In this episode, you’ll get a clear-eyed look at the newest national data on nonprofit stability—and what it means for your organization, your funding strategy, your workforce or your grantees’ workforce.

While you're here, we invite you to register for Fund the People’s next webinar and live podcast recording on March 12, 2026⁠. We'll explore Staff Operating Support (SOS), a new kind of funding to support the nonprofit workforce through this new kind of crisis. We'll define SOS funding, and get insights and critiques from a panel of nonprofits and funders.(⁠https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/cqkGKIweTlmlelqYgpRIeQ#/registration⁠)

Today's episode is the latest installment in our Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series, and the 1st-ever 'live recording' of Fund the People Podcast!

Drawing on brand-new research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), this episode shares data on the painful impact of the Trump Administration’s War on Charity: Nearly 70% of nonprofits are facing decreased funding while demand for services rises. More than half are concerned about closure or merger. And there’s a 40-point perception gap between funders and nonprofits about how well funders understand grantee challenges.

Host Rusty Stahl is joined by CEP’s Vice President of Research, Elisha Smith Arrillaga, to explore:

• 📊 The headline findings from CEP’s newest “State of Nonprofits” report

• 🔍 The widening disconnect between funders and nonprofit leaders

• 🧠 What nonprofits say they actually need beyond grant dollars

• ⚖️ How political targeting of the entire nonprofit sector changes the stakes

• 💬 Live poll results from nonprofit leaders, funders, and capacity builders

This episode offers data, context, and practical insight to help you navigate mounting pressure—and consider how philanthropy can move from reactive to proactive support.

Our Guest: Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D. manages CEP’s Research team, leading the creation, development, analysis, and release of research projects and initiatives relevant to the philanthropic sector’s most pressing issues. Prior to CEP, Dr. Smith Arrillaga was a faculty fellow and professor of practice in philanthropy and education policy at the University of Texas. She served as executive director of several national and state level nonprofits, including the Dana Center, a national center on math and science education equity.

Related Episodes:

• Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series Spotify Playlist
• How Funders Can Fight Nonprofit Burnout, Not Fuel It — with Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Center for Effective Philanthropy (S8:E6, October 29, 2025)
• Do Funders Understand the Nonprofit Burnout Crisis? – with Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Center for Effective Philanthropy (S7:E1, November 13, 2024)
• Understanding Funders’ Blindspots - with Phil Buchanan and Grace Nicolette, Center for Effective Philanthropy (S1:E7, November 13, 2020)

Resources & Links Discussed:

• A Sector in Crisis Report (https://cep.org/report-backpacks/a-sector-in-crisis-how-u-s-nonprofits-and-foundations-are-responding-to-threats/?section=intro)

• A Sector in Crisis Board Book Insert (2-pages) (https://cep.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/A_Sector_in_Crisis-2-pager_FNL.pdf)

• Video of CEP's own webinar on their report "A Sector in Crisis", (February 19, 2026, https://youtu.be/-F9ptl8NB-M?si=AlevsCHRivpPJVUq)

• Video of CEP conference plenary on this research (November 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEKo9C--foU&t=7s)

• National Council of Nonprofits (https://www.councilofnonprofits.org)

• Independent Sector (https://independentsector.org)

• Fund the People (https://fundthepeople.org)

• Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series Playlist on Spotify

• Navigating Away From the Overhead Myth, write-in campaign to Charity Navigator (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ULw5tJgyRFw4ZJbn-SiFm9jVcL-2_JnrCT1UUOXLiXY/edit?usp=sharing)

• Fund the People Premium Podcast on Patreon (https://patreon.com/fundthepeople)

Download our Edited Transcript for this episode.

Get the extended version of this and all episodes (and mucn more) by joining our Patreon community.

In this installment of our ongoing Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series, you’ll get practical, real-world examples of how funders and nonprofit leaders can engage in policy advocacy to defend values such as racial equity and democracy, when those values are under direct political attack.

Host Rusty Stahl is joined by Giridhar Mallya, Senior Policy Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), to unpack how one major national foundation is supporting nonprofits through legal advocacy, narrative change, and bold leadership in a hostile climate. Drawing on his background in public health and government, Dr. Mallya explains why race-conscious strategies improve outcomes for everyone—and why pulling back from equity work creates greater risk for nonprofits than continuing it.

