All Episodes

Ep 253: Still Figuring It Out: An Honest Take on People Pleasing and Leadership

Ep 252: CRM Matchmaking: How to Ensure the Right Fit for Your Nonprofit with Julia Gackenbach

Ep 251: Reimagining Nonprofits: The Uncomfortable Conversation We Need to Have with Vu Le

Ep 250: The Power of Neighbors: A Leadership Story from Minneapolis with Emilia Gonzalez Avalos

Ep 249: Financial Resilience Isn’t Luck – It’s Strategy with Bethany Maki

Ep 248: Strategic Planning for Nonprofits: Simple, Agile, and Real with Sophia Shaw and Adam Wolford

Ep 247: A Volunteer’s Guide to Major Donor Conversations with Eileen Opatut

Ep 246: If You Believe Leadership Matters, Prove It!

Ep 245: Rethinking Leadership in 2026: The Shifts Nonprofit Leaders Need to Make Now

Ep 244: The Board Chair–CEO Blueprint: What Every Nonprofit Can Learn from Girl Scouts USA

Ep 243: What 2025 Taught Us About Real Leadership with Darlene Nipper

Ep 242: Think Like a Nonprofit: A Smarter Way to Do Business

Ep: 241: Nonprofit Budgets Done Right: Goals Drive and Numbers Follow

Ep 240: NEIGHBORS FIRST: HOW TO FIND COMMON GROUND with Garrett Cathcart

Ep: 239 ADHD at Work: A Guide for Nonprofit Leaders and Teams

Ep. 238: Small Gifts, Big Impact: Building Sustainable Revenue from Everyday Donors (with Vivian Chang)

Ep 237: The AI Field Guide: A Playbook for Nonprofit Success with Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Cheryl Contee

Ep 236: Defeated Today, Inspired Tomorrow: A New Way to Lead Development

Ep. 235: Donor-Advised Funds Demystified (with Mitch Stein)

Ep. 234: Succession Planning: It’s Time To Stop Talking About Leaders and Buses (with Glennda Testone)

Ep. 233: Leading Through Whiplash: How to Stay Grounded in Uncertain Times (with Alex Love)

Ep. 232: The Helpers Need Help Too: How Leaders Refill Their Tanks (with Glennda Testone)

Ep 231: Improving the Nonprofit Talent Search (with Omar Lopez)

Ep. 230: Think Big: How Capital Campaigns Fuel Long-Term Growth (with Amy Eisenstein)

Ep 229: Imposter Syndrome Is Real—6 Ways To Overcome It

Ep. 228: Nonprofits Are Under Attack (with Glennda Testone)

Ep 227: What Challenging Times Make Possible (with Michael Hyatt)

Ep. 226: Nonprofits in the Chaos of 2025: What’s At Stake And How to Respond (with Amol Sinha)

Ep 225: The Secret to Sustainability: Taking Care of Yourself as You Lead (with Mariam Habib)

Ep 224: Fighting Loneliness In Remote Work (with Dr. Tracy Brower)

Ep 223: Activating Change: Fighting Ableism and Building Accessible Nonprofits (with Nancy Smith)

Ep 222: The Joys and Challenges of Leading A Small Nonprofit (with members of the Nonprofit Leadership Lab)

Ep 221: Building Organizational Capacity For Rapid Response (with Deepa Iyer)

Ep 220: 5 Strategies for Leading Nonprofits in 2025

Ep 219: Simplifying Success: How Project Management Can Transform Nonprofit Leadership (with Christie Machorek)

Ep. 218: 2024 In Review: A Heartfelt Reflection on Leadership and What Lies Ahead (with Glennda Testone)

Ep 217: Why We Must Reframe The Narrative Around Gen Z (with Bianca Anderson and Lamisa Mustafa)

Ep 216: Just Fund Me! (with Iara Peng)

Ep 215: The Worst Headline Just Hit The New York Times. Now What? (with Seth Chalmer)

Ep 214: Productive Conversations in Polarizing Conflicts (with Parisa Parsa)

Ep 213: Racial Dynamics in Nonprofit Fundraising (with Mikaela Levons + Jamila Hodge)

Ep 212: Street Cred, Trust Capital, and Impact-Focused Fundraising (with Michael Thatcher)

Ep 211: The Maverick Marketing Approach (with Seth Godin)

Ep 210: Scaling Social Impact: Strategies for the Small Nonprofit (with Scott Curran)

Ep 209: Finding the Courage to Say No

Ep 208: Bring Back the Joy of Giving (with Allison Fine)

Ep 207: From Walmart to Feeding America (with Claire Babineaux-Fontenot)

Ep 206: The Nonprofit Sector’s PR Problem – And How We Can Fix It

Ep. 205: The Power and Influence of the Nonprofit Sector (with Dr. Akilah Watkins)

Ep 204: Build Your Volunteer Dream Team (with Matt Miszewski)

Ep 203: Can You Answer These 10 Funder Questions?

