Fredrick Riley is the Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute. Weave "tackles the problem of broken social trust that has left Americans divided, lonely, and in social gridlock. Weave connects, supports, and invests in local leaders stepping up to weave a new, inclusive social fabric where they live. "

Fredrick talks about the nature of an ongoing crisis is relationships, and an overall erosion of trust. These are concerns the Aspen Institute has seen for some time, and has started a concerted effort to encourage people to use tools to build more trust and connection across social "threads" weaving together. One of the tools available from Weave includes trustmap.org, which allows users to see strengths for their social fabric, but also opportunities for improvement.

Fredrick goes on to share some examples from his own history as well as the work of Weave in encouraging nonprofits to connect people in community across mission and goals. Fred urges individuals to find opportunities to connect to people in their community, as well as urging nonprofits to provide volunteer opportunities not only for their own work but to provide connection for new people. Weave encourages charities to think about connected services as a model to strengthen the social fabric.

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Steven Aguiar is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ad Grants Pilot, which is "Ad Grants on easy mode. Turn Google's $10,000/month in free ads into real donors and impact — without hiring an agency." Steven is also the Founder of BlueWing Digital, a media company with a focus on community missions.

Google for Nonprofits offers a free grant for Google search ads up to $10,000 of total value for a month. Approximately 300,000 nonprofits have a Google for Nonprofits account, but nearly 10 million could be using it. A recent M+R benchmark reported the average nonprofit may be getting $1300-1400 in value against the $10,000 offered.

Ad Grants Pilot is designed to help nonprofit organizations actually leverage the grant using AI tools to help manage the process. Steven talks about the Ads Grants process requiring things like conversion tracking, the need to use keywords correctly, quality scores on ads and website for conversion goals. Steven further describes how the tool helps avoid common problems that have occurred in the past and prevented many nonprofits from using the grants. He also describes how maximizing search ads can improve GEO, Generative Engine Optimization (AI summaries inserted into search) as well.

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Carly Berna is the Fundraiser in Residence at Virtuous, a "modern fundraising platform that creates inspiring moments for donors and grows giving."

The State of AI Adoption Report is a free download that details the findings from a study of hundreds of nonprofits regarding their use of Artificial Intelligence tools. The big finding: "92% of nonprofits have adopted AI. Only 7% say it’s actually expanded what their team can accomplish. The rest are stuck on the efficiency plateau: faster drafts, quicker emails, same results." There are some commonalities of organizations which are seeing meaningful impact that are detailed in the report.

Carly urges some basics of these success metrics. Elements such as creating and documenting policies, having a cross-functional AI team, and more. The report expresses some urgency to get on board as the tools are changing and becoming more capable. Carly and Steve talk about when and how to use data, such as taking great care to not put identifiable donor data into public versions of LLM (Large Language Model) tools.

Dr. Beth DaPonte is the author of the new edition of Essential Evaluations and a consulting serving nonprofit organizations from Social Science Consultants. Dr. DaPonte has served with the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the United Nations and been a Lecturer, Yale School of Management amongst many other roles.

Beth joins host Steve Boland to talk about the new edition of her Evaluations Essentials book, and why and how nonprofit organizations can develop and use program evaluation in their work. She discusses the basics of a theory of change, logic models, and more. The book covers ideas including early literature reviews, the use of a program evaluation reference group to provide a broad array of stakeholders to prioritize questions and access in evaluation. Beth talks about how unexpected challenges over time in evaluation (COVID shut downs for example) can become part of the evaluation story. (Also, thanks to XKCD for the causation v. correlation cartoon!).

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Janie Heitz is the Executive Director, and John Kelsch is founder and Curator, of the Judy Garland Museum. The Museum is home to an eclectic Judy Garland and Wizard of Oz collection and is housed in the 1920’s restored birthplace home of Judy Garland in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. #Podcasthon is an annual event asking podcasts to highlight the work of a single charity

John and Janie tell the story of the founding of the museum, the evolution of the work over the decades since it's founding over fifty years ago, and much more. One of the more unusual stories of the Museum involves the theft of the Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz, which were in the Museum at that time for display. The slippers were eventually recovered, and documentaries about that part of the story have been made since that time.

The Museum is a part of the Grand Rapids community, but also a larger fan community across the world. Learn more at their website about how to visit the museum and learn more. Donations are welcome!

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Alan Harrison is the author of the Scene Change book series, and has worked for 30 years in the nonprofits arts sector.

Alan begins his book series with the first Scene Change book emphasizing the importance of community impact in their missions. The next book speaks to the role of boards of directors in this mission work, and now there is Scene Change 3, with stories of nonprofit arts organizations which can show their impact in community.

Alan says art is essential for human beings, and artists are magical in their creation. He goes on to emphasize the need for metrics of success for nonprofits that goes beyond just the production of art and public participation through things like ticket sales. Scene Change 3 contains examples to help charities focus on their changes in community.

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Brittan Stockert is a fundraising coach with DonorBox, a donor management platform with a mission "to do everything in our power to support nonprofit organizations in their efforts to make a difference." Brittan's role is to help "nonprofits and social-impact organizations build sustainable fundraising strategies by strengthening donor relationships, improving CRM systems, and simplifying day-to-day fundraising."

Brittan joins the podcast to talk about the evolution of thinking in mutual aid - direct giving from donor to recipient without a formal charity in the loop. Brittan talks about the history of mutual aid, and the changes in how mutual aid is moving forward since the pandemic, uprisings, and resistance movements in 2026 and beyond. Britt talks about trust as a key factor in both mutual aid giving and giving to support formal charities.

Mutual aid support in the present moment relies on community-based trust, but also relies on traditional nonprofits to eschew "main character energy" and center the immediate needs with trust in community. Younger or new donors may be quicker to let go of control or power, and institutional charities may do well to follow suite and let go of some power in these situations. NEXT in Nonprofits has a blog post on mutual aid in 2026. People interested in connecting with Britt on coaching can view her contact page here.

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Carlo Cuesta is a co-founder of Creation in Common, "Growing Social Impact with Nonprofits, Foundations, and Government since 2002." Strategic planning is one of the core services offered by Creation in Common.

Host Steve Boland asked Carlo to join to discuss the state of strategic planning in 2026, when the level of chaos feels so overwhelming. Carlo reinforced the idea that strategic plans are for tools to help make better decisions today, and looking back at the last 90 days can be a key tool - especially in times for volatility - can help. Carlo notes a thought from Bill Gates "Most people overestimate what they can achieve in one year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years" and how it can apply to thinking longer term in planning if that is what is called for in the day.

Carlo goes on to suggest we need to put plans into a resource context - how will this work be resourced? Another favorite quote from this conversation is "All models are wrong, but some are useful." "what happens when assumptions that were long-term reliable end up being unreliable?" Listen to the full episode to learn to expect "more is not a strategy" t-shirts sometime soon!

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Anniston Ward is the USA PR, Events and Education Manager for Metricool, a social media aggregator for publishing information which integrates to other analytics sources to look at impact of your organization's online presence.

Host KD Bauer talks to Anniston about Metricool and how content aggregators and analysis tools function, including core features such as scheduling posts across multiple platforms and bring analytics in, having teams contributing to the process, and allow approval and feedback across team roles.

The 2026 Social Media Study from Metricool benefits from data from 3 million Metricool users to show trends and can be compared to past results (see the 2025 study as well). The report shows video content continues to be dominant, and encourages organizations to consider video even if it is more challenging to produce. Anniston also urges groups to move beyond simple impressions as the primary measure of success and to consider other measures such as shares, saves, and direct actions like clicking through to a website or signing up for more information. Anniston and KD talk about "trend chasing" (such as using memes), the importance of consistency in a brand voice or mission to building an audience over time, commenting on social issues and authenticity, and much more!

