The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan Mail What should a nonprofit do after receiving a massive unrestricted gift? This is a rare look at what happens after the transformational check arrives.   JobsFirstNYC President and CEO Marjorie Parker shares what happened after a surprise $4 million investment connected to MacKenzie Scott.  Learn why receiving transformational money can create as many strategic decisions as opportun...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit success planning may be a better fit for today’s volatile operating environment than the traditional three-year strategic plan . Jeffrey Wilcox, President and Chief Learning Curator at Third Sector Company , challenges nonprofit leaders and boards to stop treating planning as an event and start treating it as an ongoing organizational process. “Strategic planning is an a...

Send us Fan Mail A strong year-end fundraising strategy for nonprofits starts long before December—and before you write the first appeal. Melaina Chromy, Sr. Brand Marketing Manager at Bloomerang, explains how nonprofit teams can improve the donor journey, reduce giving friction, coordinate campaign channels, and prepare now for stronger year-end results. One of the first assignments is surprising...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit leadership stress can quickly become a business problem, affecting staffing, communication, decision-making and a leader’s ability to keep performing. We had a candid conversation about managing stress when seemingly everyone needs something from you, with Katie Warnock, President of Staffing Boutique. Katie knows the “always on” environment firsthand. Staffing Boutique...

Send us Fan Mail Year-end fundraising strategy for nonprofits starts long before December. Ben Cooley, CEO of Maxwell & Marie , joins this Global Edition to explain how nonprofits can turn the holiday giving season into a carefully planned revenue opportunity, not a last-minute fundraising scramble. Ben's message is wonderfully direct: “Your resources are in your relationships.” That mean...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit leadership decision making can suffer when speed, productivity, email, technology, and constant activity leave little room for strategic thought. Evermay founding CEO Kate Goodall joins us to explore a counterintuitive leadership idea: sometimes the smartest way forward is to slow down. Evermay is creating what Goodall calls an “embassy for the future” in historic George...

Send us Fan Mail What if the best nonprofit association growth strategy is to stop obsessing over growth? Lorri Unumb, CEO of the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP), explains how concentrating on member value, organizational standards, advocacy, and shared infrastructure helped an association that began with roughly a dozen executives grow to about 500 member organizations. CASP began as a...

Send us Fan Mail When should a nonprofit change its accounting partner?  Accurate books matter. Timely financial statements matter. But there’s an important distinction: “Timely and accurate financial reports… [are] a great starting point, but it’s not the finish line.”! Andrew Miller, Director at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), explains the warning signs that indicate your finance relationship...

Send us Fan Mail Considering new nonprofit software? Before signing a contract, scheduling implementation, or sitting through another impressive demo, there are 5 business questions your organization should answer first. Christine Chacko of Your Part-Time Controller explains how nonprofits can make smarter technology decisions while avoiding expensive fixes to the wrong problem. . . .A reporting p...

Send us Fan Mail What questions should nonprofit leaders ask their finance team? Barbara Enright, Director and Market Leader with Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), shares five deceptively simple questions that can turn nonprofit financial reporting into a far more strategic management tool! A financial statement may contain plenty of numbers . . . .but are they complete, final, reconciled and read...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofits are adopting AI fast, but governance, data controls and human judgment determine whether experimentation becomes real organizational value.  AI governance is becoming a business necessity as organizations move rapidly from experimenting with AI to using it throughout finance, fundraising, communications, and operations. But adoption is racing ahead of strategy and that...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit financial red flags can appear long before a financial crisis, and boards need to know exactly what they’re looking for. Deanna Peterson, Director at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), identifies five important warning signs nonprofit leaders can build directly into board financial oversight. During this special Nonprofit Power Week conversation, Deanna turns nonprofit fi...

Send us Fan Mail Donor control in nonprofit funding can shape far more than a grant. It can influence what nonprofits pursue, how they operate, and even what community needs get addressed!  Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich joined us for a candid examination of why big giving can fall short and what nonprofit leaders can do about it. Glen is the author of ‘CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short’ an...

