Nonprofit Lowdown

This interview was a total delight.  Join me and my friend Adili as he walks us through how he doubled his budget in one year via strategic partnerships and Facebook fundraising.  He shares how analysis of his competitive advantage led him to partner and generate revenues from bigger partners and the value of making others "the hero."  Adili is warm, knowledgeable and an all-around...

If organizational change is hard, try doing it with a 100+ year old institution.  Join me and my friend Carole Wacey as we talk about how she bravely took the reins of WCC in NYC and took on the challenge of revamping its mission, its board, its staff and how it does business.  Listen in on the details of her cultural change efforts, how she dealt with dissenters and even an attempted co...

If you are like me, the world of online marketing and paid ads is just head-spinning.  Join me and my pal Rishi to talk about how to get started with a paid ad strategy, how to use your (FREE) Google ads grant and what paid ads are for.  If you have found your prospect pipeline and email list a little dry, then paid ads might be a strategy for you.  In this interview, we talk about...

Ever get the sense that your fundraising efforts are not driving forward your results?  Ever feel like you're experiencing paralysis by analysis?  Join me and Greg Warner, Founder and CEO of MarketSmart, to talk about how to use new technology to support the fundamental basics of fundraising.  How can you use surveys to start a conversation?  How do you lead with questions to b...

This episode will save you organizational change agents a lot of time and grief.  Have you ever been charged with leading change?  Ever wondered why the path was never as smooth as the plan?  Short answer: humans.  Nancy helps us to identify some of the major blockers of change, and how we reframe it.  She talks about empathy as the "Swiss Army knife" of change and how one...

Have you felt your fundraising mojo drain a little?  Do you dread fundraising?  If so, this interview is FOR YOU.  Join me and my new friend Mark as we discuss all the ways in a little change of perspective can make you go from "ugh" to "Yasss!"  We talk about how to put your own positive energy towards fundraising, how to make it real for your donors and, most importantly, how...

Join me and my two friends, Evin and Jessica of America on Tech, to discuss their success as start-up founders.  Evin and Jessica are best friends and co-founders of a fast-growing organization that scaled from idea to national nonprofit in only seven years.  They discuss their lessons learned, what they wish they had done differently and how they were able to build hype from the beginni...

This is a super-fun and nerdy conversation about how to systemize your fundraising systems as a small shop.  We also chat about specifics in major gift fundraising, Duane's favorite hacks and how to manage your time effectively (timeblocks!). Duane, a Director of Development at UC Irvine, shares his clear-eyed strategies on how to implement the habits and tools to be an effective fundraiser i...

Are you overwhelmed with all of the different social media platforms?  Do you feel like social media is just one of those things you "have to do," but don't really know how to monetize?  Join me and my friend Steve Larosiliere, Founder of Stoked, to talk about his social media strategy and how he's been able to build followers, parlay his social media into donors and corporate sponsors a...

Daniel is speaking some truth!  Join me and my friend Daniel Horgan to learn more about how you effectively develop corporate partnerships for your organization.  Spoiler alert: it's all about relationships.  Daniel shares some tips and best practices about how to use corporate volunteerism as an on-ramp, how to align your values and goals with your corporate partners and how to bre...

So often, when grant-seekers apply for funding, it can be a black box.  Who makes the decisions, how and why?  The process can be particularly opaque for BIPOC-led nonprofits who don't have a network to access privileged information.  Join me and Kerri Forrest, Director at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, to share some of the changes they have made to make their funding...

This was seriously a masterclass on rebuilding a board.  Lucretia headed up fundraising for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and helped to revamp the board to reach their $100M fundraising goal.  Whether you're raising $100K or $100M, your board is key to your success.  Lucretia provides key insights from her experience, which includes how to recruit and orient new members, how...

Join me and my friend Mino Lora as she talks about what it means to truly lead with a community.  Mino is the dynamic co-founder of People's Theater Project, proud New Yorker and candidate for City Council.  Mino's irrepressible spirit, commitment to service and relentless optimism will give you hope for the future of New York.  She is a true leader for the people and exactly what w...

