Sustainable Giving

Dave Raley
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The Sustainable Giving Podcast is your go-to show for exploring the future of fundraising through the lens of sustainable recurring giving. Hosted by Dave Raley—author of The Rise of Sustainable Giving and founder of Imago Consulting—the podcast brings together change makers, strategists, and nonprofit leaders for candid conversations that inspire action and spark innovation. Start listening now!

  1. Sep 30

    Leading the Shift: How CEOs Can Build Sustainable Giving at Scale

    What if the boldest move your nonprofit could make isn't raising more money, but making sure people actually know you exist? That's the curveball Kendra Davenport, President & CEO of Easterseals, throws at host Dave Raley in this episode of the Sustainable Giving Podcast. Easterseals serves 1.5 million people every year through a federated network of 70 affiliates, 38,000 employees, and markets spanning 48 states and D.C. But for Kendra, a three-decade nonprofit leader (and Operation Smile alum), the real battle isn't the money. It's awareness. We step out of the mechanics and into the CEO's chair. Kendra gets refreshingly honest about the "big bet" that reshaped Easterseals' entire model — going all-in on Direct Response Television — the politicking it took to bring 70 independent affiliates along, and the moment they pulled their brand-new program off the air after just three months to retool. Along the way: a car that ran 40 years with zero maintenance, a first-ever Telly Award, and a whole lot of hard-won wisdom on leading change you can't mandate. Grab a coffee — this one's a keeper. Top 5 things Dave and Kendra dig into: The big bet on DRTV and the "halo effect." Why Easterseals gambled on direct response TV knowing it'd take 3–5 years to pay off, and how it revived a dying direct-mail program while lifting digital and face-to-face by double and triple digits. Awareness is the real crisis. One in four Americans is disabled, yet outside that community almost no one knows what Easterseals does. Kendra's fix: authentic, unscripted storytelling from real participants, the kind that earns awards and moves people to give. There was no choice. An aging donor base, the smallest average gift, a heavy direct-mail program — Kendra unpacks the organizational soul-searching behind diversifying into recurring giving before it was too late. Growing vs. truly scaling. They're not the same. Kendra breaks down the capital, the board conversations, the ROI patience, and why the risk of not changing is the biggest risk of all. Leading change you can't mandate. With 70 CEOs and independent boards, national can't issue directives. Kendra shares how she led through trust and influence and how to tell the difference between resistance to overcome and resistance that's telling you something true. A few more gems along the way: Protecting the dignity of people with disabilities while still communicating need compellingly Coming off air within three months and defending that call to a network expecting a splash The "silver bullet" myth and why scarcity thinking keeps smaller nonprofits small Keeping lots of "lines in the water" at once — corporate, planned giving, cause marketing, face-to-face Kendra's bold vision: doing for disability what Susan G. Komen did for breast cancer So here's the question worth sitting with: is your organization still hunting for the one silver bullet or ready to put more lines in the water and play the long game? Key Resources Easterseals: https://www.easterseals.com/ Kendra Davenport on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendradavenport/ Dave Raley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/draley/ The Rise of Sustainable Giving book by Dave Raley: https://www.sustainablegiving.org/book Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten and Abigail.

