Successful Nonprofits Podcast

More time and money is not the answer to every nonprofit problem! Listen in to this week's episode of the Successful Nonprofits Podcast where Carol Hamilton gives us a few techniques from her everyday consulting toolbox.

Have you ever hired someone you thought would be great, but realized you made a huge mistake within the first few weeks or months? You are not alone – lots of people have made this mistake. Which is why part two of this episode explores everything to do once you post the position. We'll uncover some of the secrets to determining if a person can actually do the job and ways to make your next hiring process more inclusive.

Most executives are often able to go back and say this, including myself: My biggest success and my greatest failures have all been about the people I have hired. The lessons I have experienced over my career have helped me develop 5 mind shifts that can help us change and improve the way we think about hiring.

Nonprofit accounting expert, Tosha Anderson, shares lessons and advice for maximizing your nonprofit's accounting efficiency. She offers insights on best practices for accounting staff, effective software solutions, and aligning your accounting function as your nonprofit grows.

About six months ago, we asked folks to email in their pressing questions. Of course, we responded to each question in real-time, but we also saved the best questions to answer on the air. So in this very special solo podcast episode, we answer four questions that are as old as the nonprofit sector itself!

I believe that every nonprofit should launch its own podcast, and so does this episode's guest. There simply could not be a more intimate way to connect with hundreds or even thousands of supporters, prospective volunteers and prospective donors every week. Through a podcast, your organization can promote its mission, tell its story and significantly expand its base. Matthew Passey is widely known as The Podcast Consultant because he has helped clients generate over 20 million podcast downloads! At a time when very few nonprofits have jumped on this podcasting bandwagon, now is the time for your organization to start one.

Every nonprofit (and every nonprofit funder) wants to focus on collaboration opportunities. Traci Stanley and Joshua Fulcher are on the forefront of nonprofit partnerships and are the driving forces behind the Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative. The collaborative is an alliance of seven education and human service agencies that collectively work with more than 12,000 low-income individuals throughout some of Chicago's most underserved neighborhoods. The collaborative developed a set of common outcomes and a technology blueprint to track and benchmark metrics. The collected data is used to design and implement strategies for measurably better outcomes. The CBC recently published a how-to guide to its methodology, Increasing Mission Impact Through Collaboration: Chicago Benchmarking Collaborative Processes and Toolkit. *****Timestamped Highlights***** (2:30) The founding goal of the Chicago Benchmark Collaborative. (5:10) Overcoming resistance to collect and share more data. (6:10) Using this data to benchmark with peers. (8:30) Working with partners that are underperforming against the benchmark. (11:45) How the collaborative uses data sharing to create high need programs. (13:15) How data collaboration helps participating organizations secure funding. (15:20) Ways the collaborative uses data to learn from high performers and improve services. (17:45) Lessons from the Collaborative's early days that new collaboratives can learn from. (20:45) Why a collaborative needs strong executive sponsorship (and what that looks like). (24:45) How to handle CEO transitions that jeopardize the partnership.

Arlene Cogen shares her guidance getting the largest contributions from donor-advised funds. Arlene is a financial planner with more than 20 years of experience in the trust and investment services industry but also a considerable background in nonprofit fundraising and administration. She guided the nation's 9th largest community foundation for over a decade and authored her book, Give to Live, Make a Charitable Gift that you Never Imagined. *****Timestamped Highlights***** (1:55) Arlene explains how her daughters inspired her to leave Wall Street and transition to a career in the nonprofit sector. (5:40) How people transition from a "gain as much money as I can" mentality to a philanthropic one. (6:40) How donor-advised funds make philanthropy easier, more fun, and provide anonymity. (10:10) The three ways to get access to donors advised funds without knowing who the donors are. (13:10) The importance of connecting to your local community foundation's donor relationship team and respecting boundaries. (15:15) Out of the box ways to cultivate and approach donor-advised funds. (16:30) Things you should NEVER do while approaching a donor-advised fund. (20:05) Arlene explains who your board members should be introducing you to. (22:20) How someone making a moderate income, maybe even working in the nonprofit sector, can create a fund that will live beyond them. (25:00) The joy that comes with creating a donor-advised fund.

France Hoang has some pretty amazing credentials. France is a serial entrepreneur trading in everything from jets to law firms to coworking space to technology for nonprofits. So you may be asking, "Why is this for-profit guy on a nonprofit podcast?" The answer is simple: This West Point grad, Army Ranger and serial entrepreneur understands how to build and strengthen organizational culture better than anyone else. He's led teams in combat, on peace keeping missions, in the office and the board room. Oh yeah, and he also founded a company called boodleAI to help nonprofit supporters data mine their own social media and fundraise better. *****Timestamped Highlights***** (2:58) France explains why he went directly from West Point to Ranger School (3:35) The leadership skills France learned at West Point and Ranger School (11:18) How to develop culture-building experiences for your nonprofit team members (13:00) The importance of allowing team members to make mistakes (17:26) How to "hire right" for culture fit and soft skills (22:58) Why every hire is critically important for your small team (23:55) Why candidates applying to join your staff should speak with others on the team (29:12) The founding story of BoodleAI (29:45) Do you know what Boodle is? France explains this West Point term (30:30) How France knows an applicant is a good fit to work at BoodleAI (31:45) How BoodleAI resolves your fundraising pain points

Appreciative inquiry is a strengths-based approach to facilitating positive change in human organizations. Dolph talks with two seasoned practitioners of this method, Jeanie Cockell and Joan McArthur-Blair, about the intersection of hope, despair, and forgiveness that leads to resilience. Lots of inspiration ahead! Links: Building Resilience with Appreciative Inquiry: A Leadership Journey through Hope, Despair, and Forgiveness https://www.amazon.com/Building-Resilience-Appreciative-Inquiry-Leadership/dp/1523082550 First Section of Book: https://www.bkconnection.com/books/title/Building-Resilience-with-Appreciative-Inquiry Nautilus Book Awards: http://nautilusbookawards.com/ Joan and Jeanie's Website: https://cockellmcarthur-blair.com/ *****Timestamped Highlights***** (2:24) The hardest piece of resilience is forgiveness (3:05) If you can't forgive, forgive what you can (9:40) Joan's poem about forgiveness (14:45) A (short) stop at despair (16:02) Systemic despair (20:49) Moving forward with hope, the bedrock of resilience (24:14) A metaphorical car crash (24:36) The intersection of hope, despair, and forgiveness (25:45) Generative questions – easy yet profound (29:19) The good thoughts notebook (30:55) Joan's poem about hope (36:02) Keep your vision of the shore!