Fundraising with Purpose: Relationships at the Center
When people think of fundraising, they often picture high-powered galas or million-dollar checks, but for Joe Cuozzo, it all comes back to relationships.
In this episode, Beck Moore and Heather Holloway sit down with the Director of Development at Bucks County Opportunity Council to talk about what fundraising looks like when it's rooted in community, trust, and real conversation. With more than two decades in the field, Joe shares candid reflections on what works, what doesn’t, and what actually builds long-term support.
From starting without a CRM to navigating the quirks of Venmo donors and Zoom asks, Joe offers grounded, practical advice for nonprofits of all sizes, even those just getting started. It’s a conversation filled with humility, humor, and the reminder that donors aren’t ATMs, they’re people. And when you treat them like people, good things happen.
Thinking CAAP Episode 28 Highlights
[00:00] Introduction to Fundraising with Purpose and Guest Joe Cuozzo
Hosts Beck Moore and Heather Holloway introduce the episode focused on purposeful fundraising centered on relationships.
Joe Cuozzo, Director of Development at Bucks County Opportunity Council with 25+ years of experience, is welcomed to share insights on fundraising for small and emerging nonprofits.
[02:41] Joe Cuozzo’s Fundraising Journey and Motivation
Joe shares how he entered fundraising driven by the desire to make a local impact.
He emphasizes the importance of seeing tangible community benefits, which led him to focus on Bucks County after earlier national roles felt less personally rewarding.
[05:35] Key Fundraising Lessons: Listening and Research
Joe discusses critical lessons, including “listening for the gift” by understanding donor motivations and interests.
He stresses the necessity of research before asks and accepting that rejections happen, encouraging persistence and adaptability in fundraising efforts.
[08:04] Evolution of Fundraising Communication Methods
The conversation highlights changes from traditional cash and envelope donations to modern digital tools like Venmo and Zoom.
Despite easier communication technology, Joe notes it can be harder to truly connect and read donor cues without face-to-face interactions.
[12:38] Fundraising Goals and the Role of Relationship-Centered Communication
Joe outlines Bucks County Opportunity Council’s annual fundraising goals around $1.5 million in cash plus significant in-kind donations.
The hosts emphasize tailoring communication to donor preferences, from passive giving to engaged.
[14:21] Understanding Major Gift Ranges and Donor Profiles
Joe Cuozzo discusses typical donation sizes, emphasizing gifts mostly range between $1,000 and $50,000, with rare million-dollar gifts.
He highlights the diversity in donor sources, including individuals, companies, and private foundations.
[15:28] Starting Fundraising from Scratch: Leveraging Boards and Community Connections
Joe advises organizations beginning fundraising with no formal staff or CRM to start by building relationships through their board members and local community influencers.
He recommends focusing on impact storytelling and asking for introductions to potential supporters.
[20:32] Essential Fundraising Infrastructure: The Importance of a CRM System
The conversation stresses the critical need for organizations to implement some form of customer relationship management system.
Even a simple spreadsheet can track donor interactions and next steps, enabling effective follow-up and relationship management.
[23:40] Relationship Management as the Heart of Fundraising Success
Joe and Beck Moore emphasize that successful fundraising boils down to cultivating and managing relationships through intentional tracking and follow-up.
Technology serves as a tool to support these ongoing donor engagements.
[25:10] Using Donor Insights and Institutional Knowledge to Nurture Giving
Joe highlights capturing detailed donor information and interests within the CRM to personalize outreach and maintain consistent stewardship.
This ensures institutional knowledge is preserved for continuity regardless of staffing changes.
[28:20] Building Genuine Relationships Beyond Transactions
Joe Cuozzo discusses the importance of engaging in authentic conversations with donors.
He focuses on personal topics like family and shared experiences to strengthen relationships beyond mere transactions and organizational updates.
[29:13] Using Small Talk as a Strategic Relationship Tool
Joe emphasizes how casual conversations about interests and travels help create a personable connection with donors.
These interactions make connections more human and less transactional, aiding in long-term support.
[29:40] Treating Donors as Humans, Not ATMs
Joe highlights the need to approach donors with genuine care and human connection.
Rather than focusing solely on financial contributions, he advocates fostering trust and mutual respect to grow and sustain support.