  2. Sep 16

    From Membership to Momentum: How the San Diego Zoo Scaled Recurring Giving

    What if the smallest gift on your file—that $10-a-month donor—turns out to be one of the most valuable relationships your organization will ever build? In this episode, Dave Raley sits down with Jeff Spitko, Senior Director of Integrated Fundraising at the San Diego Foundation, for a genuine masterclass in building fundraising that lasts. Before joining the Foundation, Jeff spent 11 years at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where he helped grow annual and mid-level giving from $26 million to more than $57 million and grew monthly donors from just 175 to nearly 12,000. Yes, you read that right. Whether you steward 400,000 members or 400, this conversation is packed with practical, hard-earned lessons on scale, segmentation, storytelling, and why the sustainers you might overlook often carry the most long-term weight. Top 5 topics we dig into: Scaling the Zoo from $26M to $57M: Jeff inherited three jobs rolled into one—a decades-old membership program, mass-market annual/mid/major giving for global conservation, and philanthropy communications—and turned it into a growth engine over 11 years. The recurring giving growth story (175 to ~12,000 monthly donors): The game-changer wasn't the brand. It was weaving monthly giving in as an option inside every appeal and email, instead of selling it as a separate program. Question your assumptions. Go to the data: The "typical" donor myths were wrong. Their base skewed toward single donors and grandparents, ran nearly 50/50 on gender, and spanned every age. Test everything; don't fundraise from your gut. Meet donors where they are (and don't sleep on legacy): Not everyone wants to be "moved up," and that's okay. About 65% of planned gifts came from members who never gave above $5,000, and recurring donors are far more likely to leave a legacy gift. Donor acquisition is an investment: Jeff's on-site canvassing program was a game-changer: talking panda conservation 15 feet from a panda, with same-day handwritten thank-you notes matched to the animal each visitor loved. But it took 14–18 months to turn a profit, which means real conversations with your CFO about patience. A few more gems tucked inside: Storytelling and equivalencies that stick ("your $10 a month could provide antibiotics for a baby elephant"), and why you shouldn't water down "saves" into "can help save." Automation and the donor journey: welcome series that cultivate, upgrade, and steward at scale. Fundraising through COVID with authenticity when the gates were closed for five months. Inside the San Diego Foundation: a $1.8B community foundation granting $100M+ a year across education, environment, family well-being, and housing. "Build for What's Next": why the San Diego Fundraising Conference (presented by PNC Bank) exists and where recurring revenue fits in fundraising's future. So here's our question for you: what are you building right now that future-you will be grateful you started? Key Resources: San Diego Foundation: https://www.sdfoundation.org/ Jeff Spitko on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffspitko/ "The Rise of Sustainable Giving" by Dave Raley: https://www.sustainablegiving.org/book Dave Raley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/draley/ Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten and Abigail.

  3. Sep 1

    Fewer Donors, Deeper Giving: What the 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Reveals

    What if your next major donor is already giving you $50 a month, and you just can't see them yet? Dave sits down with two of the sharpest data minds in fundraising—Jaclyn Jones, Chief Philanthropic Economist at Masterworks, and Carly Berna, VP of Marketing and Fundraiser in Residence at Virtuous—to unpack the 3rd Annual Rescue Mission Benchmark Report. Five years of real performance data across nearly 200 rescue missions surfaces a fascinating tension: revenue is climbing, but it's coming from fewer donors giving more. Meanwhile, recurring giving is quietly taking off. It's a candid, geeky, genuinely hopeful conversation about building fundraising that can actually sustain itself and why the social services sector may be sitting on its biggest opportunity yet. Key Topics They Talk About: Growth by value, not volume: Revenue is up, but it's driven by existing donors giving more, not new donors coming in. Jaclyn and Carly ask the uncomfortable question: is "more money from fewer donors" healthy growth, or a warning sign about where the future major donors come from? The year-one cliff: Second-gift conversion sits around 17% and second-year retention lands at just 25–35%, but donors who reach year three become dramatically more durable. The problem isn't only acquisition. It's the first-year relationship. Recurring giving is surging: Recurring gifts grew 26.7% year over year while non-recurring giving actually declined ~2.65%, meaning all the growth came from sustainers. Yet recurring donors are still only ~9% of active donors. Encouraging, or a giant untapped opportunity? (Both.) Your next major donor is already in your file: 97% of a recurring donor's value comes after the first gift. Every donor cohort—small, mid, and major—increases in value after switching to recurring. That $50/month sustainer may be a mid-level donor in disguise. So what do you actually do about it? Jaclyn on strategy (find your drop-off moments, build first-year relationships) and Carly on technology (one-to-one personalization, giving forms that know who's on them). Practical, not preachy. Also In This Episode, They Talk About: The best time to ask for a recurring gift is the first year—often the first three months—not year three. Why a retention budget deserves to be as big as your acquisition budget. The 10-month drop-off and how pre-cancellation "cultivation" touches lifted retention ~10%. Why regional, "come-see-the-work" charities have a hidden advantage in the age of AI. Indirect attribution: Jaclyn's surprisingly hopeful pick for the future of giving. If you recognized your own organization somewhere in these numbers, where would you start first? Key Resources: 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Report: https://virtuous.org/resource/rescue-mission-benchmark-report/ Masterworks Insights Lab: https://www.masterworks.agency/insights-lab Virtuous: https://www.virtuous.org Jaclyn Jones on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaclyn-m-jones/ Carly Berna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlyberna Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten and Abigail.

