The Charity Charge Show - Nonprofit Podcast

Laura Hope Whitaker took over Extra Special People (ESP) as a college sophomore. The organization had a $125,000 budget, a $50,000 deficit, and a founder who had just passed away from pancreatic cancer. Twenty-one years later, ESP runs a $8 million budget across five communities in Georgia and North Carolina, employs 50 full-time and 200 part-time staff, and operates a social enterprise that employs 85 adults with developmental disabilities.

In this episode of the Charity Charge Show, host Stephen Garten sits down with Laura to talk through what it actually takes to scale a nonprofit, why "nonprofit is just a tax code," and the leadership principles she documents in her new book, The Joy Exchange.

Quick Summary

• ESP serves people with disabilities through afterschool programs, family support, and a social enterprise called JavaJoy.
• Laura took over as a sophomore in college after the founder died, inheriting a deficit and four board members (one of whom was in jail).
• Her core growth framework: treat the nonprofit like a business, know the numbers, and be unapologetic about fundraising.
• Board management is a strategic function, not an obligation. Boards should evolve as the organization evolves.
• Mentorship and continuous learning have been the constant throughout 21 years of leadership.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

Nonprofit leaders often start with a powerful mission and a deep commitment to solving a problem in their community. But many organizations eventually hit a ceiling.

After the initial support from friends, family, and early champions runs out, fundraising can stall. Growth becomes harder. Boards struggle to evolve. And leaders find themselves trying to do more with limited resources.

On this episode of The Charity Charge Show, host Stephen Garten sits down with Rick Peck, an experienced philanthropy advisor and host of the Money to Give Podcast.

Peck has spent more than two decades working in philanthropy, helping organizations improve fundraising strategy, engage donors, and build sustainable nonprofit operations.

Before entering the nonprofit sector, Peck worked as a financial advisor helping individuals plan for retirement, education expenses, insurance needs, and long-term wealth management.

In the early 2000s, a career opportunity at Dartmouth College introduced him to philanthropic advising. The role focused on planned giving and donor relationships with alumni.

Over time, his work expanded into:

• Major gifts fundraising
• Principal gifts of $1M+
• Planned giving strategies
• Development leadership for academic and healthcare institutions

Peck later became Vice President for Development and Philanthropy Services at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, where he worked across a wide range of issue areas including climate change, homelessness, behavioral health, and food security.

Today, he operates as an independent philanthropy consultant helping nonprofits:

• Improve fundraising strategy
• Launch capital campaigns
• Engage donors more effectively
• Structure philanthropic gifts

He also advises donors and professional advisors on how to give strategically.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

Philanthropy often talks about impact. But impact can look very different depending on who holds the power.

On a recent episode of The Charity Charge Show, host Grayson Harris sat down with Amanda Navarro, Executive Director of Convergence Partnership, to discuss how the organization is reshaping how philanthropy works by shifting decision-making power to communities and frontline organizations.

Their approach challenges many traditional grantmaking norms, from eliminating competitive grant applications to replacing written reports with storytelling through podcasts.

Here is a closer look at how Convergence Partnership is working to advance health equity across the United States.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

Youth homelessness is often invisible. It happens quietly, in cars, on couches, in shelters, or on the street, and many young people experiencing it are navigating the challenge alone.

On this episode of the Charity Charge Show, host Grayson Harris speaks with Elisabeth Jackson, CEO of Bridge Over Troubled Waters, an organization that has spent decades supporting homeless and runaway youth in Boston.

The conversation explores the scale of youth homelessness, the services Bridge provides, and how nonprofits can create long-term pathways for young people to move from crisis to stability.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

In this episode, Grayson Harris sits down with Katie Collins-Ihrke, Executive Director of The Arc of Howard County, to discuss the organization’s 65-year legacy of supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the realities of operating in a challenging funding environment, and the importance of mission alignment in nonprofit leadership.

Katie shares how The Arc balances advocacy and direct services, navigates state and federal budget pressures, and builds long-term sustainability while staying rooted in dignity and community inclusion.

About The Arc of Howard County

Part of the broader national network of The Arc, The Arc of Howard County provides:

• Advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Community-based housing and residential support
• Employment assistance and job coaching
• Skill-building and community integration services

The organization supports individuals across approximately 30 properties throughout Howard County, helping people live, work, and participate fully in their communities.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

On this episode of the Charity Charge Show, host Grayson Harris sat down with Teresa Stafford-Wright, CEO of the Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center, to discuss what it really takes to serve survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence, and human trafficking and what it takes to keep those services running.

This is not light work. It is urgent, complex, and deeply human. And it requires more than just good programming. It requires strong operations, honest fundraising, and a community that understands what it actually costs to keep the doors open.

Serving Survivors Since 1974

The Hope and Healing Survivor Resource Center has served Northeast Ohio since 1974.

The organization supports survivors across Summit and Medina Counties with a full spectrum of services, including:

• 24-hour crisis hotline
• Emergency shelter
• Counseling and clinical services
• Court and legal advocacy
• Hospital accompaniment during forensic exams
• Prevention education in schools and community spaces

Every service is free. That is not negotiable.

As Teresa explained, survivors should not have to pay to recover from a crime committed against them. Whether someone calls at 3:00 a.m. or 3:00 p.m., they are met by trained professionals ready to respond through a trauma-informed lens.

