 Welcome to another episode of the nonprofit show. We are thrilled you're here because it's Friday asking answer day And this is the day when we have folks from all over the world Send in their questions movies Sometimes I'm out and about in public and somebody will come up and say hey Will you put this question on the show? I mean so it they come to us from all all Ways man are ways and so this is really fun to kind of get somebody But with a different point of view and we we have mookie quasi a trainer from fundraising Academy with us today But mookie before we start I'm gonna brag on you Just kick off the show Was quoted in philanthropy today our Chronicle of philanthropy Who was that? It was a cool opportunity, you know every once in a while We're doing something right and reporters will reach out to talk to us about faith and philanthropy Or donor advice funds and how they're operating And what amcf is doing in this field, so it was a good opportunity well, I'm really proud of you mookie because You know you're in this article you're talking about Dafts and how they they work within the ecosystem how they're changing And we know that it's the fastest growing sector of Donor instruments, and it's just picking up speed But you have an interesting Connection into this because you're a faith-based organization. You're talking also about trust philanthropy Which is a big part of this issue for the Chronicle of philanthropy You sounded really smart, too. I loved your quotes I know pull up in those glasses. You were really a rock star and so We get to say we know you and we knew you when I'll I'll tell you that our executive producer Kevin Pace Came flying into my office and said look at this look at this So anyway, we were very excited very proud of you and yay team. It's an awesome thing and Not to be missed, you know the Chronicle of philanthropy can you can find it online? You can get hard copies of it depending on your subscription But this was really good information that I think we need to I'll be taking a better look at going forward Because it is going to be impacting the way we do business and on the nonprofit show we have more and more Daft kind of oriented topics and conversations Moving forward, so this is the beginning of a of a big shift enough of that movie. Are you ready to? Find out what's going on in our world Sounds good, and I was just gonna say I'll sign it for you next time. I see you, so You can autograph it You got it well before we do any Autographing or framing we have some other rock stars and MVPs that we definitely want to give a shout out to And they include our presenting sponsors bloom orang American nonprofit Academy nonprofit thought leader staffing boutique your part-time controller 180 management group fundraising Academy at National University JMT consulting nonprofit nerd and nonprofit tech talk these are the folks that support us and Really stand behind these conversations Again, if you want to connect with us We have nearly a thousand episodes that you can Delve into and you can get those on our new app, which is super super cool You can find us on the streaming broadcast channels where we live and breathe as well as our podcast forums, so Okay, let's get to it. So I would say so Because that's how you say it in Spanish. So sorry. I think it's probably so So Sol in from Los Angeles I don't know. Maybe this I would He asks this question We have a board member who has season tickets to a major sports team They are excellent seats and he has offered them to the development team for entertaining high net worth donors Do you think this is a good idea? It seems more for profit Than nonprofit. It's a really interesting question. No one's ever asked this before Yeah, I love this question You know, I think when I was at American Red Cross There were some of our corporate sponsors who would gift a suite to Red Cross And sure that was a for-profit move, but our team definitely used it as Teambuilding and then also as development opportunities for our donors If we knew they had a specific affinity to that specific sports team for sure There was another donor who was the own co-owner of the San Jose Sharks And he was a donor my portfolio and would gift tickets to the Red Cross to use for our benefit. So Again, I think that it is a good idea Especially if you have donors who are Fans of the sports team it makes great cultivation for that donor You know and so many Professional sports organizations have their own philanthropic arms, you know, they have their own charities. They get their you know They get their players involved management. I mean, it's it's It's something that is really booming We were talking earlier moohy. We had Jason Wolf on yesterday Coincidentally talking about sports philanthropy Being directed by actual players and what their situations are it was fascinating I really encourage you to listen or watch that episode, but You know, I think this question could have come and involved to get to the symphony Or the opera or ballet or a museum. I mean, I think the concept is ticketing You know and I don't know I think it's also an opportunity for that development Group to get more time in front of somebody But yeah, I can see it's a little tricky and I'm I'm also wondering and I'd love your opinion on this movie What does it look like to the other team members within the organization? I know a lot of times Folks think that within a nonprofit. Oh those development people they just go to fancy lunches and dinner parties Right Yeah, I mean definitely get the wrap of whining and dining, but I think the real Thing to consider is how is this moving the relationship with the donor closer to the mission? How is it connecting this? particular donor to Be prepared to make their next gift if you think about the