Meet Katherine. She’s sharing the case study of how she moved from street fundraising to sustaining a group of 2,000 monthly donors🥳 She’s sharing her grassroots fundraising strategies, how to build a recurring donor program + use storytelling and engagement to build a digital community and movement. Tune in to hear how you can adapt this modern framework for your org✨

Meet Nicholas. He’s a former international soccer player turned serial entrepreneur and servant leader⚽ He’s found his passion in social impact work and is all about building businesses that tackle real-world problems. He founded and serves as the Executive Director of Fleece & Thank You, a nonprofit that provides psychosocial support and programs to children in the hospital. In this episode of "How It's Built," Nicholas shares how mapping donor journeys with intention has transformed their nonprofit🗺️ From listing all touchpoints to prioritizing a core welcome series, he walks us through practical steps to personalize the donor experience. Tune in to hear how you can adapt this modern framework for your org✨

Meet Kel. She empowers nonprofits to grow their mid-level donor relationships through 5-Minute Fundraising Asks (over the phone!) 📞 She’s personally made over 20,000 fundraising asks and trained nonprofit organizations to raise almost $20M (primarily in donations under $2.5K)❗ Ring, ring, it’s Kel calling and she has a refreshing alternative to scripted calls, shifting fundraising conversations away from transactional encounters and toward relationship-building opportunities. Tune in to learn how to craft a compelling story within a short call, develop trust from the get-go, and personalize each interaction to resonate with donors. 

Meet Jehán. Her journey took her from editing travel guidebooks in San Francisco to founding a nonprofit that creates holistic programs for women and children in Nepal, empowering them to build their own pathways out of poverty. Tune in to hear a case study of what happened when Sunsar Maya committed to a year-long stewardship plan through personalized attention, Chai with Me events and leveraging technology to automate donor engagement. You won't want to miss Jehán’s inspiring story which we know will give you some pep in your step to make a difference in the world🌎

It's our final Friday discussion in our 8️⃣ Trends That Matter in 2022 as we dive into Donor Behavior Matters More than Giving Amount with our donor relations muse, Lynne Wester. The way we think about donor recognition is dead wrong. Our current retention rates are 23% for first-time donors and around 50% overall. So what if we could change that by changing our behavior? We need to bless and release the way we value donors. The future of donor relations is based on behavior rather than giving amount. Tune in and learn why.

Meet Angela. When you meet someone with a Harvard PhD in Education Leadership, you settle in because you know innovation and genius are going to collide. And yes it did! We're talking to Dr. Jackson about venture philanthropy (what is it?) and exploring how we can leverage our missions to breakthrough to social entrepreneurs. It's a fascinating discussion about developing innovative technical solutions to help missions partner with big dreamers.

Meet JD. This serial entrepreneur and big-hearted founder stumbled into founding his company, ThankView, during an attempt to make writing his wedding thank you notes more enjoyable. Today, the sincere personalized video company helps 1,500 nonprofits say thank you through the creative use of video. And as you can imagine, the stories that come with them are incredible. We're talking the power of thank you, and you'll come to see how big JD's heart is and why he's one of our favorite people.

Meet Lynne.This self-professed Donor Relations Guru has built a career reimagining how we engage, show impact and thank donors in a more strategic, meaningful way. She'll break down the 4 Pillars of Donor Relations and even find time to provide 3 quick ways small nonprofits can start to rebuild their donor relations program. We'll talk differences between stewardship and donors relations, see how you'd stack up to Lynne's covert Giving Experiment, and praise the yumminess of Doritos. Don't miss this must-listen-to episode!

Meet Mary Kate Tolan. The Oreo-loving Oregon girl is the Manager of the Youth Development Programs team at ALSAC St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Mary Kate is skilled in the cultivation, management, and stewardship of regional and national partners and leverages her passions for customer service and leadership development into these relationships! Tune in and hear 3 Tips for building deeper, more meaningful relationships with organizational partners.

Meet Brittany Fowler. Brittany is the Senior Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. After a record breaking year, they found themselves with enough new donors alone to fill the entire University of Tennessee football stadium (yes our jaws are dropped too).