According to Inside Philanthropy, RWJF was the first among the large national foundations to speak out in response to the Trump Administration’s anti-racial justice efforts. Listeners will learn how RWJF has redefined what “risk” is in today’s environment; why focusing on grantee safety is more productive than focusing on foundation fears; and what it looks like for philanthropic institutions to stay public, values-aligned, and effective when silence feels safer.

Guest bio:

Giridhar Mallya, is an MD, and Masters of Science Health Policy. He is a public health physician whose career spans government, philanthropy, and academia. His work leverages the power of public policy and community health interventions to shape the political, social, and economic determinants of health.

He currently serves as Senior Policy Officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where he leads a national initiative to defend racial equity, diversity, and inclusion in health and other sectors.

Dr. Mallya was previously Director of Policy and Planning for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. He is a board-certified family physician and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Organizations, People & Resources Mentioned:

Recommended Resources from our Guest:

• How Equity Strategies Can Make Healthcare Better for Everyone

• Advancing Health Equity: Myths vs. Facts

• Promoting Policy Tools that Advance Health and Racial Equity

People:

• Giridhar Mallya – Senior Policy Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Edgar Villanueva – Author and philanthropy leader; RWJF board member

• Rich Besser – President & CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Avanel Joseph – Vice President for Policy, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Rev Jesse Jackson (Rest in Peace) – Civil rights leader and past presidential candidate

Organizations & Institutions:

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Freedom Together Foundation

• Marguerite Casey Foundation

Similar Episodes:

• Defend Nonprofits, Defend Democracy Series playlist (Spotify)
  

Download the Episode Transcript in .pdf format

In this episode of the Fund the People Podcast, you'll gain practical insights into how centering workers' perspectives -- and sharing power between employees and management -- can dramatically improve job quality in nonprofit organizations.

Host Rusty Stahl sits down with Brianna Rogers and Rob Hope of Rework The Bay to unpack a bold funding experiment supported by the James Irvine Foundation and conducted in partnership with Jobs for the Future. Eight California nonprofits engaged frontline staff as participatory researchers to examine their own working conditions and to co-create improvements with their organizations’ top executives.

The results challenge assumptions. While compensation is foundational, workers most emphasized voice, transparency, shared leadership, professional growth, and healthier work boundaries as essential components of a quality job. The project surfaced five key lessons:

• workers can surface what truly matters;
• leaders grow when they listen;
• power must be intentionally shared;
• strategies must be tailored to organizational context; and
• job quality is an ongoing process—not a one-time fix.

Through concrete examples—from four-day workweeks to anonymous feedback systems and participatory decision-making—this conversation offers nonprofit leaders and funders actionable ideas to advance shared leadership, transform funding practices, and elevate collective voice.

Part of our ongoing California Voices Series, this episode is a roadmap for anyone committed to building nonprofit workplaces where staff can thrive—and where stronger internal culture leads to stronger community impact.

Speaker Bios:

ReWork the Bay Initiative Officer Brianna Rogers partners on ReWork’s fundraising efforts and leads our systems change projects focused on building worker power, workforce training and advancing job quality. Brianna grew up in Berkeley, attended Berkeley City College where she served as one of two student delegates to the Peralta Community College District, then transferred to UC Berkeley as a first-generation, re-entry student parent, earning her bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric Studies. While at UCB, Brianna developed innovative programming for the UC Berkeley’s African Student Development Center and the Department of Equity and Inclusion. She went on to receive her master’s degree from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, got her start in philanthropy as a National Urban Fellow at the Andrus Family Fund in New York City. In October 2020, she joined the San Francisco Foundation’s Partnership for HOPE SF team, where she worked until joining the ReWork team in 2022.

ReWork the Bay Director Rob Hope is responsible for leading execution of ReWork the Bay’s strategy, as well as fundraising, grantmaking, budget management and partnership building. Rob joined ReWork the Bay in October 2017, after serving as Chief Program Officer at Rubicon Programs. Prior professional experience includes all levels of workforce development direct services, program evaluation and policy analysis, and community building work. Rob has a Bachelor’s in Sociology from Vassar College and a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley.

