Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast show

Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast

Summary: Andrew Olsen, CFRE and Roy Jones, CFRE have 50+ years of combined nonprofit leadership experience and have jointly raised nearly $1 Billion in charitable gifts. In this podcast, Andrew and Roy interview high-level leaders from across the sector to bring you high impact insights and guidance to help you lead successfully and execute effectively.

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  • Artist: Andrew Olsen, CFRE and Roy Jones, CFRE
  • Copyright: © 2018 AndrewOlsen.net LLC

Podcasts:

 Conversational Fundraising with Kent Stroman | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:44:54

We kicked off 2021 with an awesome conversation with Kent Stroman, Principal and Founder of the Institute for Conversational Fundraising, and author of Asking About Asking. We covered a ton of ground in our conversation, focused primarily on how frontline fundraisers can improve their individual relationship engagement and raise more money for their causes. Here are some of the key points from our conversation:Donors don't like to be "pitched", and why authentic conversations deliver better fundraising outcomes.How frontline fundraisers -- those who have done this work for decades, and those who are brand new in their role -- can overcome the anxiety and fear of asking.The impact that a fundraiser's mindset has on her ability to cultivate meaningful relationships and secure significant gifts.How asking the right questions at the right time can help you unlock transformational generosity in your donors.The importance of leveraging peer relationships to accelerate major donor relationships.The value of listening well, and how it can help you close more gifts in 2021.Wishing you all a successful 2021 -- and hoping The Rainmaker Fundraising Podcast continues to add value to your life and work in the new year!Andrew If you want to lead your organization more effectively and help your team avoid costly mistakes that drain your organization of time, talent, and revenue, check out my Amazon #1 best-seller, 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make And how You Can Avoid Them. Transform your fundraising with 

 Leading The Salvation Army Way | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:51:00

It was an incredible honor to sit down recently with Commissioner Kenneth Hodder, National Commander of The Salvation Army USA, and Joey Zumaya, Public Sector Leader at LinkedIn and national advisory board member at The Salvation Army. One of the things I love about The Salvation Army is that they are actively serving people in EVERY zip code in the U.S. That is a bold and expansive commitment to caring for people in need all throughout our nation.  Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their volunteers, supporters, corporate and faith community partners, and employees, The Salvation Army truly allows each supporter to do the most good, right in their home communities.We had a fascinating conversation on leadership within the context of The Salvation Army. In this episode, you'll hear us cover a lot of ground, including:Living and leading from your valuesThe importance of deep relationships between a nonprofit CEO and their advisory board membersThe Salvation Army's long-term commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how that shapes decision-making across the organizationTechnology's role in the development of an organization's talent pipeline, program delivery, and fundraising strategyHow the nation's changing demographics impact the way organizations approach the recruitment of employees, donors, and volunteer leadersSpecial Thanks to New Story for sponsoring this podcast episode. They are on the forefront of developing solutions to end the global homelessness crisis. And they’re looking for innovative fundraisers and leaders to join their team. If you’re interested in joining a team that is making a tangible impact on the lives of people in need across the globe, you should connect with New Story today.  If you want to lead your organization more effectively and help your team avoid costly mistakes that drain your organization of time, talent, and revenue, check out my Amazon #1 best-seller, 

 Data Drives Strategy, with Jenny Floria | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:30:45

This conversation with Jenny Floria, Founder of Floria Consulting, is focused on the importance of data and how data drives strategy is an essential conversation for all nonprofit leaders and fundraisers. In our chat, you'll hear Jenny and I talk through a number of important examples of how understanding data and how to deploy data effectively in your marketing and fundraising can drive increased value -- and how not understanding the importance of data can damage your fundraising results. Regardless of your role or experience in the sector, if you have responsibility for fundraising or marketing outcomes, you'll want to check out this episode!Special Thanks to New Story for sponsoring this podcast episode. They are on the forefront of developing solutions to end the global homelessness crisis. And they’re looking for innovative fundraisers and leaders to join their team. If you’re interested in joining a team that is making a tangible impact on the lives of people in need across the globe, you should connect with New Story today.  If you want to lead your organization more effectively and help your team avoid costly mistakes that drain your organization of time, talent, and revenue, check out my Amazon #1 best-seller, 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make And how You Can Avoid Them.  

