The Build Good Fundraising Podcast

There’s no way around it: our world is a mess.

Giving has levelled off after a season of overwhelming generosity. We’re facing record inflation. The housing market is unpredictable. The stock market is a mess. Supply chains are broken.
Society seems to be more polarized than ever before. And the ongoing war in Ukraine is ever-present in the public consciousness.

Regardless of how serious you may think things are, make no mistake: most people are paying more at the cash register when they’re buying food and fueling up the family van.

And chances are, most of your donors are feeling a little bit of insecurity—and a little bit of lack of control over what’s happening in the world.
So what does that mean for your fundraising?
On today's show, we're sharing part of a conversation Mike had with Dan Sonners on the Dynamic Nonprofits podcast about how to fundraise when the world's a mess.
We look at the big picture, then go into some practical steps you can take today to make sure your organization is prepared for the worst.
Make sure to check out the Dynamic Nonprofits podcast, and follow Dan Sonners on LinkedIn.

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🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact.

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Interested in working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors.

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising.

➡️ For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

One of the biggest challenges in growing a nonprofit is donor acquisition and donor retention.
Acquiring new donors is hard work. And it can be expensive in the short term, especially if you consider that the first-time gift most donors make won't cover the cost of acquisition.
What that means for your fundraising is that you have to have a donor retention strategy in place—because donors grow more valuable every year they're with you.
Today on the podcast, Claire Axelrad is going to walk us through seven action tips you can easily implement to improve your donor retention.

Most of these tactics are evergreen, and you'll find that most of them are really simple. It's just that not many nonprofits are using them. Some take more of a commitment, but the return on investment makes it well worth the effort and the initiative.

Claire has over three decades of frontline fundraising experience, helping organizations raise millions in support. She writes an award-winning blog called Clairification, and she also runs the Clairification School online.

Today we’ll cover:

[3:14] - Action Tip #1: Including a handwritten note with your direct mail appeal.
[9:23] - Action Tip #2: Add a handwritten signature to your thank you cards
[13:06] - Action Tip #3: Add a Handwritten note to your Thank You letter
[17:36] - Action Tip #4: Enclose tribute giving envelopes in your newsletters
[24:33] - Action Tip #5: Include tribute gift envelope in Thank You letters
[29:17] - Action Tip #6: Include an invitation to a free event in the Thank You letter
[34:34] - What nonprofits can do if they don't have facilities they can invite donors to
[36:34] - Action Tip #7: Send at least one dedicated monthly giving appeal
{39:07] - Your best prospects to become monthly donors
[43:58] - Claire's encouragement for nonprofit leaders
Get connected:

Claire would love to connect with you. You can find her at clairification.com or on twitter @charityclarity

Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing The Build Good Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here.

To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

On a special Christmas edition of the podcast, we are getting a behind the scenes look at how an independent artist raises funds to support their mission.
Today we’re talking with Steve Bell. Steve is a singer-songwriter, author, and speaker. He has been sharing his music and message for almost 30 years across Canada, the US and beyond.
Steve has a two-sided business model. He tours and sells music — but he also raises funds and relies on philanthropy. Over the years, Steve has built a broad base of donors by giving people a chance to support his mission in a meaningful way.
This is one of the more insightful fundraising chats I’ve had in a long time. We get into the philosophy and mindset of fundraising: giving someone an opportunity to be a part of, and sharing in, the work we do.

Today we’ll cover:

• [3:25] - Getting to know Steve as an artist, author, and mission-driven fundraiser
• [9:16] - How Steve maintains an active relationship with his audience
• [11:46] - How to grow a donor base while doing what you care about
• [18:43] - The currency of music
• [16:55] - Steve’s explains his pre-COVID marketing strategies and revenue streams
• [25:20] - Mike and Steve talk about advent; Steve performs, “The Magnificat”
• [31:20] - What Steve has done to adjust to fundraising during COVID-19
• [37:50] - What losing live events has meant for Steve’s business
• [37:30] - There is so shortcut to great fundraising
• [45:30] - Steve performs the title track of his new album, “Wouldn’t You Love to Know”
• [49:34] - Steve’s parting thoughts for nonprofit leaders

Resources mentioned:

A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen

“A Hunkered Down Christmas” by Steve Bell

7-book series “Pilgrim Year” by Steve Bell

Steve Bell’s newest release “Wouldn’t You Love to Know”

Get connected:

Steve would love to connect with you. You can find information about him at his website: stevebell.com

Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here.

To take advantage of our FREE resources and get your 5-Minute Fundraising Fix, visit:

fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

What compels donors to say yes?
That’s the question most nonprofit fundraisers and marketers are trying to find answers for. Because understanding how people make decisions is a key part in making our fundraising more effective.
We've talked about how behavioural economics can help your fundraising on this podcast before, but many of you said this was a topic you wanted to know more about. So, today's guest is Nate Andorsky, the CEO of Creative Science — a digital agency that applies behavioural economics and technology to help mission-driven organizations grow their impact in the world.
Nate uses donor psychology and big data to get a better understanding of how donors behave. He wrote Decoding the Why, which has a wealth of nonprofit examples of his research.
Today, Nate is going to walk us through five essential theories you can apply in your fundraising today. Listen along to hear five tested and proven principles that come out of the field of behavioural economics and have the power to compel more people to say yes.

Today we’ll cover:

[4:43] - The difference between system 1 and system 2 thinking
[7:35] - Shortcut #1: The Affect Heuristic
[9:23] - What a sludge is
[9:57] - How to present data without taking away its emotional power
[14:07] - Shortcut #2: The Ambiguity Aversion
[18:44] - Shortcut #3: The Certainty Effect
[23:28] - Shortcut #4: The Closeness Effect
[33:24] - Being careful with stereotypes
[36:10] - Shortcut #5: Framing
[41:34] - Nate’s encouragement for nonprofit marketers, leaders, and fundraisers

Get connected:

Nate would love to connect with you. You can find him on Linkedin or email him at [email protected]. You can find out more about the work he does at creativescience.co and get his book Decoding the Why on Amazon.

Please consider subscribing to, rating, or sharing the BuildGood Podcast on your preferred platform. You can do that by clicking here.

To take advantage of our free resources and get your 5-minute fundraising fix, visit: fiveminutefundraisingfix.com

What does a person get when they make a gift to charity?
Most of the time, they’re not buying a product or service. They’re buying a story about the kind of person they are.
And what they get in return is the way you treat them...and communicate with them...and update them.
So, isn’t it our duty to put a lot of thought and care into our donor communications?
Don’t we owe it to our community of supporters—and the people we serve—to draw people closer to the work and treat them like they’re an important part of the team?

Today’s guest just released a book to help fundraisers create sharp and surprising donor communications that do a much better job of raising money and retaining supporters.
John Lepp is a direct response, marketing and graphic design expert with 25 years of experience working with charities around the world to help them tell better stories and to inspire donors to give, both online and offline.

His new book is called Creative Deviations.
It’s an anecdotal and thoughtful full-colour how-to guide to help you become more creative. It’s part graphic design, part design thinking, part storytelling, part strategic thinking and part love note to you amazing humans who work so hard for your causes, your donors, your mission and your desire to contribute and make positive change in our world.

You can buy the book right here.

I learn something new every time I talk to John, so I think you’re going to love this episode.
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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messages that lead donors to action and raise more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact.

----

Interested in working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors.

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising.

➡️ For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com