For more on Brianna and Rob, visit the staff page of ReWork the Bay.

Links to Resources Discussed:

Featured Initiative:

• Rework The Bay
• Job Quality Project Report (June 2025)

Project Partners:

• Jobs for the Future
• The PATH Group

Funding Partner

• James Irvine Foundation

Host Organization:

• San Francisco Foundation

Participating Nonprofits Highlighted in the Episode:

• Canal Alliance
• Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs (CROP)

Related Fund the People Resources:

• Playlist for FTP Podcast’s CA Voices Series
• Report on FTP’s 2024-25 California Convenings
• FTP Podcast Premium on Patreon
• Fund the People - A Podcast with Rusty Stahl
• Fund the People Website

Listen to this episode:

• This Episode on Apple Podcasts
• This Episode on Spotify

In this episode of the Fund the People Podcast, listeners will gain practical insight into how philanthropy can evolve to meet today’s interconnected crises—and what funders can do differently right now to support justice, sustainability, and nonprofit workers. Host Rusty Stahl is joined by nationally recognized philanthropic leader, lawyer, and author Dimple Abichandani, whose new book, A New Era of Philanthropy: Ten Practices to Transform Wealth into a More Just and Sustainable Future, offers a bold reimagining of philanthropy’s purpose and practice.

Together, Rusty and Dimple explore why so many funders are skeptical that philanthropy can rise to this moment, tracing those doubts back to the field’s historical roots in Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” and the enduring legacy of Gilded Age thinking. They focus especially on the importance of investing in nonprofit people, with Dimple sharing concrete examples from her time as a foundation CEO—including "healing justice" grants that helped address burnout, trauma, and precarity in grantee organizations of General Service Foundation before and during the pandemic. The conversation closes with a compelling invitation to move beyond 'gilded philanthropy' toward 'true alchemy': transforming wealth through care, listening, and solidarity, so that communities can genuinely thrive.

Gust bio: Dimple Abichandani is a nationally recognized philanthropic leader, writer, and lawyer, and author of a forthcoming book, A New Era of Philanthropy: Ten Practices to Transform Wealth Into a More Just Future, that offers fresh answers to the question of how philanthropy can meet this moment.

Related episodes:

• How Funders Can Support Nonprofit Workers in the Age of Burnout, Part 3 – with Desiree Flores, Executive Director, General Service Foundation

Links to Resources:

• A New Era of Philanthropy book by Dimple Abichandani

• Dimple Abichandani website

  For Philanthropy, This Actually Isn’t 2016 All Over Again⁠, Dimple Abichandani letter in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, November 2024

  To Ensure Nonprofit Wellbeing, Invest in Wages, Workloads and Working Conditions Rusty Stahl’s guest post on Center for Effective Philanthropy blog, June 2024

Download the transcript of this episode in .pdf format⁠

Join our premium version of the FTP Pod on Patreon, For just $6 a month, you get extended versions of this and all episodes; bonus content; community; and our Patreon-only show, Riverside Reflections.

What happens when a nonprofit uses a six-figure, one-time gift not to launch a new program—but to fundamentally improve job quality for its staff?

In this episode, Rusty Stahl sits down with Janelle Miller Moravek, Executive Director of Youth and Family Counseling (YFC) in Lake County, Illinois, to share a powerful case study of how investing in nonprofit workers can dramatically improve retention, service delivery, and program outcomes.

Facing 40% staff turnover, YFC made a bold decision: use a transformational donor gift to raise salaries and redesign work conditions—with intention, transparency, and sustainability. The result? A healthier, more resilient workforce; lower turnover; more therapy sessions delivered; and improved clinical outcomes.

This conversation offers a rare, inside look at how compensation, workload design, management practices, and workplace culture can work together to create an upward spiral—for staff and for the communities they serve.

This episode challenges one of the nonprofit sector’s most persistent myths: that investing in staff compensation is risky or unsustainable. Instead, Janelle shows how strategic workforce investment can unlock greater access, quality, and financial resilience—even in Medicaid-funded, high-demand service environments.

For executive directors, funders, board members, and major donors, this is a concrete example of how funders and nonprofits can collaborate on talent-investing to drive mission impact.

