Nonprofit Leadership Podcast — Where Fundraising and Strategic Planning Meet

Host: Dr. Rob Harter
Guests: Mandy Pearce & Marie Palacios (Funding for Good)
Release Date: September 8, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dr. Rob Harter hosts expert consultants Mandy Pearce and Marie Palacios of Funding for Good to explore the vital intersection between fundraising and strategic planning for nonprofits, especially as organizations prepare for the end-of-year giving season. The conversation unpacks why strategic planning is the cornerstone of successful fundraising, how to effectively leverage board engagement, practical operational tips, board development, leadership transitions, and accountability. Listeners will walk away with actionable advice for integrating leadership, planning, and fundraising to maximize nonprofit impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Link between Strategic Planning and Fundraising Success

[03:27–07:55]

• Consensus-Driven Planning:
  Mandy explains that the most successful fundraising happens when both board and staff agree on a strategic plan, providing clarity and shared direction.

  • "When you have a plan in place... you have the ability to say, oh, this is what we're agreeing on as two groups coming together... You're not just flying by the seat of your pants every day." (Mandy, [03:27])
  • Lack of alignment leads to unfocused, reactive fundraising.

• Strategic Plan as the ‘True North’:

  • The plan articulates what the organization aims to achieve and therefore, what needs to be fundraised for.
  • It increases credibility with donors by showing clear progress towards tangible goals:
    • "Donors are investors. They're looking for return on investment and meaningful impact... A strategic plan is the best way to show them how you intend to do that." (Marie, [07:02])

2. Operationalizing the Strategic Plan

[08:16–10:35]

• Budgets Informed by Strategy:

  • The strategic planning process should drive the annual operating budget, distinguishing between 'business as usual' and new capacity-building initiatives.
    • "We look at the strategic plan and say, you've got business as usual... and capacity building budget, and those two together become the operating budget." (Marie, [08:16])

• Prioritizing Funding Needs:

  • Distinguishing what portion of the budget must come from fundraising (vs. earned or other income).
  • Development of segmented donor plans and marketing strategies, based on the actual funding needs established by the strategic plan.

3. Common Fundraising Challenges and Getting “High Touch” Right

[10:35–13:53]

• Top Challenge: Lack of a Prioritized Needs List

  • Organizations often cannot clearly articulate their top funding needs or timelines, making fundraising scattershot and ineffective.
    • "It just becomes so much easier to fundraise effectively when you do that, as opposed to just being like, hey, we need money for this... That is not a great way to fundraise. It's stressful and it's very ineffective.” (Mandy, [10:47])

• High Touch in a High Tech World:

  • Tools and technologies can help manage data, but personal relationships with donors remain irreplaceable.
    • "The bread and butter of fundraising is relationships... In fact, maybe sometimes the high touch is even more important now with our high tech world.” (Rob, [12:24])

4. Timing for Year-End Fundraising Preparation

[13:53–16:39]

• Early Planning is Essential:

  • Mandy: Implementation for year-end giving begins in August; preparation starts even earlier.

    • "I start my planning process at the beginning of the year, but I start my implementation... in August.” (Mandy, [14:37])

  • Marie: Having an annual outreach and fundraising calendar is crucial, ideally starting in January.

    • "One thing that we found really effective is creating... our executive outreach and fundraising calendar... if we wanted to be on track. A lot of people don't start thinking about the end of the year until June, July, August..." (Marie, [15:25])

5. The Board’s Role in Strategic Planning and Leadership Development

[17:40–21:52]

• Board Spearheads Strategic Direction:

  • The board's core fiduciary duty includes initiating and guiding the strategic planning process.
    • "[The board] should be coming and saying, okay, we need to be setting direction. It's one of our core functions. It's one of our fiduciary roles.” (Marie, [17:40])
  • Four key strategic planning questions the board should focus on:
    1. Where are we now?
    2. Where do we want to be in the future?
    3. What could block us?
    4. How will we achieve our goals?

• Leadership Development and Strategic Alignment:

  • Marie uses the “three-legged race” analogy—without a strategic plan, staff and board are pulling in different directions.
    • “Running an organization without a strategic plan is like running a three legged race without a finish line.” (Marie, [19:49])
  • Strategic plans clarify what skills are needed at both board and staff level, informing leadership recruitment and development.

