Stay ConnectedNonprofit Pulse is a nonprofit podcast that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission.
Each episode features conversations with nonprofit leaders and experts, delivering practical ideas and fresh perspectives to help you grow your impact.
Jess Campbell has been a nonprofit fundraiser for 18 years and raised more than $17M, and she says email marketing for nonprofits needs less hesitation and more sending.
Jess, Founder of Out in the Boons, would rather have an engaged list than a large one. Her starting point is the first 1,000 subscribers, enough to test ideas and make decisions with usable data, before worrying too much about sophisticated segmentation.
In this episode:
Why to scrub an email list two to four times a year and use a three- or four-part reengagement sequence
How Jess's Monday teaser for a Tuesday email brings in 15 to 25 subscribers a week
What a two-, four-, or six-week warm-up phase does before a fundraising ask
Why a text-based email with one story, one topic, and one call to action can outperform a graphic-heavy message
What Neon One found in millions of sends: six links can work when they all go to the same place
You will leave with a practical email cadence, a way to measure clicks and replies instead of relying on open rates, and permission to send double or triple the emails you think you need. Done is better than perfect when an organization is not sending enough.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why email needs less hesitation and more sending (2:58) Growing an engaged nonprofit email list (3:59) Build the first 1,000 subscribers (7:03) Resources that earn an email address (11:57) Growing the list through partnerships (15:33) The anatomy of an email that works (18:32) Make the email feel personal (20:00) One story, one topic, one call to action (21:21) Subject lines that spark curiosity (24:30) Send now, segment later (41:00) Done is better than perfect
Guest: Jess Campbell, Founder, Out in the Boons
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/email-marketing-for-nonprofits
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Leah Kral has spent the last two decades in this work, and her approach to nonprofit innovation for social change is simple: start small, but dream big.
Good intentions do not automatically create clarity. Leah makes the case for a workplace that leaves room for experimentation, discovery, tough-minded tradeoffs, and learning from failure before an organization invests too much in an untested idea.
In this episode:
Six principles for sparking innovation, from relentless problem solving to persuasion
How Saint Benedict's Prep became a student-led school, where 98% of students go to college
Why Pixar assumes early versions of its movies are bad, then uses brutal feedback to improve them
What World Reader learned when Kindle devices kept breaking and its mobile app worked better
How LifeWorks examined 17 programs and saw job retention measurably increase within a year
You will leave with practical ways to test an idea, learn what is working, and make room for bottom-up decision making. You do not need a large staff or budget to begin. You need time to be strategic and innovative.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Start small, dream big (5:12) Six principles for better ideas (10:42) Design thinking in practice (13:25) Small experiments before scaling (16:58) Building an innovation ecosystem (20:03) Moving through innovation roadblocks (24:17) Where to start this week
Guest: Leah Kral, Senior Director of Strategy and Innovation, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-innovation-for-social-change
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Kimberly Thornbury says nonprofit capacity building cannot be done alone. As Vice President of Nonprofit Leadership and Development at Murdock Trust, she breaks capacity building into three pillars: leadership, governance, and fund development.
A new executive director who is drowning is not failing. Kimberly argues that mentors, coaches, and peer cohorts can turn that strain into stronger leadership, while a healthy board and a disciplined fundraising plan make the organization more sustainable.
In this episode:
Why Murdock Trust focuses its capacity-building work on executive leadership, board governance, and fund development
How a peer cohort of 10 to 12 leaders with a master facilitator can keep an executive director from going it alone
What Union learned after an F4, F5 tornado destroyed 85% of its campus housing and 23 buildings in 2008
The annual board culture survey that a coach can help interpret in 30 minutes
Why “if everyone on our list would just give us $25” is a red flag for fund development
You will leave with a lower-bar way to begin: spend 20 minutes investigating one next step, call five leaders you respect, and learn with a team instead of waiting for a perfect plan. As Kimberly puts it, just do your worst.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why capacity building cannot be done alone (3:13) The leadership pillar (4:28) Three ways leaders grow stronger (7:55) The governance pillar (9:55) What a healthy board looks like (19:55) The fund development pillar (27:34) One next step is enough
Guest: Kimberly Thornbury, Vice President of Nonprofit Leadership and Development, Murdock Trust
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-capacity-building
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Michelle Shumate has studied nonprofit collaboration for 20 years, and she says the right partnership starts with the outcome, not a rush to merge. As founding director of the Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact, she shows why collaboration is a strategic tool for social impact rather than a generic efficiency play.
The form has to fit the goal. Shared services consistently delivered efficiency in her research, integrated organizations paid off for program growth and innovation, and alliances and networks worked best for larger policy wins and system-level outcomes.
