Fundraising HayDay

Nonprofit Productivity with Less Stress

Learn how to make productivity tools work for you, not run your life in this fun, fast-paced interview with Scrum and Agile expert Avi Schneier, the Principle Consultant, Agile Transformations of Scrum Inc. From writing more grants, to raising more money, to the importance of tracking happiness, we cover the waterfront of efficiency and effectiveness in this episode.

In the episode, Avi shared three great scrum related resources, and they are:

(1) Book - Scrum The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time (AKA the red book)

(2) Book - The Scrum Fieldbook: Faster Performance. Better Results. Starting Now. (AKA the yellow book)

(3) Blog Post - 7 Steps To Hybrid Teams Success - Scrum Inc

Starting and Growing Your Own Consultancy

For some fundraising and grant professionals, consulting is the ultimate end game. For others, they fall into it through no fault of their own. Either way, one must do more than build a good product and hope clients will come knocking on the door. Join our conversation with Lucy Morgan, owner of MyFed Trainer, to learn the ropes on building and growing a successful business all your own. 

Paths to and Beyond Fundraising: The Road Less Traveled

On this season's episode of the road less traveled we are talking to Simon Scriver, cofounder of Fundraising Everywhere. A backpacking trip in Australia led to his beginnings in the fundraising world, a profession he did not even know existed before then. One never knows their career trajectory in the fundraising field, and it turns out that even a fear of public speaking cannot keep a good fundraiser down. Take a listen to Simon's path and imagine where your career may lead. 

Earmarks, Quality Data, and Difficult Conversations

Today we're talking with Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, cohosts  of the Pantsuit Politics Podcast. They're known for their grace-filled political discussions, something all grant and fundraising professionals need to know a thing or two about. Join our conversation as we discuss the comeback of federal earmarks, collecting quality data, changing your mind, and having difficult conversations.  

Employees: To Give or Not to Give

Employee giving is a touchy subject. Don't believe us, check out the conversations on Twitter. We're talking to Ephraim Gopin, Founder of 1832 Communications. After hearing both sides of the argument from leaders in the nonprofit field, he spearheaded a survey of his own, sharing the results in his eBook, Employee Giving: Does Charity Begin in the Office? (Get your own free copy here: Employee Giving Ebook - 1832communications.com. Join our discussions surrounding his survey results, what he learned through this project, and how to best handle employee giving in your nonprofit. And in the words of Ephraim: #alwaysbelearning.

From Novels to Grants, It's All Research and Storytelling

To write a clear and compelling grant proposal, we need accurate data and a convincing call to action, woven throughout a  persuasive narrative. At the heart of our work, we are storytellers. And who better to chat with about storytelling than best selling author Jessica Handler. Not only is she an author, she is also a lecturer in English at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and a grant reviewer. Join our discussion on how to improve our craft.

Prospect Research: What's Old is New Again

Before you write the grant, you need to find the grant. Grant prospect research is a pivotal component of a grant professional's work. So where do you find the right funder and the right application for your organization and the needs it serves? The answer is simple: the same place grant professionals have been looking for the past 20+ years. We're talking about the usual suspects, plus a few you might not know about yet. 

You Want a Statewide, Streamlined Grant Department? Move to Illinois!

Join our cohosts as we talk with Carol Kraus, former Director of Illinois’ Grant Accountability and Transparency Unit. With backing by the state’s legislature, this new unit worked with stakeholders, creating a streamlined grant process for all state grant programs, including federal pass through funding. Imagine a one stop shop for grant prospect research, grant application portals, and grant management regulations for every state agency. It’s like a dream come true, and Illinois set the standard for the rest of us to follow.

Don't Hate, Collaborate: Social Grant Responsibility

The grants and fundraising arena has always been a competitive endeavor. If you have spent any amount of time in the fund seeking world, you understand that the need always outweighs the grant awards offered by funders and donations handed out by individuals. But that does not mean us grant professionals and fundraisers have to throw off the gloves and duke it out until the last one is standing. Join today's episode for real world examples of how to dial down the crazy-making competition of grant seeking and fundraising. If we all participate in social grant responsibility, it will be better for all those we serve.

Better Budgets Win More Grants

Getting comfortable with understanding and developing program/project budgets is essential for winning grants. Most grant professionals do not have a finance or accounting background, but budget building skills are necessary for every grant proposal. Consider this episode grant budgets for English majors. It is a deep dive you don't want to miss.