Nonprofit Lowdown

Latest Episodes:

#101-Perspectives of a Black Fundraiser with Marvin Vilma Sep 03, 2020

Show notes

I loved, loved, loved this conversation with Marvin who is an Annual Giving Officer at MIT Sloan School of Management. We talk about the mental shifts he has made to be an effective fundraiser, how his job is more "philanthropic advisor" than "salesman" and what it's been like for him to be the "only" in many rooms. Marvin's wise, generous and insightful take on fundraising and his fundraising career will inspire you.

To learn more about Marvin, check out: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvilma/

#100-The Healthy, Happy Nonprofit with Beth Kanter Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

Holy moly! It's my 100th episode! Thank you so much to everyone who has listened. When I started this, I never thought we would be at 100 episodes or that I would be talking to the One and Only Beth Kanter. Beth, nonprofit goddess, talks about her long career in nonprofit and nonprofit tech and her recent book The Healthy, Happy Nonprofit. We talk about how to take care of yourself and your team in these unprecedented times. Beth offers some great tips on how to create boundaries between home and work (spoiler alert: stop sleeping with your phone), how to make sure that you and your colleagues are on the same page and what the next big crisis is going to be.

For more about Beth: http://www.bethkanter.org/

#99-Decolonizing Philanthropy with Jennifer Ching Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

Join me and Northstar Fund's Executive Director Jennifer Ching to discuss decolonizing philanthropy. In this hugely important conversation, Jen shares how the work of the Northstar Fund is actively working towards dismantling white supremacy and power and centering the work and decision-making of BIPOC activists. By recasting our own relationship and assumptions about money, we can engage in becoming resource mobilizers, not "fundraisers." We also touch on the nonprofit and philanthropic industrial complex that is predicated on power, control and lack of transparency. What does it mean to be a community-led, community-centered philanthropist? How can we meet this moment at the intersection of race, power, money and action in our own lives and as leaders of organizations? This is a thought-provoking and high-octane conversation with one of my faves!

For more about NorthStar Fund: https://northstarfund.org/

For more about Decolonizing Wealth: https://www.decolonizingwealth.com/

#98-5 M's of Building a Fundraising Program with Rhea Wong Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

It's the first solo show in a while. In this show, I walk through my 5 M framework to building an effective fundraising program. The five elements are: mindset, message, market, methodology and management. Take a listen to figure out how to tighten up your nonprofit program. Also, I've just launched my group coaching program for folks who want to do a deeper dive on these topics. Registration will close on Friday, August 14 at midnight and is limited to 12 people, so check it out: www.rheawong.com

If you want to get in touch, hit me up at rhea[a]rheawong.com.

To register for the Group Coaching Program: https://www.rheawong.com/gcp/september-mastermind

For more information about the Bain Elements of Value, click here: https://media.bain.com/elements-of-value/#

#97-Executive Coaching for BIPOC Womxn with Erica Hamilton Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

Erica Hamilton: mother, wife, social justice warrior, leader. For those of you who missed Erica's previous podcast episode, I'm thrilled to interview her again as she kicks off her newest adventures. Erica is passionate about social justice and supporting BIPOC womxn who may struggle to thrive in environments that were not created for them. In this interview, we chat about some big things, including:

1) Womxn of color and their relationship to money and wealth-building

2) How to know if an organization is truly down for the cause or simply doing "performative wokeness."

3) How Erica's new coaching business focuses on supporting womxn of color and how to give them the space to exhale.

Listen in on this important convo that feels like friends just hanging out and talking about the Important Stuff.

For more about Erica (and to get coaching from her!) check out: https://twitter.com/ehamilton?lang=en

To apply for the Institute for Nonprofit Practice: http://www.nonprofitpractice.org/apply-nyc

#96-Building a nonprofit brand that sparks OBSESSION with Emily Heyward Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

Hey. So, my pal, Emily wrote a book called Obsessed. She also happens to be the branding genius behind household brands like Casper, Boxed, and Allbirds. So, yeah, she knows a thing or two about branding. Listen in to this episode where Emily drops huge value bombs like:

1) How to simplify and streamline your message (literally, NOBODY needs to know about the mind-numbing details of your mission)

2) Why a five-minute elevator pitch is actually a massive failure

3) How to use qualitative research to WIN

4) How the fear of death will help you to clarify your message

5) How good branding is about the emotional experience of your end user and what Danny Meyer knows better than anybody.

