Podcasts about nonprofit roundtable

Our conversation today for United Way Day featured Kaycee Childress, CEO, Jennifer Hall, Director of Community Investment, and Jenna DeHaven, Director of Advancement for United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley. The group talked about the progress regarding the recent merger of Front Royal/Warren County United Way into United Way NSV. They explained the outpouring of support they've received and mentioned a NonProfit Roundtable they'll be hosting on November 16 for nonprofits within the community. Jennifer talked about Valley Assistance Network (VAN) and told us about the resources they're gathering for the region as well. Jenna explained how workplace giving works within the annual campaign and told us who can participate and how. Kaycee gave us details for a new giving program they'll be rolling out in early November - Share the Change - which will allow donors to basically round up their credit card purchases automatically with the extra change going to United Way NSV. For more details about United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley or to learn about how to become a donor or a volunteer, visit their website: https://www.unitedwaynsv.org/ and follow them on Facebook.

“My mission is to be a catalyst for positive, systemic change in the community” – Tom Raffa Tom Raffa admits he’s is a very unusual CEO. He “winged” his way into accounting to pay for college and has built a firm (and a legacy) that focuses more on impact than on profit.  30+ years later Raffa still contributes 10% (almost $5m last year) in financial and pro-bono services to non-profits and allows *unlimited paid* community service time to any employee!  When health insurance premiums skyrocketed, Tom not only kept benefits the same for employees, he invested heavily in wellness programs to make sure his staff is healthy, happy and engaged.  Tom is an amazing visionary, entrepreneur and philanthropist and I know you’ll enjoy this interview as much as I did! What you’ll learn: How one school counselor's recognition of Tom's talent planted a seed for him to attend college Fascinating story how Tom stumbled into accounting (by "slightly" fibbing on his resume) to be able to pay for college and “winged it” to success How Tom built his accounting firm on principles of helping the community (and the money would follow) How to instill the philanthropic mindset into the culture of an organization What Tom learned from his non-profit clients about mission focus What non profits can learn from businesses and social ventures about self-sufficiency, sustainability and marketing How social ventures he admires are blending the best of both worlds - business and non-profit models - to create greater impact while staying profitable Strategies for organizations to maximize their resources Tom’s philosophy on how organizations can create opportunities for collaboration / eliminate need to compete for resources How to embrace experimentation and even failure as a leader And so much more! Links & Resources Raffa Learning Community – Raffa offers free classes to help non-profits succeed Raffa Podcast – Another fantastic, educational resource from Raffa Companies for Causes – Organization of CEOs Tom co-founded that works with non-profits on social change issues Mark Kramer article on collective impact Tom recommends About Tom Raffa Tom is the Founder and Managing Partner of Raffa, which he established specifically to service the needs of the nonprofit community and social sector. During his more than 35- year career, Tom has provided accounting, auditing, tax services and business consulting to the nonprofit sector, conducting studies on management structure, internal and operational controls, and management information systems. Many Raffa clients have also enlisted Tom’s assistance in assembling compensation and fringe benefits packages, executive compensation and retirement plans, venture capital/fundraising efforts, investment policies, financial projections, indirect cost proposals and matters of governance. To serve Raffa’s clients more fully, Tom founded three affiliate organizations, Raffa Financial Services, Inc. (RFSI), Raffa Social Capital Advisors (RSCA) and Raffa Wealth Management (RWM). RFSI, formed in 1999, provides insurance and investment products and services, while RWM, formed in 2005, provides investment consulting and financial planning to private foundations and high-wealth individuals who support the nonprofit sector. RSCA was formed in 2016, to accelerate and scale those groups and individuals with solid social enterprises programs that could change the world. Tom’s professional and volunteer support of nonprofits has garnered him several recent awards, including the 2016 Individual Making a Difference Award from The Nonprofit Village, the Georgetown Entrepreneur of the Year, the Volunteer Achievement Award from the Accountants for the Public Interest and SmartCPA two years running from SmartCEO Magazine. Raffa was recognized as the 19th Top Corporate Philanthropist in the Region in 2012. Tom was recognized for the creation of Companies for Causes and his commitment to improving education outcomes for students by the Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation at the 2014 P.E.A.R.L.S. Awards with the Innovation in Philanthropy Award. In November, Tom will receive the Man of the Year Award from the Italian American Association (Lido Civic Club) for his unwaivering commitment to community. Through Tom’s commitment to his employees health and wellness, the firm was recently honored with the 2016 SmartCEO's Healthiest Company Award for first-rate programming. Inside Public Accounting (IPA) and Accounting Today magazine continuously name Raffa as one of the “Top 100 Accounting Firms” in the nation. IPA’s Top 100 and IPA’s National Benchmarking Report are the industry’s longest-running and most up-to-date analysis and ranking of the nation’s largest accounting firms. A recent report recognized Raffa as its “Best of the Best,” which honors only 50 firms from across the country for their overall superior performance on more than 70 criteria. Recently, IPA recognized Raffa as the only firm in the country whose leadership embraces its international and multi-cultural staff in an article entitled, “One IPA 100 Firm Defies Diversity Statistics: 11 of 17 Partners Are Women.” This article named Raffa as the only firm in the top 100 that is women-owned making it the largest CPA firm in the US that is women-owned. It is also one of the only a few CPA firms that is a certified B Corporation. Tom shares his expertise through articles in national publications such as The Nonprofit Quarterly, The Nonprofit Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which cover issues affecting the nonprofit sector. He also has been an instructor and speaker for many nonprofit training programs and conferences and various federal agencies. Tom is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the District of Columbia and is an active member of AICPA. He is also a founding board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management and the Alliance for Nonprofit Insurance and has served on the board of the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and Sister Cities of Montgomery County. He is a founding member of the board of Social Impact 360 and a recent member to the Park City Community Foundation board. He is also on the Advisory Board of Aspire. Tom is the Vice Chair, the Treasurer and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Catalogue for Philanthropy. Tom is also a member of the board of the United Way of the National Capital Area where he serves on the Strategy Committee and the Audit Committee. Tom is the Treasurer and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Tom is a graduate of Georgetown University, a member of the Georgetown University Alumni Admissions Program and has served as a mentor at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business for more than 20 years. He often speaks at Georgetown for various classes and seminars and is currently involved with the Entrepreneurship Fellowship.  

