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Nonprofit Leadership Podcast
How Can We Best Navigate the New Guidelines for Corporate Giving?
00:36:38
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A
This is Dr. Rob Harder with the Nonprofit Leadership podcast, Making youg World Better. What does it take to be an effective nonprofit leader today? What are the biggest challenges? What are the biggest obstacles? How should nonprofits fundraise in an economy that is constantly changing? All these reasons combined led me to start this show and it's my hope that through this series, people can learn not only what it takes to be an effective nonprofit organization, but to hear from effective leaders who are are successfully making a positive impact in their communities. We hope you enjoy the show as together we hear how they are making their world better. Well, hey everyone, this is Rob Harder and you're listening to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. Thanks for tuning in today. You know, you probably are aware that there are some new giving provisions when it comes to charitable giving that was built in the federal spending bill that impacts how corporations give to nonprofits. If you're not familiar with this, this is exactly the episode you want to listen to because I've got an expert, really here that can help navigate through the changes now in the tax treatment of corporate donations. My guest is Matt Nash. He's the executive director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund and he's going to talk all about what should we as nonprofits be aware of? What do we need to do to prepare for these changes? How will it impact our relationship, say, with small, medium and large corporations? And is there a difference in how we should approach that? Is there a financial risk, nonprofits when it comes to maybe your dependence on certain corporate gifts? He has a lot of information about the specifics of these changes and how it may impact corporate giving. And he also gives us solutions as to how you ought to address this with your nonprofit organization. It really is a fascinating conversation. We're going to have a lot of different links in the show notes to give you some more information after this episode, but it's one you definitely want to lean into, particularly now that there are some new rules around the treatment of corporate donations. So again, always love having you here. Thanks for tuning in. Now onto the show. This podcast is sponsored by DonorBox Donor Box, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business.
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Welcome to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast with Rob Harder. I'm Mike Lee. I live in Washington, D.C. and I'm a listener just like you. We are all on a leadership journey looking for ways to learn and grow.
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Each week.
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I look forward to hearing Rob's latest discussion with his guests. I invite you to join us. Thanks for listening. Now here's Rob.
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A
Well, welcome everybody and thanks so much for joining us today. I've got a special guest, Matt Nash. Matt is the executive director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund. My guess is you may have heard of Blackbaud. I know we've used their CRM in the past and, and maybe you have too as an executive director or board member or sometime along the way in your work. And what I think is always interesting when we get guests on the show that can provide you with a little bit different and maybe even a broader perspective than just a nonprofit organization is it gives us context for things outside that impact directly our nonprofit sector and the social impact sector as a whole. And Matt's going to do that today. We're going to talk a lot about a lot of different things. My guess is that's not a typical conversation on this show. And that's why I'm excited to have you on the show, Matt. So than for joining us today.
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C
Well, it's my pleasure, Rob. I'm glad to have time to talk.
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A
You got it. Okay. So I always like to give my listeners a little bit of a background on my guest. And so yeah, just tell a little about your story. What has led you in your career so far and specifically what has led you to, to be the executive director there of the Blackbaud Giving Fund?
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C
Yeah, sure. Well, I, you know, I've always had a penchant for giving and volunteering through even ever since I was younger and spent a long career in financial services. And toward the end of the my time in financial services, I had the opportunity to work at Fidelity Cheritl, which is a large donor advised fund sponsor. And you know, I had, that had gave me a chance to combine my career aspirations and my love for the whole philanthropic sector. And after I finished up with Fidelity, I spent a year and a half working on the Generosity Commission, which was a large project looking to raise the number of people in America that give and volunteer. We weren't looking to go after more money. We're looking to go after get more people engaged. And that was a very interesting and complex project to work on. And that really led me to the Blackbaud Giving Fund because fellow member of the commission worked for Blackbaud and they were looking to start up the Blackbaud Giving Fund as a way to support their workplace giving programs that they do as well as peer to peer fundraising that they offer here in the US So I've been working with the Giving fund out for almost six years and really enjoying it and doing what I can to bring funds and prosperity to people that work in the nonprofit sector.
