How to Build a Culture of Philanthropy with Tamar Copeland of the James Beard Foundation

Sybil Ackerman-Munson is the President at Do Your Good LLC. They offer online courses, podcasts, and resources to help donors make a difference with their donations. With over two decades of experience, she knows how to establish best funding practices and help donors make a tangible difference in the world.

Sybil has helped give away over $45 million in large and small donations throughout her career. She's worked with almost every type of charitable funder and has a thriving career working with philanthropists.

In this episode…

To help your donors give in an impactful way, you need to understand who they are and what they’re interested in. According to Sybil Ackerman-Munson—a consultant who helps donors make a difference with their donations to charities and worthy causes—there are three common types of donors: sustainer, campaigner, and launcher donors.

The sustainer donor cares about your organization, the work you’re doing and wants to continue to support that work. On the flip side, there’s the campaigner donor who cares deeply about a cause and is primarily looking for collaborators for partnerships. What about the launcher donor? How do you identify the different types of donor, and most importantly, how do you get in front of them?

Listen to this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast with Penny Cowden featuring Sybil Ackerman-Munson, the President of Do Your Good LLC. She shares insight into donor trends, the different types of donors, and how to identify and connect with them. They also go into the top three things to consider when working with all three types of donors. Stay tuned to find out more!

Steven D. Lavine is the longest-serving president of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). The institute was born out of Walt Disney's vision for an art school over 50 years ago. CalArts had become embroiled in crisis until Steven became president, leading it to financial prosperity and international acclaim.

When Steven took over the school, their debt was at 1.8 million out of a 16 million dollars budget. Steven served as its president from 1988 until 2017. During this time, CalArts became a pacesetter in domestic diversity, community engagement, international linkage, and cutting-edge production and presentation.

Today, CalArts is the cradle of many Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winners as well as Mellon and Guggenheim fellows, becoming a hotspot for American creativity. Steven's nearly 30-year tenure is the longest, not only in the history of CalArts but also one of the longest-serving college presidents in the United States.

In this episode…

Steven D. Lavine began his journey at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), almost certain to fail. He was faced with a 10% debt to budget ratio. A big supporter had become tired of giving more to the institution. He swam in a sea of ideas from everyone’s opinions on how to proceed. These were but a few of the many failures the CalArts presidency faced. What then would a first-time college president do to provide lasting change?

Steven takes us on a journey through these many challenges from 1988 until 2017 and how he pushed through them all. Find out how Steven wrought the $150 million dollar fundraising miracle for CalArts, whose previous highest raise was $2 million. In short, there’s a lesson for every philanthropy professional in this episode.

Listen to this installment of the Philanthropy212 Podcast with Penny Cowden featuring Steven D Lavine, the longest-serving President of CalArts. They discuss the travails of CalArts at the time Steven became president and how he led them out of the woods. Steven shares his leadership style throughout his time there, why it worked, and what he did when rebuilding CalArts after the 1994 earthquake. Stay tuned for these inspiring stories and more.

Tim Kachuriak is the Founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer for NextAfter. NextAfter is a fundraising research lab and consultancy. They work with cause-driven businesses and nonprofit organizations to help them better understand their customers and inspire their donors to give generously.

Tim is renowned as a nonprofit thought leader. He is the author of the book Optimize Your Fundraising, lead researcher, and co-author of  Online Fundraising Scorecard, Why Should I Give to You? (The Nonprofit Value Proposition Index Study), and The Mid-Level Donor Crisis.

He has trained organizations in fundraising optimization worldwide and is a frequent speaker at international nonprofit conferences.

In this episode…

Philanthropy is entirely built on the generosity of other people. But the question that’s always on the fundraisers’ mind is, “What makes people give?” While there is no one answer, this question is crucial for the success of philanthropies. In trying to solve the giving puzzle, Tim Kachuriak created NextAfter. The business has started running experiments to determine what makes people give. 

They found that giving is irrational behavior, but people rationalize it with different reasons. Sadly, many fundraisers do not understand these different motivations, so they struggle to connect donors to the right opportunities at the right time. But what are these triggers that move people to give? 

Listen to this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast with Penny Cowden. She discusses research on what drives giving with Tim Kachuriak, Founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer for NextAfter. They talk about human behavior and giving, the different motivations for giving, how to generate more responses, and online giving. Stay tuned to find out about all these and more!

Wendy Wilsker is the Managing Partner at Boyden, a global leader in executive search and talent advisory services with more than 70 offices in over 40 countries.

