Small Nonprofit: Fundraising Tips, Leadership Strategies, and Community-Centric Solutions
Further Together: Fundraising Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations
Welcome to Small Nonprofit, the podcast designed for leaders, fundraisers, and advocates in the nonprofit sector who want to create real change. We provide small nonprofit organizations with strategies to enhance their fundraising campaigns, improve nonprofit governance, and implement ethical fundraising practices that resonate with today’s values-driven donors. Hosted by an experienced nonprofit consultant, Maria Rio, this show delves into the unique challenges of nonprofit fundraising and community-centric fundraising, providing tools for donor engagement and major gifts fundraising.👤 Who Should Listen?This podcast is perfect for anyone involved in a small nonprofit seeking practical advice on fundraising strategy, nonprofit leadership, and board accountability. Whether you're looking for innovative fundraising ideas for nonprofit organizations or trying to create an impact measurement framework that demonstrates your organization’s value, Small Nonprofit is here to guide you.🎤 Core Topics We CoverCommunity-Centric Fundraising: Learn how ethical fundraising practices can strengthen donor relationships, enhance donor engagement, and align your organization with values-based major giving principles. We’ll help you shift from a donor-centric model to one that prioritizes the community.Systemic Change and Governance: From participatory budgeting to nonprofit board of directors best practices, we explore how to navigate the nonprofit industrial complex and embrace structures that foster diversity in nonprofit leadership and board accountability.Preventing Nonprofit Burnout: Tackle topics such as nonprofit burnout prevention and learn how to cultivate a healthy, anti-oppressive work culture that supports your team’s well-being.Nonprofit Storytelling: Understand how to measure your nonprofit’s effectiveness through nonprofit impact measurement strategies and leverage nonprofit storytelling to create compelling narratives that attract donors.📣 Engaging Conversations and Real-World AdviceIn each episode, we bring you insights from experts in fundraising consulting, nonprofit grant writing, and capital campaign strategies. From interviews with fractional fundraisers and major gift officers to deep dives on fundraising tips and innovative fundraising ideas, we offer actionable advice that you can implement immediately to strengthen your organization’s impact.💰 Learn How to Build a Sustainable NonprofitEvery nonprofit leader faces the challenge of achieving financial sustainability. Our episodes address critical fundraising strategies for nonprofit organizations, providing insights on volunteer management, capacity building, and nonprofit marketing strategy. Gain access to tools that help you execute successful fundraising campaigns and build a foundation for long-term growth.🤝 Join the Movement for Systemic ChangeAt The Small Nonprofit, we’re committed to transforming the nonprofit sector from the ground up. Our focus on systemic change and community-centric fundraising aligns with our mission to support nonprofits in creating equitable, sustainable communities. By addressing topics like values-based decision making and nonprofit transparency, we’re working to build a more ethical, inclusive sector.❤️ Stay ConnectedSubscribe to Small Nonprofit on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or your preferred podcast platform. Don’t miss an episode as we explore everything from fundraising tips to nonprofit social media strategy, and learn how you can become a stronger advocate for your organization’s mission.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 5, 2020 • 43min
Overhauling your fundraising mindset with Yvonne Harding
Send us a textIn this special episode of the podcast, one of the students from our spring 2020 Flipside Fundraising cohort, Yvonne Harding, Resource Development Manager at Assaulted Women’s Helpline, to share the transformation she has experienced after she changed her fundraising mindset with the lessons learned in Flipside Fundraising. If you want to be like Yvonne and turn fundraising from something you dread into something that is meaningful, productive, and successful for you and your small nonprofit, apply for the Flipside Fundraising scholarships today. The scholarship recipients will receive life-time access to the program and its materials, launching in November. Deadline for scholarship applications is October 9 11:59 PM EST. The application will only take you 3 minutes!Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Sep 28, 2020 • 41min
"What I learned from my daughter's COVID wedding" with Nneka Allen
Send us a textIn fundraising, we often talk about surprising and delighting donors. Sending them updates, creating special experiences, writing them cards etc.. But let me ask you this instead: have your donors ever surprised you?Whether it is a gift made unprompted at the time that your organization really needs it, or it's a simple message to check in on how you and your team are doing - our donors often go beyond our expectation, especially those who truly care about you and your work. I’ll never forget the donor who hand-knitted me a baby blanket when I was pregnant with my first born. It made my heart sing!When a relationship is aligned and authentic, your donors have your back. You wouldn’t feel awkward or uncomfortable reaching out and having an honest conversation with them, especially when your organization has a need your donor can help with.So how can we cultivate authentic relationships with donors? Nneka Allen, the guest on today's podcast, asks us to look no further than in our own lives. You're familiar with Nneka's incredible work. In the summer, we shared the amazing series that she curated, Our Right to Heal, a series that features inspiring stories and journeys of Black women fundraisers.I am so excited to share with you this conversation I had with Nneka, in which she turned observations that she made at her daughter's wedding during the pandemic into nuggets of wisdom about meaningful relationship-building. Give it a listen, and keep up the great work.Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Sep 21, 2020 • 44min
