Federal grants complicate the budgeting process. You have to consider a lot of different scenarios, and you don’t have any room for error. In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Stacy Fitzsimmons and learn more about budgeting for Community Health Centers when grants are part of the picture. Listen in to learn about where to start with your budget, why you need to break costs into buckets, and how to get yourself audit-ready.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
eBook: Set up Your Community Health Center for Federal Grant Success: https://hello.blackbaud.com/budgeting-for-community-health.html
Whitepaper: Data-Driven Decision Making for Community Health Centers https://hello.blackbaud.com/Datat-Driven-Decisions-eBook.html
Quotes:
“With this type of budgeting, you’ll also be setting yourself up for success and making sure that all of your funds are traceable within the accounting system by your grant award.”
“Why I recommend this is that you will then be able to report against your budget by these categories when you’re asked to report against it.”
“If you have documentation that supports that expense entry, upload it with your entry so that documentation is right there.”
What is corporate purpose? What are the current rules for corporate purpose? And why do we need to redefine them? In today’s interview with Judy Samuelson, Founder and Executive Director of the Aspen Business and Society Program, you’ll learn about her new book, The Six New Rules of Business, and why she’s been on a mission to disrupt economist Milton Friedman’s narrative about corporate purpose.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
The Six New Rules of Business: Creating Real Value in a Changing World by Judy Samuelson
Quotes:
“I like to say single objective functions, whether it’s about stock price or customers, rarely ends well.”
“In order to do very much, to last for very long, you simply have to be balancing the inputs that are critical to the health of the enterprise.”
“Sustainability is not an end game either, it’s a mindset.”
“Today the responsibility of companies is defined way outside the gate of the business.”
“To solve the most complex problems we need to bring people together, we need to bring these remarkably powerful institutions that we call business together to collaborate to go deeper into systems and change the norm.”
GivingTuesday isn’t a new or unexpected event, but some organizations struggle to make the most of it. Whether it’s learning how to better engage supporters or improving results over previous years, standing up a successful campaign may seem overwhelming. With 2021’s GivingTuesday coming up sooner than you may think, Sophia Latto joins the podcast to give expert advice on what organizations can do to seize the GivingTuesday and make it a repeatable success.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Blackbaud's GivingTuesday Toolkit
Quotes:
“It’s important to connect a personal story about real people with your impact for GivingTuesday.”
“I always think of GivingTuesday as being the kickoff to end of year fundraising.”
“Keeping it simple will help you keep everything streamlined.”
“Think in terms of engagement and build that relationship and that goodwill with your constituents before you hit them with hard asks.”
Over the past year and several months, change has been one of the few constants you can count on. Of course, change always happens eventually, but recently, everyone has been in a period of greater amounts of change than usual – and people are beginning to get fatigued. How can you prevent change burnout in your organization? By implementing change management.
In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Melissa Rancour, Principal Instructional Designer at Blackbaud University about why it’s important to talk about change management, the importance of the questions that need to be asked about change and what order to ask them in, and what to do with the questions once you know them.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Quotes:
“All those changes we’ve experienced over the last 14+ months, most of those have been quick changes with no prep. Change management means we need some prep.”
“If you go through the questions process it can help you know if that change is going to ripple into a bigger change.”
“It’s because “what” impacts “when” something can happen.”
For years, the role of development operations teams has been perceived as a data and technology-focused position within the nonprofit world. As technology, nonprofits, and the way we fundraise has significantly changed over the last few decades, so has the role of the operations team. For organizations and leaders willing to evolve, this presents an incredible opportunity – both for the organization’s success and the individual’s advancement.
In today’s episode, Deb Taft, CEO of Lindauer and Luis Morales, senior director of information strategy at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, chat with guest host Ashley Sweeney of Blackbaud about the ways that today’s DBAs are adding value to the organization, how leaders can maximize this impact, and what operations team members should do to advance their career.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Promoting Your Value as a Database Administrator
Confessions of a Database Administrator
Confessions of a Database Administrator, Part II
Quotes:
“The value I see the operations team offering is collaboratively ensuring that our clients, their colleagues, have the context they need to make strategic data-driven decisions.”
