The Nonprofit Show
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 organization run smarter, lead stronger, and fund better.Each weekday, our co-hosts and guests break down the most current topics in fundraising, board governance, leadership, staffing, technology, communications, and financial strategy — giving nonprofit professionals the tools they need to build sustainable, high-performing organizations.With more than 1,500 episodes and growing, our on-demand library is a trusted resource for executive directors, team members, fundraisers, board members, and sector leaders who are ready to move beyond inspir...
Your Accountant May Be Holding You Back!
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When should a nonprofit change its accounting partner? Accurate books matter. Timely financial statements matter. But there’s an important distinction: “Timely and accurate financial reports… [are] a great starting point, but it’s not the finish line.”!
Andrew Miller, Director at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), explains the warning signs that indicate your finance relationship may no longer be giving leadership the insight, collaboration, and strategic support the organization needs. A strong nonprofit accounting partner should help leaders understand what the numbers mean and how those numbers affect programs, grants, sustainability, staffing, an...
Before Buying Nonprofit Software: 5 Questions to Ask
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Considering new nonprofit software? Before signing a contract, scheduling implementation, or sitting through another impressive demo, there are 5 business questions your organization should answer first. Christine Chacko of Your Part-Time Controller explains how nonprofits can make smarter technology decisions while avoiding expensive fixes to the wrong problem. . . .A reporting problem doesn’t automatically mean you have a software problem!
Christine, a CPA with both accounting and technology experience, sees nonprofits wrestling with accounting systems, CRMs, payroll platforms, integrations, data, and reporting. Her first advice is refreshingly simple: diagnose the business need be...
5 Questions Nonprofit Leaders Should Ask Their Finance Team
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What questions should nonprofit leaders ask their finance team? Barbara Enright, Director and Market Leader with Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), shares five deceptively simple questions that can turn nonprofit financial reporting into a far more strategic management tool!
A financial statement may contain plenty of numbers . . . .but are they complete, final, reconciled and ready for leaders to act on? Barbara begins with the wonderfully uncomfortable question: Can we trust the numbers? She explains why preliminary figures matter, including one organization where an uncollectible pledge turned what appeared to be a surplus...
Nonprofits and AI: 92% Are Using It, But Only 7% Use It Well
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Nonprofits are adopting AI fast, but governance, data controls and human judgment determine whether experimentation becomes real organizational value. AI governance is becoming a business necessity as organizations move rapidly from experimenting with AI to using it throughout finance, fundraising, communications, and operations. But adoption is racing ahead of strategy and that creates a very different challenge for nonprofit leaders!
Patricia Bueso, Client Services Technology Adoption Manager at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), joined us during Nonprofit Power Week to explain how nonprofits can turn AI experimentation into trusted organizational capability.
5 Financial Red Flags Your Nonprofit Board Can’t Ignore
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Nonprofit financial red flags can appear long before a financial crisis, and boards need to know exactly what they’re looking for. Deanna Peterson, Director at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), identifies five important warning signs nonprofit leaders can build directly into board financial oversight.
During this special Nonprofit Power Week conversation, Deanna turns nonprofit finance from something reserved for “the finance people” into a management and governance discipline everyone around the board table can understand.
Start with recurring deficits. A planned deficit associated with a strategic investment may ma...
Foundations Won’t Like This Conversation
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Donor control in nonprofit funding can shape far more than a grant. It can influence what nonprofits pursue, how they operate, and even what community needs get addressed! Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich joined us for a candid examination of why big giving can fall short and what nonprofit leaders can do about it.
Glen is the author of ‘CONTROL: Why Big Giving Falls Short’ and CEO of the Stupski Foundation, which is spending down its assets and plans to return all its resources to communities by the end of 20...
Planned Giving for Small Nonprofits: 3 Simple Steps To Start
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Planned giving for small nonprofits doesn't have to require a huge budget, sophisticated technology, or months of preparation. Tony Martignetti, author of ‘Planned Giving Accelerated’, says a nonprofit can launch planned giving in just one week by identifying the right donors, starting with gifts in wills, and having the first conversation.