Ep 202: The Master of Mobilizing Movements (with Jeremy Heimans)

Ep 201: Cultural Intelligence: A Major Key to a Thriving Nonprofit (with Dr. Pablo Otaola)

Ep 200: The 200th Episode: Gratitude & Observations About This Amazing Journey

Ep 199: The Fearless Election Year Fundraising Plan (with Tom Kissane)

Ep 198: Challenging the Status Quo in Long-Standing Organizations (with Cica Dadjo)

Ep 197: Stop Calling It Microaggressions: A Call To Action To Intercept Subtle Acts Of Exclusion (with Dr. Tiffany Jana)

Ep 196: How Risky Is AI For Nonprofits? (with Beth Kanter)

Ep 195: Conflict Resolution and Finding the Third Ground (with Ken Cloke)

Ep 194: Leaders of Color in Nonprofits: Challenges and Opportunities (with April Frazier Camara)

Ep 193: Is “Martyritis” Killing Your Organization? (with Kishshana Palmer)

Ep 192: Embracing Our Finite Time (with Oliver Burkeman)

Ep 191: How to Build Amazing Work Relationships (with Michael Bungay Stanier)

Ep 190: Nonprofits Turn Cities Into Communities (with Mayor Ras J. Baraka)

Ep 189: Is a 5-Star Development Director a Needle in a Haystack?

Ep 188: Can A Teen Be Your Next Executive Director? (with Sarah Hernholm)

Ep 187: Don’t Be a Mission Creep!

Ep 186: Emotional Intelligence is the Key to Better Leadership (with Daniel Goleman)

Ep 185 - The Surprising Impact of a Strong Organizational Value Statement (with Lindsay Hoffman)

Ep 184: Nobody Told Me I’d Have to Fundraise!

Ep 183: ​​The Nonprofit Superhero's Guide to Mindful Leadership (with Dan Harris)

Ep 182: Why Every Nonprofit Leader Needs a Coach (with Laura Zielke and Darian Heyman Rodriguez)

Ep 181: How Hybrid Meetings Can Be Remarkably Effective (with Priya Parker)

Ep 180: Tackling Internal Conflict – Strategies for Nonprofit Organizations (with Aarati Kasturirangan)

Ep 179: Why is My Board SO Dysfunctional? (with Rob Acton)

Ep 178: My Foolproof Team-Building Icebreaker for Nonprofits

Ep 177: Building Vibrant Volunteer Communities: Tobi Johnson’s Guide to DEI and Empowerment (with Tobi Johnson)

Ep 176: Why the Nonprofit Sector Needs a Publicist

Ep 175: Are Crypto Donations the Future of Charitable Giving? (with Pat Duffy)

Ep 174: Creating a Board That Reflects the Needs of Your Community (with Whitley Richards)

Ep 173: Good Fortune, Celebrity Philanthropy, and the Quest to End Poverty (with Jessica Seinfeld)

Ep 172: How Public-Private Partnerships Create Real and Lasting Change (with Chelsea Peters)

Ep 171: True Confessions of a Nonprofit Volunteer (with Eileen Opatut)

Ep 170: The Top Nonprofit Sector Trends and Takeaways of 2022 (with Stacy Palmer)

Ep 169: When Your ED Has a Low Appetite For Fundraising (with Kishshana Palmer)

Ep 168: Hamza Khan’s Recipe for Preventing Burnout (with Hamza Khan)

Ep 167: For the Love of Strategic Planning (with Robert Raben)

Ep 166: Uncovering New Nonprofit Funding Sources (with Ann Mei Chang)

Ep 165: Eye-Opening Tales of a Board Nominations Committee Chair (with Daryl Messinger)

Ep 164: A 7-Step Succession Planning Process for Nonprofits

Ep 163: What It Takes to Be a Successful Director of Development (with Lori Abrams)

Ep 162: Inside the Heart & Mind of a Program Officer (with Rebecca Cokley)

Ep 161: Inclusion is About More Than Diversity (with Daisy Auger-Domínguez)

Ep 160: Corporate Philanthropy and the Paul Newman Foundation (with Miriam Nelson)

Ep 159: Helping Veteran Volunteers Find Their Next Mission (with Art delaCruz)

