My guest today on The Fundraising Talent Podcast is Kimberly, host of The Intersection Podcast and avid user of Clubhouse which is perhaps were we first met about eighteen months ago. Kimberly kicked us off with the idea that fundraising is long overdue for a reset. She believes that many of the underlying beliefs and assumptions that have gotten us to where we are today need to be surfaced and understood; and, as painful as it might be, we may have to let go of some of them. Kimberly and I agre...
Feb 05, 2022•52 min
What do you get when you put an academic who is all about the most effective fundraising methods between two rabble rousers who never shy away from giving their opinions. That was the lineup today on The Fundraising Talent Podcast with Dr. Russell James, author of The Socratic Fundraiser, and Greg Warner, founder of MarketSmart. The essence of our conversation was whether fundraisers both desire and know how to have genuine conversations with their donors and whether using the Socratic method is...
Jan 29, 2022•49 min
Today I was privileged to connect with Laura Tepper, Executive Director of Development at the University of Pennsylvania, Carey Law School where she oversees all annual, major, and planned giving efforts. Her career spans all functions of frontline fundraising, including the recent Power of Penn’s Law campaign that raised $281M including two of the most significant gifts ever given to an American Law School. Today Laura and I talked about whether returning to the office is a reasonable expectati...
Jan 26, 2022•49 min
How many job descriptions will dramatically change in our post-pandemic world? This is the essence of the conversation I had with Brent, founder of Evertrue who, like myself, never shies from the opportunity to provoke a conversation about what might take our fundraising efforts to another level. During today’s conversation on The Fundraising Talent Podcast, Brent pointed out that we were all reminded very quickly that meaningful conversations with our donors don’t necessarily require a plane ti...
Jan 15, 2022•49 min
I could enjoy conversation with Guirlaine for hours, listening to how she describes her work and allowing her to provoke my thinking about how we can more effectively seize opportunities to a be real fundraisers. Today’s conversation was about Guirlaine’s article in Responsive’s winter edition of Carefully & Critically. Guirlaine wants more of us to learn how to stop being so focused on money, get it out of our way, and begin to experience fundraising as more meaningful work. She asks why fu...
Jan 08, 2022•35 min
For this last episode of The Fundraising Talent Podcast of 2021, I’m delighted that my friend Samuel Butler has returned to enjoy a conversation about his recent article in Responsive’s Carefully & Critically. As a fundraiser in the UK, I am grateful that Sam offers us a perspective of fundraising that those of us on this side of Atlantic don’t always have the benefit of. We started today’s conversation with Sam’s observation that the silver lining in the pandemic may be that it has given a ...
Dec 29, 2021•51 min
One of the privileges of hosting The Fundraising Talent Podcast is the opportunity to develop meaningful friendships with individuals like Lisa Baxter who originally participated in a panel discussion back in the early 2019. Now Lisa’s back to talk to us about her featured article in the winter edition of Carefully and Critically. Today’s conversation was an no-holds barred one for both me and Lisa. I find it convicting to think that much of my fundraising experiences are similar to a game of ch...
Dec 18, 2021•40 min
What happens when a donor has a long history of giving, they have unimaginable wealth, and all the reasons in the world to support your cause, however something in your initial meeting suggests that they donor may have dementia. In these types of situations, Tony and Tara want fundraisers to do the right thing and get caught doing it. In what might become an increasingly common scenario, Tara and Tony want fundraisers to know how to honor the donor, meet expectations for their employers, and do ...
Dec 13, 2021•50 min
How do those of us on the receiving side of charitable giving get bolder in what we ask and expect of those on the giving side of the relationship? Questions of this sort, originating from fundraisers all all stripes, convince me that an increasing numbers of fundraisers are anxious to establish influential peer relationships with their donors rather than the inferior, supplicant role that we often inadvertently assume. Our conversation today on The Fundraising Talent Podcast began with Sarah Be...
Dec 04, 2021•43 min
April describes herself as a loyal Baltimore Raven’s fan and a lover of all things philanthropy, equity, and social justice. Our conversation today on The Fundraising Talent Podcast began with the assertion that fundraising has deliberately distanced itself from the truth and begs the question of what would happen if we were more honest with ourselves and our donors. April wants us to confront the fact that we are taught to be ok with the disconnect between reality and the narrative we tell the ...
