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.
Tim Lockie has worked inside and outside nonprofits for more than 20 years, and he says nonprofit digital transformation fails when organizations buy technology without teaching people how to use it.
Tim, Founder and CEO of The Human Stack, compares the problem to buying a car without driver’s education. Digital transformation is not just a tech stack. It is good technology and humans who can use it well, moving at the speed of humans instead of the speed of a software rollout.
In this episode:
Why 90% of organizations collect data but only 5% use it to make decisions
How teams can spend another 18 months and six figures on technology without changing how work gets done
What an old Jeep story reveals about different people needing different ways to learn to drive
Why a strategic leader and a tactical doer need a strong relationship to create digital maturity
Tim’s recommendation to divide the technology budget equally between people and technology
You will leave with a framework for spotting a driver problem, reducing disruption, and connecting data to actionable decisions. More tools are not the answer when the team is already overwhelmed.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why new technology fails without new habits (0:55) Digital transformation at the speed of humans (4:30) What teams gain when people can use the tools (6:39) The results beyond a new tech stack (10:26) Finding the driver problem before buying tools (15:30) Split the budget between people and technology (19:16) Start with the people, not the software
Guest: Tim Lockie, Founder and CEO, The Human Stack
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/digital-transformation
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, CEO of Little Bean Group, says a major gift is not a universal dollar amount. It is a gift meaningful enough to help a particular nonprofit achieve its mission and goals.
That reframing changes how an organization builds its major gift fundraising strategy. Start with the organization’s own data, deepen relationships with annual donors, and avoid announcing an internal fundraising structure as if it were a donor-facing program.
In this episode:
Why a major gift can be $1,000 for one organization and $100,000 for a large university
How five gifts of $10,000 can fund a program that costs $50,000 to administer
Why list buying is an archaic, ineffective alternative to beginning with existing donor data
The case for asking a consistent $7,500 donor to consider a $10,000 gift
How digital tools support identification and stewardship but cannot replace personal contact
You will leave with a way to establish gift levels based on capacity and goals, not an arbitrary benchmark, plus a healthy revenue mix where 65% to 75% comes from major gifts and the remainder from lower-dollar giving.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why a major gift is not a fixed dollar amount (3:01) Defining a major gift for your nonprofit (10:48) How leaders see major-gift development (20:51) Major-gift strategies that build relationships (22:57) Starting major-gift work with your data (24:52) Goals for a major-gift program (28:03) The right revenue mix for major gifts
Guest: Stephanie Schwartz, CEO, Little Bean Group
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/major-gifts
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.
Katie Lord has spent more than a decade managing and leading nonprofit development operations and initiatives, and she treats a nonprofit development plan as something too useful to leave on a shelf.
A development plan is the roadmap for raising the funds an organization needs, but Katie says it should be a living, breathing document. The point is not a long narrative or a perfect plan. It is a focused plan the team works and changes when the year changes.
In this episode:
Why a one-year plan can be more useful than a longer plan when January work is obsolete by March
The rule of three: no more than three tactics, before a fourth task makes the brain shut down
How one author and clear assignments keep a team from carrying 37 marked-up plans
Why a Kansas City nonprofit reused media clips to reach donors outside its area
How $5 and $10 gifts can snowball when organizations stop treating small donors as insignificant
You will leave with a way to build a short, usable development plan, assign ownership, and focus on the work with the highest ROI. Starting small is starting, and the plan only works when the team keeps returning to it.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why your plan cannot sit on a shelf (0:45) A fundraising roadmap the team can use (3:50) The practices behind a living plan (6:50) When shiny opportunities derail the plan (13:41) Mistakes that leave plans unused (17:06) What changes when the plan guides the work (20:35) Start small and return to the plan
Guest: Katie Lord, Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/development-planning
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.
Greg McRay has helped nonprofits with expert guidance and solutions for more than 25 years, and he says nonprofit bylaws are not an afterthought. The Founder and CEO of Foundation Group explains why these governance rules can protect an organization or leave it exposed when a board ignores them.
Bylaws are about the mechanics of governance, not a place to store every operational policy. Greg and Josh unpack the legal consequences of disregarding them, the habits that keep boards accountable, and the amendment rules that can create avoidable trouble years later.