Melissa Bank Stepno is the President & CEO of The Helen Brown Group and the Managing Director of DAFinitive, "the only searchable database that helps you find more information about donor advised funds."

Melissa joins the podcast to talk about the decision to create and manage a database in the increasingly large field of donor advised funds. Melissa describes how her team uses human-powered sources to research giving using DAFs, and catalogs that information with links out to sources when possible. Those links are often backed-up on Archive.org, the Internet's Way Back Machine, to provide access to source sites that may since have changed or removed the data. The DAFinitive team works to connect the names of donors behind the funds when possible, realizing that sometimes donors are choosing anonymity and sometimes the data is just harder to find. Many family foundations are now using DAFs, and increasingly new donors are eschewing family foundations entirely in favor of DAF giving.

Listeners are welcome to visit DAFinitive.com and request a demo to see the tools in action

Lori L. Jacobwith is a nationally-recognized master storyteller and fundraising culture change expert who was named one of America’s Top 25 Fundraising Experts. She is the founder of Ignited Fundraising.

Lori joins host Steve Boland to talk about the role of boards of directors in fundraising work for charities, and specifically the challenges and opportunities of board development committees. Lori shares resources available on her website to help think about how creating a fundraising plan and budgeting are critical for any successful board role, and how charities can leverage the strengths of board members to succeed.

Cherian Koshy is the author of the new book Neurogiving: The Science of Donor Decision-Making. Cherian is "is a globally recognized expert in the science of generosity, decision-making, and leadership. With more than 25 years of experience, he equips organizations and leaders with the tools to create alignment—not pressure—and to design environments where giving, leading, and taking action feel natural."

Cherian joins host Steve Boland to talk about some of the themes in the book (so much more in the book!) regarding the science behind generosity. Cherian describers how attention fragmentation impacts donors, how social comparisons are understood by the brain, why legacy giving is about a lot more than just the charity in question, how to think about the ethics of all of this, and much more!

Patrice Davis is the CEO of Grants Works, whose mission is "to help organizations, educational institutions and businesses successfully find, obtain, manage, and comply with federal and other government grants that positively impact people and communities." Patrice first joined the NEXT in Nonprofits podcast in 2021 talking about applying for government grants.

Patrice joins host Steve Boland to discuss the importance of time and effort reporting in grants management. Plans for how time and effort will be reported on grants begins with writing the grant, but continues on in post-grant administration using a grant manager (mostly likely different from grant writer) and the right tools for the right job. Patrice discusses best practices and tools - such as integrating grant restraints into a payroll tool to track costs assigned to a grant expenses.

Patrice also looks at things that impact costs are allocated, such as how much indirect costs may need to be covered in the grant. Some organizations may choose different strategies surrounding these costs. More information about the federal definitions are available in the Code of Federal Regulations here.

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Andy Goldman-Gray is a Founder of Nonprofit Strategy Group, "a partnership of experienced, successful nonprofit executives with a full range of expertise and roles, including Executive Director, Chief Advancement Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Operations."

Andy joins the podcast to talk about creative collaborations, including things that may include a merger or acquisition, but also may be sunsetting (closures) or other changes. Host Steve Boland talks with Andy about mission over legal structure and imperative of boards to commit to the success of the missions even if some changes happen in business structures. Nonprofits in a healthy, sound space at the moment could be taking this time to assess their immediate partners and consider impacts of not all of them are as healthy or if they may have different challenges.

Formal and informal collaborations strongly relies on trust-building, so Andy recommends boards and staff think about early conversations to build trust with potential partners. Foundations and other funders and considering funding for the work of collaboration, so consider checking to see if some additional dollars may help prioritize these conversations. There is much more in the full conversation, so give a listen!

Allison Wagstrom is the Senior Loan Officer for Propel Nonprofits, whose mission "fuels the impact and effectiveness of nonprofits with guidance, expertise, and capital."

Allison joins host Steve Boland to talk about the risks nonprofits face in 2025, and steps and tools they can use to manage that risk. Allison encourages charities to think in terms of revenue mix, program costs, infrastructure, and capital. She and Steve talk about examples in such areas of the emotional labor of program costs (because that is really people in most cases), the new risks in 2025 where government funding is no longer as secure as it used to be, and how a cashflow projection may not ameliorate all fears but provides a way to examine fears on paper. Allison discusses the role of the board in these times, and both of them caution that 2025 is still a year to consider building cash reserves, because 2026 and 2027 may have even more risk on the horizon. Sunsetting, mergers, and acquisitions may be on the table in order to preserve mission impact. Propel Nonprofits manages a Resource Library for charities to use in learning about their own options.

Jon Bergdoll is the Interim Director of Data and Research Partnerships, at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at the Indiana University Indianapolis.

Jon joins host Steve Boland to talk about The Next Generation of Philanthropy, a 2025 study from the Lilly Family School to understand Generation Z (Gen Z) philanthropic giving. Jon was part of the study team, and helps provide context for the study, which includes comparative data to other generational cohorts. Jon shares insights on key findings such as the depth of giving for Gen Zers who do give to religious institutions, using authentic video to reach new audiences, slowly building trust with the concept of institutional nonprofits v. informal giving, and much more!

Get more details on our podcast page.

Cicley Gay is the Chairwoman of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. Their mission "imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles."

Cicley joins host Steve Boland to talk about the current world of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the impact of challenges to equity from both our government and in some cases philanthropy. The environment has slid backward from the promises many made after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis (as well as promises after other acts of violence before and since). Cicley shares the work of initiatives such as Black Play Matters to move forward with love when times are challenging.

The conversation covers the challenges to this work in 2025, but also the the call to lift up Joy. Joy and play have always been tools of survival and resistance. "We don't measure freedom by the absence of harm but by the presence of our unwavering belief that thriving is possible." Cicley advises to "leave no power on the table" in pursuing this work.

Get more details on on our podcast page.

Hannah Hegeman is the Vice President of Event Strategy and Development for Do Good Events "a woman-owned, award-winning Event Planning company headquartered in Minneapolis. We love being a part of bringing a lot of good into the world through events; after all, that was the inspiration for our name!"

Hannah joins host Steve Boland to talk about events to support nonprofit missions and fundraising in 2025 and beyond. She discusses important considerations such as beginning with one clear goal - such as fundraising, awareness, or stewardship; to focus on quality over quantity - the right people in the room matter more than packed attendance; the place for breakfast/lunch events in 2025 and beyond that are often underutilized, less expensive, and have less competition. Hannah urges organizations to consider a 3-5 years minimum commitment to starting a new fundraising event - it takes time to build momentum. So much more in the episode!

Do Good Events is hosting an opportunity for nonprofits called RAISE+ARRANGE on January 15, 2026. Listeners can use the code Next15 for $15 off the registration.

Lou Kotsinis is the CEO and Co-Founder of BCS Interactive, a digital marketing agency that "helps non-profits, foundations and educational institutions make their mark on the world." Lou chats with host KD Bauer about concepts that nonprofits should consider when it comes to their organization's website. Describing a website as a "living, breathing organism," Lou explains why a clear understanding of your website's audience is the first step in telling your organization's unique story. Ensuring your site works correctly is just the start-- compelling photos, impact numbers, and new content builds an optimized, engaging user experience (and yes, it definitely leads to MORE donations). 

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Browse BCS Interactive's Blog for more digital marketing strategies, or sign  up for BCS Interactive's monthly blog sent directly to your inbox.

Chris Melody Fields Figueredo is the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, "a nationwide movement-building infrastructure organization that leverages ballot measures across the United States to strengthen democracy; center people of color, queer, low-income, immigrant, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities; advance racial equity; build and transform power; and galvanize a new progressive base."

