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Engaging Latino Donors: Transforming Nonprofit Fundraising Through Cultural Sensitivity and Technology

• NonProfit Hub • Season 5 • Episode 45

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Unlock the secrets of nonprofit fundraising with Meghan Speer, and insights from seasoned expert Kendell Stellfox. Together, we explore the nuanced art of engaging donors, particularly during critical periods like year-end giving. Kendell brings his wealth of experience to the table, emphasizing the importance of using technology wisely to foster a community of informed and cheerful givers, while also maintaining high ethical standards. Kendell shares compelling strategies for nonprofits to engage authentically with this demographic, focusing on culturally sensitive communication and the power of AI-assisted language translation. His insights reveal the immense loyalty and generosity of Latino donors and highlight innovative approaches, such as leveraging social media, to deepen relationships and enhance the sustainability of nonprofit organizations. With heartfelt gratitude for our community's support, we embrace the festive spirit, wishing everyone a joyous Christmas and a prosperous New Year full of collaborative possibilities.

Kendell Stellfox works with a number of agencies and services groups in the Nonprofit and Ministry space. He is passionate about helping ministries grow and brings together the best possible partners for that to happen. He has a number of years experience in nonprofit technology.

Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Speaker 1:

As a nonprofit, it's hard to make a difference in the community when your finances are holding you back. With Maxis, by FreedMaxic, you can navigate complex challenges with the right people, processes and technology. Learn more about Maxis and schedule a complimentary consultation at maxisbyfmcom. Slash nonprofit. Welcome back to the Nonprofit Hub podcast. I'm your host, megan Spear, alongside Kendall Stelfox joining me today. I'm so excited to dig into something that Kendall has been thinking through. Kendall has a ton of experience in the nonprofit space with a number of different organizations, so I'm excited to learn from his wisdom today. Kendall, welcome to the show.

Speaker 2:

Hey again, good to see you. Thanks for having me on his wisdom today. Kendall, welcome to the show. Hey again, good to see you. Thanks for having me on. Always a pleasure to get on and talk about this wonderful space where we get to help others and call it our passion and our profession.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely. So, by way of introduction, tell the audience a little bit about yourself and your journey in the nonprofit space, to kick us off here.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so my background is in technology. During college I helped a couple of buddies start a systems integration business and my area of expertise that got developed there was on the database side. So this was way before CRMs that we all have today. They were very segmented and broken out and then we were an integration business that really helped people deal with data and sync it and bring it into a central location, ultimately became CRM. And then I ran that business unit for a number of years before I left and felt a calling to get really into the areas that I really cared about and that was helping people in the causes of feeding people, bible engagement, just helping people in general. And that drove me to the fundraising side.

Speaker 2:

And I work with a couple of different agencies. One is Active Engagement. They are world renowned for the political side of the spectrum and they have a very large capability from an email perspective. So the areas that I focus on are email, text messaging, phone systems and, ultimately, the ability to be able to write propositions. And then the other area that I work in with my good buddy, yvonne Leon at the Kurex Group, is helping nonprofits reach the Latino community and those of us out there that aren't aware of this massive demographical change that is coming. We all have our donor files are shrinking and it's the Latino community that is growing here. In all have our donor files are shrinking and it's the Latino community that is growing here in the United States. There are over 62 million here domestically, and we work with a large number of organizations trying to help them contextualize, and I'm sure we'll unpack that a little bit further, but not just to translate but to reach the heart of Latinos.

Speaker 2:

And so the areas that the Lord has me really focusing in on is really trying to mesh that, use technology, but use it in a way that creates a joyful giver.

Speaker 2:

A joyful giver is one that is informed, that is not pestered and over-communicated to, but finds a right balance, that they feel like they're a part of the cause and that their resources or their time are really impactful.

Speaker 2:

And that's what we try to do with the active engagement in the Carex group, and Marketing Support Networks is fantastic with helping us get the ability to be able to ramp up our staff, the phone system, call centers to online chats. If you're able to create a offering or a program that has a lot of traffic, you get people to your website and that's a good thing and be able to do all of that. So at the end of the day, it's very tech focused, digital, but we do work with direct mail and all sorts of different aspects of the overall omni-channel experience, but we really try to boil it down to a cheerful giver, somebody that is informed and that really wants to be a part of what's going on and feels that they are part of that, and that comes down to communications. Timing is everything in life and our messaging needs to be timely and informative and in the right channel in the right way, and that's what we try to build at Active Engagement, marketing Support Networks and the Carex Group.

