Key Takeaways: Go through a seamless process with the donor, don’t go from unaware to action. Create a replicable, consistent donor experience through these stages of relationship building: awareness, interest, connection, and action. Build relationships with donors through direct communication, creating content that provides value to others, rather than simply bragging about one's own accomplishments. Identify your areas of expertise and share them with others in a way that is informative,...

Key Takeaways: Mindset shifts cannot be achieved through strategy or training alone; coaching is necessary to remove barriers, create self-awareness, and build empathy. Staying sovereign means being in control of your own thoughts and actions, regardless of the outcome of your fundraising efforts. Coaching can help in these four ways: First, it will help you get out of your own way or shift your mindset so that you can get rid of your barriers. Second, you will be able to create more...

As the VP of Community Engagement, Bethany Natoli is one of the driving forces behind Mightycause, an all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform. With over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and a passion for utilizing technology for social good, Bethany has helped countless organizations and campaigns enhance their fundraising efforts and streamline donation processes. Key Takeaways: Peer-to-peer fundraising is a powerful tool for garnering support for mission-driven...

As Founder & President of Travers Training & Consulting, Rhonda Travers fulfills her passion for creating a collaborative culture by helping businesses & nonprofits increase engagement, retention, and productivity. Rhonda leverages her 30-year corporate leadership experience to share her unique approach through business consulting, training workshops, and speaking engagements. Key Takeaways: In today's fast-paced world, offering flexibility in volunteer roles is essential for...

Kim Fisher is a nonprofit strategist who specializes in creating and implementing infrastructure for nonprofit start-ups. Kim does everything from completing the IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit application requirements, to board training and development. She has over 30 years experience as a nonprofit executive in all areas of nonprofit management including business development, training, marketing and as CEO. Kim’s extensive experience in both domestic and international organizations gives her a...

Key Takeaways: Ask and listen instead of pitching and selling. People are more likely to when they feel seen, heard, and understood. Your only job is to tap into somebody and have them feel seen, heard, and understood. People decide based on their emotions. Listen to them and lead the conversation with empathy. If people feel misunderstood, they’ll become frustrated and guarded, the opposite is also true. First, ask a vision question to know what their pain is or what they want to gain....

Jane Pfeiffer is the founder and President of Fieldtrip, a cause-focused agency dedicated to helping purpose-driven organizations help others. Fieldtrip is based on the belief that learning expands when you step outside with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Jane, and the Fieldtrip team, work across the country supporting important work including public and private education, homelessness, child abuse prevention, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, and other health and social services. Key Takeaways: The...

Key Takeaways: Creating a support network can help you stay connected, stay confident, stay grounded, and most importantly, stay sovereign. Prioritize building deeper connections with people, and be intentional in getting to know them. Set dates, strive to meet consistently, and keep it fresh with different activities. The lessons that you need rarely ever come from within. Most of the time, it’s by seeking out other people and giving them a listening ear that you’ll find the gem that you...

With a career spanning over three decades, Karen Knight is a seasoned professional renowned for her unwavering commitment to the not-for-profit sector. Having navigated various leadership roles in both the private and public sectors, Karen’s journey highlights her adaptability and versatility. Key Takeaways: Before looking for volunteers, establish the roles that they will fill or come up with a list of tasks that they will do. Know who you are looking for and what they’re going to do....

Key Takeaways: Understanding how thoughts and feelings contribute to decision-making is key to influential leadership. Influential leadership creates sustainable workforces with less turnover and more productivity. The first step towards becoming an influential leader is to go inward. Be willing to understand how the thoughts, beliefs, and experiences that you had when you were young impact the decisions that you make today. Guilt is when we feel bad for what we do and shame is when we feel...

Key Takeaways: Having maximum structure and maximum flow allows individuals to work to their highest advantage, rather than sacrificing one for the other. Individuals can fall into one of three categories: high structure, low flow; high flow, low structure; or high structure, high flow, where the ideal balance is found in the "influential third." Create a foundation for the day through a consistent morning routine or Sunday planning. This structure allows for greater openness to unexpected...

As Founder and Customer Happiness Director of Beeline, Chris is thankful to get to help nonprofits grow their mission and donor base through digital marketing, specifically Google Grant, Bing, and Facebook ads. Most of all, he’s thankful to be the dad to seven kids and to help them learn to live generously. Key Takeaways: Digital marketing is a powerful tool for nonprofits to achieve their organizational goals. The key to having an effective digital marketing strategy is to focus on...

