Activism took center stage at the recent Oscar awards, which is thrilling for this nonprofit leader. Then came the missed opportunity of all missed opportunities, and what could have been a soaring moment for our nonprofit community left the audience confused about where to park their majestic high horse. Here's what we need to make sure we do next time we trot out our community heroes. (With apologies for the many names that I surely butchered.)

The practice of patience is critical to your success as a nonprofit leader. We all know it takes at least twice as long to see change (or even any movement towards change)when you're working primarily with volunteers and within the culture of nonprofit orgs. What does patience look like day to day? How do you practice patience? This week's podcast is inspired by Gary Vaynerchuk and my fellow executive directors.

So sorry about the previous upload of this episode! Check out the @Virtual_Exec or our FB page to see what happened. In the meantime, here's the real deal. Grant writing is a cornerstone fundraising activity. I've talked about tools for finding grants, and how to write a grant so that it makes sense to a panelist or reviewer. This week's podcast is about how to finish strong and celebrate the work you put into this process.

Lately I've been wrestling with the question of whether it's better to be liked or to be respected. If you've been thinking about this, too, this week's podcast is for you.

This week on the podcast I chat with my friend, Kristin Ingram, about how nonprofits can use the new tax law to their advantage (among other things). Kristin is a CPA, CEO of Ingram Digital Media, and co-host of the Small Biz Life podcast. Check her out at smallbizlife.com.

As this podcast comes out, I'll be heading to the Virginia Commission for the Arts annual conference in Richmond, Virginia. I know how hard it can be to find the budget for conference attendance, so I thought I'd share with you how to get the most return on your investment of both time and money when you go to conferences.

People say the darndest things, especially at board meetings. Here are a few of the craziest and the thoughtful, appropriate responses that you can keep in your back pocket for just the right moment.

Now that you recognize the signs of transition and you know you want to do something to get ahead of these challenges rather than wait for them to crash into you, this week's podcast talks about how to build the support you need around these big changes.

In our nonprofit life we have purposeful transitions, like launching a new program, and accidental transitions, like a major sponsor going out of business. These are pretty straightforward and (for the most part) we know how to handle them. Then there is a middle ground of transitions that aren't here yet, but if you know what to look for, you'll see the signs. That's what we're talking about in this week's podcast.

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about how to start a nonprofit. If that describes you or someone you know, here's the podcast to listen to first. I go over the steps to take that will set you and your org up for success from the beginning. To get the full checklist, visit virtualexecutivedirector.com