Tips with Salsa

Today we are going to be discussing the importance of having good people at your nonprofit. Anyone’s who’s managed a nonprofit or who has been a board member knows it’s hard to find great employees and often harder to keep them. Unfortunately, that’s the case whether you are a mom-and-pop shop or a $100 million dollar a year operation.

Smaller nonprofits that find stable funding need to grow from a place where the Exec Director wears too many hats and does literally everything to one where she is focused on getting back to the good work she started the nonprofit for. Larger nonprofits look to create specialized positions to help specific programs grow. And just about every organization is trying to figure out whether this remote thing is here to stay or we’ll actually be back in offices on day.

Michelle is President and Owner of Nonprofit Talent, a leading nonprofit executive search firm. Michelle has served in various nonprofit executive roles, is a Pittsburgh Women of Influence Award recipient, a board member of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofits, and a guest lecturer at The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, and various other associations and organizations.

We talk to Geng Wang, Civic Champs CEO and serial entrepreneur, about how Civic Champs got started and what his vision is for the company.  Geng shares his thoughts on how volunteering was affected by the pandemic and where the future of volunteering will be.  We get into how volunteers can be encouraged to make micro-donations - and also discuss how Civic Champs was chosen as  one of 10 companies chosen as a finalist for the Reimagine Charitable Giving challenge.  Join us to learn how Civic Champs is reimagining how organizations engage with their volunteers!

In this episode, we talk with two creative directors about the creative process, the role that "creatives" play in an organization, and how creatives can help nonprofits.

Bart Heird is the Group Creative Director for WebMechanix. Bart’s experience spans digital work from CPG, tourism, government, non-profit, financial services, and wealth management brands to leading creative teams in product and application development. He has extensive experience in brand, loyalty marketing, and direct response digital and created award-winning work for more than 20 years. As the GCD at WebMechanix, he leads the creative team, focussing on data-driven and data-vetted, customer-centered design with an interest in stories that connect. He’s also a former comic, improviser, sailor, huge Batman fan, pirate nerd, and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast.

Gerard (Ger) Tonti is the Creative Director at SalsaLabs. Ger has a background that includes animation, photography, film, fine art, design, and development. He has extensive design experience with corporate branding/identity, nonprofit organizations, education materials, higher education course design, and UX/UI. As Creative Director for SalsaLabs, Ger initiates and designs complex and simple marketing materials, working with the rest of the Salsa Marketing team to ensure that all creative ideas are presented properly and adhere to the Salsa brand. He's also a painter, sculptor, guitarist, film fan, skier, and chess fanatic.

Beth Kanter is an internationally recognized thought leader in digital transformation and wellbeing in the nonprofit workplace. Named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company, she has over three decades of experience in designing and delivering training and capacity-building programs for nonprofits and foundations. As a sought-after keynote speaker and workshop leader, she has presented at nonprofit conferences on every inhabited continent of the world to thousands of nonprofits.

Allison Fine is among the nation’s pre-eminent thinkers and strategists for using technology for social good. She has written and co-authored three books on the subject including The Networked Nonprofit with Beth Kanter. They recently co-authored Unlocking Generosity with Artificial Intelligence funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and released in August 2020. Allison was the chair of the national board of NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, and a founding board member of Civic Hall Labs. She is a lifelong resident of Sleepy Hollow and a proud member of the Westchester Women’s Agenda.

With the inauguration of President Joe Biden, pets were once again welcomed back into the White House. One of Joe and Jill Biden's 2 german shepherds, Major, also represented a first - he is believed to be the first shelter dog to reside in the White House. In this episode, we are going to learn how this small fact grew into a massive event that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for shelter pets.

We are talking with the Delaware Humane Association - the organization that placed Major with the Biden's. Joining us are Daniel Condoluci-Smith, Delaware Humane's Director of Philanthropy, and Cory Topel, the organization's Marketing Manager.

Join us for Tips with Salsa where we discover how today's nonprofit organizations are adapting, succeeding, and thriving.  We talk with nonprofit thought-leaders and organizations about trends, causes, and campaigns.  Everything from new fundraising techniques to surprising and viral campaigns. We will explore quirky and cool ideas for engaging with your supporters along the way!