The Focused Fundraiser

Donor Dock
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What if doing less made you a better fundraiser? Welcome to The Focused Fundraiser — the podcast for nonprofit leaders who are tired of the chaos and ready to prioritize what actually drives impact. Hosted by Rob Burke, each episode features honest conversations with fundraisers in the trenches who are cutting through the noise, saying no to the never-ending to-do list, and focusing on what matters most. We cover: ✔️ Fundraising strategy that doesn’t burn you out ✔️ High-touch stewardship that builds real relationships ✔️ Personal productivity and leadership in nonprofit life ✔️ Systems that help you work smarter, not harder If you’re ready to drop the “do more” mindset and lead with clarity, focus, and purpose — you’re in the right place. Live every Tuesday at 11am CT.

  1. 14h ago

    The Donor Data Hiding in Your Database (And How to Use It) | Colleen Mitchell

    Colleen Mitchell talks about generosity in three different rooms. She runs annual giving at MidAmerica Nazarene University, pastors youth and families at her church, and teaches freshmen the rest of the week. Her takeaway from all three: relationship doesn't change just because the room does. In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, host Rob Burke talks with Colleen about what she learned from the admin seat in an advancement office, the historical donor data sitting unused in most databases, and why the $5-a-month recurring donor is her favorite person to work with. She also breaks down Champions Challenge, MNU's athletics crowdfunding campaign that invites people to invest in what's already working instead of leading with scarcity and urgency. If you run the annual fund, wear more than one hat, or feel like the need never ends, Colleen's answer to burnout is simpler than you'd expect: go say thank you. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Relationship doesn't change when the room changes 00:24 - Welcome: one fundraiser, three different rooms 01:07 - The accidental path into fundraising 02:47 - What the admin seat taught her about the whole shop 03:54 - Becoming the bridge: asking "why do we do it this way?" 05:10 - The donor data you already have and aren't looking at 05:53 - Quick wins, and the limits of constituency codes 07:00 - What actually changed about how they use their data 07:38 - The database admin who typed in 35 years of yearbooks 08:53 - Where they still struggle: donor contact info 09:31 - Stewardship packets and matching student stories to donors 10:51 - What preaching and teaching taught her about donors 11:54 - Making the case for annual giving 12:56 - The quiet cohort: $5 to $25 every paycheck 13:47 - "I get the rest": the overwhelm and the upside 15:56 - How to spot a donor who's ready for the next step 17:08 - Champions Challenge: leading with gain instead of gap 18:47 - The women's soccer team that caught the vision 20:04 - One thing every fundraiser should do today: say thank you 20:34 - How saying thank you protects you from burnout 21:43 - Connect with Colleen + wrap up KEY TAKEAWAYS Relationship skills transfer across every room.The admin seat is the best training in fundraising.Most organizations are sitting on donor data they've never touched. Constituency codes are a starting point, not an answer.Recurring donors giving $5 to $25 a paycheck are the backbone. They show up quietly and consistently, and you never have to ask them again — you get to thank them.Consistency is the signal for readiness.You don't always need a defined gap to raise money.Saying thank you is the highest-leverage thing on your list.LINKS Connect with Colleen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcintosc/Learn how DonorDock helps you find clarity and build retention through Smart Stewardship: https://donordock.com

    The Donor Data Hiding in Your Database (And How to Use It) | Colleen Mitchell

  2. Aug 18

    You Don't Have a Tech Problem, You Have a People Problem | Tim Lockie, The Human Stack

