We are highlighting an excerpt from the Skills UP Webinar Series where Deb Taft, CEO of Lindauer Global, will be talking about the dynamics of hiring and how you can achieve success in effective retention. Listen to what she has to say about the Great Resignation, the rise of freelancers and gig workers, and the remote/in-person hybrid.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Skills Up FREE Webinar Series for nonprofit managers
The Future of Executive Search
To Attract Talented Fundraisers of Color, Get Your House in Order
CASE xChange Podcast; President and CEO Sue Cunningham interviews Lindauer CEO Deb Taft
4 Keys for Attracting, Hiring and Retaining a Successful Major Gift Team
Quotes:
“I think one of the dynamics to think about is that there is very little loyalty.”
“So, hiring is on steroids, and if you are struggling to retain and hire, you are not alone.”
“I just need people to understand, that employees will choose you, talent will choose you, or not, depending on what’s possible.”
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Quotes:
“When you’re identifying a mentor, be really upfront with them about why you’re asking them, why you thought of that person.”
“I also believe that the best mentors are always mentees themselves.”
“Look for the type of sponsor you want, the gender doesn’t matter.”
Trends in giving and donor retention are an important topic in the fundraising landscape, and at this time of year, it’s a good idea to take a look at what’s been happening in the fundraising world. Looking closely at giving and donor retention now with help you get a handle on end-of-the-year giving and some clarity about what will be coming in the new year. Listen in to this episode to hear from Erica Wassdorp about current fundraising trends, how online giving has developed in different kinds of organizations, and how to handle benefits for recurring donors.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
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Blackbaud Institute Retention Toolkit
Quotes:
“We have to tell them that they can make a difference even when it’s with a smaller recurring gift.”
“I think the other piece that has really helped with that, of course, is the whole digital, online opportunities.”
“The only promise you want to make to your new monthly donor is that they’re going to get updates from you.”
Is donor retention different when the donor is acquired online? In this episode, you’ll learn more about ways to improve donor retention for online-acquired donors. Joining the podcast today is Rachel Clemens, Chief Marketing Officer of Mighty Citizen. Listen to today’s conversation to learn what Rachel thinks about building relationships between donors and organizations, the role of segmentation, and how language factors into donor retention.
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Quotes:
“I always think about donor retention as part of the donation process.”
“It’s not a transaction. It’s a relationship.”
“The thing that comes to mind almost immediately is just getting their tech in check.”
High donor attrition is a fact of life for fundraisers—even those who excel at donor retention. To grow revenue, social good organizations must attract a steady stream of new donors each year to replace those that will be lost. However, your organization likely has supporters who, despite a lack of giving history, have engaged with you in some way in the past.
In today’s episode, Brooke Hansel, Nonprofit Principal Solutions Marketer at Blackbaud, discusses the challenges associated with acquisition, how to determine which supporters to steward, and the practical steps you can take to establish a more streamlined process for converting your supporters into donors.
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Quotes:
“It’s important, more now than ever, to focus your acquisition efforts close to home.”
“Acquisition is critical given the whole “leaky bucket” idea.”
“The more efficient we can be at doing this work, the more time we have to play.”
What’s the difference between fundraising and raising money? Many people may think of successful fundraising as simply getting donations, but that definition leaves out another important element: engaging smaller or future donors. Some may not be able to give large gifts, but they can still become an important source of support for an organization.
Listen in to today’s episode to hear Melissa Rancour, principal instructional designer for Blackbaud University, talk about what social good organizations can do to get others invested and talking about their cause, the effect this has on donor retention, and how it can reduce donor remorse.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Blackbaud University Organizational Best Practices
Quotes:
“It’s all about time, talents, and treasures.”
“If we’re connecting with people in order to get them to share about our organization, and share with others, you’re connecting with them, so they share about your cause.”
“We need to look beyond just that money piece because we want those long-term donors.”
Over the past year, a lot of experts have joined the show to talk about the different ways that social good organizations can respond in the age of COVID-19 to continue their missions and impact. Now that we are almost a year in, what have we learned and how can we retain the new donors we’ve had give to our organizations?
Today, Melissa Bank Stepno, Director of Analytics & Business Consulting Services at Blackbaud, joins the podcast to talk about some lessons we’ve learned from organizations that have been successful with engaging new donors during the pandemic. Listen in to hear Melissa speak with Steve MacLaughlin about why retention matters so much right now, how to successfully leverage personas, what organizations are doing differently from a data and analytic standpoint, and how to cut through the noise and better communicate with donors.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
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Supporters in Sight Part 4: A Look at Direct Marketing Personas
The sgENGAGE Podcast Episode 144: Leveraging Personas for Fundraising During COVID-19
Quotes:
“In some ways, 2020 gave us acquisition by happenstance.”
“Those of us who do appreciate the arts want to make sure that when the world returns to whatever our new normal looks like, those organizations that we supported in the past are still there.”
“I do think I’ve seen a lot of organizations who didn’t have good data and analytics practices realize how critical it is this past year.”
While lapsed donors are inevitable, there are strategies you can use to both reacquire them and prevent attrition in the first place.
In today’s episode, Stu Manewith, Director of Thought Leadership and Advocacy for Omatic Software and Bailey Benzlé, Director Of Pre-Sales & Sales Enablement for Omatic Software, discuss leveraging data quality and strategic communication to increase the win-back rate. Listen in to hear them talk about how to identify those donors most likely to re-engage and the steps to take to create a successful win-back strategy.
