“You need to be debriefing fast and often. What is working? What is not working? Why? How do we stop doing what's not working, or scale up what is? I think that's both an internal conversation as much as it is valuable to be having with your agencies.” In this episode of Unplugged we’re joined by Tobes Kelly, former VP of Digital Fundraising and Marketing at UNICEF and founder of the substack Some Personal News (SPN). Tobes offers guidance on prioritizing retention, cultivating community, and leveraging brand partnerships. You’ll walk away with practical advice on balancing acquisition and retention, asking the right strategic questions, and focusing your resources on the right audiences rather than channels alone. This conversation provides a roadmap for sustainable growth through changing times.

“I do always think that there is room to amplify the voices of the people that you serve and center those voices. One great way is to set up focus groups as much as you can to get those ideas and voices. To show them what you've been working on, and what you made before. And then ask them, “What do you think? What are your ideas? If you could make a campaign for this organization? What would you do?”” This week in the studio we’re joined by Kate Lord, Director of Advocacy and Communications at She's the First. She discusses the innovative Girl Activist Fellowship program launched last year that empowered 30 girls to create and lead four advocacy campaigns for the organization. Kate shares details about the campaigns around poetry, children's books, art shows, and interviews. Tune in for powerful conversation about how to create campaigns with blended outcomes across programs, communities, and donor engagement. You’ll hear best practices for designing community-driven campaigns that achieve mission impact at scale through grassroots leadership and partnership.

“For us, it was figuring out all the elements of that encounter between ALIMA and the audience to make it more than a scroll through but an actual moment.” Today in the studio, we take a deep dive into the viral "Breath for All" campaign created by nonprofit ALIMA in partnership with Nazar Works. Neda Azarfar, Founder of Nazar Works, and ALIMA USA’s executive director Charlie Kunzer share their unique paths to working in the nonprofit sector and discuss their chance meeting that led to this groundbreaking collaboration. Listen in as they explain how thorough audience research informed the development of a viral campaign focused not only on awareness, but on creating an engaging experience. ALIMA was able to bring the global issue of lack of medical oxygen access closer to home. Tune in to learn how understanding your audience at a cultural level can result in a message that resonates and inspires action on a massive scale. 🎧

“I think that many look for only the positive, right? What data is really going to amplify us? And of course you want that, but I think it's also important to perhaps spotlight data that shows the gap. Because in the gap, there might be some gray space where you might be able to really leverage and to tell a story that's fresh and new.” Camille Currie, VP of Marketing and Communications at NAF, joins us this week in the studio to discuss her career journey and how she’s applying lessons from sports marketing to the nonprofit space today. NAF segments their audiences into 6 key groups, and Camille shares their strategies around storytelling and targeting campaigns to uniquely engage each with their mission. You’ll hear how NAF analyzes their data to uncover new stories and highlights their focus on activating alumni networks. This conversation offers valuable best practices for nonprofit marketers on community engagement, audience segmentation, and leveraging data to strengthen marketing efforts and mission impact. Can’t wait for you to hear it 🎧

“Does everyone in your organization speak about, understand, and behave in a way that aligns with your mission? Because without that, there's no authenticity, and authenticity leads to trust. And you have to put that lens on everything.” Today we have Shelley Diamond, Chief Marketing Officer of UNICEF USA, in the studio to discuss the organization's approach to building a trusted nonprofit brand. Shelley gives us an insider’s look at the balancing act of staying true to your mission while keeping the brand relevant and impactful. Throughout the conversation, Shelley emphasizes the role of marketing in driving both impact and growth through mission-driven storytelling, innovation, and authentic engagement with communities. Tune in for insights on developing brand trust and retaining relevance that can be applied to nonprofit marketing strategies of all sizes. 🎧

“We separated each of the ways that we're serving clients, as well as the way that we're fundraising into individual products. We're obviously well synced together as a team, but I really liked the way that we've been able to spread out each of those. And though we understand they work together, and it’s all a part of again that master donor attorney, we've treated each of these with the attention to care that they individually need.” This episode of Unplugged features Cameron Bartlett, VP of Performance Marketing at Stop Soldier Suicide. You’ll hear insights into Stop Soldier Suicide's marketing approach and Cameron's experience applying digital marketing strategies from high-growth companies to innovative nonprofits. Cameron shares how Stop Soldier Suicide has separated their fundraising channels into distinct "products" to optimize each individually, their success with Facebook fundraisers, and best practices for measuring marketing performance holistically across channels, as well as the importance of testing and experimentation. This convo offers nonprofit marketers practical advice on optimizing the donor journey with data and mobilizing supporter networks. You don’t want to miss it 🎧

“The marketing that you're doing is going to induce so much other giving. When we do marketing campaigns that are focused on fundraising we often see volunteerism increase, or we see food donations increase, and we see new community connections that arise.” This week we have Katie Adkins, Director of Communications at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, in the studio. Katie shares her journey from working in higher education communications to finding her calling at the food bank. She discusses the food bank's innovative new food distribution model and the capital campaign to fund their new facility. Katie also provides insights into how the food bank runs multifaceted marketing campaigns, leveraging segmentation, digital and traditional channels. She offers tips on community building, measuring holistic impact, and overcoming challenges of competing initiatives. Nonprofit marketers will walk away with practical lessons on driving engagement and fundraising success from Katie's experiences. You don’t want to miss it!

