Would you believe it if I told you that texting is now one of Boys Town’s TOP revenue generating channels? Text messaging isn’t just for appointment reminders. It’s becoming one of the fastest and most effective ways nonprofits can deepen donor relationships.

In this episode, I’m talking to Jasonea Shockey, Director of Digital Marketing at Boys Town, to share how her team launched their successful SMS strategy from scratch. With no new hires, they repurposed email content, added emojis, and saw sky-high engagement - think 98–99% open rates!

Jasonea walks us through how they leveraged their existing donor list, balanced MMS vs. SMS campaigns, crafted welcome flows, and learned from benchmarks around timing and frequency to improve performance. Even with an aging donor base (average age: early 80s), they found surprisingly strong engagement through mobile.

Whether you’re working with a small team or wondering how to stay visible as email privacy rules evolve, this episode offers a clear case for why SMS belongs in your nonprofit's toolkit.

P.S. Text DANA to 770-230-8422 to join my texting program.

Resources & Links

Connect with Jasonea on LinkedIn and learn more about Boys Town on their website.

Check out Tatango, the#1 SMS software for nonprofit fundraising.

Text the word JOIN to 51550 to join the Boys Town texting program. You can also text DANA to 770-230-8422 to see my own experiment with this.

This show is presented by LinkedIn for Nonprofits. We’re so grateful for their partnership. Explore their incredible suite of resources and discounts for nonprofit teams here, including up to 50% off LinkedIn hiring tools.

Are you still dreaming about building your monthly giving program or refreshing your current one? Applications are now open for my “done with you” Monthly Giving Mastermind. Limited spots are left and we start in July. Click here to apply.

My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• Head to YouTube for digital marketing how-to videos and podcast teasers
• Want to book Dana as a speaker for your event? Click here!

Katherine Lacefield is taking us behind the scenes of growing a monthly giving program from absolute zero to 2,000 committed donors in just FIVE years, all through grassroots efforts.

You’ll hear exactly how Katherine and her team used face-to-face canvassing and phone fundraising (NOT flashy ad campaigns or pricey agency consultants!) to spark long-term donor relationships. These are scrappy, creative tactics that built a high-retention recurring giving engine, all done in-house.

We also dive deep into messaging strategies (like the “3 Ps” of monthly giving: proactive, project-based, and political power), why stewardship starts on day one, and how organizations can reframe their energy around fundraising.

As the founder of Just Be Cause Consulting, Katherine has truly done it all in the fundraising world: major gifts, peer to peer campaigns, grants and my favorite topic, monthly giving. I can’t wait for you to tune in for this honest and refreshing conversation.

Resources & Links

Connect with Katherine on LinkedIn and learn more about her consultancy, Just Be Cause. Katherine also has a podcast that explores the causes that shape our world.

This show is presented by LinkedIn for Nonprofits. We’re so grateful for their partnership. Explore their incredible suite of resources and discounts for nonprofit teams here, including up to 50% off LinkedIn hiring tools.

Are you still dreaming about building your monthly giving program or refreshing your current one? Applications are now open for my “done with you” Monthly Giving Mastermind. Limited spots are left and we start in July. Click here to apply.

My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• Head to YouTube for digital marketing how-to videos and podcast teasers
• Want to book Dana as a speaker for your event? Click here!

This week, we are honoring Pride Month with a powerful conversation about storytelling, community, and the impact of showing up - not just for a moment, but month after month. At the center of this episode is Kate Anderson, Community Philanthropy Manager of Sustainers, who offers us an inside look at how The Trevor Project is building a movement of lifelong allies and deepening relationships with their recurring donors.

You’ll hear about the behind-the-scenes tactics they’re using to drive 40-50% open rates, their high-retention onboarding strategies, data-driven storytelling, and interactive Pride kickoff webinar. Even the smallest tweaks (like a single line of text on a donation form), led to a DOUBLING in their monthly donor acquisition.

As a leading LGBTQ+ nonprofit, The Trevor Project does a fantastic job of treating sustainers as advocates, and if you’re tuning in, you’ll be inspired to start showing up differently for your most committed supporters.

Resources & Links

Connect with Kate Anderson on LinkedIn and learn more about The Trevor Project on their website, as well as their Pride campaign.

This show is presented by LinkedIn for Nonprofits. We’re so grateful for their partnership. Explore their incredible suite of resources and discounts for nonprofit teams here, including up to 50% off LinkedIn hiring tools.

Are you still dreaming about building your monthly giving program or refreshing your current one? Applications are now open for my “done with you” Monthly Giving Mastermind. Limited spots are left and we start in July. Click here to apply.

My book, The Monthly Giving Mastermind, is here! Grab a copy here and learn my framework to build, grow, and sustain subscriptions for good.

Let's Connect!

• Send a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the show!
• Head to YouTube for digital marketing how-to videos and podcast teasers
• Want to book Dana as a speaker for your event? Click here!