PODCAST · business
Fundraising is Beautiful
by Steven Screen, Jeff Brooks
In this podcast, Steven Screen & Jeff Brooks give you super-actionable information for how you can make your next fundraising effort raise more money.
Episodes
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The Power of Donor Love: Interview with Jen Love & John Lepp
You'll be equipped and inspired by this interview with Jen Love and John Lepp of Agents of Good in Toronto. They are powerful spokespersons for the idea and practical expression of loving donors. You'll learn how Courier font is a practical tool for donor love, why innovation in fundraising so...
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11 amazing fundraising truths discovered by new writers
We asked two new fundraising (and very successful) writers who have been doing some very great work what they know about fundraising that's making them succeed. Here's what they told us: Write as one person connecting with one person. Avoid the word "we" -- unless it very clearly means you the...
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Fundraising is about so much more than money
Steven shares his short poem, "A Benediction for Fundraisers" (based on "Christ Has No Body" by St. Teresa of Avila [1515-1582]). We hope this very brief podcast inspires you to love the important work we do when we motivate donors to give. Program #109 Click the link to play: A Benediction for...
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Engagement fundraising -- how you raise the big bucks from the happiest donors
This is a powerful and super-informative interview with Greg Warner, founder of MarketSmart who also hosts a great podcast called Engagement Fundraising. The secret to accelerating your fundraising program is this: find the right level of engagement and giving for every donor, especially: Those…
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How to conduct interviews that get you the fundraising stories that stir your donors' hearts
We all know how important it is to tell great stories in fundraising. Those stories almost never drop out of the sky! We have to go and get them. In this quick discussion, you'll get some great interviewing tips, including: Know what you want to get what you want. Dealing with language barriers…
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Ultimate Fundraising Lesson
The most important thing you can learn about fundraising -- the one thing that can make the difference between mediocrity and big-time success -- it's this: It's not about you. It's about your donor! It's so easy to talk about how great our organization is ... and to forget that donors don't give...
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3 things that are probably wrong with your nonprofit website
We've looked at a lot of nonprofit websites. More than is good for our mental health, frankly. And we've found three things to be wrong with nearly all of them: Your website doesn't present some kind of need that the donor can meet. The idea of giving is not clear and strong. You've created it to...
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How to use photos in fundraising
We take a look at the ways photos can emotional depth and measurable pull-power to your fundraising ... or undermine your message entirely!
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Does your fundraising subtext tell donors they matter or that they don't?
What's the subtext of your donor-communications stream? That is, what's the overarching message they're getting, even though you might not be saying it out loud? We'll show you how to change your subtext into one that thrills and involves donors -- and keeps them giving.
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Does your fundraising subtext tell donors they matter, or that they don't?
What's the subtext of your donor-communications stream? That is, what's the overarching message they're getting, even though you might not be saying it out loud? For many organizations, it's: We've got this. We're taking care of the problem. You can partner with us if you like. But for the really...
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The right way -- and wrong way -- to thank your donors
A lot of nonprofit thank-you messages say something like this: "Thank you for being our partner...." That's about as thrilling to the donor as telling her she has nice elbows. Donors don't give in order to be our partner. They give to have a positive impact on the world in some specific way. And...
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MUST-LISTEN Interview with Scott Harrison of charity:water
Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water (and a fan of this podcast) reveals some of the thinking behind this innovative nonprofit that came on the scene 10 years ago and his virtually re-written the fundraising playbook in many ways. Get the inside scoop on: How charity:water takes its donors on…
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Interview with Scott Harrison of charity:water
Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water (and a fan of this podcast) reveals some of the thinking behind this innovative nonprofit that came on the scene 10 years ago and his virtually re-written the fundraising playbook in many ways. Get the inside scoop on: How charity:water takes its donors on…
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Two super-common errors that can kill your fundraising
There are two opposite impulses that almost all fundraisers fall prey to at some time or another. They are: Educating donors Abstraction They are guaranteed response-crushers. And the temptation to do both are powerful. With real-life examples, we'll show you how to avoid both errors and keep…
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The upsides and downsides of holiday-based fundraising
Some of the strongest fundraising is connected to specific holidays. Some of the most ineffective fundraising is also connected to specific holidays. The special edition podcast will show you how to put holidays to work for you. And when not to do it at all.
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How to create great direct mail fundraising teasers
The most impactful element of any direct mail project is the teaser -- what you put on the outer envelope. We'll share what works, what never works, and the surprising "most likely to succeed" approach. We'll also discuss email subject lines -- a closely related topic with some strong…
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How to succeed at fundraising for a church
Houses of worship are a powerhouse of the fundraising world. But even they face new challenges in getting their people to donate. We take a practical and realistic look at the challenges churches face and what they can do to motivate their people to give generously.
