Nonprofit Ally Podcast

Latest Episodes:

NPA 065: From For-Profit to Non-Profit. Making the Transition. Aug 16, 2017

Show notes

For some, it is easy to enter into the nonprofit world. But for many it is an “ideal”, a dream, or a passing fantasy that is tough to realize.

There seems to be a common thread among nonprofit seekers. They want to do more. They want to feel like they are doing something for their community. They want to make a difference.

Often theses “wants” can’t be fulfilled in the for-profit corporate world. But transitioning into a position at a nonprofit can seem scary. There are lots of concerns that run through our minds:

Will I make enough money?
Will the work be challenging?
How do I pick the right organization?
How do you find the right position?
What qualifications do I need?
And again… will I make enough money?

In this podcast I talk with Rick Sleutaris, Co-director at Open Connections in Pennsylvania. He talks about his personally story of working for Gore (a.k.a. Gore-tex), with a Masters in Business Adminstration, and how his desire to do something else, lead him to the nonprofit world.

This is a great story that many will be able to relate to. For those seeking the nonprofit expereince, this will help inspire and comfort you along your journey.

Resourses

Open Connections Website: www.openconnections.org

Idealist Website: www.idealist.org

The post NPA 065: From For-Profit to Non-Profit. Making the Transition. first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 064: The Many Hats of a Nonprofit Executive Director Aug 09, 2017

Show notes

Being the Executive Director (ED) of a nonprofit means different things for different organizations. But it means one thing for the ED. You will wear many hats, use different skills and fulfill a variety of roles.

Let’s get a bit more specific. As an ED you may be required to be the bookkeeper, fundraiser, grant writer, program developer, volunteer organizer, event planner, donor outreach coordinator or marketing specialist.

In smaller organizations you may also be the dog walker, custodian, envelope licker, web designer, software updated, printer fixer, supply clerk, etc. I think you get the picture.

It is not an easy job. But our guest, Ann Wrixon, has been doing it for nearly 30 years and she shares with us a wealth of knowledge. She currently is the ED at CASA of Contra Costa County, in Concord, CA. This is a real “boots on the ground” interview with someone who has been there and done that. (And is still doing it).

So, if you are an executive director, thinking about becoming one or are on a board that works with one, this podcast will give you an appreciation and understanding of all the work that goes in to being an ED.

Resources

CASA of Contra Costa County, https://cccocasa.org/.

Contact Ann, contact page.

The post NPA 064: The Many Hats of a Nonprofit Executive Director first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 063: How to Fundraise Using Email Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

Fundraising for your nonprofit can be time consuming and energy draining. Let’s face it, most of us don’t like fundraising. But what if you could create a “passive” fundraising system. Does that sound intriguing?

Well, that is just what Jason Granger from Infinity Marketing Group is going to share with you in this podcast. Jason has decades of marketing experience and has developed an innovative way to approach nonprofit fundraising. He takes what is often termed a “sales funnel” and has turned it into a “fundraising funnel”.

In this podcast, Jason walks us through the steps you need to take in order to set up your own fundraising funnel for your nonprofit. This is a great hands-on podcast that will help you set up a passive fundraising system.

Resources

Jason’s Website: Infinity Marketing Group

Free Crowdfunding Ebook (expires August 5, 2017): The Ultimate Guide to Nonprofit Fundraising with Crowdfunding

This podcast is a VIDEO: Watch on YouTube

The post NPA 063: How to Fundraise Using Email first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 062: Starting a Nonprofit in a Foreign Country (Listener Interview) Jul 26, 2017

Show notes

Starting a nonprofit is not easy. But starting a nonprofit in a foreign country… that shares a war-affected border… well, that is just down-right difficult. But that is what Jason Szolomayer is doing in Jordan.

How can regular people like you and me help tangibly with the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East? In this episode I talk with Jason Szolomayer about how 3D printing and 3D scanning technology can bring the “gift of hearing” to Syrian refugees and low-income individuals in the world’s biggest war-torn hotspot.

Jason, the founder of 3DP4ME (3D Printing for Me/Middle East), shares the challenges he and his partner in Jordan are facing to create ear molds for hearing aids. Jason also shares info about the Hearing Express Project, which aims to provide 12,000 hearing aids over the next five years.

“In developing countries less than 3% of people who need a hearing aid are thought to have.”
World Health Organization (WHO), 2013

This is an great story that is bound to inspire. I hope you like it.

RESOURCES

Learn more at www.3dp4me.org

The post NPA 062: Starting a Nonprofit in a Foreign Country (Listener Interview) first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 061: Get a FREE Website for your Nonprofit Jul 12, 2017

Show notes

Adam Walker is the co-founder of a special kind of nonprofit. His nonprofit, 48-in-48, gives free websites to nonprofits. Yup, you heard that right – he makes websites for nonprofits and gives them away for free.

This is how it works. A team of web designers get together and make 48 websites for 48 nonprofits in 48 hours.

OK, so of course that is cool. But this podcast also goes into detail about web design best practices for nonprofits.

Adam shares his expertise about page design, message crafting, website marketing, branding and, of course, donation pages.

So, if you are making your nonprofit website and want to know what pages to include, what content to create or what features you should include, then this is the podcast to listen to.

