I’ve been thinking about emerging nonprofits, which I describe as those undergoing a noticeable, intentional shift in what their organizations are doing. This change often happens where there is a high-performing team and at this critical stage, you can’t afford to lose anyone. This week, my guest is Monique Ayotte-Hoeltzel, a partner with The Management Center , a Washington, D.C. organization that works with nonprofit leaders to help them learn how to manage people. Subscribe with your favorit...
May 27, 2013•41 min
This week, I talk to two attorneys from Venable LLP , a Washington, D.C. law firm, about how to make sure your website stays out of legal hot water. A.J. Zottola handles all types of negotiations involving intellectual property, privacy, trademark and copyright, and more. With him is a return guest, Jeff Tenenbaum, who is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit attorneys and who chairs the firm’s Nonprofit Organizations Practice Group. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS On thi...
May 20, 2013•46 min
We’re back to talking about fundraising on this show, but with an emphasis on making your case for support. My guest this week is Jennie Winton, a founding partner of Mission Minded , a branding firm that believes that nonprofits, foundations, and other do-gooders can only have an impact if people understand the importance of their work. Since starting the company, Jennie has advised more than 150 nonprofit organizations on their brand strategy, messaging and fundraising. Subscribe with your fav...
May 13, 2013•43 min
This week’s show builds on last week’s about budgeting. On that show, I mentioned how important it is to help your board understand your budget and financial statements. These reports are not easy to read and nonprofit leaders add to the confusion when they create a budget that doesn’t closely resemble the ensuing financial statements. Make them match! Also, create a simple visual dashboard so board members can immediately see how you’re doing financially and even, programmatically.With that in ...
May 06, 2013•36 min
This show is geared to those nonprofit leaders who are somewhat intimidated by budgeting or who know there’s a better way to do it. I’m guessing that some of you have begun work on your July to June budgets and others are making mid-year budget corrections. My guest is Harold Parsons, a CPA with our show sponsor CliftonLarsonAllen . He’s worked with nonprofits for more than 30 years as a CPA and he volunteers for Wingspan, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that serves developmentally disabled adults. ...
Apr 29, 2013•38 min
We’re back to Texas again this week with a focus on two community foundations that have put a fun twist on their grant-making process. They’ve set up an event where grant finalists have to make 90-second pitch to a panel of judges and a public audience. Can you make a 90-second pitch about your nonprofit? Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS I have two guests this week who describe their Fast Pitch and Grand Slam events that have produced a number of great outcomes. Julie John...
Apr 22, 2013•38 min
This week my guest and I talk about what a professional volunteer manager can do for you. It’s our experience there are still too many non-profits who haven’t seen the light about how a full-time, paid volunteer manager can lighten your load and help you accomplish more. My guest is Mary Beth Harrington , a Texas-based nonprofit consultant who travels the state encouraging nonprofits to collaborate and work smarter not harder by implementing volunteer management programs. Subscribe with your fav...
Apr 14, 2013•48 min
On this week’s show, we focus on strategic planning, and how the process works and benefits your organization. My guest is Wendy Siegel, a consultant with Millennia Consulting based in Chicago, Illinois. Wendy helpfully describes the neutral facilitation role she plays and a four-step process that is inclusive, engages a task force in doing research, aligns the research with the mission and vision of the organization, and ends with a plan that identifies key strategies. Subscribe with your favor...
Apr 08, 2013•35 min
On this week’s show, I speak to two attorneys, Jeff Tenenbaum and Dave Warner of Venable LLP , a law firm based in Washington, D.C. We talk about common pitfalls they see nonprofit managers fall into when hiring and managing staff. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS Dave and Jeff offer ideas about preparing to hire, the interview process, and the importance of writing down who you interviewed, what you asked, and why you chose the person – and saving that information for yea...
Apr 01, 2013•52 min
This week, I interview the program director of a nonprofit that serves girls by combining teaching life lessons and running. It’s a fun and inspiring program run by one paid staff person and a whole lot of volunteers. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS Melissa Bixby manages Girls on the Run of the Treasure Valley which includes communities in and surrounding Boise, Idaho. Her nonprofit is a chapter of the National Girls on the Run organization. I’ll let her tell you more abo...
