Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership

86:  3 Entrepreneurial Skills Nonprofit Leaders Must Learn (Matt Larson)  SUMMARYThere is much to be learned between the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, and many nonprofit leaders are elevating their organizations through creative and entrepreneurial tactics. Matt Larson is a wonderful resource on exactly that type of mindset, as he’s been wildly successful in both the tech and software industry but also translated his success into nonprofit development and leadership. In Episode #86 of the Path Podcast, Matt shares three key entrepreneurial fundamentals that every nonprofit leader should employ (and throws in a few more great ideas for good measure!).  In particular, we talk about keys to productivity and strategic focus (especially when you’ve got too much on your pate), and also the importance of identifying, attracting and retaining the best talent possible for your nonprofit.  ABOUT MATTMatt Larson is a parenting and relationships researcher, technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He has been interviewed about the science of well-being on NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, Sirius XM, Telemundo, public radio, and websites like Parentology.com and Mom.com. He spends most of his time on the Human Improvement Project but is also the chairman of two software companies.  Previously, he was the executive chairman of TapInfluence a venture-backed Social Media company. Prior to TapInfluence, he was the Founder and CEO of Confio Software. Confio was the fastest growing company in the database tools market. It was acquired in 2013 by Solarwinds. Previously, Mr. Larson helped found an oil and gas technology company. In the span of a year, the company grew from four employees to over two hundred employees while raising over $110 million in venture capital. In 2012, he was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist. Larson holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Colorado where he graduated 1st in his class. He is a member of the Mensa Society. He has also worked with the U.S. Congress and the White House to fund over $300 million in new spending for child-related causes.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESBrad Smart’s book TopgradingFind about more about The Human Improvement ProjectWant help raising a happy, well-adjusted child? Try the Happy Child App

85:  How Can Nonprofit Leaders be More Authentic Fundraisers? (Jennifer Harris)  SUMMARYFundraising is one of the most important - but often dreaded - functions you have to contemplate as a nonprofit leader. You clearly believe in the mission of your organization, yet fundraising often feels disconnected and transactional.  How do you get more comfortable assuring your nonprofit has the funding it needs to achieve its core purpose, and feel good about it at the same time?  Well, Jennifer Harris is the perfect person to address this dilemma, and she provides great advice that will help both current and aspiring nonprofit leaders in Episode #85 of the Path Podcast. Jennifer talks about what an authentic ask really is, and how you can get more comfortable making it.  She also talks about creating a culture of gratitude at your organization, as well as how to get your board members more comfortable with the authentic ask as well!  ABOUT JENNIFERJennifer Harris is a San Diego-based fundraising and communications entrepreneur who has spent nearly two decades working across the social sector. Her consultancy, JH Collective, Inc., leverages a holistic mindset to bolster fundraising, messaging, and strategy for nonprofits, universities, and health-related organizations. Jennifer has worked for nearly two decades in fundraising and communications, in leadership roles that span annual giving, major and principal giving, capital campaign design and development, and senior management. Most recently, she has ignited dialogue around "the authentic ask" and board wellness, and specifically works with clients to feed their mission, steward possibility, and generate impact. To learn more and/or book a workshop, get in touch with Jennifer.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESAdrienne Maree Brown’s Emergent StrategyKathy LeMay’s book The Generosity Plan Henry Nouwen’s book A Spirituality of Fundraising Read Jennifer’s original “Awakening the Authentic Ask” piece on LinkedIn

