Our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Todd Bol, creator and executive director of Little Free Library. Todd shares his advice from the growth of Little Free Library, how they collect and share stories from partners across the globe, and his advice for anyone who feels like they're close to quitting on a non-profit they've helped create or grow. Learning about Little Free Library is a great way to celebrate National Book Lover's Day today!   One item Todd and I don't specifically discuss,...

Our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Patrick Landry, President of Notre Dame School of Milwaukee. Patrick provides great insights on how fundraisers can find joy in our work by appreciating the craft of storytelling. Patrick shares his ideas on both telling your story as well as your organization's story and the importance of listening and understanding how to connect your benefactors' stories to your cause.   Remember, you can connect with me and our listeners online at:   The...

This week's episode is a solo episode where I take a look at a recent experience that reminded me of the importance of finding what it is that not only motivates us in our work, but what provides us with the energy to do so enthusiastically.   Remember, you can connect with me and our listeners online at: The Philanthropy Podcast Linkedin Group, a great place to share articles and learn from your peers The Philanthropy Podcast Facebook Page, another way to be part of the conversation...

  Our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Andrew Means, Head of the Uptake Foundation and Beyond Uptake as well as founder of Data Analysts for Social Good. Andrew provides an incredible interview on data use in nonprofits, how we can move beyond using data only for final evaluations, and how to start building a culture of using evidence within your organization, and more. Andrew's conversation will be useful to nonprofits just starting to think about using data better as well as...

The Philanthropy Podcast listeners can receive 10% when they register at PhilanthropyNEXT and use the promo code: PODCAST10.   Be sure to share this episode with colleagues and friends you believe might like to attend and save 10% especially those in Washington DC and along the east coast.     Our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Cody Switzer, Assistant Managing Editor and Director of Digital Products for The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Cody explores with us the upcoming...

Today, our episode of The Philanthropy Podcast is a solo episode where I'll share 30 additional high impact questions to ask benefactors and prospects and 5 ways to say thank you at a very low cost. Also, learn about two causes to follow, one on Facebook and one on LinkedIn to see great examples of social media use from patrons of the show. Hear this, how you can support the show, a book recommendation, and more in today's episode. If you have high impact questions ideas or stewardship...

Today, our episode of The Philanthropy Podcast is a solo episode where I'll share some analysis on the Giving USA 2017 Report. Every year The Giving Institute, in conjunction with the Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, produce a report on trends in giving in the United States. I'll share my insights from the parts of the report I've seen and a seminar I attended which reviewed this data. If you have questions about data contained in Giving USA 2017, please feel welcome...

Today's episode of The Philanthropy Podcast provides seventy high impact questions to cover each phase of the giving cycle: identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. With 70 questions you will better know your benefactors, what their values are in life, what they hope to accomplish in their philanthropy, and how your organization's needs align with their hopes. Also, we launch our Patreon page with a limited time giveaway of an mp3 version of these questions...

Today, our episode of The Philanthropy Podcast is a solo episode where I'll be exploring high impact questions as a tool in a questioning strategy. The ability to ask the right questions and guide someone’s exploration of their philanthropic goals and intentions is a great skill to develop in major gift work, corporate relationships, planned giving, alumni relations, or any other fundraising role where it's important that you connect with people. So I’ll share a few high impact questions, but...

Today, our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Aly Hall, Director of Development at The Foundation for Endodontics. Aly helps us dive into a great discussion on Peer to Peer fundraising, goal setting, providing training and mentoring for volunteers and board members, and more.    Our discussion with Aly provides information about the advantages and disadvantages of a peer to peer fundraising model, the challenges of acknowledging and thanking volunteers who are spread out across the...

Today, on The Philanthropy Podcast Patrick Van Der Tuin, Executive Director of St. Louis Bicycle Works shares his insights on running a nonprofit and how having a retail operation shapes organizational funding. Patrick discusses the pros and cons of having a retail side of the house, staffing issues that arise, board oversight, benchmarking, volunteer recruitment, and how Bicycle Works is able to generate unrestricted revenue from their retail effort. I think this is a great dive into a...

Today, our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Pete Cullen Conway, Director of Major Gifts at Misericordia in Chicago. Pete shares with us some great major gift advice including how he utilizes introduction letters to open doors with benefactors, how he handles first visits, when and how to close the file on reaching out to a donor, and how he uses twitter to get supporters to start rowing the boat in the same direction.  Our discussion with Pete reveals a lot about how Misericordia, an...

Have you wondered where the right place is to begin your digital marketing efforts? Do you feel overwhelmed when trying to maintain a presence online? Have you ever felt like your digital marketing could be more engaging and more personal? Then today's show with Kara Buffardi of Craveity Marketing will provide some advice you can put to use right away.   Our discussion with Kara offers some great advice on what you need to do before launching your social media and email efforts, how to...

Today, our guest on The Philanthropy Podcast is Kelly Klein, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  Kelly shares with us some of the questions she asks to determine how to be a good partner with corporations and foundations, what the GCFD can offer to further engage partners with their missions, and much more.  Our discussion with Kelly really reveals a lot of great concrete things an organization can do to be a better partner with funding...

I'm excited to share with you an interview with John Chandler Vice President of Development at the St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago which you can find at www.ignatius.org. This is part of a set of interviews which will cover not only perspectives on work in philanthropy, but specifically the question of where do you find joy in your work and joy in making an ask.    John is truly an icon at St. Ignatius with over 42 years experience at the school and he has grown their development...

In this episode we have an interview with Katy (Hall) Orenchuk, Vice President of Development at the Newberry Library, Chicago's independent research library. This is the first of a set of interviews which will cover not only perspectives on work in philanthropy, but specifically the question of where do you find joy in your work and joy in making an ask. Katy shares amazing ideas including how to market yourself when looking for new job opportunities, how to grow into a skill set which...

Today's show is one where I'll give you a bit of my background so you understand who you're listening to and what informs my experiences. I hope this is valuable to you as you listen to future episodes aAnd can understand my strengths, weaknesses, and biases. Hopefully you get more from the show with that context. I'll also share some of my philosophy of philanthropy, which is always a work in progress. This comes predominantly from my experience as a fundraiser, but also some from my...

Welcome to the first episode of The Philanthropy Podcast! Today, we have a brief introduction to me and what prompted me to start a podcast. I'll discuss the concerning things I kept hearing from schools leaders and non-profits directors that prompted me to speak at 2017's National Catholic Education Association Convention and present a session entitled: "Pre-K through Ph.D.: How School Leaders & Advancement Officers at Any Level Can Learn to Love Making an Ask." I was fortunate...