Date Your Donors is the only podcast that helps you find your charitable soulmates, makes them fall in love with your mission, and say "I do" when you ask them for your time and money.
S2 E8 - Retain First: The Real Path to New Donors with Erik Kessler
Jonah Halper sits down with Erik Kessler, Executive Director of The Moriah School in NJ, to unpack a decade-long experiment many schools quietly hint at but rarely discuss openly: what really happens when you don’t have a professional development director. They talk about the “event-only” model, the strengths and limits of relying on talented lay solicitors, and the biggest invisible loss that shows up over time: stewardship, consistency, and strategy.
Erik shares why Moriah eventually brought back a development director and how it reshaped the donor experience through simple but powerful touchpoints, from personalized notes to meaningful grandparent programming. Together they explore the shift from siloed event giving to an annual campaign mindset, why retention drives new donors, and how connecting donors to what they personally care about turns fundraising into genuine partnership instead of a once-a-year transaction.
26 Jan 2026
S2 E7 - Renderings, Reality, and ROI: How to Avoid Donor Whiplash in Building Campaigns with Yossi Fischler
Capital campaigns do not fail because the mission is weak. They fail when the project is under-scoped, over-designed, or sold to donors before the team has real clarity on what they are building, what it will cost, and how it will actually function.
In this episode, Jonah Halper sits down with owner’s rep and capital project strategist Yossi Fischler to unpack the “design and development” side of fundraising and why it directly determines whether your campaign goal is credible.
They cover the difference between “purchase price plus furnishings” and the organization’s full dream, why programmatic design (operations-driven planning) has to happen early, and how donor confidence is built through disciplined pre-work that reduces change orders, surprises, and morale-killing redesigns.
You will also hear practical insights on donor signage and campus-wide consistency, the risks of premature renderings (including the “Taj Mahal” problem), how pre-campaign donor interviews function as a true dry run, why the lead gift sets the ceiling for the rest of the campaign, and what to do with legacy naming opportunities when an old building is being demolished.
20 Jan 2026
S2 E6: The Art and Science of Development: What Resumes Don’t Tell You with William Hochman
William Hochman discusses with Jonah Halper the art and science of development in Jewish nonprofits, emphasizing communication skills and donor relationships during the interview process.
Who has been a guest on Date Your Donors for Jewish Education
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
William Hochman
Michelle Dayan
Heshy Kovalenko
Rabbi Dovid Mandel
Rabbi Avigdor Goldberger
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 42 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
70
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Contact Date Your Donors for Jewish Education
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Date Your Donors for Jewish Education
Who hosts Date Your Donors for Jewish Education?
Jonah Halper host the show. Published by Jonah Halper.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Date Your Donors for Jewish Education take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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