Welcome to Proof of Impact. In this debut episode, host Elizabeth Kitzenberg lays out the case for why this show exists, and why the nonprofit sector is overdue for a different kind of conversation.

After 20 years working alongside cancer researchers, philanthropists, and nonprofit leaders, Elizabeth has watched brilliant people do world-changing work while being trained to make it sound smaller than it is. This episode is her thesis: that the sector has institutionalized scarcity, mistaken martyrdom for mission, and taught its best leaders to apologize for ambition and that it doesn't have to be this way.

In this episode:

• The fundraising legend who banned the word "charity" from her office and why
• The Harvard philanthropist's "loaded rifle" rule that changed how Elizabeth thinks about the big ask
• Why "donors are just generous" is the most damaging myth in the sector
• The Silicon Valley contrast: when a pitch deck raises $50M, and a working pilot can't get $500K
• A preview of the Minnesota leaders joining the season, including Steve Grove (Star Tribune), Maggie Emery (Protect Minnesota), Matthew Ayers (Joyce Uptown Foodshelf), and Steph March (Salt Cure Fund)

This is a show about nonprofit leaders who are done apologizing, done shrinking the ask, and done treating scarcity like a virtue.

🎙️ Recorded at Picnic Linden Hills in southwest Minneapolis.