When it comes to marketing, leadership, connection, and inspiring change, there is no one else out there quite like Seth Godin, my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising. Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 20 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, and Tribes (just to name a few of my favorites). Seth has spent his career trying to get us to be the best version ...
Aug 30, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 68
Did you know that connecting is entirely different than networking? The mindset is different according to Susan McPherson, author of "The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships." As a social impact strategist, she has developed a methodology that turns certain nonprofit conventions on their head, as we learn in this episode of What the Fundraising. Our fundraising superpower starts with broadening beyond the goal of racking up dollar com...
Aug 25, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 67
Faced with the death of her beloved brother, Monique Parker, my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising, reinvented herself and enlivened her purpose. She launched a candle-making business whose revenue she funneled into philanthropies that honored the spirit of her brother. And now she’s taking her nonprofit support one step further. Leveraging her corporate experience in the tech sector, where she was responsible for granting funds to nonprofits, Monique has launched A Little Bit of Good...
Aug 24, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 66
My guest on this episode of What the Fundraising brings not only deep experience as a successful fundraiser for large cultural and educational institutions, but he’s also changing the conversation with fresh perspectives on both the nonprofit and donor sides of giving. Louis Diez, VP for Community at Almabase & Host at the Donor Participation Project, is sharing with us some of the research and insights that are going to blow your mind. In the theme of this week's mini-series, Friendraising,...
Aug 23, 2022•43 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Dominique Morgan is a powerhouse executive director – most recently at The Okra Project, a collective addressing the needs of Black Trans people – but hers is a story that could have gone a different way. Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, Dominique was repeatedly incarcerated. It was a lived experience without dreams or prospects – until she had a few life-changing experiences. A single volunteer gig working at a Pride festival started Dominique on the path to higher education, paid nonprofit work ...
Aug 16, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 64
How busy are you? How rarely are you able to cut through all the noise? My guest on this episode of What the Fundraising is inspiring us all to carve out a daily practice because – no matter how modest – our human spirits need dedicated moments and rituals. When Libby DeLana committed to taking a daily walk around her Newburyport, MA, neighborhood 10 years ago, she had no idea how transformational it would be. Without fail, she has integrated a walk into her daily life. Every day. No negotiation...
Aug 09, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 63
Do you see financial resources as a zero-sum game? If another fundraiser gets more, does it mean your nonprofit receives less? Check that mindset! My guest on this episode of What the Fundraising is here to offer a completely different – far more generous – lens on wealth. Angela Matthews, the founder of the Happy Investor Method, shares an approach fueled by her vision of bounty in both business and in life. “Long gone are the days of martyrdom and choice poverty because I have something that s...
Aug 02, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Ever had that sensation of running, running, running, and not even really knowing where you’re running to? My guest on this episode of What the Fundraising is asking us to pause and consider: Might there be something we’re unconsciously running away from? Goli Kalkhoran, Coach and Host of Lessons From A Quitter, is all about stripping away the layers of identity and self-limiting beliefs that drive so much of our lives. It’s so common that we run from shame, guilt, disappointment, and ultimately...
Jul 26, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Why is it so hard for women to bring all of ourselves, imperfections included, to the table? For starters, we’ve inherited deeply ingrained narratives — stories that shame us and drive our truest natures into hiding. That’s why we all need the support of someone like Ruthie Lindsey, my remarkable guest on this episode of What the Fundraising. She is an author, coach, speaker, and extraordinary healer whose rare wisdom provides a beautiful mirroring of all that we are, including the difficult pie...
Jul 19, 2022•57 min•Season 3Ep. 60
It’s dizzying to look back on this past season of What the Fundraising and try to encapsulate all the brilliant advice, life lessons, and wisdom that my guests have shared – which is why I was fortunate to have my good friend Dana Snyder, CEO of Positive Equation, on deck to help out! Together we’re deconstructing some of the big themes impacting nonprofits today as well as the many innovative new ways organizations are approaching donor partnerships. A lot of our conversations in this space see...
Jul 12, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Want to remember exactly who you are – and be unafraid to claim it? Then you’ll want to tap into the infectious positivity and purpose my guest shares on this episode of What the Fundraising. Ande Lyons is a Startup Champion coach who, as the founder of four successful entrepreneurial ventures, knows intimately the ups downs, joys, and losses associated with taking big risks in pursuit of a passionate vision. While for-profit and nonprofit mandates may differ, many of the organizational challeng...