Speaker 1:

So I want to, because I love this idea of the cheerful giver and that's what we're going to dig into today. But I want to go back to a phrase you used the first time you did it, which is calling them engaged. They're informed, but they're not pestered. And as we sit here right at the beginning of December, we are in the peak of donor giving season and getting ready for year-end giving, and some might say at the height of pestering season.

Speaker 2:

Right, because I can't even count, especially coming out of political height of pestering season?

Speaker 1:

right, because I can't even count. Yes, coming off of the election and then you had not what? Three or four weeks later we had Giving Tuesday and now we're past Giving Tuesday into the season for year-end giving this very well could be the height of pestering. So let's talk about that balance. Right, because there has to be. We are so bombarded with messages that we have to put out enough to really resonate and communicate and make sure that the donor is informed. But what does that balance look like? And how do organizations structure around making sure that they are communicating effectively and not annoyingly?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a very loaded question but I can simplify it in that is be above reproach. Do what is right, treat others as you'd like to be treated yourself. In our industry there are way more individual organizations that don't do those simple principles and they do go above and beyond when it comes to the pestering side. For one, that's illegal. You can't be a spammer and there are rules and obligations in the text messaging and the phone system, world and email and direct mail. So one is just be above reproach. Just do what the law, do what the world tells us that we're able to do. And then, secondly, really spend time thinking your donors as people, like they're human beings, not just a bank account, and the beauty of always reminding you and your team of a cheerful giver is those things have to level in right. A cheerful giver is somebody, like I said, is informed and not pestered, but also does get messaging, and it is done in a very good, comfortable way. The beauty in the world we live today is they can unsubscribe at any time. So don't view unsubscriptions as a negative. That maybe, maybe it is a red flag, but if you're doing stuff as you treat others, you'd be treated yourself. Someone does have the right to say you know, I don't want messaging in that channel. Or, overall and that's something to remember too is that respect the different aspects of the channel. A cell phone text message is very intimate. You are going to get a huge open rate. So, yes, there is a temptation to go and say, oh boy, I need to do a bunch in that channel. But in the same breath, is that how that channel, or those individuals that you're going to communicate in that channel, but in the same breath, is that how that channel, or those individuals that you're going to communicate in that channel, want to be responded to? Odds are no. Nobody wants their cell phone ringing all day long or pinging all day long because an organization wants more money out of them, but an organization that needs the help, of course, an individual wants to hear that. That gives them the opportunity to be able to respond. So I think that's where that balance is. Megan is. One is just, you got to be above reproach. Do what is right. And then, secondly is according to the channel, how would you want that to be treated for one? And then, secondly, what are, what are the standards? What are others doing out in that space.

Speaker 2:

Part of our recipe for success is that we do those two things, is that we're very good at making sure that we don't pester people and we do give them the opportunities to opt out and those types of things. But we're also very good at technology so we can play with the thing called timing. We all know in our personal relationships that timing is perfect. We say it's in God's timing, right, and that's very much the case. And so, when it comes to communicating and delivering that message, your technology provider has a big, important piece of that puzzle. I mean, if you're using, like MailChimp or any of those off the shelf email ESP providers, they have a little button there that says, well, we'll use AI to choose when we're going to deliver this. And, yes, that is good, it's better than you just clicking send but in the same breath, could that be done better? And that's one of the advantages active engagement brings to the table is that we use historical 15 plus years worth of metadata so that we are able to deliver message. We call inboxing it's not just the ability to send an email, it's actually to get an email read, and that email read is where you get your definition of is it actually an engageable type of content. So your providers and who you partner with is also extremely important. You can partner with a provider that says sure, we're going to robo-dial all day long because we know we can make money doing it that way and that's not comfortable for the people that are receiving those phone calls.