Listen and learn! To learn more about Emily, check her out here: https://redantler.com/

To buy Obsessed, click here: https://amzn.to/3f7Bure

#95-Anti-racist education and parenting with Maureen Yusuf-Morales Jul 23, 2020

Show notes

What a treat this interview with my dear friend and soul sister Maureen Yusuf-Morales is! Mo and I worked together at Breakthrough New York and she has gone on to become an expert educator, school founder and principal and DEI trainer. In this interview, we talk about examining and unpacking the racist practices of schooling in America, how to be an anti-racist parent and what educators and parents can do to dismantle racism. This is a fun, whole-hearted and thoughtful interview from one of the most talented educators I know.

For more about Mo: https://www.maureenyusufmorales.com/

To check out anti-racist parenting resources, click here: https://www.facebook.com/curious.parenting/photos/a.113612870282449/146570016986734/?theater

For more about the conference Maimuna mentioned: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/maimuna-mohammed-m-s-ed-7595b589_blacklivesmatter-inclusiveleadership-education-activity-6682438959559188480-dgbc

#94-How to run masterminds with Jenn David-Lang Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Join me and my long-time pal Jenn David-Lang to discuss how to start and run a mastermind group. In this podcast, you'll learn:

1) What is a mastermind and how can I use it to up my game?

2) Tactical tips on how to run the group

3) How masterminds are effective in reinforcing learning and adopting new behaviors.

4) How to deal with that pesky Imposter Syndrome

For more about Jenn, check out: https://www.themainidea.net/

#93-Your budget=Your values with Chyla Graham Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Join me and CPA Chyla Graham to talk about how to deal with your nonprofit budgeting and money management during this crazy time. Chyla drops a ton of value bombs like:

Why women of color may shy away from the finances.
How to train your board at the appropriate level of financial oversight.
Benefits of zero-based budgeting
How to align your budgets with the stuff you care about and value.

Chyla brings over a decade of experience as an auditor and CPA in the nonprofit sector to the conversation. She's also a trapeze artist!

For more about Chyla, check her out here: https://www.cnrgaccountingadvisory.com/

To download her board meeting dashboard, visit: https://www.cnrgaccountingadvisory.com/financialdashboard/

To download her cash flow projection tool, visit: https://cnrgaccountingadvisory.com/cashflow/

#91-Talking about race with your board with Martha Haakmat Jun 25, 2020

Show notes

Oh, our boards. In this time of BLM and the broader conversations around racial equity, it can be hard to know where to begin with your board. Boards are often more conservative, wealthier and less diverse than our staff and clients so how do we get them on their DEI path? In this really important conversation with DEI consultant Martha Haakmat, we talk about

1) How to get boards to understand the continuum of DEI development and what that looks like on a policy and practice level.

2) Creating a DEI culture on the board through norms and recruitment.

3) Creating a sense of shared responsibility for DEI across board and staff.

To get in touch with Martha, check out: https://www.haakmatconsulting.com/

To get in touch with Morty Ballen for some free DEI support: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morty-ballen

List of resources that Martha recommends:

Benaji and Greenwald’s book called Blindspot (about implicit bias)
Dolly Chugh’s book called The Person You Mean To Be
Jennifer Eberhardt’s book called Biased
Ibram Kendi’s How To Be An Anti-Racist
Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility
Eloquent Rage - Brittney Cooper
Anything by Ta-nehisi Coates
Podcasts - Code Switch, Seeing White, Race Forward
Anti-racism Resources for White People: a compilation of resources for white people and parents to deepen our work in anti-racism

The rubric that she uses in work with leadership teams and Boards:

https://www.wpi.edu/sites/default/files/Project_Inclusion_NERCHE_Rubric-Self-Assessment-2016.pdf

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