Mar 25, 2013•41 min
This week, I speak with my favorite fundraiser about donor attrition – that is, the rate at which donors stop giving – and how to keep donors connected and giving to you. My guest is Jerold Panas, the CEO of Jerold Panas, Linzy and Partners , one of the world’s most esteemed firms in the field of financial resource development. In February, Jerry received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Fundraising Success magazine in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the development professi...
Mar 18, 2013•46 min
On this week’s show, we explore all the ways bicycles and volunteers go together and it’s a great starting point for thinking about volunteer initiatives you might create to start your organization or new program. My guest is Tristan Dahn of the Philadelphia-based Energize, Inc ., my favorite resource for leaders of volunteers. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS Tristan describes how bicycle organizations and other nonprofits have tapped into volunteers as ambassadors, or to...
Mar 11, 2013•32 min
This week, we focus on rebranding and how to go about it. It’s one of those projects that sounds like a great idea but means a lot of different things to board members, staff and communication professionals. It goes way beyond a new logo and is time-consuming, so you really need to know what you’re doing before you jump in. My guest this week is Sherri Anne Green, the volunteer board president of DC Ad Club , an association that serves advertising professionals in the Washington, DC area. She re...
Mar 04, 2013•40 min
This week, I speak with the executive director of a small nonprofit in Dallas, Texas about how she has worked with her board to cause the young organization to grow by leaps and bounds. My guest is Teri Walker and her organization is the Aberg Center for Literacy . Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS What actions did she and her board members take that caused the number of clients and volunteers to grow significantly in a relatively short time? Did they carry out a careful pl...
Feb 25, 2013•42 min
It’s easy to say “yes” to serving on the board of an organization you’re passionate about. It’s often difficult, though, to bring that energy and enthusiasm to the nonprofit’s financial policies or legal requirements. I would bet that at least half of board members in the U.S. don’t understand what they’ve really agreed to when they start serving on a board. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS On this show, I speak with Nat Bartholomew, a partner with CliftonLarsonAllen , abo...
Feb 18, 2013•34 min
The week we explore nonprofit startup best practices and frankly, the ideas work for new programs of existing nonprofits as well. My guest is Robert G. Ottenhoff, president and CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy in Washington, D.C. The Center was highlighted in The Chronicle of Philanthropy in December as one of five “nonprofit high points of 2012.” Bob has been on the show a few times but it was in his former role as the leader of Guidestar, an online information source about nonprofit...
Feb 11, 2013•44 min
On this week’s show my guest and I talk about social media and how his organization uses it to serve members. I have been waiting to focus on this topic until these different tools became more solid and defined, and smaller, local nonprofits were using them well. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS My guest this week is Chris Oien of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Twin Cities (that’s Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota). Its mission is to provide and promote opp...
Feb 04, 2013•40 min
I just heard about a nonprofit that spent much more than it needed to on hardware and software the staff doesn’t need or have time to learn. The organization’s decision-makers became enamored by the technology and did not spend their money well. It’s a common problem. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS My guest this week is Allen Gunn, executive director of Aspiration , a San Francisco-based organization that helps nonprofits and foundations use software tools more effective...
Jan 28, 2013•33 min
I’m pleased to have Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions back on the show this week. She is a charity auction educator and onstage auctioneer who has worked with nonprofits on more than 300 events. She also is a certified meeting planner. She’s one of my regulars because Sherry offers tips and tricks that can really make a difference for those of you who plan auctions. We want you to use your time well and enjoy it rather than pull your hair out and drive your family and the staff crazy. Subscri...
Jan 21, 2013•41 min
In late December, I replayed a 2012 interview with Aaron Rome about writing a statement of need for a grant proposal. It is really helpful if need to understand the kind of data and stories that you must compile to make a persuasive case for support. This week, Aaron and I take this conversation further to look at how creating pilot projects can help start-ups come to life and existing organizations grow. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS Aaron Rome has been a grant writer ...
