The Beacon

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy welcomes Dr. Lilya Wagner and Dr. Mark Hager for a discussion on dysfunctional organizations.

Mark and Lilya go way back to when they co-authored “Board members beware! Warning signs of a dysfunctional organization” in the late ‘90s for Nonprofit World magazine.

In this lively discussion, they address the five most common signals that an organization is in trouble and what staff can do when they discern signs of dysfunction.

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Director of Business Development Ryan Woroniecki talks with Micah James, manager of professional services at data management company Bloomerang, about technology for nonprofits.

In their discussion, Ryan and Micah discuss topics including:

• Some of the biggest advances in technology over the past decade and how they’ve empowered fundraisers

• The important considerations nonprofits often overlook when thinking about purchasing fundraising technology

• Proper implementation of new technology and the consequences of doing it poorly or too quickly.

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Martha Ross talks with longtime independent school leader Brad Gioia about some of the changes he’s seen in the independent school landscape over his 40-year career.

Martha and Brad talk about topics including:

• How both students and parents have changed over 40 years in what they expect, what they want, what they need

• How finances and fundraising have changed in independent schools

• Changes in school culture and how important culture is to the longevity and success of a school

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Joan Bahner speaks with Bob Poole about donor relationships. For 14 years, Bob was senior vice president at Meherry Medical College and is now senior philanthropic advisor at Saad & Shaw.

In their discussion, Joan and Bob talk about:

• The unfortunate circumstance where fundraisers think of themselves more as salespeople rather than relationship builders

• The consequences of that mindset

• And how to change it

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Dr. Lilya Wagner speaks with Erik Daubert, who’ll be sharing insights from AFP’s Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s latest report.

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project was created in 2006 as a joint project of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute to conduct research on fundraising effectiveness and help nonprofit organizations increase their fundraising results. Erik was the project’s first volunteer chair.

In their discussion, Erik talks about:

• The Fundraising Effectiveness Project, its purpose and origins

• The FEP’s latest report, its top three takeaways and implications for nonprofits

• Actionable items nonprofits should be doing as a result of the findings in the report

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Director of Business Development Ryan Woroniecki talks with David Lawson, the son of fundraising icon Doug Lawson, who passed away in 2020.

In their discussion, David talks about:

• Change management lessons gleaned from Doug’s role in helping to integrate Randolph-Macon College

• Doug’s impact on the modern capital campaign

• How organizations to which Doug left bequests honored his legacy and engaged his family.

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Dr. Lilya Wagner talks with David Patrick King about the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and about what faith-based giving looks like now.

David is the Karen Lake Buttrey director of the institute and associate professor of philanthropic studies at the school.

In their conversation, Lilya and David discuss:

• Why a secular, public university would have such a prestigious center for faith and giving 

• A thumbnail sketch of how and why this center was started and by whom

• The tendency of churches to eschew the best practices and formal principles of fundraising because of the tradition of “God will provide.” 

• A summary of how the center can help anyone, but particularly faith-based organizations.

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Content Coordinator Margaret Gardner talks with Willeke van Rijn, CEO of The Resource Alliance, about participative leadership and how it can transform the culture of an organization.

In their discussion, Willeke:

• Explains what participative leadership is

• Offers examples of what it looks like in action

• Talks about the importance of giving voice to team members to keep them feeling passionate and engaged

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Jeff Jowdy is joined by John O’Kane for a discussion on nonprofit boards and fundraising. John has been an influence in the nonprofit sector in the US for more than five decades and recently joined Lighthouse Counsel of counsel.

In their conversation, John talks about:

• The stumbling blocks that make board members uncomfortable with fundraising and how to overcome them.

• How an organization can ensure that it’s recruiting the right board member at the right time?

• Keeping board members engaged, interested and eager to do their part in fundraising.

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Director of Business Development Ryan Woroniecki talks with Erik Tomalis, director of business development and chief evangelist at responsive fundraising platform Virtuous.

In their discussion, Erik shares some of the thought-provoking insights and questions from the joint Lighthouse Counsel/Virtuous 2023 Giving USA Briefing, including:

• His favorite panelist comments about the decline in donors and how organizations can effectively combat it

• The best way to build meaningful relationships from these important investors? And, were there any great panel comments on this subject? [Follow up, how can we meaningfully engage these donors when their initiatives would cause mission creep?]

• His top three takeaways from this year’s report and the panel discussion