Nonprofit Leadership Podcast

Donald Summers When we talk about nonprofits struggling with fundraising, typically we focus on solutions that address just the fundraising aspects of that organization. But often times, perhaps most of the time, if a nonprofit is really struggling with fundraising, it’s not just a fundraising challenge, it is an organization-wide challenge. So the solution to solving the issue is much deeper and more systemic than just fixing the fundraising department.  Rob’s guest is Donald Summers and he will share his guidebook for creating sustainable growth with a step-by-step guide to scaling social impact for any nonprofit mission. Donald is the author of the book Scaling Altruism and the CEO of Altruist Partners. Altruist Partners helps mission-driven organizations of all types make their social impact goals a reality. They use proven, practical solutions to solve the biggest strategic, fundraising, and organizational challenges to amplify the good nonprofits can do. Their Altruist Accelerator program is a boot camp for small to mid-sized nonprofit teams who are dedicated to growing their impact.  Donald explains that he decided to write the book, Scaling Altruism, after recognizing the consistent results his company was making with the “Altruist Growth and Impact methodology” they implemented with clients. The goal of the book is to help nonprofit leaders improve the whole infrastructure of the organization, with a practical and easy-to-implement approach. Donald shares his opinions on why so many people are lacking trust in nonprofits, and what nonprofit leaders need to do to earn the trust of future donors. He passionately believes that nonprofits are suffering because they are being held back by certain concepts, ideologies, and approaches. Donald describes different chapters of his book, and how each chapter digs into the seven-phase process his company uses to help nonprofits scale. He also explains that for this process to be effective, nonprofit leaders have to possess certain qualities because this growth process is not as easy as it may seem on the surface. Finally, Donald shares what he believes are the biggest challenges facing nonprofits, and what organizations need to focus on to resolve these challenges. This episode is sponsored by Altruist Partners Mentioned: Scaling Altruism Connect with Donald on LinkedIn Altruist Accelerator website  Altruist Partners website  This Podcast is sponsored by: Links to Resources:Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page

Vilma Consuegra How much should your nonprofit invest in marketing and fundraising before it becomes excessive? This is the question we aim to discuss today. Rob’s guest, Vilma Consuegra, explains how you can find a healthy balance between your marketing budget and your mission.  Vilma Consuegra is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the Wounded Warrior Project. WWP offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans who incurred a physical or mental injury, illnesses, or co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001.  Vilma shares how she got started with Wounded Warrior Project and the impact she hopes to make in her position in marketing and communications. When it comes to effective marketing, Vilma describes what she believes are the three biggest barriers that nonprofits face. She explains what nonprofit leaders need to focus on in order to create a healthy balance between effective marketing and operating within budget. As the WWP Communications Officer, Vilma shares the two most essential aspects to effective communication. She believes a nonprofit’s mission can be propelled more successfully, if one applies both of these aspects together. Vilma describes to what degree WWP integrates the use of AI in their organization process. She also shares whether or not she believes this technology will take over staff positions in the future. Finally, Vilma explains what impact she is hoping WWP will make in the lives of veterans as they continue to grow. Mentioned: Connect with Vilma on LinkedIn Wounded Warrior Project website  This Podcast is sponsored by: Donorbox Links to Resources: Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page 