Send us Fan Mail Planned giving for small nonprofits doesn't have to require a huge budget, sophisticated technology, or months of preparation. Tony Martignetti, author of ‘Planned Giving Accelerated’, says a nonprofit can launch planned giving in just one week by identifying the right donors, starting with gifts in wills, and having the first conversation. His advice starts with simplicity....

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit finance automation is changing more than accounting. It’s reshaping staffing, security, leadership, and how information moves throughout an organization! Brad Powell of BILL and Buu-Linh Tran, CPA, of JMT Consulting explore what the modern nonprofit finance team is becoming and why leaders may need to rethink far more than their software. Automation across accounts payab...

Send us Fan Mail How do you build fundraising confidence when donor conversations, major asks, metrics, and the possibility of hearing “no” are part of the job? Fundraising confidence is a professional skill, and our cohosts explain why preparation and practice can make that skill stronger. On this Fundraisers Friday edition of The Nonprofit Show, Tony Beall and Julia C. Patrick explore what separ...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit donor segmentation strategy may matter far more than most fundraising teams realize. New donor behavior research reveals that geography, household income, gender, trust, and communication preferences can dramatically change what motivates someone to give! Mary Crogan, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Bloomerang , returns with a deeper look at Bloomerang's ‘ Givi...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit leadership transition planning should begin long before an executive announces a departure!  Erin Rodenbiker and Joan Brown of Third Sector Company explain why professional interim leadership can help nonprofits protect mission continuity, strengthen operations, and prepare for a better permanent hire. For many nonprofit boards, “interim” still sounds like emergency mana...

Send us Fan Mail How do fundraisers become nonprofit leaders? Moving from development into executive leadership takes more than raising money—it requires understanding the entire business of the nonprofit and becoming someone who can lead across departments, relationships, strategy, and mission.  On this Fundraisers Friday edition, co-hosts Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall examine how nonprofit pro...

Send us Fan Mail How do you scale a nonprofit internationally without imposing outside assumptions on the people and communities you serve? John Molineux, founder and CEO of Love Justice International, shares a global nonprofit operating model built around local leadership, measurable impact, technology, and organizational humility.  Love Justice International works to prevent human trafficking at...

Send us Fan Mail A Nonprofit’s equity strategy becomes meaningful when it changes how an organization budgets, hires, evaluates performance, develops policy, and serves its community. Bernardo J. Ruiz of Bridging International explains how to embed equity in nonprofit operations amid political pressure, funding risk, and organizational fatigue. This fresh conversation offers a clear operating prin...

Send us Fan Mail How do you make a nonprofit ‘investable’ to today’s philanthropic donors? Carol Wick, president of Sharity, explains how stronger planning, financial discipline, outcome measurement, and revenue strategy can help nonprofits attract larger, longer-term investments. Traditional fundraising often sits apart from operations. Carol argues that this separation leaves organizations chasi...

Send us Fan Mail Corporate sponsorship strategy for nonprofits should begin with mission alignment, not a funding request!  Michael Medoro, Chief Operating Officer of Childhelp , explains how nonprofits can attract, retain, and grow corporate partnerships by treating sponsors as long-term investors in measurable community impact.  Childhelp has operated for 67 years and delivers programs ranging f...

Send us Fan Mail Corporate philanthropy for foster care adoption becomes more powerful when personal conviction, business systems, and measurable outcomes work together! Denny Lynch, author of Call Me Dave , and Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, share how Dave Thomas turned his own adoption story into a lasting model for corporate-nonprofit impact. This fa...

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit leadership through uncertainty requires a clear mission, an adaptable operating strategy, and the ability to look beyond the crisis immediately in front of you. Brian Wenke, Executive Director of It Gets Better, shares how the organization is evolving its storytelling, digital engagement, grantmaking, and youth leadership strategies.   It Gets Better began in 2010 as a s...