84: 4 Keys to Building A Global Nonprofit (Elizabeth Hausler) SUMMARY Are you pondering nonprofit leadership among multiple career options? That’s exactly what Elizabeth Hausler considered before she started the global nonprofit Build Change in 2004, and she offers a fascinating review of her leadership journey and the many lessons learned on Episode #84 of the Path Podcast . These lessons, of course, offer great insight for others considering a similar nonprofit career. Elizabeth reflects on wh...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min
83: Maximizing Advocacy to Fulfill Your Mission (Karen Lee) SUMMARY Managing a nonprofit organization requires a variety of skills and experiences to succeed, and a leader can certainly be consumed by simply keeping their organization in motion. The best nonprofits, however, commit to a vision the exceeds the direct impact of their programs and services but also seeks to positively influence their communities at large. Karen Lee is a great example of a nonprofit leader just like that, as she man...
Jan 21, 2021•55 min
82: 4 Things They Don’t Teach You About Nonprofit Leadership (Martyn Drake) SUMMARY How do you look at profitability as a nonprofit leader? Our sector’s leadership often grapples with conflicted emotions about running their nonprofit “more like a business” despite the fact it is a business and needs to employ critical revenue-generating practices to assure long-term sustainability. In episode #82 of the Path Podcast , Martyn Drake brings a global perspective to this topic and offers great insigh...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 2 min
81: 3 Ways Nonprofit Leaders Get in Their Own Way (Kris Putnam-Walkerly) SUMMARY As a nonprofit leader, you have multiple responsibilities to manage and often limited time to adjust to changing circumstances (case in point: 2020!). Complicating this leadership challenge are often self-imposed barriers that nonprofit leaders need to understand and avoid. In episode #81 of the Path Podcast , Kris Putnam-Walkerly helps not only identify ways nonprofit leaders stop themselves, but offers solutions a...
Jan 14, 2021•54 min
80: How to Attract Young Professional Talent to Your Nonprofit (Kamber Parker) SUMMARY As more young professionals look to the nonprofit sector as an attractive option for their career path, Executive Directors and other senior leaders are eager to recruit and retain the best and brightest to join their organizations. In episode #80 of the Path Podcast , I had a great conversation with Kamber Parker , who not only serves as the Development Director for the nonprofit Greenville Area Parkinson Soc...
Jan 07, 2021•57 min
79: Is Co-Leadership Right for Your Nonprofit? (Alicia Winckler & Alan Mather) SUMMARY What is Co-Leadership and how could it elevate your nonprofit to the proverbial next level ? In episode #79 of the Path Podcast , I had a great conversation with Alicia Winckler and Alan Mather , two talented individual leaders who have embarked on a co-leadership model for the Chicago-based Golden Apple Foundation . By combining forces, they have not only strengthened a great organization addressing teach...
Jan 05, 2021•55 min
78: 5 Ways to Build Your Nonprofit Leadership Plan (Patton McDowell ) SUMMARY In episode #78 of the Path Podcast , Patton offers a coaching session to help you find 5 Ways to Build Your Nonprofit Leadership Plan . How do you effectively conduct a personal annual review ? How do you build your personal board of directors ? How do you curate content given the volume of data coming at you? How do you better express yourself in professional settings that can help you get ahead? And finally, how do y...
Dec 31, 2020•33 min
77: How to Recruit and Engage Stellar Board Members (Karen Eber Davis) SUMMARY As a nonprofit leader, two topics are always on the top of your list of strategic priorities. First, how do I recruit and engage great board members? And second, how do I create a sustainable and dynamic fundraising that secures my nonprofit for the future? In episode #77 of the Path Podcast, I had a great conversation with Karen Eber Davis , who proves she is the perfect person to answer both of these high-priority q...
Dec 24, 2020•49 min
76: Fundraising During A Perfect Storm (Chris Carnie) SUMMARY How do you fundraise during a perfect storm? Nonprofit leaders are challenged in numerous ways right now, and face uncharted territory in terms of the fundraising environment in which they must operate. While Chris Carnie’s work originates primarily in the UK and Spain, he brings a global perspective to not only the elements of the storm we must understand, but also ways to better navigate through it. In episode #76 of the Path Podcas...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 2 min
75: How to Engage Your Community Through Nonprofit Leadership (Stacy Sumner Jesso) SUMMARY Perhaps you are considering a move between nonprofit sectors, or even moving to an entirely different community to advance your career. As a nonprofit leader, these are transitions you’ll likely manage along your journey, and you may also be helping navigate such a transition for someone who joins your team. My guest in episode #75 of the Path Podcast , Stacy Sumner Jesso , has managed all of these transit...
