The Nonprofit Leadership Podcast discusses important issues facing nonprofit leaders in our community and features real stories from real leaders about what strategies and practices have made them successful. Enjoy the show!
Are you maximizing all of your planned giving options?
Jul 01, 2023
Show notesTimothy Higdon, President and CEO, Hearing Health Foundation
Many nonprofit leaders don’t discuss the topic of planned giving, yet it can be a critical strategy for building a sustainable and robust nonprofit. Planned giving includes fundraising tools such as endowments and strategic reserves. Today’s guest, Timothy Higdon explains the differences between the two and the important things leaders need to consider when incorporating these planned gifts into their development strategy.
Timothy is the President and CEO at Hearing Health Foundation. The Hearing Health Foundation is the largest private funder of basic scientific and applied research to find cures for hearing loss and related conditions. Timothy is also an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University in New York City.
Timothy explains what planned giving is and how it is a great opportunity for one to leave a generous and meaningful gift to a charity, once they have passed away. He also explains the important differences between endowments and strategic reserves and how nonprofits can figure out which is more beneficial for their fundraising efforts. When it comes to a development strategy, Timothy shares that a nonprofit should follow the rule of one-thirds, in order to have a balanced revenue portfolio. He also shares the important steps a nonprofit board should follow before establishing an endowment, which include a list of policies that need to be in place. Finally, Timothy highlights the important fiduciary responsibilities of board members and why they must clearly understand the legal, moral, and ethical duties of their board service.
What are the biggest challenges facing the nonprofit sector, with special guest panel (Part 2)
Jun 28, 2023
Show notes
Today’s episode is Part 2 of a discussion on the biggest challenges that are facing the nonprofit sector. This discussion includes five, successful leaders in the nonprofit sector, who continue to discuss how nonprofits can improve and thrive.
Rob’s guests are Gayle Smith, Joan Garry, Alison Moore, Tony Martignetti, and Sara Lomelin. Gayle is the CEO of The ONE Campaign. Joan is the founder of Nonprofit Leadership Lab. Alison is the CEO of Comic Relief US. Tony is the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. Sara is the CEO of Philanthropy Together. All five of these leaders are not only passionate about the specific work they do, but they are also passionate about lifting up the sector as a whole.
Rob opens up Part 2 of the discussion, by asking the panel how nonprofit organizations can improve the business side of their organizations while still maintaining their uniqueness. The panel believes that while nonprofits are not the same as a for-profit business, they do still have to have infrastructure and process in place, in order to ensure things run smoothly and efficiently. Leaders of nonprofits can pitch this type of infrastructure to their donors and team in a way that encourages the building of an organization that will have a stronger impact in the future. The panel also believes that nonprofits need to be cautious of how much they emulate for-profit organizations, so they don’t lose sight of their passion and mission. Finally, these insightful leaders explain why it is imperative for nonprofits to translate their uniqueness and importance, and how to do so in an affirmative way.
What are the biggest challenges facing the nonprofit sector, with special guest panel (Part 1)
Jun 25, 2023
Show notes
When we think about the nonprofit sector as a whole, it’s important to know what challenges we are up against, so we can come up with solutions. With that said it is also important to recognize the successes we have experienced, in order to keep us motivated to keep moving forward. Today, we are honored to welcome five, successful leaders and thinkers in the nonprofit sector to discuss the current state of nonprofits.
Rob’s guests are Gayle Smith, Joan Garry, Alison Moore, Tony Martignetti, and Sara Lomelin. Gayle is the CEO of The ONE Campaign. Joan is the founder of Nonprofit Leadership Lab. Alison is the CEO of Comic Relief US. Tony is the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. Sara is the CEO of Philanthropy Together. All five of these leaders are not only passionate about the specific work they do, but they are also passionate about lifting up the sector as a whole.
The panel opens the discussion, speaking to the challenges and successes in the nonprofit sector. Gayle shares a success she has noticed, in that there is more equality in virtual meetings versus in person meetings, since everyone feels more comfortable to speak up. Joan believes that organizations are not capitalizing on the opportunity to effectively invite people who are seeking to be a part of something meaningful. Tony shares his wish for organizations to invest in personal development in the people who do the hard work. Sara sees challenges around member engagement and wants to remind nonprofits to take full advantage of technology and online communities. Alison shares issues she has found with only conducting meetings online and has realized it may be beneficial for nonprofits to adopt a more hybrid approach to meetings. When it comes to the topic of future-proofing fundraising in the sector, all five of the leaders believe in the importance of storytelling and strengthening relationships. They also strongly agree that the nonprofit sector needs to be rebranded, so people will perceive the sector as a driver of the economy.