 Leading a Major Gift Team, with Jennifer Diaz at The Salvation Army | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:43:00

Jennifer Diaz is Director of Major Gifts with The Salvation Army. She works out of the Philadelphia area, where she leads a team of five major gift fundraisers, and carries her own portfolio of top-level donor relationships.I first met Jennifer about five years ago when I was helping to lead a major fundraising change initiative for The Salvation Army's Eastern Territory. I quickly connected with Jennifer because she's a highly skilled, successful, no-nonsense relationship fundraiser. We sat down just before Thanksgiving to talk about her experience raising major gifts in the Philadelphia area, leading a team of fundraisers during the COVID crisis, and bridging the divide between being an individual contributor and a department leader.You'll hear us cover topics like: 2020 Major Donor Trends The growing trend of donors shifting their giving into DAF's, and what that means for your charityWhat you can do to more effectively manage a remote team of fundraisers What it takes to engage donors during a pandemic, & how those donors are supporting the organizations they loveIf you're in the business of engaging major donors and/or leading fundraising teams, you'll enjoy this conversation. Special Thanks to New Story for sponsoring this podcast episode. They are on the forefront of developing solutions to end the global homelessness crisis. And they're looking for innovative fundraisers and leaders to join their team. If you're interested in joining a team that is making a tangible impact on the lives of people in need across the globe, you should connect with New Story today.  If you want to lead your organization more effectively and help your team avoid costly mistakes that drain your organization of time, talent, and revenue, check out my Amazon #1 best-seller, 

 Philanthropy, Financial Planning, and Year-End Giving, with Kurt Peterson, CFP | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:30:27

As we are quickly approaching the year-end giving season, it's more important than maybe any time in recent history that nonprofits understand how to effectively engage with high net worth donors and members of their communities. That's why I was so excited to sit down recently my good friend, Kurt Peterson. Kurt is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC), and an Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS). Kurt is First Vice President - Investments at Wells Fargo Advisors in the Woodbury, MN area. He is also a committed family man and accomplished athlete. In this conversation we spoke with Kurt about:Why year-end giving in 2020 might be different from other recent years.How nonprofit organizations can create more win-win giving opportunities with donors by engaging financial advisors in the process.Why it often makes more sense to ask donors to give from their assets instead of their cash accounts. How nonprofits can better engage and connect with financial advisors to benefit both their donors and the organizations they serve.You can check out this 2020 Year End Planning Guide, which includes great information on year-end charitable giving.Special Offer From Our Episode Sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions:  You have people working in ways they’ve never worked, with people they don’t know, and for managers and leaders they’ve never met around projects they may not understand.The reality is the only thing your competitor doesn’t have is your team. But if you don’t utilize them well and position them for success, you’ll send them looking for better opportunities elsewhere. It’s time to optimize your talent.You can use the code RAINMAKER to get your FREE personalized talent assessment from Velocity Strategy Solutions today! 

 The impact of brand and digital engagement on nonprofit fundraising, with Eric Ressler | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:45:27

Eric Ressler is Founder & Creative Director at Cosmic, a social impact creative agency in the Bay Area. We sat down recently to discuss how brand and digital engagement can impact a nonprofit's ability to scale revenue.While some in the nonprofit sector believe brand will always be in conflict with an organization's ability to raise revenue, Eric doesn't share that point of view. In fact, he's got some great insights into how the two can work hand-in-hand (alongside digital engagement) to both increase awareness of your cause AND help you raise significant amounts of money.Special offer from our episode sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions: You have people working in ways they’ve never worked, with people they don’t know, and for managers and leaders they’ve never met around projects they may not understand.The reality is the only thing your competitor doesn’t have is your team. But if you don’t utilize them well and position them for success, you’ll send them looking for better opportunities elsewhere. It’s time to optimize your talent.You can use the code RAINMAKER to get your FREE personalized talent assessment from Velocity Strategy Solutions today! 