Chris joins host Steve Boland to talk about how nonprofits may consider using ballot initiatives to move their missions forward. Chris discusses tools at both state and local levels, how organizing campaigns can think about longer time-frames, and how "anything beautiful is created in coalition." Chris talks about the extended benefits of campaigns outside the ballot deadline, talking to funders about supporting the work, and more. Additional information and tools are available at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center website.

Todd Baylis is the Chief Customer Officer of Bloomerang, a data management system designed to "manage your entire constituent ecosystem, including donors, volunteers, sponsors, grant givers, and more. Your result: higher fundraising revenue and less donor attrition. "

Todd joins host Steve Boland to talk about encouraging your audiences (supporters, first-time donors, recurring donors...) to share more information with your charity to improve your connections and outcomes. Todd talks about how much information to ask for at the outset, a willingness to come back to audiences and request more information over time, communications preferences, and much more. Todd emphasizes the maxim that "if it's not in the database, it didn't happen" - meaning an emphasis on recording interactions with community (phone calls, personal meetings, handwritten notes) in a data tool allows a better connection over time.

Greg Harrell-Edge is the founder of Proimpact Project, which is "Supporting nonprofit leaders with content and a community to scale impact."

Greg talks to host Steve Boland about the need for early response, and more frequent responses, when nonprofits and social good missions are attacked. Keeping the tone authentic about your work and the real impact of your work, helps shift the conversation away from demonizing the whole sector. Greg mentions his influence in emphasis on impact from Dan Pallotta's TED talk. Greg further suggests tying fundraising support messages when appropriate, with speedy reactions helping to close funding gaps which may be caused, in part, but these attacks. Greg also cites the variable calls to action and results in campaigns such as Kony 2012.

Kat Rohn is the Executive Director of Outfront Minnesota, as well as Outfront Minnesota Community Services!

Kat joins host Steve Boland to talk about advocacy in the nonprofit sector with a focus on the differences between 501 (c) 3 organizations (purely public charities with tax deductible contributions) and 501 (c) 4 nonprofits (social welfare organization where gifts are not tax deductible). All nonprofits can be engaged in some kinds of advocacy, and the conversation references some help on understanding this from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

Kat talks about Outfront Minnesota's experience managing both types of legal entities. The two organizations share staff and other resources (accounting services for example) but have separate incorporations and records. Maintaining two entities is more work, but provides some additional options to advocate for political change against having just the 501 (c) 3 organization. Kat also addresses the donor experience (spoiler: Most donors don't itemize, so tax deductions are not a decision factor for many).

• SWOT Analysis of your Current Brand (James recommends keeping this on a wall during the process!) 
• Brand Recall / Recognition
• Brand Analysis
• Brand Guide (Sample: Mirasol's OFFICIAL New Brand Guide!) 

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Faviola "Favi" Ramirez is a community organizer, often with BIPOC outdoors. Brooke Thomson is the development director at Abortion Care Network. Favi and Brooke have been part of the Community-centric fundraising movement, including a group sharing and based in Minnesota.

Favi and Brooke join the podcast to talk about the origins of community-centric fundraising, and help to define it with some of the ten principles defined on the CCF website. Concepts of indigenizing giving and grant-making, beginning the work with an audit of existing donor pages of website looking at terms of "we" rather than "you", valuing all contributions including those of time rather than money, and much, much more! Favi mentions TRUTH project the as one community-centric process that recognizes the colonial nature of land-grant universities but looks to indigenize the conversation.

Patrick Kincade is Regional Director at Stonebridge Capital Advisors, a firm offering portfolio management services and related advising to nonprofit organizations as well as businesses and individuals.

Patrick talks with host Steve Boland about a range of ways nonprofits can be ready to receive larger gifts, especially gifts that may not be cash. Gifts could be donations of stock, or gifts of value like real-estate or even new classes of assets like cryptocurrency. Patrick talks about planning, tools to have at the ready, and when it may be time to decline some more complex gifts.

This podcast expresses the views of Patrick Kincaid as of the date indicated and may not represent the views of Stonebridge Capital Advisors, LLC (“Stonebridge”). These views are subject to change without notice and Stonebridge has no duty or obligation to update the information contained herein. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Moreover, wherever there is the potential for profit there is also the possibility of loss. This podcast is being made available for educational purposes only and should not be used for any other purpose. The information contained herein does not constitute and should not be construed as an offering of advisory services, investment advice, or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy any securities or related financial instruments in any jurisdiction. Certain information contained herein concerning economic trends and performance is based on or derived from information provided by independent third-party sources.

This special 200th Anniversary episode of the podcast is hosted by KD Bauer and features members of the Next in Nonprofits team! KD talks with Steve Boland, Kathleen Conroy and Chelley McLear about sharing knowledge in the nonprofit sector. (Team members Bruktait Kebede, Keren Gudeman, and Grace Mayo contributed ideas off mic!) Next in Nonprofits chooses to do this in many ways, including by producing this podcast!

Many charities learn a great deal about community support, new tools, partnerships and so much more. Sharing that learning is not always the top priority of any one group, but organizations like Next in Nonprofits get to learn from the stories and missions of many different groups. KD leads the team through a conversation about what brings people to nonprofit missions, how knowledge sharing - especially in a team - can create better outcomes, and contributes to a framework of abundance over scarcity. Also, listen in to know why we are referring to the Nine Inch Nails song "Echoplex".

Jim Scheibel is a professor of practice of at Hamline University, where he shares a wealth of experience in public life from his time as a leader of places such Corporation for National and Community Service, as Mayor of Saint Paul, and in other leadership positions in the nonprofit sector.

Jim has incorporated ethics into his teaching for many years, and frameworks Jim has used to evaluate ethical issues can be an important starting point for the issues of today. Ideas like the Latimer Test (or the "smell test"), having an "oath" or set of values with which to evaluate questions, the Triangle, and more.

Brandice Daniel is the founder and CEO of ICON360, "non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling the barriers facing Black designers and fashion programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)."

Brandice joins host Steve Boland to talk about the value of sponsorships and connections to the mission of an organization. Brandice shares ideas on how to begin relationships with larger organizations (including budgeting small amounts to open doors with the first conversation), showing up where the brand managers are meeting (rather than struggling to get individual meetings), the value of intimate moments with brands seeing the impact of your work and more.

Tyrus Hayes is the Director of Strategic Engagement for Al-Maa'uun, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit whose "mission is to alleviate poverty and oppression within black and communities of color in North Minneapolis and surrounding areas through direct service and advocacy."

The Next in Nonprofits Podcast usually focuses on a broad topic of interest to the nonprofit community rather than featuring the story of a single nonprofit. We were approached by Podcasthon to divert from our regular format once a year to lift up the work of a specific mission. We are proud to bring the story of Al-Maa'uun to the podcast!

Tyrus joins host Steve Boland to talk about the mission of Al-Maa'uun to meet the "Neighborly Needs" of the communities in North Minneapolis and beyond. The organization has grown from just a few volunteers to over 25 paid employees cooperating with other groups to meet needs. Al-Maa'uun is a 2Gen organization and uses this framework to help build a community response to this work.

Shoshana Grossman-Crist is the Founder and CEO of Social Impact Compass, providing support in grants and other support for impact missions. Shoshana joins host Steve Boland to talk about the impact of changes in funding streams in 2025.

Shoshanna shares her insights getting a foot in the door for new support during these transitional times, including a short email, and a concept note format in lieu of a more formal case statement. Some funders are increasing their giving commitment (Shoshana mentions MacArthur Foundation as an example) and others are considering more flexibility right now. Shoshana mentions many resources on her website and elsewhere, but wanted to be sure the Foreign Aid Bridge fund was included in the show notes!

