The ENGAGE Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

National Doctors' Day is observed on March 30th to honor physicians for their dedication and contributions to society and their community. This date can be a great opportunity to fundraise for your healthcare organization by sharing your successes and challenges with donors. Join Tracey Bozzelli, managing director for the healthcare vertical in customer success at Blackbaud, and Paul St. Onge, co-founder of Doing Good Digital, for ideas on donor outreach through digital strategy.

Topics discussed:

• Deciding on a fundraising strategy
• Focusing on donor stewardship
• Direct email messaging
• Engaging the patient file for donor acquisition
• Existing patient donors
• Honoring the caregiver

Resources:

Webinar: Online Fundraising Strategies for Doctors' Day

Taking Doctors’ Day Beyond the Direct Mail Appeal | The ENGAGE Blog

Doing Good Digital: Weighing the Pros and Cons of Doctors' Day

Quotes:

"The trick is to really engage that patient file throughout those twelve months and again when we get to one of those tentpole moments like Doctors' Day."

"I'd recommend if you have some non-solicitation and communication that's going out at the start of month start, tease out the fact that Doctors' Day is coming up, tease out some some nice stories about some of the doctors that are on your staff."

"When we think of some of the basics when it comes to a successful Doctors' Day campaign, warming up the audience is part of it."

Andrew Troup, Director of Giving & Engagement at Blackbaud, speaks with Brandolon Barnett, Head of Innovation & Philanthropy at Giving Compass, about the merging of artificial intelligence (AI) and social impact. What are the opportunities for AI and what are the potential pitfalls?

Topics covered in this episode:

• The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence

• Experimenting with user testing

• The donor’s journey using AI

• Leveraging AI tools for annual reports and donor outreach

• Creating consumable content for machines

• Importance of cyber security

• Risk of AI in job replacement

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Quotes:

“We really need to be cognizant of the risk of creating a kind of feedback loop. What happens when AI is learning from the data that’s online?”

“You would be surprised how many organizations of all sizes put out annual reports […] through their website or through pdfs that aren't easily machine readable and you really have to start thinking about, ‘Can ChatGPT or similar tools read our annual report?’”

“AI is really uniquely positioned to provide a lot of opportunity, especially for those that have not typically had that opportunity in the past to access or to leverage technology.”

How much impact does volunteerism have on our wellbeing? 

Hear from Jude O'Reilley, CEO of VolunteerMatch, as he talks with Blackbaud's social responsiblity manager Melissa Furr about how volunteerism is closely tied to personal health and wellbeing. Jude and Melissa share how you can incorporate volunteering in the workplace and acheive the feeling of being connected to something larger than oneself.

Topics covered in this episode:

• What is VolunteerMatch?
• A longing for community
• The four pillars of wellbeing
• Best practices
• Employee Input
• Physical, Financial, Emotional, Social, and Intellectual wellness
• VolunteerMatch's new campaign Get that Grin

Resources:

Get that Grin

VolunteerMatch

Edelman Trust Barometer

Quotes:

"One best practice is to think beyond the volunteer day."

"We shouldn't underestimate employees themselves being the key motivator for other employees."

"Most people rely on colleagures and their employer for information that they trust the most."

What does branding mean for nonprofit organizations, and how has it evolved to now require a comprehensive digital strategy?

Joining the podcast today is Farra Trompeter, chief growth officer of Big Duck and the co-author of an article about branding in the Blackbaud Institute’s new 2020 npEXPERTS eBook. Listen in to hear Farra talk to Steve MacLaughlin about the evolution of the marketing and branding tools that nonprofits need to think about using, understanding your why and who your why is for, and the importance of staff in upholding brand image.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• How nonprofit branding has evolved over the past seven years since Farra’s article in the original npEXPERTS book.
• How the ways that nonprofits use communications and digital marketing tools has changed
• Knowing why you’re using the tools the way that you are
• Understanding the why for your organization
• The intersection between branding and culture
• The importance of staff members upholding the brand image
• Combining speed and accuracy in communications to build trust and engagement
• How outreach and communication has shifted over the last few months
• How it helps to get feedback

Resources:

Farra Trompeter

npEXPERTS 2020 - published by the Blackbaud Institute

Quotes: 

“Thinking about your audiences and goals as it connects to your mission I think has been around for a while, and it’s still the right way to go about deciding what approach you should take, and then related to that approach, what tools you should use.”

“The staff are the people who are representing the organization day in and day out, and if my experience with that staff person is not one that in some way reinforces what I’m hoping for, then again that organization is not going to be able to uphold that desired perception.”

“What I hope to see is that momentum continue through the summer into the fall. I hope it’s not just a moment.”

Over the past months, racial equity and racial justice have come to the forefront of public consciousness and advocacy in the U.S. and around the world. And while this has also been a topic of discussion in philanthropy for some time, there is a real opportunity now for all social good organizations to really respond in a meaningful way that effects change.

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Marcus Walton, President & CEO of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO). Listen in to hear Marcus talk about the current movement, the steps that responsive philanthropy must take to advance racial equity, and how all social good organizations can approach their work through a racial equity lens.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Marcus’s background as a leader in philanthropy and in working on racial equity initiatives
• What GEO does and how it’s working with members
• Whether Marcus is hopeful that the current moment will move the needle on racial equity
• Steps that responsive philanthropy needs to take to advance racial equity
• What advice Marcus would give to funders right now
• Why it’s critical for all social good organizations to look at their work through a racial equity lens
• The importance of partnerships and data

Resources:

Marcus Walton

Article: "Hope is Not a Strategy for Change"

GEO's Vision for Smarter Grantmaking

Marcus Walton's Resource List on Leadership and Racial Equity

Quotes: 

“I can only be hopeful, because I’ve seen how quickly change can happen.”