Jul 05, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 58
It was a thrill to spend time recently with Cimeran Kapur, the Founder, and CEO of Potion, cancer survivor, advocate for healing, and – most of all – seeker of truth. In this episode of What the Fundraising, we’re discussing the effects of coming into alignment with ourselves. It starts with sifting through and looking at who we are to uncover who we’re meant to become. Cimeran was living at breakneck speed, becoming a physician and doing her best to save the world, when she was hit out of left ...
Jun 28, 2022•51 min•Season 2Ep. 57
Megan Seamans is a Certified Life & Energy Coach and Human Design Guide. Megan supports women to tap into their magic and confidently lead their life; without people-pleasing or having fear or doubt stand in the way. After navigating the loss of her brother in 2018 and facing burnout on the thing she was the most passionate about, she changed the way she looked at purpose. Now she supports people everywhere to express their soul gifts and live by design. This episode of What the Fundraising ...
Jun 21, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 56
The brittleness, burnout, and even breakdown that so many of us in the nonprofit world experience isn’t just an occupational hazard. It’s symptomatic of a much more far-reaching cultural framework, which is why my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising is all about disruption. Rebekah Giacomantonio, a facilitator and community healer, took a necessary pause from her career in restorative justice to restore herself. And she’s sharing with us how living into the fabric of Guatemala’s cultur...
Jun 14, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 55
It was such a pleasure to welcome Julie Solomon, an amazing brand and pitch expert, on the day of her first book’s publication. In this episode of What the Fundraising she is walking us through the very internal process undergone by the successful entrepreneurs, entertainers, and other public figures with whom she has worked over the years. But the real work? It started with Julie herself. She gets vulnerable in sharing her own origin story, which is also detailed in "Get What You Want: How to G...
Jun 07, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Do you ever feel that you’re spinning your wheels or being penny-wise and pound-foolish? My guest on this episode of What the Fundraising is here with some straight talk about managing operations efficiently and effectively. A consultant who helps small businesses scale, Jhana Li is a systems thinker with a gift for optimizing organizations from both the 30,000-foot and three-foot levels. This conversation offers a framework to audit your organizational health. Plus practical tips for making cha...
May 31, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 53
Tania Bhattacharyya, Founder of Lumos Marketing, has built her practice around empowering female leaders and their brands. She highlights the many ways that we have it within us to confront and transform the historic and systemic structures that hold us back by owning and telling our story differently. As Tania learned through her years of work at a nonprofit supporting women and families impacted by substance abuse, our stories are transgenerational and deeply embedded. In this episode, she rem...
May 24, 2022•47 min•Season 2Ep. 52
When an online community goes from 10k to 500k members seemingly overnight, there’s definitely some secret sauce involved. In this episode of What the Fundraising we learn from Diandra Marizet Esparza, the co-founder and Executive Director of Intersectional Environmentalist (IE), about why the platform has resonated so profoundly. It starts with understanding the way that cultural identities shape nature and nature shapes cultural identity, and that the two cannot be disconnected. At the core of...
May 17, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 51
When we garden we are caring for more than a plot of land. It can also be seen as an expression of hope, curiosity, and of interconnectivity. This is the message my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising has evangelized to great success through her books, blog and fierce commitment to greening our planet together. Emily Murphy is here to share with us the inspiration behind her latest work, "Grow Now: How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet — One Garden at a Time," a fascinati...
May 10, 2022•45 min•Season 2Ep. 50
What does it look like to use our power and privilege for good? In some cases it involves us speaking out, in others it involves us getting quiet and listening. How do you know what to do when? Maggie Doyne and I explore all of this and more in this week’s episode of What the Fundraising. Maggie has been hailed as CNN Hero of the Year and criticized for perpetuating the white savior narrative, and she has something to say about both. As many people know, at 19 years old, Maggie set off on a gap ...
May 03, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Stepping from a nonprofit career trajectory into a for-profit consulting practice required some adjustment on the part of my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising. Trudi Lebron had to recalibrate in some unexpected and liberating ways, changing outmoded practices that are now helping her change our world. Today Trudi Lebron Impact Coaching serves a wide variety of leaders looking to get beyond old, harmful power structures and processes that have shaped the corporate and service sectors....
