Next in Nonprofits

Shanna Birky is the Vice President, Customer Experience at Classy, "a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about." Classy is presenting a webinar on election-year fundraising on May 1, 2024. Shanna joins host Steve Boland talk about election year issues such as looking at specific dates this year to be aware campaign issues (primaries, debates, etc...) and timing your own events to avoid conflicts, developing a rapid response strategy, setting up specific campaigns on topics being discussed in elections, and being ready for "rage-giving" in unexpected issues that may arise as elections continue.

Matt Nash is the executive director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund, which has "administered over $1.6 billion in donations from passionate individuals and corporations to 195,000 nonprofit organizations around the world." Matt joins host Steve Boland to talk about how small and mid-sized charities can be most open to finding and connecting with donors using tools such as donor-advised funds. Matt shares his thoughts about understanding the tools some donors may choose, asking donors to connect in supporting the work outside of contributions (such as volunteering, connecting to peers at employment-based sites) and stewarding those relationships over time.

Shaun Kulesza is the Founder and CEO of ShopRaise, which "help(s) causes engage supporters, build their brand and raise money through socially-conscious shopping." Shaun joins the podcast to talk about where shopping donation programs can fit into the nonprofit fundraising landscape, how ShopRaise works, and what charities should know about programs like this in their portfolio of approaches to raising support. Host Steve Boland shares his initial skepticism of shopping programs, and Shaun addresses some of those concerns about when and how nonprofit missions may benefit from these tools. The conversation includes the changes in the landscape since the demise of Amazon Smile (and a reminder to remove those links lingering on your website!) and the importance of a range of options for a range of potential supporters for a mission-based organization.

Jenn Taylor is the Founder of Deep Why Design, created to "to help nonprofit organizations transform and humanize their data systems. Humanized systems are transparent, equitable, and effective." The Deep Why Design team has been assisting nonprofits with tools such as Salesforce, and Jenn joins this episode to talk about the evolution of Salesforce into something more and more useful to smaller and mid-sized nonprofits. Host Steve Boland talks to Jenn about the true cost of the "free" Salesforce.org licenses (read: free as in puppies, not free as in beer), understanding Salesforce as a hub of data and not always the tool to collect or process it, the extensive ecosystem of tools that connect to Salesforce, and much more.

Sara Lomelin is the CEO of Philanthropy Together, with a mission "to democratize and diversify philanthropy through the power of collective giving." Sara joins host Steve Boland to talk about the power of collective giving in community. Philanthropy Together offers layers of tools to support communal giving, from starting new giving circles to now a Lauchpad for Nonprofits offering to support charities in building their own donor-connected giving. Sara discusses the long-time use of circles, and also the newer tools like Grapevine to support them. She talks about expanded giving tactics which may include tax-deductible gifts, but may also be impacted by community decisions such as funding informal mutual aid networks. Philanthropy Today is specifically interested in how these tools may shift the historic inequities in charitable giving, leveling the field for efforts led by people of color, gender-diverse leaders, and more.

Noelani Pearl Hernandez is the Vice President, Culture & Leadership at Charity Navigator, whose mission "is to make impactful giving easier for all ". Carly Bad Heart Bull is the Executive Director of Native Ways Federation, which "strengthen(s) the circle of giving by uniting Native organizations, supporting Native communities, and observing the highest level of ethical standards." Carly and Noelani join host Steve Boland to discuss equity in philanthropic giving. They talk about defining equity in this context, about organizations that are Native-led v. Native-serving, and what measures are changing when donors and philanthropy talk about seeking equity in giving. Carly contributed blog ideas on these topics on the Charity Navigator site. Charity Navigator's Encompass Rating system offers a holistic view of a charity’s effectiveness and reliability beyond just finances and dives into the overall health of a charity’s programs making it possible to present a full and fair picture of an organization. Carly encourages listeners to consider action via Native Nonprofit Day, a national giving day in coming back in 2024.

Matt Stokes is the Senior Associate Director, Prospect Management and Research at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Matt joins host Steve Boland to talk about the field of prospect management, especially focusing on bringing new donors to a nonprofit mission. Matt shares his experience on thoughts on how to connect with potential donors, tools that support that work, peer-supported giving campaigns for outreach, challenges in the nonprofit sector in how people view philanthropy and much more.

