The Nonprofit Show

By American Nonprofit Academy

The Nonprofit Show is the nation’s daily broadcast for the business side of nonprofits — bringing you practical insights, expert interviews, and real-world strategies to help your o

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The podcast currently has 1,072 episodes available.

Best of The Nonprofit Show

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Number 1: They Were Ready to Donate. . . . Then This Happened!
Send us Fan Mail How can nonprofits improve donation conversion without losing sight of the donor relationship? During Day 3 of Nonprofit Power Week with Bloomerang, Kirsten Wantland examined what happens when someone is ready to give . . and what can still get in the way! Kirsten starts with a deceptively simple move: record how each donation came in. A supporter who has given digitally seven times may respond differently to a direct mail appeal than someone who regularly returns a mailed gift. That history can guide segmentation and help a team decide where a more costly channel deserves its budget. If your records are incomplete, Kirsten says you can begin tracking today and learn as the data builds. Then comes the ask itself. Donors can better picture their contribution when an appeal connects an amount to a clear purpose. Kirsten discusses giving ladders with examples at $50, $75, and $200 . . .and why descriptions beside those amounts matter more than a list of numbers alone. Specificity can reveal which part of the mission first draws a donor in. Over time, fundraisers can introduce that supporter to the organization’s broader work, including opportunities to provide unrestricted support. “The best thing you can do as a fundraiser is reduce the friction,” Kirsten says. The conversation turns to online donation forms, unnecessary decisions, payment options, and the steps that can interrupt a gift after a donor has decided to make it. The episode wraps with trust between appeals. Kirsten recommends showing donors what their support accomplished and making “kindness deposits” through updates and recognition. If the only message a supporter receives is another request for money, the organization misses a chance to build a lasting partnership. Key Takeaways: Record each gift’s channel so future appeals can reflect observed donor behavior. Start tracking now if historical records are incomplete. Connect suggested gift amounts to specific outcomes donors can understand. Use interest in a particular program as an entry point to a broader relationship. Review donation forms for extra decisions and steps that could interrupt completion. Report impact and recognize donor milestones between fundraising asks. 00:00:00 The Ask: Making It Easier to Say Yes 00:01:45 Track How Donors Choose to Give 00:02:47 Segment Appeals by Giving Channel 00:06:05 What If You Haven’t Tracked Gift Sources? 00:08:23 Make the Impact of Each Gift Specific 00:12:37 Specific Asks and Unrestricted Support 00:16:24 Remove Friction from Donation Forms 00:18:45 Give Donors an Easier Way to Pay 00:22:43 Earn Trust and Show the Receipts 00:24:23 Make Kindness Deposits Between Asks 00:26:05 Invite Donors to Participate #TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitPowerWeek #NonprofitFundraising Find us Live daily on YouTube! Find us Live daily on LinkedIn! Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits! 12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: [email protected] Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show
September 23, 202630min
Number 2: The Nonprofit Trust Test: Build Credibility Before the Ask
Send us Fan Mail How do you build donor trust online when supporters can research your nonprofit through websites, rating platforms, social media, and AI? On Day Two of Nonprofit Power Week, Katie Gaston, Director of Product Marketing at Bloomerang, explains how credibility, emotion, and evidence can turn donor consideration into confident action. Katie identifies two very different donor mindsets. One donor feels moved and wants to give immediately. That person needs a fast, friction-free path involving QR codes, mobile payments, and simple donation forms. The second donor studies the organization, reviews its leadership, examines its results, and compares outside sources before making a commitment. Serving both requires more than a compelling mission statement. Katie uses the classic modes of persuasion (ethos, pathos, and logos) to create a clear nonprofit trust strategy. Ethos establishes character and credibility. Pathos connects through emotion and human stories. Logos supplies the numbers and measurable results that support the organization’s claims. “Trust really comes from showing with evidence, not just telling a donor why they should give,” Katie explains. The conversion data makes this an operational issue. According to M+R Benchmarks, fewer than one in 50 website visitors completes a donation. Research cited during the conversation also indicates that impact messaging on a donation form can increase conversion by as much as 25%, while a visible security indicator can increase conversion by as much as 126%. Katie, and host Julia C. Patrick, also explore how inconsistent messaging and mass-produced AI content can weaken authenticity. Donors are already asking AI platforms about nonprofits, making it important to test what those platforms say, examine their sources, and ensure the organization’s website communicates a consistent story. Key Takeaways: Design separate pathways for immediate givers and research-oriented donors. Answer three website questions quickly: What do you do, why does it matter, and how can I help? Combine organizational credibility, emotional storytelling, and measurable results. Add impact messaging and visible security signals to donation pages. Test the website with people outside the organization instead of relying on internal assumptions. Ask AI platforms about your nonprofit and examine which sources shape their answers. 00:00:00 The Nonprofit Trust Test 00:02:19 Two Very Different Types of Donors 00:06:08 Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in Fundraising 00:09:40 Three Questions Every Nonprofit Website Must Answer 00:10:36 Why Most Website Visitors Never Donate 00:11:11 Donation Page Changes That Lift Conversion 00:14:10 Consistency Builds Organizational Trust 00:16:34 When AI Content Weakens Authenticity 00:19:39 Communicating Trust Without Saying “Trust Us” 00:21:26 Test Your Website Instead of Assuming 00:23:45 What AI Is Telling Donors About Your Nonprofit 00:26:21 The Three-Part Trust Framework #DonorTrust #NonprofitFundraising #TheNonprofitShow Find us Live daily on YouTube! Find us Live daily on LinkedIn! Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits! 12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: [email protected] Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show
September 22, 202631min
Number 3: What exactly am I responsible for if my staff is using AI?
Send us Fan Mail AI governance for nonprofits is quickly becoming a management, finance, data security and leadership responsibility . . .not simply an IT conversation! Dr. Stephanie Rose-Belcher of JMT Consulting explains how nonprofit organizations can gain enormous efficiencies of AI without surrendering human judgment, accountability or control of sensitive organizational data. AI can accelerate everything from contracts and presentations to financial analysis and routine administrative work. Stephanie describes tasks that once required hours of formatting becoming dramatically faster with AI. But speed introduces a new business question: . . .who is responsible for the result? Stephanie’s answer is direct: “You are still accountable.” That matters when nonprofit employees begin experimenting independently with free AI tools. A grant manager, fundraiser or finance professional may see an easy way to analyze information without realizing they could also be moving organizational data into an environment leadership has never approved. As Stephanie puts it, AI governance rests on three connected elements: “ . . . people, technology and policy and process.” Organizations need to decide what AI tools are approved, what information may be entered, which uses are acceptable, how outputs will be validated, and where important workflows need to become standardized. The finance implications are especially important. If multiple employees independently create AI processes for the same accounting function, the organization may gain speed while losing consistency, traceability and auditability. AI-powered work still needs controls that allow someone to determine where an answer came from and how it was produced. And smaller nonprofits are not excused because enterprise software costs money. Stephanie recommends establishing an acceptable-use policy defining what information is public, private and confidential—even when the organization cannot yet purchase a secure enterprise AI environment! Key Takeaways: Human accountability remains with the employee and organization using AI. Build AI governance around people, technology and policy—not software alone. Audit how employees are already using AI before assuming you know. Protect donor, financial and organizational data from unauthorized AI use. Standardize important AI-assisted finance processes so results remain repeatable and auditable. Create an acceptable-use policy even when enterprise AI tools are outside the current budget. 00:00:00 — AI Is Already Inside Your Organization 00:02:27 — Who Is Responsible for AI Output? 00:05:36 — Accountability Still Belongs to You 00:08:17 — When Staff Use AI Without a Policy 00:11:26 — People, Technology and Policy 00:16:58 — Protecting Organizational and Donor Data 00:21:23 — Keeping Finance Work Auditable 00:25:39 — What Smaller Nonprofits Can Do Now Find us Live daily on YouTube! Find us Live daily on LinkedIn! Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits! 12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: [email protected] Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show
September 16, 202634min
Number 4: Your Nonprofit Board’s Six-Hour Retreat Won’t Fix This
Send us Fan Mail Nonprofit success planning may be a better fit for today’s volatile operating environment than the traditional three-year strategic plan. Jeffrey Wilcox, President and Chief Learning Curator at Third Sector Company, challenges nonprofit leaders and boards to stop treating planning as an event and start treating it as an ongoing organizational process. “Strategic planning is an antiquated term. What we really are talking about now is success planning,” Jeffrey says. That distinction changes a lot! Instead of organizing a plan around departments, fundraising, programs, governance, and other organizational functions, Jeffrey encourages nonprofits to identify the forces that will either lead them toward (or away from) success. That means defining the achievements the organization actually wants to create, understanding its role within the community ecosystem, listening to stakeholders, examining financing rather than simply fundraising, and being willing to confront uncomfortable organizational truths. Leadership transition becomes part of