Jason Kruger As nonprofit leaders, we aim to run organizations that thrive, especially in a tough economic climate. In order to thrive, we have to be able to make the right decisions. One area that impacts our ability to make the right decisions is accounting. Rob’s guest is Jason Kruger and he explains that nonprofits who have financial clarity are better able to manage their organizations effectively, and thus make a bigger impact in the world. Jason is the President and Founder at Signature Analytics. Signature Analytics provides expert-level accounting and business advisory solutions to small and middle-market businesses. They also have an entire team dedicated to serving nonprofits through outsourced accounting and CFO-level business advisory services. Jason explains it is critical for nonprofits to have confidence in their accounting processes, especially when making decisions for the future. In uncertain economic times, he advises nonprofits to focus on a few areas including annual budgets, cash flow, employee output, debt strategy, and real estate. When it comes to audits, Jason suggests doing no less than one audit per year, and explains why audits are worth the expense. He explains what organizations can do on a monthly basis, to have an easier audit process. Jason describes how Signature Analytics helps their nonprofit clients establish and manage these processes, so accounting becomes streamlined. He believes the biggest factor stopping nonprofit leaders from having a sophisticated accounting process is the cost. He wants leaders to know that most Board of Directors are actually willing to invest in hiring an accounting team. Finally, Jason explains why it’s so important for nonprofit leaders to provide both timely and transparent communication about finances to their donors, team, and board.  Mentioned: Connect with Jason on LinkedIn Outsourced Accounting Services for Nonprofits Jason’s email: jkruger@signatureanalytics.com  This Podcast is sponsored by: Links to Resources: Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page 

Nonprofits have been dealing with a downward trend when it comes to the donations they receive and the volunteers that join their organizations. For example, contributions from individuals to nonprofits have decreased over thirteen percent, while corporations have given over ten percent less in 2022 compared to the previous year. Additionally, there has been a decline in volunteering for the past 10 years. With that said, there is hope for nonprofits to reverse these trends. Today’s guest, Emily Creek, believes that nonprofit leaders can harness the amazing power of market research to turn these numbers around. Emily has been in the nonprofit space for 20 years. She is currently the Senior Director, Customer Insights & Strategy at Stable Kernel. She helps nonprofits develop strategies to overcome their business challenges, by conducting and leveraging market research.  Emily describes her role at Stable Kernel, where she helps nonprofits increase their volunteer base and improve their fundraising effectiveness. She explains that in order to compete in this current climate, nonprofit leaders need to fully understand their constituents’ needs and tailor messages directly to them. For those who don’t know the true power of market research, Emily describes the list of benefits nonprofits can obtain by investing time and money into this tool. For organizations who decide to get started using market research, it can be challenging to know where to focus first. Emily believes the most important step is making sure all the stakeholders are aligned with the key objectives. When it comes to smaller nonprofits, she explains that using market research tools doesn’t have to be too timely or expensive. Emily describes how AI can be used in the process of market research, but that there are still limitations to what it can do in this area. Finally she shares why she is hopeful for the future of nonprofits who use this amazing tool. She believes market research is like a GPS system that takes the guesswork out of everything and helps nonprofits get to the destination they desire.  Mentioned: Connect with Emily on LinkedIn Stable Kernel  This Episode is sponsored by: Links to Resources:Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/ Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page

Tommy Spaulding As nonprofit leaders, we are not only making an impact in the lives of those we serve, but we have the opportunity to lead others within our organizations. So what does it take to be an effective leader? Rob’s guest is Tommy Spaulding who explains how we can be better at leading our teams, what an effective leader looks like and one key underrated trait we should all develop as leaders.  Tommy is a national speaker and trainer on the topic of leadership. He is also the author of three New York Times Best Selling books. Tommy is also the President of Spaulding Companies LLC, a national leadership development, consulting, coaching, and speaking organization. Tommy describes the two different types of leaders that exist, and which type of leader one should be if they want to build a healthy team dynamic. He believes that in order to be a servant leader who genuinely cares about others, one has to heal their own heart and learn to love themselves first. Tommy offers advice to leaders who realize they need to change and shares a specific example of something they can do to show others they truly care. He explains why it is so important for leaders to be focused on their core mission and to prove they are not easily swayed by money. Tommy believes that influence “is not a part of leadership,” but that influence “is leadership.” He also shares a powerful metaphor of the extent of our influence throughout our lifetime. Finally, Tommy shares what he believes is the most powerful, yet underrated quality of leadership, and how this quality not only impacts our team but our donors as well. Mentioned: Connect with Tommy on LinkedIn Tommy’s email: tommy@tommyspaulding.com Tommy’s website The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Book by Patrick Lencioni This Podcast is sponsored by: Links to Resources: Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page 

Vedika Bhandarkar Safe water. While most of us have access to it, there are millions across the world who do not. There are approximately 700 million people, all over the world, who do not have access to safe water or sanitation. Rob’s guest, Vedika Bhandarkar, describes a unique and effective strategy for getting more clean water to those in need. Vedika is the Chief Operating Officer at Water.org. This global nonprofit organization works to bring safe water and sanitation to the world through affordable financing, such as small loans. Vedika describes how co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White started Water.org. She explains that the organization is focused on helping those in need get access to affordable capital to pay for safe water systems. Vedika describes the negative impact of not having enough safe water, on an individual scale as well as on the global scale. She explains why a lack of financing plays such a crucial role in this issue, and how Water.org has increased their efforts in this area. In the last four years, Water.org has scaled from helping 16 million people worldwide, to now reaching 60 million people. Vedika shares exactly what the organization did to scale so fast, in such a short span of time. Finally, she reminds us of the worldwide benefits if more people had access to safe water, and believes this issue is solvable in our lifetime. Mentioned:  https://water.org/ This Episode is sponsored by: Donorbox Links to Resources: Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/ Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page

Artificial Intelligence. Did you know that AI is embedded in almost everything we do? It’s often embedded in our workflow, our fundraising and our data analytics. Already, there are many in the nonprofit sector who are using AI but many not even realize that they are using. For example, in 2020, 75% of nonprofits reported using AI for predictive analytics to enhance their fundraising efforts. (Source: Nonprofit Technology Network) 64% of nonprofit professionals believe AI can help them better understand their donors and supporters. (Source: Salesforce) Additionally there have been a lot of studies about the impact of AI: like helping nonprofits increase program effectiveness by up to 43%, or how Classy has found that AI-driven fundraising campaigns have seen a 34% increase in donor retention rates.  So what should be the role of AI when it comes to nonprofits? As nonprofit leaders, we need to have conversations around AI, because whether we realize it or not, it’s involved in nearly everything we do. Rob’s guest, Justin Spelhaug, argues artificial intelligence is making a positive impact in the nonprofit space.  Justin is the VP and Global Head of Microsoft’s Tech for Social Impact (TSI.) TSI brings together donation and grants programs, commercial sales efforts, and partner ecosystems to empower nonprofits globally to address the world’s most pressing needs. Justin describes what Tech for Social Impact does, and how they not only help their nonprofit clients, but how TSI also donates a portion of the profits to public good initiatives. When it comes to integrating AI into their solutions, Microsoft uses six core principles to guide the work they do. Justin describes these six principles and dives deep into the principles of “Inclusiveness” as well as “Privacy and Security.” He explains why focusing on privacy and security is important when it comes to using AI, and the ways Microsoft ensures high privacy standards on all the solutions they create. Justin shares specific case studies on ways AI is being used in the nonprofit sector, specifically in cases that involve human rights, disaster relief, and biodiversity. He also describes a path one can follow, if they are not familiar with AI, so they can become more knowledgeable and skilled using it. Finally, Justin believes that while there may be potential downsides to AI technology, it is drastically helping nonprofits become more efficient, thus supporting the greater good. Mentioned:  Connect with Justin on LinkedIn Project Ellora Career Essentials in Generative AI by Microsoft and LinkedIn  AI Compass for Nonprofits  Microsoft for Nonprofits This Episode is sponsored by: Links to Resources:Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website at RobHarter.com If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page 