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A
Yeah. Well, again, I love your perspective on that. Okay, let's dive into some of these specific issues because I think this is going to be really informative for my listeners. So first, let's talk about this new charitable giving provision in the federal spending bill that has changed the tax treatment of corporate donations. Maybe explain that for my listeners. What has changed, first of all, and what are the potential ripple effects for nonprofit profits that really depend on corporate philanthropy? And maybe just one little piece to that, too, because I've had a lot of folks on the show recently talk about fundraising in the American context. Specifically, there's been a huge slashing of federal funding. Right. And what I've seen with corporate donations and corporate foundations that have been on the show, there's more pressure now on these corporate philanthropic efforts to give even more to more organizations because the federal funding has dried up. So that's the context. In my mind, this is even becoming more important to nonprofits to lean, if you will, on. On corporate philanthropy. So. Yeah, so tell us a little bit more about that. And I think this is an important way to start.
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C
Yeah, well, as you might imagine, given the fact that we support workplace giving programs, this is a pretty interesting topic to us. And when it came out, we were all over the bill in terms of what impact it had and what it actually contained. And just to start with the basics, you know, up until this bill was passed, which will take place in January 1st of 2026, you know, a corporation could donate their funds to charities, and it was a deductible expense, up to 10% of the income of a. Of a corporation. And that's been that way for quite some time. But now what they've done, the new law says that there's a minimum hurdle that you have to get over, and it's a 1% income hurdle. Now, that's significant because if you look at what corporations have done historically, the average is about 0.9%. And so the hurdle point is very close to what most corporations do. And so what it does is it says, okay, look, you can give. There's not a problem with giving, but up until 1% of your income, it's not a deductible expense. It's an expense. It's just not a deductible expense. And that could have some implications for forgiving. Now, we'll get into it more detail, but it's more nuanced than you think. Right. So that's a tax. And if you just look at how corporations manage their taxes. Yes, corporate giving is a way to, is one of the tools they have in their toolbox. But it turns out it's not the major one. And the reason for that is that it's the all corporate giving has a five year carry forward for a loss for a business, which is you would think good, except that other types of expenses like operating expenses, investment expenses to grow their business in the future, it's a 20 year carry forward. And so it really makes the corporate giving a tool, probably not the most powerful tool for them to manage their taxes by, which actually is a good thing in the course of this conversation because you got to ask the question, well then what do corporations, why do corporations give? And really I think it comes down to two things. One is brand image and then they're very closely tied to that is their, their position in the local communities that they operate in. It's, it's their, their reputation in the communities along with the brand image that are the primary reasons for, for why they give. So we'll talk more about, you know, some of the more nuances behind it. But I think fundamentally the biggest impact of it isn't the fact that it's going to really, you know, take a hard knock at their giving. It might change some other focus of it because of their, of the purpose, which is, you know, marketing and, and brand image.
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A
Okay, and we'll go into a couple more questions, but do you think in general, again this across the board, do you think corporate donors will give a little bit more in order to overcome that threshold and then really seek to get that tax write off?
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C
Interestingly, they might give more when they're having a bad year because if you think about it, because it's based on how much you earn. So if you're earning, if you're having a really good year, that 1% number becomes a much higher number than if you have a really bad year. And so it's almost got reverse logic where the potential might be to you hear the thing of sometimes people will say, well let's batch things together, bunch them together. Right? In this case, a corporation might decide to bunch when they're having a particularly bad year as opposed to trying to bunch when they're having a particularly good year.
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A
Yeah, that makes sense actually. The reverse logic on that, that makes sense actually. Okay, so let's talk about the policy shift. To what extent does the policy shift really increase the financial risks perhaps for small and mid sized nonprofits? And what types of programs and services are most likely to feel this impact first. In your opinion?
