Successful Nonprofits Podcast

If you are a CEO responsible for moving your mission forward in a polarized environment, this conversation will sharpen how you lead.
Your ability to communicate with people who don't share your or your nonprofit's values and views can determine whether your organization gains traction or stalls out.
In this episode, I speak with consultant and former executive director Chandra Brown about how leaders choose words and framing that build alignment with board members, donors, policymakers, and community stakeholders. You'll hear a real-world example of a messaging misstep that backfired and what it reveals about how different audiences interpret the same issue.
You'll walk away with practical ways to communicate across political divides without compromising your values.
This episode answers the following questions:
How do executive directors communicate with stakeholders who disagree with them?
How can I get board members or donors to support an issue they're skeptical about?
What's the best way to talk about controversial issues without alienating my supporters?
How do I build alignment across my nonprofit's politically divided constituencies?
How do I prepare for conversations with policymakers who oppose my position?
Links mentioned in this episode:
Influence Advocacy (Chandra Brown). Influence Advocacy and Chandra can give your issue a helping hand using data driven strategies that support your issue campaigns.

Can one board retreat turn reluctant board members into fundraising superstars? Anyone promising that is selling something they cannot deliver. But a well-designed retreat can still move board fundraising forward.
In this episode, I explain how to diagnose the real barriers first, then share six practical retreat activities that can help a board align expectations, understand its fundraising options, practice useful skills, map its networks, and make specific commitments. I also outline the post-retreat work that turns your board members' commitments into results.
This episode answers the following questions:
Can a board retreat actually get board members to fundraise?
Why is my nonprofit board not engaged in fundraising?
What fundraising activities can we use at a board retreat?
How do we set and enforce fundraising expectations for board members?
What should staff and board leadership do after a fundraising retreat?
Links mentioned in this episode:
Bring Dolph into your next board retreat. I design and facilitate board retreats that are interactive, practical, and built around the board's real barriers. Retreat topics can include fundraising, governance, board evaluation, planning the board's work, crisis or contingency planning, and strategic planning. To discuss your next retreat, reach out to me at successfulnonprofits.com.

What recurring tasks does each person on your team actually own?
It's almost impossible to remember everything a team member is responsible for, and a job description usually won't tell you. When that information lives only in someone's head, onboarding gets harder, performance conversations get murkier, and an employee departure can create unnecessary chaos.
In this episode, I share my simple, one-tab staff task checklist I use when leading nonprofit teams. It documents each position's recurring work and how often it needs to happen. It also becomes a practical tool for interviewing candidates, onboarding new employees, managing performance, cross-training staff, reviewing job descriptions, and being ready for staff departures.
You'll also learn how this simple exercise can expose tasks only one person knows how to do, processes that still lack documentation, and responsibilities that have quietly changed over time.
This episode answers the following questions:
How do I keep things from falling through the cracks when an employee leaves?
What should I document before a key employee quits?
How do I onboard a new employee without constantly answering questions?
How do I know if important tasks depend too much on one employee?
How do I hold staff accountable when responsibilities aren't clear?
How do I cross-train employees at a small nonprofit?
How do I update job descriptions when staff roles have changed?
Links mentioned in this episode:
The checklist in an editable Excel format: https://successfulnonprofits.com/checklist
Free Online Trainings for Nonprofit CEOs: https://successfulnonprofits.com/trainings/
Looking for more? Check out these amazing episodes:
Why Our Team Members Fail with Dr. Tiffany Slater
12 Ways You Can Recruit and Retain Top Talent
Stop Doing $25-per-Hour Work

Whether to spend staff time and resources on a special event is an important decision that rests with you as the chief executive.
Fundraising events can consume hundreds of staff hours, sap your board's enthusiasm, and produce far less revenue than everyone expected. That is why many nonprofit leaders conclude events are simply not worth the effort.
Mary Thompson offers a different answer.
Mary is the long-time executive director of Apple Seeds Teaching Farm in Arkansas, and her organization produces a large annual fundraiser that costs approximately 23% of gross revenue. It also hosts monthly Kitchen Table Dinners for 40 to 50 guests, with each dinner requiring only about 10 to 11 hours of staff time.
In this episode, Mary explains how Apple Seeds created events that generate revenue, introduce the organization to new supporters, deepen donor relationships, and remain manageable for her team.
You will hear why repeatable systems matter, how smaller gatherings can outperform a large gala as relationship-building tools, and what every executive director should examine before approving another event.
This episode answers the following questions:
How much should it cost a nonprofit to produce a fundraising event?
How much staff time should an event require?
When should an event be measured by relationships rather than net revenue alone?
Why can small, recurring events build stronger donor relationships than a large gala?
How can nonprofits turn an event into a repeatable system?
How can an event connect directly to the organization's mission?
What should an executive director consider before committing the organization to another event?
Links mentioned in this episode:
Apple Seeds Teaching Farm: appleseedsar.org
Looking for more? Check out these amazing episodes:
Flipping Small Fundraising Events on Their Heads for Better Revenue with Sherry Truhlar, Part One
Flipping Small Fundraising Events on Their Heads for Better Revenue with Sherry Truhlar, Part Two
Help Donors Fall In Love…With Your Organization with Abra Annes

Never miss an episode: Sign up for our newsletter
Your calendar is full, your inbox is under control, and the copier is finally working. You were productive today, right?
Maybe not.
Every week, nonprofit chief executives routinely spend hours scheduling meetings, answering routine emails, preparing documents, and handling administrative work that someone else—or the right technology—could manage. Every hour spent on those tasks is an hour you cannot spend cultivating major donors, developing your staff, engaging your board, or preparing your organization for what comes next.
In this episode, I will help you identify the $25-per-hour work consuming your week and decide what to stop, do less frequently, delegate, or automate. I also explore why an executive assistant may be the most important next hire for a small nonprofit—and how to protect the time you recover for the leadership work only you can do.
This episode answers the following questions:
How can I get everything done?
Do I need an executive assistant?
Can AI help me with office tasks?
How should I be spending my time as a nonprofit executive director?
Links mentioned in this episode:
Calculate the Value of an Hour of Your Time
https://successfulnonprofits.com/value_your_time/
Subscribe to the Successful Nonprofits® Newsletter
https://successfulnonprofits.com/newsletter-signup/
Free Online Trainings for Nonprofit CEOs
Learn more about Design an AI Strategy That Builds More Capacity and other upcoming trainings: https://successfulnonprofits.com/trainings/
Looking for more? Check out these other amazing episodes:
Ep 366: The 3 Roles of an Executive Director
Ep 326: 16 Productivity Apps and Software You Need to Check Out Today
Ep 321: Your 4-Day Workweek Blueprint with Jessica Weitzel