Driving Participation Podcast: What Is Working in Marketing & Fundraising | Nonprofits | Schools | Associations

Using a donor's first name on a donation receipt. Making the "donate" big and easy to find. These seemingly small changes make a big difference in not just improving your organization's donor conversion rate but also the donor’s experience of giving to your cause. Abby Jarvis, contact director at Qgiv, joins to explore the small changes that lead to big results when it comes to donation pages. Abby shares how you can make the experience as simple and meaningful as possible for a potential donor.

How do you go about planning a virtual conference? Arianna Rehak brought together speakers and professionals for Surge, an entirely virtual summit spread over the course of a few days, that allowed attendees the chance to join in on educational sessions about topics they care about—without having to go anywhere. From the technology behind the summit to how she measured its success, she talks about the logistics of creating a free virtual summit and why the event goes beyond just being a list builder.

When you know who is really coming to your events, it can change everything. Not just your message and marketing, but the event itself. After attending our Master Class on Audience Focus, Chris Blockus used what he learned to completely transform the "Girls' Night Out" event hosted by the Downtown Somerville Alliance — and participation jumped by 50%! Listen as Chris talks to Beth about how he applied the techniques he learned to create a great experience for the attendees, the vendors and the association

Are you using LinkedIn to its fullest? Mike Kirby, vice president of business partnerships at Within3, joins in to talk about how to use LinkedIn to its full potential. From advice about targeting potential connections and leveraging your contacts, Michael shares his favorite approaches to communicating on the social platform and the messaging that works. He and Beth explore the steps to take when making a LinkedIn connection, how to use LinkedIn for research and much more.

The concept of peer-to-peer is nothing new, but it has certainly changed over the years with the advent of technology. Dorene Ocamb, senior director of integrated marketing at MADD, joins this session to explore what peer-to-peer really is (it's simpler than you think) and how technology has offered new ways for constituents to engage with your organization and spread your mission. She describes what she sees as a "renaissance of participation" and how younger generations are changing the peer-to-peer game.

As we head into 2018, Beth wanted to know: What tactics or strategies are you letting go of? She gathered responses from past Driving Participation guests. From foregoing massive website launches to leaving phonathons in the past to changing up social media habits—maybe even letting go of Facebook altogether—listen in to hear what some in the community are leaving behind in the new year.

Mike Lenda has experience in both the for profit and nonprofit world through working previously in marketing at Starbucks and now mobilization at Compassion International. He joins in this week to share some practices he learned at Starbucks and how they could—and should—be applied to nonprofits. From staying true to your mission—know your story and know your why, Mike says—to making your audience feel like partners in your organization, Mike shares what Starbucks has learned that nonprofits can lea

DP 163: Moving out of the Culture of Poverty

Some organizations suffer from failure to see things as the donors themselves see it. Nick Ellinger, vice president of marketing strategy for DonorVoice, joins to talk about how to create a connection between development and communications, and why communications in nonprofits is often one-sided. He explains how you can get real, substantive feedback from donors—and then how to actually use it. He shares some key advice on creating a personal connection, such as be careful what and how you ask.

Jill Knaggs knows the perception about manufacturing typically evokes a sort of dingy image. But she also knows the industry is anything but dingy. She joins this session to talk about a campaign she coordinated as communication and marketing manager for the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Manitoba to change perception and show people what the industry is. She explains how the organization incorporated hijack marketing around Canada's 150th birthday celebration.

As Jen Martindale will say, having a brand strategy in place just the starting line—not the finish line. She helped the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts undergo a total rebranding, which doesn't mean a new logo. As Chief of Marketing, she helped the organization reach a new audience in a way that worked for them and created an image and strategy that communicates who the YBCA is. Learn about the role arts and culture play in enacting change.

Will Dennis wants people in leadership positions to come from a place of “yes.” With a background in theater and improvisation, Will, manager of the Prep Fund at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, knows the notion of “yes” and taking a risk on an idea is paramount — and often pays off. He believes in the value of conversation in determining what drives people’s participation with an organization and creating a real relationship.

This week, Beth is back with the team from Chemical Heritage Foundation. This time, she talks with Shelley Wilks Geehr, director of the Roy Eddleman Institute, about the roles of social media and digital content for the museum. Shelley explores the various media assets of the organization, from its quarterly print (yes, print!) magazine to a podcast to weekly Twitter takeovers. She also explains the role of Wikipedia in their organization and how it has helped attract attention to the museum.

When you start a new project—like a new exhibit at a museum—you might look at what other organizations are doing, and that can be a good thing. This session is all about collaboration—both internally and externally—as Elisabeth Berry Drago and Rebecca Ortenberg from the Chemical Heritage Foundation join in to talk about how the museum worked with other organizations as it developed its newest exhibit. They also discuss how they personalized the exhibit for museum-goers.

It's easy to think of branding as something superficial. But at its core, a brand is really just a relationship, as Cynthia Round explains on this week's session. A brand creates an inherently emotional connection that inspires loyalty and ongoing action. Why does your audience connect with your organization? Asking qualitative questions that seek to answer how people identify with a brand helped Cynthia in her work at organizations like United Way Worldwide and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.