    Fundraisers are at the mercy of their systems. And when the technology doesn't work, most nonprofit teams do the same thing: they buy more of it. Tim Lockie, founder of The Human Stack, says that almost never works, because the real problem lives in the human stack, not the tech stack. In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, host Rob Burke sits down with Tim Lockie, who built a seven-figure Salesforce consulting firm before turning his focus to the part of technology everyone overlooks: the people. Tim explains why your CRM struggles are usually culture problems in disguise, walks through his orchestra analogy for understanding tech adoption, and shares a simple framework for figuring out whether your tech is ahead of your culture or your culture is ahead of your tech. You'll learn why "digital voluntolds" are quietly holding your fundraising team together, why new software keeps becoming expensive shelfware, and how to think about letting AI into your work without amplifying the problems you already have. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro: doing more vs. focusing on what matters 01:01 - Tim's path: 20 years in nonprofits and a seven-figure Salesforce firm 03:01 - Why no software solves the people problem 05:47 - Signs your team has thrown in the towel on its database 05:59 - The orchestra analogy: instruments, sheet music, and musicians 08:56 - Adoption vs. orchestration: playing well together 09:53 - The conductor and the "first chairs" who actually drive change 12:58 - The techie by necessity, and what they should stop doing 15:00 - The power differential and the rise of "digital voluntolds" 16:14 - Is your culture ahead of your tech, or your tech ahead of your culture? 17:57 - Why tech rollouts die and become expensive shelfware 20:28 - Adoption comes down to ownership 21:13 - AI, ethics, and fundraising.ai 22:00 - Three rules for letting AI into your fundraising work 24:54 - Tactical takeaway: the six-question digital health quiz 25:43 - Where to connect with Tim KEY TAKEAWAYS Tech problems almost always have human roots. You can't solve a people problem by buying more software.Your organization is an orchestra: software is the instruments, data is the sheet music, and your people are the musicians. Buying new instruments won't fix a musician problem.Real change doesn't come from the whole team at once. It comes from "first chairs," the champions on each team who others look to when something breaks.Fundraising teams are often one job description away from solving their own tech problems, if leadership carves out real, budgeted time for the person already doing the work.Tech rollouts die when engagement and accountability stop. Maintaining your systems is like reconciling your books: you never actually stop.LINKS The Human Stack: https://thehumanstack.comTake the Nonprofit Digital Health Quiz: https://thehumanstack.com/quizConnect with Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlockie/Email Tim: tim@thehumanstack.comLearn how DonorDock helps you build retention through Smart Stewardship: https://donordock.com

    You Don't Have a Tech Problem, You Have a People Problem | Tim Lockie, The Human Stack

  3. Aug 11

    Donor-Centric Storytelling: How to Turn Your Mission Into Gifts | Mary Rockwell Thon

    Most fundraisers who say they hate fundraising were never actually trained to do it. That was true for Mary Rockwell Thon, until she learned to talk about giving in a donor-centric way. Twenty years later, she's raised money for Girl Scouts, the Alzheimer's Association, child abuse prevention, and now MENTOR Vermont. In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, host Rob Burke talks with Mary about the storytelling habit every fundraiser should drop, why the $10-a-month donor can be worth more than a one-time big gift, and how to make donors feel the impact of slow, relationship-based work. Mary also shares a grounded, honest take on ethical fundraising and where AI does and doesn't belong in nonprofit communications. If you're on a lean team, or you're the whole team, this conversation is full of practical ways to spend your limited hours where they actually pay off. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro: focusing on what moves a mission forward 00:51 - Mary's accidental path into fundraising 02:46 - The training that changed everything: donor-centric fundraising 03:49 - The storytelling habit to drop and the one to add 04:45 - Make your organization the guide, not the hero 05:18 - What transfers from cause to cause, and what to unlearn 06:28 - Different fundraising styles: events, major donors, corporate 07:21 - Ethical fundraising and asset-based storytelling 08:35 - Navigating AI in nonprofit communications 09:29 - Disclosure, composite stories, and honesty with donors 10:14 - Donor retention in a small market 11:56 - Making impact felt when outcomes are slow 13:35 - Where lean and solo teams should spend their time 14:40 - Find a development mentor: you don't have to do it alone 15:14 - Wrap up KEY TAKEAWAYS Fundraising is a learnable skill. The discomfort many people feel usually means they were never trained to talk about giving in a donor-centric way.Stop telling stories about your programs. Tell the story of your beneficiary and how the donor made a difference. Make the donor the hero and your organization the guide.Use asset-based framing, not "sad puppy" appeals. Talk about the strengths you're building on, not just the need.Be honest about AI and composites. If you use a composite person or an AI-assisted draft, make it clear, and don't pass off generated art as real.The $10-a-month donor often has more lifetime value than a one-time large gift. Retention beats constantly chasing new donors.Ask your board to introduce you to five new people a year, and don't rush the ask. Build the relationship first.Translate impact into donor-sized terms. "Your gift trains one mentor" lands better than abstract capacity-building language.On a lean team, build a yearly calendar (grants, appeals, communications) so you're not chasing your tail, and find a development mentor so you're not doing it alone.LINKS MENTOR Vermont: https://mentorvt.orgConnect with Mary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-thon-5317421a/Association of Fundraising Professionals (find a local chapter and mentoring): https://afpglobal.orgLearn how DonorDock helps you find clarity and build retention through Smart Stewardship: https://donordock.com

    Donor-Centric Storytelling: How to Turn Your Mission Into Gifts | Mary Rockwell Thon

