The Nonprofit Lab

Community-Centric Fundraising is challenging some of the nonprofit sector’s most deeply held assumptions about donors, power, and who fundraising should ultimately serve. Marcus Cunningham joins The Nonprofit Lab to explore what CCF looks like in practice, where donor-centric fundraising can cause harm, and whether a more community-centered approach can survive the financial realities nonprofits face today.

Creative technologist, artist, and archivist Adrian Jones joins The Nonprofit Lab to explore how technology can help communities preserve history, reclaim overlooked stories, and see the places around them differently. From tracing his own ancestry to building Looking Glass with augmented reality, Adrian shares lessons on memory, tinkering, persistence, radical giving, and why nonprofit leaders need to protect human judgment in the age of AI.

Nonprofit leaders are surrounded by more tools, technology, and advice than ever, but are we skipping the fundamentals? Meghan Speer, Executive Director of Nonprofit Hub, joins The Nonprofit Lab to explore what nonprofit leaders actually need to build stronger, more sustainable organizations, from fundraising and storytelling to leadership, community, and the foundational skills that keep good going.

What if fundraising was less about individual transactions and more about belonging? Grapevine founder and CEO Emily Rasmussen joins to explore the power of giving circles and what nonprofits can learn from collective giving. She breaks down how community, collaboration, and donor agency can deepen relationships, strengthen retention, and turn generosity into something people experience together.

What makes nonprofit leaders think differently?

We sit down with Cherian Koshy, author of NeuroGiving⁠, to explore the neuroscience behind nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and generosity.

They unpack how the brain responds to giving, why nonprofit leaders are wired to navigate unique pressures, and how understanding human behavior can help organizations become more effective fundraisers and leaders.

If you work in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, or philanthropy, this conversation offers a science-backed look at what drives people to give, and how to put those insights into practice.

After September 11th, David Paine and Jay Winuk had an idea: transform a day of tragedy into one defined by service. Nearly 25 years later, 9/11 Day has become one of America’s largest day of service, engaging tens of millions of people and helping establish September 11th as a federally recognized National Day of Service. David and Jay share the personal story behind the movement, the long road from an idea to federal legislation, how they built a sustainable model with nonprofits, businesses, and government, and what 25 years have taught them about service, unity, and our shared humanity.

How do you modernize digital fundraising at one of America’s largest and most recognized nonprofits while staying true to a mission that’s endured for more than 160 years? In this episode, Rupert Schutz, Director of Digital Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, shares lessons from leading digital transformation across a nationwide network of local organizations.

From donor experience, stewardship, and A/B testing to AI, data strategy, and building trust with supporters, Rupert offers practical insights into what it takes to drive innovation, improve fundraising performance, and prepare nonprofit organizations for the future.

What does it take to build a nonprofit that creates lasting impact? Linda Latkso Lockhart, founder of Global Give Back Circle, shares lessons from more than 20 years of empowering women and girls across East Africa through mentorship, education, leadership development, and economic opportunity. We explore nonprofit sustainability, fundraising, corporate partnerships, donor stewardship, long-term strategy, and why transformational change requires thinking in decades.

What makes someone trust a nonprofit enough to give? Javan Van Gronigen, Founder at  Donately, joins the show to explore the future of digital fundraising through the lenses of trust, storytelling, design, donor psychology, AI, recurring giving, campaign strategy, and what nonprofits must do to inspire generosity in an increasingly crowded and skeptical digital world.

Dino Verrelli, founder and CEO of Project Purple, shares how his father’s battle with pancreatic cancer became the catalyst for building an organization dedicated to funding research, supporting patients, and helping families facing one of the most devastating diseases in the world. He talks about turning personal loss into purpose, what it took to grow Project Purple from the ground up, why trust and transparency matter so much in fundraising, and how a disciplined, business-minded approach can help nonprofits build lasting impact.