Growing with Shannon Craig, CanadaHelps

Subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts or Spotify

A seasoned marketer with nearly 25+ years of experience, Shannon has led the marketing team at CanadaHelps for over seven years and brings experience from working at leading brands and technology innovators including eSight Eyewear, Kobo, WIND Mobile, FedEx, and LEGO. She is currently General Manager, Donor Services & Brand Marketing (formerly CMO) at CanadaHelps. 

In this episode of the Growth for Good podcast, host Daniel Francavilla speaks with Shannon Craig, the General Manager, Donor Services & Brand Marketing (formerly CMO) at CanadaHelps

Shannon begins by sharing her personal story of how she got involved in the nonprofit sector and her journey to becoming the General Manager, Donor Services & Brand Marketing (formerly CMO) at CanadaHelps. She emphasizes the importance of finding meaning and purpose in one's work and how it can drive personal and professional growth.

The conversation then turns to the role of philanthropy in driving social change. Shannon talks about how philanthropy can be used as a tool for systemic change and the importance of investing in organizations and initiatives that are working to address root causes of social issues. She also emphasizes the need for philanthropy to be strategic and intentional in its giving, and to consider issues of power and privilege in the decision-making process.

Daniel and Shannon also discuss the role of collaboration in the nonprofit sector and the importance of building strong partnerships between organizations. Shannon shares examples of successful collaborations she has been a part of, and emphasizes the need for humility, openness, and trust in building strong partnerships.

The episode concludes with Shannon sharing her advice for individuals who are interested in working in the nonprofit sector or getting involved in philanthropy. She emphasizes the importance of finding a cause that aligns with one's personal values and passions, and the importance of continuous learning and growth in the sector.

Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the world of philanthropy and the role of nonprofits in driving social change. Shannon's experience and expertise in the sector offer valuable lessons for anyone interested in making a positive impact in their community.

Episode Transcript

Daniel
Shannon, thank you so much for joining me for Growth for Good.

Shannon
Thank you for having me. Awesome.

Daniel
So hot off the presses is the 2023 giving report from CanadaHelps. And I wanted to dive in there. What we're seeing, of course, overall in the sector, we've spoken about this is that there's rising costs of living, the pandemic impacts are still being felt across the country. And there has been a huge rise over the last few years in charitable services. But fewer Canadians seem to be making donations. And so I think the the number was 5% decline over 10 years. And the amount that's that's being donated, sorry, not the amount, but the percentage of Canadians that are giving. And so what the report to the stats that, you know, immediately jumped out to me were that over 40% of charities have experienced, lasting increase of demand since the start of the pandemic, and over 57% of charities can't meet current levels of demand. So I'd love to know, Shannon, what are some of the other key insights or learnings that have stood out to you from the latest giving report? And also, maybe in general, what are some of the main challenges that that charities are facing today?

Shannon
Absolutely. So I'll actually kind of covered almost how we cover it in the report. So the report is really in three sections. The first section is about how Canadians are giving. And so really, it dives into the fact some research that we did in late October, where we found that 22% of Canadians were either already currently accessing charitable services, or expected to have to access charitable services within the next nine months, based upon the rising cost of living. So that is where the demand is coming from. So, you know, we saw demand escalate with the pandemic, but it continues, the rising cost of living actually is expedited that exponentially. I know daily bread just recently did a press conference, we saw it there. You know, it almost pales in comparison, what happened during the pandemic, what they're reporting is happening now. So it's very alarming. On the giving front, you know, at CanadaHelps, we're an online giving platform, we are used to double digit growth. So for the last 10 years, we've been growing at like 22%, every year through online giving. So this was the first it was actually December of last year where we had our first ever month that was negative year over year, in the most important month of giving. In this year, what we saw as we saw that steady decline in growth rates or even negative growth, right up until December. And thank goodness, you know, we know Canadians want to give, but they were more considered in their giving. They showed up in December, we were able to end the year at 4% growth so well below where we expect to be in terms of regular growth at 22%. Right. But we were really grateful to see Canadians really show up in December for overall charities, as well as for Ukraine. So, you know, one of the things to note is that 9% giving in 2022 actually went to international giving, that is unprecedented for us and 90% of that was to Ukraine.