Ok, ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts because we're taking a ride on the #realtalk train.  Join me and master communicator and coach, Marti Fischer, as we tackle the #1 problem most Executive Directors face.  Listen in to these gems like how to identify WHY your board isn't fundraising and tactics for dealing with it.  Some other juicy topics we explore: how to make your b...

I'm the first to admit it--I HATE seeing my face on video.  As the face of an organization or company, our jobs might include being the public face, but many of us don't like it.  Join me and Jeany Park, actress turned video producer, to talk about how to come across your best in video.  We discuss why it's important to have a video strategy, how to improve your video presence and o...

For a career 501c3 ED such as myself, I thought of 501c4s as a mystifying entity.  I thought, they're like us...but different.  In this conversation with veteran nonprofiteer, Steven Choi, he pulls back the curtain on the differences between the two from a fundraising and policy perspective.  If you've ever considered a 501c4 arm of your current nonprofit, this is a valuable episode...

Join me and the iconic Rich Buery to talk about all the lessons he's learned so far.  Rich has founded organizations, headed up some of the most influential in New York and been the deputy mayor of New York City.  He has maintained his commitment to serving children and leading with humility and grace through it all.  I was humbled by this wide-ranging conversation.  This is a...

Join me and my pals, Shruti Sehra and Hassan Brown, to learn about how venture philanthropy firm, New Profit , has re-designed giving for equity.  We talk about how community proximity IS expertise, how they redesigned proposal processes to be more accessible and equitable and what questions they are asking of themselves and the field.  I really enjoyed this wide-ranging conversation wit...

My friend and colleague April Walker has worn many hats: funder, consultant and development director.  In this honest and engaging interview, we discuss the problematic dynamics of traditional philanthropy, how she, as a Black woman, navigates predominantly white funder spaces and what we can all do to de-center white supremacy in philanthropy.  April is insightful and drops all the trut...

Join me and my new pal Ramon to talk about similar best practices in sales and fundraising.  Ramon and I explore how bad salespeople and bad fundraisers give us all a bad name, the power of relationship and the need to invest in yourself to succeed.  Some key takeaways: Bringing the right energy and being in the right headspace are key to fundraising and sales. Invest in yourself to incr...

With the pandemic lockdown, are you dreaming about open roads and exotic vacations?  Join the club.   Listen in to today's interview with Maryann Remsburg, a certified coach, mom of four, author and co-founder of Adventurous Life. In this conversation we talk about how we get so caught up in obligations, "should-ing all over ourselves" and fear that we forget to experience joy and advent...

This episode is not for the faint of heart.  Join me and my friend Stephen Lasser to talk about how to generate leads and income with zero BS.  Stephen's clear-eyed, plain-spoken approach to fundraising is refreshing.  We talk about how to use your boards effectively (don't expect everyone to do everything), how to approach donors and how to meet donors where they are.  As a fo...

"We can't afford that."  "There's not enough money."  "There's not enough time."  "Must be nice to have enough staff." Any of that sound familiar?  As a sector, we live under constant pressure for resources, exacerbated by the pervasive scarcity mindset that plagues us.  When we live in scarcity, we are stressed with "never enough" and that mindset affects our work, our st...

"What about fee-for-service?"   If you've ever heard this in a board or staff meeting, then this episode is for you.  We talk with Brian Joseph, Co-Founder and CEO and Lizzie Honan, Regional Director NYC of RevJen about how to think about launching a fee-generating venture within your nonprofit.  We discuss the internal decisions, how to staff and train properly and how sales is unl...

How is fundraising like dating?  From first meeting to courtship to finally "sealing the deal" Jonah and I take a humorous perspective on major gift fundraising.  Learn how to avoid the most common pitfalls (i.e. talking too much about yourself) and learn why I call major gift fundraising the "jazz" of the development world.  Remember, people, it's not about the money--it's about th...