

Million Dollar Nonprofit
Tom Kelly
Welcome to The Million Dollar Nonprofit — the daily podcast for small-but-mighty teams ready to scale their impact without burning out. Hosted by nonprofit growth strategist Tom Kelly, each episode delivers no-fluff strategies to raise more, automate smarter, and finally understand what’s working (and what’s not). Learn how to use AI tools, sharp messaging, and efficient systems to turn clicks into donations, casual supporters into loyal advocates, and your scrappy org into a million-dollar nonprofit. Whether you're solo or leading a small team, this is your playbook for sustainable, scalable fundraising that actually works.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 23, 2025 • 4min
Episode 180: How to Recycle Fundraising Campaigns with AI: Recover, Refresh, Relaunch
Your past campaigns aren’t dead—they’re dormant.In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly shows you how to become an AI Campaign Archivist—the person who recovers your best-performing campaigns, refreshes them with AI, and relaunches them to raise more with less effort.You’ll learn the 3-step framework—Recover, Refresh, Relaunch—plus practical ChatGPT prompts you can use right now to:Pull gold from past emails, pages, and posts.Rewrite and modernize outdated campaigns.Automate evergreen appeals that work year-round.Hear how one nonprofit turned three years of old Giving Tuesday campaigns into a $67,000 evergreen funnel—proof that your archive is a fundraising goldmine waiting to be tapped.Stop reinventing the wheel. Start recycling your past wins into tomorrow’s donations.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 22, 2025 • 4min
Episode 179: How to Turn Your Best Nonprofit Campaigns Into Evergreen Donor Funnels
Most nonprofits run a big event or campaign, celebrate the win, and then shelve it forever. But here’s the truth: if it worked once, it can work again. The key is turning live campaigns into evergreen funnels that generate donations all year long.In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly walks you through his Repurpose. Repackage. Relaunch. framework:Repurpose – Transform past stories, photos, and videos into timeless assets.Repackage – Shift campaigns from deadline-driven appeals to ongoing impact invitations.Relaunch – Build automated evergreen funnels with ads, landing pages, nurture emails, and donation flows.Tom shares practical ChatGPT prompts to rewrite campaign emails, reframe landing pages, and draft evergreen sequences that keep donors engaged. Plus, you’ll hear how one nonprofit retooled a $120,000 holiday campaign into an evergreen scholarship fund that added another $48,000 in six months—without lifting a finger.If you’re tired of watching great campaigns collect dust, this episode shows you how to keep them alive and raising money forever.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 21, 2025 • 5min
Episode 178: AI Follow-Up for Nonprofits: Turn Crickets Into Conversations
Most nonprofits don’t have a lead problem—they have a follow-up problem. Too often, someone signs up, downloads a guide, or meets you at an event… and then nothing. Silence. By the time you follow up, they’ve forgotten you.In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly shows you how to fix it with an AI-powered follow-up system that responds instantly, delivers value, and builds trust without ever sounding robotic.You’ll learn the Capture. Connect. Continue. framework:Capture – Respond in the first 5 minutes with a warm, automated SMS.Connect – Share value within 24 hours through a donor story or impact moment.Continue – Guide every lead through a 7-day sequence that builds trust and ends with a light ask.Tom shares ChatGPT prompts to help you script texts and emails, shows how to automate the system in GoHighLevel, DonorBooks, or ConvertKit, and reveals a real nonprofit case study where lead conversions jumped from 3% to 19% just by following up faster.If you want to stop letting leads slip through the cracks, this episode is your roadmap.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 20, 2025 • 5min
Episode 177: How to Welcome, Walk, and Wow Every New Donor Using AI
Most nonprofits blow it with new donors. A receipt. A generic thank you. Then silence. That’s not onboarding—that’s ghosting. In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly shows you how to build the Ultimate New Donor Onboarding Sequence, powered by AI.You’ll learn the Welcome. Walk. Wow. framework:Welcome – Celebrate donors immediately with a warm, personalized thank-you.Walk – Guide them through a 4-week journey: impact story, vision, community invite, and monthly giving.Wow – Delight them with something unexpected, like a spotlight, video, or AI-generated thank-you.Tom breaks down prompts you can use with ChatGPT, automation maps for platforms like GoHighLevel, DonorBooks, and ConvertKit, plus a real example where a nonprofit doubled second gifts and boosted monthly giving by 27% in just 90 days.If you want donors to feel celebrated, connected, and proud from day one, this episode is your playbook.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 17, 2025 • 4min
Episode 176: How to Automate the First Seven Days of Donor Love and Turn New Donors Into Superfans