Speaker 2:

And I think the last piece, megan, is to have your attention not on the moments. As human beings, we're always driven by the urgent right what is happening now, what do I need today? And then you start dealing with maybe something tomorrow. But the urgent is a very big challenge because the lifetime value of a donor isn't defined by today. It's defined by tomorrow, the next day and the next day and the next right. It's over the lifetime. So if you think about it, if you're able to ignite a relationship with a donor for $50, $10, $5,000, what is the real value of that donor? If you treat them above reproach, you treat them like you'd be treated yourself, and then you cultivate that into two donations, three donations, a monthly donor, a mid-tier donor, all of these and that is all based on how you treat them. Nobody's going to go and give you more because you pestered them more. They're going to go and give because they're more informed and they're more excited and they're more a part of this amazing cause that you're called to lead.

Speaker 1:

I. That is something that we have heard as a theme all year long on the podcast. Right is that donors are humans and we've got to treat them as such, but beyond that, what does it look like to actually think about people in terms of investing in that relationship in the long term? So part of that, though and I think it's interesting that you went to text, because I think, especially coming off of the political season at least my phone was way more inundated on the text message side in that season than it is currently with some of the nonprofit, the normal kind of cause-based nonprofits that we work with and so I'm wondering from your perspectives I know you work with a couple of different text providers as well Is the nonprofits based behind on text? Is it something that we need to look at more? To me, the political side went way too far on how often they are texting, but the answer on the nonprofit side shouldn't be zero either.

Speaker 2:

That's right, megan, and you bring up a great point. There are different roles. A C4 can do text messaging way different than a C3. And I'm talking about different aspects when it comes to our relationship with the government on how we structure our organizations. A political organization is legally allowed to robo text and robo call all day long, every day. They're legally allowed to do it. A C3 that wants to go and feed babies or fix a smile legally are not allowed Like, but that doesn't mean they can't, which is just wild in and of let's.

Speaker 1:

let's acknowledge it's just wild in and of of itself that people can spam and ask me for money all day long to get themselves into office, but then to actually fix a problem not so much what a wild set of laws.

Speaker 2:

It's the challenge with us as human beings leading a government. It will always not be the way that it ultimately needs to be or should be. But there are good things that come from our government as well, and it's our responsibility as leaders to adhere to those rules or raise enough noise out of love and encouragement to go and change them. But yes, the C3, the nonprofit space and the C4 space, I do think, are handled differently because of the laws and the outcomes, and a lot of them will just spin up those organizations just to go and take those resources and then they close their doors. Where the rest of us in the C3 space, we're trying to build long term value, we're really trying to impact something for the long haul Go and feed a family in need, go and create a cool space online to help people that are dealing with mental challenges or illness all sorts of things that we're able to be created to do on that. But it's important that the channels that you invest in that you do it correctly. So there is a huge misconception in the marketplace that, oh, because I get all these horrible text messages, I'm not going to do that as an organization, and that is completely wrong. That's throwing the baby with the bathwater type of scenario, right, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't learn the right capabilities, the right way to do it.

Speaker 2:

So an example at the Keurig's group we work with Operation Smile, a wonderful organization that helps children that are born with a dysformity in their mouth to be able to get a quick surgery and be able to smile again. And we spun up. They had never done anything with text messaging and we spun up an English and a Spanish texting relationship and of course, we asked for compliance, first and foremost because that's the right thing to do Now. It was challenging, it was scary. Is everybody going to say no? But of course not. They're not going to say no. Some did, and that's because that's their preference, but the majority of them, and a large majority of them, didn't, because they were connected to the ministry and they did want to be able to hear more on a quicker basis with text messaging than an email. And so at Operation Smile, we've raised tens of thousands of dollars by simply creating a five-digit code, which is unique. Right, it's not a 10-digit code, just like the political word use. It's five-digit. It's assigned legally to Operation Smile and then they go and message off that five digit, build credibility by doing the compliance and then provide images.

Speaker 2:

Messaging at a comfortable pace is the key there. So it's anywhere from, depending upon what the organization is trying to accomplish a text message every week to a couple text messages every week. It varies depending on what you're trying to get done but, most importantly, the platform you choose. So we work with Powered by Text out of Dallas on that and they're extremely focused on compliance. So within their system there's all sorts of checks and balances. If someone does reply stop, they're immediately taken out or we can manly do it if they make messages and things along those lines.

