Let's Talk Fundraising

Keith Greer, CFRE

Welcome to "Let's Talk Fundraising" with Keith Greer, CFRE! This podcast is your go-to resource for mastering the essentials of fundraising while discovering how innovative tools and technology can supercharge your efforts. Whether you're a new fundraiser looking to level up your skills or a seasoned professional seeking timely reminders and fresh insights, each episode is packed with practical advice, creative ideas, and inspiring stories. Join Keith as he explores the core principles that drive successful fundraising and uncovers the latest strategies to make your job easier, more enjoyable, and incredibly impactful. From relationship-building and storytelling to leveraging the newest tech, "Let's Talk Fundraising" is here to help you transform your approach and achieve remarkable results for your organization. Subscribe now and be part of a community dedicated to elevating the art and science of fundraising. Together, we'll make a bigger impact, one episode at a time.

  1. HACE 4 DÍAS

    If You Wait Until You Feel Ready, You'll Never Start

    This is the episode where we stop painting the picture and start talking about what happens next. If you've been listening to this series for a few weeks and something has started to click, this one is for you. You've recognized the moments. You've said "yeah, that's me" more than once. And now there's a quieter question underneath it all: are you going to do something about this, or keep circling? Keith opens with a story from earlier in his career, sitting in his supervisor's office, holding a catalog of very responsible reasons to put off pursuing his CFRE. And what his supervisor said that afternoon is exactly what this episode is built around. Because the gap between understanding a problem and fixing it isn't an information gap. It's a decision architecture problem. And this episode is designed to help you close it. You'll hear a clear and honest walkthrough of what's inside the AI Advantage for Major Gift Fundraising program, including all six modules, the live sessions, the office hours structure, and what the two months of post-curriculum support actually looks like. Keith addresses the most common hesitations directly: not enough time, no AI experience, organizational data concerns, fear of falling behind. Enrollment for the founding cohort is open now and closes Friday. The cohort begins Monday, May 4. If something in you just went "yes," that's the right word. Go to letstalkfundraising.com/majorgifts. 💡 Want to take the next small step? → Free Download: 12 Fundraising Prompts You'll Actually Use → Course:  The Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite

    25 min
  2. 20 ABR

    3 Things to Define Before Every Major Gift Donor Meeting

    You've had the donor meeting. It went fine. The conversation flowed, the donor was warm, you covered a lot of ground. And now you're sitting in the parking lot wondering if any of it actually moved the relationship forward. That quiet uncertainty after a visit almost always traces back to the same problem: walking in with a direction instead of a strategy. In this episode, I share the one preparation habit that changed how I lead every donor conversation, and why I wish someone had made it this explicit much earlier in my career. I also come back to a story I've told before on this show, about a donor who gave a six-figure gift to their alma mater instead of us, because I didn't ask in time. The first time I told it, the lesson was about timing. This time, it's about something different: how not having a clear meeting strategy kept me from seeing what was right in front of me. What you'll take away from this episode: three specific things to define before your next donor visit, why writing them down (rather than thinking them through) is the whole point, and how this one discipline changes your post-visit clarity, your portfolio movement, and your confidence in the work over time. Enroll in The AI Advantage for Major Gift Fundraising at letstalkfundraising.com/majorgifts. The first cohort starts May 4th. 💡 Want to take the next small step? → Free Download: 12 Fundraising Prompts You'll Actually Use → Course:  The Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite

    28 min
  3. 13 ABR

    Think AI Won’t Work for You? Let’s Talk About That.

    If you’ve been listening to this series and thinking… “This sounds interesting… but I’m not sure it would actually work for me…” This episode is for you. Because that hesitation you’re feeling? It’s not random. And it’s not a sign that you’re behind. It’s actually pointing to the exact places where your work matters most, your time, your donors, your relationships, your results. In this episode, I’m walking through what I’ve been hearing from fundraisers over the last few weeks, the quiet “yeah, but…” thoughts that show up right when things start to feel possible. Things like: “I’ve never used AI before”“I don’t think my organization would allow it”“I’ve tried ChatGPT… it wasn’t that helpful”“This seems complicated”“I don’t have time for this”But instead of pushing past those concerns, we’re going to look at what they’re actually telling you. Because every one of them shaped how I built The AI Advantage for Major Gift Fundraising. Not as a theory. Not as another tool. But as a system that fits into the reality of your day-to-day work, and actually helps you move donor relationships forward with more clarity, consistency, and confidence. If you’ve ever felt like AI sounds promising… but hasn’t quite delivered in your actual work yet, this will help you see why. And more importantly, what changes that. If you’re ready to take the next step, you can join the waitlist here: 👉 https://letstalkfundraising.com/majorgifts We’ll be opening enrollment soon, and kicking off our first cohort on Monday, May 4. 💡 Want to take the next small step? → Free Download: 12 Fundraising Prompts You'll Actually Use → Course:  The Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite

    20 min
  4. 30 MAR

    Why Your Fundraising Outreach Isn’t Working Like It Used To

    There’s a moment in fundraising where you start to feel it. You’re doing the work. You’re following up. You’re being thoughtful in your outreach. And still… things just aren’t moving the way they used to. Response rates are slower. Conversations take longer to start. What used to feel straightforward now feels heavier. It’s easy to assume the problem is in the execution. Maybe the message needs to be stronger. Maybe the research needs to go deeper. Maybe you just need to try harder. But what if that’s not actually what’s happening? In this episode, we break down what’s really changed in fundraising, why the same level of effort isn’t creating the same level of movement, and what that means for how you approach your work moving forward. Because this isn’t just about improving your outreach. It’s about understanding the environment your outreach is landing in. And once you see that shift, it changes everything. If this is something you’ve been feeling in your work, I’ve opened up early access to a new program designed to help you adapt to this shift: 👉 https://www.letstalkfundraising.com/majorgifts This is The AI Advantage for Major Gifts, a 6-week live cohort where you’ll learn how to apply AI directly to your day-to-day fundraising work so you can: Know exactly who to prioritizeWalk into meetings preparedCapture and use donor information more effectivelyAnd stop starting from scratchNot in theory. In your actual work. Because at this point, the question isn’t whether fundraising is changing. It already has. The question is what you’re going to do in response to it. 💡 Want to take the next small step? → Free Download: 12 Fundraising Prompts You'll Actually Use → Course:  The Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite

    31 min
  5. 16 MAR

    Where AI Fits in the Major Gift Cycle

    Fundraising moves when relationships move. And relationships move when the friction falls away. In this episode, we explore how AI can quietly support every stage of the major gift cycle without replacing the human heart of the work. From prospect identification to stewardship, you’ll hear how practical AI workflows can reduce administrative drag so you can show up with donors more present, more prepared, and more confident. We walk through the major gift cycle step by step and explore how AI can support: • Prospect identification and portfolio prioritization • Faster donor research and one-page briefings • Turning messy post-visit voice notes into CRM-ready contact reports • Stress-testing cultivation strategies and next steps • Strengthening the systems that support real relationships Along the way, I share a real example of narrowing a 150,000-person database to 300 high-potential prospects, and how today’s tools can compress months of manual work into something far more manageable. The goal isn’t to automate fundraising. The goal is to strengthen the systems that allow fundraisers to focus on what matters most: the relationships. If you’re interested in going deeper, I’m developing a new program called The AI Advantage for Major Gifts, where we explore these workflows across the entire major gift cycle. You can join the waitlist here: letstalkfundraising.com/majorgifts If this conversation resonates, share the episode with a colleague who lives in spreadsheets and leave a review to help other fundraisers find the show. 💡 Want to take the next small step? → Free Download: 12 Fundraising Prompts You'll Actually Use → Course:  The Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite

    28 min
  6. 9 MAR

    What If Major Gift Fundraisers Had More Time for Donors?

    Most of us came into this work to build relationships. But too often our days get buried under contact reports, prospect research, and messy systems that keep us tied to a desk. In this episode, we explore a simple idea: what if AI could handle some of the repetitive administrative work so fundraisers could focus more energy on donor relationships? You’ll hear the story behind a set of practical AI workflows that began as small experiments and grew into a framework that supports the entire major gift cycle, from prospect identification and donor research to cultivation strategy, proposal writing, and stewardship. Along the way we talk about: • the hidden cost of administrative work in major gift fundraising • how broken systems once kept me behind a desk nearly full-time • the breakthrough that helped identify the top 300 prospects for a record-setting campaign • how fundraisers are using AI to produce cleaner CRM records and better donor briefings • ethical guardrails, data security, and keeping humans firmly in charge This conversation also introduces a new program I’m developing called The AI Advantage for Major Gifts, built by a career fundraiser to help peers reclaim time and strengthen donor relationships with practical AI workflows. If this idea resonates with you, you can join the waitlist here: letstalkfundraising.com/majorgifts 💡 Want to take the next small step? → Free Download: 12 Fundraising Prompts You'll Actually Use → Course:  The Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite

    23 min

Acerca de

Welcome to "Let's Talk Fundraising" with Keith Greer, CFRE! This podcast is your go-to resource for mastering the essentials of fundraising while discovering how innovative tools and technology can supercharge your efforts. Whether you're a new fundraiser looking to level up your skills or a seasoned professional seeking timely reminders and fresh insights, each episode is packed with practical advice, creative ideas, and inspiring stories. Join Keith as he explores the core principles that drive successful fundraising and uncovers the latest strategies to make your job easier, more enjoyable, and incredibly impactful. From relationship-building and storytelling to leveraging the newest tech, "Let's Talk Fundraising" is here to help you transform your approach and achieve remarkable results for your organization. Subscribe now and be part of a community dedicated to elevating the art and science of fundraising. Together, we'll make a bigger impact, one episode at a time.

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