The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan Mail Grant writers and fundraisers share the same mission, but often work in different corners of the building—and sometimes entirely different worlds. In this Fundraisers Friday convo, cohosts Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall peel back the curtain on how these two roles can move from quiet coexistence to true collaboration. Julia opens with gratitude—for long standing sponsors who have...

Send us Fan Mail Tech, data, and generosity are not abstract buzzwords—they’re concrete levers that can stabilize funding, expand impact, and re-energize exhausted fundraisers . Chief Fundraising Officer Kimberly O’Donnell of Bonterra joins us to map out how recurring giving, trust-based philanthropy, and AI-powered tools can move the entire sector from scarcity thinking into a new “ generosity ge...

Send us Fan Mail Donor love is measurable, and in this lively discussion, guest Lynne Wester, Principal and Founder of Donor Relations Group , brings the receipts. Drawing on data from her seventh global donor relations survey, conducted every two years since 2013 with more than 1,000 participants, Lynne shows us why retention, not the next big campaign, is where the real money is. Her core messag...

Send us Fan Mail Who actually owns data protection in a nonprofit? In this fast-paced conversation, host Julia C. Patrick sits down with Taysha Adams, Manager Technology Support at JMT Consulting , and Josh Fricovsky, Engineering Director at Cortavo , to tackle the uncomfortable truth: cybersecurity is no longer “someone else’s job.” Taysha starts with a reality check: most vulnerabilities don’t b...

Send us Fan Mail What if the people we call donors are actually investors ? And what if this subtle shift reshapes expectations, power, professionalism, and even the identity of philanthropy itself? Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall challenge one of the nonprofit sector’s most deeply rooted labels. Julia opens the conversation by admitting she’s ready to change her own vocabulary, saying, “I’m going...

Send us Fan Mail Federal shutdown over! Systems rebooting! Nonprofits on the clock! In this urgent episode, we bring back Derick Dreher, Department Leader, Government Funding at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC)— just hours after the government reopens from the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Derick starts with what happened in Washington: failed Senate votes, a last-minute continuing resolution,...

Send us Fan Mail Fundraising can feel like walking through mist—messages blur, instincts wobble, and urgency crowds out intention. In this energizing conversation, we welcome returning favorite Micah James (team lead and coach at Bloomerang —and a bride-to-be!) to name the haze and show practical ways through it. Micah calls today’s moment “muddy and foggy” because donors face nonstop alerts, shif...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofits can absolutely finish the year strong—especially when they treat staffing as a strategic tool, not a scramble! In this energizing convo, Katie Warnock, founder and president of Staffing Boutique , maps out practical ways organizations can add capacity right when it matters most. Katie is plainspoken and solution-oriented: for major fundraising events, she recommends pla...

Send us Fan Mail In this capstone to Nonprofit Power Week, Rita L. Soronen, President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, looks forward—past the news cycle and into the work that will shape children, families, and the sector. In a calm, mentoring tone, Rita keeps leaders grounded in first principles: start with the child. As she puts it, “We’re not finding what child is best for a...

Send us Fan Mail The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption shows exactly how today’s nonprofits can accelerate mission and amplify revenue by putting marketing and development on the same team! CEO & President Rita L. Soronen and SVP of Marketing & Development Jill Crumbacher explain how an approach that started 11 years ago matured into an integrated structure with shared goals, clear owner...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofits are being yanked into culture wars they never asked for. In this Nonprofit Power Week conversation , Jill Crumbacher , Senior VP of Marketing and Development at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption , lays out how to keep your message steady when the public square gets noisy.  This episode is a field manual for keeping your purpose intact—and your voice effective—when...

Send us Fan Mail In this key conversation, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption President & CEO Rita L. Soronen maps out a modern playbook for governing with purpose while sustaining momentum after years of change. She begins with the Dave Thomas legacy—not as a branding exercise, but as a lived journey that shaped a national public charity with a singular focus: permanency for children in fost...

Send us Fan Mail The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption doesn’t treat partnerships as a side project—they’re the operating system. During this National Adoption Month and in this Nonprofit Power Week kickoff, Senior VP Jill Crumbacher shares how the Foundation builds relationships that move from a good idea to real results. Step one: align the people doing the work. “ Our marketing and our develo...

