Building Donor Trust for Global Nonprofits

Donor trust doesn’t travel on autopilot across borders—it’s earned through clarity, consistency, and care. We sit down with Morgan Gross, founder and CEO of Fundraising Beyond Borders, to unpack a practical playbook for U.S.-based fundraising that supports programs around the world, from first impressions on your website to the stewardship that keeps supporters engaged long after they give.

If you’re building support for global programs from a U.S. base, this conversation delivers the how-to details: trust signals that convert, ethics that protect people and brand, and structures that meet your stage of growth. Subscribe, share this with a colleague who fundraises across borders, and leave a review with one trust tactic you’re adopting next.

Transcript

Sponsor Message & Welcome

Speaker 0:00

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Speaker 1 0:18

Welcome back to the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast. I'm your host, Megan Speer, joined today by Morgan Gross, who's the founder and CEO of Beyond Borders Fundraising. And I am excited to dig into this topic because it actually just came up in the chat section of our webinar last week. So I think it's very timely. We're gonna be talking about building trust in a global world. So I'm very excited to dig into this conversation. Morgan, welcome in. Megan, thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. It's gonna be a fun day. Yeah, I'm excited for the conversation. So tell us a little bit about yourself and kind of your work that got us to the conversation today.

Speaker 2 0:53

Yeah, absolutely. So I'm originally from Dallas, Texas. I was raised there, then went up to school in Missouri. And um, when I was in second grade, I said I want to become a second grade teacher, and that's exactly what I did. I um got my undergrad in elementary education and then my master's in curriculum development, and I loved it. Education has always been a huge, huge passion of mine. So I was teaching second grade, and then in 2014, I actually co-founded a nonprofit called Project Wake Up, and it was around mental health suicide prevention after losing several friends to suicide. And so me and my friends had gathered, and I loved absolutely absolutely loved the work that I was doing, and I kind of fell into fundraising. And if I look back, I was kind of always that natural fundraiser. I just didn't really label it, didn't know what it was. And um I was fundraising, running this nonprofit, and then I had this third passion for travel. And so I'd done a lot of service trips abroad, and I just knew there was something tugging at my heart as I was teaching second grade. I was just, I want to get out and see, see the world, see what else is out there. And so I decided to move out to Zambia in 2016 to work for a nonprofit. I was developing curriculum for their nonprofit for their girls for gender equality program and then fundraising for them. And fast forward nine years later, I'm still here in Zambia. So I'm tuning in right now from Zambia, and I've absolutely loved the journey I've been on. I've been able to work with dozens and dozens of international nonprofits, and that's where my specialty has lied and why I um really founded Fundraising Beyond Borders is to support international organizations with their fundraising. As I was fundraising for these global programs, I realized there's not a lot of tools and resources out there because exactly what we're gonna be talking about today is it's we have to work harder when we're fundraising for international programs. And so specifically, we help a lot of North American nonprofits who are fundraising in the US, but they have global programs. And so, how do you build this trust with donors in your country, but for international programs and how we're gonna have to work a little bit harder to do that? So it's been a true privilege and honor to be able to provide resources and tools for nonprofits.

Speaker 1 3:01

That's awesome. I'm very excited to dig into this because we did a webinar with Luke Keller from Match Grant, and he was talking about kind of this the state of grants for 2026 and kind of giving everybody some tools and and tricks around grants. And so many of the folks in the comments were I'm in Europe, I'm in Africa, I'm in Canada, I'm in Mexico, I'm in the South America. Yes, does this apply to me? And he was like, not really, right? Right some of those grants are very designated. And so one of the things that he had mentioned, and it it got some some good, like, yes, absolutely, in the comments was fundraising internationally when you're doing it in the US, those grants are certainly hard to come by, but that is that is a bigger challenge than any of us who are in the US doing US-based programs. Absolutely. And I'm saying absolutely, and everybody in the chat was like, it is, it's so hard. We had a lot of solidarity going in that comment section. So I'm excited to dig into this, and I as I was thinking about it, I'm curious your take, and maybe this is where we'll start the conversation. When we talk about organizations that are based in the US but are fundraising for and building capacity for organizations abroad, is it harder because we're there's more distrust? Is that the root of it? Like, I can't see what you're doing necessarily. I have to just trust that the money is gonna go do what you say it's gonna do. I can't go, you know, it's not my local food bank that I can go look and see that you're doing the work. Is that where it starts?

