Podcast
Nonprofit Lowdown
Hosted by Rhea Wong · EN
This is Nonprofit Lowdown where I review and recommend the best ideas, resources, tools, tricks and tips to run your nonprofit like a pro!
98episodes
Episodes
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#400 - 8 Years, 400 Episodes, and the One Thing I Got Wrong About Marketing
2d ago00:30:00Summary readyWhen I started this podcast in 2018, I had no strategy. No content calendar. Just a cheap microphone and a genuine desire to connect with busy nonprofit friends who never had time to grab coffee. I didn't think I was doing marketing. I thought I was just... connecting.Turns out, that's exactly what I was doing.But here's what I resisted for years: I didn't want to believe that visibility mattered. I wanted good work to be enough. I wanted to believe that if I just got excellent results for my clients, recognition would come. That the work would speak for itself.I was wrong. Dead wrong.And I'm not the only one. Most of you are probably under-marketing too. You're doing brilliant work. You're getting real impact. And nobody knows about it. Because you're operating on the same belief I was: that excellence gets recognized on its own.It doesn't.Here's the truth I learned in eight years: the best program nobody knows about loses every single time to the mediocre program with a megaphone. I wish that wasn't true. But it is. The math backs it up: 60% of your success comes from exposure. Who knows about you? That's the game.And the game changed. Your donors aren't coming to you anymore. They're researching you. They're Googling, YouTubing, scrolling LinkedIn. They want to self-qualify before they ever call. Which means your content is now your cultivation. Your visibility is your survival.In this episode, I walk through what I learned about visibility that actually works in 2026. Why relationships are necessary but not sufficient (you need a system, not just a lunch). Why the Bob story, the $50K gift I almost fumbled, taught me that you can't leave money on the table by hoping. Why personalization at scale isn't optional anymore. Why authenticity beats polish. And why, if you've ever said "we're the best kept secret," you need to pick up the megaphone.I also talk about the trends I'm watching: trust-based philanthropy. DAFs as the default, not the exception. A wealth transfer that's unprecedented. And a talent crisis that's bleeding your organization dry every time a fundraiser walks out the door.But the real lesson? Start before you're ready. Show up on one platform this week as a human being. Hit record and ship it before it's perfect. Done is better than perfect.Because consistency compounds. And visibility isn't vanity. It's survival.Important Links:My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#399 -Stop Chasing Newly Liquid Founders
1w ago00:28:27Summary readyHere's what nobody tells you: when a founder gets $47M in liquidity, they don't call you. They call their advisor. And by the time you find out they exist, the giving decision's already locked in with someone else.Most nonprofits are still running the old playbook. Cold outreach to newly wealthy people (who get 100 asks a day). Hoping they land on your website. Betting on a gala where you can somehow figure out if they have capacity. It doesn't work. And the reason is simple: you're chasing donors when you should be positioning yourself with their advisors.Here's the blind spot nobody talks about: the window to be top-of-mind after a liquidity event is 6 to 12 months. After that, it closes. The advisory team, wealth advisors, tax attorneys, family office managers, they're the ones steering the giving strategy. Not the donor. The donor's overwhelmed. The advisor's asking, "Where should you give?" And if your nonprofit isn't the one they think of, you're invisible.I walk through four systematic levers for accessing this wealth before anyone else does. The Advisor Play (one board connection can generate $250K–$300K annually in referred gifts). The DealBook Scan (fifteen minutes every Monday on Crunchbase finds you one warm outreach opportunity per week). The Candid Play (your profile needs to be the obvious choice when newly liquid people search). And Founder Networks (if you have founder board members, you have direct access to people already thinking about impact).These aren't lottery tickets. They're repeatable revenue streams. The math: one systematic scan nets you roughly six to twelve donors per year at $25K–$100K each. One strong advisor relationship can generate $125K–$500K over five years.The best time to position your nonprofit for newly liquid wealth was three years ago. The second-best time is Monday morning.Important Links:My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/Join the Free Webinar: The Lapsed Donor Email That 10x'd a Gift
Summary#398 - The Old Way Doesn't work
2w ago00:41:28Summary readyIn this episode, I'm calling out the thing nobody says out loud: your major gift program isn't really a program. The gifts come in, but you can't predict them. Your board member lands a home run, then goes quiet. Your ED holds all the relationships in their head, and when they leave, the revenue leaves with them. I've lived this, and I know you have too.I start by naming what I call the invisible revenue gap: the difference between what your list should be raising and what it actually raises. It's costing mid-sized nonprofits hundreds of thousands a year while the financials look perfectly fine on the surface, and it's the thing that wakes EDs up at 4 AM in a cold sweat.Then I get into the diagnosis. You're not bad at fundraising. You're not lazy or unsophisticated. You're un-infrastructured. You know what to do, you just don't have a system to do it consistently, in the right order, every time. I