Million Dollar Nonprofit – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the Million Dollar Nonprofit Podcast, we're joined by Miranda Roberts, a seasoned fundraiser and relationship builder at Foundation Communities, to dive deep into the art of donor stewardship.

Discover proven strategies to align donor goals with your nonprofit's mission, ensuring long-term engagement and increased donations.

Learn how to connect with donors on a personal level, understand their motivations, and communicate effectively to foster lasting relationships.

Whether you're a small nonprofit or aiming to scale, this conversation is packed with actionable insights to help you reach that million-dollar donation milestone. Don't miss out on these valuable tips to boost your nonprofit's success!

What You'll Learn

• Discover what donor stewardship really means and how it’s more than just securing one-time gifts.
• Uncover the art of building long-lasting relationships with donors, including corporate sponsors, individual supporters, and volunteers.
• Learn how to connect with your donors on a personal level—by understanding their motivations and how they prefer to engage.
• Explore the keys to successful communication and how tailoring your outreach to each donor can deepen your relationships.
• Find out how to scale stewardship efforts, even as a small nonprofit, without feeling overwhelmed.
• Hear real-life examples of building meaningful donor relationships and the powerful impact of personal connections.

Connect with Miranda - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirandacagleroberts/

Connect with Tom -

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomkelly5/

https://realtomkelly.com/

Welcome to Million Dollar Insights, a new segment with your host, Tom Kelly! In these quick, 10-minute solo episodes, we'll explore key strategies on a focused topic. Today, we’re diving into the essentials of creating a successful fundraising strategy

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your approach, a strong fundraising strategy is vital for your nonprofit’s success. In this quick guide, I’ll cover the key components of setting clear goals, identifying your target donors, leveraging various fundraising channels, and crafting compelling campaigns. Learn how to use tools like donor management systems and Google Ad Grants to maximize your impact.

Tune in to discover actionable tips that you can implement right away to boost your fundraising efforts. If you find this episode valuable, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review to support our mission of delivering helpful content.

Stay tuned for our next episode, where we'll explore building strong donor relationship management systems. Until then, keep pushing forward and remember, no money, no mission!

Clare is the Founder and President of Skydog Sanctuary and has been working with wild horses for over 10 years. Clare is a qualified EAGALA Equine Therapist and helps manage the two ranches where the sanctuaries call home. She is a long-time wild horse advocate and Skydog is the culmination of a lifelong passion to save and protect wild mustangs now and forever. Clare eats, breathes, and sleeps Skydog. She manages the social media, answers emails, fundraises for each rescue, cultivates donors and celebrity supporters, takes photographs and videos of the rescues, and is hands-on in every aspect of the Ranch from head to toe.   
The knowledge she has acquired of wild horses, their plight, and the political manipulation and abuse of these cherished icons of the American West over the last decade makes her one of the leading experts on mustangs and wild horse issues but she has never lost her personal hands-on approach to each and every equine Skydog rescue. Clare has used a lifetime of being around some of the brightest and best to apply what she has learned for the benefit of wild horses and has grown Skydog Ranch from nothing to the leading Wild Horse sanctuary in the World. Skydog was recently verified with a coveted blue tick, as a brand leader, a social influencer, and famous around the entire world raising awareness for the American Mustang in every corner of the globe.
Here is what to expect on this week’s show:
- Skydog Sanctuary Founder's Horse Rescue Mission
- Volunteer Engagement: Growing Advocacy Voices for Equines
- Legislation Changes: Advocating for Equine Welfare Rights
- Advocating for Wild Horse Conservation and Wellness
- From Glamour to Grace: Clare's Journey to Sanctuary
Guest Contact Info:  Website: https://www.skydogranch.org/

Erin Davison oversees the largest donor-and volunteer-supported mentoring network in the region. BBBS of SWLA makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and children ("Littles"), ages 6 through 18, in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jeff Davis, and Vernon Parishes. BBBS develops positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. With 30,000 youth on a waiting list for mentors, Erin is in the trenches working diligently to deliver justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to the often-marginalized youth in her program and community. She is a passionate advocate working to help young people overcome the odds and achieve their full potential.
Erin is a seasoned Nonprofit leader with over 25 years of fundraising, grant writing, program design and development, community outreach, and human resources experience. She holds an MBA and a BS in Sociology with a minor in Social Work. She has been recognized for her vision and leadership as a Leading Lady in Business, CABL Leadership member, Thriving 30-Somethings, Ellevate member and more. She found creative ways to sustain her organization and programs during a global pandemic and four natural disaster while building capacity. Here is what to expect on this week’s show:
- Engaging Donors Through Effective Storytelling and Tangible Impact
- Maintaining Support Through Transparency and Communication During Crises
- Innovation in Nonprofit Programs: Strategies for Long-Term Success
- Transformative Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations
- Promoting Positive Mentorships: Connecting Volunteers with Children in Need
Guest Contact Info:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-thibodeaux-davison-mba-she-her-47b6a164/

Harley Jones is a mission-driven professional with eighteen years of experience as a leader in the nonprofit and emergency response space. He specializes in leadership, mission growth, and using data to communicate impact. His experience ranges from the frontlines of disasters around the world to work changing systems, fighting poverty, and working for social justice. At Project HOPE, Jones manages the organization’s domestic projects and creates strategic partnerships aimed at mission growth and increasing health equity.Here is what to expect on this week’s show:
- Enhancing Organizational Support Through Regular Donor Communication
- The Importance of Diversity in Leadership for Innovation Success
- Donor Engagement Through Impact Communication
- Cultivating Trust-Based Community Partnerships for Empowerment
- Strategic Partnerships: The Key to Global Health Preparedness
Guest Contact Info:  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harleyajones