Wendy has nearly 30 years of experience as a frontline fundraiser, not-for-profit manager, and executive recruiter. Through her, Boyden is expanding its Boston office to have a significant footprint in the social impact sector across the U.S. 

The company is looking to focus on advancement and C-suite roles for not-for-profit organizations. These include universities, hospitals, and medical centers as well as cultural, religious, and social services.

In this episode…

Not-for-profit organizations struggle to find candidates that fit their culture and mission. Even when they recruit, they find it twice as hard to retain their high-performing teams, ultimately impacting their donor relationships. What should organizations do to recruit and retain their best employees that fit their culture and mission? 

According to Wendy Wilsker, your organization's reputation and mission are critical parts of the recruiting process. And when you do recruit, it's vital to give your team access to senior leadership, opportunities to take on new projects, and expressing appreciation. What else can you do? 

Listen to this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast with Penny Cowden where she discusses building and retaining high-performing teams with Wendy Wilsker, Managing Partner of Boyden. They talk about recruiting for culture, what you can do to engage employees, and how to reduce turnover. Stay tuned to find out all this and more!

Katherine O'Donnell is the Co-founder & CEO of OP Creative Communications (OPCC), a communications agency that helps non-profit organizations and high-net-worth individuals optimize their social impact. OPCC also partners with data scientists to assess organizations and create individualized data dashboards that ensure transparency.

When Katherine isn’t in the office, she enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors, creating art, traveling, and studying a wide variety of topics. Some of these include cultural anthropology, human behavior, AI, and more.

In this episode…

Does your not-for-profit organization struggle with high-quality communication with its donors? Or, are you struggling to identify and present the key elements of your organization’s mission and vision? If your answer to either of these questions is an emphatic “yes,” then this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast is for you!

Let’s face it: Your non-profit needs fundraising in order to survive and achieve its mission. However, the process of working with donors isn’t always easy, and sometimes the most difficult part of this process is communication. That’s why Katherine O’Donnell created OP Creative Communications (OPCC): to help organizations like yours communicate well with its donors and, consequently, optimize its giving. Want to learn more? 

In this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast, Penny Cowden sits down with Katherine O'Donnell, the Co-founder & CEO of OP Creative Communications (OPCC), to discuss the relationship between clear communication and generous giving. Listen in as Katherine talks about why she founded OPCC, how OPCC’s Optimize Giving program helps both donors and non-profits, and the top communication tips that every organization needs to hear. Stay tuned!

Jay Ruderman is the President at the Ruderman Family Foundation. He has focused his life's work on seeking social justice by advocating for people with disabilities worldwide. As President, Jay takes an ambitious approach to leading the foundation. Since then, it has become a national and international leader in inclusion and disability rights advocacy. 

Jay's emphasis on philanthropy has been instrumental in creating programs worldwide, raising awareness on social media, and making the foundation's most cited white paper. He has never shied away from controversy, consistently challenging Hollywood and those in power to push issues forward. 

Jay has previously worked as an Assistant District Attorney. He served on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Funders Network and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. 

Shira Ruderman is the Executive Director of the Ruderman Family Foundation. She's a professional philanthropist and a social activist. She serves as a Board Member of various organizations and associations in Israel and the United States and is currently serving as Chairwoman of the Fulbright Foundation.

Shira works to generate momentum for an approach to philanthropy that believes in strategic giving involvement and social entrepreneurship.

In this episode…

Philanthropy is at the front and center of creating social change. But sometimes, change may seem distant despite your best efforts as a philanthropy professional. The pain point isn’t that philanthropy can’t make the impact you expect, but that you’re leaving out a crucial part of the process - the business change model. 

Today’s guests, Jay and Shira Ruderman, approach philanthropy using a combination of business and social change models. This approach has helped them articulate what change is and what it should look like. Through this process, Jay and Shira have been at the forefront of creating opportunities for people with disabilities across different sectors, including Hollywood. 

Find out how you too can leverage philanthropy for social change on this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast hosted by Penny Cowden. Penny talks with Jay and Shira Ruderman of the Ruderman Family Foundation to share their process of using philanthropy and advocacy to increase inclusion and create opportunities for people with disabilities. Tune in to get all the details.

Jeremy Cramer is the CEO of Exponential Philanthropy, a fundraising consulting and philanthropic advisory firm. He spent his career supporting and leading not-for-profit organizations to focus on systematic change in healthcare and education. 

Jeremy started his career by working in the development office at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He then led significant gifts fundraising at the world's first not-for-profit biotechnology company, working to find a cure for Lou Gehrig's disease. 