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It's the donor's story -- not your own
Most fundraisers know that telling stories is the way to reach donors' hearts and minds and motivate them to give. But what's the right story to tell? It's the donor's story. The story she'll tell after she gives. This podcast takes a look at what we fundraisers can do to give each donor a story…
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Fundraising under President Trump
How is fundraising likely to do during the Trump administration? We take a look. We believe it will mean very different things to different organizations. Find out what you can expect in the coming months and years. And what you can do to maximize revenue and donor engagement.
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Your 6-word guide to powerful donor newsletters
Every piece of content in every donor newsletter should fit match this model. When you do that, you'll have a newsletter that raises funds, and improves donor retention by improving your donor relationships!
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What is donor-focused fundraising, really?
Everybody knows that donor-focused fundraising is good. But what is it, actually? Listen to discover a new and more effective way to understand -- and create -- donor-focused fundraising
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Keeping donors vs. getting new ones -- how to balance
Ever been told Stop acquiring new donors until you've improved your retention rates? It's bad advice. We'll take a close look at the important dynamic between acquisition and retention and show you how to arrive at the right balance for your organization.
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How old are your donors?
For most fundraisers, your donors are a lot older than you think. We'll look at why this is so and what it means for you: How do you communicate with these people? About what? And in which channels? Knowing hold old your donors are -- and responding appropriately -- is the key to success in...
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How to survive the "summer slump"
Most fundraisers experience a drop in giving during the summer months. Here are some tips for minimizing the pain by maximizing summertime revenue ... and other ways you can profitably use the summer months to improve your fundraising all year 'round.
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When the boss doesn't like your fundraising
It's one of the most common experiences in fundraising. You've created a powerful fundraising message. Then you show it to your boss -- and she hates it. We can't ignore bosses (and board members and other authorities) -- and they often dislike our best work. Because it's not aimed at them!…
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Tom Ahern on Donor-Focused Newsletters that Raise Money
Here's an info-packed interview with the Superb Tom Ahern. We discuss how and why you can raise a lot of money with donor newsletters. Learn what's working and what's not, what most often goes wrong in donor newsletters, and what the heck is up with email newsletters? All from Tom's new book…
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Are you Yoda or Batman to your donors?
There are two fundamentally different approaches fundraisers can take to their donors: One stays in the background and empowers the donor to be the hero. The other stands in front and tells the donor to be a good side-kick -- keeping the hero label for himself. One of these raises a lot more…
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How to improve your donor's giving experience
Your donor gets nothing in return for her donation. Nothing but your communications. Your communications have a big job to do: To show her something she may have no way of knowing otherwise: What her gift made possible. That's how you cross the gap from a donation being a random, one-time event…
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The secrets of successful disaster fundraising
Recorded on Friday afternoon, October 23, 2015. Hurricane Patricia was barrelling toward the coast of Mexico, and we didn't yet know if it was going to be a humanitarian disaster or not. (Thankfully, it wasn't.) Some disasters give us advance warning. Others, like earthquakes, don't. Some…
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The 7 deadly sins of nonprofit storytelling
Here are seven common storytelling sins that make your story ineffective: It's about you, not your donor. It doesn't have conflict. The problem is too big. It's a story about success, not need. It's over-written. It's too hard to read. It's aimed at the wrong audience. This podcast is a preview…
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The Evil Cousin of Fundraising
Listen to an excerpt from the new book, How to Turn Your Words into Money: The Master Fundraiser's Guide to Persuasive Writing by Jeff Brooks, reading the chapter titled "The Evil Cousin of Fundraising." Learn about the all-too-common practice of fundcrushing -- using large numbers and…
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Your fundraising is not for you
The most common and destructive error fundraisers make is aiming their messages at themselves -- creating what they believe would motivate them to give. They should be aiming at their donors. And donors are very different from you in nearly every way. Here's help for aiming your work in the right...
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Good News Fundraising or Bad News Fundraising?
What story does your fundraising tell? Is it Bad News -- the problem and brokenness that you want your donors to help you change? Or is it Good News -- the promise of what can happen when your donor steps up and gives. Or maybe there's a third, more perfect, way. We'll show you that way, the...
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You say it's your anniversary: How to make it work for fundraising
Most of your donors don't care that your organization has been around for a nice round number of years. That's why Give to us because it's our 25th and we're awesome is a lousy way to raise funds. But there are some things you can do to leverage your anniversary into more revenue. We discuss four...
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The unique unimportance of uniqueness in fundraising
Many organizations believe that their uniqueness is the main reason donors will choose them for their charitable giving. That's a revenue-crushing mistake. Successful fundraising starts where the donor is -- not in the organization's uniqueness -- and makes a clear, simple case. "I'm looking for…
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Fundraising techniques that everyone does: Are they bad?
