Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell

This episode is sponsored by Bonterra. Bonterra is a social goods software company focused on powering those who power social impact with best in class fundraising engagement, program management, and CSR solutions. By bringing together intuitive technology and social impact expertise, Bonterra enables unmatched connectivity between organizations and their communities of supporters and constituents, ultimately creating more ways for social good organizations to maximize their impact. To learn more about selecting the right tech for your nonprofit, go to www.jcsocialmarketing.com/bonterra

We know that organizations with healthy member engagement thrive, so how do we increase this engagement when environmental factors work against us? If it feels like member engagement is in shorter supply than ever before, you are not alone!

Members’ needs are changing—they require more than value to engage with your organization; they also want memorable, positive experiences. It is time for every leader to take on the role of CEO - Chief Experience Officer!

My guest this week is Amanda Lea Kaiser, MBA, a keynote speaker and author of Elevating Engagement: Uncommon Strategies for Creating a Thriving Member Community. Through her research, Amanda is at the forefront of exploring how member and attendee engagement is rapidly changing within professional communities.

In this episode, Amanda walks you through how engagement builds from our member’s points of view. No matter the size or type of your association, and no matter your current role, see how you, too, can distinguish and propel your organization. Using uncommon strategies from her book Elevating Engagement, learn how to create an energized and highly motivated membership.

Connect with Amanda

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaLeaKaiser
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandakaiser/
• Website: https://amandaleakaiser.com/
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/KaiserInsightsLLC/

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.

Take my free masterclass: 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media Content that Converts

This episode is sponsored by Bonterra. Bonterra is a social goods software company focused on powering those who power social impact with best in class fundraising engagement, program management, and CSR solutions. By bringing together intuitive technology and social impact expertise, Bonterra enables unmatched connectivity between organizations and their communities of supporters and constituents, ultimately creating more ways for social good organizations to maximize their impact. To learn more about selecting the right tech for your nonprofit, go to www.jcsocialmarketing.com/bonterra

“What kind of fundraiser do you want to be?”

Donor communications can be challenging when you have an over-packed schedule and very full plate of tasks. But infusing creativity and #donorlove into your interactions with donors will help you raise more money and deepen relationships for the long term.

In this episode, Creative Deviations author and Agents of Good founder John Lepp joins me to discuss creativity, donor appreciation, and how to maintain passion for the work after two decades of fundraising.

We cover:

• Why so many fundraisers ignore donor communications
• How to tell more creative and engaging stories
• Examples from the book Creative Deviations
• How to keep flexing the creative muscle - where to get inspiration
• What’s next for fundraising in an unstable, noisy world

About John

John Lepp, author of Creative Deviations, is a direct response, marketing and graphic design expert with almost 25 years of experience working with charities around the world to help them tell better stories and to inspire donors to give, both online and offline. He is a respected and coveted international speaker who has traveled the world helping fundraisers be more “human” and “vulnerable” to these other amazing humans we call donors.

Connect with John
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlepp/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnlepp
Web: https://agentsofgood.org/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@john_lepp

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.

Take my free masterclass: 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media Content that Converts

This episode is sponsored by Bonterra. Bonterra is a social goods software company focused on powering those who power social impact with best in class fundraising engagement, program management, and CSR solutions. By bringing together intuitive technology and social impact expertise, Bonterra enables unmatched connectivity between organizations and their communities of supporters and constituents, ultimately creating more ways for social good organizations to maximize their impact. To learn more about selecting the right tech for your nonprofit, go to www.jcsocialmarketing.com/bonterra

Few things are more critical to your nonprofit’s health, success, and sustainability than an effective board of directors. But building and keeping an engaged board is a challenge that many nonprofits face, large and small.

My guest this week is Sabrina Walker Hernandez, fundraiser extraordinaire and total pro when it comes to “doing fundraising differently” and thinking outside of the box. She is still my #2 most downloaded podcast episode - What The Best Fundraisers Do Differently!

Sabrina is a certified consultant, coach, & facilitator that helps small nonprofit Staff & Board build relationships that convert into more donations. She has over 25 years of experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, and leadership. Among Sabrina’s successes is that she increased operation revenue from $750,000 to $2.5M and completed a $12M comprehensive capital campaign in the 3rd poorest county in the United States. She has facilitated numerous workshops with hundreds of nonprofit professionals. Sabrina is certified in Nonprofit Management by Harvard Business School. She is an active community leader and volunteer in Edinburg, Texas where she is based.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to support your board in resource development, tap into their fundraising strengths, and transform them into a fundraising powerhouse;
• Understanding the role of the board in the resource development & fundraising;
• Ways to engage the board in each of these roles;
• Ways that staff can support the Board in resource development & fundraising.

Connect with Sabrina

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supportingworldhope
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinawalkerhernandez/
• Other: https://supportingworldhope.com/about/

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community

Take my free masterclass: 3 Must-Have Elements of Social Media Content that Converts

The data on donor retention is not good. On average, over three quarters of new donors do not make a second gift. Also, the number of individual donors has dropped nearly 20 percent since the beginning of this century.