[30:09] Relationship Building Parallels Workplace Culture
Joe compares donor relationship building to workplace culture.
He stresses that nurturing and leaning into relationships promotes growth and success in Community Action work.
[30:51] How to Support Bucks County Opportunity Council
Beck Moore provides listeners with ways to give time, talent, or resources to Bucks County Opportunity Council.
He includes website and contact information to connect with Joe Cuozzo and his team.
Episode 28 Transcript
00:00:00
What's up, everybody? I'm Beck Moore, CEO of Community Action Association of Pennsylvania and your host for the Thinking CAAP. And with me today, my fearless co host, Heather Holloway. Holloway Media Services. What's up, Heather?
00:00:11
What's up, party people? Good to be here. So today's episode is called Fundraising with Purpose: Relationships at the Center. And we have a guest today that has spent years. I'm not going to say how many.
00:00:25
Although, Heather, you might been involved in nonprofits, in the world of fund development, leading campaigns, building donor networks, helping organizations grow not just the revenue, but their relationships. And we'll be exploring a little bit about how small or emerging organizations can start fundraising even without a development team. And so really excited for our next guest, somebody who I have gotten to know, love, and appreciate. Joe. What's up, Joe?
00:00:48
Heather, if you'll just kind of give Joe's bio and then we'll get into things. All right, Joe, are you ready for the best bio you've ever been given? Sure. That'd be awesome. Every minute everyone should have a voiceover artist that does their bio for you on a regular basis.
00:01:02
Just going to say that out loud. Go ahead, Heather, take it away. Ah, nice. Well, here, you can put this on your voice. Voicemail message.
00:01:07
Hey. Joe serves as the Director of development at the Bucks County Opportunity Council, where he has spent more than a decade advancing and funding the organization's mission. With over 25 years of fundraising experience spanning the greater Philadelphia region, Milwaukee and New York, Joe brings deep expertise in relationship building, communications, and fun development strategy. Listen, you want to talk about money, Joe's your guy. He's been a certified fundraising executive since 2010.
00:01:38
And Joe is a founding member of the Bucks County Fundraisers Group, a networking cohort for fundraising professionals across the country. And oh, my goodness, I bet you have some stories to share.
00:01:51
What's up, Joe? How are you? Great. How are you? Good.
00:01:55
You like that bio? Being read by the voiceover artist herself. It's excellent. Best one I've ever heard. Wish I met the guy.
00:02:06
So, Joe, you humble brag, but really excited to have you. You all are doing amazing things at Bucks County Opportunity Council. You are certainly a part of the secret sauce there. And so no better person that I can think of to help have this conversation today for sure about the great work that you all are doing. So I think to start a couple softball questions, but I know you spent many years in fundraising, as Heather shared, but can you start by just sharing a little bit about your journey and what keeps you inspired to do this work?
00:02:41
Sure.
00:02:43
Well, I kind of fell into fundraising. Didn't really know a lot about it back when I left school many, many years ago. I guess what really attracted me to it was the ability to make a difference in the world. However idealistic that still still sounds, I think it still keeps me going and on the darkest, darkest moments.
00:03:10
So, yeah. And then for good or for bad, I bounced around a lot of organizations and really have landed a home here at Community Action. One of the things that I learned over the years was something that motivated me was doing something. I'd say local, something I could touch, something I could see the benefits of in my community. And so I had worked for a national or an.
00:03:41
Well, it's almost an international organization for a while back in the mid-90s. And while we were doing good work, I was like, you know, I don't really get a lot of jive out of raising money for a parish in Arizona or a diocese in Denver, because I'll never be there, and I'll never see the impact of the work that we're doing. So something like Bucks County Opportunity Council. I've been a Bucks county resident since 1999. So it kind of really, you know, hits home that you can do something.
00:04:17
Or for me, anyway, it hits home that you can do something locally. And so you can see the benefits of helping. Helping your neighbors directly. So. Yeah, absolutely.
00:04:27
So how long have you been at BCLC? Remind me. It'll be 11 years in about two weeks. And so you started. Did Aaron hire you?