Topics covered:

• ​Why raising pay alone isn’t enough—and what else must change to retain staff
• ​ How YFC redesigned compensation using transparent salary scales and performance-based progression
• ​ The role of reasonable workloads and boundary-setting in preventing burnout
• ​ How investing in caring, well-equipped managers strengthens the entire organizationWhy workplace fun and connection—on paid work time—matterWhat this model means for foundation executives, boards, and major donors who are skeptical of investing in wages

Results discussed:

• ​100% of staff transitioned to a new, transparent salary scale within nine months
• ​ Staff turnover reduced from 40% to 28% in under a year
• ​1,300 more sessions delivered in the first three quarters of 2025 vs. 2024
• ​Increased treatment completion and improved client outcomes

Guest Bio:

Janelle Miller Moravek is a nonprofit leader and mental health advocate. She has led Youth & Family Counseling as Executive Director since 2009, driving its growth and impact across Lake County, Illinois.

With a deep commitment to increasing access to mental health services, she oversees strategy, programming, and operations while fostering strong partnerships throughout the community. Janelle plays a key leadership role in the region, serving on the board of the Lake County Alliance for Human Services and co-chairing the Lake County Behavioral Health Action Team. Her prior experience includes development roles at Carmel Catholic High School and Barat College. She lives in Libertyville with her husband and three children.

Related Episodes:

• ​How One Nonprofit Models Talent-Investing - with Abby Wolensky & Ashley Pesi, Auberle (S2:E15)
• ​Talent-Investing is the Best Capacity-Building - with Tom Fuechtmann, Community Memorial Foundation (S3:E6)
• ​Talent Matters Remix, Part III: Culture of Care - with Michele Booth Cole, SafeShores DC (S2:E10)
• ​6 Practices for Embedding Equity in Nonprofit Compensation - with Mala Nagarajan, Vega Mala Consulting (S4:E6)
• ​A Model for Systematically Improving Nonprofit Workplaces - with Arum Lee Lansel (S7:E9)

Resources & Links⁠

• ​Youth and Family Counseling (YFC)
• ​MIT Living Wage Calculator
• ​Janelle Miller Moravek on LinkedIn (mention you found her through your Fund the People Podcast)

In this episode, you’ll learn how nonprofits are really rated—and why the sector’s obsession with overhead could finally be ending. Charity Navigator CEO Michael Thatcher joins host Rusty Stahl to explain how nonprofit ratings are shifting toward impact, leadership, and organizational health—and why investing in people matters more than lean budgets. In a candid moment, Thatcher hints at a future where overhead is no longer part of Charity Navigator’s ratings formula, signaling a potentially major change in how nonprofits are judged. Listen in, spread the word, and become part of the shift.

Download the episode transcript

Guest Bio:

Michael leads Charity Navigator in its efforts to make impactful philanthropy easier for all by increasing the breadth and depth of evaluation methodologies to facilitate ratings coverage of substantially larger numbers of charities and expand how the information engages new and existing audiences. Prior to joining Charity Navigator Michael spent more than fifteen years with Microsoft, the last ten of which, as their Public-Sector Chief Technology Officer responsible for technology policy initiatives and engagements with governments and academic leaders in Asia, the Middle-East and Africa. Michael's eclectic background includes years at sea conducting oceanographic research with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, composing music and dancing internationally as the co-founder and co-director of Dance Music Light. He has held various board positions within the nonprofit and tech sector, holds several patents in enterprise systems management and has a degree in Music from Columbia University in New York.

Links to Resources:

Organizations & Websites

• Charity Navigator — ⁠https://www.charitynavigator.org⁠

• Charity Navigator Nonprofit Portal (Claim Your Profile / Submit Data) — ⁠https://www.charitynavigator.org/portal⁠

• Fund the People — ⁠https://fundthepeople.org⁠

• Fund the People Podcast — https://apple.co/3iDT21T ⁠

• Fund the People Podcast Premium on Patreon — ⁠https://www.patreon.com/fundthepeople⁠

• Candid (formerly GuideStar & Foundation Center) — ⁠https://candid.org⁠

• BBB Wise Giving Alliance — ⁠https://www.give.org⁠

• Overhead Myth Open Letter to America’s Donors from FTP’s research archives (2013) — https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwddBi7Cib_xMHpyRXd6WGpFREU/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-ZFQ-F9JdQ0v3O1buOgFhXQ 