Cara Augspurger A discouraging trend in the nonprofit space is the steady decrease in the number of donors that are giving to nonprofit organizations. Simply put, if an organization cannot retain its donors, then it won’t be around very long. Rob’s guest, Cara Augspurger, Ed.M., CFRE shares specific ways we can improve our efforts in relation to donor retention. Cara is a Fundraising Coach at Donorbox. Donorbox is a recurring donation platform that provides nonprofits with a better donation checkout process. They aim to help nonprofits connect with their donors and volunteers more closely by building the best donor management system in the industry. Cara shares her thoughts on the current state of giving and describes the factors that are attributing to the decrease in donor retention. She explains the importance of good stewardship and how sharing “impact reports” with one’s donors is key. When it comes to thanking your donors, Cara believes that it takes quality communication and also frequent communication to really convey an organization’s sincere gratitude. She explains how important authenticity is in regards to donor retention, and how nonprofit leaders can become more authentic in their actions. Cara also offers advice on how to best obtain donor feedback and what organizations should do once they have that feedback. Finally, she describes how to get your donors involved in your organization’s projects, when appropriate and necessary.  Mentioned:  Donorbox website Donorbox on YouTube  Connect with Cara on LinkedIn This Episode is sponsored by: Donorbox Links to Resources:Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page 

Diana Mao As of a September 2022 report on the global estimates on modern slavery, more than 27 million people are in forced labor. Out of those people affected, approximately 1 million are in the United States. Rob’s guest, Diana Mao, describes why the issue of human trafficking is so prevalent and what can be done to fight this problem. Diana is the Co-founder and President of the Nomi Network. Nomi Network is a leading non-profit organization bridging the private, public, and non-profit sectors through enterprise and education to end human trafficking. Their mission is to end human trafficking by creating pathways to safe employment, empowering women and girls to break cycles of slavery in their families and communities. Diana shares a powerful, personal story of why she decided to join the fight against human trafficking. She dispels the myth that “trafficking does not happen in the United States, and explains why it’s such a difficult concept for people to grasp in the United States. When it comes to trafficking in poverty-stricken countries like India, Diana explains that poverty and economic marginalization are the main drivers. She shares that people in these countries have a mindset that “humans are disposable.” Diana describes the many different programs Nomi offers to women and girls across the globe, mostly focusing on supporting them through economic stability via safe career opportunities. When it comes to being inspired and not becoming discouraged, she shares that she looks at all the women on the front lines as her “sheroes”, her female heroes. Finally, Diana shares her big goals for the future of her organization, as well as for the future of fighting against human trafficking in general. Mentioned:  Connecti with Diana on LinkedIn Nomi Network  This Episode is sponsored by: Links to Resources: Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page 

Evan Wildstein What is the first thing that you think about when you hear the term, “servant leadership?” While this term isn’t very popular anymore, the essence of being a servant leader is precisely what most nonprofit leaders aspire to be. Today’s guest, Evan Wildstein breaks down what this term means and what it practically looks like to apply servant leadership to everyday situations.  Rob’s guest is Evan Wildstein, author of the book, The Nonprofiteer’s Fundraising Field Guide: 30 Practical Ways to Boost Philanthropy Through Servant-Leadership. His book inspires readers to take fast action by exploring the ten core behaviors of servant-leaders. When it comes to the term servant leadership, Evan believes that the two words must coexist, since he sees service and leadership as both action oriented activities. He explains that the term isn’t actually a paradox like many assume, because you cannot have one without the other. Evan explains that the concept of servant leadership is talked about at a very high level. This is why he is passionate about explaining it in a very practical, tangible way that people can apply to their organizations. Evan describes how servant leaders can become more empathetic in their approach to others. He also shares the importance of truly becoming a better listener, as a leader. Finally, Evan believes that we, as leaders, need to heal ourselves first before we can hope to heal others. Part of this healing must be done on an individual level and part must be done on an organizational level, by holistically checking in on our team. Mentioned:  The Nonprofiteer’s Fundraising Field Guide Connect with Evan on LinkedIn The Servant As Leader This Episode is sponsored by: Donorbox: www.donorbox.org  Links to Resources: Want to work with a leadership and life coach, check out Rob’s website https://robharter.com/ If you have any suggestions for the show, email nonprofitleadershippodcast@gmail.com For more episodes and to subscribe to our newsletter, check out https://nonprofitleadershippodcast.org/  Join the discussion over on Rob’s LinkedIn page