Meet Angela. When you meet someone with a Harvard PhD in Education Leadership, you settle in because you know innovation and genius are going to collide. And yes it did! We're talking to Dr. Jackson about venture philanthropy (what is it?) and exploring how we can leverage our missions to breakthrough to social entrepreneurs. It's a fascinating discussion about developing innovative technical solutions to help missions partner with big dreamers.

Our websites are the front door of our organizations, but how much effort and time are we spending optimizing them for our donors to fall more in love with our mission and make a gift? In today's world - you can't afford not to make your website irresistible to your donors.

Over the next two weeks we are walking you through 10 quick steps to take your website from 'wah-wah-wah' to 'WOW!' and set you up to raise more money online. Spoiler: it’s not rocket science. But little shifts can make a big difference. Even better, we’re going to unpack this course alongside our buddy Dana Snyder at Positive Equation in a FREE online challenge next month, so tune in for details and scroll down to the Freebies section for all the links!

Meet JD. This serial entrepreneur and big-hearted founder stumbled into founding his company, ThankView, during an attempt to make writing his wedding thank you notes more enjoyable. Today, the sincere personalized video company helps 1,500 nonprofits say thank you through the creative use of video. And as you can imagine, the stories that come with them are incredible. We're talking the power of thank you, and you'll come to see how big JD's heart is and why he's one of our favorite people.

Meet Alphonsine. She may be the world's bravest sister. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, her parents and two siblings were killed in the conflict leaving her to raise three younger siblings under the age of 10. It's a harrowing story of survival, chasing educational dreams and eventually landing her dream job at Cisco. Today, she's talking about paying her good fortune forward through a new nonprofit benefiting Rwandan children, and she's even brought a board member into the discussion. Love and hope reign supreme in this chat.

Getting clear-eyed and full-hearted toward a mission and vision holds the power to fuel your work, gives clarity of when to say "heck yes" and provides an out when you need to give something a hard pass too.

You've likely heard in our podcast intro that our vision is "to create an impact uprising"... but what the heck does that mean anyway? The answer just might surprise you - even if you are a ridiculous idealist, like us.

In this Friday Convo, Jon and Becky give a peek behind the curtain of what's motivating us to show up and cultivate community here, and what's to come on the horizon. You better believe we have a seat ready for you at this table. Won't you join us?

Meet Beth. She knows the textbook approach to conducting campaign feasibility studies of old. But in this conversation she challenges us to throw the old playbook, because our campaigns deserve our fresh eyes and creative minds to improve this planning process. Beth has reimagined the typical feasibility study by not just trying to predict future investments, she's leveraging storytelling in these meetings too (yippee!) to create a more inclusive and collaborative process that pays dividends. We'll break it down in easy steps, so don't miss this convo.

Meet Gabe. He's a founder on a mission since learning the nonprofit sector was facing a generosity crisis. While major donors are pouring into the industry, the rank and file mid-level and lower donors are dropping off. And now Gabe's team is punching back through some seriously innovative and brilliant tech strategy that gives our annual giving programs hope. We're talking about leveraging marketing automation to treat ALL donors like major donors whilst building some seriously rabid fans in the process.

It's your time. Time to step boldly out and embrace the big thinking your mission needs to scale and grow long-term. We're finishing up our final entrepreneurial hacks series with one of our favorite topics: thinking bigger. Fair warning: it requires us to employ cognitive diversity (gosh, we love this expression!). By digging into big problems to debate root causes and solutions, we can eliminate roadblocks and find a clearer path to news successes.

Meet Bill. The self-professed evangelist for strategic philanthropy just may be the godfather of healthcare philanthropy. With more than 30 years under his belt in the development sector, this CEO of San Diego's Sharp HealthCare Foundation wants us to stop talking about being costly and start talking about being profitable. We're talking about the intentionality behind syncing development and strategic plans and celebrating frontline healthcare heroes.

Meet Susan. She is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert who just happens to be the ultimate word weaver. We're talking through the new normal of corporate responsibility (it's no longer nice to have - it's essential!), and she's giving her best advice on networking. Spoiler: there's nothing better you can give someone than connecting them to others. This Girls Who Code and 19th* News adviser and investor took our breath away with her compassion and wisdom. Tune in for uber inspiration!