00:04:37
Aaron Lucas? No. Her predecessor, Alan Childs, hired me in December of 2014, and then she took the reins as Ed replaced Alan in, like, June or July of 20, 2015, something like that. Yeah, I couldn't remember the exact order of things. And for our.
00:04:57
For our listeners, Erin was featured on an episode a while back, I think it was episode three or four, maybe. And she talks a little bit about the work of BC overall. So if you're. If you haven't listened to that episode would encourage you to go back and listen to that episode, for sure. So when you kind of touched on the early pieces of your career, anything in particular in terms of kind of lessons learned, that was a turning point for you, that maybe was an experience I know you shared about.
00:05:22
Kind of like. Right. Not doing the local piece, but anything else that really kind of shaped the way that you approach this work now?
00:05:35
Yeah, I think, you know, two things.
00:05:40
One was a book that was given to me, and I don't remember the name of it, but the author is. I'm not even sure if he's still alive. I think he is a man by the name of Gerald Panis, that I had gotten when I worked for that same organization, Catholic Leadership Institute, back in the 90s. And one of the things that he had talked about and others have talked about in the fundraising world is really listening for the gift. And so what that really means to me is to pay attention to the people that you're dealing with, you know, and what motivates them in terms of fundraising or what difference they want to make in the world.
00:06:29
And so. So that's really one thing that. That still sticks out to me, as hard as it can be to do. And, you know, I've worked with board members, have gone on visits to donors with board members over the years. And one of the things when we, you know, talk about visiting somebody, it was like, okay, well, we're going to sit there and make the ask and then be quiet and don't say anything and let them make the next move, if you will.
00:06:59
So then you can see, are they receptive? Are they thinking about it? What's the next. The next step to take. So that was one thing that I learned.
00:07:11
And then I guess the other thing, you know, that I learned somewhere along the line, probably maybe a little bit at cli, but I think other times before is, you know, you can make the greatest presentation, right? The greatest grant, greatest sponsorship package, if that donor or business sponsor, whoever you're. You're in front of or sending to, you know, is not ready for it, it doesn't meet their pillars, it's doesn't meet their interests, then it's just not gonna. It's not gonna happen. And so you need to do your research on the front end.
00:07:48
But then you also just need to realize that sometimes, you know, you can do the best you can, and you still might get a no. And so you just gotta keep. Just gotta keep going and. And turn the corner and. And, you know, look for the next opportunity.
00:08:04
Yeah, Yeah. I imagine over 25 years, some things have changed. I mean, if we go back 25 years, even Venmo wasn't around. Cash app wasn't around. So it was very, you know, where they even still machines are going.
00:08:18
You know, like, it may have been so, like, credit cards were sort of in their infancy, right? Credit was sort of, you know, a thing. Now it's different. I mean, you could have. You go ahead.
00:08:28
I. We would get money in envelopes. You'd get change. You would. People would mail Change and seal up the envelope, have tape all around it, and you could hear it jingle, so.
00:08:41
Or people would send cash. I mean, sometimes people still do, but, you know, you'd get cash in the mail, change, things like that, you know, Credit cards. Yeah, we had a swipe machine. I remember having a swipe machine that had the three part form or. Right.
00:09:00
Carbon copies and all that. Yeah, I mean, just. Even how we communicate has changed. I mean, when I started and you call the donor, it could just ring. The phone could ring 10 times, and I'm like, all right, do I hang up?
00:09:16
Are they just not there? Whatever. And maybe you're lucky. Oh, they have an answering machine. Oh, great.
00:09:21
You know, oh, it's full. Or it's a tape. You know, you had the tapes and they had it. You know, you had to, you know, and they listen. And so, you know, and sometimes you'd be halfway through the message and the tape would cut off, and I'm like, you know, and now.
00:09:35
And, you know, and now we're talking about, you know, you can text donors, you can, you know, do all kinds, you know, fate. You can communicate on social media with donors. And in some way, some ways, I think it's even harder to get hold of people because, you know, they can see right on their phone or, you know, we all see on their phones when the, when the phone is coming, when the call is, oh, I don't want to talk to them. You just let it go to voicemail, or you let it, you know, or, you know, or they. You have to reach them by cell, but you.
00:10:08
All you have is their business number or vice versa. Oh, don't ever call. I'm never in the office. Don't. Don't leave.
