DNP Groundbreakers: Louis Diez, Donor Participation Project

One of the things which makes the fundraising world special and unique are the grassroots fundraising movements which are striving to improve donor communication, retention, and non-profit best practices from the ground up. It's this grassroots mentality which provides the sector with a lot of it's energy and helps push the innovation envelope.  Recently, the Donor Participation Project caught my attention as one of the more successful and influential grassroots movements out there which is why I was thrilled to welcome their host, Louis Diez, to the show. The Donor Participation Project's mission is to improve donor retention through education and the sharing of information with the goal of closing the gap with the 20 million U.S. households who have abandoned giving since 2000.  In addition to facilitating discussion and research with DPP's over 1,000 members, Louis is also Executive Director @ Muhlenberg College giving him a unique perspective into the strategies and techniques which are getting donors to give and continuing giving.  We covered a lot in this discussion including: - The backstory behind DPP's founding and mission  - Why optimization alone isn't enough to grow giving and why building community is the key to bringing in new donors and retaining them  - 5 critical steps to build "Deep Community" with your donors - Why non-profits should trust and empower their donors to be community ambassadors  - How to scale community building  Louis also talks about how his background in music has helped him become a better fundraiser and shares his thoughts on the industry's most pressing issues.  Community has become a big buzzword in the non-profit world (we talk about the problems with buzzwords too!) which is what makes this discussion so unique and valuable for fundraisers. Louis doesn't just talk about the importance of building community with your donors, he provides tangible steps and measures to actually do it.  This interview with Louis Diez is an invaluable listen for any fundraiser who wants to get ahead of the case studies and white papers and find a hidden edge to help improve relations and retention with their donors.  I hope you enjoy my conversation with Louis. If the interview brings you value, please pay it forward by rating, reviewing, and sharing the show with your friends and colleagues. It really does help other fundraisers discover Dynamic Non-Profits content and helps advance our mission to advocate for innovation in the non-profit sector.  Thanks as always for listening! Show Notes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisdiez/ https://marktlab.com/