#22: Brady Josephson — The state of multi-channel donor communications

You need to retain donors if you want to grow sustainably—but you also need to find new donors. 

It seems simple enough, but we all want to skip to the “growing revenue” part without investing in both acquisition and retention. It doesn’t work. I’ve tried. You need to work on both, consistently and reliably. 

If you’re a listener of this show, you already know that listening to donors, engaging them, asking, celebrating and reporting is the best way to keep more of your donors connected, and giving. 

But how do you acquire those donors in the first place? 

On today’s podcast, we get into the core 4 ways you can use to find new donors. They are 

1. cold outreach
2. warm outreach
3. content and media
4. advertising

None of them are a magic solution that will grow your donor file. Each of them takes work, time, focus, and yes—money. And all of them work together to make your organization known, and to help you earn the trust of prospective donors. 

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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

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#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Many nonprofits want to see 10-20% growth (or more!) year over year—and are tasking their fundraising team to make it happen without a clear-eyed view of what it takes. 

It’s not that sustained growth is unrealistic, but it becomes harder to raise more money year after year without investing resources (read: money and time!) in the right things to support that growth.

On today’s podcast, we’re going to do a bit of easy math together to see if you’re prepared to meet your growth goals. 

Don’t worry—we’ll walk you through it, step by step! If you want to follow along, you may want to grab: 

• Your income/expense statement from your last fiscal year
• Your overall donor retention rate 
• This worksheet you can download here 

By the end of the episode, you’ll have a good idea of just what it will take to meet your growth goals for 2024—and if your goals are realistic in the first place. 

Download: Growth Goal Worksheet 

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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

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#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

In today’s episode, we dive into the 5 key elements of crafting a winning and simple fundraising plan using the pre-loaded year methodology.

It’s the same method we teach in the Fundraising Academy—and the same method we use with clients in our agency work.

A lot of organizations struggle to create simple and actionable plans they can execute on. That’s because for most small-to-mid sized nonprofits, complicated plans are…well, too complex to actually want to take action on.

But without a plan, nonprofits risk falling short on their financial goals. And they become overwhelmed by the tyranny of the urgent. 

Enter the pre-loaded year methodology—an innovative approach that simplifies the fundraising planning process by creating a One Page Fundraising plan. 

The kind of plan you can pin to the wall next to your computer screen. The kind of plan that isn’t overwhelming. 

In this episode, we explore the step-by-step guide to implementing this strategy, ensuring that your organization not only meets but exceeds its fundraising objectives.

BONUS: We walk you through a short exercise called The New Year Reset. Download your copy of the New Year Reset right here.

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Download the New Year Reset worksheet to help you guide you fundraising planning: https://buildgood.ck.page/newyearreset

➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Do you feel like you have a focused fundraising strategy? 

Or does it feel like you’re being asked to do something else every few months?

Have you—or your leadership—been so derailed by that shiny, new opportunity (looking at you, TikTok) that you lose sight of what's important?

A strategic plan might help—if you approach it the right way.

Now, let’s be honest, you might already have a plan in place. 

It might be sitting on a shelf. Gathering dust. It might just be a long list of lofty goals you want to achieve. It might not even have a strategy at all! 

That’s why how you approach creating a plan is just as important as creating it in the first place. 

So in today’s chat, we get into the power of strategic planning and how it can be a tool to keep your team and your leadership focused on raising more revenue and cultivating your donors.

We’re talking with Kim Bersin, founder of Donor Speak Consulting.  She works with organizations around the globe and has helped raise millions across charitable sectors.

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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

Today’s show is a special episode—a bit of a global journey of fundraising and discovery with one of Canada’s well known fundraisers.  

Fresh off a trip to Europe—including stops in Romania, Slovakia and Holland—Michael Johnston joins us to have a chat about what the social impact sector outside of North America looks like. And what we can learn from it. 

Michael was trained as a NATO analyst but ended up a direct mail fundraiser in 1987. Many books and clients later, he now works in over 30 countries through his agency HJC New Media.

In our chat, we touch on F2F fundraising, mid-level giving, monthly giving and legacy giving through the lens of other countries and cultures. 

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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

What if you could create content for your ads, emails and social media that reached more people than organizations that have 10X your budget? 

In our part 2 with Cameron Bartlett, we’ll into the formulas he’s used to reach over 125,000,000 people for social good. 

And the best part? These frameworks work to build an engaged following, whether you have a team of 20—or it's just you. 

Cameron has helped hundreds of charities like yours fundraise way more, by creating journeys that guide donors from your first interaction to becoming lifelong advocates that grow your cause for you. 

He’s led award-winning digital marketing campaigns for orgs like New Story, IJM, Compassion, World Vision and Cure. 

And he is currently building the food tech nonprofit Future Food.

—

➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

More people would give to your organization, if they could only find you.