6. Navigating Leadership Transitions

[23:25–26:53]

• Succession Planning Must Cover Four Scenarios:

  • Friendly-expected, friendly-unexpected, hostile-expected, and hostile-unexpected. Boards are often unprepared for the “hostile” situations.
    • "When we are looking at organizations, before conversations of transition ever take place, we want to... have succession plans that account for all four scenarios." (Marie, [23:25])

• Retention Often Overlooked:

  • There is a need for more intentional retention plans, not just recruitment.
    • "Most people don't have retention plans. How are you going to keep these people once you hire them? Right. And no one's having that conversation." (Mandy, [25:02])

7. Training and Empowering Boards for Accountability and Strategic Engagement

[27:26–34:39]

• Implementation and Follow-Through:

  • Plans fail when accountability is absent. Funding for Good breaks out plans into quarterly goals and 90-day implementation sprints, assigns tasks, and prioritizes “glass balls” (must-do items).
    • “The majority [of plans fail]... There's a lack of accountability and implementation processes in place... we give them a 90 day implementation plan.” (Marie, [27:26])
  • Using status tracking (green/yellow/red) in board meetings for visual accountability.

• Intentional Leadership Development for Boards:

  • Training addresses different stages of board development (working to governing, founder transitions, committee structures), always anchored in the strategic plan.

• Matching Board Members to Roles:

  • Assigning tasks based on members’ skillsets, not just a generic list of board duties.
    • "We should be saying, here's the goal. Who can help us get closer to this one? How can you help? Use your skill sets, your connections, your circle of influence." (Marie, [33:14])

8. Moving Boards to Engage in Fundraising

[36:22–42:14]

• Start With 100% Board Giving:

  • Mandy shares her process for ensuring all board members make leadership gifts and how that credibility is crucial for external fundraising.
    • “If I didn't have 100% board giving, it was really hard to go out and fundraise.” (Mandy, [36:54])

• Set Clear Expectations from Recruitment:

  • Marie illustrates the importance of up-front clarity about strategic and fundraising expectations and matching board roles to individual strengths.
    • "The bait we use is the fish, where it determines the fish we're going to catch... If we're going to expect our board members to engage in strategic planning, to fundraise, then it needs to be part of the job description." (Marie, [39:45])

• Participation Doesn’t Always Mean Asking for Money:

  • “Development work” can include thank you notes, opening doors, and engagement—not just solicitation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Strategic Plan as Investor Document:

  • "At the end of the day, donors want to fund our impact, not our existence." (Marie, [07:55])

• Three-Legged Race Analogy:

  • "Running an organization without a strategic plan is like running a three legged race without a finish line." (Marie, [19:49])

• High Touch, High Tech:

  • "I've had many conversations on the show about staying high touch even in the midst of our high tech world. In fact, maybe sometimes the high touch is even more important now with our high tech world." (Rob, [12:24])

• Board’s Accountability and Visuals:

  • "When all the staff stuff is turning green and all the board stuff is hanging out in the yellow red zone, it's a really clear visual of who's abdicating their role." (Marie, [34:39])

• Expectations in Board Recruitment:

  • "We're recruiting intramural board members and then we get upset when they won't step up and fundraise." (Marie, [39:45])

Timestamps of Important Segments

• [03:27]— Strategic planning’s effect on fundraising
• [05:25]— Strategic plan as core fundraising tool
• [07:02]— Donors as investors; credibility score
• [08:16]— Operational and budgeting plans from strategy
• [10:47]— Top fundraising challenge: lack of needs prioritization
• [12:24]— Value of relationships in fundraising
• [13:53]— When to start year-end fundraising planning
• [17:40]— Board’s role in strategic planning
• [19:49]— Leadership development and strategic alignment
• [23:25]— Succession scenarios for executive transitions
• [27:26]— Implementation, accountability, and plan monitoring
• [33:14]— Matching board members to strategic roles
• [36:54]— Moving boards to fundraise; 100% board giving
• [39:45]— Setting board expectations from recruitment

Final Thoughts

This episode underscores that strategic planning and fundraising are deeply intertwined. With practical insights from seasoned consultants, nonprofit leaders are reminded how early planning, strong board engagement, clear expectations, and robust accountability structures create a culture for sustainable impact. The strategic plan is not just a blueprint—it’s a rallying point that brings clarity, direction, and unity to staff, board, and donors alike.