Many nonprofits feel stuck in a cycle of short-term funding and unpredictable grants. In this episode, Spencer Brooks talks with Stephanie Jacobs of Scale Collaborative about how nonprofits, especially those in the health space, can shift their mindset around money, explore earned revenue strategies, and use storytelling to strengthen financial sustainability. Learn how rethinking your funding model can unlock greater impact and long-term resilience for your organization.

About the guest

Stephanie has a diverse background in the social purpose sector, having served as an Executive Director, and held previous roles in communications and community engagement. Coupled with her experience as a Board Director, she brings valuable insights into the sector’s challenges and opportunities. Stephanie is dedicated to strengthening non-profits, helping to build capacity, and amplify their impact. She is also an advocate for environmental sustainability and local food systems, and previously ran her own business teaching home gardening and resiliency building skills. She’s often found working in her garden, or stocking up at the local farmers market.

Resources

• Thriving Non-Profits Cohort applications are now open for our Fall 2025 cohort. 
• Scale Collaborative Resources: https://scalecollaborative.ca/resources/ 
• Charity Village newsletter: https://resources.charityvillage.com/subscribe/

Contact Stephanie

• Website: https://www.thrivingnonprofits.ca/
• Email: [email protected]

AI is rapidly changing how people search for and engage with information online, and that shift is already beginning to reshape the digital landscape for nonprofits.

In this solo episode, Spencer unpacks what it means when platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews start answering questions without sending users to your website. He explores how this change challenges traditional metrics like clicks and traffic, and introduces a new way to think about digital impact: visibility and influence in AI-generated content.

This episode offers a timely perspective on how to stay relevant in an evolving digital ecosystem and why being part of the conversation early could make all the difference.

Resources

• Article: When Clicks Disappear: Rethinking Impact in the Age of AI Search
• Article: Is Your Nonprofit Website Traffic Dropping? You’re Not Alone — And Here’s What You Can Do About It

Contact Spencer

• Email: [email protected]

Nonprofit marcomm teams are often seen as the group that just "makes things look nice," but that perception seriously undervalues their strategic contributions. In this episode, Spencer Brooks is joined by marketing consultant Teri Wade to explore how marcomm leaders can educate and collaborate more effectively with non-marcomm colleagues. We talk about clarifying the marcomm process, advocating for early involvement, and positioning communications as both a strategic and service function. If you're a nonprofit communicator looking to build better cross-functional partnerships and increase the strategic value of your team, this episode is for you.

About the guest

Teri Wade’s New York-based consulting practice, Mission & Message, specializes in providing communications strategies and services that help nonprofits and social sector organizations raise their visibility and advance their organizational goals. They provide strategic communications planning and implementation, marketing and branding services, and editorial services and content development, including video production. 

Teri has more than 25 years of experience working for and with small- to medium-sized nonprofit and social sector organizations in a range of fields, including education, philanthropy, social research, both as a consultant and leading in-house teams. For the last 15 years she has primarily worked with health and human services organizations. She also provides interim communications leadership and support to organizations while they are conducting searches for permanent communications executive and staff positions.

Resources

• Public Relations Society of America: https://www.prsa.org/
• American Marketing Association: https://www.ama.org/
• The Communications Network: https://www.comnetwork.org/

Contact Teri

• Website: https://www.missionandmessageny.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teriwade/

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) officially took effect on June 28, 2025. While it’s EU legislation, it may have serious implications for health-focused nonprofits here in the U.S. and Canada. If your organization offers digital services or content online, especially if it’s accessible to EU users, this law might apply to you.

In this episode, Spencer breaks down what the EAA is, how to tell if your nonprofit is affected, and what to do if you're on the hook. You'll hear real-world examples, a plain-language checklist, and practical steps to reduce risk while improving digital inclusion.