“Unless you know where you're from you don't have that anchor as a leader, you really can't move forward” – Lidia Soto-Harmon Lidia has spent a great deal of her life in the “hyphen” of being a Cuban-American: that is between her Cuban roots and American life as an adult. Her Cuban missionary parents moved from Tennessee to El Salvador to Ecuador back to the U.S. during Lidia’s formative years, deeply instilling in her love of family, service and travel. In this incredibly open, authentic, heart-warming interview Lidia shares wonderful stories of her family – from her uncle’s MacGyver-like ingenuity forced by scarcity of communist Cuba to her father’s magic touch with people (that Lidia clearly inherited) to the moving recent trip with her children back to Cuba. Lidia also talks about the importance of sharing your struggles and not just successes as a leader; how she "translates" her international background and earlier career successes to making impact locally with the Girl Scouts; her struggles with balance and making time for self-care; and some fun stories about her family’s fascination with everything Alexander Hamilton (and not just the musical!) What You'll Learn About Lidia’s amazing journey as the daughter of Cuban missionary parents from TN to El Salvador and Ecuador back to the U.S. Why Lidia considers the question "where are you from?" a complicated one How living in Latin America and witnessing extreme poverty and injustice influenced Lidia's path as a leader Ways leaders can systemically impact community and have a ripple effect at multiple levels of change Some heartwarming personal stories of young women Lidia has mentored and what she has learned from them (and her children) in return What Lidia most struggles with at this point of her life and career The challenges and gifts of being an “empty nester” Why Lidia’s personal mission in elevators is to make people laugh at least ones Secrets of the Woo (Winning Over Others) she learned from her father What Lidia and her family find fascinating and inspiring about Alexander Hamilton  Links & Resources The Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital – Lidia’s organization Encuentro – Girl Scouts’ conference to empower Latina girls TED talks – one of Lidia’s (and mine) sources of inspiration Hamilton the Musical – Tony Award-winning musical by Lin-Manual Miranda Lidia references in the interview Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow – book Lidia recommends about Alexander Hamilton (you may be seeing a pattern, she is a huge Hamilton fan as you’ll hear about in this interview!) About Lidia Soto Harmon Lidia Soto Harmon became the CEO of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital in 2010 after serving six years as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer. The Girl Scout Council is the area’s preeminent leadership organization for girls, serving 90,000 girl and adult members (girls in grades K-12). Lidia has developed an annual conference, Encuentro de Chicas Latinas de las Girl Scouts, which reaches young Latina girls, inspiring leadership and academic success. She also developed the DC Step Showcase to celebrate the rich history of African-Americans. Today, the annual event is enjoyed by Girl Scouts throughout the region. Prior to joining the Council, Lidia served as Senior Vice President of Community Development for First Book, a national children’s literacy organization dedicated to getting new books into the hands of children from low-income families. She served as the Deputy Director of the President’s Interagency Council on Women, chaired by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, at the U.S. Department of State, where she represented the United States at various United Nations’ conferences including the annual Commission on the Status of Women. Lidia was the Senior Director of the Fannie Mae Foundation’s Targeted Outreach Department, designing the first corporate nationwide multilingual strategy to reach new immigrants to promote homeownership in the United States in the late 1990s. She was a 2000 Fellow for the National Hispana Leadership Institute and participated with her NHLI Class in the Executive Seminar at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Lidia was named one of Nation’s Top 90 Women, Mentoring Leaders by Women of Wealth Magazine 2011, Notimujer of the Week, by CNN en Español for her work to reach young Latinas, and a Woman Who Means Business by the Washington Business Journal in 2012. She received the Regional Mujer Award (Woman of the Year) by the National Hispana Leadership Institute in 2012, and the Woman of Vision Award from the Junior League of Northern Virginia 2012. In 2013, Lidia was named one of DC’s most influential leaders in the Power Issue of Capitol File Magazine and she received the Wayne T. Anderson Award for Distinguished Public Service from George Mason University in 2014. Lidia is Vice Chair of the Migration Policy Institute, serves on the board of directors for the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington and chairs the Governance Committee for the Meyer Foundation. She was honored to throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals Major League baseball game in 2014, in honor of Girl Scout Weekend in the Greater Washington Region. Lidia grew up in Latin America and the United States. She earned her Master’s in Public Administration from George Mason University and B.A. from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She is married and has two bilingual adult children.  

Eating healthy is difficult enough for most. But for some, they need help. Whether it be financial or education, there is a solution. Amy Kurz is the COO of Martha's Table, where she leads administrative and business functions for the organization. Previously, Amy held a variety of positions at the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. She is the board chair of Young Playwrights' Theater and lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC. For 35 years, Martha's Table has worked to build a better future for children, their families and neighbors in the District of Columbia by increasing access to healthy starts, healthy eating and healthy connections.

Allison Carney aka the "Queen of Nonprofits" has a passion for nonprofits and sharing their stories with the world. At The Nonprofit Roundtable she is responsible for the website, social media, newsletter and communication materials. She also meets with Nonprofit Roundtable members to develop strategies for the best ways share their achievements and events through the organization's channels.