This is HIS Story Podcast

Episode 15 - A Master Class built for Executive Directors

March 28, 2022 Todd Turner, Creative Digital Guide Season 1 Episode 15
This is HIS Story Podcast
Episode 15 - A Master Class built for Executive Directors
Show Notes Transcript

Executive Directors of Christian organizations wear many hats. Fundraising and technology are two hats many don't wear all that well.

Mix those together and some leaders have a deer in the headlights look.... Digital Fundraising. What is it? what does it look like? how much does it cost? What is the ROI on the investment?

My job has me interacting with MANY... blessed to meet many along the way. USA and abroad. 

Besides personality types and skill levels, there are many different types of ED out there based on the types of ministries and sizes of organizations. Pastor backgrounds, mission minded.... all equipped differently. 

Today we discus a low cost solution to these issues. A Masterclass made for Executive Directors and their teams that will move the needle on online fundraising. 

Welcome to the, this is his story podcast the executive director

and Pastor guide to sowing and reaping online givers.


Welcome to episode 15, a master class built for executive directors.

This episode is for all the executive directors of Christian organization top.

They're wearing so many different hats.

My job has me interacting with many.

I've been blessed to meet along the way of in the US and abroad and you know,

besides personality types and skill levels.

There's really different types of an executive directors out there.

Based on the types of Ministries and the sizes of the organization's,

of course, you know, some have pastoral backgrounds.

Many of them are mission minded but they're all equipped differently.

Therefore they really act as executive directors,

different differently. Some, you know, I say some are very Mission minded

and maybe their weak spot is digital or even fundraising.

It seems futile one thing.

Everybody needs the most and it's the one that people probably don't like doing the most

because they'd rather focus on the mission,

or focus on their leadership of those around them.

And the idea of digital and fundraising and in my case,

where those two meet is digital, fundraising is normally,

I don't know. The redheaded stepchild of the skill sets.

It's the one that people probably need the most,

especially here we are. And, you know, 22 when I'm recording this online,

giving is such a huge opportunity

and yet it's the one place that organizations and specifically executive directors.

Really don't Focus or sometimes they poke its too much on it and then I missed the other things.

So I find all kinds of different personalities

and all kind of reasoning that organizations have their blind spots.

Or, as they like to call them. We just don't have time for that,

or the Resources for that. But as we all know,

that's not a good excuse when you're leaving opportunities on the table,

just because your website, your social media,

your email is out of date or there's zero strategies.

Their donors are key to our organization and our mission.

Something without them. We literally can't do what we want to go do and I said this,

I say this all the time God could blow.

Lottery checks against the window of every Christian organization and fun them,

but that's not the way he normally works.

He works through people and it's our job

as organizations to tell people our needs and what we do with their money.

So that the ministry gets done

and we have a responsibility to ask and to ask correctly and all authentically.

And so as a executive director, we have plenty of options where to spend our

time but normal or our team's time,

but normally some of the very important digital stuff gets put to the side with the excuse of money

or time or resources,

right? Here's the other problem that I'm seeing that's

happening in the Christian organization world,

and that is too many organizations Trust.

Our digital strategy to the free information that they pick up along the way.

Meaning. It doesn't take 10 minutes of Googling to find.

Podcast to find.

YouTube videos to find blog articles,

telling you what you should be doing and unfortunately,

are even going to conferences.

And, you know, hearing somebody from the stage saying,

I'll hear something that worked for us and therefore,

you ought to be doing as well.

And I liken it to this old adage of playing football

and trying to run other people's plays with your team.

It just doesn't work. What you have to do is A unique offensive coordinator.

That helps you with the place that you run based on the talent that you have,

and what your goals are right, you're trying to run out the clock,

you don't throw passes and, you know, you don't run a Flea Flicker.

If you don't have someone, you know, your team can't hold a block right?

And so what happens is so many people have social media plans,

email plans based on quote,

unquote best practices, but they're not really good at having a Overall,

digital strategy that works for Christian nonprofits and a lot of the help that you get online.