“The value of the operations team is different and differently valued than it was years ago as a profound driver really of nonprofits and advancement results.”
“The operations team can create value by enriching conversations.”
“It’s about more than just filling requests and mailing lists and reports. We are the subject matter experts for the organization’s data, integrations, trends, etc.”
“I encourage my team to work as an internal consulting company with different business units in the foundation are our clients.”
How has the future of social good changed since COVID? Much of the answer has to do with how the pandemic impacted leaders in the nonprofit sector. Here to talk about it is Marc A. Pitman, founder and CEO of Concord Leadership Group. Listen in to hear what Marc has to say about the effects of uncertainty on nonprofit leadership, what needs to be left behind as leaders and organizations move forward, and what isn’t coming back post-pandemic.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Blackbaud Institute npEXPERTS 2021 eBook
Quotes:
“Anytime we start taking over the decision-making for someone else, we’re robbing them of their humanity.”
“Everybody was scared, but some leaders were able to continue navigating the ship, while other leaders were panicking in an unproductive way.”
“I hope we get over the butts-in-seats equals productivity mentality.”
Inclusivity matters. Diversity makes organizations stronger and better. So how do social good organizations engage donors of color? Joining the podcast today to talk about this issue are Brenda Asare, President and CEO of The Alford Group, and JoAnn Yoshimoto, Senior Consultant at The Alford Group. Listen to today’s show to hear what they have to say about why it’s important to engage donors of color, how to build trust with donors of color, and what you need to think about to understand different types of donors.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
The Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy
Quotes:
“When we go back and look at the genesis of what it means to be generous, people of color have been doing that all of their lives.” – Brenda Asare
“It's not as if there's one specific way to approach this community versus another community versus another community. Don’t use what we call a cookie-cutter approach, a one-size-fits-all.” – JoAnn Yoshimoto
“What I really dislike seeing in the field of fundraising is the smile that you put on when you're asking for a gift and then you turn your back and it's over. That's not how you create trust among diverse communities. You need to engage consistently, authentically.” – JoAnn Yoshimoto
“Fundraising doesn't happen in a bubble. It happens within a culture.” – Brenda Asare
“Nonprofits have the opportunity to create even more impact. But how can you do that when you are neglecting 30-40% of a population who have the capacity, desire, and readiness to give but you're not asking?” – Brenda Asare
The past year or so has changed things, including how organizations reach their goals and how they think about their employees. Here to talk about some of these changes is Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, Managing Director, Corporate Strategy & Impact, CECP. Listen in to hear what Kari has to say about what companies have learned in the past year and a half, how CECP started their journey to racial equity and inclusion, and how they’re supporting other companies along this path.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Quotes:
“But now, broadly, everyone in a company understands that that’s part of their work – how to get close to a society, how to be responsive.”
“The employee, certainly over the years has become one of the most important stakeholders, but in 2020, it became the most important stakeholder for a company.”
“Employees are your first community. And if you didn’t know it before you should know it now.”
“Companies recognize that they have core business needs and those need to be aligned with what’s happening broadly in society thru their partnerships and solving community issues.”
Systems make up the circumstances we live in, so changing the systems can change the circumstances. But how can you make systems change? And how can social good organizations that share common causes come together to make systems change?
Today’s guest is Dr. Sally Uren, CEO of Forum of the Future. In today’s episode, she’ll explain what systems change is and why it’s needed, how organizations can come together to make it happen, and how those organizations can measure their impact. Listen in to learn more about Sally, Forum of the Future, and the importance of systems change to address global challenges.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Quotes:
“The process of driving systems change is really understanding how do we reconfigure the systems we rely on.”
