Episode 99
Episode 99 of Tales From the Trenches Tuesdays again features Clay Buck, a fundraiser for over thirty years. He has held just about every position in fundraising from Development Assistant and Grant Writer to Chief Development officer. Clay also started his own individual giving and fundraising communications consulting firm in 2018. Additionally, he is the creator of The Fundraiser’s Planner and co-host of the #1 fundraising podcast “Fundraising is Funny”.
Clay holds a BA from the University of Georgia and a Master of Fine Arts from Michigan State University. He has been a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) for over 10 year and is a certified Master Trainer and Coach. Clay teaches fundraising, storytelling, and strategic planning at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. AFP Las Vegas recognized Clay with the Outstanding Faculty award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In this episode, Clay Buck pulled no punches when discussing one of the nonprofit sector’s most persistent problems. It is the addiction to short-term, transactional thinking that’s damaging long-term donor relationships.
This transactional approach creates what Buck calls living “in the gaps” – fundraisers caught between the emotional weight of collecting beneficiary stories and the relentless pressure to meet financial goals. Organizations send mixed messages, criticizing fundraisers for being too office-bound one day and too absent the next, while constantly asking where the checks are.
The time to build that prospect list was two years ago, not this year.
Clay Buck
Just click on the picture of Clay below to hear our conversation.
L’chaim,
jack