that strategy. Jeffrey explains why transitional leaders should not be viewed as nonprofit “substitute teachers” keeping operations moving until the next CEO arrives. Their job can be much larger: build organizational capacity, reduce future executive attrition, establish shared truth, challenge assumptions, build stakeholder buy-in, and prepare the runway for the organization’s next leader. “You are the runway. You are not the jet”, he adds. Third Sector Company typically views this intentional transition as roughly a 9-to-14-month process and not a quick executive search. Jeffrey also shares that its Interim Executives Academy has trained 850 nonprofit professionals across 47 states. The larger business lesson is provocative: planning should not end when the strategic plan is finished. Nonprofits operating amid changing funding, public policy, workforce expectations, community needs, and leadership turnover need a management process capable of learning and adjusting as conditions change. Key Takeaways: Shift organizational planning from functions and activities toward the forces that drive success. Define success before hiring the leader expected to deliver it. Treat planning as an ongoing management process—not a completed project. Establish “shared truth” using data, organizational reality, and stakeholder perspectives before choosing direction. Use transitional leadership to build capacity and create a stronger runway for the permanent successor. Expect meaningful leadership transition to require sustained work; Jeffrey describes a roughly 9-to-14-month process. 00:00:00 Rethinking Nonprofit Strategic Planning 00:02:26 The Leadership Succession Problem 00:04:26 Why Traditional Strategic Planning Falls Short 00:07:18 Strategic Planning vs. Success Planning 00:10:35 Better Questions Create Better Strategy 00:13:37 Rethinking Interim Leadership 00:19:08 Building the Transition Team 00:23:55 Leadership Transition as Capacity Building Find us Live daily on YouTube! Find us Live daily on LinkedIn! Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits! 12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: [email protected] Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show
September 14, 202632min
Number 5: Before You Ask for the Gift, Fix the Giving Experience!
Send us Fan Mail A strong year-end fundraising strategy for nonprofits starts long before December—and before you write the first appeal. Melaina Chromy, Sr. Brand Marketing Manager at Bloomerang, explains how nonprofit teams can improve the donor journey, reduce giving friction, coordinate campaign channels, and prepare now for stronger year-end results. One of the first assignments is surprisingly simple: make a donation to your own organization! How many clicks does it take? Is the form easy to use on a phone? Does the donor immediately understand what their gift will accomplish? Can someone move naturally from a direct-mail appeal or email to the online giving page? As Melaina explains, “You have more flexibility when you don’t cram things down to the wire.” That means September is the time to establish the campaign goal, choose the central story, identify the audiences and channels, test the giving process, and get vendors such as printers and mail services on the calendar. October becomes production and refinement time rather than panic time. The conversation also challenges nonprofits to stop separating “traditional” and “digital” donors. Direct mail can lead directly to an online form through a QR code. Digital wallets matter beyond Gen Z. And donors increasingly expect giving to work with the same ease they experience when paying for everything else online. Then comes the part many organizations overlook: what happens after December 31? Melaina cites first-time donor retention at roughly 25% . . .a sobering reminder that acquisition without a follow-up strategy creates an expensive revolving door! Prompt thanks, impact reporting, and a clear first-time donor communication plan should therefore be designed before the year-end campaign even launches. GivingTuesday also does not need to become an entirely separate production. Melaina recommends using it as another opportunity to reinforce the same year-end story and campaign goal. Key Takeaways: Audit the complete giving journey before launching the campaign. Reduce clicks, mobile friction, and uncertainty on donation pages. Use previous campaign data to determine where donors actually respond. Build one cohesive story across mail, email, social, QR codes, and donation forms. Treat GivingTuesday as a reinforcement point rather than an automatic second campaign. Plan first-time donor thanks, retention, and impact reporting before December. 00:00:00 Year-End Fundraising Starts Now 00:02:21 Inside Bloomerang’s Giving Platform 00:05:43 Is It Too Late to Prepare? 00:06:16 Test Your Own Donation Experience 00:08:38 Connecting Direct Mail and Digital Giving 00:10:38 Find the Story Behind the Appeal 00:13:18 Reflecting Donor Identity in Fundraising 00:15:04 Let Campaign Data Choose Your Channels 00:19:04 The September-to-November Campaign Timeline 00:21:05 Campaign Cohesion Builds Donor Trust 00:22:22 Rethinking GivingTuesday 00:23:53 The 25% First-Time Donor Retention Problem 00:27:51 Can Your Technology Measure Retention? #NonprofitFundraising #YearEndFundraising #TheNonprofitShow Find us Live daily on YouTube! Find us Live daily on LinkedIn! Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits! 12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: [email protected] Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show
September 09, 202631min