moves management of this opportunity And it's working towards getting this donor to learn more about the organization I think that's what is at key Yeah, you know you also said something that was interesting and I hadn't thought of it this way but I'm the opportunity to take your internal team and do something that is team building and fun and Kind of gets them out of their Regular work-a-day world and we are talking so much about retention so Worried continuously worried about this 18 month Estimated length of a development officer's tenure that AFP keeps reporting on Maybe this is the sort of thing that could really help Keep your employees with you and keep building that team. I hadn't really thought of it that way Yeah, you know, it's a little nicer than a pizza party. So Upgrade to some hot dogs and other stuff at the baseball game sure not chosen plastic cheese Well Well, so I hope this helps and and I think it's a great thing to look at and I would also really encourage anyone That's out there to look to your board members Because most often these board members and their corporations they have these tickets. They have sweets. They have group tickets and You know, I've had to manage that with my own business. It's a lot I mean just in the an MLB in Major League Baseball You have upwards of 90 regular season games. Sure Home games home games. So that's a lot of tickets to give away They're often looking to give them away at times because they can't attend themselves and other people in their social circle can't so I'm sure if you have a board member with season tickets to any sporting team They'd be glad to consider Gifting a few to the organization. Yeah, I think you need to ask that. I really really do and there's you know What's the worst that can happen? The board member says no, right? But I think if you put that out in front of your board, you're probably gonna be shocked at what's gonna Come in come forward. Okay, let's go movie to Oh name with health, you know how I feel about those. Those are my favorite This comes from somebody in Houston I am now moving into the gala season and spending a lot of time attending events in the evening and on weekends I would like to take some additional time off in the work week to compensate for my time spent Non-development staff are giving me the side-eye for doing this ideas. Yeah, so we kind of touched on this Um, we're in our last question. How do you feel about this? Yeah, you know, I had a meeting With some West Coast people their time 5 30 for me on the East Coast is 8 30 to 9 30 You know, I took an hour off this morning to make up for that So I think it's totally within your right And if non-development staff are working on the evenings and weekends, they should do that too like it should be a corporate policy at your nonprofit that this is acceptable and You know work it with your director your manager to make sure that they are aware That you're putting in that time on the weekends and on the evenings and you're Working to compensate that during the week Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, I think that this is a one of those things that you do we talked about burnout We talked about people just being exhausted from going to these Things where they're really work in the room and trying to advocate for their organization and connect with donors and keep those Relationships going and yeah, it's not an easy thing Interestingly enough this last Sentence non-development staff are giving me the side-eye for doing this How do you think we can work around that how do you think we can Engage other staff to understand what's going on and it goes both ways, right? We don't always know Yeah, I think that's why it has to be a nonprofit policy and you get these things approved by your manager so that it's You know across all the different departments across all the different teams and it's just understood that this is acceptable that it is for their benefit to avoid burnout to Focus on retention that this is one of those things. They're still working their 40 plus hours. I'm sure So yeah, yeah It's an interesting thing and I would imagine that there are a lot of Organizations a lot of people that don't track this that don't even put it into consideration and even if you tracked it for One or two months just to put it for put put these hours forward For the team to know that might really help you craft a policy and I like your approach on that That needs to be a policy directive so that everybody's doing kind of the same thing and working You know working with equity on that. I really I really think that's smart. Okay. Let's go to Shae from New York Shae writes as we start to plan for fiscal 24 25 revenue budgets Are you hearing if other nonprofits are looking at a decrease? This is interesting in giving due to the general election in fall of 2024 Our team seems to have a wide range of opinions on this matter Good question Yeah, definitely, you know with election season around and campaigns fundraising for their politicians At least for a high net worth individuals, they're probably maxing out their contributions to political campaigns So I can see this possibly Affecting but I don't think that it will decrease giving I would hope that they maintain their giving to their nonprofits and in addition to that They are increasing their political giving due to the election cycle So that has been my understanding and experience but if you were hoping for increased giving or a Specific gift to come in for a program beyond the annual campaign Those may be affected. Okay Are you and I know over the trajectory of your illustrious career Have you found that during general elect general election cycles that? politics Start being discussed more during these conversations with donors unless it's like a direct service that you're providing say like at a food bank or Charity that focuses on homelessness or some sort of Area where governments can be more proactive and engaging But as they say philanthropy is where government spending tends to have shortfalls, right? so I think in Some of the conversations it might focus on well, you know this candidate at the local level is pushing for more resources and things like that and maybe what lobbying efforts the Charity could focus on Or get involved in that are adjacent to their mission some of those conversations may happen and that's why a lot of charities stay involved and connected with their local city councils and State representatives for that very reason So I think it's possible that there's more talk about engaging with local politicians But again, if you focus the conversation around your mission and maybe the gap in which there is and how Government can step up to do more. I think that's an area that can come up during these election seasons You know movie it seems like this you're a good person to ask this question because you work in a faith-based Fundraising capacity as well, and I've got to believe that You've had some I don't want to say tenuous, but maybe uncomfortable conversations or where maybe you you have a That added layer that gets that gets pushed in and I feel like faith and politics are kind of on the same thing You know, we're always taught. Oh, you you don't talk about your faith or your politics and and yet When you don't talk about it, then I think that's That's a tough thing too And so there's that that gentle dance of kind of bringing who you are What you believe in what the organization believes in into the conversation So it's kind of an interesting thing to be talking about I feel like other even and I would Say this about myself You know, there's a lot of fear Talking about what your your beliefs are in a political season Because you don't want to derail. What it is you're trying to talk about. Yeah I mean, it's so intertwined and I think media as a third prong plays a large part in that because you have pundits on national news spitting certain propaganda and that affects the climate the social political climate and That's how hate crimes become a thing and unfortunately definitely in political seasons. You see an uptick in hate crimes Against minorities against people of certain faith backgrounds and it's just an unfortunate circumstance And I think that the mix between politics and religion You know, there's separation of church and state, but how effective is that? There's as you said, it's heavily influenced So as a faith-based nonprofit I think we are charged more to speak up for our faith and Promoting philanthropy in that way and that's really what we do in the through American Muslim Community Foundation Is trying to showcase the impact that Muslims are having with their charitable giving that we give to our local institutions food banks and homeless shelters and Everything in between from the universities we attended to Charities like the Red Cross and doctors without borders and that Muslims are likely to give more to non-faith-based institutions as well So it's a interesting Section that we were able to chat about in our previous episode And there's definitely a lot more work to be done on faith and philanthropy Yeah, that I would say that you know of all the episodes we've done and it's nearly a thousand That's probably one of my top ten most favorite episodes because I learned a lot It was fascinating to hear somebody who's involved in a faith-based World and I think what's really interesting is that the Muslim faith has a very organized structure and requirement To give to be philanthropic as part of Ramadan Yeah, and I think a lot of people don't know that And so to talk about that and hear how it's not just a benevolence It's actually part of the faith construct was riveting And I we have another couple questions, but really quickly did I hear that you and Jack the Lotto for also from fundraising Academy are going to be doing a training section for Faith-based groups or I just retook my CFRE because it had lapsed and thankfully I passed Thank you. So we are working with AFP global on the Muslim affinity group, which is launching And also CFRE to focus on a Muslim CFRE study group. So getting more people from the Muslim faith to Focus on being fundraisers and become CFRE Certified fundraising executive. So that is what we're aiming to do. We already have 11 people who have signed up You can find out more on AMCF's website Under Muslim affinity group. Awesome. Super smart You know, I'm gonna be really interested to hear how that goes and what what the feedback is and Good good job. Good job. That's that's all around a fabulous way For for our sector to get ahead. So Congratulations, you know, there is a reason why you were quoted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy I just had to give another plug another shutout. Shout out for that Okay, well, let's go to Roberto Roberto comes to us from Miami, Florida. You are in Tampa. So this works Roberto writes, we are looking to evaluate our banking relationship. Frankly, our current bank won't commit to any Sponsorships or even small things like buying event tables. What should we be looking at in finding a new banking relationship? Yeah, this is a really great question You know looking at Miami, it's obviously a big market and you have your national bank institutions So be curious which bank you're currently with but It's definitely good to shop around You know on the philanthropic scene. I know Bank of America does a lot I'm sure Chase and Wells Fargo invest a lot into their communities as well So really just looking at what can they do to give back and what are those opportunities