In this episode of The NonProfit Nook, host Wendy Kidd speaks with Manuel Mesa, a seasoned nonprofit strategist and current president of the Dallas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Manuel shares his extensive experience in fundraising, the importance of building genuine relationships with donors, and details about AFP’s resources and membership. He discusses the Donor Bill of Rights and provides valuable insights into donor-centric communication. Manuel also shares touching personal stories, illustrating the deep connections he has made with donors and how these relationships have led to significant contributions. The episode concludes with practical advice on how nonprofits can enhance their fundraising strategies and a call to get involved with AFP for further support and networking opportunities.

Important Links:

https://afpglobal.org/

www.thephilanthropyblueprint.com

www.linkedin.com/in/manuel-m-11063276

https://www.bosslevelengaged.com/services-for-nonprofits-nonprofitnook

https://thenonprofitnook.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@BossLevelEngaged

00:00 A Personal Story: The Final Resting Place

00:17 Welcome to The NonProfit Nook

01:03 Introducing Manuel Mesa: Nonprofit Strategist

02:08 The Role of AFP in Fundraising

05:55 The Donor Bill of Rights

10:32 Building Donor Relationships: A Success Story

16:54 Key Takeaways for Nonprofits

19:31 Getting Involved with AFP

21:20 Conclusion and Farewell

Mentioned in this episode:

Flodesk

And as we were walking back to the, to the car, asked me if I was busy

2

on Tuesday, that Tuesday afternoon.

3

Coming up and I said, no, for you.

4

You know, tell me what you need.

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And he says, I need you to pick me

up and I need you to take me over

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to the cemetery so you can help

me pick my final resting place.

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Wendy: Welcome to The NonProfit

Nook, the podcast for nonprofit

8

leaders, board members, and community

change makers who want to build

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stronger, smarter organizations.

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I'm your host, Wendy Kidd, a longtime

business owner and nonprofit leader,

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and I'm here to bring you real talk.

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Real tools and real stories to help

you thrive in the nonprofit world.

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I'll be talking with local nonprofit

leaders, community change makers

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and experts in everything from board

development to fundraising and digital

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tools, sharing real stories and

simple strategies you can actually use

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because running a nonprofit is hard,

but you don't have to do it alone.

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Let's get started.

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Welcome everybody.

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This is the Nonprofit Nook, and today we

have Manuel Mesa, a seasoned nonprofit

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strategist, philanthropy advisor, and

technology innovator with over 30 years

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of experience helping mission-driven

organizations grow and thrive.

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Manuel is the founder and CEO of

the Philanthropy Blueprint, where

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he helps nonprofits align their

boards data and development strategy

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because passion needs structure.

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He's also the co-founder and COO of

benevolent A CRM platform designed

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specifically for nonprofits to help them

manage relationships and drive impact.

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Over the years, Manuel has led

multimillion dollar capital campaigns,

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overseeing major construction and

renovation projects, and fundraising

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for organizations of all sizes, from

grassroots groups to major institutions,

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and as the current president of the Dallas

Chapter of the Association of Fundraising

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Professionals, he's helping to shape the

future of philanthropy in North Texas.

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Welcome, Manuel.

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Manuel: Thank you.

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Thank you for having me today, Wendy.

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I'm so glad to have you.

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Wendy: caveat guys.

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This guy's like my best friend,

so we are gonna have fun today.

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I invited Manuel to come and talk

about fundraising specifically in the

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nonprofit area, especially because he's

the president of the Dallas chapter

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of AFP and because he does so much

work with his clients in fundraising.

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So I wanted him to talk a little

bit about AFP today and what

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that is and who they serve.

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Manuel: Sure, thank you.

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the Association of Fundraising

Professionals is actually

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a global organization.

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the main headquarters is

in Virginia, but, there are

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approximately 250 chapters worldwide.

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And, as the Dallas Chapter President, I

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prior to that, I served as,

treasurer for two years.

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But we help, non, we help fundraisers as

well as nonprofits through fundraising

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experiences, through conferences,

webinars, monthly luncheons, as well

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as resources that they have available

to them, either in person or online

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through the AFP Global website.

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Wendy: That's fantastic.

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And is this a paid membership?

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Do they need to pay for these

events in this education, or are

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some of these nonprofit funded?

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Nice, wonderful.

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Come do this for free.

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Manuel: Yeah.

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Un unfortunately, most of the

things are, are need a payment.

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Mm-hmm.

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to become a member, you, you need to pay.

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right now they're, they're

running a special though, actually

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AFP Global, I think it runs

through the end of August, or.