This is both crisis response and long-term healing. And it requires serious infrastructure.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

Safe, clean drinking water should be a given. It is not.

On this episode of The Charity Charge Show, host Stephen Garten sits down with Doc Hendley, founder and CEO of Wine to Water, to talk about the real story behind the organization, how it grew from a tip jar at a bar to serving millions of people, and what it takes to lead and scale a mission-driven nonprofit for more than two decades.

Doc does not dress it up. He talks about mistakes, hard lessons, and why most nonprofits stay stuck under $2M in annual revenue. He also lays out what changed when Wine to Water stopped acting like a typical nonprofit and started building diversified revenue streams like a business.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

Nonprofits are often described as mission-driven. But sustaining a mission for more than a century requires more than passion. It demands discipline, evolution, collaboration, and a deep commitment to community.

On this episode of the Charity Charge Show, we sat down with Claudia Aguirre, President and CEO of Baker Ripley, a $700 million nonprofit organization serving the Houston region. What followed was an honest conversation about disruption, scale, funding realities, collaboration, and what it truly takes to build an institution that lasts.

Founded in 1907 by Alice Graham Baker as part of the Settlement House Movement, Baker Ripley was built on proximity to community.

Today, its mission remains clear:

Provide resources, education, and connection to vulnerable communities.

The organization helps neighbors:

• Earn
• Learn
• Belong
• Be well

Through programs including:

• Head Start and early childhood education
• Workforce development
• Immigration services
• Entrepreneurship support
• Youth STEM initiatives
• Senior programs
• Utility and housing assistance

Scale matters here. Baker Ripley operates with:

• $700 million annual budget
• 98% public funding
• $200–300 million in support services annually
• Approximately $15 million in private and foundation funding used largely for innovation

Claudia describes the model this way:

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

Insurance is not glamorous. It is paperwork, premiums, and conversations most nonprofit leaders would rather avoid.

But if you run a nonprofit long enough, you learn a hard truth.

The moment you need insurance is the moment it is too late to start thinking about it.

In this episode of the Charity Charge Show, host Stephen Garten sits down with Pamela Davis, Founder and CEO of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, a nonprofit insurer that serves roughly 26,000 to 27,000 nonprofits across California and 32 additional states. Pamela shares how a graduate school thesis turned into a 35 year mission, why traditional insurance markets fail nonprofits, and what new and small organizations need to know before a claim ever happens.

Episode highlights

Pamela Davis is the founder and CEO of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance, a group of two nonprofit insurers built specifically to serve 501(c)(3)s. One entity insures nonprofits in California and the other insures nonprofits in 32 other states.

Together, the organizations serve about 26,000 to 27,000 nonprofits and have grown to roughly $1 billion in assets.

Stephen and Pamela also dig into the practical side of nonprofit coverage, what to buy first, how underwriting works for small budgets, and why advocacy has become a crucial part of keeping the nonprofit sector insurable.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.

In this episode, we sit down with Louie Nguyen, CEO of Say San Diego, to discuss what it really means to run a nonprofit like a business while staying deeply committed to mission.

Louie shares his journey from institutional investor and impact investing leader to nonprofit CEO, and how that financial discipline is now shaping SAY San Diego’s strategy. The conversation covers revenue diversification, reserve policy design, social enterprise models, mental health innovation, and what responsible risk-taking looks like in the nonprofit sector.

If you are a nonprofit executive, board member, or impact investor thinking about long term sustainability, this episode is worth your time.

About SAY San Diego

Founded in 1971, SAY San Diego has grown from one employee to more than 500 staff members serving approximately 45,000 San Diegans each year.

Key program areas include:

• After school programs serving 4,000 students daily
• Mental health services at 26 school sites
• Support for young mothers from pregnancy through early childhood
• Fatherhood engagement programs
• Community advocacy and education

With annual revenue near $30 million, SAY San Diego operates at a scale most nonprofits never reach.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

• Why nonprofits should aim to generate positive margins
• The importance of unrestricted capital
• How to calculate a true rainy day reserve
• Why holding real estate is not always the best strategy
• How to diversify revenue beyond grants and contracts
• What investment risk looks like inside a nonprofit
• How to structure social enterprise investment opportunities
• Why mental health funding needs long term endowment solutions

Key Topics Covered

1. Transitioning from Finance to Nonprofit Leadership
Louie explains how his background in institutional investing and impact finance shaped his approach to leadership at SAY San Diego.

2. Revenue Diversification in a Volatile Funding Environment
With federal and state funding uncertainty, Louie shares how SAY is building independent, self-sustaining revenue streams.

3. Rethinking Reserves and Asset Allocation
A practical discussion on how CEOs and CFOs should scenario plan, define real operating risk, and segment reserves intentionally.

4. The Boba Wellness Model
A bold social enterprise concept where SAY acquires boba shops that operate as businesses during the day and convert into youth wellness spaces at night.

5. Intellectual Property as a Revenue Strategy
How a community safety initiative evolved into a licensing and IP opportunity that can scale nationally.

6. The Wellspring Initiative
A $2 million mental health endowment designed to fund 1,300 therapy sessions per year in perpetuity for students who need care beyond what school districts cover.

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About Charity Charge

Charity Charge is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to bookkeeping, gift card disbursements, and state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at charitycharge.com.