Jackie Russell is President of Teak Media and Communication whose mission is "to increase recognition and revenue for socially responsible companies and nonprofit organizations." Jackie joins host Steve Boland to discuss communications strategies and public relations in a time of rapid, unpredictable change.

Jackie shares her thoughts and experience in prioritizing the work of messaging for nonprofit organizations in 2025. Jackie talks through different audiences and the need to stay in touch during this time. It's important to "start where you are" in this work and not second-guess what could have been done in the past. Jackie talks about growing diversity in media channels, connecting sponsors and influencers to your mission, sharing your good news, and much more.

Noah chats with host KD Bauer about his experience with crafting compelling messaging and building media relationships to advance human-centered narratives that cut through misinformation and disinformation. From rapid response to long-term strategy, he leads with a data-based approach to maximize audience engagement across a digital landscape. Noah shares ways that small communications teams can focus on what's most important—all while reducing burnout and navigating future challenges.

Dick Senese is the Treasurer of the Board of Directors for LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education, which "advances effective leadership in the realm of post-secondary education, supports professional development of LGBTQ leaders in that sector, and provides education and advocacy regarding LGBTQ issues within the global academy and for the public at large." Dick has served on nonprofit boards throughout his career, and joins the podcast to discuss stewardship with host Steve Boland.

Dick talks about his experience with volunteer boards, how thanking donors and other supporters for their engagement is an easy "ask" for most board members, how tracking relationships over time can improve outcomes, how getting comfortable with talking about resources is not as scary as some may thing, and much more.

Molly C. O'Connor (she/her) is the Owner and Principal Consultant of Coco Canary, a consulting practice which is "cultural workers using evaluation, community engagement, and art to keep organizations grounded in their values and held accountable to their social justice goals."

Molly joins host Steve Boland to talk about creative evaluation. Molly's own background includes quantitative research and has evolved to include qualitative components to better understand impact. Molly shares her thoughts on the importance of stories toward meaning-making, engaging community in the process of evaluation, thinking about evaluation ahead of program launches as well as being ready to shift after a launch, and much more.

Laura Tufano is the founder and principle of Tufano Consulting, and is "a Certified Fund Raising Executive and has raised money for social justice, the arts, education, and human services over the course of her 20-year career."

Laura joins host Steve Boland to talk about how nonprofits can be open to all the ways donors may choose to give. One-time cash gifts and recurring donations online are great tools to involve donors, but nonprofits can help donors expand their thinking. Laura talks about the value of picking up the phone and just talking to donors, and then being ready with ideas which may support how they can best give. Laura and Steve talk about gifts of stock, donor advised funds, but also ideas like required minimum distributions from retirement accounts, legacy gifts, and even real property! (Hint on that last one - what does your gift acceptance policy say?)

Sheetal Puri is the Senior Director, Digital Fundraising for the Wikimedia Foundation. "The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and our other free knowledge projects." Wikimedia is supported by millions of individual donors, and projects like Wikipedia serve billions and billions of web views every month.

Host Steve Boland asked Sheetal to discuss a project to segment communications between existing donors (about two percent of Wikipedia users) and users who have not yet made a financial contribution. Her team sent an email to recurring donors before a campaign launch providing those donors with an option to avoid seeing on-site messaging related to the campaign. The option to install a cookie provides some technological convenience, but more importantly, a recognition of the relationship with existing donors while reaching out to non-donors.

Sheetal discusses the goals behind this connection to donors, as well as other potential ways for supporters to serve as ambassadors for mission-based organizations.

Karen Graham is the founder of Karen Graham Consulting, with whose "20+ years experience in nonprofit leadership, consulting, and capacity building earned me a broad knowledge of how people, process, and technology can work together to create impact."

Karen was part of a team with NTEN and Lehman Associates collaborating on a survey of donor management system (DMS) satisfaction in the nonprofit community. The full survey materials are available at Karen Graham Consulting. Karen joins host Steve Boland to discuss the survey and the implications for organizations working with DMS' - which according to the survey is most nonprofits! Karen shares insights on the issues rated with highest and lowest satisfaction, the most commonly used DMS', and investing in the people operating the systems to understand the highest level of return.

Lesley De Paz is the lead consultant at Nonprofit Orchard, which offers a "step by step approach to align all aspects of my organization helping us to reach our potential."

Lesley recommends and uses logic models and theories of change to help nonprofits in their work. She joins host Steve Boland to talk about the difference between a logic model and a theory of change, how outputs are different from outcomes, understanding your own inputs to create change, and much more! Visit Nonprofit Orchard to see some examples of logic models, learn about templates, and find other resources.

Lynn Margherio is the Founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons, which "provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play. We supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities." Cradles to Crayons uses a lot of volunteers - of all ages - to meet their mission goals.

Lynn joins host Steve Boland to talk about the importance of volunteerism as a component of building both service delivery and community support for nonprofit missions. The Cradles to Crayons "Giving Factory" (a warehouse where volunteers can give to their mission) has thousands of volunteer visits every year and Lynn talks about leveraging that commitment to further engagement in the mission work over time. Lynn talks about growing from faxes and spreadsheets to using a customized Salesforce implementation (more on Salesforce for nonprofits in this podcast episode), the importance of relationship and connection with volunteers, and much more.

Lynn also has a TEDxBeaconStreet talk about building an "army of empathy" including volunteers and building a culture of connection from a young age.

Bithiah Carter is the President and CEO of Give Black Alliance, which "seeks to create a strong Black community capable of advocating on its own behalf and identifying the necessary resources to support its vitality."

Bithiah joins host Steve Boland to talk about the origins of the Give Black Alliance and the tools they use to engage the community around understanding the impact of Black donors and conversations within Black movements. Bithiah shares about the Giving Black reports sharing information about specific cities and case studies, the #CouchConversations series available on their website, and a challenge for all communities to meaningfully engage in Black philanthropy.

Anne Nies is the Director of Science for Submittable, and Sam Caplan is the Vice President of Social Impact. Submittable is a platform to help "clients further social impact through programs that reach millions of people around the world."

Anne and Sam join host Steve Boland to talk about five specific principles that Submittable is deploying as it makes Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools available in their platform - both for nonprofits and those organizations that support charities. The principles include AI as; Empowering, Accountable, Transparent, Equitable, and Private & Secure. Anne and Sam discuss how these principles help their whole user community understand their tools and choices. There is more information at https://www.submittable.com/ai/

Shanna Birky is the Vice President, Customer Experience at Classy, "a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about." Classy is presenting a webinar on election-year fundraising on May 1, 2024.

Shanna joins host Steve Boland talk about election year issues such as looking at specific dates this year to be aware campaign issues (primaries, debates, etc...) and timing your own events to avoid conflicts, developing a rapid response strategy, setting up specific campaigns on topics being discussed in elections, and being ready for "rage-giving" in unexpected issues that may arise as elections continue.

Matt Nash is the executive director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund, which has "administered over $1.6 billion in donations from passionate individuals and corporations to 195,000 nonprofit organizations around the world."

Matt joins host Steve Boland to talk about how small and mid-sized charities can be most open to finding and connecting with donors using tools such as donor-advised funds. Matt shares his thoughts about understanding the tools some donors may choose, asking donors to connect in supporting the work outside of contributions (such as volunteering, connecting to peers at employment-based sites) and stewarding those relationships over time.

Shaun Kulesza is the Founder and CEO of ShopRaise, which "help(s) causes engage supporters, build their brand and raise money through socially-conscious shopping." Shaun joins the podcast to talk about where shopping donation programs can fit into the nonprofit fundraising landscape, how ShopRaise works, and what charities should know about programs like this in their portfolio of approaches to raising support.

