The Fundraising Coach

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 28-31: Objections (uncommon types), Thanking and Recognition, Stewardship

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 24-27: The Ask: Positioning Tactics, Objections: Overview and 3-Step Process for Handling

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 21-23: The Ask: Preparation, 3-Step Process, Types and Forms

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters: 18-20: 5-Step Initial Call Script, Objections, First Meeting

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters: 14-17: Finding Donors, Assigning Donors, Cultivation, Initial Call

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 11-13: Make Yourself Memorable, Preparation Tips, Donor Lifecycle

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 7-10: "The Big 2," Sweat the Things You Can Control, 10 Strategic Fundraising Principles

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 4-6: Building a Rainmaker Team, Help Raise Money Without Asking for It, "The Super 6"

Cloudburst (Book) - Chapters 1 - 3: Fundraising Facts, Play the Odds, Should "YOU" Be Asking for Money?

Cloudburst (Book) - Introduction

First Things First (Tom Iselin): Overview of Services, Experience, Credibility, and Fees

First Things First and Tom Iselin. This audio clip provides a brief overview of our services, experience, credibility, and fees. For more detailed information, visit www.tomiselin.com , or call 858.888.2278. With gratitude, Tom~

Meet Tom Iselin!

This is an audio clip of Tom Iselin's business bio. It's intended for those who want to learn a little bit more about me and how I got into the nonprofit world. For more detailed information, visit www.tomiselin.com , or call 858.888.2278. With gratitude, Tom~

Episode 15 - Appeal Letters and Emails? Increase Response Rates 5x! Seriously!

Do you send out appeal letters or emails for your year-end campaign? Just sending an email or an appeal letter, with no announcement or personalization, will yield a response rate of 1-3% . . . maybe 5% if you’re lucky. However, if you send make an announcement notification BEFORE you send your appeals, either by phone or email, to donors who have a connection to your nonprofit, more than 50% will make a gift. Done well, this figure can skyrocket to 70%. Seriously. Tune in and listen to more det...

Episode 14 - How Can Star Wars Help You Raise More Money?

Imagine watching a movie like Star Wars, Jaws, or Top Gun with no sound. They would be dry, listless, and yes, dull. In many movies, the sound makes the movie. It elicits emotional responses that can lift us up, make us cry, and give us goosebumps. When reading a brochure or an appeal letter, there is no sound; it’s like watching a silent movie. The emotional power of the stories and information is weak. I this 7-min podcast, learn how you can use SOUND to make a greater impact on your donors an...

Build great content and increase response rates 10-fold!

What good are your appeal letters if no one reads them? In this podcast, learn what makes create content and how to increase the response rates of the appeals you send out -- especially your yearend holiday appeals.

Episode 13 - Podcast Host, Erin Brinker Interviews Tom Iselin

12 minutes. Listen Podcast host Erin Brinker interviews Tom on her show called: On The Brink! KCAA 102.3 FM, 106.5 FM, and 1050 AM in the Inland Empire-East LA. Tom provide straight-talk answers to a handful of Erin's poignant questions about things like nonprofit overhead, wasteful spending, marketing, and more.

Episode 12 - Raise More Money . . . Invest in Goosebumps!

Face it. You are competing for funds in a fiercely competitive environment with limited resources. Many large universities and institutional nonprofits have hundreds of people raising money for them and operate multimillion dollar marketing budgets. It's you (David) verses Goliath. How do you compete? One of the simplest things you can do is to invest in marketing. Most small to medium-sized nonprofits have little to no marketing budgets because they (often board members) view marketing as an ex...

Episode 11 - Swap Your Pronouns to Raise More Money!

Stop using "I", "Me", and "We" when asking for money. This short podcast shows you how to quickly change how you position your asks so the focus is on connecting the donor -- and the donor's gift -- on the needs you fill . . . not the needs you have!

Episode 10 - The Best Fundraising Tactic Ever - Vegas Style

There are many ways to raise money - grants, galas, email, letters, and phone calls . . . but the most effective way is asking for money in a face-to-face setting. In fact, this podcast will show why it's the most effective tactic over all others.

Episode 09 - 5 Ways to Wow Donors When Thanking Them!

Competition for donors is tough. The problem is that most nonprofit are focused on acquiring donors when they should be thinking about how to retain them. In this podcast, learn how to create loyal and generous fans by thanking donors in ways that stand out and separate you from the competition.

Episode 08 - Last-Minute Holiday Fundraising Tips

Learn 3 of my favorite ways to raise money from donors during the month of December. Time is running out -- do what works!!

Episode 07 - The Importance of Creating a Board Member Engagement Form

This is a brief podcast on how to create an engagement form that your board members can fill out when they join your board, or annually, to get board members more engaged in the work of your organization, based on their gifts and skills -- and interests! A free template is made available by writing Tom at tomiselin@gmail.com .

Episode 06 - Create a Fundraising Profile of Your Board

Engage more members in your fundraising efforts by urging them do what THEY want to do, not what you want them to do!

Episode 05 - How to Raise More Money by Not Asking for it!

The best way to raise money from donors when you first meet them is NOT to ask them for money. Rather, make a non-monetary ask, first -- a "connection" ask. Ask them to volunteer, observe your programming, provide advice, watch a performance, or attend a "friend-raising" event. This podcast addresses this common problem and provides suggestions on ways you can raising more money by taking a softer, more patient approach. Enjoy!

Episode 04 - The 5 Tragedies of Forcing People to Ask for Money!

There are many positive things you can do to engage board members and volunteers to support the fundraising efforts of your organization. However, some organizations require their board members to raise money. The problem? Forcing people to ask for money often results in tragedy. Learn why!

Episode 03 - Small Donors, Big Opportunities

Sometimes your smallest donors hold the largest promise of major gifts, but you'll never know unless you reach out to them!

Episode 02 - The Give or Get Policy - Tom's Rant

Does your board have a "Give or Get" policy? Should they? This podcast, or shall I say rant, discusses the downside of having such a policy and why it's more effective - and practical - to establish a "Give and HELP Get" policy. If you do, your board will be much happier, and you'll probably raise more money from them and your donors.

Episode 01 - The Super 6 - Fundraising Tactics That Attract Donors

This podcast covers 6 fundraising principles will help you understand what attracts donors to nonprofits. These principles are important to learn because knowing what attracts donors to nonprofits will help raise more money and develop more loyal and generous donors.

Prelaunch Episode 1

In this brief podcast, learn why it's important to think about how much time you're spending on grant writing compared with other types of fundraising tactics such as face-to-face fundraising. Tom shares his "Grant From Hell" story, which will get you thinking about the efficiency and effectiveness of your fundraising efforts.

Episode 0b: About Tom and his brush with death

In the 1980's, I had it all -- then almost lost it all in a blink of an eye. Listen to this podcast and learn about the transformational experience I had that turned a self-centered stock options trader into a selfless social entrepreneur that's passionate about helping leaders like you build high-performance nonprofits.