  4. Aug 19

    One Letter at a Time: Building a Community That Sustains the Mission

    What becomes possible when the people closest to a mission are invited not just to participate in it, but to sustain it? When Lucy nervously asked her volunteers to chip in $5 a month, she braced for a "no." Instead, 300 people said "yes"—and the Stamp Squad was born. In this episode, host Dave Raley sits down with Lucy Madden, Founding CEO of Letters to a Pre-Scientist, to trace how a scrappy, pandemic-era experiment grew into a thriving recurring-giving community that now powers a meaningful slice of the organization's budget. Letters to a Pre-Scientist connects middle schoolers in under-resourced schools with real STEM professionals for a year-long, snail-mail pen pal exchange. Lucy shares how the mission, the team, and the funding model all grew up together, and what she's learned about building something that lasts, one letter (and one stamp) at a time. Key Topics: 1. From educator to founder — How a science teacher and mom who saw STEM sidelined for reading and math scores inherited a pen pal program through a Facebook post, then left the classroom to found the nonprofit in 2019. 2. Growing from one to a team of five — Scaling from ~850 students to 4,500, and Lucy's hard-won lesson that the founder's passion couldn't be outsourced, so she hired a program director and kept the fundraising herself. 3. The funding inflection point — A one-year foundation grant for her salary that clearly wasn't permanent, and the decision to make recurring giving the foundation of the org, not a nice-to-have. 4. The story of the Stamp Squad — Launched in 2020 to survive the pandemic (her husband's idea!), a low-budget ask video that landed 300 monthly donors, growing past 500 members, moving from $5 to $8/month—roughly the cost of one student's participation—now covering ~15% of operating costs. 5. When volunteers become sustainers — Why 90%+ of Stamp Squad members are former pen pals, and why mandatory volunteer training turned out to be the single best moment to invite recurring gifts. Also in this episode: - Keeping donors close with student-written thank-you notes, stickers, and virtual letter-opening parties - A live coaching moment: Dave's 5 ways to grow donor value, plus lessons from Lucy's first upgrade campaign - Building real community around a "democratized funding model" - Dave's #1 tip for small orgs: invest in the right recurring-giving tech before you start asking -The surprising link between monthly donors and future legacy giftsWhat could your mission look like if you gave ordinary people a clear, meaningful way to belong, and let that commitment compound? Key Resources: - Letters to a Pre-Scientist — Join the Stamp Squad: https://prescientist.org/stamp-squad/ - Lucy's original "join the Stamp Squad" invite video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVCFGDDXrHA - Student thank-you letters (see the snail-mail magic): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BEOm9UnWc4NhsVf94uPSngwlI5nqpnvL - The Rise of Sustainable Giving by Dave Raley: https://www.sustainablegiving.org/book - The Center for Sustainable Giving — workshops, assessments & roadmaps: https://www.sustainablegiving.org/ Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten and Abigail.