Really has nothing to do with being Christian. It is like,

well, here's best practice.

But we all know there's a difference between buying

and donating and there's a difference between donating the secular

and donating to a Christian organization,

right? There's this Holy Spirit aspect that sort of it's an X Factor.

And it changes the way that you can ask and it's not.

So matter of fact of, you know, one plus one equals two,

you know in God's kingdom one plus one can equal Infinity,

right? God multiplies his his spirit in his will and providential plan.

Trump's thing, try to get turn Fish and Loaves and feeding of thousands.

So there are miraculous stories.

And God stories along the way.

And it does affect how this work.

So knowing this you can't just go grab quote-unquote.

Best practices and plug them into a Christian organizations,

digital strategy and social media strategy,

because they just don't line up very well, right.

So what happens is, with all the borrowing of information,

you sometimes get a hodgepodge of ideas

and strategies that are being implemented by an organization who At least send out newsletters

and consistently does.

Thank yous. Hasn't, welcome hasn't changed our website and years a date information.

And what happened to a donor's confusion and a stagnant donor database or email database?

And then what happens is I get the phone call and frustration from the executive director saying,

you know, we just must not be doing something right or we think we know what we should be doing.

Uh, doing but we're still does not sure.

And we're going through a transition and one of these shoots,

as I get a, you know, sometimes not being harder at delay of being hard,

is, will let us finish our website where we already know what we need to do,

or what were? We were hiring somebody new and they're going to fix these problems.

And what normally happens is they call me six months a year later said,

why we wish we would have called you earlier because they thought the Looking to fix their problem.

They thought, oh, we move email systems is going to fix our problem.

Oh, we now have a volunteer who's going to work on social media

and that's going to fix our problems.

But none of those things ever fix their problems.

And then they realize oh who would have brought you in we would have built the website differently.

Oh, we didn't think about that.

We just thought we'd get a new website and we have some ideas,

put some videos up there and that's going to solve all our problems,

but it doesn't. And so what happens is,

Executive directors need an offensive coordinator

and it sometimes they try to build their team and then they then they bring you in and say,

okay, we'll work with this. And if they would have brought in someone earlier,

they would had a chance to have somebody help them build the team.

What's the old saying with Bill Parcells,

right? He was a he was a frustrated coach who wanted to be involved in drafting

a players and of course,

general managers are the ones who want to try out the Ears.

And his argument was what you want me to cook.

I got to be able to go to the grocery store. Like if I've got to be

involved in the picking of ingredients.

If you want me to be the cook, you can't just buy bananas

and meatloaf and then expect me to cook something that the edible

and I would say the same is true with help especially with digital strategy.

A lot of people want me to come in

or someone to come in and like will help us in the answer was well,

but you've laid the wrong. Stations therefore we have to you know,

really make some changes. I'm always big on as a side note.

I think out of hundreds of people churches organizations that I've helped.

I bet there's less than a handful I've ever had them,

change their website, normally everybody blames the website as the problem and the reality is,

it's not an overhaul,

its lipstick. It's, you know, wording changes,

may be moving some things around changing navigation.

And I would say 99.9999 percent of the time.

It's a bad donation page which leads to a lot of problems.

Because if everything is a funnel to the donation page

and then an ancient Pages wrong or inadequate or poorly worded poorly presented,

then you're going to have bad results. And so I normally start with that and move back up.

Anyway, I digress. But here's the thing,

when it comes to getting help with executive directors.

This is, this is my issue here. Is it?

I liken it to someone who wants to get in shape.

They say they want to get in shape. They really want to in their heart,

but they won't hire personal trainer. Well,

a year later, two years later, three years later,

after a couple times in the gym, working out, the southern.

They're still have the shape

and the answer was they never went got the personal trainer

because the personal trainer one knows more than they do too.