  4. Aug 4

    70 Million Meals, Zero Trucks: Move for Hunger's Fundraising Playbook

    Move for Hunger has transported more than 70 million meals to food banks and pantries across the US and Canada, and they don't own a single truck. In this episode, Rob Burke sits down with Jennifer Bushinger-Ortiz, Director of Development at Move for Hunger, to unpack how you fund a mission that runs on a network instead of a warehouse. Jennifer has spent nearly two decades in development, and she brings a refreshingly honest take on building a corporate-first fundraising model, making enormous impact numbers feel human, holding two messages at once (fighting hunger and cutting food waste), and knowing when a big, risky campaign is worth it. If you lead fundraising or development at a nonprofit, this one is full of tactics you can use this week. Chapters 00:00 - Welcome to The Focused Fundraiser 00:56 - From theater to fundraising: Jennifer's path 03:21 - Inside Move for Hunger's corporate-first model 06:45 - Making big numbers mean something: food as the hero 10:11 - Holding two messages: hunger and food waste 12:27 - Segmenting your story for the room you're in 14:40 - Big, risky campaigns and a Guinness World Record 17:55 - The fundraising tactic Jennifer thinks is overrated 20:38 - Tactical takeaway: keep learning, trust your gut 22:21 - How to connect with Jennifer Key Takeaways Know your type. Build your fundraising model on the strength you actually have, not the one every other nonprofit copies. Move for Hunger leaned into its network of 1,400+ moving and transportation companies instead of chasing individual donors.Make the food the hero. When your impact numbers are too big to picture (50,000 pounds of potatoes), put the tangible thing at the center of the story. See: their "Operation Fruit Cup" campaign.Segment by industry and motivation. Some partners care about environmental impact and CO2 saved from landfills; others care about data and local impact. Research the room before you walk in.Big, splashy events (like their Guinness World Record cereal domino run) raise awareness at a scale no marketing budget can buy, but they require leadership that will invest in risk.Diversify or hit your ceiling. There is no one-size revenue model anymore. If too much of your funding sits in one bucket and that bucket disappears, you're stuck.Trust your gut, then defend it. Before you push a bold idea past your board or team, poke every hole in it so your "why" is airtight.About Move for Hunger Founded in 2009 by Adam Lowy, Move for Hunger rescues food that would otherwise be thrown out when people move and gets it to food banks and pantries. In the US, 38% of perfectly good food ends up in landfills. It's not a food creation problem, it's an access and waste problem. Links Move for Hunger: https://moveforhunger.orgLearn how DonorDock helps you find clarity and build retention through smart stewardship: https://www.donordock.com

    70 Million Meals, Zero Trucks: Move for Hunger's Fundraising Playbook

  5. Jul 28

    How to Fundraise for a Cause Your Donors Will Never See | Morgan Gross & Sjeel Haarhuis

    Can you get someone to give to a cause they'll never see in person? Morgan Gross and Sjeel Haarhuis, co-founders of Fundraising Beyond Borders, have spent a combined decade-plus raising money for international programs across East and Southern Africa. In this episode, they break down the four pillars of fundraising across distance, why authentic beats polished every time, and how "shiny object syndrome" quietly wrecks small nonprofit teams that are already stretched thin. Whether your donors are down the street or across the world, this conversation is about building trust you can't do in person, choosing the right channels for your actual donors (not everyone else's), and focusing on the two or three fundraising activities that will actually move the needle. Chapters: 00:00 - Cold Open: The Shiny Object Syndrome Trap 00:32 - Welcome to The Focused Fundraiser 01:29 - Morgan's Path: From Second-Grade Teacher to Zambia 02:53 - Sjeel's Path: From the Netherlands to Nonprofit Ops 03:51 - What International Fundraising Teaches Every Nonprofit 04:15 - The Four Pillars of International Fundraising 05:48 - Moving Donors to Give to a Cause They Can't See 08:03 - Why Authentic Beats Polished 09:51 - Choosing the Right Channels: Acquisition vs. Retention 12:24 - Mobile Giving and the Apple Pay Shift 12:58 - Email Stewardship: Quality Over Frequency 13:55 - Pressure-Testing a Fundraising Plan 16:07 - Finding Your Ideal Donor 16:53 - What Lean Teams Should Stop Doing 19:10 - Busyness vs. Building Fundraising Capacity 21:14 - Say "Not Yet," Not "No" 22:34 - Tactical Takeaways 23:47 - Relationships First, Community Second 25:19 - Connect With Fundraising Beyond Borders Key Takeaways: Fundraising across distance rests on four pillars: donor trust, cross-cultural communication, digital presence, and connection. Authentic, unedited content (a live video, a behind-the-scenes look) builds more donor trust today than a polished, produced campaign. Know your ideal donor and put your time where they actually are, not on every channel at once. Small teams grow fastest by focusing on two to three fundraising activities with the highest ROI, not by chasing every "shiny object" idea from a webinar or board member. Say "not yet" instead of "no" to new ideas. It keeps the door open without derailing your focus. Stewardship beats frequency in email. Send fewer, better emails rather than hitting an arbitrary weekly quota. Links: Fundraising Beyond Borders: fundraisingbeyondborders.com DonorDock: donordock.com