His advice starts with simplicity.
Tony says gifts in wills, also known as charitable bequests, should be the starting point for small and midsized nonprofits. He estimates they can represent at least 75% of planned gifts, and says...
Nonprofit Finance Automation: Build a Smarter, Leaner Finance Team
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Nonprofit finance automation is changing more than accounting. It’s reshaping staffing, security, leadership, and how information moves throughout an organization! Brad Powell of BILL and Buu-Linh Tran, CPA, of JMT Consulting explore what the modern nonprofit finance team is becoming and why leaders may need to rethink far more than their software.
Automation across accounts payable, accounts receivable, expense management, and financial workflows can remove repetitive work while giving employees faster access to the information they need. Buu-Linh describes how AI is beginning to let non-finance staff ask ordinary-language questions ab...
The Fundraising Skill Nobody Teaches You
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How do you build fundraising confidence when donor conversations, major asks, metrics, and the possibility of hearing “no” are part of the job? Fundraising confidence is a professional skill, and our cohosts explain why preparation and practice can make that skill stronger.
On this Fundraisers Friday edition of The Nonprofit Show, Tony Beall and Julia C. Patrick explore what separates confident nonprofit fundraisers from those who hesitate when the conversation gets difficult.
“Confidence is a skill and like any skill, you have to practice it in order to perfect it,” T...
Stop Treating Your Donors Like Donors!
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Nonprofit donor segmentation strategy may matter far more than most fundraising teams realize. New donor behavior research reveals that geography, household income, gender, trust, and communication preferences can dramatically change what motivates someone to give!
Mary Crogan, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Bloomerang, returns with a deeper look at Bloomerang's ‘Giving Signals’ research with The Harris Poll. The original study surveyed more than 1,000 donors and several hundred fundraisers, then examined donor responses across demographic groups rather than treating supporters as one giant audience. The result challenges one of fund...
Your Nonprofit CEO Will Leave. Are You Actually Ready?
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Nonprofit leadership transition planning should begin long before an executive announces a departure! Erin Rodenbiker and Joan Brown of Third Sector Company explain why professional interim leadership can help nonprofits protect mission continuity, strengthen operations, and prepare for a better permanent hire.
For many nonprofit boards, “interim” still sounds like emergency management — somebody brought in because something went wrong. Joan challenges that assumption with three remarkably simple words: “Everybody leaves.” Leadership transition is not a possibility to avoid discussing. It is an eventual organizational reality worth planning for. Instead of scrambling...
Want the C-Suite? Stop Thinking Like “Just” a Fundraiser
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How do fundraisers become nonprofit leaders? Moving from development into executive leadership takes more than raising money—it requires understanding the entire business of the nonprofit and becoming someone who can lead across departments, relationships, strategy, and mission.
On this Fundraisers Friday edition, co-hosts Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall examine how nonprofit professionals can deliberately increase their professional value and prepare themselves for broader leadership.
Tony begins by pointing to one major advantage many development professionals already possess: relationships. Fundraisers work with donors, boards, community leaders, staff, and supp...
Changing 115,000 Lives: This Is What They Learned
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How do you scale a nonprofit internationally without imposing outside assumptions on the people and communities you serve? John Molineux, founder and CEO of Love Justice International, shares a global nonprofit operating model built around local leadership, measurable impact, technology, and organizational humility.
Love Justice International works to prevent human trafficking at the moment when a person is in transit but has not yet been exploited. Through a strategy known as transit monitoring, locally led teams identify warning signs at bus stations, train stations, airports, and border crossings.
The or...
