Let's Talk Fundraising
Welcome to "Let's Talk Fundraising" with Keith Greer, CFRE! This podcast is your go-to resource for mastering the essentials of fundraising while discovering how innovative tools and technology can supercharge your efforts. Whether you're a new fundraiser looking to level up your skills or a seasoned professional seeking timely reminders and fresh insights, each episode is packed with practical advice, creative ideas, and inspiring stories.
Join Keith as he explores the core principles that drive successful fundraising and uncovers the latest strategies to make your job easier, more enjoyable, and incredibly impactful. From relationship-building and storytelling to leveraging the newest tech, "Let's Talk Fundraising" is here to help you transform your approach and achieve remarkable results for your organization.
Subscribe now and be part of a community dedicated to elevating the art and science of fundraising. Together, we'll make a bigger impact, one episode at a time.
Episodes
59 episodes
If You Wait Until You Feel Ready, You'll Never Start
This is the episode where we stop painting the picture and start talking about what happens next.If you've been listening to this series for a few weeks and something has started to click, this one is for you. You've recognized the momen...
3 Things to Define Before Every Major Gift Donor Meeting
You've had the donor meeting. It went fine. The conversation flowed, the donor was warm, you covered a lot of ground. And now you're sitting in the parking lot wondering if any of it actually moved the relationship forward.That quiet unc...
Think AI Won’t Work for You? Let’s Talk About That.
If you’ve been listening to this series and thinking…“This sounds interesting… but I’m not sure it would actually work for me…”This episode is for you.Because that hesitation you’re feeling?It’s not random.And...
The Moment I Knew My Fundraising Was Actually Working
For months, I was doing everything I thought I was supposed to do as a major gift officer.I was reaching out.I was having meetings.I was putting in the work.But nothing was closing.And the hardest part wasn’t the la...
Why Your Fundraising Outreach Isn’t Working Like It Used To
There’s a moment in fundraising where you start to feel it.You’re doing the work.You’re following up.You’re being thoughtful in your outreach.And still… things just aren’t moving the way they used to.Response rates ...
The Cost of Waiting Until You Feel Ready (Major Gift Fundraising)
There’s a moment most fundraisers don’t talk about.The one where you know what needs to happen next…but you’re still trying to get everything lined up before you move.More research.More preparation.More time to “get it...
Where AI Fits in the Major Gift Cycle
Fundraising moves when relationships move.And relationships move when the friction falls away.In this episode, we explore how AI can quietly support every stage of the major gift cycle without replacing the human heart of the work.
What If Major Gift Fundraisers Had More Time for Donors?
Most of us came into this work to build relationships. But too often our days get buried under contact reports, prospect research, and messy systems that keep us tied to a desk.In this episode, we explore a simple idea: what if AI could ...
Quiet Power Revisited: Why Introverts Thrive in Fundraising
Fundraising doesn’t belong only to the boldest voice in a crowded gala. It thrives in the quiet moments where a donor feels understood, a tense call cools with care, and a complex gift moves forward because someone listened long enough to hear ...
Stop Looking for Unicorns. Start Training Your Fundraisers.
Looking for a unicorn hire who “just gets it” on day one? We’ve all been there—and it rarely works. To celebrate fifty episodes, we pull back the curtain on what truly drives consistent donor results: intentional onboarding that blends benchmar...
Your Donors Don’t Feel Your Effort, They Feel Your Attention
Every Valentine’s Day, nonprofit inboxes fill up with warm subject lines and messages that say, “We love our donors.” The intention is real, but the impact often falls flat.In this episode, we unpack why broad gratitude is easy to send a...
The Pivot: What I’m Stepping Away From—and What I’m Stepping Into
This Groundhog Day episode is a personal announcement and a fundraiser’s roadmap for change.After fifteen years in nonprofit leadership, I’m stepping away from a role I loved—not because something was wrong, but because something bigger ...
How Fundraisers Get Interviews: Resumes That Speak the Right Language
🎁 Enter the contest to get a signed copy of Scott Vedder's book, Signs of a Great Resume.Seven seconds. That’s often all you get before a recruite...
When Competence Becomes Common, Taste Becomes Strategy
Remember when donor newsletters read like dissertations and first-time givers needed a decoder ring? We take a clear-eyed look at how AI has quietly raised the baseline for clarity in fundraising and communications—and why that shift changes ex...
Stop Making AI Slop, and Actually Leverage What It's Good For
Download the Big Goals WorksheetThe problem with so much “polished” AI content isn’t grammar, it’s judgment. We unpack why clean sentences can still feel hol...
A More Supportive Goal Strategy
Free Gift 🎁 Big Goals WorksheetIf goal setting feels like a test you’re always failing, this conversation offers a calmer path. We pull apart the myths that ...
From Survival Mode to Steady Fundraising: How AI Brings Calm to Year-End
Year-end fundraising doesn’t have to feel like survival mode.If you’ve ever spent December scrambling — rushing appeals, juggling Finance deadlines, and showing up exhausted for donors and family — you’re not alone. The truth is, surviv...
When Donor Thank-Yous Feel Rushed
Every fundraiser knows the weight of unwritten thank you notes—that pile on your desk, the rushed emails sent just to clear your to-do list, the nagging guilt when your gratitude doesn't sound quite right. You're not alone in this struggle....
The Sunday Countdown and the Fundraiser’s Rhythm That Brought Relief
The Fundraiser's AI Starter SuiteIf Sunday nights feel like the slow countdown to another heavy Monday, you’re not alone. I know that tightening in your ches...
Turn Prompts into AI Assistants: CustomGPTs for Fundraisers
Ever wish you could clone yourself on Monday morning?In this mini-episode, I’ll show you how to turn your favorite prompts into something far more powerful: CustomGPTs—personalized AI assistants trained on your best fundraising la...
Instant Donor Insights: One ChatGPT Prompt Replaces 17 Research Tabs
Your browser groans under the weight of countless tabs while your prospect's name stares at you from the CRM dashboard. The research rabbit hole keeps getting deeper, consuming hours of your day with diminishing returns. Sound familiar?...
Don’t Drown Your Board in Data—Do This Instead
Every nonprofit leader knows the struggle: that moment when your calendar reminder pops up – "Board packet due tonight." You export columns of numbers from your CRM, spend hours wrestling with spreadsheets, triple-checking figures, and aligning...
Inbox Freedom: AI‑Powered Donor Replies
Drowning in donor emails while struggling to craft thoughtful, personalized responses? You're not alone. Fundraisers everywhere face this daily challenge—balancing the need for authentic communication with the reality of limited time and mounti...
Why Accuracy Is the Hidden Superpower of Stewardship
Every fundraiser faces the same dilemma: we need efficiency, but we can't sacrifice accuracy. When that major donor asks for one critical data point before finalizing their six-figure gift, the pressure to respond quickly meets our professional...
Why Momentum Beats Perfection in Fundraising Writing
Ever found yourself paralyzed by a blinking cursor, struggling to craft the perfect donor message? You're not alone. Fundraising writing can be deeply intimidating—it needs to reflect understanding, empathy, clarity, and warmth all at once whil...