287. Individual Giving: How (and Why!) to Build a Mid-Level Donor Program - Clay Buck
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Overview
Meet Clay. This 30-year fundraising veteran is deeply passionate about building individual giving plans at all levels AND data. So many of our untapped strategies and behaviors reside in our data, but we just need to know how to flex it. "I saw too many beautiful stories not reach the audience that needed to hear them because of bad data or faulty systems." We've got the playbook - tune in🎧🙌
💡Learn:
How to focus & build your mid-level giving program
Where to start to build (or refine!) your current mid-level program
How to grow & scale mid-level donors over time
Stewardship advice to make every donor feel like a major gift donor
Today’s Guest
Clay Buck, Founder and Principal of TCB Fundraising
“Individual donors don’t want an institutional experience. They want a human experience, be human.”
Episode Transcript
Download Full Episode Transcript Here
Episode highlights
Clay’s unexpected path into a nonprofit career (2:30)
Value of understanding of the many types of fundraising (6:20)
How to build an individual giving program (14:40)
Hallmarks of a great impact statement (20:40)
Audit your data (26:25)
How charity:water turns donors into advocates (33:15)
“Sometimes fundraising is paper towels” (40:45)
Ensure your systems are operational to sustain a donor program (44:40)
How to make every donor feel like a major gift donor (50:00)
Clay’s one good thing: “God help me be the person my dog thinks I am” (42:45)
Powerful quotes
“It's not donor above everything. Its donor, partnering with the mission, together working with a beneficiary.” -Clay
“Individual donors don't want an institutional experience. They want a human experience, be human.” -Clay
“Make your gratitude genuine, and make their impact genuine.” -Clay
“When donors make a gift, they are doing two things: they are entrusting us with their money, and they are trusting us to do what we said we would do with the gift they make.” -Clay
“Small things matter. Data matters.” -Jon
Connect with Clay
people and organizations mentioned
Lynne Wester / Listen to Lynne’s We Are For Good Episode’s: 23 / 179 / 239
charity:water
Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy
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Episode Sponsored by
Studio Selfie
Jonathan McCoy, Clay Buck and Becky Endicott