Send us Fan Mail On this special Halloween edition of #TheNonprofitShow, Host Julia C. Patrick welcomes “ Countess” Justine Townsend of Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC) , to turn board governance fears into practical know-how. Capes, cobwebs, and clever metaphors aside, the lesson is real: fiduciary duties aren’t folklore; they’re law. As Justine explains, “you have a legal and ethical obligation...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofits send more messages than ever, yet many still miss the moment that matters: the decision. The CEO and Co-Founder Kylee Ingram of Wizer Technologies explains how seven decision profiles can transform fundraising emails, stewardship notes, and board communications from “nice” to effective.  If donor retention, board alignment, and major-gift outreach are priorities this ye...

Send us Fan Mail When fundraising meets humanity, transformation follows—and few express that better than Tammy Zonker , founder of Fundraising Transformed and author of Calling All Heroes . In this powerful episode, host Julia C. Patrick engages Tammy in a deep conversation about reimagining philanthropy through what she calls a human-centered mindset —a new evolution beyond donor- or community-c...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you stop fishing for board members in the same small pond and start casting into the ocean? According to TD Smyers, CEO and co-founder of BoardBuild.org, you get a board that actually reflects the people you serve and a lot more horsepower where it counts. TD admits he learned the hard way. Traditional recruiting leans almost entirely on the social circles of exe...

Send us Fan Mail When nonprofits tackle a major platform shift, the tech is only half the story. JMT Consulting pros Brady Haslebacher (Director of Program Management) and Dagmar “Dagi” Stanton (Manager of Education Services) map out the human and operational moves that make change stick.  This informative episode breaks down why big projects stall—no top-down buy-in, poor internal communication,...

Send us Fan Mail We sat down with Amos Balongo, keynote speaker and communications coach, to explore a subject rarely discussed in the nonprofit space — personal visibility . Amos challenges the traditional mindset that humility and impact must exist in separate spheres, proposing instead that visibility is both a professional asset and a form of leadership. Speaking from Honolulu, Amos sets the s...

Send us Fan Mail Craig Shelley, CEO of Schultz & Williams, joins Show host Julia Patrick, as they examine how philanthropy and nonprofit leadership are being reshaped under persistent uncertainty. Craig frames the moment succinctly: skepticism toward institutions is rising, which means nonprofits must state their values plainly and show exactly how funds power outcomes. The rubric he uses —“ c...

Send us Fan Mail Joint fundraising: bold idea, complicated feelings. On this Fundraisers Friday, Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall swap real-world stories and field notes on how small and midsize nonprofits can team up without tripping over turf, lists, or logistics. Julia sets the table with a grin —“They’re super tricky, they’re very interesting, and I think there’s a lot of fear around it ”—then...

Send us Fan Mail The phrase “overhead myth” still haunts the nonprofit world like a stubborn ghost. Host Julia C. Patrick sits down with Adam Holzberg, Partner and CPA at SAX Advisory Group , to teach viewers why judging nonprofits by their administrative expenses misses the point—and how education, transparency, and storytelling can replace outdated thinking with real understanding. Adam defines...

Send us Fan Mail Temporary work isn’t a consolation prize—it’s a lever. In this candid conversation, Staffing Boutique’s Director of Recruitment, Dana Scurlock , reframes the temp path as a smart way to stay employed, sharpen skills, and earn while exploring fit. She traces her roots to a temp desk in 2006 and explains why the market’s realities—shorter tenures, year-end crunches, and staffing ban...

Send us Fan Mail Fundraising folklore says the “one big donor” will save the day! Katie Gaston, Director of Product Marketing at Bloomerang, dismantles that ‘chase’ and replaces it with steady, systems-based fundraising. Katie frames her role in product marketing as disciplined storytelling: know your audience, understand what they care about, and read the landscape by listening, surveying, and re...

Send us Fan Mail Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall get practical about recruiting fundraising talent when Q4 urgency is peaking. They open with empathy for development teams sprinting toward holiday giving, then move straight into the realities leaders must manage: retention, clarity, and smarter channels for sourcing candidates. Tony reminds us of the data behind turnover—average tenure around 19 m...