The Fundraising Talent Podcast
Business:Non-Profit
I spent most of my career believing that the myriad of arms-length tactics that consume most fundraising plans (GivingTuesday, direct response, special events, etc. ) were the problem. Then I encountered a simple insight. One of the earliest scholars in the fundraising community, Paul Schervish, explained that it was important to distinguish between those efforts that lead people to become givers in the first place and those that lead some donors to make larger than average gifts or to increase their giving. The inability to make sense of such a distinction was the problem I didn’t see early in my career. Following Schervish’s logic, we encourage our clients to make sense of those efforts that most effectively yield their initial gifts and those that ensure the subsequent gift.
What was especially encouraging about today’s podcast conversation was learning that Julia is encouraging her clients to make a very similar distinction. Julia encourages her clients to make sense of the difference between what is an outcome of marketing versus what should be expected of fundraising. Julia explains that marketing strategies can be counted on to get people’s attention and generate the initial gift, while we should rely on fundraising strategies to ensure the cultivation of meaningful relationships and the subsequent gifts that accompany them. For those who haven’t made this distinction, Julia wants them to ask themselves why they would communicate with individuals they don’t know the same way they would those with whom they have a relationship. She also warns that appealing to everyone the same way is effectively not appealing to anyone.
As always, we are especially grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast. If you’d like to learn more about hosting the Responsive Fundraising roadshow in your local community, email me. And, if you’d like to download Responsive’s latest edition of Carefully & Critically, just click here.
226 | How can my nonprofit create a new fundraising strategy in one-week?
225 | Has the annual fund become fundraising’s comfort zone?
224 | Can our culture of philanthropy emerge from authentic story-telling?
223 | How can nonprofits effectively reframe their fundraising opportunities?
222 | How do we get the relationship between CEO and Chief Fundraiser right?
221 | What if fundraising technologies could shift our focus from initial to subsequent gifts?
220 | Has the pandemic readied fundraising for a growth spurt?
219 | Is it time for fundraising to abandon the notion of “going directly to the cause”?
218 | Why isn’t your nonprofit using a multi-channel approach to fundraising?
217 | Who is to blame for your organization’s arms-length fundraising habits?
216 | What might be possible if digital fundraising really shoots for the moon?
215 | What does an ideal partner for lane one fundraising look like?
214 | Is now the right time to outsource your lane one fundraising efforts to someone you trust?
213 | How can fundraisers take their acknowledgement efforts to a whole new level?
212 | How can nonprofits leaders ensure that they are building authentic donor relationships?
211 | Should we look for fundraising professionals who stay put a bit longer?
210 | Is now the time to drop the fundraising formulas and experiment with something new?
209 | How can fundraising professionals push a little harder on their DEI efforts?
208 | Why is early specialization so dangerous for fundraising professionals?
207 | How do we ensure that both marketing and fundraising are given their due?
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
Social Dallas Podcast
Change Church Podcast
Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon
Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications
Advocacy Scoop Podcast