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C
What I'm seeing is that it's creating a little bit more of a step back and focus on well, what is it that we're doing and why are we doing it. And that gets back to well, if we're going to not get a tax deduction for it, we should get some return. We should be thinking more about the return we get on it. And that return doesn't necessarily have to come in return on investment, but it should come in terms of brand image and the marketing kind of side. And so what I see is that the corporations are maybe narrowing down a bit of their focus. And so if a corporation was doing a wide range of things before, as they narrow down, the places that they're going to narrow away from are going to be, you know, on their mark, that they're currently on the margins, you know, something that they're experimenting with something that just tied to, you know, somebody, an executive that has a pet project or, or something like that. And so if your nonprofit is one of those people that is on that margin, then you're going to be at risk of losing that particular corporation as somebody who supports you.
- [10:55]
A
Interesting. Okay, so as I'm thinking of my listeners who most they're involved at some level, either a full time staff member of a nonprofit organization or they're on the board, they're executive directors, development directors. What immediate and practical actions can social impact organizations take to either sustain or grow corporate giving, particularly among those small mid sized businesses that now may face weaker tax incentives to donate?
- [11:18]
C
Yeah, well, let's start with the sustaining part. Right? So if you're having a partner now, if you have a good corporate partner now today, now would be the time to double down on them, right? You really want to make sure that how are you interacting with them? What is your cause in terms of, is it really supporting what's important to them? Are you involved with volunteer activities with their employees? If so, are they working? I would really work hard to check with them each time you run a cycle because a lot of times it's. The fall is when all the big give back days and volunteer days that tend to happen. So this would be a good time now to go bet circle back with those companies and say, hey, how did it work last year? This is what our observations are. Here's some ideas we could have to make it better. One of your thoughts, just so that it ties things together and one of the things that nonprofits should remember is that these corporations aren't flush with people and resources to run these programs, especially these large corporations, they're often a very small number of people. There might be one or two people that run programs for 100,000 employees and 25 different countries around the world. And it's overwhelming for them to do their job. And, and the more that you can do for them, the more that you can make it a highly leveraged activity for them, the much more success that you're gonna have. So that's the doubling downside. Now if you're not in with a corporation, then it's all about how are you aligned, right? How does your mission align with that organization? And that's a part that you really need to do your homework on because it is a waste of time to do the blast emails and try to get people's attention. It's a waste of your time, it's a waste of the corporation's time. You really need to do your homework. And luckily there's a lot of information out there nowadays about what corporations are doing and you get great AI tools to help you research what's going on out there. And so if you can do your homework and you can appeal to people that you can find within that organization that might have some connection to you, might have a connection to, a board member might have a connect, they may have been a donor to you in the past, it's always helpful to start there, get the dialogue going and see if it can, if it can grow from there.
- [13:46]
A
That's good advice, very helpful in terms of getting that advice and connecting with corporate donors. I'm assuming I'm going to guess what you're going to say, but just to, you know, for those who are still new at building these relationships with corporate donors, what are some of the first steps that if you're in that boat where you need to make sure you are aligned with the values of the corporation you're hoping to get support from. What are those first steps you would encourage a nonprofit social impact organization to do?
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C
Well, I would first start with saying which corporations do you know? So if you're a local, you know, small organization in a, in a mid sized city, there's, you know, so many corporations that are in that city. If you know people there, then I would say research what they're doing. You know, like a regional bank for instance, is often very much community oriented and giving back to the community. So what is it about what you do that might be tied to the things that they would support? And then you can research them. Just simple Google searches, simple AI searches about what do they support, what are that, what kind of have they been active in, who is there even somebody at the corporation that's leading that effort that might be listed somewhere? And then for once you understand that if you think it's tied very closely to what you do, then you begin to think, well, how do I tell this story? What is it that we can bring, not only the cause, but also what can we do to help them, to help them get their employees involved, to help them with what kind of community support could we do together that could create an impact that would have, you know, would be noticed both in the community and broader than that. So, and then begin asking them questions. Don't go in a pitch because you're going to want to know what they're thinking about, how, why is it important to them? And if you appeal to it to them from the perspective of, hey, this is what we do, we notice that you're very closely tied to it. We'd love to come and talk to you. You're much likely to. More likely to get a meeting than if you're sending a sales pitch in over the email.
