Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast

I'm not gonna lie. This is, for me, a bucket list interview. This week Roy Jones and I interviewed Bob Westfall, CEO of Westfall Gold.Why is this such a big deal for me (it's a big deal for you too, you just don't know it yet!)? Because Bob's firm has raised $950 MILLION in transformational major gifts, and they've developed a phenomenal approach to building relationships and securing philanthropic support. I learned a ton in this interview, and I hope you do too!Some key points from our conversation:To be successful at major gift fundraising you have to have the right people in the room.Major and Mega donors follow the principle that "eagles fly with eagles" -- meaning, they want to be together with other high net worth, major/mega donors. And getting these people in the room together on behalf of your charitable cause is not just financially important to you, but valuable to your donors.The case (i.e., Case for Support) is critical. It must be emotional, intellectual, and transformational. But the most important of these three is that it's transformational (i.e., that it shows the donor that their philanthropic support can make a HUGE change in the lives of those you serve).According to the Bank of America / US Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, 94% of major donors will give you a gift once you can help them believe in the mission of your organization.Further, 93% of major donors say they'll make a major gift once an organization shows them how doing so will make a meaningful impact in the lives of people served by the organization.If fundraisers will intentionally deliver a transformational case every time they interact with a donor, their likelihood of securing major gifts will skyrocket! This can be as simple as leaving a voicemail telling the donor a quick impact story, sharing a news article about the impact of your work, or emailing them a quote from someone served by your org .Get the full show transcript here. 

Last week we sat down with Steven Shattuck, Chief Engagement Officer at Bloomerang, a leading CRM provider in the nonprofit sector. Steven is one of the smartest guys in our space, and he leads Bloomerang's thought leadership efforts, including their highly popular blog and webinar programs. We had a great conversation about how successful nonprofits are harnessing their data -- often one of the most valuable resources they have -- to maximize revenue for their cause. Steven walks us through some of the most impactful ways nonprofits are using data, and some of the biggest mistakes orgs make with their data. I hope you find this interview hugely valuable!And if you are interested in exploring Bloomerang as a CRM option for your organization, you can check them out here.  Download the show transcript here. 

There are so many great things I could say about Jeff Rothman. But I'm biased. When I was looking to take the next step in my career two years ago, Jeff helped me find my new work "home" at Newport One. He was a great advocate and trail guide as I explored the opportunity at Newport and ultimately chose to come on board this agency. It was the best career decision I've made in a long time...made possible by Rothman Talent Solutions. Jeff is Founder & President of Rothman Talent Solutions, an executive search firm that specializes in pairing high-impact talent with data-driven marketing organizations (nonprofits, for-profits, and the agencies that serve their marketing needs). Jeff is also a contributing author to my recent Amazon #1 Best Seller, 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make And How You Can Avoid Them. He joined me on the podcast for a conversation about some of the biggest mistakes nonprofits make in the areas of talent recruitment, engagement, and retention. If you are responsible for hiring or retaining talent in a nonprofit, or for leading people and teams that are, you won't want to miss Jeff's insights and tips.  You might also want download a copy of Jeff's chapter from 101 Biggest Mistakes.

If you want to raise more money for your nonprofit, better engage your donors, and create massive fundraising leverage, you need to listen to what my friend, Erica Waasdorp has to say. Erica is President of A Direct Solution, and author of Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant. She's also a contributing author to my recent Amazon #1 Best Seller, 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make And How You Can Avoid Them. I recently sat down with Erica to talk about the biggest mistakes nonprofits make with monthly donors, and to get her insights about some of the most important trends and strategies related to monthly giving. Her insights are like GOLD! If you follow Erica's recipe for building and scaling a monthly giving program, your donors will have a better experience, and you'll raise a lot more money for your cause! Erica says one way to kickstart your monthly giving program is to grab a copy of her FREE tool, the Monthly Giving Starter Kit. Check out her podcast interview for more valuable tips and insights! Download the show transcript here

I first met Trista Harris a year ago when she spoke at the ALDE Conference in Minneapolis. Her talk was engaging and thought provoking, and I walked away wanting to hear more. That's why I was so excited when she agreed to be interviewed for the Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast! In this episode, Trista helps us understand what Philanthropic Futurism is, and how nonprofit organizations can all benefit from futurism. She also gives us some predictions for the future of the nonprofit sector, and what some of the biggest risks and opportunities on the horizon might be. It's a great episode - you don't want to miss it!Download the show transcript here. About TristaTrista Harris is a passionate advocate for leaders in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. Trista’s work has been covered by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, CNN, Forbes, the New York Times, and numerous social sector blogs. She is also the co-author of the book “How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar” and the book “FutureGood”. She speaks internationally about using the tools of futurism in the social sector and is the president of FutureGood, a consultancy that helps visionary leaders build a better future. You'll also want to check out Trista's blog.  

