Nonprofit Power Podcast

As the end of the year approaches, it's time to take stock of many things. One of the most valuable year-end reviews can be your advocacy review – if you focus on the right things. In this episode, we share: The five most valuable things to review for maximum impact  The one item to review if you don’t do anything else The most important questions to ask to assess progress on your strategic r...

When our strategic relationship building work isn’t yielding the results we’d hoped for, it’s often because we’re inadvertently doing one or more things that actually undermine the goal of building powerful influence with those decisionmakers.  The good news is, once you identify those unhelpful actions, they’re simple to correct. In this episode, we share: The five main culprits that undermine st...

We all have at least one skill we’d like to get better at. And there are all sorts of people offering to teach you just about anything.  But so much of skill development is an inside job, and that’s what will make or break your efforts to master a skill.  Over many years as both a teacher and a learner, I’ve discovered that there are a few universal keys to mastering any skill.  In today’s episode...

You know advocacy is important.  And you’ve got some key strategic relationships you want to develop.  But it’s so much work!  Adding that to an already full plate can feel impossible and overwhelming.  But if we don’t do it, we’re cutting off opportunities.  Are we doomed to choose between overload and lost opportunity?  Thankfully no.  But we have to take on the overload monster and tame it. In...

I’ve been inspired by the leaders of many movements from the past and present, but I think I’m the most excited about the youngest leaders who are stepping up to make real change in the world.  While it would be easy to be demoralized by the current political environment, there is great inspiration to be found in the leaders who are standing up, creating change and claiming their power.    In this...

If you’ve ever been in a high-stakes encounter with a decisionmaker, and found yourself stressing out and struggling to engage them effectively while they lob challenging questions at you, you’re not alone.  The good news is it doesn’t have to be that way.  There are some valuable strategies that will help put you in the driver’s seat, and turn that stress into confidence and certainty.   In this...

When you have to generate a strategic relationship from nothing, it can feel like an impossible task.  Where do you even start?  I’m happy to report there are proven methods that you can use to build a strategic relationship from scratch.  You just need the roadmap. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The essential first step that will ground the entire project The most important action that most peopl...

If your advocacy work has stalled, or just isn’t moving at the pace you want or need, it’s time to intervene and get things back on track.  But to do that, you first need to know what has caused the slow-down.  The good news is, it’s probably one or more of a set of common problems that have fairly simple solutions. Today we examine each of those causes, and we share how to fix them so you can get...

If you’re ready for next-level results from your advocacy work – more influence, better results, bigger impact – then it’s time to move to the next level of advocacy skills.  No matter where you are on your advocacy journey, from beginner to seasoned advocate, there’s always a next level.   In this episode, we share: The six keys to taking your advocacy skills to the next level How your brain tric...

If you’ve ever thought about hiring a lobbyist to help support your advocacy work, you’re onto a potentially very good idea.  Working with a lobbyist at the state level can be incredibly helpful, but only if you do the necessary things to set yourself up for success.   In this episode, we’ll reveal: What lobbyists do and what they’re best at The two most valuable things lobbyists bring to the tabl...

If you want to make faster progress when you’re advocating with elected officials, one of the most effective things you can do is engage their staff as well.  But the trick is, the approach to engaging those two creatures needs to be very different if you want to succeed.  Today we break down those differences and show you how to engage each of them for maximum impact. In this episode, we’ll revea...

I hear from so many nonprofit leaders who want to establish themselves as thought leaders in their niche.  But the whole process around how you do that tends to be shrouded in mystery.  It’s time to demystify!  There are 7 basic ingredients, and today we break them down and give you a roadmap to becoming a thought leader. In this episode, we’ll reveal: What thought leadership can do for you Organi...

If you’ve been struggling to keep your advocacy efforts focused and on track long enough to produce the significant results you want, it’s time to take a look at your advocacy plan.  Or to create one.  Creating an advocacy plan that keeps your team focused and on track, pursuing the priorities you’ve identified together, is essential to getting the big advocacy results you want.  But we all know t...

If you don’t have the advocacy results you want, and you don’t have an advocacy team, there may be a cause and effect relationship there.  Strategic relationship building touches everything you do, and without a well-functioning team working on those relationships in coordinated fashion, things fall through the cracks, balls get dropped, and progress slows or stalls.  Having a solid advocacy team...

We all know the importance of building strategic relationships with money and policy decisionmakers.  But there’s one set of relationships that stands out as essential.  These relationships can yield huge benefits, now and for many years to come.   And, they can make all your other advocacy work so much easier.  But, they require a little different approach... In this episode, we’ll reveal: The fo...

How would it feel to be in a conversation with money and policy decisionmakers, where they’re fully engaged and excited to be talking with you?  What would change if you could make that happen on a regular basis?  If that sounds like a pipe dream, I have good news.  In this episode, we’ll reveal the simple, 3-part story formula you can use to create breakthrough messaging that gets decisionmakers...

If you’ve ever felt like money and policy decisionmakers weren’t really listening to you, and fully understanding the value of what you do, you may have a messaging problem.   What you may not realize, is that there are some specific things that will prevent decisionmakers from truly hearing your message and fully engaging with it.  In this episode, we uncover those barriers, and show you how to g...

If you’ve ever wanted to change any aspect of public policy, whether it’s a big ambitious change or a small but critical tweak, you may have been unsure of just where to start.  The fact is, there’s some very specific groundwork that’s essential for success.  Just a handful of things can make all the difference. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The three things you must be clear on before you take a...

I had the opportunity to interview Maine Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli. Her journey from nonprofit leader to legislative leader is both inspiring and exciting for what it tells us about the power of nonprofit advocacy, and how one person can build powerful influence over time.  She unpacks years of wisdom gained from advocating for progressive policies on both sides of the legislative proc...

If you’ve ever had the problem of a money decisionmaker not grasping the full value of your organization’s services – and resisting paying a reasonable price for them – you’re not alone.  In this episode we uncover the hidden reasons why decisionmakers so often undervalue nonprofit services, and how to turn those around in your favor. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The top two messaging mistakes t...

I hear from so many nonprofit leaders who struggle to get their board fully on board with their advocacy work.  In that situation, the best case scenario is you’re missing out on a ton of potential.  The worst case is you have one or more board members who are actively hindering the organization’s involvement in advocacy work.  The good news is you can fix that.   In this episode, we’ll reveal: Th...

Aleta McLean has grown the contracting side of her organization’s revenue strategy to where she is now negotiating and landing 7-figure contracts with major partners.  Part of what’s so inspiring about her journey is that she didn't start out with any sort of negotiation skills.  In fact, her background is in counseling.  And she has used the skills gained through her counseling work to becom...

Wherever you are on your advocacy journey, there's always a next level of results that you're working toward. To get to your next level, there's an internal foundation that's as essential as all the technical advocacy tactics and strategies you use.  That strong foundation is you   – owning your influence and power and operating from the identity of a powerfully influential lea...

If you're already stressing out at the mention of pressure, you’ll want to lean into this episode.   You’ll discover how it can be one of the most important items in your advocacy toolkit, and how it can help you work more effectively with decisionmakers that are you allies, as well as influence those who aren’t on your side.  By the end of this episode, I promise you'll think differentl...

When you look at who's regularly successful in having big influence with decision makers, what you'll notice is that they almost always have a strong relationship with that decision maker.  You probably know from personal experience how hard it is to influence a decision maker when you don't have a strong relationship.  So why do some nonprofit leaders seem to have tons of success a...