Why International Fundraising Is Harder

Speaker 2 4:33

Yes, you're exactly right. I was on a I had a conversation earlier today with an organization based in Indonesia, and they're like, okay, we want to, we have supporters in the US. We either want to open up a fiscal sponsorship or 501c3 in the US, but you know, they're just trying to go through the option, different options. And that's exactly the same conversation we have is we have to work harder to build that trust because so many people in the US haven't been to Indonesia. They haven't seen those barriers, they haven't seen the challenges, they aren't seeing where your money is going. So we have to work harder and do a lot of different things in fundraising to automatically build that donor trust. And that's the foundation. That's what we we have like four key principles of fundraising bound borders that we talk about with international fundraising, and building donor trust is the number one key foundation in order to be successful for international fundraising.

Speaker 1 5:22

So then, so where do you suggest that people start? Yeah, absolutely. Because what I've what I have come to realize is that some of these organizations are have amazingly robust fundraising programs outside of the US. Right. But the things that work in in Indonesia, in Thailand, in Africa are not going to necessarily resonate the same way. So if someone's looking at where do where do we start?

Foundations Of Donor Trust

Website And Digital Trust Signals

Speaker 2 5:47

Right. Absolutely. So when we talk about fundraising, there's obviously multiple different fundraising revenues and activities that we can do. So whether it comes to grants or individual giving, oftentimes, too, when we're talking about international fundraising, one of the key things is going to be individual giving. And so, like, how are we, and this is gonna apply also for like grant funders, but when you're looking at individuals specifically, is how are we going to first build that foundation and making sure that when they come to your website, when they see your social presence, when they see your digital presence, that they are going to automatically feel good, they're going to trust it, and how are you gonna build that out over time? So it's like little things that you can start slowly integrating into your it's really your digital presence. Um, and that's how you're you know first going to build donor trust. And so it can be like, you know, starting, let's look at your website. What does your website look at? And this is like so such a simple thing that nonprofits often forget about, but it's like, is your EIN number, your 501c3 registration number listed on your website? And if you're registered anywhere else, is it listed on your website? What does your donate page look like? Are you are they checking out with a really secure process and they feel good about it? Um, you know, it's like little things like is your website even secure? You know, with a little um secure box in the URL? Um it's just it's simple things like that. So those are kind of like those little things of like first look, how can you make how can you make your digital presence feel good? And then from there, it's which is another kind of a key foundation for us is storytelling. So how are we giving people clear identifications of like what does it look and feel like wherever your organization is abroad? So it's behind the scenes looks. And I really want to preface here what the best part is is being like your real authentic self when you're storytelling. Oftentimes nonprofits are like, I don't have this like huge marketing manager or a videographer, and that's absolutely okay. I always refer back to Megan Walsh at Reese Roots Ethiopia. She does a LinkedIn, it's like a one-minute video where she just goes on and shares a story of the week, and it's her authentic self. You can hear like the chickens in the background, or you know, whatever it is, and she's just sharing a really good, heartfelt story. So just like I want to hone in on that authenticity is really, really big in building this donor trust, too. So I'm gonna stop there because there's a lot of different other key points, but I think those are some really good places to start.

Speaker 1 8:09

Yeah. So I wanna let's piggyback off of that authenticity idea, right? Yes, because there's such a fine line to me. I like the when we get into like the ethical way that we tell those stories, right? Yes, and so I think especially when we're talking about organizations that are serving like the the least of these, if you will, right? Like the the super underserved poverty beyond what anyone in America could possibly envision, you know, even on their worst day. There's such an it's so easy to exploit that for the dollar, right? Yes. So how do we talk to me about how you help because of the organization, especially because of the organizations you guys serve, talk to me about how you help them walk that line. What does that look like?

Speaker 2 8:57

Yeah, we could do a whole podcast over ethical storytelling, and um again, the same conversation was brought up today, and I'm so it's so amazing to see how our sector has shifted. I have to say, like there has been work being done because you know, 10 years ago that was not the case. I don't even know if that was a word we were or a phrase we were using was ethical storytelling.

Speaker 1 9:15

So I will shout out the folks at Memory Fox, Carly, the folks at Memory Fox are doing a fantastic job leading this charge. And I do think to your point, I think that a lot of the a lot of the ground we've made in the last 10 years is due to the repeated ethical storytelling report because it's such a a key highlight for what's going on there.