Jan 14, 2013•36 min
Welcome to Nonprofit Spark, a show for leaders and board members of new and emerging non-profits. And happy 2013, the best year of our lives! Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS This week’s show offers great tips about working with local media. It is so great when nonprofit stories are told in the newspaper or on the radio or television because nonprofits are, after all, community assets that citizens should know about! Newer nonprofits who succeed quickly embrace the opportu...
Jan 07, 2013•39 min
This week, I’ve combined two great shows to help you think through grant writing and approaching foundations and corporations for grants. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS Are you even ready to write a grant proposal? Not without a statement of need that compels the grantmaker to pay attention to why your organization matters in the community you serve. You must include demographic data that provides context about true problems and then connect that data to stories about th...
Dec 31, 2012•47 min
I’m repeating a terrific show this week for all of you who have just begun a nonprofit or are considering starting one. I recently met with a young man who has embarked on this great adventure and I was reminded of why I do this show: So new leaders and board members can make a big difference in the world faster and more effectively. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS My guest on this show is the executive director of an association that started with 70 nonprofit members in ...
Dec 24, 2012•39 min
This week’s show is my gift to you for the holidays. Yes, you’ll learn about shooting great pictures, but mostly, I just want you to enjoy looking at wonderful photos of some very special animals who are cared for at Farm Sanctuary , a nonprofit that rescues and cares for animals at two sanctuaries in California and one in New York. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS My guest this week is JoAnne McArthur, an award-winning, freelance photojournalist from Toronto who has taken...
Dec 17, 2012•38 min
Nonprofit succession planning is one of those best practices that boards are not encouraged to work on. In fact, barely more than 30% of U.S. nonprofits have a plan they can go to during a big time of organizational change. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS But a thoughtful succession plan is absolutely necessary because a lot of executive directors will be retiring soon, and newer and younger executive directors don’t stay as along as their predecessors. It provides contin...
Dec 10, 2012•37 min
There are two guests on this week’s show talking about non-profit funding. The first guest talks about the recent Blackbaud report, State of the Nonprofit Industry. It describes what nonprofits in three countries are doing to attract new donors and retain current donors. My second guest is a finance wizard and she gives us an update about a paradigm-shifting idea she has for grantmakers: stop asking for budgets to go along with grant proposals! Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android...
Dec 03, 2012•39 min
We’re back to talking about non-profit websites on this week’s show and something called “content strategy.” Getting a new or redesigned website up and running can be frustrating and time consuming and I’ve learned the hard way it’s because we weren’t using a content strategy. So what is it? It’s a process you can use to plan for, create, and deliver compelling content that aligns with your organization’s goals. Content is the text, the graphics, the donation button, the menu – all of it. When y...
Nov 26, 2012•40 min
It is the week of Thanksgiving, that all-American holiday that recalls pilgrims, Native Americans, pumpkins and family traditions. In the spirit of gratitude, I’m taking a break and repeating a great show about special events, which raise needed dollars but often at a high price. The staff, board and volunteers are burned out afterward and have little desire to do any other kind of fundraising. Frankly, events often are an avoidance strategy for meeting with individual donors and asking for gift...
Nov 19, 2012•46 min
On this week’s show, my guest and I focus on pro bono services that can make a huge difference for non-profit marketing, human resources, technology and other areas that it can be hard to raise money for. Many nonprofits have had mixed experiences with pro bono professionals, though, and are skeptical about seeking them out. It really takes some hard thinking and time to make such relationships work. Subscribe with your favorite podcast player Android RSS My guest this week is Aaron Hurst, presi...
Nov 12, 2012•40 min
The interview I did a couple weeks ago with the executive director and board president of award-winning Cape Fear Literacy Council reminded me of the need to do a show about board learning again. The most common trait of the successful organizations I’ve interviewed is that the staff and board are always learning: they evaluate what’s working and not working about their programs and services. They measure the impact of what they’re doing. They pay for training. And most do a board self-assessmen...
Nov 05, 2012•39 min
