The Groupfinity Podcast Anthony Wilson

#048 - Today I am speaking with Gareth Pronovost about using Airtable to automate workflows to 1) save time; 2) reduce errors; 3) stay organized; 4) allow for a single source of truth; and 5) grow and scale their organization.  Gareth asks - are you overwhelmed by an endless sea of spreadsheets?”  I think most of us would say YES!

The good news is Airtable DOES NOT require any coding experience.  You just need to know your processes.  Gareth tells us that the biggest payoffs come in email and reporting.  He calls it the compounding effect…

“I challenge everyone to think about the compounding effect of 10 minutes a day.  It's like interest on your life - interest on the time that you have on this earth.  Why pay that interest?  Rather than type up that same email 10 times that takes you 10 minutes a day, do it one time.  And so what if it takes you an hour and a half to figure out how to build an automation? You'll have made that back in two weeks, and now you save yourself an hour a week into perpetuity."

The key takeaways from my discussion with Gareth are:

#1 You don't have to be tech savvy, you just have to be able to articulate your process;

#2 Instantaneous replies make donors feel special and heard;

#3 Improved collaboration in a remote environment; and

#4 You can automate any internet tools that have an open API.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear about Gareth’s courses and community.

#047 Today I am speaking with Jess Campbell from Out in the Boons.  Jess' superpower is building meaningful relationships that then turn into donor relationships. The #1 question Jess is asked is - how do I find new donors?  Jess is a self described friend-maker, and relationship builder with big dreams.  She has developed an outreach method with a 100% response rate that allows her clients to develop new and authentic relationships with potential donors.

"And so the effort to go into a new relationship with authenticity is paramount. And so, yeah, I have this method that I have practiced to date that has a 100% response rate. And thus I've started teaching it to my fellow fundraisers so that they can make real relationships that potentially lead to friendships and ultimately donations down the line”.

You’ll have to listen to the episode to hear the steps.

Jess is routinely asked about the effectiveness of sending mass emails vs taking the time to send tailored messages.  She says you have to put yourself in the shoes of the recipient.  How do you feel when you receive mass emails?  Mass emailing may save you time, but tailored messages yield better results.

“When something is tailored and specific people feel very seen and that's all we want.  So I would just counter back that yes, you can do something in the masses that is vague and unspecific and you might get a very low return on investment.  Or you can do something that is going to be a little bit more time and a little bit more effort, but it will yield results. And so you just have to choose where you want to put your energy”.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Jess are:

#1 The follow-up game is the most important part of fundraising;

#2 Tailored messages are more effective than mass emails;

#3 Sending short messages of value can deepen a relationship;

#4 Research says people have capacity for about 150 relationships- when you remove friends, family, and co-workers, that leaves about 75-90.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Jess’ learnings from the pandemic.

#046 - Today I am speaking with Sasha Lewis. Sasha has 20+ years of experience working with nonprofits.  Her focus is using donor-centric data to achieve greater fundraising success.  Sasha founded Moves Management Consulting to assist nonprofit organizations with technology, specifically using CRM to assist in fundraising.  Her advice is…

“Start with one of the little ones, find an investment of a hundred dollars a month and get something going because once you recognize how much it's going to save you when it's done, you're gonna wish you did it years ago”.

In this episode we explore the pros and cons of 4 popular CRMs for small nonprofits:
SalesforceKindfulBloomerangLittle Green LightBe sure to stick around until the end to hear how the pandemic made organizations put a higher value on technology.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Sasha are:

#1 The more robust systems may require you to hire an implementation specialist;
#2 Select a platform that is simple and straightforward to you;
#3 Getting a system that integrates with your existing tools will allow you to automate;
#4 Get out of the spreadsheet business and start with something. 

#045 - Today I am speaking with Tobi Johnson. Tobi has 25 plus years of experience with nonprofits.  Instead of simply moving to another job when she moved across the country 13 years ago, Tobi decided to start her own company where she could share her expertise and help organizations with volunteerism.

