Lead with Heart | Philanthropy, Nonprofit Leadership, Nonprofit Management & Fundraising

I’m so honored to have Alison Edwards as my guest in this episode of Lead with Heart. She is a local nonprofit leader and the CEO of Orange County Human Relations.

At OC Human Relations, they truly embody their mission not only when it comes to being the changemakers in their community, but when it comes to creating a good workplace for their staff with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).

Tune in to discover how Alison and the people in the organization are co-creating this workspace, including their current goal of providing staff with a baseline salary of $75,000, as well as some practical ways you can move the needle on DEIB and make your own organization a better place to work.


In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [03:04] How the OC Human Relations creates change in Orange County
• [07:21] Practical ways they have been supporting their staff and creating more equity and belonging
• [17:56] Ways to develop and foster a culture of psychological safety and trust internally
• [25:33] Navigating fundraising and being authentic to the organization’s values
• [30:15] Creating a good workplace and putting people first 
• [35:41] The value of listening to implement change in your organization

NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“Folks should be accountable for getting their responsibilities completed. But we need to make sure we're not playing a role in being part of the problem.”

“We have this calling to do important work. But I just want to make sure that folks don't have to survive on that calling alone.”

“I think it does start with leadership. But part of my leadership is getting out of the way so other people can create the spaces that they need and they think that their colleagues need to be successful.”

“Ultimately, if we want to have good workplaces, we got to b

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode, I’m talking to Alana Weinroth. She is the Director of Development and Communications at Covenant House California, a Certified Life & Mindset Coach, and a 200-hour Registered Yoga Instructor.

After experiencing bouts of severe burnout and vicarious trauma, Alana reconnected with herself, established a healthy self-care routine, and started the Give a Damn Community to help others do the same and take care of themselves.

Join us today as we dive deeper into burnout, vicarious trauma, self-care, and life and mindset coaching. Alana shares some practical advice as well as some tools to help you start taking care of yourself first.


In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [06:14] Advice for those who want to get into nonprofit work
• [09:12] Vicarious trauma, its impact on you, and some strategies to deal with its very real symptoms
• [14:52] How the Give a Damn Community was born
• [19:11] The importance of self-care and tips to start filling yourself up first
• [25:17] What Alana’s Give a Damn Coaching work looks like
• [32:00] How to help someone who is experiencing burnout

RESOURCES

If want to start journaling, Alana has a free 30 Day Guided Gratitude Journal for new journalers or busy friends wanting to incorporate more mindfulness and gratitude. It will only take you about 2-5 minutes a day to connect with yourself more.

Gabrielle Bernstein’s May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness.


NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“We feel like

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

I’m so excited to have Mazarine Treyz as my guest in this episode of Lead with Heart. She is an effectiveness coach specializing in Human Design who helps leaders and teams step into their highest potential by knowing their unique designs.

Join us today to discover what Human Design is all about and the ways it can help you become a better leader and fundraiser. Mazarine walks us through very simple and practical examples of how different aspects of Human Design can show up in the context of leadership, the workplace, fundraising, and more, while also providing strategies to best deal with them.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [04:15] The basics of Human Design and the 5 different types
• [10:07] How leaders can apply Human Design to their team dynamics
• [13:15] Self-work is the name of the game
• [17:22] Building trust and emotional safety with Human Design
• [20:16] Considering your team’s unique designs when setting goals
• [25:45] Ways Human Design can influence fundraising

RESOURCES

If you want to get your own Human Design chart, go to mybodygraph.com.

If you want to learn more about Human Design, check out Karren Curry’s book Understanding Human Design - The New Science of Astrology: Discover Who You Really Are.

To get your own Human Design Chart Reading with Mazarine or discover more ideas on how you can work together, please see: humandesignreadings.net/corporate-government


NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“There's no such thing as a bad chart.”

“Self-work is the name of the game in entrepreneurship and in leadership. [If] you don't do the self-work, you're going to be a terrible person to work with.”

“What human design really does, is that it allows us to be aware of our flaws and vulnerabilities in a way that's not very personal. It's like, ‘oh, this is just part of my chart. This isn't personal.’”

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Lead with Heart, I have Dawn Reese, the Chief Executive Officer of The Wooden Floor, as my guest. She is a social innovator who leverages her unique blend of experience in business, technology, education, and the arts to propel young people forward.

Tune in to discover ways to become a better nonprofit leader, as Dawn shares with us all about the power of leading with empathy through servant leadership, how to be proactive when it comes to fundraising, planning the way to achieve your vision for the organization, building an authentic and engaging culture of philanthropy, and so much more.


In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [04:31] Dawn’s transition from the for-profit sector to the nonprofit sector
• [08:34] The Wooden Floor’s successful long-term strategic planning
• [16:19] The Forward Thinking Fundraising Model
• [21:15] The culture of philanthropy at The Wooden Floor and how to build your own
• [26:40] What Servant Leadership looks like in practice
• [39:52] How Dawn stays true to her brand mission

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more about outcomes listen to Lead with Heart’s Episode 9: How Data Can Help Your Nonprofit Organization Thrive with Traci Shirachi.