Ep 158: 3 Big Trends That Are Altering the Nonprofit Sector (with Eric Nee)

Ep 157: How Equitable Technology Can Supercharge Your Mission (with Amy Ward and Afua Bruce)

Ep 156: How Leaders Can Promote Belonging In the Workplace (with Rhodes Perry)

Ep 155: A Once-In-A-Generation Opportunity to Shape the Future of Nonprofit Work (with Allison Fine and Beth Kanter)

Ep 154: The Nonprofit Business Model is Broken (with Vu Le)

Ep 153: Supervision vs. Management – What’s the Difference? (with Rita Sever)

Ep 152: Secrets of a High-Functioning Board of Directors (with Joan Garry)

Ep 151: Using Pop Culture for Social Good (with Noelani Pearl Hernandez)

Ep 150: Reflection – How My White Privilege Affects My Leadership

Ep 149: Can We Fix the Nonprofit Burnout Problem? (with Chris Barlics)

Ep 148: Why Nonprofits Are Still Messy in 2021 (with Jim Axelrod)

Ep 147: How Powerful Partnerships Drive Innovative Nonprofit Marketing (with Alison Moore)

Ep 146: Why Unbecoming Is the Key to Innovative Leadership (with Kerri Hoffman)

Ep 145: How Tiny Habits Create Big Change (with BJ Fogg)

Ep 144: A Fresh Perspective on Inclusive Leadership (with Dr. Ella Bell Smith)

Ep 143: Lollipop Moments and Everyday Leadership Lessons (with Drew Dudley)

Ep 142: How Kindness and Community Empower Today’s Nonprofit Leaders (with John Hoffman)

Ep 141: An Honest Conversation About Donor Stewardship (with Lisa Greer)

Ep 140: How to Attract, Develop, and Retain Top Nonprofit Talent (with Gali Cooks)

Ep 139: Interpersonal Skills are Hard Work (with Carole Robin)

Ep 138: Joan’s Favorite Books for Nonprofit Leaders

Ep 137: Cryptocurrency and the Future of Donor Advised Funds (with Robbie Heeger)

Ep 136: Who’s Afraid to Return to the Office? (with Ellen LaPointe and Nick Turner)

Ep 135: Building the Resilience to Withstand a Disaster (with Nina Meehan)

Ep 134: An Alternative to Strategic Planning (with Lindsay Hoffman)

Ep 133: Choosing the Right Nonprofit Business Model (with Rinku Sen)

Ep 132: Let’s Make Program Evaluation Simpler (with Chari Smith)

Ep 131: Becoming a Social Prophet (with Lynne Twist)

Ep 130: A Powerful Approach to Keeping Remote Staff Motivated (with Dr. Paul White)

Ep 129: Finding the Right Leader For Your Org (with Melissa Madzel)

Ep 128: Making Beautiful Music With Community-Driven Partnerships (with Henry Donahue)

Ep 127: Building a Grassroots Movement From Scratch (with Donna Dees and Shikha Hamilton)

Ep 126: Creating 5-Star Special Events in the Virtual Age (with Liz Page and Amanda Harless)

Ep 125: What Will You Carry Into 2021?

Ep 124: The 5 Giving Trends That Will Define Online Fundraising (with Scot Chisholm)

Ep 123: The Single Best Sign of a Healthy Nonprofit (with Carlos de la Rosa and Rosanne Siino)

Ep 122: How to Use Artificial Intelligence to Improve Donor Retention (with Allison Fine and Beth Kanter)

Ep 121: Creating a 5-Star Board Retreat (with Dolph Goldenburg)

Bonus Episode: Turn Your Impatience to Your Heroic Pursuits

Ep 120: Raising the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders (with Charlotte Alter)

Ep 119: Your First 90 Days as an Executive Director (with Michael Watkins)

Ep. 118: The Growing Charitable Movement That’s Raised a Billion Dollars (with Sara Lomelin)

Ep 117: The Hunt for Great Board Members (with Robert Acton and Lalita Badinehal)

Ep 116: The Most Important Piece of Diversity Work: Belonging (with Neha Sampat)

Ep 115: Taking Nonprofits From Good to Great – Part 2 (with Jim Collins)

Ep 114: What If Fundraising De-Emphasized the Donor? (with Vu Le and Michelle Muri)

Ep 113: Taking Nonprofits From Good to Great – Part 1 (with Jim Collins)

Ep 112: What Foundations Are Thinking Right Now (with Caryl M. Stern)

Ep 111: Once Upon a Time There Was a Fundraiser Who… (with Dan Portnoy)

Ep 110: How to Have Difficult Conversations – Part 2 (with Sheila Heen)