“What I’m observing on one hand is an inclination to do something, to react.”

“Before we make a decision and head down a particular course of action, let’s ground ourselves in the current moment.”

How do leaders embrace their role in the new normal today? What does it mean to lead strategically and purposefully?  The experts in today’s webinar will answer these questions.

Listen in to hear Eddie Thompson, Founder and CEO of Thompson & Associates, Mark McCampbell, Senior Vice President of Advancement Resources, and Betsy Chapin Taylor, CEO of Accordant, talk about the challenges of leadership during times of change, why purpose and values are central to good leadership, and the importance of reconsidering strategy right now to lead your organization into a successful future.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• The role of leaders in today’s changing new normal
• Why who you are is more important than what you do
• How values lead to actions
• Leadership strategies
• Affirming your organization’s vision
• Thinking about areas that need to be pruned or changed going forward
• The importance of connecting meaningfully
• Considering strategic decisions
• Holding board members accountable
• Using board members as fundraisers
• Thinking about how to go after major gifts in the future

Resources:

Eddie Thompson

Mark McCampbell

Betsy Chapin Taylor

WEBINAR: Leadership During Times of Change

TIP SHEET: 8 Things Successful Healthcare Philanthropy Leaders are Doing Right Now

ARTICLE: 6 Tips for Managing a Virtual Workforce

Quotes: 

“When you’re authentic, you’re being yourself, and you’re leading from who you are, that’s really the place to be.” –Mark McCampbell

“I think that we are unfortunately entering a period in our hospitals of austerity.” –Betsy Chapin Taylor

“I want to encourage you to reconsider having perpetual naming rights.” –Eddie Thompson

Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of purpose. But what does it really mean to have a purpose-led organization? And how can you help your organization more effectively put its purpose into practice?

That’s what today’s guest, Bobbi Silten, managing director of the Shared Value Initiative, is here to discuss. Bobbi explains the importance of leading with purpose, the role of shared value and why you need to understand your organization’s cultural dynamics to succeed in being purpose driven. She also discusses The Purpose Playbook, which was recently released by Shared Initiative as an actionable guide for practitioners looking to lead change in their organizations and society.

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• What the Shared Value Initiative does and how it originated
• The definition of shared value
• Being a purpose led organization
• What the Purpose Playbook teaches practitioners about leading change
• Why it’s important to have a grounding in leading with purpose
• The importance of understanding an organization’s cultural dynamics

Resources:

Bobbi Silten

The Purpose Playbook from the Shared Value Initiative

CSR 2020: Experts Look Ahead

Quotes: 

“Our whole philosophy in building this playbook is that it’s not a cookie-cutter approach.”

“First you have to, as a company, get really clear about what your reason for being is, and your reason beyond profits alone.”

“The more a leader can understand the cultural dynamics of their organization, the more than can use it or start to dial down the things that are getting in the way.”

What do you need to know about talent management to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your team? Today’s episode features an excerpt from Part One of a three-part Blackbaud webinar about how better talent management can up your fundraising game. In the excerpt, you’ll hear from Eric Bowman, talent manager at Texas A&M Foundation. Listen in to hear what Eric has to say about what talent management is, the building blocks of talent management, and the importance of determining your organization’s mission, values, goals, and strategies.

After listening to the episode, click on the link to the webinar in the Resources section to watch the full recording, where you'll hear from Stacy Rooney, business consultant principal at Blackbaud, whose discussions will also include how to seamlessly integrate core fundraising systems into your talent management practices

Topics Discussed in This Episode:

• Eric’s background
• What talent management means
• Examples of function areas of talent management
• The building blocks to effective, aligned, coordinated talent management
• Determining mission, values, goals, and strategies
• Talking and thinking about competencies
• Building core processes
• The new-hire experience
• Making sure that people can grow in their role

Resources:

Eric Bowman

Webinar Series: How Better Talent Management Can Up Your Fundraising Game

White Paper: Blackbaud's Strategic Guide to Effective Talent Management

Quotes: 

“The ultimate driver to an organization’s success are its people.”

“Having a defined vision, mission or purpose, and values are critical to help the entire organization know why they exist, where they are going, how they will get there, and how they should act along the way.”

“You cannot expect CRM-level performance if you only have Excel-level resources.”

As part of our series on the Future of Nonprofit Finance, Blackbaud’s Sarah Curry sat down with George Werbacher, the Senior Manager for Information Security at Blackbaud, to discuss how nonprofit organizations can prioritize cyber security in 2023. George talks through how organizations can see data security as an investment and highlights how implementing controls helps the organization do more to drive impact. He explains how organizations can do a “threat model” to start an open dialog about where the risks are, including who is using data and how that’s being used.

Resources:

• Full Webinar: Speed-Round: Preparing for the Future of Nonprofit Accounting – Don't Get Left Behind!
• Compliance Risk Management for the Empowered Nonprofit 
• Internal Controls Toolkit

In this excerpt of a conversation with Satonya Fair, President and CEO of PEAK Grantmaking, she encourages grantmaking organizations to rethink their relationship with risk. Instead of focusing on being responsible for the foundation, she recommends looking to how organizations build deeper relationships with applicants and grantees and be poised to be responsive to the needs of the community.

• PEAK Grantmaking
• The Myth of Risk: Fear Not the Dragons, Funder
• Full Webinar