We are joined by Jill McDonald, the Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center and Dawn Pulumbo, Vice President of Insurance at Zarr Financial Services and board member extraordinaire.

We dive into how we can begin to reimagine nonprofit leadership. We hope this podcast will empower some of the smart, intelligent, passionate and talented female employees in the nonprofit sector to begin to envision a world in which they become Executive Directors.

For Season 1, Episode 2 of the Nonprofit Thoughts Podcast we are joined by Dayna Del Val the President/CEO of The Arts Partnership.

In this episode, Del Val and I talk some of the great strengths of the nonprofit sector, some of the biggest misconceptions (hint, good feelings don’t pay mortgages). We dive into how we can reinvent the role of nonprofit boards and begin to reimagine what nonprofit leadership looks like.

I also make a big announcement about the future of Nonprofit Thoughts.

This week we are joined by Dana Schaar Jahner,  the Executive Director of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations (NDANO).  The mission of NDANO is to Educate, advocate and connect to strengthen nonprofits.  N Dana and I discuss the importance of sector wide engagement in North Dakota. We explore the importance of cross sector advocacy and how telling your authentic story is important is just as important in creating systemic change as it is in raising funds.

This week we are joined by Heather Cymbaluk, the Executive Director of Companions for Children - Youth Mentoring and the current President of the Alliance of Nonprofits of Minot. Heather and I explore how her MBA turned into a career in the nonprofit sector, we discuss the importance of mentoring for Executive Directors, we discuss how to hold better fundraisers, the importance of training and collaboration, and how an epic meeting at Starbucks led to a new direction for the Alliance of Nonprofits.

On this weeks podcast we are joined by Andrea Nelson of the Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation. Andrea's nonprofit adventure took her from being without a career goal, to a disability rights advocate, to eventually being the first (and only) employee of a start up community foundation. We explore some of the biggest things holding nonprofits back and some of the most important keys to maximizing performance.

We also discuss why she is the Godmother of the Patrick Kirby Experience.

This week we are joined by Cassie Wick of Butte, MT. Cassie is an Independent Living Specialist at the Montana Independent Living Project and a small business owner. She has an amazing story of the power of the nonprofit sector to create better communities. Cassie shares how area nonprofits helped to revitalize Uptown Butte and create new economic engines for that community.We talk about the importance of taking care of nonprofit employees, and the importance of mentorship among board members.

For Season 1, Episode 2 of the Nonprofit Thoughts Podcast we are joined by Mr. Patrick Kirby. Patrick has spent almost 15 years working in nearly every capacity in the nonprofit industry.  Patrick’s passion lies in creating creative solutions to make fundraising less boring.

In this episode, Patrick and I talk about some of the common mistakes made by nonprofits in fundraising and how organizations can do better.

We also talk about ninja star thank you notes. You want to check it out.

For Season 1, Episode 1 of the Nonprofit Thoughts Podcast we are joined by Mr. Drew Hanson. Drew is a founding board member of Prairie Grit Adaptive Sports and is currently employed there as their Fundraising Director. He is currently serving as the Vice President of the Board at Independence, Inc. Drew was appointed by Governor Burgum to the North Dakota Statewide Independent Living Council. In this episode, we explore the important lessons Drew has learned in his time in the nonprofit sector.

Welcome to the Nonprofit Thoughts Podcast, where we make nonprofits better.  I'm your host Scott Burlingame, and I am a proud nonprofit nerd with over 20 years of experience. It has long been a dream of mine to create an opportunity for some of the smartest and most passionate leaders in our movement to share their wisdom.  Without further ado, let’s meet today’s guest...