The Nova Communities Podcast | Associations + Nonprofits

These days the pressure for our associations to be as innovative as a startup and have an impeccable, automated user experience is at its highest point ever. How do we implement new initiatives to retain members when our overall experience feels out of whack? An Operations Integration Day is a time for staff to come together to audit and clean up member communications, workflows, and systems to help you maximize your impact and drive member retention. By examining your processes and workflows, you and your team will be able to identify and remove roadblocks impacting your member experience to increase member retention and overall satisfaction for all stakeholders with your organization.   Episode Highlights Welcome and Introduction (0:42) The Oprah Effect (1:45)  When Does Retention Start? (3:15) Questions to Ask (4:34) Consistency, Efficiency, Innovation (5:20) Systemize - Automate - Delegate - Eliminate (7:23) Leveraging Your Members (11:15) That's Great, Now What? (11:42) Operations Integration Day (12:30)

Today we are highlighting a community in action during our Community Spotlight episode. Bill Coon, Founder and Board President of the Keep Swimming Foundation, joins us to share the mission of the organization, progress to date, and lessons learned. His powerful message showcases the impact being made through their work and will inspire you in yours. For show notes, please visit novacommunities.com.

We all know creating a strategic plan is important for our organizations, but how do we know if we're doing it right? There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. On this week's episode of The Nova Communities Podcast, we speak with Sarah Olivieri of PivotGround on why we should ditch the way we've been doing strategic plans. Our conversation focuses on the ideal structure of our strategy, understanding different types of goals, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring we are making the most of our time. Sarah helps us break down our goals into clear, easy-to-understand (and implement!) components as we dream big for our organizations.   Episode Highlights Welcome and Introduction (0:46) The Impact Method (2:45) The Nonprofit Blueprint (4:45) The Importance of a Written Strategy (7:45) Creating a Collaborative Environment (9:58) Does Timeline Matter? (14:02) Outcome Goals (15:00) Breaking Down Execution Goals (17:58) The Whole Picture (20:00) Innovative Ways to Plan the Plan (20:26) Evaluation (24:22) Now What? (25:34) Final Questions & Wrap Up (28:34) For show notes, visit novacommunities.com.

Ever wonder what the keys are to winning grants? During this week's episode of The #NovaCommunities Podcast, we speak with Lesa-kaye Holtman to discuss the winning formula to grant writing and how to include volunteers in the process. Lesa-kaye provides considerations for including volunteers, tips for engagement, and what do to if volunteers suggest grants that don't align with the strategic direction of your organization. For show notes, visit novacommunities.com.

As a society, content distribution has gone from print to radio, to television, to the age of the internet. And now it seems there is a significant trend towards digital audio. But when people think about audio, usually it's about podcasting. Today's guest is going to challenge that notion and help us learn how to use recent technological advancements to combine the superior substance of text with the convenience of audio, to modernize existing text publications, and increase member value. It's not about giving your members more content - it's about giving them more time. For more information and show notes, please visit novacommunities.com.

Creating a Successful Legacy Giving Program Creating a successful legacy (or planned giving) program can result in additional funding for your organization for the future. In today's episode, Lori Kranczer of Everyday Planned Giving walks us through the details of this often overlooked revenue generator and shares the possibilities when facilitating this type of program. During our conversation we discuss: What a legacy program is and how it can impact your organization Why organizations should provide an opportunity for supporters to leave a lasting legacy How to get started in implementing a new program For show notes and more information, please visit novacommunities.com.

How to secure additional funding is a question that regularly comes up, so today's guest is going to share with us all about the importance and components of Grant Writing. Angela Venuti Boysel is a creative fundraising consultant with over ten years of non-profit experience. She specializes in grant writing, annual fund, and membership programs as a CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive). Episode Highlights Welcome and Introduction (1:28) The Importance of Grant Writing (4:02) Seeking Out Opportunities (5:52) The Components of Grant Writing (9:24) Receiving Feedback (12:15)  The Board's Role (12:50) A Grant Committee (16:00) Where to Start (17:50) Budgeting (20:15) The Impact (22:30) Tracking Data and Stories (24:00) Working with a Freelancer (25:05) Final Questions and Wrap Up (35:20) For show notes and more information, please visit NovaCommunities.com. 

Today's guest is Gregory Nielsen, President and CEO of Nielsen Training & Consulting. He is an experienced nonprofit CEO who helps enhance the capacity, impact, and sustainability of nonprofit organizations through custom training and consulting services.    Greg's approach with Boards of Directors is simple. Building and cultivating a dynamic Board team requires more than simply training, but rather the creation of a thoughtful and intentional program to define, recruit, orient, engage, and evaluate your Board team.    During the episode, we discuss a simple framework for a successful program with actionable steps to maximize the impact of your Board.

Today's guest helps organizations find their funding spark through adding revenue streams, improving systems, developing a winning grant proposal, and creating fundraising strategies. Whitney Brimfield is the President and CEO of Spark Point Fundraising where they help organizations deploy strategies that will most effectively advance their missions and sustain their work. Their holistic approach in combining strategy and fundraising efforts helps organizations maximize impact.   During the episode we discuss:  Why it's important to have both a clearly defined vision and a fundraising plan How to align fundraising efforts with your mission What an implementation plan is and how it contributes to your success Be sure to listen to the end as Whitney has a special offer for podcast listeners!