Courtney Bugler, President and CEO of ZERO Prostate Cancer, joins us in the studio to dive into how to create greater synergy between development and marketing within our organizations. In her former role at Piedmont Park Conservancy, she served as the Chief Development and Marketing Officer and has a unique perspective to speak on forming synergy between marketing and fundraising departments. She says, “Marketing and fundraising are ultimately the same thing. They’re relationship building and storytelling. They just do it in different ways.” Courtney talks specifically through strategies that she’s putting in place to increase productivity, efficiency, and revenue. But at the heart of all her plans are a deep commitment to the best for her team and her community.

“In our work, it is also about how do we scale empathy in this moment? And especially right now. What is the story that we can tell that brings folks along? We really begin at a human centered approach and community centered approach. What is the story that they want us to tell?” This week's episode of Good Marketing Unplugged is all about community-centered communications! Jazmin Chavez, VP of Innovation, Equity and Communications at Hispanics in Philanthropy, joins us in the studio to discuss how to use storytelling, digital strategies and inclusive design to further your mission (and scale empathy!). She shares how each step of her journey has shaped her understanding of using digital tools in narrative building and community organization. We dive into how to measure impact beyond just numbers, center equity in your work, and mobilize communities for change. Tune in for inspiration on how to effectively mobilize communities, measure impact, and center equity and inclusion in your marketing and communications.

Marketing is about making the best decisions you can with the information you have in hand. This is why marketing teams have to be comfortable, “building the plane while flying it.” Organizations change and grow, and because of this, marketers have to be ready to adapt and iterate. The best plans allow for and welcome the unexpected. Robb Lee, CMO for ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, talks through strategies for involving marketing in larger organizational decision making. He said, “That’s where the advantage of marketing can come in. We know all the data… And we can apply this to a business decision… This is a pathway into those upstream conversations, whether you’re invited or not.” Bio: As a CMO, Robb solves one primary mystery for association CEOs — how to create revenue that keeps on giving. Capturing market share is about one ‘simply complex’ idea: creating and sustaining brand loyalty. When we deliver value better than anyone else and communicate that value through the right channels and in the right ways, people will be compelled to invest — and reinvest — in their professional future. With us. Guest links: Robb’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbelee/ ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership: https://www.asaecenter.org/ Other links: Feathr Flight School: https://www.feathr.co/flightschool *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence.

“Our best job as nonprofit marketers is understanding there's a world full of people who are looking to make a difference. They just need to know how and where. And so our job is to connect them with the how and the where.” This episode of Good Marketing Unplugged features Cindee Starkie, VP of Marketing and Communications at Starlight Children's Foundation. Cindee discusses Starlight's focus on outcome-based storytelling and how simplifying their messaging led to a 50% increase in website conversions. (mic drop!) We explore their shared, earned, paid, and owned channels and how to leverage them collectively for maximum impact. If you’re looking for the emerging trends around digital marketing, this episode is for you.

“What would it look like if I made more decisions and better decisions through more data, and even more importantly, better data?” Tim Lockie, founder of The Human Stack is in the studio today! Noah sits down with Tim to discuss making better decisions through data and digital transformation. Tune in as Tim shares his journey from nonprofit work to founding The Human Stack after seeing how few organizations truly use data to make decisions. He breaks down the difference between having data and using data to make decisions. Tim also introduces the concepts of the "Human Stack" and levels of digital maturity. Noah and Tim discuss how to evaluate where your organization is at in making data-informed decisions. They explore the importance of belonging in technology adoption and moving people along the spectrum from resistant to resilient users. This thought-provoking conversation provides practical tips for leaders looking to improve data use and digital transformation with a human-centered approach. Episode Highlights Using data to make decisions in marketing (5:00) Data-informed decision-making and evaluating data trust (9:00) Creating a “human stack” for effective team performance (15:00) Digital maturity and technology adoption (19:00) Technology adoption and organizational culture (26:00) About Tim: Tim has 20 years of organization experience as a volunteer, youth worker, camp counselor, music instructor, foster parent, getaway driver for teens in danger, board member, finance director, bookkeeper, recruiter, and community administrator…the list goes on. He has seen system deficiencies range from missed opportunities to damaged relationships in these capacities. Tim believes that Digital Transformation is affordable and scalable with nonprofits of all sizes and is obsessed with The Human Stack. You can hear more from him and his co-host Tracy Kronzak on the Why IT Matters podcast. Guest links: Tim’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlockie Additional links: The Human Stack FREE Nonprofit Digital Health Quiz *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence. Special thanks to our producer, We Are For Good Studios, and to Feathr’s very own Max Anderson, who wrote and performed our theme song.

