Dave Raley of Imago Consulting works with nonprofit and business leaders to help them grow

revenue profitably. His mission is to help nonprofits and businesses identify and understand

opportunities, develop new strategies, and launch new products and initiatives.

In this episode of The Ministry of Scale podcast, Chad Williams interviews Dave whose

upcoming book, The Rise of Sustainable Giving, explores how the subscription economy model

is transforming nonprofit fundraising. Raley draws parallels between the widespread adoption of subscription services (like Netflix or Spotify) and the increasing comfort with recurring

donations. He explains how organizations can tap into this trend by creating a strong recurring

giving program.

Dave outlines foundational steps for nonprofits to build these programs effectively. First,

nonprofits need internal focus on recurring giving—assigning someone responsible for its

growth. He stresses that nonprofit tech stacks, especially CRM and donation platforms, should

support scalable and ongoing donor engagement. He also highlights that recurring donations,

unlike one-time gifts, benefit from a well-communicated value proposition, showing donors the

long-term impact of their support. By building strong, personalized donor relationships,

nonprofits can see exponential growth in recurring giving.

Resources:

sustainablegiving.org

Dave on LinkedIn

Josh Kashorek is the Marketing Director at Five Q, a digital marketing agency focused on helping ministries reach more people online. With over 15 years of experience in digital strategy, analytics, and marketing, Josh brings valuable expertise to this topic.

In this episode, Josh shares insights from Five Q's annual Ministry Benchmark Study, analyzing digital metrics across over 1,000 ministries. Here are some of the key topics covered:

The Continued Importance of SEO

Nearly 70% of ministries gained rankings for keywords in Google's top 100 search results this year, up from 50% last year. Josh emphasizes that SEO remains crucial for driving organic traffic, which comprises over half the traffic for many ministries.

Website Speed Impacts User Engagement

While ministry websites showed modest improvements in PageSpeed scores, Josh notes there is still plenty of room for optimization – especially on mobile devices. Faster websites lead to better user engagement and reduced bounce rates.

Social Media Integration Trends

83% of ministries did not list any social media channels on their websites, choosing instead to drive traffic back to their owned properties. Among those promoting social, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube were the top channels utilized.

Follower Growth Insights

The median number of Facebook and Instagram followers grew year-over-year across ministries studied, while Twitter and YouTube follower counts shrank slightly.

Realistic Posting Frequencies

Despite advice to post daily, the median number of monthly posts was 16 on Facebook, 13 on Instagram, and lower on Twitter and YouTube – highlighting the content creation challenges many ministries face.

The full benchmark study is available for free download, and ministries can request a personalized scorecard and strategy consultation from Five Q.

Listen to the entire Ministry of Skill podcast episode for more valuable digital marketing insights and to learn how you can better evaluate and improve your online impact.

Kedron Rhodes, Director of Digital Experiences at Crowe LLP, has over 25 years of expertise in optimizing customer journeys. In this insightful episode, he shares a powerful framework for enhancing donor relationships through empathetic experiences. Here are some key topics covered:

Why Cultivating Donor Empathy is Crucial

Kedron emphasizes the importance of stepping outside your own perspective to truly understand how donors feel at each touchpoint. He provides examples of how changing expectations can create mismatched experiences over time.

Building an Empathy Map for Your Donor Persona

Kedron guides listeners through developing a relatable donor persona by mapping out their objectives, frustrations, influences, and behaviors. This lays the groundwork for evaluating the journey through their lens.

Auditing the Full Donor Journey

Using the persona, Kedron demonstrates how to document every interaction from initial awareness through consideration, donation, support, and even discontinuation. The goal? Identify pain points where the actual experience falls short of the donor's expectations.

Prioritizing Seamless Donation Experiences

Kedron stresses the importance of minimizing friction during the crucial donation process when the donor is at their "aspirational high" and most motivated to give.

Never Neglecting the Discontinuation Phase

While often overlooked, Kedron explains why mapping the discontinuation journey is vital for understanding departing donors and preventing negative impressions.

Through hands-on activities and real-world examples, this episode equips you with a comprehensive journey-mapping approach to continually optimize your donor's experience through an empathetic lens.

Listen to the full episode for all the insights, templates, and group exercises around this transformative donor-centric methodology.