Dawn is a big believer in Stephen Covey’s Speed of Trust, one of her top reads. To find out more about the book visit speedoftrust.com


NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“As nonprofit leaders [we] have to cultivate that in a really authentic way, that's really heartfelt, and not about transactions. It's about developing a heart for our mission and making sure that it's authentic. That's what I do, I don't lead with fundraising, I lead with heart [...] and that'

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

In this episode of Lead with Heart, I’m talking to Traci Shirachi. She is the CEO and President of The Mark USA, Inc., an applied research and evaluation firm that serves organizations and programs focused on transforming underserved individuals and communities and helps them demonstrate their social impact.

When people hear the word data they tend to run the other way, but please don’t run!

Join us today to discover how data can help nonprofit organizations thrive, protect their people and create more impact, especially at a time when most organizations are under a lot of pressure, as they face rapid and significant changes and resource constraints.


In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [03:05] Traci’s journey from corporate rat to entrepreneur
• [10:06] The basics of how to use data and evaluation effectively and its benefits for nonprofit organizations
• [16:46] The need for a mindset change to create greater and long-lasting impact
• [21:18] How data brings people together, creates connectedness, and strengthens organizations
• [27:33] The ways data, frameworks, and systems can help us navigate change and protect our people
• [32:57] What leaders should focus on and how data can support that

NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“I think getting in the head of funders, and donors, the data helps to be able to do that for a nonprofit organization. If somebody is granting X number of dollars, they want to know that it's going towards something, and they want to be able to see the change that's been achieved by nature of those resources being devoted.”

“So, there's a change of mindset too that's involved in this process, which is as leaders and as community members, we need to really think hard about that is: ‘yes, we want to help more people, but we also want to prevent these things from happeni

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

Today’s episode of Lead With Heart is a super powerful one that is packed full with the wise words of my guest, Stephanie Courtillier. She is the founder and CEO of Integrous Women and is paving the way for the next generation of conscious leaders.

By living through heart-space versus head-space, she continues to inspire and educate audiences wherever she goes, creating and implementing social impact models, and the power of overcoming limiting beliefs in order to turn our dreams into a reality.

Tune into this beautiful and inspiring conversation to discover how to create a life of ease, alignment, playfulness, flow, and, most importantly, heart. Stephanie shares tangible and practical things that you can implement to create the transformation you seek in your life and relationships.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [04:50] What redefining success looks like
• [10:11] The importance of focusing on being instead of doing and asking yourself powerful and insightful questions
• [18:47] Actionable ways to invite rest and pause into your days
• [27:57] Appreciative Inquiry and its power
• [34:47] Conquering burnout through sustainable change and community healing

RESOURCES

Stephanie talks about using a lot of the framework presented in Dr. Daniel Friedland’s book “Leading Well From Within”. Find out more about it here.


NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“Alignment is a state of being it's not a state of doing.”

“The to-dos will get done, and they'll get done in playfulness, and fun, and inflow versus in stress, and overwhelm and distraction. So, my to-do list becomes a thriving list, when I've set aside the time to be, to release, to relax, slow down,

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

The guest for today's podcast is Lola Gershfeld, an expert in Corporate Emotional Connection. We have discussed the importance of emotional connection and how it can help to create strong relationships within a non-profit or a corporation. Lola explained her EmC process and how it has benefited the organizations she worked with.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [01:58] How Lola Gershfeld got started with the EmC process
• [05:27] What science of attachment is and why building connection is so important
• [09:00] Ways to use EMC strategy in nonprofits and organizations where leadership is generally lonely
• [17:44] Steps you can take to shift from a negative to a positive cycle
• [25:07] Why slowing things down is vital within a team dynamic – and how a "Slow Motion Camera" strategy works
• [30:34] Tips to build better board engagement and emotional connection across boards

RESOURCES

Order your copy of the book Emotional Connection, By Lola Gershfeld and Ramin Sedehi to develop the language to describe, acknowledge, and address emotions in the workplace using a proven and systemic approach absent in most other EI strategies.


NOTEWORTHY QUOTES

“Emotion is the most powerful thing in the room. It’s also the most powerful agent of change if you want to help people work better together, and lead better boards dynamics and more board cultures. You’ve got to address people's emotions and then learn how to work with them.” - Lola Gershfeld

“It is so important, as a leader, to create that emotional safety within your

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

I’m so excited to have Bekah Giacomantonio as my guest in this episode of Lead with Heart. She is a nonprofit dropout and the founder, host, and keeper of the Interdependence Incubator, a community for white women who crave healing and a space for us to practice freedom.

The time is NOW to start healing and making a collective change.

