Small Nonprofit: Fundraising Tips, Leadership Strategies, and Community-Centric Solutions for Canadian and American Nonprofits

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If you've ever put months of work into a gala, only to have most of the guests disappear until next year's event, this episode is for you. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio talks with Amy Milne, CEO and founder of Beyond Fundraising Inc. Amy has spent her career helping nonprofits raise more money through events: runs, walks, rides, you name it. Amy explains why your event should be part of a year-round relationship with your supporters and how staying in touch between events can turn guests and volunteers into committee members, sponsors, and even major donors. You'll also hear how a kids' cancer charity replaced its tired gala with an adult pajama party, complete with chicken and waffles and a Twister dance floor.

• Visit their website: https://www.startingbeyond.com/ 
• Connect with Amy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyrmilne 
• Connect with Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedownthereaffair/ 
• Connect with Amy on thedownaffair Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedownthereaffair/ 
• Listen to her podcast, Real Talk for the Non-Profit Event Pro: https://realtalkforthenonprofiteventpro.buzzsprout.com/ 

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Most stewardship advice assumes you have a team, a budget, and time to hand-deliver flowers to every donor. This episode is for fundraisers who have none of those. You'll learn five stewardship strategies that work for small teams and hear how a $100 donor became a $10,000 donor after receiving a short impact email every other month. 

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Caitlin McBride, a Certified Fundraising Executive, used these strategies as a one-person fundraising department to nearly double her individual giving campaign in two years. If stewardship keeps sliding to the bottom of your list, start here.

• Connect with Caitlin on LinkedIn
• Download our donor stewardship email templates

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What does your annual report say about your volunteers? If it's a headcount, a total of hours, and a dollar figure for how much they "saved" you, Jessica Pang-Parks has some thoughts. Most EDs don't set out to treat volunteers as free labour. The systems we've inherited make it easy, especially when funding won't cover the staff you actually need. This week, Maria is joined by Jessica. They talk about where volunteer engagement goes wrong, and what it looks like when it's done right.

Jessica Pang-Parks helps nonprofits create impact and inspire belonging through ethical volunteer engagement frameworks. Her work is grounded in Community-Centric Fundraising, and it starts from one idea: volunteers are whole people. If your organization works with volunteers and you suspect they deserve better stewardship than they're getting, this one's for you.

Visit Jessica's website: https://www.learnwithjpp.com/

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Perfectionism doesn't feel like fear. It feels like caring. But underneath the reviewed-a-hundred-times email is usually one thing: fear. In this episode, Maria talks with leadership coach Tessa Bridge about why leaders mistake control for competence and what it actually takes to lead from a grounded place instead of a scared one. Tessa Bridge is the founder of Tessa Bridge Coaching and author of Do Your Part: Bold, Sustainable Leadership for Social Impact Leaders in a Time of Crisis. 

• Connect with Tessa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessabridgecoaching/
• Visit her website: https://www.tessabridgecoaching.com/ 

Tessa is running a live book club on October 28, November 4, November 18, and December 2, based on her book, Do Your Part, with four sessions of peer discussion and group coaching. This offering is for high-achieving, deeply committed leaders looking for a way to lead that is both bold and sustainable.

Register for the book club, and use code MARIA150:

• In-person event - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/do-your-part-book-club-in-person-tickets-1999790009752?aff=oddtdtcreator
• Virtual event -  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/do-your-part-book-club-online-tickets-1999791915452?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Most nonprofits lose more than half their donors after that very first gift, and it's rarely because those donors stopped caring. In this episode, Maria breaks down a simple, repeatable framework for keeping donors engaged long after they hit "donate." She walks through the five stages every donor moves through, why skipping even one of them kills retention, and how to weave stats and stories together so your messaging actually sticks. Then she digs into the psychology behind giving decisions, from anchoring to loss aversion to social proof, including the real story behind a $400,000 donor who ended up giving a million.

This is Part 2 of Maria Rio's workshop, "How to Get More Donors, Retain Your Base, and Deepen Their Connection." 

• Connect with Maria on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/maria-rio-ethical-fundraising
• Listen to Part One: https://www.buzzsprout.com/208666/episodes/19724266

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Nearly half of nonprofit Executive Directors are reporting burnout as a serious concern, and that number is climbing fast. In this episode, we dig into the Center for Effective Philanthropy's 2026 report and unpack what's actually driving the crisis: rising service demand, shrinking budgets, and boards and staff who often can't be the safe space EDs need.

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria is joined by Caitlin McBride, a Certified Fundraising Executive with close to 15 years in the sector, to talk honestly about burnout and what small nonprofit leaders can actually do about it, starting today.

• Connect with Caitlin on LinkedIn
• Read the Center for Effective Philanthropy, 2026 report 

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Most nonprofits ask foundations for what they think a funder is comfortable giving, not what the mission actually needs to succeed. That gap is costing the sector real impact. This episode pulls back the curtain on how private philanthropy really operates: why 95% of foundation assets sit invested with zero connection to mission, why "private" family foundations are actually funded with public money, and why the polite, small ask has become the norm even when it guarantees failure. 

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Glenn Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation and author of Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short, to talk about what happens when a foundation commits to spending down its entire endowment instead of sitting on it. 

• Connect with Glenn on LinkedIn
• Visit their website

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Throwing spaghetti at the wall can't fix broken fundraising systems. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio, a fundraising expert with over 15 years of experience, shares what it actually takes to turn acquisition and retention into a repeatable system instead of a scramble. You'll learn how to move donors through each stage of the funnel, from total stranger to lifelong supporter, and why retention deserves more of your attention. 

This episode is Part 1 of Maria's live workshop, "How to Get More Donors, Retain Your Base, and Deepen Their Connection," recorded for a cohort of nonprofit leaders.

• Connect with Maria on LinkedIn
• Watch The Golden Circle by Simon Sinek (TED Talk)

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Small nonprofits are constantly told to do more with less. More fundraising, more reporting, more services, same tiny team. This episode flips that pressure on its head. Instead of asking "how do we do more ourselves," our guest makes the case for asking "who could we build this with together?" You'll hear real examples of what collaboration actually looks like on the ground, from a food bank that partnered with mental health organizations to a youth coalition that hit real growing pains. We break down why duplicated efforts hold small nonprofits back and how the right partnerships create capacity instead of just more work. 

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Daniel Francavilla, a marketing strategist and capacity-building consultant who works with nonprofits through The Good Growth Company, Daniel Does, and Clarity Content. Daniel has spent years helping nonprofits and social purpose organizations tell their stories and build the kind of partnerships that expand reach. Nonprofit leaders will walk away with a clearer sense of what collaboration can look like beyond the usual program partnership and why capacity-sharing might be the missing piece in their strategy.

• Visit Daniel's website: https://www.thegoodgrowth.company/
• Learn more about the Together for Impact Summit, coming this November 5th: https://www.thegoodgrowth.company/summit

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Most leaders don't talk about what actually happens the day you walk into an ED role. They talk about the vision and the strategy, not the fact that your admin manager just quit, the reserves are empty, and you're going to have to let people go before you've even found the bathroom. This episode is about that first year as an ED, unfiltered. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, I sit down with Lenny Sweeney, Executive Director at SHORE Centre and a fundraiser of nearly 20 years across community services, gender-based violence, disability, and reproductive justice work. If you're a first-time ED, considering becoming one, or currently in the middle of a challenge, this episode will make you feel a lot less alone.

• Connect with Lenny Sweeny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenny-sweeney-cfre-a8309b11/
• Learn more about SHORE Centre (Sexual Health Options, Resources and Education): https://www.shorecentre.ca/

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