- [15:52]
A
I think you said something really powerful. Asks questions before you do a pitch. I think that sounds like that's one of your top advice to nonprofits, kind.
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C
Of sales 101, right? True. But you're in a corporation, you're in a non. If you're a nonprofit, it's the first step. And sometimes people are afraid to do it because they're afraid that they won't know how to handle the answers to those questions. But unless you ask the questions, you can't learn and you can't adjust what you're doing to match something that might be useful to them.
- [16:22]
A
Well, I think what you're saying is so true. And I think, you know, from a nonprofit's perspective, there are times you're just almost not desperate, but you're just so. There's so much urgency to get more support financially. You kind of forget, like, wait a second, I should be slowing down and doing this process way ahead of the ask. And that starts with building relationship, asking questions. Right. And doing all those things before you do the pitch, before you do the.
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C
Ask, before you do the.
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And then you're right. Being ready to answer whatever answers you get, that's okay. Like, use it as a great learning tool. Even if the corporation turns you down, you may learn some great, valuable lessons from asking the right questions. So I just think your advice is.
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Really, for the next one that you try There you go.
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A
Exactly. We'll be right back. Are you looking for an easy and effective way to boost your nonprofits donations? Well, look no further than Donorbox, the online fundraising platform that streamlines your fundraising efforts, maximizes donations and simplifies giving for your supporters. With Donorbox you can create beautiful donation forms, accept digital wallet payments, track donations and send auto receipts. And the best part, there are no setup or monthly fees and no long term contracts required. So what are you waiting for? Visit donorbox.org today to get started. That is www.donorbox.org. Now let's get more technical. In light of the new rules, how should we in the social impact sector really tailor the partnership strategies for small, medium and large companies? For that matter, rather than just taking a one size fits all approach, I'm assuming you want to approach each company size a little differently. So talk to us about that.
- [18:04]
C
Yeah, yeah. So let's start with the large ones, right? So think about a large corporation and this group that's managing the charitable activities. They are covering a large territory. They might have operations in 20 states and 15 countries globally. They might be trying to direct the activities and get volunteering going for over 100,000 people in their organization. And it's just the magnitude of what they're trying to deal with is mind boggling. And so in that case, a nonprofit being able to provide scale scaled activities would be really important. Right. So even if, let's say you're here in the headquarters city where there's a concentration of people, it's still going to be how do I get the most people actively involved as I can? And that's going to be their focus because they just have so much to deal with and so much to do. So it's really about, you got to reverse the thinking and say, well, what's in it for the corporation and can we create something that will really help them achieve the goals that they're trying to achieve? Which is why I said it's so important to ask questions about what's a corporation trying to achieve? What's important to them? Is it volunteering, is it giving? You know, do they want to give the authority to the employees and have the employees have a bottom up approach or is it more of a corporate approach where these are our key principles that we operate on and everything is driven from that. Those things matter in terms of what you would then come up with as an opportunity or solution for that. If we go down to the mid sized companies, there you got a much higher probability of being tied to your local community because you're one of the most mid sized companies. You got a headquarters somewhere and you might have some operations in a couple cities, but that's about where it goes, right? And so then they're very focused on those local communities that they're operating in because they want to have a really strong reputation within those cities. And so to the degree that you might have operations in those cities or you may have something to offer in those local areas, and you know the community really well what, what its needs are, and you can tie that corporation to those needs, that would be, you know, I think, a much more positive strategy and targeted to get their interest and, and help them achieve what they're trying to achieve. And then, then on the, on the smaller, smaller scales, they're the ones that are maybe gonna be hit the most from this, right? You think about a small business owner who might be supporting the local little leagues and Pop Warner football and that kind of stuff. And now if they can't make it work financially, they may have to be scaling back with that. And so I think for them it's keep working the network who, you know, tie closely the relationships that you have with them. Because as you get down smaller companies and they're more locally community focused, it ends up becoming personal, right? It's personal friendships that cause you to want to support things, or it's some experience that you had where maybe you're the business owner and your son or daughter went through a program with this organization. It turned them around from being somebody that was struggling in their life to be something successful. So that ties, that creates an emotional tie. And the emotional ties I think are really important for, for the smaller, smaller companies.
