5 Insightful Podcast Episodes on Generosity and Philanthropy

Here’s a list of our current favorite podcasts on Generosity/Philanthropy:

On Twitter: @NextAfter_ @BradyJosephson   

On Facebook: NextAfter

Grab a cup of green tea and sit down with Nathan and Brady from NextAfter to learn how to grow your non-profit organization’s online fundraising efforts. Their conversation will help you discover what moves the needle, the value of emails, and overcoming the hurdle of low traffic. You’ll hear about evaluating and improving your conversion rate, what you prefer vs. what works when it comes to your digital efforts, how office culture impacts innovation, the significance of gift arrays on your donation page, and - last, but not least -  identifying your value proposition.”

(Bonus: Check out The State of Nonprofit Donation Pages webinar from NextAfter and then use their insightful tips when you begin creating, customizing and testing your own giving forms through Custom Donations.)

On Twitter: @WholeWhale @MobileCause @georgecaweiner 

On Facebook: Whole Whale, MobileCause

98% open rate!? We bet you haven’t seen that on an email before… welcome to text messaging as a fundraising platform. Have you introduced this channel into your communication mix for annual giving or pledge fulfillment reminders? Are you curious about the pros/cons of adding this method to your donor engagement flow? Catholic Charities was able to raise over $5 million dollars for hurricane relief efforts using text messaging. Listen to this conversation with Sean MacNeill, MobileCause CEO, to find out how it works! You’ll be captivated by podcast host George, who keeps the discussion interesting by asking questions like what dragon do you need to slay in the next year and what Harry Potter wand do you wish you had to wave over your industry?

(Bonus: Read five ways mobile technology can boost fundraising and donor engagement. Also, ask us how we worked with Texas A&M and MobileCause to set up a text message campaign using forms by Custom Donations to work in tandem with their fundraising team’s existing direct mail, email, social media, and call center campaigns without adding any extra work for the processing team.)

On Twitter: @TFRSFundraising @_billstan @IUPhilanthropy

On Facebook: Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

If you’re looking for a quick listen, this episode unpacks Giving Days in 11 minutes. Dr. Sarah Nathan raises the key questions: Are you engaging volunteers? Do you have a social media strategy? Are you thanking your donors in a timely way? Are you thanking and stewarding them in a way that is special and unique to the giving day? If this spikes your curiosity or you have a little more time on your hands, you can dive in deeper and listen to The Philanthropy Podcast: Planning Your Online Giving Day - An Interview with Tiffany Khan, Director of Sun Devil Giving at ASU Foundation.

(Bonus: The Fund Raising School at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy of Indiana University is still accepting registrations for its Digital Fundraising online course held Oct. 14-Oct. 25. Dr. Sarah Nathan, featured on this episode, oversees curriculum for TFRS.)

On Twitter: @kylegamm @maysbusiness @mays_mastercast  

On Facebook: Mays MasterCast

Get the inside scoop on the Strategic Philanthropy course offered at Mays Business School that gives college students the ability to learn about generosity personally, while also practicing it in a professional environment through working with local, private foundations during the course. This episode lasts just over an hour, so it’s perfect for a long commute - buckle up! If you’re not an audio learner, you can watch the video-recorded version on YouTube.

(Bonus: If you found this conversation thought-provoking and need something for the drive home too, go ahead and listen to (or watch) this episode as well: “Disrupting for Good” w/ Chris Field)

On Twitter: @RNL @bradyjosephson

On Facebook: RNL

If you already listened to #1 on our list, you’ll hear a familiar Canadian voice on this episode (shoutout to you, Brady!) with our friends at Ruffalo Noel-Levitz. Recurring giving is a main topic of conversation in the non-profit and philanthropy sector. In right around 20 minutes, Brady shares best practices when it comes to recurring giving and suggests to experiment first with your donation page messaging and work on refining your value proposition before moving to tests that may have smaller results like eliminating form fields, button colors and font size.

(Bonus: Did you know we are an integrated partner with Ruffalo Noel-Levitz? If your call center is managed by RNL, you can use Custom Donations to process payments and help you reach your fundraising goals, while pushing transaction data directly through the call center software. We can help you get set up!)

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Thanks for reading and feel free to share your favorite podcast episodes on generosity and philanthropy with us. We’d love to know what you’re listening to! 

Take a look around our site for more information about how we can support your efforts in fundraising and philanthropy and email info@customdonations.com when you're ready to talk more or ask questions.