish your own measure of success and be able to track those metrics consistently. Regardless of which grant you’re applying, have these measures in place and develop the habit for tracking metrics now. Have a detailed program/project budget. Build out a program budget that has a very detailed, line-by-line program budget so that if the funder asks for a detailed budget, you already have it, and if they don’t, then you can simplify it. Train your board to take part in the process. The board needs to be involved in collaboration with the staff to come up with the strategic direction of programs, and they should be involved talking to funders when needed. Make sure your board understands their role and is supporting the staff.Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Really take the time and focus on quality over quantity and do the research to only select foundations that are really aligned with what you do. Not a stretch. Not outside of your current program. But are really aligned with what you do. And if you take the time to cultivate a relationship with that funder, you will go much further when you go to submit an application.”“A logic model will pull out all those juicy details that funders ask for. They will ask what are your smart outcomes? What are your short term, intermediate term, and long term objectives? What's your overall vision? What are your activities? How are you measuring them? One logic model can answer 500 questions that a funder would ask you.”Resources from this Episode The Good PartnershipConnect with Shavonn on LinkedinThink and Ink Grants Consulting Liked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Sep 13, 2021 • 29min

stop tripping over your triggers, an excerpt from Raise It! with Cindy Wagman

Our sector - especially in small nonprofits - is filled with reluctant fundraisers who were assigned the responsibility of fundraising so that they can keep the organization afloat. Reluctant fundraisers know a lot about fundraising best practices, but when it comes to actually doing it, fundraising still feels difficult and even impossible. To support all the reluctant fundraisers, our very own Cindy Wagman wrote a book titled Raise It! The Reluctant Fundraiser’s Guide to Raising Money Without Selling Your Soul. On this very first episode of the season, Cindy shares with us an excerpt from the book. Myths that Cindy wants us to walk away from“How dare I ask people?”  There is always a hesitation to ask because of our assumptions about donors and funders. A helpful reframe for this thought is - “how dare I not ask people?”  Our organization’s mission is too important for it to be sitting in dust and not rally people’s support. “If this strategy works for other organizations, it must work for us. Right?!” The comparison game shows up a lot for small organizations. The truth is - a cookie cutter approach to fundraising doesn’t work. What works for another organization is not a magical solution to your problem. Start from where you are. “We need this and that in place before we can fundraise” Is this thought true, or is this another excuse to delay the action of actually doing the fundraising? You don’t need a fancy branding guide or marketing plan before starting to fundraising. Cindy’s philosophy on addressing the root cause of fundraising painFocus on changing how we think and feel when we fundraise, rather than chasing for the magical solution. Recruiting a board member that knows fundraising won’t fix all your fundraising pain. Speaking to another organization that does individual giving well is not going to drastically increase your donations. If you are reluctant to fundraise, you will never prioritize it. Check in how our beliefs around fundraising show up in different fundraising situations. For example, before going into a donor meeting, what are all the thoughts that are showing up on your mind? How are you feeling? Write these down and see if these thoughts are true or just assumptions that you’re bringing into the situation. For more on how to change our mindset around fundraising, listen to the podcast and get your hands on Cindy’s new book and the amazing bonuses exclusive to the presale period. Pre-order your copy of Raise It! here today. Resources from this Episode The Good PartnershipPre-order your copy of Raise It! The Reluctant Fundraiser’s Guide to Raising Money Without Selling Your Soul and get all the amazing bonuses today. Liked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 28, 2021 • 39min

Finding your voice with Lucia Cesaroni

Do you get butterflies in your stomach before making a big pitch or presentation? To end the season off, we invited Lucia Cesaroni, world renowned opera singer and voice consultant, to share with us how to find our own voice and project it with confidence and ease. Myths that Lucia wants us to walk away from“I get nervous before presenting because I am not good at it.”  Everyone gets nervous. We’re biologically wired to get nerves before a big presentation. Our brain perceives the presentation as a threat. Our nerves are a signal that our brain is trying to protect us from danger. “I am not an extrovert and so I am not good at presenting.” Despite the fact that we’re often informed by the assumption extroverted people are better at public speaking, finding your own voice and projecting your voice is not related to introversion or extroversion.Lucia’s tips on preparing the body and mind for presentingDo some breathing exercises to find your own voice modulation. We often subconsciously model our voice after our role models or what society projects as our role models, without realizing that we have a tonal range and voice modulation that we can explore and leverage according to different situations. Tune into the breathing exercises that Lucia shares on the podcast to explore the different possibilities of your own voice. Stretch to take up more space. When you stretch, you will find that your body naturally sits up a little straighter and taller. When you take up more space, your voice will project with more confidence and the receiver of your voice will feel your presence. Take time before responding. Whether you are making a big speech, or responding to comments in an intense meeting, make sure you take pauses. Take a second to bring back awareness to your body and breathing. Take a second to feel your grounding, whether you’re sitting or standing. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“When our brain, mostly incorrectly, perceives a high pressure situation as a threat, adrenaline rises, certain chemicals are released. What we need to do is to learn to reroute that process, and that requires body awareness, vocal awareness and mental focus, mindful preparedness, and coping strategies.”“When we are confronted with a challenging situation, we have to focus on body first and brain second.”Resources from this Episode The Good PartnershipFind Lucia at Cesaroni ConsultingLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 21, 2021 • 27min