00:10:14
You know, I never check my office voicemail. You got to call me in my cell. Well, if I don't have your cell, how do I get hold of you? So, yeah, the, the, the things. I mean, we made it easier.
00:10:27
I'm doing air quotes right now for those of you listening and driving. Easier to communicate. Yet I believe it's even tougher to reach somebody. So do you think, like, you know, getting change in the mail, do you think there was maybe an advantage of not being so connected back in the day in fundraising versus today? Or is that just a.
00:10:49
That's just a story I'm telling myself?
00:10:54
I think it's. I think it's just. I think it's just different. I mean, I have colleagues that had no problem, you know, nowadays doing zoom calls with donors because the donors Are so busy. Oh, do you want to jump on a zoom call?
00:11:08
We can when call and I would, you know, I guess still a little old fashioned or I'd much prefer to sit down face to face because you can, you can get so many more tells if you will on how a donor moves or how they react or you know, and sometimes you can get that through, through zooms or teams calls, but other a lot of times you can't see how they're reacting. Are they squirming in their seat? Are they bored? Are they, you know, are they engaged? Are they sitting up?
00:11:38
You know, so you can those, those other non verbal clues I think are harder when you're not, you know, face to face. And certainly when you're on the phone, if you're calling somebody, oh, you can hear they're driving in the background. Oh, did I catch it at bad time? Yeah, I'm driving to Maine, you know, can you call me next week kind of thing. And you know, where you may not have had that, you know, 20 years ago because we didn't have cell phones or however long ago there.
00:12:05
Well, I mean and this episode is really, really around funding with a purpose and the idea of the relationship piece being so, you know, cornerstone key to the process. And I think what you're describing, you know, when you're a local agency who has trying to improve the lives of local community members, I think that approach is meaningful to donors. It's not the think there's lots of ways and ultimately the way that I kind of view this is just finished a presentation on workplace culture. And I think part of what I speak about in that is the intentionality about asking people how they like to be communicated with. Right.
00:12:38
And so for many donors, you know, it's either I'm going to be passive, right. And I'm going to send my money and I'm going to wait for the response and I'll learn about how my money impacts or. Right. If I'm really engaged and I really want to make a difference, I may want the deeper touch point. I may want you to take me to coffee.
00:12:57
I may want to ask questions of you directly because I'm trying to make a decision maybe about a big gift. So for our listeners, let's provide a little bit of context. So your fundraising goal in any given year, Joe, give people a sense of kind of right. Like what that looks like and maybe a sense of the largest gifts that you're securing on a, on a, you know, yearly basis.
00:13:25
Well, it's.
00:13:29
And I know, Right. Like, yeah, okay, the goal might be to raise a million dollars, but really. Right. Like that may change depending on the scope of something else that happens. But like last year.
00:13:37
Well, I mean like from a. Well, I mean, because we get both cash gifts and in kind contributions and if, if memory serves me off the top of my head and I don't do a good job of memorizing, it's about, I think it's about 1.5 million in cash and then another 3.5 million in, in, in kind because we get a ton of food donated for our food bank. And so, so that gets a little bit. So that's kind of where our budget stands points in terms of large gifts. We have a couple, we have one commitment now that's six figures, $100,000 a year for the next.
00:14:21
Well, we got the first one last year, so total of four years, 400,000, 100,000. And that's really the, and we've got, we got another one of those during COVID But most of our gifts, our larger gifts are, you know, fifty to or a thousand to fifty thousand. We don't. I'm still waiting for that, still working on that million dollar gift. But, but that's kind of where our larger donors fall, whether that be an individual, whether that be his part of his retire, his or her retirement plan, whether that be a company and sponsorship or things like that or a private foundation.
00:15:04
So that's kind of where our big gifts fall in that,000 to $50,000 range. Thank you for that. And just again, for some context for our listeners, right. Our agencies across the state of Pennsylvania range from zero, you know, zero development fundraising team members to a team at bcoc, right. That has, I think you all have a couple people who do this work within the team.
