When the world’s on fire, who shows up? Nonprofits. Yet few people know exactly how deeply embedded they are in daily life. They make our communities the special places they are, from animal rescues to food banks, schools to places of worship. But how can they survive, much less thrive, especially when the world around us is so chaotic and adversarial? There is perhaps no better person to answer this question than Joan Garry (https://joangarry.com/). 

On this episode of BETTER GOOD, Scott M. Curran (https://www.scottmcurran.com/) is joined by Nonprofit Leadership Lab (https://nonprofitleadershiplab.com/) founder Joan Garry for a candid and insightful conversation about why some organizations succeed, so many fail, and how all leaders and nonprofits can enjoy more success. Joan reconstructs her delightfully twisty career arc from working at MTV in the early 1980s to leading GLAAD in the late 1990s, to later realizing that her highest and best purpose was helping other nonprofit leaders succeed. She shares how she fell into activism by simply wanting to protect her young family from laws that weren’t inclusive of them, and how her membership-based business grew out of a decision to devote herself more fully to her family. She breaks down the common pitfalls that hold leaders from accomplishing their worthiest goals, and reveals hidden secrets to nonprofit success (hint: better board relations and better marketing!). This episode explores themes of leadership, purpose, scarcity, legacy, growth, and transformation.

Guest: Joan Garry

Host: Scott M. Curran

Executive Producers: Aaron Shulman & Kieron Banerji

Production by Echo Studios

Chapters:

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:01:53 Early Memories of Doing Good
• 00:05:46 From MTV to Don King
• 00:08:12 Taking the Leap to GLAAD
• 00:09:58 Turning Around a Failing Organization
• 00:13:19 Why Nonprofits Are Messy
• 00:14:54 Building the Nonprofit Leadership Lab
• 00:18:45 The Biggest Challenges Nonprofits Face
• 00:21:00 The Vision for Scaling Impact
• 00:32:51 Advice for Nonprofit Leaders and Board Members
• 00:47:40 Legacy and Making Your Mark

Check out our Podcast: https:// (https://www.linktr.ee/scottmcurran)

Better Good is a podcast series where you’ll meet the visionaries and doers tackling the toughest challenges of our time. With moving stories and practical takeaways, Scott M. Curran brings listeners into the art and science of doing good—through conversations with the social-impact leaders reshaping how we change the world. Whether you lead a global workforce, run a fast-growing nonprofit, or are simply driven to make a difference, this show offers the ideas, inspiration, and tools to leave the world better than you found it. The world's biggest problems won’t wait. Neither should you.