Giving Trends with Jacob O'Connor

How have donors been giving this past year? And what’s the outlook for the future of giving? On today’s podcast episode, Jacob O’Connor, Vice President of Engagement at CanadaHelps, comes to share with us the latest giving trends published in CanadaHelps’ 2021 Giving Report. Jacob’s highlights of 2021 giving trends Charities are adopting digital giving rapidly. During the pandemic, online giving grew 86% while overall giving decreased by 10%. While many charities needed to put a stop to their in-person fundraising efforts, they are seeing significant growth to their online giving. There is huge potential for charities that have not yet adopted online giving to make that shift. Young donors are giving to causes they deeply care about. Young donors who don’t necessarily have a very high income have stepped up in major ways during this pandemic. Not only are they giving to individual charities, they are also donating to cause based funds that will benefit a larger number of charities. Because of the diversification of donors, important issues and sectors are being supported in more significant ways. For instance, we’re seeing an increase for individual donation to Indigenous charities and arts and cultural sector6Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Young people are really engaged with the issues that are top of mind right now, and that's playing out across the board in all the given trends.”“From a financial perspective, the shift from big checks to community-based giving is much more sustainable and less volatile, when you have 1000 donors versus one funder as your source of funding.”Resources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipConnect with Jacob on LinkedInRead The 2021 Giving Report by CanadaHelpsLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 14, 2021 • 29min

creating our future with André Pawan Vashist

How can we actively create the future we want to see beyond the COVID-19 pandemic? On today’s podcast, André Pawan Vashist, ecosystem facilitator, system solution designer, and seasoned nonprofit leader, shares with us his insights on how to move from a transactional way of thinking and doing to bringing about transformational changes in our sector and in our society as a whole. André’s insights on how we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic Move beyond transactional based processes. Recognize the limit of the transactional processes (like a grant application for funding) in our system and assess how they can better reflect relationships and perspectives from different communities. Actively learn different ways of knowing and thinking. To bring about transformational changes, We must learn not only the different ways of doing but also the different ways of knowing. In the episode, Audre gives the example of learning from Indigenous communities and how they view ways of knowing.Hold space to heal our intersectional identities. We see through experiences from our different lived experiences and identify. It is important to not only recognize the different identities and perspectives that co-exist, but also celebrate that identities are intrinsically intersectional. Increase transparency and openness. Say goodbye to job postings that don’t disclose salary range. Question the lack of transparency and what kind of structure and value they try to uphold that no longer fit into the equitable world we want to see. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“To go from transactional to transformation - in the middle of that is our relationships”“Revisit what it means to be an actor in society and not having to always be structured within a hierarchical organizational structure, it's okay to have those structures because they’re foundational in terms of holding space and resources, but they also interact in terms of transformation that requires actors moving in between those spaces"Resources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipConnect with André Liked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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Jun 7, 2021 • 25min