    How to Fundraise for a Cause Your Donors Will Never See | Morgan Gross & Sjeel Haarhuis

  6. Jul 21

    Stewardship Is the New Acquisition: Building a Recurring Donor Base from Scratch | Jackie Jones

    Most fundraisers are taught to chase: more grants, more new donors, more names on the list. Jackie Jones did the opposite and built something that lasts. In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, Rob Burke talks with Dr. Jacqueline "Jackie" Jones, founder of the I SEE ME Foundation, which helps girls build inner confidence in a social-media age. A former accountant turned 26-year teacher turned nonprofit founder, Jackie funds free programming through community partnerships, in-person conversations, and a foundation of small recurring donors. We get tactical on how she stewards those relationships, where she lets AI help (and where she refuses to), and the hardest lesson every founder eventually faces: letting go. If you run a small shop and feel like you're applying for everything and gaining nothing, this one is for you. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 - Why "I SEE ME" exists: confidence in a social media age 01:05 - From accountant to 26-year teacher to nonprofit founder 03:28 - The fundraising lesson: stop applying to everything 05:07 - Why $5/month recurring donors keep the lights on 06:43 - Beyond the statistic: story-driven giving that sticks 08:21 - Using AI ethically without cheapening the relationship 11:57 - Building a brand that stays focused 14:23 - The founder bottleneck: learning to let go 17:48 - Tactical takeaway: connect, don't just collect 19:14 - Where to find Jackie and I SEE ME ✅ KEY TAKEAWAYS Don't apply for everything. A constant flow of "no" wears you down. Laser-focus every application on your exact mission so even a no teaches you something.A base of small recurring donors ($5/month) can cover your core operating needs and protect you when grants fall through.Stewardship beats acquisition. Send photo collages 3–4x a year and testimonials that tell donors, "you are responsible for these faces."Don't sell a statistic. Use photos, video, and audio so donors feel like they were in the room.AI should be an exponent to relationships, not a replacement. Use it for the logistical, mundane work (flyers, formatting) and protect the authentic voice of the people you serve.Founders stall growth when everything runs through them. Train people you trust, hand off delivery, and free yourself to focus on the board and the mission.🔗 LINKS I SEE ME Foundation: https://iseemefoundation.orgConnect with Jackie on LinkedIn (search "I SEE ME" / Jacqueline Jones)Learn how DonorDock helps you build retention through smart stewardship: https://www.donordock.com🎧 The Focused Fundraiser is where we talk about focusing on the fundraising practices that actually matter, with the experts and founders doing the hard work. New episodes weekly.

    Stewardship Is the New Acquisition: Building a Recurring Donor Base from Scratch | Jackie Jones

  7. Jul 14

    Using AI in Fundraising Without Breaking Donor Trust | Sami Zoss

    Fundraising drives relationships and the big gifts. Nobody puts the systems, the data, and the back-end operations on the flyer, and that's exactly the work that keeps an organization alive. In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, host Rob Burke talks with Sami Zoss, founder of Zoss Collaborations and a former higher-ed foundation COO who calls herself a "systems girly with an ADHD aesthetic." Sami makes the case for a project-management mindset in nonprofits (the non-techie kind), the healthy tension between relationship-driven fundraisers and the people who build the systems, and how to earn trust through small wins instead of big overhauls. We get practical about the smallest data cleanups with the biggest payoff, how to advocate to your board for the time to fix your back end, and where AI is genuinely useful for a development team versus where it's just hype. She closes with one of the most doable tactical takeaways we've shared: get one thing out of your head and into the institution every week. If you've ever felt too busy raising money to fix the systems underneath it, this one is for you. Chapters 00:00 - The unglamorous side of fundraising: systems and operations 00:45 - Sami's path: from criminal justice major to foundation COO 03:08 - A "systems girly with an ADHD aesthetic" 03:57 - The most common broken system: no project management 06:25 - Getting relationship-driven fundraisers to trust a process 06:55 - "We're going to trip over money": building trust through small wins 11:06 - Leadership buy-in and the grace to fail 12:27 - Institutional knowledge walking out the door 13:06 - The smallest data cleanup with the biggest payoff 15:42 - "Too busy raising money to fix the back end" 18:52 - Where AI is genuinely useful, and where it's hype 24:12 - Context is everything: using AI safely 26:22 - Tactical takeaway: one thing out of your head each week Key takeaways Most nonprofits are so good at saying yes that they lose track of what they're working on and whether it's still mission-aligned. A light project-management mindset fixes that. Trust between fundraisers and operations is built in small, incremental wins, not big overhauls. You need leadership buy-in to fail gracefully. Processes are wrong before they're right. Institutional knowledge walks out the door when staff leave. Document it before that happens. Smallest cleanup, biggest payoff: keep contact info current and run a monthly contact-record cleanup. Advocate to your board for the time to fix systems. Lower the short-term fundraising expectation to raise long-term accuracy. AI is useful when it's genuinely useful, not just interesting. Mind your context and your data, and never let it manipulate the donor relationship. AI amplifies the relationship, it doesn't replace it. Tactical takeaway: every Friday, write down one thing that lives only in your head and get it into the institution. Connect with Sami Zoss Zoss Collaborations | Fundraising.AI advisory council About DonorDock DonorDock helps nonprofits find clarity, build stronger donor relationships, and grow retention through smart stewardship. Learn more at https://www.donordock.com Subscribe for a new episode every week.

    Using AI in Fundraising Without Breaking Donor Trust | Sami Zoss

  8. Jul 7

    Stop Building the Plane While You Fly It: Nonprofit Structure & Burnout | Leah Wiley

    Passion starts a nonprofit. Structure keeps it alive. In this episode of The Focused Fundraiser, host Rob Burke sits down with strategic advisor Leah Wiley, who spent nearly two decades as a community organizer before she began coaching nonprofit leaders. Leah explains why so many mission-driven organizations stay in "building the plane while flying it" mode for too long, how that fuels leadership burnout, and what it actually takes to build the structure underneath the mission. We get into letting go of the vine as you scale, stewarding your staff the way you steward donors, the discipline of saying no, and the one question every fundraiser should ask themselves today: am I doing this alone? If passion alone isn't moving your mission forward, this conversation will help you find the focus and the framework to do work that lasts. Chapters 00:00 - Building the plane while flying it 00:50 - Leah's path: from community organizing to nonprofit coaching 03:36 - Strengthening how an organization is structured 04:41 - The #1 structural problem: building too long without a blueprint 06:45 - Letting go of the vine as you scale 09:16 - Burnout and why it comes up every episode 11:35 - Stewarding your staff the way you steward donors 13:20 - Saying no and focusing on what matters most 17:12 - The question to ask donors: why do you do this work? 18:44 - Tactical takeaway: am I fundraising alone? 20:35 - How to connect with Leah Key takeaways "Building the plane while you fly it" is healthy at launch and a liability when it lasts for years. Strong mission-driven organizations require a strong mission-driven architecture: bookkeeping, hiring, roles, and a fundraising plan that fits the strategy. Burnout is usually a structure problem, not a willpower problem. Stewardship starts internally. Leaders who ask their staff about their lives and roles build cultures people don't want to leave. Ask donors why they got involved and what keeps them here, then actually listen. Fundraising should never sit on one person. Board, staff, and volunteers all have a role. Connect with Leah Wiley Email: leah@ledcoaching.net About DonorDock DonorDock helps nonprofits find clarity and build stronger donor relationships through smarter retention and stewardship. Learn more at https://www.donordock.com Subscribe for a new episode every week. New conversations with the people in the trenches of nonprofit fundraising.

    Stop Building the Plane While You Fly It: Nonprofit Structure & Burnout | Leah Wiley
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About

What if doing less made you a better fundraiser? Welcome to The Focused Fundraiser — the podcast for nonprofit leaders who are tired of the chaos and ready to prioritize what actually drives impact. Hosted by Rob Burke, each episode features honest conversations with fundraisers in the trenches who are cutting through the noise, saying no to the never-ending to-do list, and focusing on what matters most. We cover: ✔️ Fundraising strategy that doesn’t burn you out ✔️ High-touch stewardship that builds real relationships ✔️ Personal productivity and leadership in nonprofit life ✔️ Systems that help you work smarter, not harder If you’re ready to drop the “do more” mindset and lead with clarity, focus, and purpose — you’re in the right place. Live every Tuesday at 11am CT.

Information

  • Creator
    Donor Dock
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Donor Dock
  • Show Website
    The Focused Fundraiser

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