Resources

48 in 48 website

Impact Lab Online Conference – July 27, 2017

Adam’s business website Sideways 8

Adam’s blog: adamjwalker.com

Adam’s podcast: Tech Talk Y’all

Make Your Website Today - Free Course The post NPA 061: Get a FREE Website for your Nonprofit first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 060 – Using an Impact Funnel to Market your Nonprofit Jun 27, 2017

Show notes

In this podcast I talk with Boris Kievsky. He is the founder of dotorgstrategy.com. He is an online marketing strategist that helps nonprofits find new audiences, increase their engagement and raise more awareness. And, of course, this can all help with fundraising.

Boris talks about the basic concepts of a conversion funnel, or what he calls an “impact funnel”. The idea is to gradually increase engagement with your supporters and followers to help build relations with your audience. As this audience builds you can lead them down your impact funnel to help them find the best ways to engage with your nonprofit.

A general outline for this is:

Find your story
Target your audeince
Reach out to them via various platforms

Of course there is more to it than that and Boris goes over these details during the podcast.

Resources

See this video of this podcast on YouTube

Also, don’t forget Boris’s special offer to Nonprofit Ally listeners, NP Ally Special Offer

The post NPA 060 – Using an Impact Funnel to Market your Nonprofit first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 059 – Using Stories to Further your Mission and More Jun 13, 2017

Show notes

Story telling is becoming one of the main ways nonprofits spread awareness and fundraise for their cause. In this episode I talk with Meg Campbell and Marybeth Redmond from the Vermont Story Lab.

Meg and Marybeth talk about how to find the stories that are right in front of your eyes. Yup, it is that simple. Yet, seeing what is right in front of us can sometimes be difficult. They go on to help us inventory our stories with the creation of a “story vault” to help us track and plan the uses, and strategy, for our stories.

We then move on to discovering a formula that helps us actually “tell” the story. This is a great info for those who have story ideas but just aren’t sure where to start.

This is a fun and informative episode. I hope you enjoy it.

Resources

Website: VermontStoryLab.org

The post NPA 059 – Using Stories to Further your Mission and More first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 058: Better Meetings with Roberts Rules May 30, 2017

Show notes

Running efficient meetings can make or break a nonprofit. Long meetings that don’t reach actionable outcomes can drain board members and increase turn-over in your organization. Having a simple meeting structure to follow can reign in distracting side-topics and keep members focused on the topics at hand.

One of the most common ways to structure a meeting is to follow Roberts Rules. In this podcast I talk with Susan Leahy about the fundamentals of using Roberts Rules. She walks us through how to structure a meeting and teaches us to use some of the most used meeting “motions”.

Roberts Rules will help you:

Build your team
Increase communication
Improve Efficiency

The Fundamental Motions of Roberts Rules

Resources

To learn more about Susan Leahy MA CSP visit her at:

The post NPA 058: Better Meetings with Roberts Rules first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 057 – How to build relationships with EVERYONE… No Joke. Apr 25, 2017

Show notes

Do you have donors, volunteers, members, board members or staff? Of course you do. Do you know the best way to keep them up to date on events, programs and latest news?

Did you say FaceBook? Wonk, wonk, wonk… no.

How about blogging ? Wonk, wonk… no, but actually not a bad idea.

Did you say with emails? Ding, ding. Winner!

Having an email list can be one of most important tools you use to help grow your nonprofit. And we aren’t talking Excel spreadsheets or Outlook mailing list. We are talking full-on automated list with subscribe now buttons, opt-in offers and automated drip release. We are talking email marketing. Sound like overkill? Too technical? Too expensive?

It’s not. In fact, it is easy to get started, it will help you GROW your nonprofit AND it can done for FREE.

This ain’t hype. It is actually just what the modern mailing is made to do. And it is easy.

In this podcast I talk with John Haydon about building a mailing list. How to use it? What technology to use? And what you actually write to all your email subscribers. John is an expert marketer specializing in working with nonprofits and charities.

John is full of ideas and gives us usable suggestions on how to start using our mailing list.

Why is this important? Well…

It helps you buid relationships with your community
It can establish trust and authority within your given field
It can make event planning simplier and increase turnout
You most certainly will use it to improve your fundraising efforts

This podcast will help you start using powerful tools that will help your nonprofit grow.

Resources

Free Email Fundraising Basics Course: John’s Free Email Fundraising Course

John’s Website: www.johnhaydon.com

Twitter: @JohnHayden

Mailchimp: mailchimp.com

The post NPA 057 – How to build relationships with EVERYONE… No Joke. first appeared on Nonprofit Ally.

NPA 056 – Building Capacity with the Logic Model Apr 06, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of the Nonprofit Ally Podcast I talk with Amanda Babine from Evaluate for Change. We talk about the “Logic Model” which is an evaluation method designed to help build the capacity of nonprofit programs.

The logic model helps you understand how your organization does what it does? It is a tool that allows you to break down the different components of your organization’s programming and clarify how your organization’s program works to achieve its objectives.

It is broken down into three main components, with many subcoponents within each main category. The three main component are, inputs, outputs and outcomes-impact.

Taking a program through the logic model will help you better understand your resources, how you are using them, how you deliver your services, what resources are taking the most effort, what your cost/benefit is, etc, etc.

It is an indepth analysis of how you do, what you do – and how you can do it better.