06 - 22 Neurodiversity in the workplace with Isabella He and Isabelle Hsu

Despite all the research that shows the untapped talent and capabilities of neurodiverse population, neurodiverse individuals are still facing significant barriers when seeking employment and adapting to workplace culture and practice that is not made accessible to them. How can employers proactively design a healthy workplace to support neurodiverse individuals to shine with their incredible talents? On today’s podcast, Isabella He and Isabelle Hsu, two young leaders of advocacy for neurodiversity, join us to share their insight and experience. Isabelle and Isabella’s tips on making workplace accessible for neurodiverse individuals: Adopt a strength-based approach. Neurodiverse individuals might need specific accommodations to equip them to work in the style they feel comfortable with and show their amazing strengths. Focus on their strengths when you communicate and work with neurodiverse individuals. Adopt the mindset of how you can design the workplace to unleash the amazing strengths of your neurodiverse teammates. Raise general awareness and literacy about neurodiversity. The literacy around neurodiversity is still relatively low in our society. Seek resources that raise awareness at your workplace to learn more about neurodiversity so that you and your team know how toSeek help to design the accessibility policy and practice at your workplace. There are professional accessibility specialists that can help you design your workplace practice and support your workplace to be certified neurodiverse workplace. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“I founded SN Inclusion after realizing that some people I knew that I had no idea were neurodiverse were actually neurodiverse and they had such struggles getting into the workplace and face so many adversities due to a lot of the stigmas that still perpetuate yeah in our world today. Unemployment rates among individuals with autism spectrum disorder is at 85%. I was shocked by that statistics.” - Isabella“One thing to keep in mind is that so many of us with neurodiverse conditions have unfortunately learned to keep our conditions private and try not to bother others or to advocate for our specific needs. Of course, there are also people who are the complete opposite of that. But in general, if an employer wants to make a workplace more friendly, I suggest they approach it in a more proactive way to ask what needs to be done instead of waiting for employees to approach you and tell you what they need.” - IsabelleResources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipSN InclusionLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 31, 2021 • 28min

going back to the office with Alice D'Abreu

Is your organization starting to plan for going back to the office? Or is your team going to continue working from home as we slowly transition to post-pandemic reality? Whichever option you’re thinking about, there are considerations for how to ensure your staff has a safe and healthy working environment. On today’s podcast, Alice D’Abreu, an HR expert and founder of Monday Morning, shares with us what employers should be thinking about, planning for, and starting to roll out now. Alice’s tips on going back to the officeDevelop plans and strategies to ensure workplace health and safety at the office. Consider strategies such as installing plexiglass and implementing a shift system and pay attention to details that people might get exposed to health hazards.Have a work-from-home policy. It’s likely that for every organization, working from home will play a part in the post-pandemic reality. So if you don’t already have a work-from-home policy in place at your organization, start planning and implementing one. Make sure that you also consider how to ensure staff working from home have a safe and accommodating work environment. Just because staff are working from home, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to consider their working conditions. Check in on if they have the right equipment and resources to work with and if there is the accommodation that they need at home. Provide targeted support to address the main challenges your employees have faced. Understanding that people have different levels of experiences and challenges during the pandemic, first get a pulse check on what are the specific challenges that your staff have faced, and then look into providing targeted resources, training, or workshops to support them. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Before COVID, there were a lot of businesses that didn't even consider work from home and it's just become a fundamental reality for people that this is not going anywhere and this change might be here to stay.”“Think about how this whole pandemic experience has had an impact on people during these very trying times. Get a pulse of what are the main challenges that people have faced and might face going forward and then look into providing targeted support.”Resources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipFind Alice at Monday MorningLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 24, 2021 • 26min

finding your joy with Lianne Kim

With everything that’s happening in the world right now, work can feel heavy and onerous. How can we bring back the joy in our work and feel aligned? On today’s podcast, business coach extraordinaire Lianne Kim shares with us her insight and tips on how to show up to work with a joy oriented mindset. Get your copy of Lianne’s new bookhere Building a Joyful Business a 15% percent discount code exclusive to our listeners. Simply enter the code GOOD when you’re checking out to get the discount. Self-talk that Lianne wants us to walk away from:“What should I be doing today?”: Rather than operating from the place of asking yourself what you should be doing, try to shift to what you would like to do. That simple mindset shift will bring more joy and meaning to your day to day.  “I have no control during these unprecedented times.”: Yes. We don’t have control over how and when many things are happening in the world, but we do have control on how we respond to them. Our response is a choice that we make. “I have to serve everyone.”: You don’t have to serve every donor, client, or person in the world. Honing down in your strength and being very specific about the community of people you serve is going to make your work that much more aligned and joyful. Lianne’ tips on bringing back joy in our work:Learn to let go. Learn to say no to projects, clients, donors that do not align with your values and vision and make space for things, people and tasks that truly matter. Cultivate the mental awareness for the mindset trap of “I am not enough.” Often when we spend so much time and energy in doing the things we think we should do, we are informed by the mindset of not-enough-ness. Building awareness to the existence of this mindset is the first step to put some distance to it. Stop playing the comparison game. Pick a lane, focus on your strength, doing things the way that you’re great at and feeling great from it. Don’t pay so much attention to what other people or organizations are doing. Think about how much you can accomplish can do with the time and energy that you spend on playing the comparison game. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social media to share with us!“Every single choice that we make can bring us closer to joy or further away.”“I'm a big proponent that mindset really does need to be the foundation for all success. There’s no one tactic or strategy that is going to overcome a crappy mindset.” “It’s in the letting go of the stuff that really isn't serving us, the stuff that is going to serve us shows up.”Resources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipLianne KimGet your copy of Lianne’s new book Building a Joyful Business with our 15% percent discount code GOOD Liked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 17, 2021 • 48min

