Episode 111
Episode 111 of Tales From the Trenches Tuesdays again features Mike Duerksen. Mike is the founder of BuildGood, a Canadian fundraising growth agency that helps nonprofits build a multi-channel, metrics-based approach to grow revenue from new and current donors. He’s helped nonprofits in Canada, USA, Germany and South Africa increase their revenue through direct-response fundraising and marketing. He’s on a mission to help nonprofits build predictable fundraising success. This is accomplished by focusing on donor needs and implementing the Fundraising Flywheel. He hosts The BuildGood Fundraising Podcast, a top-rated podcast that takes the mystery out of raising money.
In the latest episode of Tales from the Trenches, Mike challenged the conventional wisdom that donors are experiencing donor fatigue. He suggests instead that the problem lies squarely with how nonprofits are asking for support.
I haven’t seen any research or any evidence that humans have evolved like biologically to be less generous.
The Real Reason Donors are Giving Less
Rather than accepting the narrative that people have become less charitable, he argues that donors might simply be tired of uninspired, transactional fundraising tactics. The issue isn’t with donors’ capacity or willingness to give, it’s that nonprofits have fallen into a rut of merely asking previous donors to give last year’s amount plus five percent, without offering anything new or compelling.
Mike emphasizes that successful fundraising starts with listening. He explains that fundraisers need to understand donors through both their data and actual conversations. Data shows what donors do, but only conversations reveal why they do it. Some donors prefer the simplicity of giving through the mail and receiving quarterly updates. Others crave deeper engagement and personal connection. The key is recognizing these preferences and honoring them, rather than forcing every donor into the same transactional mold.
Perhaps most striking is Mike’s perspective on nonprofit leadership. He notes that boards and CEOs naturally gravitate toward risk mitigation because they’re personally liable for organizational failures. This creates a tendency to focus on promoting how innovative and successful the organization is, when effective fundraising actually requires vulnerability. It means standing open-handed before potential donors and acknowledging real needs and challenges. That kind of honesty about what still needs to be accomplished feels risky, but it’s precisely what creates authentic connection with donors.
Mike’s insights remind us that the path forward isn’t about finding new tactics to squeeze more money from exhausted donors. It’s about returning to the fundamentals of honest communication, genuine listening, and the courage to be vulnerable about the real work that needs to be done.
Just click on the picture of Mike below to hear a snippet of our conversation.
L’chaim,
jack