Daniel
90%.

Shannon
Yes. I'll put that in the sector lens of the charitable sector, though. That means that 9% of giving went to about one 5% of charities, right. Okay. And so when we talk about charities in need, a lot of that funding was not getting equally distributed. I'm not no judgment because both are so important. But charities doing vital services are struggling. So the second part of the report that's about the charitable sector, we actually did a survey a comprehensive survey, we went to all of the charities that were connected to, that's an open invitation. We worked with Nanos research to do this report, three almost 3000 charities completed a 30 minute online study, so it's in depth. And really what we found there is that's where we get our data about 57% of charities unable to meet current levels of demand. Wow 40% Saying that demand has never returned to pre pandemic levels in 31% reporting that donations are actually down for their charity. But even more than that, we saw that staff burnout is a massive concern. It's the second highest concern at 24 concerns we weren't, we were probing on for charities, as well as rebuilding volunteer programs. So for 55%, of charities that had volunteer programs before the pandemic, they are not back to active number of volunteers that they had pre pandemic. So a lot of work to be done.

Daniel
So a battle on multiple fronts, it sounds like for sure, but the data is so important to have, right, because we can see that people are interested in giving. But perhaps there are things preventing them, because maybe people that would have given in the past are now ones that are actually in need, right due to the changing financial climate. So very, very fascinating. I think that, you know, this whole report is is great service for the whole sector. So for everyone who's listening, who hasn't checked it out, yet, the 2023 giving report can be downloaded on the CanadaHelps website.

Shannon
Also just mentioned, one thing is, that's it's alarming message that we've just talked about, there are some ideas for both charities and Canadians included within the report of what they can do at this time.

Daniel
Amazing, perfect, that's what we need for sure, because it's about action as well. So in about 30 seconds or less, I'd love to know Shannon, what is CanadaHelps for those who have not heard of it yet,

Shannon
okay. CanadaHelps is a charity that for over 20 years has passionately sought to really connect donors and Canadians with charities that they care about. So we operate a one stop shop where Canadians can learn, donate and fundraise for any of Canada's registered charities. But on top of that, we reinvest everything into creating tools and education so that all of Canada's charities can keep up in today's digital age.

Daniel
Amazing. And I think a lot of people have probably seen the CanadaHelps logo on different nonprofit or charity websites. But I don't know exactly the affiliation or the connection. So that's great. I'm glad to see the presence expanding. I remember seeing it many, many years ago as well. So it's been Yeah, it's been present the logos very recognizable in my head. Now, you personally will switch gears to you for a second here. You've had many roles in marketing over the course of your career, and you have you didn't actually start specifically in the charitable and nonprofit sector. So I'd love to know how you ended up in this space?

Shannon
Well, I've always had a tremendous heart for social justice and causes. But I also am really passionate about as much as I'm passionate about marketing about technology. And when I was graduating from school, mobile phones, tech, we're just coming on to be frank. And so it was just so exciting for me to think about getting into technology and using marketing skills in that area. So it was irresistible. That's, that's where I went. But over time, I did really look for organizations that I thought like when I went to Kobo, to me, there was still purpose there, we were getting eReading into the hands of anyone I that was just such an exciting proposition to me, as well, when I was at global live and part of the wind mobile launch like big Yep. Like, yes, like, there is such great stuff happening in Europe and Asia with how they're using mobile devices, we need it here. And we need it at cost effective prices. So those are, there's always something that I could get passionate about. But over time, I was just thrilled. Like, I feel that my whole career prepared me for being at CanadaHelps. If I'm being honest, it's just a privilege to have made the transition. But without that tech background, it wouldn't be the right person at CanadaHelps to combine that marketing and tech together, because really, we're both we're a charity, but we're a charity providing Tech for Good.