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Quotes:
“I guess we have to understand that lapsed donors are going to happen. They come and they go.” –Stu Manewith
“Look internally and ask yourselves which bucket here you fit in.” –Bailey Benzle
“When resources are limited - time, money, etc. - make sure that you are first targeting the donors that are most likely to re-engage.” –Stu Manewith
GivingTuesday is less than two weeks away – but there’s no need to panic. We brought in Blackbaud fundraising expert Tanya Fitzgerald to talk about those last-minute things you can do to be successful, whether you’ve been planning for some time or are just pulling something together now.
Listen in to learn about the most important thing to focus on, how you can leverage your #GivingTuesdayNow campaign and how to steward those first-time GivingTuesday donors.
Topics discussed in this episode:
Resources
Quotes
“You need to tell your 2020 story - what happened to your organization this year and how did it affect you all sustaining your mission?”
“If your organization hasn't started preparing for GivingTuesday yet, there is plenty of time.”
“You're going to have a lot of traffic on your website on GivingTuesday, and you're going to get a lot of first-time donors. Those are the most costly to acquire so you want to make sure that you keep them.”
“Don't be afraid to reach out to your donors. They want to hear from you. They actually really do want to help you and they want to be part of your team.”
We are more connected than ever, but loneliness continues to increase. The concept of belonging is important not just in our personal lives, but also at work. Belonging in the workplace has real impacts on employee well-being, retention and business results.
Joining the podcast today is Sarah Judd Welch, CEO of Sharehold, an innovation consultancy that recently conducted extensive research into belonging at work. Listen in to hear what Sarah has to say about how organizations should look at belonging, the impact of DEI initiatives, and how times of uncertainty impact belonging at work.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Sharehold's Redesigning Belonging Research
Quotes:
“We saw that the key to community transformation was organizational transformation.”
“We’re in the middle of a loneliness epidemic.”
“What we heard in our research was that there is both an explicit as well as tacit power dynamics that show up in how we belong at work.”
We’ve seen evolving challenges and change of 2020, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the racial justice movement. From economic challenges to increased service delivery demands, social good organizations have been impacted in many ways. While it is difficult to determine the future extent of economic impacts, there are valuable insights to be gleaned from historic trends in giving.
In today’s episode, Ashley Thompson, Managing Director of the Blackbaud Institute, discusses the Institute’s new State of the Social Sector series with host Steve MacLaughlin. Listen to the interview to hear Ashley talk about what the data indicates about the social sector right now, how organizations can remain resilient and why organizations should look at history to help inform future actions.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
State of the Social Sector Series
Quotes:
“As we all know, 2020 is shaping up to be a real mixed bag.”
“What’s interesting, though, is that you see this continuation of generosity, kind of through the ages.”
“We talk about retention, and we talk about retention, and we talk about retention, but unfortunately, it’s still the same case.”
Traditionally, arts and cultural organizations start fundraising after someone buys their first ticket. But is that the best approach for long-term success? What if organizations waited and took a more methodical approach?
In today’s episode, Aubrey Bergauer, Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Leadership and VP of Strategic Communications at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, joins the podcast to talk about developing a long-haul approach to fundraising, being customer-obsessed, and attracting a more diverse audience. You’ll also hear a bonus segment with Aubrey, added after the main interview was originally recorded, in which she discusses how organizations can most effectively operate right now during the COVID-19 crisis.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
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Follow Aubrey Berguaer on Twitter: @AubreyBergauer
Resources to Guide Arts and Cultural Organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Report: Guide to Evaluating your Arts & Cultural Organization's Online Performance
Quotes:
“I think what’s so important for arts organizations is to really be forward-looking.”
“It’s OK to be human. But we must also be positive, and we must also be looking into the future.”
“The key is to talk to users but to also respond, not justify what we’ve been doing.”
What was the state of charitable giving last year? Now is the time to find out so you can benchmark your organization and boost your fundraising performance in 2020.
In a bit of a reversal this episode, host Steve McLaughlin is today’s guest. Steve sat down with Erin Duff from the Blackbaud Institute to talk about Blackbaud’s 2019 Charitable Giving Report, which tracks over $36 billion in U.S-based charitable giving from the Blackbaud Institute Index. Listen to the interview to hear Steve explain why it’s important to consider three-year trends, what the overall giving and online giving numbers mean for nonprofit strategy, and what the most important practice is for social good organizations to focus on in 2020.
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Quotes:
“This year, we’re not only showing year over year results, but we’re taking those thousands of organizations and those tens of billions of dollars in giving, and looking at it over a 3-year period of time.”
“In 2019, overall giving was up 1% on a year over year basis, but up over 5% on a 3-year trend basis.”
“Online giving continues to be less than 10% of overall fundraising, although we’re starting to see those numbers shift.”
We often hear about the need for organizations to take about taking a donor-centric approach to engaging supporters. But is that enough, or do nonprofits need to go even deeper to attract and keep donors over the long term?
Today’s guest is Kevin Schulman, founder and managing partner of DonorVoice, a retention and donor experience company. Kevin talks about why understanding donor identity can help organizations better understand the motivations of donors. He also explains how organizations can use donor segmentation to strengthen their relationships with donors, leading to long-lasting relationships that are beneficial for both nonprofits and their donors. Listen to this episode to hear the keys to leveraging a donor identity approach that results in improved outcomes.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
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“If we want to be donor-centric, you have got to get some level of understanding about who these folks are and what makes them tick.”
“In order to get the kind of data that you need, guess what? You’ve actually got to ask these people.”
“There ought to be massive perceived risk with status quo, but oftentimes there isn’t.”