F is for Fundraising Friction: Is your fundraising stuck? It’s not your donors. - Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

Summary4 min read

Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast: Episode Summary

Title: F is for Fundraising Friction: Is Your Fundraising Stuck? It’s Not Your Donors
Host: Brooke Richie-Babbage
Release Date: August 10, 2025

Introduction

In the episode titled "F is for Fundraising Friction: Is Your Fundraising Stuck? It’s Not Your Donors," Brooke Richie-Babbage delves into the common struggles nonprofit organizations face in their fundraising efforts. She challenges the conventional belief that unresponsive donors are the primary barrier to successful fundraising. Instead, Brooke posits that the root cause often lies in the design and systems of the organization’s fundraising strategies.

Understanding Fundraising Friction

Identifying Common Challenges

Brooke begins by addressing typical frustrations encountered by nonprofit leaders:

Unresponsive Communication: "Why didn't a donor respond to any of my emails?" [02:15]
Failed Connections: "I thought we really connected or I just knew that donor would really love what we're doing. But nothing." [03:10]
High Effort, Low Return: "Why is this all taking so much work for so little return?" [04:05]

These sentiments resonate with many leaders who feel their fundraising efforts are stalled despite their best intentions.

Design Problems vs. Donor Issues

Brooke emphasizes that these challenges are rarely about donors themselves but stem from the organization’s internal systems. She states, "This is almost always a design problem, not a donor problem." [05:20]

The Invisible Walls: Internal Friction

Systemic Barriers

Brooke outlines various internal issues that create friction in the fundraising process:

Unclear Donor Pathways: Different donors experience different interactions with the organization, leading to inconsistency.
Clunky Follow-Ups: Follow-up communications are often untimely or lack personalization.
Undefined Roles: Staff members may be unclear about their responsibilities, leading to inefficiencies.

She explains, "Each of these may seem disconnected, but they actually all add up. They become this sort of invisible wall of internal friction." [07:45]

Impact on Fundraising Momentum

These systemic issues collectively hinder fundraising momentum. Brooke illustrates, "Fundraising momentum absolutely crumbles every time it hits this invisible wall." [09:30]

Strategic Solution: Conducting a Friction Audit

Introducing the Friction Audit

To combat these challenges, Brooke introduces the concept of a "low-tech friction audit." This practical tool helps organizations identify and address the points where potential donors may drop off.

Step-by-Step Guide

Choose a Donor Level: Select a specific donor segment, such as mid-level or grassroots donors.
Map the Donor Funnel: Document every step a donor takes from identification to renewal:
- Identification: How are potential donors found? "How do you find them?" [11:00]
- Awareness: How do donors learn about your organization?
- Engagement: How do you form an initial connection?
- Cultivation: How are donors nurtured over time?
- Asking for Support: How and when do you make the ask?
- Thanking and Celebrating: How do you acknowledge and honor their contributions?
Identify Friction Points: Analyze each step to determine where donors might be getting stuck or falling out. Questions to consider:
- Are follow-ups timely and personalized?
- Is there clarity in staff roles regarding donor interactions?
- Are there any gaps in the communication flow?

Brooke's Insight: "The better you design your funnel to make it easy for donors to find, fall in love with, and give to you, the more that will happen." [13:50]

Tools and Resources

Donor Friction Audit Worksheet

Brooke offers a practical tool to facilitate the friction audit: the Donor Friction Audit worksheet. This resource guides organizations through mapping and analyzing their donor funnels to pinpoint areas needing improvement.

Implementation Toolkits

For those seeking a more comprehensive approach, Brooke recommends her "Get More Donors" toolkit. This step-by-step guide assists nonprofits in constructing and designing effective donor funnels, ensuring they attract and activate the right donors without the relentless chase.

Accessing the Worksheet: Visit brookeechiebabbage.com to sign up for emails accompanying the series and receive the worksheet.
Get More Donors Toolkit: Available at brookruchyoubabbage.com/getmoredonors, this toolkit provides an in-depth strategy for optimizing fundraising efforts.