Rasheeda Childress is the senior editor for fundraising at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Emily Haynes is a senior reporter at the Chronicle of Philanthropy. They recently authored a review of findings from the Giving USA 2022 report. (infographic summary here.) Emily and Rasheeda join host Steve Boland to talk about the early learnings from the 2022 Giving USA numbers. International giving is up - even in inflation-adjusted terms - but many other sectors are down both in real terms and in inflation-adjusted dollars. The value of major donors may be shifting as potential opens up for smaller- and medium-sized donations. Giving to foundations and donor-advised funds impacts the investments those tools are making in charities. Rasheeda and Emily also discuss the potential impacts of non-charitable giving as tax deductions have become less important to more donors due to the 2018 changes in standard deductions.

Kari Aanestad is the Associate Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, which "works to inform, promote, connect, and strengthen individual nonprofits and the nonprofit sector." Kari is also the Co-Director of Grant Advisor, "safe way to anonymously give and receive feedback on grantmaking." Kari joins host Steve Boland to talk about the emerging tools in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what their use may mean in the nonprofit sector. One of the most prevalent forms being adopted today is ChatGPT, a Large Language Model (LLM) which users can ask to write anything from song lyrics to grant applications. Kari and Steve are not experts in the science (very few people are!) but discuss the pros and cons of using such tools in nonprofit work. They talk about cultural bias in AI, the ethics of contributing to such systems, using AI as a writing prompt rather than replacing writers, and just what may be the "existential risks" some AI developers are warning against.

Michelle Boggs is the Executive Nonprofit Industry Advisory for Classy, a "a giving platform that enables nonprofits to connect supporters with the causes they care about." Classy is now part of Go Fund Me, the "#1 and most trusted leader in online fundraising." Classy and Go Fund Me have released the 2023 State of Modern Philanthropy Report, exploring what works and challenges the data are showing in connecting with donors online. Topics include the most impactful social media channels for connections and conversions, the importance of peer-supported fundraising for donor acquisition, how larger donors may be more likely to make additional gifts later, and more. Classy's Collaborative Conference is coming to Philadelphia on June 7 and 8. Podcast listeners are encouraged to register at a 50% discount using the code NEXTINNONPROFITS.

Arielle Zappia is the Founder and CEO of Project WHY, “to facilitate genuine empathy through understanding homeless people’s individual stories”. Arielle joins host Steve Boland to talk about the importance of story not only in fund development work but in the mission work of connecting communities to the impact of a nonprofit in the community. Arielle discusses this history of Project WHY, working with partner organizations around story, honoring the choices of individuals in telling their own stories and more. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Latasha Jennings is the Project Lead at Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD) which "provides harm reduction-based, intensive case management to individuals who come into repeated contact with law enforcement due to unmet behavioral health needs, homelessness, and/or extreme poverty." LEAD practices have evolved in other cities, and are being brought in a new partnership to the Lake Street corridor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Latasha joins host Steve Boland to talk about nonprofit organizations work in collaboration in a space which has often been relegated to public safety/civil service employees, how a movement builds trust in a community, and how to measure change. Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page.

Jane Pfieffer is the founder and president of Fieldtrip, "a cause-driven agency that amplifies nonprofits and the impact they make." Jane joins host Steve Boland to talk about the ideas Fieldtrip uses with charities to move potential supporters or clients to action. Listeners can see Jane talk about some of these ideas in her Mission Multiplier series on the Fieldtrip website (or directly on YouTube). Jane and Steve talk about the idea of the Bold Promise - telling your community how you are delivering on an important and big need in your community.

