Welcome back to the Petrus Development Show! We continue our Q+A series with Petrus president, Andrew Robison, and this week's discussion is about personality strengths and weaknesses and how those traits affect your fundraising. Andrew and Rhen begin this show with a fun question. Which of the following tools do you most closely identify with: a hammer, a measuring tape, a screwdriver, or a saw? As they'll explain, your choice might have a lot to say about your personality type. From there, Andrew and Rhen turn to a more formal personality testing model, closely resembling the Myers Briggs test, and they discuss 4 core pairs of attributes. They outline specifics of these attributes, and they explain how fundraisers can develop professional strategies that are inclusive of both their strengths and their weaknesses.Specifically, Andrew answers the following questions: What are the 4 core pairs of attributes we consider for personality types?What do the different attributes say about what your fundraising strengths might be?Can introverts be successful fundraisers?Is one personality type better than another?How can you build fundraising and executive teams that allow for complementary personalities?Listen to this episode and learn the answers to these questions and more! As mentioned at the end of the episode, Petrus has a worksheet outlining considerations for choosing a new donor database, and you can sign up to receive it by clicking here. Finally, we welcome your fundraising questions for potential use in future shows. Are there questions you'd like to hear Andrew answer? If so, email us at [email protected] with your question, and it just might appear in a future Petrus Development Show episode.

While we start this episode with a joke, donor databases are a very serious matter. As you'll learn in this Q+A with Petrus president, Andrew Robison, choosing the right donor database can make a world of difference in your fundraising capabilities. Andrew and Rhen kick off their discussion on donor databases with an explanation of why organizations need to invest in a fundraising database instead of relying on spreadsheets of donor info. From there, they share tips about what to look for when purchasing donor databases. Specifically, Andrew answers the following questions: What types of reports do you want your fundraising database to be able to give you?What other things should look for when searching for a new database?When setting up your database, what specialty fields might you want to add? Is there any data we shouldn't include in the database?How much time does your organization need to allocate for database maintenance?What's the process for moving from one database to another?(And, a laugh for your day: Q: Where do dads store dad jokes? A: In a dada-base!)

We're continuing our Q+A podcast series with Petrus president, Andrew Robison. In this episode, Andrew and Rhen discuss gift acknowledgment and donor stewardship. While this may not be the most exciting part of a fundraiser's job, it's essential. And, you might be surprised. The act of thanking donors is likely to be more powerful than you expect. Do you have questions about how and when to successfully thank donors? If so, Andrew and Rhen answer these questions and more. What is required of organizations when thanking donors?What should organizations do beyond the mandated donor acknowledgment?What is an acknowledgment matrix and should you create one?What should organizations expect in terms of grantwriting success?What are some creative ways to thank donors?If someone has never made a donor thank you call, what advice would you give to get them started?Listen to this episode and learn the answers to these questions and more! As mentioned at the end of the episode, Petrus has a worksheet outlining the anatomy of a thank you call for fundraisers, and you can sign up to receive it by clicking here.

And, we're back! After a Petrus Development Show hiatus, we return with an interview with Petrus president, Andrew Robison. Andrew and Rhen, Petrus's marketing director, are back with a new episode about goal setting, and it's a good one! It's the beginning of a new year, and Petrus is all about goal setting. Organizations have goals, and fundraisers need to have goals, too. That said, have you ever wondered what goals you, as a fundraiser, should be making for your work? If so, Andrew and Rhen answer these questions and more.Are there specific activities fundraisers should consider for their goal setting?If so, what are the metrics that fundraisers should be tracking? And what are realistic numbers for those goals?Can and/or should fundraisers receive a commission based on total money raised in a specified period?What should organizations expect in terms of grantwriting success?The gem of this episode is in the details. Andrew and Rhen share specific numbers for potential development goals, and they offer different examples based on the organization's size and the fundraiser's experience. As mentioned at the end of the episode, Petrus has a sample incentive plan worksheet for fundraisers, and you can sign up to receive it by clicking here.

This week (November 29th through December 1st), Petrus Development is offering an amazing sale on registration fees for RAISE24. Register by Friday, December 1st, and receive 15 percent off the super early bird price of $899, bringing the registration fee down to $765. (Click here to register!)In honor of this sale, we share a special episode of the Petrus Development Show that highlights some of our favorite speakers from last year's RAISE23 conference. If you're considering RAISE24 registration and want to know more about what you'd gain from the conference, check out this podcast. In this episode, you'll hear clips from the following speakers:Eva Daniels offers tips on storytelling and how ideas that sound so simple may not always be easy.Dcn. Charlie Echeverry shares about Latino Catholics,the role they play in today's Catholic church, and how we, as fundraisers, can better engage this vital population. Bryan Wilburn and Joe Hendrickx emphasize the importance of face-to-face donor visits. Like these speakers, our RAISE24 presenters will offer inspirtation and practical tips to help you do your fundraising job with more passion and more success. Come join us in San Antonio in June 2024!

In this episode, Andrew chats with Sarah Newman, vice president for Innovest, an investment consulting firm. Andrew and Sarah discuss how Innovest helps nonprofits, especially faith-based nonprofits, make sure their investment portfolios are aligned with their mission and values. Together, Andrew and Sarah discuss the importance of ongoing education for Catholic organizations about the potential for morally aligned investments and partnerships.

In this episode, Andrew takes a break from his regular interview series to share episode 4 of Petrus’s new podcast, Reflections on Nouwen’s “A Spirituality of Fundraising”. The show’s host, Justin DeMoss of Your Philanthropic Advisor, interviews Fr. Matt Lowry from Holy Trinity Catholic Newman Center at Northern Arizona University. The two reflect on Chapter 4 of Nouwen’s book, “People Who Are Rich”.

In this episode, Andrew chats with RJ Caswell, a leadership coach and organizational consultant from Charlotte, NC. Andrew and RJ discuss the importance of succession planning, leadership development, and collaboration. Together, Andrew and RJ also ponder the unique challenges of small nonprofits, specifically the fact that everyone on the nonprofit staff is a fundraiser, whether they have the title or not!

In this episode, Andrew interviews Matthew Watson, deputy superintendent for Aristoi Classical Academy in Katy and Cypress, Texas. Andrew and Matt discuss history and education, and Matt highlights the unique fundraising challenges of charter schools. As seasoned fundraisers, Andrew and Matt also discuss the importance of clear mission and messaging in recruitment of people and funds.

In this episode, Andrew chats with Dr. Scott Grant, pediatrician and creator and host of the Docs2Dads podcast. Andrew and Scott discuss generosity, and they delve into how we, as parents and family members, cultivate a lifelong spirit of generosity in our children. They speak specifically about relationship building, role modeling, and a series of steps we can take to teach generosity.