Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications

Is there really a difference between leadership and management? And what about supervision and management? In this podcast, Rita Sever and I discuss why these skills are actually quite different — and why nonprofit leaders need to be proficient in all of them.

There is no way your nonprofit organization can thrive without one — but do you know what a high-functioning board of directors actually looks like? Tune in to this episode to crack the code.

In this episode, my colleague, Noelani Pearl Hernandez and I dig into the popular Netflix series, MAID, and how you can use pop culture as a tool for nonprofit storytelling and media advocacy.

In this episode, I reflect on how racial bias impacts the lack of leadership diversity in the nonprofit sector — and my own position as a nonprofit leader who benefits from white privilege.

In this episode, Health Coach and Personal Trainer, Chris Barlics, and I talk about something many nonprofit leaders put last on their to-do lists — self care. Listen in to learn how it can help you avoid nonprofit burnout — even if you don’t like eating kale or going to the gym.

It’s the one-year anniversary of the second edition of my book, Nonprofits Are Messy. Listen in as my friend and neighbor, CBS correspondent Jim Axelrod and I chat about my book, nonprofit fundraising, and the real reason so many small nonprofits are messy.

In the digital age, it is nearly impossible to get the word out about your mission without a strategic nonprofit marketing plan. In this episode, Alison Moore, Chief Executive Officer of Comic Relief US shares how a nonprofit partnership can help in this area.

In this episode, my guest Kerri Hoffman (CEO of the nonprofit media company, PRX) and I discuss what innovative leadership really looks like in the post-Covid nonprofit sector.

In this episode, I chat with Stanford professor and author, BJ Fogg about why creating tiny habits is the key to good habit formation and creating change.

Inclusive leadership requires more than just attending DEI training and then integrating what you learn into your nonprofit org. Listen in as leadership and DEI consultant, Dr. Ella Bell Smith, shares how this work goes much deeper.

In this episode, everyday leadership expert and inspirational TED speaker, Drew Dudley joins me to share some of the most dangerous leadership lessons you should unlearn and their impact on the nonprofit sector.

Join me and my friend and six-time Emmy winner, John Hoffman, as we discuss his 2020 documentary film, The Antidote, and the role of kindness in the work of today’s nonprofit leader and our society as a whole.

In this episode, I have an honest conversation about donor stewardship with five-star philanthropist, Lisa Greer. Listen in as we discuss some of the most common mistakes orgs make when it comes to donor relations.

Filling positions in a nonprofit org can be a challenge. Here's how to get the right people in the right seats on the bus (not just butts in seats).

Nonprofit executive directors, join Joan Garry and award-winning Stanford professor, Carole Robin to learn how your interpersonal skills impact your org’s success.

In this episode, the tables turn. Cindy Pereira interviews Joan Garry on her favorite books for nonprofit leaders.

More and more folks are donating to charity with cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, only a few large nonprofits have any idea what to do with it.

As more and more of us are fully vaccinated, many are getting back into the physical work space. But what do we do when people are afraid to come to work?

Things were going great for Nina Meehan's theater organization. Then disaster struck. Learn how she overcame huge challenges to emerge stronger than ever.

Strategic planning, as a traditional process, can be costly, stressful, and deeply draining. Here’s a better alternative.

Does it always make sense to organize as a 501c3? How do you decide whether you need a c3, c4 or even a for-profit LLC? What are the pros and cons?

One of the biggest achilles heels in the nonprofit sector is program evaluation. But it’s critical to funders. Let’s make it simpler.

If you’re struggling with fundraising or having trouble getting people you know to open their hearts and pockets, listen for tips on how you can inspire others to become social prophets.