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The end.

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Yeah, the end of August, excuse me.

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And you get $50 discount whether you're,

a first time member or a returning

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member to renew your membership.

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And then the luncheons

are, are reasonable.

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They're only $35, for our luncheons.

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And then the conference itself,

usually runs about $295 for a day and

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a half conference, which just took

place in, early June of this year.

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Wendy: I missed it.

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I so wanted to go to that, but I heard

wonderful things from my nonprofit

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partners who did get to go to that.

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Um, who do you normally have as a

member of AFP from the nonprofits?

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Is it normally like the fundraising

director only, or do you typically have

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like eds or board members or whoever?

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Manuel: Yeah, so mostly.

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Paid professionals, either the

executive director, the director of

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development, whatever it might be

called at their institution, as well as

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development associates might be members.

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we don't normally see

volunteers lay leaders.

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we really encourage those individuals

that are paid through the organizations,

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through the nonprofits to join.

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Wendy: How do you stay informed about

what your nonprofit partners need?

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Manuel: we do that in, various ways.

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One, we send out a, a monthly

newsletter, which they can,

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respond to and ask for questions.

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right now we currently have 21 board

members on the Dallas Chapter board,

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and, we are all accessible either by

phone, email, text, and we encourage

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our members to reach out at any time.

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To ask any type of question.

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We also have, again, resources on our own

website as well as the AFP global website

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that allows them to, to learn more.

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But we've also, what we've started

to see is a community within a

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community where board, excuse me.

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Members of the chapter really start

to gravitate towards other members.

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And so they learn amongst

those smaller groups.

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And then when they really have a question

that's outside of their realm, that's

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when they reach out to possibly a board

member or AFP Global or one of our

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staff members at the AFP Dallas chapter.

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Wendy: That's so cool.

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I mean, honestly, that's the number one

reason to join any kind of organization

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like this, is that building your own

personal network and building those

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buddies that you can call and you

can say, oh my gosh, this happened.

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What do I do?

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So I love that so much for them.

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Um, something that I was really intrigued

with, with AFP, and I know you've

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heard me say this a million times, but.

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I love the donor Bill of Rights, so

I want you to specifically talk about

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what is the donor Bill of Rights?

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How did that come into existence?

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How can people take advantage of that?

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Manuel: Yeah, the, the donor

Bill of Rights was actually

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created I think in the 1970s.

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It was created, with assistance by

AFP global where they wanted to give

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the opportunity to donors, whether

they were giving $5 or $5 million, the

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opportunity to have their own rights

to understand what type of organization

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they're giving their dollars to.

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So for example.

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If I'm giving an organization

a $10,000 gift, I need to

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understand what my rights are.

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Are those $10, $10,000 truly

being used in, in the support

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that I anticipate it to be done?

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So, for example, if I give a $10,000

check to an organization and they

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tell me it's about, to support

the capital campaign that they're

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parti, you know, en embarking on.

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and I find out that those $10,000 are

actually being utilized to pay payroll.

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That is, that is part

of the Bill of Rights.

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It's, it's, you're misleading your donors

and it's really important for donors

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to understand that they have rights.

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we've also started to see

a real sw change, I would

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say starting, around COVID.

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Donors are becoming more sophisticated.

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They're really trying to understand

where their dollars are going.

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They also wanna understand the

percentage of every dollar that is

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actually going towards the mission

versus, um, what, what is covering e

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everyday expenses of the nonprofit.

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So for example, the goal is

that if someone donates a

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dollar, at least 70 to 80 cents.

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Of that dollar is actually

going towards the mission.

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And then the balance is to help offset,

you know, payroll infrastructure if

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you have a building, things like that.

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Um, and we definitely encourage

every nonprofit organization.

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To post their bill of rights,

um, the donor Bill of Rights and

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encourage donors to ask about it.

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The other good thing about that,

it, it allows you as a nonprofit

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to learn more about your donor,

learn about their sophistication

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when it comes to their gift.

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Not only that, but if they feel

comfortable with your answers,

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those are individuals that are

going to give again and again.

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Wendy: Absolutely.

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It's so important to honor what

their intent was for that money.

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Um, and I think that, you know, one

of the things that nonprofits are

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not so great at is communication.

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And once they get into the habit of

communicating with their donors and

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being more transparent instead of being

scared of that conversation, I think

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they'll find that that actually leads

to a much better relationship, which.

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In turn does mean more money

in the long run, right?

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Manuel: Correct.

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Yeah.

164

You know, it's always, it's always good

to be in communication with your donor,

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whether it's good news or bad news.

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Yeah.

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You wanna be honest with them, right.

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Listen, we're all human, we're all gonna

make mistakes, but if you're upfront

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with your donors and you let them know

what's happening, again, like you just

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said, they might be willing to write

you another check because you are being.

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Upfront with them, you're being

honest and you're informing them,

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Hey, we're in a bit of trouble.

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Right.

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And you've been a long time supporter.

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Could you help us a

little bit more right now?

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Wendy: Absolutely.

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And I think it's also important to

talk about your operating expenses

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and why it's important to contribute

towards that too, not just the mission.

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So I, I think people are scared to ask

for that, and I think they're, I think I

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see a lot of people who are scared of that

because things like grants don't typically

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cover operating expenses, but you and I

both know operating expenses go to the

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people who are providing the services, and

that's, to me, is the most valuable money

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in any organization that they can get.

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And the more you have a better

relationship with donors, the more

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they understand that about those

operating expenses, and they're more

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willing to donate towards those too.

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Manuel: That is correct.

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They're also willing to open

up their network to you.

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Yeah.

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Right.

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Yeah.

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So if, if you are identifying individuals

that you consider a major donor at

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$10,000 per gift and they have a network

of 50, 60 people and they introduce

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you to even 10% of those, right?

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So now you have five, six new donors

potentially at a level of whether

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it's zero to $10,000 or possibly more.

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And And they feel comfortable

in making those introductions

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on your behalf to their network.

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Wendy: Yeah, for sure.

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For sure.

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Now, I know that you have a success story

or two because you've worked with so many

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people in helping them tread these waters.

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I want you to give a little shout

out to some of the people who've

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done really well with your advice.

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Manuel: Yeah.

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so on a personal level, I've been an

executive director of three synagogues

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on the East coast of the United States,

and I've been really fortunate to meet

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hundreds of individuals that are just

amazing, whether they're large donors or

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not, they're just amazing individuals.

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But I had this one individual, I am

gonna use a, a, a different name just

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so that outta respect to his family,

although he's no longer living.

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so we'll, we'll call this individual.

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Sam, so Sam is so, so I

met Sam, at a synagogue.

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I was hired by a synagogue as the

executive director, and I was informed

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that, not only did I need to lead the,

the synagogue itself, we were also

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going to start a construction project

as well as, a capital campaign that

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they had started and stopped twice.

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We were going to reengage that

capital campaign, and they wanted

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me to meet Sam immediately.

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Because they wanted Sam to

donate a million dollars, right?

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Yeah.

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So I went back and I said,

okay, how is Sam involved?

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Right?

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So at this point, when I met Sam,

Sam was in his late eighties.

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he was not involved.

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He did not come to the synagogue

very often, if at all, and.

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There was really no way that I

was gonna pick up the phone and

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call Sam and say, Hey Sam, could

you gimme a million dollars?

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Yeah, right.

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That thought's not gonna work.

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Sam was gonna hang up on me.

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So, what I did was I sent, my

president and vice president and

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I asked them to give Sam an update

as to where the synagogue is and

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what the plans for the future are

for the next three to five years.

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Now Sam being a very sophisticated

donor at the time, he, at the

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end of the conversation, he

said, so aren't you gonna ask me?

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And, the board member said, ask you what?

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And he said, aren't you

gonna ask me for a donation?

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And unfortunately, they, they didn't ask

for a donation, but what they did say is.

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Manuel instructed us not

to ask you for a donation.

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So, all that, it being said, it went

well and, I followed up, with Sam and

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sent him a note and said, I'd love to

meet you, pick you up for lunch and,

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and let's get to know each other.

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so one of the things that I, I really

enjoyed through this relationship

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is that I feel I got more from

the relationship than Sam did.

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Sam, Sam was born, he was alive

during the Great Depression.

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we got to talk about that.

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We got to talk about his time

serving in the military, as well as.

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What it was like life,

what was life like for him?

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Right.

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Growing up during the Great Depression,

because his family was actually very

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successful already and they were

actually giving out bread during,

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while people were in the bread line.

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So they, they didn't feel the

pinch of the Great Depression.

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so I spent approximately six, the next

six or seven months getting to know Sam.

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I'd pick him up once a month.

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had the pleasure of picking him up, taking

him to his favorite restaurants and, um.

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We, we would eat, we would talk,

I would give him updates about the

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synagogue, and then I really got to

understand what he was looking for.

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And what he was looking for was a

return on investment for his donation.

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Right?

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He didn't wanna just donate and.

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It was gonna cover this, this, and this.

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He really wanted us to be able to make

money, in return for his investment.

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So what I went to him and I said, why

don't you help us beautify your, your,

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the ballroom, which is already named in

your family name, and at the same time,

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let's upgrade the, the, the kitchen.

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And with that, we can

generate revenue over time.

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Um, and so I, I did that I think in

my seventh month, getting to know him.

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And, I'm happy to report that,

before I left that organization,

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to my understanding, he

donated a little over $1.5

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million Wow.

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to help beautify that space

and in return, generate ongoing

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revenue for the organization.

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Um, and again, I, I got

so much more from Sam.

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Then I think I gave to him, but

it was a true pleasure to get

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to spend so much time with him.

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Wendy: That is so cool.

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I love that.

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I, I wish I could know, Sam,

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but that's the thing, right?

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You just gotta get to know people

and get to know what their interest

283

is and speak to that interest.

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Manuel: Yeah.

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So, and, and, and by the way, you know.

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I, I always encourage fundraisers not

to see individuals as piggy banks.

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Right.

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Right.

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They're human beings.

290

Mm-hmm.

291

So one of the things I learned

through Sam is really that, and,

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and just one final piece on Sam.

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Um, I gave him a private

tour one Sunday afternoon.

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Of a, of a new piece of the, a new part

of the building that we were building out.

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And I did it on purpose on a Sunday.

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'cause I didn't want him to be

bombarded by individuals because

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again, he didn't spend a lot of

time in the space, in the synagogue.

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And, he never had a biological children.

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He had three stepchildren.

300

One of his, sons drove him, picked

and he took the tour with us.

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And as we were walking back to the, to

the car, uh, Sam asked me if I was busy

302

on Tuesday, that Tuesday afternoon.

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Uh, coming up and I said, no, for you.

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You know, tell me what you need.

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And he says, I need you to pick me

up and I need you to take me over

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to the cemetery so you can help

me pick my final resting place.

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Oh, wow.

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So I, I looked at him, I said, are, are

you sure you're not talking to Michael?

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And he goes, no, I, I

I want you to do that.

310

That's the kind of friendship

that we've created.

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And, um.

312

I took him and we spent some time, touring

and, and he picked, a final resting place

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for him and his wife, who was already

unfortunately sick and, and didn't, I, I,

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I wanna say she passed within about six

to eight months after, after that time.

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Wendy: Wow.

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What an honor.

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What an honor.

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Yeah.

319

Is that like the favorite

thing of your job?

320

I mean, I know you do so many things.

321

What, what's the favorite

thing you get to do?

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Manuel: Asking for money,

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Wendy: not what I thought

you were gonna say.

324

Manuel: Asking for money

and getting to know people.

325

Yeah.

326

Really it's, it's, it's a true pleasure.

327

You, you people come with

so many different stories.

328

How did they make their wealth?

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How do they spend their wealth?

330

Um, who do they want to give it to?

331

Um, and during that time, you get

to really get to know them and

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you get to see the real person.

333

Yeah.

334

Um, and again, for me,

they're not piggy banks.

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They really aren't.

336

because, you know, my goal one day is to

be on the other side of that, you know,

337

have someone asking me for a donation.

338

And I want them to really know who

I am and and what I believe in.

339

Yeah, for sure, for sure.

340

What do you wish

nonprofits understood more?

341

There's a lot, but I would say one of

the first things is to make sure that

342

your organization is donor-centric.

343

Make sure that you focus on the donor.

344

What does the donor need and

want from the organization?

345

Right.

346

Not every donor is going to give money.

347

But they might give time, they might

open up their network of individuals

348

or corporations or foundations.

349

Mm-hmm.

350

To you.

351

Right?

352

Be, I'm not saying you have to

be their best friend, but you

353

need to know your donor, right?

354

Mm-hmm.

355

And it's not just when you need them, you

need to always be there for your donor.

356

Yeah.

357

that's one thing that I have

learned working at synagogues.

358

Um, I've had donors that have given

to the organization, have served as

359

board members and have passed away.

360

And I think at, at that point when

I'm there to, at the funeral as the

361

executive director helping, making sure

that the ceremony goes off without a

362

hitch and making sure that they get

to their final resting place is, is

363

important and is more of important

than even getting that donation.

364

Mm-hmm.

365

Now, most fundraisers are never

gonna get to that point, right.

366

Unless you're an ED of an

organization like that, but.

