The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow to record in-kind donations for nonprofits is more than an accounting question . . .it reveals what programs truly cost and how much support the community contributes! Justine Townsend, Manager at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), explains how to value, document, report, and steward noncash gifts without distorting the books.Donated office space, food, equipment, vehicles, program supplies, graphic design, and certain professional services can represent significant organizational support. If a nonprofit would otherwise need to purchase the item or service, failing to record it may understate both revenue and expenses, and conceal the real cost of delivering the mission.Fair market value is where things become complicated. Food banks may use published food valuations, while donated office space may require comparisons with similar local properties. Donor estimates also deserve scrutiny. Justine recalls an advertising contribution valued at approximately $1 million (enough to nearly double one organization's reported annual revenue) before the valuation methodology was challenged.“The finances are just our story told in a different way,” Justine explains. Accurate records support more than audits and Form 990 reporting. They strengthen budgeting, donor stewardship, vendor relationships, fundraising communications, and financial planning.The conversation also exposes a frequent operational failure: development teams negotiate in-kind support, but finance learns about it late—or not at all. A clear gift acceptance policy can establish what the nonprofit will accept, who approves unusual contributions, when appraisals or additional forms are needed, and whether the organization can actually use or sell the donated property.Volunteer support deserves attention too. Verified volunteer hours may support audit-note disclosures and show funders the depth of community participation. As Justine says, in-kind support helps tell “the story of how much the community loves, supports, needs and wants what you're doing.”Key Takeaways:Record qualifying in-kind revenue and its corresponding expense.Use supportable market evidence—not an unquestioned donor estimate.Describe donated property on acknowledgments without assigning its tax value.Create a separate receipt process for noncash contributions.Connect development, finance, and donor stewardship before accepting gifts.Budget for donated resources so leaders understand replacement costs.00:00:00 Why In-Kind Donations Really Count00:02:13 What Qualifies as an In-Kind Donation?00:04:00 When Donated Services Can Be Recorded00:04:37 Valuing Free or Discounted Office Space00:06:16 Who Determines Fair Market Value?00:08:32 Event Discounts, Goods and Professional Services00:10:21 Reporting, Stewardship and Form 99000:13:34 Fixing the Finance–Development Disconnect00:14:43 Tracking Volunteer Hours and Their Value00:17:19 Valuation Mistakes and Gift Acceptance Policies00:22:53 The Cost of Not Recording In-Kind Gifts00:25:14 What Belongs on the Donor Receipt#NonprofitFinance #InKindDonations #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailAI governance for nonprofits is quickly becoming a management, finance, data security and leadership responsibility . . .not simply an IT conversation! Dr. Stephanie Rose-Belcher of JMT Consulting explains how nonprofit organizations can gain enormous efficiencies of AI without surrendering human judgment, accountability or control of sensitive organizational data.  AI can accelerate everything from contracts and presentations to financial analysis and routine administrative work. Stephanie describes tasks that once required hours of formatting becoming dramatically faster with AI. But speed introduces a new business question: . . .who is responsible for the result?Stephanie's answer is direct: “You are still accountable.”That matters when nonprofit employees begin experimenting independently with free AI tools. A grant manager, fundraiser or finance professional may see an easy way to analyze information without realizing they could also be moving organizational data into an environment leadership has never approved.As Stephanie puts it, AI governance rests on three connected elements: “ . . . people, technology and policy and process.” Organizations need to decide what AI tools are approved, what information may be entered, which uses are acceptable, how outputs will be validated, and where important workflows need to become standardized.The finance implications are especially important. If multiple employees independently create AI processes for the same accounting function, the organization may gain speed while losing consistency, traceability and auditability. AI-powered work still needs controls that allow someone to determine where an answer came from and how it was produced.And smaller nonprofits are not excused because enterprise software costs money. Stephanie recommends establishing an acceptable-use policy defining what information is public, private and confidential—even when the organization cannot yet purchase a secure enterprise AI environment!Key Takeaways:Human accountability remains with the employee and organization using AI.Build AI governance around people, technology and policy—not software alone.Audit how employees are already using AI before assuming you know.Protect donor, financial and organizational data from unauthorized AI use.Standardize important AI-assisted finance processes so results remain repeatable and auditable.Create an acceptable-use policy even when enterprise AI tools are outside the current budget.00:00:00 — AI Is Already Inside Your Organization 00:02:27 — Who Is Responsible for AI Output? 00:05:36 — Accountability Still Belongs to You 00:08:17 — When Staff Use AI Without a Policy 00:11:26 — People, Technology and Policy 00:16:58 — Protecting Organizational and Donor Data 00:21:23 — Keeping Finance Work Auditable 00:25:39 — What Smaller Nonprofits Can Do NowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhat 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 opportunities.The story begins with an unexpected message from someone representing an unnamed investor. After significant due diligence and roughly two months of conversations, Parker learned JobsFirstNYC would receive $4 million . . . “unrestricted”.  That word mattered!The gift gave the organization flexibility to strengthen operations, support longtime partners, develop internal capacity, rethink growth, and build a new five-year strategy. But Parker and her board did not simply begin spending.They asked harder questions: What should be invested? What should be preserved? Where could the organization expand responsibly? How should employees, partners, funders, and the community hear about the gift?  “Growth actually requires sustained capital,” Parker explains.  That became especially important because a transformational gift can create an unexpected fundraising problem: other donors may assume the organization no longer needs them. Parker describes one funder who postponed support for a year after seeing the size of the gift,  while other new investors and communities discovered JobsFirstNYC because of it.The investment also helped JobsFirstNYC build a five-year growth strategy that supported expansion beyond New York into northeastern Pennsylvania and southern Nevada.The conversation also puts the organization's mission into perspective. Parker discusses millions of young Americans ages 18–24 who remain disconnected from work or education and why changing labor markets make economic mobility increasingly urgent.Key Takeaways:Treat unrestricted capital as organizational trust, not permission to spend quickly.Give the board time to establish investment, spending, and governance priorities.Communicate internally so staff understand how major new resources will be used.Use flexible capital to strengthen operations and strategic capacity, not simply add programs.Major public gifts may attract new funders while causing existing donors to temporarily step back.Growth still requires sustained capital; one extraordinary gift does not eliminate future fundraising.00:00:00 The $4 Million Nonprofit Story 00:02:23 JobsFirstNYC and America's Future Workforce 00:04:29 How the Surprise Funder Contact Happened 00:07:08 The $4 Million Reveal 00:09:24 Confidentiality and the Board Chair 00:11:21 Why Unrestricted Funding Means Trust 00:13:54 The Board Asks: How Do We Use $4 Million? 00:17:27 Can a Huge Gift Hurt Future Fundraising? 00:20:36 Saying Yes — and No — to Growth 00:23:27 Marjorie's Advice for Nonprofit Leaders 00:26:06 Reporting When the Funder Requires None 00:27:28 Stewarding Transformational Capital Find us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 antiquated term. What we really are talking about now is success planning,” Jeffrey says. That distinction changes a lot!  Instead of organizing a plan around departments, fundraising, programs, governance, and other organizational functions, Jeffrey encourages nonprofits to identify the forces that will either lead them toward (or away from) success.That means defining the achievements the organization actually wants to create, understanding its role within the community ecosystem, listening to stakeholders, examining financing rather than simply fundraising, and being willing to confront uncomfortable organizational truths.Leadership transition becomes part of that strategy.Jeffrey explains why transitional leaders should not be viewed as nonprofit “substitute teachers” keeping operations moving until the next CEO arrives. Their job can be much larger: build organizational capacity, reduce future executive attrition, establish shared truth, challenge assumptions, build stakeholder buy-in, and prepare the runway for the organization's next leader.  “You are the runway. You are not the jet”, he adds. Third Sector Company typically views this intentional transition as roughly a 9-to-14-month process and not a quick executive search. Jeffrey also shares that its Interim Executives Academy has trained 850 nonprofit professionals across 47 states.The larger business lesson is provocative: planning should not end when the strategic plan is finished. Nonprofits operating amid changing funding, public policy, workforce expectations, community needs, and leadership turnover need a management process capable of learning and adjusting as conditions change.Key Takeaways:Shift organizational planning from functions and activities toward the forces that drive success.Define success before hiring the leader expected to deliver it.Treat planning as an ongoing management process—not a completed project.Establish “shared truth” using data, organizational reality, and stakeholder perspectives before choosing direction.Use transitional leadership to build capacity and create a stronger runway for the permanent successor.Expect meaningful leadership transition to require sustained work; Jeffrey describes a roughly 9-to-14-month process.00:00:00 Rethinking Nonprofit Strategic Planning 00:02:26 The Leadership Succession Problem 00:04:26 Why Traditional Strategic Planning Falls Short 00:07:18 Strategic Planning vs. Success Planning 00:10:35 Better Questions Create Better Strategy 00:13:37 Rethinking Interim Leadership 00:19:08 Building the Transition Team 00:23:55 Leadership Transition as Capacity Building Find us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailA 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 surprisingly simple: make a donation to your own organization!How many clicks does it take? Is the form easy to use on a phone? Does the donor immediately understand what their gift will accomplish? Can someone move naturally from a direct-mail appeal or email to the online giving page?  As Melaina explains, “You have more flexibility when you don't cram things down to the wire.”That means September is the time to establish the campaign goal, choose the central story, identify the audiences and channels, test the giving process, and get vendors such as printers and mail services on the calendar. October becomes production and refinement time rather than panic time.The conversation also challenges nonprofits to stop separating “traditional” and “digital” donors. Direct mail can lead directly to an online form through a QR code. Digital wallets matter beyond Gen Z. And donors increasingly expect giving to work with the same ease they experience when paying for everything else online.Then comes the part many organizations overlook: what happens after December 31?Melaina cites first-time donor retention at roughly 25% . . .a sobering reminder that acquisition without a follow-up strategy creates an expensive revolving door! Prompt thanks, impact reporting, and a clear first-time donor communication plan should therefore be designed before the year-end campaign even launches.GivingTuesday also does not need to become an entirely separate production. Melaina recommends using it as another opportunity to reinforce the same year-end story and campaign goal.Key Takeaways:Audit the complete giving journey before launching the campaign.Reduce clicks, mobile friction, and uncertainty on donation pages. Use previous campaign data to determine where donors actually respond.Build one cohesive story across mail, email, social, QR codes, and donation forms.Treat GivingTuesday as a reinforcement point rather than an automatic second campaign.Plan first-time donor thanks, retention, and impact reporting before December.00:00:00 Year-End Fundraising Starts Now 00:02:21 Inside Bloomerang's Giving Platform 00:05:43 Is It Too Late to Prepare? 00:06:16 Test Your Own Donation Experience 00:08:38 Connecting Direct Mail and Digital Giving 00:10:38 Find the Story Behind the Appeal 00:13:18 Reflecting Donor Identity in Fundraising 00:15:04 Let Campaign Data Choose Your Channels 00:19:04 The September-to-November Campaign Timeline 00:21:05 Campaign Cohesion Builds Donor Trust 00:22:22 Rethinking GivingTuesday 00:23:53 The 25% First-Time Donor Retention Problem 00:27:51 Can Your Technology Measure Retention? #NonprofitFundraising #YearEndFundraising #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 works across nonprofit and education recruiting, where an ordinary day can include staffing emergencies, payroll issues, employee problems, client demands and unexpected calls beginning early in the morning and continuing into the evening.Her distinction between normal pressure and harmful stress is particularly important for nonprofit leaders: “The stress that you bring home and still stresses you out means it's probably harmful stress.”The conversation moves beyond burnout and into management. How much access should employees, candidates and clients have to a leader? Katie explains why she allows people to speak freely during difficult conversations, but also why she limits how long an unproductive conversation gets to consume her time.Technology creates another fascinating contradiction.  For leaders trying to maintain a 24-hour response standard, efficiency tools can become both solution and source of stress.Katie and host Julia Patrick also cover the changing workforce expectations, leadership boundaries, exercise, information overload and the importance of intentionally creating periods when the brain isn't constantly consuming another email, podcast, notification or problem.The bigger business question is simple: if leadership capacity is depleted, what happens to everyone depending on that leader?Key Takeaways:• Persistent leadership stress can become an organizational performance issue, not simply a personal problem.• Leaders may need micro-boundaries when complete disconnection from work isn't realistic.• Difficult conversations require empathy—but they do not require unlimited access to a leader's time.• AI can eliminate major administrative burdens while simultaneously increasing communication volume.• Changing workforce attitudes toward stress and mental health are affecting recruiting and retention.• Protecting physical and mental capacity deserves a place in leadership planning—not whatever time happens to remain.00:00:00 Why Nonprofit Leadership Stress Matters 00:01:29 Inside The Pressure Of Nonprofit Staffing 00:03:36 When Everyone Depends On The Leader 00:04:53 Recognizing The Physical Signs Of Stress 00:07:57 A Workforce Already Under Pressure 00:10:13 Can CEOs Really Set Work Boundaries? 00:12:07 Normal Stress Vs. Harmful Stress 00:13:16 Setting Limits On Difficult Conversations 00:17:08 Gen Z, Mental Health And Workforce Expectations 00:18:22 AI: Stress Reducer Or Stress Creator? 00:21:35 Protecting Time Instead Of Adding Work 00:26:05 Information Overload And The Value Of Quiet Find us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailYear-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 means successful fundraising can't depend only on an email blast sent when December arrives.The planning begins with a business question: What exactly are you raising money for? Finance, operations and program teams need to establish the target and purpose before the creative team develops the story and campaign. The conversation then moves into communication strategy—direct mail, email, text messages, personal calls, small donor gatherings and social media. Ben also urges nonprofits to design their stewardship workflow before the donations arrive: “Plan your thanking strategy.”And there's a significant timing issue. Ben cites a figure that 64% of online donations are made in the final two weeks of December, reinforcing why nonprofits need their campaigns ready well before donors reach peak giving mode. For organizations looking for a benchmark, he suggests one possible target of approximately 10–15% of the operating budget, connected to a clear program objective.The Santa hats may be having some fun, but the business lesson is serious: by December, your fundraising strategy should already be moving.Key TakeawaysBegin internal year-end campaign planning well before the holiday season.Tie the fundraising goal to a specific, understandable program outcome.Build a coordinated campaign across direct mail, email, text, social and personal outreach.Treat relationships—not technology—as the underlying fundraising asset.Design the donor thank-you and follow-up journey before gifts begin arriving.Track outreach volume and conversion rates alongside total dollars raised.00:00:00 Christmas Comes Early to The Nonprofit Show00:02:30 Ben Cooley and Growing Nonprofits00:04:14 Why Year-End Can Be the Biggest Fundraising Season00:05:02 The Final Weeks of December and Donor Giving00:09:46 How to Start Building the Campaign00:11:37 Communication Waves, Direct Mail and Relationships00:13:28 Plan the Thank-You Before the Donation00:14:51 Why Fundraising Campaigns Need a Specific Ask00:17:04 How Early Should Year-End Fundraising Start?00:19:31 Giving Tuesday, Matching Gifts and Donor Fatigue00:22:39 Don't Stop Fundraising on Christmas Day00:24:08 Setting a Year-End Fundraising Goal00:25:19 Fundraising Is a Numbers Game00:26:19 Building the Fundraising RoadmapFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 Georgetown, a place designed to give thinkers time, physical space, diverse peers, and fewer everyday distractions while they work on ideas with potentially generational impact.For nonprofit executives, board members, funders, and managers, the larger lesson goes well beyond Evermay.  “The productivity and the speed at which it happens doesn't necessarily mean that we're heading in the right direction,” Goodall explains.That distinction matters in organizations where leaders can spend entire days responding, approving, meeting, emailing, and producing without ever getting enough distance to ask whether the organization is actually heading where it intends to go.Evermay's Future Fellows model also challenges another familiar organizational habit: surrounding experts with people who think like they do. Fellows come from different disciplines and are deliberately exposed to people who can challenge assumptions. As one applicant described the appeal, “I just really would like to be with people who are different than me, who can spot the holes in my argument.”The Fellows can stay for three, six, or nine weeks. Their schedules intentionally balance limited programming with substantial independent time, peer discussion, meditation and embodiment work, informal collaboration, and shared dinners. The objective isn't inactivity. It's concentrating attention on work that normal routines can squeeze out.Goodall also describes why some potentially transformative ideas struggle to find support: they may be too early, too cross-sectoral, or not yet structured in a way philanthropy considers fundable or investors consider investable.Key Takeaways:Speed and productivity are not substitutes for strategic direction.Protected thinking time can improve the quality of organizational decisions.Cross-disciplinary peers can expose weaknesses insiders may overlook.Not every high-potential idea fits traditional funding structures.Reducing routine decision friction can preserve attention for higher-value work.Unprogrammed time can be deliberately designed into leadership and innovation work.00:00:00 The Power of Slowing Down 00:02:28 Evermay: An Embassy for the Future 00:06:50 When Productivity Works Against Better Decisions 00:10:14 Why Physical Space Changes Conversation 00:13:03 Giving Big Ideas Time and Space 00:15:33 Removing Daily Friction to Create “Explosive Time” 00:16:31 Creating Space for Difficult Negotiations 00:18:20 The Future Fellows and Ideas That Don't Fit 00:19:26 Why Cross-Sector Thinking Makes Ideas Stronger 00:21:11 How the 3-, 6- and 9-Week Fellowships Work 00:22:36 Healthy Debate, Shared Dinners and Peer Challenge 00:24:13 The Real Cost of Stepping Away to Think Find us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhat 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 an informal gathering of autism service-provider executives who simply wanted to exchange ideas and figure out how to deliver better services. It eventually became a formal association in 2016 with a mission centered on cultivating, advocating for, and sharing better practices across the field.The business lesson is remarkably transferable!  “We think constantly about how can we do a better job for our members,” Lorri says. The surprising result? Better service to members became a membership growth strategy.The organization has also scaled dramatically. When Lorri arrived seven years ago, she was CASP's only employee. Today, the organization has 25 full-time staff, allowing specialists to concentrate on government affairs, clinical standards, education, resources, and other member needs.CASP also maintains a firm membership standard: organizations must demonstrate a commitment to evidence-based care. That means membership isn't simply about paying dues, it represents an organizational expectation!COVID provided another lesson in association value. When providers suddenly needed to know whether autism-service workers qualified as essential healthcare workers, CASP was able to obtain legal guidance quickly and distribute it nationally. . . . something individual organizations would have struggled to accomplish independently.Lorri concludes by sharing how CASP is looking ahead toward stronger state-level advocacy and better outcome measures. Key Takeaways:Create member value before chasing membership growth.Shared expertise and infrastructure can accomplish what individual organizations cannot efficiently do alone.Strong membership standards can protect both organizational credibility and mission quality.CASP scaled from one employee to 25 specialized full-time staff as member needs expanded.Engaged boards should lead work—not simply lend names to an organization.Better outcome measurement will increasingly matter when nonprofits must demonstrate value to insurers, government payers, funders, and partners. 00:00:00 — Building an Association During Rapid Change 00:02:49 — How CASP Started With About a Dozen Executives 00:05:24 — Sustainability and Better Member Services 00:05:39 — Growing to Nearly 500 Member Organizations 00:06:17 — Why CASP Doesn't Focus on Recruiting Members 00:08:05 — Holding Members to Evidence-Based Standards 00:09:33 — From Attorney and Parent to Association CEO 00:10:57 — Scaling From One Employee to 25 00:12:11 — How COVID Proved the Value of an Association 00:17:53 — What an Engaged Nonprofit Board Looks Like 00:20:46 — Favors, Fishnets and Facts: Advocacy That Worked 00:24:09 — CASP's Next Strategy: Advocacy and Outcomes #AutismAssociation #AssociationManagement #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhen 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 may no longer be giving leadership the insight, collaboration, and strategic support the organization needs.  A strong nonprofit accounting partner should help leaders understand what the numbers mean and how those numbers affect programs, grants, sustainability, staffing, and future decisions. That means finance cannot operate as an isolated function.Andrew puts it simply: “Outsourced shouldn't mean out of touch!”He identifies several signals that deserve attention: duplicate work between departments, unclear responsibilities, information gaps, reports that never reach program or development teams, and accounting providers who understand general accounting but lack nonprofit or subsector expertise.That specialization becomes increasingly important as organizations grow. New programs, more complex grants, government reimbursement contracts, cost allocation, donor restrictions, functional expense reporting, audits, and compliance can quickly push a finance operation beyond basic month-end accounting.Technology is changing expectations as well. Better system connections, automation, and AI can create efficiencies but the real payoff should be more capacity for analysis and CFO-level thinking, not simply faster bookkeeping.Andrew also cautions leaders against making an impulsive switch. Look for a pattern. Determine whether the accounting relationship is consistently failing to meet the organization's evolving needs. And if a change is warranted, the transition can be structured, collaborative, and well documented.The larger message: the accounting model that helped your nonprofit reach its current stage may not be the one capable of taking it to the next.Key Takeaways:Timely, accurate financial statements are a baseline—not the full value of a finance relationship.Finance partners should translate numbers into decisions about programs, grants, sustainability, and growth.Duplicate work and information gaps can reveal a finance function that is disconnected from operations.Nonprofit and subsector accounting expertise becomes increasingly important as financial complexity grows.Technology should create more capacity for strategic CFO-level thinking.Change accounting partners based on a sustained pattern of unmet needs, not one frustrating incident.00:00:00 The Accounting Partner Conversation00:02:09 Is It Time to Change Accounting Partners?00:03:03 Accurate Reports Aren't the Finish Line00:04:25 Turning Financial Numbers Into Decisions00:05:28 Technology, AI and the Changing Finance Profession00:07:39 When an Outside Accounting Partner Feels Disconnected00:09:21 Why Finance Must Work Across Departments00:10:38 A Real-World Lesson in Financial Controls00:13:06 Why Nonprofit Accounting Expertise Matters00:17:58 When Growth Outpaces Your Accounting Model00:21:35 How to Know It's Really Time to Change#NonprofitFinance #NonprofitAccounting #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailConsidering 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 problem doesn't automatically mean you have a software problem!Christine, a CPA with both accounting and technology experience, sees nonprofits wrestling with accounting systems, CRMs, payroll platforms, integrations, data, and reporting. Her first advice is refreshingly simple: diagnose the business need before shopping for the solution. “The thing I always tell people is to start with your end point.”What information does leadership actually need? What decisions will the data support? What should the board receive? And are you collecting the right information to produce those answers?Sometimes the existing system can already do considerably more than the organization realizes. Christine says that in her experience, roughly half the time organizations approaching her about replacing a system can get what they need from their current technology by changing how they enter, structure, track, or use their data.Then comes the human side.  Christine notes that some nonprofit employees have worked within the same processes for 10, 20, 30 . . .even 50 years!! Changing software can therefore mean changing deeply established work habits. Staff involvement, training, communication, and buy-in become part of the technology strategy.And don't automatically assume January 1 is the ideal implementation date. Year-end may already include closing the books, audits, funder reporting, donor activity, vacations, and other operational pressures. A well-planned midyear conversion may actually be easier.As Christine puts it: “No matter how much software you're using or how well you're using it, it is always… a human issue.” Key Takeaways:Diagnose training, process, communication, and data issues before replacing technology.Define the desired reporting or business outcome first, then work backward.Treat employee buy-in as part of technology implementation.Research real users and nonprofit peers—not just vendor demonstrations.Consider the size of a product's user and support community.Avoid piling software implementation onto an already overloaded year-end calendar.00:00:00 5 Questions Before Buying Nonprofit Software 00:02:33 Christine Chacko's Accounting + Technology Role 00:03:22 Are Nonprofits Really Behind on Technology? 00:04:37 Question 1: Do You Actually Need New Software? 00:08:37 Question 2: What Are Your Technology Priorities? 00:12:29 Question 3: Is Your Team Ready for Change? 00:16:14 Why New Technology Won't Fix Bad Foundations 00:18:10 Question 4: How Should You Choose New Software? 00:22:12 Question 5: Planning the Implementation 00:25:05 Why Year-End May Be the Wrong Time to Switch 00:26:53 The Human Side of Nonprofit Technology  #NonprofitTechnology #NonprofitManagement #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhat 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 ready for leaders to act on? Barbara begins with the wonderfully uncomfortable question: Can we trust the numbers? She explains why preliminary figures matter, including one organization where an uncollectible pledge turned what appeared to be a surplus into a deficit.The conversation quickly moves beyond accounting mechanics.  Barbara encourages nonprofit executives and boards to ask, What do I need to know right now? As she puts it, “If you're running out of cash, the board needs to know.” A lengthy variance discussion isn't terribly useful if the organization is missing the financial issue that demands attention today.Then comes the forward-looking question: What are we expecting next? Forecasting, projections and scenario planning help organizations prepare before circumstances force a reaction. Barbara offers a memorable blue sky, gray sky, dark sky framework and uses a hypothetical $1 million grant pipeline to show how leaders can prepare for multiple revenue outcomes.The discussion also tackles one of nonprofit finance's perennial headaches: restricted versus unrestricted funding. Having $1 million in the bank doesn't necessarily mean an organization has $1 million available to operate. Finance, development and program teams need to coordinate before funding commitments create restrictions that become operational problems.Finally: Are we ready for the audit? Barbara recommends beginning preparations months in advance and notes the goal of completing the audit within six months after year-end. Controls, documentation, policies and even cybersecurity can become part of that readiness conversation.Key Takeaways:Verify whether financial reports are complete, final and reconciled before making decisions.Give boards an executive-level financial summary, not simply pages of numbers.Use forecasting and scenario planning before financial conditions change.Make restricted versus unrestricted cash visible to leadership and boards.Connect finance, development and programs before grant commitments are made.Treat audit readiness as an ongoing management discipline, not a year-end scramble. 00:00:00 Questions Leaders Should Ask Finance 00:03:12 Can You Trust the Numbers? 00:05:49 When a Surplus Becomes a Deficit 00:06:50 What Do I Need to Know Right Now? 00:09:53 What Are We Expecting Next? 00:11:07 Blue Sky, Gray Sky, Dark Sky Planning 00:12:42 Finance Questions Anyone Can Ask 00:13:33 Why Budgets Need Forecasts 00:14:32 Restricted vs. Unrestricted Funding 00:16:02 Where Development and Finance Break Down 00:20:10 Are We Ready for the Audit? 00:22:12 Internal Controls, Policies and Cybersecurity Find us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofits 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 creates a very different challenge for nonprofit leaders!Patricia Bueso, Client Services Technology Adoption Manager at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), joined us during Nonprofit Power Week to explain how nonprofits can turn AI experimentation into trusted organizational capability.One statistic frames the issue: Patricia cites research indicating that 92% of nonprofits are already using or experimenting with AI, yet only 7% are using it in meaningful, impactful ways. That suggests the next competitive advantage isn't simply adopting another AI tool. It's knowing where AI adds value, where it creates risk, and where human judgment must remain firmly in control.Patricia recommends beginning with actual workflows. Identify potential AI use cases across departments, then evaluate each according to effort, value and risk. Ask one deceptively simple question: “What happens if the AI is wrong?”Low-risk applications may include brainstorming, outlines, email rewrites and meeting summaries. Risk rises when AI begins influencing financial analysis, donor segmentation or organizational decisions.The conversation also moves squarely into data governance. Where is organizational data stored? How long does a vendor retain it? What happens after a subscription ends? Who has reviewed the security configuration? Patricia recommends examining standards such as SOC 2 and involving IT or technologically knowledgeable board members when appropriate.Perhaps the clearest operating principle comes from YPTC: “Guidelines help protect the adventurous and reassure the cautious.”Governance doesn't have to mean stopping innovation. It means establishing guardrails so people can use AI confidently!Key Takeaways:Evaluate AI at the workflow level—not as one enormous organization-wide problem.Rate AI use cases by effort, business value and potential risk.Distinguish low-, medium- and high-risk AI based on consequences for decisions, people, money and reputation.Know where vendor-held data goes, how it is secured and what happens to it after termination.Create AI guidelines defining what is encouraged, what requires approval and what is off limits.Treat staff training and human judgment as essential parts of AI governance.00:00:00 Adopting AI You Can Actually Trust 00:03:47 The 92% vs. 7% Nonprofit AI Gap 00:05:20 Start With Workflows, Not AI Tools 00:07:27 What Happens When AI Is Wrong? 00:08:02 Low, Medium and High AI Risk 00:10:46 Human Judgment Is the Essential Control 00:12:50 Where Does Your Nonprofit's Data Go? 00:15:00 AI Configuration, SOC 2 and Data Security 00:17:10 Questions to Ask Before Trusting an AI Vendor 00:20:40 What Nonprofits Can Actually Control 00:21:49 Governance Before Technology 00:24:51 Training Staff to Use AI Confidently 00:26:44 AI Should Support Judgment—Not Replace It #NonprofitAI  #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 finance from something reserved for “the finance people” into a management and governance discipline everyone around the board table can understand.Start with recurring deficits. A planned deficit associated with a strategic investment may make perfect business sense. But year after year of operating deficits is different. As Deanna explains, organizations generally need surplus years so they have resources available when strategic investments are necessary. “A consistent deficit year over year is not sustainable.”Then comes financial reporting. Deanna recommends organizations generally have monthly financials (or at least a draft) within approximately two to three weeks after month-end. Without timely information, management and the board may effectively be running the organization blind.The conversation moves into shrinking unrestricted reserves, funder concentration and liquidity. Deanna's warning about revenue concentration is refreshingly simple: “Any one funder can go away at any time.” Depending year after year on a single $500,000 grant, donor or government source can leave an organization dangerously exposed.She also discusses capacity-building grants that may intentionally last only three to five years, making those dollars an opportunity to build systems and sustainability rather than create permanent dependency.And cash in the bank isn't enough. Boards should understand days cash on hand, cash runway, seasonality and future liquidity scenarios—including what happens if expected revenue never arrives.The biggest shift? Turn these five financial red flags into recurring board KPIs. When boards know what they are watching every month, financial oversight becomes a habit instead of a reaction.Key TakeawaysRecurring deficits are a warning; strategically planned one-time deficits can support growth.Monthly financials should generally reach leadership within roughly two to three weeks after month-end.Shrinking unrestricted reserves can signal operating problems before a crisis appears.Measure funding concentration rather than assuming major donors or grants will continue indefinitely.Track liquidity through cash runway, days cash on hand and scenario forecasting.Build financial red flags into recurring board KPIs so the entire board shares financial responsibility.00:00:00 Nonprofit Power Week: Financial Warning Signs00:03:33 Red Flag #1: Recurring Budget Deficits00:06:57 Red Flag #2: Delayed Financial Reporting00:09:42 Red Flag #3: Shrinking Unrestricted Reserves00:11:43 Red Flag #4: Depending on One Funder00:13:40 Why Revenue Diversification Matters00:17:37 Red Flag #5: Liquidity and Cash Runway00:20:35 Financial Oversight Is a Full-Board Responsibility00:21:02 Turn the Five Red Flags Into Board KPIs00:22:25 How Often Boards Should Monitor Financial Health00:24:06 Avoiding the Year-End Financial SurpriseFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailDonor 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' and CEO of the Stupski