in which they can Encourage to support your charity in their marketing budget and their sponsorship budget And having those conversations up front, you know, whether your average balance is $30,000 or $3 million they should still be willing to support your organization Right, and I think the thing of it is is that you know organizations even small local banks They have Non-profit banking Sections no in a small organization. It might be three people, but they have them and so when you go into a branch and you're trying to You know do some research or even going online. That's not necessarily going to be Information that's readily known or available not that it's secret. It's just that it's a very specific type of business So find out who does the non-profit banking because it's a very specific type of Relationship, you know, your fees are going to be different the services that they offer are going to be different And I agree with you, I think you got to you know step up and say these are the things that we need support with and We want to know if our banking partner is going to be able to work with us on this Because yeah from selling tickets to Sponsorship positions. This is a real thing and the other piece of this Roberto is that These institutions for the most part aren't going to want to see their competitors Marketed as your sponsor or your official bank or whatever so whoever you pick You're going to have to dance with them for the entirety of your you know of your relationship You can't bank with somebody and then necessarily bring in these other financial institutions You're going to have to be you know, pretty specific on on how that relationship looks so Hopefully that helps and I agree with you Mouhi, Roberto's in a good spot because Miami's a major city and it's a financial center for that part of our country Leading into, you know, the islands all the way into central and South America. So I mean There's there's some good. I would say opportunities there that somebody from other places Wouldn't have so Yeah, most definitely and then I have to give a shout out because I do work with The cues the credit union executive society check the credit unions credit unions are nonprofits And that their charters are nonprofit organizations So check out your local credit union because not only are they really Understanding the nonprofit sector, but they tend to be super community focused. So I hope that helps Okay, let's go on to Marnie from Denver, Colorado. Marnie writes What is the best social media platform of? 2024 for us to invest in when it comes to marketing our nonprofit We keep hearing different things and we could use some guidance. I love this question You know, I think it really depends on who your target audience is and you can see the data based on demographics of You know, Facebook generally leading towards older generations and all the way down to tick tock to younger generations but I would Assess who your audience is if it's your donors Find out their average age find out their demographics even do a poll with your nonprofit to see which Which social platform is most used and you might be surprised You know, you may think that it's Instagram, but in reality It's another platform. So I would try surveying and then doing a little bit more on the age group of your Demographic and then do research that way. I love it I think that's really smart and things are changing and I agree with you You need to look at what is your message and who's your message going out towards before you make just some random? Decision based on, you know, a lack of information and real information about how this is going to go Especially when Marnie writes in they're trying to market their nonprofit I mean, you got to be really specific about this You can't do everything for the most part and I like the idea, you know to honing in on one thing Well, you know, moohi. It's always like super fun to be with you One more thing on that last spot So it's also dependent on like how much you're willing to advertise because it's a pay-to-play game as well for exposure So learning all of that what stands out video versus Text and images and everything like that. So yeah, thank you No, that's cool. That that's it. That was a good add-on. I'm glad you said that Well moohi kuwaja one of the great leaders over at fundraising Academy We are thrilled you're here today and you know co-founder of the American Muslim Community Foundation We were able to talk a little bit more about that today, which was super fun and very interesting and and I love Every person that comes on from fundraising Academy has comes from a different walk of life a different part of the country and Really brings their unique flavor to the scut to the discussion And so it's always a joy to be able to work with you moohi and again check out One more plug because it's it's also a beautiful cover Check out the new Chronicle of Philanthropy. We just got ours in the mail Like this week two days ago three days ago So they also have an online edition But moohi is quoted on an article about dafts and trends of giving and it's just super brilliant And we were very proud and excited Just as we are proud and excited to thank our sponsors and they include Bloomerang American nonprofit Academy nonprofit thought leaders staffing boutique your part-time controller 180 management group fundraising Academy at National University JMT consulting non-profit nerd and non-profit tech talk These are the folks that join us day in and day out and really make us Allow us and make us able to do this Amazing platform moohi my friend. I hope you have a great weekend likewise Julia. Thank you Thank you everybody as we like to end every episode of the nonprofit show we want to remind everyone to Stay well So you can do well