The Nonprofit Boost: Leveraging Corporate Support for Fundraising Success

Double the Donation

Unlock the strategies your nonprofit needs to grow revenue and fuel your mission. Join us for real conversations with expert guests as we decode the data and tactics behind successful fundraising. Whether you're navigating capital campaigns, securing major gifts, growing corporate giving, or building out donor profiles, this podcast delivers the fundraising intelligence you need. We explore actionable insights on challenge matches, matching gifts, workplace giving, corporate sponsorships, and employer data. Stop guessing and start growing. Subscribe to master modern fundraising.

  1. Jul 14

    Gold-Medal Philanthropy: USA Water Polo's Playbook for Corporate Partnerships

    Staring at a massive funding gap and wondering how other nonprofits seamlessly land major corporate deals? Sending out cold pitches that only get swallowed by gatekeepers is frustrating, exhausting, and leaves serious revenue on the table. But securing reliable funding doesn't have to feel like shouting into the void. In this episode of The Nonprofit Boost, we are joined by Grant Jones, Head of Philanthropy for USA Water Polo, to uncover the competitive playbook behind landing high-level corporate partnerships. Grant brings an "athlete's mindset" to fundraising, sharing exactly how to build a robust strategy grounded in intention, timeliness, and deep respect for the donor journey. Learn how prioritizing personalized donor stewardship and employee engagement can transform a one-off transactional sponsor into a long-term champion. What You Will Learn 1. Gatekeeper Strategies: Actionable plays to get past initial roadblocks, utilize warm introductions, and secure meetings with key decision-makers. 2. Pivoting the "No": How to turn a lack of immediate budget into valuable alternative support like volunteer engagements or corporate in-kind donations. 3. Data Reporting: The customized approach to asking "what does success look like to you" and sharing impact data that guarantees your corporate partners see their true ROI. 4. Long-Term Renewals: Why immediate donor stewardship and bold, multi-year asks are crucial for locking in sustainable revenue. Also Available on Youtube.

    Gold-Medal Philanthropy: USA Water Polo's Playbook for Corporate Partnerships
  2. Jul 7

    Who Owns the Campaign? Navigating the Executive Director, Development Director, and Board Dynamic!

    Is your organization's major fundraising initiative stuck in an elongated pause? When large-scale capital campaigns stall, it is rarely due to a lack of passion—it is almost always driven by a phenomenon called "role blur." A lack of clarity surrounding ownership can completely demotivate your internal staff and board of directors, stalling momentum when you need it most. On this episode of The Nonprofit Boost, host Immaculate sits down with Gina Vaughn, Vice President of Client Service at Gail Perry Group, to dissect how to build a highly aligned campaign team. Gina shares expert insights on navigating the critical partnership between an Executive Director and a Director of Development, explaining how to manage up and effectively divide and conquer donor outreach. We dive deep into actionable methods to get board members off the sidelines by defining clear tactical roles—such as networkers and ambassadors—without overwhelming them. What You Will Learn 1. Overcoming Role Blur: Discover how undefined responsibilities demotivate teams and how to re-establish strong campaign momentum. 2. The ED and DOD Partnership: Learn why this specific leadership dynamic acts as a success predictor and how to share prospect research and talking points seamlessly. 3. Activating Board Members: Practical strategies to transition your board from passive oversight to active networkers who help uncover corporate giving opportunities. 4. Data-Driven Campaign Goals: How to look into your donor pool to reveal hidden capacity, identify matching gift eligibility, and establish secure internal goals before going public. Video Episode also available on Youtube.

    Who Owns the Campaign? Navigating the Executive Director, Development Director, and Board Dynamic!
  3. Jun 16

    Beyond the Check: Shifting from Transactional Asks to Transformational Partnerships

    Are your corporate sponsorships generating one-time donations instead of long-term revenue growth? Too many nonprofits approach corporate giving, corporate sponsorships, and workplace giving as transactional opportunities—resulting in missed funding, weaker relationships, and untapped growth potential. In this conversation on The Nonprofit Boost, host Kathleen welcomes Heather Nelson, Founder and President of BridgeRaise, a corporate fundraising consultancy that helps nonprofits build values-aligned partnerships with companies. Drawing from years of experience helping organizations strengthen their corporate fundraising programs, Heather shares how nonprofits can move beyond simple sponsorship asks and create transformational partnerships that deliver sustainable revenue. What You Will Learn 1. Transactional vs. Transformational Partnerships: How to shift from sponsorship requests to relationship-driven corporate fundraising strategies. 2. Corporate Value Propositions: How to communicate your nonprofit's impact in ways that resonate with companies and decision-makers. 3. Discovery Conversations: Questions that uncover partnership opportunities beyond a single donation or sponsorship. 4. Employee Engagement Programs: How to maximize revenue through matching gifts, volunteer grants, payroll donations, and VTO opportunities. 5. Long-Term Stewardship: Strategies for building stronger corporate relationships that improve retention and unlock future funding opportunities. Also available on Youtube.