Foundation, which is spending down its assets and plans to return all its resources to communities by the end of 2029. That experience has caused him to question some of philanthropy's most entrenched assumptions: Who gets to make decisions? Why should foundations exist forever? And why does so much charitable capital remain invested instead of moving into communities?The numbers make the conversation hard to ignore. Glen points to roughly $2 trillion in foundation assets and discusses projections that charitable accounts could grow dramatically over the coming decades. He also notes that while annual American philanthropy may exceed $600 billion, foundations represent only a portion of that giving, yet their large grants give them enormous influence over nonprofit behavior!For nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, Glen's strongest advice may also be the most uncomfortable: “We need to see service and advocacy organizations asking for what they need to do their job, not what they need to get the grant.”Instead of shaping the mission around a funder's predetermined boundaries, he argues that nonprofits should communicate the real cost and scale of community need and challenge donors to respond accordingly.The conversation gets even sharper when Glen examines the traditional 5% foundation payout mindset. A $100 million grant can sound extraordinary, he says, while still representing a relatively modest deployment of a multibillion-dollar foundation's resources.Key Takeaways:Fundraising strategy should begin with what the mission requires, not what appears easiest to get funded.Foundation priorities and community priorities are not automatically the same.Approximately $2 trillion in philanthropic assets raises serious questions about capital deployment and charitable purpose.The assumption that a foundation must operate in perpetuity deserves examination.Strong funder relationships can give nonprofit leaders room to communicate needs more candidly.Large grant announcements should be evaluated relative to the funder's total available resources—not merely the headline dollar amount.00:00:02 Why Big Giving Is Falling Short00:01:41 Inside a Foundation That Is Spending Itself Out00:03:24 The Stupski Foundation Origin Story00:07:39 Philanthropy's "Fake Rules"00:08:14 A Foundation Started as a Donation00:09:31 The $2 Trillion Philanthropy Bottleneck00:11:40 Why Foundation Money Isn't Moving00:12:20 Who Actually Drives American Giving?00:15:43 The Bigger Numbers Behind the Funding System00:18:53 Is Perpetuity a Philanthropy Fake Rule?00:21:47 How Spend-Down Changed Glen's Thinking00:24:35 How Nonprofits Can Push Back on Funders00:26:20 Why a $100 Million Grant May Not Be Enough#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitFunding #PhilanthropyFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailPlanned 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.Tony says gifts in wills, also known as charitable bequests, should be the starting point for small and midsized nonprofits. He estimates they can represent at least 75% of planned gifts, and says he has seen that figure reach 90%.Then comes one of the episode's biggest operational surprises: don't assume your best planned giving prospects are your wealthiest donors.“You have all the data you need,” Tony says. His preferred signal is loyalty . . .the donors who have consistently supported the organization for years and have a genuine relationship with its people.That leads to Tony's three-step launch:1.      Identify your top prospects.2.      Start with gifts in wills.3.      Cultivate and solicit those prospects through conversation.No major campaign! No four-color brochure! No dedicated planned giving website! No wealth-screening exercise required before beginning!And for fundraisers nervous about talking about mortality, Tony flips the premise completely: “This is a conversation about life” . . . .specifically the future life, longevity, sustainability, mission, and values of the organization.The conversation also explores donor privacy, why 7 to 8 donors may remain anonymous for every one who discloses a bequest, donor meetings over meals, avoiding the spaghetti at those meetings—yes, really—and why relationships beat elaborate fundraising machinery when you're getting started.Key Takeaways:Begin planned giving with simple gifts in wills.Loyalty and longevity can outperform wealth as prospect indicators.Tony estimates gifts in wills can comprise 75%–90% of planned gifts.A first qualified donor conversation can constitute a successful launch.Expensive screening, brochures and dedicated websites are not prerequisites.Frame planned giving around mission longevity—not donor mortality.00:00:00 Planned Giving in Just One Week?00:03:08 What Planned Giving Actually Means00:04:31 Why Gifts in Wills Come First00:06:50 Why Most Legacy Donors Won't Tell You00:09:35 The 3-Step, One-Week Launch00:12:26 Planned Giving Is Not About Death00:18:15 The Martignetti MEAL Plan00:20:48 The Planned Giving Pasta Rule00:22:14 Privacy and the Right Donor Meeting Setting00:24:50 Finding Prospects in Your Own Database00:26:19 Skip the Brochure and Start Talking00:28:13 Planned Giving Accelerated#PlannedGiving #NonprofitFundraising #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 payable, accounts receivable, expense management, and financial workflows can remove repetitive work while giving employees faster access to the information they need. Buu-Linh describes how AI is beginning to let non-finance staff ask ordinary-language questions about invoices, spending, and grants without automatically turning to an AP manager or controller. That creates something bigger than efficiency: financial information becomes more accessible across the organization. But technology adoption creates a leadership challenge.Buu-Linh observes, “Everyone wants to do what they've been familiar with, even if it's not great.” Her recommendation: treat implementation as change management. Identify supporters, train them first, and turn them into internal advocates before attempting a broader rollout. Brad pushes the conversation further into succession and staffing. Finance leaders should ask what they are building for the organization they eventually leave behind. As he puts it, “I can't always rely on…tribal knowledge or the way that we've always done things continuing to work.”The episode also examines cybersecurity, AI adoption, generational turnover in finance leadership, the growing technology expectations of younger professionals, finance's increasing influence over organization-wide technology purchases, and collaboration between finance and development.The emerging CFO isn't merely keeping the books anymore. . . . Finance departments will increasingly become one of the organization's tech innovators.Key TakeawaysAutomation can increase finance capacity without simply adding more staff.Modern financial systems are also part of a nonprofit's security and fraud-protection infrastructure.AI can give non-finance employees greater self-service access to financial information.Technology capability is increasingly becoming a workforce recruitment and retention consideration.Successful system adoption requires a deliberate change-management strategy and internal champions.Finance leaders are becoming influential technology decision-makers across the entire organization. 00:00:00 The Finance Team of the Future 00:01:24 How BILL Automates Financial Operations 00:03:19 Modern Finance Systems and Security 00:05:20 AI Tools Are Becoming a Workforce Expectation 00:07:28 Financial Self-Service Beyond the Finance Team 00:11:35 The Generational Shift Inside Finance 00:15:50 Why Technology Change Management Matters 00:17:38 Succession, Staffing and Tribal Knowledge 00:19:43 Finance Becomes a Technology Leader 00:22:29 How the CFO Role Is Expanding 00:23:53 Finance and Development Need Each Other 00:25:35 Real-Time Access to Financial Data #NonprofitFinance #NonprofitTechnology #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow 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 separates confident nonprofit fundraisers from those who hesitate when the conversation gets difficult.“Confidence is a skill and like any skill, you have to practice it in order to perfect it,” Tony explains. That practice begins with knowing your organization's mission, impact, outcomes, program costs, stories, and data well enough to communicate without hiding behind a script.The conversation also challenges the traditional reliance on storytelling alone. Today's fundraiser needs to explain the problem being solved, the organization's value proposition, what programs cost, and what measurable change donor investments can create. Tony recommends reviewing organizational data frequently (even weekly) so donor conversations reflect current information.That preparation changes the fundraising ask itself. Instead of feeling like you're trying to extract money from someone, the donor is being invited to participate in solving a community problem.And then there's the word every fundraiser eventually hears: no.Tony offers another memorable reminder: “The answer is always no if you never ask the question.” Rather than treating rejection as a personal failure, he encourages fundraisers to understand what's behind it. Is the timing wrong? Is the mission not aligned? Could the relationship continue? A no can become information that strengthens the next conversation.The episode also examines restricted versus unrestricted giving, stewardship, donor education, authenticity, and why sometimes confidently releasing the wrong prospect is good fundraising.Key Takeaways:Treat fundraising confidence as a skill developed through repetition, preparation, and experience.Know mission, outcomes, program costs, and current data before entering donor conversations.Connect donor interests to a specific community problem and measurable organizational response.Move beyond storytelling alone by communicating stewardship, strategy, costs, and results.Interpret donor rejection as information rather than a judgment of your professional worth.Maintain relationships appropriately even when a current gift isn't the right fit.00:00:00 Building Fundraising Confidence00:01:36 Confidence Is a Skill00:05:28 Know Your Mission Better Than Anyone00:07:55 Authenticity Builds Credibility00:09:04 Sell the Solution, Not Just the Story00:10:46 Why Fundraisers Need Current Data00:14:11 Program Costs, Stewardship and Donor Trust00:17:02 Restricted vs. Unrestricted Giving00:18:17 Invite Donors to Activate Change00:20:56 How Confident Fundraisers Handle “No”00:23:37 When a Donor Says Not Now00:25:12 “Bless and Release” the Wrong Prospect#Fundraising #BuildingConfidence #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 ‘Giving Signals' research with The Harris Poll. The original study surveyed more than 1,000 donors and several hundred fundraisers, then examined donor responses across demographic groups rather than treating supporters as one giant audience. The result challenges one of fundraising's most persistent habits.“There's no such thing as the donor,” Mary says. “And the data proves that.”Consider geography. Only 45% of Midwest respondents expected to give more, compared with 62% in the West. Midwest donors were also considerably less responsive to identity and belonging language, suggesting that messages emphasizing concrete needs, transparency, and measurable outcomes may perform better with that audience.Trust creates another major business implication. The West registered 86% trust in nonprofits' effective use of funds, while 62% expected to increase giving. As Mary puts it, “You need to treat transparency as a fundraising activity, not just a compliance moment.”The data also challenges assumptions about major gift messaging. Among households earning $150,000+, 41% looked to third-party ratings compared with 29% overall. These high-capacity donors behaved more like evidence-driven buyers, responding to ratings, audited outcomes, measured impact, and proof—not simply another moving story.And donor trust does not develop identically. Women reported stronger responses to transparency, matching gifts, and proof of gift impact—with 93% citing information about their gift's impact—while men showed greater responsiveness to peer recommendations and preferred communication channels.The operational takeaway: segment, survey, test, measure, and adjust before assuming one appeal speaks to everyone.Key Takeaways:Build fundraising segments around meaningful donor differences instead of relying on one universal appeal.Treat transparency and closed-loop impact reporting as revenue-building activities.Test concrete outcome messaging versus belonging-oriented messaging by geography.Give high-capacity donors evidence: ratings, audited results, ROI, and measurable impact.Use peer and ambassador voices where personal endorsement strengthens trust.Survey your own donor base before turning national demographic patterns into fundraising assumptions. 00:00:00 — Why There's No Such Thing As “The Donor” 00:01:46 — How Bloomerang Studies Donor Behavior 00:04:24 — What 1,000+ Donors Told Researchers 00:05:47 — Why Midwest Fundraising Messaging Is Different 00:09:48 — Trust Sits Upstream Of The Ask 00:12:16 — Income Changes What Motivates Donors 00:13:27 — The Ethical Edge Of Urgency Messaging 00:14:34 — The Problem With One-Size-Fits-All Appeals 00:16:31 — What High-Capacity Donors Actually Want 00:19:30 — Men, Women And Different Paths To Trust 00:23:10 — Turning Donors Into Trusted Ambassadors 00:25:15 — Survey Your Own Donor Community 00:27:02 — Segment And Test Before Your Next Appeal #NonprofitFundraising #DonorEngagement #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 management — somebody brought in because something went wrong. Joan challenges that assumption with three remarkably simple words: “Everybody leaves.”  Leadership transition is not a possibility to avoid discussing. It is an eventual organizational reality worth planning for.  Instead of scrambling after a resignation, retirement, sabbatical, or founder departure, nonprofit leaders can determine in advance when an interim executive makes sense, who has decision-making responsibility, and what the organization needs during the transition.Erin adds another important reality: “In reality, these tools can only get you so far. You need a person.” Succession plans, guides, and policies matter, but someone must still lead staff, maintain direction, communicate with stakeholders, and move the plan into operation.The numbers discussed are revealing. Third Sector Company describes a network of approximately 800 people trained for transitional leadership, while Erin notes that an interim assignment may span roughly six to nine months, depending on the organization. Most importantly, the interim is not there simply to “keep the lights on.” Joan says a successful engagement should leave the nonprofit positioned to attract, hire, and retain the right permanent leader.  That begins with assessment: policies, HR records, organizational gaps, staff realities, board alignment, and the conditions the next executive will inherit.Key Takeaways: * Treat executive transition as a predictable governance responsibility, not an unexpected crisis.* Discuss interim leadership before a departure becomes imminent or emotionally charged.* Do not automatically assign already-stretched staff or board members to run the organization.* Begin an interim engagement with an organizational assessment before recruiting the permanent leader.* Measure interim success partly by the quality and retention of the organization's next executive hire.* Use leadership transitions to challenge “we've always done it that way” and prepare the organization for what comes next.00:00:00 Interim Leadership and Nonprofit Transition00:03:01 Why Interim Leadership Still Carries a Stigma00:06:30 Everybody Leaves: Planning Before the Crisis00:08:09 Giving Boards the Language for Succession00:10:03 When Leadership Transition Planning Should Begin00:15:25 How Boards Explore Interim Leadership00:16:16 Corporate vs. Nonprofit Interim Leadership00:18:34 Turning Succession Plans Into Action00:22:34 An Interim Is More Than a Caretaker00:23:53 Why Every Interim Engagement Needs Assessment00:25:19 The Advantage of an Outside Interim Leader00:29:10 Making Interim Leadership the Norm#NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitSuccessionPlanning #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow 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 professionals can deliberately increase their professional value and prepare themselves for broader leadership. Tony begins by pointing to one major advantage many development professionals already possess: relationships. Fundraisers work with donors, boards, community leaders, staff, and supporters, often developing credibility across an organization long before they enter the C-suite. But relationships alone are not enough. Future nonprofit leaders need to understand how the organization actually works: finance, operations, marketing, human resources, programs, and the processes that turn funding into outcomes. As Tony reminds us, “Your team members regardless of their job title come to you with a lot of lived experience.” The conversation also moves into communication, professional visibility, public speaking, LinkedIn, networking, body language, and thought leadership. Yet visibility comes with an important guardrail: “You have to maintain a level of humility in this work.”The bigger career question may not be, “How valuable do others think I am?” Instead, it may be: How am I becoming the strongest leader I can be for the work I want to accomplish?There is a fitting backdrop to the conversation: this marks the 1,600th edition of The Nonprofit Show, seven years into an ongoing exploration of the business decisions that make nonprofit missions possible! Key Takeaways:* Fundraising relationships can create a strong foundation for future nonprofit executive leadership.* C-suite readiness requires knowledge beyond development, including finance, operations, HR, marketing, and programs.* Understanding program delivery makes fundraisers stronger storytellers with donors and investors.* Leadership communication includes tone, timing, word choice, and nonverbal signals.* Public speaking and professional visibility can expand influence when paired with humility.* Professional value should be built around contribution and impact, not external validation.00:00:00 The Nonprofit Show Reaches 1,60000:01:21 Escalating Your Professional Value00:03:14 Why Fundraisers Can Become Nonprofit CEOs00:06:16 Learn the Business Beyond Fundraising00:10:25 Leadership Across Operations and Programs00:11:20 Understand How the Mission Actually Gets Delivered00:13:59 Communication as a Leadership Skill00:17:25 What Your Body Language Communicates00:18:45 Public Speaking and Professional Visibility00:20:05 Thought Leadership Without the Ego00:23:44 LinkedIn, Networking and Professional Presence00:26:16 Who Determines Your Professional Value?