In this episode:
What a study of about 60 collaborations, including 20 deep dives, found when 14 partnerships succeeded and 6 did not
Why an asset transfer can move a program or intellectual property and support innovation or culture change
How DVBeds connects 29 shelters and 12 non-shelter facilities across Texas and part of Oklahoma
What 50,000 annual DVBeds logins changed for bed utilization, rural shelter capacity, and people seeking help
Why leaders should do more listening than proposing and “go on a date” before pursuing a merger
You will leave with a way to match a collaboration model to the result you need, plus a case for due diligence, feasibility analysis, and board and mid-level staff buy-in. Start small, learn the options, and explore before making a long-term commitment.
Episode highlights: (0:00) The partnership must fit the outcome (0:47) What 60 collaborations revealed (3:44) Choosing the collaboration model (5:19) How DVBeds made collaboration work (8:46) The obstacles partnerships must face (13:26) The leadership behind lasting partnerships (17:38) Two trends reshaping collaboration (19:22) How to explore collaboration before committing (21:26) Start small before you commit
Guest: Michelle Shumate, Founding Director, Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-collaboration
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Lynn Margherio founded Cradles to Crayons in 2002, and her approach to corporate partnerships starts with a question many fundraising teams skip: how can a business help before it writes a check?
Lynn has seen volunteerism become the first step toward larger, multifaceted corporate partnerships. A relationship needs to create value on both sides, not ask a nonprofit to say yes to work that pulls its team away from the mission.
In this episode:
Why a two-hour shift sorting, inspecting, and packaging outfits can open a corporate relationship
How Bank of America engagement grew from volunteering into board participation, drives, events, and skills-based work
The reason to start with companies near your location and an introduction from someone they know
How First Quality and Cuties combined financial support, regular volunteering, and joint promotion
What Cradles to Crayons tracks: how many packages for children a partnership helps provide
You will leave with a practical way to design a tangible volunteer experience, set expectations, and build touchpoints that can last beyond one event. Corporate partnerships take time, but shared values and useful engagement can become the foundation for financial support.
Episode highlights: (0:00) How volunteering becomes a corporate partnership (0:52) CSR as a starting point for shared value (3:09) What both partners need from the relationship (8:21) Building partnerships beyond one event (18:22) The work a partnership cannot create (20:38) Measuring the packages a partnership provides (26:45) What comes next for corporate partnerships (34:00) Start with a useful volunteer experience
Guest: Lynn Margherio, Founder and CEO, Cradles to Crayons
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/corporate-partnerships
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Stephanie Skryzowski has worked in nonprofit finance for more than a decade, and she says nonprofit finance is more than balancing the books. The Founder and CEO of 100 Degrees Consulting explains why sustainability depends on profitability, reserves, forecasting, and transparent decision-making.
A nonprofit can be mission-driven and still need money left at the end of the year. Stephanie challenges leaders to look beyond a 12-month budget, examine revenue concentration, and use financial information to make decisions before a gap becomes a crisis.
In this episode:
Why receiving about 75% of revenue from one government source creates a serious concentration risk
How a surplus budget can build a 3- to 6-month cash reserve instead of operating donation to donation
Why a 3- to 5-year forecast can reveal an 18-month funding gap early enough to change course
The gala that netted about $20,000 and the question of whether that effort could produce a $100,000 gift or $200,000 grant
What GuideStar transparency requirements had to do with organizations receiving 53% more contributions the following year
You will leave with a framework for looking at financial health by program and department, not just in the aggregate. Nonprofit numbers do not have to be scary, Stephanie says. Anybody can do it, and everybody should do it.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Financial resilience starts before crisis (0:55) The signals of financial health (3:51) Preparing for economic uncertainty (6:56) Choosing financial software (9:37) New ways to diversify revenue (12:37) Transparency that builds trust (18:13) What strong financial leadership looks like (21:15) The forces shaping nonprofit finance (24:53) Look beyond the 12-month budget
Guest: Stephanie Skryzowski, Founder and CEO, 100 Degrees Consulting
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-finance
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Stephanie Schwartz has spent almost 20 years in and around nonprofits, and her advice on donor relationships during an economic downturn is deliberately simple: make the time for genuine contact.
Stephanie, CEO of Little Bean Group, says an organization does not need a large campaign to stay close to supporters. When donors feel insecure, even a lower gift can be harder and more meaningful to make. The immediate goal of outreach can be a conversation, not a measurable sales result.