Active Allyship - A response to collecting courage with Mazarine Treyz, Chris Conroy, and Scott Russell

As part 2 of Collecting Courage, we invited several white leaders in the sector to talk about how to be real and active allies for anti-racism work. On the podcast today are Mazarine Treyz, Fundraising Author and Coach, Chris Conroy, Partner at the Wellspring Group, and Scott Russell, Chief Executive Director at the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. Mazarine, Chris and Scott’ tips on being active allies: Commit to lifelong learning and listening. Allyship and anti-racism work is not a quick fix - it’s a lifelong commitment. Look for resources to help yourself learn and talk to people around you. Stepping Back and Calling Out. When you’re invited to a panel or speaking engagement that includes only white people, do the work to ask questions, call out the organizers, and step back. Acts like participating in all-white panels is perpetuating the system at work that disproportionately supports white voices over other’s. Get comfortable with confronting your own complicity. We are all complicit one way or another in participating in a system that is racist. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable feeling of coming face to face your own complicity. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social to share with us!“Highlight people of colour and their work. Pay them if you’re inviting them to speak. Ask the questions that people don't want to ask. Like, why is the sector not a safe or good space for a lot of people of colour?” -  Mazarine“We have to be willing to go deeper and to look at things with critical eyes and questions. We have to be honest with ourselves that we don't see our bias and complicity very well and see it very clearly.” - Scott“Getting comfortable with getting uncomfortable is about getting comfortable with letting go of your own empowered worldview, which has come at the expense at the oppression of people with different world views and differing identities, which whiteness has itself framed and named and defined for itself.” - ChrisResources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipConnect with MazarineConnect with ScottConnect with ChrisFeral Visions PodcastThe Mother of All QuestionsLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show
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May 10, 2021 • 46min

collecting courage part 1 with Nneka Allen, Camila Vital Nunes Pereira, and Nicole Salmon

On today’s podcast, editors of the book Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love -  Nneka Allen, Camila Vital Nunes Pereira, and Nicole Salmon - share with us their insight and wisdom on how to confront systemic racism in our sector by starting with speaking up and sharing stories. Ways that Nneka, Nicole and Camille encourages us to confront systemic racism:Recognize that we are all part of a racist system. Centre the conversation on the system, and recognize that we all live and breathe in racism. Good people or organizations trying to do good can be actively participating in reinforcing systemic racism too. Recognize that both action and inaction have impact. Not only do words have an impact in making changes or perpetuating harm, silence also can have significant impact. Think about what your silence means and reinforces. Leverage collective power for change. Collective courage and power will mobilize changes. Click the links in the resource section to join and support the community of Black fundraisers or host a book club at your workplace. Show commitment to philanthropy and community that do not subject to the tradition of Western and white philanthropy. Don’t let the tradition of Western and white philanthropy speak for all philanthropic and community endeavour. The Black communities’ love for community, making a difference, and connecting with people through giving predates Western philanthropy. Favourite Quotes from Today’s EpisodePost your favourite quote on social to share with us!“The word racism is so charged because we've attached a good, bad binary to the word. And that's problematic and false. Racism is the water we swim in. So we're all infected. The question is what are we each going to do about our own infection?” - Nneka Allen“The impact of your action and inaction lands somewhere. Words you use have a lasting impact on people.” - Nicole Salmon“When I joined the collective, I was looking for a community, because most of the time you feel alone and you feel like you're the only one. We’re here. This is an invitation. If there's any, anyone out there in the nonprofit sector, and you're looking for a community, a place to really feel like you were at home, connect with us.” --Camila Vital Nunes PereiraResources from this EpisodeThe Good PartnershipCollecting CourageDonate to the Black Philanthropy FundLiked this episode? Have an idea? Send us a text HERE :)Support the show

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