- [21:32]
A
Well, I like how you broke it down. There's a different approach for small, medium and large. Very helpful. And as I think about nonprofit organizations, it doesn't matter now whether it be corporate now or individual donors, even government for that matter, Demonstrating your impact to donors is absolutely critical for nonprofits. So when it comes to communicating to corporations, how best can you be clear on a measurable impact reporting structure for really securing and retaining corporate support, Particularly now that these tax incentives have shifted a little bit. So any advice on that when it comes to actually demonstrating your measurable impact for a nonprofit organization?
- [22:07]
C
The whole topic of impact has been, as you know, a big topic in the last number of years. And I think I see it kind of shifting all over the place in terms of what organizations that support others are looking for. I think a few years ago it was much More around, let's get the real, the actual metrics turn a return on investment kind of concept to it. As time has gone on, I think that there's been a little bit less emphasis on that and more on, well, let's tell your story and let's understand what your story is. And then how does that story impacting the communities and the people that you're working with and the more that you're able to tell the story and then put some numbers behind it in terms of, well, how much of an impact can you have then? I think it really creates both the heart and the head component of this whole thing of impact. You could see impact in terms of, Well, I impacted 5,000 people last week, month in terms of being able to feed them and that. But if you tell the story of a family that had turned around with that, it becomes a very powerful one, two punch story. And also what I'm seeing is that there's companies now that are getting much better at literally going in and grabbing the information that's publicly available from these organizations and positioning it in a way that the nonprofit would have never been able to do. So these AI tools can help the nonprofits more make their story better. So you really want to make sure that the outlets are, you're using the social media outlets, your website, all those things are telling the best story that you could tell because then these tools will pick that up and be able to amplify it in a way that you don't have the skill set to do. But these tools with these companies that are running them can help you do that.
- [24:05]
A
I'm so glad you're sharing this because I've had multiple people also talk about the impact of AI on nonprofits and how you can really utilize AI for good. And here I'm hearing from a corporate donor saying this is the tool you use and other corporations use to find out information about your nonprofit. So all the more, I like what you're saying because I think it's really important, number one, to tell your story well and that these new AI tools are going to really scour the Internet, so to speak of, you know, finding these stories, finding the information that should be out there. And if you're listening today and you're leading your organization, you know, you really got to shore up your storytelling, you know, online and otherwise. This is the time because here's an example of corporate donors that are looking for that right to determine what they're going to give. So love that all these corporations that.
- [24:51]
C
Have major programs Will, will work with somebody like a Blackburn Giving Fund. And we all have platforms that allow these, these nonprofits to tell their story better because, you know, our platform gives, you know, nonprofits an access to 8 million employees that have access to these programs. We have to have a tool to have the employees go to and say, here's the charities that you can go give to. So all these groups have that. And the fact that if a nonprofit can pay attention to those things and go on those online and register and find out what you can do to tell your story better in those, it'll give you a much broader perspective to those employees who are participating in those programs. You know, that's the workplace giving slice of this whole philanthropic sector that sometimes nonprofits don't know as much about. And there's a lot of tools there that these corporations use to help them give access to these employees. And if you can make yourself known in those tools, it's another step up for yourself.
- [25:50]
A
Well, this is so helpful. Again, many conversations I've had with my consulting clients, my coaching clients that I work with directly and if they're interested in incorporate donations and corporate relationships, what you're saying is just right on. So I really appreciate your sharing that. Now let's go back to that 1% floor, if you want to put it that way. You know, that 1% is that threshold, if you will, for them to get the tax deduction. You know, when it comes to corporate charitable deductions and how they're reshaping, really what they give and kind of their social responsibility strategies. What would you say to nonprofits if, say corporation consolidates their giving? Maybe they refocus their giving. How does a nonprofit stay on the radar of that corporation in order to kind of keep that relationship strong, even if they pause, reshape, or get even narrow what they give to them. What other suggestions do you have? Like, is that something where they just do some other things to keep that relationship stronger, or do they move on to other corporations that just have the more ability to give? Give us some advice on that.