00:15:28
And so it's the gamut. And so just want to kind of start a little bit from the very beginning. So for you, Joe, if you think about, if you're giving a suggestion or advice to an organization who's really starting from the ground up, right. Lots of mission, lots of heart, but there's no formal staff. So the executive director and, or somebody else from the team is going to be doing this work, there's no CRMs or tracking mechanism for grants or not, I shouldn't say grants, but for individual donations, let's say no formal fundraising plan.
00:16:05
They're starting from scratch. What's the first step really for you in building relationships with potential supporters? I would start with your board. Now I know the community action boards are a Little different with the tripartite situation. But those private individuals and, or depending on how your government representatives are, you know, at bcoc, those are people in the community.
00:16:32
But even if they are your, you know, local, state rep and things like that, I would start there building those relationships, talking about, you know, not necessarily money, but the impact that your organization does, you know, and see how they can help. And then on the second and also when I say to help, it's like, who do they know in the community? Who can they make an introduction to to see, you know, what your Head Start program is doing or, you know, what other type, whether your weatherization program might be doing or something like that, what are your programs doing? And so to make those introductions is probably the best way to first start and then take a look at your, you know, landscape. What, you know, Bucks county is unique.
00:17:27
We don't have a lot of big corporations. We have very few large corporations. So look at what, look at the state. I would say look at the stable companies and what they may be able to provide. The banks, you know, do you have a lot of, do you have several local banks in your, you know, area that may only have one or two branches, but then you could get to those branch managers or those local vice presidents.
00:17:55
And I think really, what's really not to interrupt. I think what's really important about this is that that connection with particularly a financial institution leads to larger opportunities. So if they have a foundation, if they have a larger grant funding opportunity, having the relationship with that local branch manager can make or break the gift opportunity. Sure. And I don't think a lot of people understand that when it comes to the banking world.
00:18:18
Yeah, and the banking world. The banking world, I've learned, is quite tricky.
00:18:27
I have a lot of friends who are bankers. And the thing that just came to me in the last, I don't know, six to nine months is that the line that people still use about fundraisers is that the average fundraiser stays in his job about 18 months. And that is statistically listed since I started in 1990. So. And that's then that still holds true for any, any non.
00:18:55
That's talking any nonprofit, college, hospital, United Way, whatever. But the number of bankers that I know in Bucks county that have changed banks or, you know, moved banks or the bank's no longer in business and so they went somewhere else or the bank was bought by a bigger bank is, is bad, in my opinion. It turns around. I mean, I spent years now working with one particular community development banker. He doesn't Even live in Bucks county.
00:19:28
But he covers Bucks county, covers eastern PA for a large bank. And I just learned last month that, you know, he's moving to some other role and so they have somebody else filling in his job. So now I'm going to have to start all over again where, you know, he and I, he'd call me on Saturdays if he needed something kind of thing, you know, or call me, you know, at any time. And so now I'm just kind of bummed that I'm gonna have to start from scratch. And he's like the third, third or fourth person at the bank in 10 years that I've, that I've now worked with.
00:20:00
Wow. The flip side of this is then wherever he goes, you already have a relationship. Potentially. Correct. Potentially.
00:20:10
So let me ask another question. Kind of relevant to kind of the infrastructure piece. When you think about all of the things that you could potentially have, all of the resources that you can have in order to make you more effective as a fundraiser, where would you say is kind of the absolute non starter? Is it the website? Is it a case for support?
00:20:32
We used to joke at an organization that you've got to bring the fancy folder with you to the donor visit that's got all the materials in it. What is the thing that you would be like, okay, you really need to think about, here's the thing to start with. Is it the website? I mean, yes, a story, right, I know that. But from like a collateral infrastructure resource piece.
00:20:56
I think you really probably want to start with some type of database, some type of, you know, customer relationship, you know, material or management. Sorry, you know, some CRM. Because all those other things, you know, you can make a great presentation in, in Word or in Canva or something like that. But I think the ability to track, you know, who you talk to when you talk to them, what the next step is, even if you're, even if they're not a donor yet, at least I think you have that rec. You have those records.
00:21:39
I mean, you know, a website is good only if you're going to send people there or people are going to go there. I mean, one of the things that we found very interesting with our website is the top 10, the top 10 types of visitors of our website at BC OC are all people looking for help. They're the other, they're on the other end. They're not the donor end, they're on the client, the client end. And that since we've been tracking that kind of material that's been consistent for the last, you know, 10, 10, 10, 10 years.
