The Influential Nonprofit

Key Takeaways: Developing conflict resolution skills is essential for nonprofit leaders, requiring practice and the ability to handle less intense conflicts to grow. Embracing conflict, rather than avoiding it, helps identify true problems and fosters harmony, while avoidance can lead to more significant issues. Often the apparent problem is not the real issue; effective leadership digs beneath th...

Rachel Bearbower is a fundraiser, former ED, and founder. She is the host of the Sprout Podcast and spends her time building a community of small shop Executive Directors inside her membership, SproutED. Her work stems from struggling inside an underfunded, limited-resource, systemless organization despite working countless hours with the combination of never having enough time and feeling isolate...

Key Takeaways: Engaging board members in fundraising can be a chronic challenge for nonprofits, often due to resistance and discomfort. To enroll the board, it's crucial to make fundraising tasks feel good, easy, and fun. You set the emotional temperature for board fundraising. Your comfort level and excitement will influence the board's engagement. That’s why it’s important to understand your own...

After 15 years as an in-house fundraiser, Cindy started her business doing Fractional Fundraising. Today she teaches other fundraisers how to be their own boss by starting their own Fractional Fundraising business. She's also a consultant to nonprofit consultants, helping them shake off the “shoulds,” drop the scarcity hangover from the nonprofit sector, and abundance in entrepreneurship.   Key Ta...

As the chief do-gooder and Founder of Get Fully Funded, Sandy has a calling to be your number-one cheerleader when it comes to funding your nonprofit. For nearly 20 years, she has helped hundreds of small nonprofits go from “spaghetti-on-the-wall, nickel-and-dime” fundraising, to achieving 6 or 7-figure bottom-line results. Using a proven process, Sandy shows students how to find ideal donors, and...

Anne Murphy, the founder of Empowered Fundraiser Consulting, has over 25 years of experience in higher education and nonprofit advancement. Having successfully led campaigns and raised hundreds of millions of dollars, Anne not only brings her extensive expertise but also a skilled team of subject matter experts specialized in digital marketing, event planning, database conversions, board developme...

Key Takeaways: Go through a seamless process with the donor, don’t go from unaware to action. Create a replicable, consistent donor experience through these stages of relationship building: awareness, interest, connection, and action. Build relationships with donors through direct communication, creating content that provides value to others, rather than simply bragging about one's own accomplishm...

Key Takeaways: Mindset shifts cannot be achieved through strategy or training alone; coaching is necessary to remove barriers, create self-awareness, and build empathy. Staying sovereign means being in control of your own thoughts and actions, regardless of the outcome of your fundraising efforts.  Coaching can help in these four ways: First, it will help you get out of your own way or shift your...

As the VP of Community Engagement, Bethany Natoli is one of the driving forces behind Mightycause, an all-in-one nonprofit fundraising platform. With over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and a passion for utilizing technology for social good, Bethany has helped countless organizations and campaigns enhance their fundraising efforts and streamline donation processes.   Key Takeaways:...

As Founder & President of Travers Training & Consulting, Rhonda Travers fulfills her passion for creating a collaborative culture by helping businesses & nonprofits increase engagement, retention, and productivity. Rhonda leverages her 30-year corporate leadership experience to share her unique approach through business consulting, training workshops, and speaking engagements.   Key Takeaways: In...

Kim Fisher is a nonprofit strategist who specializes in creating and implementing infrastructure for nonprofit start-ups. Kim does everything from completing the IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit application requirements, to board training and development.  She has over 30 years experience as a nonprofit executive in all areas of nonprofit management including business development, training, marketing and a...

Key Takeaways: Ask and listen instead of pitching and selling. People are more likely to when they feel seen, heard, and understood. Your only job is to tap into somebody and have them feel seen, heard, and understood. People decide based on their emotions. Listen to them and lead the conversation with empathy. If people feel misunderstood, they’ll become frustrated and guarded, the opposite is al...