Conclusion

Brooke Richie-Babbage's episode on fundraising friction provides invaluable insights into the often-overlooked internal barriers that impede successful fundraising. By shifting the focus from donor behavior to organizational design, nonprofits can identify and eliminate friction points, thereby enhancing their fundraising effectiveness. The practical advice and tools offered empower nonprofit leaders to design robust systems that facilitate donor engagement and support sustainable growth.

Final Quote: "Fundraising friction is almost always tied to poor fundraising design." [15:10]

Key Takeaways

Design Matters: Effective fundraising is rooted in well-designed systems and processes, not merely in donor efforts.
Friction Audit: Conducting a friction audit helps identify and address internal barriers in the donor journey.
Tools Available: Utilize provided worksheets and toolkits to implement strategic improvements in fundraising approaches.
Sustainable Growth: By refining internal systems, nonprofits can achieve sustained fundraising success and mission impact.

For more insights and resources, visit brookruchyoubabbage.com.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
Rukruchi Babbage
Welcome to Design youn Strongest year ever, a 26 day special edition of the nonprofit Mastermind podcast. I'm your host, Rukruchi Babbage. I created this series because I believe that how your year ends is determined by what you do now in August, not in November. My work is rooted in the idea that intentional design, not more hustle, is what determines how far your mission can scale. So every day I'll share one very simple but very powerful lesson shift or tool you can use right now to prepare yourself for year end and for each one. If you sign up for the emails that go with these episodes, I've created a worksheet or prompt. You can collect them as you go and have a whole bundle. Finally, if the day's topic hits a nerve, I'll point you towards the most relevant of my implementation toolkits. For the length of this series, I'm offering 26% off all purchases. Let's dive in. So today I want to talk about something that I know is top of mind for a lot of you. Fundraising. And specifically, I want to talk about fundraising that's feeling a little stuck now. Raise your hand if you've ever thought any of the following why didn't donor respond to any of my emails? Thought we really connected or I just knew that that donor would really love what we're doing. They're just the kind of person that would really get it. But nothing or why is this all taking so much work for so little return? If you have thought any of those, you're not alone. Now here's the thing I want you to know. This is almost always a design problem, not a donor problem. Here's what I mean. When giving feels stalled, we often want to blame the message. We're not saying the right things. We're not being loud enough, we don't have enough people on our list. More often the real problem is a little more invisible. It's the behind the scenes systems, or lack of them, that are blocking your funding blessings. Think things like unclear donor pathways. So different donors have different experiences when they come into your world. Clunky follow ups that come late or aren't personalized. Staff that doesn't know who's responsible for what. Each of these may seem disconnected, but they actually all add up. They become this sort of invisible wall of internal friction. And fundraising momentum absolutely crumbles every time it hits this invisible wall. So today's micro shift is a quick low tech friction audit. I want you to choose one donor level, like mid level donors or grassroots level minor donors. Pull out a piece of paper and write each step in your donor funnel. That is every step that a donor at that level goes through, from the point that they are identified by your organization as a potential donor all the way to their gift all the way through renewal. Every step in your funnel. How do you find them? How do they learn about you? How do you form an initial attachment? How are they cultivated? How are they asked? How are they thanked? How are they celebrated? Each step in your funnel. And then you ask if you are able to map the funnel. Where would a potential donor get stuck or fall out of the funnel? Where our systems are not great at following up with donors, at connecting with all of the potential donors that have come into our world, at hopping on the phone and making the ask, where are their sort of leaky points in your funnel? Now remember, the key here is the better you design your funnel to make it easy for donors to find, fall in love with and give to you, the more that will happen. Better systems lead to better results. Fundraising friction is almost always tied to poor fundraising design. Now I can help you identify the points of friction in your funnel with today's worksheet. You can grab the Donor Friction Audit worksheet by signing up for the emails that go along with this series. Brooke richiebabbage.com ABC strategies and if you want a deeper dive into how to construct and design a really good funnel from top to bottom, identifying, attracting and activating the right donors, you can grab my Get More Donors toolkit. It's designed to help you stop chasing and start attracting and activating the right donors step by step. You can get that@brookruchyoubabbage.com backslash getmore donors I will see you here tomorrow for letter G.