Helping Nonprofits Crack the Code to Find Long-Term Donors with James Thorne

How AI Is Driving Inclusivity & Productivity at Special Olympics

From its potential in donor engagement and fundraising to enhancing program effectiveness, AI has shown that it can amplify the impact of nonprofits. How can we peel back the layers of AI's transformative potential in the nonprofit sector to go beyond the hype to see what’s really working and how it can help us in the trenches?

In this conversation, Julia Campbell interviews Justin L. Spelhaug, Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Tech for Social Impact at Microsoft Philanthropies, and Nathaniel Cook, Chief Information Technology Officer of Special Olympics International. They discuss the transformative potential of AI in the nonprofit sector, focusing on inclusivity and productivity.

Takeaways

• Involving the community in the development and implementation of AI tools is crucial for ensuring inclusivity and effectiveness.
• Ethical considerations, such as fairness and bias, are important when deploying AI in the nonprofit sector.
• AI tools can significantly improve productivity and efficiency, allowing nonprofit staff to focus on impactful work.
• Measuring the success and outcomes of using AI tools can be done through surveys, time savings estimation, and tracking productivity gains.
• Nonprofits can start incorporating AI by using free resources like Microsoft Co-Pilot and taking advantage of training programs and learning pathways.

About Nathan Cook, CIO of the Special Olympics International

Nathaniel Cook is the Chief Information and Technology Officer of Special Olympics, a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports. He leads the strategic vision, direction, and execution of the organization’s information and technology initiatives across more than 220 countries and territories. He develops, integrates, and optimizes the Special Olympics information systems and technology platforms, ensuring their alignment with the organization’s goals, values, and standards. He also fosters a culture of innovation and collaboration within the Special Olympics network, leveraging technology to enhance the quality and impact of the programs and services offered to more than six million athletes and their families.

About Justin Spelhaug, Vice President & Global Head – Tech for Social Impact

As the leader for the Tech for Social Impact in Microsoft, Justin brings together 25 years of experience spanning commercial and social businesses. Prior to his current role, Justin served as the Chief Marketing & Operations Officer for Microsoft Asia Pacific spending over 7 years of his career working across developed and emerging Asian markets. Justin also helped to launch the Unlimited Potential organization within Microsoft, with a focus on developing new and more affordable computing solutions to close the digital divide for lower income societies globally.

Resources:

• www.SpecialOlympics.org
• https://www.linkedin.com/learning/paths/career-essentials-in-generative-ai-by-microsoft-and-linkedin
• Microsoft for Nonprofits LinkedIn

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How To Be Remarkable with Seth Godin

In this episode, I sit down with Seth Godin to discuss the future of nonprofit fundraising, how to reach more donors with your message, and how his new venture GOODBIDS is turning charity auctions and fundraising upside down and inside out.

Seth is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and speaker. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he's written 21 best selling books, including the Dip Linchpin, Purple Cow Tribes, and what to do when it's your turn. And it's always your turn. His book and my favorite of his "This is Marketing" was an instant bestseller in countries around the world.

Though renowned for his writing and speaking, Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yo Yodine, acquired by Yahoo. By focusing on everything from effective marketing and leadership to the spread of ideas and changing everything, Seth has been able to motivate and inspire countless people around the world.

Visit Seth's blog

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What’s New With Google Ad Grants with Jessica King

As a nonprofit professional, you understand the importance of making the most of every dollar you spend on your mission. Nonprofits operate with limited budgets, so professionals in the sector constantly look for ways to maximize impact without overspending.

If you’ve encountered the Google Ad Grant program, you probably recognize that the program’s valuable. Free advertising money is a clear win for any organization. Since 2003, Google Ad Grants has given over $9 billion in free advertising to over 115,000 nonprofits in more than 50 countries.

But what are the exact benefits? How can you calculate what the Google Ad Grant is actually worth to your nonprofit?

To help demystify the Google Ad Grant and show us how to find success on the platform, I invited Jessica King to the podcast.

Jessica is the business lead at Getting Attention, where she helps nonprofits acquire and manage the Google Ad Grant to expand their impact. Prior to her work at Getting Attention, Jessica worked at nonprofits and higher education organizations where she focused on communication and digital marketing. Most recently, she worked in search engine optimization in the mission-driven sector.

Jessica holds a master's degree in communication from Virginia Tech. In her free time, you can find her reading, building furniture, and hanging out with her cats, Benny and Olive.

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn

Tools mentioned in this episode:

• Google for Nonprofits
• Moz
• SEMRush
• List of requirements for Google for Nonprofits by country
• Percent Charity Lookup

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5 Videos Every Nonprofit Needs with Danami-Maurice Champion

There are five stories about your nonprofit that form the cornerstones of your organization. Investing in turning these stories into evergreen videos will help maximize your impact for years, because they are always relevant and fresh for your audience.

But how to find these stories, collect them, and share them far and wide?

My guest on this episode is Danami-Maurice Champion, a Story Director who helps nonprofits elevate empathy, community, and funding through emotive storytelling.

Danami is the Co-Founder of BairStories. An award-winning Hip-Hop and soul artist, his music has been featured in a video game and the CW show All American.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Understanding the role storytelling plays in trust-building.
• Effective techniques to captivate and resonate with donors.
• Practical advice for investing in video storytelling that works for them.

Blog: Top 5 Evergreen Video Content for Nonprofits
Connect with Danami on LinkedIn
Check out the BairStories website

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A Framework to Make Your Strategic Plan Actionable

Are you a nonprofit leader who feels stuck despite completing a strategic plan and hiring consultants?

It can be frustrating when you’ve “done the strategy” and still feel like you’re drowning in names and numbers to build a prospect list, complete a grant application or find Board candidates.

You need to make your strategic plan actionable. You need genuine, lasting engagement to power up your mission and increase your impact.

My guest is Beth Saunders, a strategic consultant who helps nonprofits connect people and programs to mission and goals by harnessing their expertise and tapping their data.

We discuss her MapMoveMeasure™ framework -- a guide for elevating stewardship and developing longer-term relationships with supporters – donors, volunteers, advocates, board members. This is a strategy for centering donor communication around goals and creating personalized journeys that move them to support your mission in more and bigger ways. It’s how you make your strategic plan actionable.

About Beth Saunders

Beth Saunders is passionate about making missions happen and believes meaningful human connection is the key to achieving positive change in the world.

She helps nonprofit leaders connect people and programs to mission and goals by harnessing their expertise and tapping their data. Her MapMoveMeasure™ framework is a guide for elevating stewardship and developing longer-term relationships with supporters – donors, volunteers, advocates, board members.

Connect with Beth on LinkedIn
Check out Beth's Website

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