Jon Wheeler, Senior Director of Direct Marketing at Save the Children US, joins Greg Sobiech for a deep dive into one of the sector’s biggest challenges: how non-profits cut through overwhelming noise and deliver messages donors actually care about.

Jon has spent his career at the intersection of digital marketing, data, and donor experience. In this episode, he breaks down how charities can move from siloed channels and a spaghetti mess of data to something far more powerful: a true omni-channel, donor-centric system that gets the right message to the right person at the right time.

👉 Whether you're a non-profit leader, fundraiser, digital marketer, or someone trying to make sense of donor behavior in 2025, this is a must-listen conversation.

Jon and Greg discuss:

👉 Why donors tune out, and how to break through

👉 How non-profits can escape siloed channels and think like a “symphony”

👉 The real reason personalization is so maddeningly hard

👉 How AI *might* finally help isolate signal from noise

👉 Why data hygiene still matters in 2025

👉 How donor intent and undesignated revenue collide

👉 The big opportunity (and threat) in today’s giving environment

📌 Chapters:

Listen to more Giving Growth episodes: https://delvedeeper.com/podcast/

Connect with Greg Sobiech: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsobiech/

Connect with Jon Wheeler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwheeler71/

Giving Growth is brought to you by Delve Deeper: https://delvedeeper.com/

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Ethan Wasserman, Senior Director of Paid Media at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, joins Greg Sobiech to talk about the real forces reshaping digital fundraising, and why AI alone won’t save your strategy. With 15+ years leading large-scale digital programs, Ethan brings a rare mix of experimentation discipline, practical data skills, and a deep respect for the human side of giving.

In this conversation, Ethan explains how younger donors make decisions, why “experiential giving” is rising, and what nonprofits get wrong about testing and technology. He also shares the surprising lesson he learned from a Google penalty early in his career — and how it shaped the way he approaches marketing today.

👉 Whether you're a non-profit leader, digital fundraiser, or marketer trying to make sense of the AI wave, this episode will help you think sharper, test smarter, and avoid the traps of over-automation.

In this episode, we explore:

👉 Why AI is changing fundraising — and what it still *can’t* replace

👉 How to design experiments that actually teach you something

👉 What younger donors really want (it’s not what you think)

👉 Why donor engagement must feel more like an experience, not a transaction

👉 How to use data without becoming dependent on algorithms

👉 The biggest misconception nonprofits have about technology partners

Chapters

📌 Links

Listen to more Giving Growth episodes: https://delvedeeper.com/podcast/

Connect with Greg Sobiech: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsobiech/

Connect with Ethan Wasserman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanwasserman/

Giving Growth is brought to you by Delve Deeper: https://delvedeeper.com/

🔔 Subscribe for regular interviews with nonprofit leaders who are reshaping the not-for-profit world and tackling its challenges head-on.

Technology can feel intimidating for non-profits, but it doesn’t have to be.

Christina Macchiarola, Global Experiences and Events Lead at Microsoft Elevate, joins Greg Sobiech to unpack how charities can turn technology, data, and AI into tools that actually advance their mission.

Drawing on her experience helping organizations modernize through Microsoft Elevate, Christina shares why successful tech adoption starts with people and storytelling, not software. She explains how breaking down silos between fundraising and IT can transform donor engagement and build stronger, more adaptive organizations.

From Make-A-Wish Foundation’s unified data systems to the power of asking donors why they give, Christina shows how tech and empathy can work hand in hand to drive lasting impact.

Greg and Christina discuss:

👉 Why people, process, and technology must align for real transformation

👉 How better questions lead to smarter tech investments

👉 What non-profits can learn from political campaigns about engagement

👉 How storytelling connects fundraisers, technologists, and donors

👉 Why investing in infrastructure is essential to keeping missions strong

This episode is for non-profit CEOs, CMOs, and digital leaders who want to stop fearing technology — and start using it to deepen connection and accelerate impact.

📌 Chapters:

Listen to more Giving Growth episodes: https://delvedeeper.com/podcast/

Connect with Greg Sobiech: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsobiech/

Connect with Christina Macchiarola: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-macchiarola/

Giving Growth is brought to you by Delve Deeper: https://delvedeeper.com/

🔔 Subscribe for regular interviews with nonprofit leaders who are reshaping the not-for-profit world and tackling its challenges head on.