It is not difficult to believe that this large drop is connected to donors feeling unappreciated and even commoditized.

This purely transactional approach to donors is a particular turnoff to younger generations who are used to having lots of choices in everything they do, and need to be acknowledged and invited to become repeat donors.

In this episode, we talk about Allison's 3 steps to better donor relationships, and how to increase donor retention using available technology and tools.

About Allison

Allison Fine is a pioneer in the use of technology for good. She is the author of four books on the topic, most recently, The Smart Nonprofit: Staying Human Centered in an Automated World with Beth Kanter. She is currently the President of Every.org, a nonprofit platform helping nonprofits raise more money while strengthening the relationship between causes and donors to create lasting change.

Connect with Allison

• Website: https://afine.substack.com/
• Other: http://www.every.org
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-fine-a07132/

Resource

• Don't Be A Big Box Nonprofit

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/

Strong organizations need passionate, competent, well-trained leaders. In this episode, we talk to The Board Pro, Christal Cherry, about her essential Steps to Build a More Engaged Board, plus other helpful tools like Board Maps and onboarding.

About Christal Cherry:

Christal M. Cherry is a nationally recognized nonprofit executive and professionally trained fundraiser. With over 20 years in the nonprofit sector, she has supported higher education institutions, human services organizations and faith based missions. Her career portfolio, as a full time professional and consultant includes American University, the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College, Nicholas House, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Florida A & M University, Action Ministries and the GA Center for Nonprofits.

The Board Pro coaches, guides, trains, and transforms their leaders to optimize their board experience by taking action and embracing their power to change their communities and the world.

Connect with Christal Cherry

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christal-m-cherry/
• Website: https://www.theboardpro.com/

Resources:

• Nonprofit Board Limits: When is it time to go? (Read article)

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/

This episode is sponsored by Qgiv, a comprehensive fundraising platform trusted by over 20,000 fundraisers. The Qgiv team understands that fundraising isn’t always an easy job. To help, they recently surveyed fundraising professionals and donors to create a soon to be released report, The Sustainable Giving Report. This report explores how the economy, staffing issues, declining donor numbers, and more have impacted nonprofit teams. To learn how you can build more sustainable fundraising revenue and advocate for data-backed change, click here to be notified when the report is released and receive your copy!

You might have heard the phrase, “Do more with less,” once or twice before, and if you work in the nonprofit sector, you’ve likely heard that phrase dozens of times. It’s a fundraising professional’s mantra! 

When you’re in “survival mode” it can be hard to make time to fine-tune your fundraising campaigns and raise more money—not just for your mission, but for the administrative costs associated with your organization.  

This pressure (that often feels like a rice cooker ready to burst) can impact your job satisfaction and lead to high turnover rates within your organization, affecting your overall wellbeing as a change maker and your nonprofit’s bottom line.  

In this episode, we discuss the hard topics:

• Are donors still willing to financially support their favorite causes despite inflation?
• What can be done to address the increased pressures fundraising professionals are facing? 
• Are fundraisers  being given the tools they need to meet their goals?
• How can nonprofits retain their fundraising staff and build more scalable programs?

About Wendy

Wendy Mercurio is the Content and Education Specialist at Qgiv. As a former Development Officer and Development Director, Wendy draws upon her nonprofit experience to create informative and inspiring content for the Qgiv audience and beyond. Wendy’s professional efforts have focused on fundraising events, corporate relations, donor acquisition, and donor relations. In her spare time, Wendy can be found spending time with her pup, Alfie, cooking up a new recipe and spending time on the lake she lives by.

Connect with Wendy on LinkedIn
Get the new report: https://go.qgiv.com/research-study-subscription

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.  

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/

Having an effective email program is an important part of building an engaged community.  48% of donors prefer to receive updates and appeals via email.

But accurate data about nonprofit email performance has historically been hard to come by—especially for small to midsize nonprofits—and that makes it hard to gauge your own campaigns’ performance.

That all changes with a new sector report, The Nonprofit Email Report: Data-Backed Insights for Better Engagement.

My guest on this episode is Abby Jarvis, Senior Content Marketing Manager for Neon One. To get the extensive data for this report, they evaluated 37,472 email campaigns sent by their clients and identified key email benchmarks broken down by organization size. They include data for small and large nonprofits as well as the average of all emails sent. In the report, you will find data on average list sizes, open rates, and click-through rates for all three of our size cohorts, along with data-backed insights your team can actually use.

In this episode, Abby and I discuss: 

• Tips for improving your email campaigns’ performance
• Words and phrases that boost engagement
• An analysis of the most engaging email of 2022
• Practical strategies for creating compelling emails
• Expert advice from industry thought leaders
• Nonprofit-specific email performance benchmarks

Download the full report today to learn powerful insights that you can use to optimize your email strategy.

About Abby

Abby Jarvis is a writer and speaker at Neon One. Her 10 years in the nonprofit technology industry have been dedicated to understanding how and why donors support their favorite causes, studying donor trends and behavior, and sharing practical tactics nonprofits can use to build successful fundraising programs.