  5. Jul 29

    From Growth to Scale: What Separates Programs That Soar from Programs That Stall

    What does it actually take to move a program from growth to scale and keep donors coming back for more? This week, Dave sits down with Dana Bunke, Senior Vice President of Direct Response and Integrated Fundraising at Easterseals — and honestly, what a ride her career has been. Air Force veteran, entrepreneur (yes, she co-founded a coffee company!), and a nonprofit powerhouse who's built and scaled recurring giving programs at Wounded Warrior Project, St. Jude, and now a 107-year-old organization that's reintroducing itself to the world. Dana brings the goods on what it really looks like to build a sustainable giving engine from the ground up: the wins, the "we're still figuring it out" moments, and the mindset shifts that turn monthly giving from a line item into a growth strategy. If you've ever wondered how a legacy organization honors its past while completely reimagining its funding model, this one's for you. Top 5 things we dig into: Dana's wonderfully winding path — from the Air Force to Wounded Warrior Project (back when everyone wore a lot of hats) to the "bells and whistles" world of St. Jude, and how each stop shaped her love of building things that last. Easterseals' enduring mission, evolving model — 107 years strong, 70 affiliates across 48 states, and why an over-reliance on direct mail sparked a 2018–2019 decision to diversify revenue and go all-in on recurring giving. Fundraising in a federated model — rev shares, "if you've met one Easterseals, you've met one Easterseals," and how the national office ditched one-size-fits-all for toolkits, amplification, and local surround sound. (Spoiler: there's no lone genius.) Building the acquisition engine — the journey from face-to-face (2021) to DRTV (2023) to digital and text, plus how each channel plays its part and why DRTV is a brand-builder as much as a donor-getter. Sustainable giving as a strategy, not a tactic — why Easterseals named its All Access Monthly Giving Program, what "bingeworthy" really means, and the behavior change that happens when a donor commits. A few more nuggets worth sticking around for: Why "monthly is a construct, not a requirement" — and how sustained frequency beats a rigid calendar. Tailoring onboarding and engagement to the acquisition channel instead of standardizing across the board. Measuring DRTV's halo effect (those website spikes don't lie) when attribution is still nobody's solved problem. How face-to-face clawbacks help guarantee it's a smart investment. The one-word secret to programs that scale instead of plateau: commitment, commitment, commitment. So here's our question for you: is your organization giving donors a real reason to stay — or just asking for the next gift? Drop your thoughts in the comments; we'd love to hear how you're thinking about recurring giving at your shop. Key Resources: The Rise of Sustainable Giving book by Dave Raley: https://www.sustainablegiving.org/book Sustainable Giving (assessments, roadmaps & workshops): https://www.sustainablegiving.org/ Easterseals All Access Monthly Giving Program: https://www.easterseals.com Neon One recurring giving research: https://neonone.com Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten and Abigail.