367

Fundraisers need to understand that

donors are human beings just like

368

we are, and you need to make sure

that you're giving them the ample

369

feedback and time that they deserve.

370

Wendy: Sure, sure.

371

What's the number one thing nonprofits can

do to be more successful in fundraising?

372

I know you said donor-centric was

the thing they need to understand

373

more, but what can they do?

374

What's an action step?

375

Manuel: Communication.

376

Right?

377

Yeah.

378

And I don't mean mass emails every

month that say the same things, right?

379

Mm-hmm.

380

one of, one of the ways you can do that

is segment your, your communication.

381

So if you have a hundred donors,

10 of them are your top donors,

382

how do you communicate with them?

383

Mm-hmm.

384

Versus how do you communicate

with someone who gives you $25 a

385

month on a monthly giving program?

386

So understand your, your audience,

understand your donors, um, making,

387

making sure you're also having.

388

Contact not just with your major

donors, but your monthly donors.

389

Um, it is, it's, it's been proven that

individuals that give on a monthly

390

basis actually can be asked again and

sometimes become your largest donors.

391

Because if you're giving monthly,

that's sometimes a larger commitment.

392

Than giving a onetime gift.

393

Wendy: Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.

394

I think that you're giving me more

ideas for another podcast episode.

395

Levels of communication.

396

Okay.

397

All right.

398

Well, I, I know we're running

outta time here, but I wanna,

399

cover a couple more things.

400

So, how can people get involved

with AFP and learn all these skills

401

when it comes to fundraising?

402

Manuel: Yeah, so getting involved at AFP

is absolutely the easiest thing to do.

403

Just go to our website.

404

it's afp dallas.org,

405

I believe.

406

and you can go ahead and

you'll see upcoming events.

407

Our next one is in August.

408

We have a, a great speaker, a past

president of our chapter, as well

409

as a fundraiser, I believe, with

at least 20 years of experience.

410

And, she'll be giving some great.

411

Updates as well as there's an opportunity

to network before the luncheon.

412

Um, at the same time, you can

reach out to our AFP Dallas.

413

Headquarters.

414

essentially we, we have, two individuals

that work for us part-time and, um,

415

they will answer any questions, but

you can also go to afp global.org

416

and you can find your local chapter.

417

If you're not in the Dallas

area, I definitely recommend also

418

looking at the Fort Worth chapter.

419

Um, my counterpart there, Hillary

is an absolutely amazing young lady.

420

we do a lot of work together.

421

We actually text on a weekly

basis, to commiserate, um, as,

422

as president, yes, as presidents.

423

so, but, yeah, I, that,

that's really the easiest way.

424

And by the way, if you're not

a member of the chapter, you

425

can still attend a luncheon.

426

If you can't afford it, we'll

be happy to cover it for you.

427

'cause we really want you to get that

experience and get that up opportunity

428

to network with other fundraisers that

are in the same field that you are.

429

Wendy: That's awesome.

430

Um, any particular social media

channels that AFP is on that they

431

can follow you're good works.

432

Manuel: All of them.

433

LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook.

434

But I would say that LinkedIn

is our biggest following.

435

Mm-hmm.

436

Um, and you can look us up

either for the greater Dallas

437

chapter or again, AFP global.

438

And when you go to AFP Global, I think

they have like 400,000 followers,

439

which is absolutely amazing.

440

And, you can, you can find them there.

441

Wendy: Okay.

442

Is there anything that we haven't

talked about that you wanted

443

to mention while you're here?

444

Manuel: I, I just wanna mention

that, I think this is a, a

445

great opportunity, your podcast.

446

I really, really appreciate

being one of your first guests.

447

I hope I did a good job.

448

I think you did a great job.

449

And, and, really, you know,

can, can we promote the July?

450

Oh, that'll be after the fact.

451

Wendy: Yeah, that'll be

after this, after the fact.

452

So if anybody came to the

North Texas Giving Day workshop

453

in July, thanks for coming.

454

And you'll see Manuel there as well.

455

Yeah.

456

So thanks for joining us, but

hopefully we'll have other educational

457

events on the calendar soon.

458

definitely got a couple ideas already

in the hopper for September, so

459

we'll be talking about that soon.

460

For sure.

461

For sure.

462

Awesome.

463

Well, thank you so much, Manuel.

464

It was so much fun having you

as one of my first guests.

465

Manuel: Thank you.

466

I really appreciate

the opportunity, Wendy.

467

Wendy: All right.

468

Bye guys.

469

Bye-bye.

470

Thanks for listening

to the nonprofit Nook.

471

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472

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475

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476

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477

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478

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