How do you stay true to your mission and pay the bills? How do you engage your community and challenge them to think differently? And how do you do all that without burning out?

In this episode of Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, I'm joined by Sara Dean, Artistic Director at The Pear Theatre in Silicon Valley, CA, and a board member of Theatre Bay Area. Sara brings an incredible mix of creative courage, business pragmatism, and heart-centred leadership to nonprofit work, offering takeaways for anyone navigating mission-driven challenges.

We talk about:

• Navigating the tension between program impact and financial sustainability

• Leading through complexity in one of the most expensive regions in the U.S.

• Rethinking traditional nonprofit models to serve evolving audiences and communities

• How storytelling, inclusivity, and data work together to inform programming decisions

• The reality of nonprofit burnout and how Sara holds space for balance and joy

You'll walk away inspired by Sara's leadership journey and equipped with real-world lessons on balancing stakeholder needs, delivering impactful work, and sustaining your own energy and vision as a nonprofit leader.

Plus: Sara shares strategies for achieving representation in casting, insights on the process of reimagining classics such as Henry V, and best practices for listening deeply to audiences to shape future programming.

Looking for a human-centered and ethical way to use artificial intelligence tools in your nonprofit? Email me at [email protected] and I'll share a free action guide + access to a ChatGPT tool we've built just for you, packed with ready-to-use prompts for grants, donor appeals, project planning, and more.

Connect + Learn More

• Visit The Pear Theatre website: https://www.thepear.org/

• Visit Silver Maple Strategies' website: https://www.silvermaplestrategies.com/

• Follow Silver Maple Strategies on LinkedIn and Facebook!

Hosted by Nate Birt, founder of Silver Maple Strategies

Thanks as always to Lee Williams for editing and producing this episode and to Audrey Anderson for podcast publishing support!

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