  6. Jul 8

    What Mature Programs Need Next: Building the Next Chapter of Monthly Giving

    What does it actually take to grow a monthly giving program that's already been running for 30 years? Dave Raley sits down with Erin Shuler, Sustainer Advisor at Catholic Relief Services, to use CRS's Footsteps in Faith program as a real-world case study. With 13 years at CRS and 5 years laser-focused on their sustainer community, Erin brings the kind of hard-won wisdom you only get from stewarding something with deep history, fierce donor loyalty, and real complexity. This one's for anyone who's past the "how do we launch?" question and asking, "what do we do next?" Key topics they talk about: Maturity as both asset and challenge: Decades of donor loyalty, rich data, and serious scale are massive advantages. But program gravity is real. Erin shares how CRS unified fragmented touchpoints into one coherent donor journey — and why having one person "sleeping on the cot" changed everything. Sustaining revenue through funding disruption: When CRS faced major government funding cuts, their sustainer base became a lifeline. Erin describes how leadership doubled down on monthly giving investment — and how a brand-new donor wrote in saying joining was "an absolute necessity." The human side of retention: Cancellations aren't always relationship endings. Erin shares the story of a donor family quietly draining their savings to keep giving every month. She and Dave dig into what it looks like to treat those moments with grace rather than a guilt trip. Aging donors and alternative giving vehicles: QCDs, DAFs, IRAs: Erin is watching monthly donors transition to lump-sum giving through these channels. The question isn't whether to allow it. It's how to honor their Footsteps in Faith identity no matter how the gift arrives. Growth: conversion, acquisition, and what's actually working: Checkboxes, email invites, back-of-newsletter callouts — CRS keeps monthly giving visible at every touchpoint. Dave and Erin discuss the balance between converting existing donors and acquiring new sustainers, and how digital has overtaken mail as the primary growth engine. Also in this episode, they talk about: Designing a donor journey that evolves with life stage and giving capacity The "affirm, engage, appeal" framework for ongoing donor care Marking milestones: anniversary cards, handwritten notes, and the Power of Moments Churn prevention and why most lapsed giving has nothing to do with donor intent Best-in-class retention: what it costs, what it takes, and where most orgs underinvest What are YOU doing to grow — and keep — your most faithful donors? Drop your thoughts in the comments. We'd love to hear from you! Key Resources Catholic Relief Services Erin Shuler on LinkedIn SustainableGiving.org The Rise of Sustainable Giving book by Dave Raley Dave Raley on LinkedIn The Power of Moments book by Chip & Dan Heath Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten and Abigail.

  7. Jun 22

    Small Team, Strong Retention: What Full Plates Giving Circle Can Teach Us About Sustainable Monthly Giving

    What if 91% donor retention and 46% revenue growth were achievable with a team of one — and zero tchotchkes? Karen Kelly, Development Manager at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank, joins Dave Raley to share how she built the Full Plates Giving Circle: formalizing 200+ overlooked monthly donors into a named program that grew from 211 to 342 members and $20,585 to $30,094 in monthly revenue in just over a year. No big team. No fancy incentives. Just clarity, consistency, and genuine donor care. Plus, Karen brings her real questions for a live, unscripted coaching conversation with Dave, including one that came up the very afternoon they recorded. Key Topics: Building the Full Plates Giving Circle: How Karen cleaned up messy donor data across multiple platforms, discovered 200+ monthly donors getting zero special outreach, and launched a program built on meaningful stewardship and a name that symbolizes abundance, community, and plates full of more than just food. The stewardship playbook: Handwritten welcome notes, quarterly impact emails, monthly receipts with fresh stats and partner testimonials, Thanksgiving postcards, board thank-you calls, LinkedIn recognition, and prompt payment-failure follow-up. All of it free. All of it intentional. Live Q&A with Dave: What to do when a monthly donor wants to switch to annual giving. How to keep quarterly emails fresh when donors are already getting monthly updates. And the big one: how to grow in year two, including Dave's advice on the first-30-day conversion window and a matching gift strategy for new monthly partners. Karen's path into fundraising: From higher education and a doctorate in educational leadership, to founding Through the Heart after a devastating pregnancy loss, to finally having her "Happy Gilmore moment" and owning the fundraiser identity. Through the Heart and The Cocoon: Karen's nonprofit supporting families through pregnancy loss, and the recurring giving community at its heart. When the mission is personal, recurring giving isn't just strategy. It's sustained care. Also in this episode, they talk about: Why Karen puts the monthly giving option on every single donation form Consistency over complexity: skip the tiers, skip the swag, just show up How steady monthly revenue powers crisis response: government shutdowns, SNAP cuts, and surges in community need What would it look like if hundreds of donors showed up for your mission automatically, every month, because they felt genuinely valued? That's what Karen is building, and the playbook is simpler than you think. Key Resources Anne Arundel County Food Bank: aafoodbank.org Full Plates Giving Circle: aafoodbank.org/monthly Through the Heart: throughtheheart.org Karen Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenjkelly/ The Rise of Sustainable Giving by Dave Raley: sustainablegiving.org/book Dave Raley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/draley/ Center for Sustainable Giving: sustainablegiving.org Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten, and Abigail.

