NGO Soul + Strategy 095: Time and Talent: Navigating the Nonprofit Sector’s Greatest Strategic Assets with Doug Trout
Oct 13, 2025
52:21
Summary
In this episode, I am joined by Doug Trout, CEO of DRi Waterstone Human Capital, to explore how nonprofit organizations can better invest in, manage, and retain their people. From executive recruitment to culture-building and burnout, this conversation takes a deep dive into what it really takes to thrive in today’s complex nonprofit landscape.
Bio
- CEO of DRi Waterstone Human Capital, a firm serving nonprofits with leadership development, talent recruitment as well as executive search
- DRi Waterstone offers this valuable service to nonprofits, associations, foundations and social impact orgs in US
- Before his leadership position in Dri Waterstone, Dough worked at the Montpelier Foundation and at the University of Virginia as an administrator, among others.
We Discuss
- Why "time and talent" are the sector’s most valuable—and most constrained—strategic assets
- The disconnect between what nonprofits say about valuing their people and what they actually invest in
- How burnout, moral injury, and emotional fatigue are reshaping talent practices
- What skills today’s leadership teams need to build truly inclusive and agile cultures
- What nonprofit boards are getting right—and wrong—about talent investment
- Best practices for working with executive search firms and how to make the most of that investment
Quotes
“We talk about valuing people, but how often do we fund what we say we value?”
“If talent is a strategic asset, we need to start treating it like one—from the board level down.”
Resources