Ops & Outcomes: Inside Nonprofit Operations

If things feel chaotic inside your nonprofit, hiring more people won't fix it. That's not a judgment, it's just how systems work. And if no one's ever said that to you, Kronda Adair will. In this episode, Noelia sits down with Kronda Adair, founder of Karvel Digital and host of Begin As You Mean to Go On , for a conversation that's equal parts practical and honest. They dig into why nonprofits res...

You've got the cause. You've got the fire. But do you actually need to start a nonprofit right now? Probably not, and that's good news. In this episode, Noelia sits down with business lawyer Alex Bruno to unpack the question so many mission-driven people wrestle with: I want to make an impact, so do I need to create a 501(c)(3)? Alex walks through the real timeline of starting a nonprofit (spoiler...

You don't need the fancy title to lead. Johanna Bonillo has spent 15 years in the nonprofit sector, from dispatching electricians at a state university to managing investments, budgets, and CRM infrastructure for organizations of every size. She knows what it feels like to build the systems everyone depends on while staying invisible behind the curtain. In this episode, Noelia and Johanna dig into...

You did the work. You got specific about your audience. You crafted a message that actually fits the people you're trying to reach. And then the execution fell apart. Not because your team isn't capable. Not because they don't care. But because there's no system underneath the strategy to hold it up. In this final episode of the Land the Message miniseries, we get into the part of communications w...

Melina Duarte sits at the intersection of political campaigns, communications, and community development. She got her start when she saw her former teacher's union messaging completely miss the mark with parents during a labor dispute — and she couldn't stay quiet about it. In this episode, Melina breaks down the framework she uses every time: start with the data, build a profile of the real perso...

You're sending emails. You're posting on social. Content is going out — but something isn't landing. Here's what's usually happening: you're trying to talk to everyone at once. Your major donors, your program participants, your board, your community partners — all getting the same message. And when you try to reach everyone, you end up reaching no one. In this episode, we dig into the foundation o...

Operations IS Leadership What 20 years in nonprofit tech taught me about the work behind the work. If you've ever felt like the invisible backbone of your organization — solving problems no one else sees, keeping things running while the "real work" gets the credit — this episode is for you. In this intro episode of Ops & Outcomes, I'm sharing the five principles that have shaped how I think a...