Authentic Storytelling That Resonates

Speaker 2 9:36

I agree, I agree. And on my podcast too, we I have a couple different series on ethical storytelling because it is so important with fundraising on borders and anything that we do. And so, yeah, like I said, we could have a whole series over this, but you know, some of the foundational pieces is how are we going to make sure our beneficiaries or whoever we're serving is at the forefront of these stories. So it's their own voice. It's not like I've seen this a lot with AI, and I know that's a whole other conversation is you put in a quote or a story from you know a beneficiary or whoever you're serving, and it changes the words, and then people aren't even noticing that AI is changing their words, they just think it's a quote. It's like, help me transcribe this or whatever, and they're completely changing it. So it's like looking into those little things, it's making sure it's like it's community-led. So community led is really, really important. So, how can they be at the forefront of the conversation? And then two, it's consent. I think that's actually the very first place to start is consent. So, how can we, when we're interviewing anybody or we're having people share their stories? It's like not only a can I get consent from them, but let's sit down and talk about what consent means. Because a lot of times they don't fully understand, oh, my voice, my picture, my story is gonna be on Facebook, it's going to be on LinkedIn, it's going to be on YouTube. And as you know, social media stays forever. Um, so it's it's always gonna be there. So, how can you make sure that they're a part of that conversation? Of what does it actually mean to have consent? From consent, it's making sure that if you're using their story, you're not changing their words and having them be a part of the conversation. Um, and then I think too, it's making sure that you have a variety of different voices as well and bringing in the community that way, too.

Speaker 11:29

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Ethics And Consent In Storytelling

Speaker 1 12:15

So assuming that we are doing it ethically, let's use that as the baseboard. We're doing all the right things, we've got the concern doing it right. How do we when we talk about building trust? It does take that authenticity. Um but I think sometimes it's so hard, especially some of the the um the cultures that are so different than what Americans are used to, right? Yes. Yes. I think it's so hard to get them to understand like the scope of it, right? Yeah. And so when we talk about that, talk to me about how you help people frame those stories. Yes. Because i I could see where it would be real it could get super overwhelming to just get inundated with like the stories of how hopeless things are, or like, do you know what I mean? It can get really overwhelming to think about the depth and the scope of what some of these organizations are trying to take on. So how do we part of building trust, I would think, has to be in giving it to us in in a way that we can take in and do something about and not get overwhelmed by and just like shut down completely. Yes. Talk to us about that line a little bit.

Speaker 2 13:23

No, I'm so glad you brought that up. And oftentimes we talk about like, okay, when it comes to storytelling, we have to really dissect it and pull it back because it's like, you know, like we're talking about. So if somebody's never been to Zambia or Ethiopia, wherever it is, it's like, what does it like smell like? What does it feel like? What are the sounds around it? And like you can do like a whole story around the sounds, you can do a whole story around what it feels on or like a meal of the day, or you know, whatever it might be. Um, so it's like breaking it down into really tangible stories. Um, and that that that being said, too, is we want to focus on one story at a time because of that overwhelm, too. So it's like, how can we share one story at a time and kind of build build that way? And again, you're gonna want it to be community, community-led and beneficiary-led in a sense of their sharing their story. Um, I want to also pivot too to like storytelling can look like a lot of different things. So it can be um stories of the beneficiaries, but it's also like the volunteers and staff members and board members. So it's not necessarily all just the people that you're you're walking alongside. Um, but two, I think is how can we as an organization show like the financial trust as well? So, where do funds go? And we said that at the beginning is like that's where kind of like that mistrust happens, is like that storytelling links in with the financial reporting in a sense. So it's talking through how somebody's donation just did XYZ, but being again maybe it's just X, it's just being like super tangible about it so they can clearly see okay, this is how my money is making an impact.

Sponsor Break

Speaker 1 15:06

Yeah, along the financial lines, I want to kind of scoot back to something you said earlier in the beginning. Help us understand because I think there's some confusion around this, and I I feel like you'd have a good insight. Help everyone understand the difference between getting your own 501c3 to be an organization in the US and coming under fiscal sponsorship. Because I I feel like we get a lot of questions about the fiscal sponsorship side. Mostly because I feel like actually, like we personally at Nonprofit Hub get it where people are like, Can we come under your umbrella? Like, that is not really what we do, but thank you. So help help everyone at what's like level set and make sure we understand the difference between those two things.