#NonprofitLeadership #FundraisingCareer #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow 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 the moment when a person is in transit but has not yet been exploited. Through a strategy known as transit monitoring, locally led teams identify warning signs at bus stations, train stations, airports, and border crossings. The organization now operates in 18 countries and reports more than 115,000 trafficking interceptions. Even more striking is the organization's improvement in efficiency: its cost per interception declined from approximately $1,000 in 2021 to $112 today. That progress did not come from exporting a Western management system. John explains that Love Justice International learned, often through failed pilots, to identify trusted national champions, support locally selected leadership, adapt its tools to each context, and maintain clear operating standards. “Equip the right people for impact rather than command and control,” John says. He also describes humility as a formal management practice. “Admit your weaknesses is one of our values.” Teams are encouraged to criticize their own work, question reported impact, seek feedback, and remain alert to the possibility of unintended harm. This inspiring conversation also explores what John calls “impact engineering”: combining process improvement, data, artificial intelligence, social-media monitoring, and technology to produce more life-changing impact from every contributed dollar. Love Justice International now operates a technology team, a data-science team, and Searchlight, one of the world's largest human-trafficking databases.Key Takeaways: * Recruit credible local champions before establishing programs, leadership teams, or boards.* Separate locally adaptable practices from the standards required to preserve program effectiveness.* Measure unit cost to show donors how resources translate into life-changing outcomes.* Build continual improvement through stakeholder feedback, failed-pilot analysis, and honest self-evaluation.* Treat technology, data science, and AI as mission infrastructure rather than administrative extras.* Scale by equipping local leaders—not by directing every decision from headquarters.00:00:00 Global Nonprofit Leadership Across Borders00:01:51 Preventing Human Trafficking in Transit00:03:06 The Origin of Love Justice International00:05:38 Prevention Versus Post-Trafficking Response00:06:39 Scaling Transit Monitoring to 18 Countries00:09:32 Learning From Local Teams and Failed Pilots00:10:33 Government Cooperation and Staff Security00:12:17 Navigating Language and Cultural Complexity00:14:59 Institutionalizing Humility and “Do No Harm”00:16:34 Recruiting Local Champions for Expansion00:18:34 Reducing Cost per Interception to $11200:20:25 Impact Engineering, AI, Data, and Technology00:24:03 Donor Motivation and Life-Changing Impact00:25:08 Scaling the Mission and Deterring Trafficking#humantrafficking  #GlobalNonprofits #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailA 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 principle: lasting equity requires leadership courage, adequate resources, assigned ownership, and measurable institutional change! Many nonprofits have issued statements, held training sessions, and hosted thoughtful conversations. But Bernardo warns that these efforts can fade when no one owns the implementation, funding disappears, or leadership treats equity as separate from everyday operations. “Equity must be baked into the walls of the organization,” he explains. That means incorporating it into strategic plans, policy development, job descriptions, compensation, performance management, program design, and leadership accountability. Without those operating structures, even well-intended initiatives can remain trapped in binders, websites, or annual presentations.Drawing from his experience with Seattle Public Schools, Bernardo describes how an equity policy was activated across 101 schools serving approximately 65,000 students. The system used televised board meetings, school-level conversations, internal equity teams, and recurring decision-making tools to keep the policy visible and connected to daily work. The discussion also examines how nonprofits can sustain their commitments when public language creates political or financial risk. Bernardo shares how some organizations have shifted from external messaging toward internal systems that address health disparities, access barriers, workplace culture, and service outcomes. Rather than measuring success by the number of conversations held, nonprofit leaders should ask what will be visibly different three to five years from now. “How is the organization going to change to better serve their people and the clients coming into their care?” Bernardo asks. Key Takeaways:• Equity must be incorporated into budgets, strategic plans, job descriptions, compensation, and performance systems.• Every initiative needs accountable owners with the authority and resources to implement it.• Training without structural change may produce temporary progress followed by organizational regression.• Seattle Public Schools activated its policy across 101 schools serving about 65,000 students.• Internal systems can continue advancing equitable outcomes even when public terminology creates funding risks.• Leaders should define the organizational outcomes they expect to see within three to five years.00:00:00 Equity That Moves Nonprofit Systems00:02:41 What Equity Actually Means00:06:04 Moving Beyond Statements and Training00:07:00 Embedding Equity Into Organizational Operations00:09:54 How Seattle Public Schools Activated Policy00:13:24 Why Targeted Strategies Can Benefit Everyone00:16:12 Why Nonprofit Equity Initiatives Fall Flat00:18:40 Responding to Political and Funding Pressure00:22:26 Measurable Change Versus Performative Campaigns00:24:20 Leadership, Budgeting, and Equity Fatigue00:28:05 Building Stronger Institutions From Within#DEIB #NonprofitEquity #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow 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 chasing gifts without building the infrastructure donors increasingly expect. Drawing on 40 years in the sector and Sharity's work across 37 countries, she outlines five elements that help philanthropic investors—and boards—feel confident: a functional business plan, a multiyear budget, the right team, measurable outcomes, and a sustainable revenue strategy.Carol reports that roughly 75% of nonprofits do not have a strategic plan guiding daily operations. She also shares that Sharity clients following its model average a 200% revenue increase within 24 months. Those results begin with a shift in thinking: donors are not only asking whether the mission is inspiring. They want to know what the organization will accomplish, how success will be proven, what it will cost, whether the team can deliver, and who else is committed."Nonprofit is a tax status, not a goal,” Carol says. That mindset requires leaders to understand the real cost of every program, identify funding gaps, and confront services that may be ineffective or financially unsustainable.The conversation also separates outputs from outcomes. Counting meals, bed nights, or counseling hours shows activity. Investors want evidence of what changed because those services were delivered. As Carol puts it, donors “do not want to just know that you were busy.”Key Takeaways: * Integrate fundraising with operations, outcomes, budgeting, and long-term strategy.* Build a three-year business plan, organizational chart, and budget—not a shelf-bound retreat document.* Measure the change programs produce, not merely the volume of services delivered.* Calculate the full cost of programs, including wages, benefits, overhead, and depreciation.* Cultivate both present-focused donors and future-focused investors seeking societal change.* Use strategic planning as the cultivation foundation for a comprehensive campaign.00:00:00 Making a Nonprofit a Smarter Investment00:01:24 Sharity's Scaling Model and 200% Revenue Growth00:03:03 Why Fundraising Cannot Be Separated from Operations00:06:12 How Modern Philanthropic Investors Evaluate Nonprofits00:09:00 The Five Factors That Build Donor Confidence00:10:18 Teams, Outcomes, and Sustainable Revenue00:12:04 Confronting Programs That Lose Money or Miss the Mission00:16:16 Present-Focused Donors vs. Future-Focused Investors00:19:23 Turning Strategic Planning into Donor Cultivation00:22:31 Stop Chasing Dollars and Return to the Mission00:24:45 Nonprofit Inc.: Scaling with Purpose00:27:25 The Work Required to Scale Successfully#NonprofitStrategy #PhilanthropicInvestment #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailCorporate 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 from the National Child Abuse Hotline to prevention education, residential treatment, foster care, adoption services, and multidisciplinary advocacy centers. Its hotline serves every U.S. state, Canada, Guam, and U.S. territories 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Its prevention curriculum reaches approximately 30 states and 13 U.S. military bases worldwide! That scale gives Michael a powerful perspective on what makes corporate partnerships flourish—and what causes them to fall apart.  “Real alignment happens when the company's core values naturally intersect with your mission,” Michael explains. That means researching businesses that care about the communities where their employees and customers live, rather than pursuing every company with a sponsorship budget. Michael also warns against partnerships that turn the nonprofit into an extension of a company's marketing department. When expectations, success measures, and the shared “why” are unclear, both sides often leave disappointed. Instead, Childhelp connects corporate support to specific outcomes. A company supporting prevention education may learn exactly how many students it helped protect and how many disclosures resulted in children receiving assistance. As Michael tells us, “That type of return on investment is what true corporate partnership looks like.” The relationship does not end after the check arrives. Childhelp uses quarterly communication, tiered sponsor outreach, leadership calls, impact updates, and genuine expressions of gratitude. Its philanthropy team follows a simple framework: “keep, lift, promote” to retain supporters, deepen their involvement, and create pathways toward greater engagement.  Key Takeaways: * Begin with the intersection between corporate values and nonprofit mission.* Define the partnership's purpose and success measures before launching it.* Report outcomes that connect corporate investment to human impact.* Communicate quarterly rather than resurfacing only when funding is needed.* Segment sponsor stewardship by entry-level, mid-level, and major relationships.* Build volunteer opportunities around genuine organizational needs—not one-time appearances.00:00:00 Corporate Sponsorships Beyond the Check00:01:24 Scaling Childhelp's National Operations00:03:07 How Two Hollywood Performers Built a Global Mission00:05:23 Operation Babylift and Childhelp's Expansion00:07:43 Finding Authentic Corporate Mission Alignment00:09:10 Researching Potential Corporate Partners00:10:17 Why Transactional Sponsorships Often Fail00:12:28 Treating Corporate Sponsors Like Investors00:14:03 Reporting a Meaningful Return on Impact00:16:55 Sponsor Communication Is Relationship Management00:18:40 Building a Quarterly Stewardship Rhythm00:20:50 The Keep, Lift, Promote Framework00:24:52 Creating Meaningful Corporate Volunteer Opportunities00:27:39 Community Alignment and Sharing the Spotlight00:28:05 Are There Too Many Nonprofits?00:29:07 Lessons from Childhelp's 67-Year Evolution#NonprofitSponsorship #CorporateSponsorship #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailCorporate 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 fascinating discussion explores founder legacy, cause alignment, franchise engagement, program design, capacity constraints, and the responsibility successful businesses have to give back. It is a powerful example of how one leader's personal experience can become an enduring institution when passion is matched with structure, measurement, and shared ownership.Dave Thomas founded the foundation in 1992 after recognizing that children waiting in foster care were being overlooked. His approach went far beyond lending a famous name to a cause. He brought the same focus, urgency, and operating discipline that helped build Wendy's, asking a direct question: How many children did we help move into permanent families?Rita explains how that expectation pushed the foundation from awareness-building toward measurable action. The Wendy's Wonderful Kids program now funds adoption professionals across the United States and Canada who use an evidence-based, child-focused recruitment model. The goal is not simply to generate interest, but to strengthen the capacity needed to connect children, especially older youth, with safe, loving, permanent homes.As Rita tells us, “Behind that word dramatic is something measurable.” That mindset offers a valuable lesson for nonprofit executives, board members, funders, and corporate partners: a compelling mission must be supported by clear outcomes, sufficient infrastructure, and transparent reporting.Denny also describes the leadership traits that made Thomas's commitment credible. “Find something that means something to you,” he advises business leaders, because authentic commitment attracts employees, franchisees, families, and communities in ways that transactional sponsorship cannot.00:00:00 Dave Thomas and the Mission of Foster Care Adoption00:01:38 Twenty Years of Stories Behind Call Me Dave00:03:29 Why Children Wait Years for Permanent Families00:04:36 How Adoption Shaped Dave Thomas00:07:08 The Values That Defined His Leadership00:09:35 A Final Mandate: Get This Job Done00:11:43 Finding the Courage to Share His Story00:13:19 The White House and Corporate Adoption Benefits00:14:45 Keeping a Founder's Legacy Relevant00:18:39 Engaging Wendy's Franchisees in the Mission00:22:29 Building an Evidence-Based Adoption Program00:24:35 Measuring Results Instead of Activity00:26:34 What Business Leaders Can Learn From Dave Thomas #CorporatePhilanthropy #FosterCareAdoption #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit 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 social media response to a devastating crisis affecting LGBTQ+ young people. Sixteen years and more than 70,000 shared stories later, the organization now reaches beyond storytelling through grantmaking, leadership development, civic engagement, and partnerships involving young people ages 13 to 18. Brian explains why authentic nonprofit storytelling cannot be manufactured through a rigid formula. Highly polished content may appear professional, but it can also feel distant from the communities an organization hopes to reach. “Storytelling is just our superpower,” Brian says. “We're not all versed in how to use it accurately and effectively, but we all can do it.” For It Gets Better, that means allowing young people to help shape the stories, programs, platforms, and organizational strategies intended to serve them. Their perspectives also provide a valuable counterweight to traditional performance indicators. Views and reach may look impressive, but they do not prove that content reached or resonated with the intended audience. The conversation also examines the organization's growth into a funder supporting work in the United States and through affiliates operating in 19 countries. Brian challenges funding structures that require established nonprofits to alter proven programs simply to fit a grantmaker's priorities. “I think we need more funders out there that are willing to be as flexible as the nonprofits they fund have been.” Key Takeaways: * Use community voices to validate strategy, not merely to endorse decisions already made.* Evaluate whether communications reach the intended audience, rather than relying only on views and impressions.* Balance digital outreach with offline community participation and relationship building.* Protect proven programs from funding requirements that create unnecessary mission drift.* Give executive leaders space to maintain a multiyear organizational perspective.* Treat hope, consistency, and adaptability as operating disciplines rather than abstract values. 00:00:00 Leadership, Storytelling, and It Gets Better00:01:40 How a Global Storytelling Movement Began00:05:11 Choosing the Right Digital Platforms00:06:55 Why Polished Nonprofit Stories Can Feel Inauthentic00:09:00 Giving Young People a Voice in Strategy00:13:07 Leading a Fully Virtual Nonprofit00:14:13 Balancing Social Media with Real-World Action00:16:53 Looking Beyond Views, Reach, and Basic KPIs00:18:03 How It Gets Better Became a Grantmaker00:20:01 When Funding Requirements Create Mission Drift00:23:27 The Next Stage of Youth Leadership Development00:26:25 Maintaining Hope and a Long-Range Vision#NonprofitLeadership #TrustBasedPhilanthropy #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit workforce reduction planning requires far more than identifying positions and announcing layoffs. Casey Williams of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore explains how nonprofit leaders can restructure responsibly, reduce organizational risk, and preserve dignity throughout an extraordinarily difficult business decision.The process begins by defining the problem the organization is trying to solve. Is the nonprofit closing a program, reducing its budget by $1 million, responding to repeated deficits, or changing its operating model? Casey advises leaders to document that objective before discussing individual employees.“A reorganization is about solving a business problem,” she tells us. Performance concerns belong in performance management—not inside a reduction-in-force process.Casey also outlines how leadership teams can develop measurable selection criteria around positions rather than personalities. Seniority, experience, education, documented performance ratings, and other defined factors can support a more consistent decision. Vague judgments such as attitude, energy, or cultural fit may invite favoritism or unconscious bias.The conversation also examines important employment-law considerations. Casey explains that the federal WARN Act can require 60 days' notice when qualifying employers with approximately 100 or more employees conduct certain layoffs affecting 50 or more workers. State “mini-WARN” laws may establish lower thresholds; California, for example, can cover employers with 75 employees.Severance, release agreements, final pay, accrued vacation, benefits, property returns, internal communications, and individual meetings all require advance coordination. Employees covered by certain age-discrimination release rules may receive 21 days to consider an individual agreement, while qualifying group layoffs may require 45 days, followed by a seven-day revocation period.“Having the hard conversation actually is compassionate,” Casey says. Early planning gives leaders more room to communicate clearly, answer employees' immediate questions, and demonstrate the organization's values when those values are being watched most closely.This discussion offers business guidance for nonprofit executives, human resource professionals, finance leaders, department managers, and boards. Employment requirements vary by jurisdiction, so organizations should consult qualified legal counsel about their specific circumstances.Key Takeaways: • Define and document the business objective before discussing employees or positions.• Keep performance management separate from organizational restructuring.• Use consistent, measurable selection criteria wherever possible.• Review federal and state notification requirements early in the process.• Coordinate severance, final pay, benefits, technology, and communications before meetings begin.