242 | Why do the wizards of fundraising have so many hang ups with Charity: Water?

242 | Why do the wizards of fundraising have so many hang ups with Charity: Water?

The Fundraising Talent Podcast, a production of Responsive Fundraising

All of our guests on the podcast have to come prepared for curveballs; and, in today’s conversation, Brock was batting like a pro. As the guy who has literally written the book on digital fundraising, I wanted Brock’s take on why so many wizards in our space have hang ups with our friends at Charity: Water. Reflecting on what Brock had to say, rather than getting ourselves tied into knots over how they manage their checking accounts or that they opted out of direct mail, perhaps what we should expect of such organizations is that they be radically transparent about what they are learning from their bold moves.

What I’m consistently hearing from digital types like Brock, and echoing the the likes of John Hagel, is that fundraising, just like the rest of our economy, is adapting to a world that is more informed by scalable learning rather than scalable efficiency. It’s a path that encourages us to have the “passion of an explorer” (Hagel’s term) rather than the inclination to merely exploit what is safe, familiar, and easy to manipulate and control. It’s a qualitative turn in our fundraising practices.

As always, we are grateful to our friends at CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast. And, if you’d like learn more about partnering with a member of the team at Responsive, let’s arrange a call.

About our guest:

Brock is the author of the bestselling book From the Ground Up: Digital Fundraising for Nonprofits, a nonprofit fundraising consultant and professor at Humber College’s Business School in Toronto. Brock has a wealth of experience spanning nearly every major nonprofit sector in Canada. As a direct marketer he managed fundraising campaigns in healthcare, education, multiple Olympic games, humanitarian and domestic aid, and the environment. As a senior leader on the frontlines, Brock's efforts have largely been in mental health, as well as international development which took him around the world from Hollywood film studios to refugee camps in central Africa.

As always, we are grateful to CueBack for sponsoring The Fundraising Talent Podcast.