June 27, 2018

Episode 34 - How the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's Tax Law Changes Affect Nonprofit Fundraising and Philanthropy

June 27, 2018/ Sean MacCready

Today we talk about how 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017 affects the work of nonprofit fundraising and the ways donors are incentivized or disincentivized to give philanthropically through the tax code. We'll discuss the charitable tax deduction laws, the standard deduction changes, the impact of changes in SALT (State and Local Taxes) deductability, the increase of the estate tax exemption, the reduction in marginal tax rates, which businesses and individuals benefit from the tax law changes, whose giving is likely to increase and decrease, and what tools nonprofits can use to encourage wise giving methods from their donors such as Donor Advised Funds, shifting from seasonal giving appeals to cause and need-based giving appeals, and more.

June 27, 2018

Episode 33 - An interview with Brian Gawor "The Giving Geek" & VP of Research at Ruffalo Noel Levitz - Modern Phonathons and How They Reinvigorate Your Fundraising

June 27, 2018/ Sean MacCready

This week on The Philanthropy Podcast, Brian Gower, Vice President of Research at Ruffalo Noel Levitz discuss the modern phonathon and its place in your fundraising plan. Brian touches on what you need in place before launching your phonathon, how phonathons aid data collection, the returns you might expect, how to integrate the phonathon and social media, thank-a-thons, how your phonathon callers can build your pipeline to development staff hiring and more. If you think you know everything about the phonathon or think this fundraising tool is stuck in the age of landlines and boring scripts, listen to Brian and realize that like all programs, if your fundamentals are sound and you're willing to stay with the times, any program can be a success for your office.

Links in this week's episode:

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Ruffalo Noel Levitz - Research and Papers - Research and Papers

Fundraising Voices Podcast

Brian Gawor - Twitter

October 30, 2017

Episode 27 - Donor retention, its importance and how to retain your loyal donors!

October 30, 2017/ Sean MacCready

This week on The Philanthropy Podcast, I discuss donor retention, its importance, and what we can do to improve our organization's donor retention. I explore some of the systemic need for better retention efforts, how we can be donor-centric in our approach, and the latest research on donor retention in the non-profit sector.

October 12, 2017

Episode 26 - Research based fundraising resources to improve your practice with evidence

October 12, 2017/ Sean MacCready

This week on The Philanthropy Podcast, I highlight fundraising resources available to you that are research based and which cite their methods and sources. This episode came as a result of searching for annual appeal techniques that are backed by evidence and struggling to find them. We look at four main resources, The Science of Philanthropy Initiative, the Lilly School of Philanthropy, the Social Innovation Review, and NextAfter to examine what each offers, how they might be useful to you in your practice, and how we can all contribute to a more evidence based approach in our field.