Aral Balkan is co-founder of Small Technology Foundation, which is promoting "everyday tools for everyday people designed to increase human welfare, not corporate profits." Aral and his Small Technology co-founder Laura Kalbag have been advocating for regulation of surveillance capitalism, investment in ethical alternatives, and carrying out research and development on ethical alternatives. Aral joins host Steve Boland to discuss decentralized social communication tools for nonprofit organizations (and everyone else!). Aral talks about federated communications tools (the Fediverse) like Mastodon (microblogging like Twitter but without corporate ownership), PixelFed (more image focused like Instagram) and many other ideas. Aral discusses the problematic relationship between charities seeking to have real engagement with audiences and how corporate platforms interfere at best, or undermine those efforts. Federate tools for communication and the small web in general puts more control in the hands of users and removes algorithms from the communications outreach loop for charities. A program note: There was a microphone selection problem during this recording which has Steve sounding a bit muffled and far away. Aral sounds great, so please bear with the audio issue to get all the great information from Aral! More info at NextInNonprofits.com/podcast!

Kris Kewitsch is the executive director of the Charities Review Council, whose mission is "building donor and nonprofit relationships for strong, vibrant, and just communities." Their work helping nonprofits improve transparency and learn brought Kris to the podcast in 2019 to talk about the original news on the merger of the Foundation Center and Guidestar to create Candid. Candid announced last week they had received a gift of $15 million in general operating support from Mackenzie Scott. Kris joins host Steve Boland to talk about a gift of this magnitude to a nonprofit sector support organization, rather than a direct service charity, and the impact such a gift may make. They talk about the progress of Candid since the merger was announced, the expense of technology platforms to help inform donors and the sector, and much more!

This episode is a first for Next in Nonprofits: A podcast cross-over episode with A Legacy of Generosity podcast! Kristi Ackley and Carl Newbanks are two of the hosts of that program, "dedicated to provide professional development content for every fundraiser with special attention to planned and legacy giving." Kristi and Carl join host Steve Boland to talk about the questions and challenges approaching and supporting and large donors in making choices around big gifts to charities. One option would be to create or give to an endowment - earning money for future needs. Another would be to invest in a "big swing" - spending a much larger amount of money all at once to create a larger-scale impact that in turn ripples over time. Our hosts discuss the conversation with those donors, the focus of Boards in how to pursue larger-scale gifts, community-centric giving models and much more. 

Allie Meador is the Chief Revenue Officer of RightGift, whose "mission is to empower nonprofits and their donors to expand their social impact through conscious utilization of purchases and in-kind donations." Allie joins host Steve Boland to talk about how RightGift supports charities with tools such as wish-list purchasing from donors, receipts for those donors, bulk purchases, delayed shipping and storage for bulk purchases, logistics support and more.

Holly Rustick is "founder of Grant Writing & Funding, and ... create(s) effective systems so grant writers ensure that nonprofits grow capacity, increase funding and advance mission." Holly is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing and the host of the podcast Grant Writing and Funding. Holly joins host Steve Boland to talk about the evolving nature of outsourced support for nonprofit organizations, especially in non-core areas of specialization like fund development and communications. The lessons of the COVID workplace have opened more doors to charities using a remote workforce and to considering leveraging expertise from outsourced partners. Holly talks about educating nonprofit partners on how outsourcing works, the importance of clarity in the work agreement, communicating value to nonprofits from their expert partners, and much more. Holly is a planning partner in the August 2022 Nonprofit Consulting Conference, providing additional information and sessions about successfully working in nonprofit consultancy.

Houda Elyazgi is the Chief Client Officer at Saxum, "an integrated digital agency obsessed for good." Houda is committed to making the world better through her work in diversity, equality, education and public policy. Houda joins host Steve Boland talk about social permitting, a practice she uses at Saxum to help charities think about engaging with audiences to support nonprofit goals. The focus on permission, multiple entry points, and user feedback builds a more effective strategy over time. One permission to seek is for donations, another may be for access to a supporter's network to expand support for the work. Houda goes over some case studies to illustrate how Saxum works in this space.

Gauri Manglik is the CEO and co-founder of Instrumentl, which "brings grant discovery, research, and tracking to one place. With Instrumentl, development staff are more effective and efficient at finding the right grants for their nonprofits." Gauri joins host Steve Boland to talk about the origins of the tool, and what makes Instrumental different from other tools for grants in the nonprofit sector. Gauri talks about the evolution of their discovery algorithm, features like understanding how much funders invest in new applicants, updating government funding opportunities and so much more.