Framing Stories To Avoid Overwhelm

Speaker 2 15:45

Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, 501c3, you're registered within the US. So oftentimes that's what the questions that we get is like, okay, we want to, we're based abroad, but we want to come, you know, and fundraise in America and and you know, tap into our network in America, but we need some sort of obviously registration, especially if you're going to apply for grants or give tax benefits to individuals, you know, in America, things like that. So 501c3 registered is you have your EIN, it's registered with um the government, and that's a little bit of a bigger project, right? You're gonna it's it's costly, first of all. There's a lot of behind the scenes things that go into it. You're gonna need a board. Um, you're gonna they're gonna need to meet regularly, you're gonna need an accountant to help you, you know, file that. There's a lot of processes, right? And so um, we don't necessarily help with that at fundraising beyond borders, but that so there's the 501c3 government status, but then we have a fiscal sponsorship, was it's gonna be a lot less of an investment up front. So organizations who are like, maybe I want to tap into America, but I just don't have necessarily the money, or we want to test it out first. Fiscal sponsorship can be a really good opportunity. So you're essentially coming underneath another registered 501c3 or fiscal sponsor um organization. And so there's a whole list of different organizations out there in the US that are established as fiscal sponsorships. Each fiscal sponsorship is gonna look and feel differently, and so some they're gonna take a percentage out. Some organizations, if you fundraise X percent, say like $100,000, they're gonna take away 5%. Um, or if you it's tiered to $400,000, they're gonna take away 3%. And so it's tiered that way. Sometimes it's a flat fee. Um, and that's mostly because of the administration that they do. What I was telling this organization in Indonesia today is like some things that you have to look out for if going under a fiscal sponsorship is whether like what type of reporting, do they own that donor data? Are you able to attain that donor data? I know some fiscal sponsors where they don't allow you to email or get in touch with any of the donors that come through. It comes all through under their name. So it's kind of like thinking that there are those priorities of like what's important to your organization. But fiscal sponsorship can be a great place to start to kind of like dip your toes into whether or not you want to start fundraising in the US. So good.

Speaker 1 18:11

So let's take the flip side for a second, right? So this we've been very good about how to build trust originally, right? Yes. The unfortunate truth is that a lot of nonprofits sometimes are b are starting on the back foot. Yes, right, where something has happened, and this is true for our US-based nonprofits who absolutely some sort of leader falls from grace, there's been some sort of financial misconduct, there's been some sort of misappropriation, whatever it is. And we're starting on the back foot. How do we what's your advice on how we rebuild? Yeah. If we're starting from a place that's like not necessarily super positive about what's happening, where do we go?

501(c)(3) vs Fiscal Sponsorship

Speaker 2 18:52

Transparency is your first start, right? So it's you know, we are human at the end of the day. And this goes for whether or not you have messed up or not. Transparency is gonna be so key because A, it's authenticity, but then B, it's like, look, we've messed up, but we are going to be doing XYZ. This is what we're doing, you know, in order to fix it. We take ownership of this, and I think it's a process too. And if you have, you know, donors that have been walking alongside your organization, it's picking up the phone, explaining it to them, being real with them, but again, set telling them this is what we're going to be doing instead, or this is the journey that we're going to be doing. Because especially with like international programs, so many things can happen, you know, like uh COVID, for example, and that can affect so much. So somebody donates, you know, fifty thousand dollars and COVID hits, and you can't do that program anymore. Or um, you know, just there's so much that can happen internationally, government changes, whatever it might be. So I think transparency is just gonna be your number one thing that you're gonna You're gonna need to be sharing with your donors. And I think that leads to as well is you're talking about like, okay, I've messed up, but it's like how long the so we talked about like the foundation is you know building trust before they're a donor, but then it's like donor stewardship is so so key to keeping up with building that donor trust because just because you got them in the door doesn't mean that donor is gonna be staying there. So how can you continue to build that donor trust throughout their time as a donor?

Speaker 1 20:30

Yeah. So a lot of times I feel like when we talk about stewardship, we're generally talking l larger amounts, right? So like let's use the $50,000 gift, right? And now we can't run this program because of COVID. But generally, those are from more like stewardship tends to fall around more of the major gift realm. Is your recommendation for folks to have, like if they are an international organization like that, is your recommendation to have major gift officers who would are doing that stewardship work in the US? Or is it local to where you are actually doing the work and we're building those relationships more virtually through email, through phone call? What do you is but it's closer tied?

Rebuilding Trust After Missteps

Speaker 2 21:13

What's the best term there? I think I wish I could like say a blanket statement, but I think it depends on each organization as well because uh because of capacity, I think now what's so amazing about the world that we're living in is technology. And you know, oftentimes I hear people well, I can't pick up the phone and call a donor because they live in XYZ country. There is amazing technology out there. I just did it earlier today. I just went on Loom. If you're not familiar with Loom, it's just a video tool, and you can do a five-minute quick video telling them, thanking them, showing them behind the scenes of XYZ. So I think it's never using that excuse of, oh, I live in this place, so I can't call this donor. There's so much great technology, and I know you're saying too, like stewardship is usually for larger gifts. We really encourage no matter what size you're giving, they're getting some sort of stewardship. And that's again where your technology can come in place. With your automations and and different things like that. It doesn't have to be super fancy, but it's just like how can you continuously bring that donor along the journey and making sure that they feel important and part of the conversation? I think it's really a really great opportunity if like that that person is in the country that you're serving because they are there, they're seeing the stories, they're being a part of the conversations on the ground and they can uh integrate, you know, different conversations that way. But I think it's really just up to where your team capacity is and just not using that as an excuse, like location is excuse. There's just such great technology these days where you can integrate really good stewardship.