Later on, he served as the Deputy Director of External Affairs at City Year Miami before moving to Vice President of Major Gifts nationally. In this capacity, he led the organization to a successful $150,000,000 campaign to scale City Year's impact and challenge America's graduation status quo.

In this episode…

Philanthropy can be an extension and reflection of a person's or family's values. It changes donors by making them more empathetic and empowers them to do good in the world. Interestingly, social sector leaders are not left out of the change philanthropy can create. 

Today's guest Jeremy Cramer, the CEO of Exponential Philanthropy, believes fundraising professionals are not doing enough to leverage philanthropy's transformative potential. As a result, they find it hard to provide extraordinary experiences for donors. Are you struggling to manage relationships with the highest value donors and create these unique experiences? 

Learn more about this transformative potential on this episode of the Philanthropy212 Podcast with host Penny Cowden and her guest, Jeremy Cramer, the CEO of Exponential Philanthropy. They discuss how philanthropy transforms social impact, relationships as the bedrock of philanthropy and how to manage them, and the top three things a fundraiser needs to succeed.

Kerry Watterson is the Chief Executive Officer of Fundraising Well. This firm is on a mission to help not-for-profit organizations and philanthropists develop specific strategies to maximize their collective impact on their targeted causes. 

He teaches fundraising models and resource development with the University of California Irvine. He also serves on the board of directors for AFP and the US Political Action Committee. His time is spent leading lobbying and advocacy efforts throughout the United States.

He is also leading the male ally program and curriculum for AFP's Women's Impact Initiative.

In this episode…

The not-for-profit sector is behind the times when it comes to coaching, and there are many reasons why. One is the misunderstanding of the roles of a sponsor, mentor, and coach. Your sponsor advocates and helps you move up throughout your career by opening doors. On the other hand, your mentor is there as a resource person to guide you every step of the way. 

Now you may be thinking, if I have a sponsor and mentor within my organization, why do I need a coach? Most times, sponsors and mentors are too busy trying to get through the work to have time for everyone individually. That is why having a fundraising coach is crucial for getting the proper support, learning what you need, and working in the most effective way. Want to learn more? 

Listen to this episode of The Philanthropy212 Show with Penny Cowden to hear from Kerry Watterson, the CEO of Fundraising Well. They talk about the lack of development for professionals, how fundraising coaching is helping to change that, tips for finding the right coach, how to get ready for coaching, and much more.

Jay Finney is the Vice President and Senior Consultant, Fundraising Management at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, LLC. For over 20 years, Jay has worked with a wide variety of not-for-profit organizations, helping them attract, engage, and retain more donors. 

He has partnered with colleges, prep schools, hospitals, PBS stations, food banks, museums, zoos, military groups, and more. Jay has helped clients move from a single channel, spray and pray approach to fundraising to more efficient and effective annual fundraising programs.

In this episode…

There's a smarter way to raise funds. It has nothing to do with reaching out to as many people as you can in the hopes that they'll give. That spray and pray approach often fails because not everybody is willing to or can even afford to give.

A more innovative approach uses data for targeted fundraising, reaching the right folks with the right ask at the right time. It begins by reaching out to people through their preferred communication channel and gathering specific data for each donor. Want to know how to go about it? 

Listen to this episode of The Philanthropy212 Podcast with host Penny Cowden. She interviews Jay Finney, Vice President and Senior Consultant, Fundraising Management at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, LLC. Together, they discuss building multiple communications channels, gathering donor data, and using it to make the right ask at the right time.

Marilyn Parker, CFRE, is the Chief Operating Officer at Benefis Health System Foundation, while Jami Wald is the Senior Development Director.

Since 1998 the Benefis Health System Foundation has served as the only not-for-profit charitable organization working with donors to drive revolutionary support for Benefis Health System. It exists to ensure that generosity transforms the lives of their patients and families throughout north-central Montana. To that end, 100% of the foundation's money goes directly toward the projects and programs that implement change to improve healthcare.

In this episode…

It’s common to see many nonprofits go the United Way route with their employee giving campaign and later choose some other nonprofit to give to. However, Benefis Health System Foundation is taking employee giving to another level by creating the opportunity for employees to give to any not-for-profit in their state. What’s different about their employee giving campaign, and how do they keep it donor-centric?

Listen to this episode of The Philanthropy212 Podcast with Penny Cowden as she discusses employee giving with Marilyn Parker, CFRE, and Jami Wald, both from the Benefis Health System Foundation. They talk about how and why their employee giving campaign is successful, how the campaign works, getting leadership buy-in, keeping employees’ giving momentum going, and more.