Speaker 2:

And it has been a tremendous Megan, it is unbelievable channel and any nonprofit out there immediately should start evaluating and contemplating how to correctly start text messaging. And it is not hard right, it's only 152 character. I mean it's small messages. But the beauty is is that you can send a video, you can send a picture, you can lead them to a landing page. You can get all those wonderful pieces that you do in email or direct mail or phone or TV. You can do that in text messages but you can guarantee you're going to get like a 90 plus open rate. So you better be good at it, right, but in the same breath, being good at it is just providing the same information that you already are. You're not trying to do something different, you're just trying to communicate within that channel the way that it does.

Speaker 1:

Maxis by FreedMaxic is an innovative financial advisory solution for nonprofits. Financial advisory solution for nonprofits, backed by over 60 full-time professionals dedicated to serving nonprofits, maxis helps you address short-term talent needs and achieve long-term financial stability by letting you outsource and automate accounting tasks so that your team can focus more attention on mission-driven growth. Learn more about Maxis and schedule a complimentary consultation at maxisbyfmcom. Slash nonprofit. So at this point, we got Christmas coming. We got year-end coming. Chances are at this point, everybody's year-end is mapped out right. The direct mail is already in the can, ready to go. Emails are likely already in there, signed off on. Everybody has signed off on what they're doing. Likely, year end is done at this point because by the time this airs, we'll only be 10 days away from year end. So we got to make sure that we're.

Speaker 1:

I understand we're working ahead and we are in the season, but as we plan to come back in January, right, as you look ahead to 2025, what are some things that we need to make sure that we are putting into our strategy? To really make sure that we are helping people feel connected to the cause, to create that cheerful, giving mindset. So they feel connected, they feel a part of the community of the organization and not just like an ATM machine. Are there some things that you've seen happen this year that you're like, man, we should stop doing that going forward. Or are there some trends coming up that you think like, oh man, this is going to be a big one in 2025 to make people feel more connected?

Speaker 2:

Megan. There's a lot to that. First and foremost, when it comes to digital, there's no harm in trying. So, as you look into 2025, you're way better off trying and failing than being afraid to try and to move things forward. So, first and foremost, it's a new year. It's an important year because it's building upon the last years and, depending on where you are and you're building out of your nonprofits, each year, matters and time does add up and the enemy loves to create fears. So we become unable to make decisions and it is daunting to do the nonprofit, to raise funds and to go and do the causes, and all of us would rather be doing the cause than trying to talk about raising money. But at the end of the day and that's one of the main reasons why the Lord brought me into this aspect of the industry is because if you don't raise money, you're not going to do the causes. It's just they go hand in hand. So part of grabbing a hold of that is OK. So that is reality. What can I try? And when it comes to trying, the faster you fail, the faster you're going to win, and that's a common phrase in technology Fail fast, learn faster type of scenario. So I think it's extremely important of the number of people that you are engaging, extremely important of the number of people that you are engaging.

Speaker 2:

We always come alongside a nonprofit and that's one of the things we ask is like, how many donors do you have today, how many donors, potential donors, do you have coming? And so that's one of the things you can quickly look at going into 2025. Where are my different buckets? I have existing donors, I have first-time donors and then I have potential donors and people that haven't given yet. Those three buckets are extremely important to the viability of 2025. And then, what strategies are you going to do to communicate to those different buckets? And one of the areas that you know the beauty of, as we continue to move forward with technology, segmentation is becoming way easier and way more important. So that's one of the big pieces, I think and we saw it in these last couple of years but the ability to be able to take your message or your brand or your cause and contextualize it to that demographic.

Speaker 2:

A lady responds to communication different than a man. It's reality, it's the way God's created it all. So if we treat our constituents, our givers and we are long-term givers or short-term, and we're all in one bucket. Guess what happens Is that becomes a little more challenging because everywhere else those donors go, they get custom communication. They go to Facebook, they go to Twitter, they go to LinkedIn. Wherever they're going, that AI universe is customizing it to them. You not be afraid that, oh my gosh, all my communications are falling on deaf ears? That's not true. But can it become better by segmenting? So that would be an area as small of an organization to the biggest, the better you can get at segmenting and communicating within those segments to the different channels. Right, a direct mail piece is different than a text message, but they can work together, if you're able to afford it, in a wonderful way, and we do some of that with some of the bigger ministries, like Charlie Kirk's, turning Point, usa, where we work with the direct mail piece and then we send friendly reminders of text messages, but they're segmented, right. And also flagging.

