The Nonprofit Science Podcast

#GivingTuesday is just around the corner and whether this is a huge campaign for your nonprofit or just one small part of your overall fundraising, it’s important to plan for it. You’ll be dedicating time and resources to the day. That means, we want to make sure you have all the information you need to have as successful a Giving Tuesday as possible. There is a lot of great advice on Giving Tuesd...

Today we are joined by Nina M. Sooter. Nina is a neuroeconomics researcher at the University of Geneva. Her work focuses on moral and pro-social decision-making. During this conversation, we dive deep into her studies on how honesty is impacted by acute stress, whether virtual reality can be used as a fundraising tool, and how the B Corps label impacts consumer choices. She’s a big fan of interdis...

This episode is the second part of our discussion on overhead aversion. In the last episode, we talked a bit about why overhead expenses evolved to become this standard against which nonprofits are compared to one another, and how it became a measure of nonprofit effectiveness. We also talked about how this thinking is majorly flawed and has led to poor outcomes for nonprofits. As it turns out, to...

Have you ever had a donor question why your nonprofit spends so much on salaries? Or have you ever had to report on fundraising and administrative costs, keeping them below that magical 20% mark? It’s undeniable that nonprofits- much like any other business- need these overhead expenses in order to operate. These are not extraneous, but rather a core part of running a functioning business. And yet...

When we hear that nonprofits should diversify their revenue streams, it sounds like common sense advice. For organizations that are heavily grant funded, growing a community of donors can help weather the ups and downs of grant funding. And, for organizations that rely solely on individual donor support trickling in throughout the year, getting grant support can be a catalyst for launching new pro...

If your organization serves communities who have experienced trauma, secondary traumatic stress disorder or as it’s better known, compassion fatigue, could be a real issue. Compassion fatigue often shows up as high staff turnover. Anyone at your nonprofit who has direct contact working with people who have experienced trauma, is at risk of developing compassion fatigue. These symptoms may include...

Have you ever experienced tension between your board of directors and yourself or your staff? I think it’s safe to say that, especially for nonprofit leaders, navigating board relations is one of the tougher parts of the job. But, it’s not just our relationships with board members that can create this tension. In our relationships with other volunteers who play mission critical roles, we can find...

Have you ever had the experience of starting a new initiative and desperately trying to find volunteers to help? Whether it was finding volunteers to help plan a fundraising event, volunteer mentors, or finding volunteers to sit on a board committee, sometimes it’s like pulling teeth trying to find people who want to volunteer. If we’re lucky, volunteers find us and fall into our organizations. Mo...

It’s undeniable that volunteers are a core part of nonprofit work. From serving on the board to helping us run programs, and fundraising events, even sealing and stamping our direct mail- we can depend on volunteers to do it all. Building an enthusiastic, reliable, committed community of volunteers is the dream but it’s easier said than done. More often, volunteers enter our doors enthusiastic but...

While the majority of people working in the nonprofit sector identify as female, leadership tends to be male dominated. This huge disparity hurts people who identify as female, it’s hurting every minority, it’s hurting our nonprofits, and it’s hurting the communities we serve. Research tells us women are more likely to exhibit transformational leadership, teams led by women collaborate better, and...

If you’re on the Nonprofit Science email list, you received a request for questions for an Ask Me Anything- style podcast episode. These could be questions could be about topics I've covered on previous podcast episodes or just questions about problems you’re facing and want some research to help you work through them. So many great questions were submitted and on this episode, I’m going to answer...

Today we are joined by Dr. Jamie Levine Daniel. Dr. Levine Daniel is an Associate Professor of Nonprofit Management and Public Service at the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Her research focuses on nonprofit resource acquisition and service delivery within a context of power, policy, process, and practice. Not only is Dr. Levine Daniel involved in teaching a...

Today we are going to dive into donor segmentation and discuss what the literature and latest research suggests are ways we can segment donors to effectively communicate with them and of course, raise more money. If you’ve been putting off targeted fundraising messages for your donors because segmenting your donors is such a big hurdle to climb, this episode is for you. And if you’re currently seg...

Today we are joined by Dr. Young Joo Park. Dr. Park is an assistant professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of New Mexico. Her research focuses on financial management and how organizations can use sound financial management to achieve sustainability. During our conversation, we touch on many topics such as how to predict whether a nonprofit will dissolve or not, whether...

Today we'll be discussing new research into a fundraising phenomenon that has captured headlines for the past several years (and I have a hunch we’re going to be hearing about it a lot more in the coming year)- rage donations. What are rage donations and how can nonprofits mobilize this type of support? Find out on this episode.

Today, we’re going to discuss research into why people resist change, even when it benefits them. Have you ever wondered why the very people who would most benefit from a change can be the most resistant to it? In the face of this resistance, how can nonprofits promote beneficial social change? Find out on this episode.

On this bonus episode, we are going to discuss research into how fundraisers can build authentic relationships with major donors. How do you go from meeting a donor to having a great relationship with them? Find out on this episode.

As you may know, I read a ton of peer-reviewed journal articles in preparation for my client work, in preparation for the podcast, and just for my own nonprofit science education. And, when I talk to my colleagues and clients, I often get asked to recommend some articles to read. Since it’s the end of the year and you hopefully have time off for some leisurely reading, I thought it would be fun to...

When I first started writing appeals, I was taught to follow three golden rules- make it personal, make it specific, and make it urgent. Each year, especially on December 31st, nonprofit emails are littered with phrases like- time is running out to make a difference, we need your help now more than ever, there’s just a few hours left. With each of these messages, there tends to be a spike in donat...

Today we are joined by Dr. Crystal Fashant. She is an associate professor in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at Metro State University and just a wealth of knowledge. She has nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and draws upon that experience to investigate social justice and environmental sustainability issues as they relate to nonprofit work. In this conversati...

For the tenth episode we are going to do things a little differently. One of the goals of the Nonprofit Science Institute and this podcast is to bring a scientific rigor to nonprofit work. With that in mind, today, we are going to tackle ten nonprofit myths that are holding organizations back. These are commonly held beliefs that have either been not proven or have been proven incorrect through pe...

When I first started fundraising years ago, the golden rule was to call donors to say thank you whenever gifts came in. At the end of each calendar year, I would spend hours on the phone, calling donors to either ask for a gift or thank them for a gift. But, times have changed. Does anyone pick up their phone anymore? So, should you continue to call donors? If not, who should you call and who shou...

The problem we are going to tackle today is one that I’ve personally struggled with as a fundraiser and one that I’ve seen my clients struggle with. With Giving Tuesday just around the corner, I thought this was a timely conversation. So the problem we’ll be tackling today is, how can nonprofits retain online crowdfunding donors?

On this episode, we are joined by Dr. Karl Besel. He is the Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Health and Science and a Professor of Public Health and Social Work at the University of Saint Joseph. In addition to teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses, he has written two books, authored over 20 peer reviewed journal articles, and was named a Distinguished William J. Clinton Lecturer...

The problem we are going to tackle today is a big one. How can nonprofits prevent staff burnout? Burnout is a well defined syndrome characterized by exhaustion, disengagement, negativity, and reduced productivity. While burnout is not a medical condition, it can exacerbate medical conditions. Why is it that nonprofit professionals are particularly at risk for burnout and what can we do about it? F...