How do we continue to motivate and appreciate our staff in times of prolonged crisis? It has been over a year since the world shut down due to the pandemic and it has been challenging to stay motivated and connected in a virtual work environment. Dr. Paul White makes work relationships work. He is a speaker and trainer who has taught all around the world, from NASA to the CDC, and has co-authored The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace. In this episode he shares the 5 ways to show your coworkers appreciation, but perhaps more importantly, he shares how learning which actions matter most to the person you are interacting with is essential - and - how easily you can miss the mark if you don’t get that right. How do you know what is important, or conversely, what is least motivational in remote work relationships? About: Dr. Paul White is a psychologist, speaker, and leadership trainer who “makes work relationships work”. He has written articles for and been interviewed by Bloomberg’s Business Week, CNN/Fortune.com, Entrepreneur.com, Fast Company, FoxBusiness.com, Huffington Post LIVE, U.S. News and World Report, and Yahoo! Finance. As a speaker and trainer, Dr. White has taught around the world, including North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and the Caribbean. His expertise has been requested by NASA, L’Oréal, the Centers for Disease Control, DIRECTV, and numerous other national and multi-national organizations. Dr. White is the coauthor of the best-selling, The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, which has sold over 500,000 copies (written with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the #1 NY Times bestseller, The 5 Love Languages) and has been translated into 22 languages. Based on their extensive research and expertise, Dr. White and Dr. Chapman have developed practical ways for leaders and employees to communicate authentic appreciation that leads to increased employee engagement, lower staff turnover, more positive work environments, and higher profitability. Their Appreciation at Work training resources have been used by numerous corporations, medical facilities, schools, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, over 750 colleges and universities, and in over 60 countries. Recently, Dr. White and his team have completed a national study of newly working from home employees to better understand their concerns and challenges, as well as the positive aspects they like from working at home. Links Please fill out our listener survey here. www.appreciationatwork.com The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership - 2nd Edition by Joan Garry Free Webinar: The 5 Practices of Outstanding Nonprofit Leaders Your Nonprofit Life Podcast Who Needs an Executive Coach? Joan Garry’s Instagram Explore the Nonprofit Leadership Lab Music by Jukebox the Ghost Voiceover Work by Cindy Cap Solutions

An org is most vulnerable when the CEO decides to move on. In this episode, we discuss the right way to conduct a search for a new leader.

Learn how Save the Music Foundation creates long-term renewable relationships that lead to multi-year investments from philanthropic funders.

In the year 2000, Donna Dees rallied hundreds of thousands of people to march on Washington. How did she build such a large grassroots movement from scratch in only 9 months?

How do you create a truly successful virtual event? My guests share with us how intimate a virtual event can actually be!

As we close out a most devastating year, I’d like to offer you my own reflections on the things I am carrying into 2021.

Where is online fundraising headed post-pandemic? Scot Chisholm, founder of fundraising software platform Classy, looks into his crystal ball and tells us what he sees.

Do you know the single best indicator of the health of a nonprofit? There is one KEY ingredient for a healthy nonprofit. And it’s even more important during a crisis. In this episode I talk with Carlos de la Rosa and Rosanne Siino, Executive Director and Board Chair of the Lindsay Wildlife Preserve. Hint: Notice I invited an E.D. AND a board chair on the podcast… The “co-pilots” of the organization. Carlos and Rosanne tell me all about the Preserve and in particular about the process of hiring Carlos as executive director. They also tell the story of how they were affected by Covid 19. On Friday the 13th of March 2020, everything was shutting down; Lindsay was closing the doors to the 100,000 people who support their mission. What structure, buffers, reserves, or relationships were in place that could (and did) sustain them through the ensuing months? My guests discuss how they used the down time to create opportunities for a sustainable future and tell us what allowed Lindsay Wildlife Preserve to not only survive, but thrive. About Dr. Carlos de la Rosa Dr. Carlos de la Rosa is an Aquatic Ecologist by training and a Conservation Biologist by practice. He obtained his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Pittsburgh, PA, and has recently been Adjunct Professor and Senior Researcher at the University of Costa Rica and the National University of Costa Rica, biodiversity advisor to the Organization of American States, the US Agency for International Development, and other organizations in the US and in Central and South America. Carlos has worked extensively in environmental education programs, sustainability issues, and conservation of wildlife and wildlands. He has led wildlife protection and conservation programs in California, Florida, and Central America and is committed to communicating to the public the urgency for a better relationship with nature and wildlife. Previously he served as Director of the La Selva Biological Station for the Organization of Tropical Studies, in Costa Rica; Chief Conservation and Education Officer for the Catalina Island Conservancy, in California, USA; Program Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve in Florida; Education Director for the Environmental Lands Division of Pinellas County, Florida; and Director of the Riverwoods Field Laboratory for the South Florida Water Management District, where he worked as a researcher in the Kissimmee River Restoration Project. Carlos is completing three new books exploring the natural history, ecology, restoration, and conservation of natural habitats within the cultural context in which they exist. His writings have been published in scientific journals as well as in popular media. His nature photographs have been exhibited in museums and galleries in the US and in Costa Rica. “I am very excited to be part of this amazing organization. Developing a strong, positive, and nurturing relationship with nature and wildlife is one of the most important things that people can do to address many of our current environmental issues. And I can’t think of no better place to do this than at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience.” About Rosanne Siino Rosanne Siino was among the founders of Netscape in the 1990s. She brings to the Lindsay Board the same creativity, “think big” attitude and positive energy that launched the first commercially successful web browser. After a long career in high-tech marketing, Rosanne received a doctorate in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford, where she has been a lecturer/researcher since 2007. Rosanne teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in branding, leadership, and organizational dynamics, and consults with technology companies, startups, and nonprofits on effective teamwork, management and messaging. In addition to serving on the Board, Rosanne brought her love of animals and incredible teaching and communications skills to Lindsay as a volunteer wildlife educator for many years. Links https://lindsaywildlife.org/ Nonprofits are Messy - 2nd edition Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership Second Edition- Joan Garry Who Needs an Executive Coach? Joan Garry’s Instagram Explore the Nonprofit Leadership Lab Joan's Book: Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership: Because Nonprofits Are Messy Music by Jukebox the Ghost Voiceover Work by Cindy Cap Solutions