00:22:16
But I think it's the ability to say, okay, when did I call Steve? What's, what's, what am I doing next with Steve? Or, oh, I left Steve a message. Okay, so I got to call Steve again in a week or two weeks or, you know, or this foundation or this banker. I think that's really, I think without that, it's going to be a lot of strips of paper or post it notes or, you know, or a spread.
00:22:41
I mean, you could do it in a spreadsheet. It would be a little hard. I mean, but there are so many different ones at different levels that I don't think it would take a large investment to find one and find a CRM that would work as a starting off point. You don't have to spend $25,000 on Ragers, Razor's Edge or one of those big ones. There are plenty of ones that you could get started with that, that do a pretty good job on, you know, in an inexpensive model.
00:23:09
Yeah, yeah. You know, as a, as a business owner, you know, it's always fortune is in the follow up. But how do you get to the follow up if you don't even know where you're going or where you started? So, you know, to jump off of that. Joe, you're right.
00:23:20
A Google sheet may not be the most glamorous, but it would get the job done. And the point is just put it somewhere so that you can track it, because if you don't, you're going to lose focus and you're going to lose dollars. Right. So, so, and another one too, you know, we use it with CAAP and we use it at Halloween. Media services is Asana, and that's free and you can use asana as a CRM.
00:23:40
So just want to jump in there. I'm pro CRMs, baby. Well, and I think what you're talking about, right, like customer relationship management software, right, like there's the intentionality behind those softwares are so that you can manage the relationship, you can inform form the relationship. So I think I was gonna say too, it sounds like this conversation could be distilled to two things. One, relationships and two, relationship management.
00:24:07
I mean, it kind of really does boil down to those two things with fundraising. Yeah, no, I, yeah, I would agree with that. So how are you? And by the way, I'll just put a shameless plugin for CAAP. Right.
00:24:18
If you're looking for a solution with a particular software, let us know. Reach out info at the CAAP. Right we're happy to help walk you through some of discussions about those things because there's decision points you need to make. And the one thing I will say over and over and over again is that no software alone is going to solve your problem. Right.
00:24:34
You've got to think through the process and figure out what the process is going to be to utilize the technology. And you can. Sure, there are not great softwares out there, but if you don't track the process, you're never going to be satisfied with what the technology is that you use. So for you, Joe, when you think about then the software and the CRM, how are you using that in some of your decision making? I mean, you've talked a little bit about, you said about tracking when you sent somebody.
00:25:00
What. But what are some of the things that you're thinking about in order to nurture the relationship of some of your donors or your potential donors?
00:25:10
I guess what I'm really thinking about is what the conversations were, what really are interesting, what the donor or the prospect is interested in. It's funny because the last two or three that Aaron and I have had with, with donors has sadly all been about the government, all whether it was the, the shutdown or the federal shutdown or the, the lack of a state budget. I mean, there was one donor that we've been meeting with annually. She's a volunteer, former board member, lovely woman, woman. We meet with her every year talking about her gift, what she wants to accomplish, what she's interested in.
00:25:57
And we spent an hour and, I don't know, 15 minutes talking about politics and not a sing. And like, and when Aaron and I were done, I'm just kind of like, we didn't have a single, Diana didn't have a single thought about, you know, did she want to help children or did she want to help housing or did she want to help something else like she's done in the past? It was all just about the level of what was going on at the time. That is a couple of weeks ago, before, before they passed, whatever they passed. But, you know, so it was just interesting that, so you want to, you really want to try to use that stuff to make sure that, you know, you know as much about that person when you're picking up the phone or you're going to meet with them and that you have as much good data as you can.
00:26:51
Oh, this person volunteers. Great. What is she, what does she volunteer at? So, you know, maybe you pick your, you know, talk to her a little bit about that or why do you volunteer? Or, you know, oh, in the past they've interested about, you know, our food program.
00:27:04
And so what's, you know, what interests you, what interests them about that? So you use those things to build those steps. Oh, they just made a gift. Oh, yeah, they, you know, we got to make sure that we thank them in every way, you know, that we normally do. It's a note from Aaron.