• Overhead Myth Letter to America’s Nonprofits from FTP’s research archive (2014) — https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwddBi7Cib_xcy0wbEhmRGJtZUU/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-N9yoZdjKvoRuPX-SDTZwtw

• Funding for Real Change (resource-rich website based on BDO’s research on improving funding for indirect costs) — ⁠https://www.fundingforrealchange.com/ 

Concepts, Research & Sector Initiatives

• MacArthur Foundation — ⁠https://www.macfound.org⁠

• Staff Operating Support article in The Nonprofit Quarterly - by Rusty Stahl (Fund the People) — ⁠ https://bit.ly/NonprofitsNeedSOS

Podcasts Referenced

• Fund the People Podcast brief bonus episode announcing the Staff Operating Support (SOS) funding concept — ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-staff-operating-support-s-o-s-grants-concept/id1531813289?i=1000735122772

• Fund the People Podcast episode featuring John Palfrey (CEO of MacArthur Foundation) — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/macarthur-president-chooses-courage-not-quiet/id1531813289?i=1000712429747 

• NGO Soul + Strategy Podcast episode featuring Michael Thatcher — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/051-charity-navigators-changing-expectations-and-its/id1498390711?i=1000598151900

Thinkers & Influential Voices Mentioned

• Dan Pallotta — ⁠https://danpallotta.com⁠ 

• Simon Sinek — ⁠https://simonsinek.com⁠

• LinkedIn — ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/charity-navigator⁠

• Instagram — ⁠https://www.instagram.com/charitynavigator ⁠

• Facebook — ⁠https://www.facebook.com/CharityNavigator⁠ 

• X (Twitter) — ⁠https://x.com/charitynav⁠

  Tik Tok — ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@charitynavigator⁠

Click here for edited transcript (pdf format)

According to the Trump Administration, nonprofits and philanthropic foundations are “terror-supporting organizations.” Peaceful protestors are “terrorists.” Violent mobs are simply tourists having a picnic. And the masked gunmen they’ve deputized are hard-working joes just trying to do their jobs.

As we recall how Dr. King and his colleagues used non-violent civil disobedience to end legal segregation, host Rusty Stahl discusses how nonprofit workers, activists, and protestors, can challenge the reality-distorting propaganda we face today.

It’s a new year, and it’s a new season of your Fund the People Podcast! We’re glad you’re here. We’ve got tons of incredible guests, ideas, research, stories, and examples to inspire and help you invest in the nonprofit workforce in your sphere of influence.

We publish new episodes every Wednesday morning on all podcast platforms – so keep your eyes peeled and your ears open!

Links related to this episode:

• Dr. King, AmeriCorps, & Nonprofit Work - with Michael Smith, AmeriCorps" (Season 4 Bonus Episode, January 2023, 46 minutes)
• One Year of Trump. The Time to Act is Now. While We Still Can. M. Gessen, The New York Times, January 19, 2026. (Paywall).

Other exciting FTP announcements and podcast info:

• New Publications:

  • Article: New article by Rusty in The Nonprofit Quarterly: SOS - Nonprofits Need Funding for Staff Operating Support. Based on the new funding concept that we shared a few months back on LinkedIn. Take a look. We’d appreciate if you share it with your colleagues on linkedin or elsewhere, and tag Fund the People and Rusty Stahl. You can email him if you have feedback, questions, and ideas: [email protected].

  • Blog Post: New post by Betsy Leondar-Wright on the Center for Effective Philanthropy blog! It's about the FTP report she wrote called Long-Haul Grantmaking. Read the blog post. And find the report here. You can watch a recorded webinar about the report.

• Webinar Series:

  • This year we'll introduce a conversational webinar series about the power and potential of the nonprofit workforce - and how to address the existential crises confronting us.

    • February: We'll kick things off on Thurs., Feb. 12 at 1-2 pm ET / 10-11am PT. This free session will feature data from Mounting Pressure, the latest research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy on U.S. nonprofits and foundations in the current political context. Our guest will be Elisha Smith Arrillaga, CEP's Vice President of Research.