real-life succession planning with Mike Prosserman
Send us a textYour organization is like your baby. And that is exactly why you have to make sure that it can grow on its own without you. In order to get to that state, the organization needs you to build in some great planning and set up the right culture and systems. On today's podcast, our returning guest Michael Prosserman shares his insight on how to lead an organization from the ground up to planning for succession so that it continues to thrive beyond his tenure. Michael urges us to think and act: succession planning starts today.Mike P is also hosting a FREE book launch party on Oct 24th! Here is the link to join: https://buildingunity.eventbrite.caSupport the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Sep 14, 2020 • 34min
managing imposter syndrome with Mimosa Kabir
Send us a textImposter Syndrome - we don't talk about it very often. But when we do, there's so many nodding heads and people in agreement saying “of course, I experienced that too.” Imposter syndrome seems to be more prevalent for people who don't see themselves reflected in the leadership around them. There's no role model so how do I know I'm doing things, right? With representation, diversity and anti-oppression work becoming more prevalent, it can be easy to wonder whether we were hired for our skills or simply to be that “token” employee within your organization. On today’s podcast, I am excited to have Mimosa Kabir share her perspective to help us unpack the conversation. Tune in as we tackle topics like what imposter syndrome looks like in action, imposter syndrome and risk-aversion, how this can actually contribute to relationship-building and much more! Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Sep 7, 2020 • 52min
managing culture change with Surranna Sandy
Send us a textWhen the pandemic started in March, no one knew what was going to happen.EDs at nonprofits big and small were projecting layoffs and devastating deficits. And that happened. To be sure - the impact of COVID on our sector and all of us has been significant. And mostly awful. People had to quickly adjust their work and lives to adapt. Yes. It's been a rough year. 6 months later, we're still dealing with an ongoing pandemic with no foreseeable end date. So, let's recognize this: our sector has also made some huge wins. Nonprofits have become more nimble than ever. They're shifting long-existing programming online, making their workplace remote-friendly, communicating to donors in ways they never tried before. Most of these things have been on our bucket lists for years, but we haven’t had the time and space to move forward with these changes.In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the perfect storm that forced us to change. When our environment forces us to change, we become more resilient than we thought we ever would or could be. We realize that changes are not as scary as we imagined. Can we reverse engineer this process and lead necessary changes with courage?I am so excited to launch the new season of the Small Nonprofit Podcast with a conversation on managing change. Surranna Sandy, the CEO of Skills of Change, shares her philosophy on leading change with people at the centre. She walks us through how to leverage this pandemic to set up the infrastructure that will enable positive changes. Ready for a new season of change and courage?Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Jun 22, 2020 • 39min
always be learning with Aaron Sanderson
Send us a textIt seems like on all fronts we are currently engaged in deep unlearning and learning. Whether it’s around anti-racism or new technologies, the world is a changing place and learning has become more routine than ever.Right now, while our learning might be accelerated, it’s a good time to reflect on how we can integrate this type of growth and development into the long-term. Today’s podcast is all about lifelong learning with guest Aaron Sanderson, SVP, Advancement & Chief Development Officer at Kids Help Phone. Give it a listen and start planning your next learning!For access to the show notes and resources, click here.Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Jun 15, 2020 • 32min
surprise and delight your donors with Matt Barnett