Dec 10, 2020•41 min
74: 4 Ways to Make Your Virtual Fundraiser More Successful (Jenni Hargrove) SUMMARY Every nonprofit is planning - or pondering - some sort of virtual fundraising event. Either adapting a previous live model, or trying something online for the first time. How confident are you in your design and potential for success? If a virtual fundraising event is in your future, Episode #74 of the Path Podcast is the perfect resource to guide your thinking. Jenni Hargrove brings her marketing, communication ...
Dec 08, 2020•47 min
73: What Nonprofit Leaders Must Do to Support Their Teams (Valerie Williams) SUMMARY The year 2020 has reminded nonprofit leaders of two significant issues they must manage to succeed: diversity, equity & inclusion and the mental health of their teams and themselves. This can be a tall order when combined with everything else leaders in the charitable sector must face. Fortunately, our guest on Episode #73 of the Path , Valerie Williams , is exactly the person who can help us understand thes...
Dec 03, 2020•54 min
72: What Can a Mastermind Do for Your Nonprofit Leadership? ( Patton McDowell ) SUMMARY What is a mastermind, and how could it help you on your nonprofit leadership journey? In episode #72 of the Path Podcast, Patton provides some history on the mastermind concept, and explains how PMA has adapted the model to best serve nonprofit leaders. He explains the characteristics that best describe successful participants, and the philosophies and structure that went into the design and implementation of...
Nov 26, 2020•28 min
71: Bringing A Global Perspective to Nonprofit Leadership (Jennifer Garner) SUMMARY How do you incorporate all of your previous nonprofit leadership experiences in a way that strengthens your current work? Jennifer Garner has built an impressive resume on the way to her current position at the University of Denver, including international advancement work at two institutions in the United Kingdom. While the experiences are impressive in and of themselves, she also does a fantastic job of lifting...
Nov 19, 2020•56 min
70: 7 Strategies to Drive Sustainable Change (Dyisha Reliford) SUMMARY The ability to manage change must be part of your toolkit as a nonprofit leader. After starting her career with Teach for America in Chicago, Dyisha Reliford continued to learn from her successful corporate, community and nonprofit experiences to formulate the essential steps to managing change. Her study led to a wonderfully practical new book called The Transformation Playbook: 7 Winning Strategies to Drive Sustainable Chan...
Nov 17, 2020•56 min
069: National Philanthropy Day: 3 Lessons for Every Nonprofit Leader (Penny Hawkins) SUMMARY While National Philanthropy day provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate charitable giving, volunteer engagement and community spirit, but it also offers an opportunity for nonprofit leaders to strategically evaluate what each category means and how they might implement it within their organization. That’s exactly what my colleague Penny Hawkins and I discussed during Episode #69 of the Path Podcast...
Nov 12, 2020•43 min
68: The 3 “C’s” of Nonprofit Leadership (Mike Smith) SUMMARY Nonprofit organizations add value to communities around the world, and Mike Smith has had the opportunity to see outstanding leadership in the charitable sector in dozens of different countries as well as across the United States. His insight into the key attributes of successful nonprofit leaders led to a fascinating conversation on Episode #68 of the Path Podcast . From his vantage point as the Managing Director of Special Olympics I...
Nov 05, 2020•1 hr 11 min
067: Leveraging Technology as a Nonprofit Leader (Kim Lanphear) SUMMARY While technology may or may not be your area of expertise as a nonprofit leader, current conditions certainly force you to be more proficient. Whether you’re navigating virtual board and staff meetings, trying to deliver your programs in a socially-distant manner, or contemplating your biggest fundraising event now being virtual, you’re having to maximize the technologies available to you. Someone who really understands the ...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr
66: Maximizing Partnerships for Nonprofit Success (Sabrina Dawson) SUMMARY How can you create lasting partnerships that not only establish your nonprofit but help it accelerate its growth? That’s exactly what Sabrina Dawson and I discussed in episode #66 of the Path Podcast . An educator throughout her professional career, Sabrina is the Co-Founder and Vice President of Programs for The Collective , a Memphis-based organization working with schools, employers and community stakeholders to establ...
Oct 29, 2020•53 min
65: Why You Shouldn’t Start a Charity (Matthew Zachary) SUMMARY As a cancer survivor and marketing expert, Matthew Zachary approaches most things in life with a very different perspective, including nonprofit leadership. This approach is provocative and thought-provoking, and is sure to make you think differently about many of the “standards” of nonprofit leadership. On episode #65 of the Path Podcast , Matthew shares his rationale for NOT starting a nonprofit, why charitable organizations often...
