Liz Mills has been the Executive Director of Carlson Community Services for the past 10 years. CCS provides after school programming, a community garden and a fine arts concert series. In this episode, Liz shares the lessons she has learned about how to actively engage her board members, how to navigate tough conversations and also shares a great idea about "office hours." For nonprofits who have been around for a little while, this interview will be very valuable!   For the show notes, please visit: www.nonprofitoptimist.com.

NPO 008: Engaging your Board of Directors (Liz Mills, Carlson Community Services)

The Nonprofit Optimist podcast showcases positive change agents and talks through lessons that their small nonprofits have learned. With interviews of executive directors, founders, board members and staff leaders, we share practical advice based on real experiences working in the non-profit sector. Since most nonprofit professionals wear many hats, this is a great opportunity to learn how to grow your small nonprofit without needing to re-invent the wheel!

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Today's guest is Joan Garry, author of Guide to Nonprofit Leadership and host of the Nonprofits are Messy podcast. Molly MacCready (host of the Nonprofit Optimist podcast) and Joan discuss the importance of knowing what activities fuel you, how to define success and impact beyond the typical metrics, and some ways to learn and grow as a nonprofit following this unexpected pandemic time. Joan shares from her experiences of working with small nonprofit leaders within the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, along with her own years as a nonprofit leader, board member, and donor.  See our website for more show notes: www.nonprofitoptimist.com/blog/npo-047-joan-garry

NPO 047: Redefining How We Measure Success (Joan Garry, Nonprofit Leadership Lab)

In this episode of the Nonprofit Optimist, host Molly MacCready shares her experience with starting a Giving Day for her small nonprofit, CROSO. They started their giving day in 2019 and have successfully completed 3 annual giving days now and are preparing for their 4th in April 2022. In this episode, Molly explains what a giving day is and all the logistics about how to set one up for your nonprofit, including setting the date, identifying the goals and incentives to motivate people’s involvement, and a thorough explanation of the communications plan her organization followed.   To see the notes from today's episode, visit: www.nonprofitoptimist.com/blog/npo-046-giving-day To learn more about CROSO, the featured nonprofit, visit: www.CROSO.org/

NPO 046: Starting a Giving Day for your Small Nonprofit (Molly MacCready, CROSO)

My guest today is Kim Morris, the project coordinator for River Keepers, a nonprofit based in Fargo, North Dakota. River Keepers’ mission is to advocate for safe and sustainable use of the Red River of the North and they work with the communities in both Fargo and Moorhead, MN. In today’s episode, you’ll hear us talk about project planning and event planning, how the pandemic impacted their programming, how Kim's organization engages over 2,000 volunteers each year, and also the importance of networking and affinity groups.   Nonprofit Optimist information:  Website: www.nonprofitoptimist.com Email: nonprofitoptimist@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/nonprofitoptimist Instagram: www.instagram.com/nonprofitoptimist Suggest a new guest:   https://www.nonprofitoptimist.com/futureguest    Find River Keepers online:   Website: https://www.riverkeepers.org/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverKeepersFM   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fmriverkeepers/    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RiverKeepersofFM  Contact them: https://www.riverkeepers.org/contact/

NPO 045: Project Planning, Volunteer Engagement, & Networking (Kim Morris, River Keepers)

In today's episode, host Molly MacCready sheds some light on her own experiences and thoughts regarding the past 18 months as well as discusses self-care. While a self-professed amateur at self-care, Molly does share some of the lessons she's recently learned about how to create some balance within her schedule by leaning into untraditional work hours.   Nonprofit Optimist information:  Website: www.nonprofitoptimist.com Email: nonprofitoptimist@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/nonprofitoptimist Instagram: www.instagram.com/nonprofitoptimist Suggest a new guest:   https://www.nonprofitoptimist.com/futureguest    Find the CROSO (Child Restoration Outreach Support Organization) online:   Website: https://www.CROSO.org/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CROSO.Uganda   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CROSO_Uganda

NPO 044: Self-care, check-in, pandemic times (Molly MacCready, CROSO)

In today's episode, Tessa Vierk (co-founder of the Chicago Tool Library) chats with Molly about their founding story, recruiting volunteers, creating their membership model, and the power of saying "not right now." The Chicago Tool Library’s goal is to provide equitable access to tools, equipment, and information to allow all Chicagoans to learn, share, and create. If you visit our website, you can see more notes and topics of today's conversation.   Nonprofit Optimist information:  Become a Patron of the Nonprofit Optimist: www.Patreon.com/nonprofitoptimist Website: www.nonprofitoptimist.com Email: nonprofitoptimist@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/nonprofitoptimist Instagram: www.instagram.com/nonprofitoptimist Suggest a new guest:   https://www.nonprofitoptimist.com/futureguest    Find the Chicago Tool Library online:   Website: https://www.chicagotoollibrary.org/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chicagotoollibrary   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chicagotoollibrary/   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwFhYPzlLw   Email them: team@chicagotoollibrary.org

NPO 008: Engaging your Board of Directors (Liz Mills, Carlson Community Services)

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