Equity That Survives Pressure, Politics, and Budget Cuts
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A Nonprofit’s equity strategy becomes meaningful when it changes how an organization budgets, hires, evaluates performance, develops policy, and serves its community. Bernardo J. Ruiz of Bridging International explains how to embed equity in nonprofit operations amid political pressure, funding risk, and organizational fatigue. This fresh conversation offers a clear operating principle: lasting equity requires leadership courage, adequate resources, assigned ownership, and measurable institutional change!
Many nonprofits have issued statements, held training sessions, and hosted thoughtful conversations. But Bernardo warns that these efforts can fade when no one owns the imp...
How to Make Your Nonprofit 'Investable'
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How do you make a nonprofit ‘investable’ to today’s philanthropic donors? Carol Wick, president of Sharity, explains how stronger planning, financial discipline, outcome measurement, and revenue strategy can help nonprofits attract larger, longer-term investments.
Traditional fundraising often sits apart from operations. Carol argues that this separation leaves organizations chasing gifts without building the infrastructure donors increasingly expect. Drawing on 40 years in the sector and Sharity’s work across 37 countries, she outlines five elements that help philanthropic investors—and boards—feel confident: a functional business plan, a multiyear budget, the right team, measur...
Corporate Partnerships for Nonprofits: Beyond the Check
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Corporate sponsorship strategy for nonprofits should begin with mission alignment, not a funding request! Michael Medoro, Chief Operating Officer of Childhelp, explains how nonprofits can attract, retain, and grow corporate partnerships by treating sponsors as long-term investors in measurable community impact.
Childhelp has operated for 67 years and delivers programs ranging from the National Child Abuse Hotline to prevention education, residential treatment, foster care, adoption services, and multidisciplinary advocacy centers. Its hotline serves every U.S. state, Canada, Guam, and U.S. territories 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Its prevention curriculum re...
The Personal Story That Changed Foster Care Adoption
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Corporate philanthropy for foster care adoption becomes more powerful when personal conviction, business systems, and measurable outcomes work together!
Denny Lynch, author of Call Me Dave, and Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, share how Dave Thomas turned his own adoption story into a lasting model for corporate-nonprofit impact.
This fascinating discussion explores founder legacy, cause alignment, franchise engagement, program design, capacity constraints, and the responsibility successful businesses have to give back. It is a powerful example of how one leader’s pe...
Leadership Through Uncertainty: When Nonprofits Face Constant Pressure
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Nonprofit leadership through uncertainty requires a clear mission, an adaptable operating strategy, and the ability to look beyond the crisis immediately in front of you. Brian Wenke, Executive Director of It Gets Better, shares how the organization is evolving its storytelling, digital engagement, grantmaking, and youth leadership strategies.
It Gets Better began in 2010 as a social media response to a devastating crisis affecting LGBTQ+ young people. Sixteen years and more than 70,000 shared stories later, the organization now reaches beyond storytelling through grantmaking, leadership development, civic engagement, and partnerships involving y...
Nonprofit Layoffs Without the Drama or Damage
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Nonprofit workforce reduction planning requires far more than identifying positions and announcing layoffs. Casey Williams of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore explains how nonprofit leaders can restructure responsibly, reduce organizational risk, and preserve dignity throughout an extraordinarily difficult business decision.
The process begins by defining the problem the organization is trying to solve. Is the nonprofit closing a program, reducing its budget by $1 million, responding to repeated deficits, or changing its operating model? Casey advises leaders to document that objective before discussing individual employees.
“A reorganization is about solving a business pr...
Nonprofit Financial Planning for Constant Change
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Nonprofit financial planning for constant change requires more than approving an annual budget and revisiting it months later. Taylor MacDonald, CEO of Martus, and Dan Holcomb of JMT Consulting explain how nonprofits can use scenario planning, rolling forecasts, cash flow visibility, and organizational collaboration to make stronger financial decisions.
Economic uncertainty, changing donor behavior, workforce shortages, inflation, delayed grants, and global disruptions can quickly make a fixed budget obsolete. As Taylor says, “The challenge isn’t any one event. It’s the frequency of change.”