We know ads, emails, and organic social are great ways to reach new potential donors. 

But some of the scrappiest, most creative nonprofits use SEO to attract new supporters to grow their cause. 

How? 

On this week’s BuildGood Live, we’re revealing the playbook you can use to optimize your nonprofit’s online content so you can start attracting new donors. 

Cameron Bartlett has helped hundreds of charities like yours fundraise way more, by creating journeys that guide donors from your first interaction to becoming lifelong advocates that grow your cause for you. 

He’s led award-winning digital marketing campaigns for orgs like New Story, IJM, Compassion, World Vision and Cure. 

And he is currently building the food tech nonprofit Future Food.

In our chat, we’ll get into: 

• Why is SEO important for your nonprofit
• How does SEO for nonprofits even work
• How you can begin optimizing your online content so more people find you
• How you can identify relevant keywords for your charity 
• How long does it take to see results from your nonprofit’s SEO efforts
• What tools can a nonprofit use for SEO
• How can you track and measure your progress on your SEO efforts

—

➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

We live in the golden age of digital fundraising—the most efficient ecosystem in which to test, learn and refine. 

Digital has immense power to drive strategies that scale and connect deeply with our donors. AND it plays nicely with so many other channels, including direct mail.

Yet most organizations use it backwards.

Instead of leading with digital, they’re bolting on digital strategies on the back end of other efforts, hoping to get a boost.

So how can we learn to lead with digital?

On today’s podcast, we chat with Erik Rubadeau. He’s the CEO of Yeeboo Digital, a data driven, full service online fundraising and technology agency. 


His expertise on digitally led fundraising and tech innovation and adoption has helped hundreds of nonprofits launch new initiatives and grow their revenue.

In our chat, we’ll get into: 

• What “leading with digital” means?
• How to use digital to test new ideas with little risk or investment.
• How to make the switch from digital as a “bolt on” to digital-first fundraising.
• Some core tools and strategies nonprofits of all sizes can use to lead with digital.

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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

Can the way you lead internally make your fundraising more effective? 

On today’s podcast, we chat with Evan Wildstein about 10 core behaviours of servant leaders—and how they might just improve the way you fundraise.

Behaviours like listening, empathy, healing, building community, and much more. We’ll also get into some super practical ways to activate servant-leadership in your own shop to boost philanthropy.

For 20 years, Evan has been a nonprofiteer, raising funds and developing inspiring programs for organizations like The Juilliard School, Rice University, and Asia Society. 

He recently published his first book, The Nonprofiteer's Fundraising Field Guide. It’s a realistic and inspiring roadmap for anyone who wants to engage with donors, grow revenue and improve philanthropy. It has 30 practical applications you can implement today. And it’s also full of heart-felt stories from nonprofit leaders.

Get the book here or connect with Evan on LinkedIn.

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➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com

You’ve likely heard that the donor should be the hero in your fundraising messaging. 

The phrase had a noble intent. 

It was meant to encourage us to shift our perspective away from meeting revenue targets, and toward finding alignment with our ideal donors’ goals and values. 

But over time, it became misunderstood. Misconstrued. And misapplied.

The “donor as hero” metaphor turned into “the donor is always right”—causing some organizations to do real harm. 

So is it time to think about a better way to express the way we approach our fundraising?

In this freewheeling chat, we get into:

1. The storytelling triad
2. The phases of fundraising that led to donor-centric fundraising 
3. What do people mean when they say the donor is the hero 
4. Why can that philosophy—if misunderstood and misapplied—become harmful 
5. The difference between donor-led and donor-centric fundraising
6. What’s a better way of thinking about “donor as hero” 

—

➡️ Join our FREE training on how to create compelling fundraising messaging that leads donors to action and raises more money, from more people, more often—simply by changing the words you use: https://www.5minutefundraisingfix.com/register 

🤔 What else would you like to know about improving your fundraising and becoming an effective nonprofit marketer? Connect with Mike Duerksen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeduerksen/ 

🔔 Follow the Build Good Fundraising Podcast on your favourite podcast app—and never miss a new episode: https://buildgood.com/category/podcast/ 

❤️ And if you haven't yet, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more fundraising videos and actionable strategies that will help you grow your revenue and impact: https://www.youtube.com/@buildgood?sub_confirmation=1 

Thanks for listening! 

---- 

#Fundraising #Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Marketing 

Interested in  working with a fundraising agency to grow your nonprofit?

BuildGood is a fundraising agency that helps nonprofits raise more money from individual donors. Let our team of experts create your fundraising appeals, emails and newsletters for you, and reclaim the time to do the thing only YOU can do: build genuine, human, personal relationships with your donors. 

You’ll add proven expertise to your team. You’ll benefit from tested and proven strategies that will make you more money. And you’ll have peace of mind that you’re putting your best foot forward with your fundraising. 

➡️For more information, go here: www.buildgood.com