Are you aware that everything you ever wanted to know about NEXT LEVEL donor engagement is found in those time-honored lessons learned in kindergarten? We're launching a new Friday series, Kindergarten Principles Build Thriving Nonprofit Cultures. This week we dive into what we can learn from The Golden Rule. We're bringing principles, case study examples, and Pro Tips of how to infuse this in your culture to each discussion, so you know who's implementing this well and who's harnessing innovation to connect with their donors and communities. Join us, and we'll kick it old school🤓 We'll bring the graham crackers!

Meet LaVal. As CEO of South County Outreach based near L.A., it's his goal to transform the organization’s Food Pantry into a place where people who are in short-term crisis situations can feel like they are shopping for nutritious, healthy food in a normal grocery store environment without having to pay. He's sharing the unique way his org pivoted during COVID as well as insights for nonprofit leaders. It's an uplifting conversation about the power of local community and infusing dignity into our mission delivery.

Meet Caroline. She's a Marketer on a Mission, and today she's walking us through how to build a year end campaign. The time is now! She's giving an overview of the year end campaign, then double-clicking on how to design and power one. She's giving tons of creative examples of how to engage, and she's sharing her secret sauce for connecting on social platforms: show up like a friend. Boom! If you haven't framed out your year end campaign yet, there's still time. Tune in🎧

Join Jon and Becky for their final installment of the Young Professionals Series discussing how and why you should be attracting young professionals to your nonprofit. We're diving into the impact-affecting qualities of this GenZ audience, what connects them to purpose, how to build thriving cultures that attract them, and how to stand out with heartfelt benefits that see beyond dollar signs. Our sector is in a season of extreme change, and we see the path toward making it a GREAT change. This is one of the secrets of that sauce.

Meet James. He's the CEO of Pledge, the leading charitable donation platform powering virtual, Livestream, and e-commerce fundraising. Pledge recently created the first Donate button built for Zoom, the first round-up application for Shopify, and today, over 25,000 nonprofits operating in 100 countries have received donations via Pledge. This hard-wired champion of kindness is walking us through the current state of virtual, fundraising and hybrid events and, what it all means for nonprofits in the future. And besides being just about the nicest guy in the room, his story of what Pledge did to save more than 1,300 Afghan refugees is the thing of philanthropic heroics.

Meet Carolyn. She worked in the fashion industry for a decade doing digital strategy, marketing and ops before leaving corporate America to start her own business. Today, this Instagram Strategist teaches others how to leverage the platform while illuminating the incredible relationship-building that happens on IG.

Meet Lynne. Welp, actually, you likely already know her. And not just from the many industry keynotes she undertakes. But also, because Lynne's our first repeat guest in our show's history, and we brought her back to share a little-known story. And it's deeply personal, because it's her mental health story. And some of us may have been on the sidelines as it was unfolding. She wants you to know the signs and know what to say if you or a staff member experience something similar. It's raw and real. Pull up a chair. We think there's much to be learned from this shared experience.

Meet Nneka. She is the author and joint editor of a book featuring first-person narratives of 15 Black fundraisers in the U.S. and Canada. It's a painfully raw glimpse into the harsh realities that still exist for our black fundraiser friends (many of whom you've heard on this podcast). Unwinding systems of power start with sharing story. We hope you'll join us around Mom's Kitchen Table to talk about how to be a Pioneer and Champion of this movement. We need you.

Meet Eleanor and Ashley. One's a nurse and personal coach and the other is an organizational psychologist and educator. Put them together - WOW - they may just be the most powerful mental health team in our sector (and they've got loads of resources to help too.)🤝❤️👊 They're talking us about how to assess, treat, and prevent burnout, and breakdown what it means to have psychological safety. If you're looking for some guidance to help your team or yourself - tune in.

