Fuel Impact

Claire Axelrad, founder and principal of Clairification, spent more than 30 years as a head of development at five nonprofits before launching her own online fundraising school. In this episode, she shares her "human first, digital fast" approach, why first-time donors renew at under 20% and how monthly giving can push retention to 80-90%, and the board "stretch gift" strategy that moved a leadership team well beyond its usual $250 gifts. If you want stronger donor relationships without losing the human touch, this one's for you.

Lauren Tudor, CEO and fundraising and strategy consultant at Architect Philanthropic Collective, is on a mission to get nonprofit leadership to invest in fundraising like it's not optional — because it isn't. In this episode, she makes the case that programs and fundraising aren't competing for the same budget, they feed each other, and shares how her Genesis and Access programs are building the next generation of fundraisers at scale. If you work with nonprofits or fundraising teams, this one's for anyone who's had to justify a fundraising budget to leadership.

Chad Barger, ACFRE, chief strategist and owner of Productive Fundraising, helps small nonprofits raise more with fewer resources. In this episode, he makes the case for cutting five events down to one, automating 80% of the busywork so your team can spend the other 20% on real relationships, and using QR codes for more than a giving link, his "201" version might change how you write your next mail appeal. If you're lean on staff, this episode is full of tactics you can put to work right away.

Paul Kramer leads the nonprofit vertical at Stripe, and Evan DaSilva is SVP of Payments at Bloomerang, together they've studied checkout behavior across thousands of donation forms. In this episode, they walk through Stripe and Bloomerang's joint Fundraising Innovation research, including the "thumb test" for spotting friction on your donation page, the four rules for communicating processing fees without scaring off donors, and a real pre-checked-box test that raised fee coverage from 49% to nearly 74% with no drop in gifts.

Lynne Wester, principal and founder of Donor Relations Group, has spent more than 20 years pushing nonprofits to invest as much in the donor experience as the ask itself. In this episode, she makes the case that a donor's last gift amount is the least useful thing you can know about them, explains her popcorn-eaters theory of donor generosity, and shares why the six months after a gift matter more than the ask. If you work with nonprofits or fundraising teams, this one's a wake-up call. Your supporters are evaluating every experience they have with you, gift size included.

Rachel Muir, your fundraising BFF, shares the one question to ask a donor right after their gift, why good donor relations (not the ask) drives fundraising profit, and the printed newsletter makeover that took one client from $36,000 to nearly $100,000 a year. If you work with nonprofits or fundraising teams, this one's a reminder that investing in yourself pays your donors back too.

Jarrett Ransom, President and CEO of the Rayvan Group and creator of "The Nonprofit Nerd®," shows that sustainable fundraising starts with organization-wide leadership capacity, succession planning, and donor stewardship—not clever campaigns or one-off appeals. On this episode of Fuel Impact, Bloomerang's fundraising podcast, host Ann Fellman and Ransom cover why consistency is fundraising's "secret sauce," how a culture of philanthropy gets built across staff, board, and volunteers, and why nonprofits should "ask more" instead of deciding for donors what they can give.