Welcome to the first episode of the Let’s Get Real Summer Series! We have some slightly shorter episodes that you can listen to in between your Summer plans. First up, we have an episode with Leigh Sandison, the Managing Director of Real Path.

Leigh joins Ed and Lisa to discuss the difference between data and conversation, and how treating donors as more than a single data point can further your organization. The hosts also relate this to the idea of pro-social behaviour, and how connection makes people more likely to give.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial, or sign up for our free membership.

Ed and Lisa are fortunate enough to be joined by Rowena Veylan for this episode! Rowena is the Founder and Lead Instructor at The New School of Fundraising. Along with Ed and Lisa, she discusses the cuts to fundraising programs in recent years, and the new methods of education and teaching that have emerged as a result.

Elsewhere in the episode, Lisa raises the topic of burnout amongst leaders, and mentions 5 signs to watch for so you can tell if it’s serious burnout or just everyday fatigue. And Ed brings the conversation back around to AI, this time to discuss its use in hiring practices.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial, or sign up for our free membership.

This week on Let’s Get Real, Ed and Lisa are thrilled to welcome back Marla Smith, CFRE, from the Pathstone Foundation! Marla brings her perspective to a discussion about the gap between publicly and privately funded research in the philanthropic sector.

Later in the episode, the conversation about research continues as the hosts discuss data. How are we capturing data? And are these methods able to keep up with the recent shifts in how people engage with charities? This episode dives into those questions and more.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial, or sign up for our free membership.

This week on Let’s Get Real, Lisa and Ed dedicate an entire episode to the topic on everyone’s minds right now: AI. How is AI going to affect the fundraising sector? Should we be embracing this new technology fully? Or are there aspects we should be wary of? If you’ve been looking for a deep dive into AI and fundraising, you won’t want to miss this.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial, or sign up for our free membership.

On this week’s episode of Let’s Get Real, Ed and Lisa welcome back Peggy Killeen to discuss more pressing topics in Canadian fundraising! Peggy kicks off the episode by discussing how administrative work can often drain an organization’s capacity to fundraise.

Later on, Lisa focuses on current challenges in leadership, and how changes in office setup and social norms leave leaders feeling like they can’t win. And do you want to know how credit cards are affecting fundraising? Ed dives into that very topic.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial, or sign up for our free membership.

This week on Let’s Get Real, Ed and Lisa are joined by Kerri LaJeunesse from Harvey MacKinnon Associates. Kerri brings her expertise to discuss the “metric vital signs” that every charity should be monitoring in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses and grow accordingly.

Elsewhere in the episode, Ed brings up staffing in the fundraising sector, and the potential future difficulties that will arise if leaders can’t hire young people today. And Lisa shares her recent experience volunteering for a fundraising event, and the new perspective that gave her going into this week’s episode.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial.

What makes a good leader? That's the question Peggy Killeen, Senior Consultant at PGgrowth, poses today. Peggy joins Ed and Lisa to discuss the qualities that boards should look for when hiring leadership, and the foundational skills that may be overlooked in favour of more traditional business experience.

Later in the episode Lisa discusses the staggering amount of money that GoFundMe raises for Canadian causes each year, and how use of the platform may cause traditional charities to be forgotten. And Ed stresses the importance of having solid gift acceptance policies in order to avoid unwanted influence from certain wealthy donors.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial.

This week on Let’s Get Real, Ed and Lisa are joined by Sandra Baker, the Director of Advancement and Admissions at Hamilton District Christian High School. Sandra starts off the episode with a discussion about the importance of thanking donors and how it can benefit your organization.

Later in the episode, Ed discusses why specific fundraising designations are important steps in becoming a fundraising professional, and the role that academic programs have in cultivating the knowledge of key fundraising ideas.

Interested in learning more about planned giving? PGgrowth's new membership space, PGcommons, is the place for you. Go to pggrowth.com/podcasts and click on the PGcommons button to access your 30-day free trial.