Episode Details

I had the pleasure of hosting Michael Murphy, Director of Development at Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial, and one of my Purpose & Profit Club® members. Michael’s story is proof that you don’t need decades of fundraising experience to see major wins with email. In fact, in his very first nonprofit role, he took one of my frameworks, Easy Emails For Impact™, and turned a $1,900 campaign into a $9,000 campaign. We talk about what it means to ditch the “dry C-suite style” newsletters, why personal, story-driven emails outperform every time, and how confidence grows when you let go of perfection and just hit send. Michael also shares how he’s building monthly giving campaigns, blending direct mail with digital, and learning to embrace new tools without losing sight of his mission: honoring veterans across generations.

Topics:

• How shifting from “C-suite style” newsletters to story-driven emails multiplied results
• Why Michael’s first attempts at email felt sterile and overwhelming — and what changed
• How one campaign using story-driven emails jumped from $1,900 to $9,000
• The power of multiple donation levels and donor-friendly options 
• Why replies to your emails matter as much as donations
• Using volunteers’ voices to write high-performing emails
• How email + direct mail is “peanut butter and jelly” for fundraising
• Building a sustainable monthly giving program that feels manageable

For a full list of links and resources mentioned in this episode, click here.

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Resources:

• Easy Emails For Impact™: The $5K+ Fundraising Campaign System
• Purpose & Profit Club® Fundraising + Marketing Accelerator   
• The SPRINT Method™: Your shortcut to 10K fundraisers 
• Instagram, LinkedIn, website , weekly newsletter  
• [FREE] The Brave Fundraiser’s Guide: Stop getting ignored. Start raising more.
  
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