It provides accountability and three when you pay for a personal trainer,

you sometimes, when you want to get out of bed,

you know, you're like, I think I'm gonna sleep in.

Well, there's a personal trainer waiting on you. You've paid him,

it forces you up. And that's the thing.

I find with digital strategy is having someone to be accountable.

To, to his pointing you in the right direction.

Helping you get there. You actually get there.

I know very few people hired, a personal trainer and stick with it.

They don't have success. But in that funny but people,

I don't want to pay for it. Well, a year or two later.

If you look back and say, if I just would have done it,

I would have lost the weight. I wanted to lose.

Well works the same way with digital strategy.

You're really does. I've never had anybody hire me that didn't thank

me for the progress that they made and they didn't see results.

And so, normally it's funny. I get hired over and over by the same clients,

because once they know that it works,

they're willing to do it. People who've had personal trainers,

hire personal. Ours, because they see the difference in their results.

And so a lot of executive directors are just,

they can't get over the justifying of the

price because they just don't understand how much they're

being hindered by their current methodologies.

And or the fact that they just don't,

they don't have enough money. They think they don't have enough money coming in and therefore,

they can't justify it. Going out, but they don't understand.

It's an investment. They're investing.

Into the future of their organization and their ability to collect new names and to fundraise to,

they can do more Mission. So why how does this involve you?

What the title of this episode is a master class built for executive directors.

So having experienced this for decades.

I realized that there was a lot of organizations that needed my help and to said,

they couldn't afford it, though. I argue sort of like the guy said,

I can't afford it. Personal trainer.

But I have a motorcycle in my garage that I haven't driven in three years or a boat.

You know, you have ways. Do you always have a way to pay for something?

If it's important to you, if you really want a personal trainer.

So the golf clubs in the back and get started,

like they're so organizations who say,

they don't have the money, they most of them really do.

They just aren't ready to sacrifice,

what it takes to take that next step.

And so I found so many. Nations that needed help said they couldn't afford

it and of course I try to help as many people as I can.

I take phone calls. I'll answer emails.

Like I were legit want to help Christian organization succeed and I offer my services,

but the problem is there's only one of me and as much as the phone rings or emails.

I just can't answer everybody. And what it takes to really move.

The needle is more than a 30 minute,

phone call or an hour phone call. I find those two.

A Band-Aid solutions that I may move the needle a little bit

but it really doesn't solve the real problem.

And so what I decided was that I almost tell the same things,

you know, 80 90 percent to people over and over and over and over.

So why don't I record it. So I did,

I literally created a master class that eight lessons long and it is the things I tell everybody,

but in the order, they need to be told like I Spent a lot of time planning

this class to say we're going to start here.

We're going to start with a case for support.

We have to talk about your logo and your tagline.

We spend time talking about the homepage. We spend time.

Talking about the donation page about social media strategy,

about emails about how donors work and their mindset works.

And the language that we use with them.

It's a Full lessons. And so

what I did is I created this masterclass recorded it to be watched by organizations,

and I decided not to sell it for person.

I decided to sell it one class per Organization for a lifetime.

That way. If an organization owns it, they hire new webmaster that new webmaster can watch it.

And I work really, really hard on this,

because I just knew that over time.

I build it to be timeless, as I built on today's Trends.

It's It's philosophical and practical application of digital fundraising for Christian nonprofits.

And it made for organizations that have more than just the executive director.

It needs a small team or large team,

but it needs a team. It's not it's not based on a one-man show,

because if you're a one-man executive director,

you got bigger problems than creating,

a robust digital strategy,

because you're not big enough to even

do And there's not enough time in the day like it's made

for small organizations that may Outsource have a couple people on their staff.

I say it's anywhere from a couple hundred thousand dollars a year

up to 20 million dollars a year organization.

Those are two guesses. But you have to have some kind of budget

that you are willing to not only invest in,

they cheap solution to move the needle for your organization,

but you actually have money to implement and I don't tell you to go buy new.