84:  4  Keys to Building A Global Nonprofit (Elizabeth Hausler)  SUMMARYAre you pondering nonprofit leadership among multiple career options?  That’s exactly what Elizabeth Hausler considered before she started the global nonprofit Build Change in 2004, and she offers a fascinating review of her leadership journey and the many lessons learned on Episode #84 of the Path Podcast. These lessons, of course, offer great insight for others considering a similar nonprofit career. Elizabeth reflects on what she would do differently if she were starting over at Build Change, and what were some of the key challenges she had to overcome, including being a woman in a male-dominated field.  Many great take-aways in this episode for nonprofit leaders, including the four headlines: how to effectively hire and orient new talent, how to create an effective strategic planning process, how to help your board evolve as the organization evolves too, and finally, how to balance your multiple roles as CEO.ABOUT ELIZABETHDr. Elizabeth Hausler is the Founder and CEO of Build Change and a global expert on resilient housing, post-disaster reconstruction, and systems change. Elizabeth’s strategic direction and leadership have grown Build Change from a few employees in 2004 to a global team spread across five continents. She has profoundly influenced global development policy by making resilience a major consideration for reconstruction efforts. Elizabeth’s extensive experience in post-disaster communities, including a Fulbright Scholarship in India, led her to found Build Change to ensure reconstruction efforts would be safe and sustainable. She is the recipient of many honors, and in 2011, was named the US Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation. Together with Build Change, she was awarded the 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In 2018, she received the University of California, Berkeley’s Campanile Excellence in Achievement Award. Since 2014 she has been a member of the UC-Berkeley Civil and Environmental Engineering Department’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Elizabeth is also an Ashoka Fellow, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow, and an Echoing Green Fellow.  She holds a Ph.D. from UC-Berkeley in Civil Engineering, as well as an M.S. from the University of Colorado and a B.S. from the University of Illinois. Dr. Hausler has headlined top conferences, lectured at eminent universities, and been featured in media outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, Forbes, Elle Magazine, ABC News, and Bloomberg Businessweek. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESJim Collins’ book Good to GreatRobert Kaplan’s book What to Ask the Person in the MirrorAlicia Garza’s Book The Purpose of Power

83: Maximizing Advocacy to Fulfill Your Mission (Karen Lee)  SUMMARYManaging a nonprofit organization requires a variety of skills and experiences to succeed, and a leader can certainly be consumed by simply keeping their organization in motion.  The best nonprofits, however, commit to a vision the exceeds the direct impact of their programs and services but also seeks to positively influence their communities at large. Karen Lee is a great example of a nonprofit leader just like that, as she manages one of the largest social enterprise organizations in the United States, Pioneer Human Services based in Seattle, WA. In episode #83 of the Path Podcast, Karen shares much wisdom from her career journey including how she’s integrating advocacy into her leadership agenda, how she’s maximizing fundraising and philanthropy, and how she’s using her talented board volunteers across the state of Washington.  ABOUT KARENAs Chief Executive Officer of Pioneer Human Services, Karen leads one of the nation’s largest nonprofit social-enterprise organizations in the United States. Under Karen’s leadership, Pioneer successfully operates several revenue-generating businesses that provide living wage jobs to mission-related employees and help fund its mission of empowering people who have been involved in the legal system to build healthy, productive lives. Headquartered in Seattle, Pioneer serves over 10,000 people a year through its diversion, treatment, housing and job training programs. Karen is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESIjeoma Oluo’s book So You Want to Talk About RaceMartin Luther King, Jr.’s book Why We Can’t Wait Books by W.E.B. Du BoisTake the Pioneer Quiz!  

82:  4 Things They Don’t Teach You About Nonprofit Leadership (Martyn Drake)  SUMMARYHow do you look at profitability as a nonprofit leader?  Our sector’s leadership often grapples with conflicted emotions about running their nonprofit “more like a business” despite the fact it is a business and needs to employ critical revenue-generating practices to assure long-term sustainability.  In episode #82 of the Path Podcast, Martyn Drake brings a global perspective to this topic and offers great insight and ideas about how nonprofit leaders can come to terms with their profitability ideas. He illustrates four key leadership concepts they need to understand and employ on their journey to senior leadership in the sector.  ABOUT MARTYNMartyn Drake is the Founder of Binley Drake Consulting, the boutique management consultancy he set up in 2009 to help ambitious business leaders dramatically improve the performance of their organizations. Since then, he has advised commercial organizations ranging from small family businesses right up to some of the world's most iconic brands. In 2013 he began working with the charity sector, and has since helped a wide range of non-profit clients including The Scout Association, Girlguiding, the British Red Cross, the National Health Service, the National Autistic Society, Blind Veterans, Royal Mencap, and St John Ambulance. He writes regular columns for the sector press and features on his website Profit on Purpose, and is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on non-profit strategy and commerce and  His first book, The Commercial Charity, was published by Kogan Page in April 2020. Martyn lives with his wife, two children and two cats in Nottinghamshire, England. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESMartyn’s book The Commercial CharityMartyn’s article The Mindset of Plenty Book: Eric Ries’ The Lean Start-UpBook: Jeremy Heimans’ New PowerBook: Dan Pink’s To Sell is HumanDan Pallotta’s book Uncharitable Pallota’s Ted Talk "The way we think of charity is dead wrong"

