April 2021 - Relationships

06-05-2021 • 26 mins

We are speaking to Jay Yelas, executive director of the CAST for Kids Project. This episode is about relationship building with donors. Organizations that treat their donor like human beings who want to cause a positive change in the world are organizations that have the most success in building long-term relationships with their donors. Jay talks about relationship strategy and donor retention plans, and he gives three really great tips on how to build relationships with donors at the very end.

The CAST for Kids Foundation is celebrating its 30th year, and its mission is to enrich the lives of special needs kids through fishing. They have a diverse group of donors that they connect with through a combination of building personal relationships and hosting large events.

Outside of CAST for Kids, Jay is a professional bass fisherman. He started out as a board member for CAST for Kids and transitioned into the role of executive director when the founder retired. It is an interesting mix to be a professional fisherman and the executive director of a nonprofit. It’s also a great fit for the organization, because of his connection to the fishing circuit.

In This Episode

5:28 – How Jay uses his connections as a professional fisherman to benefit CAST for Kids
9:08 – Significant changes CAST for Kids had to make in order to continue fundraising during COVID
10:38 – Using One Cause, a fundraising software, to hold virtual galas
13:47 – The CAST for Kids donor retention plan
15:00 – Using Network for Good to send thank you videos to donors
16:27 – Helping donors through the journey of becoming a high-ticket donor
19:14 – Leveraging your board members and their networks for peer-to-peer fundraising
21:19 – Fundraising tactics from 2020 that CAST for Kids is bringing into the future
23:30 – Tips on building relationships with your donors

3 Quick Tips On Building Relationships with Donors