Host Steve Boland shares his initial skepticism of shopping programs, and Shaun addresses some of those concerns about when and how nonprofit missions may benefit from these tools. The conversation includes the changes in the landscape since the demise of Amazon Smile (and a reminder to remove those links lingering on your website!) and the importance of a range of options for a range of potential supporters for a mission-based organization.

Jenn Taylor is the Founder of Deep Why Design, created to "to help nonprofit organizations transform and humanize their data systems. Humanized systems are transparent, equitable, and effective." The Deep Why Design team has been assisting nonprofits with tools such as Salesforce, and Jenn joins this episode to talk about the evolution of Salesforce into something more and more useful to smaller and mid-sized nonprofits.

Host Steve Boland talks to Jenn about the true cost of the "free" Salesforce.org licenses (read: free as in puppies, not free as in beer), understanding Salesforce as a hub of data and not always the tool to collect or process it, the extensive ecosystem of tools that connect to Salesforce, and much more.

Sara Lomelin is the CEO of Philanthropy Together, with a mission "to democratize and diversify philanthropy through the power of collective giving." Sara joins host Steve Boland to talk about the power of collective giving in community.

Philanthropy Together offers layers of tools to support communal giving, from starting new giving circles to now a Lauchpad for Nonprofits offering to support charities in building their own donor-connected giving. Sara discusses the long-time use of circles, and also the newer tools like Grapevine to support them. She talks about expanded giving tactics which may include tax-deductible gifts, but may also be impacted by community decisions such as funding informal mutual aid networks. Philanthropy Today is specifically interested in how these tools may shift the historic inequities in charitable giving, leveling the field for efforts led by people of color, gender-diverse leaders, and more.

Noelani Pearl Hernandez is the Vice President, Culture & Leadership at Charity Navigator, whose mission "is to make impactful giving easier for all ". Carly Bad Heart Bull is the Executive Director of Native Ways Federation, which "strengthen(s) the circle of giving by uniting Native organizations, supporting Native communities, and observing the highest level of ethical standards."

Carly and Noelani join host Steve Boland to discuss equity in philanthropic giving. They talk about defining equity in this context, about organizations that are Native-led v. Native-serving, and what measures are changing when donors and philanthropy talk about seeking equity in giving. Carly contributed blog ideas on these topics on the Charity Navigator site.

Charity Navigator's Encompass Rating system offers a holistic view of a charity’s effectiveness and reliability beyond just finances and dives into the overall health of a charity’s programs making it possible to present a full and fair picture of an organization. Carly encourages listeners to consider action via Native Nonprofit Day, a national giving day in coming back in 2024.

Matt Stokes is the Senior Associate Director, Prospect Management and Research at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Matt joins host Steve Boland to talk about the field of prospect management, especially focusing on bringing new donors to a nonprofit mission.

Matt shares his experience on thoughts on how to connect with potential donors, tools that support that work, peer-supported giving campaigns for outreach, challenges in the nonprofit sector in how people view philanthropy and much more.

Rasheeda Childress is the senior editor for fundraising at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Emily Haynes is a senior reporter at the Chronicle of Philanthropy. They recently authored a review of findings from the Giving USA 2022 report. (infographic summary here.)

Emily and Rasheeda join host Steve Boland to talk about the early learnings from the 2022 Giving USA numbers. International giving is up - even in inflation-adjusted terms - but many other sectors are down both in real terms and in inflation-adjusted dollars. The value of major donors may be shifting as potential opens up for smaller- and medium-sized donations. Giving to foundations and donor-advised funds impacts the investments those tools are making in charities. Rasheeda and Emily also discuss the potential impacts of non-charitable giving as tax deductions have become less important to more donors due to the 2018 changes in standard deductions.

Kari Aanestad is the Associate Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, which "works to inform, promote, connect, and strengthen individual nonprofits and the nonprofit sector." Kari is also the Co-Director of Grant Advisor, "safe way to anonymously give and receive feedback on grantmaking."

Kari joins host Steve Boland to talk about the emerging tools in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what their use may mean in the nonprofit sector. One of the most prevalent forms being adopted today is ChatGPT, a Large Language Model (LLM) which users can ask to write anything from song lyrics to grant applications. Kari and Steve are not experts in the science (very few people are!) but discuss the pros and cons of using such tools in nonprofit work. They talk about cultural bias in AI, the ethics of contributing to such systems, using AI as a writing prompt rather than replacing writers, and just what may be the "existential risks" some AI developers are warning against.

Michelle Boggs is the Executive Nonprofit Industry Advisory for Classy, a "a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about." Classy is now part of Go Fund Me, the "#1 and most trusted leader in online fundraising."

Classy and Go Fund Me have released the 2023 State of Modern Philanthropy Report, exploring what works and challenges the data are showing in connecting with donors online. Topics include the most impactful social media channels for connections and conversions, the importance of peer-supported fundraising for donor acquisition, how larger donors may be more likely to make additional gifts later, and more.

Classy's Collaborative Conference is coming to Philadelphia on June 7 and 8. Podcast listeners are encouraged to register at a 50% discount using the code NEXTINNONPROFITS.

Arielle Zappia is the Founder and CEO of Project WHY, “to facilitate genuine empathy through understanding homeless people’s individual stories”. Arielle joins host Steve Boland to talk about the importance of story not only in fund development work but in the mission work of connecting communities to the impact of a nonprofit in the community. Arielle discusses this history of Project WHY, working with partner organizations around story, honoring the choices of individuals in telling their own stories and more.

Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Latasha Jennings is the Project Lead at Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) which "provides harm reduction-based, intensive case management to individuals who come into repeated contact with law enforcement due to unmet behavioral health needs, homelessness, and/or extreme poverty."

LEAD practices have evolved in other cities, and are being brought in a new partnership to the Lake Street corridor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Latasha joins host Steve Boland to talk about nonprofit organizations work in collaboration in a space which has often been relegated to public safety/civil service employees, how a movement builds trust in a community, and how to measure change.

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Jane Pfieffer is the founder and president of Fieldtrip, "a cause-driven agency that amplifies nonprofits and the impact they make."

Jane joins host Steve Boland to talk about the ideas Fieldtrip uses with charities to move potential supporters or clients to action. Listeners can see Jane talk about some of these ideas in her Mission Multiplier series on the Fieldtrip website (or directly on YouTube). Jane and Steve talk about the idea of the Bold Promise - telling your community how you are delivering on an important and big need in your community.

Aral Balkan is co-founder of Small Technology Foundation, which is promoting "everyday tools for everyday people designed to increase human welfare, not corporate profits." Aral and his Small Technology co-founder Laura Kalbag have been advocating for regulation of surveillance capitalism, investment in ethical alternatives, and carrying out research and development on ethical alternatives.

Aral joins host Steve Boland to discuss decentralized social communication tools for nonprofit organizations (and everyone else!). Aral talks about federated communications tools (the Fediverse) like Mastodon (microblogging like Twitter but without corporate ownership), PixelFed (more image focused like Instagram) and many other ideas. Aral discusses the problematic relationship between charities seeking to have real engagement with audiences and how corporate platforms interfere at best, or undermine those efforts. Federate tools for communication and the small web in general puts more control in the hands of users and removes algorithms from the communications outreach loop for charities.

A program note: There was a microphone selection problem during this recording which has Steve sounding a bit muffled and far away. Aral sounds great, so please bear with the audio issue to get all the great information from Aral! More info at NextInNonprofits.com/podcast!

Kris Kewitsch is the executive director of the Charities Review Council, whose mission is "building donor and nonprofit relationships for strong, vibrant, and just communities." Their work helping nonprofits improve transparency and learn brought Kris to the podcast in 2019 to talk about the original news on the merger of the Foundation Center and Guidestar to create Candid.