In this episode:
Why big summary emails can give way to a leaner, more personalized approach
How the Greater DC Diaper Bank linked supporters to its Amazon store for baby wipes
Why converting a $50 annual gift into $10 a month can mean $120 in revenue and closer stewardship
What Stephanie learned in 2008 from donors who gave a couple thousand dollars and later became six-figure donors
How board members can call as supporters, while volunteers and events keep non-givers connected
You will leave with ways to thank people without an agenda, make small recurring giving accessible, and keep a no from becoming a permanent goodbye. Just because a donor says no now does not mean no forever.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why genuine contact matters in a downturn (15:52) What donors face when the economy turns (17:13) Why relationships matter more in a downturn (18:41) Personal ways to stay close to supporters (20:13) Empathy before a measurable result (25:21) Keep a no from becoming goodbye
Guest: Stephanie Schwartz, CEO, Little Bean Group
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/donor-relationships
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Holly Tate has spent more than a decade serving nonprofit leaders, and she says nonprofit employee engagement is not about whether people are happy at work. It is whether they are aligned with the mission and rowing in the same direction.
Nonprofits often reach for a new system, process, or technology while overlooking the people whose engagement drives performance. Mission can be a recruiting advantage, but leaders cannot use it as an excuse to underinvest in development, communication, or recognition.
In this episode:
Why mission and values should be clear enough to name, and limited to about five or fewer
How to redesign the first 30 to 90 days so 90% of first-day paperwork is already complete
The Chief Reminding Officer role, and why negativity fills the void when clarity is missing
What Frank Blake's 300 thank-you notes meant at Home Depot, with almost 500,000 employees
Why a $25 gift card, a care card, and a weekly 30-minute one-on-one can build trust
You will leave with a people-first plan for improving employee engagement without waiting for a bigger culture budget. Put one-on-one meetings on the calendar, learn what recognition matters to each person, and repeat the mission until the team can see where it is going.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Mission alignment, not workplace happiness (0:53) Beyond being happy at work (2:59) The nonprofit engagement challenge (6:58) When mission drives motivation (10:22) Building an engaged team (17:41) Transparency that earns trust (24:33) Recognition without a bigger budget (32:34) What is next for engagement (36:09) Where leaders start
Guest: Holly Tate, Chief Marketing Officer, Leadr
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-leadership-employee-engagement
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Nichole Vander Wall, a search marketing expert, says Google Ad Grants can give eligible nonprofits $10,000 a month in search advertising, but the grant account cannot compete with paid ads.
That constraint is the point of the strategy. Rather than chasing high-competition terms such as "donate to charity," nonprofits need to build a brand campaign, use the right keyword mix, and understand where a paid account fits.
In this episode:
How the Google Ad Grant application is validated through Percent and can take 10 minutes to an hour
Why a brand campaign should be the first priority, including at least five brand keywords
The brand-ad update that led to a $300 donation within the first week
How a dynamic search campaign uses landing pages and two description lines to find keywords
Why paid campaigns need at least three months for machine learning and bidding to learn
You will leave knowing what the $10,000 monthly grant covers, how to choose medium- to low-competition search terms, and when an ecommerce store or a larger budget calls for paid Google Ads as well.
Episode highlights: (0:00) The $10,000 grant and its limits (1:27) How Google Ad Grants work (4:42) What changed in the grant program (7:09) A strategy for making the grant work (15:28) The mistakes that waste the grant (20:44) When paid Google Ads belong in the mix (23:28) Where to begin with Google Ad Grants
Guest: Nichole Vander Wall, search marketing consultant
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/google-ad-grants
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
Erin Davison was leading Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana when Hurricane Laura devastated the organization’s building in August 2020. Her nonprofit leadership advice for adversity begins with two blunt principles: cash is king, and do not give in to fear.
Every organization will face adversity, whether it comes from staffing, resources, technology, a disaster, or a changing community need. Erin explains why a plan matters even when the real emergency forces you to move far beyond the original plan.
In this episode:
Why every nonprofit needs a disaster-preparedness plan and contingency plans from A through Z
How a healthy ego lets a leader say, "I don't know what to do and I need help"
The case for building a reserve fund with at least 10 months of operating funds
How Lone Star handled programming health and safety checks for six weeks after Hurricane Laura
Why direct conversations with donors and investors led some funders to increase their giving
You will leave with a practical way to prepare for the rainy day, communicate the real need without sugarcoating it, and stay the course with your mission when the budget has to change. Erin also offers a hard leadership question: am I the mountain here?
Episode highlights: (0:00) Leadership after the storm (3:36) Leading through unforeseen challenges (8:40) The value of a healthy ego (14:17) Two rules for adversity (15:29) Cash is king (17:35) Do not give in to fear (20:39) Put the organization first (24:31) The hard question for leaders
Guest: Erin Davison, CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-leadership-overcome-adversity
More episodes and the monthly newsletter: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/
If this was useful, follow Nonprofit Pulse wherever you listen.
Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast by Anedot that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission. Hosted by Josh Breland.
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