“Where are those areas that we can focus on that if we really improve them, we can derive multiple benefits in multiple places.”
“What we’ve really begun to understand is that no one actor in any given system can solve for the big challenges in that system on their own.”
The story of philanthropy as multi-cultural people experience it is not being told. Today’s guest, Dr. Tashion Macon, is setting out to change the narrative and add nuance and truth to help evolve the philanthropy sector. Dr. Macon is the Senior Vice President of Marketing, Branding and Social Justice Strategy at Bridge Philanthropic Consulting. Listen in to learn more about what Bridge Philanthropic Consulting does, who the pioneers of African American and Hispanic American philanthropy are, and how organizations can adopt a more diverse approach in their fundraising strategies.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Iconic Impact Series from Bridge Philanthropic Consulting
Quotes:
“You really can’t gain ground unless you have a ground game. And you need people. People create the ground game.”
“The framework of philanthropy in the multi-cultural experience foundationally begins at home. We’ve had to advance our own from within our own.”
“We are giving. Hispanic Americans are giving. Native Americans are giving. It’s simply not tracked or counted in the traditional philanthropic sense. And because it’s not, there is a myth that the community may not be ‘givers,’ which isn’t true.”
“The dominant perspective has not known how to engage [BIPOC], to dialogue, to dissect ways that are meaningful to the context of their lived-out experience, so that you can engage them in a way that is true. Part of that begins with culturally nuanced communications.”
“If there ever was a time to be authentic, it’s now.”
Protecting patient information is critical. But it is a delicate balance between minimizing a healthcare organization’s risk and enabling development staff to raise mission-critical funds.
In this episode Marti Arvin, Executive Advisor at CynergisTek, joins Blackbaud’s Liza Turcotte for a candid discussion on working together to create this appropriate balance.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this podcast is intended to be legal advice—please consult your organization’s own legal counsel.
Resources:
Quotes:
“The risk appetite of the organization is something that’s up to senior leadership.”
“As long as I felt my leadership had made an informed decision, I could sleep at night.”
“It’s not just HIPAA in all cases that you have to consider, so if you’ve made yourself aware of what the HIPPA regulations are, that may not be enough.”
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.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
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.”
The last year has brought a lot of change and a lot of new learnings. And from healthcare to poverty to racial justice, social good organizations are looking to find new solutions that meaningfully impact these important issues. However, as with any big social impact initiatives, that will require that organizations embrace learning from the inevitable failures along the way. That’s why today we’re bringing back an episode from August 2019 featuring Kate Robinson, executive director of the documentary film Failing Forward: On the Road to Social Impact.
Kate talked to host Steve MacLaughlin about how nonprofits and other social good organizations can use failure to make a bigger impact. Listen to the episode to hear what Kate Robinson has to say about learning culture, the questions that organizations should be asking to improve programs, and what role funders play in the process of failure and learning.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
There’s always something that can throw your organization’s budget off track. Some crises are worse than others – the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, for example, brought completely unforeseen challenges – but even if internal or external factors don’t rise to that level, you can count on some type of shift.
Today’s episode covers how to prepare for budget shifts so you are ready when they come. Listen in to hear Mary Aquino and Melissa Rancour from Blackbaud University talk about how to identify potential causes of budget changes, understanding the legal process for budget shifts, and anticipating and handling fundraising impacts.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Webinar: Keep Calm & Carry On: Handling Unplanned Budget Changes
Article: Budget Changes? Keep Calm and Carry On with These Tips!
Article: Annual Planning in an Ever-Changing World
Quotes:
“When the economy’s up, most of the time donations tend to go up with it. But when the economy’s down, then donations normally decrease too.”
“Sometimes people don’t realize there’s a domino effect that kind of goes on with these shifts.”
“Word of mouth is not a budget update process.”
Relationships are everything. While networking may be a buzzword, intentionally building a community and making deep and meaningful connections can have vast positive professional impacts. But how do you get started?