Dame Natalie Ledwell is a bestselling author, host of the podcast, Not Over, Just Different, co-host of the cable TV show WAKE UP, and founder of Mind Movies, the hugely successful and revolutionary online Personal Development company that has reached over 10 million people worldwide, empowering them to achieve their dreams through life-changing online programs. 
Natalie has launched the groundbreaking Social and Emotional Learning curriculum, "Personal Growth Studies", into schools in the US, designed to empower youth from ages 5-18+ to live fulfilling and successful lives with high self-esteem and a vision for a bright future.  Listen to this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit with Natalie Ledwell about Creating a Vision for Change: Mind Movies' Impactful Mission. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week’s show:
-The importance of emotional intelligence in education
-The challenges, successes, and best practices in collaborating with schools and communities
-Supporting teachers' mental health and emotional well-being, especially in the face of increased stress and challenges.
-How Mind Movies is created for children to support their mental health and emotional intelligence, emphasizing the importance of goal setting and visualization.
-Natalie's advocacy for proactive support and open communication to combat issues like depression and suicide.
Connect with Natalie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalieledwell/

Links Mentioned: http://www.mindmovies.com

Donald Summers is the Founder and CEO of Altruist Partners, a social impact advisory firm that accelerates growth and impact for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations across the US and around the world. Altruist has helped hundreds of mission-driven organizations around the world solve their toughest challenges, generate hundreds of millions in new revenue and capital, strengthen their boards, staff and volunteer teams, and deliver some of today's most important social change efforts.
 
Donald is the Founder and executive director of the Altruist Accelerator, the firm's nonprofit arm that delivers the Altruist Growth and Impact Methodology to ambitious nonprofits and NGOs of all mission types and stages of growth.
 
 He is the author of the #1 New Nonprofit Release on Amazon: Scaling Altruism: A Proven Pathway for Accelerating Nonprofit Growth and Impact, a comprehensive, practical guide for transforming small to mid-size nonprofits into well-funded, high-impact change agents. Research and essays have also been published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Listen to this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit with Donald Summers about strategies for nonprofit growth. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week’s show:
- How the mission of Altruist Partners is to help nonprofits scale effectively. - Why scaling nonprofits is inherently difficult.- How nonprofits face unique obstacles compared to for-profit businesses. - Why it’s critical for a nonprofit to have sustainable revenue and capital for growth. - How people in the nonprofit world need to overcome the stigma around using business practices.
Connect with Donald:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donald-summers-56654a6/ 

Links Mentioned: altruistpartners.com

Join us in shining a light on The Hunger Project, an organization dedicated to creating a world without hunger. Led by passionate individuals like Jim Goodman, their Senior Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving, are committed to fostering resilience, courage, ingenuity, and creativity in the fight against hunger and poverty.

At the heart of their work is the Vision, Commitment, and Action (VCA) workshop, where communities are empowered to envision their own future and take tangible steps toward achieving it. They believe that every person has the right to be the author of their own development.

By challenging top-down charity models, they focus on grassroots self-reliance, empowering women, and forging effective partnerships with local governments. Through holistic programs in education, agriculture, health, and microfinance, they equip individuals with the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty.

Join them in making a difference. Together, we can end hunger and transform lives!

🔗 Learn more about The Hunger Project

https://thp.org/

To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to mental health awareness and support. 

We sat down with Co-Executive Director Of TWLOHA Lindsay Kolsch to chat about all things mental health for Mental Health Awareness month!

To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Founded in 2006 by Jamie Tworkowski after he helped his friend Renee Yohe, who was struggling with depression, substance use, self-harm, and suicide attempts. Jamie's story about Renee, shared online, sparked a global movement to provide hope and help to those battling mental health issues.

Since its inception, TWLOHA has responded to over hundreds of thousands of people in more than 100 countries, traveled over 3.8 million miles to meet people in their communities, and donated over $3 million to treatment and recovery efforts. 

The organization also works with families affected by mental health challenges and provides support and access to care.

Check out some of their free resources on their website

Mental Health Toolkit - https://twloha.com/mental-health-toolkit/ 

The Hopeful App - https://link.twloha.com/thehopeful

The Find Help Tool - https://twloha.com/find-help/

Their Website - https://twloha.com/

In this episode, we dive into the remarkable work of Food Rescue US, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to combating food insecurity and reducing food waste across the United States. Discover how this volunteer-driven organization, founded in 2011, has provided 183 million meals and saved 152 million pounds of food from landfills.

Learn about Food Rescue US's mission to "fill plates, not landfills," and explore their innovative web-based app that streamlines donation organization and scheduling. Hear inspiring success stories, including a recent collaboration with a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant that resulted in 800 meals for those in need in the Chicago area.

We also discuss the organization's long-term goals, the challenges they face, and how they measure their impact. Whether you're passionate about community service, food security, or sustainability, this episode offers valuable insights and ways to get involved.

Tune in to find out how you can support Food Rescue US by donating surplus food, volunteering, or contributing monetarily. Together, we can make a significant impact on food waste and hunger in our communities.