260. #AMA (Ask Me Anything) Fridays: The Overhead Myth - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE, Becky Endicott, CFRE and Mallory Erickson

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Overview

Join Jon and Becky and special guest, Mallory Erickson, for this special #AMA (Ask Me Anything) style convo on Friday's episode covering the much debated topic: The Nonprofit Overhead Myth. We're covering historical narratives, power dynamics, how to work with leaders who stymie innovation, how to begin socializing this convo with funders, and how to move from inspiration to action. Join our #AMA convos! Drop us an email, DM or (best option🤩👉) leave us a voice memo, and we'll play your question on-air🎙

“Make sure that your messages are configured for the medium in which they are delivered.”

— Becky Endicott, CFRE, Co-Founder and Chief Storyteller, We Are For Good

Episode Transcript

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Episode Overview

Leave us a voicemail! (4:00)
The myth of overhead (8:00)
How our mindsets as fundraisers have been affected by this narrative (9:00)
Overhead ratios (12:00)
Organizational leadership (19:00)
The science of influence (29:00)
Starting this conversation with funders (31:00)
- What The Fundraising Episode 26: You Have More Influence Than You Think (For Fundraisers and Funders)
How to respond to funders when they refer to nonprofit rankings, organizations and associations that track nonprofits (37:00)
Pro Tips and how to move from inspiration to activation (40:00)
We Are For Good Community

Powerful quotes

“Underneath all of that what is the permission for?” -Mallory

“Why are there walls between these sectors? Why do we treat them so differently in those categories?” -Jon

“The word permission stuck out to me as well. I have felt that word so acutely. We’re in a scarcity industry. We have been wired to be scarcity minded. Perhaps even the bravest among us still have trepidation around speaking up about this topic.” -Becky

“Our fears around this make perfect sense. Because of the way the sector was born and where it came from, and how the narrative is played out in pop culture.” -Mallory

“We have a lot of narrative work to do as a sector.” -Mallory

“People don’t know what they don’t know.” -Becky

“If you’re trying to create a sustainable source of donors that are giving in a repeatable fashion, it’s more about building this community and infrastructure to support a lot of donors together.” -Jon

“Don’t tell me what you care about, show me what you track.” -Mallory

“We’re so afraid to lose the money that we end up pulling ourselves in all these different directions. We have more influence than we think.” -Mallory

“Everything I was told as a fundraiser was that money was the only thing of value in every moment.” -Mallory

“If we are bringing other people along for the ride in a healthy way that's ultimately addressing these issues, then we're the person who picks up the other runner and walks across the finish line with them. And I think that's who we ultimately want to be.” -Mallory

“Overhead is people.” -Becky