Connect with Abby

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailljarvis/
• Website: https://neonone.com/

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.  

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/

Marketing has never been more challenging than it is now: As technology has matured, so have the layers between you and your audience become murkier. Your outreach is likely dependent on third parties in ways you may not realize. Economic forecasts and audience demand for privacy seem daunting. And though innovation is desperately needed, it never feels like the right time to ask for more investment dollars.

Data privacy has become such a concern for consumers that they’re demanding more control. Because of this, tech giants and regulatory bodies are making huge shifts in audience targeting capabilities – you’re likely already seeing the impact. 

In this episode, data privacy expert Elyse Wallnutt will share how your consumer demand for privacy is impacting nonprofit acquisition and how to pivot your digital strategy to focus on data autonomy and audience trust.

About Elysse

Elyse Wallnutt is a senior marketing and tech leader with 16+ years of experience driving results at the intersection of revenue, advocacy, brand, and policy objectives. 

She delivered $39M+ in net new revenue for organizations over the past five years. She built the digital activation campaign for the clean future plan that powered the majority of President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. And she has grown acquisition programs to more than 9x their former size.

She launched Agility Lab Consulting in 2022 to support business leaders in reaching their audiences through smart strategies that stay ahead of shifts in technology, algorithms, consumer interest, and rising demand for privacy.

In this episode, data privacy expert Elyse Wallnutt will share how your consumer demand for privacy is impacting nonprofit acquisition and how to pivot your digital strategy to focus on data autonomy and audience trust.

Connect with Elyse:

• Agility Lab Consulting
• [email protected]
• https://www.agilitylab.io/resources
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/elysewallnutt/  

Resources

• The Nonprofit Alliance
• Legislation updates
• Google updates

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/

This episode is sponsored by Qgiv, a comprehensive fundraising platform trusted by over 20,000 fundraisers. The Qgiv team understands that fundraising isn’t always an easy job. To help, they recently surveyed fundraising professionals and donors to create a soon to be released report, Building a Sustainable Future: A Guide to Healthy Fundraising. This report explores how the economy, staffing issues, declining donor numbers, and more have impacted nonprofit teams. To learn how you can build more sustainable fundraising revenue and advocate for data-backed change, click here  to be notified when the report is released and receive your copy!

Influencer marketing has a wide variety of benefits for nonprofits, but it’s a relatively new space for many of us. We may not know who exactly to approach as an "influencer" - or what to say and how to work with them.

In this episode, Ash Collins, Influencer Relations Specialist at Best Friends Animal Society, will be  sharing the benefits of creating an Influencer Program and the collaborations that she has been part of during her role.  

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to work with influencers
• How to find influencers
• How to track success
• The future of influencer marketing 
• How to get younger generations into fundraising

Ash Collins (she/her/hers) is the Influencer Relations Specialist at Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization. She manages relationships and marketing collaborations with social media influencers to help end the killing of cats and dogs in America's shelters. She has been in animal welfare for over 7 years and is skilled in influencer relations, social media, digital marketing, relationship development, and crypto/NFT relationships. When she is not working hard to Save Them All, she can be found reading with her cats, hiking with her husband and their dog, or sewing in her craft room.

Connect with Ash:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashdcollins/
• Email: [email protected]

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.  

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/

This episode is sponsored by Qgiv, a comprehensive fundraising platform trusted by over 20,000 fundraisers. The Qgiv team understands that fundraising isn’t always an easy job. To help, they recently surveyed fundraising professionals and donors to create a soon to be released report, Building a Sustainable Future: A Guide to Healthy Fundraising. This report explores how the economy, staffing issues, declining donor numbers, and more have impacted nonprofit teams. To learn how you can build more sustainable fundraising revenue and advocate for data-backed change, click here  to be notified when the report is released and receive your copy!

Do you struggle with figuring out what is attractive to potential sponsors and how to position your organization for sponsorships?

My guest this week is Mariah Monique, the Founder of The Sponsorship Catalyst, LLC. Mariah has evaluated hundreds of sponsorship proposals and decks, contributed to the decision-making process for fund allocation, negotiated requests, and built a brand reputation and awareness through sponsorships and relationship management.

In this episode, we discuss: 

• The importance of clarity when pitching to event sponsors
• How nonprofits can leverage their network to find their next sponsor
• What sponsors want and why they need you

Connect with Mariah:

• Website: https://www.thesponsorshipcatalyst.com/
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thesponsorshipcatalyst
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/thesponsorshipcatalyst
• Sponsor Brand Benefit List

About Julia Campbell, the host of the Nonprofit Nation podcast:

Named as a top thought leader by Forbes and BizTech Magazine, Julia Campbell (she/hers) is an author, coach, and speaker on a mission to make the digital world a better place.

She wrote her book, Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits, as a roadmap for social change agents who want to build movements using engaging digital storytelling techniques. Her second book, How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community for Your Nonprofit, was published in 2020 as a call-to-arms for mission-driven organizations to use the power of social media to build movements.  

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliacampbell/