Free Resources for Donors and Nonprofits
As part of my prior business (Do Your Good), which I have wound down to be the Chief of Staff for the Oregon Treasurer, I offered numerous courses and offerings. Below are some free resources that I feel are still relevant today. Please note that I have not updated these courses since 2024.
I also produced a weekly podcast in which I interviewed hundreds of interesting philanthropists and nonprofit leaders. I was proud of this endeavor and had over 55,000 downloads of my work. I include just a few of my favorites on this page.
For now, my entire podcast library remains available to you through any of your favorite streaming channels—just type in Do Your Good, and you will find me there.
I am proud of a four-part series I did on suicide prevention by firearm, which you can listen to here. A few other select interviews are here.
Equip yourself with the necessary tools to become an effective philanthropist and donor.
Explore my free short video series, Crack the Code, which provides guidance on seven key procedural steps applicable to any cause you care about.
Take the time to figure out your donor type so that you get the best pitch and don't waste time and money running down dead ends.
Identify your Donor Type
Download our helpful checklist to find out more about each type of donor.
Download the worksheet: Are you a sustainer, campaigner or launcher funder?
Deep Dive Into Budget and Finances
Learn the top ten most important pieces of financial and budget information you should expressly ask for in order to save you and the nonprofit time.
Download the worksheet: Deep Dive Into Budget and Finances
Strategies to Join a Funder Collaboration
Many funders want to collaborate with other donors in order to leverage dollars and learn together about the issue you care about. But you want to be careful because you could easily end up joining the wrong types of collaboration.
Download the worksheet: Strategies to Join a Funder Collaboration
Download the resource: Hypotheticals
How to Navigate Lobbying
You can fund advocacy, but there are special rules you need to navigate if you want a tax deductible donation in the United States. This lesson offers you tips and tricks to navigate this important issue with success.
Download the worksheet: How to Navigate Lobbying
Download the resource: Conflict of Interest Template
You don’t want to be in a funder bubble and get the answer that the nonprofits think you want to hear. Learn the top 9 signs that you may be in a funder bubble. Learn the 4 tenets to live by to keep yourself out of a funder bubble so that you can continue to be the best donor possible.
Get the Real Scoop
Download the worksheet: Get the Real Scoop
How to Fund a Coalition of Nonprofit Partners
Have you ever had a group of nonprofits all come to you and tell you they are working together on a similar issue or project? Learn the key steps to take to fund coalitions the right way.
Download the worksheet: How to Fund a Coalition of Nonprofit Partners
Download resource: Template to help coalitions create a joint budget that works
Download resource: Hypotheticals
You will learn the most important items to ask for depending on whether you are a Sustainer, Campaigner or Launcher donor. You will want to review the training on how to identify your donor type prior to watching this video.
What to Ask for in a Proposal
Download the worksheet: What to Ask for in a Proposal
Download resource: Best Practices for Proposals and Documentation Template
Download resource: Hypotheticals
Are you just starting out on your journey to create the perfect fundraising pitch?
Free Messaging Checklist
Download my list of messaging mistakes to avoid and a checklist to get your pitch right from the start.
Be REAL!
Your ticket to successful fundraising
As a nonprofit, you're putting your heart and soul into your cause and you're doing good work, but how do you show that to your donors? This course will teach you what you need to know about being a successful fundraiser.
You spend lots of time creating public-facing materials about your work, but you worry that donors are not actually paying attention. You may be right. Learn about the most important materials that a funder wants to see, and a special tip on how to get a donor to actually open and read your email.
Lesson 1: Be Relevant
Download the resource: Be Relevant
You will miss the mark if you fail to have a clear read on the type of donor that you are pitching. Learn the differences between 3 donor types - a Sustainer, Campaigner, and Launcher donor - for maximum impact in crafting your fundraising message.
Lesson 2: Be Empathetic
Download the resource: Be Empathetic
You may be turning the funder off by talking about your work too negatively. Learn the 4 strategies to approach your work from a place of abundance and opportunity.