Candid announced last week they had received a gift of $15 million in general operating support from Mackenzie Scott. Kris joins host Steve Boland to talk about a gift of this magnitude to a nonprofit sector support organization, rather than a direct service charity, and the impact such a gift may make. They talk about the progress of Candid since the merger was announced, the expense of technology platforms to help inform donors and the sector, and much more!

This episode is a first for Next in Nonprofits: A podcast cross-over episode with A Legacy of Generosity podcast! Kristi Ackley and Carl Newbanks are two of the hosts of that program, "dedicated to provide professional development content for every fundraiser with special attention to planned and legacy giving."

Kristi and Carl join host Steve Boland to talk about the questions and challenges approaching and supporting and large donors in making choices around big gifts to charities. One option would be to create or give to an endowment - earning money for future needs. Another would be to invest in a "big swing" - spending a much larger amount of money all at once to create a larger-scale impact that in turn ripples over time.

Our hosts discuss the conversation with those donors, the focus of Boards in how to pursue larger-scale gifts, community-centric giving models and much more. 

Allie Meador is the Chief Revenue Officer of RightGift, whose "mission is to empower nonprofits and their donors to expand their social impact through conscious utilization of purchases and in-kind donations."

Allie joins host Steve Boland to talk about how RightGift supports charities with tools such as wish-list purchasing from donors, receipts for those donors, bulk purchases, delayed shipping and storage for bulk purchases, logistics support and more.

Holly Rustick is "founder of Grant Writing & Funding, and ... create(s) effective systems so grant writers ensure that nonprofits grow capacity, increase funding and advance mission." Holly is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing and the host of the podcast Grant Writing and Funding.

Holly joins host Steve Boland to talk about the evolving nature of outsourced support for nonprofit organizations, especially in non-core areas of specialization like fund development and communications. The lessons of the COVID workplace have opened more doors to charities using a remote workforce and to considering leveraging expertise from outsourced partners. Holly talks about educating nonprofit partners on how outsourcing works, the importance of clarity in the work agreement, communicating value to nonprofits from their expert partners, and much more.

Holly is a planning partner in the August 2022 Nonprofit Consulting Conference, providing additional information and sessions about successfully working in nonprofit consultancy.

Houda Elyazgi is the Chief Client Officer at Saxum, "an integrated digital agency obsessed for good." Houda is committed to making the world better through her work in diversity, equality, education and public policy.

Houda joins host Steve Boland talk about social permitting, a practice she uses at Saxum to help charities think about engaging with audiences to support nonprofit goals. The focus on permission, multiple entry points, and user feedback builds a more effective strategy over time. One permission to seek is for donations, another may be for access to a supporter's network to expand support for the work. Houda goes over some case studies to illustrate how Saxum works in this space.

Gauri Manglik is the CEO and co-founder of Instrumentl, which "brings grant discovery, research, and tracking to one place. With Instrumentl, development staff are more effective and efficient at finding the right grants for their nonprofits."

Gauri joins host Steve Boland to talk about the origins of the tool, and what makes Instrumental different from other tools for grants in the nonprofit sector. Gauri talks about the evolution of their discovery algorithm, features like understanding how much funders invest in new applicants, updating government funding opportunities and so much more.

Emily Heck is owner and marketing consultant at Evergreen Marketing Solutions, which "work(s) with clients to elevate their brands and grow the engagement of their audiences. We blend data driven decisions with our years of experience to build strategies that evolve as audiences and markets change."

Emily joins host Steve Boland to talk about how users join email lists, creating and using a welcoming series in automation using tools like Mailchimp, collecting "point of pride" information from supporters when they sign up, and asking for more personalized connection over time toward better engagement. Emily and Steve briefly mention the value of tools like postal mail and print, and listeners can hear more about that topic on this past episode.

Daniel Moss and Michelle Garrison are the Co-Founders & Virtual Event Strategists at We & Goliath, which "provides a beautifully branded end-to-end solution that will engage your attendees, improve their collaboration and performance, and keep them coming back for more."

Daniel and Michelle join host Steve Boland to talk about the changing nature of events in 2022 and beyond, especially as it relates to changes in virtual events and hybrid events with a virtual component. We & Goliath talk more about engagement tools and strategies, integrating vendors and sponsors, tools to support this work and much more. They recommend a free e-book on tools to help nonprofits expand their reach for events and communications.

Dr. Michelle Shumate is a professor at Northwestern's School of Communication, where she "investigates the dynamics of interorganizational networks designed to impact large social issues." She is co-author of the new book, Networks for Social Impact.

Dr. Shumate and her co-author Dr. Cooper depict when and how to use networks for social impact to improve issues related to educational outcomes, mental health and wellness, gender-based violence, climate change, senior and veteran care, and more, by providing a new framework for organizations to more seamlessly work together. She talks to host Steve Boland about the axioms used in framing the book, the case studies which illustrate these issues, understanding the necessity of some partners needing to pause in the work, and much more.

Lauren Kaufman is the President of the Young Women's Alliance, and Bijal Patel is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Belonging of the Young Women's Alliance. The Alliance is "building a community that supports, empowers, and connects women."

Lauren and Bijal join host Steve Boland to talk about the changes community building face since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted in-person events as a primary strategy. They talk about how their work has grown during this time, how they think about support for members online and in-person, and how adapting to new tools and tactics may impact the future direction of mission-based organizations.

Patrice Davis is the Founder and Managing Principal of Grants Works, which "helps organizations, businesses, and municipalities identify, acquire, manage, and comply with government and foundation grants."

Patrice joins host Steve Boland to talk about government funding for nonprofit work, including federal grants, federally funded work which may be re-granted from state, local, tribal or territorial governments, and more. Patrice shares specific information about new resources from the American Rescue Plan Act which could really change the game for many charities in working with government sources, both in terms of amount of dollars and how they are accessed. Charities should evaluate these options to scale their impact in communities, but also be planning how to maintain that impact after this influx has been awarded.

Professor Russel James has been on the Next in Nonprofits podcast before, talking about resources for donors after the changes in itemization in 2018. Russell joins the conversation again to talk about his new book series, Fundraising Myth and Science. The books are available in audio for free on YouTube, in .pdf by connecting to Russell on LinkedIn, or in paper if desired via Amazon.

The books are a series in four parts: The Storytelling Fundraiser, The Epic Fundraiser, The Primal Fundraiser, and The Socratic Fundraiser. Russell talks about research in each of these categories, and how the science of that research provides useful insights for people working in fundraising. Russell shares his insights on how different research can be considered in these different contexts, and how professionals in the field can connect in these ideas.

Rob Shavell is the CEO and Co-Founder of Abine and DeleteMe, "a hands-free subscription service that will remove your personal information that’s being sold online."

Rob joins the podcast to talk about the risks of general data availability for nonprofit organizations. Groups will need and want to publish some information online about their key officers and directors for the community, but can also take measures to ensure a more secure experience and reduce possible downsides to being online. Rob also discusses how charities can honor their trusted relationships with donors by understanding how that information can best remain private when that is import to donors.

Jon Pratt recently retired as Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Jon was the founding director, working in that role since 1987. The world of collective action by and for nonprofits has evolved in many ways since that time. It has also kept some very solid foundational elements through those decades.

Host Steve Boland talks to Jon about this history of building one of the largest state nonprofit associations, and what we can learn about the future from that work. Some things have stayed the same - though the current web-based job-board started out as a literal bulletin board at first. Other issues of interest to the nonprofit economy continue to change and may point to new challenges in the coming years.

More information at NextInNonprofits.com/podcast.

Veronica Garcia is Lead Organizer for Wealth Reclamation Academy of Practitioners, "a community of practice organized by and for Resource Mobilizers. As Resource Mobilizers, we are the individuals in our communities who specialize in cultivating relationship networks and stewarding the flow of assets (social and material) back into social justice movement and community-building."