Ep 109: How to Have Difficult Conversations – Part 1 (with Sheila Heen)

Ep 108: A New CEO Job Starts in the Heat of a Pandemic (with Ellen LaPointe)

Ep 107: The Top 20 Attributes of an Outstanding Board

Ep 106: Introducing Your Nonprofit Life (with Laura Zielke)

Ep 105: Leadership in the Time of COVID-19

Ep 104: Creating a Nonprofit Communications Engine (with Sarah Durham)

Ep 103: Stronger Together: The Power of Cohort Learning (with Darlene Nipper)

Ep 102: Is Abuse of Power Epidemic in the Nonprofit Sector? (with Sarah Beaulieu and Kim Jones)

Ep 101: Managing the Tension of Change (with Michael DePass)

Ep 100: The Professional Interim Executive Director (with Margo Amgott)

Ep 99: What Visionaries Do Best (with Paul Rice)

Ep 98: Movements are Like Relay Races (with Frances Kunreuther)

Ep 97: The Telltale Signs of Founder Syndrome (Part 2) with Rachael Gibson

Ep 96: The Telltale Signs of Founder Syndrome (Part 1) with Rachael Gibson

Ep 95: How Do We Ignite Our Volunteers? (with Tobi Johnson)

Ep 94: Tales From the Trenches (with Darian Rodriguez Heyman)

Ep 93: Why Even a Good Executive Director Needs a Coach

Bonus Episode: Small But Mighty Nonprofits (with Laura Zielke)

Ep 92: The Lonely Nonprofit Leader (with Glennda Testone)

Ep 91: The Diversity Problem in Our Sector (with Diahann Billings-Burford)

Ep 90: Why People Don’t Donate (and What You Can Do About It) (with Phil Buchanan)

Ep 89: Nonprofit Partnerships, Mergers, and Acquisitions (with Wendy Foster)

Ep 88: Everything You Wanted to Know About Planned Giving (with Judi O’Kelley)

Bonus Episode: Nonprofit Workspaces (Joan Garry on the “Dear HBR” Podcast)

Ep 87: True Confessions of a Five Star Board Chair (with Daryl Messinger)

Ep 86: An Artful Approach to Social Media (with Robin Cembalest)

Ep 85: Managing Rapid Growth – the Story of charity: water (with Lauren Letta)

Ep 84: Passion, Conflict, Diversity, and Leadership (with Parisa Parsa)

Ep 83: You’re Doing Meetings All Wrong (with Priya Parker)

Ep 82: Helping the Helpers

Ep 81: How to Grow a Movement and an “Army of the Engaged” (with Rashad Robinson)

Ep 80: Why is Change So Hard? (with Lisa Lahey)

Ep 79: How a Film Festival Impacts Community Building (with Evelyn Colbert)

Ep 78: What Nonprofits Can Learn from Tech Start-ups (with Ann Mei)

Ep 77: Navigating the Tension Between Development and Communications (with Steve Ralls)

Ep 76: The 4 Obstacles to a Diverse Board

Ep 75: What’s Your One Big 2019 Goal?

Ep 74: Good People, Hidden Biases, and Navigating Your Blind Spots (with Anthony Greenwald)

Ep 73: The Arc of a Successful Capital Campaign (with Eric Javier)

Ep 72: Successful Year End Fundraising (with Gail Perry)

Ep 71: A Smart Nonprofit Budgeting Process (with Hilda Polanco)

Ep 70: Unicorns, Superheroes and Nonprofit Leaders (With Vu Le)

Ep 69: New Power and the Building of Movements (with Henry Timms)

Ep 68: No, You Can’t Do It All

Ep 67: Busting the Overhead Myth (with Dan Pallotta)

Ep 66: When it’s Time to Leave Your Org (with Kate Kendell)

Ep 65: The Case of the Serial Nonprofit Founder (with Robin Steinberg)

Ep 64: Donors Who Know More, Give More (with Roxie Jerde)

Ep 63: How To Think About Mergers and Collaborations (with Nadya Shmavonian)

Ep 62: Hiring the Perfect Executive Director (with Dara Klarfeld)

Ep 61: How to Build a Smart Communications Plan (with Ben Wyskida)

Ep 60: Why Nonprofit Journalism Matters (with Christa Scharfenberg)

Ep 59: Scaling Up Your Nonprofit (with Kathleen Kelly Janus)

Ep 58: Is It Time to Leave Facebook? (with Julia Campbell)

Ep 57: You Can Do Hard Things

Ep 56: Anatomy of a Crisis (with Emily Klehm)