Speaker 2:

There's all sorts of ways to, as you're diving into segmenting, what is the potential value of this individual or this household? Can they give more in the future? Odds are the answer is yes to that. But then how are you going to go and earn it? That's not just okay, I'm going to pester them more. No, you need to love on them more. And what are the right ways to love on them? Maybe it's send them a gift, send them a thank you card, or call them up on the phone and thank them. Maybe see if they'd be interested on a Zoom. There's all sorts of ways, but at the end of the day, the more you can customize your communication to make it more almost one-on-one, the more impact you're going to get, because that donor is going to feel that connection. And when a donor feels a connection, they give, they're cheerful, they're informed and they're educated. So it's a segmentation.

Speaker 2:

I would evaluate new channels. I would highly recommend text messaging. It's just one. Now, you're not going to go out and get new donors that way. You can, but it's very challenging and can be expensive. But you can ask for a cell phone number when they fill out a donation form or as they're giving you an email for a free e-book or something. Ask them would you like us to communicate in text messaging?

Speaker 2:

So there's those pieces, too, that as you plan out 2025 and you come up with some goals, you can find some easy wins, potentially by just saying okay, one of our goals is we're going to build out a text messaging communication this year. For that to happen I have to start capturing cell phone numbers, so that's way before message being sent. I have to then have my landers say at first last name and cell phone number and, most importantly, make sure you have a little checkbox there that says I can communicate with you, and then that allows it to be above reproach along those lines. So I think it's segmentation is a very important piece of the puzzle and a mom and pop startup ministry that I have a couple of those myself can do that segmentation to the big ones out there.

Speaker 2:

The beauty of today's world is, with technology, it's a very level playing field, more so than any time in my life that I've seen. I think that'll be the case. But lastly is don't be afraid to fail. As you're looking into next year, certainly reflect on successes and the losses in 2024. The more you fail, the more you're going to figure it out. I say it to my kids all the time. I don't mind making mistakes, but you're going to learn from them.

Speaker 2:

I say it to my kids all the time I don't mind making mistakes, but you gotta learn from them, and I think that's the key.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's a general phrase here that we use on the Marketing Support Network side of life. We win or we learn. We never lose. We win or we learn Knowledge is so important.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and what are you going to do to come back from it? Okay, it didn't go the way you expected, no problem. Here we go. How do we regroup and pivot and move forward from that? So I think those are all super good call-outs. I want to. Before we wrap up, I do want to touch on a little bit back to some of your work with Curex, especially coming into 2025. Are there pieces of that strategy that need to be evaluated differently for reaching folks in the Latino community? Are there different communication styles or preferences? As we kind of take a look at the changing face of America's demographic, what does it look like and are there things that we need to consider in that part of our strategy?

Speaker 2:

as well. There's a lot and it's all really exciting. It certainly appears to be very challenging and, oh, I can't accomplish that. But the reality that's not reality. Megan Latinos speak English newsflash right, chakra, they read English Now. But the reality in those things is they've earned, they've gone out and they've taken the lesson. I mean, they've worked hard at it, so they like English, but their first language is still Spanish. Right, that's who they are. That's the heart of that Latino donor. To be joyful does not have to have everything in Spanish, but it does need to be contextualized to a Latino heart. They're just different. A German is different than a Brit. There's nuances, the way God has created us.

Speaker 2:

So, when it comes to the daunting task of reaching a new demographic, historically that has been really challenging and most have been afraid to do it because they've heard of some failures. Right, but the reality of it is in today's day and age, in 2024 going forward, the Latino community is extremely important for the viability of any nonprofit and the reason for that is is there's 62 million registered Latinos here in the United States alone. So if you are a college student today and you're on a campus in the United States and you're a white Anglo, like I am. You are a minority on all college campuses, so my kids are going to be a minority in their generation, which means that they're going to. It's just going to be different.

Speaker 2:

Now, that can be very scary, but the reality is it doesn't need to be, because once you get to know that community, they're amazing because they're family focused, they're kind and friendly, they're faith oriented. Over 85 percent of them lean towards Catholic or faith oriented. Their country first, they left trouble to come here and, lastly, they all give resources back home. So they're givers by very nature. They're very givers. But that doesn't mean that you just take an appeal letter in English and you translate it to Spanish and then you just start mailing Latinos. It just wouldn't work right, but you contextualize it. So some of the tricks out there are using AI to translate it into. You know, this is a Mexican Latino living in California. Ai will help with that. Now do not take AI and what it gives you and just send it.

Speaker 2:

I can give you example after example. It is a computer and, as I remind my bride, you are smarter than your computer, I promise you. So AI is not trustworthy but is a tremendous helper. And so there is this new exciting movement here to reach Latinos, because now we can contextualize and we can create programming and content very inexpensively and be able to start rolling that out. So, yes, when it comes to this new wave of donors, they are extremely exciting to work with.

Speaker 2:

But that doesn't mean that it's easy, right? Any organization that's trying to raise a dollar today and is just getting started knows how hard that is. And you have to work and you've got to take risks. I mean you're going to bet the bank sometimes. Well, the same rule is going to apply to try to develop a new demographic Like. You're going to have to take risk and you're going to have to have failures and you're going to have to work at it.

Speaker 2:

But I can promise you and we can share example after example that if you put your foot down and you stay intentional year after year, the Latinos are very loyal, they're not needy. They will just naturally give, because that's what their culture is, and so they are a wonderful way. But you're going to have to go and earn it and you're going to have to make your ministry in a way outgoing to the Latino community. So if you are feeding people in the city of Seattle, make sure you reference we also do that with the Latino community. I mean, it's just subtle little things along those lines and so that break that barrier of everything has to be translated. It's certainly we call it Spanglish, we can put key words in Spanish in there. If you're talking about soccer, maybe it's football rather than American soccer. Subtle things along those lines. But at the end of the day, megan, it's intentionality.

Speaker 2:

If a donor doesn't believe, that you're going to stick through this and you're really communicating. They're not going to give Latino works exactly the same way and you just have to love on them, you have to nurture them. And the last thing I would state, they're extremely digitally oriented. So we've done some tests where we post something on Facebook and do one in English and do one in Spanglish and the Latino community, the amount of shares, the likes, the comments, it's like 100x compared to the Anglo side. So there is this excitement, this joy that is waiting to be untapped out there. But we've got to do it authentically and that's the area that Keurig's really tries to come alongside, do coaching, teaching, even roll out projects, depending upon the size of the organization and what the needs are. But at the end of the day, we're really trying to take that cause and come up with the right ways to engage the Latino heart to ultimately get a cheerful Latino heart to give and be a part of that cause.

Speaker 1:

I love it. So the whole thing, just to boil it down, is donors are humans, regardless of what community they come from, and treating them as such goes a long way in creating cheerful, connected givers. There we go, kendall. Thank you so much. That is so much wisdom to take in. I really appreciate all that you had to share. Again, my guest has been Kendall Stelfox. Thanks for being here. We appreciate you.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, megan. It's been a joy to listen to the podcast and see all you guys have done this past year Very excited for 2025 and all the things that we've been talking about. You guys have plans, so it's been a joy to be on and if anybody out there ever needs help in any of these channels or reach Latinos, we would love to help you and just explore with you what we can do together.

Speaker 1:

That's great, and how would people reach out to you and find you that way if they're interested in connecting?

Speaker 2:

about LinkedIn would be an easy way. My email is Kendall. It's E-L-L at Kurexgroupcom or K-Stallfox at actengagecom, but LinkedIn is probably the easiest because it'll connect you All right.

Speaker 1:

All right, kendall. Thank you so much and, once again, my name is Megan Spear. I am the host of the nonprofit hub podcast. Thanks for joining us this year. We will see you in 2025. Have a fantastic Christmas and a great new year. Thanks for being a part of the community. We appreciate you and we'll see you next year.