Resources

• The European Accessibility Act: What North American Health Nonprofits Need to Know

Contact Spencer

• Email: [email protected]

Many health-focused nonprofits start with a passionate founder but struggle to scale beyond a one-person operation. In this episode, host Spencer Brooks speaks with Dr. Kirk Adams, consultant and former CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind, about a proven model for turning founder-led organizations into sustainable, multi-staffed nonprofits. Communications leaders, nonprofit executives, and funders will benefit from this conversation about crowdfunding, strategic staffing, and digital maturity, especially those working in disability inclusion and healthcare.

About the guest

Dr. Kirk Adams is a Professional Speaker and the founder of Innovative Impact LLC., focusing on groundbreaking, high-impact projects that accelerate the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce and supercharges a company’s bottom line.

Dr.  Adams earned his PhD in leadership and change. He is known as a master connector of key decision-makers in government, corporate America, the nonprofit sector, and disability advocates guiding them to create collaborative solutions that have a real impact in increasing the employment of people with disabilities.

Resources

• Institute for Sustainable Diversity & Inclusion: https://i4sdi.org/
• Antioch University newsletter: https://www.antioch.edu/category/newsletter/
• Seattle University newsletter: https://www.seattleu.edu/newsroom/
• Aleria newsletter: https://www.aleria.tech/newsletter
• Association of Fundraising Professionals: https://afpglobal.org/
• BoardSource: https://boardsource.org/

Contact Bill

• Website: https://drkirkadams.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirkadamsphd

If your nonprofit’s website feels out of sync or like it’s constantly lagging behind your mission, this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, Spencer unpacks the real reason most nonprofit websites fall into disrepair (hint: it’s not your website backend or design), and paints a picture of what strong internal ownership actually looks like. You’ll hear a practical, story-driven example of how a well-managed website functions day-to-day and how your organization can start building toward that vision.

Plus, Spencer introduces the five dimensions of digital maturity that shape long-term success online, and offers a few questions to help you assess where you are today.

You’ll learn:

• Why most websites drift out of alignment and how to fix it
• What internal ownership really means (and doesn’t)
• How to spot gaps in your digital maturity
• What steps you can take today to turn your site into a strategic asset

Resources

• Escaping the Redesign Trap: A Smarter Way to Align Your Website With Your Mission
• What Progress Looks Like When You Stop Waiting for the Next Redesign
• Your Website Isn’t Broken. You’re Just Not Using It.
• What Internal Website Ownership Actually Looks Like

Contact Spencer

• [email protected]

Nonprofits often know they need to “listen to their community,” but putting that into practice (especially at scale) can be challenging. In this episode, we talk with Bill Villafranco, Executive Director and former Board Chair at myFace, about his path from finance to nonprofit leadership and how community feedback is shaping programs like interdisciplinary hospital care and inclusive media projects. It’s a conversation for anyone thinking about how to grow a mission-driven organization without losing sight of the people it serves.

About the guest

Bill Villafranco is a storyteller and philanthropic leader whose personal journey through grief, addiction, and mental health informs his work in healing communities. He serves as Executive Director of MyFace.org and trustee of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, where he champions trauma-informed, emotionally intelligent funding strategies. With a focus on long-term impact, Bill brings a deeply human approach to both mental wellness advocacy and nonprofit leadership.

Resources

• myFace Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myfaceorg/
• Austin Halls: DISABLED music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze-J9RTKq6I

Contact Bill

• Website: https://www.myface.org/ 
• Email: [email protected]

What happens when you try to dismantle one of the most common and damaging forces in diabetes care with comedy?

Diabetes stigma affects nearly 4 in 5 adults with diabetes. It impacts their mental, physical, and social well-being. Spoonful of Laughter is a national campaign that tackles this stigma head-on—not with lectures, but with laughter.

In this episode, guests Brian Fitzgerald of Dancing Fox and Beth Strachan, who collaborated with The diaTribe Foundation to create the campaign, take us behind the scenes of how this unexpected creative approach came to life.

We explore why comedy is such a powerful "Trojan horse" for social change, how the campaign broke through entrenched stereotypes, and what nonprofit communicators can learn about designing bold, emotionally resonant campaigns.