Speaker 1 22:44

Yeah. I okay, so as we're moving towards close, but I want to ask, I'm curious, is there like a a myth or a misconception about international organizations that you would like to just put an end to right here, right now? Ooh, good one. Like I just because I think I do think there's some challenges that you all face that the nonprofits in the US do not. But I also think there's some really exciting benefits and like really cool impact stories coming out of international circles as well right now. So yeah, is there a myth or a misconception that you would just love to put to bed?

Stewardship At Any Gift Size

Speaker 2 23:18

Yeah, I I mean I think we've this is the exact conversation we're having, is um so many people have this mistrust, and there are so many amazing organizations out there doing incredible, incredible things. And so it's just learning to get to know them and giving, you know, giving international organizations the opportunity to get to know and love them. So I think it's just I I really think it's just that. It's just getting to know them and trust them again. Um, because I think what what we're talking about today is you know the ethical storytelling. We're just moving in this like really, really positive side of um integrating international development and bringing communities together, and it's really beautiful to watch it all come together. So, I mean, I know that sounds silly, but I think it's really just the fact that you gotta trust these organizations because there's some beautiful work happening around the world.

Speaker 1 24:10

So good. Uh oh, Morgan, tell us a little bit about Beyond Borders fundraising. So I'm sure that there are folks listening who are like, that sounds really interesting. I'd love to learn more. That's my organization, I would love to learn more. Uh, tell us a little bit about the type of work that you guys do and then how we can connect with you all.

Speaker 2 24:26

Yeah, absolutely. So we are we kind of are twofold in who we support. So our main um support that we provide is to North American nonprofits with international programs, like I was saying. So our main course services are fractional fundraising, which is a done for you fundraising service where we go in and actually do the fundraising, custom fundraising plans to put strategy together and then coaching and grant writing. We also work specifically with South African nonprofits and um other nonprofits who are wanting to create an international digital presence. And so, yeah, we love the work that we do. We're a team of 11 currently, and we have our team members are from quite literally all around the world, and so we get to bring in different team member strengths and locations and all of that. So um we love, love, love the work that we get to do. I think it's really unique that we get to work with international nonprofits. There's not a lot of us out there, so um, it's a lot of fun.

Speaker 1 25:19

Yeah, that's awesome. And if somebody wanted to learn more, what's the best way to connect with you guys?

Speaker 2 25:24

Yeah, absolutely. Fundraisingbeyondborders.com is our website, and then on my LinkedIn, I'm quite active there as well as our Instagram. So we love just to chat, just come and say hi, and um, we would be able to be able to see how we can support your international nonprofit.

Speaker 1 25:39

Fantastic. So, as we move to close, the question that I've been asking everyone this season, I'm looking at 26 as like the year of personal or professional development, right? So I want to equip our listeners with books that are gonna impact them, and that could be anything from it could be fundraising, it could be nonprofit-based, it could be a really amazing novel that you have read that really opened your eyes. What's a book that has impacted you that you would recommend everyone check out?

Tech Tools For Donor Stewardship

Speaker 2 26:05

Yeah, so the first thing that came to my mind, I'm actually gonna say two really quick because I do a lot of podcasting and not as much reading just because I'm traveling a ton and things like that, or audiobooks. So the first one that came to my mind that really shifted and why I'm in doing what I am today is the We're for Good podcast. Um that's an amazing, an amazing podcast to tune into. Yes, yeah, so good. They're incredible. And then um Cindy Wagman Raise It. Her book also kind of shifted the way I thought about fundraising and um got me into the space I am today. So those are the two things that kind of popped my mind first.

Speaker 1 26:41

Oh, I love that. Shout out John and Becky. They are the best. So good. They really are. Yes. If you're gonna listen to another podcast that's not mine or Morgan's, that would be. Yes, that is it. I know, right? That's the other way you should go. Absolutely. Fantastic. Well, Morgan, thank you so much. I really appreciate the conversation and appreciate you taking the time today. Uh, it's certainly a topic that we have not given a lot of time and attention to lately. So I'm glad to be able to take the international approach for a day.

Speaker 2 27:10

Absolutely. Megan, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 27:12

And um, yeah, until next time. So thank you. Thank you, Morgan. This has been another episode of the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast. I'm your host, Megan Spear, and we'll see you next time.