- [26:52]
C
Yeah, yeah. Well, I think there's a couple of key things. I would start with your focus, your cause, what's your vision and your mission and how tightly is that to the corporation? If you feel like it's really tight and it's working reasonably well, then it moves to the relationships. Right. So if you're already at that point, you know people at that corporation and you've been working with them, and so then I would open up the dialogue and say look, we know this whole thing could be shifting sands under both of us. Let's sit down and talk and figure out what's the best way for us to proceed forward together. And if you do that and you get in the meeting and the corporation's saying, we're going a different direction and you know that it's not going to work, then that might be the time to, to cut your losses and take your energy elsewhere. Or if you get in there and they say, hey, we really want to refocus, but some of these ideas you have could be a way for us to refocus. Now you're able to double down and it expands. But I think it all starts with being really clear on what you do and why you do it, and clear on what they're trying to do. And if you can make the match, then the doubling down can make things better for you. On the other hand, if it's not going to be that way, you got to come to the conclusion about, well, where do I want to spend my time? Right. Where do I want to spend my resources? And you don't want to go out chasing something that's not going to produce for you. There might be other opportunities where somebody else is focusing on narrowing down, and you might be the sweet spot for that one.
- [28:34]
A
That's so interesting. Well, again, another thing, I talk to my clients, whether it be consulting clients or coaching clients. When it comes to revenue sources for any social impact organization, I think it's always wise to diversify your revenue sources as much as possible. But at the same time, you said it earlier, you know, want to be wise of where you focus your energy and time because you don't have unlimited time to, you know, chase every single person that potentially could give. So how can social impact organizations best diversify revenue streams and strengthen their individual giving so they're less exposed if corporations decline or, you know, refocus their giving, but at the same time not chase every single thing out there where they're not being effective with their time. How do they strike that balance?
- [29:16]
C
Yeah, well, one thing that I would say is that keep in mind that the corporation's employees are not the same as the corporation. And so if you've had employees that have been giving to you or involved with these programs, and even if the corporation wants to, say, shift toward another direction, if you've got some relationships, then the stewardship of those people is really important. Right. Because they have their own minds and they do what they want to do. The corporation can't control them. Now they might be able to control a matching gift and stuff like that. So there's ways that they can do it. But most corporations are pretty open with their corporate matches. They don't change that very often, I guess, is a better way of saying it. They might have some things that are important that they say. We don't support these kind of causes for, for whatever reasons, but they've been that way forever. But the employees who give, they're giving because it means something to them. They've chosen you. Right. They've been intentional. And because if they are intentional, then there's a chance that they'll want to continue to give you even though the corporation's going in another direction. So I'd say that would be one clear step. And then other things from my perspective is there should always be some part of your budget that is for experimenting, trying to find the new donors, because you have to find new donors to get them to be mid level donors who can then someday become major gift donors. Right. That cycle always is going. And if you're not investing any kind of resources in that, you're going to run short at some point in the future on the ones that you want to be bringing up the ladder. So I think that's always a critical thing you should be thinking about. It's hard to do. It's really hard to do. Right. But thinking through it and picking some each year and testing things out because there's always young people coming on and they may have different thoughts than the people before them and you might be able to tie into some other sources that you weren't aware of before.
- [31:16]
A
Okay, and well, one other question on that then. So say a corporation for whatever reason, could be for tax reasons, could be because they're just struggling, you know, in their own revenue stream. If they cut back on their financial giving to an organization, is it wise to still engage with them and ask them, perhaps they can either give gift in kind gifts back to the nonprofit or just keep their corporate, you know, folks involved with volunteering so they keep the relationship and then when financially they get to a better place and they are able to give financially in addition to that. Is that a wise connection, would you say, to have? Maybe just if it's a volunteer only connection, but. But that's still a connection because like you were saying, there may be people, individuals in that company that just love the mission of your nonprofit and they're gonna stay engaged, maybe even give personally. And then once the company can give, then they're already ready, you've got the relationship, there's an easy connection.