We get asked a lot how we're able to drop three podcasts a week while running our business and giving our best to our families. There's seriously only solution, and it's batching. Other than batching gifts, we had never heard that term until a couple years ago when we started recognizing the parallels between entrepreneurs and nonprofits, and it is game-changing to staying focused and doing a lot in a short amount of time. Feeling overwhelmed? Overburdened? Whether it's professionally or personally, these simple little life hacks will help you "work in focus." Are you really multitasking or are you just frantically moving back and forth between projects? We're here to help, and naturally, we'll keep it light too.

Meet Lindsay. While the rest of us are scrambling to figure out virtual events, she's been orchestrating them online for years alongside her nonprofits clients. And today she's bringing those tips to the show. She'll be sharing what she believes is the new normal for event fundraising as well as sharing innovative approaches to engagement. If you're looking for virtual event ideas - today is your day. Freebies shared too!

Meet Kim. He's spent his career in university development from University of Arizona and Berkley to Washington University and today at UNLV. He's talking about the future of philanthropy in higher education and trends for the sector - including efforts to encourage universities to embrace the Diversity & Inclusivity in Advancement pledge. It's not just a pledge; it's a call to action. There's a lot to discuss even as he talks through 2021 strategic planning. Tune in!

We get asked a lot how we're able to drop three podcasts a week while running our business and giving our best to our families. There's seriously only solution, and it's batching. Other than batching gifts, we had never heard that term until a couple years ago when we started recognizing the parallels between entrepreneurs and nonprofits, and it is game-changing to staying focused and doing a lot in a short amount of time. Feeling overwhelmed? Overburdened? Whether it's professionally or personally, these simple little life hacks will help you "work in focus." Are you really multitasking or are you just frantically moving back and forth between projects? We're here to help, and naturally, we'll keep it light too.

Meet Dana. This social media expert loves helping nonprofit marketers and organizations cultivate passionate online audiences of donors, partners, and advocates. Your websites and your socials are your storefronts right now. And Dana's diving into how to leverage events on social media and tips to broaden your donor base. This is the social media episode you need to hear.

Meet Nick. This former Make-A-Wish kid knows what it's like to benefit from the nonprofit sector, and now he's paying that gift forward. Nick founded Collidescope, a social media analaytics and measurement software-as-a-service platform allowing global causes, influencers and orgs to collaborate and track their cumulative influence and impact. Hear how a gamer raised more than $250K for a domestic violence shelter. He's talking partnerships between nonprofits & influencers, and we should all be listening.

We know your nonprofit has impact to share, and you've got people and donors who need (and want!) to hear from you... but there just isn't enough time in the day to do it all. We get it, we've been in the trenches - or should we say the constant content grind for years right there with you. This week's episode is a Hail Mary to the nonprofit communication warriors who want to level up their game and dive into a better way to create, share, engage and, sharing and engaging at scale.

Meet Courtney. She's telling her founder's story about the power of leading from a place where focus is always on helping "the one." The Pearl House was founded in 2013 to provide hope for girls in rural Ghana, Africa. By providing physical care, emotional support, spiritual development and life-changing academic/vocational opportunities, they empower these girls like never before. Hear one girl's tear-jerking story of hope of what happened her first moments on campus. We encourage keeping tissues handy.

Meet Susan. She's on a mission to partner with families experiencing homelessness to educate their children and create pathways to success through her organization, Positive Tomorrows. As the only private school in America devoted solely to educating children experiencing homelessness, they’re leading the charge in developing a comprehensive educational system built to bring these students up to a level playing field. But they're also bringing fun and heart too. Tune in and get inspired.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that self-reflection is a healthy, strategic move for all of us. We’ve been exploring this question on the podcast as we learn beside you, because we want to understand how to navigate this brave new world we find ourselves standing in. Over the next 2 weeks, we are highlighting the 10 Greatest Opportunities for Growth in Nonprofits in 2021. We hope they challenge you and your teams to dream big this year - our missions are worth it.