In this episode we talk with Sarah Olivieri, Founder of PivotGround about her Impact Method, a business framework designed specifically for nonprofits. We loved this conversation and getting to know Sarah. What's clear to us is that Sarah and her team are moving the needle for nonprofits in one of the most valuable and under-leveraged areas -- planning. Sarah debunks the idea of traditional strategic planning, and also challenges our industry's current focus on "data-driven" decision making. Our heads were spinning as we learned from Sarah and how she's helping nonprofits become more effective in the marketplace. You won't want to miss this episode! About SarahSarah Olivieri is a nonprofit strategist with a passion for helping organizations thrive in the digital age.The founder and heart behind PivotGround, Sarah helps human-service nonprofits increase capacity, deliver better programming, attract more funding, and make the world a better place.She is also the creator of the Impact Method™ - a business framework for nonprofits designed to help them thrive in the digital age.Sarah received her BA from the University of Chicago with a focus on globalization and its effect on marginalized cultures, studying in Spain, Tanzania, and Cuba, and finally moving to Japan to teach English. In 2009 she completed a master's degree in Humanistic and Multicultural Education at SUNY New Paltz.When Sarah isn't developing strategies for clients, you can often find her speaking or hosting seminars. Sarah is also a mom and loves spending time with her 6-year-old son Lilo and enjoys cooking, sailing, knitting, and reading in her free time.Download the show transcript hereWant more great leadership content? Subscribe to my weekly nonprofit leadership email. Every Monday you'll get a quick, concrete leadership tip to help you lead better throughout the week. 

In our most recent episode of The Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast I sat down with Amanda Fabrizio-Grzesik, Director of Development at Tennessee Tech University, and author of the Fab Fundraising blog. We had a fascinating conversation about building a culture of collaboration across development and programs (in her case, specifically with academic staff). This is often such a difficult bridge to build between the two camps -- but Amanda has some great real world tips and examples to help you do just that. If you've ever struggled to gain alignment between development and program teams, you'll want to check out this podcast episode.  About Amanda Amanda is a native of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region, Amanda moved to Tennessee from the northeast in 2014.  She is currently the Director of Development for the College of Agriculture & Human Ecology, College of Education, College of Engineering and the Oakley STEM Center at Tennessee Tech University. She also oversees regional fundraising for Kentucky, Virginia, the upper-Midwest and the Northeast.  Amanda graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from DeSales University and her Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Lehigh University.  Before Tech, she worked in communications at Lehigh's Industrial and Systems Engineering Department and in the university development offices at Immaculata University and Pratt Institute.  Her husband, Danny, works in student affairs and met while they were both working at Lehigh. They have two fur children, Sonic, who is a seven-year-old Pomeranian, and Laney, who is a 3-month old Chiweenie (chihuahua/dachshund mix). You can connect with Amanda via the following: Fab Fundraising Blog LinkedIn Download the show transcript here

In this episode we chat with two of the nation's leading experts on nonprofits, Marc Stein and Bob Lipps. Marc and Bob are co-Founders of The Global Center for Nonprofit Excellence. The Center, as they call it, was created to bring together three diverse groups -- Nonprofits, Funders, and Businesses that provide products and services to the nonprofit sector.  What's most interesting to us about The Center is that these two guys, with decades of experience in legal services, finance, operations, leadership, marketing, and development, have designed an organization with the sole purpose of optimizing the work done by nonprofits. Their goal is to help align nonprofit organizations with service providers and funders, and to provide key services that will help an organization enhance and optimize their work, across all aspects of the organization. In this episode you'll hear more about their approach to serving nonprofits, and the distinct value that they provide. One very interesting tool they shared about on the podcast is their OpX360® product. OpX360®, which stands for Operational Excellence 360, is an assessment tool that nonprofits, boards, funders, or individual leaders can use to gain a clear understanding of how they and their organizations are performing across six key functional areas.  This is an incredibly valuable assessment tool that will be available to nonprofits worldwide starting in August. You can be one of the first organizations to take advantage of this new tool by registering on their waitlist today. As a special bonus just for our listeners, The Center is providing a generous $200 discount on OpX360® assessments. All you have to do is input the coupon code RAINMAKER when prompted.  Download the show transcript here

