Season 1 | Episode 2 - Making The Case For A Dedicated Revenue Innovation Team

Carla Warner of Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign joins the podcast to talk about how prioritizing revenue innovation is helping her team grow their mission further and faster

In 2014, every professional fundraiser was asked the same question – “What’s the next Ice Bucket Challenge?” In the short term, this remarkably successful and straightforward viral campaign, which benefitted The ALS Association, sparked a surge of poorly conceived and unsustainable copycat campaigns, but in the long term, forced the industry into a state of evolution.

Innovation has consistently remained one of the hottest buzzwords in our industry, as we seek out “the next million-dollar idea.” In an rapidly evolving world where technology and donor expectations are constantly shifting, and resources are limited in terms of staffing and donor dollars, staying ahead becomes increasingly challenging without a dedicated innovation team

In this episode, P2PPF’s Marcie Maxwell is joined by Carla Warner, Senior Director of Revenue Innovation at Share Our Strength, the nonprofit behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. They’ll dig into the secrets and success stories of Carla’s dedicated revenue innovation team, from incubation to operationalization, and why peer-to-peer fundraising has been the main driver behind their new initiatives.

In today’s episode, we’ll explore:

      – How Carla’s team made the case for a dedicated Revenue Innovation team
      – The significance of identifying trends
      – How peer-to-peer fundraising can open the door to new audiences & new markets
      – The importance of flexibility in trying new strategies
      – How the pandemic has changed the Share Our Strength’s approach to innovation

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Podcast Guest

Carla Warner is the Senior Director of Revenue Innovation at Share Our Strength, the nonprofit behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. She has been with the organization over 12 years, spending the earlier part of her tenure leading the Individual Giving and Membership team until she transitioned to the Revenue Innovation team in 2015. Her team focuses on piloting innovative new fundraising opportunities and has launched the organization’s successful P2P initiatives Friendsgiving®, STREAM, and their newest innovation Get Fit.

Podcast Host

Marcie Maxwell is the Managing Director of the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum. Marcie joined the P2PPF team in 2021 after 15+ years as a front-line fundraiser, national events & campaign director and fundraising consultant. In her role, Marcie serves as a primary thought leader and community builder for the peer-to-peer fundraising industry. She started her career in fundraising with 10+ years at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she ran local fundraising events, managed national volunteer partnerships and launched their national walk program. She then spent 5+ years as the Director of Chapter Fundraising Events with Make-A-Wish America, where she provided strategy, support & training to 60 chapters on the full event portfolio – walks, school fundraising, an endurance hiking program and galas & social events. In her most recent role at Charity Dynamics, she partnered with clients to provide strategic guidance and analysis to help them optimize and grow their peer-to-peer fundraising events & campaigns. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in Ethical Leadership from Christian Brothers University. She resides in Memphis, TN.