• Treat offboarding as a visible expression of organizational leadership and values.00:00:00 Nonprofit Workforce Changes Without the Drama00:01:29 Legal Support for Mission-Driven Organizations00:04:14 Define the Business Problem First00:05:18 Why Restructuring Cannot Replace Performance Management00:09:07 When Boards, Finance, and Leadership Become Involved00:10:58 Selecting Positions Using Objective Criteria00:14:20 Why Earlier Conversations Can Be More Compassionate00:16:54 WARN Act Notice and Employer Thresholds00:19:36 State Mini-WARN Laws and Lower Thresholds00:20:58 Severance, Benefits, and Release Agreements00:24:18 Special Rules Affecting Older Workers00:26:44 Building a Respectful Offboarding Process #NonprofitLayoffs #NonprofitManagement #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit financial planning for constant change requires more than approving an annual budget and revisiting it months later. Taylor MacDonald, CEO of Martus, and Dan Holcomb of JMT Consulting explain how nonprofits can use scenario planning, rolling forecasts, cash flow visibility, and organizational collaboration to make stronger financial decisions.Economic uncertainty, changing donor behavior, workforce shortages, inflation, delayed grants, and global disruptions can quickly make a fixed budget obsolete. As Taylor says, “The challenge isn't any one event. It's the frequency of change.”The answer is not predicting every possible disruption. It is preparing the organization to respond before uncertainty becomes a financial emergency.Taylor recommends developing multiple financial scenarios. What happens if donations decline by 10%? What if grant funding arrives late? What if a key employee leaves? These questions connect risk management with financial planning and give leaders options before pressure builds.Cash flow forecasting is especially important. Discovering that the organization may face a cash shortage in 15, 30, or 45 days gives leadership time to protect payroll, preserve programs, communicate with funders, and adjust spending. Waiting until the cash crunch arrives places employees, board confidence, and the mission at risk.The lively conversation also examines personnel budgeting, departmental participation, board reporting, and the role of AI. Taylor and Dan agree that AI can accelerate reporting and trend analysis, but financial professionals must still review the results. Faster information is only valuable when it is accurate.As Dan says, “It's about being proactive, not reactive.” Flexible financial planning gives you the confidence to respond to change while continuing to serve your communities!Key Takeaways:* Replace the fixed annual budget mindset with monthly, quarterly, or rolling forecasts.* Model donation declines, grant delays, staffing changes, and major expenditures before they occur.* Track cash flow early enough to identify potential shortages 15, 30, or 45 days ahead.* Budget personnel costs beyond salaries, including benefits, taxes, deductions, and employer contributions.* Include departmental leaders because operational changes often appear before they reach financial reports.* Use AI to accelerate analysis, but require knowledgeable human review before information reaches the board.00:00:00 Financial Planning During Constant Change00:02:40 Why Change Is Accelerating00:06:05 The Annual Budget Is No Longer Enough00:08:21 Building Financial Scenarios Before Trouble Arrives00:11:45 Moving to Monthly and Quarterly Forecasts00:12:59 Why Cash Flow Forecasting Is Essential00:14:06 Matching Forecast Frequency to Financial Volatility00:15:27 Understanding the Full Cost of Personnel00:17:34 Building Board Confidence Through Better Reporting00:21:17 Why Budgeting Must Be Collaborative00:23:13 Using AI Without Compromising Financial Accuracy00:27:27 Preparing Finance Teams for the AI TransitionFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailBehavioral science for nonprofit fundraising reveals why good intentions do not always become donations and how nonprofits can design a donor experience that makes giving easier, more confident, and more rewarding. Eleni Fischer and Julia Toffoli of ideas42 share research-informed strategies for reducing donor friction without manufacturing or manipulating generosity.Donors operate in an increasingly crowded environment filled with emails, text messages, online appeals, giving platforms, and nearly two million registered U.S. nonprofits. Even people who genuinely want to give can become overwhelmed by competing choices, limited attention, unclear information, and a lack of meaningful feedback!In this conversation, Eleni and Julia explain how behavioral science examines the way people actually make decisions, not how organizations assume they should behave. Donors rely on emotions, habits, social norms, context, and mental shortcuts, especially when the number of choices becomes difficult to manage.That creates an important operational challenge for nonprofit leaders: fundraising success depends on more than producing another appeal or asking development staff to make more phone calls. The complete donor journey must be considered, including discovery, website design, donation forms, communications, stewardship, personalization, and reporting.Julia explains, “We don't want to try to manufacture intent or get people to do something that they don't want to do.” Instead, the goal is to help donors follow through on generosity they already value.The guests introduce ideas42's ‘Generosity by Design' framework, organized around four areas: capturing attention and encouraging discovery, curating and personalizing choices, improving framing and choice architecture, and providing reflection and feedback.As Julia reminds nonprofit teams, “Everything is a design choice.” When fundraising, marketing, technology, leadership, and donor services work together, nonprofits can create giving experiences that feel less transactional and more meaningful without adding unreasonable demands to already limited staff capacity.Key Takeaways:Choice overload can delay giving and reduce satisfaction with the final decision.Curated recommendations can help donors navigate an enormous field of charitable options.Donation-page design influences donor confidence, completion, and satisfaction.Feedback about giving history and impact can reinforce future generosity.Behavioral science should inform marketing, technology, stewardship, and fundraising—not remain isolated within one department.Nonprofits should help donors fulfill existing intentions rather than attempt to manufacture them.00:00:00 Unlocking Generosity with Behavioral Science00:02:11 How ideas42 Applies Behavioral Science00:05:09 How Donors Actually Make Decisions00:07:47 Donor Attention in an Overwhelming World00:09:42 Psychology, Culture, and Charitable Giving00:12:18 Redesigning the Donation Experience00:13:19 Turning Fundraiser Intuition into Strategy00:14:33 Aligning Fundraising, Marketing, and Technology00:18:51 The Biggest Behavioral Barriers to Giving00:21:59 Introducing Generosity by Design00:23:36 Curation, Personalization, and Choice Architecture00:24:58 Why Donors Need Reflection and Feedback#NonprofitFundraising #DonorEngagement #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailPhilanthropy can strengthen communities by investing not only in nonprofit programs, but also in the entrepreneurs, business-support organizations, and local infrastructure that drives economic mobility. How philanthropy supports small business growth is becoming a key question for foundations, nonprofit leaders, and communities seeking stronger local economies. Wafa Dinaro, Executive Director of the New Economy Initiative, explains how philanthropic capital can help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses, create jobs, and strengthen neighborhoods.Founded in 2007 with an initial $100 million philanthropic commitment, the New Economy Initiative was designed to help diversify Southeast Michigan's economy. Nearly two decades later, the collaborative continues to evolve, now supporting approximately 800 to 1,200 businesses each year through nonprofit partners, mentorship, technical assistance, and innovative access to capital.Wafa explains that funding alone is rarely enough. Entrepreneurs may appear to have a capital problem when the deeper barrier is incomplete financial records, uncertain pricing, weak margins, or limited operational knowledge.As she tells , “Ideas and entrepreneurs and really innovators are distributed equally, but resources aren't always distributed equally.”This conversation with Wafa examines how philanthropy can fund the business-support infrastructure that traditional financing often overlooks. Through its nonprofit network, NEI connects entrepreneurs with mentors who can review their books, strengthen operations, prepare them for financing, and help them scale.Wafa also introduces the Michigan Small Business Helper, a centralized resource that connects entrepreneurs with regional nonprofits, how-to guides, financial assistance, retail training, and direct support. Behind the platform, NEI can follow the entrepreneur's journey and identify which combinations of services are producing stronger revenue and business outcomes.The larger lesson extends well beyond Detroit. Nonprofits and foundations can serve as conveners, intermediaries, data partners, and catalysts through building systems that allow businesses and communities to become more resilient.“Entrepreneurship is such a core pillar of building neighborhoods, building communities, and rebuilding entire communities.” Key Takeaways:Capital becomes more effective when paired with financial, operational, and industry-specific guidance.Philanthropic intermediaries can pilot programs that conventional funders may consider too uncertain.Centralized resource platforms reduce confusion and help entrepreneurs find relevant assistance faster.Tracking an entrepreneur's journey can reveal which nonprofit partnerships produce measurable business growth.Flexible funding allows organizations to respond to disruptions such as pandemics, tariffs, and technological change.Local businesses contribute to job creation, neighborhood vitality, generational wealth, and population retention.00:00:00 Philanthropy Meets Small Business Development00:01:14 The Origins of the New Economy Initiative00:03:33 Expanding Beyond Technology and Innovation00:05:52 Why Philanthropy Must Be Willing to Experiment00:08:02 Capital Is Not Always the Real Barrier00:10:21 Building Trusted Mentorship for Entrepreneurs00:13:20 Creating the Michigan Small Business Helper00:15:57 Planning for Change Without Predicting Everything00:17:50 Supporting 800 to 1,200 Businesses Each Year00:20:07 Entrepreneurship as Neighborhood Development00:22:56 Preparing for AI and a More Digital Economy00:25:49 Maintaining Funder Confidence Through Change#EconomicDevelopment #NonprofitLeadership #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailData-driven nonprofit fundraising can strengthen donor retention, improve communications, and support better decisions—but the numbers can't replace human judgment!  In this Fundraisers Friday conversation, Julia Patrick and Tony Beall explore how nonprofit teams can use donor data, CRM systems, and artificial intelligence without losing the relationships that inspire generosity.Fundraisers now have access to an enormous range of information: giving frequency, donor lifetime value, campaign results, email engagement, event attendance, volunteer history, budgets, and predictive analytics. The challenge is not simply collecting more data. It is deciding which information deserves attention and how it should influence fundraising strategy.Tony recommends beginning with the areas carrying the greatest opportunity or risk, even if that means studying only the top or bottom 10%. Rather than attempting to measure everything, teams can begin with donor retention, giving patterns, and communication performance.“Data can help guide us to a decision point, but it doesn't make the decision for us,” Tony says.That distinction becomes especially important when nonprofits evaluate corporate gifts, partnerships, vendors, or AI platforms. A financially attractive opportunity may still conflict with the organization's values, reputation, or mission. Gift-acceptance policies and AI-use policies can help leaders make consistent decisions before a difficult situation develops.Julia also raises an increasingly urgent operational concern: where does donor information go when it is entered into an AI system? Nonprofits may be working with sensitive financial, behavioral, and relationship data. Protecting that information is fundamental to maintaining donor trust.The duo also challenge organizations to consider whether their CRM is strengthening relationships—or becoming a substitute for them??  Julia asks, “If your database or your CRM went down tomorrow, do you still know your donors?”Key Takeaways:Prioritize donor retention, giving frequency, and communication response before expanding the dashboard.Treat data as decision support—not an automatic answer.Create gift-acceptance and AI-use policies as part of organizational risk management.Test fundraising messages against audience behavior rather than internal preference.Protect donor information when using AI, CRM, accounting, and HR platforms.Invest in software training and adoption—not merely software licenses.00:00:00 Is Fundraising Becoming a Data Job?00:01:32 How to Avoid Fundraising Data Overload00:03:04 Data Should Empower Fundraisers—not Define Them00:05:54 When Intuition Conflicts With the Numbers00:07:02 Data Cannot Make Ethical Decisions00:09:31 Bias, Vendor Selection, and Better Decision Rubrics00:10:36 Why Every Nonprofit Needs a Gift Policy00:12:50 Which Fundraising Metrics Should Come First?00:14:59 Measuring Marketing and Communication Performance00:17:48 AI Ethics and Protecting Sensitive Donor Data00:20:57 Predictive Analytics for Fundraising Decisions00:22:32 Would You Know Your Donors Without Your CRM?00:25:47 Investing in Fundraising Technology and Training#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitFundraising #FundraisingStrategyFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailAI strategy for nonprofit leaders is no longer a future-planning exercise. AI is already influencing fundraising decisions, staff workflows, donor research, website visibility, and how prospective supporters evaluate nonprofit organizations.Darren Richards, Founder and Director of Charity AI Partners, explains why the central AI issue is not choosing the newest tool. It is exercising sound leadership judgment.“The tools aren't the problem,” Darren tells us. “The issue is where you do and don't use it. Where are the red lines?”Darren introduces three ways nonprofits can apply AI: predict, iterate, and automate. Predictive AI can analyze donor data, identify supporters at risk of lapsing, and improve campaign segmentation. Generative AI can adapt a case for support for different funders and audiences. AI agents can assist with research, analysis, writing, and routine administrative work. But capability does not equal permission!Nonprofit leaders must establish clear guardrails around donor data, communications, staff responsibilities, approvals, and the activities that must remain human. Darren's operating principle is direct: “Governance before gadgets.”This lively conversation also examines a major change in nonprofit visibility. Donors are increasingly asking AI systems which organizations are credible, efficient, local, or trustworthy. Those systems may answer without sending the donor to the nonprofit's website!!That makes traditional SEO only part of the equation. Darren explains the growing importance of generative engine optimization and answer engine optimization, including clear question-and-answer content that helps AI systems interpret an organization accurately.The fundraising opportunity is significant. . . . . Darren shares an example of a children's hospital that used AI to increase an appeal's return from 2-to-1 to 6-to-1, raise the average gift by nearly one-third, and mail half as many people.The goal is not fundraising without people. It is removing repetitive work so fundraisers can invest more time in judgment, empathy, creativity, gratitude, and donor relationships.Key Takeaways:Establish an organization-wide AI strategy before expanding tool usage.Use predictive AI to strengthen donor segmentation, retention, and campaign efficiency.Protect donor relationships, trust-building, and sensitive conversations as human responsibilities.Review what major AI platforms currently say about your organization.Structure website content around the questions prospective donors actually ask.Treat clean data, consistent messaging, and governance as prerequisites for successful AI adoption.00:00:00 AI Is a Leadership Issue00:02:04 Darren Richards' Fundraising and AI Journey00:03:41 Why Nonprofits Need AI Guardrails00:05:51 Predict, Iterate, and Automate00:08:18 What AI Should Never Do00:09:51 Protecting Authenticity and Human Connection00:11:39 How AI Is Changing Donor Search00:13:21 SEO, GEO, and Answer Engine Optimization00:17:26 Donor Trust in an AI-Directed World00:19:19 Why Governance Must Come Before Gadgets00:20:35 Will AI Eliminate Nonprofit Jobs?00:23:57 Using AI as a Thinking and Writing Partner00:26:01 Raising More Money With Better Data00:28:19 Free AI Fundraising Resources#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitAIFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhy do nonprofits lose momentum after creating an inspiring vision or strategic plan? Doug Paul, Founder and CEO of Impact Co., explains how nonprofit operational systems, leadership clarity, performance measures, and consistent workplace rhythms turn ambition into measurable results.After working with approximately 1,300 nonprofit organizations, Doug and his colleagues studied the organizations that were consistently succeeding. They identified eight connected areas that distinguished them: vision, strategy, development, metrics, culture, people, systems, and rhythms.The central lesson is direct: “Nonprofits don't rise to the level of their vision. They fall to the level of their systems.”Doug explains why organizations can have memorable mission statements and well-designed strategic plans yet still miss deadlines, struggle with accountability, operate reactively, and fail to follow through. These are not always motivation problems. Often, they are evidence of systems that unintentionally produce last-minute scrambles and workplace frustration.The conversation also examines why business frameworks cannot simply be dropped into nonprofit organizations without adaptation. Systems designed primarily to create profit may not fully support organizations whose ultimate outcome is mission impact.Doug outlines how successful nonprofits create an attainable 3 to 5 year vision, distinguish strategy from goals, build a modern revenue playbook, track both lead and lag measures, align donors and stakeholders, and document repeatable processes. He also shares that organizations intentional about culture-building can experience a 43% increase in productivity!!Strong systems do not remove the human element. They help people succeed. As Doug explains, “I just don't think heart and passion can bridge that gap.”This episode offers nonprofit executives, managers, fundraisers, and board members a clearer way to diagnose stalled momentum—and begin releasing the organizational brakes.Key Takeaways:Define an