81: 3 Ways Nonprofit Leaders Get in Their Own Way (Kris Putnam-Walkerly)  SUMMARYAs a nonprofit leader, you have multiple responsibilities to manage and often limited time to adjust to changing circumstances (case in point: 2020!).  Complicating this leadership challenge are often self-imposed barriers that nonprofit leaders need to understand and avoid.  In episode #81 of the Path Podcast, Kris Putnam-Walkerly helps not only identify ways nonprofit leaders stop themselves, but offers solutions as to how to avoid them.  Kris also illustrates some of the mistakes philanthropists and institutional funders are making, which can help nonprofit leaders as they engage these community partners in strategic conversations.  ABOUT KRISKris Putnam-Walkerly is a trusted advisor to the world’s leading philanthropists. For more than 20 years, wealthy families, ultra-high net worth donors, foundations, Fortune 500 companies, and celebrity activists have sought and benefited from her advice to transform their giving and catapult their impact. As President of the Putnam Consulting Group, a philanthropy advisor, speaker, and award-winning author, she’s helped over 100 philanthropists strategically allocate over half a billion dollars in grants and gifts. Additionally, Kris works closely with estate planning attorneys, financial and wealth advisors, and family offices to serve wealthy families who wish to deepen their philanthropic commitments. Kris has been named one of America’s Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers for the past three years running. She is the author of the book, Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail to Achieve Change and What They Can Do To Transform Giving (Wiley, 2020) and Confident Giving: Sage Advice for Funders, and is a Forbes.com contributor on philanthropyEPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESKris’ book Delusional AltruismKris’ website Putnam Consulting GroupKris’ free download 8 Things Every Philanthropist Can Do to Change the WorldBook recommendation: Alan Weiss’ Million Dollar ConsultingBook recommendation: Donald Miller’s Building A Story BrandMelissa Brown’s Episode #62 What Should We Learn from the Giving USA Report?

80: How to Attract Young Professional Talent to Your Nonprofit (Kamber Parker)  SUMMARYAs more young professionals look to the nonprofit sector as an attractive option for their career path, Executive Directors and other senior leaders are eager to recruit and retain the best and brightest to join their organizations. In episode #80 of the Path Podcast, I had a great conversation with Kamber Parker, who not only serves as the Development Director for the nonprofit Greenville Area Parkinson Society, but she has also created a platform for young professionals called The YoPro Know. She’s interviewed dozens of other young professionals and offers clear insights as to what attracts them to nonprofit organizations, and perhaps more importantly, what keeps them there.  Key advice for nonprofit leaders looking to maximize the talents of the Millennial and GenZ talent pool!ABOUT KAMBERKamber serves as the Development Director for the Greenville Area Parkinson Society, where she has been building relationships with partners in her community since 2018.  In addition to her work in the nonprofit sector, she started her company The YoPro Know in 2018 as well, which allows her to share stories through weekly interviews with young professionals across the country.  She initiated a women's business group called Six Degrees, named for the idea that we are all six degrees of separation from each other and spent an entire year in a mentorship program through her local chamber, ultimately serving as its chair in 2020.  Kamber earned a B.A. from Furman University, with a double major in Communication & Media Studies and Political Science.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESLearn more about The YoPro KnowLearn more about the Greenville Area Parkinson SocietyKamber’s book recommendation by Kevin Leman The Way of the ShepherdReady to move along your path to nonprofit leadership?  Check out episode #72 What Can a Mastermind Do for Your Nonprofit Leadership?Like this episode?  Check out Karen Geiger’s episode #9 Do You Have A Nonprofit Talent Strategy?

79: Is Co-Leadership Right for Your Nonprofit? (Alicia Winckler & Alan Mather)  SUMMARYWhat is Co-Leadership and how could it elevate your nonprofit to the proverbial next level?  In episode #79 of the Path Podcast, I had a great conversation with Alicia Winckler and Alan Mather, two talented individual leaders who have embarked on a co-leadership model for the Chicago-based Golden Apple Foundation.  By combining forces, they have not only strengthened a great organization addressing teacher shortages across their state, but are poised to expand well beyond Illinois.  How would your board, staff and community respond to such a structure at your nonprofit?  Alicia and Alan have great insight about how they got it started, why it works for them, and what characteristics are critical for an organization before it considers co-leadership. ABOUT ALICIA & ALANAlicia Winckler began consulting with The Golden Apple Foundation in late 2014, was selected as its first President and COO in 2017 and then selected as its President and CEO in late 2017. In 2018, she welcomed Alan to join her in co-leading the Foundation - with Alicia as CEO and Alan becoming President. Alicia led several substantial strategic initiatives at the Cabinet level of the nation’s third largest K-12 District - in Chicago Public Schools - and has been working in depth in education for more than a decade. She earned her M.A. in Industrial / Organizational Psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver and B.S. in Psychology and Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies from the University of South Dakota. Alan joined Golden Apple to lead the education work of the organization. A native of rural Indiana, he came to Chicago in 1986 to teach high school English in the Chicago Public Schools. After more than twelve years of teaching in neighborhood high schools, he joined the district’s first Principal Preparation program and became the first Assistant Principal at Northside College Prep High School. After six years, Alan was named the founding principal of Lindblom Math & Science Academy, where he grew a school of 110 students to more than 1200. In his ten years at the school, Lindblom became the top performing majority African-American school in Illinois. In 2014, Alan was awarded the inaugural Stanley C. Golder Award from Golden Apple for School Leadership. Alan earned a Bachelor's in Arts in English/Secondary Education from the University of Evansville in Indiana, and a Master's in Educational Leadership from Northeastern Illinois University. EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESLearn more about The Golden Apple FoundationChicago’s Educators for ExcellenceMichael Pollan’s book Botany of Desire

