To change or not to change your CRM.  It's a question more and more nonprofit groups are facing. What should you consider before making such a big investment in time and money?

In this episode, I speak with Smita Vandakekalam, COO and Senior Strategist at Heller Consulting, about how she helps nonprofits navigate decisions surrounding CRM changes, and Heller's new white paper on the topic.

Resources from Heller:

What to consider before replacing your CRM

Nonprofit CRM pricing

Combating burnout during a CRM implementation

Giving has been up for many organizations, but revenue alone doesn't tell the whole story.

As the COVID pandemic unfolded, the team at Blakely and their partners began surveying donors in Canada and the U.S.  Kimberley Blease, EVP at Blakely, joins me to discuss the findings of their latest survey through the end of May.

Resources:

You can find recordings of Blakely's webinars and findings on donor sentiments during COVID on their website.

Fundraising events canceled?  You're in good company, but in the age of zoom you have more options than ever before.

I'm joined by Oliver Hibbs, Director, Digital and Strategy Integration at Blakely Inc, to discuss strategy for how to not only bring your offline events online but also to engage new groups of donors with virtual event options.

Resources:

Digital engagement in 2020 and Beyond from Blakely

Creating an Amazing Donor Experience from Blakely

It's our very first Ask the Fundraiser!  Fundraising experts Karin Kirchoff and Jennifer Deerr from K2D Strategies answer fundraising questions submitted by you.

There were so many great submissions, we've broken this into two knowledge-packed episodes, so join us later this month for part 2.

We're back with part two of Ask the Fundraisers with Karin Kirchoff and Jenn Deerr!  This time we talk telemarketing, acquisition 101, and everyone's favorite topic: monthly giving.  
If you like what you hear, please consider subscribing, sharing with a colleague, and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or your podcast platform of choice!

And as always if you have an idea for a topic, drop me an email at hello@goodfundraising.net.

For our tenth episode, I'm speaking with Jenny Belardi, Director of Development at Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science, about what makes a great major gifts program.

Jenny shares what makes a great major gifts officer, building lasting donor relationships, and how her team is adapting donor cultivation to meet a socially distanced world.

Resources:

Jenny mentions hiring staff who share the qualities of a "curious chameleon."  You can find our more about this mysterious creature on the EAB website.

You know that monthly giving can change your fundraising program's bottom line, but it's impact doesn't stop there.  Today I'm speaking with Joanne Wilson, Vice President, Advancement Operations at HSUS, about how monthly giving helped transform organizational culture.

With everything that has happened in our world this year,  it feels like the stakes are even higher when it comes to our ability to really listen to each other and to find new ways to shift towards much needed collaborative ways of working."

Kyla Shawyer, knows something about the need for new and improved ways of working together in the nonprofit sector.  Kyla has been leading transformational change in the global nonprofit sector for 15 years, having led programs at Operation Smile and later the Resource Alliance.  She is currently working at the intersection of systems innovation and leadership in the social good space, serving as both CEO & Co-Founder of Philanthropy & Fundraising North America (PFNA), a nonprofit executive leadership program that builds nonprofit capacity for fundraising growth and innovation, and as Creative Consultant for DSIL Global, a social innovation company.

A few months ago I heard Kyla present on "Liberating Structures"--a set of tools that promises to revolutionize unproductive meeting culture and replace it with collaboration, problem-solving, and idea generation.  Every bad meeting I have ever been in over the last 20 years flashed before my eyes, and I quickly sent her an email to learn more.

Resources:

Liberating Structures Website

Book: The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures

Liberating Structures App

You can find links to these resources and all our other episodes on the Good Fundraising website.

Nonprofit fundraisers weather their share of storms in any given year, but an executive director has to contend with even more challenges. In this week's episode, I speak with Rachel Herman, Founder and Executive Director of PAWS NY, about navigating growth and program changes for her now 10-year old organization. Rachel shares her reflections on growing PAWS, making tough decisions during the spring of Covid, and how their programs have adapted to meet new needs for the people and pets of New York.

To find out more about PAWS NY or make a donation, visit www.pawsny.org.

Corporate partnerships are much sought-after but seldom well understood.  What do corporations want from their non-profit partners, and how can non-profits evaluate promising partnerships from the rest?

Lauren Gray, Senior Director of Global Corporate Partnerships at the International Rescue Committee, joins me to talk about her extensive experience working with corporate partners across different verticals of the nonprofit space.  We discuss what makes a good partner, what nonprofits need to expect on their end, and how corporate giving priorities changed with the 2008 recession and what that moment can tell us about partnerships during and post covid.