Veronica joins host Steve Boland to talk about the evolution of the mission, the idea of reclamation and rehabilitation in mobilizing resources for nonprofit work, talking to partners in philanthropy about this framework (including asking about support for the ACE Act in Congress) and much more. Veronica encourages fund development people to learn more about cohort support, open office hours for check-ins, and more via their website.

Diane Lebson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Evergreen Philanthropic Solutions and the author of the new book, For a Good Cause. Diane joins host Steve Boland to talk about all the ways people can support a cause, from donations to volunteering to creating a new charity.

Diane talks about this work from different perspectives, including how women approach philanthropy differently, how a gendered-lens of power impacts those decisions, and how one considers impact when making decisions.

More information available at Next in Nonprofits.

Sona Khosla is the Chief Impact Officer of Benevity, which "is trusted by the world’s most purpose-driven brands to engage their people and communities in doing good." Benevity provides workplace giving and engagement tools, resources to nonprofits, and more.

The State of Corporate Purpose report is the first such report issued by Benevity, and highlights trends observed in philanthropy and volunteerism via 650 participating Benevity partners. Some findings are less surprising (volunteer hours were down in the pandemic where many volunteers used to give time in person), but other findings show unexpected and dramatic shifts, including the focus in 2020 on social and racial justice causes.

Dominique Calixte is the Associate Director of Annual Giving and Special Events for YW Boston. She spends a lot of time considering the mix of support options to pay for mission work in the world, and has been a previous guest on the Next in Nonprofits podcast. Check out Fundraising While Black to learn more!

Dominique joins host Steve Boland to talk about the pluses and minuses of outside organizations partnering with nonprofits for what Dominique calls "microdonations." A prime example (pun intended) is the Amazon Smile program, which donates .5% of eligible purchases to a charity if the microdonor uses the correct web address. Dominique talks about other examples, such as rounding up programs at local stores, specific deals with creators rather than retailers, and more. An important theme in her thinking is connecting to donors more than small dollars raised.

Listen now by clicking the player or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Tim Kachuriak is the CEO and Founder of NextAfter, which "combines the perpetual learning of a fundraising research lab, the practical application of a digital-first agency, and the rigorous instruction of a training institute."

Tim joins host Steve Boland to talk about how "people give to people" and the tools and tactics nonprofits can use to maximize the personal connection to donors while using some levels of automation to keep the process fast and affordable.

Tim talks about the experiments run by NextAfter, what they have learned from this data, and how they help implement what they've learned and tested. A little personalization and the right tools can go a long way in earning trust with donors.

Download the Fundraiser's Creed Tim mentions in the episode.

Nneka Allen is the principal and founder of The Empathy Agency, which "offer(s) a better understanding of dominant cultures' impact on organizational culture because we are all responsible for the environments we create." Chris Conroy is a partner at The Wellspring Group, "a complete Human Resources and training consultancy helping healthcare providers, educational institutions, and social impact/nonprofit organizations build more inclusive, higher performing teams."

Nneka and Chris join host Steve Boland to talk about their joint work in equity in the nonprofit sector, including their curriculum, Racial Equity Journey. They talk about defining equity in work (and talk about diversity and inclusion as terms), addressing cultures of whiteness in charities, engaging people for change and much more. Acknowledging the problems aloud can be a first step, but nonprofits often don't move forward in breaking down systemic barriers which they may not even understand without assistance.

Stephen King is Founder and CEO of GrowthForce, whose mission is " is to become a trusted partner leaders can rely on to provide actionable financial insights needed for making data-driven decisions."

Stephen joins host Steve Boland to talk about this moment in time of changed community expectations in a pandemic, new debt tools not previously available (including the Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the SBA with a 30 year repayment), and more.

Stephen talks about the use of debt, ensuring there is a sensible plan for recovery rather than just postponing difficult decisions for changes that are not going to go back to the way things were. Stephen discusses the "Amazonification" of expectations from donors and clients in the post-pandemic world, keeping your forecasting within reasonable range and much more

Jennifer Katrulya is a partner at Citrin Cooperman, "a top-25 nationally recognized full-service assurance, tax, and advisory firm with offices conveniently located throughout the United States." Jennifer works with nonprofits and other companies in all stages of development, and joins host Steve Boland to talk about the long-term changes charities may see from the COVID crisis.

Jennifer discusses changes in work places, the potential longer-term needs in real-estate and remote locations, impacts on service delivery in charities and much more.

Joe Burnett is the contributing editor, and Ken Burnett is a trustee, of Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (SOFII). SOFII "aims to be the most comprehensive, best organised, and most inspiring collection of fundraising related content from around the world." The site hosts case studies of fundraising from around the world and throughout recorded history.

SOFII hosts the "I Wish I’d Thought of That (IWITOT): The Americas" event on January 26, 2021, and a series of IWITOT events in the past. The showcase features great ideas in fundraising, presented by peers who did not create/participate in the case study. Joe and Ken join host Steve Boland to discuss what is "innovation" in a field that has case studies that are thousands of years old, adapting ideas to fit current times and needs, and much more.

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Nate Nordstrom is the Founder and CEO of Easy Board, "The easy way to organize board meetings, documents, and people." The tool is designed to help boards of directors share information with the least amount of barriers to use.

Nate joins host Steve Boland to talk about the ongoing challenge of coordinating information for boards, some of the decisions for Easy Board in their tools, the decision to launch a new product targeted for this use specifically, and much more.

Janay Richmond is the Director of Marketing and Membership for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), and Ryan Schlegel is the Director of Research for NCRP. The NCRP "promotes philanthropy that serves the public good, is responsive to people and communities with the least wealth and opportunity, and is held accountable to the highest standards of integrity and openness."

Janay and Ryan are among the co-authors of the report Black Funding Denied, which analyzes pubic data about community foundation giving specifically directed to Black communities. The report uses data from Candid to demonstrate an "ever-persistent resource gap" in funds designated for Black communities. Janay and Ryan discuss the origins of the report, transparency in philanthropic reporting, and much more. Additional information is available from other partners, including The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE), Pocket Change, and more.

Courtney DeRonde is Managing Partner at TDT CPAs and Advisors, which outsourced accounting services at varying levels for businesses, including nonprofit organizations. Part of how TDT works with clients is in decision-making on what accounting systems do versus what information should be left in other data-management systems.

Host Steve Boland talks with Courtney about integrating accounting software like Quickbooks with outside systems (specifically donor relationship management software), using that information to monitor cash flow or forward projections, accounting for pledges in accounting software, and much more! Courtney has a free e-Book to help think through these issues.

Ken Ungar is the president and founder of CHARGE, whose "mission is to help clients unlock the power of sponsorship to enhance their brands and grow their business."

The world of sponsorship had often been associated with events in the past, but in a world of limited numbers of people doing in-person gatherings, that opportunity is changing. Ken talks about having a sponsorship policy (learn what questions to ask in that policy with this template), to conduct a readiness assessment (available on the CHARGE website), and to really consider the value proposition of giving a partner access to your nonprofit audience. Ken has a book on this topic, and shares his thoughts on corporate participation as sponsors, how this works with charitable gifts from the same organization or related groups, and much more.

Amadie Hart is the lead researcher of the recently updated "A Consumers Guide to Low-Cost Fundraising Software published by Tech Impact, which helps charities consider "...systems that facilitate work from any geographic location, that allow them to collect donations online, and that allow them to communicate directly with their donors."

Amadie joins host Steve Boland to discuss how the team decided which systems to review (for example, these systems are all cloud-based now), how use cases would be defined, information about pricing and so much more.

Spencer Brooks is the Founder and Principal of Brooks Digital, which "believe(s) in your mission and know(s) you have the tools and information to help your constituents, you just don’t know how to orchestrate it all together to boost traffic, engagement, memberships, and subscribers."