Daniel
Exactly. I love that. And I think from even my perspective, I went to school with the intention of going into design and marketing in order to use that towards some type of social good or social purpose. So I love how you've used that throughout your career. But I guess some of your previous roles have all stemmed from providing access and kind of giving people a voice and giving people a platform and making things open and accessible to them. On that note with when with when Wind Mobile did want to address the fact that we are in the Globalive office, which is which is probably Yeah, a little bit of a full circle thing there. So we've had the privilege of working with Anthony lac over as well and we're here at creator club. He's a partner in this supporting our business here too. So it's very exciting to again have someone who was part of that. Amazing.
So I know that your title has recently changed, but your function essentially is is the CMO the new title will be the General Manager of Donor Services and Brand Marketing at CanadaHelps. What is an effective CMO responsible for, just for those who don't have a CMO level individual at their organization?

Shannon
Absolutely. So really, it's about the entire go to market strategy. It's really about saying, How are we going to create, communicate and deliver value to the customers that we serve? And, to me, you mentioned effective, the most important part about being effective is all about research and insights. You can't do that job well, if you don't understand the environment that you're operating within, and really understand your customers. And so in our case, that's donors and charities.

Daniel
Absolutely. And you have kind of two sides of the business, essentially, right? You have two main audiences. So you've got the B2B side and the B2C side. It's got amazing. Yeah, some some, some companies just have to kind of handle one of those. So I think it's opens up a lot more considerations.

Shannon
The amazing thing about it, though, I consider that our secret sauce. It's the synergy between having a solution that really engages Canadians and Canadians that are philanthropically minded, we think anyone regardless of where they're at, in their walking journey, and economic place can be a philanthropist. And, but pairing that with deep relationships with charities that we're working with every day, that's how we can do things like pull off things like co-founding the Giving Tuesday movement, we have our great Canadian giving challenge, which June used to be the softest month of giving of the year, it's now either the third or second highest month, depending on which month Giving Tuesday falls. And so these amazing things that we can do to really engage Canadians and support charities at the same time, because of that secret sauce of having the two lines of business

Daniel
perfect. And we're seeing the kind of ripple effects where organizations of all sizes across the country are able to take on and kind of participate and be part of that community, which is which is incredible. Now, with all of this amazing work, there's also a lot of challenges within the sector, both as a marketer, and as someone who's working in nonprofits and charity. So can you share, are there any challenges that you've dealt with personally, in your role, either at CanadaHelps, or outside of that as well?

Shannon
Well, when that comes to mind is that I CanadaHelps, we're effectively living off 1.8% of the donation revenue process through our platform. I came from really well funded, startup large, successful startups. And so this shifts has been a dramatic one, every single dollar counts. And it's amazing as in my role, figuring out how we spend and invest is so critical.

Daniel
Absolutely. So that's a huge one. And then when there's nonprofits who, again, or charities who maybe don't have a fixed revenue, for example, do you have any suggestions or recommendations on how they can kind of look to establish something like that? For example, with CanadaHelps, you have a revenue model of a certain percentage of donations, which is great, and it will fluctuate depending on how many donations are being made. But for for charities or social enterprises, we don't have that fixed amount yet, are there any suggestions that you could give them?

Shannon
I'd suggest that for many that have an established fundraising program, they may be in a bit better situation because more of that revenue it goes directly to their organization, they can really leverage the the levers of paid more effectively than an organization like CanadaHelps in terms of a percentage of what it's doing, but So, I definitely support them because it's really important for them to get they're doing the most vital work to get their messages out. But in terms of growing a recurring revenue stream, I it's it's vitally important. Many organizations do membership programs, but monthly giving is really, we're living in a subscriber generation, especially as you think about wanting to attract younger Canadians. Yes, everything is subscriptions. Your phone, it's your your TV, it's your entertainment. It's your food on a subscription. Yeah. And so really investing in your Sustainer program is key. In fact, in March, we just ran we two years ago, we launched our first annual campaign for makeup monthly, okay. And what we do is we have basically a couple months before that we're really helping to prepare charities for it providing education about how to effectively look for monthly gifts. And then what we do is we go out hard to all of our Canadians, inviting them to become monthly donors with them. match. So we match up to $20. And so you know that 1.8% That's a really effective way for us to spend that to increase our mission of, of growing generosity in Canada.

