Charities rely on numbers to communicate impact. Yet year after year, supporters nod politely when you quote your statistics - without really understanding or feeling the profound meaning behind them. How can you translate your numbers so donors connect emotionally and feel moved to give?

Rob was thrilled to talk to Karla Starr, co-author of the brilliant Making Numbers Count, to share techniques for bringing your most important numbers to life.

Whether you're writing grant proposals, donor reports, campaign appeals, or you sometimes pitch for funding, this episode gives ideas and examples to help you make your numbers sing.

Every fundraiser knows those conversations that get avoided. The donor meeting where the ask never gets made. The strategic mistake that goes ahead because we didn’t manage to speak up.

Paul McKenzie from Giant Steps calls this 'being nice' as opposed to ‘being kind’. And he reckons it's costing you more than you think. In this refreshingly honest conversation, Paul unpacks why the bravest thing you can do is ask clearly, speak truly, and stop softening things because they feel awkward. He agrees it doesn’t always feel easy! And he shares things you can do to get yourself to speak up anyway, and the massive upside when you prioritise ‘kind’ over ‘nice’.

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Most fundraisers know the frustration of hearing a funder say no to something you believe in. After years of this, Shamime decided to stop asking funders to fit her vision into their boxes - and started building her own system instead.

She created Bollyfit Active to solve a real problem: giving women a safe, culturally affirming space to enjoy exercise. But funding challenges tested her resolve. This episode captures the moment she shifted from grant dependency to earned income and found a better strategy. It's a lesson in trusting your vision, telling your story and adapting your approach until it works.