Jane Pfeiffer is the founder and President of Fieldtrip, a cause-focused agency dedicated to helping purpose-driven organizations help others. Fieldtrip is based on the belief that learning expands when you step outside with a sense of wonder and curiosity. Jane, and the Fieldtrip team, work across the country supporting important work including public and private education, homelessness, child ab...

Key Takeaways: Creating a support network can help you stay connected, stay confident, stay grounded, and most importantly, stay sovereign.  Prioritize building deeper connections with people, and be intentional in getting to know them. Set dates, strive to meet consistently, and keep it fresh with different activities.  The lessons that you need rarely ever come from within. Most of the time, it’...

With a career spanning over three decades, Karen Knight is a seasoned professional renowned for her unwavering commitment to the not-for-profit sector. Having navigated various leadership roles in both the private and public sectors, Karen’s journey highlights her adaptability and versatility.    Key Takeaways: Before looking for volunteers, establish the roles that they will fill or come up with...

Key Takeaways: Understanding how thoughts and feelings contribute to decision-making is key to influential leadership. Influential leadership creates sustainable workforces with less turnover and more productivity. The first step towards becoming an influential leader is to go inward. Be willing to understand how the thoughts, beliefs, and experiences that you had when you were young impact the de...

Key Takeaways: Having maximum structure and maximum flow allows individuals to work to their highest advantage, rather than sacrificing one for the other. Individuals can fall into one of three categories: high structure, low flow; high flow, low structure; or high structure, high flow, where the ideal balance is found in the "influential third." Create a foundation for the day through a consisten...

As Founder and Customer Happiness Director of Beeline, Chris is thankful to get to help nonprofits grow their mission and donor base through digital marketing, specifically Google Grant, Bing, and Facebook ads.  Most of all, he’s thankful to be the dad to seven kids and to help them learn to live generously.    Key Takeaways: Digital marketing is a powerful tool for nonprofits to achieve their org...

Maria Rio is a Community-Centric Fundraiser with over a decade in the sector, published in a variety of national publications, a speaker, and an advocate.    Key Takeaways: Being Community-Centered means focusing on the community rather than an executive’s ego, a board member, or somebody else. It’s all about centering the needs, methods, and values of the people that you’re trying to serve in all...

Sean Kosofsky is the Nonprofit Fixer! He is a coach, consultant, trainer, and strategic advisor. For the past 30+ years, he has helped causes, campaigns, and candidates raise millions of dollars and transformed nonprofit organizations and leaders. He has served in a wide variety of roles in nonprofits, including policy, communications, development, grassroots organizing, direct service, board lead...

As Big Duck’s Co-Director, Farra ensures that Big Duck is a healthy, thriving company—that we’re creating a great work environment, are financially stable, producing work that successfully meets or exceeds client’s needs, and that diversity, inclusion, equity, and antiracism are centered in all we do. She directs Big Duck’s marketing and business development efforts, seeking to build relationships...

Join us LIVE on Thursday, February 15th & Friday, February 16th in this year’s Donor Attraction Forum for FREE by clicking here: https://donorattractionforum.com/MaryanneD Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are re...

Key Takeaways: Addressing your inner beliefs and feelings about money is essential to your success in fundraising because our subconscious minds can influence our financial decisions and behaviors.  Look at the story that your mind has made up about money. Separate the guilt and the shame and keep your feelings neutral. You are not judging, you are observing and analyzing. Hear out the story and t...

Key Takeaways: 90 days is long enough to get something done but short enough that there’s some urgency to it. The 90-day MOST stands for Mission, Objective, Strategy, and Tactics. It accounts for having an overall vision and creating simple strategies to implement each quarter. We need to have a clear vision so that we know what we’re looking for. Before creating a plan, take time to create a visi...

Luke brings 25+ years of expertise from top companies like Procter & Gamble and AstraZeneca to the University of Rochester. As Assistant VP overseeing Domestic and International major gift fundraising, he drives impactful results. In his free time, Luke's passion extends to Tips4People.com, a video micro-learning hub empowering small nonprofits with concise, high-quality actionable tips for positi...