Send us a textAs things are slowly opening up, do you have a favourite cafe nearby your home or work that you always visit and can't wait to go back to? If you do, you'll be familiar with this scenario: you go to the cafe a few times, and the barista starts remembering your order. The next time you show up, the barista smiles at you and asks: "americano with oat milk?" (that's my order!)Surprised, right there and then, the barista has fostered a sense of connection. Before you know it, that cafe becomes your favourite spot. A simple gesture of acknowledging "I know you" is so powerful for sparking connection. How can we also make that magical spark happen with our donors?Well, I want to introduce to you one of my favourite tools to foster those connections in today’s digital age and in the absence of having donor phone numbers: Bonjoro, a personalized one-to-one video messaging service. On this week's podcast, I chatted with Bonjoro's founder Matt Barnett. Matt shared with us some really doable tips to build authentic connection with your donors remotely.At The Good Partnership, we started using Bonjoro to send personalized videos to onboard clients and students for Flipside Fundraising, and it’s getting great responses and engagement. We’re also using it with our clients and their donors. As you know, I don’t usually recommend a specific product without context. But we fell in love with Bonjoro, and we know that can be such a great tool for you right now to connect with your donors in a socially distanced world. But, even if it’s not the right tool for you (p.s they have a free version), you can try the tactics in this podcast with other tools too!For access to the show notes and resources, click here.Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Jun 8, 2020 • 42min
Dare to lead with Amal Elmi and Bailey Greenspon
Send us a textThis past week, we’ve all been taking the necessary action to support the Black Lives Matter movement and holding space for difficult and necessary conversations both at work and at home. As you likely know, the work for anti-racism and anti-oppression practices has just begun.This is not a one-time effort, but something ongoing. We must address how our organizations are governed. We must talk about who sits on our boards and how the board truly supports different voices to be heard and championed (tokenism is not the answer).On this week's podcast, I had the pleasure to connect with Bailey Greenspon, acting Co-CEO from G(irls)20 and Amal Elmi, a young director of the G(irls)20' Girls on Board program and member of the Community Impact Cabinet at United Way Ottawa. We talked about how to support young and diverse women to sit on nonprofit boards and bring about systemic changes for leadership in our sector.This episode was recorded before last week. In light of the events this past week, relistening Bailey and Amal's insights and stories deeply touched me. I am inspired by their tireless effort to advocate for young and diverse voices and enact real actions towards equity. It reminds me that we can do this. We must do this. Let's do this together.For access to the show notes and resources, click here.Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
Jun 1, 2020 • 46min
Shortcuts to Raise More Money with Dana Segal
Send us a textDo you ever make impulse buys? You know, that online sale that you just can’t say “no” to? Or you are out on a socially distant walk and you see something that catches your eye in the window? And plus, you want to support a local business!Think back to that feeling you get when you make that decision. While there might be rational reasons such as price points and needs, what made us push the “buy” button seems to involve something emotional and intuitive that we can’t always logically explain. How our brain says “yes” is well researched, but we don’t talk about this enough in our sector.If we could understand the science of decision-making better, we would be so much more effective and efficient when crafting communication and designing experiences for our donors. I'm excited to connect with Dana Segal about this topic on today's podcast episode. Give it a listen. Dana shares some amazing tips on tiny changes that you can implement today to effortlessly raise more money and make it easier for your donors to say “yes”!For access to the show notes and resources, click here.Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
May 25, 2020 • 38min
surviving founders with Susanna Kislenko
Send us a textHaving become a parent, I now understand how hard it is for parents to let go of their babies. When my boys are not with me, I worry about them all the time. But I’m also learning that controlling them is not empowering them to carve their own paths. There's a fine line between love and control. That same fine line exists at our workplace. Sometimes, founders and leaders of organizations can't let go of what they created, and they hold onto so much control and end up jeopardizing the long term health of the organization. This is what’s called the founders' syndrome. It's a very tricky problem to resolve and can cause a lot of emotional stress. That's why we are tackling this difficult but necessary topic with Susanna on today's podcast episode. Susanna Kislenko will share with us her insights on how to survive founders’ syndromes if you're an employer, and how to prevent yourself from slipping into patterns of over-controlling if you're a founder.Oh, and by the way, you can have founder's syndrome even if you’re not a founder! If you've dealt with or are actively struggling with founders' syndrome, I want to acknowledge how difficult this is. Be gentle with yourself, and know that there’s the support you can seek.For access to the show notes and resources, click here.Support the show Connect with the show: Watch the episode on YouTube; follow Maria Rio on LinkedIn for more conversations and resources. Or support our show. We are fully self-funded! Book a Discovery Call with Further Together: Need help with your fundraising? See if our values-aligned fundraisers are a fit for your organization.