    • March: We'll continue in March with a discussion of the Staff Operating Support (S.O.S.) funding concept. Rusty will share the idea and invite your ideas, questions, concerns, hopes, and discussion. Data and additional speakers TBA.

    • To ensure you get the registration information, make sure you're on our mailing list. Go to fundthepeople.org and click on Connect in the main menu and sign-up!

• Podcast Updates:

  • Format of Episodes - This season we’re making an effort to make episodes in the public feed more compact and tightly edited, so you get the information you need faster and more easily. We're aiming for episodes on the public feed to average about 30 minutes (down from around 55 minutes).

  • Podcast Video - We are adding video to the show! A video version of our public episodes will be posted on all platforms that support video podcasts. This will be rolled-out gradually as we sort out the technical aspects of adding video.

  • Patreon:

    • Extended Episodes with full interviews AND bonus content are now published and available only on the "premium" version of the show on Patreon. These extended episodes will likely average closer to 55-60 minutes, and feature more discussion about our guest's lived experiences, more of their expertise on tangential topics, and more rants and responses from your host.

    • Video Versions of these extended episodes are already available on Patreon! There are four episodes already up on the patreon site, with lots more to come!

In this brief holiday bonus, you’ll get behind-the-scenes highlights of Season 8. Plus a sneak-peek at some of the provocative guests and valuable topics we’ll cover in season 9!

Season 9 will start in late January 2026. If all goes according to plan, S9:E1 will drop on Wed., Jan. 21, 2026 at 8am ET. From thereon, new episodes will publish weekly on Wednesday mornings throughout the season.

You’ll also learn about our the new FTP Podcast Premium at patreon.com/FundThePeople. For just $6 a month, you provide grassroots support for production of this ad-free show. And you offer monthly earned income for Fund the People, the national nonprofit organization that advocates for investment in the nonprofit workforce. Your support helps us remain an independent, bold voice for the nonprofit workers. You help us produce thought-leadership, research, tools, communications, educational programs, and advocacy for investment in the nonprofit workforce.

As a Patreon member, you get:

• ​Extended episodes with audio and video
• ​Tons of bonus content, including special messages from Rusty, extras from new episodes, and video footage from our back catalogue of over 100 episodes
• ​Discussions with Rusty and the FTP Pod community
• ​Participation in live episode sessions, so you can ask your questions and participate in the conversation
• ​A whole-new Patreon-only weekly show called Riverside Reflections.

Patreon members can watch the video version of this episode, filmed down by the river in New York's Hudson Valley (where we record Riverside Reflections, our new podcast available exclusively on Patreon).

Also on this episode, Rusty acknowledges the people who worked with him to make S8 happen:

• ​Erin Giunta, producer
• ​Carla Paez, Editor
• ​Jonny Taylor, Sound Engineer
• ​Kayla Weathers, Administrative Assistant

And thanks our major foundation supporters this year, who helped make this show and all our programming possible:

• ​The James Irvine Foundation
• ​Barr Foundation
• ​The Kresge Foundation
• ​Raymond John Wean Foundation

Thanks for listening, and thanks for all you do! Have a restful holiday season and we’ll talk to you in the New Year!

Get the Extended Version of this episode on our Premium show on Patreon: patreon.com/FundThePeople.

• ​Engage with Rusty and guests during episode recording
• ​Learn with other listeners, guests, and Rusty in our discussion forum
• ​Access extended episodes with video
• ​Enjoy Riverside Reflections (RR), our new Premium-only extra show! Get the inside scoop from Rusty while getting outside for a waterside walk.
• ​Tap into older episode’s video footage, bonus content, and more fun and valuable surprises!

More extended and RR episodes are going up every week. Click here to listen to our first RR episode and view the post-episode video for free.

Now on with the show…

In our Season Finalé, you’ll get an inspiring discussion on defending the nonprofit sector, with a call to action for funders to act with courage rather than caution. The message is clear: a strong country depends on a strong, well-resourced nonprofit workforce, and philanthropy must choose to lead boldly in this moment.