- [32:08]
C
Both those things I think are important, like the in kind contributions. Here's a little example, right? A medical device company maybe donating their medical devices to a teaching hospital. Well, why do they do that? Well, they want to do that because the doctors in the hospital are using those and the young doctors are using those devices. If they work really well, they're going to be long term buyers or influencers of the next hospital they work for and buying those devices. Right. So there's a marketing component to all that. And so that's always going to be a key thing. Now that it doesn't always work because depends upon who the nonprofit is in terms of what they do. But that's a key thing. What I've seen, especially in the corporate world is the employees of volunteer. Once they get on site and they see the work that's going on and they get involved with the work that's going on, it becomes an emotional attachment for them. And that emotional attachment will eventually lead to giving when they that employee has the ability to give because it just becomes so important. And a lot of times in these programs that the corporations offer, they kind of outsource the choice of these charities be used for volunteer programs to these employee groups. Because remember I said there's very few at the corporate level that are managing this. And so now these employees get involved and they get involved with like pitching, hey, I think my charity over here is the one that I think we should go volunteer for. If they convince 20 people to go and they go and they'll enjoy the day. But more importantly, they see the work that's being done and the sophistication of what it takes to accomplish those tasks. It's very impressive to see. And that gets you the emotional attachment. And that's why I think volunteerism is so key.
- [33:57]
A
Oh boy, you're so right. Again, I appreciate you saying that. I've seen that firsthand. A volunteer, when they start serving, you're right, there's an emotional attachment and those volunteers become donors because they do. Unless they have a bad experience. Now that would be the opposite. But that's rare. And that does happen. Right? But more normally they were like, I love this place. They're on site, they see the people they're serving. Like if it's a food pantry, they get to see the actual operation. It's much more powerful than just writing a check or sending the check or getting the picture with the big check. You know, like you get to see the operations up close and personal. So I totally agree. Well, again, fascinating conversation. I think now that we're in this new year and this new tax law and the structure of how corporations give is a real deal. And so thank you for giving us a little more information. If my listeners want to find out more about you, more, a little bit more about the Blackbaud foundation, where would you send them? How can they connect with you?
- [34:47]
C
Yeah, sure. So we're on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. It's the Blackbaud Giving Fund and it's B A U D. Baud is B A U D. And then also we've got a website, blackbaudgivingfund.org and on there we've got a lot of blog postings and we've got some case studies where we share with people what we hope are practical things that can be done to improve your ability to be successful. And so go check us out. We'd love to hear from you and your perspective on what we've been able to provide for you. Excellent.
- [35:21]
A
Well, again, Matt, thanks for taking time out of all that you've got going on to share a little bit more insight about this because it is confusing for a lot of people. So this has been so helpful. I appreciate it.
- [35:30]
C
Well, thanks for having me. I had a lot of fun. It was a good talk.
- [35:33]
A
Absolutely. Well, for everybody. Thanks so much for tuning in. And I do encourage you to check out more information in the show notes and there'll be some links to find out what Matt's doing and what Blackbaud offers. And like you mentioned those blogs, I think it's a great idea to go read some of those blogs, listen to some of those videos. It could be super helpful for your organization. As always, thanks so much for tuning in. We'll see you next week. Hey, friends. Well, I wanted you to know that this podcast can be found on itunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and wherever you listen to other podcasts. I also want to encourage you to, like, subscribe and share this podcast with others. This will actually help us get this great content out to more nonprofit leaders just like you. You can also join the nonprofit leadership podcast community, find other resources and interviews of past guests, all on my website. Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. Well, thanks again for listening and until next time, keep making your world better. This podcast is sponsored by DonorBox, DonorBox, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business.