What Adobe is doing to revitalize local communities
Jun 19, 2023
Show notesAmy White, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Issues Communications, Adobe
Many of us are familiar with the multimedia software company, Adobe, and its popular products such as Photoshop, Acrobat Reader, Premiere Pro, and many more. In addition to all these creativity tools, Adobe is dedicated to philanthropy and maintains a division of Corporate Responsibility. Today’s guest, Amy White, gives us insight into Adobe’s corporate philanthropy goals and their newest initiatives.
Amy is the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Issues Communications at Adobe. Adobe is committed to doing the right thing by focusing on people, purpose, and community through their many initiatives and programs.
Amy shares some interesting information about Adobe’s recent announcement of their Hometown Commitment initiative. She explains that Adobe feels they have an obligation to support local communities through supporting local nonprofits, in areas that Adobe employees live and work. Amy describes how Adobe integrates with local nonprofits, not just through financial grants but by offering human resources and products. She explains what Adobe’s two core principles are when it comes to corporate philanthropy and how these principles allow them to enter into a partnership with nonprofits that allows the nonprofits to be in the driver seat. When it comes to corporate philanthropy, Amy believes there is a way to have profitability while doing good in the community, and that they don’t have to exist in tension with one another. Finally, she describes one of Adobe’s biggest investments yet, the Equity and Advancement Initiative with Racial and Social Justice Nonprofits.
How you can build a culture of trust through listening
Jun 18, 2023
Show notesRachael Grail, Senior Consultant for Interaction Associates
Did you know that employees are five times more likely to perform their best work if they believe their leader is truly listening to them? If you want to be a leader that establishes a culture of trust in your organization, then you need to make the skill of listening, your ally. Today’s guest, Rachael Grail, talks about why listening is such a vital attribute to building trust, and how you can improve your listening by raising your level of emotional intelligence.
Rob’s guest is Rachael Grail, Senior Consultant for Interaction Associates. Interaction Associates is a global leader in developing conscious collaboration in the workplace – including mindful ways of working together that allow leaders, teams, and change agents to achieve superior business results.
Rachael shares why listening and being listened to is such a fundamental experience, especially in an organizational context. She states that many leaders do not listen effectively because they often reach conclusions without knowing all the data. Rachael also describes what it means to “listen as an ally,” and explains the connection between listening and one’s level of emotional intelligence. She shares the top three steps a leader should take to improve their emotional intelligence. Finally, Rachael believes that transparency and vulnerability are important to cultivating a culture of trust in your organization.
Live from Amazon Web Service’s (AWS) Summit Washington event featuring Allyson Fryhoff
Jun 12, 2023
Show notesAllyson Fryhoff and Sarah Wilber
You will remember that we had previously spoken to Allyson Fryhoff of Amazon Web Services, who explained how AWS provides many tech tools to nonprofits. Today, Allyson is back along with Sarah Wilber of the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center was the winner of the 2022 AWS Imagine Grant Award. Sarah shares how winning this grant and working with AWS has made an impact on her organization.
Rob’s guests are Allyson Fryhoff and Sarah Wilber. Allyson is the Managing Director of Nonprofit and Nonprofit Health at Amazon Web Services. Sarah is the Vice President of Capital Campaigns and Strategic Planning at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Kennedy Center is the nation’s performing arts center and living memorial to President John F. Kennedy.
Sarah shares that the goal of the Kennedy Center is to make sure their programming and patron base is diverse and rich, just like the fabric of the United States. She explains that in order to achieve this goal, the organization need to make sense of the millions of data points they have in their system. Sarah discusses that in 2021, the organization seeked to launch an endowment campaign and realized they needed to do something more effective than just implementing a feasibility study. Sarah and her team decided to reach out to AWS in order to get guidance on how to implement a strong, predictable model in their native database. Sarah goes on to describe the many ways this new model was able to make their fundraising more effective. Finally, Allyson shares the many ways AWS helps nonprofits, whether it be through programs, grants, or through their solutions catalog. She also explains the importance data brings to the efficiency and effectiveness of nonprofits organizations.
If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/
What is your intended impact and theory of change, and why does it matter?
Jun 05, 2023
Show notesPreeta Nayak, researcher and partner, The Bridgespan Group
When it comes to making the best decisions for the future of your organization, you need to go about this strategically. Two very essential factors necessary for strategic planning are “intended impact” and “theory of change.” Today’s guest, Preeta Nayak, explains what these factors are and why they are necessary to the success of your nonprofit.
Rob’s guest is Preeta Nayak, a researcher and partner at The Bridgespan Group. The Bridgespan Group is a global nonprofit organization that collaborates with mission-driven leaders, organizations, philanthropists, and investors to break cycles of poverty and dramatically improve the quality of life for those in need.