How often we hear someone say: I will never use that fundraising technique because everyone does it! We see something again and again and think it's hackneyed, out-of-style, and ineffective. Actually, it's usually the other way: Those fundraising "techniques" you see again and again are the…
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Fundraising From Yourself: Beware
We're taking a look at one of the most destructive forces in all of fundraising: The need we all have to make ourselves the audience for our messages: Fundraising From Yourself -- or FFY. It's the quick and sure path to failure. We'll show you the three signs that FFY is happening in your...
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Want relationships with your donors? Prove it!
Consider this: Most nonprofit organizations want "real relationships" with their donors. But they communicate with donors as infrequently as possible, and when they do, they tend to talk only about themselves. What kind of relationship-building is that? We'll examine three ways to walk the talk…
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Donor acquisition vs donor cultivation -- know the difference to succeed in both
Donor acquisition -- in any medium -- has a fundamentally different "ecosystem" form donor cultivation. Knowing the difference will make you far more effective in both. We discuss the differences in response numbers, cost, messaging, and long-term impact between acquisition and cultivation.
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Fundraising Is Beautiful 101 -- the basics of great fundraising
Before you know anything else about fundraising, there are three basic assumptions you should know about it: Fundraising is all about specificity. It's the specific change you're asking the donor to help make with their gift. Abstractions and generalities fail to move donors to action.…
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The 12 tips of Christmas
Here are 12 fundraising tips -- most of them super-easy and ready to try immediately -- that can boost your fundraising results, this holiday season or any other time of year.
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ENCORE PODCAST: Maximize your year-end fundraising
The coming weeks are the probably the most important of the year for your fundraising. Here are practical tips for both direct mail and online fundraising that can make the most of the generosity your donors feel as the year comes to an end.
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Letter from a disgruntled donor
A donor writes a letter to the president of the organization. It's an articulate critique of what the donor dislikes about their fundraising: It's simplistic, repetitious, and emotional. What do you do? What do you say? We read an actual letter from a real donor and talk through the right -- and...
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3 steps to effective storytelling in fundraising
Storytelling that persuades donors to action isn't magic. You just have to make sure your has these elements: It's about the donor (not about your awesome organization) It leads to the donor taking action -- entering the story It's unfinished -- you want to donor to create the satisfying end to…
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4 hallmarks of donor-focused communications
Do you ever wonder if your donor communications are truly donor-focused? Check what you're saying against this list: Donors are the heroes of most of the stories you tell. Donors get prompt, detailed, and frequent information about the impact of their giving. Donors has control over how you...
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3 things your donors should be able to find on your website
Your nonprofit website does a lot of things. If you want it to be helpful to your fundraising, make sure it has these three elements: Information that tells them than can trust you. A clear statement of what you do. Easy-to-use donation form(s). That's not a complete list of everything you should...
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5 ways to drive away donors
Are you getting too much fundraising revenue? Do you need fewer donors to support your work? Here's how you can help solve that problem: Write and design for your coworkers (or yourself). Change the subject between your acquisition and cultivation messages. Educate your donors. Develop your…
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Branding for real-life fundraisers
Here's an excerpt from the new book The Money-Raising Nonprofit Brand: Motivating Donors to Give, Give Happily, and Keep on Giving. Find out what branding can and should do for your fundraising, and why it often doesn't. Learn how fundraisers are like forklift drivers, and what you can do to…
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How to learn when you can't test
Everyone knows that direct-response testing is the path to the truth in fundraising. There's just one problem: The large majority of nonprofit organizations cannot do direct-response testing. Their quantities are too small and/or they don't have the budget to pay for testing. Here are three ways…
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Getting the most out of survey research
Survey research can lead your fundraising badly astray. Focus groups can kill the strongest fundraising programs. If you use them wrongly. There are great ways to use qualitative research to best your knowledge and inform your strategies. Find out some of the pitfalls as well as the gold nuggets…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
In this podcast, Steven Screen & Jeff Brooks give you super-actionable information for how you can make your next fundraising effort raise more money.
HOSTED BY
Steven Screen, Jeff Brooks
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Fundraising is Beautiful have?
Fundraising is Beautiful currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Fundraising is Beautiful about?
In this podcast, Steven Screen & Jeff Brooks give you super-actionable information for how you can make your next fundraising effort raise more money.
How often does Fundraising is Beautiful release new episodes?
Fundraising is Beautiful has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Fundraising is Beautiful?
You can listen to Fundraising is Beautiful on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Fundraising is Beautiful?
Fundraising is Beautiful is created and hosted by Steven Screen, Jeff Brooks.
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