Nonstop Nonprofit

Here at Funraise, we've long known that if only nonprofits were able to harness the power of data, they’d have the world changed in no time at all. In fact, nonprofits that embrace data tools like Funraise’s Fundraising Intelligence raise 7x more online annually and grow recurring revenue 1.5x faster on average.

Companies like VeraData are taking those results and multiplying them with Donor Science insights that result in even more funds raised and impact created. Today’s guest, Michael Peterman, is the Founder and CEO of VeraData: The Donor Science Company, a nonprofit fundraising consultancy turning insights into impact.

Listen in to hear Michael break down complex concepts like Donor Science and Predictive Analytics, give us a peek into the future of data-based fundraising, and send us off with ways any nonprofit can get started delivering results with data science today.

And for more VeraData + Funraise collaboration, check out VeraData’s webinar featuring Funraise CEO Justin Wheeler: Breaking Free From Tradition: How to Modernize Nonprofit Growth takes the concepts introduced here and takes them to the next level.

What makes a leader visionary? How is visionary-ness developed and what does it look like in practice?

While the concept behind these questions seems nebulous, we’re talking today with someone who has concrete answers based on interactions with dozens of modern visionaries. Taylor Jones, Founder and CEO of Whiteboard.is, has stunningly simple advice on how anyone can develop their capacity for visionary leadership through practice and intentionality.

Whiteboard is a creative agency helping visionaries build a brighter future, in many cases through harnessing the internet for good—an intrinsically for-good concept. The formula they’ve perfected over a decade has resulted in a ripple of positivity turning into a wave of change.

Listen in to hear stories of visionary leaders, cautionary tales of ripple effects gone wrong, and the surprising books that have inspired leaders like Taylor and Justin.

Are you a visionary leader in the for-good space who wants to connect with your visionary peers? Apply to join Camp Redwood, a curated gathering for social impact founders and CEOs to focus on long-term thinking, innovation, and enduring growth.

Want more advice from Taylor? Peruse Whiteboard's book, Agency. 

Additional book mentioned, An Awesome Book.

When it comes to programming, some nonprofits choose a lane a mile wide and an inch deep while others dive a mile deep and an inch wide. The key is to know which lane your nonprofit thrives in.

Today’s guest is Phil Olaleye, Georgia State Representative and Executive Director of Next Gen, a nonprofit closing the opportunity gap for Atlanta high school students. Next Gen is expanding imminently, scaling its impact 10x, 100x, and hopefully more, and it’s doing it by staying in the lane it’s identified as the best fit for its mission, resources, and clients.

But identifying your lane is more than just seeing the existing structure; it involves using what’s missing to lay your path. Listen in for insights into the power of following up, expanding your village, and how to use scale to get to scalable.

Money, budgets, funding, accounting—all nonprofits know how important these are to the success of programming and impact. But when you're a smaller nonprofit or just starting out, do you really need a CFO?

Today’s guest, Jason Kruger, has experience with a novel arrangement that’s allowing nonprofits to start from the ground up, building an accounting team and processes that fit instead of skipping a grade before you’re ready.

As President & Founder at Signature Analytics, Jason brings financial knowledge specific to nonprofits, like audit requirements, the benefits of transparency, and, best of all, a healthy respect for getting it all done on time! And as customers of Signature Analytics, Funraise is excited to assist our nonprofit friends in tackling accounting wherever you’re at.

Listen in to get clarity on how properly-fitted accounting contributes to the success of your impact, where to start and pitfalls to avoid, and signals that’ll tell you it’s time to professionalize your finance functions.

Nonprofiteers have long known that our strengths lie in our passion for enacting change. More often than not, though, we see an issue and reach for it, only to find that we’re blocked by a lack of time, money, and helping hands.

Today’s guest, Ben Collier, is an aspiring—and inspiring—visionary whose nonprofit, The Farmlink Project, is poised to simultaneously hit the root of food insecurity and help farmers with an ambitious $100M fund designed to cultivate sustainable change in the sphere of food insecurity.

Not only that, but Ben and The Farmlink Project have an even broader vision, and the big question isn’t whether they can pull it off, it’s just how deeply this shift will shake our core.

Listen in as Ben and Justin dig into deep-rooted issues, challenge our perspective on food accessibility, and witness a $100 million vision being planted.