Today’s guest has answers. Susan McPherson, founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies and author of the new book The Lost Art of Connecting, joins the podcast to talk about how she became such a prolific networker, the differences between networking and connecting, and the steps to take to build a network of meaningful connections.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Quotes:
“For introverts and shy people, meaningfully connecting is actually a little more tolerable and palatable and doable.”
“If we lead with how we can be helpful to others, the help will come back.”
“Every single one of us has secret sauces.”
For decades, fundraisers have been trying to understand some of the differences in philanthropic giving between men and women. And, while much remains to be studied regarding same-sex families, women in heterosexual households have increasing financial power. It is a crucial element in understanding decision-making about giving across households.
In today’s episode, you’ll learn more about that process as you listen to Jeannie Sager and Jaquie Ackerman of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, part of the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, talk about this year’s Women Give report. They explain what they were hoping to understand from the research, how it compares to previous years, and how the conversations couples have about philanthropy can affect their giving.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Women Give 2021: How Households Make Giving Decisions
Women’s Philanthropy Institute
Quotes:
“Joint giving is still the norm.”
“Most households seem satisfied with the way they make giving decisions.”
“Having robust conversations about giving results in robust giving.”
This episode was originally published in September 2019.
As a charitable organization, how can you leverage the popularity of live streaming to fundraise? How do you find a live streamer to pair up with? And how can you build and have a successful relationship with live streamers?
Today’s episode features Alyssa Sweetman, the Charity Program Manager at Twitch. Tune in to hear her talk to Roz Lemieux, director of Blackbaud Labs, about how nonprofits and other social good organizations can work with live streamers, also known as content creators, to raise money on live streaming platforms.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
Resources:
Twitch
Alyssa Sweetman
Article: How to Harness the Fundraising Power of Twitch
Today’s guest has a mission, and that mission is to teach the people who are doing good how to get noticed by using their words. Erica Mills Barnhart is the CEO of Claxon Marketing, and she joins the podcast today to discuss what people in the social good community need to be saying in order to get noticed in a good way.
Listen in to hear Erica discuss why a social good organization needs an elevator pitch, the biggest mistakes that she sees, and how nouns and verbs need to be used in a mission statement. You’ll also learn how to craft an effective elevator pitch for your organization.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Pitchfalls: Why Bad Pitches Happen to Good People
SSIR Article: Great Mission. Bad Statement. Why the social sector should worry more about words.
Quotes:
“Think of it like an invitation. When the door opens, what’s the invitation?”
“There is very much an emotional piece for those in the social good space. We care about what we’re doing. Deeply.”
“There’s always two stories being told even if it’s one or two sentences. What you think the story is, what’s coming out of your mouth, and the story that’s heard and received.”
In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Joanne Pasternack, president & chief impact officer at Oliver+Rose and creator of Athletes’ Voices, about her work with athletes who want to engage in philanthropy. Listen in to hear about how Joanne is helping athletes and examples of athlete stories that she is particularly proud of.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Quotes:
“We are based on the philosophy that athletes could and should and can speak up on any issue that’s of interest to them.”
“In truth, there’s nobody better you could hire than somebody who’s been through everything and has worked over the barriers that have been in their way.”
“You might have kicked the own goal. But, like, what are you going to do next? What’s the next chapter?”
We already relied on technology to communicate before the pandemic, but over the past year we’ve become even more dependent on video and digital communications to live and work. So, how can you make use of the tech you need to navigate the world without succumbing to burnout?
Today’s episode features mindfulness expert Meico Marquette Whitlock in an excerpt from the sgENGAGE Rethinking Change webinar series. Listen in to hear Meico explains how distractions impact us and how to make space for mindfulness and intentionality to avoid burnout.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
7 Steps for Mastering the Art of Work/Life Balance in a Digital World Starter Kit
Webinar: Why Technology is Ruining Your Love Life (And What You Can Do About It)
Rethinking Change webinar series
Working in a Changing World eBook
Quotes:
“It’s not lost on me that it’s not your first or your last perhaps of conversations mediated by video like what we’re having today.”