  8. Jun 9

    Planes, Pledges, and Persistence: How One Organization Built a Recurring Giving Program That Actually Lasts

    What does it take to build a recurring giving program inside an organization with 80+ years of history, deep donor relationships, and a mission that literally flies people to the ends of the earth? In this episode, Dave Raley sits down with Tracey Werre, Director of Growth & Digital Experiences at Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to grow sustainable recurring revenue, not in a vacuum, but inside a complex, multi-model organization with a lot of heritage and a lot of heart. Tracey brings over two decades of marketing expertise, a background that spans fashion to aviation (yes, really), and 16 years of deep nonprofit fundraising experience at MAF. She's built a recurring giving program called Flight Crew from the ground up, and she's not done yet. From a scrappy MVP launch in 2020 to a full-scale 5.0 revamp, Tracey shares the wins, the walls she hit, and the wisdom she's picked up along the way. If you've ever wondered what it looks like to actually commit to recurring giving — not just test it once and move on — this conversation is for you. Key Topics They Talk About: Tracey's Unconventional Path into Nonprofit Fundraising — Tracey went from fashion and e-commerce to MAF after the dot-com bust, bringing her digital marketing chops into a sector that needed them. She sees a fascinating parallel between that early internet disruption and today's "subscription economy" moment and believes we're entering a new era of maturity in recurring giving. MAF's Unique Funding Model and the Challenge of Building a General Fund — MAF is funded three ways: organizational revenue, career staff missionary support, and fees for service. For years, monthly giving was tied primarily to individual missionaries, not the general fund. As staff tenures shortened and retirement waves hit, Tracey and her colleague Mickey saw the writing on the wall: it was time to invest seriously in organizational recurring giving. The Birth of Flight Crew: Human-Centered Design Meets Nonprofit Fundraising — Rather than guessing, MAF partnered with Alan Thornburg (now of Sublimity) to talk directly to donors and run concept tests. The name "Flight Crew" emerged because it put donors in the story. They're not passive supporters, they're part of the crew. Early feedback confirmed it: members said they felt like they had a "bird's eye view" of the mission, like a co-pilot on every flight. The Evolution from Launch to 5.0 — What Changed and Why — Flight Crew launched in fall 2020 (COVID year, no less) with four times the expected signups. But growth eventually plateaued. Tracey shares candidly what prompted the 5.0 revamp — new human-centered design research, upgraded donation platform technology (hello, Fundraise Up), and a fresh storytelling angle tied to MAF's documentary Ends of the Earth. The payoff? A 20% jump in recurring donors since last fall. What Reliable Recurring Revenue Actually Makes Possible — For MAF, this isn't just a fundraising metric. It's Ebola flights in the Congo. Emergency medevacs from conflict zones. Fuel price volatility. Having thousands of Flight Crew members means the work doesn't stop when the unexpected happens, and it frees leadership to think strategically rather than scramble for immediate cash. What's one thing your organization could do in the next 90 days to make it easier for donors to give monthly?  Key Resources Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Ends of the Earth Documentary The Rise of Sustainable Giving by Dave Raley Sublimity (Alan Thornburg) Fundraise Up The Center for Sustainable Giving Special thanks to our team at Sustainable Giving: Tom, Michelle, Victoria, Kirsten, and Abigail.

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About

The Sustainable Giving Podcast is your go-to show for exploring the future of fundraising through the lens of sustainable recurring giving. Hosted by Dave Raley—author of The Rise of Sustainable Giving and founder of Imago Consulting—the podcast brings together change makers, strategists, and nonprofit leaders for candid conversations that inspire action and spark innovation. Start listening now!

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Raley
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Dave Raley
  • Show Website
    Sustainable Giving

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