Fundraising.AI

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Fundraising.AI

Episode 49

THE PODCAST

Episode 49 - Sustainable Giving: A Strategic Approach to Long-Term Donor Engagement with Dave Raley

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OVERVIEW

Meet Dave Raley, consultant, co-host, writer & keynote speaker, and the founder of Imago Consulting, an advisory firm that helps organizations create growth through innovation. He is also a passionate Disney fan. As an expert in nonprofit leadership, Dave has inspired thousands of nonprofit leaders to grow both personally and organizationally. He is the author of ‘The Rise of Sustainable Giving: How the Subscription Economy Is Transforming Recurring Giving and What Nonprofits Can Do to Benefit,’ which comes out February 4th, 2025. He writes a weekly innovation and leadership column called The Wave Report. In addition, Dave co-founded the Purpose and Profit Podcast, exploring the intersection of nonprofit causes and for-profit brands and highlighting innovative ways generosity can manifest across sectors. He joined us today to talk about the intersection of AI and generosity in fundraising.  

We start the conversation with Dave sharing his journey, the intersection of business and technology, his passion for social causes, and how these experiences led him to the world of nonprofit fundraising and sustainable giving. Then Nathan and Dave talk about the importance of crisis moments in life and how we respond to them. They believe that personal and professional growth can be achieved by overcoming challenges. They further mention that choosing growth over being a victim is what shapes our characters.  

Further down in the conversation, we cover the following topics regarding sustainable giving: subscription economy, recurring giving, a strategic approach to building a thriving recurring giving program, the biggest mistakes in building a subscription, the power of identity & belonging in a community, the future of sustainable giving, and more.  

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

  • [04.19] Dave shares his journey from growing up in poverty to his interest in ideas and computers.
  • [08.45] The importance of crisis moments in personal and professional growth.
  • [11.50] Dave’s new book “The Rise of Sustainable Giving”.
  • [15.24] Subscription economy and recurring giving.
  • [15.24] Subscription economy and recurring giving.
  • [23.46] Building a sustainable recurring giving program.
  • [29.10] The biggest mistakes when building a subscription.
  • [35.38] The future of sustainable giving and the role of technology in achieving it.

TIPS AND TOOLS TO IMPLEMENT TODAY

  • Find value in challenges. Difficult experiences have the greatest impact on shaping resilience and perspective.
  • Continue curiosity and explore new things in this ever-changing world.
  • Take a moment to reflect on how you can respond in a way that leads to growth when facing challenges.
  • Every setback is an opportunity to grow, personal or professional.
  • Never let your past define who you intend to be.
  • To grow a sustainable giving program, know your current donor base and revenue.
  • Once you’ve benchmarked your current situation, use this information to set realistic goals and track progress.
  • Avoid the "set-and-forget" mindset. Invest in long-term relationships with regular communication and appreciation.
  • Rather than seeing your donors as sources of funding, engage them in a way that makes them feel like part of the mission and community.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

FAVORITE QUOTES

  • “We're all on this journey of understanding who are we, who are we made to be, what are natural interests strengths, and weaknesses, what are the things we're good at, we're not good at, that we're interested in?.” –Dave Raley
  • “We were born at a time in history, we were born into a family, we have lived experiences that have shaped who we are, both good and bad, and often it's it's the scarring experiences that candidly, tend to shape us the most.” –Dave Raley
  • “Sometimes it's the scarring things that create the most growth.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “When bad things happen, how you respond to that is really how you develop character.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “I truly believe that my most difficult, personal, and professional experiences have led to the most growth, but that takes a conscious effort to do that right. Otherwise, you just become a victim and you just repeat the same cycle over and over again.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “Someone framed it to me, what if the worst thing that's happening to you is actually the best thing that could have ever happened and in our orientation around how we process that.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “Lots of words don't equal retention.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “Things that are unacceptable today will be completely acceptable in the future, and the pace of which happens faster and faster.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “Sounding authentic is not the same as being authentic.” –Nathan Chappell
  • “There's a real advantage to seeing something, and then as it's gaining steam, then jumping on.” –Dave Raley

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MEET YOUR HOSTS

Nathan Chappell

As a thought leader, public speaker, author and inventor, Nathan is one of the world’s foremost experts on the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and philanthropy. Nathan serves as Senior Vice President of DonorSearch AI, where he leads AI deployments for some of the nation’s largest nonprofit organizations. Nathan’s subject matter expertise has been featured in several publications, including Fast Company, University of Notre Dame and the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy. In 2021, Nathan founded Fundraising.Ai as a member-centric collaboration of nonprofit professionals with a focus on data ethics, data equality, privacy and security, sustainability. Nathan presented the first TEDx on the topic of artificial intelligence and the future of generosity in 2018. Nathan is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Administration from University of Notre Dame, an MBA from University of Redlands, a certificate in International Economics from University of Cambridge and a certificate in Artificial Intelligence from MIT.

Scott Rosenkrans

Scott Rosenkrans is the Assistant Vice President of DonorSearch Ai and has been with the organization for three years. He began his journey in the nonprofit sector twelve years ago as a prospect researcher. He quickly became fascinated with data as he noticed the organization that he previously worked for was amassing a wealth of information but was unsure how to efficiently use the data and resources to its full potential. This led him to become interested in predictive modeling and data analytics. During this time, he began to create an immense commitment to delivering tailor-made machine learning models to nonprofits.

The thing that Scott loves most about working for DonorSearch is the ability to prioritize what is best for the client and nonprofit sector above all else. He believes that growth is our most important core value because the DSAi team continuously evolves and brings a unique perspective that provides value to our clients. He stays ahead of industry trends because of his insatiable drive to constantly try out new things.

Favorite nonprofit: Shriner’s Children Hospital because of their extreme commitment to providing exceptional medical care, while also alleviating the financial burdens on families.