“So how can we bring all of these together to have a solid message with a brand over a longer time span and get out of these silos and bubbles to work together?” In the studio today we have Jen Newmeyer, the digital fundraising director at PBS. Noah and Jen discussed Jen's career journey in digital fundraising over the past two decades, and how digital fundraising has changed and stayed the same over time. Tune in to hear Jen’s insights on concepts like the growth funnel, collaboration across departments, acquisition versus retention strategies, and practical ways to integrate different fundraising channels like direct mail and email. You’ll leave this conversation with practical strategies and lessons learned that you can apply to your own organizations and campaigns, today. Episode Highlights The evolution of digital fundraising and its impact on nonprofits (3:00) Digital campaign case studies from Jen’s career (16:00) Year-end fundraising campaign strategies (21:00) Collaboration across different departments (28:00) Integrated digital campaigns (32:00) About Jen: Jen Newmeyer, aka CharityJen, is a digital fundraising strategist specializing in integrated campaigns and digital engagement. Through her groundbreaking work and creative approaches during her 20+ year tenure, she's raised over $10 million in online revenue while managing multimillion-dollar development budgets. Jen is the author of "The Insider's Guide to Online Fundraising: Finding Success When Surrounded by Skeptics," and host of the podcast, "From the Nest with CharityJen: Where Fundraising Takes Flight." Learn more at www.charityjen.com. Guest links: Jen’s Website: https://www.charityjen.com/ Jen’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennewmeyer Additional links: Jen’s Newsletter Jen’s Podcast: From the Nest Digital Fundraising Guide Growth Funnel Guide House Cleaning Guide *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence. Special thanks to our producer, We Are For Good Studios, and to Feathr’s very own Max Anderson, who wrote and performed our theme song.

"That employee giving campaign created an internal movement. And that movement then started to ripple." In this episode, Jon and Becky share their unique journeys from graphic design and marketing into the world of nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy. They discuss how their experiences led them to view themselves as "marketers disguised as fundraisers." We explore how breaking down silos between marketing, fundraising and other roles can amplify organizational impact, and how marketing can mobilize movements for your cause. This episode is an ode to the power of marketing in connecting people, building movements, and making believers of us all.

"You've gotta take a pause for a second and make sure your foundation is solid before you start stacking things on top of it!" In this episode, our guest Nicole Rodriguez stresses the importance of learning to pause and calibrate your work with the goals you're working toward. She also shares insight on the value of taking the time to learn to do something the right way from the start. Bio: Nicole Rodriguez is a people-loving marketing professional who has worked in just about every industry and marketing role. She has found her place in the association space, thriving in roles on small, scrappy teams. Currently a marketing team of one, Nicole is responsible for everything marketing and communications; from brand management to promotion of her organization’s programs and events. Nicole enjoys mission-driven work, spending time with her family, and volunteering in her community. When not wearing her marketing hat, she’s wearing a hard hat—currently restoring a 1957 home in South Florida. Guest Links: Nicole's Linkedin profile: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmerod/) American Epilepsy Society: (https://www.aesnet.org/) Additional Links: State of Nonprofit Marketing report: (https://www.feathr.co/nonprofit-marketing-statistics) Playlist: Now That We Found Love by Heavy D The King of Wishful Thinking by Go West Anything by the Backstreet Boys *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence.

Hydrocephalus isn’t as widely-known as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, although about one million Americans live with a diagnosis. And because of this, sharing the stories of those who live every day with the condition makes what was once invisible, visible. Amanda Garzon is the COO of the Hydrocephalus Association. The work of sharing people’s stories, connecting the community, and advancing research is close to her heart. Amanda received the diagnosis for her daughter after spending their first 90 days together in the hospital. For Amanda, her strategies about expanding reach and engagement center around empowering and serving her community. But she also believes that there are things to learn from the for-profit world. She said, “We have to think like a for-profit because we are selling this incredibly valuable service, for free! So even though we aren’t measuring our profit margins, we are selling ourselves. And it is priceless what we are selling.” Bio: As the Chief Operations Officer, Amanda is responsible for developing and implementing operations strategies that allow the Hydrocephalus Association (HA) to meet its strategic goals and vision. She works in partnership with the CEO and management team to find innovative ways to grow revenue that support the diverse research and patient-focused programs of the association. She oversees the development and oversight of education and advocacy initiatives, patient-centered support services as well as the management and implementation of an aggressive communications and marketing strategy. Amanda’s passion for the mission of the association stem from a personal connection to the condition as the mother of an adult daughter with hydrocephalus. In her spare time Amanda enjoys being a mom of two wonderful daughters, yoga, evenings with good friends and food, and leading her high school daughter’s Girl Scout troop. Guest links: Amanda’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-garzon-646b408/ Hydrocephalus Association: https://www.hydroassoc.org/ Additional links: SickKids: https://www.sickkids.ca/ Michael J. Fox Foundation: https://www.michaeljfox.org/ Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: https://www.cff.org/ Parkinson’s Foundation: https://www.parkinson.org/ Advocate like a Mother: https://www.advocatelikeamother.org/ Playlist: Live Like We’re Dying by Kris Allen 1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins Peace by O.A.R *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence. Special thanks to our producer, The Good Podcast Co (https://www.thegoodpodcast.co/), and to Feathr’s very own Max Anderson, who wrote and performed our theme song.