Lesson 3: Be Abundant
Download the resource: Be Abundant
Don’t make the common mistake of turning off a funder by treating them like a bank transaction. Learn the 3 tips to approach a funder as a partner so that they will have a deep connection to your work.
Lesson 4: Level-Up
Download the resource: Level-Up
#107: The Joy of Running a Family Foundation, with Samantha Campbell President of The Campbell Foundation.
Samantha Campbell shares her experience as a trustee at her family foundation working on what inspired her and her family to make a difference, and why giving is such an important part of her family’s DNA. Samantha talks about what motivates her for giving, what her dad's motivation was for giving, what the foundation focuses on and why it excites her.
Episode Highlights:
What inspires people to give
Tips and tricks for effective giving
Critiques of the funding world
Podcast Highlights
#182: Funding Effective Campaigns with Michael Mantell, Founder of Resources Legacy Fund
Michael Mantell joins me to recount amazing stories of how donors can fund successful campaigns and make a major difference on a specific issue. Michael explains the ways donors can engage in funder collaboration for maximum impact.
Episode Highlights:
Pooling funds with other donors.
How to fund effective campaigns.
What to expect when there is a transition in leadership with the nonprofit organization you’re funding.
#184: Rural Philanthropy with Erin Borla, Executive Director and Trustee for The Roundhouse Foundation
Erin Borla, Trustee and Executive Director of the Roundhouse Foundation, shares her journey into philanthropy and why she decided to focus on rural Oregon in this re-run episode. She explains how the needs of rural communities can differ from those of urban communities and how she developed a strategic initiative that supports rural philanthropy, including community food systems, disaster response, and early childhood education.
Episode Highlights:
The inspiring story of Erin's family.
The opportunities to engage effectively with rural communities.
The benefits of support for community engagement and its long-term impact.
#185: Spending Down for Maximum Impact on Climate Change with Bruce Lourie, Executive Director of the Ivey Foundation
Dr. Bruce Lourie explains why the Ivy Foundation has chosen to spend down and how they are approaching climate change issues in Canada. He discusses strategies for creating maximum impact during a spend down.
Episode Highlights:
Bruce’s journey into philanthropy
The reasons why a foundation might decide to spend down
Key strategies to use during a spend down
#190: Funding Indigenous Communities with Geneva Wiki, Citizen of Yurok Nation and Senior Program Manager at the California Endowment
Geneva Wiki, a Yurok Nation citizen and a Senior Program Manager at the California Endowment, joins me to bring her extensive leadership experience in Tribal government, education, and philanthropy in rural and indigenous communities. She has many important tips and wisdom on being an effective philanthropist when giving to indigenous communities.
Episode Highlights:
Geneva’s journey
How to be effective when giving to Indigenous communities
One of my podcast seasons offered a message of hope to address firearm related suicide in rural and remote communities of Oregon:
If you listen, you will take an intimate personal journey of discovery with me and my client, the Roundhouse Foundation. You will have the opportunity to get behind the scenes of what it takes to figure out how to be an effective philanthropist on an issue that otherwise feels highly polarized and intractable.
I think you will love this careful conversation about such a sensitive and important topic.
“This issue we are working on is people’s lives…it’s work we have to be willing to do… there are policies that actually work and it is not intractable” Jess Marks, Executive Director, Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety
“I think as a country we have gotten ourselves in this position where it is either this or it’s that … there is nothing in the middle ... especially on issues like gun rights… and other really divisive topics…you are right or you are wrong, but I don't think that’s reality. I think people are more than one dimensional, and issues are more than one dimensional.” Erin Borla, Executive Director and Trustee, Roundhouse Foundation
I hope that by listening to this podcast season you will be inspired to think expansively about addressing firearm related suicide, and also will model how you approach philanthropy on any issue you care about through careful research to find the true solutions that will work, like what I did with the Roundhouse Foundation.
I interviewed over twenty experts and reviewed over 100 scientific journals, research papers, news articles and websites to prepare a report for the Roundhouse Foundation, that you can download for free on the Roundhouse Foundation website.
Check out the episodes below: