Abundant Vision Fundraising Podcast

If you're an executive director still learning fundraising, and managing a fundraiser on top of it, this episode is for you. Sue Frost lays out what any CEO can do starting now: set clear fundraising priorities, share your short-, medium-, and long-term goals, and put a concrete number of donor contacts on your calendar each week. She adds one more that's harder than it sounds: be willing to say what you don't know. For new fundraisers, Sue's first piece of advice is to learn why people give to your organization. Tom explains why that one question has opened more donor relationships for him than anything else. Sue also makes the case for building a peer cohort of fundraising leaders in your community, for giving your fundraiser access to the board, and for dropping the assumption that what worked in one sector will work in another. The episode closes with a look at Mid-Ohio Food Collective's work: the Eastland Prosperity Center, two working farms, and more than 600 partner agencies. This is Part 3 of a three-part conversation with Sue Frost. Learn more about Mid-Ohio Food Collective at www.mofc.org [http://www.mofc.org/] Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

The average fundraiser changes jobs every two to three years. Sue Frost stayed at Ohio State for 25 of them, working across athletics, the health sciences, professional schools, and the arts before making the jump to lead fundraising at Ohio's largest food bank. In this episode, you'll hear how a champion Girl Scout cookie seller found her way into development, and what made Bowling Green's graduate program such a reliable launching pad for fundraising leaders. Sue explains how she built a varied career inside a single institution, and why working alongside strong leaders mattered as much as any title. Then the conversation turns to her move from higher ed to social services: a faster pace, more room to experiment with text messaging and micro-influencers, and a donor base that includes neighbors who give $10 alongside seven-figure corporate partners. Tom also shares why food banks are personal for him, going back to his early days working for minimum wage. This is Part 1 of a three-part conversation with Sue Frost. Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

Economic downturns test every fundraiser's patience and creativity—but Joe Bull has seen enough recessions to know that generosity doesn't disappear, it just shifts form. In this conversation, Joe and Tom Dauber unpack how planned giving holds steady when annual and major gifts tighten, and what leaders can do now to build resilience before the next market slide. In this episode, Joe shares: * Why donor motivation doesn't vanish in bad economies—it only changes timing and form * How planned giving bridges short-term uncertainty with long-term commitment * Data from researcher Russell James showing why nonprofits that accept non-cash assets raise significantly more * Lessons from Joe's own Carnegie Mellon analysis revealing estate gifts often triple lifetime giving * Practical ways to start a planned giving program with almost no new budget * The myth that "planned giving is only for the wealthy" and what every fundraiser should actually know * Why patience, stewardship, and curiosity build the kind of donor relationships that survive any recession If you've ever wondered how to stabilize fundraising when the markets stumble, this episode will leave you with perspective, proof, and a few next steps you can take tomorrow. Website: philanthropyadvisorycouncil.com • Email: [email protected] Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]

A pop-culture detour with a purpose: Tom breaks down how Netflix's Wednesday (Season 2) portrays fundraising—manipulative galas, predatory leaders, "mind-control" asks—and contrasts it with ethical, mission-centered practice. If your board's first idea is "throw a gala," this one's for you. In this episode * Why TV gets fundraising wrong (manipulation, greed, event-centric thinking) * What ethical fundraising actually looks like: gratitude, consent, mission & impact * The real problems with events and "a question to everybody is a question to nobody" * Better paths than grants-only or cookie/candy sales—and why individualized asks win Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net [http://www.abundantvision.net/]