Host Rusty Stahl speaks with Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury, President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Reflecting on more than 30 years in philanthropy and her forthcoming retirement, West-Scantlebury offers a candid assessment of what has and hasn’t worked in the sector. She traces the evolution of the Foundation’s mission, its focus on Arkansas working families, and how COVID reinforced the urgency of addressing low wages, systemic inequities, and the root causes of poverty. Throughout the conversation, she challenges philanthropy to confront the real costs of sustaining a healthy civil society and to move beyond outdated, restrictive funding models.

West-Scantlebury also details the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation’s commitments to capacity building, nonprofit workforce pay and benefits, leader wellness, and innovative approaches such as enterprise capital. She argues that investing in nonprofit people is essential to nonprofit sustainability and impact. Her message is clear: a strong democracy depends on a strong, well-resourced nonprofit workforce. Philanthropy must choose to lead boldly in this moment.

Download an edited transcript of this episode⁠

This is part 2 of our 2-part Season 8 Finalé. Check out part 1, a conversation with Andrea Levere of Capitalize Good (S8:E12), from December 10, 2025.

Guest Bio:

Sherece Y. West-Scantlebury, PhD, is a nationally recognized equity advocate and transformational leader whose career spans housing advocacy in New York City to executive roles at some of the Southeast’s most prominent foundations. For nearly two decades, she has led the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, where she will retire at the end of 2025, after previously serving as the founding CEO of the Foundation for Louisiana and at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Known for speaking life into leaders and organizations, Sherece brings deep expertise in public policy, strategic philanthropy, and program design. She is also the founder of Executive West Coaching & Consulting, where she supports women leaders and leaders of color with a trusted space to think clearly, lead with courage, and align leadership with their values and vision.

Related Episodes:

• ​Enterprise Capital: A Framework for Sustainable Nonprofits - with Andrea Levere (S8:E12)
• ​Lowering Our 'Revenue Risk,' with Gretchen Upholt, BDO (S8:E11)
• ​'Silence Isolates, Solidarity Shields,' with Tonya Allen, McKnight Foundation (S8:E7)

Links to Resources Discussed in the Episode:

• ​Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
• ​Fund the People
• ​Annie E. Casey Foundation
• ​Foundation for Louisiana
• ​Capitalize Good
• ​United for ALICE (ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed)
• ​ALICE in the Nonprofit Workforce
• ​Enterprise Capital Explainer
• ​Capacity Building in Philanthropy
• ​MIT Living Wage Calculator
• ​Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow
• ​Audre Lorde (referenced on silence and complicity)

In this episode, you’ll learn about a powerful alternative to restricted, project-based funding: enterprise capital for nonprofits. Guest Andrea Levere, founder and CEO of Capitalize Good, explains why nonprofits—like any enterprise—need multi-year, flexible capital that strengthens their balance sheets, builds reserves, and supports the people and systems that drive impact. Andrea breaks down the basic financial principles that determine nonprofit sustainability, and how enterprise capital enables organizations to innovate, hire essential staff, invest in technology, and create high-quality jobs. She also shares compelling examples—from affordable housing developers to workforce builders—showing how this kind of capital supports everything from salaries and benefits to new program development and strategic growth.

Andrea and Rusty also dig into the relationship between talent-investing and enterprise capital, the pitfalls of scarcity-based philanthropy, and how funders can more effectively match their “sources of funds” to the actual needs of organizations. Andrea shares stories from Capitalize Good’s partnerships with funders like the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Citi Foundation's Community Progress Makers, as well as the emerging work in Arkansas to pilot enterprise capital approaches statewide. Listeners will come away with a clear understanding of how enterprise capital works, why it matters, and how both nonprofits and funders can adopt this transformative approach.

Download an edited transcript of the episode in .PDF format

Links to Resources:

• Gift to Listeners: 6 Months Free Subscription to FTP Podcast Premium on Patreon (up to 50 people). Offer will no longer be available after 12/31/25 at 11:59pm ET.

• Fund the People website

• Long-Haul Grantmaking Report (Fund the People)

  Guest Organization & Initiatives Mentioned

• Capitalize Good website

• Capitalize Good “Blueprint for Enterprise Capital”

• Capitalize Good “Deeper Dive” FAQ section

• Andrea Levere on LinkedIn

• Capitalize Good on LinkedIn

• Yale School of Management

• Nonprofit Finance Fund

• Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

• Citi Foundation – Community Progress Makers