The answer is not predicti...
Nearly 2 Million Nonprofits: How Do Donors Decide?
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Behavioral science for nonprofit fundraising reveals why good intentions do not always become donations and how nonprofits can design a donor experience that makes giving easier, more confident, and more rewarding. Eleni Fischer and Julia Toffoli of ideas42 share research-informed strategies for reducing donor friction without manufacturing or manipulating generosity.
Donors operate in an increasingly crowded environment filled with emails, text messages, online appeals, giving platforms, and nearly two million registered U.S. nonprofits. Even people who genuinely want to give can become overwhelmed by competing choices, limited attention, unclear information...
What Happens When Philanthropy Starts Building Businesses?
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Philanthropy can strengthen communities by investing not only in nonprofit programs, but also in the entrepreneurs, business-support organizations, and local infrastructure that drives economic mobility. How philanthropy supports small business growth is becoming a key question for foundations, nonprofit leaders, and communities seeking stronger local economies. Wafa Dinaro, Executive Director of the New Economy Initiative, explains how philanthropic capital can help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses, create jobs, and strengthen neighborhoods.
Founded in 2007 with an initial $100 million philanthropic commitment, the New Economy Initiative was designed to help diversify Southeast Michigan’s economy. Ne...
Is Fundraising Now a Data Job? Metrics, Ethics, and Donor Trust
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Data-driven nonprofit fundraising can strengthen donor retention, improve communications, and support better decisions—but the numbers can’t replace human judgment! In this Fundraisers Friday conversation, Julia Patrick and Tony Beall explore how nonprofit teams can use donor data, CRM systems, and artificial intelligence without losing the relationships that inspire generosity.
Fundraisers now have access to an enormous range of information: giving frequency, donor lifetime value, campaign results, email engagement, event attendance, volunteer history, budgets, and predictive analytics. The challenge is not simply collecting more data. It is deciding which information deser...
Governance Before Gadgets! AI Strategy for Nonprofit Leaders
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AI strategy for nonprofit leaders is no longer a future-planning exercise. AI is already influencing fundraising decisions, staff workflows, donor research, website visibility, and how prospective supporters evaluate nonprofit organizations.
Darren Richards, Founder and Director of Charity AI Partners, explains why the central AI issue is not choosing the newest tool. It is exercising sound leadership judgment.
“The tools aren’t the problem,” Darren tells us. “The issue is where you do and don’t use it. Where are the red lines?”
Darren introduces three ways nonprofits c...
Why Nonprofits Lose Momentum: 8 Systems That Drive Results
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Why do nonprofits lose momentum after creating an inspiring vision or strategic plan? Doug Paul, Founder and CEO of Impact Co., explains how nonprofit operational systems, leadership clarity, performance measures, and consistent workplace rhythms turn ambition into measurable results.
After working with approximately 1,300 nonprofit organizations, Doug and his colleagues studied the organizations that were consistently succeeding. They identified eight connected areas that distinguished them: vision, strategy, development, metrics, culture, people, systems, and rhythms.
The central lesson is direct: “Nonprofits don’t rise to the level of their vision. They fall...
The Quiet DEI Shift Happening Inside Nonprofit Hiring
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As DEI language changes across states, workplaces, and political environments, nonprofit leaders face a pressing operational question: Can the terminology change without weakening the mission? Staffing expert Katie Warnock examines what this means for recruitment, representation, board leadership, and organizational decision-making, and sharing what nonprofit hiring managers are encountering on the front lines of recruitment.
Katie has spent 20 years placing professionals throughout the nonprofit and charter school sectors—from development assistants and grant writers to finance staff and interim executive directors. She explains why employers must translate their desire for representation in...
Your Nonprofit Was Built on Hope—So Where Did It Go?
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How can nonprofits overcome a scarcity mindset when financial pressure, staffing challenges, and uncertainty dominate the conversation? Jeffrey R. Wilcox of Third Sector Company explains how leaders can move their organizations from survival mode toward community equity, organizational possibility, and renewed hope.