During last month's Citygate Network Conference, Shawn Saunders (Dickerson Bakker & Associates) and I got to sit down with Dan Balena of Atlanta Mission and talk about how he and the team at Atlanta Mission have energized their major gift program. After a long and successful corporate career at IBM, Dan felt called to the work of ministry, and later discovered that his skills and experience were a great fit for major gift work. In our conversation he talks about the way Atlanta Mission is engaging donors, telling better stories, and working to bring renewed excitement to the relationships they have with their donors -- all in support of changing the lives of people in need throughout the Atlanta area. s Download the show transcript here

Carlos Baldovinos leads The Mission at Kern County, serving those who are experiencing homeless in Bakersfield, CA and surrounding communities. I got the chance to interview Carlos at the Citygate Network 2019 conference earlier this month in beautiful Palm Springs, CA. My good friend Shawn Saunders from Dickerson Bakker & Associates was kind enough to guest host this episode with me. During our conversation with Carlos, we touch on the growing crisis of homelessness in California, and specifically in the Kern County area. He shares with us the approach The Mission is taking to increase capacity to serve more people in need, and how he and his team successfully executed a recent capital campaign to grow their Mission. What's most interesting about this is that Carlos and his team decided not to engage a consultant in the process, and skipped the feasibility study phase of the campaign. Check out this podcast to learn how they did that, and what your organization might be able to learn from their approach.  Download the show transcript here

Have you heard of ViewSpark yet? They happen to be my favorite digital donor engagement platform, and if you don't know them yet, you should check them out. I got to sit down with ViewSpark's CEO, Jeff Kliewer, and Vice President of Marketing, Kat Landa, during the recent Citygate Network conference in Palm Springs to talk about how their platform is reshaping the way nonprofits engage with their donors. And the results are pretty stellar. In fact, in December of 2018 when many other nonprofits saw sharp declines in online giving, ViewSpark's clients actually saw significant increases in online giving! Interestingly, Jeff and Kat share that their average client spends less than 10 minutes per day using their platform -- and it still generates significant returns for them. Right now they're offering a special 50% discount off their standard set-up cost just for our listeners. All you have to do is mention the Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast when you contact them! Download the show transcript here. 

We were so blessed to sit down with our longtime friend and colleague, Michelle Porter, Founder & CEO at Souls Harbor Rescue Mission in Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the recent Citygate Network 2019 Conference. Michelle is one of a small (but growing) group of female CEO's within North America's network of Gospel Rescue Missions (homeless shelters). She sat down with me and my guest co-host, Shawn Saunders of Dickerson Bakker & Associates to talk about the importance, value, and challenges of growing the number of women in leadership in the rescue mission community. During our time together she also talked with us about her experience in launching a new ministry organization from the ground up, what some of the challenges were around that, and how she went about engaging the local community to help fund and grow their start-up organization.  Download the show transcript hereWant more great leadership content? Subscribe to my weekly nonprofit leadership email. Every Monday you'll get a quick, concrete leadership tip to help you lead better throughout the week. 

During the recent Citygate Network 2019 Conference in Palm Springs, CA, we got the chance to sit down with our new friend, Richard Newcomb, Vice President of Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.During our conversation, Richard shared several key insights with me and my guest co-host, Shawn Saunders of Dickerson Bakker & Associates.  Richard talks with us about the challenges of building awareness and raising funds in a heavily crowded market like Los Angeles, and the growing need for innovation and change to address the growing homeless crisis in Los Angeles. He also shares a story of the bold and compassionate leadership of Union Rescue Mission's CEO, Andy Bales. You won't want to miss this episode!  Download the show transcript here. 

During the recent Citygate Network 2019 Conference in Palm Springs, CA, I got the chance to meet and get to know Donovan Coley Sr., M.A., President/CEO of The Rescue Mission in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Donovan was a guest on The Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast, and talked with me and my guest co-host, Shawn Saunders of Dickerson Bakker & Associates about the importance of culture and leadership on philanthropy. In our conversation he shares the story of how when he came to The Rescue Mission, he discovered the need for change, and implemented significant changes across the organization's leadership structure and culture. Those changes helped the organization grow from less than $1.5 Million per year, to $6.1 Million today.   Download the show transcript here. Want more great leadership content? Subscribe to my weekly nonprofit leadership email. Every Monday you'll get a quick, concrete leadership tip to help you lead better throughout the week. 

I got the chance to sit down with my good friend and former client, Paul Spence,  who is VP of Development at City Gospel Mission in Cincinnati. Paul was kind enough to visit with me during the Citygate Network 2019 Conference in Palm Springs, and talk with me about the importance of innovation and change in fundraising. This is a topic Paul knows a lot about -- he's led several significant innovations during his time at City Gospel Mission, and helped raise millions of dollars in the process for this ministry.  Download the show transcript here