With over 30 years working in nonprofits, Michael Mantel knows a thing or two about sustaining change over a long period of time. And as the President and CEO of Living Water International, an organization making waves in the WASH space, as well as the author of Thirsting for Living Water, Michael also knows when to shift the way change is made. By using the concept of Appreciative Inquiry, Michael shifted from a problem-solving perspective to an opportunity-seeking outlook, articulating a shared vision between Living Water and the communities that most benefit from their impact. Listen in to ..read more

Money, budgets, funding, accounting—all nonprofits know how important these are to the success of programming and impact. But when you're a smaller nonprofit or just starting out, do you really need a CFO? Today’s guest, Jason Kruger, has experience with a novel arrangement that’s allowing nonprofits to start from the ground up, building an accounting team and processes that fit instead of skipping a grade before you’re ready. As President & Founder at Signature Analytics, Jason brings financial knowledge specific to nonprofits, like audit requirements, the benefits of transparency, and, b ..read more

Here at Funraise, we've long known that if only nonprofits were able to harness the power of data, they’d have the world changed in no time at all. In fact, nonprofits that embrace data tools like Funraise’s Fundraising Intelligence raise 7x more online annually and grow recurring revenue 1.5x faster on average. Companies like VeraData are taking those results and multiplying them with Donor Science insights that result in even more funds raised and impact created. Today’s guest, Michael Peterman, is the Founder and CEO of VeraData Decision Labs, a nonprofit fundraising consultancy turning ins ..read more

What makes a leader visionary? How is visionary-ness developed and what does it look like in practice? While the concept behind these questions seems nebulous, we’re talking today with someone who has concrete answers based on interactions with dozens of modern visionaries. Taylor Jones, Founder and CEO of Whiteboard.is, has stunningly simple advice on how anyone can develop their capacity for visionary leadership through practice and intentionality. Whiteboard is a creative agency helping visionaries build a brighter future, in many cases through harnessing the internet for good—an intrinsica ..read more

Nonprofiteers have long known that our strengths lie in our passion for enacting change. More often than not, though, we see an issue and reach for it, only to find that we’re blocked by a lack of time, money, and helping hands. Today’s guest, Ben Collier, is an aspiring—and inspiring—visionary whose nonprofit, The Farmlink Project, is poised to simultaneously hit the root of food insecurity and help farmers with an ambitious $100M fund designed to cultivate sustainable change in the sphere of food insecurity. Not only that, but Ben and The Farmlink Project have an even broader vision, and the ..read more

Today, we’re catching up with Francesco Ambrogetti, Principal Adviser of Innovative and Alternative Finance for Children at UNICEF. A champion of innovation in funding and paradigm-shifting change, Francesco has pioneered new funding architectures like bank bonds to support fundraising, parametric insurance to cover children, the first outcome finance structure for polio, and socially-conscious ETFs. The last time we talked to Francesco, we barely scratched the surface of the type of alternative funding that makes enormous change possible, fast. This time, though… get ready to get innovative ..read more

After an enlightening interview with Olga M. Woltman of LemonSkies (queue it up next!) left us pondering the role of storytelling in the nonprofit world, we realized that our focus on advanced fundraising practices parallels the aspirations of ethical storytellers. Namely, ethical storytelling is the future of the nonprofit story (and the heart and soul of nonprofit fundraising). But to fundraisers searching for the perfect nonprofit campaign, ethical storytelling can feel elusive and fuzzy. Like, what exactly is it and how exactly do you do it? Today’s guest, Philippe Lazaro, is here to bring ..read more

Coming from a cathedral of redwoods, from shared moments between a collective of concerned colleagues, this episode of the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast brings together visionary nonprofit leaders Justin Wheeler and Brett Hagler. Justin is the CEO of Funraise and sometimes-host of the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast, and Brett is CEO of New Story, a nonprofit pioneering solutions to end homelessness. Together, they sat down at Camp Redwood, a creative gathering for social entrepreneurs, to talk about the state of the nonprofit industry—now and long-term. As he and Justin discussed leaning into opportuni ..read more

The winds of change are blowing, and nonprofits, ahem, the for-good sector, isn’t immune. Today we’re talking to a seasoned nonprofiteer who has experienced his share of change and made it his mission to shepherd for-good organizations through transformational moments. In this conversation with Todd Hiestand, Co-owner of Liminal, a creative branding agency for nonprofits, we touch on the effects that change has on the for-good sector, how to foster these shifts, and the value of leaning into the liminal spaces where change happens. One change that host David Schwab would like to see could be v ..read more

Today, we’re talking about a serious subject that has inspired a seriously enlightened discussion: Retention in the for-good sector. If you’ve been working in this sector for any length of time, you’re probably aware that keeping mission-oriented staff is harder than ever. But why? If you’re a nonprofit leader seeing your staff burn out and move away from causes that they’re passionate about, what can you do? Today’s guest, Amber Christoferson, is here to help you answer that question. With a career path that’s taken her from United Way to the Fortune 500 and back to the for-good sector as VP ..read more