Ep 55: The Nonprofit Sector Has Serious Money Hangups (with Belinda Rosenblum)

Ep 54: The 15-Year-Old Nonprofit Superhero (with Kayla & Andrea Abramowitz)

Ep 53: Asking for Money Isn’t Sexy… But Philanthropy Is (with Claire Axelrad)

Ep 52: Personal Politics vs. Public Responsibilities (with Anne Wallestad)

Ep 51: A Symphony of Shared Leadership (with Jim Roe and Bernard Labadie)

Ep 50: Why Bartenders Make Great Leaders (with Helen Rothberg)

Ep 49: How To Make 2018 a Whole Lot Better

Ep 48: Building a Culture of Gratitude

Ep 47: How to Engage Millennials (with Abra Annes)

Ep 46: Strategic Program Design (with Lindsay Hoffman)

Ep 45: The Final 60 Days of the Year (with Seth Rosen)

Ep 44: The Executive Director With No Staff (with Sarah Audet)

Ep 43: Nonprofits, Storytelling, and ‘This American Life’ (with Alex Blumberg)

Ep 42: What’s With All The Ribbons? (with Dan Osheyack)

Ep 41: What Every New Board Member Needs to Understand

Ep 40: Overcoming Fundraising Mistakes (with Jim Bennett)

Ep 39: From Kitchen Volunteer to Board Chair (with Sylvia Vogelman)

Ep 38: What the Heck is Marketing Anyway? (with Sarah Durham)

Ep 37: The Partnership That Drives a Thriving Nonprofit (with Kim Freedman and Nick Purrington)

Ep 36: The Community Builder Who Became a Philanthropist (with Stu McLaren)

Ep 35: Stop Asking Your Board to Fundraise! (With Gail Perry)

Ep 34: Leading a Small (But Mighty) Nonprofit (With Joan Garry)

Ep 33: Successful Nonprofit Collaborations (With Geri Mannion)

Ep 32: Even Roger Federer Has a Coach (With Michael Bungay Stanier)

Ep 31: Givers and Takers at Nonprofits (With Adam Grant)

Ep 30: Nonprofits Are Messy… So What? (with Tim Harford)

Ep 29: Leadership Transitions: How to Avoid the Mess (with Don Tebbe)

Ep 28: Difficult Conversations in Uncertain Times (with Parisa Parsa)

Ep 27: Confessions of a Terrible Board Member (with Eileen Opatut)

Ep 26: Building a Culture of Optimism (with Steve Gross)

Ep 25: Year End In T-Minus 30… (with Seth Rosen)

Ep 24: Corporate Support the Right Way (with Julie Hirshey)

Ep 23: Unlocking the Mystery of Foundation Funding (with Molly de Aguiar)

Ep 22: The Art and Science of Asking for Money (with Brian Saber)

Ep 21: The Happy Healthy Nonprofit (with Beth Kanter)

Ep 20: Volunteer If You Want to Live Longer (with Pamela Hawley)

Ep 19: How to Give a Great Speech (with Elaine Bennett)

Ep 18: Mission Control and Strategic Planning (with Liana Downey)

Ep 17: How One Founder Avoided ‘Founder Syndrome’ – with guest Kevin Jennings

Ep 16: Why I Moved From Corporate to Nonprofit – with guest Bill Abrams

Ep 15: On Direct Response Fundraising – with guest Lisa Maska

Ep 14: Building a Great Development Team – with guest Seth Rosen

Ep 13: Extraordinary Nonprofit Communications – with guest Sean Gibbons

Ep 12: Turning Tragedy Into Legacy – with Guest Caroline Samponaro

Ep 11: Finding the Best People – with Guest Marilyn Machlowitz

Ep 10: Successful Fundraising at Small Nonprofits – With Pamela Grow [PODCAST]

Ep 9: Websites, Social Media and Online Movements – With Scott Paley [PODCAST]

Ep 8: A Day in the Life of a Board Chair – With Joe Landau [PODCAST]

Ep 7: Corporate Sponsorships Ain’t What They Used to Be – With Guest Nancy Mahon of Estee Lauder [PODCAST]

Ep 6: It’s All About the Message – My Conversation With PR Guru Howard Bragman [PODCAST]

Ep 5: Special Events: It’s Not All About the Centerpieces [PODCAST]

Ep 4: Nonprofits Are Messy AND Funny: My Interview with Vu Le [PODCAST]

Ep 3: My Interview with Alexander Sanger of Planned Parenthood [PODCAST]

Ep 2: A Day in the Life of an Executive Director [PODCAST]

Ep 1: The Fear of Asking for Money [PODCAST]