“The science tells us that it is physically impossible to do multiple things simultaneously.”
“One of the first things that slowing down allows us to do is it allows us to get clear about our aim or our intention.”
The last year has taught us that change is the only constant - however, that makes it difficult to stick to a traditional 3-year or 5-year strategic plan. So, how can social good organizations plan in a way that allows for change?
Here to talk about why adaptive strategy is the new strategic plan is Steve Strang, senior consultant and practice director at Spectrum Nonprofit Services. Listen in to hear what Steve has to say about what an adaptive strategy is, what it looks like when organizations implement an adaptive strategy, and how to get started.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
How to Implement Adaptive Strategy in Nonprofits
Annual Planning in an Ever-Changing World
2021 Planning & Goals Workbook and Calendar
Quotes:
“As tough as the last year has been, being adaptive helps your organization get through crisis moments like this.”
“The important piece to not only this but moving into any strategic process is buy-in from all your stakeholders, especially internal stakeholders.”
“Your budget is really a document that shows how you actualize your strategic plan.”
Database administrators (also commonly called database managers, DBAs or DBMs) are often operating behind the scenes, outside of the spotlight. However, DBAs are critical team members and it’s important they promote their value within their organizations.
That’s what today’s host and guests are here to discuss. Listen in as guest host Ashley Sweeney, Technical Solutions Engineer for Blackbaud talks to Sunshine Watson, Donor Database Manager for Valleywise Health Foundation, and Carlene Johnson, Database Administrator for BC High, about how they shine as DBAs and make sure their value is recognized. They also discuss the importance of networking and continuing education.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Confessions of a Nonprofit Database Administrator
Confessions of a Nonprofit Database Administrator, Part II
Quotes:
“Just being able to be a fly on the wall sometimes helps me so I can do my job better.” –Sunshine Watson
“When I’m paying attention and listening, I can hear the pain points.” –Carlene Johnson
“Because of networking, I was much more easily able to land a position that had the kinds of things I was looking to work on.” –Carlene Johnson
Everyone knows about Giving Tuesday, but it’s not the only giving day out there. At this point, a lot of organizations are running their own giving days that have become a part of their regular giving and fundraising programs. Today’s guests, Kelly Cortes of St. Joseph’s College, New York, and Jeffrey Starrett, of Pine Crest School, join the podcast today to talk about how their organizations gave implemented these giving days and what lessons they’ve learned from their giving days.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
5 Tips for Successful Online Giving Days
Quotes:
“We try to raise about a third of our money in one day now.” –Jeffrey Starrett
“This year, our office, and we’re an office of nine, we did all the texting.” –Jeffrey Starrett
“If we have 90-year-old donors that we have to stay in touch with, we do still do a direct mail campaign and we can keep that piece of it there for them so they can still give in a traditional envelope on giving day.” –Kelly Cortes
Sometimes, change is hard – especially when it seems that there isn’t enough money or other resources to accomplish your organization’s mission. However, by adopting the right mindset, social change leaders can begin to attract more support. That’s where today’s guest comes in.
Nell Edgington is the president of Social Velocity, a management consulting firm for nonprofit organizations, and the author of Reinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and More Equitable World. She joins the podcast today to discuss moving from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset and what that looks like for social good organizations. Listen in to hear what Nell has to say about why there’s a scarcity mindset in social good organizations, what to do to move to an abundance mindset, and how social change leaders can bring others along into their abundance mindset.
Topics Discussed in This Episode:
Resources:
Reinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and More Equitable World
Quotes:
“A scarcity mindset is essentially believing that there’s not enough.”
“That scarcity mindset is itself that’s holding these nonprofit leaders back.”
“A broken system isn’t going to change itself.”