attainable three-to-five-year vision rather than relying only on a distant aspirational goal.Separate strategy from goals and connect strategy to a specific winning action plan.Track lead measures early enough to influence lagging organizational results.Treat workplace culture as a measurable leadership discipline, not an accidental outcome.Align staff, donors, board members, executives, and community stakeholders around one direction.Build documented processes and calendar rhythms that repeatedly produce mission outcomes.00:00:00 Why Nonprofits Lose Momentum00:00:46 Building Built for Impact Through Collaboration00:02:17 The Gap Between Mission, Operations, and Results00:04:20 When Constant Firefighting Becomes the System00:05:31 Why Business Frameworks May Fail Nonprofits00:07:15 Passion Cannot Replace Operational Capacity00:10:11 Lessons From 1,300 Nonprofit Organizations00:11:27 Eight Drivers of Nonprofit Success00:12:27 Lead Measures, Lag Measures, and Better Decisions00:13:27 Culture Building and the 43% Productivity Increase00:15:36 Aligning People, Processes, and Stakeholders00:17:31 Using Organizational Rhythms to Drive Impact00:18:44 Creating a Nonprofit Performance Flywheel00:20:17 Building an Organizational Operating System00:21:52 Why Leadership Clarity Is a Survival Skill00:24:17 Making Tough Decisions Without Leading Alone00:25:57 Moving From Command-and-Control to CollaborationFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailAs DEI language changes across states, workplaces, and political environments, nonprofit leaders face a pressing operational question: Can the terminology change without weakening the mission? Staffing expert Katie Warnock examines what this means for recruitment, representation, board leadership, and organizational decision-making, and sharing what nonprofit hiring managers are encountering on the front lines of recruitment.Katie has spent 20 years placing professionals throughout the nonprofit and charter school sectors—from development assistants and grant writers to finance staff and interim executive directors. She explains why employers must translate their desire for representation into legitimate job qualifications, organizational systems, and leadership decisions.For example, an organization serving Spanish-speaking families may have a genuine need for a bilingual employee. The appropriate requirement is language proficiency—not a candidate's ethnicity. As Katie explains, “I am identifying the best candidate, and I'm going to present always the best candidates.”The conversation also challenges organizations that pursue diversity only at entry-level positions while their boards and executive teams remain unchanged. Hiring one person from an underrepresented population cannot substitute for examining who holds authority throughout the organization.Katie, and host Julia Patrick, also discuss how nonprofits are adjusting public language while continuing to serve their communities. Regional differences matter. Words, programs, and communications that are accepted in one state may face resistance or scrutiny in another.Board leadership becomes especially important during these periods. Boards can provide strategic direction, reinforce mission, and help executives respond thoughtfully rather than react fearfully. Katie tells us, “A lot of the trickle-down effect of how an organization adjusts to what's going on right now is a directive from the board.”The episode closes with encouraging signals for nonprofit leaders. Katie cites approximately $617 billion in charitable giving during 2025, with individuals representing a substantial share. She is also seeing renewed hiring in corporate social responsibility departments—positions that had largely disappeared from many companies several years earlier.Key Takeaways: * Define legitimate job capabilities rather than requesting candidates from a particular demographic.* Representation should extend beyond assistant-level roles into management, executive leadership, and boards.* Review public language without allowing communications caution to weaken mission delivery.* Expect regional differences in employment language, education policy, and organizational risk.* Boards should actively guide organizational responses during political and regulatory uncertainty.* Individual philanthropy and renewed corporate responsibility hiring may create new partnership and fundraising opportunities.00:00:00 DEI Language and the Nonprofit Workplace00:00:33 What Staffing Boutique Sees in Nonprofit Hiring00:02:14 The Growing Divide Between Private and Public Language00:03:40 Woman-Owned Businesses and DEI Programs00:06:24 How Workforce Representation Has Changed00:07:21 Hiring for Language, Culture, and Community Needs00:10:03 Representation Beyond Entry-Level Positions00:11:55 Why Demographics Should Not Appear in Job Requirements00:13:03 Has Changing the Language Changed the Mission?00:15:11 How Regional Politics Affect Nonprofit Communications00:17:30 Navigating Polarization Without Losing Authenticity00:21:27 Protecting the Nonprofit Sector's Public Trust00:22:55 Why Board Leadership Matters During Uncertainty00:24:19 Philanthropy and Corporate Responsibility Green Shoots00:27:04 What Record Giving Could Mean for Nonprofits#NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitHiring #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow can nonprofits overcome a scarcity mindset when financial pressure, staffing challenges, and uncertainty dominate the conversation? Jeffrey R. Wilcox of Third Sector Company explains how leaders can move their organizations from survival mode toward community equity, organizational possibility, and renewed hope.Scarcity is not simply the absence of money. It can become a preoccupation that narrows decision-making, weakens confidence, and causes nonprofit teams to overlook the assets already within reach.Jeffrey describes the difference between a financed nonprofit and a truly resourced nonprofit. A resourced organization draws strength from its relationships with employees, volunteers, institutions, donors, community members, and the people who depend on its services. These connections represent equity—and that equity can be leveraged when an organization faces disruption or financial peril.As Jeffrey warns, scarcity “paralyzes our nonprofit sector to become survivalists instead of a sector of possibilities.”This motivating discussion includes the example of a longstanding community festival placed at risk after losing city funding. Instead of concentrating exclusively on finding another major funder, its leaders invited the public to take ownership. Community stories, donated media exposure, and broader participation helped transform the festival from a city-funded event into a community-supported institution.Leadership language is another critical operating asset. Calling an organization a “hot mess” or repeatedly describing every challenge as a problem teaches others to see the organization through that same lens. Leaders can instead acknowledge difficult realities while directing attention toward possibilities, leverage, gratitude, and shared responsibility.This is not an argument for naive optimism. It is a leadership discipline grounded in honest assessment and intentional communication. As Jeffrey says, “The words you use will be part of the legacy that you leave.”This discussion offers a different way to evaluate your organizational resources—and a stronger vocabulary for guiding people through change.Key Takeaways:Scarcity becomes dangerous when it turns financial pressure into organizational paralysis.A resourced nonprofit holds equity in relationships, trust, community ownership, and institutional connections.Leaders should inventory assets beyond the bank account before concluding that options are limited.Repeated leadership language directly influences staff, volunteer, board, and community perceptions.Building broad public ownership may provide greater resilience than relying on one major funding source.Abundance leadership requires honest discussion, shared definitions, and continuous reinforcement.00:00:00 Scarcity Thinking in the Nonprofit Sector00:01:13 When Scarcity Becomes Organizational Paralysis00:03:44 How Individual Mindsets Shape Entire Organizations00:05:24 Replacing “Yes, But” With Possibility00:06:33 Recovering the Inspiration Behind the Mission00:09:01 What Makes a Nonprofit Truly Resourced00:09:46 Building Equity Through Community Relationships00:11:38 How Community Ownership Saved a Festival00:13:46 Finding Assets Beyond the Bank Account00:14:39 How Leadership Language Shapes Culture00:18:30 Gratitude, Equity, and Purposeful Vocabulary00:20:45 The Connection Between Scarcity, Hope, and Burnout00:22:34 Defining Abundance Inside Your Organization00:25:51 Interim Leadership Training and New BeginningsFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow often should nonprofits ask for donations without exhausting their supporters? This Fundraisers Friday conversation offers a sharper way to evaluate donor communication frequency, campaign volume, stewardship, segmentation, and the messages being sent between solicitations!Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall challenge a common assumption: frequent communication is not automatically the problem. Tony tells us, “It's not really that you're communicating too much. It's just that what you're communicating is redundant.”That distinction matters as nonprofit teams plan GivingTuesday, year-end fundraising, direct mail, email campaigns, social media, and Q4 donor outreach. Eight messages may feel excessive internally, but they may reach several carefully segmented audiences rather than landing repeatedly with the same people.The lively convo moves beyond campaign calendars into the operating systems that support stronger donor relationships. Tony recommends using volunteers as communication auditors, scheduling dedicated stewardship time, documenting meaningful touchpoints in the CRM, and reviewing the last 10 communications sent through each channel.One of the most useful ideas is to stop treating donor communication preferences as an all-or-nothing project. Instead of attempting to customize every interaction for every donor, begin with the top 10% of supporters. Learn whether they prefer email, text, phone calls, or direct mail, then expand the process as capacity allows.Tony also shares a simple phrase that can lower anxiety before a larger solicitation: “How would you feel if…?” Rather than immediately requesting a $20,000 commitment or increased gift, the fundraiser can explore the donor's reaction and readiness. It opens a candid conversation without cornering the donor—or the fundraiser.This episode offers a disciplined way to examine whether their organization is communicating too much, too little, or simply without enough variety and relevance.Key Takeaways:Segment audiences before judging whether campaign frequency is excessive.Monitor unsubscribes, nonresponse, and message repetition—not volume alone.Schedule stewardship activities instead of hoping time appears for them.Record personal donor touchpoints in the CRM to protect institutional knowledge.Begin communication-preference tracking with the top 10% of donors.Audit the last 10 messages in every channel for balance, value, and repeated asks. 00:00:00 Asking Too Often—or Not Enough?00:03:23 Frequency Versus Donor Fatigue00:04:47 Why Audience Segmentation Changes the Answer00:05:45 The Warning Signs of Overcommunication00:06:17 Using Volunteers as Communication Auditors00:08:10 Stewardship Between Fundraising Campaigns00:10:39 Scheduling Time for Thank-You Notes00:12:33 Delivering Value Without Making an Ask00:16:13 Why Every Donor Touchpoint Belongs in the CRM00:18:03 Tracking Communication Preferences Without Overload00:20:37 “How Would You Feel If?”—A Better Donor Prompt00:23:46 Audit Your Last 10 Communications#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitFundraising #DonorEngagementFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailMid-level donor strategy for nonprofits is no longer just a fundraising “nice to have.” It is becoming one of the most important business tools for building stronger major donor pipelines, improving donor retention, and making better decisions from the data already sitting inside your CRM.In this episode, Kirsten Wantland, Principal Industry Strategist at Bloomerang, joins Julia Patrick for a lively conversation about the “magic” of mid and major donors—and why that magic depends on structure, ownership, visibility, and disciplined relationship management.Kirsten points to a critical trend: nonprofits may be raising more overall, but more major gift revenue is coming from fewer donors. That means the pipeline is narrowing. As she explains, “It's not that generosity is decreasing… they're just coming from less donors.” For nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, CEOs, and board members, that raises a big operational question: are you actively building the next layer of donors, or simply hoping they appear?This discussion moves beyond the old idea that donor portfolios are based only on personal relationships. Kirsten challenges nonprofits to look at donor characteristics, giving patterns, generosity indicators, recurring giving behavior, and relationship touches that actually move someone from mid-level to major giving.She also addresses one of the quiet problems inside many organizations: unclear donor ownership. When relationship knowledge lives in someone's head—or in a side spreadsheet—it creates risk, confusion, and missed opportunities. “The problem comes down to visibility,” Kirsten says. Your CRM should help your team see who owns the relationship, what has happened, what should happen next, and where the donor may be headed.This is a business conversation about fundraising discipline: analyze your data, define your donor levels based on real giving patterns, revisit your plans often, and shift from quantity-based activity to higher-quality donor cultivation!Key Takeaways:Major gift revenue is increasingly concentrated among fewer donors, making mid-level donor pipeline strategy more urgent.Donor portfolio ownership should be based on giving behavior, motivation, and capacity—not only personal relationships.CRM visibility helps prevent relationship confusion, staff transition risk, and hidden donor management gaps.Nonprofits should define mid-level and major donor thresholds using their own data, sector benchmarks, and realistic growth goals.Fundraising plans should be reviewed regularly so teams can adjust campaigns before revenue gaps become emergencies.Higher ROI comes from more intentional donor cultivation, not simply increasing the number of mailers, touches, or asks. 00:00:00 Welcome to The Nonprofit Show 00:01:55 Kirsten Wantland's Role at Bloomerang 00:04:11 Why Fundraiser Experience Matters in Technology 00:05:22 Why Mid and Major Donors Matter Now 00:07:23 The Donor Relationship Ownership Problem 00:09:03 Portfolio Management Beyond Personal Relationships 00:12:34 Taking Ego Out of Donor Ownership 00:14:45 How to Define Mid-Level and Major Donors 00:18:23 Fundraising as Data, Psychology, and Relationship Strategy 00:21:38 Tracking Campaign Milestones Before It Is Too Late 00:23:27 Understanding Donor Catalysts and Moves Management 00:25:48 Quality Versus Quantity in Fundraising Activity 00:28:00 Cultivating Smaller Donor Segments More Intentionally 00:29:31 Final Thoughts with Kirsten Wantland #TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitFundraising #MajorGiftsFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit strategic planning software is changing how leaders, boards, and fundraisers build plans that actually guide decisions. Sophia Shaw, co-founder of Plan Perfect, explains why the old “plan on a shelf” model no longer fits the business of nonprofits.Sophia brings deep sector experience as former CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden, former leader of the nonprofit board governance program at Kellogg, and a nonprofit board chair. Her message is direct: strategic planning needs to live, move, and help organizations navigate change.In this conversation, Sophia explains how Plan Perfect helps nonprofits move from first surveys to finished plans while also connecting planning to enterprise risk management. Instead of building a document once and leaving it untouched, nonprofit leaders can use dashboards, AI-supported surveys, risk tools, tabletop exercises, and real-time updates to keep strategy connected to daily work.For fundraisers, this shift is especially important. Sophia says, “To have a strategic plan is to give your fundraisers the ability to know what they're raising money for.” That one sentence carries real business value. If fundraisers cannot clearly describe priorities, goals, and impact, donor conversations become harder than they need to be.This lively discussion also addresses cost and timeline. Sophia compares traditional planning processes that may take nine months and cost $50,000 with a newer approach that can happen in two to three months for up to $4,800 before added consulting support. Another major theme is safe AI adoption. Sophia warns that nonprofits should not place donor, visitor, clinic, or constituent data into open AI systems without safeguards. The opportunity is powerful, but the responsibility is just as real.Key Takeaways:* Strategic plans should be updated regularly and used as management tools, not ceremonial documents.* Fundraisers need clear organizational priorities to support donor conversations and multi-year giving.* Three-year plans are becoming common, while six-month and one-year plans can help nonprofits respond faster.* Surveys can bring thousands of constituent voices into planning and reduce boardroom disconnect.* AI can help nonprofits leap forward, but sensitive data must remain protected.* Donors and foundations may begin asking harder questions about plans, goals, and execution. 00:00:00 Welcome to The Nonprofit Show 00:02:00 What Plan Perfect Does for Nonprofits 00:02:50 Sophia Shaw's Journey Through Nonprofit Leadership 00:04:22 Why Traditional Strategic Planning Must End 00:05:49 How Boards Respond to New Planning Tools 00:08:54 Giving Nonprofit Leaders Their Own Voice 00:09:49 Rethinking Planning Timelines and Costs 00:10:45 What It Means to Be Future Ready 00:12:35 Why Fundraisers Need the Strategic Plan 00:14:56 Using Surveys to Hear More Constituent Voices 00:18:41 Safe AI Adoption for Nonprofits 00:21:35 Turning Strategy Into Daily Action 00:25:36 Why Donors Should Ask About the Plan #TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitStrategy #NonprofitPlanningFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow can nonprofits build community support for after-school programs while creating measurable value for children, families, funders, and local leaders? JonPaul Reed, founder and executive director of Pure Momentum Group and founder of Athlete University, shares how the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. can become a powerful platform for youth development and stronger communities.The school day may end before parents finish working, but JonPaul sees that gap as much more than a supervision problem. It is an opportunity to build work ethic, decision-making, teamwork, leadership, communication skills, and what he calls “monetizable skill sets.”