In this edition of The Beacon Podcast, we talk with Jim Kubacki, author of the book “Choose to Lead: A practical guide for educational leadership.”

In his discussion with Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Kathy Gaston, Jim talks about how great leaders become great leaders and their impact on the organizations they lead.

He answers questions such as:

What are the four parts of leadership and how do they impact a person’s leadership abilities?

What is the main thing that stands in the way of a good school leader becoming a great and highly impactful school leader and how does one overcome that those obstacles?

What are the challenges that school leaders face today that were unheard of a decade ago?

In this edition of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Gail Glasser talks with Steve Ives, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Houston, about things nonprofit leaders were able to glean from the chaos that was and, to some degree, still is the coronavirus pandemic.

In this discussion, Steve answers questions including:

• What are the greatest lessons the pandemic has taught you as a leader?

• Did the YMCA of Greater Houston communicate differently with key donors during the pandemic?  If so, how?

• What lessons did the past two years provide to you and your team about the importance of relationship building and stewardship?

In this edition of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant Kathy Gaston talks with Dick Horton, past president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation, about relationship building and its importance in fundraising.

Dick shared his insights on how organizations can harness the power of relationships to keep their fundraising going strong. Among the topics discussed:

• Making friends and nurturing relationships with prominent philanthropists

• Developing a legacy giving program and the role it plays in an organization’s financial success

• The best advice for nonprofits when it comes to relationship building

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy speaks with Jim Eskin, author of the book “10 Simple Fundraising Lessons,” about how to take the guesswork out of fundraising.

In this episode, Jim discusses:

• Why so many fundraisers seem afraid to ask for money

• How they can overcome that fear

• 10 simple fundraising lessons that can make fundraisers more successful on behalf of the organizations they work for

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, writer and podcast coordinator Margaret Gardner speaks with Chris Lyons, president of Brand United, NonProfit PRO and Book Business about NonProft PRO’s 2021 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Study.

Chris shares insights on the study findings, as well as on peer-to-peer fundraising in general and why it’s an important tool in any organization’s fundraising toolkit.

Chris discusses:

• Key takeaways from the study for fundraisers and nonprofit organizations.

• Why peer-to-peer is a valuable tool in organizations' revenue-producing toolkit.

• Steps an organization should take to start a peer-to-peer program and what challenges it might encounter.

In this edition of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy talks with Gabe Cooper about responsive fundraising and why organizations should treat all of their donors like major donors. And, importantly, how they can.

Gabe offers insights on responsive fundraising and answers questions including:

• What is responsive fundraising and why is it necessary for nonprofits to engage with donors in this way?

• What are the three parts of the responsive fundraising framework?

• What are the biggest obstacles to nonprofits when it comes to responsive fundraising?

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Senior Consultant David Snow speaks with Rebecca Moffett, president of Vanguard Charitable, a national donor-advised fund provider and one of the nation's top grant makers.

Rebecca shares her insights on an important topic for nonprofits — how to encourage donors to budget for charitable giving, which results in higher amounts of giving, according to a Vanguard Charitable survey. For example, individuals who budget for charitable giving gave nearly seven times more dollars than those who don't budget, the survey found.

• In the discussion, Rebecca talks about the results of that survey and answers questions including:

• What eye-opening findings did the survey unearth that can help nonprofits engage more deeply with their donors and raise more money?

• How can nonprofits communicate with their donors about budgeting for their annual charitable giving?

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse President Jeff Jowdy talks with Bo Ryles, senior director with the National 4-H Council and an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia.

Bo has committed his career to helping young people deveop leadership skills they will use throughout their lives. In this conversation, he answers questions including:

• As a leader, what is the importance of being able to inspire, support and empower people and how do you achieve that kind of leadership?

• How can leaders draw from their personal passions to become better leaders?

ˆIs nonprofit leadership changing? What are the challenges and opportunities leaders will be addressing in the near future?

In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Margaret Gardner speaks with Musicians On Call President and CEO Pete Griffin.

Pete talks about the coronavirus pandemic and how the organization connected with staff and donors. Pete answers questions including:

• How did Musicians On Call change the way it communicated with donors at the beginning of the pandemic?

• How did the organization stay connected with staff to make the transition into working through a pandemic less stressful?

• How did the pandemic inform the organization’s donor engagement and communications going forward? And what takeaways can other organizations glean from Musicians On Call’s experience?

In this edition of The Beacon Podcast, Karen Baldwin speaks to David Snow, a senior consultant with Lighthouse Counsel, about endowment development.

David discusses the importance of having an endowment for nonprofit organizations and outlines how to establish and manage endowments to ensure financial stability well into the future. David answers questions about endowment development including:

• What exactly is an endowment? Are there different kinds of endowments?

• How does a nonprofit know when it’s ready to start an endowment?

• How does an organization communicate with donors that endowment giving is a good thing and explain why it’s important?