In this episode:
Why every board member should review the bylaws and sign off every year, a question the IRS asks on Form 990
The Long Island church case where 10 members were reinstated after its board skipped a required written notice
Why putting every policy and procedure in bylaws can create a 50-page document no board can keep up with
How an HOA's 5% annual dues cap became a problem when extraordinary expenses arrived
Why a simple-majority amendment rule can be more workable than a unanimous board vote
You will leave with a practical governance habit: give the board the bylaws annually, review what no longer fits, and amend the document instead of working around it. Good governance starts with knowing what the organization can and cannot do.
Episode highlights: (0:00) When ignored bylaws expose a nonprofit (0:50) The real job of nonprofit bylaws (4:21) Bylaws that give new nonprofits a foundation (7:22) Keeping established boards accountable (10:39) The bylaw mistakes that create legal trouble (15:06) Changing bylaws without creating a mess (18:33) Knowing when bylaws need an update (22:02) Start with the rules your board already has
Guest: Greg McRay, Founder and CEO, Foundation Group
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-bylaws
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.
Rex Miller, an award-winning author and consultant with more than 35 years as a corporate manager and executive, says team development matters more in an economic downturn, not less. Hard times expose how well people actually work together, and leaders cannot fix that by asking people to simply push harder.
Rex's case is that work is a team sport. The leader's job is to give people clarity, not certainty, make structural changes that support recovery, and model the behavior the organization needs.
In this episode:
Why the first five minutes of a meeting can be heads-down time before the agenda starts
The 10 to 15 minute transition break that helps people reset between back-to-back meetings
How Gallup's 82% manager figure changes the case for assessments such as CliftonStrengths, Enneagram, and DISC
What one company learned after leaders averaged 60-hour weeks and less than six hours of sleep
How Genius Spark aims to lower traditional training and consulting costs by about 80%
You will leave with practical ways to build social connection, create clarity during uncertainty, and give a depleted team space to recover. Rex's closing counsel is simple: let people heal, and the organization can earn loyalty and commitment.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why downturns test the team (1:34) Why team development matters most now (4:50) Building stronger teams in hard times (9:43) The case for team assessments (14:11) How leaders make development visible (16:46) Putting development into the leadership team (19:15) Making team development a priority (21:35) Let people heal and recover
Guest: Rex Miller, Award-winning author and consultant
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/team-development
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.
Peter Lipsett, Vice President at DonorsTrust, wants nonprofits to see donor advised funds as more than a warehouse of wealth. For donor advised funds, the key fact is simple: a dollar put into one has to go to charity.
Peter describes a DAF as a charitable savings account, like a health savings account for charitable dollars. The number of DAF accounts rose 27.6% between 2020 and 2021 to more than 1.2 million, and he argues that nonprofits should learn how these donors give instead of treating the vehicle as a barrier.
In this episode:
Why smaller mission-driven DAFs and community foundations can become useful nonprofit partners
How donor advised fund dollars supported more level giving during the first half of 2020
Why nonprofits should thank DAF donors but not send a tax receipt for the gift
The database detail that helps future asks: record that a donor gives through a DAF
How a known DAF donor may be ready for a capital campaign or a $5,000 additional gift
You will leave with a clearer way to acknowledge DAF gifts, cultivate donors over time, and prepare for money that may be available when the organization needs it. Peter’s recommendation is to read the National Philanthropic Trust Donor Advised Fund Report to understand the landscape.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why a DAF is not a warehouse of wealth (0:30) The charitable savings account for giving (2:05) What DAFs can offer nonprofit partners (4:09) The questions DAFs keep raising (5:03) Beyond the warehouse-of-wealth claim (5:59) The concern about anonymous DAF giving (8:04) Where donor advised funds are headed (10:31) How to recognize and cultivate DAF donors (14:27) The DAF report worth reading
Guest: Peter Lipsett, Vice President, DonorsTrust
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/donor-advised-funds
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.
Delaney Mullennix of Nonprofit Hub uses the 70/20/10 rule to explain why nonprofit leadership development is learned in challenging work, not by reading a book or sitting through a course.
Her case is the 70/20/10 rule: 10% of learning comes from academics, 20% from mentors, and 70% from challenging experience. That changes how leaders should think about professional development, work-life balance, feedback, and risk.
In this episode:
How the 70/20/10 rule puts challenging experience ahead of academic learning
Why work-life balance is not always 50/50, even when work takes 70% to 80% of life
The shift from completing a to-do list to prioritizing and driving organizational results
Why managers should find a course or class for an employee instead of waiting to be asked
What four co-executive directors can teach a nonprofit about trying a different leadership model
You will leave with a way to identify one experience that stretches a team member, and a reminder that doing something ten times can open new doors. The goal is not to remove risk. It is to assess it without treating every possible loss as catastrophic.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why leaders learn by doing (1:31) Why experience is the best teacher (3:27) The 70/20/10 learning rule (5:42) Thoughtfulness toward the team (8:46) The line between manager and leader (10:37) Seeking experiences that stretch you (16:35) Helping others learn by doing (17:15) Recognizing each employee’s strengths (18:43) Professional development that helps (20:12) Taking risk without treating loss as catastrophe (23:11) Where to start with your next stretch
Guest: Delaney Mullennix, Executive Director, Nonprofit Hub
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/experiential-learning-for-nonprofit-leaders
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.
Mark Miller, Co-founder and brand strategist at Historic Agency, says donor cultivation cannot stop at a cause. A brand-first donor experience gives supporters a way to connect with who an organization is, not only the impact it makes.
Mark defines brand as what other people say about an organization when it leaves the room. With 1.5 to 1.6 million nonprofits in the United States alone, he argues that a logo and a website are not enough. Organizational culture shows up in every donor touchpoint.
In this episode:
The three messages every donor touchpoint should communicate: values, differentiation, and unfair advantage
Why the top 10% may be giving more while the rest of a donor file fades away
How two organizations doubled year-end giving by changing the style of their communication
What Liberty in North Korea’s goal of 25 million allies shows about inviting people into a movement
Why Mark says every organization will become a video company, whether it makes software or not
You will leave with a way to make donor communications feel like an invitation to participate, not a transaction. The opportunity is to equip advocates with tools, from peer-to-peer fundraising to simple messaging, and let more people own the cause.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Why a cause alone cannot cultivate donors (0:50) What a brand-first donor experience means (4:54) The three messages behind better cultivation (12:45) Every donor touchpoint reflects your brand (17:05) How better experiences can grow giving (19:56) Turning donor experience into greater impact (23:26) From supporters to a movement (27:04) Invite people to own the cause
Guest: Mark Miller, Co-founder and brand strategist, Historic Agency
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/donor-cultivation 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.
Nathan Hill has spent about seven years at NextAfter, and he says nonprofit innovation does not have to mean something new to the entire marketplace. The Vice President of the NextAfter Institute explains why the work can begin with something simply new to your organization.
Innovation is a mindset, not a single tactic or technology purchase. Nathan argues that nonprofit teams can test, optimize, and learn with the resources already around them before they ask for more staff or a bigger tool stack.
In this episode:
Why 23% new-donor retention and 40-something-percent overall retention call for testing beyond the usual advice
How a small change to donation-page language can lead to a 15% increase in giving
What a $20 mystery donor audit can reveal when a team makes a donation to its own organization
Why iOS 14.5 and changes to Facebook advertising made waiting even a couple of months risky
How two organizations can use the same technology stack and create radically different donor pathways
You will leave with a concrete first move: make a donation to yourself, find one step to improve, and keep testing. The tool empowers a strategy, Nathan says, but it cannot create the pathway for you.
Episode highlights: (0:00) Innovation can start with what is new to you (0:59) What innovation actually means (3:18) Why nonprofit teams get stuck (7:15) The reason innovation cannot wait (9:11) What innovation looks like in practice (14:03) Building a culture that tests and learns (18:51) Challenge the status quo (23:54) Make a donation to yourself
Guest: Nathan Hill, Vice President of the NextAfter Institute, NextAfter NextAfter resources: https://nextafter.com/
Full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-innovation 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.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