Tobi helps organizations of all shapes and sizes build their volunteer strategy by helping organizations replace old and ineffective approaches with new innovative and research-based practices.

One of her superpowers is showing organizations how to onboard new volunteers and make them feel like they are a part of something…

“This feeling of belongings ingrained in our nature as humans.”

“And when you are a volunteer and if you feel like you're on the outside looking in, you're just not going to engage and you're actually gonna become not as productive.”

“The time that belonging matters most is the time when you're onboarding new volunteers and welcoming people in to make sure that every single person feels like they belong.”

Through VolunteerPro, Tobi provides online volunteer management training, coaching & community to leaders of volunteers at all levels.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Tobi are:

#1 If your volunteers feel like outsiders, they are not going to engage and will not be as productive as they could be;

#2 Volunteers leave groups when they feel implicit promises are not kept;

#3 Make implicit expectations explicit by naming them;

#4 Giving informal recognition can much more powerful than formal recognition; 

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Tobi discuss using Bling for Belonging.

#044 - Today I am speaking with Linda Lysakowski.  In Linda’s thirty plus years as a philanthropic consultant, she has managed capital campaigns that have raised more than $50 million and has helped hundreds of nonprofit organizations achieve their development goals.

Today we talk about how to raise funds from your local business community.  Linda shares great actionable steps on how to build relationships with your local business leaders.  A great way to start a conversation is to simply ask for advice.

I might call that person and say, do you mind if I just take you to lunch one day? I'd like to talk to you about what we can do to improve the technology in our business or what we can do to improve the marketing or what we can do to improve our financial picture.

You could ask for advice in many, many different areas, but look at your needs and then try to find businesses that can help those needs.

Most business people are flattered by that.  Who doesn’t love talking about themselves and giving advice?  This simple ask can be the gateway to more financial support.

You know, the old saying that if you ask for money, a lot of times you get advice. And if you ask for advice, a lot of times you end up getting money .

Linda is a prolific writer and has authored more than 30 books.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Linda are:

#1 Hang out where the business leaders are;

#2 Invite them in so they can see what you are doing;

#3 You have to build relationships to understand what motivates each business to give;

#4 Your ask must show the economic and the social impact your organization is making on the community;

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear how one of her clients went from $0 to a half million dollars in less than 1 year.

#043 - Today I am speaking with Jarrett Ransom AKA “The Nonprofit Nerd”.  Jarrett is the Founder & CEO of the Rayvan Group where her titles include Nonprofit Executive, Keynote Speaker, Emcee, Coach, Entrepreneur, Community Builder & Leader, and Philanthropy Thought Leader.

Jarrett helps nonprofits strategically plan for the future -  extending 3, 5, 10 years and beyond.  This includes developing a broader framework of philanthropy where we can all see ourselves as philanthropists - it is not simply about money.

“It really is by definition, the desire to promote the welfare of others. So it has nothing to do with the amount of zeros at the end of a number of a donation.  It has everything to do with the most simplest act of giving. And for me, that's time, talent or treasure. So it's not just money.  We could give philanthropically of our time. We can give philanthropically of our talents of volunteer efforts. So I really want everyone to feel this empowerment and an embodiment of being a philanthropist.”

Jarrett advises us that relationship building is the foundation of effective fundraising.  We should be reaching out to our donors regularly and engaging them.  What are their goals?  What are their interests?  What is their legacy?  Our focus should be on listening to them so we can help them be better stewards of their philanthropic dollars.

“we should be listening to our donors. We should be listening to hear back to that mission alignment, where do they wanna make a difference in the community”.

You can find Jarrett co-hosting the American Nonprofit Academy’s daily Nonprofit Show with Julia Patrick on YouTube.

The key takeaways from my discussion with Robb are: 

#1 Philanthropy is about the most simplest act of giving, time, talent or treasure;

#2 Stop asking and start inviting;

#3 Small consistent monthly or quarterly donations are typically better than a single lump sum donation; and

#4 Instead of only looking at a return on investment, we should focus on return on relationships.

Be sure to stick around until the end to hear Jarrett’s advice on fundraising in the pandemic.