What have you learned from recent initiatives? Noah sat down with Brady Josephson, marketing & growth lead at one of the strongest nonprofit brands around: charity: water. Brady talked through struggles and successes he’s experienced and expanded the idea of what it means to be a nonprofit brand. He also breaks down ways charity: water is testing new ideas and gives advice for how every organization should be learning from their current initiatives. --------------- Bio: Brady helps lead Marketing & Growth at charity: water — a nonprofit focused on ending the global water crisis in our lifetime — where he and his team are responsible for growing the consumer audience with a focus on their subscription-giving program, The Spring. Guest links: Brady’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradyjosephson charity: water: charitywater.org Playlist: Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan No Diggity by Blackstreet Amazing Grace by John Newton From Brady: “Those are my 'shower songs' so I gotta have em. I'm not sure what it says about me... I like a lot of things? I'm pretty open? I have no distinct taste in music? I love people, I'm fun, and my faith is important? I dunno... I may need a therapist to help me unpack this…”

We're back! Season 3 of the podcast is officially launching next Tuesday, September 19th 🥳 Every week we’ll take you behind the scenes and into the studio to hear these honest and unplugged conversations. And this season you can expect some epic conversations that will get you inspired and equipped to take your organization to the next level. Most importantly, we want you to be part of these conversations. Submit your burning marketing questions to noah.barnett@feathr.co 📩 Can't wait to see you in the studio.

"You've gotta take a pause for a second and make sure your foundation is solid before you start stacking things on top of it!" In this episode, our guest Nicole Rodriguez stresses the importance of learning to pause and calibrate your work with the goals you're working toward. She also shares insight on the value of taking the time to learn to do something the right way from the start. Bio: Nicole Rodriguez is a people-loving marketing professional who has worked in just about every industry and marketing role. She has found her place in the association space, thriving in roles on small, scrappy teams. Currently a marketing team of one, Nicole is responsible for everything marketing and communications; from brand management to promotion of her organization’s programs and events. Nicole enjoys mission-driven work, spending time with her family, and volunteering in her community. When not wearing her marketing hat, she’s wearing a hard hat—currently restoring a 1957 home in South Florida. Guest Links: Nicole's Linkedin profile: (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nmerod/) American Epilepsy Society: (https://www.aesnet.org/) Additional Links: State of Nonprofit Marketing report: (https://www.feathr.co/nonprofit-marketing-statistics) Playlist: Now That We Found Love by Heavy D The King of Wishful Thinking by Go West Anything by the Backstreet Boys *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence. Special thanks to our producer, The Good Podcast Co (https://www.thegoodpodcast.co/), and to Feathr’s very own Max Anderson, who wrote and performed our theme song.

This week we’re mixing things up. Recorded LIVE during this year’s AFP ICON, Jon McCoy and Becky Endicott from We are for Good are in the driver’s seat, asking our weekly host, Noah Barnett, about key findings from the recently released State of Nonprofit Marketing report. The report is 24 pages full of statistics and insights built directly off responses from over 400 marketers, fundraisers, leaders, and experts in the nonprofit and association sectors. One of the biggest takeaways: marketing and fundraising aren’t just line items — they have the unique opportunity of making an impact on an entire organization’s health. From program to supporter impact, when marketers put the Good back into their marketing, communities win. Guest links: We are for Good: https://www.weareforgood.com/ Jon’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanpmccoy/ Becky’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-endicott/ Noah’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahbarnett/ Additional links: The State of Nonprofit Marketing report: https://www.feathr.co/nonprofit-marketing-statistics The Good Marketing Framework: https://www.feathr.co/resources/blog/good-marketing-framework Feathr: https://www.feathr.co/ *** Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/). Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence. Special thanks to our producer, The Good Podcast Co (https://www.thegoodpodcast.co/), and to Feathr’s very own Max Anderson, who wrote and performed our theme song.