Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications

If you’re struggling with fundraising or having trouble getting people you know to open their hearts and pockets, listen for tips on how you can inspire others to become social prophets.

How do we continue to motivate and appreciate our staff in times of prolonged crisis? It has been over a year since the world shut down due to the pandemic and it has been challenging to stay motivated and connected in a virtual work environment. Dr. Paul White makes work relationships work. He is a speaker and trainer who has taught all around the world, from NASA to the CDC, and has co-authored...

An org is most vulnerable when the CEO decides to move on. In this episode, we discuss the right way to conduct a search for a new leader.

Learn how Save the Music Foundation creates long-term renewable relationships that lead to multi-year investments from philanthropic funders.

In the year 2000, Donna Dees rallied hundreds of thousands of people to march on Washington. How did she build such a large grassroots movement from scratch in only 9 months?

How do you create a truly successful virtual event? My guests share with us how intimate a virtual event can actually be!

As we close out a most devastating year, I’d like to offer you my own reflections on the things I am carrying into 2021.

Where is online fundraising headed post-pandemic? Scot Chisholm, founder of fundraising software platform Classy, looks into his crystal ball and tells us what he sees.

Do you know the single best indicator of the health of a nonprofit? There is one KEY ingredient for a healthy nonprofit. And it’s even more important during a crisis. In this episode I talk with Carlos de la Rosa and Rosanne Siino, Executive Director and Board Chair of the Lindsay Wildlife Preserve. Hint: Notice I invited an E.D. AND a board chair on the podcast… The “co-pilots” of the organizatio...

This episode is about the role that AI is starting to play in transforming philanthropy by reducing rote tasks and fueling donor retention.

We discuss why boards matter, when to have a board retreat, how retreats have gone virtual, and what it takes to make a retreat a home run.

I would like to encourage you to turn your impatience toward your heroic pursuits. After all, there’s a reason you become a nonprofit superhero.

Boomers are aging out of nonprofit leadership in droves. Many started organizations post Vietnam and there is a huge impending leadership void in the sector that needs to be filled. Nonprofit boards tend to skew old and are distrusting of youth and "inexperience". And so the cycle continues. So who will fill this void? How do we build a leadership pipeline? In May of 2017 Charlotte Alter, national...

There are steps can be taken to ensure success and begin the process of crafting your legacy as a leader, even BEFORE you take on a new role.

Giving circles have raised well over a BILLION dollars over the past 20 years. Learn how your org can tap into this growing movement.

If you’ve ever had trouble finding great board members, or getting them ready to serve your organizations at a high level, you’ll want to listen to this episode.

My journey through the world is highly enriched by the diversity of folks around me.

In this episode, Jim Collins and I continue to explore the question of why some organizations thrive in uncertainty and chaos and others do not. Quite timely!

There are those who believe that the donor-centric fundraising model may be perpetuating the very inequity we seek to address in the nonprofit sector.

My guest today, best selling author Jim Collins, literally wrote the book on how to navigate a path from good to great and I could not be more excited to have him on the podcast!

So many nonprofits are struggling. Facing crises that are existential. I wanted to know what funders, especially foundations, are thinking at this time.

Just for a moment, imagine what it would mean for your organization if you could double your online fundraising next year.

Accepting criticism is an important leadership skill. But how might we exercise that skill when it feels off base, unfair, or poorly delivered?

How do you build the muscle to make sure difficult conversations go well? What might you not be aware of that could change everything?

Imagine you start a new CEO job at a wonderful nonprofit. And then a pandemic hits. Changes things just a bit, right? That's what happened to my guest.