Agents of Nonprofit

This week, we are joined by Geng Wang to talk about Civic Champs, a volunteering CRM. Geng Wang is the CEO and co-founder of Civic Champs, a platform designed to help volunteer managers, coordinators and organizations manage their volunteers from recruitment to reporting.In this conversation, Geng Wang walks us through the features available on the Civic Champs app and how beneficial they are to volunteer managers to make their management process more efficient. He covers; what the Civic Champs features are and how they work, the pricing of Civic Champs, how to engage volunteers to become donors, using Civic Champs alongside other CRMs and the future of Civic Champs. The topics we cover:●  Geng’s superhero origin story●  How the name Civic champs came about●  How the different Civic champs features work●  Engaging volunteers to donate and share feedback●  Kiosk mode that enables mobile volunteer management●  How often  Civic Champs updates their platform●  Offers and free trials to help volunteer managers make a decision●  How Civic Champs co-exist with other CRMs /partners●  What is the pricing like on the Civic Champs platform●  What does the future look like for Civic Champs To learn more and connect with Geng:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gengwang/Website: https://www.civicchamps.com/Support the show

Do you want to learn the insider secrets of Salesforce success? Join us on the 50th episode of Agents of Nonprofit podcast as your normal host Alexander Lapa becomes the guest to today’s host: Tim Lockie.Alex is a Salesforce Architect for nonprofits and host of this podcast. He will take us through his story and his journey to mastering Salesforce, plus share best practices when it comes to choosing a Salesforce consultant/agency. We'll also dive into why he started podcasting and why he believes it's so important.The topics we cover:Exploring Alex’s early interest in technologyAlex’s thinking process on starting the podcastAlex’s digital nomad lifestyleLessons from travelingAlex’s transition from Siebel to SalesforceImportance of trust in Salesforce's successBenefits of Salesforce for nonprofitsWhy Alex chose to serve nonprofitsProblems Alex solves for nonprofits with SalesforceBest practices for working with Salesforce consultant: How to choose the right Salesforce consultantTo learn more and connect with Alex:LinkedIn ProfileDryad Consulting (Alex's company) Dryad Receipting (tax receipting app for Canadian nonprofits using Salesforce): The "Good Enough" Consultant (newsletter for Salesforce consultants): And, of course, subscribing & sharing this podcast! Support the show

This week, Heather Burright is welcomed to the show to discuss learning strategies and solutions, change management, and empowering your people as a nonprofit.Heather is a learning and leadership development consultant and the founder and principal consultant at Skill Masters Market. She has created hundreds of learning experiences from in person training, self-paced experiences, virtual classroom, and has worked with dozens of leaders to help them achieve their organizational professional development goals. The conversation is about learning strategies, which are roadmaps that outline what people need to do to be successful within an organization and how the organization can help them achieve that success.The topics we cover:Why you need to invest in and empower your people as a nonprofitUnderstanding learning strategies for nonprofitsAnalysis, design, and implementation of learning solutionsHow to facilitate virtual meetings and trainingThe development cycle for leadership training implementationUnderstanding change management and instructional design for nonprofitsHow to work with skeptical clients and silent resisters in projectsTraining and technology solutions for nonprofitsBest practices for instructional design for nonprofitsTo learn more and connect with Heather:Heather’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/heather-burright/ Skills Masters Market LLC: skillmastersmarket.com/Support the show

Is being your company's Salesforce expert something you're interested in? Do you want to exceed expectations while optimizing and reducing your workload? If so, this episode is for you.Joining us on the podcast is author and Salesforce expert Jodi Hrbek, who’s spent over 20 years using Salesforce. She is an expert in setting up and optimizing the Salesforce platform for businesses of all sizes. She shares her wealth of experience and knowledge about using Salesfrorce, the Salesforce admin role, and achieving best results with Salesforce in this episode.The topics we cover: How Jodi started her Salesforce career About Jodi’s book, Rock Your Role as a Salesforce Admin, and her motivation for writing.If Rock Your Role as a Salesforce Admin is a good entry-level bookWhy you need to evaluate your reason for pursuing a Salesforce admin roleThe character and competencies a Salesforce admin should have The difference between being an admin and being proactiveFuture career paths for an admin in SalesforcePros of pursuing a career in SalesforceTo learn more and connect with Jodi:Jodi’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jodihrbek/ Her book, Rock Your Role as a Salesforce Admin: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-your-Role-Salesforce-Admin-ebook/dp/B0B9KMMRMM Support the show

‘Of people with disabilities that are unemployed, over half of them have a university degree.’ - Chad LeamanDisabilities can have a significant impact on a person's social and economic standing. Those with disabilities face barriers to education, employment, and social participation, which can limit their opportunities and cause poverty, limit access to healthcare and other services, and reduce their overall quality of life. Also, people with disabilities may have to pay more for the equipment and accommodations they need, which can make their finances even worse. However, with the right support and accommodations, people with disabilities can lead fulfilling and successful lives.A nonprofit taking action to make this happen is Neil Squire, and joining me on the podcast is Chad Leaman, their Director of Innovation. Chad shares how Neil Squire serves and empowers people with disabilities through technology, knowledge, and passion.The topics we cover:Chad’s superhero origin storyChad’s inspiration to work with Neil SquireThe Makers Making Change programExamples of disability technology and innovationsNeil Squire’s ideas and solutions and how they come to fruitionThe value of volunteers with technical skills to Neil SquireHow Neil Squire validates and vets ideas Neil Squire’s business/funding modelTheir digital literacy, employment, and assistive technology effortsEmpowering disabled communities with digital devices, affordable internet, and learning opportunitiesAddressing negative stigmas disabled people face in employmentTheir work with accessible video gaming To learn more and connect with Chad:Neil Squire Website: https://www.neilsquire.ca/Chad Leaman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadleaman/ Makers Making Change Program: https://makersmakingchange.com/ List of Neil Squire’s Assistive Technologies: https://makersmakingchange.com/assistive-devices/ Support the show