This episode is about the role that AI is starting to play in transforming philanthropy by reducing rote tasks and fueling donor retention.

We discuss why boards matter, when to have a board retreat, how retreats have gone virtual, and what it takes to make a retreat a home run.

I would like to encourage you to turn your impatience toward your heroic pursuits. After all, there’s a reason you become a nonprofit superhero.

Boomers are aging out of nonprofit leadership in droves. Many started organizations post Vietnam and there is a huge impending leadership void in the sector that needs to be filled. Nonprofit boards tend to skew old and are distrusting of youth and "inexperience". And so the cycle continues. So who will fill this void? How do we build a leadership pipeline? In May of 2017 Charlotte Alter, national correspondent at Time, heard President Trump’s speech on how the US was withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. She looked up each person who advised him to do so and began to feel that the decisions being made were examples of the old eating the young. This took her on a journey to write her book. Today she takes us through the people, events and forces that she believes have shaped the political thinking of the rising generation of leaders in America. We discuss how today’s leaders differ from yesterday’s and what we might do to nurture millennial leadership. About Charlotte Alter Charlotte Alter is a national correspondent at TIME covering the 2016, 2018 and 2020 elections, women in politics and youth social movements. Her first book The Ones We've Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America was released in February. Links The Ones We've Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America Greta Thuneberg article The School Shooting Generation has had Enough Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership Second Edition- Joan Garry Who Needs an Executive Coach? Joan Garry’s Instagram Explore the Nonprofit Leadership Lab Joan's Book: Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership: Because Nonprofits Are Messy Music by Jukebox the Ghost Voiceover Work by Cindy Cap Solutions

There are steps can be taken to ensure success and begin the process of crafting your legacy as a leader, even BEFORE you take on a new role.

Giving circles have raised well over a BILLION dollars over the past 20 years. Learn how your org can tap into this growing movement.

If you’ve ever had trouble finding great board members, or getting them ready to serve your organizations at a high level, you’ll want to listen to this episode.

My journey through the world is highly enriched by the diversity of folks around me.

In this episode, Jim Collins and I continue to explore the question of why some organizations thrive in uncertainty and chaos and others do not. Quite timely!

There are those who believe that the donor-centric fundraising model may be perpetuating the very inequity we seek to address in the nonprofit sector.

My guest today, best selling author Jim Collins, literally wrote the book on how to navigate a path from good to great and I could not be more excited to have him on the podcast!

So many nonprofits are struggling. Facing crises that are existential. I wanted to know what funders, especially foundations, are thinking at this time.

Just for a moment, imagine what it would mean for your organization if you could double your online fundraising next year.

Accepting criticism is an important leadership skill. But how might we exercise that skill when it feels off base, unfair, or poorly delivered?

How do you build the muscle to make sure difficult conversations go well? What might you not be aware of that could change everything?

Imagine you start a new CEO job at a wonderful nonprofit. And then a pandemic hits. Changes things just a bit, right? That's what happened to my guest.

When you are looking to build an outstanding board think of it as a strategic casting call! Here are the top characteristics of an outstanding board and the ideal attributes of a board leader.

There is nothing like a good spinoff. Some of the best TV shows of all time found their origins in another show. And now there’s a spinoff of this podcast!

Everyone contends with pervasive anxiety in different ways. I have five pieces of advice from me to all of you leaders and helpers out there. Stay safe!