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations exist to protect health-care consumers, and charities want to stay on the right side of those rules while asking their clients and supporters to stay connected with them outside any direct service relationship. Spencer talks with host Steve Boland about how to ask for permission to share marketing information, three levels of HIPAA-compliant marketing for nonprofits, and even going back to build a relationship with past clients if permission wasn't originally requested. Check out the links provided by Brooks Digital for more information.

Mark Cross is the Sales Director at GoodUnited, which is "is the worldwide leader in 1:1 conversational messaging between nonprofits and their donors."

Mark joins host Steve Boland to talk about the "why" of using Facebook for fundraising, including the fact it is going to happen with or without your nonprofits engagement. Mark also gets into the "how" of using Facebook tools, including a blog post from GoodUnited with information about how to get approved with Facebook to get more information about Facebook fundraising. Despite acknowledged concerns about Facebook as a platform (see the StopHateForProfit campaign for example), many potential supporters will use this space and charities can benefit from being intentional about engagement and strategy.

Dominque Calixte is "a millennial and fundraising professional" with "an interest in helping to activate millennials as change-makers through philanthropy and effective DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) practice in the fundraising space."

Dominque joins host Steve Boland to talk about her perspective on Fundraising While Black. She shares her insights into systemic problems in hiring and advancing people of color in the fundraising space, and in nonprofit work more broadly. Topics include donor advised funds, access to networks, turnover in the field and more.

Steven joins host Steve Boland to talk about using Google Ads to drive donations to charities. The Google Ads program donates search advertising to clients (learn more in our podcast on Google Ads) but once in the system it takes strategy and testing to direct search traffic into financial support for a mission. Steven talks about using pixels to re-market to past visitors, keeping up on the quality of search click throughs, augmenting donated search ads with paid tools, and much more!

Megan joins host Steve Boland to talk about the #StopHateForProfit campaign, sponsored by groups such as ADL, NAACP, Color of Change and more. The sponsoring groups are urging for-profit companies to "pause" all advertising spending on Facebook, hoping the platform will make changes to "stop generating ad revenue from misinformation and harmful content."

The campaign is targeted at for-profit companies, but the nonprofit sector has a lot consider about the problems with Facebook, the future of using that tool, and understanding all their other options to reach potential supporters, engage donors and more. Megan talks about how Whole Whale engages clients in evaluating what is right for them work, mission, and future given these concerns.

Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Doug Scott is the Founder and CEO of Tectonic Video, which believes "Video is the future, and nonprofits need to quickly adapt to this new reality."

Doug joins host Steve Boland to talk about logical steps in video production and measurement for nonprofits. When to use the camera in your phone, when to hire a professional, and how to think about video as both a tool for expanding support for your work as well as a mission-accomplishing tactic.

Vanessa Wakeman is a Nonprofit Futurist, speaker, and CEO of the Wakeman Agency, "a social change agency that helps amplify the voices of mission-driven causes and the people that lead them."

Vanessa joins host Steve Boland to talk about what we changes may echo into the longer-term future as a result of the pandemic. Charities should consider faster responses with more remote actions, building audiences regardless of geography, more equitable financial support to leaders of color in the sector, and much more!

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Corey joins host Steve Boland to talk about the FunFunding platform, how it works, sponsorship, connections with players and the pathway to supporters, the impact of gamification as a tool on engagement, and much more! Listeners may also wish to review the episode on Virtue Reality to learn about building custom games (vs. using existing games which don't require installation.)

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Jeff Baker is Associate Clinical Professor of Law and Assistant Dean of Clinical Education & Global Programs at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, and Director of the Community Justice Clinic.

Jeff joins host Steve Boland to discuss the federal government response to the Coronavirus economic impact, and in particular the relief programs funded in the CARES Act: The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Nonprofits organizations are eligible to apply in both programs, and Jeff discusses what we know of the programs so far, and what nonprofits should consider in applying for these loans, what is forgivable (essentially converting to grants) and what needs to be repaid. As of this recording (April 21, 2020) additional funding was still pending in the Congress, but PPP funds had already been oversubscribed.

The Community Justice Clinic has resources available, as does the National Council of Nonprofits. All charities are urged to stay in contact with their representation in Congress, telling them how relief efforts to date are impacting your mission.

Martin Leifeld is an author, consultant, coach and public speaker. During his 24 years of professional fundraising, Martin and his teams raised a staggering $500 million dollars.

Martin joins host Steve Boland to discuss the big changes happening in fundraising in a post-coronavirus world. Martin emphasizes relationships with donors as a key driver of how to respond to rapidly changing forces in the development world. Outside tactics like GivingTuesdayNow can impact donors and conversations, as well as impacts from secondary factors such as stock market fluctuations, possible impacts on employment and partner organizations and more. Martin talks about communication as a key, even in times when you may choose a different message for donors than a request for financial support.

Mazarine joins host Steve Boland to talk about the long-standing issue of turnover in fund development staff for charities. Some staff may leave a position early for unrelated reasons, but often the high churn in development staff is due to poor expectations, poor communication of those expectations, or poor support to grow tools and staff over time. Mazarine emphasizes her experience with building a pipeline, mentoring newer development staff (and board and others!), and knowing the value of making the right hire and building realistic goals to celebrate.

Get more on our podcast page.

Chelsea Seabron is Manager with Google.org, and Larry Brown, Jr. is the National Director of the NAACP ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) program. ACT-SO " is a yearlong achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students."

Google.org has announced a three year, $3 million dollar grant with accompanying Google employee volunteer hours to help bring ACT SO to more communities and more students.

Larry and Chelsea talk to host Steve Boland about the history of ACT SO, the decision by Google.org to support that work, the nature of bringing a program to scale over time, the impact of ACT SO on young people over time, and much more. Check out the Google.org ad about ACT SO.

Tosha Anderson is The Charity CFO, which "was founded to offer accounting and thought leadership skills to nonprofit organizations." Tosha brings over 30 years of experience in nonprofit accounting to her clients, and serves groups of all sizes and missions.

Host Steve Boland talks to Tosha about allocating costs for programs to better tell a nonprofit story. Some funders limit "management and general" or indirect costs to programs, but part of raising the necessary resources to support a nonprofit mission is telling the full story of all costs involved. Tosha discusses methods to allocate indirect costs, using that information to make better management decisions, and understanding when funder limits may be causing problems for specific programs.

More at https://NextInNonprofits.com/podcast.

Sarah Durham is the CEO of Big Duck, a communications consulting organization which specializes in "developing the voices of determined nonprofits."

Sarah's new book, The Nonprofit Communications Engine, "outlines a simple model for nonprofit communicators and leaders that makes it easier for them to leverage communications in order to advance their mission. " Sarah joins host Steve Boland to discuss the metaphor of the Engine to envision interrelated parts moving toward a goal, a free, self-assessment tool to begin this work. the different types of engagement and measurements, and much more.

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Tech Impact provides consulting services for nonprofits in several areas. Erica and Lee join host Steve Boland to discuss the choices and challenges faced by charities upgrading from their initial tools, such as moving from a separate donor system and communications to a more comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) system. They discuss the potential high-cost of "free", examining culture in choosing next systems, total cost of ownership and more.

Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Naomi Morenzoni is Vice President of Philanthropy Strategy at Salesforce. Sunya Norman is Director, Sustainability at Salesforce. They join host Steve Boland to talk about the SDGs in relation to Salesforce, how charities can see themselves contributing to that picture, and how to learn more from tools such as as the Trailmix (online training) from Salesforce on the SDGs.

https://NextInNonprofits.com/podcast

• Salesforce ::
• Salesforce.org ::
• United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ::
• Naomi Morenzoni ::
• Sunya Norman ::
• Trailmix on SDGs ::