Most organizations define their vision and focus through a strategic plan, but not all our organizations are good about evaluating the impact being made. Maybe we measure the number of people served or services delivered, but how do we track the overall difference we are making in our communities? Today's guest is passionate about building fundraising and evaluation capacity with social organizations. Amanda Wallander Roberts has helped over 60 social service organizations fundraise and evaluate programs, including raising over $23 million and developing more than 50 logic models, evaluation plans, and process maps. During this episode, we discuss: How we can track the difference we are making Why evaluation plans are important What a logic model is and how it's the first step to measuring our impact Episode Highlights Welcome (1:30) The Nonprofit Community (3:35) How Do We Track Impact? (4:20) What is a Logic Model? (7:30) The Five Parts of a Logic Model (10:23) Logic Models in Action (14:00) Logic Model vs Strategic Plan (16:26) How to Get Started (17:18 ) The Why (24:37) Wrap Up (27:40) For show notes and more information, visit NovaCommunities.com.

Finding the right partnerships for collaboration is imperative for organizations to grow effectively and achieve high impact. By identifying and valuing the interconnectivity of the work we do with others, we are able to further our missions and expand our reach.   In this episode, Mia Mahaney of West Michigan Consulting Services joins us to discuss community partnerships and why they are important. While sharing the top reasons to engage these organizations, she also provides powerful examples of communities in action and highlights where you can find these potential partners.   For more information, visit NovaCommunities.com.  

Attention Pays™: How to Drive Profitability, Productivity, and Accountability with Neen James. To get the results you want, you need to get attention. But most people don't know how to get it and keep it. People often see attention as a transaction, something to trade, but it's much more than that. Neen has identified that people pay attention at three different levels; personal, professional, and global, and she's designed a powerful methodology that makes it easy to leverage all three. Neen's Intentional Attention model helps individuals and organizations to be more deliberate about the choices we make and the actions we take. Join speaker, author, and sassy little Aussie, Neen James, and discover what makes attention valuable and why paying attention in very specific ways drives profitability, productivity, and accountability. During this podcast we discuss: Why we get attention wrong (and how to get it right) The three types of attention, Personal, Professional and Global and how to master each Strategies to design work and personal environments for optimal attention and focus How to turn your technology and devices from frustrating distractions to powerful levers A simple framework to get your team aligned, focused and executing faster than ever For show notes and more information, visit novacommunities.com.

In this episode, we welcome Robert B. Acton, J.D., Principal and Founder of Cause Strategy Partners to discuss their signature program, BoardLead, and how they train professionals for high-impact board service. During our conversation, Rob touches on how BoardLead connects talent with opportunity, how to prepare to make an impact at the board level, and the greatest factor board members can contribute to the organizations they serve. For more information and show notes, visit novacommunities.com.

I love volunteers! Today I'm sharing tips to effectively build strong, collaborative relationships with your key volunteers. These tips will help you increase volunteer engagement and be proactive in your communication and expectations of them. We'll focus on three main areas – how to engage, equip, and empower volunteers. For more information and show notes, visit novacommunities.com.

This week's episode is about my first experience at the ASAE Annual Meeting. I'm sharing my top five takeaways from an event that challenged me to think and dream bigger about the impact we can have on and for the organizations we serve. Highlights include: Value > Financial Maximization The Future is Video Using Contextual Models to Increase Engagement The Freelance Revolution Focus on Potential For more information and show notes, visit novacommunities.com.

Dan Flowers, CEO of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank joins us on episode three of The Nova Communities Podcast and I'm thrilled for you to hear his insights on leadership and team culture. After reflecting on his leadership style and how it impacts his team, Dan and I dive into the importance of building a strong, collaborative environment to successfully empower employees and help organizations reach their goals. Highlights Welcome and Intro (0.00) Community (2.15) Tools a Leader Needs (5.30) Collective Intelligence of Teams (8.00) Early Leadership Experiences (10.00) A Defining Moment (11.30) Part Science, Part Art (14.30) Take Care of Your People (22.40) Be Nice! (25.00) Fear in Management (26.00) Heart Alignment (33.15) Final Questions (36.00)   For more information and show notes, please visit novacommunities.com. 

Today Mark Thorsby of FrontWheel Consulting joins us as we talk about Governance and Riding a Bicycle. This simple yet effective methodology will have you seeing your Board in a new light and will help clarify the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in your organization. Welcome and Intro (0.00) Incompetent Groups of Competent People (3.40) Who is accounts for the success of an association? (4.40) The Bicycle (5.40) The Unicycle (9.25) What does it take to be a good Board Member? (13.52) Management Council Meeting (15.45) Something True (18.35) Small Staff Teams (22.35) The Challenge and Final Questions (26.07)   For show notes and other resources, please visit novacommunities.com.

Hello and welcome to episode number one of The Nova Communities Podcast. On this episode, your host, Emily Hendershot, shares the vision and goals for the podcast as well as her heart behind volunteer-driven organizations.