About the guests

Beth:

For over three decades, Beth Strachan has been a professional do-gooder working at the crossroads of social justice, environmental protection, and health. Her narrative change work has helped catalyze the nationwide move toward clean energy; integrate arts, culture, and creative expression into our daily lives; and illuminate structural racism as a root cause of inequity. She has helped lead courageous breast cancer survivors on awe-inspiring ascents of Mount Shasta and Mt. Rainier, uniting communities in a powerful movement to prevent the disease. She helped launch the premier traveling film festival spotlighting women's voices in cinema, raising $8 million for nonprofits across North America. With a family motto of "Non Timeo Sed Caveo" (I fear not, but am cautious), she approaches every endeavor with boldness tempered by wisdom, ensuring that progress is both impactful and sustainable.

Brian: 

Brian Fitzgerald has been a mischief-maker for social change for most of his life. He spent 35 years with Greenpeace doing everything from door-to-door canvassing to going to sea to save whales, stopping a nuclear weapons test in Nevada for four days, and pioneering the organization’s adoption of digital activism back when the web was young. Together with Tommy Crawford, he’s the founder of Dancing Fox, a creative agency based in Amsterdam and dedicated to beautiful disruption, where he advocates for a more invitational, hope-based form of activism. 

Resources:

• Demystifying Nonprofit Budgets: What Every Leader, Fundraiser, and Marketer Needs to Know: https://brooks.digital/health-nonprofit-digital-marketing/demystifying-nonprofit-budgets/

Contact Brian and Beth

• Brian: https://www.dancing-fox.com
• Beth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethstrachan/
• Brian: @brianfit.bsky.social
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfit/
• Insta: @brianfit
• https://substack.com/@brianfit
• Beth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethstrachan/
• https://www.dstigmatize.org/spoonful-of-laughter/
• The Center for Media & Social Impact’s report, How Comedy Works [to Change the World]

Many nonprofit websites quietly fall out of step with the missions they were built to support. The result? A frustrating cycle of expensive redesigns that never quite fix the real problem.

In this solo episode, Spencer breaks down why most nonprofits are caught in the “redesign trap,” how to reframe your website as a living program (not a one-time project), and why consistent stewardship, not another overhaul, is the key to long-term digital alignment.

Whether you're a nonprofit leader or comms professional tired of watching your site fall behind, this episode offers a new mindset and a smarter path forward.

Resources

• Article: Escaping the Redesign Trap: A Smarter Way to Align Your Website With Your Mission

Contact Spencer

• Email: [email protected]
• Contact form on Brooks Digital Website: https://brooks.digital/contact/

Nonprofit marketing teams are often strapped for time and resources, yet they’re expected to produce engaging content across multiple platforms.

In this episode, Kevin Kleifgen from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand shares his expertise in media production and digital strategy to help small teams get the most out of their content.

You’ll learn how to repurpose a single piece of content into a full-fledged campaign, create compelling videos without a big budget, and use AI to streamline your workflow—without sacrificing quality.

If you're a nonprofit communicator looking to work smarter, not harder, this episode is for you.

About the guest

Kevin Kleifgen is a Digital Swiss Army Knife specializing in digital strategy, content creation, and multimedia production in the nonprofit health care space.

As Digital Project and Content Manager for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH), Kevin streamlines content production, enhances user experiences, and leads photography and videography efforts while leveraging limited in-house resources for maximum impact.

Kevin is passionate about helping nonprofit marketers work smarter, not harder by repurposing content effectively, leveraging AI, and implementing scalable content strategies.

Resources

• Matt Navarra: https://www.mattnavarra.com/
• Axios Newsletter: https://www.axios.com/health
• Website for American Society for Surgery of the Hand: https://www.assh.org/s/

Contact Kevin

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinkleifgen
• Twitter: https://www.x.com/kevin_kleifgen
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kevin_kleifgen