Oct 22, 2020•53 min
64: How Can We Address Compensation Gaps in the Nonprofit Sector? (Sally Loftis) SUMMARY It’s a cliché to say no one gets into nonprofit work to get rich. However, if leaders in our sector do not take steps to address the compensation gaps that exist, all of the important work being done will be further diminished by turnover and burnout. In episode #64 of the Path Podcast, Sally Loftis brings a researcher’s eye and HR expertise to this strategic challenge for nonprofit leaders, and provides a w...
Oct 15, 2020•54 min
63: Confronting Wicked Problems as a Nonprofit Leader (Lynn Fick-Cooper ) SUMMARY As a nonprofit leader, you are likely trying to address “Wicked Problems” every day, social challenges that are systemic in nature and incredibly complex. To help us better address these types of problems, Lynn Fick-Cooper offers a fantastic analysis of these issues, and provides five crucial strategies to address them in episode #63 of the Path Podcast . Lynn’s 30-year journey in nonprofit leadership is also instr...
Oct 08, 2020•59 min
62: What Should We Learn from the Giving USA Report? (Melissa Brown) SUMMARY You’ve likely seen the numbers each year that represent philanthropic support in the United States through the Giving USA report. The question is, do you really understand what the numbers mean, and how they apply to you and your nonprofit? There is no one better suited to help us understand those questions than Melissa Brown , who has spent some of her stellar 30-year career literally editing the Giving USA report. In ...
Oct 06, 2020•52 min
61: 4 Ways to Advance Your Nonprofit Career (Jay Dowd) SUMMARY What are some practical ways you can advance your nonprofit leadership career? In episode #61 of the Path , South Carolina native Dr. Jay Dowd brings experience from leading four different university fundraising teams to answer that question. He shares the critical advice he learned early in his career from mentors and donors themselves, as well as the value of his network and his involvement in professional associations that continu...
Oct 01, 2020•49 min
60: Maximizing The Leadership Trio for Fundraising Success (Theresa Lee) SUMMARY Theresa Lee has enjoyed an exceptional fundraising career, doing some of her best work in the greater Boston area for institutions like MIT, Boston College and Holy Cross. Her advice on the critical “leadership trio” (the CEO/Executive Director, the Chief Development Officer and the Board Chair) is not only applicable to large institutions, but very relevant to any sized organization trying to maximize its senior st...
Sep 24, 2020•55 min
59: 5 Keys to Leading Dynamic Virtual Meetings (Lea Williams) SUMMARY Even before the pandemic, the lack of effective meetings was one of the biggest productivity challenges for many nonprofit organizations. As a leader, you cannot afford to waste the collective time and talent of your staff, board and key volunteers. To offer practical advice for better meetings - especially in a virtual setting - Dr. Lea Williams shares her five keys for creating a more dynamic and productive culture when you ...
Sep 17, 2020•1 hr 1 min
58: How to Make Nonprofit Leadership Your Dream Job (Carson Tate) SUMMARY Given the uncertainty we all face right now, it is reassuring to speak with someone like Carson Tate who understands the challenges of maintaining personal and professional balance, as well as the nuances of productivity. Carson offers great advice and resources for nonprofit leaders in Episode #58 of the Path , starting with an understanding of your personal productivity style, and how to adapt if your style does not matc...
Sep 10, 2020•44 min
57: Bringing Authenticity to Nonprofit Leadership (Lisa Baxter) SUMMARY Like many in the nonprofit sector, Lisa Baxter did not seek a role in philanthropy; the sector quite literally sought her out. And while the path to nonprofit leadership has not always been accommodating to her, the lessons learned and wisdom gained has helped Lisa not only succeed but also provides valuable advice for other leaders on a similar career track. In episode #57 of the Path podcast , Lisa discusses the systems sh...
Sep 03, 2020•51 min
56: 10 Essential Skills & Experiences for Nonprofit Leadership ( Patton McDowell ) SUMMARY This episode of the Path Podcast , #56, includes a top-10 list of the most important skills and experiences necessary for successful nonprofit leadership: Lifelong Learning Plan Personal Organization Leadership Nonprofit/Sector Financial Acumen Spoken Communication Written Communication Listening/Conversation Skills Networking Strategic Planning ABOUT PATTON Patton has spent his entire 30-year career h...
Aug 27, 2020•32 min
55: Recalibrating Your Fundraising Strategy as a Nonprofit Leader (Alison Singer) SUMMARY Like most nonprofit leaders, you are likely driven by passion for a cause that is meaningful to you. Alison Singer is certainly a great example of that drive, but she has also taken her lifelong commitment to serving individuals and families with Autism and turned it into a national nonprofit called the Autism Science Foundation . Her story is a fascinating one, and her podcast episode, #55 on the Path , al...
Aug 20, 2020•54 min