Preeta explains that a nonprofit’s mission is often too broad to actually be a good decision tool, and encourages nonprofit leaders to use two, more specific tools instead. She explains that these two tools are an organization’s “intended impact” and one’s “theory of change.” She goes on to describe what they mean and why they are so important for decision making. Preeta also shares some information from a recent article The Bridgespan Group released, that describes how they helped other organizations go through a strategic planning process. She encourages leaders to read this article in order to figure out what their intended impact and theory of change is. Preeta also describes what inclusive decision making should look like in an organization. Finally, she urges current decision makers to set up and train new decision makers for success, through maximizing their experience and wisdom.
Why character and virtue matter
May 29, 2023
Show notesMichael Lamb, F.M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character at Wake Forest
Have you considered the importance of character and virtue when it comes to leading? For many, these terms are either assumed or may seem old fashioned. Either way, they can often be disconnected to their impact on leadership. Rob’s guest, Michael Lamb, explains what character and virtue mean as they relate to leadership, how they together are directly related, and the strategies we can use to cultivate our character.
Michael is the F.M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University.
Michael first begins the conversation by explaining what character means and how those with good habits of character will inhabit certain virtues. He goes on to describe five specific virtues that are crucial to leadership, but are often ignored. He points out that one cannot simply “hack” their way to good character, and that it takes time to habituate these important virtues over time. Michael shares that more universities are developing character building programs, which will help to prepare their students for a meaningful future. He shares that it’s important to talk about character, not only in universities, but in nonprofits and companies. In order to do this, Michael explains that we need to shift our focus away from abstract ideas of character and instead focus on particular virtues themselves. Michael also describes seven strategies for character cultivation that we can implement in order to become better leaders. Finally, he shares how we can be exemplars of virtuous leadership to those around us.
Links to Resources: If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/
How to motivate your team towards mission alignment
May 22, 2023
Show notesMaryanne Dersch
Is your Board on board with your ideas? Do you find it difficult to keep your team focused on the organization’s mission? What is the most effective way to resolve conflict? Today’s guest, Maryanne Dersch, explains how you can influence your team by getting out of your comfort zone, welcoming conflict, and releasing any attachment you may have to your desired outcome.
Maryanne is a nonprofit coach who helps nonprofit leaders master the art of influence so they can raise more money and lead more effectively. Dersch is the author of Courageous Communication: How Codependence Is Making Your Nonprofit Brand Boring and What To Do About It. She is also the host of the podcast, The Influential Nonprofit.
Maryanne coaches nonprofit leaders on effective leadership and she believes the biggest barrier to achieving this is trying to use external strategies to solve internal emotional conflicts. She explains that if leaders want to foster a healthy team environment, they need to recognize how important emotions are in everyday decision making. Maryanne believes if leaders really listen to others, without an agenda, they will create a feeling of trust because others will feel seen and understood. Maryanne also suggests that leaders should actually lean into rejections and conflict, because avoiding these challenges can create more problems. She shares the three things that are needed in order to bring about positive change in an organization, and how leaders can actually influence their team to implement the changes they want to see. Finally, Maryanne urges leaders to raise their standards for what they will or will not allow, and how raising those standards will benefit the future of the organization.
Strategies for helping to cultivate social change
May 15, 2023
Show notesJacob Harold, author of The Toolbox:Strategies for Crafting Social Impact and Co-founder of Candid
Nonprofits are driven by the desire to create social change in their communities and in the world overall.
Today’s guest, Jacob Harold, explains why creating a map of your intentions, developing storytelling, and using mathematical modeling are all great tools to bring about social change.
Jacob is the author of The Toolbox:Strategies for Crafting Social Impact and Co-founder of Candid. In 2019, Candid was formed from a merger of the two organizations known as GuideStar and Foundation Center. Candid is a nonprofit that provides comprehensive data and insights about the social sector.
Jacob believes that while it is not possible to predict the future, it can be helpful for nonprofits to map out a clear hypothesis of how they intend to bring about social impact. He also believes that by stating clearly your intentions for social impact, you are creating opportunities for both accountability and learning. Jacob explains how using mathematical models and measurement can offer benefits to nonprofit organizations, and why it does not have to be complicated to use. He also explains how using the tool of storytelling can help you to figure out who your nonprofit is focusing on, what challenges you are confronting, and how to get to that better place in the end. When speaking of different tools nonprofits can use, Jacob highlights the importance of influencing behaviors in a morally respectful way, in order not to be manipulative. Finally, Jacob describes why Guidestar and Foundation Center merged to form Candid, and his hope for working side by side with other similar organizations.
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