How many prospective funders agree to meet as a simple courtesy only to pass up the opportunity that has been presented to them? What if a better understanding of how corporations go about their decision-making processes could reduce the fundra

Are nonprofits relying on too much play-it-safe fundraising?

May 28th, 2023 42m 8s

Angie’s journey as a writer has always been about making sense of leadership, taking risks, and helping people realize their potential. Her latest book, Bet On You, is about demystifying what it means to take risks and seeing risk as the path t

What sets a good fundraiser apart from a great one?

May 3rd, 2023 52m 43s

I confess, I don’t read a lot of books about fundraising; I have always found them to be either too tactical or little more than chatter about manipulative gimmicks aimed at getting us into Mrs Smith’s pocketbook. However, Amy and Josh’s BeneFa

357 | Does your nonprofit need a Fundraising CEO at the helm?

Apr 11th, 2023 38m 55s

Several years ago I began paying close attention to the places where expectations of the nonprofit leader were evolving from an internally-focused leader whose expertise closely aligned with the organization’s program and services, to an extern

Is the traditional capital campaign overbuilt, highly inefficient, and clunky looking?

Mar 26th, 2023 57m 59s

A couple of weeks ago my friend Jim Langley managed to stir up a lot of conversation with his suggestion that the traditional approach to a capital campaign was ill-suited to the times. Jim likened the approach to the 1970 Oldsmobile 442, the l

Is bullying one of the reasons why fundraisers are unhappy?

Mar 25th, 2023 45m 46s

Like many fundraisers, Kathryn describes her entrance into the profession as a search for meaningful work. For the most part, what she found was that facilitating the exchange of charitable gifts has been a rewarding experience and that it has

To remain a viable contributor, direct mail fundraising has to evolve quickly.

Mar 21st, 2023 52m 7s

Andrew has committed himself to getting direct mail right for a long time. For as long as I have known him, I have watched as he processes what’s going on in the world and what’s being said or discovered and then applies it to his craft. Most r

What would Jane Addams have to say about philanthropy in the twenty-first century?

Mar 11th, 2023 45m 25s

For some time now, I have been contemplating what early twentieth-century activist and reformer Jane Addams would have to say to those of us who are asking tough questions about philanthropy. In short, I believe she would ask whether our work r

Are nonprofit leaders expecting too much of fundraising tech?

Feb 28th, 2023 39m 31s

I’m headed to Omaha later this week, and one of the first things I’m going to find is a great Reuben sandwich. As the origin story goes, while playing cards with “the committee” at the at the Blackstone Hotel, Reuben Kulakofsky, a local grocer,

Omaha Roadshow Speaker Spotlight: Brandi Holys

Feb 23rd, 2023 35m 28s

As we have resumed our roadshows, we have found that shining a spotlight on local leaders greatly enhances the learning experiences for our participants. My guest today on The Fundraising Talent Podcast is Brandi Holys, Vice President of Advanc

Are all of us being more intentional about the decisions we make?

Feb 15th, 2023 40m 56s

Lauren wants to remind us that “regrets don’t really solve problems, but taking action will”; and that “it’s never too late to try.” She wants to encourage us to start being more intentional about who and where we want to be in the world and to

Omaha Roadshow Speaker Spotlight: Nancy Williams

Feb 9th, 2023 44m 30s

How can collective giving shake up philanthropy?

Jan 31st, 2023 52m 30s

For those of us who want to overhaul charitable giving and reengineer the status quo, Sara’s TedTalk offers a glimpse of what we need to do. Sara wants us all to make sense of the power of collective giving. Sara is the founding CEO of Philanth

Are your fundraising practices stuck in The Consumer Story?

Jan 25th, 2023 54m 8s

Some of us are having a hard time making sense of why, in the last two decades, nonprofits have lost the support of twenty-million donors; and we don’t understand the appeal of donor advised funds, giving circles, and direct giving as alternati

How can sector leaders improve the donor experience?

Jan 19th, 2023 55m 49s

David and Sam are both members of The Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Supporter Experience Committee. This network of fundraisers is dedicated to identifying best practices and providing thought leadership aimed at ensuring quality support

Are fundraisers becoming more discerning about where they can thrive?

Jan 11th, 2023 49m 5s

Alex isn’t kidding when he says it seems like The Chronicle of Philanthropy has been retelling the same story about disillusioned fundraisers for a long time. Those of us who have been around for a while are well aware of the fact that, at any

Are nonprofit leaders designing resilience into their organizations?

Dec 26th, 2022 50m 30s

Stuart wants us to carefully think about whether we’re designing resilience into our organizations and, if not, ask ourselves if difficult and uncertain times are really to blame for some of our financial misfortunes. I have been an admirer of

What effect will the FTX Bankman-Fried fiasco have on fundraising?

Dec 21st, 2022 33m 39s

I was grateful to Alex, co-founder of The Giving Block, for ensuring that we add a timely conversation about the FTX-Bankman Fried collapse to The Fundraising Talent Podcast’s library of conversations. Shortly after this story started making he

Are fundraisers creating better roles for their donors to play?

Dec 17th, 2022 52m 4s

As a leader in Seattle’s arts community and a college professor, Jackson is just getting started. Southern Theatre magazine has recently named Jackson among a group of rising leaders who are paving the way for the future of fundraising. What I

Why are nonprofits afraid of their own obsolescence?

Dec 8th, 2022 45m 9s

Today’s podcast conversation offers a tough pill that I suspect some of us aren’t willing to swallow. Jim wants us to wrestle with the question of why today’s nonprofits are afraid of their own obsolescence. Instead of planning to eventually cl

How does unseen diversity impact a fundraiser’s journey?

Nov 30th, 2022 53m 57s

My conversation today with Jillian was a great reminder to me of what I have always believed to be one of the most meaningful aspects of nonprofit work: the opportunity to create community around common struggles. For most of our lives, Jillian

What if the gift economy informed more of our fundraising practices?

Nov 26th, 2022 43m 21s

My conversation today with Adam was both timely and inspiring. Adam wants us to see how the logic of the gift affords a more holistic, long-term, and collaborative perspective where the focus can be on the quality of relationships rather than m

Should fundraisers let their board members off the hook?

Nov 16th, 2022 36m 45s

Stephanie Schwartz is the Founder and CEO of Little Bean Group, a fundraising consultancy in Washington, DC. Stephanie loves to work with leaders who want to dream big and who recognize that fundraising is often the path by which their dreams c

Conversation w/ the editors of Collecting Courage: Part Two

Nov 5th, 2022 27m 29s

This is the second in a two-part conversation with the editors of Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love which has been described as “an honest, raw account” of the experiences of 14 Black charity leaders and fundraisers in North America.

Conversation w/ the editors of Collecting Courage: Part One

Nov 4th, 2022 31m 10s

This is the first in a two-part conversation with the editors of Collecting Courage: Joy, Pain, Freedom, Love which has been described as “an honest, raw account” of the experiences of 14 Black charity leaders and fundraisers in North America.