 Becoming a leader of impact, with Braden Douglas | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:38:44

Leadership has zero to do with position or title. It has everything to do with impact. But becoming a leader of impact doesn't just happen by accident. And it doesn't happen over night. It requires focus, intentionality, and a commitment to changing the world for the better. I sat down recently with Braden Douglas, founder of CREW Marketing Partners and author of Becoming a Leader of Impact to talk with him about this concept of leadership impact and how every leader can increase the level of impact they make in their organization, the lives of those they serve, and their communities. In our conversation, Braden outlines the 7 key characteristics of a Leader of Impact:Driven by fulfilling a purpose focused on the betterment of othersConfronts & resolves conflicts in relationships with diligence and careDisplays gentleness and patience in the midst of stress, tension, and frustrationIs generous with their advice, their time, and their financesDisciplined with their personal health, development goals, and activities to ensure they have the energy and capacity for the people and projects that matterThey are part of a community of like-minded people who hold them accountable, encourage them, and spur them toward greater thingsIntentional about having an impact on othersThis is just a small sampling of the great conversation with Braden. Check it out today, and pick up a copy of Becoming a Leader of Impact!Special Offer from our episode sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions: You have people working in ways they’ve never worked, with people they don’t know, and for managers and leaders they’ve never met around projects they may not understand.The reality is the only thing your competitor doesn’t have is your team. But if you don’t utilize them well and position them for success, you’ll send them looking for better opportunities e

 Accelerate Your Planned Giving Success, with Tony Martignetti | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:36:46

Tony Martignetti, host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio, and one of the nation's leading authorities on planned giving just launched a brand new program to help more nonprofit organizations access the transformational impact of planned giving for their organizations. The program is called Planned Giving Accelerator. Tony and I sat down recently to talk all things planned giving, and to chat about this awesome new program for organizations of all shapes and sizes. In our conversation, we covered:Planned Giving mythsWhy nonprofits never start planned giving programs, and how you can overcome the challengeThe truth about what an organization actually needs to have in place to launch a successful planned giving program (Hint: It's NOT an in-house attorney or PG expert!)How the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting donor behavior related to estate planning and planned givingTony also wanted to share his brand new, FREE Planned Giving How-To Guide with our listeners.If your organization is thinking about starting or ramping up a planned giving program, you've got to check out this episode!Special Offer From Our Episode Sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions: You have people working in ways they’ve never worked, with people they don’t know, and for managers and leaders they’ve never met around projects they may not understand.The reality is the only thing your competitor doesn’t have is your team. But if you don’t utilize them well and position them for success, you’ll send them looking for better opportunities elsewhere. It’s time to optimize your talent.You can use the code RAINMAKER to get your FREE personalized 

 Nonprofit Email Strategy with John Walsh | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:43:44

John Walsh is one of the most innovative digital marketers in the nonprofit sector today. He currently leads email marketing at one of the world's largest Evangelical ministry organizations. In this episode, you'll hear John and I discuss all things email marketing and fundraising, including:Designing and executing an effective email testing strategyHow to determine whether a variable is worth testing or notThe impact of change management and innovation on digital marketing and fundraising effortsHow his organization has created new and unique donor experiences during COVID, and the result of those efforts.If you're interested in digital marketing and fundraising, you'll want to pay attention to this episode!A Special Offer From Our Episode Sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions: You have people working in ways they’ve never worked, with people they don’t know, and for managers and leaders they’ve never met around projects they may not understand.The reality is the only thing your competitor doesn’t have is your team. But if you don’t utilize them well and position them for success, you’ll send them looking for better opportunities elsewhere. It’s time to optimize your talent.You can use the code RAINMAKER to get your FREE personalized talent assessment from Velocity Strategy Solutions today!  If you want to lead your organization more effectively and help your team avoid costly mistakes that drain your organization of time, talent, and revenue, check out my Amazon #1 best-seller, 101 Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make And How You Can Avoid Them. 