Looking for a way to pursue progress in the food system? The Farmlink Project's Shared Plate Pledge provides the framework and community to support and grow together. Sign the Shared Plate Pledge today.

Today, we’re catching up with Francesco Ambrogetti, Principal Adviser of Innovative and Alternative Finance for Children at UNICEF. A champion of innovation in funding and paradigm-shifting change, Francesco has pioneered new funding architectures like bank bonds to support fundraising, parametric insurance to cover children, the first outcome finance structure for polio, and socially-conscious ETFs.

The last time we talked to Francesco, we barely scratched the surface of the type of alternative funding that makes enormous change possible, fast. This time, though… get ready to get innovative.

Tune in to hear how social proof can affect fundraising, the effect of a mindset shift that takes donations from an afterthought to the forefront, and practical advice for championing alternative funding in an industry that’s slow to adopt innovation.

After an enlightening interview with Olga M. Woltman of LemonSkies (queue it up next!) left us pondering the role of storytelling in the nonprofit world, we realized that our focus on advanced fundraising practices parallels the aspirations of ethical storytellers.

Namely, ethical storytelling is the future of the nonprofit story (and the heart and soul of nonprofit fundraising).

But to fundraisers searching for the perfect nonprofit campaign, ethical storytelling can feel elusive and fuzzy. Like, what exactly is it and how exactly do you do it? Today’s guest, Philippe Lazaro, is here to bring clarity and direction to anyone struggling with making space for ethical storytelling.

Philippe, Creative Director of Plant with Purpose, TEDx speaker, and illustrator, has spent his career centering conversations around communities both global and local. And his advice is exactly what nonprofits need to take their storytelling efforts to higher heights.

Coming from a cathedral of redwoods, from shared moments between a collective of concerned colleagues, this episode of the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast brings together visionary nonprofit leaders Justin Wheeler and Brett Hagler.

Justin is the CEO of Funraise and sometimes-host of the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast, and Brett is CEO of New Story, a nonprofit pioneering solutions to end homelessness. Together, they sat down at Camp Redwood, a creative gathering for social entrepreneurs, to talk about the state of the nonprofit industry—now and long-term.

As he and Justin discussed leaning into opportunities, Brett said, "The harder, more courageous decision will likely come with short-term pain, but ...the big idea that we have is going to be so much more growth that it's worth it." Knowing how and when to take that step is the crux of his conversation with Justin.

Tune in to hear nonprofit leaders just like yourself discuss stretch goal strategies, the crossroads of opportunity and obligation, and the value of using software as a strategy.

For full video interview --> https://www.youtube.com/@Funraiseplatform

The winds of change are blowing, and nonprofits, ahem, the for-good sector, isn’t immune. Today we’re talking to a seasoned nonprofiteer who has experienced his share of change and made it his mission to shepherd for-good organizations through transformational moments.

In this conversation with Todd Hiestand, Co-owner of Liminal, a creative branding agency for nonprofits, we touch on the effects that change has on the for-good sector, how to foster these shifts, and the value of leaning into the liminal spaces where change happens.

One change that host David Schwab would like to see could be viewed as semantical—and it’s one that Todd and David air their views on in this episode: the movement from “nonprofit” language to “for-good”. It’s also one that he’d love to hear your views on, so please let him know your thoughts!

Join us now for a discussion on the merits of “for-good” language, the ways change and innovation intersect, and how none of us are alone on the road to better.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the latest ebook from Liminal, Effective Nonprofit Branding, available on their website now.

Today, we’re talking about a serious subject that has inspired a seriously enlightened discussion: Retention in the for-good sector. If you’ve been working in this sector for any length of time, you’re probably aware that keeping mission-oriented staff is harder than ever.

But why? If you’re a nonprofit leader seeing your staff burn out and move away from causes that they’re passionate about, what can you do? Today’s guest, Amber Christoferson, is here to help you answer that question. With a career path that’s taken her from United Way to the Fortune 500 and back to the for-good sector as VP of DickersonBakker’s Executive Search Group, Amber is leading the conversation around this crucial issue.

Starting with understanding your organization’s identity and needs, focusing on setting your staff up for success, and building a culture of retention, Amber leans on the DickersonBakker 2023 Nonprofit Leadership and Fundraising study that reveals significant disconnects between the folks working the for-good frontlines and their leadership.

Among all the questions is one sure thing: the best way to solve this problem is to bridge the communication gap, so join the conversation!