7-Figure Fundraising Podcast

Read this episode's show notes here.
Today’s show features Tarren Bragdon, the Co-Founder of 7-Figure Fundraising. He’s also the CEO of the Foundation for Government Accountability, a nonprofit he started in 2011. He shares the transformational shift and smart strategy that took his nonprofit from $50K in seed money to more than $13 million in revenue yearly with a development staff of three.

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com

Read this episode's show notes here.
In this episode of the 7-Figure Fundraising Podcast, host Trevor Bragdon sits down with Fred Fransen. Fred is the founder of Certell Inc., an education nonprofit which provides social studies curriculum to more than 5,000 teachers across the United States. Fred also is an advisor and consultant to major donors who give to higher education, medical and scientific institutions, and the arts. He has 25 years experience in the nonprofit world within universities, colleges, and international think tanks. Fred walks through how small or start-up nonprofits can get into serious fundraising. He shares how to build a positive, beneficial relationship with donor advisors and touches on important insights into how major donors think. Learn more at http://7figurefundraising.com/podcast

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com

View Episode 46 Show Notes on our website here.
To grow your fundraising, focus on these 7 steps.
1. Ask Donors Only Once a Year (1:22)

• This is how major donors organize their giving
• Match your ask to their timetable
• Don’t nickel and dime your major donors by asking them for a big donation and later asking them for smaller donations or sponsorships.

2. Treat Donors Like Partners (5:05)

• Poverty versus the Partnership Mindset
• What does treating a partner look like
  • See Episode #42 - Creating a 5-Star Donor Experience
• How to create a great thank you letter: 5-Sentence Thank You Letter
• Creating a 100 day plan for new donors, see Episode #35 - How to Never Lose a Donor

3. Add a Few New Partner Donors Each Year (12:00)

• You don’t need hundreds of new donors. A few can go a long way
  • Focus on warm leads
  • Referrals - ask your donors for only one referral
    • Script to use: "Is there one person, who is like you, that I should talk to about supporting our work?"
  • Referrals have some of the highest close and retention rates for new donors

4. Have a Big Vision (17:49)

• Why is this important?
• If you are trying to figure out your Big Vision
  • Think about 1 year first
  • Then 2, then 3
  • Book: Vision Driven Leader by Michael Hyatt

5. Make a Compelling Pitch (23:06)

• Nonprofits are complicated and do lots of great things, but sometimes it's hard to explain everything
• How to talk about your work and make it memorable
• Watch an overview video of our 8-Step Pitch Template
• Read: The Ultimate Guide to Pitching Major Donors

6. Execute on the Big Vision (30:17)

• Execution is just as important as a big vision
• Build trust with execution - show you are doing what you say
• Books on building systems for execution
  • Traction by Gino Wickman
  • 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney and Sean Covey

7. Staff with Fundraising Specialist (33:04)

• Connector - the person who reaches out to prospects and works on securing a first meeting.
• Closer - the person who meets with donors and makes the ask
• Cultivator - the person who manages the donor relationship throughout the year, ensuring they are getting a 5-star experience from the nonprofit.

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/7-steps-of-fundraising

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com

View Episode 47 Show Notes on our website here.
Trevor and Tarren Bragdon discuss how to think about fundraising for a startup nonprofit.

We have a lot of people new to fundraising who find us through the podcast and we’d wanted to do a podcast specifically for fundraising for a startup nonprofit.

• 3 phases of a Startup Nonprofit
  • Idea phase - Finding the product and market fit
    • Read the book The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
  • Proof phase - show your idea works - pilot or small scale success
  • Scale phase - figuring out how to take things that work on a small scale and make them work on large scale
• Theory of Change Formula
  • What is the Problem
  • What is your Solution?
  • Why are you the best team to solve the Problem?
  • Write out your theory of change in less than 140 words.
    • Refine and edit.
    • You'll want to be able to explain it in about 1 minute
• How to introduce yourself - to new people and talk about your nonprofit
  • Problem, Solution and then a Story
  • Introduction from The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Alan Dibs
  • “You know how [state the problem you solve]. Well I’m starting a nonprofit that [insert your solution here]. In fact, [give a story about your solution]”
• Start working on your pitch -
  • See our short video on How to Build a Pitch
    • Elevator Close Video
  • We have a video on this and a short course on Udemy on how to build a pitch - almost 600 students enrolled
• Phase 2 the Proof phase - showing your idea works - pilot or small scale success
  • Communication with donors key
  • Start thinking about the size of the nonprofit you want to create
  • Building out your team

Wrap up

• To grow your fundraising as a Startup, focus on these steps.
  • Idea Phase
    • Ask why isn’t this done already
    • Develop out your theory of change
    • Create your introduction and begin your pitch
    • Begin testing your idea on a small scale
    • Pitch donors and listen to their feedback
    • Expect a lot of No’s
  • Proof Phase
    • Decide the type of nonprofit you want to build
    • Build out your team
    • Figure out how to scale

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com

Read the show notes for this episode on our website here.
Today on 7-Figure Fundraising, host Trevor Bragdon is joined by Noemi Perez. Noemi is the Chief Executive Officer of the Immokalee Foundation, a nonprofit that provides a range of education programs focused on building pathways to professional careers. They serve students in kindergarten through post-secondary education. Noemi shares her advice and experience gained from leading her nonprofit throughout the challenges of the last year.

To see all the show notes visit: https://www.7figurefundraising.com/podcast/

To learn more about fundraising and our training visit: 7FigureFundraising.com