Nonprofit Hub Radio

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Derric Bakker, founder and CEO of Dickerson Bakker and author of A Better Way to Fundraise: Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor , to discuss why modern fundraising feels increasingly transactional, exhausting, and disconnected from its true purpose. Derric shares the airport story that inspired his philosophy and outlines why every supporter—regardless of gift size—deserves to feel seen, valued, stewarded, and invited into meaningful partnership. The conversation breaks down the seven behaviors of relationship-based fundraising, explains how AI can be leveraged to listen to donors at scale without losing authentic human-to-human connection, and offers a compelling path forward to cure fundraiser burnout. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Derria Ford of Seed Fundraisers shares a practical, repeatable framework for collecting and sharing nonprofit stories while keeping dignity, agency, and consent at the center. Here we explore what ethical storytelling looks like in practice—moving away from single-checkbox release forms, writing alongside clients rather than over them, and avoiding the trap of exploiting hard moments for fundraising gain. We discuss practical consent strategies, navigating modern pressure points like AI-generated imagery, and proving that hope-filled, data-backed narratives can inspire donors just as effectively as traditional appeals. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail If your calendar is packed with galas, auctions, golf outings, and “one more event” that still doesn’t fix your budget, this conversation is for you. We sit down with Sherry Quam Taylor, CEO of Quam Taylor, to talk about the simplest and hardest shift in nonprofit fundraising: getting out from behind the tactics and back into real human donor relationships. We dig into why so many mid-level and major donors are not giving their best gift each year and how well-meaning fundraising events can quietly cap generosity. Sherry shares a clear principle we can use right away: our job is to lead every donor to their best gift, not just the easiest gift. From there, we unpack how to move from “fun project” storytelling to confident, business-minded conversations about strategic plans, growth, and the true need for general operating support so you can fund salaries, benefits, and infrastructure without feeling awkward. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Nonprofit Hub Radio, leadership coach and author Nick Reich explores why systems and software cannot solve foundational leadership challenges. The discussion delves into the "full circle leader" framework, the critical difference between vision and direction, and how balancing high expectations with deep care—defined as "love with standards"—helps nonprofit teams shift out of burnout and into a sustainable growth zone. Nick Reich is the CEO of Abundant Empowerment and the author of Every Player Is Bigger Than The Program . With over 25 years of experience spanning school social work, poverty alleviation, global health, and executive coaching, Nick supports nonprofit and corporate leaders in building high-performing teams and human-centered organizational cultures. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail You can run an inspiring nonprofit and still feel lost the moment a P&L hits your inbox. In this episode, Michael Baldree, founder of Crosswind CFO Advisory, breaks down how executive directors who came up through the program side can build a true partnership with finance. We unpack what a healthy relationship with your CFO or finance lead actually looks like: one where finance understands the heart of your mission, respects your vision, and works alongside you to turn ambitious goals into fundable, step-by-step realities without being the "wet blanket." We also dig into practical strategies for long-term sustainability, clearing up common myths around revenue diversification and earned income. Michael breaks down what nonprofit tax status actually allows, how to choose earned revenue streams that match your core strengths, and the simple monthly report checks and internal controls that protect small teams from fraud. Whether you're looking to transition from backward-looking financial reports to forward-looking cash flow planning or wondering if fractional CFO services fit your budget, this conversation delivers actionable tools to move your mission forward. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast, Alison Teitelbaum of AST Strategies shares practical insights on how executive directors and boards can protect strategic direction, reduce friction, and keep teams energized through transition and change. The conversation covers essential techniques for overcoming mission creep, such as "level setting" decisions with clear context, measurable goals, and explicit reopening criteria. Teitelbaum details strategies for transitioning legacy organizations from working boards to strategic boards through training and term limits, while offering startup leaders a lighter cadence for keeping strategic plans active and aligning board vision with daily staff realities. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Nonprofit Hub Radio Podcast, Allison Wyatt, founder and CEO of Edgility Talent Partners, shares practical strategies for constructing sustainable talent infrastructure around compensation, performance management, and career progression. Together, they unpack how establishing clear compensation philosophies and transparent salary scales can reduce distrust, reduce churn, and protect equity across an entire organization. The conversation explores practical ways to navigate organizational growth, from using FAST goals as a lightweight starting point for small teams to rebuilding roles from a clean-slate view. Wyatt explains how to avoid the trap of "we’re a family" culture by setting healthy workplace boundaries and applying an 80/20 approach to role clarity. Leaders will also gain actionable advice on approaching performance management through coaching, using the Situation, Behavior, Impact framework for constructive feedback, and utilizing tools to keep both their mission and their people strong. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, parliamentary attorney Jim Slaughter discusses why Robert’s Rules of Order remains essential for nonprofits seeking faster, fairer, and clearer board meetings. The conversation explores how to match meeting formality to board size, how chairs can guide balanced debate without turning meetings into courtrooms, and key strategies for navigating virtual governance challenges like Zoom "shadow debate". Jim Slaughter is a parliamentary attorney, Certified Professional Parliamentarian, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, and author. He serves as a trusted advisor to professional associations, corporations, and nonprofit boards on meeting procedure, bylaws, and parliamentary law. Learn more at lawfirmcarolinas.com . Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail An organization can run the best mission in town and still get ignored simply because supporters are flooded with digital noise. The host sits down with Bradley Martin, VP of Sales and Marketing at Feathr, to get honest about what nonprofit marketing looks like when the average person is hit with thousands of impressions a day and organic reach keeps shrinking. If the word “marketing” still feels too salesy, this conversation reframes it in plain terms: fundraising, donor engagement, and staying present so people remember a cause when they are ready to act. The episode digs into why traditional channels like email and direct mail aren’t dead, but face clear operational caps. The shift then moves to the real unlock: earning a donor’s share of mind through smarter cadence and segmentation instead of just increasing volume. Bradley breaks down the high ROI of running retargeting ads for anonymous website visitors who showed initial interest but never converted, navigating privacy parameters cleanly, and pairing digital ads with email workflows to boost response rates during critical seasonal campaigns. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit Hub Radio sits down with James Ryzhkov, Head of Growth at Bezalel Lab, to explore what it really takes to "double" a nonprofit without turning the mission into a spreadsheet goal. The conversation challenges KPI-first thinking, digs into the leadership and clarity problems that block growth, and offers practical ways to build focus, systems, and a message donors can actually repeat. James Ryzhkov is the Head of Growth at Bezalel Lab, where he pairs a technology background with a strategic outlook on the nonprofit sector. His focus is closing the gap between the meaningful work nonprofits do and the systems they need to grow it sustainably. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail When your work depends on trust and relationships, AI can feel like a threat. In this episode, we sit down with Lizzie Neufeld, CEO and founder of Strat Labs, to unpack the fear surrounding automation and explore how nonprofits can move forward without losing the human touch. The big takeaway: AI works best when it focuses on operations and internal capacity first, allowing fundraisers to spend less time buried in administrative tasks and more face-to-face time with donors. Instead of searching for flashy new tools, Lizzie argues for a process-driven approach—mapping exactly where your team loses time and momentum each week so you can use systems, like project management platforms, to fix those leaks. Tune in to learn practical guardrails for auditing AI-generated content, how to automate major donor follow-ups while keeping humans in control, and why operations thinking and storytelling are the two skill sets that will matter most moving forward. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit Hub Radio sits down with Meggie Nauman and Rob Northrop, both from Lancaster Bingo Company, to explore why charity gaming can be a repeatable fundraising program rather than a once-a-year event. The conversation breaks down who bingo works best for, how to navigate licensing and compliance, and what it takes to make game night entertaining enough that players keep coming back and bring friends. Meggie Nauman is the Director of Marketing and Customer Service at Lancaster Bingo Company, where she has spent eight years helping charitable organizations connect with sales support to build successful bingo and pull tab fundraising programs. Rob Northrop is the General Manager at Lancaster Bingo Company, where he focuses on helping nonprofits, veterans groups, and fraternal organizations fundraise more efficiently and grow their community impact through charity gaming. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail One big check shouldn’t be able to rewrite a nonprofit's mission, but that’s exactly how many organizational budgets are built. This episode features Vincent Jones, CEO of Beyond Impact, to challenge the status quo and unpack a blunt claim: philanthropy’s current funding structure is a design failure. The conversation gets specific about how the “low overhead” mindset starves organizations of fundraising capacity, traps teams in constant donor courting, and concentrates power in a handful of decision-makers instead of the communities nonprofits serve. Jones breaks down the two structural problems he sees most: the pressure to chase a small number of major donors and the sector’s tendency to fund only 501(c)(3) work even when the goal is systems change. Using a clear "ER vs. intersection" analogy, he explains the practical operational differences between a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4) in plain language, detailing why C4 advocacy and lobbying can target root causes while C3 programs often focus on essential short-term relief. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In the nonprofit world, urgency is constant and that makes operations easy to neglect. Yet operational excellence is often the difference between a mission that scales and a team that burns out. This conversation focuses on nonprofit operations, process improvement, and leadership clarity through a surprising origin story: learning business systems inside McDonald’s. The point is not fast food, it is repeatability. When an organization can explain how work gets done, it can train faster, protect quality, reduce errors, and improve donor and client experience without relying on heroics. That is the hidden engine behind sustainable impact, healthy culture, and staff retention. This session features insights from Nickie Froiland of MODIS9, exploring the operational habits that make mission-driven teams run smoothly. The conversation connects process discipline to clear priorities, decision authority, and the hard leadership work of letting go so a team can grow. From parsing out key priority rankings to navigating the identity shifts of leadership transitions, this framework brings operational leadership into plain language. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Sal Salpietro, Chief Growth Officer at Daytaro, unpacks what AI really means for nonprofits—where 82% use AI but only 10% have a policy. He offers a simple filter for evaluating tools (does it still work with the AI turned off?) and distinguishes AI-enabled "helpers" from AI-native "doers." He also shows how to scale AI without losing the human side of fundraising, sharing real examples of predictive modeling that reorders donor outreach and slashes list-building time. Plus, why nonprofits can't afford to stand still—and two book picks to close. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, communications strategist Vanessa Wakeman explores the high-stakes reality of modern nonprofit messaging, where public scrutiny and evolving language demand a more responsible approach to communications. Wakeman shares a practical framework for moving past draft-paralysis, building narrative resilience against digital threats, and effectively segmenting audiences to ensure every donor, volunteer, and community partner feels accurately seen. From auditing internal lexicons to establishing proactive crisis guardrails, this conversation provides marketing teams with the strategic tools necessary to confidently protect their organization's narrative. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Get ready to dive into the fascinating world of Neurogiving ! This high-energy episode cracks open the human brain to reveal the hidden biological drivers that actually spark generosity while moving way beyond old-school fundraising myths to show how identity and deep-seated emotions pull the strings of donor decisions long before they even see a "Donate" button. Listeners will walk away with a toolkit of actionable strategies—from slashing the "cognitive load" that kills conversions on digital forms to turning a cold CRM into a powerhouse of donor identity and trust. Plus, this conversation tackles the big questions: how to ethically use AI to make philanthropy more human and why "manufactured urgency" is officially backfiring in our world of attention burnout, giving you the chance to align your mission with the way donors are actually wired to give! Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Online donation forms are often the most overlooked friction point in nonprofit fundraising, yet they serve as the ultimate moment of donor conversion. In this episode, Danielle Rice, Senior Director of Solutions at Fundraise Up, breaks down how nonprofits can bridge the trust gap by treating their donation experience as a core product rather than a simple processing step. The discussion covers practical ways to leverage modern payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay to reduce friction, the difference between "creepy" and helpful personalization, and the critical need for AI governance and clear privacy policies to protect donor data. By focusing on a "Jobs-to-Be-Done" framework and aligning technical improvements with organizational goals, fundraising teams can move beyond tactical traps and build a sustainable, high-trust digital giving experience. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit leadership longevity is increasingly rare, yet staying the course can be a powerful strategic advantage when coupled with the right management systems. In this episode, Janelle Miller Moravek, Executive Director of Youth and Family Counseling, shares her nearly two-decade journey of leading a community-based mental health nonprofit through various strategic "eras"—from a funding crisis to mission expansion and navigating a global pandemic. The discussion offers a grounded playbook for sustainable nonprofit management, focusing on relationship-driven leadership with clinical professionals, the transition from development director to executive management, and the shift from rigid long-range planning toward guiding principles. Beyond organizational strategy, the conversation dives into the personal habits necessary to prevent executive director burnout, emphasizing boundaries, peer support, and tactical prioritization to protect focus and mission impact. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org

Send us Fan Mail Connected TV (CTV) advertising is often viewed as a "big brand only" channel, but modern streaming inventory is making television marketing increasingly accessible and affordable for nonprofits. In this episode, Chris Johns, founder and CEO of AdGood, explains how organizations can leverage unused streaming inventory to drive donor acquisition and brand awareness with budgets as low as $250. The conversation breaks down the technicalities of CTV, the importance of human-centric creative hooks, and tactical approaches to omnichannel attribution using QR codes and retargeting tags. Additionally, the episode explores how AI-driven ad tools are removing production barriers by generating editable video content directly from a nonprofit's website, allowing even small teams to treat marketing as a disciplined, scalable growth lever. Support the show Get free nonprofit professional development resources, connections to cause work peers, and more at https://nonprofithub.org