break down why the old five-stage model we all inherited runs on fragile relationships and hope, and why it falls apart with today's busier, more skeptical donors.From there, I walk through what an actual system looks like: the six stages of the Engagement Fundraising Operating System, the real role of your board as door openers (12 board members, one intro each per quarter, that's 48 new prospects a year, the math maths), and the qualification conversation that stops you from chasing people who were never going to give. I also share results from a $6M client who went from 15 prospects to 47 and doubled her close rate. Not by finding richer donors. By building infrastructure.If every quarter feels like crossing your fingers, this one's for you.Important Links:My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#397 - Your Next Million-Dollar Donor Gives $10 a Year
3w ago00:37:36Summary readyThe biggest gift your organization will ever receive might come from a donor who's been quietly giving you $10 a year for two decades. And most of you are ignoring them.Planned giving evangelist Tony Martignetti, retired attorney and author of the upcoming Planned Giving Accelerated, is back to bust the six nasty myths keeping small and mid-size nonprofits out of the game. It's not too complicated, it's not just for the big guys, and you're not having a "death conversation", you're talking about the life and longevity of your mission.The launch is simple: query your database for loyalty and longevity (gift size doesn't matter), pick your top 3-6 prospects, start conversations. Ten hours a month, no splashy website required. Plus: what to say when you make the ask, and the research showing 75% of donors who put you in their will increase their other giving.If planned giving has been on your someday list, this episode moves it to Monday.Important Links:Connect with Tony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymartignetti/Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio : https://tonymartignetti.com/Join the Planned Giving Accelerated Waitlist: https://www.plannedgivingaccelerated.com/My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#396 - How a Teacher-Turned-CEO Landed Her First Six-Figure Gift
Jul 1300:28:44Summary readyI love a good transformation story, and Lucy Madden's is one of my favorites.Lucy was a middle school science teacher who ran a snail mail pen pal program in her classroom, pairing her students with STEM professionals around the world. She watched her kids start imagining bigger futures for themselves, so she turned it into an organization: Letters to a Pre-Scientist. Now she's the CEO, and she's fundraising for it as a team of basically one.When we started working together, Lucy had 10 to 15 donors giving $1,000 or more, and those gifts felt random. In this episode, she walks through what changed: stepping away from grants, getting her board on board, and shedding the ick she felt about asking individuals for real money.The moment that stuck with me: Lucy called a donor just to say thank you for a $10,000 gift. On that call, the donor did the math on Lucy's growth plan herself and said, "You need $140,000. I think we can do that." It became a multi-year six-figure stock gift, the first stock gift her organization has ever received, on a budget of $500K.We also talk about why snail mail is her secret weapon (in programs and in fundraising), why she stopped throwing spaghetti at the wall, and what shifted internally that let her show up to donor conversations with actual confidence.If you've ever told yourself you're not a fundraiser, this conversation is for you.Important Links:Connect with Lucy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-madden/Letters to a Pre-Scientist: https://prescientist.org/My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#395 - Why Your Major Gift Program Can't Wait
Jul 600:17:51Summary readyThis episode is a little different. It's a bit of a public service announcement.I recently read new nonprofit sector data, and honestly, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The numbers tell a pretty clear story: organizations that rely heavily on grants and government funding are feeling more pressure than ever, while nonprofits with strong individual giving and major gift programs are weathering the storm much more successfully.If your organization has been putting off building a major gift strategy or if your current program just isn't producing the results you need. I hope this conversation gives you permission to rethink where you're investing your time.In this episode, I share why major gifts are becoming more important than ever, the biggest mistakes I see nonprofits make when trying to build a program, and a few practical steps you can take today to start creating more sustainable fundraising.If you're feeling overwhelmed by fundraising right now, know this: you don't have to keep doing things the way they've always been done. Sometimes the smallest shift in focus can make the biggest difference.Important Links:My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#394- What Pricing Strategy Can Teach Us About Major Gifts with Claire Wang
Jun 2200:37:49Summary readyOne of my favorite takeaways from this conversation with Claire Wang is that fundraising and pricing have more in common than you might think. At their core, both are about understanding people their values, motivations, and the stories they tell themselves about who they are.Claire shares how great pricing isn't just about numbers; it's about listening deeply, understanding what someone truly values, and creating an experience that feels meaningful. We also explore how these same principles apply to major gifts, donor relationships, and building trust over time.If you've ever wondered how to better understand your donors, ask for larger gifts with confidence, or create a more thoughtful donor experience, this episode is full of insights you'll want to take with you.Important Links:Connect with Claire: https://www.claire-wang.com/My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honeyMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#393- Burnout, Budget Cuts, and the Future of Fundraising with Glennda Testone