The first seven days after a donor signs up or gives for the first time? That’s the most important week of their journey. In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly shows you how to automate the first week of donor love to create superfans who stick, share, and give again.You’ll learn the Thank. Show. Invite. framework:Day 1: Thank – Send a warm, personal thank-you that celebrates their gift.Day 3: Show – Deliver proof of impact with a story, photo, or video.Day 5: Invite – Encourage the next step, like joining monthly giving or sharing your missionDay 7: Surprise and Delight – Send something unexpected, like a personalized video, donor spotlight, or AI-generated poem.Tom also shares real-world results: a nonprofit that automated this sequence increased repeat giving from 14% to 33% in just one week. Platforms like GoHighLevel, DonorBooks, and ConvertKit make it easy to run these automated, personalized touchpoints.If you want donors to feel seen, appreciated, and part of your mission from the very start, this episode is your blueprint.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 16, 2025 • 4min
Episode 175: The Step-by-Step Guide to Building Donation Triggers That Convert Supporters Into Loyal Donors
What if every donor action—clicking a link, attending an event, even abandoning a donation form—automatically triggered the perfect next step? That’s the power of a Donation Trigger Tree, a simple automation map that gently guides donors toward giving opportunities without guesswork.In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly breaks down the Watch, Wire, Win framework for building your own Donation Trigger Tree. You’ll learn how to spot donor signals, attach the right responses, and automate workflows in platforms like DonorBooks and GoHighLevel.Tom also shares real-world examples, including a nonprofit that boosted giving by 32% simply by sending follow-up texts after an event. If you want donors to feel guided instead of lost, this episode shows you how to make it happen.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 15, 2025 • 4min
Episode 174: How AI Can Become Your Round-the-Clock Fundraising Assistant (Without Hiring More Staff)
What if your nonprofit had a fundraising assistant who never slept, never got tired, and was always ready to thank donors, answer questions, and even close gifts? With AI, you can build that assistant—and train it in a single weekend.In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly walks you through a simple three-step framework—Teach, Train, Turn On—to create your own 24/7 AI-powered fundraising assistant. You’ll learn how to feed it the right stories and FAQs, build a donor-friendly playbook, and automate workflows that engage donors day and night.Tom also shares a real-life example of a nonprofit that set up their assistant in just three days—and immediately boosted donations, answered dozens of donor questions, and converted one-time givers into monthly supporters.If you’re ready to scale donor care without adding staff, this episode is your step-by-step guide.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 13, 2025 • 4min
Episode 173: How to Build Automated Donor Journeys That Keep Supporters Engaged
Most nonprofits lose donors because they go silent after the first gift. A thank-you email, then nothing—until the next big campaign. By then, the donor has forgotten your name.In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly shows you how to fix that with Automated Donor Journeys in GoHighLevel. You’ll learn a simple three-step framework—Map, Message, Automate—to guide every donor from first gift to loyal advocate without manually chasing anyone.Discover how to:Map out a 90-day donor journey that builds trust.Write warm, multi-channel messages that feel personal (email, SMS, voicemail, even postcards).Automate the process in GoHighLevel so it runs 24/7.Tom also shares a real-world example of a nonprofit that doubled retention in six months just by setting up automated journeys. If you want donors to feel guided instead of forgotten, this episode is your blueprint.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 12, 2025 • 5min
Episode 172: Why Recognition, Response, and Reward Keep Donors for Life
Think about the last time you stayed at a truly great hotel—where someone greeted you by name, remembered your preferences, and made you feel like the most important guest in the room. That’s the concierge experience.Now imagine giving your donors that same level of care. In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly breaks down how to build what he calls the AI Concierge Experience—a system that makes donors feel seen, remembered, and deeply valued.You’ll discover a simple three-step framework:Recognize donors with personalized milestone messages they’ll never forget.Respond like a concierge with warm, instant answers powered by AI.Reward donors with small but meaningful touches that delight and surprise.Tom shares real-world examples, practical prompts for ChatGPT, and proven tools like DonorBooks and CharityAuctionsToday to help you automate recognition, deepen donor relationships, and boost retention.If you want donors to feel like family—not just funders—this episode is your playbook.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday

Sep 11, 2025 • 5min
Episode 171: Build a 24/7 Donation Bot That Closes Gifts Automatically
What if your nonprofit could capture donations while you sleep? In this episode of The Million Dollar Nonprofit, Tom Kelly reveals how to build a 24/7 donation bot that assists, answers, and asks—turning late-night interest into real impact. You’ll learn how to script your bot with ChatGPT prompts, remove donor doubts instantly, and close gifts with confidence. Tom shares a real-world case study of a nonprofit that gained 117 new donations in 90 days—38 of them after business hours—thanks to their AI-powered assistant. Plus, you’ll walk away with three clear action steps to launch your own donation bot across your website, email, and social platforms. If you want to capture more gifts, build donor trust, and never miss a moment, this episode is your blueprint.Head over to our Instagram and DM us the word "AI' for our Free AI Nonprofit Growth Playbook. https://www.instagram.com/charityauctionstoday