Scarcity is not simply the absence of money. It can become a preoccupation that narrows decision-making, weakens confidence, and causes nonprofit teams to overlook the assets already within reach.
Jeffrey describes the difference between a financed nonprofit and a truly resourced nonprofit. A resourced organization draws strength...
Your Donors Aren’t Tired of You. . . .They’re Tired of This.
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How often should nonprofits ask for donations without exhausting their supporters? This Fundraisers Friday conversation offers a sharper way to evaluate donor communication frequency, campaign volume, stewardship, segmentation, and the messages being sent between solicitations!
Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall challenge a common assumption: frequent communication is not automatically the problem. Tony tells us, “It’s not really that you’re communicating too much. It’s just that what you’re communicating is redundant.”
That distinction matters as nonprofit teams plan GivingTuesday, year-end fundraising, direct mail, email campaigns, social media...
The Mid-Level Donor Strategy Nonprofits Keep Missing
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Mid-level donor strategy for nonprofits is no longer just a fundraising “nice to have.” It is becoming one of the most important business tools for building stronger major donor pipelines, improving donor retention, and making better decisions from the data already sitting inside your CRM.
In this episode, Kirsten Wantland, Principal Industry Strategist at Bloomerang, joins Julia Patrick for a lively conversation about the “magic” of mid and major donors—and why that magic depends on structure, ownership, visibility, and disciplined relationship management.
Kirsten points to a critical t...
Future-Ready Nonprofits Need More Than a Strategic Plan
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Nonprofit strategic planning software is changing how leaders, boards, and fundraisers build plans that actually guide decisions. Sophia Shaw, co-founder of Plan Perfect, explains why the old “plan on a shelf” model no longer fits the business of nonprofits.
Sophia brings deep sector experience as former CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden, former leader of the nonprofit board governance program at Kellogg, and a nonprofit board chair. Her message is direct: strategic planning needs to live, move, and help organizations navigate change.
In this conversation, Sophia explains how...
The 3-to-6 PM Blueprint That Can Transform a Community
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How can nonprofits build community support for after-school programs while creating measurable value for children, families, funders, and local leaders? JonPaul Reed, founder and executive director of Pure Momentum Group and founder of Athlete University, shares how the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. can become a powerful platform for youth development and stronger communities.
The school day may end before parents finish working, but JonPaul sees that gap as much more than a supervision problem. It is an opportunity to build work ethic, decision-making, teamwork, leadership, communication skills, and what he...
The Newest Leadership Training Through Role Play: What Nonprofit Teams Learn
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Nonprofit leadership training through role play offers teams a different way to confront difficult decisions, build trust, and retain what they learn. Tim Sarrantonio, founder and chief designer of The Generosity Spectrum, introduces a collaborative educational gaming system created specifically for nonprofit professionals, boards, and the communities they serve.
Rather than asking participants to sit through another lecture, the Generosity Roundtable places people inside realistic organizational situations. Players adopt generosity archetypes, explore competing priorities, and work toward consensus through guided storytelling.
Tim says the goal is simple: “If...
How Many Auction Items Does Your Nonprofit Gala Really Need?
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How many auction items should a nonprofit gala have? Jason A. Champion of Winspire shares a measurable nonprofit gala auction strategy for selecting stronger items, creating bidding urgency, and protecting fundraising revenue.
The answer begins before guests enter the ballroom. Rather than assuming which trips, experiences, or packages donors will want, Jason recommends surveying ticket holders, sponsors, and supporters before the event. A simple five-question form can reveal interest in sporting events, beach destinations, city experiences, international travel, and dream locations.
That early input gives nonprofits something invaluable: evidence...
Do Less to Achieve More? The Hidden Costs Draining Your Nonprofit’s Revenue
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Nonprofit revenue growth requires more than another campaign, gala, or grant application. John Abrahamson, CFO and COO of Action Council, shares how nonprofits can connect earned revenue, contributed revenue, program priorities, financial literacy, and organizational culture within one stronger business strategy.