Are you a non-profit leader who is overworked and undersupported? Do you find it hard to keep your staff, board, or team interested? Feeling overwhelmed by the constant pressure to meet your organization's goals and raise money? If so, this episode provides a solution for you.Susan Kahan, Founder and Principal of Sapphire Fundraising Specialists, joins us to discuss how her company helps nonprofits work better and raise more money, retain staff, keep board members engaged, and get to know their donors better.The topics we cover:Susan’s superhero origin storyWhy Susan started Sapphire Fundraising SpecialistsHow Sapphire serves nonprofitsThe value of coaching for executives and leadersWhy nonprofit leaders do not collaborateHow to keep your staff and board members from burning outHow to attract and keep new talentThe ideal nonprofit profile Sapphire servesWhat Sapphire does to help nonprofit in change managementCreating realistic strategies that align with nonprofit current resources and capabilitiesSusan’s technology and software recommendations Recommendations for social mediaWhy you need to keep your systems integratedHow to make sure your donation page is operationalTo learn more and connect with Susan:Susan's Website: https://sapphirefundraisingspecialists.com/ Susan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-kahan/ Support the show

What can you do to connect better with your audience? How do you hear what they are saying beyond what is spoken? What can you do to improve your connection and authenticity with them through more transparent engagement?This episode will help you answer any of the questions above. We welcome Emily Taylor to talk about strategic listening for nonprofits. With teenyBIG, Emily helps nonprofits engage better with their audiences through strategic listening.  Topics covered:What is strategic listening?How Emily came up with the name ‘teenyBIG’Challenges that teenyBIG solves for nonprofitsQualifying questions with clients to evaluate their needsHow teenyBIG measures their work successHow to deliver ‘feelings’ such as connectedness, power or togethernessDemystifying biases to better engage with audiencesThe value of transparency in audience engagementTo learn more and get in touch with Emily TaylorWebsite: https://www.teenybig.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-taylor-teenybig/Support the show

In this week’s episode, I host Zak Pines. Zak has been in the SaaS industry for many years and has diverse experience in sales, marketing, and partnerships. Marketo, HubSpot, and Salesforce are among the software ecosystems he has worked with throughout his career. Currently, Zak is at Formstack where he has been building and managing a partner program and a community of product experts who provide excellent solutions for customers and technology partners with whom Formstack has integrations. In this week’s episode, Zak Pines explains how nonprofits can solve problems and create better processes around data collection, workflow, automating document generation, and collecting digital signatures through Formstack.Topics Covered;Why Zak joined FormstackWhat Formstack doesHow forms work on FormstackImbedding Formstack in emailsHow documents, signatures, platforms, and workflows work on FormstackHow to build your own features on FormstackDifference between the electronic and digital signaturesThe platforms that Formstack integrates with besides SalesforcePersonal branding of Formstack formsData security on FormstackPricing of Formstack appsGuidance offered to Formstack partnersHow to become a Formstack partnerWhat to expect from Formstack in the future To learn more and connect with Zak Pines:Zak Pines LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakpines/Formstack Website https://www.formstack.com/Support the show

In this episode, I talk to my 13-year-old nephew Samuel about nonprofits, customer relationship management (CRM), and how they work. I help Samuel understand what nonprofits and CRMs are and how they work using gaming references.Listen in and giggle away while I explain the following to my young nephew in a language he understands:What is a non-profit organization?What is a CRM and how does it work?What does it mean to be in the cloud?On Cloud vs On-premiseSalesforce, the first CRM to be in the cloudIs a CRM a good thing? Why?What happens if a team player doesn’t want to use the CRM?Support the show

Running a nonprofit requires a lot of planning, tracking and client management, reaching out to donors, staff coordination, task management, and many other tasks. This can be daunting.With new challenges at hand such as great resignations, global economic challenges, there is more nonprofits have to handle, and this requires more seamless technology to run operations, marketing, and communication. Erik Tomalis, the Director of Business Development at Virtuous, joins me on the podcast today to talk about Virtuous, a technology company that supports nonprofits in setting up CRMs, fundraising, volunteering and marketing tools needed to create more responsive donor experience and increase generosity. Topics we cover ●  Erik’s background and what Virtuous does●  The ideal client  Virtuous●  Exploring the different features of Virtuous●  Wealth screening●  How Virtuous supports marketing●  Payment options and payment processors on Virtuous●  Mobile app and volunteer opportunities at Virtuous●  Integrations that are possible in Virtuous●  Professional after-sale services offered by Virtuous to clients●  Partnerships and outsourcing at Virtuous●  How pricing works at Virtuous●  Where Virtuous is on the nonprofit CRM landscape●  Dealing with change management●  What’s in the future for Virtuous  Learn More and Connect with Erik:Virtuous Website: https://virtuous.org/Virtuous Academy: https://academy.virtuous.org/Erik Tomalis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eriktomalis/Support the show