Responsive Lab Podcast

David J. O'Brien and Matthew D. Craig join The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to discuss the insights from their new book  Building Smart Nonprofits . During the conversation we dig into  alternative funding models, how to move beyond golf tournaments, galas, and grants, and ask the question whether there are too many nonprofits. Many contrarian notes, but insightful. Building Smart Nonprofits: A...

Bridget Jones and Kelly Hayman join The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share how they help transform the Boys & Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley fundraising programs in light of tremendous challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the conversation we take a step back to March 2020 to recall how Bridget, Kelly, and their team's decision making process amidst the chaos and upen...

Gordon Pont , the Partner and Strategy Director at Collab Agency in Australia, joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to talk about brand and marketing strategy, and the necessity to stand for something to ensure you stand out from the crowd. During our conversation we pull on Gordon's experience in consumer marketing and nonprofit advocacy and uncover essential traits nonprofit brands need to b...

Dan Reed joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share his first-hand experience scaling digital fundraising campaigns. During the conversation we discuss why digital fundraising is the future of fundraising, what makes monthly giving programs scale, and the power of blending community with giving. Dan started his digital fundraising career at Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and...

Jake Smith , the Executive Director of Blood:Water, joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to discuss his path to leading his organization through uncertain times, the importance of history and rediscovering old truths with new value, and how a focus on people and execution has paved a path to help them grow 25% YOY despite the challenges of 2020. Blood:Water is an equipping agency that partners...

Catherine Moore joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to talk about change management and its importance as nonprofits navigate constant change. During the conversation we discuss the balance between people, processes, and platforms during systems change and the value of personal resilience that's required for successful change leadership. Catherine has served the nonprofit sector for over 20 y...

Vance Roush joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share how our relationship with money impacts the way we fundraise, the importance of taking a holistic approach to donor development, and how you build a community of generosity through your communications. Vance is an ex-Googler, engineer, pastor, and now the founder of Overflow.co, a technology company committed to building the infrastruct...

Sherry Quam Taylor joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share her philosophy for helping nonprofits get fully funded. Sherry teaches nonprofit leaders how to pivot from a heavy dependence on program, government, and event gifts and into securing large, investment-level donations from individuals so they can finally fund their missions. The leaders Sherry works with are experts in their fiel...

Jake Smith , the Executive Director of Blood:Water, joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to discuss his path to leading his organization through uncertain times, the importance of history and rediscovering old truths with new value, and how a focus on people and execution has paved a path to help them grow 25% YOY despite the challenges of 2020. Blood:Water is an equipping agency that partners...

MaryEllen Dickey , CFRE, joins the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share what she's learned by leading donor development teams for the last two decades across social service, education, and healthcare nonprofits. We also discuss the balance between donor retention and acquisition, the importance of channel-donor fit and multi-channel fundraising, and how to lead a donor development team well to...

Missy Gale and Jill Bruner join the Responsive Fundraising Podcast to discuss the unique challenges nonprofit teams must overcome in 2020, the importance of listening to fuel fundraising activities, and how organizations must pivot plans and shift strategies to increase impact. M. Gale & Associates is a fundraising consulting firm with more than a decade of experience collaborating with missio...

Two experienced development leaders from Catholic Extension join The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share strategies to deepen donor relationships and unpack the needed partnership required between annual fund and major gift development teams.  Tony Smercina , the AVP of Development, and Travis DeRamcy, the Sr. Director of Development, both have an array of experience managing and growing devel...

Kelsie Ruff Smith joins The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share the inside view on the opportunities nonprofits have access to through collaboration with community foundations, corporations, other nonprofits, and local community philanthropists. We discuss what modern philanthropists are looking for in nonprofits they partner with, how to avoid duplication, and how you can build a culture of p...

Ryan Brown , stock broker turned nonprofit development professional, joins The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share how Food for the Hungry cultivates lasting donor relationships. We discuss the power of "full heart" donor development, the need to continually pivot to stay relevant, and why waiting for "normal" will lead you to focus on the wrong tactics. Ryan is the acting CDO at Food for the...

Justin Ellis joins The Responsive Fundraising Podcast and takes us into the trenches and see how a successful VP of Development approaches their work amidst uncertain times. We discuss the importance of development staff being data-driven decision makers, the difference between transactional and transformational, and how to transform asks into investment invitations. Justin, the VP of Development...

Beth Fisher joins us to discuss lessons nonprofits can glean from how for-profit businesses approach growth, the importance and primary characteristics of good leaders, and how vulnerability at work can help unlock your team's full potential. Beth is currently the VP of Advancement & Communications at Meltrotter Ministries and is a sought-after speaker and life coach who knows how to get throu...

Matt Mundt joins The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to share how CURE bridges the giver and good gap by integrating story into every donor touchpoint. We discuss the balance of empathy and explanation during the current crisis moment, how donor experience is the key differentiator in today's connected economy, and how CURE uses multiple medias to connect people with their purpose. Matt serves as t...

Rubin Singh , the CEO & Founder of OneTenth Consulting , joins us to discuss the obstacles nonprofit leaders need to navigate as they adopt new technology, common mistakes that drive many CRM implementations to fall flat, and the needs related to people and process that must be central to your platform adoption plan. Rubin is a seasoned professional with over twenty years of experience in the...

Andrew Olsen joins us to talk about the decreasing trust that Americans have in NGOs to "do what is right", what nonprofits should do to proactive build donor trust, and his suggestions on how a nonprofit's posture toward donors directly impacts their ability to deliver on the mission. Andrew is a #1 Best Selling author, speaker, and nonprofit marketer. He’s helped raise more than $250 million for...

Javan Van Gronigen joins Gabe Cooper to talk about the power of story to bridge the gap between givers and the good you're making in our world, the importance of pivoting to think of donor cultivation less like a funnel and more like a network, and more. Javan is the Founder and Creative Director at Fifty & Fifty . When not directing the path of his creative team, he's driving strategy to roll...

Oli Bridge joins us to talk about the power of personalization, and how nonprofits are using personalized video to close the gap between givers and the good and increase giving.   Oli heads up Bonjoro ’s marketing team. He has worked in SaaS for the last 12 years - his first job was in Customer Success with a media startup, Gorkana, who made a successful exit to Cision for £25m during his time the...

Dawn Crawford joins us to share her insights on how nonprofits can craft communications that bridge the gap between donors and the cause, leading to increased connection and engagement. Dawn is the engine behind BC/DC Ideas, Dawn has dedicated her career to good. Before launching BC/DC Ideas in 2010, she earned her chops in 10+ years of communications leadership roles for public health, healthcare...

Martin Leifield joins us to share his insights and experience, while also highlighting the characteristics of an effective fundraiser and the GCC methodology that helps you cultivate deeper donor relationships. Martin would sit in his car rehearsing his ask with sweaty palms praying he wouldn’t get another rejection. Determined to master his craft he learned the power of embracing discomfort and t...

Sarah Olivieri joins us to share lessons learned from over 15 years of nonprofit leadership, how vulnerability and respite help nonprofits thrive, and a simple, yet effective framework that prioritizes process and two-week sprint cycles to laborious strategic planning as fuel for improvement and growth. Sarah Olivieri is a nonprofit business strategist , #1 International Best Selling author, and f...

Barbara O’Reilly, CFRE joins us to talk about the challenges facing nonprofit leaders today and what we should be focused on, how we must balance empathy and urgency in our messaging, and her approach to navigating through each stage of a crisis: the response (our current phase), recovery, and resilience building. Barbara brings to her clients more than twenty-five years of annual fund, major gift...