Fundable by Design
142 episodes — Page 1 of 3
Through The Funders' Lens - Episode 3: You Want Funding, But Are You Investing in Your Leadership?
The 501(c)(3) Lie: Why Your Nonprofit Still Can't Get Grants
Through The Funders' Lens - Episode 2: What Makes a Nonprofit Get the Grant (And What Doesn't)
Through The Funders' Lens - Epsiode 1: Why a Great Grant Proposal Isn't Always Enough
Why Are Other Nonprofits Growing While Yours Is Struggling?
If the Mission Was So Important… Why Did the Nonprofit Fail?
Ready to Build a Nonprofit Worthy of Long-Term Investment?
What Successful Nonprofits Do Right That Others Get Wrong
If a Funder Evaluated Your Nonprofit Today, What Would They Find?
The Part of Starting a Nonprofit No One Prepared You For
The Leadership Shift Every Nonprofit Leader Must Make
Why Nonprofit Leaders Confuse the Program With the Organization
Why I Do What I Do: Changing How Nonprofit Leaders Build Organizations
The Education Gap That's Holding Nonprofits Back
Grants Were Never Meant to Fund Your Entire Organization
The Beliefs That Are Keeping Your Nonprofit Stuck
What You're Really Starting When You Launch a Nonprofit
You're Looking at Your Nonprofit's Problems the Wrong Way
The Lack of Money Is Only a Symptom: The Real Problem Is Capacity
Why Great Programs Still Struggle to Get Funding
You Started the Nonprofit... Now How Do You Sustain It?
Things No One Told You About Starting a Nonprofit Organization
Why So Many Nonprofit Startup Leaders Feel Stuck
The Biggest Nonprofit Misunderstanding: Your Program Is Not Your Organization
You Didn't Plan Where the Money Was Going to Come From (And Now Your Nonprofit Is Struggling)
Your Programs Are Growing… But the Funding Isn't Coming In? Here's Why
How Misinformation Is Causing Nonprofits to Struggle
"I Didn't Realize Running a Nonprofit Was This Much Work" — Here's What Most Leaders Miss
You're Probably Paying for Your Nonprofit More Than You Realize
It's Okay to Ask for Help as a Nonprofit Leader (And Why You Should)
From Startup to Stability: What Comes Next
Is Your Nonprofit Stuck in Startup Mode? This Is the Problem
What Is a Nonprofit Structure (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)
Ready to Fix Your Nonprofit? Watch This First
Starting a Nonprofit Isn't the Hard Part. Here's What Is
4 Srategic Nonprofit Startup Tips
What Happens When You Build Your Nonprofit the Right Way
Something Isn't Working in Your Nonprofit (But You Can't See Why)
Why "DIY Nonprofit" Is Costing You Money
Filing Your Paperwork Doesn't Mean Your Nonprofit Is Ready
You're Solving the Wrong Nonprofit Problem
The Seven Types of Nonprofit Leaders
Your Mission Isn't the Problem. Here's What Is.
Why Programs Alone Won't Sustain Your Nonprofit
Why Waiting for a Grant Is the Wrong Strategy
The Dangerous Mistake: Starting a Nonprofit Based on Your Idea (Not the Community's Need)
I want to talk about a mistake I see far too often — and it's a dangerous one. Starting a nonprofit based on your idea… instead of the community's actual need. If your organization is built around your idea instead of real, validated need, it will struggle to gain traction, trust, and funding. Nonprofits are not built to express our ideas. They are built to respond to real problems. If you're in the early stages or even if you've already started, this conversation will help you step back and ask a critical question: Who is this really for? Because when your work is aligned with actual need, everything changes — from impact to trust to funding.
Why "Infrastructure" Matters for Your Nonprofit
When I say the word "infrastructure," it may not immediately resonate with you. And the reason is simple: when many nonprofit leaders start their organizations, no one ever talks to them about infrastructure. They talk about passion. They talk about programs. They talk about impact. But very few people explain the internal structure that allows a nonprofit to operate, grow, and sustain its work over time.
The Visible and Invisible Work of Running a Nonprofit
Today I want to talk about the visible and invisible work of running a nonprofit. People see the program. They see the events. They see the impact photos. But they don't see the systems, the compliance, the financial tracking, the reporting, the board management, the donor communication, the strategic planning — all the invisible work that keeps the organization alive. If you've ever felt like you're carrying more than people realize, you are. But here's the key: the invisible work isn't extra. It's essential. Impact is what the world sees. Operations are what make it possible.
Starting a Nonprofit With Long-Term Sustainability in Mind
If you're thinking about starting a nonprofit or you've just started one, I want you to pause and ask yourself one question: Are you building this for impact today, or sustainability tomorrow? Starting is easy. Sustaining is leadership. If you want your nonprofit to grow, last, and be trusted by funders, sustainability cannot be an afterthought. It must be part of the foundation. Build it to last. Not just to launch.
The 12-Month Roadmap: Turning Your Passion Into a Fundable Nonprofit
f you have passion for a cause, that's powerful. But passion alone will not make your nonprofit sustainable, and it will not make it fundable. So today, I want to walk you through what a 12-month roadmap looks like for turning your passion into a fundable nonprofit organization. This is not about rushing. It's about building correctly. If you've started with heart but want to move toward sustainability, this roadmap will help you think differently about your first year.