 Delusional Altruism with Kris Putnam-Walkerly | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:43:14

Kris Putnam-Walkerly is Founder of Putnam Consulting Group, and author of Confident Giving and The ImpactAssets Handbook for Investors. Kris has spent her career as an advisor to high net worth individuals, family offices, corporate philanthropy programs and foundations. She's also the author of the newly released book, Delusional Altruism. We sat down with Kris recently to talk about her new book, covering topics like: How well-meaning philanthropists get in their own way and prevent themselves from achieving the philanthropic impact they hope for.Debunking some of the deeply held, incorrect beliefs that often drive delusional altruism.Understanding how high net worth donors, foundations, and corporate philanthropies are changing their approach to giving during the COVID crisis.Asking better questions, and positioning them differently, to help unleash greater impact through high net worth donors.Understanding how nonprofits and fundraisers can better engage wealth managers, advisors, and philanthropists to unleash greater philanthropic impact. Kris is a highly skilled philanthropy advisor, and shared many of her insightful observations with us in this conversation. I hope you enjoy the discussion!A Special Offer From Our Episode Sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions.  You have people working in ways they’ve never worked, with people they don’t know, and for managers and leaders they’ve never met around projects they may not understand.The reality is the only thing your competitor doesn’t have is your team. But if you don’t utilize them well and position them for success, you’ll send them looking for

 Impact of COVID-19 on Mid-level and Major Donor Giving, with Dickerson Bakker & Associates | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:42:16

How has COVID-19 impacted Mid-level and Major Gift fundraising? Are Mid-level and Major donors shifting their giving priorities because of this crisis? Are they holding back on giving? If Mid-level and Major donors did give during the COVID crisis, how is that going to impact year-end giving? These are the exact kind of questions that my close friends, Derric Bakker and Paul Martin of Dickerson Bakker & Associates were wrestling with in their fundraising consulting practice. To get to the bottom of these questions, they decided to go directly to the source -- to Mid-level and Major donors. In June of 2020 they commissioned and conducted the study, Charitable Giving in the Wake of COVID-19. This survey focused on donors to faith-based organizations, but I believe many of the findings will also hold true for organizations that are not faith-based.Derric and Paul are two of the smartest and most accomplished major gift fundraisers in our sector, so when they ask questions like this then do the research and offer their insights, I ALWAYS listen. What their research discovered is something amazing:85% of donors surveyed report that they plan to continue giving through year-end at the same or greater levels than they did last year.64% of donors expect the economy to rebound within one year -- a key consumer confidence indicator. Majority of donors reported that their giving during COVID was in addition to what they were already planning to do -- as in, increased generosity.Giving priorities remain unchanged, with outreach & evangelism ranking #1, and meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in the U.S. ranking #2.We sat down to dig deeper into the research findings, and to hear from Derric and Paul about how fundraisers and nonprofits can and should apply these learnings to their fundraising efforts between now and year-end. You don't want to miss this conversation!The Dickerson Bakker team is also partnering with our good friend Mike Buwalda at Money for Ministry to share even more about this study in a special webinar on August 25. You can sign up for that webinar here, and when you do, you'll get a FREE copy of the E-book, The Top 3 Ways to Approach Major Donors This Fall. Special O

 Philanthropy Revolution with Lisa Greer | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:46:52

Have you ever wondered what your major donors really thought of your work, how you engage with them, and the experience you create at your events? Have you ever struggled to connect deeply with high net worth individuals that support your cause, and wish you had an insider's perspective on how to approach these relationships more effectively? You're in luck! Lisa Greer is a serial entrepreneur, a former entertainment industry executive, community leader, founder of the Philanthropy 451 blog, and strategic philanthropist. But Lisa didn't come from money. In her new book, Philanthropy Revolution, Lisa describes how her family became "instantly" wealthy, and how that launched a series of philanthropic experiences that shocked and frustrated her. It was almost as if the nonprofit organizations she and her family wanted to support had no idea how to deal with her or her husband. They didn't fit the preconceived narrative of what "wealthy" donors looked like or how they behaved. They didn't follow the neatly scripted approach that most organizations are used to following in dealing with major donors. And this caused friction for both the organizations, and for Lisa and her husband Josh. In Philanthropy Revolution, Lisa shares her own challenging giving experiences, along with those of dozens of other donors, nonprofit executives, and leading academics in the sector. This groundbreaking new book also shares:Upfront ways to ask for moneyEffective communication strategiesHow best to be transparent in donor relationshipsInsights for curating meaningful nonprofit eventsI got the chance to sit down with Lisa recently and talk about the book, her experiences as a philanthropist, and her recommendations for how nonprofits and high net worth donors can achieve greater alignment and make a bigger impact in our world.  S

