Episode Details
Back to Episodes198: The Give-Get Fundraising Trap That's Costing You More Than You Think
Description
Your donors don't need a goodie bag, a raffle prize, an auction item, a t-shirt, or a chicken dinner. If your fundraising strategy is built around giving them something in order to get something back, that's the give-get model, and it might be exactly what's slowing your organization down.
In this episode, I'm breaking down the difference between a real SPRINT™ campaign and an old-school fundraising method wrapped in new language. I talk about why events, raffles, auctions, and 5Ks aren't inherently bad, but why building your entire fundraising strategy around them adds friction, drains people's power, and quietly signals that you don't trust the mission to be enough on its own. If you've ever said, "Why don't we just do a raffle?", this episode is for you.
Topics:
- What a SPRINT™campaign actually is, and what it isn't
- Why wrapping an old-school fundraiser in SPRINT™ language doesn't make it a sprint
- How events add friction for donors and where the money gets lost in the process
- The give-get mentality and why donors don't need to be bribed to give
- Questions to ask before choosing your next campaign vehicle
- Why defaulting to events usually means you don't yet trust the ask, and what to do instead
For a full list of links and resources mentioned in this episode, click here.
Bloomerang is the complete donor, volunteer, and fundraising management solution that helps thousands of nonprofits like yours. Book your demo here. Read The 2026 Giving Signals Report here.
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.
May contain affiliate links