The Donor Charm Podcast Ep. 3 Part 1 | Natalie Eckberg of Hospice El Paso

Business-focused nonprofit fundraising strategy

Core positioning: “Philanthropy” vs. fundraising

• Fundraising is framed as a one-time ask: a donor gives and then moves on.
• Philanthropy is framed as a long-term partnership, built through:
  • Mission storytelling
  • Stewardship
  • Future-oriented impact (e.g., where the organization is headed in 5 years vs. 50 years, not only where funds go)

Framework / playbook: “Leading with intention” donor journey

Natalie’s operating approach is an end-to-end relationship pipeline:

1. Discovery
2. Cultivation
3. Making the ask
4. Stewarding
   • Thank the donor
   • Show impact
   • Maintain trust
5. Next gift planning
   • Move donors along their “philanthropic journey”

Guardrail: Supporters should not hear from the organization only once or twice a year—engagement should be ongoing.

Stewardship communications that increase connection (and future involvement)

Stewardship follow-up should be treated as a strategic operational process, not an afterthought. For example, after a donor gives $1,000, communications should show:

• What happened with the gift
• Who/what it impacted (including named beneficiaries or case stories)
• Program outcomes and how services connect to broader community needs

Concrete pediatric case example: Donation enabled:

• Social work services
• Resource navigation
• Anticipatory grief sessions
• Sibling support (care that spans emotional/mental health as well as physical care)

Key risk she flags:

• The biggest mistake is no follow-up, often because stewardship teams get pulled into goals/metrics, and donor communication slips.

Tooling + process adoption: CRM and Donor Charm for “touchpoints”

CRM tracking

If a CRM is in place, communications and interactions should be tracked by donor level/segments.

Segmentation by giving level (time allocation, not “value”)

Natalie emphasizes:

• A $50 donor and a $10,000 donor are equally valued
• The difference is how much personal time is feasible

Example practice:

• Lower-level giving (e.g., $50/year) may receive a postcard/thank-you note
• Higher-level giving receives more time and deeper personalization

Donor Charm for fast, inclusive, modern acknowledgements

Donor Charm supports quick, inclusive acknowledgement—for example:

• Sending short text messages to donors after campaign milestones (e.g., “We met our goal” for El Paso Giving Day)

Inclusive language matters:

• Use phrasing like “We did it together” to strengthen belonging.

Events are not the finish line: use events as “point of entry”

Gala/walk/luncheon should be a point of entry, not “done after the event.”

Post-event conversion tactics:

• Thank attendees and invite next-step engagement, such as:
  • “Come tour and see the work in action”
• Gather feedback and deepen the relationship through conversation
• Use the “place at the table for everybody” concept to create roles that help attendees feel included—improving the odds of long-term partnership

Technology-driven strategy changes for campaigns and on-site giving

Natalie explains that technology has changed strategy by making giving easier and more natural, such as:

• QR codes (raffles/online donations)
• Texting at the table
• Reducing friction for donors who aren’t “tech gurus”

Examples mentioned (high level):

• El Paso Giving Day
• GECU Foundation Matching May

Community-effect dynamic:

• Giving scales across many donors (e.g., from $100 upward)
• Community tools help people participate “quietly” at the level that fits

Event outcome philosophy:

• Publicly displayed totals can help donors feel part of collective momentum—even when many gifts are small relative to a few large ones (e.g., community can raise $10,000).

Operational efficiency & ROI argument (automation)

For smaller nonprofits with limited staff:

• Invest in tools to automate what can be automated.

ROI claim from her experience:

• Operational effectiveness increased by ~35% overnight after moving away from a manual paper auction/donation setup—freeing time to:
  • Secure more donors
  • Sell more tables
  • Focus on higher-return relationship work

Change management: reducing donor tech-friction using volunteers

To address concerns like: “Our donors are older; will they adopt?”

Her mitigation plan:

• Use more volunteers than usual
• Hand-select approachable volunteers
• Train volunteers to proactively assist donors
• Provide multi-tier support:
  • Ambassadors as the first layer to demo the platform
  • Additional volunteers on-site for problem-solving

Result: Initial concerns decreased as donors attended more events with the technology present.

Recognition/permissions feature: anonymity option with public acknowledgment

Some donors may not want their name displayed or may not give immediately.

Natalie describes a workflow that:

• Records the donation
• Can show anonymous/public donation totals on screens
• Shows that giving occurred without violating donor preferences

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Key metrics / KPIs mentioned explicitly

• $1,000 gift: used as an example for stewardship follow-up content
• Operational effectiveness gain: +35% overnight

• El Paso Giving Day / public giving totals: example of raising $10,000 via community rallying (illustrative; no specific attribution model was provided)

• No explicit targets were provided for CAC/LTV/churn/revenue.

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Actionable recommendations extracted

• Build stewardship into operations: systematize “what happened with my gift” follow-up so it doesn’t disappear when teams get busy.
• Personalize by segment: use giving tiers to guide time and format (postcard vs. deeper outreach), while keeping respect/value equal.
• Turn events into onboarding: include next steps after events (tour invitations, relationship building, feedback).
• Automate manual workflows: especially for lean org structures to reclaim time for donor-facing work.
• Adopt technology with enablement: train volunteers, stage demos, and provide on-site “help desk” coverage to reduce friction.
• Use inclusive messaging: “we met our goal together” to strengthen belonging and retention.

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Presenters / sources mentioned

• Natalie Ekberg — Vice President of Development and Philanthropy, Hospice El Paso
• Jordan — podcast host/interviewer (last name not provided in subtitles)
• Podcast/brand mentioned: Donor Charm / DonorChararmm