Nov 24, 2021•52 min
Are you looking for a great opportunity to work for a world-changing organization and a boss who genuinely gets fundraising? Today’s podcast conversation with Megan is a quick addition to this month’s regularly scheduled guests. Megan is the Sr. Donor Relations Director at the Salvation Army in Milwaukee, and she is excited about hiring a new fundraiser to join her team. Megan has been a fan of the Fundraising Talent Podcast for quite some time; she was a guest in 2019, and I was delighted to ha...
Nov 22, 2021•22 min
When I first announced that I would be having this conversation with Tyrone, I described his telling of Madam CJ Walkers story as an indictment of the wizards of contemporary fundraising and I asked how much better the fundraising experience would be if we were encouraged to engage with donors like Madam Walker in more meaningful ways. While it’s certainly admirable that so many of our organizations express a willingness and desire to engage with more diverse communities, we have to also interro...
Nov 18, 2021•59 min
If you’re the shop that is all about rushing your donors into year-end gifts for the mere purpose of achieving some arbitrary goal, you need to listen to today’s conversation on The Fundraising Talent Podcast. Today’s conversation with Alex begs the question of how to genuinely put the relationship ahead of the gift and how, in doing so, does the organization sets expectations for what is raised from year to year. Alex sees the donor experience as being like a journey that, from our vantage poin...
Nov 11, 2021•50 min
My conversation today with Al begs the question of whether now is the time for a new case for support which, perhaps, begins with having written one for ourselves. The bosses are calling everyone back to the office and no doubt insisting that we raise more money than we did last year, while opportunities to work elsewhere abound and donors are not giving as they did pre-pandemic. With all this movement and change, now is a great time to ask ourselves what we believe about fundraising; what motiv...
Oct 31, 2021•49 min
The question I often want to ask any fundraiser who explains to me that they are frustrated and disappointed in their work is whether they know how to search out and identify opportunities that will ensure them an opportunity for meaningful work. Instead of discerning whether a new job will offer them the chance to shine in meaningful ways, I see far too many fundraisers gravitating toward alluring mission statements and charismatic bosses who ultimately let them down. My guest today on The Fund...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr
My conversation today with Gretchen reminded me of some of the observations that I have made concerning boards and fundraising. Throughout my career I have noticed two consistent yet disparate themes that I suspect those with even a brief tenure in fundraising will be familiar with. The first is what we might call “board knows best”: board members whose inclination is to always assume the existence of expertise that the fundraiser doesn’t have and therefore they must provide. The second theme, p...
Oct 16, 2021•55 min
Carrie and Laura picked up on something during the pandemic that perhaps others were overlooking; while all of us were working remotely, many of us were experiencing extraordinary fundraising outcomes yet always insisting that they were eager to get back to the office. Why? What necessity is there for attending to the rituals of the office when we can achieve the same or perhaps even greater outcomes from home? When it comes to fundraising, especially for those whose focus is on major donors, do...
Oct 07, 2021•47 min
This week our guest is Sybil Ackerman-Munson at Do Your Good. Sybil shared with us the three types of donors that every fundraiser should know and understand. For two decades, Sybil has been a trusted advisor and has helped give away over $45 million. Sybil has served on numerous boards, task forces, and stakeholder groups; and what I most appreciated about our conversation today was that her insights have emerged from experience with being on both sides of the charitable gift exchange. I’m alwa...
Sep 29, 2021•52 min
A consistent theme in my conversations lately is that fundraisers need to be more diligent in determining who they work for and knowing whether they’re signing on for a job in which they can successful or one from which they will end up resigning in less than two years. It occurs to me that my conversation today with Cindy about her new book Raise It! The Reluctant Fundraiser's Guide to Raising Money Without Selling Your Soul may be a great place to begin improving this level of discernment. Cin...
Sep 25, 2021•58 min
I have enjoyed getting to know Brian and am eagerly awaiting the next time I’m in Indy so that, as we did just months before the pandemic, we can enjoy great food and drinks as we banter about how to fix all of fundraising’s problems. Brian, now Vice President for Research at RNL, has been an annual giving and major gift officer and hosts the Fundraising Voices podcast. Lately, he has been asking if we can build an equation that increases giving? As Brian shared with us today, the donation equat...