Apr 26, 2022•48 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Nearly a half-million people and counting have chosen to help Ukrainians by booking Airbnb rentals in that war-torn country. Why? On this episode of the What the Fundraising podcast, my guest Lynne Wester and I untangle some of the factors behind this impulse to give 1:1 rather than through traditional nonprofit organizations. The founder of Donor Relations Guru, her team partners closely with nonprofits large and small to develop a sound strategy, leveraging technology to create meaningful, sus...
Apr 19, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 47
If you’re sidestepping cryptocurrency because it seems too abstract or risky, you won’t want to miss this episode of What the Fundraising. It features Veronica Hash, program manager of Belonging at Coinbase, a secure online platform for buying, selling, transferring, and storing digital currency. Coinbase – among the largest crypto exchange platforms in the world – built a philanthropic mission into the heart of its business plan: To increase economic freedom in the world. By demystifying terms ...
Apr 12, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Simone Gordon is a single mother of a severely autistic son and the founder of the Black Fairy Godmother Organization which helps marginalized black and brown families. To date, Simone has helped over 500 families and has housed more than 122. In this episode, we talk about the broken parts of the nonprofit sector and why we need to stop putting people in boxes and really listen to their needs. Simone’s journey is tied to her own experience in the sector and it poses important questions about th...
Apr 05, 2022•32 min•Season 2Ep. 43
If change is hard, massive and meaningful change can seem impossible. But my guest on this episode of What the Fundraising is up to the task. As head of Community Impact and Partnerships for Patagonia, Whitney Clapper is innovating strategies designed to accelerate a paradigm shift in the way we live together and treat the planet. In this episode, much of our discussion focuses on the partnership dynamic between nonprofits and Patagonia, and what Patagonia looks for in its non-profit partnership...
Apr 05, 2022•49 min•Season 2Ep. 45
This episode dives right into the importance of strong relationships between donors and nonprofits. As someone who has been on both sides, but now works primarily with funders, our guest is keenly aware of what foundations are looking for in their partnerships. In this episode of What the Fundraising Podcast… Sybil Ackerman-Munson and I discuss what nonprofits can do to level up their pitch when asking foundation funders for money. In addition, Sybil gives us an insider's perspective on how fund...
Apr 05, 2022•52 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Shannon Lohr, Founder, and CEO of Factory45 helps her clients navigate the complexities involved in getting a sustainable clothing brand off the ground. What does this have to do with nonprofits? Well, her pragmatic advice applies to nonprofits too - everything from keeping your mindset right to how to prioritize the right brand and launch activities. We get into the nitty-gritty about things like content polishing, logo massaging, and font swapping that often keep us stuck from being more visib...
Mar 29, 2022•46 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Kate Williams is the CEO of 1% for the Planet, a non-profit whose 6,000+ members are integrating environmental giving into standard best business practices. She helps us imagine a world in which every operating budget includes line items to underwrite social causes as routinely as office space or equipment rental. Conjured some 20 years ago on the banks of the Madison River in Montana, the founders of Patagonia and Blue Ribbon Flies, a fly fishing company, foresaw a need for businesses to suppor...
Mar 22, 2022•44 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Megan Staples Jacob is the Senior Development Director for CSF Philadelphia and has been working in the nonprofit realm for over 13 years. Megan is deeply passionate about the underserved communities in Philadelphia and understands children gain their greatest opportunities through education. In this episode, we discuss the drive and curiosity that fuels her openness to try different strategies in an effort to maximize donor retention, and she openly shares the tactics she’s successfully uncover...
Mar 17, 2022•53 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Inside this episode, I touch on a major golden nugget that isn’t about fundraising strategy at all, but rather involves personal growth strategies surrounding human psychology, which is a larger key element we don’t highlight enough. I define the comfortable elements of the fundraiser hustle (you’ll get what I mean when you listen) and how that hustle mindset isn’t productive but rather detrimental in how we strive toward accomplishing our goals. I dissect this concept and talk about self-coachi...
Mar 17, 2022•11 min•Season 2Ep. 40