78:  5 Ways to Build Your Nonprofit Leadership Plan (Patton McDowell)SUMMARYIn episode #78 of the Path Podcast, Patton offers a coaching session to help you find 5 Ways to Build Your Nonprofit Leadership Plan. How do you effectively conduct a personal annual review?  How do you build your personal board of directors?  How do you curate content given the volume of data coming at you? How do you better express yourself in professional settings that can help you get ahead?  And finally, how do you sharpen your vision while you still have questions about your professional path?  NONPROFIT SHOUT-OUTSAugustine Literacy Project, Charlotte, NCMLK Community Health Foundation, Los Angeles, CA (Lisa Baxter, episode #57)Autism Science Foundation, New York, NY (Alison Singer, episode #55)EPISODE RESOURCESPatton’s episode #13 Building A Personal Strategic Plan That WorksSabrina Dawson’s episode #66 Maximizing Partnerships for Nonprofit SuccessPenny Hawkins’ episode #69 NPD: 3 Lessons for Every Nonprofit LeaderMike Smith’s episode #68 The 3 “C’s” of Nonprofit LeadershipLeighton Fogan’s episode #20 A Dozen Resources for the Nonprofit ProfessionalArticle 7 Nonprofit Podcasts You Should Listen to in 2020Episode #12 7 Professional Development BooksArticle Need to Read? 2020’s Top Book RecommendationsClay Hodges’ episode #16 4 Writing Practices for Nonprofit SuccessDerek Sivers’ article Benefits of a Daily Diary and Topic JournalsCurtis Drafton’s episode #50 Elevating A Cause Through Nonprofit LeadershipChris Delisio’s episode #24 Leadership for the 3 Phases of Your Nonprofit CareerCheryl Richards' episode #46 New Opportunities Through Nonprofit LeadershipYAZWfovH3KGyYvCtWQem

77: How to Recruit and Engage Stellar Board Members (Karen Eber Davis)  SUMMARYAs a nonprofit leader, two topics are always on the top of your list of strategic priorities.  First, how do I recruit and engage great board members?  And second, how do I create a sustainable and dynamic fundraising that secures my nonprofit for the future?  In episode #77 of the Path Podcast, I had a great conversation with Karen Eber Davis, who proves she is the perfect person to answer both of these high-priority questions.  After discussing some of Karen’s productivity tips in this work-from-home environment, she dives into specific strategies to help you systematically recruit - and engage - stellar board members.  We then discussed specific fundraising strategies that she’s developed through her work with hundreds of nonprofit organizations and has shared in her book.ABOUT KARENToo many nonprofits struggle to obtain adequate revenue. Karen Eber Davis Consulting guides executive directors and CEOs to generate the resources they need to excel at creating mission results. For over twenty years, Karen has turned leaders like you into revenue heroes. She specializes in commonsense approaches to organizing organizations to maximize mission, grow a community, and inspire revenue. People hire Karen to increase their income by up to 300 percent. What they gain are strategies that improve their organizations forever. Karen is the author of Let’s Raise Nonprofit Millions Together and 7 Nonprofit Income Streams. On her website, you can sign-up to join her free community and read over 100 articles about nonprofit leadership.EPISODE TOPICS & RESOURCESCheck out Karen’s book: Let’s Raise Nonprofit Millions TogetherKaren’s book recommendation: Linda Barry’s SyllabusKaren’s video: How to Recruit Stellar Board MembersTake the Podcast Survey! Check it out here