“We're either taking advantage of that window or we're not,” he explains.JonPaul also examines how youth sports have become increasingly driven by money, exclusivity, and winning. For nonprofit leaders, his warning is clear: programs must remain grounded in access, developmental outcomes, and the needs of young people—not simply the ambitions of adults.The conversation moves from program philosophy into the business of running and growing a youth-serving nonprofit. JonPaul discusses building parent buy-in, choosing the right time for difficult conversations, maintaining organizational paperwork, meeting with commissioners, submitting proposals, developing municipal relationships, and presenting a program in language decision-makers understand.His experience also shows why passion alone is not enough. Nonprofits need a defined model, consistent follow-up, credible documentation, accessible leadership, and a message that community partners can quickly understand. As JonPaul advises, “Package your product and package it well, and also get the right person to speak for you.”For nonprofit executives, program directors, board members, coaches, and community leaders, this episode offers a candid look at how mission, culture, communication, and operational discipline work together to create sustainable youth programs.Key Takeaways:* Treat the 3-to-6 p.m. period as a youth-development and workforce-readiness opportunity—not merely a childcare gap.* Build parent participation through timely, honest communication and shared accountability.* Define developmental outcomes before allowing competition, revenue, or adult expectations to shape the program.* Establish tax-exempt status, documentation, proposals, and operating records before approaching major partners.* Translate personal passion into a clear model that public officials, businesses, and funders can understand.* Delegate communications and introductions when another team member can position the organization more effectively.00:00:00 Why the 3-to-6 PM Window Matters00:02:31 Building Access Through Pure Momentum Group00:05:49 The Daily Gap Between School and Home00:07:28 Turning a Youth Development Gap Into a Gateway00:08:14 Preparing Young People for a Competitive World00:11:29 Reclaiming the Developmental Purpose of Sports00:16:14 Building Accountability With Parents and Children00:19:05 Creating Culture and Organizational Buy-In00:20:42 How Youth Programs Gain Community Support00:22:10 Packaging a Mission for Partners and Funders00:23:28 Documentation, Legitimacy, and Funding Readiness00:28:23 Leading Through Criticism, Risk, and Resilience#AfterSchoolPrograms #NonprofitLeadership #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit leadership training through role play offers teams a different way to confront difficult decisions, build trust, and retain what they learn. Tim Sarrantonio, founder and chief designer of The Generosity Spectrum, introduces a collaborative educational gaming system created specifically for nonprofit professionals, boards, and the communities they serve.Rather than asking participants to sit through another lecture, the Generosity Roundtable places people inside realistic organizational situations. Players adopt generosity archetypes, explore competing priorities, and work toward consensus through guided storytelling.Tim says the goal is simple: “If it feels like work, we're doing it wrong.”The episode examines a persistent operational challenge across the sector: professional development is often expensive, passive, or inaccessible. Tim notes that 97% of nonprofits operate with less than $5 million in annual revenue, leaving many organizations with limited training budgets and little time for traditional programs.The Generosity Roundtable is designed to begin with as few as three people and support groups of up to ten. A session can help teams explore issues such as stalled engagement, technology decisions, board dynamics, donor conversations, and organizational trust—in roughly 20 minutes.Tim also explains why active participation may produce stronger recall than lectures, books, and webinars. By rehearsing decisions in a protected setting, nonprofit professionals can test ideas, examine assumptions, and prepare for situations ranging from boardroom conflict to foundation presentations.As Tim explains, “We win by agreeing with each other.” That consensus-based structure encourages participants to listen, negotiate, and understand why colleagues approach the same issue differently.The conversation also explores the business model behind the project, including fiscal sponsorship, corporate underwriting, accessible pricing, and community-based distribution.Key Takeaways:Role play allows nonprofit teams to rehearse difficult decisions without risking real organizational consequences.The experience can begin with three participants and expand to groups of ten.Twenty-minute sessions are designed for time-constrained nonprofit professionals and boards.Consensus-based gameplay strengthens listening, trust, negotiation, and shared decision-making.Corporate partners can underwrite access without turning participants into marketing leads.A shared library of verified game sessions could spread ideas across organizations, regions, and conferences.00:00:00 A New Approach to Nonprofit Leadership Training00:02:17 Tim Sarrantonio's Journey Into Nonprofit Education00:03:21 The Professional Development Problem00:05:06 Why Educational Gaming Belongs in the Sector00:07:02 Role Play Versus Traditional Board Games00:08:48 How the Generosity Archetypes Work00:10:14 Why Immersive Learning Improves Retention00:11:31 Building Consensus and Psychological Safety00:14:10 Creating Circles of Trust00:17:15 Sharing Knowledge Through a Library of Generosity00:20:23 Using Scenarios for Boards and Nonprofit Teams00:23:49 Funding Innovation Without Gatekeeping Access00:25:35 Rethinking Corporate Sponsorship00:28:14 The Vision for Every Nonprofit Table#NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitTraining #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow many auction items should a nonprofit gala have? Jason A. Champion of Winspire shares a measurable nonprofit gala auction strategy for selecting stronger items, creating bidding urgency, and protecting fundraising revenue.The answer begins before guests enter the ballroom. Rather than assuming which trips, experiences, or packages donors will want, Jason recommends surveying ticket holders, sponsors, and supporters before the event. A simple five-question form can reveal interest in sporting events, beach destinations, city experiences, international travel, and dream locations.That early input gives nonprofits something invaluable: evidence that potential bidders have already raised their hands.Jason also challenges the belief that every donated item belongs in the auction. As he puts it, “Just because it was donated doesn't mean you need to use it.” Quality, pricing range, audience fit, and presentation matter more than filling every table with merchandise.The episode provides several concrete nonprofit auction benchmarks. For a silent auction, Jason recommends approximately one item for every four to five attendees. A room of 350 to 400 guests, for example, may need roughly 40 carefully chosen items—not 150 choices that overwhelm bidders.For a live auction, he recommends one or two major tentpole experiences plus two or three supporting items, with no more than six total. He also advises offering opportunities across a wide financial range, from approximately $500 to $20,000, so the auction reflects the giving capacity represented in the room.Staffing is equally important. A trained benefit auctioneer can read the audience, communicate the mission, manage momentum, and relieve executive and development leaders who have been asking for money all year. “Hope is not a business plan,” Jason warns.Technology should simplify registration, mobile bidding, checkout, and payment processing. However, the live paddle raise should remain visible and immediate because public participation creates social proof, energy, and additional giving.Key TakeawaysSurvey donors before selecting auction experiences or packages.Plan roughly one silent-auction item for every four to five attendees.Limit the live auction to six focused, high-value opportunities.Build an auction portfolio spanning approximately $500 to $20,000.Use a professional benefit auctioneer to protect momentum and revenue.Modernize bidding and checkout while keeping the paddle raise visible.#NonprofitFundraising #NonprofitGala #TheNonprofitShow00:00:00 How Many Auction Items Does a Gala Need?00:02:34 How Winspire Supports Nonprofit Auctions00:05:07 Finding the Perfect Auction Item00:05:44 Survey Donors Before Selecting Packages00:08:23 Why Quality Beats Auction Quantity00:10:14 Designing Events for Different Donor Types00:12:53 Edit the Speeches and Protect the Program00:13:47 Why a Benefit Auctioneer Raises More00:18:57 The One-Item-for-Five-Guests Formula00:19:57 Why Live Auctions Should Stop at Six Items00:23:37 Modern Bidding Technology and Faster Checkout00:24:33 Why the Paddle Raise Should Stay Live00:26:31 Structuring the Auction Without Exhausting Guests00:28:26 Final Advice for Nonprofit LeadersFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit revenue growth requires more than another campaign, gala, or grant application. John Abrahamson, CFO and COO of Action Council, shares how nonprofits can connect earned revenue, contributed revenue, program priorities, financial literacy, and organizational culture within one stronger business strategy.Action Council provides infrastructure and fiscal sponsorship for approximately 30 smaller organizations delivering healthcare, education, and other community services in Monterey County. Drawing from this work—and his leadership experience with organizations including the National Geographic Society and Monterey Bay Aquarium—John challenges the siloed approach that often separates finance, fundraising, programming, and earned revenue.His recommendation is direct: examine every activity according to its required resources and measurable contribution to the mission.“You can actually have higher impact by doing fewer programs that have the most impact toward your stated mission,” John tells us.The conversation explores how mission creep develops, why finance leaders must understand what happens beyond the spreadsheet, and how financial literacy can reduce fear across departments. The discussion also introduces the “Bubba Gump Effect”—the idea that organizations may face greater danger by tying themselves to the shore and waiting for conditions to improve than by moving directly into change. Using Blue Ocean Strategy principles, John encourages nonprofit leaders to question inherited business models and explore revenue opportunities outside crowded, familiar territory.Another major lesson is the difference between plate cost and true cost. A fundraising gala may appear profitable until staff time, insurance, technology, facilities, operational disruption, and missed opportunities are included. As John asks, was the squeeze worth the juice?Ultimately, disciplined financial decisions depend on trust, communication, and consistent leadership. “It's sometimes more compassionate to say no than it is to say yes and not be able to fully fulfill.” Key Takeaways:* Integrate earned and contributed revenue into one organizational strategy.* Compare each program's resource requirements with its contribution to mission.* Include labor, overhead, disruption, and opportunity cost when evaluating events.* Build financial literacy before asking employees to accept difficult decisions.* Use periods of change to reconsider legacy processes and revenue models.* Earn organizational trust through consistent, visible leadership behavior.00:00:00 Creative Approaches to Nonprofit Revenue Growth00:01:31 How Fiscal Sponsorship Provides Business Infrastructure00:04:23 Why Earned and Contributed Revenue Belong Together00:05:26 Breaking Down Organizational Silos00:07:49 Doing Less to Produce Greater Mission Impact00:10:12 Mission Creep and the Changing Funding Landscape00:12:07 Moving Finance Beyond Rows and Columns00:14:01 Building Financial Literacy Across the Organization00:15:27 The Bubba Gump Effect: Facing the Storm00:18:54 Plate Cost Versus the True Cost of Programs00:20:15 Do Nonprofit Galas Really Produce a Return?00:22:33 Measuring Opportunity Cost and Mission Impact00:24:17 Why Strong Leaders Give Teams Permission to Say No00:25:41 Consistency, Culture, and Organizational TrustFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when one of your best donors gives far more to another nonprofit? These major donor stewardship strategies can help your organization move beyond frustration, learn what influenced the gift, and build stronger opportunities for future investment.On this Fundraisers Friday conversation, Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall confront a painful fundraising reality: a donor may care about your mission, possess considerable giving capacity, and still make their transformational or legacy gift somewhere else!The wrong response is indignation. The stronger business response is curiosity, gratitude, and an honest review of the donor relationship.Tony advises nonprofit leaders to look beyond their internal database and understand a donor's broader philanthropic activity. “Invest some time in really understanding the full profile of your donor, not just the profile that exists within your organization.”That knowledge can reveal why another organization received the larger commitment. Perhaps there was a matching opportunity, a clearly defined project, a compelling future vision, or simply a direct invitation your nonprofit never extended.The conversation also addresses a common fundraising weakness: under-asking. Rather than surprising a donor with an oversized request, Tony recommends testing the opportunity through language such as, “How would you feel if I asked you to double your investment?” This creates room for an honest response while connecting the proposed gift to measurable community impact.Julia reinforces the importance of giving donors something meaningful to fund: “If we can get your investment, we can do this.” The discussion moves fundraising away from building organizational coffers and toward financing visible results.The co-hosts also examine legacy gifts, balancing immediate fundraising needs with long-term sustainability, and handling donors who expect board influence in exchange for financial support. Key Takeaways:Study donors' broader philanthropic activity, not only their history with your organization.Celebrate gifts to peer nonprofits before asking what motivated the decision.Connect larger requests to specific programs, outcomes, and people served.Test donor readiness before presenting a formal major-gift request.Discuss legacy giving with donors across a wider range of ages.Use a written gift policy to prevent donations from becoming board-level pay-to-play arrangements.00:00:00 When Your Best Donor Gives Somewhere Else00:02:59 Looking Beyond Your Internal Donor Data00:04:05 Celebrate the Other Gift—and Learn From It00:06:38 Moving a Loyal Donor Toward a Major Gift00:08:00 Share the Strategic Plan and Future Vision00:09:42 How to Test a Larger Ask Without Making It00:12:27 When Another Nonprofit Receives the Legacy Gift00:15:05 Under-Asking and Missed Planned-Giving Opportunities00:17:20 Funding Today's Crisis While Building Tomorrow00:18:50 The Five-Minute Call That Changed a Donor00:20:10 When a Donor Wants Influence Over the Board00:22:17 Why Every Nonprofit Needs a Gift Policy#NonprofitFundraising #MajorGifts #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow AI saves time for nonprofits depends far less on the excitement surrounding the technology and far more on the quality of the organization's data, workflows, and financial controls. Buu-Linh Tran, Senior Vice President of Financial Solutions at JMT Consulting, and Torbjorn Nilsen, Director of Business Solutions at DATABASICS, explain where AI can deliver measurable value—and where nonprofit leaders should proceed carefully.The conversation moves beyond broad promises about efficiency and into the daily work of nonprofit finance operations. Data entry, receipt review, expense coding, compliance checks, anomaly detection, and financial reporting are all areas where technology can reduce repetitive work and help employees focus on higher-value decisions.One example shows how AI can examine an itemized receipt, recognize an alcohol brand, and flag a potentially unallowable expense. It can also identify spending drift, unusual fund-code activity, or patterns that may be missed when transactions are reviewed individually.But automation is not the same as control.As Torbjorn cautions, “We can't let the machine control. The control still has to be there.” AI should help nonprofit teams surface concerns and direct attention—not make unchecked financial decisions.Buu-Linh offers another important reality check: “Look at the basics first—look at tools that help you streamline your operations.” Poor data, inconsistent coding, and inefficient processes do not become reliable simply because AI has been added.The guests also discuss natural-language reporting, which could allow managers to ask direct questions such as, “How much have we spent on this conference?” or “Are supply costs higher than last year?” Instead of learning a complicated reporting system, users may receive the information they need in plain language.JMT Consulting has served nonprofit organizations since 1991 and currently supports more than 2,300 nonprofits. DATABASICS has worked with nonprofit organizations since the mid-1990s, helping manage time, expenses, grants, and workforce processes.Key Takeaways:Begin with the operational problem—not the desire to adopt AI.Clean, consistent data is essential for reliable AI-generated analysis.Data entry and high-volume receipt processing are strong automation opportunities.AI can flag anomalies, unallowable costs, spending drift, and questionable fund coding.Natural-language reporting can make financial information more accessible to non-finance managers.Human oversight, privacy controls, and cross-department collaboration remain essential.00:00:00 Where Does AI Genuinely Save Time?00:01:50 JMT Consulting and the Nonprofit Finance Landscape00:03:51 How DATABASICS Supports Time and Expense Management00:05:05 Using AI Without Losing Financial Control00:06:31 Data Privacy, Compliance, and Security Risks00:08:37 Fix the Basic Workflow Before Adding AI00:11:18 How AI Detects Expense Report Problems00:14:05 Why Poor Data Produces Poor AI Results00:16:15 Data Entry and Reporting Tasks AI Can Reduce00:20:03 Creating More Time for Strategy and Mission00:23:38 Turning Financial Reports Into Useful Insights00:27:40 Finding Spending Drift and Fund-Code Anomalies#NonprofitAI #NonprofitFinanceFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit prospect research beyond wealth screening requires more than locating wealthy people. It means finding funders with the capacity, mission alignment, and relationship connections that can lead to a credible fundraising conversation.Shahar Brukner, Co-Founder, President, and CRO of Impala Digital, explains why traditional nonprofit wealth screening often leaves development teams with plenty of data—but no clear path to a donor.Shahar organizes effective prospect research around three business priorities: capacity, alignment, and relationships. A prospective donor may possess enormous wealth, but that does not mean the person supports your cause, makes gifts at the level you need, or can be reached through someone they trust.As Shahar explains, “If someone has a relationship to my organization through the board or through a donor…they automatically become a prospect.”Impala has assembled public nonprofit and philanthropic data reaching back to 2014. Shahar says its platform includes information on approximately 16 million people and more than 213 million connections, serving over 10,000 nonprofits and nearly 2,000 foundations, grantmakers, and advisors.The conversation also examines how AI may make genuine relationships even more important.  