What to cut when the budget is tight

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

Okay, you’ve cried, you’ve pleaded, you’ve made your case. But there’s no way around it: You have to cut your fundraising budget. Find out the area you can cut with little damage to your program, the areas where cuts would be devastating, and areas where you can make meaningful savings. We can’t make the cuts feel good, but we can keep them from hurting your program too much.

Partnership (not marketing) with donors

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

An interview with Troy Stremler, CEO of Newdea, a company that helps nonprofits measure and report the impact of their programs. Troy sees a big change in the new generation of donors: They don’t want to be “marketed to” — they want to be partners with the organizations they support. If he’s right (and we think he is), that means we’re going to need a radical new level of transparency, being able to report on the impact of their involvement, rather than trying to motivate them with the tired old stream of branding activities and low-involvement fundraising tactics we’ve relied on. This program will encourage and/or terrify you!

Put your heart into fundraising

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

An interview with Cass Wheeler, former CEO of the American Heart Association and author of the new book You’ve Gotta Have Heart: Achieving Purpose Beyond Profit in the Social Sector (available at Amazon and at Powell’s). Don’t miss what this wise CEO has to say about people who are good at fundraising, how to make sure you get the right people, how to set bold goals, and how the right people with audacious goals can radically change a whole organization.

How to Work with a Fundraising Consultant

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

Working with the right fundraising consultant or agency can take your organization to undreamed-of heights. Having the wrong partner can be as rewarding as a long afternoon with a hungry, sleep-deprived two-year-old. In this podcast we share the three things you should think about when choosing the right fundraising partner.

Your E-Z 30-minute fundraising review plan

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

We’re back — after a delay we’re attributing to the economy and a house-fire — with practical hints for planning your upcoming fundraising campaigns in a way that will help keep you out of trouble in these hard times.

Our Holiday wishes for you

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

The entire Fundraising Is Beautiful staff gathers for a holiday party and to wish our listeners and friends (especially those who are both) some good things for the coming year.

It’s Not Too Late to Boost Your 2008 Revenue

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

The year is nearly over, but there’s still time to do a go to your donors online — in fact, the next couple of week are prime time for online fundraising. We’ll lay out a basic schedule and give some tips for the last, crucial impacts of the year.

Branding and Fundraising, Part 2

Fundraising is Beautiful Podcast

We continue the discussion on how your brand can help or hurt your fundraising and reveal the top branding error that torpedoes so many nonprofits. And don’t miss a rare disagreement between Steven and Jeff — tensions rise over dueling analogies. Listen to find out if the argument erupts into fisticuffs!