You know Becky. For the most part, she's bubbly, outgoing, happiest when she's juggling a million tasks and never misses an opportunity to effusively love on someone. But there was a season where she was just wasn't any of those things. She was not ok. And the great irony was she was working on a multimillion dollar mental health campaign when she experienced her own mental health collapse. It was scary. It was isolating. It was all too much. And she doesn't want anyone experiencing those feelings alone. She's busting through stigma to share her mental health crisis story, and she's hoping doing it in community will help you recognize symptoms for yourself and others. It's not a sad story. It's an empowering one. Join us🎧

You know Becky. For the most part, she's bubbly, outgoing, happiest when she's juggling a million tasks and never misses an opportunity to effusively love on someone. But there was a season where she was just wasn't any of those things. She was not ok. And the great irony was she was working on a multimillion dollar mental health campaign when she experienced her own mental health collapse. It was scary. It was isolating. It was all too much. And she doesn't want anyone experiencing those feelings alone. She's busting through stigma to share her mental health crisis story, and she's hoping doing it in community will help you recognize symptoms for yourself and others. It's not a sad story. It's an empowering one. Join us🎧

This week's Friday Convos with Young Professionals dives into building a personal career path while navigating those stressful conversations around money, promotions, and difficult conversations. Jon's already sweating this chat around tough conversations like asking for more $$$ (when, how and why you should) and why professional development is crucial to your increased worth. We'll be examining how to find your strengths and passions while intentionally chasing opportunities in the sector. See you Friday🎧

Meet Christina. This digital expert works with all types of nonprofit clients from multi-million dollar organizations to small-but-mighty volunteer-led teams. She’s passionate about empowering nonprofits to step into their expertise, be bold and find their unique voice and audience online. Today, she’s our social media handler and talking through setting goals, tracking metrics, finding your unique digital voice and measuring your success. If you’ve ever had a leader say, “how do we track our social media metrics?” then this is your episode.

Meet Eric. As a pediatric cancer survivor, he's all too familiar with the battle a family faces when their child is diagnosed. And that’s what drove him to start the Roc Solid Foundation building hope for kids fighting cancer by offering opportunities for them to do what they do best – PLAY. Tune in to hear their story, and hear about Eric's goal to inspire people to start businesses based on significance and success. It's an inspiring story of resilience and self-discovery.

We heard plenty of feedback that you liked our new series Friday Convos with Young Professionals, so we're excited to dive into what happens after you've landed the job. It's week two, and we're chatting about What to Do in the First 30 Days on the Job. We're walking through how to connect with volunteers, integrate with the team and instilling habits into your work. So fun having this "do as I say, not as I did" conversation we wished we would've known 20 years ago. 🎧

Meet Amy. She turned a holiday trip into a fundraising challenge, and $17,000 later, everything changed. Today, the Village Impact is unleashing the power of education to transform communities in Kenya, and Amy's dreams are still growing. Her wanderlust for travel and embracing new cultures found its way into her business, and today she's empowering others to find their purpose. She's outlining seven steps to shed self-doubt and chase the thing that pairs your passion with purpose. If you're struggling through your Why right now, this episode is sure to put some fuel in your tank to do good.

Meet Cindy. She's had a heartfelt goal to unlock the potential of small nonprofits through fundraising. Having spent her entire career in fundraising, Cindy knows how to make it accessible to small nonprofits in a way that is mission-enhancing and empowering. Join us as we break down how to set up small shops for success. There are incredible lessons here for orgs of all sizes, and Cindy's even giving tips on using volunteers to make your life easier. We found a growth mindset friend in Canada, and we are here for all she's teaching🙌

We've been wanting to have a heart-to-heart chat with one particular audience in the nonprofit sector, so we decided to turn that convo into a series: Friday Convos with Young Professionals. This week we're kicking off the 4-part series by chatting about Finding and Landing Your First Nonprofit Job. We're walking through internship tips, interview Do's and Dont's, cover letters and resumes, digital networking (LinkedIn here at centerstage!), and how to start building your professional network. It's all the stuff we wish we knew, what we would do differently and how to have your passion stand out from the crowd.

Meet Evan. This starry-eyed dreamer sought to change the world first through politics before pivoting into the nonprofit sector after finding his passion awakened in social service. In five years, his organization built one of the largest and most effective anti-poverty nonprofit communities in the country. Tune in and hear how the Stand Together Foundation viewed poverty as an innovation problem and began to look for solutions in new spaces to unleash human potential. It's a brilliant discussion into innovation, storytelling & they're even giving funding away to high-impact orgs who are breaking cycles and changing lives. You might be one of them!

Meet Aila. She loves molding strong leaders and getting organizations pointed toward success - which means she joins them in the trenches. She's come to know that if leaders enter from a place of humility and ready to learn from everything/everyone, then great partnerships are built from the ground level. We know many leaders are asking now, "How can I lead well during this crazy season of change?" Well, Aila's taking our hand and walking us through the steps to be an in-tune, inspiring leader. BONUS: she's providing tips for rolling out a new vision too.