Go Beyond Fundraising: The Podcast for Nonprofits

In this episode, we sat down with Doug Cogswell, EVP of strategy at Pursuant. We talked about Relationship Mapping. Doug shared his expertise on relationship mapping and highlights the following. There are three things that matter most in finding your best prospects: capacity, attachment (aka engagement or affinity), and interests. In this episode, Doug talks through use cases on relationship mapp...

In this episode, we circled back with our CEO and President Trent Ricker to get his thoughts on how the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated trends that were already developing, and transformed how we approach traditional fundraising disciplines.

Amidst the climate of uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, you as a nonprofit leader may be wondering how to approach your budget given the major economic shifts we are experiencing. That’s why we enlisted the advice of Sarah Olivieri from Pivot Ground, a budgeting expert and former executive director who helps nonprofits get unstuck when it comes to making financial plans. Download Sarah...

At a time when many of us are experiencing community from the safety of our homes, live streaming has becoming a vital way for fundraisers to connect in real time with donors. Streaming platforms abound, but which one is right for your organization. In this episode, we sought insight from Tina Ly and Matthew Mielcarek on how nonprofits are leveraging real-time video to engage their supporters onli...

Continuing our examination of how fundraisers and nonprofit leaders will have to pivot following the COVID-19 pandemic, in this episode we sat down with some of our favorite data scientists. Suchi Otta and Matthew Mielcarek lend some of their wisdom regarding how to segment your donors and augment your data to mine for the supporters who are most loyal to you and what motivates them to give. Check...

The economic impact of the COVID-19 are still developing, but nonetheless the effects will be long lasting. What can we as fundraisers learn from previous economic crises about how to ensure our most loyal major donors still feel seen, cared for, and appreciated during tough times? That's what we sat down with our resident major gifts expert, Kristin Priest, to explore. You can find more COVID-19-...

The COVID-19 Outbreak of 2020 is creating new challenges for fundraisers, and Pursuant is here to walk you through the changing landscape. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking with a series of experts from different fundraising practice areas on how to navigate the unique hurdles presented by our new reality. In this episode, Taylor sat down with Colleen Legge and Matthew Mielcarek t...

With everything happening in the world right now with the global outbreak of the coronavirus, many nonprofits are having to cancel signature events and re-think the way they fundraise. Technology has evolved so much that we are now able to take many of these physical events and turn them into virtual events. I this episode, we sat down with Reggie Rivers, president of The Gala Team, to talk about...

Last year Facebook Fundraising raised $1 billion for nonprofits. A total of $2 billion has been raised on the platform since it launched in 2017. And yet, the limited amount of information that nonprofits receive about supporters who fundraise for them via Facebook has caused many organizations to be wary of the platform.  We spoke with our friend Mark Cross from Good United, a software tool that...

We wanted to sit down and have a conversation about the current coronavirus outbreak impacting the world. Jennifer Bielat and Matthew Mielcarek from the Pursuant leadership team joined us to share their thoughts on how nonprofits should approach fundraising at this time of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Donor Advised Funds are an increasingly popular giving method, but many nonprofits struggle to cultivate and steward donors who utilize these funds. We teamed up with Fidelity Charitable to create a three-part series breaking down what Donor Advise Funds are, the types of donors who prefer to give through them, and why your nonprofit should be engaging this subset of supporters. In this first epis...

Social media has enabled donors, constituents, and volunteers to share how their favorite nonprofits are making a difference in their lives. These micro-stories, photos, and videos actually have a formal name in the marketing world. It’s called User-Generated Content, and if you don’t have a strategy for using it in your fundraising program, you might be missing an invaluable opportunity. In this...

Nonprofits talk a lot about the practice of relationship fundraising and creating personalized experiences for their donors. But what if, in a few years, most of your donors were anonymous? How would that change the practice of relationship fundraising? That might sound like a strange proposition, but the recent wave of data privacy laws, social media fundraising, and donor-advised funds mean that...

This week we're tackling engagement, board engagement specifically.  We sat down with speaker and author Arlene Cogen, who facilitates Culture of Philanthropy primer programs designed to increase board engagement with FUNdraising. Her goal is to give board members a fresh perspective on philanthropy. The program brings Board members through a participatory exercise where they walk away with an app...

In a world where you’re competing against millions of nonprofits for your donor’s dollars, sustained giving programs have become the secret weapon of creating predictable revenue and increasing donor loyalty. If you have a monthly giving program, how do you grow it? How do you identify monthly donors who are ready to be asked to increase their commitment? That’s what we sat down with Erica Waasdor...

In this weeks' podcast episode, we sat down with Debbi Stanley, CFRE to talk about how we can set up our donor retention strategies for better success. Taking knowledge and insights from the for-profit customer success models, we can apply retention and engagement strategies to our donors that will build relationships and loyalty. Debbi shares with us the Donor Success Model and how to put it to w...

In this episode, Matthew Mielcarek explains the most important takeaways fundraisers need to know going into 2020. Spoiler alert: things aren't as dire as you think.

There’s something magic that happens when you’re a one-stop-shop fundraiser. Teams at small nonprofits often have to learn how to be scrappy limited time and resources, and the results are often creative and innovative. Some of that creativity gets lost as fundraising teams scale. Often, additional purse strings come with additional red tape. In this episode, we sit down with fundraiser Sarah Will...

While there’s been many studies focused on P2P campaign/transactional data, there’s been little insight into the participant's perspective and what they need to succeed. Until Now. We sat down with our friends at OneCause, who surveyed 1,100 Social Fundraisers that participated in peer-to-peer campaigns to understand what motivates them, influences success, and drives engagement. Download the full...

The Google Algorithm. Removed from its context, that name can sometimes sound like a creature straight out of a high fantasy novel. But if you really think about it, that idea isn’t that far from the truth. Figuring out how the artificial brain of the Google search algorithm works has kept many a marketer up at night charting new SEO battle plans. The good news is, there are some simple things you...

There are a lot of misconceptions that Millennials and Gen Z students aren't as generous as alumni from years past. Those myths are what today’s guest set out to debunk. 9 Years ago Cynthia Ware, Director of the Pepperdine Fund at Pepperdine University in Malibu, set out to answer one simple question: What would the financial future of your university look like if you could unleash giving BEFORE s...

In today’s conversation, we sat down with Paul Edwards, who leads the development team at Gordon College, and has more than 40 years of experience in building highly relational major gift programs in the US and abroad. We discuss the characteristics it takes to secure a historic gift for your organization.

There has been a lot of talk lately in the philanthropy world about major giving. Recent trends point to a slowdown in giving at the annual giving, and an increasing reliance on smaller pools of major donors. Is the sky really falling? If you’re seeing these changes in giving behavior at your nonprofit, what are some steps you can take to get ahead of them? That’s what we sat down to discuss with...

Matching gift programs are a way for large companies to allocate their philanthropy dollars to causes their employees care about. Despite the popularity of these programs, $4-7 billion in matching gift funds go unclaimed every year. Could your nonprofit be missing out? We sat down with Adam Weinger, the founder and president of Double the Donation to discuss everything you need to know about match...

You may have heard the term 'fundraising intelligence', but you might still be wondering exactly how it applies to your nonprofit and why it's important. That's why in this week's episode we're talking all about Causemo. Causemo is a fundraising intelligence tool that helps nonprofits quickly see opportunities in their constituent data. In just a few clicks, and without involving complicated assis...