Daniel
Yeah. And you're practicing what you preach. And then reinvesting. I think that's super important. And the recurring model, we're seeing that with a lot of startups even the biggest players are switching to that now. And I think that that is really great predictor for sustainable sustainability, to be able to manage expenses to be able to manage growth, things as vital as your team members who you can keep on board. So, yes, looking at recurring donations and subscription offerings makes so much sense. And I'm assuming you can do that easily through CanadaHelps as resolutely can. So in the charitable sector, it's really important to celebrate successes and showcase our impact. Is there a recent win or accomplishment that you'd like to share from your work?

Shannon
Absolutely. So one of the ones that I am most excited about is, last year, just right before the holidays, we we launched a new brand, it's called unite for change. And so powered by CanadaHelps, it's using the same processing engine on the on the back end. But really what this site is designed to do is to provide a new, innovative, innovative way for Canadians to give, okay, so it's what we do is we curate causes. And we have a variety of charities, all collectively working towards this particular cause. So the types of funds that we have are, like our indigenous peoples solidarity fight or land and social justice fund, and one of my favorites is also our fight climate change with policy funds, so really innovative funds, and it allows you to make a simple donation and support the collective work of charities. And if you go to the brand, it's quite a different brand. And I think you might quite quickly see, it's, it's for anyone, but we really are targeting a younger demographic, we know you mentioned earlier about how giving participation is declining, we know that giving us falling to a smaller group of aging donors, we need to engage younger Canadians, it starts with Gen Y and Gen X. But we really need to start young. And we know that there's different expectations. And so that's what this site is designed to do. And what I love about it is is that when, when new strikes, there's a an easy, fast place, that's going to give you all the information in one place and allow you to create really simply don't, you don't have to, you don't start your financial giving by going to the stock market and figuring out who to donate to. This is the same general idea you can just you don't have to be an expert on charities, when you when you really decide that, supporting Indigenous communities, it's important to you, you can he go there, we actually have several of the funds now curated by experts in the area on that particular cause. So

Daniel
That's great. You make it easy. And you take away a lot of the things where people don't they say, Hey, maybe it's fatigue, it's like, hey, I want to donate. But there's so many options out there, I don't know where to give. This way, you can choose the causes that are that you value that are most important to you and contribute directly. So that's great. I think targeting, making it accessible. And targeting the younger demographic for donors is a huge challenge for many, many, many nonprofits, right, a lot of them have outdated marketing materials, they've been using the same types of messaging or materials for many, many years. But it sounds like with this kind of new brand, it may be able to reach them more effectively as well. So lately, definitely sounds great. Now, CanadaHelps is, of course, an online platform and a tool in and of itself. Are there any other networks or platforms or online spaces that that you've seen, are successful for either CanadaHelps to promote or for Nonprofits and Charities, to advocate and promote their work?

Shannon
I think Charity Village is a great place for for charities to go to connect, whether they're looking for employment, or really, I love some of the work that Charity Village does in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, really, speaking to many serious subject matter, relating to being in the workforce, so very helpful to charities. I also love the future of good, yes, they have fabulous content and like really helping I think our sector needs to be real role models on so many different causes. And it's hard to be informed, we have to collaborate. We have to look to others and future of good is doing a great job. Robin really helping us understand and, and, and delve into many of those issues and how we can create change. So I love them. But in terms of getting out there, we have all of our social media platforms that are out there, we need to be using them at CanadaHelps, we need to do a better job as well. So I am not, it's challenging to do it. But I 100%. And especially as we we want to engage younger Canadians, we need to be out there and be in the relevant places that spring, the traffic.

