A Modern Nonprofit Podcast · The Charity CFO, LLC

Episode 143: Why Your Fundraising Strategy Isn’t Working (and How to Fix It)

·42 min·2 clips

Jeff says the operating budget, overhead, and funding gaps should become a spreadsheet of donor-ready offers.

Tasha Anderson frames the conversation as a look at fundraising beyond the ask. She says she is not the fundraising expert, but as the financial person in the mix she sees a lot of the moving parts. Galas, special events, grant writing, budgets, and the annual fundraising plan all come into view. She invites Jeff Streifels, principal and owner of Veritas Group, to break the topic open. Jeff brings years of experience in and around the nonprofit space, including work with organizations like St. Jude's and United Way. The pair treats fundraising as more than dollars. They also talk about donors and the people doing the asking. A major thread is the idea of building a qualified donor portfolio. Jeff says a qualifying gift does not automatically make someone a major donor. The real question is whether the donor wants a one-to-one relationship. He notes that about two-thirds of donors do not want that kind of relationship. That changes the math fast. To end up with 150 qualified donors, a team may need 450 donors who meet the basic needs for qualification. From there, the work becomes more intentional. Donors are tiered into A, B, and C groups. Each donor gets a revenue goal and a strategic plan. The plan also needs at least one touchpoint per month across the next 12 months. Jeff describes how that structure gives major gift officers a clear daily path instead of a vague list of hopes. Tasha compares it to a for-profit business development role with Salesforce, a punch list, and a schedule of calls and notes. The episode closes by pointing listeners to Jeff's contact info and asking them to engage with the show so more nonprofit leaders can find it.

As heard by us

A practical reset for fundraising that puts relationships ahead of the ask.

It treats fundraising as a relationship discipline, not a one-time ask, and keeps the donor portfolio at the center. Tasha Anderson and Jeff Streifels make the case for qualified portfolios, donor tiering, monthly touchpoints, and a major-gift process that behaves like a managed…

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Why you'd press play

When your donor list needs structure, not another cheerleading session.

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