The Nonprofit Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The Nonprofit Podcast Season 3 is here and we did not come to play! Tricked out with tools, tips and tactics to take your nonprofit to the next level this is a bite-sized show that will move your mission.   Join Cara, Jena & Jared for a season of inspiration, insight and information to implement immediately.  From strategies for sustainability & growth to fundraising funda...

Send us Fan Mail New Season Loading!!The Nonprofit Podcast is gearing up for Season 3!  Get ready for Thursday, July 14, when we’re back with quick tools, tips, and tactics to fuel your fundraising.  The new season is packed with great interviews featuring thought leaders, founders, fundraising professionals and tech wizards, making us your once-a-week inside track “must listen” podcast to get you...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of our two-part Summer Inspiration Special with Rachel Sumekh of Swipe Out Hunger, a little something to help you set your strategy wheels spinning over the July 4th weekend, we follow up with an in-depth discussion of Rachel’s decision to step down as Founder.  Honest, emotional and evocative these are two episodes that will remind you why you chose the nonprofit path,...

Send us Fan Mail Our Nonprofit Podcast field reporter, Jared Polivka, sits down with Rachel Sumekh CEO and founder of Swipe Out Hunger.  As the catalyst behind this US-based national nonprofit committed to ending college student hunger, Rachel is the epitome of driving the change you want to see. The organization works with colleges and universities to design and implement a range of anti-hunger p...

Send us Fan Mail Big programs can cause big problems with capacity and resourcing, no matter the size of your organization.   Cara chats with Shawn Collinsworth, CFRE,  President of Damar Services Foundation about overcoming the challenges of being a leading American provider of services to people with developmental, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities, in a time of growing need and shrinkin...

Send us Fan Mail Why am I losing donors?  If you are asking yourself this question more often than you like, today Cara has some answers that could turn the trend around for you.  If you are a fundraiser, founder or volunteer, donor relationship management is a vital component of keeping your mission moving toward your goal, and strong communication sits at the heart of all good relationships.  Fi...

Send us Fan Mail Branding can be a major pain point for nonprofits, but a strong nonprofit brand can help you raise more money, increase social awareness and build a solid reputation, which is why Cara and Jena are tackling the basics of brand building today. Joined by Ronald Pillay, Donorbox Director of Brand Communication, they unpack the basics of getting your brand on point and working for you...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Cara is joined by Donorbox Brand Ambassador, Jena Lynch, unpacking the hard work that goes into developing- and sustaining - productive and effective donor relationships.   Jena’s heart for helping others drives the incisive, and profoundly practical, insights she shares.  From her time on the frontlines of fundraising to her daily engagement with nonprofits of al...

Send us Fan Mail Hope is a mighty emotion that can make even the most dire circumstances bearable!  Founder of Maya’s Hope,  Maya Crauderueff, recognized this after the death of her mother and took the decision to be the bringer of hope to orphaned, impoverished, and special-needs children everywhere, so they would know that they were loved, cared for, and were not alone. Cara and Maya dig deep in...

Send us Fan Mail It’s all about our furry friends today as Cara sits down with Austin Meadows, Executive Director of “For the Love of Alex”.  Providing emergency funding for life-saving veterinary care of pets of low-income families For the Love of Alex has been the difference between life and death for many pets since starting in 2013.   Started by Elizabeth Hedges, who sadly passed away in Febru...

Send us Fan Mail In this crossover podcast with Neighbors With No Doors, Cara interviews Josiah Haken about his journey from kitchen salesman, to Starbucks barista, to outreach worker, to CEO. We discuss the root causes of homelessness and the impact of holistic engagement and care coordination. Founded in 1989, City Relief has mobilized thousands of volunteers to compassionately serve those strug...

Send us Fan Mail Believing in yourself is very difficult to do when your society sees you as “less than” because you’re a girl. It’s nearly impossible without support. Global Sojourns Giving Circle, in partnership with local changemakers, provides this support to girls and young women across the southern African region. Cara sits down with founder Priscilla Plummer, and Zambia-based Mentor Gloria...