Daniel
What would you say is the most most active or most engaged channel that CanadaHelps is on right now?

Shannon
Well, I'll be frank with you. You might not love the answer. But you know, if we were to look at that in terms of donations, it's going to be Facebook, a Facebook audience, typically better mirrors, who our primary donors are today, right. But if you look at engagement, it's going to be in stuff. Got it. i I'm looking forward. We haven't invested heavily in Tiktok. Yet, I see some organizations doing some great things we'd like to be amongst those soon.

Daniel
Amazing. And I've seen some also, some of the kind of thought leaders or consultants and stuff from the nonprofit sector and Sheriff sector that are putting out some great content 100, person Tiktok as well, we've had, we've had one or two of them on the show as well. So it is great to see that kind of moving over there, too. So I wanted to shift on to maybe some of your other learnings and experiences. And so whether you've learned on the job from experience, you've had mentors or done training, what are some of the principles and best practices when it comes to marketing and communications in the sector? Okay, one or you can share many?

Shannon
Okay, I think it's really about customer insights. Like we need to know the people that care about our cause. How did they get there? What is it that's inspiring them, and we need to really honor them in especially once they become a supporter, we need to honor them, and really championing the work that they're making possible, we, I think that there's donors are starting to feel a part of it. So the more we can we know it, we I think charities really understand the challenges that they're trying to solve the the barriers to solving those challenge challenges, the right approaches to creating systemic change all of these things, and just, I need to unfold this as well as we can, so that our donors get to understand it, they can feel positive about the progress that's happening, and see the impact that they're making. Really, for me, everything in marketing, honestly comes back to knowing your customer

Daniel
100%. And then from there, you can actually measure the success of those campaigns of that content and how it is resonating with the audience. It's so important, because you could have the most amazing or impactful message or video or or downloadable resource, but if you're not reaching the right audience with that, and you don't know what resonates with them, it can fall on deaf ears, right. So I love that you mentioned that example. Now, how of charity, fundraising and marketing efforts changed over the last few years we had, of course, the pandemic, and now the economy changing. Are there any things that have changed from CanadaHelps perspective, or that at least CanadaHelps has observed in the sector.

Shannon
I would suggest that there's been, this might actually be a period where we're seeing a little less change in fresh marketing, because of the demand charities are under, right. And the demand requires them to actually increase their cadence. So I would suggest that that it's time for a brand refresh, to stay current and modern, some of that might be being delayed. I know that's the case for us even at CanadaHelps. Because there's so many pressing needs, and there's so much to be communicating about. So I'm looking forward, hopefully, to a period where we can really buckle down and reinvest in some of those things as a sector. But some of the things that I've really been excited about is obviously the pandemic put in person events on hold. Charities just aren't rushing back to do just in person events and not going back to the old toolkit, where it makes sense. Of course, they are 100%. But the rethinking what do those look like? Are they hybrid events, what virtual techniques worked, that we want to really invest continue to invest in and so I really have been so excited at the thinking that's gone in to right sizing programs and innovating those programs. Overnight for us during the pandemic. I think you're one we onboarded over 3000 charities Wow. So and most of those were like starting to collect donations online for the very first Yeah, because they were just like, wow, this is the day we need to do it. As of today, this is how we do things. And so I do think that there's a much heightened awareness in terms of the need to invest in digital capacity. And one of the things that really excited me was just this year, we announced our Charity Growth Academy, funded by MasterCard change works. This is huge, it's a multi year grant, it's a very large grant. And it's here to allow us to build a program to support charities on their digital transformation. This is the kind of capacity building that is so essential, that's going to really allow charities to, we see the hints, we know, we know, we want it, and there's some large charities doing it well, and some very small charities. But to really do it, well, we really have to invest in our digital capacity and and in the sector has lagged on that because of the environment that we operate in and the way, we tend to look at it. But I feel like this is the moment this is one of our calls to action in the giving report, it is time to proudly and confidently share what we need to be able to deliver upon our missions. And it includes capacity.

