If you felt like 2020 was a struggle year to get good, or any, media/press coverage - you are not alone! With everything feeling heavy between politics and pandemics, it felt nearly impossible to cut through the noise as a business owner, or non-profit professional. Well, not anymore! As you finish up your strategic plan for 2021, you *need* to make sure that a killer media/press/PR plan is on the list. And it doesn’t need to be any of the fancy paid stuff - you can get high quality and needle m...
Dec 28, 2020•41 min
A life-long fundraiser, a big gift securer, an endowment fund guru, and author? Yup, Jack and I pretty much cover it all in this fundraising episode! Jack shares so many incredible and tangible pieces of advice on how to properly communicate with donors, the 5 responses you’re always going to get in fundraising, how to step up your in-person events, and more. Plus, we had a fascinating conversation all about endowment funds, how donors can set them up, and how to have those tough conversations w...
Dec 21, 2020•40 min
As we come into the holiday season and end of the year, it’s easy to be at our burnout points and want to take some extra PTO. It’s normal and understandable to be extra burnt by the end of this year - how could we not be? But, when we take that time for ourselves, are we truly *resting*? If you’re mindlessly binging Netflix in the background, or playing the new Taylor Swift album on repeat, or thinking of your to-do list running in the back of your head, or constantly checking to see if the las...
Dec 14, 2020•28 min
Mikhayla Hughes-Shaw is the Founder of the non-profit organization How About Hope, which is creating and sustaining the conversation of mental health and suicide. She started this movement as a teenager and worked for years to form it into a 501(c)3 while growing her board and resources for her community in the Quad Cities. Today we sit down for some tough conversations on the non-profit field, mental health, how helpers can take care of their mental health during this time, and black lives matt...
Dec 07, 2020•48 min
The perpetual student in me is engrained to think of this time between Thanksgiving and the holidays as ‘final exam season’. *dun dun dun* Which prompts the academic (read: nerd) mind in me. I get asked about the idea of going to grad school all the time. “Should I go?”, “Is it worth the investment?”, “Do I need a master’s degree to be successful in my career?” Well, today, you don’t have to take just my word for it! I got to sit down with one of my former lecturers at Northwestern University’s ...
Nov 30, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Have you heard of the 5 Love Languages before? More importantly, have you heard of the 5 workplace appreciation languages? Do you know what languages your team members speak? Well, if you are in any level of a leadership position, I urge you to learn this important and emotionally intelligent aspect to managing your team. Learning how each individual person you’re working with needs to be heard, appreciated, and given feedback/criticism will be crucial to creating a thriving workplace environmen...
Nov 23, 2020•37 min
Trying to describe what Patrick Kirby does? Well, he helps non-profits suck less at fundraising -- how’s that for an elevator pitch for you? Patrick has had an amazing non-profit career that helped grow and scale organizations like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation before realizing that his true knack was in fundraising. So he started ‘Do Good Better’ Consulting to work with a wide variety of non-profits learn how to fundraise better and more effectively. So much so, that he literally wrote the boo...
Nov 16, 2020•48 min
A Heather French Henry interview *needed* to be released in honor of Veterans Day week. This was a dream come true interview for me to do, as Heather French Henry has been my favorite Miss America since beginning my MAO journey back in 2012. I have always marveled at how she took her year as Miss America 2000 and launched it into a career (and lifestyle) of helping veterans, combating veteran homelessness, giving a voice to female veterans, helping to close gaps in veteran healthcare, and more. ...
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 42 min
We are less than a month away from Giving Tuesday - is your organization ready? No matter the size of your non-profit or annual budget, this day is HUGE! This is basically non-profit Christmas/New Years/whatever calls for sparklers and confetti. Do you have a top notch strategy in place? Studies* show that in 2019 only 26% of people gave on Giving Tuesday. However, charitable giving has gone up 62% in response to the pandemic. So, what does that mean for fundraisers as we head into this time of ...
Nov 02, 2020•56 min
Have you ever seen the morning routines for CEOs where they all jump out of bed at 5am, drink their green smoothies, and run a 5K before they go into the office? Is that a coincidence, copycat syndrome, or is there a real science behind the correlation of exercise and success? Today I got to sit down with Personal Trainer, Physical Therapist Assistant, and all around health and fitness fanatic, Mike Onsrud. He talks about studies behind these phenomenons, how moving your body can change your moo...