 Nonprofits in trouble: One-third of organizations may not survive pandemic, recession, with Bob McCartney | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:44:38

On August 3rd, 2020, Bob McCartney authored the article, Nonprofits in trouble: One-third of organizations may not survive pandemic, recession for The Washington Post. This article is a sobering assessment of the health and sustainability of nonprofit organizations in the Washington, D.C. metro area. But more than that, it's likely a canary in a coal mine for our entire sector on a national scale. Bob's conversations with nonprofit leaders, institutional funders and other officials in the sector clearly indicate that while many organizations have survived the COVID crisis successfully, thousands of organizations were not prepared for this. In this episode we delve deeper into Bob's article and talk about the underlying challenges faced by nonprofit organizations right now -- and the risks the sector faces in the near future.This is a conversation you don't want to miss!A special offer from our episode sponsor, Velocity Strategy Solutions:Employee performance and productivity is the highest ranked concern for CEO's. This is true in the nonprofit sector just as much as it is in the for profit sector. That's why we're so excited to partner with Velocity Strategy Solutions to offer nonprofit leaders a special opportunity to gain an unfair talent advantage in their organizations. You can sign up for a FREE, confidential assessment and demo today by visiting People Get Results and using the code RAINMAKER. https://youtu.be/3HTdAsKkrfI

 Talent Optimization with Ben Stroup | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:43:05

In many respects we're living through a period of time where we've forced a decade of disruption into (at this point) a 12-week period. Or at least that's what it's felt like between the COVID crisis and the ongoing struggles related to racial inequality, diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is a lot of change, requiring a lot of emotional investment on all of our parts, and all forced into a very short period of time. Those of us who lead teams need to recognize just how significantly this level of disruption and change impacts our teams. And we need to recognize that the way we engage with our team, and the way our people engage with one another, and with our supporters and volunteers has a very real impact on our ability to deliver revenue and accomplish our personal and organizational objectives. This is why I was so excited to have my good friend, Ben Stroup, Founder of Velocity Strategy Solutions and author of Master The Pivot, back on the show today for a second conversation. Ben has developed a new platform to give organizations an unfair competitive advantage to optimize talent and drive revenue improvements. This is a great conversation and will challenge the way you think about the link between people and organizational revenue -- it totally changed my perspective! 

 A Stewardship Conversation with Karen Paul, CFRE | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:34:24

Stewardship and gratitude are such integral components of successful philanthropy efforts. In my mind, it all comes down to showing appreciation for the people who make our work in the nonprofit sector possible.That's why I was shocked earlier this summer when I shared the results of a small test where 8 out of 10 organizations that received a contribution never sent a thank you letter or followed up on that gift in any way, either online or offline. Unfortunately, the fact that 80% didn't say thank you isn't the part that shocked me. What shocked me was that there's a subset of fundraisers and nonprofit leaders who came to the defense of that 80% and in some instances even suggested that it's a) wrong for donors to expect to be thanked, and b) that thanking a donor for their giving is akin to begging them for their support. This was such a crazy conversation that it sparked additional dialogue across the industry. I jumped onto the Responsive Fundraising Podcast and spoke with Noah Barnett, CMO at Virtuous Software about this. And recently my good friend Lisa Greer, author of Philanthropy Revolution and the Philanthropy 451 Blog wrote about this situation even last week. In the midst of this discussion, I had the opportunity to sit down with my new friend, Karen Paul, CFRE to talk specifically about this. Karen is Director of Development at Science Museum of Oklahoma, and I was particularly interested to hear her on-the-ground perspective on this issue.What I think you'll find is a very balanced discussion of this issue, that I hope adds value to your work and challenges your thinking in the process. Special Offer from Velocity Strategy Solutions, our Episode Sponsor: 

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