Shahar offers: “If it gets very easy to communicate with someone…then the level of connection needs to go up.”This episode offers a sharper way to evaluate prospects, activate board networks, approach funders respectfully, and turn data into a disciplined relationship-building strategy.Key Takeaways:Evaluate prospects through capacity, mission alignment, and relationships—not estimated wealth alone.Replace “Who do you know?” with specific, researched introduction requests for board members.Prioritize connected prospects before chasing the largest foundations or wealthiest individuals.Treat an initial gift as the beginning of a longer cultivation and stewardship process.Record donor intelligence and relationship history accurately in the organization's CRM.Expect AI-generated application volume to push some funders toward invitation-based or relationship-led grantmaking.00:00:00 Who Can Really Fund Your Nonprofit?00:01:43 Building a Data Platform for Philanthropy00:03:02 When a Three-Month Fundraising Plan Takes 18 Months00:05:14 Where Traditional Wealth Screening Falls Short00:06:43 Capacity, Alignment, and Relationships00:10:34 Why Board Connections Remain Underused00:11:17 Stop Asking Board Members “Who Do You Know?”00:12:40 Mapping the Nonprofit Sector's Relationship Network00:16:10 Start With Connected Prospects, Not the Biggest Funders00:19:59 Donor Research, Privacy, and Transparency00:24:01 How AI Is Changing Grant Applications00:26:49 Turning Fundraising Data Into Smarter Decisions#NonprofitFundraising #ProspectResearch #DonorResearchFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailWhat is the state of the nonprofit sector in 2026—and can organizations sustain rising demand while protecting their workforce, leadership pipeline, and financial strength? Dr. Akilah Watkins, President and CEO of Independent Sector, joins us for a far-reaching conversation about the business conditions shaping America's 1.9 million charitable nonprofits.Nonprofits continue to hold one of the strongest positions of public trust among American institutions. Dr. Watkins reports that 57% of Americans express very high or favorable trust toward nonprofits. Yet that confidence exists alongside increasing pressure: weakened public safety nets, a more difficult government relationship, rising service demand, workforce exhaustion, and a major leadership transition.The workforce numbers require serious attention. Nearly 13.9 million Americans work for charitable nonprofits, and approximately two-thirds are women. Nationally, about 22% of full-time nonprofit employees do not earn enough to cover their bills. As Dr. Watkins explains, nonprofit organizations compete for human capital just like every other sector. Compensation, retirement security, leadership development, and workplace culture are not side issues. They determine whether organizations can retain institutional knowledge, attract future executives, and continue meeting community needs.“If we want leaders for the future, we have to invest in leadership today,” she says.The conversation also examines the nonprofit sector's role in nonpartisan voter engagement. Research cited during the episode indicates that voter participation increases by approximately 10% when nonprofits are involved. With fewer than 40% of Americans actively volunteering, civic engagement is becoming an operational concern as well as a community concern.“The work that we do has been deeply invisible, but extremely felt personally by Americans,” Dr. Watkins explains.This is a sector-level business conversation for nonprofit executives, board members, fundraisers, advocates, and managers responsible for building organizations that can endure.Key Takeaways:Public trust is a major nonprofit asset, but organizations must connect that trust to stronger advocacy and clearer public storytelling.Workforce sustainability requires competitive compensation, retirement access, professional development, and realistic workload expectations.Approximately 22% of full-time nonprofit employees nationally cannot earn enough to cover their basic bills.Leadership succession must begin before senior executives retire and institutional knowledge leaves the organization.Managing as many as five workplace generations requires updated leadership and communication practices.Nonpartisan voter engagement can increase community participation while strengthening nonprofits' civic role.00:00:00 Meet Dr. Akilah Watkins of Independent Sector00:02:09 Representing America's 1.9 Million Charitable Nonprofits00:06:04 The State of the Nonprofit Sector in 202600:06:29 Why 57% of Americans Still Trust Nonprofits00:07:37 A Changing Relationship Between Nonprofits and Government00:09:24 The Exhausted 13.9 Million-Person Nonprofit Workforce00:11:49 Does the Sector Have Its Next Generation of Leaders?00:12:30 The Nonprofit Compensation Numbers Leaders Cannot Ignore00:14:02 Retirement Security and Six Workforce Policy Priorities00:15:01 Leadership Succession and the Five-Generation Workplace00:20:23 Voting, Volunteering and the Nonprofit Civic Role00:25:13 Independent Sector's 2026 National Summit in Phoenix#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitSectorFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailHow nonprofits can improve AI visibility is quickly becoming a fundraising and revenue question—not merely a marketing concern. As donors increasingly use AI search tools and workplace-giving platforms to decide which organizations to support, nonprofits must ensure their mission, impact, financial credibility, and organizational information can be found and understood.Catherine LaCour, CEO and Executive Director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund, joins The Nonprofit Show to explain how donor discovery is changing and what nonprofit leaders should do now.The Blackbaud Giving Fund has distributed nearly $3 billion since 2020 to approximately 300,000 nonprofit organizations worldwide. That experience gives Catherine a broad view of how donors, companies, technology platforms, and nonprofits are connecting.“If AI cannot find clear and accurate information about the nonprofit organization, then the donor's not going to find it either,” Catherine explains.Nonprofit AI search optimization begins with the fundamentals: clear language, current organizational information, credible impact reporting, and consistency across websites, social channels, workplace-giving profiles, and other digital platforms. Catherine recommends writing so that a middle-school student can quickly understand who the organization serves, what it does, and what results it produces.The conversation also explores AI strategies for nonprofit fundraising. AI can analyze donor behavior, assist with segmentation, strengthen personalization, draft stewardship communications, and reduce administrative work. But Catherine cautions organizations to treat AI like an intern: it can produce a useful first draft, but human review remains essential.Workplace giving represents another major opportunity. Approximately 27 million donors participate in workplace programs, contributing about $5 billion in 2023. Nonprofits that fail to claim, complete, and update their profiles may be missing donors who are already motivated to give.Catherine's advice is direct: start simple, but start now. Test what AI says about your organization, correct information gaps, clean your donor data, and choose one internal task where AI can create immediate capacity.Key Takeaways:AI visibility should become an ongoing organizational process, similar to donor stewardship.Mission, impact, leadership, and program information must remain consistent across every digital channel.Success stories and impact reports help AI systems understand and prioritize an organization.Clean donor data is essential for accurate segmentation, personalization, and fundraising analysis.Completed workplace-giving profiles can unlock employee donations, matching gifts, and recurring payroll contributions.Use AI to reduce administrative work while preserving human oversight and donor relationships.00:00:00 Why AI Visibility Matters to Nonprofits 00:02:08 Nearly $3 Billion Distributed Through the Blackbaud Giving Fund 00:04:39 How AI Is Changing Donor Discovery 00:07:23 The First Steps to Better AI Search Visibility 00:10:12 Making AI Visibility an Ongoing Business Process 00:11:26 Using AI to Strengthen Fundraising Relationships 00:12:45 Why Clean Data Must Come First 00:13:39 AI as a Force Multiplier for Smaller Nonprofits 00:15:05 Treat AI Like an Intern 00:16:13 Unlocking Workplace and Corporate Giving 00:17:49 27 Million Workplace Donors and a $5 Billion Opportunity 00:18:37 Finding Better-Aligned Corporate Partners 00:19:16 Claiming and Strengthening Workplace-Giving Profiles 00:22:15 Where Nonprofits Should Begin 00:25:01 Ask AI the Hard Questions About Your Organization 00:26:30 The Content That Helps AI Prioritize Your Nonprofit 00:28:52 A Six-Step AI Guide for Reaching More Donors #NonprofitAI #NonprofitFundraising #TheNonprofitShowFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit CEO fundraising responsibility is not optional when fiscal health, donor relationships, and organizational sustainability are on the line. In this Fundraisers Friday episode, Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall take on a tough leadership question: what happens when a nonprofit CEO won't fundraise?This conversation goes straight to the business of nonprofits. Tony makes the case that even if a CEO is not making daily asks, every CEO carries responsibility for the organization's financial health. As he puts it, “I can't imagine there is a job description for a CEO where there isn't some level of fiscal responsibility for the organization.”Julia and Tony explore how fundraising expectations should appear in CEO job descriptions, how boards should manage give-or-get commitments, and why fundraising cannot remain isolated inside the development department. A strong culture of philanthropy requires more than slogans. It requires transparent communication, shared ownership, and consistent reporting.Tony defines a healthy culture of philanthropy as one where “everyone in the organization understands their role in advancing the mission.” That shift changes the internal story from “development goes to lunches” to “relationship building is part of revenue strategy.”The episode also addresses board accountability, CEO coaching, donor management systems, dashboards, KPIs, and the need for monthly or quarterly fundraising reporting. If fundraising results are only reviewed at year-end, leaders lose the chance to pivot, repair gaps, or support staff and board members before the damage is done.Key Takeaways:Every nonprofit CEO should carry clear responsibility for fiscal health, even if they are not the primary solicitor.CEO job descriptions should include oversight, leadership, and support of the development function.Board give-or-get expectations need active tracking by the CEO and board chair—not vague annual reminders.A culture of philanthropy depends on mission communication, gratitude, relationship-building, and shared ownership.Fundraising dashboards should be reviewed monthly when possible, and at least quarterly.Donor management systems help clarify touchpoints, ownership, KPIs, and revenue attribution. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:02:37 Should CEO Job Descriptions Require Fundraising? 00:04:35 Linking CEO Oversight to Development Team Goals 00:06:39 Where Board Fundraising Responsibility Fits 00:08:10 Managing Board Give-or-Get Commitments 00:10:17 Defining a Real Culture of Philanthropy 00:13:59 Sharing Fundraising Plans Without Creating Fear 00:17:37 Can Reluctant CEOs Learn to Fundraise? 00:20:44 Reframing Fundraising Around Relationships 00:22:19 Tracking CEO Fundraising Through KPIs and Data 00:25:49 Why Monthly or Quarterly Reporting Matters 00:27:00 The Architecture of Fundraising and Shared Ownership #TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitFundraisingFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailMindset as an operational skill for nonprofit leaders is becoming one of the most important conversations in nonprofit management. As burnout, decision fatigue, and constant change impact organizations across the sector, leaders are discovering that resilience, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness are not optional—they are essential business competencies.The Nonprofit Show sits down with Karli-Rose McIntyre, Training Content Manager at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), to explore why mindset should be viewed as organizational infrastructure rather than personal development.Karli-Rose shares what leaders are really asking for. While technical topics like accounting, compliance, grants, and technology remain important, many nonprofit executives are searching for guidance around decision-making, connection, resilience, and navigating uncertainty.The discussion examines how artificial intelligence is accelerating the shift from transactional work to relationship-driven leadership. As automation handles more routine tasks, nonprofit leaders must strengthen the uniquely human skills that technology cannot replace.As Karli-Rose shares. .  "I think when we start treating mindset as not just a nice-to-have item, but instead as infrastructure, then that's when those human skills, like creativity, like resilience, like connection, start to come out and play."The conversation also addresses nonprofit CEO burnout, organizational communication challenges between finance and development teams, emotional intelligence, and how leaders can create space for better decision-making amid constant demands.Karli-Rose closes with a powerful leadership reminder: "Replace the fear of the unknown with curiosity."For nonprofit executives, finance leaders, fundraisers, board members, and emerging professionals, this episode offers a fresh perspective on building stronger organizations from the inside out. Key Takeaways: • Approximately half of nonprofit CEOs report concern about burnout levels, making leadership sustainability a strategic issue. • Leaders increasingly seek support with decision-making, connection, and resilience—not just technical training. • AI is increasing the value of human-centered skills such as communication, emotional intelligence, and relationship-building. • Mindset influences every leadership action, from budgeting and policy creation to team management and organizational culture. • Strong collaboration between finance, fundraising, and operations requires empathy, storytelling, and shared understanding. • Creativity and resilience can be developed intentionally and may help counter burnout and decision fatigue.00:00:00 Welcome & Why Mindset Matters00:02:09 Karli-Rose's Unique Path from CPA to Leadership Development00:03:35 What 1,500 Monthly Webinar Registrants Are Asking For00:05:30 The Hidden Challenges Nonprofit Leaders Face00:08:10 AI, Leadership, and the Shift to Human Skills00:11:20 Why Mindset Is an Operational Issue00:14:11 Mindset as the Foundation of Decision-Making00:15:35 Bridging the Gap Between Finance and Fundraising00:20:01 Treating Mindset as Organizational Infrastructure00:22:14 Burnout, Creativity, and Leadership Resilience00:24:45 Practical Habits for Better Leadership Decisions00:29:17 Replacing Fear with Curiosity #TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitMindset #NonprofitManagementFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

Send us Fan MailNonprofit donor behavior trends in 2026 are revealing something unexpected: generosity is alive and well! The challenge isn't donor willingness to give—it's whether nonprofits are making it easy, clear, and compelling for supporters to take action.We welcome Mary Crogan, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Bloomerang, to discuss findings from the newly released Giving Signals Report. Based on research conducted with more than 1,000 donors and 405 fundraisers, the report challenges many assumptions about today's fundraising environment.The data shows that donors remain highly motivated to support causes they care about. In fact, 97% give because they care about their communities, 96% want to make a difference, and 92% say giving is part of who they are.As Mary explains, "The fact is, donors are actually ready. They want to give. The question is whether the organizations are positioned to engage and receive that generosity."The conversation explores how nonprofits can bridge the gap between caring and giving through greater clarity, stronger impact communication, and a smoother donor experience.One of the most striking findings? Seventy percent of donors say a tipping prompt could cause them to reconsider giving altogether, while 79% say unexpected fees create hesitation. These are preventable barriers that may be costing organizations revenue every day.The discussion also highlights the growing influence of millennial donors. Seventy-five percent plan to increase their giving this year, while 80% intend to support at least one new nonprofit.Mary offers a simple but powerful challenge for nonprofit leaders:“Can someone who comes to your site answer these questions in less than 30 seconds: What does this organization do? Who do they serve? Where does the money go? And is it working?"If your organization wants to strengthen donor trust, improve fundraising results, and better understand how donor expectations are evolving, this conversation delivers important research and valuable perspective.Key Takeaways• 97% of donors care deeply about their communities and remain motivated to give.• 94% are more likely to donate when organizations clearly explain where funds go.• 70% of donors may reconsider giving when presented with tipping prompts.• 79% say unexpected fees negatively impact their willingness to complete a gift.• 75% of millennials plan to increase their giving this year and 80% will support a new nonprofit.• Transparent reporting, visible impact, and frictionless giving experiences are becoming major competitive advantages. 00:00:00 Introduction to the Giving Signals Report 00:02:00 What 1,000 Donors Revealed About Giving 00:04:00 Generosity Is Shifting, Not Declining 00:06:00 The Clarity Gap Between Caring and Giving 00:08:00 The 30-Second Website Audit Every Nonprofit Needs 00:11:40 How Fees and Tipping Prompts Hurt Donations 00:15:00 Creating a Frictionless Donor Experience 00:16:25 Why Millennial Donors Matter Right Now 00:20:30 Closing the Donor Trust and Clarity Gap 00:24:20 What's Next for Giving Signals Research #TheNonprofitShow #FundraisingStrategy #DonorEngagementFind us Live daily on YouTube!Find us  Live daily on LinkedIn!Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_ShowOur national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!  12:30pm ET   11:30am CT  10:30am MT  9:30am PTSend us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.comVisit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show