Oct 26, 2020•22 min
A board of directors is one of the first things that you need when starting a non-profit -- and they will continue to be an integral part of the organization until the day it’s dissolved. But, how in the world do you actually create one? How do you find the right people to fill it? Who are you supposed to fill it with? Tune into this episode to hear the skinny on creating your founding board of directors, as well as some advice from a few of my favorite non-profit professionals! This episode is ...
Oct 19, 2020•25 min
It’s easy to get lost in the ‘doom and gloom’ that we are faced with every time we pick up our phones or turn on the news. Many Americans are feeling a sense of outrage when faced with the global pandemic, the #BLM movement, #LGBTQIA rights, income inequality and gender inequality, and so much more. But it is possible to turn this outrage and frustration into activism that can lead to systemic change. Steve Davis and I sit down to discuss exactly this and his newly released book, "Undercurrents:...
Oct 12, 2020•41 min
Welcome back to part 2 of this mini-series with Liv Mercer on all things mental health -- but this time, with an emphasis on the science of gut health! We talk about stress, resetting your body and your nervous system, and how to set yourself up for better mental health in the long run. This is an in-depth conversation about how serotonin is created in the body, ways that you can boost it naturally, and how you can set yourself up for success in the mental health department. And the most importa...
Oct 08, 2020•41 min
The world is on fire -- literally and metaphorically. 2020 has been stressful enough, but when you’re also in a helping profession, it feels ten times heavier. Reaching a moment of burnout can come much faster than before and it’s more important than ever to be kind to yourself about it. You need to have as much empathy for yourself as you do for others. (I’m looking at you therapists and non-profit peeps). Today, I got to sit down with rockstar therapist, Liv Mercer, LPC, MS to talk about menta...
Oct 05, 2020•43 min
Does your to-do list feel like a constant source of pandemonium? Like every time you cross one thing off, three more things grow in its place? Well throw it out the window, friends and meet your new favorite productivity hack! I adapted this calendar method near the end of my college days and eventually gave my paper planner with endless post-it notes the boot. This method helped me: Stay organized & on track with my tasks Be more realistic about timelines Be more effective & efficient H...
Sep 28, 2020•24 min
One of the first things you need to do when starting a non-profit, business, social impact initiative, or anything new is determine how you’re going to put it into the world. Which means, how are you going to brand it? What tone are you using? What color scheme matches the vibe? What’s the best communication style to use for which social media platform? Tianna Vanderhei served as Miss Wisconsin 2018, is a former TV news reporter, podcast host, coffee addict, and overall boss babe. Throughout all...
Sep 21, 2020•45 min
One of the first things on your to-do list when starting a non-profit or business, is figuring out and defining this mission and vision for the future of the organization. More importantly, you have to write them out in a coherent statement for the world to get on board with. It also will get published *everywhere*. From your founding documents, to your website, to your social media channels, to any donation request/grant proposal you’ll ever write - you need these statements! This episode quote...
Sep 14, 2020•40 min
Kendra Scott is one of my favorite fashion & jewelry brands out there; not just because it’s gorgeous jewelry, but it’s a brand with a huge heart. Their 3 pillars are: fashion, family & philanthropy and they stick to their values! Sitting down with Megan Noble was such a treat! She talks about how she operates as the Philanthropic Manager for the Midwest, the keys to a great in-person fundraiser, how to keep up your relationship with a donor (when you’re not asking for a freebie), and ho...
Sep 07, 2020•33 min
Donors. We need ‘em, we love ‘em, we work for ‘em, and we stress when we don’t have ‘em. Sometimes finding dream donors (and getting them on board) can feel like a huge tug-of-war battle. This episode breaks down my 10 best tips for reaching out to get your dream donor on board - whether it’s a $25 ask, or a $5,000 ask. The styles will vary from in-person vs. written communication, but the sentiments generally remain the same. If you are running a young organization, or are new to the non-profit...
