Sustainable Giving

Fewer Donors, Deeper Giving: What the 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Reveals

What if your next major donor is already giving you $50 a month, and you just can't see them yet? Dave sits down with two of the sharpest data minds in fundraising—Jacly

One Letter at a Time: Building a Community That Sustains the Mission

What becomes possible when the people closest to a mission are invited not just to participate in it, but to sustain it? When Lucy nervously asked her volunteers to chip

From Growth to Scale: What Separates Programs That Soar from Programs That Stall

What does it actually take to move a program from growth to scale and keep donors coming back for more? This week, Dave sits down with Dana Bunke, Senior Vice President

What Mature Programs Need Next: Building the Next Chapter of Monthly Giving

What does it actually take to grow a monthly giving program that's already been running for 30 years? Dave Raley sits down with Erin Shuler, Sustainer Advisor at Catholi

Small Team, Strong Retention: What Full Plates Giving Circle Can Teach Us About Sustainable Monthly Giving

What if 91% donor retention and 46% revenue growth were achievable with a team of one — and zero tchotchkes? Karen Kelly, Development Manager at the Anne Arundel County

Planes, Pledges, and Persistence: How One Organization Built a Recurring Giving Program That Actually Lasts

What does it take to build a recurring giving program inside an organization with 80+ years of history, deep donor relationships, and a mission that literally flies peopl

Scaling Humanity in the Age of AI: The Beating Heart of Fundraising Isn’t Tech — It’s People

What if the secret to scaling generosity isn't more tech, but using tech to scale the one thing that actually sustains giving: people? In this episode of the Sustainable

The Future of Sustainable Giving: From What Is to What Could Be

In this special live episode of Sustainable Giving, host Dave Raley convenes a powerhouse lineup of researchers, practitioners, and sector leaders to explore why the char

Problem. Solution. Action: How charity: water Designs Experiences That Create Lifelong Donors

What if the most powerful fundraising tool your organization has is not a landing page, an email campaign, or a social media strategy, but a room? In this episode of Sus

From Seasonal Generosity to Steady Support: How a Rescue Mission Built Momentum in Sustainable Giving

What if the donors who could sustain your mission year-round have been waiting, and you just haven't asked them the right way? This week on Sustainable Giving, host Dave

Fundable and Findable: Getting Out of the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle

What actually makes a nonprofit truly fundable, and not just busy, but built to last? In this episode of the Sustainable Giving Podcast, Dave Raley sits down with Kevin

From Subscriptions to Sustainers: What the Subscription Economy Teaches Nonprofits

What if the future of generosity looks a lot more like the subscription economy? In this episode of the Sustainable Giving podcast, host Dave Raley sits down with subscr

From One Night to Lasting Impact: Turning Fundraising Events into Sustainable Giving

What if your next fundraising event didn’t just raise money for one night, but built generosity that lasts for years? In this episode of the Sustainable Giving podcast,

The $326 Billion Question: DAFs, Donor Behavior, and What Comes Next

What if the future of generosity isn’t about giving more, but about giving differently? In this episode of the Sustainable Giving podcast, host Dave Raley sits down with

Turning Belief Into Action: From Crisis-tunity to Consistent Giving

What if sustainable giving isn’t just a funding strategy, but part of your mission itself?   In this episode of the Sustainable Giving podcast, Dave Raley sits down wit

Why Monthly Donors Matter More Than Ever: Lessons from 40 Years of Fundraising

What if the key to long-term impact isn’t raising more money, but building giving that actually lasts? Is monthly giving still being treated like a side tactic when it sh

The Neuroscience of Generosity: How Recurring Giving Rewires Behavior

Why do donors say one thing… but do something completely different — and what does that mean for building generosity that lasts? In this episode, Dave Raley sits down wi

From Crowdfunding to Community: Giving Circles and Sustainable Giving

How could giving circles reshape the future of philanthropy — and what might they unlock for your nonprofit? In this episode of the Sustainable Giving podcast, Dave sits

Emergency Relief to Sustainable Impact: How to Keep Crisis Donors for the Long Haul

How do you turn an emergency donor into a lifelong partner in impact? When disaster strikes, generosity surges — but what happens when the headlines fade? In this episod

Building Endurance in Sustainable Giving: The Joshua Fund’s Explosive Growth Story

What does it take to build an organization — and a life — that can go the distance? In this episode of The Sustainable Giving podcast, host ⁠⁠Dave Raley sits down with C