    Beyond the Check: Shifting from Transactional Asks to Transformational Partnerships
  4. Jun 9

    From Mediocre to Mission-Ready: Elevating Your Nonprofit's AI Outputs

    Are you using Chat GPT, Gemini, or Claude as a glorified search engine, or are you treating it like a collaborative digital team member? Many fundraising professionals fall into the trap of accepting mediocre first drafts, leaving critical strategy gaps wide open. In this dynamic conversation, host Kathleen sits down with Remy Reya, Director of AI and Thought Leadership at Compass Pro Bono, to demystify responsible AI adoption for the social sector. Whether you're looking to enhance your everyday workflows or optimize your broader organization strategy, this episode provides a masterclass on pairing human empathy with fundraising automation for nonprofits to drive sustainable impact. What You Will Learn 1. The Crafting Framework: Discover how to use Context, Role, Action, Format, and Target Audience to improving the donor journey through intentional prompt engineering. 2. The Head, Hands, and Heart Framework: Learn how to categorize your daily checklist to determine what to delegate to fundraising tools, what to automate, and what must remain uniquely human. 3. AI as an Editor: Flip the script by bringing your own writing, branding, and nonprofit marketing ideas to the table first, letting AI refine and polish your authentic voice. 4. Reusable AI Skills: Uncover a little-known, game-changing strategy to package your long chat threads into persistent "skills" that execute workflows flawlessly without context degradation. 5. The North Stars Exercise: Navigate the overwhelm of changing sector trends by establishing three baseline cultural questions with your staff before rolling out any new software. Also available on Youtube.

    From Mediocre to Mission-Ready: Elevating Your Nonprofit's AI Outputs
  5. Jun 3

    The 2025 Tax Shift: Harnessing New Tax Realities to Empower Your Strategic Philanthropy

    Are shifting tax laws leaving your nonprofit's fundraising strategy in limbo? US tax policies undergo massive overhauls roughly every decade, and the implementation of the 2025 HR 1 tax reform is already fundamentally changing how supporters approach philanthropy. In this episode of The Nonprofit Boost, host Immaculate sits down with Lauren Costello Ekmekjian, Senior Vice President at CCS Fundraising, to dissect what these changes mean for your bottom line. Lauren maps out the exact playbook your organization needs to navigate these lumpy revenue patterns, utilize challenge matches effectively, and stress-test your case for support. Don't let tax-season anxiety compromise your donor retention—learn how to turn regulatory volatility into a strategic advantage. What You Will Learn 1. The HR 1 Landscape: Break down the specific tax changes impacting individual and corporate donors. 2. Peak Giving Years & Bunching: Discover how high-income households consolidate multiple years of giving to maximize their tax savings—and how it affects your financial forecasting. 3. Corporate Giving Adjustments: Understand how the new corporate floor will push companies to form fewer, more strategic partnerships. 4. Actionable CRM Audits: Step-by-step instructions on how to evaluate your top 25 to 50 donors to preemptively manage potential giving shifts. Podcast Episode Also Available on Youtube.

    The 2025 Tax Shift: Harnessing New Tax Realities to Empower Your Strategic Philanthropy
  6. Jun 3

    Matching Gift Marketing & Automated Email Customization: What Other Organizations Are Doing

    Are you tired of leaving free money on the table because donors simply don’t realize their employers will match their contributions? The massive awareness gap surrounding corporate philanthropy is a constant hurdle for fundraising teams—nearly 78% of corporate-eligible donors have no idea their workplace programs exist, resulting in thousands of dollars in lost revenue. To solve this critical challenge, we brought together an elite panel from our virtual summit featuring Courtney Davidson (Breakthrough T1D), Beth Wamsley (Colorado Symphony), and Michael Meadows (United Way Bay Area). They reveal how modern organizations utilize a robust fundraising automation approach to engage donors directly inside the transaction flow. Discover how to enhance your matching gift marketing strategy by optimizing automated email streams, overcoming internal tech pushback, and refining your outreach to maximize long-term donor retention and stewardship. Our guests share their actionable playbooks for capturing valuable employer data and seamlessly mapping these touchpoints to create a highly supportive, high-yielding donor journey. What You Will Learn 1. Shrinking the Awareness Gap: Learn how to embed interactive matching gift tools directly into your transaction process to catch donors when their engagement is highest. 2. Optimizing Email Cadences: Discover the ideal multi-touch timeline to follow up on matching opportunities without causing donor fatigue. 3. Unlocking Volunteer Incentives: Find out how to scale corporate funding by leveraging volunteer grant programs to turn hands-on service hours into monetary support. 4. Advanced Donor Segmentation: Explore strategic data filtering methods that allow you to customize appeals based on regional parameters, employee types, and specific milestones. Podcast Episode also Available on Youtube.

    Matching Gift Marketing & Automated Email Customization: What Other Organizations Are Doing
5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Unlock the strategies your nonprofit needs to grow revenue and fuel your mission. Join us for real conversations with expert guests as we decode the data and tactics behind successful fundraising. Whether you're navigating capital campaigns, securing major gifts, growing corporate giving, or building out donor profiles, this podcast delivers the fundraising intelligence you need. We explore actionable insights on challenge matches, matching gifts, workplace giving, corporate sponsorships, and employer data. Stop guessing and start growing. Subscribe to master modern fundraising.

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