Send us Fan Mail Nova Ukraine is dedicated to providing humanitarian aid and raising awareness about Ukraine in the United States as well as in the rest of the world.  They established solid relationships and worked hard to grow partnerships over the past several years. Because of this, Nova Ukraine was able to get right to work as tension built at the Ukrainian borders and formed part of the firs...

Send us Fan Mail Chad Martz was in Ukraine in late February overseeing Hungry for Life compassionate projects that included orphan care and food programs in the central-eastern regions for communities based in Nikopol, Poltava, and Mariupol. On February 24, as Russia invaded Chad, his Ukrainian wife Mary and their extended family, became the nucleus of Hungry for Life’s operations in the area that...

Send us Fan Mail The conflict in Ukraine continues to take a terrible toll as it enters the second month.  In response to the ever-increasing humanitarian need, we connected with two nonprofit organizations that have been able to pivot their on-the-ground programs and respond to the challenge of distributing emergency aid through local partnerships and networks. Jeremy Roberts, IT Director of Hung...

Send us Fan Mail Rigid gender stereotypes are a public health crisis. For girls, gender stereotypes are the root cause of body hatred and shame, eating disorders, depression, low self-esteem, and low leadership ambition. For boys, gender role expectations are the primary driver of depression, risk-taking activities, substance abuse, suicide, and violence. The mission of today’s featured nonprofit,...

Send us Fan Mail Aren’t dreams of the future what youth should be about?  Shareen Baptiste thinks so, so when she realized high school girls didn’t have the confidence to do this, she stepped right up.  Today she talks to Jena Lynch about the 5-year journey she and her Dream On Purpose co-founder Joanne Karagnara have been on since that moment, promoting informed, safe and healthy choices that str...

Send us Fan Mail Home is where the heart is, but for an increasing amount of people a home of their own is just a dream.  Affordable housing is a challenge in most communities, without the work and support of organizations that support low-income families, a great many would never be able to own their homes. Heidi Bianco sat down with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento to discuss how they...

Send us Fan Mail It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men…Frederick Douglass may have spoken directly to JosiahKids founder and Chair Marlene Maina, when he said these words. JosiahKids is a nontraditional young leadership school committed to the mission of raising the next generation of service-minded leaders. From September through May, on the first and third Saturdays of...

Send us Fan Mail This week The Nonprofit Podcast gets to grips with running a lean nonprofit team in challenging times.  Jena sits down with Dr Linda Prieto, Executive Director of Upward Scholars, and Bertha Sanchez, a recent graduate on a remarkable upward trajectory!  Upward Scholars is a Latinx-led organization that provides adult immigrants the boost they need to move up the economic ladder th...

Send us Fan Mail Feeling a little overwhelmed by the work that awaits you in 2022?  If you think your passion for your nonprofit cause won’t push you far enough, listen to this! “One well and a water filter will change the future health, education access and way of life for 15 people, or three families.  It’s amazing what you can do with a PVC pump.” This is Co-founder and Executive Director Chris...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to our premiere episode of Donorbox’s The Nonprofit Podcast!   In this new season, we make keeping up with thought-leaders, influencers, and the committed, hardworking people who shape our sector as easy as pressing play! The Nonprofit Podcast is also the perfect place to get to know some of our leading nonprofit organizations.  Our nonprofit advocates will be drilling dow...

Send us Fan Mail This is a mini episode (more of an announcement) covering our name change from "The Important Podcast" to "The Nonprofit Podcast."  You'll also be introduced to some awesome new hosts who are working to tell these stories.  While the name has changed, the mission remains the same.  This episode marks the end of season 1.  We hope you enjoy the upcoming sto...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, you will meet co-founders Dan McKernan and Kelly Holt, the dynamic duo who founded Barn Sanctuary in 2016. You will hear the founding story, the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned along the way.  You might have heard of Barn Sanctuary during Covid19 when Animal Planet released the hit TV show Saved By The Barn in April 2020. Saved By the Barn, a sh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, you will meet Dameion Brown.  At age 24, Dameion went to prison. He was expected to get out in 5-7 years. It took 23 years.  Near the end of his time in prison, Dameion took a Shakespearian acting class that would set him on the path of becoming an actor. After leaving prison, Dameion would play the lead role in Marin Shakespeare’s Othello and win several awards a...