Maria Rio is a Community-Centric Fundraiser with over a decade in the sector, published in a variety of national publications, a speaker, and an advocate. Key Takeaways: Being Community-Centered means focusing on the community rather than an executive’s ego, a board member, or somebody else. It’s all about centering the needs, methods, and values of the people that you’re trying to serve in all aspects of your organization. Release judgment and start from a place of empathy when...

Sean Kosofsky is the Nonprofit Fixer! He is a coach, consultant, trainer, and strategic advisor. For the past 30+ years, he has helped causes, campaigns, and candidates raise millions of dollars and transformed nonprofit organizations and leaders. He has served in a wide variety of roles in nonprofits, including policy, communications, development, grassroots organizing, direct service, board leadership, and five stints as an executive director. He is an author and the owner of Mind the Gap...

As Big Duck’s Co-Director, Farra ensures that Big Duck is a healthy, thriving company—that we’re creating a great work environment, are financially stable, producing work that successfully meets or exceeds client’s needs, and that diversity, inclusion, equity, and antiracism are centered in all we do. She directs Big Duck’s marketing and business development efforts, seeking to build relationships with nonprofits who want to use communications to achieve their mission. Farra has led dozens...

Join us LIVE on Thursday, February 15th & Friday, February 16th in this year’s Donor Attraction Forum for FREE by clicking here: https://donorattractionforum.com/MaryanneD Ask for and receive all you want need and deserve without feeling rejected, ineffective, or pushy. Learn to manage your mindset, lead yourself and others more effectively and have the meaningful conversations that drive your most important work. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com ...

Key Takeaways: Addressing your inner beliefs and feelings about money is essential to your success in fundraising because our subconscious minds can influence our financial decisions and behaviors. Look at the story that your mind has made up about money. Separate the guilt and the shame and keep your feelings neutral. You are not judging, you are observing and analyzing. Hear out the story and then re-write it. Self-awareness gives you the power of choice. The nonprofit sector has a...

Key Takeaways: 90 days is long enough to get something done but short enough that there’s some urgency to it. The 90-day MOST stands for Mission, Objective, Strategy, and Tactics. It accounts for having an overall vision and creating simple strategies to implement each quarter. We need to have a clear vision so that we know what we’re looking for. Before creating a plan, take time to create a vision board. Visualize what you want to create in your life and depict it in your vision board....

Luke brings 25+ years of expertise from top companies like Procter & Gamble and AstraZeneca to the University of Rochester. As Assistant VP overseeing Domestic and International major gift fundraising, he drives impactful results. In his free time, Luke's passion extends to Tips4People.com, a video micro-learning hub empowering small nonprofits with concise, high-quality actionable tips for positive change. Key Takeaways: Listening is the key to being an effective fundraiser. You have...

Key Takeaways: Raising money is critical to a mission. That’s why it’s important to find a better way of doing this that has more grace, ease, and flow. Measuring by amount only limits how we look at relationships and it makes fundraising transactional. Remember that donors aren’t ATMs. We tend to not value other things that come to us if they're not supportive of a goal that we need. When we don’t value those things, we’ll miss out on a lot of beauty and joy. Goals don’t create long-term...

Mitch is a social entrepreneur, community builder, and impact innovator. He is currently the Head of Strategy for Chariot, a Donor-Advised Fund solution for nonprofits to solicit, maximize, manage & steward DAF donors and their gifts. He previously founded a nonprofit marketplace and community called Pond after leaving his role as a VP on Goldman Sachs' Technology Investment Banking team. He's a long-time board member at The LGBT Center of NYC and an active alum of the Startup Leadership...

Eric Ressler is the Founder and Creative Director at Cosmic, a Social Impact Creative Agency. Cosmic empowers social impact organizations to catalyze real-world change by helping them nail their impact story, build brand awareness, and inspire action. Key Takeaways: It shouldn’t be an issue if either a “nonprofit” organization is making a profit, or if it’s failing. Most for-profit businesses take a lot of years before they take off and it’s only right that we give nonprofit businesses...

Key Takeaways: We don’t have to always choose between two options. The influential way is the third option where everybody wins which is all about making decisions from a higher power and with a higher purpose. When you focus on one polarity over another and pull them apart from each other, the polarity will eventually break. For example, by sacrificing conflict for peace, we end up creating more conflict. Learn to see value in both elements of a polarity. Allow space for paradoxes and...

President and Founder of The Philantrepreneur™ Foundation, Dr. Boyd has been a driving force in education, non-profit, and entrepreneurial endeavors as an educator, trainer, administrator, and advocate throughout the country. With a passion for seeing others reach their full potential, she provides guidance and training focusing on nonprofit and social enterprise development and management. Key Takeaways: The nonprofit side and business side must intersect. If you are a business, you need...