Jun 1500:38:24Summary readyI sat down with my friend Glennda Testone, CEO of the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, to talk about what we're both seeing across the sector right now: burnout, funding uncertainty, increasing demand for services, and nonprofit leaders trying to do more with less.It's easy to get caught up in the anxiety of the moment, but one thing became crystal clear in our conversation: the organizations that will weather this season best are the ones investing in relationships.We talked about why individual donors matter more than ever, the risks of relying too heavily on grants and government funding, and why fundraising is ultimately about human connection not transactions.We also got into some hot takes on galas, donor behavior, AI, and what nonprofit leaders should be focusing on when everything feels uncertain.If you've been wondering how to navigate the current fundraising landscape, I think you'll find this conversation both grounding and encouraging.Important Links:Nonprofit Leadership Lab: https://nonprofitleadershiplab.com/?wickedsource=google&wickedid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXYMR6sg7UyNnriy98C0t1QkwFu8XqFOpgP5qXL4hJB-Ly5wREp22jYaAlXLEALw_wcB&w_adid=733701107251&w_campaignid=22263756844&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=22263756844&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22263756844&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXYMR6sg7UyNnriy98C0t1QkwFu8XqFOpgP5qXL4hJB-Ly5wREp22jYaAlXLEALw_wcB My Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/My Quiz: https://bit.ly/4vDEBjl
Summary#392- Fundraising Without Fear: Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability with Andrew Murphy
Jun 800:28:32Summary readyOne of my favorite parts of this work is watching nonprofit leaders grow into fundraisers not because they become slick salespeople, but because they discover that fundraising is really about relationships.That's exactly what happened with my guest this week, Andrew Murphy.When Andrew stepped into the Executive Director role at the Wisconsin Inmate Education Association, he inherited an incredible mission and a passionate community of supporters. What he didn't inherit was a fundraising system. Like so many nonprofit leaders, he found himself staring at a donor list, sending emails, making phone calls, and wondering what he was supposed to do next.Over the last two years, I've had the privilege of working alongside Andrew as he built a fundraising program from the ground up. In this conversation, he shares what changed when he stopped thinking about fundraising as asking people for money and started thinking about it as inviting people into a meaningful partnership.We talk about the donor survey strategy that became the foundation of his work, how prison tours helped supporters connect directly with the mission, and why building genuine relationships created more sustainable results than any fundraising tactic ever could.What I love most about Andrew's story is that it isn't about a magic formula. It's about having a system, staying consistent, and leading with authenticity.And the results speak for themselves. WIEA has nearly doubled its individual giving, created a stronger pipeline of supporters, and moved from worrying about making budget to dreaming about what's possible next.If you've ever felt like you're making fundraising up as you go, if you've inherited a donor program without a roadmap, or if you're tired of operating from a place of scarcity and uncertainty, I think you're going to find a lot of encouragement in this conversation.Enjoy my conversation with Andrew Murphy.Important Links:Connect with Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-murphy-6b960bb8/My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-programMy Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/
Summary#391- What Happens When You Stop Fundraising on Hope with Amy Lester
Jun 100:21:48Summary readyEver feel like your major gifts program is held together by spreadsheets, good intentions, and crossed fingers?This week, I'm joined by my client and friend Amy Lester, Major Gifts Officer at Polar Bears International, for a candid behind-the-scenes look at how she transformed her fundraising program in just over a year.When Amy started, she inherited a portfolio, a giant spreadsheet of prospects, and what she lovingly calls a "hope strategy." Fast forward 15 months, and she's exceeded her fundraising goal by more than $400,000, doubled major donor gifts, increased her conversion rate from 40% to 84%, and brought in 19 new major donors.My favorite takeaway? Amy's shift from feeling overwhelmed and reactive to confident and strategic. That's the magic of having a system.If you're sitting on a portfolio full of potential and wondering how to turn donor relationships into real revenue growth, this episode is packed with practical lessons you can apply immediately.Important Links:Connect with Amy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-lester-cfre-40166b49/ My Big Ask Gifts Program: https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-program My Book, Get That Money Honey: https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honey My Newsletter: https://www.rheawong.com/ My Quiz: https://bit.ly/4vDEBjl
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