Using the Whole Whale Podcast has been covering stories of marketing and technology since 2014 reaching over 4,000 nonprofit professionals a month. The podcast has hosted a wide range of social impact leaders from Greenpeace, Lyft, Twilio.org, Change.org, Kiva, HopeLab, Crisis Text Line, DonorsChoose.org, DoSomething.org, and Teach For America among others.
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182: #StopHateForProfit – Interview from Next in Nonprofits
Megan Anhalt, Chief Strategy Officer of Whole Whale is interviewed on the Next in Nonprofits podcast about what nonprofits should do around the #StopHateForProfit Facebook ad boycott. Original Episode on Next in Nonprofits.
181: How we lost a staff member due to H-1B Policy
In this internal Whole Whale episode, we talk with Rhea Bhambhani our Ads and Analytics Whaler. We discuss her time at Whole Whale, what she has learned and what the impact of the U.S. H-1B policy. Though Whole Whale has won past petitions for H-1B’s, the hostile current climate has stacked the odds too far… Read more »
180: By Turning a Gala Virtual, Upaya Raised $302k
With less than a week in preparation, Upaya shifted their in-person Gala to a Virtual Event that raised $302k against a $200k stretch goal. Kate Cochran, CEO of Upaya Social Ventures shares the story and lessons of this amazing virtual event with Whole Whale host, Kariesha Martinez. About: Upaya Social Ventures is fighting extreme poverty… Read more »
179: Virtual Reality for Impact – with Mind Glow
Virtual reality can seem like a far off technology, mostly used for video games and tech conference demos. But, what if we could use virtual reality to provide situational training for emergencies? Neilda Pacquing, Founder and CEO of Mind Glow, is using virtual reality to make companies more prepared for workplace emergencies, starting with active shootings. Listen to… Read more »
178: Homelessness in the Time of COVID-19
We’ve all been told to stay at home but, for the 2 million Americans experiencing homelessness each year, that’s not an option. For them, shelter in place choices put them between a rock and a hard place, with no clearly safe choice. Despite representing 13% of the U.S. population, Black Americans represent 40% of the… Read more »
177: The 7 Elements of a Primal Brand (reprise)
We have been seeing elements of the 7 elements of the primal brand everywhere and so we went back to a great episode with Patrick Hanlon the author of Primal Branding and is the CEO and founder of THINKTOPIA, a global brand and strategic innovation practice for Fortune 100 clients. The seven elements of the Primal Brand… Read more »
176: Tactics to Grow Your Podcast Downloads
In this podcast strategy episode, we talk with Nick Azulay our Digital Marketing Analyst Whaler about 14 ways to increase podcast downloads. We have been in the podcast game with our nonprofit focused podcast – Using the Whole Whale for over 5 years. Here are some of our best tactics and ideas that have worked to drive… Read more »
175: COVID-19 College Advising & Making the Shift to Digital
Almost overnight the College Advising Corps (CAC) had to pull counselors across the country from Highschools in response to COVID-19. Nicole Farmer Hurd, PhD, the Founder and Chief Executive talks through how CAC has been making the shift to digital support for their students. Our host, Kariesha Martinez walks through the myriad issues facing college-bound students in… Read more »
174: How to Design an Auction Event
Planning a live fundraising event can take months and even years to plan. This week on the podcast, we talk with Layne, the Auctionista. They specialize in auctioneering, specifically for live fundraising events. Listen as we chat about the 27 steps they take to prepare for a live fundraising event, why there are no small… Read more »
173: COVID-19 Trends & Opportunities
This podcast will cover current events and trends that we think social impact leaders should be thinking about. On this internal podcast episode George Weiner, Chief Whaler and Kariesha Martinez, Advertising Whaler discuss the trends and opportunities during the COVID-19 crisis. While giving may be declining, there are opportunities to find talent and ways to… Read more »
172: Expanding a Business to Germany is Hard – here’s why
We interview EU Whalers Michaela Luecke and Luciana Padua about their experience expanding Whole Whale’s digital agency services to Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Spain. After over a year of work and a few clients, Whole Whale has decided that the experiment just didn’t work. There are many hard-earned lessons that we discuss starting digitally-focused companies… Read more »
171: How are donor emails cultivated in the first 45 days?
How does your organization treat donor emails in the first 45 days? According to research by Classy, 45 days is the threshold of where donors are most likely to upgrade their donation (aside from the 365 day mark) or upgrade to a recurring gift. But what are organizations doing during that time period? We interview… Read more »
170: The Unashamed Guide to Virtual Management
Our country and most of the world shifted to work from home almost overnight due to COVID-19, but are we doing it right? This week we talk about the world of remote work with Ben Bisbee, the co-author of The Unashamed Guide To Virtual Management. Working remotely is a reality of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.… Read more »
169: Census in the Time of COVID-19
The US Census is currently underway during the COVID-19 crisis and many experts are worried that a true count will be made increasingly more difficult. Karthick makes it clear why the Census matters for each state and nonprofit, regardless of industry or cause. An accurate count impacts voting maps, public resource allocation of services and… Read more »
168: Catching Momentum in a Time of Coronavirus
We interview Mike Berland, the founder & CEO of research, data, and analytics firm Decode M who is an expert how people think and behave as consumers, voters, and decision-makers. We talk about His upcoming book “MAXIMUM MOMENTUM: How to Get It, How to Keep It” in the context of the Coronavirus news storm. Mike shares stories and tactics of… Read more »
167: Fundraising in Times of Uncertainty – Martin Leifeld
Interview with Martin Leifeld, Martin Leifeld is an author, consultant, coach and public speaker. During his 24 years of professional fundraising, Martin and his teams raised a staggering $500 million dollars. In 2018 Martin was named Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Association of Fundraising Professional St. Louis Regional Chapter. We discuss how to deal with… Read more »
166: The Best Way to Contact Congress – advice from Quorum
We interview Alex Wirth, the co-founder of Quorum.us a leading legislative tracking tool. Alex shares what works in getting the valuable attention of elected officials. Should you use phone calls, mail, social? Should you send your messages all at once or over time? Not all mediums are equal in gaining the attention of representatives and… Read more »
165: Fixing Flaky Volunteers – Allen Kramer
Looking to grow your volunteer base? Allen Kramer, president of Mobilize, on why data and tech are so important to the success of volunteer recruitment and retention. Mobilize is the events management and volunteer recruitment platform that connects mission-driven organizations and their supporters. Mobilize has been used by over 1,000 organizations and 1.3M volunteers, in just… Read more »
164: Is Personalized Video Worth the Lift?
When it comes to advertising and marketing, it’s common knowledge that the more personalized the message, the better. But are personalized videos too heavy a lift? Oli Bridge, Head of Marketing at Bonjoro, says no. In fact, personalized video is the best way to double your fundraising efforts. This week, we sit with Bridge as… Read more »
163: Using the Impact Method – Sarah Olivieri
We interview Sarah Olivieri about the Impact Method and how to apply it to your nonprofit. https://pivotground.com/ Sarah Olivieri is a nonprofit business strategist, #1 International Best Selling author, and former Executive Director. She has been featured on over 30 podcasts and is the creator of the Impact Method™ – a framework that helps nonprofits simplify their operations,… Read more »
162: The Power of Pillar Pages for SEO
We talked with Whole Whale’s Rachel Clemens about the importance of pillar pages to organize and optimize your content. This fundamental SEO strategy is one of the most effective at building traffic around a larger keyword topic. Tune in as Rachel breaks down content arrangement and the pillar page planning process. To read more about… Read more »
161: Don’t Worry, Individual Giving is Down – Sherry Quam Taylor
Individual giving in 2018 declined 1.1% (adjusted inflation 3.4%) according to the annual Giving USA Trends report. Should we worry? Sherry Quam Taylor works with small to medium-sized nonprofits to jump-start their fundraising, aiding the transition from small individual donations to large foundational gifts. Tune in as we investigate the current paradox in giving trends,… Read more »
160: From Nonprofit to Elected Office? – Samra Brouk
Do nonprofits and politics have anything in common? For Samra Brouk, success in both has gone hand in hand. In this episode, Kariesha Martinez interviews Samra about her nonprofit background and her Democratic Senate race in the 55th District of NY State. We discuss the importance of fundraising, marketing, and remembering that all those data… Read more »
159: How to Survive in the Nonprofit Software Business – CauseVox
We interview Rob Wu the Founder and CEO of CauseVox.com a nonprofit focused fundraising solution https://www.causevox.com/. CauseVox has been around for over a decade in the SAS business world and has learned a lot over the years. Learn the value of capitalizing on your tailwind and growing an audience one post at a time. CauseVox generates… Read more »
158: Where Tech and Criminal Justice Intersect – Alia Toran-Burrell
Alia Toran-Burrell walks us through how a Code For America app, “Clear My Record,” went from connecting people with criminal records with attorneys to replacing attorneys altogether. We learn about the sobering reality of criminal record clearance in America, and the incredible ways tech is stepping in to fix the problem. For more information on… Read more »
157: “Transform Your Board Into a Fundraising Force” – Kay Sprinkel Grace
Renowned non-profit consultant, Kay Sprinkel Grace, reveals how to maximize board member engagement and bolster fundraising efforts with her “AAA” solution. Speaking to findings in her new book, “Transform Your Board Into a Fundraising Force: The Essentials You Need to Know,” Kay Sprinkel Grace breaks down the Ambassador, Advocacy, and Asker components of board membership. Her… Read more »
156: The 9 Nonprofit Trends of 2019 – Cause IQ
We interview Josh Hurd, the Founder of Cause IQ a leading nonprofit data aggregator about the top nonprofit trends of 2019. Cause IQ used their data to compare nonprofit financials from 2018-2019 versus 2017-2018 for the same 5,000 most popular organizations, and found that revenues are growing more than previously for most organizations — but… Read more »
155: The 2020 Privacy Protections – SHIELD & CCPA
Our guest, Joshua Peskay, VP of Technology Strategy of Round Table Technologies and Whole Whale University Cyber Security teacher explains what nonprofits need to know about the coming changes. There are two new major online privacy policy changes coming in 2020, the CCPA in California and SHIELD act in New York. The New York Stop Hacks and Improve… Read more »
154: Adventures at AfroTech 2019
Whole Whale’s Advertising Fellow, Kariesha Martinez shares her experience and interviews at AfroTech 2019. AfroTech is the largest conference gathering of Black techies created by Blavity, an American Internet media company and website based in Los Angeles, created by and for Black millennials. Their mission is to “economically and creatively support Black millennials across the African… Read more »
153: Using Analytics to Answer: Who Are My Donors? – Webinar with CauseVox
What motivates new donors versus returning donors? What content do they favor? What series of interactions drove them to donate in the first place? Using Google Analytics, along with your donation platform and social media insights tools, you can get the answers to these questions and more. Join George Weiner, CEO + Founder of Whole… Read more »
152: Why we should save .ORG domains
In an interview with Jacob Malthouse, founder of .ECO domains and former VP of Global Partnerships of ICANN. Jacob explains how domains are run by ICANN and the Internet Society, making the case for why they should be saved. Support the message at: SaveDotOrg.org The nonprofit that runs .ORG domains is being taken over by… Read more »
151: Private Equity Buys .ORG Public Interest Registry (PIR)
On November 13th, 2019 the Internet Society and Public Interest Registry (PIR) announced that Ethos Capital will acquire PIR and all of its assets from the Internet Society for $1.135 Billion dollars. What does it mean that a private equity firm now own the .ORG, .NGO, .ONG domains nonprofits rely on for their websites? We… Read more »
150: Navigating the future of jobs – Brynne Kennedy
This podcast conversation about the Talent Mobility Revolution, a concept Brynne Kennedy breaks down in her book Flat, Fluid and Fast: Harness the Talent Mobility Revolution to Drive Employee Engagement, Accelerate Innovation, and Unleash Growth. Brynne is also a candidate for US Congress in California’s Fourth Congressional District and shares larger thoughts on what leads… Read more »
149: The 2019 Giving Tuesday Webinar
GivingTuesday was launched in 2012 as a day to celebrate and inspire giving and has since grown into the world’s largest movement for generosity. Last year, GivingTuesday crossed the $1 billion mark, with U.S. nonprofits raising over $400 million online in just one day. Are you ready for this year? Join Chief Whaler George Weiner… Read more »
148: How We Won the H-1B Lottery
We interviewed our own Technical Creative Director, Ann Nguyen about her five-year journey of working on an H-1B visa then finally gaining employment-based permanent residency through EB-3 application. This long process involved a lot of work, paper, patience and of course, luck. This podcast conversation walks through how a company should consider the value of… Read more »
147: Happy Birthday to Me – Facebook Fundraisers
A short fun podcast about the importance of Facebook birthday fundraisers in nonprofit online fundraising plans. Since 2015, Facebook fundraisers have raised over $2 Billion, half of this has been from the birthday function. George talks about his own small birthday fundraiser on Facebook to support Power Poetry and how it looks in the larger… Read more »
146: Making Volunteer Time Count – Timecounts.org
Interview with Amanda Rose the Founder and CEO of Timecounts. This volunteer management software platform is now helping thousands of organizers and organizations manage and mobilize volunteers. Amanda shares her background of founding Twestival and her journey of launching a startup in the social impact sector. There is a point where spreadsheets just don’t work… Read more »
145: End-of-Year Fundraising Tips
Megan Anhalt, Chief Strategy Officer of Whole Whale shares advice for EOY fundraising and what your nonprofit should be doing to maximize holiday giving. Did you know that 12% of funds are donated in the last three days of December? We discuss how this, Giving Tuesday and other events/behaviors should impact your EOY strategies. More… Read more »
144: Why We Sent a Whaler to Buenos Aires
We interview Meredith Esquivel, Marketing Manager and Dean of Whole Whale University about why she spent the month of September 2019 in Buenos Aires working remotely. Meredith explains the perk that Whole Whale offers through https://www.hackerparadise.org/ that pays for whalers (staff) to work remotely for the company. The catch is that employees must agree to stay on… Read more »
143: Why Out-of-the-box Analytics Fail – Simo Ahava
This week’s interview is with Simo Ahava, who is a partner and co-founder at 8-bit-sheep and also has been a Google Developer Expert for Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager since 2014. Simo’s blog has a singular purpose: To tell complicated stories in a simple, understandable, and actionable way at simoahava.com. We discuss why out-of-the-box implementations of tools like Google Analytics… Read more »
142: How to Stand Out like a Stand Up comedian – Leigh Kessler
Interview with Leigh Kessler, one of the most recognized comedians on the VH1 network, regularly appearing on hit shows like “The Greatest”, and the network’s top-rated show “Best Week Ever”, and CNN Headline News where he was a comedy panelist on “Showbiz Tonight”. Today he is a frequent speaker & presenter on technology, fundraising, data strategy, and audience development.… Read more »
141: The Making of Nonprofit Management 101 (the book)
This comprehensive book about Nonprofit management just released its second edition and the editor, Darian Rodriguez Heyman talks about the process and lessons learned. We learn about the process of gathering experts, making the asks, and the marketing involved in creating the book. In just two short weeks, Nonprofit Management 101 has become a top seller on… Read more »
140: Crash Course in NGO State Fundraising Compliance
When is it OK to drive above the speed limit when it comes to registering your nonprofit in each State? With millions being raised across the digital landscape this decision could cost your nonprofit thousands in fines if you don’t understand the rules. Ronald J. Barrett, VP, Nonprofit Services at Cogency Global and Author: Nonprofit Fundraising Registration: Nolo’s 50-State… Read more »
139: Building Mental Availability to Grow Brands (rebroadcast)
Original episode 67 resources. How Brands Grow is one of our favorite books at Whole Whale and in this rebroadcasted episode 67, we talk with a researcher who worked with the Author. Dr Margaret Faulkner, Senior Research Associate, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the business school, in the University of South Australia. Margaret’s primary areas of… Read more »
138: Gaming & Live Stream Fundraisers – How to with Tiltify
Tiltify is a leading platform for live stream fundraisers for nonprofits. Michael Wasserman their CEO (Creative Evil Overlord), explains how the platform works and what makes for a successful stream. Resources Tiltify.com Who are Dr. Lupo and Ninja, gaming celebrities Pickle Challenge on Tiltify GuardianCon – social good gaming conference Twitch and Twitch Con PAX… Read more »
137: Our Employee Gave 3 Months Notice – here’s why
This episode comes from inside of Whole Whale where our Digital Analyst whaler, Jack Downs talks about why he gave 3 months notice to George (founder of Whole Whale). It is Whole Whale’s requested policy that employees give 3 months notice, something unheard of in standard 2 weeks notice HR policies. This conversation explores the… Read more »
136: Managing Facebook Fundraisers Effectively – GoodUnited.io
Facebook fundraisers are raising hundreds of millions for nonprofits. This new avenue of giving continues to grow with Instagram donation stickers and increasing use of the Birthday fundraiser feature. Jeremy Berman, Founder and President of GoodUnited.io discusses the process of managing and thanking the donors giving on Facebook. The work of thanking and engaging with… Read more »
135: Why Peer-to-Peer Fundraising works – Rallybound.com
The Co-Founder of Rallybound, Joe Magee shares what they have learned after supporting hundreds of nonprofits with peer-to-peer fundraising. The industry is as old as it is successful, helping raise millions of dollars year-in and year-out. P2P fundraising began with large organized walks but now boasts an incredibly diverse range of events/activities that allow supporters… Read more »
134: Raising $50M from online gaming with Extra-Life.org
E-Sports are on track to be a billion-dollar market in 2019 and the opportunity for peer-to-peer giving is just starting. Extra Life unites thousands of gamers around the world to play games in support of their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. Since its inception in 2008, Extra Life has raised over $50 million USD for sick and… Read more »
133: Is it a mission or vision statement?
Whole Whale’s COO, Megan Anhalt dives into how to create a mission and vision statement, what the difference is and helps us tell the difference. This podcast builds on our popular Mission Statement Generator resources. In short, the vision statement is the destination and the mission statement is the path – the how you get… Read more »
132: Engage for Good 2019 Conference interviews
Whole Whale’s Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti went to the Engage For Good conference in Chicago on May 29th-30th and had quick interviews with attendees. The conference focuses on cause marketing, profit, and purpose. Organizations interviewed: CSM LeadDog, Adrienne Rochetti For Momentum, Mollye Rhea, President and Founder Good 360, Jim Alvey, Director of Partnerships, Disaster Recovery Harbor Compliance, Borock… Read more »
131: (short) US Giving Drops 1.7% – What Gives?
The Giving USA report came out on June 18th and announced that interest adjusted giving dropped 1.7% in 2018. A big culprit is the tax deduction changes, however, the data show several shifts that may be moving this trend. Internal podcast with Megan Anhalt, CSO of Whole Whale and George Weiner, Chief Whaler discuss the… Read more »
130: How to manage thousands of volunteers – FoodForward.org
Interview with Joe Bobman, the Technology & Engagement Manager of Food Forward. Food Forward fights hunger and prevents food waste by rescuing fresh surplus produce, connecting this abundance with people in need and inspiring others to do the same. They do this with the help of thousands of volunteers that are carefully managed through communication tech. Resources Foodforward.org http://learn.volunteermatch.org/ https://volpro.net/… Read more »
129: The Story of a Free Fundraising Platform – GiveLively.org
We interview David DeParolesa, Chief Executive Officer of Give Lively a free fundraising platform. In the nonprofit software landscape full of fees for donation processing, this company is a true standout offering their myriad platform features at 0 extra cost. Their journey of building a free platform has taught Give Lively a lot about what works… Read more »
128: RoundUp App: Making Change Matter for Charity
Interview with Grant Hensel, founder of the RoundUp App and Nonprofit Megaphone. The app allows supporters to round up the change from their credit card purchases for the charity they care about every month. Learn how this app got started and how it is helping nonprofits build their recurring giving campaigns. How the RoundUp App… Read more »
127: LinkedIn Strategies for Nonprofits
We talk with Megan Anhalt, the Chief Strategy Officer at Whole Whale about using LinkedIn more effectively. Why LinkedIn for nonprofits? It’s one of the largest social networks: More than 610 million users in 200 countries and territories around the globe are on LinkedIn. Over 260 Million monthly active users: An estimated 100 Million of… Read more »
126: Using AI for Ethical Impact with Lisa Rau
In this episode, we interview AI expert Lisa Rau, Founder of Fionta. Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and is a part of the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) group. She also led AI research for eight years at GE Corporate Research, where she published 50-some articles in peer-reviewed journals… Read more »
125: How to Grow App & Podcast Audiences – Charity Miles
We talk with Gene Gurkoff, the founder of Charity Miles about how he has grown their user base to over 250k monthly active users and a successful podcast that supports their community. Charity Miles is an app that allows donates money from corporate sponsors to the charity you care about for every mile you exercise. Resources… Read more »
124: Instagram Donation Stickers #MakeStoriesMatter
On May 1st, 2019 Instagram launched a new giving tool, we discuss how to make Instagram donation stickers. Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti from our team about different story strategies to try to raise money for your nonprofit.
123: Storytelling through the press
We talk with Chandra Hayslett, Communications Director at Center for Constitutional Rights about how she leverages the press to tell CRR’s story. Chandra is a Pulitzer-prize winning executive with 21 years’ communications experience (10 in communications and 11 in journalism) with sound awareness in developing and implementing integrated marketing and communications plans that advance clients’… Read more »
122: How to Run an Apps for Good Gathering
We attended the http://publicgoodapphouse.org on March 29th, 2019 to learn more about this great event and the showcased apps. Then the organizer, Susan Tenby, the Director of Community + Partnerships for Caravan Studios, a division of TechSoup shared how she organizes these gatherings. Resources http://stophatespeech.eventbrite.com – next event: Wed, April 24, 2019 – 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT… Read more »
121: Start your Nonprofit Capital Campaign Right Now
We discuss why right now in 2019 is the absolute best time in history to start a capital campaign for your nonprofit. Increased wealth, wealth transfer events, and tax climates are aligning and who knows how long it will last before the next economic slowdown. CJ Orr of The Orr Group walks us through the… Read more »
120: (short) Facebook is not a social media platform
A short monologue about why Facebook is not a social media platform if you are an organization, it is an Ad Platform. We talk about basic ads strategy and how to think about using $100 per month to test it. If you spend time making posts on Facebook, you are spending money. Each year, the… Read more »
119: Why 350.org Dismantled Their Digital Team
How 350.org, a very tech-savvy, global environmental organization changed its approach to their internal digital team. Hanna Thomas, the Chief Product Officer explains how the organization made this transition to a product mindset. Her Medium article about removing their digital team inspired this conversation. Resources Find 350.org on Twitter @350 New/Mode advocacy campaign tools Your… Read more »
118: Elevator Pitch-off with 37 Vendors at #19NTC
We attended the 2019 Nonprofit Technology Conference (#19NTC) from March 13-15 in Portland, OR and gave 37 software vendors 15 seconds to pitch what their product is and what it does. This is a fun tour around the Nonprofit Technology Conference and an opportunity to listen for what you think works and might work for… Read more »
117: Using Local Podcasts for a Purpose
We interview Lucas Griffin about how he is using the Bushwick Podcast to share stories and news happening in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The series celebrates local culture, explains the factors driving change in the community, and shares resources to help people in the neighborhood shape the future of Bushwick for the better. Lucas shares how they use the… Read more »
116: The logic of good IA to improve websites
We interview Sam Raddatz, CEO and Lead Information Architect of the Logic Dept. about the importance of information architecture (IA) and the process of doing user testing to improve websites. Sam explains how we can avoid the ‘curse of knowledge’ and see our websites through the eyes of others and then make changes necessary to… Read more »
115: Breaking into the $100B inside Donor-Advised Funds (DAF)
Sue Schwartzman, an expert in advising family philanthropic dollars shares her insight into Donor-Advised Funds. A market that currently controls over $100B in assets earmarked for charities. Sue is the founder at Schwartzman Advising and has years of experience understanding this market and how to position your organization for those larger dollars. … Read more »
114: Understanding Lean Impact for Nonprofits
We interview Ann Mei the author of Lean Impact. She is a leading advocate for social innovation and the former Chief Innovation Officer at USAID. She draws on her rare experience as an executive across the tech industry, nonprofits, and the U.S. government to offer a unique perspective on tackling the most pressing social challenges… Read more »
113: Startup using bottles to save the environment
We interview Patrick Boadu, a partner at Soul Bottles, a B-Corp making custom glass water bottles in Germany that also gives a portion of sales to water-focused nonprofits. Their work has prevented 800kg (1,760lbs) of wasted plastic and given 42,000 people access to clean drinking water. Resources Soul Bottles – order custom brand glass bottles… Read more »
112: One Billion Messages for Good with Twilio.org
We talk with Meghan Nesbit, Director of Nonprofit Development at Twilio.org about how they got to 1 Billion SMS messages and how the larger company thinks about impact. Twilio is a leader in SMS and flexible messaging solutions and their approach to impact involves grants, volunteering, and in-kind use of their powerful product. We also… Read more »
111: How Box.org Works – founder interview
We hear how Box.com, leading online cloud storage and content management tool has grown it’s CSR program in a novel way. Bryan Breckenridge, the Founding Executive Director shares the approach and story of how Box.org became an embedded social enterprise within Box.com. He also shares great case studies of how nonprofits are leveraging the power… Read more »
110: (short) How we spent $13k on a vitamin
A short episode talking about the creation and termination of AllGoodText.com, a product by Whole Whale. AllGoodText.com was a product we launched in 2014 that pulled data from YouTube and Google Analytics and turned it into a weekly text message summary. After four years and thousands of data texts we’re closing shop as of Nov,… Read more »
109: Play That Pays at Playworks – Interview With the President
We interviewed Elizabeth Cushing, the President of PLAYWORKS about how they have built a model of healthy play to schools at scale. As a part of the journey they have innovated, creating earned revenue streams through the PLAYWORKS programs and open models with RECESS LAB. Resources RECESS LAB PLAYWORKS on Facebook PLAYWORKS Impact (From Playworks)… Read more »
108: 92nd Street Y on the creation of Giving Tuesday
The Chief Innovation Officer, Asha Curran shares the story of how the 92nd Street Y created the epic day of #GivingTuesday. This day of giving follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US and has been adopted on various days across the globe. In 2017 it raised over $300M and there is no way… Read more »
107: Raising +100k Coats and Dollars From the Rising Generation at New York Cares
Gary Bagley, Executive Director of New York Cares, shares how the organization has achieved the milestone of distributing 2 million winter coats for New Yorkers in need as well as plans for growing impact further. Gary shares how the organization aims to use text messaging and other technologies to improve volunteering engagement. We also discuss… Read more »
106: Using Digital Campaigns at the USO
We interview Adam Faircloth, Senior Digital Strategist and Beth Palmisano, Director of Integrated Fundraising about how they used a digital campaign to drive impact and fundraising outcomes at the USO. Their Campaign to Connect drove over a million messages of support to troops and helped build a substantial base of support for their integrated fundraising program.
105: (short) Don’t build that app!
We make the case for not building an app. When you balance the cost and facts of app usage it is probably the worst technical investment your organization can make. Consider that about 20% of apps are used once then deleted (flurry + Statista), and 80% apps don’t make it 30 days (Quettra mobile analytics).… Read more »
104: Keeping your Nonprofit Brand Current
Sarah Durham, author of the book Brandraising and CEO and founder of Big Duck shares current trends in nonprofit branding and communications. We discuss how much has changed since the company’s founding in 1994 and what has stayed the same. The question of whether to evolve a brand or rebrand entirely is also discussed. Resources Books… Read more »
103: Understanding Facebook Fundraising
Facebook’s donation tool charges 0% and has raised hundreds of millions for nonprofits that know how to use it. Digital fundraising strategist, Julia Campbell walks us through how your organization can use this powerful platform. Julia is also the author of – Storytelling in the Digital Age: A Guide for Nonprofits! Resources Free and low-cost… Read more »
102: Crafting a digital strategy for TFA
A case study of how Teach For America implemented a digital strategy across the organization. This case study goes through the process that Peter Petralia, Partner at Modern Craft led. We learn the key elements involved in steering an organization of this size. Resources Modern Craft TFA case study Episode 12: Teach For America Podcast… Read more »
101: Lyft-ing up Social Impact: Inside CSR at Lyft
We interview Lisa Boyd, Senior Manager of Social Impact at Lyft. This ridesharing company is setting a standard for social impact that includes the largest carbon offset programs in history, direct donations and offering free “relief rides” that make a difference for thousands. Resources Relief Rides Program Lyft Round Up and Donate Atlantic article about… Read more »
100: Seth Godin on Nonprofit Strategy
Acclaimed author, marketer, and teacher, Seth Godin, whose mentorship inspired the birth of Whole Whale, joins us for our 100th podcast episode. While there is more knowledge accessible today than any other time in human history, Godin contends, we’re spending our time watching cat videos instead. (Hey, some of those cat videos are trying to… Read more »
099: Earworms for good – Music branding for social impact
We talk with Greg Thomas, Whole Whale’s campaign strategist and professional musician about the use of music and jingles for impact. How does your organization use or think about music branding, theme songs, or jingles when creating the brand image? Organizations spend tons on visual branding, videos and storytelling but all too often outsource the… Read more »
098: Crisitunities & other story telling campaign tactics
This week on the podcast we talk with Megan Anhalt, a digital campaign expert who has worked with DoSomething.org, CZI, and Purpose. Megan shares her research and training around the elements of storytelling for campaigns and what it takes to “go viral”. We explore how nonprofits can and should take advantage of ‘crisitunities’, moments when… Read more »
097: How GuardianX is leveraging tech for social change
It’s Friday night. You’ve left a bar, said goodbye to your friends heading in the opposite direction, and are walking the 8 blocks home. Or perhaps you’ve worked late and are making your way to a different subway station to get home because your normal train isn’t running. Maybe you’re in a new town at a… Read more »
096: How to #win at Facebook advertising for nonprofits
This week on the podcast, we talk about the website that Shall Not Be Named: Can we still use Facebook advertising for good (could we ever use Facebook advertising for good?). tl;dr — yes. Our own Digital Advertising Whaler Jasmine Cordew joins us to talk about navigating the Social Network for social impact. There are several advantages… Read more »
095: How Cystic Fibrosis Foundation builds online communities
This week on the podcast, Chief Whaler George Weiner chats with Emily Dulcan, Online Community Experience Lead at Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Joining CFF after 3 years as Digital Director at the Peace Corps, Emily knows from community building. She talks with George about how the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation overcomes the challenge of in-person interaction for… Read more »
094: How Fair Trade Certified is building on 20 years of impact with lean digital practices
If you’ve ever bought coffee from Whole Foods, chances are you’ve seen the Fair Trade Certified logo. The organization has been helping consumers to make the right choice the easiest choice by identifying thousands of products that are made and harvested in sustainable and ethical manners, protecting land and waterways in nearly 50 countries and… Read more »
093.5: (Short) Phishing for Cyber Security
What is the point of a firewall when you’re employees leave the back door open? This short rant from Chief Whaler George Weiner discusses some super simple things your employees can to protect against 90% of the cyber attacks out there. Many of the emails about privacy policy invading our inboxes are little more than reactions to… Read more »
093: All about GDPR with Stanford PACS
How are we using private information for public good? GDPR (aka, the General Data Protection Regulation) goes into effect in the European Union next week, so now’s a good time to be asking that question. GDPR compliance means more than the click of a button: This is a fundamental reevaluation of how we protect and… Read more »
092: Saving the internet with the Mozilla Foundation
In Episode 92 of Using the Whole Whale, we talk to Craig Wiroll, the Gigabit Portfolio Manager with the Mozilla Foundation, about the Foundation’s work to save the Internet… and maybe all of the people that use it? If Mozilla is new to you, we won’t say you live under a rock, but you live nearby…If… Read more »
091.5: Things we Learned from #18NTC
Bonus episode! George and Olivia talk through some of the highlights from #18NTC, the 2018 Nonprofit Technology Conference, including the state of play for Facebook, what we can look forward to with GDPR, and how we can apply lessons from a digital newsroom for nonprofit communications. We may have also had a few sazeracs. When… Read more »
091: Sasha Samochina on how NASA fuses science and art (Live from SXSW)
In our final Live from SXSW episode (for 2018 at least), Olivia speaks with Sasha Samochina of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. While everyone else was at Westworld, Olivia talks about the Wild West of VR with Sasha, one of the JPL’s Immersive Visualization Producers in Pasadena, CA after her panel, “Let’s Get Real: Practical Uses… Read more »
90.5 CFC drops $66M – news update from America’s Charities
The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) reported that $101M was raised in 2017 by federal employees, this represents a 40% or $66M decline in funds raised for nonprofits. In 2009, this same program raised over $200M has steadily declined over the past years and Jim Starr, the President and CEO of America’s Charities helps us understand… Read more »
090: CERN — Doing the things a particle can with James Beacham (Live from SXSW)
Science, y’all. Olivia is (at least in podcast terms) still at SXSW 2018, talking with Dr. James Beacham, with the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, who was part of the panel Decrypting the Universe: Science and Art at CERN last month in Austin. The Higgs boson particle? The Large Hadron Collider?… Read more »
089: Lean Data with Emma Lalley and Twisha Mehta (Live from SXSW)
When we see a conference session titled “Lean Data: How to Use Data to Drive Social Progress,” you can bet we’re signing up, and that’s exactly what happened when Account Strategist Whaler Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti went to SXSW last month. After a great session co-led by Emma Lalley of New Story and Twisha Mehta of Samasource (along… Read more »
088: WTF with Tim O’Reilly (Live from SXSW)
In a special (perhaps Very Special?) episode of Using the Whole Whale recorded live in Austin, Olivia Marlowe-Giovetti speaks with Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Media. If you’re using the Internet today (and you are if you’re listening to this podcast), you can thank Tim in at least some small part. He wrote the first popular… Read more »
087.5: Things We Learned from Strata Data Conference
In the second of 2 episodes between Chief Whaler George and Account Strategist Whaler Olivia, we talk about (taco-bout?) our recent conference adventures, wrapping up with George’s time at the Strata Data Conference in San José (where our Design Whaler Ann presented on Machine Learning and A/B Testing). Much like SXSW, tacos were had. Attending… Read more »
087: Things We Learned from SXSW
In the first of 2 episodes between Chief Whaler George and Account Strategist Whaler Olivia, we talk about (taco-bout?) our recent conference adventures, beginning with Olivia’s time at SXSW 2018. There were discussions on digital sanctuary, empathy, VR, blockchain, and — of course — tacos. Yes, Elon Musk did a pop-up AMA. Yes, Westworld was… Read more »
086: Using the Thank You Strategy (short)
A short podcast where George talks about a simple, yet powerful way to think about thanking your audience in order to increase the impact of your communications. Resources Thank You Economy book Donor’s Choose Drip campaign strategy Environmental Defense Fund podcast
085: The Testimonial Tactic (short)
This is a short ideacast from George Weiner about how you can better leverage testimonials in your business. Our online reputations are shaped by how others report on our services and work – how are you being deliberate about asking for these reviews? Per the request made in the podcast, please consider taking a minute… Read more »
084: Totally Uncorked with Nonprofit Branding Evangelist Elaine Fogel
If you think nonprofit branding is important, this podcast is for you. We speak with author, speaker, marketer, brand and customer experience evangelist, educator, and consultant Elaine Fogel, president and CMO of Solutions Marketing & Consulting LLC located in Scottsdale, Arizona. A sought-after marketing and branding thought leader who specializes in small-to-medium businesses and nonprofit organizations, Elaine… Read more »
083: Bringing classical music into the digital age with 21C Media Group
In M+R’s 2017 Benchmarks Study, cultural nonprofits emerged as the MVP in several areas. Email list size growth was more than double the overall nonprofit average (21% compared to 10%). Website visitor signup rates were simiarly higher than average — 2.7% for cultural nonprofits versus the overall average of 1.1%. This sector also had the… Read more »
082: Understanding workplace giving with America’s Charities
Workplace giving contributes roughly $4 billion to charities in the U.S. each year. As the data show, there is a burgeoning interest in the workforce of aligning with organizations that share their personal values, and that includes giving back either through monetary contributions or in-kind pro bono work. There’s no organization better suited to talk… Read more »
081: Risky Business with Risk Alternatives
Risk: Grey hair generator, or force for good? We talk with Ted Bilich, CEO of DC-based Risk Alternatives. Their mission is to build stronger communities by helping nonprofits and startups master risk management and process improvement, implementing a regular cycle to create a resilient culture. No one wants to talk about all of the things that can… Read more »
080: Using Facebook Messaging for Impact with @Mssg
We interview Michael Sabat, Founder of @Mssg and talk about how organizations can more easily use Facebook messaging to collect information and connect with their audience. Facebook messenger and messaging continue to grow and audiences may be expecting your page to respond with a chat experience. This episode covers different ways your organization can leverage… Read more »
079: The role of a digital team at Communities in Schools
We interview Shakirah A. Hill| Director, Digital Strategy at the Communities In Schools National Office. The discussion covers breaking down silos across the organization and how to balance data and anecdotes in storytelling. Resources Communities in Schools On Twitter @cisnational Find Shakirah on Twitter @ShakirahAdianna About Shakirah Hill Shakirah Hill is the… Read more »
078: #GivingTuesday predictions and tips for 2017
November 28th, 2017 is the big day – #GivingTuesday is the national day of giving following Black Friday and Cyber Monday. We share our predictions and quick tips for how to maximize the day for your nonprofit. Spoiler – we believe giving will pass the $200M mark, showing a 20% lift from 2016’s day of… Read more »
077: Making Fundraising mobile with MobileCause
We interview Sean MacNeill the CEO of MobileCause an organization that provides mobile and online fundraising solutions for a new generation of donors with end-to-end digital fundraising software that is easy, fast, flexible and built exclusively for nonprofits. Resources MobileCause website Low-cost SMS solutions About Sean Sean MacNeill joined MobileCause as CEO and a member… Read more »
076: Distilling what you need to know about SEO for impact
Great discussion with Will Critchlow, the Founder and CEO of Distilled, an SEO digital agency. We discuss how to engage, influence, convince and convert organic traffic by creating the right content. How much should you study the changing field of SEO to get the most out of it? Resources Distilled SEO and tech consulting and… Read more »
075: How to think about designing and building websites with Great Believer
We interview Josh Riman, the founder of Great Believer, a nonprofit-focused creative services agency about the importance of design. Websites and Resources Upwork 99designs Designing the stop sign parody video Front door disease article Square space – low-cost website builder and platform Wix – low-cost website builder and platform Builtwith.com – shows what a website… Read more »
074: The strategy of staying top of mind with content
Interview with John Hall, the author of “Top of Mind: Use Content to Unleash Your Influence and Engage Those Who Matter To You” and CEO and co-founder of Influence & Co., a tech-enabled content marketing agency that helps brands and individuals extract and leverage their expertise to create, publish, and distribute content to gain influence, visibility,… Read more »
073: The Clean Money Revolution – How is your money invested?
We interview Joel Solomon, the author of “Clean Money Revolution: Reinventing Power, Purpose and Capitalism“. Our discussion covers what ‘social impact investing’ is and why it is important for the coming generation to care where their money goes. About Joel Solomon Prior to the founding of Renewal Funds, Joel spent 14 years with founder… Read more »
072: How Voting Should Work with Democracy Works
This episode features a discussion with Kathryn Peters, the co-founder of Democracy Works and Magdalena Kura, the Product Director at Democracy Works. Their work is helping register more voters across the country and increase participation in local and national elections. “One study of the 2012 elections estimated that as many as 3.9… Read more »
071: Email Fundraising with the Environmental Defense Fund
Can nonprofits increase their donation size using basic email marketing techniques? Yes they can, and we sat down with Emily Stevenson of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to learn how. Compared to direct mail and other forms of communication, email marketing is a very effective and low-cost form of member engagement. Using EDF’s email list… Read more »
070: Listening to Communities to Create Better Apps
We interview Marnie Webb the CEO of Caravan Studios, a division of TechSoup, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Caravan Studios’ collaborative approach uses a theory of technology intervention to allow communities to respond to the issues they care about most. Caravan Studios has used this methodology to launch projects in the United States, Brazil, and Qatar. The… Read more »
069: Primal Branding for Nonprofits
We interview Patrick Hanlon the author of Primal Branding and the CEO and founder of THINKTOPIA, a global brand and strategic innovation practice for Fortune 100 clients including American Express, Levis, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PricewaterhouseCoopers and many others. We discuss how nonprofits should think about these core elements lead into a belief system… Read more »
67.5 – Content Marketing for Nonprofits
In this episode, we talk with Olivia Giovetti from the Whole Whale team about content marketing and how nonprofits can leverage it. It is also revealed that Olivia originally found out about Whole Whale through content created around Giving Tuesday! Resources Learn more about content marketing strategy Learn the basics of SEO for nonprofits Understand… Read more »
067: Myth Busting Nonprofit Marketing with Science
We debunk myths about burst advertising, branding, and customer retention with Dr Margaret Faulkner, Senior Research Associate, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the business school, in the University of South Australia. Margaret’s primary areas of expertise and research are in measuring consumer-based brand equity and advertising effectiveness, with a focus on tracking brand health… Read more »
066: How Charity Charge is turning credit points into purpose
We Interview the founder of Charity Charge, Stephen Garten, about how he got started and how his company is changing the charity credit card game. Instead of earning miles or bonus points, every transaction with the Charity Charge card allows you to donate 1% cash back to ANY nonprofit of your choice. It’s an easy… Read more »
065: DoSomething.org Webinar on How to do Cause Marketing
Webinar with Samra Brouk the Director of Business Development at DoSomething.org. Samra walks us through how DoSomething.org aproaches combining cause campaigns, celebrities and sponsors to drive impact and revenue. DoSomething.org has worked with some of the largest brands in the country to create meaningful campaigns that have engaged millions of young people. Their approach is… Read more »
064: The Happy Healthy Nonprofit author interview
We interview the authors of The Happy Healthy Nonprofit; Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman. This book shows you how to shift your organization’s culture by treating self-care as a strategic imperative to do more and do it better. Find and relieve cultural and behavioral pain points Achieve better results with attention to well-being Redefine your… Read more »
063: How Video Games Can Save the World – Author Asi Burak
We interview Asi Burak, the author of Power Play: How Video Games Can Save the World about the bold claim regarding video games. Asi serves as the Chairman of Games for Change (G4C), an influential organization with the mission to celebrate the positive power of digital games. G4C produces the Annual Games for Change Festival… Read more »
062: Author Interview – Mission Control
We interviewed Liana Downey, an internationally acclaimed strategic advisor dedicated to creating social change. As the CEO of Liana Downey & Associates, Liana leads a global team that helps leaders increase focus and change lives. Clients include social enterprises, nonprofits and federal, state and city governments, such as Speak up Africa, Community Solutions, the Nature… Read more »
061: The Foxiest Fundraising Data To Explore From MJFF
Live from our WWULive training on Donor Analytics, we talk with the top data analysts from the Michael J Fox Foundation about how they use fundraising data to increase results. We talk with Luba Smolensky, Associate Director of Analytics and Matt Krco, CRM & Analytics Officer about the tools and tactics they use to analyze… Read more »
060: How to Make Your Cause More Effective at Fundraising
Special interview done at our WWULive event focused on doing more with donor data. We interview Greg Cohen the Associate Director of Cause Effective about how they approach fundraising. Resources Presentation from event: Cause Effective Video from our WWULive event
059: Domains That Save the Environment: Announcing .ECO
The top level domain (TLD) .ECO is being released starting in 2017 and we talk with the founders of this initiative to see how it works under the hood.
058: Food from Tablets to Tables & The Metrics of Dignity
We interview Daniel S. Reyes, the Deputy Executive Director from NY Common Pantry about their choice pantry program. Daniel shares what the organization learned about how this move to digitization improved their stockroom efficiency and helped them better understand what their customers wanted.
057: How the Golden Volunteering Mobile App is Building for Impact
In this episode, we speak to Sam Fankuchen, the founder and CEO of Golden, about how Golden strives to improve volunteerism for both the volunteer and the nonprofit that is hosting the volunteers.
056: Technology Trends for Tomorrow with Future Today Institute
Future Today Institute researches emerging technology to predict the future. We speak with Amy Webb, the founder and CEO of Future Today, about how to identify trends in technology and how we use those to plan for the future.
055: How we built a successful web product MVP for $100
SNORKL is a product designed to help bridge the gap between nonprofits and vendors. Whole Whale speaks to one of its own, Laura Clevenger, to talk about the process of designing that could change the sector.
054: Texts that Change Climate with ACE
ACE is a company that strives to educate and empower young people to make a difference in climate change. We speak to Leah Qusba, ACE’s Communications Director, about the use of SMS in their education programs, and the use of surveying for long and short term projects.
053: Awesome Automation Tools Used At The True Colors Fund
Joe Moran, the Chief Creative Officer of The True Colors Fund is a master of automating his work. He discusses his tricks, starting with a list of repetitive tasks as he comes across them and then seeing how they may be automated by tools like ITTT.com and Zapier.com.
052: Helping Homelessness with Hope Data
Dan Treglia PhD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice discusses his research on the impact of hope and resilience on family shelter stays. We talk with him about how he did this research and at a broader level how other organizations can think about impact studies like these.
051: Making Food Stamps User-Friendly
PROPEL builds software for low-income Americans who are often overlooked by traditional tech innovation. We talk with Jimmy Chen the CEO, Founder and his CTO, Ram Mehta about how they have gone about building the app that is now helping thousands of people manage their food stamps.
050: The data behind donor retention with CauseVox
We talked with Rob Wu the CEO of CauseVox about data from the 2015 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey Report put together by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. We discuss the data and more importantly how nonprofits should think about keeping their donors.
049: Bit.ly and Canva Tips from TopNonprofits
During the NTC 2016 conference in San Jose, we caught up with Amy Devita from Top Nonprofits – a great resource for nonprofit lists and guides. She shares the thinking behind how Top Nonprofits chooses the content they write and then how they use Bit.ly to track it and Canva to make it look good.
048: How to Select, Run, and Attend a Conference like a Boss
Ritu Sharma, the co-founder of Social Media For Nonprofits has years of experience running, speaking and attending conferences that help the nonprofit sector. We cover what to look for in a conference, tactics to help you find a speaking role, ways to keep costs down, and the best way to focus your networking.
047: Back to the Future of Fundraising with MJFF
The Michael J. Fox foundation was able to capture the attention from Back to the Future Day in 2015 and turn it into a record breaking fundraising year around #GivingTuesday. Emily Moyer, the SVP of Marketing and Digital Strategies at the Michael J. Fox Foundation explains the process of moving friends to funders.
046: What happens when the world has internet? Avinash Kaushik
In this brief discussion, we discuss the impact that universal connectivity will have on nonprofits and what web analytics will look like in this landscape with Avinash Kaushik, the Digital Marketing Evangelist for Google, co-Founder of Market Motive Inc and author of best selling analytics books.
045: Data Storytelling with Avinash Kaushik
Avinash Kaushik, the Digital Marketing Evangelist for Google, co-Founder of Market Motive Inc and author of best selling analytics books shares his thoughts on the difficult process of turning data into insights.
044: Using Marketplaces to Move Hunger
Today we have a great conversation with Adam Lowy, the founder of Move For Hunger, an organization that organizes movers to donate the food that people normally waste when they move. Learn how they use offline and online activities to increase the amount of food donated to those in need.
043: Monetizing Your Nonprofit’s Core Competency
Today, we interview with Steve Vick, the founder of Nonprofit Ally and Noble Paws. In this podcast he talks to us about his inspiration and approach to creating both organizations in a way that supports revenue and makes a difference in the world.
042: Turning Small Actions into Big Wins with Change.org
Change.org is the largest website for petitions on the internet with over 100 million users. We interview Meghan Teich, the west coast client manager, about the best way for nonprofits to leverage the platform.
041: Reading Literacy On Call for Lower Schools
TutorMate is a program run by Innovations for Learning that connects trained, remote volunteers to help younger students with reading literacy. We talk with Dan Weisberg, the National Director of TutorMate about how they developed and scaled the program.
040: Bots don’t donate, so don’t pay to reach them
An article from Bloomberg Business this September, “How Much of Your Audience is Fake” caught our eye. We tracked down our friend and ad fraud expert Dr. Augustine Fou to talk with us about the article and some of his new research on bots and how to avoid them.
039: How to win online voting competitions
Mark Horvath, the founder of invisiblepeople.tv, and CMO of The Rescue Mission has participated and won some of these competitions but the greatest tip he has is actually not to play them at all. This week, Mark talks to us about the true cost behind burning your list to ask potential donors to vote for you.
038: Stop apologizing and start volunteering with @NewYorkCares
New York Cares is the city’s largest volunteer management organization, running volunteer programs for 1,300 nonprofits, city agencies, and public schools. Today, Gary Bagley, the Executive Director of New York Cares discusses how they use data and technology to increase the amount of New Yorkers that volunteer.
037: Growing Change @Greenpeace with the MobLab
Our conversation with Michael Silberman, the Global Director at the Mobilisation Lab discusses their approach and what has worked in their efforts to make change within a massive institution.
036: Where to start with online course creation for your organization
The world of elearning and online courses is growing by the day, so how can your nonprofit begin to play with this growing tech? Hear how Julie Leary, the Digital Strategy Whaler at Whole Whale, has created an online course that has trained over 200 students about the Google AdWords Grant in 3 months.
035: Should you go out of business to achieve the greatest impact?
Today, we speak with the founders of ChangeBetter.org, Amanda Ashton and Ellie Zietlin, to discuss their approach to helping nonprofits discover their impact model. We will talk about their journey starting and how they approach the sector.
034: What should nonprofits stop doing?
In the second half of our interview with Brian Reich, Author of Shift & Reset and founder of little m media, we discuss what nonprofits should stop doing and other fun rapid fire questions.
033: Shift & Reset your thinking about social impact with Brian Reich
How should we be setting goals and measuring success in the nonprofit sector? Find out the answer in the first half of our interview with Brian Reich, Author of Shift & Reset and founder of little m media.
032: How CauseIQ leverages Nonprofit big data
Cause IQ provides information and tools to help companies discover new nonprofit clients. Hear the inside story of how Josh Hurd, Founder of Cause IQ got started and has built his product.
031: How do you design a game to kick cancer’s ass? Ask HopeLab
Today, we speak to Dr. Janxin Leu, Director of Product Innovation at HopeLab. He explains how their behavioral approach to game design led to ground breaking results in a game designed to fight cancer.
030: Doing MAS with your Latino audience
Matt Addler, founder of M??S strategies, a marketing firm that helps nonprofits reach and speak to the right Latino market discusses why we need to think differently about this growing audience.
029: What’s the role of games in making social change?
We talk with Asi Burak, the president of GamesForChange.org, an organization that leads the sector in thinking about the intersection of games and social change. Our conversation covers some examples of successful games and how nonprofits can start exploring gaming for social impact.
028: Rockefeller Foundation hatches storytelling platform
We talk with Jereme Bivins, Digital Strategist at The Rockefeller Foundation and RJ Bee, SVP of Hattaway Communications. We will discuss how they created the platform, HatchForGood.org, and how nonprofits can make the most of it.
027: Making Malaria No More with Text Messages
Today, we speak to Josh Tabb, the Global Digital Strategist at Malaria No More. In the US, Josh is using web analytics and assisted conversions to drive increased donations. In Africa, Malaria No More is leveraging text messaging to keep medication stocked and to fight the spread of fraudulent medicine.
026: Is bot traffic clouding your analytics and wasting your money?
Dr. Augustine Fou , Group Chief Digital Officer; Ad Fraud Researcher, knows and studies bot activity and believes this issue will continue to plague the industry. In this interview, we discuss how to know the numbers we see in web analytics are accurate.
025: The Rebrand Effect – should your nonprofit rebrand?
Sarah Durham, the president of the nonprofit digital branding agency Big Duck, discusses the results of a rebranding survey of over 350 nonprofits. If your nonprofit is considering a rebrand of the logo, website, or communication materials it is important to understand the key ingredients that can make the difference for success.
024: Tales from #GivingTuesday with GivKwik.com
In this interview Jason Rosado (GivKwik.com Founder) and Jorge Fontanez (Advisory Council Member) discuss the importance of visual story telling and developing your organization’s ‘baseball card’ that can quickly tell the story of impact to supporters on giving platforms.
23: Panel – Maximizing Your Return on Fundraising with Big Data
Listen to an interesting panel discussion about using data inside nonprofits to boost fundraising with Emily Moyer from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, John Mix of the IRC, and
George Weiner of Whole Whale.
022: How Workplace Giving Works and Why it Matters – America’s Charities
Workplace giving enables companies to setup reoccurring donation systems for their employees and support a culture of corporate giving and purpose. Steve Delfin, the CEO of America’s Charities discusses the importance of unrestricted funds for nonprofits and how a change to an all online system will harm giving in the federal campaigns.
021: How Kiva.org deals with barnacles and loan bias
The Kiva.org platform has to deal with many challenges. One of them is how to support the platform over time as it collects ‘barnacles’ or bugs that come from time and the other is how they avoid playing favorites on the platform. We talk with Sam Mankiewicz, the CTO of Kiva.org about he navigates these challenges.
020: How impact goals are tested and used at Kiva.org
Kiva.org, a leader in the micro finance world, has loaned over $60 million to date and they are still growing. We talk with the CTO of Kiva.org, Sam Mankiewicz about how digital goals are measured and used in the development process.
019: Get to school or else Kinvolved will text your parents
Kinvolved is helping schools and teachers change the game around attendance. Their system uses an online attendance tracker in classrooms that allows teachers to log late/absent students. Today, we speak with Miriam Altman, co-founder of Kinvolved, to see how they’re turning the tide on tardiness with texts.
018: How Crisis Text Line is saving lives with text messages and data
CrisisTextLine.org is a text message hotline that connects teens with counselors at any time of the day. We talk with Bob Filbin, the chief data scientist at CTL about how their system works and why it matters to open up their data.
017: GreatNonprofits.org deals with the courtesy bias
GreatNonprofits.org aggregates real feedback from the people that nonprofits seek to help, the question is are these people just being nice when leaving reviews and exhibiting a courtesy bias? We speak to Perla Ni, the founder, to try and answer this question.
016: How DonorsChoose.org drives classroom donations through email
DonorsChoose.org is the leader in classroom giving in the U.S., they make it an easy, fun, and rewarding experience to find a classroom to support. We talk with Oliver Hurst-Hiller, the CTO about how they create a great experience for donors and approach their technology with this mindset.
015: Text messaging to prevent deportation with United We Dream
United We Dream works for the 11+ million undocumented immigrants in the US and they are using text messaging to help do this. We talk with Adrian, the data and technology manager about how they are using text alerts and communication to help immigrants keep up with the requirements/deadlines of the US Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
014: Turning Mobile Ads into Impact with Charity Miles
Charity Miles is an amazing fitness app that is also raising money for non-profits through ads. We learn about what it takes to create an app for social change from Gene Gurkoff, the CEO and founder of this amazing organization.
013: Using data to make voting easier
Democracy Works & TurboVote, Co-founder Seth Flaxman talks about using data and technology to help people vote via mail. Their main product, TurboVote has had great success due to their team’s ability to gather the most accurate list of election locations in the country. They have made voting via absentee ballot as easy as getting a movie from Netflix, which is the first step of their larger plan to make voting easier in the US.
012: What TFA can teach us about Yammer
Learn how Teach For America has been able to use Yammer to increase communication, knowledge sharing, and deepen relationships across the country. Aaron French, who runs internal communications at TFA shares his insight on what worked in rolling out this platform. We focus on the people, process and products that went into adoption of this technology.
011: Why pagespeed matters to DoSomething.org
Pagespeed is an important metric to DoSomething.org because it impacts usability, SEO and the overall health of the code. We talk with Matt Holford, the CTO of DoSomething.org about how they are working to reduce page load time. Learn which tricks they have for launching a new Drupal site and optimizing for speed.
010: DoSomething.org About Managing a Tech Team (Part 1)
George talks with Matt Holford, the new CTO of DoSomething.org, about how he approached his role and improved their tech development process. Matt discusses his three step approach of learn – plan – execute, using a faceted feature analysis (FFA) process at DoSomething.org to manage and prioritize products.
009: Quality Assurance Testing that Changes Lives
This week we talk with Andy Aczel, the CTO of the SpecialistGuild.org, about how they use quality assurance (QA) testing to change the lives of people on the Autism Spectrum. The Specialist Guild is able to train, place, and employ people on the spectrum while also doing great work to improve how websites and applications work for organizations.
008: Feeding Hungry Children with Text Messages
We talk with Jason Wilson from No Kid Hungry about their unique text messaging program and how it is connecting families with free lunches for their children over the summer. Listen to a fun story that goes beyond text-to-donate campaigns and thinks about programmatic impact.
007: Using Big Data for Big Impact at Sumall.org
We interview Stefan Heeke, the CEO of the Sumall Foundation, and answer the question: how can we think about using big data and analysis to predict homelessness and other amazing projects?
006: What Poetry, Prison and Algorithms have in common
We talk with Roland Legiardi-Laura, the ED of PowerPoetry.org, about how they became the largest teen poetry site in the US. Find out what the literacy gap has to do with incarceration in the US and how we can use algorithms to begin to quantify poetry.
005: Water into Wine – World Water Day Hoax
We talk with Chris Noble of Cause Media & Good Studio, about what we can learn from creating the press wave and how to gather usable data.
004: A/B Testing with Global Giving and Obama
Kevin Conroy, Chief Product Officer of Global Giving will talk about A/B testing with Optimizely and discuss how to think about testing your site. Then we discuss how the Obama digital team used A/B testing to drive an extra $60 Million in donations.
003: 2014 NTC interview with CEO, Amy Sample Ward
We talk about the 2014 National Technology Conference with the CEO of NTEN, Amy Sample Ward. Find out their tricks to create surveys and listen to an awesome pirate band.
002: Data Culture in the non-profit world
Big Data is revolutionizing the way we live, communicate and do business. However, harnessing the full power of Big Data has only begun to be realized by those who can afford it.