Sep 23, 2021•59 min
I recently asked my friends Rebecca and David to join me to discuss an article that David had written about what leaders in higher education should expect of fundraising in the next year. Our conversation offered a whole new layer of meaning to David’s encouragement that advancement leaders need to be carefully thinking about renewal, re-engagement, and raising the bar. Perhaps what was profound about this conversation was the notion that fundraisers learn how to appropriately “dwell” with a don...
Sep 15, 2021•58 min
Caitlyn wants to know what is holding back some nonprofits back from asking their donors for more significant and unrestricted gifts. While Caitlyn knows these types of exchanges aren’t sexy and may not seem all that appealing to some of our donors, they arguably provide an organization with the most flexibility in advancing their mission. But suppose our understanding of how we arrive at such opportunities is flawed? Caitlyn has learned that investing in relationships that lead to more in-depth...
Sep 11, 2021•51 min
We have had a number conversations of the sort that Ben and I had today; and, admirably, all of our guests are generally very forthright about where they stand amidst debates about competing fundraising ideologies. Ben believes that too few individuals like him and me, white men of privilege, are doing their part in these conversations and that we all need to collectively acknowledge the inherent racism baked into our system. As someone who insists he’s in this for the long-haul, Ben wants to se...
Sep 07, 2021•52 min
My conversation today is the final of four that we have had with our spring contributors to the most recent publication of Carefully & Critically; Responsive’s professional journal aimed at elevating voices from the mainstream as well as those at the fringe of the fundraising community. In John’s article, he is asking if the pandemic has been good for advancement and like our conversation earlier this week with Dominique, whether the pandemic was the beginning of a season in which we explore...
Sep 04, 2021•27 min
This week’s podcast conversations are with contributing authors to our recent edition of Carefully and Critically, Responsive’s professional journal. Today we talked with Dominique Calixte who asks if it is time to rethink special events; and, later this week, we’re going to be talking with John Feudo who is asking if the pandemic has been good for advancement. In both of this week’s conversation’s, we are asking whether the pandemic has been the beginning of a season in which fundraisers can be...
Sep 01, 2021•36 min
This morning I was delighted to, once again, enjoy a conversation with our friend and fundraising colleague, Travis. In addition to keeping his feet in the field as a major gifts officer, Travis is the founder of Role Identity Solutions and an adjunct at the Lilly School of Philanthropy. Any of our regular listeners will know that Travis has afforded us several enlightening conversations here on the podcast, and I am grateful that he has also been one of the contributing authors to Responsive’s ...
Aug 26, 2021•31 min
Unless you have been living in a cave or under rock for the last couple of months, you’re aware that the labor market is hot as hiring freezes are over and the great resignation is being talked about in all types of industries. My conversation today with Wendy was all about how nonprofits are navigating this phenomenon and how leaders can ensure their people aren’t bailing on them. Wendy has devoted her entire career to serving nonprofit organizations and continues to do so as the managing partn...
Aug 21, 2021•49 min
It was perhaps two years ago when a mutual friend introduced me to Meghan, and I immediately felt compelled to help elevate her ideas throughout the sector. Not only do I believe that Meghan represents a smart and ambitious generation of young leaders, but she is also demonstrating extraordinary courage in sharing her opinions both as a guest on the podcast today and as the featured contributor in our recent edition of Carefully and Critically. Meghan provided our readers with a very timely and ...
Aug 18, 2021•58 min
Nonprofit bosses and hiring managers, are you trying to understand why your fundraiser just bailed on you? If so, this is the podcast conversation you need to hear. I met Kate after speaking at the Ottawa fundraising conference back in May, and we subsequently struck up a conversation on social media. Kate insists that we have got to stop sending a million emails as if we’re communicating with passive consumers and start treating our donors like human beings who actually matter to us. What quick...
Aug 12, 2021•57 min
I have quite enjoyed getting to know Angee, first at our roadshow in Toronto in partnership with our friend David Hutchinson, then as a guest on the podcast shortly thereafter; now Angee is back to share with us how she has navigated the pandemic with the help of Responsive’s three lanes model. It was quite encouraging to hear that the centerpiece of our sense-making toolbox provided a framework for Angee to think through how she might approach the uncertainty of what has been our reality for th...
Aug 10, 2021•57 min