Join us today as we talk about healing and change at the personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels.


In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [02:04] Bekah’s journey of freedom and healing
• [06:30] The pillars of the Interdependence Incubator
• [10:38] The 4-part mindfulness practice Bekah starts every session with
• [18:40] Creating a brave space container with community commitments
• [24:20] Speak from the “I” because your experience is enough
• [27:58] Be careful not to take up all the space just because you can
• [30:06] Why you should care about collective liberation and healing

If you are ready to make up for the lost time and embark on a journey of healing and transformation for collective liberation, you can find out all about the Interdependence Incubator here.

Bekah talked a little about her work at the phenomenal organization Yes World, which gathers groups of people and facilitates dialogue between them. To learn more about Yes World, go to yesworld.org.

CONNECT WITH BEKAH

Bekah Giacomantonio is a consultant, facilitator, and the host and keeper of the Interdependence Incubator. After a decade of working in the community as a Restorative and Transformative Justice facilitator and a

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

Dr. Lola Gershfeld’s EmC Masterclass helps you boost communication skills to raise more revenue. Trusted by top universities and global organizations. Use code LEADWITHHEART for 10% off.

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

Today’s episode of Lead with Heart  is the first episode of my Series on Leadership. I believe leadership is fundamental to how we grow and it's both a personal and external process. In this series of interviews, you’ll hear from some amazing leaders and we’ll explore together ways to become a better leader, with the best practices and the best advice out there.

To kick off this inspiring series, my guest today is Monica Horner, who is one of my coaches and has helped me on my own leadership journey. We talk about coaching in the nonprofit field, advice for those in leadership positions, burnout, the importance of self-care, and much more.

Monica Horner is one of the Executive Coaches of Orange County. She has over 13 years of experience as a professional fundraiser and leader in the nonprofit space. She was the Director of Strategic Giving at the Second Harvest Food Bank, where she personally helped raise millions of dollars. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [01:06] Monica’s journey to nonprofit leadership and coaching
• [05:02] The #1 challenge in the nonprofit field
• [07:23] The importance of actively listening to yourself and others
• [15:54] Why coaching is so valuable for professionals in the nonprofit field
• [17:11] How to get the best out of your coaching sessions
• [23:04] Self-care and joy through meditation, movement, and connection

RESOURCES

Do you want to receive FREE executive coaching? You can find experienced coaches from a variety of backgrounds, in both nonprofit and business, for free at Executive Coaches of Orange County.

“My message for leaders is: great managers are people who, I think, recognize the signs of burnout, and recognize when their employees need to take a little bit of time for self-care.” - Monica Horner

“A lot of bosses are actually adopting coaching into their management style themselves. And if not, then they're encouraging their employees to get into coaching, because they're finding that it really, really enhances their employee's performance, and increases longevity w

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms

I am very excited to have Mr. Pete Bowen on this episode of the Lead with Heart Podcast. I really value his leadership style and I am happy to talk to him about that, as well as ways to become our best selves and change the world.

Pete Bowen is a consultant, author, coach, speaker, and the creator of Covenant Leadership, a simple approach to developing good relationships that brings happiness and success in life. He helps companies, government organizations, and individuals to develop high-performance leadership and culture.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• [02:06] The power of writing your own life story
• [07:58] The Rule of Threes and how it can help you achieve happiness, fulfillment, and success
• [14:22] The Covenant Leadership Model: “seek wisdom, practice love, get results”
• [17:16] How to create the greatest positive impact on your relationships
• [24:27] The superpower of Agape love
• [29:20] Actionable tips to implement this model in your life

To learn more about the Covenant Leadership Model and more ways to become the best you can be, check out Pete Bowen’s Real Talk About Life Blog-Podcast.

“Every single day you have a choice and you can embody what you do or who you are by your daily practices.” - Haley Cooper

“Practice seeking wisdom, practicing love, and practice getting results to develop the high-trust, high-performance relationships that will bring you happiness, and they'll bring you success.” - Pete Bowen

“Your staff are the most important people that are a part of your mission, they help it drive, and grow, and raise the money, help your clients. And so that's where we need to invest.” - Haley Cooper

“If we really want to change the world, then the most effective way we can do that is by changing ourselves.” - Pete Bowen

“It's by doing the right thing minute by minute that we become the best people we c

Send Haley a suggestion or request via text HERE!

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to create real impact.

Trusted by 80,000+ organizations in 90+ countries, Donorbox offers easy fundraising tools to help you raise more. From fast donation forms to crowdfunding, events, and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk, grow your impact with donorbox.org

CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a CFRE, Stress Management Coach, and EmC trainer. Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, she brings experience in human services, homelessness, and youth nonprofits. She specializes in EmC, leadership, board development, and fundraising, empowering nonprofit leaders to build thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
YouTube: thesavvyfundraiser
Produced by Ideablossoms