Action Council provides infrastructure and fiscal sponsorship for approximately 30 smaller organizations delivering healthcare, education, and other community services in Monterey County. Drawing from this work—and his leadership experience with organizations including the National Geographic Society and Monterey Bay Aquarium—John challenges the siloed approach that often separates finance, fundraising, prog...
Your Major Donor Chose Another Nonprofit—What Did You Miss?
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What happens when one of your best donors gives far more to another nonprofit? These major donor stewardship strategies can help your organization move beyond frustration, learn what influenced the gift, and build stronger opportunities for future investment.
On this Fundraisers Friday conversation, Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall confront a painful fundraising reality: a donor may care about your mission, possess considerable giving capacity, and still make their transformational or legacy gift somewhere else!
The wrong response is indignation. The stronger business response is curiosity, gratitude, and an...
Where AI Actually Saves Nonprofits Time
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How AI saves time for nonprofits depends far less on the excitement surrounding the technology and far more on the quality of the organization’s data, workflows, and financial controls. Buu-Linh Tran, Senior Vice President of Financial Solutions at JMT Consulting, and Torbjorn Nilsen, Director of Business Solutions at DATABASICS, explain where AI can deliver measurable value—and where nonprofit leaders should proceed carefully.
The conversation moves beyond broad promises about efficiency and into the daily work of nonprofit finance operations. Data entry, receipt review, expense coding, compliance checks, anomaly detection, and...
Beyond Wealth Screening: Who Will Really Fund Your Nonprofit?
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Nonprofit prospect research beyond wealth screening requires more than locating wealthy people. It means finding funders with the capacity, mission alignment, and relationship connections that can lead to a credible fundraising conversation.
Shahar Brukner, Co-Founder, President, and CRO of Impala Digital, explains why traditional nonprofit wealth screening often leaves development teams with plenty of data—but no clear path to a donor.
Shahar organizes effective prospect research around three business priorities: capacity, alignment, and relationships. A prospective donor may possess enormous wealth, but that does not mean the person su...
The State of the Nonprofit Sector 2026: America’s Safety Net
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What is the state of the nonprofit sector in 2026—and can organizations sustain rising demand while protecting their workforce, leadership pipeline, and financial strength? Dr. Akilah Watkins, President and CEO of Independent Sector, joins us for a far-reaching conversation about the business conditions shaping America’s 1.9 million charitable nonprofits.
Nonprofits continue to hold one of the strongest positions of public trust among American institutions. Dr. Watkins reports that 57% of Americans express very high or favorable trust toward nonprofits. Yet that confidence exists alongside increasing pressure: weakened public safety nets, a more diff...
Can AI Find Your Nonprofit—or Are Donors Missing You?
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How nonprofits can improve AI visibility is quickly becoming a fundraising and revenue question—not merely a marketing concern. As donors increasingly use AI search tools and workplace-giving platforms to decide which organizations to support, nonprofits must ensure their mission, impact, financial credibility, and organizational information can be found and understood.
Catherine LaCour, CEO and Executive Director of the Blackbaud Giving Fund, joins The Nonprofit Show to explain how donor discovery is changing and what nonprofit leaders should do now.
The Blackbaud Giving Fund has distributed nearly $3 billion since 2020 to...
The CEO Who Won't Fundraise: A Risky Gap in Leadership
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Nonprofit CEO fundraising responsibility is not optional when fiscal health, donor relationships, and organizational sustainability are on the line. In this Fundraisers Friday episode, Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall take on a tough leadership question: what happens when a nonprofit CEO won’t fundraise?
This conversation goes straight to the business of nonprofits. Tony makes the case that even if a CEO is not making daily asks, every CEO carries responsibility for the organization’s financial health. As he puts it, “I can’t imagine there is a job desc...