Ooh, software. No, here's the Magic Bullet.

I actually a highly encourage you to use the systems that you have.

But I do recommend system for people who are literally open to changing.

I do say here's the ones that work well,

and here Todd web, these play together nicely,

but I created this masterclass.

I created it cheap. My retainer fee for one month,

is what this is. And normally I require a year contract.

So times that times 12 and I've got this price one month.

One month, lifetime access per Organization for a master class.

That will move the needle for your organization to fundraise to grow their,

their email database and to get monthly donors.

We have. When we saw the whole lesson on monthly donors,

how to get them, how to keep them how to retain them.

This is my best stuff.

It really is, and I have give two options.

I actually have a cheaper option. Than then by one month.

Retainer and that is just have access to all eight lessons.

What I highly recommend is the higher price,

one. That allows you to call me once a week and Beyond a group Zoom to ask me questions.

Hey, look look what we did. We actually went through your lesson number four,

and look what we did. Would you take a look at it? Would you

guys mind giving us a fresh set of eyes?

And can you talk about this email?

We set up and I will help you through those

because I feel like I don't want to just Have the baby at the doorstep.

I want to actually help you.

So I want to teach you but I also would like you to turn in a paper and I mean,

look at it, great it and really move the needle on Improvement for your organization.

So, you know, executive directors out there so much so many jobs.

So many hats you have so much to do.

And technology is such a big big.

Big hat and ever-changing hat and instead of chasing plays chasing best practices.

Most organizations do not have a good solid strategy

and a lighthouse to Row 2 and then they don't make plans and babysit.

They put the plans in there and the wrong order.

Sometimes the best practices are good, but they're in the wrong order.

I've had people who literally pay for ads on Facebook,

to then have a horrible. Landing page or a ill converting donation page.

So why would you be spending money like you go to your,

your webmaster goes to a conference

and he comes back because all I just learned how to run great Facebook ads.

Hey, let's invest money into this and you spend weeks of time and money and effort into it.

You're like, well, that didn't produce a lot of results. Well,

of course it didn't. You weren't ready to run ads.

You didn't have the other things taken care of. And so what my master class does is it puds?

All the important elements of creating solid digital strategy in the right order

and the right lessons and you take the classes in order.

Like you're supposed to it's refresher courses.

It's helping you find the next steps and you take it at your own pace.

So if between lessons 1 and 2 or 4 and 6,

you need more time, take your time, take your decision to a conference.

I thought about teaching the The conference but it's too much information.

It's made to take some organization or even jump from one to two.

And some people going to take weeks between 1 & 2, is they all work out,

what they learned in lesson one. So go take a look at my website creative digital guide.com.

There's access straight to the master class,

or you can watch a webinar to learn a little bit more,

but executive directors. I literally am here to help you.

I want you to succeed and I literally poured my best.

Or working decades with organizations and churches.

Just so that you will succeed. Take a look.

Literally. It is a money back guarantee.

You can't even go wrong. You can't even go wrong.

It's money back guarantee. Invest into digital strategy.

And if it doesn't work, I'll give you your money back.

Go take a look. Thank you for listening to today's episode of.

This is his story podcast overwhelmed at all.

The technical terms Trend options cost.

Invoice signings for your organization's digital.

Strategies. Join other leaders of Christian organizations As We join hands in our closed,

Facebook group, go to creative digital guide.com Facebook to register and apply for Access.

I'm only allowing Executives of Christian organizations in no vendors.

No high-pressure sales, no gimmicks into this closed Facebook group sign up today

and be encouraged and inform as you lead.

Your Christian organization. Looking

for a free resource to help your organization move the needle on new names and donors,

watch the five simple ships to gain.

Dedicated donors with your digital strategies a webinar,

go to creative digital. It'll guide.com to register

for this on-demand resource built exclusively for executive directors.

Creative digital guide.com

for more information of gaining donors

and telling stories that convert to new names and donations fund,

your God's eyes mission.