00:27:20
Is it a phone call from Joe? Is it some other person that needs to reach out? Is it, you know, could be a client needs to send them something. So all of those things can be, you know, tracked within that, you know, CRM. So that, and my former colleague Eileen and I used to joke, you know, it wasn't, you know, if you got hit by a bus, it was if you won the lottery.
00:27:42
And so it's that institutional knowledge because you don't want to leave it in your head. You want to leave it so somebody can use it if they had to. Or when you, whether the somebody is you next or if the somebody is, is a different person for whatever reason, that's. That's a key thing to, to keep in mind too, and why you need to try to keep those records. I also like to say good things about people.
00:28:09
Like, I don't like to worry about people getting hit by a bus. But right. If you hit the lottery and, you know, you're not tomorrow, who's gonna, who's the keeper of the knowledge? Where does it live? I think it's really, really super important.
00:28:20
Is there. And then like, I mean, sorry, I didn't mean to, but like, then even if you're talking to somebody and, you know, you've known them, you've met them a couple of times over the years or whatever. Oh, you know, how are the kids? Are the kids still in California? So you start talking to them about the way you would talk to your neighbor or, you know, somebody you went to school with that you just ran into and you haven't seen them in five years or something like that.
00:28:45
So you, so you have those other pieces of conversation that reinforce the relationship without necessarily thinking about, you know, oh, it's not so transactional. Oh, yeah, they care about my kids or they're asking. Even if they don't necessarily think it in their head, they're probably thinking it in their psych. So you have those kinds of things. So it's not just all about what BCOC is doing or what your organization is doing, what's going on in their lives.
00:29:13
Oh, you ever been, you know, Been somewhere like this other donor I was just talking about. We always. She's always going somewhere. You know, the one with the politics, you know, and. Oh, yeah, she just went to.
00:29:24
She was just in Italy. Oh, how was that? Where did you go? Blah, blah, blah. So you're talking about that you're not.
00:29:29
So you get a little bit more personable with them, and so it helps. It helps maintain that relationship. Yeah. Small talk is a strategy. Yeah.
00:29:40
The person. I mean, I was joke. Like, we start with pleasantries in just about everything we do, and sometimes that can feel like people want to get down to business. But when you're trying to build a relationship and maintain a relation, I think what you're talking about is like, I want to be treated like a human, and I'm not a MAC machine. I'm not an ATM machine.
00:29:58
Right. I want to have human conversation and relationship. And so how do you grow the relationship? You lean into the relationship. And so in a lot of ways, it's very similar to workplace culture again.
00:30:09
Right. Like, it's. I think it's one and the same. You're trying to develop a relationship to grow your support, and that allows you to grow all the amazing work that you do. So we don't have a ton of time to record today.
00:30:21
I think there's a number of other things that I'd love to bring you back and have a longer conversation about if you'd be down with it, Joe, and kind of get into some of the nitty gritty of how you all do what you do, because I think there's. There's lots of opportunity for folks to learn from the great work that you've been doing. And so I appreciate you so much and all that you do for community action, and we'll make sure to have you back. All right, Very good. As a reminder to our listeners, if you are interested in giving time, talent or resources, that also includes cash.
00:30:51
To be clear to Bucks County Opportunity Council for the amazing work that they can do. They do. You can go to the CAAP c-a-a-p.org go to our member section, find an agency near you. We'll connect you. You can email us at info@thecaap.org and we'll connect you directly to Joe and the team.
00:31:06
But thank you, Joe, for doing what you do and thank you for spending a little time with us. Very good. Thanks, Beck. Thanks, Heather. All right.
00:31:13
Thanks, Joe. Yep. Have a great afternoon. Thanks, everybody.
00:31:18
Thank you for being a part of this episode of the Thinking CAAP. Check the show notes for resources and links to other episodes, and don't forget to subscribe and follow to be notified when new episodes are released. If you have any Community Action questions, please email your questions about community action to info@thecaap.org, with the subject line, “ThinkingCAAP”.
If you have any Community Action questions you’d like Beck or one of our local experts to answer in a future episode, please email your questions about Community Action to info@thecaap.org — subject line: Thinking CAAP.