How do you know your program is working? You know it works and you see it every day. But translating that into evidence that satisfies stakeholders? That's where things get complicated.

In this episode, we dig into peer-reviewed research to understand why impact measurement is so challenging and what works. We explore the five factors that make measurement credible, why starting with purpose beats starting with methods, and how learning-oriented cultures turn data into real decisions. Plus, we use the SIGNALS framework: a seven-step approach for tackling measurement challenges systematically.

Whether you're struggling with funder requirements, drowning in data that doesn't get used, or just looking for a smarter approach, this episode offers research-backed strategies you can apply immediately.

"Collaboration" has become one of the most diluted words in the nonprofit sector. Funders push for it, grant applications require it, and yet most partnerships are coordination at best, administrative burden at worst.

Dr. Priyanka Brunese and Pallavi Gupta of Saath Partners have spent years researching why some cross-sector partnerships create genuine value while others stall out. In this episode, they break down the spectrum from cooperation to true partnership, explain why most nonprofit collaborations get stuck in transactional mode, and introduce the concept of collaborative advantage.

We dig into real examples, including how one homeless shelter built a network of shared-value partnerships that expanded services without expanding budgets. We also get honest about what goes wrong: operational misalignment, power dynamics, and partnership fatigue.

If collaboration has felt like more trouble than it's worth, this episode offers a different path forward.

We talk a lot about best practices in this sector, but what if the better question is: how do we keep getting better?

In this episode, I sit down with Leah Kral— author of Innovation for Social Change: How Wildly Successful Nonprofits Inspire and Deliver Results—to explore how nonprofit organizations can embrace experimentation without big budgets or safety nets.

Leah shares her journey from the for-profit world to the Peace Corps in Jamaica to two decades of helping nonprofit teams think more strategically. We dig into the relationship between scientific thinking and an innovation mindset, why running small experiments beats betting big on a single idea, and how to know when something isn't working.

We also tackle a provocative question: Is innovation actually an ethical obligation for nonprofits? Leah makes the case that staying curious and questioning our assumptions isn't risky. It's due diligence. In fact, as she says, "every nonprofit is a hypothesis."

Whether you're leading an organization or working on the front lines, this conversation will challenge how you think about trying new things.

What does it really mean for a nonprofit to succeed? How do you build trust with funders, and does celebrating wins help as much as we think? In this year-end reflection, I share five research articles that genuinely changed how I think about nonprofit work.

We'll explore why impact is only one piece of organizational health, what transparency does for donor relationships (spoiler: it's not what you'd expect), why radical innovation requires totally different conditions than incremental change, what makes AI in fundraising work, and how identity shapes giving in ways our models often miss.

Whether you're an executive director, development professional, board member, or just someone who cares about making this sector stronger, these insights offer fresh perspective heading into the new year.

As the year winds down and your finance team fields last-minute reports, board meeting materials, and budget questions, it's worth asking: is your organization's relationship with money working?

In this episode, I sit down with Sean Hale, founder of Nonprofit CFOs, to talk about what healthy financial management really looks like. We dig into why year-end is a particularly tough time for nonprofit administrative teams, why sharing bad financial news builds more trust than hiding it, and how visual dashboards can transform a disengaged board into strategic partners.

Sean also challenges some conventional wisdom that caught me off guard- like why a fifth-grade math teacher might make a better treasurer than a CPA, and when running a deficit is actually a sign of smart leadership.

Whether you're prepping for year-end board meetings or rethinking how your team engages with finances heading into the new year, this conversation is full of practical shifts you can make right now.

You send thank-you letters. Your acknowledgements go out like clockwork. But are those thank-yous actually working?

In this episode, we dive deep into the research on donor appreciation- and what we find may surprise you. Thank-you notes are just one tool in your gratitude toolbox, and their effectiveness depends on how you use them. Studies reveal that acknowledgements have the greatest impact on certain donors, that physical letters outperform emails, and that the pathway to repeat giving runs primarily through one pathway.

We explore the four dimensions of stewardship, why some donors prefer private recognition over public acknowledgement, and how to segment your appreciation strategies for maximum impact. Plus, practical implementation tips you can put into action tomorrow.

Is Giving Tuesday worth it, or will your appeal just get lost in the noise?

It may feel like you're competing against thousands of other organizations for a fixed pool of charitable dollars on Giving Tuesday- there's a reason people refer to it as the "nonprofit hunger games." But what if this assumption is wrong?

In this episode, we dive into research that suggests giving days like Giving Tuesday don't simply raise a lot of money- they actually expand the total pool of charitable dollars for all nonprofits. We break down the psychology behind why donors actually give more during crowded giving days, how to leverage the power of coordinated giving to run a successful Giving Tuesday campaign, and what the research means for your year-end strategy.

You know GivingTuesday as this massive global day of generosity. But, alongside leading this movement, GivingTuesday’s research team has been building a powerful data resource for the entire nonprofit sector.

On this episode, we are joined by Samir Khan, Director of Research at GivingTuesday. He shares how their Data Commons is making critical fundraising analysis available for nonprofits of all sizes and, perhaps more importantly, how you can think about using this information in your own nonprofit.

Learn why community-based campaigns may outperform solo efforts, how social media engagement might be just as valuable as immediate donations, and what the data reveals about the true state of generosity in our communities.

What if your donors' most valuable contributions aren't their checks? Research reveals that nonprofits tracking only financial donations could have a blind spot. Other forms of capital- such as social capital, relational capital, and network effects- might actually predict long-term sustainability more than immediate financial donations do.

In this episode, we explore why a donor's social connections might be worth more than their annual gift, how relationship depth drives giving across five distinct tiers, and why organizations investing in social capital are more resilient.

You'll discover how to identify and cultivate multiple forms of capital and practical frameworks for measuring the invisible assets that traditional fundraising metrics can’t measure.

Whether you're a development director, nonprofit executive, or board member, you'll gain evidence-based strategies for building sustainable funding ecosystems that go far beyond traditional fundraising.

Donor-advised funds represent a $250 billion opportunity that's transforming modern philanthropy- and new research shows how nonprofits can prepare to be perfectly positioned to benefit. Drawing from studies including interviews with 48 DAF users and 46 professional fundraisers, this episode offers fundraisers insight into practical strategies you can implement today. Discover why DAF donors increase their giving during recessions, learn to identify the four types of DAF donors, and explore evidence-based approaches that successful organizations are using to build deeper, more resilient donor relationships.