Two CEOs on How to Get Boards to Help With Fundraising and More

Two leaders, Kathleen St. Louis Caliento and Nick Grono, join Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer to explain how they have engaged their board in financial efforts.

St. Louis Caliento runs Cara Collective, a Chicago nonprofit that helps low-income people find jobs. 

Grono heads the Freedom Fund, an organization that pools funds from donors who want to fight modern-day slavery. He’s the author of How to Lead Nonprofits: Turning Purpose into Impact to Change the World, published in 2024.

As nonprofits face economy headwinds — including losses in federal funding, rising costs, and the possibility of a global recession — nonprofit boards play an increasingly essential role. Trustees help with strategy and can also be powerful donors and fundraisers. Yet fewer than a quarter of respondents to a Chronicle survey described their board members as enthusiastic fundraisers.

Grono and St. Louis Caliento share their advice on how to inspire boards to champion your mission and share insights from their shared experience of working with trustees to manage unrestricted, multimillion-dollar grants from MacKenzie Scott.

 Among their key points:

• Ask board members for access to their networks.
• Help the board understand the nonprofit’s work and impact.
• Do an annual check-in.

You can connect with Grono and St. Louis Caliento on LinkedIn.

Further Reading:

“A Really Tough Job: Nonprofit CEOs Work to Make Their Roles More Manageable” by Ben Gose

“How to Create a Culture of Fundraising on Your Board” by Lisa Schohl

“How to Retain Skittish Donors Amid Economic Turbulence” by Rasheeda Childress 

“Show How Your Nonprofit Is Making a Difference: 10 Do’s and Don’ts” by Lisa Schohl

“Funders Should Support Nonprofit Leadership Transitions — Now” by Nick Grono

“Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

We welcome your thoughts on how the Chronicle can better help you engage your board. Write us at [email protected]. 

Watch a video version of this episode at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58WhjVvKzbA. And catch up past episodes at https://www.philanthropy.com/podcast/nonprofits-now. 

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

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