Daniel
Yes, that's so important. There's been a lot of resources shared, from many different organizations and foundations. And I think I remember looking at the Academy a few months ago, as well, and some of the topics that we're rolling out, I think the time is obviously an issue and in the capacity of those leaders. So if those resources can get in the right hands, I think that's that's the key, right is someone who can take that on, absorb it and start to adopt it within the organization as well. Right. So it's a great, great resource that you're putting out there. Now, when it comes to your own personal brand. Obviously, you've had different networks throughout your career being in being in other industries as well. What role is your kind of personal brand today play in your role in CanadaHelps,

Shannon
I'll be frank, I truly admire and and think that people investing in their personal brand are on the money. I haven't personally done it. When I share when I met on social media, it's because I'm very passionate about something. And I really either want to inspire others to learn about it, or I think they'll value it. So it's not my strength. That's not where I focused. But I do want to say, if I was starting out today I 100% would, my network has been invaluable every job for anyone that I've ever had, all of the opportunities that I have, they come from within my network, and the network is so much bigger now. And time to leverage it. So I am so blown away when young people reach out to me just wanting to have a coffee chat, I'm I'm incredibly impressed at how they manage it to the half hour they asked for. I think it's it's fantastic. And it's really important, I worry about young professionals, that that doesn't come naturally to working remotely, this is how you, this is really how you get the opportunities that allow for a really a career that just doesn't pay the bills, it, it makes you feel better and proud of of what you're accomplishing. For sure.

Daniel
I think being able to reach out to people, although it's almost like sales, where you're you're doing cold outreach to people that you could potentially network with, or whether you'd like them to be a mentor or whether you'd like an introduction, I think it's always worth asking, not everyone is super active on their on their LinkedIn, for example. But it's always worth the ask because just one connection can really get you in the door at the place you've maybe would have otherwise been unable to get into. So same applies to the charitable sector as well. When it comes to inspiration, learning any other sort any sources of information that you consume? What's at least one thing that you turn to blog, a podcast, a newsletter or book?

Shannon
I actually keep one book on my desk all the time. And it's called Brand Love. It's a longer title than that. I think it's about how to create a brand worthy of talking about. And I love this book. And I'm actually one of my goals is to do some of the exercises in that book, as we think about further our brand and how we strengthen it, but I'm it's one of my longtime favorites, so highly recommend that.

Daniel
All right, that sounds great. Yeah, it sounds like Well, I'd like to add that maybe from marketers have picked that book up but maybe not so much leaders within the sector. Right. So I think it's important to have books if you're running a charity or if you're an ED or if you're on a team at a nonprofit, take take in those resources, right. Sometimes people in the sector are afraid of using the word brand or branding, right, but it's you spoken to the value of having that strong brand, right.

Shannon
It's essential. Absolutely.You need that consistency. You need us especially when you think about going through, you want to be instantly recognized for the identity that you're putting out there. And not just your logo. It's all the visuals that the messaging everything around it. And what I love in that book, The One lesson that I really took from it, that I'm, I just think everyone should think every time something's going out there the question that the author asked himself and started asking really young was, do I love it? Is if it's not, should we do it again? Right. If you don't love it, should you be putting it out. And I just think that is a great bar for us all to hold, especially in the charitable sector, where what we're doing matters more. And you know, it's also people are not always asking to give away their money, we have to connect. And that's how you do it when you when you hit that love point.

Daniel
Perfect. Lastly, Shannon, before we wrap up, what is one piece of advice that you would give to other leaders in the nonprofit sector?

Shannon
Honestly, just remember how important the work you are you're doing is and and I think that the whole set I'm grateful for everyone contributing in the sector, it's a sector that people work so hard. And I just don't want people to forget their value just because they're willing to go so far and above what they're doing matters and, and be kind to yourself, and keep doing what you're doing because it's pretty wonderful.

Daniel
Amazing. Love that positive ending, Shannon. So thanks so much for joining us on Growth for Good.