Aug 31, 2020•44 min
Thanks to COVID-19, millions of Americans are out of work and LinkedIn is the booming platform to use while searching for your next job. They’ve even created a special hashtag to help job hunters and recruiters find each other after losing their job thanks to the economic downturn of the pandemic, called #OpenToWork. In this bonus episode, Sam Provenzano discusses the new techniques he’s been using on LinkedIn to get tens of thousands of views on his content and get recruited by some incredible ...
Aug 25, 2020•29 min
From St. Jude’s to the American Cancer Society to the Alzheimer’s Association to a major university, Sam Provenzano has acquired quite the non-profit resume in the last 10 years! He has amazing experience in securing big donations, wooing top-notch donors, and utilizing the power of storytelling for a mission. In this episode, he walks us through his experiences with securing such large donations for a variety of organizations, the feelings we all struggle with (and flourish with) in working for...
Aug 24, 2020•54 min
Have YOU ever thought of creating your own Girl Scout Patch to share your mission with a whole new demographic of young girls? Specifically, all 1.8 million girls within the Girl Scouts of the USA program? Well, you're in luck! This episode is the one you NEED to hear! I got to sit down with one of my favorite people in the world, MeKenzie Lund, who is going to walk you through the process she used for creating Operation Not Alone's Girl Scout Patch, how to create your own patch, and a variety o...
Aug 17, 2020•54 min
I want to make an impact on the world, but...should I start a non-profit or a social enterprise? It’s probably a question you haven’t asked yourself yet - but should. Both are fantastic options for starting your own thing, but have very different business pro’s and con’s. This episode is going to walk you through the main differences between a non-profit and social enterprises, the different types of social enterprises you can create, and which one actually aligns with your goals better. Have yo...
Aug 10, 2020•35 min
Entrepreneur, HGTV Producer, Red Carpet Reporter, Creator & Producer for Cosmopolitan, rockstar networker, and...professional hotdogger?! Meet CEO of the Wingwoman Collective, Kylie Hodges! Kylie is one of the most energetic, outgoing, and talented business coaches that you’ll find today. Meeting her just twice in my college days at UW-Oshkosh left an indelible mark on me - and I know this episode will leave one of you. Kylie shares some of her biggest tips on how to network in the most effi...
Aug 03, 2020•50 min
So you want to start a non-profit, but have no idea where to start, right? Do you actually need a 501(c)3 status in order to be legit? How much paperwork is actually involved? Does it cost any money to make a charity - after all the term is “non” profit. Well, this episode is about to be your new best friend in making your NPO road map! I also include a few other ‘start-up’ tips that you need to know if you are embarking on your non-profit journey for the first time! This episode is sponsored by...
Jul 27, 2020•17 min
Before you start a non-profit or a business, people tend to talk about their greatest passions in life, right? But how the heck do you find yours? Why does it seem like everyone gets a clear understanding of their passion delivered to them on a silver platter? Well, finding your passion isn’t easy - and it certainly isn’t pretty. Tune in to find out my thoughts on why!
Jul 27, 2020•13 min
Have you been doing years of volunteer work, social media sharing, and creating campaigns around your favorite cause? Have you been doing tireless work for something that really strikes true in your heart, even though it’s just on the side? Would you like to position it into your full-time job with your dream non-profit organization? Jennifer Schmidt racked up years of mission promotion, content creation, and executed new campaigns all centered around her passion, Type 2 Diabetes Awareness and P...
Jul 27, 2020•1 hr
Starting a non-profit at any age can be an exhilarating, and daunting, task. Operation Not Alone (ONA) was founded in a freshman dorm room at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh when I was just 18-years-old. In this intro episode, I’m explaining the entire ONA founding story, the incredible growth we’ve had over the last 7 years, and what kind of impact we’re having around the world today. This episode is sponsored by: Door County Delivered! Go to doorcountydelivered.com and use the code ONA2020...
Jul 27, 2020•40 min
Have you ever wanted to start your own non-profit organization? Become a social entrepreneur? Just make an impact in the world? Where do I possibly start in being the CEO of a non-profit? Welcome to The Make An Impact Podcast! Your host, Susan Fochs, launched a national non-profit organization at 18-years-old out of her freshman college dorm room. Now with almost a decade of experience under her belt, she is here to teach you her tried and true tips and tricks for starting your own organization ...
Jul 17, 2020•1 min
