Next In Nonprofits

Cicley Gay is the Chairwoman of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. Their mission "imagines a world where Black people across the diaspora thrive, experience joy, and are not defined by their struggles." Cicley joins host Steve Boland to talk about the current world of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the impact of challenges to equity from both our government and in some cases philanthropy. The environment has slid backward from the promises many made after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis (as well as promises after other acts of violence before and since). Cicley shares the work of initiatives such as Black Play Matters to move forward with love when times are challenging. The conversation covers the challenges to this work in 2025, but also the the call to lift up Joy. Joy and play have always been tools of survival and resistance. "We don't measure freedom by the absence of harm but by the presence of our unwavering belief that thriving is possible." Cicley advises to "lea

Hannah Hegeman is the Vice President of Event Strategy and Development for Do Good Events "a woman-owned, award-winning Event Planning company headquartered in Minneapolis. We love being a part of bringing a lot of good into the world through events; after all, that was the inspiration for our name!" Hannah joins host Steve Boland to talk about events to support nonprofit missions and fundraising in 2025 and beyond. She discusses important considerations such as beginning with one clear goal - such as fundraising, awareness, or stewardship; to focus on quality over quantity - the right people in the room matter more than packed attendance; the place for breakfast/lunch events in 2025 and beyond that are often underutilized, less expensive, and have less competition. Hannah urges organizations to consider a 3-5 years minimum commitment to starting a new fundraising event - it takes time to build momentum. So much more in the episode! Do Good Events is hosting an opportunity for nonprofits called RAISE+ARR

Lou Kotsinis is the CEO and Co-Founder of BCS Interactive, a digital marketing agency that "helps non-profits, foundations and educational institutions make their mark on the world." Lou chats with host KD Bauer about concepts that nonprofits should consider when it comes to their organization's website. Describing a website as a "living, breathing organism," Lou explains why a clear understanding of your website's audience is the first step in telling your organization's unique story. Ensuring your site works correctly is just the start-- compelling photos, impact numbers, and new content builds an optimized, engaging user experience (and yes, it definitely leads to MORE donations).  Listen now by clicking the player above, download the file for later here, or subscribe to the podcast on your phone for automatic updates. Get more details on how to subscribe on our podcast page. Browse BCS Interactive's Blog for more digital marketing strategies, or sign  up for BCS Interactive's monthly blog sent direct

Chris Melody Fields Figueredo is the executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, "a nationwide movement-building infrastructure organization that leverages ballot measures across the United States to strengthen democracy; center people of color, queer, low-income, immigrant, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities; advance racial equity; build and transform power; and galvanize a new progressive base." Chris joins host Steve Boland to talk about how nonprofits may consider using ballot initiatives to move their missions forward. Chris discusses tools at both state and local levels, how organizing campaigns can think about longer time-frames, and how "anything beautiful is created in coalition." Chris talks about the extended benefits of campaigns outside the ballot deadline, talking to funders about supporting the work, and more. Additional information and tools are available at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center website.

Todd Baylis is the Chief Customer Officer of Bloomerang, a data management system designed to "manage your entire constituent ecosystem, including donors, volunteers, sponsors, grant givers, and more. Your result: higher fundraising revenue and less donor attrition. " Todd joins host Steve Boland to talk about encouraging your audiences (supporters, first-time donors, recurring donors...) to share more information with your charity to improve your connections and outcomes. Todd talks about how much information to ask for at the outset, a willingness to come back to audiences and request more information over time, communications preferences, and much more. Todd emphasizes the maxim that "if it's not in the database, it didn't happen" - meaning an emphasis on recording interactions with community (phone calls, personal meetings, handwritten notes) in a data tool allows a better connection over time.

Greg Harrell-Edge is the founder of Proimpact Project, which is "Supporting nonprofit leaders with content and a community to scale impact." Greg talks to host Steve Boland about the need for early response, and more frequent responses, when nonprofits and social good missions are attacked. Keeping the tone authentic about your work and the real impact of your work, helps shift the conversation away from demonizing the whole sector. Greg mentions his influence in emphasis on impact from Dan Pallotta's TED talk. Greg further suggests tying fundraising support messages when appropriate, with speedy reactions helping to close funding gaps which may be caused, in part, but these attacks. Greg also cites the variable calls to action and results in campaigns such as Kony 2012.

Kat Rohn is the Executive Director of Outfront Minnesota, as well as Outfront Minnesota Community Services! Kat joins host Steve Boland to talk about advocacy in the nonprofit sector with a focus on the differences between 501 (c) 3 organizations (purely public charities with tax deductible contributions) and 501 (c) 4 nonprofits (social welfare organization where gifts are not tax deductible). All nonprofits can be engaged in some kinds of advocacy, and the conversation references some help on understanding this from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Kat talks about Outfront Minnesota's experience managing both types of legal entities. The two organizations share staff and other resources (accounting services for example) but have separate incorporations and records. Maintaining two entities is more work, but provides some additional options to advocate for political change against having just the 501 (c) 3 organization. Kat also addresses the donor experience (spoiler: Most donors don't itemize, so

James Dismond, CEO of Mirasol Health chats with host KD Bauer about a 2-year rebranding journey the organization recently undertook. James shares insights in how the organization collaborated across teams, stakeholders, and community to identify where audiences' perceptions and experiences misaligned with elements of the 40-year old brand. From surveys to focus groups, James shares how his team worked to develop a new brand (values, mission, vision, imagery) that elevates the legacy and history of the organization, while at the same time connecting with a deep level with its staff, and leading to an increase in patients and clearer understanding of services. While sometimes happens (especially when 2 marketing nerds enter the same podcast), some terminology is thrown around. Below is a list of terms (and samples) that might be relevant to organizations considering a brand refresh.  SWOT Analysis of your Current Brand (James recommends keeping this on a wall during the process!)  Brand Recall / Recognition B

Faviola "Favi" Ramirez is a community organizer, often with BIPOC outdoors. Brooke Thomson is the development director at Abortion Care Network. Favi and Brooke have been part of the Community-centric fundraising movement, including a group sharing and based in Minnesota. Favi and Brooke join the podcast to talk about the origins of community-centric fundraising, and help to define it with some of the ten principles defined on the CCF website. Concepts of indigenizing giving and grant-making, beginning the work with an audit of existing donor pages of website looking at terms of "we" rather than "you", valuing all contributions including those of time rather than money, and much, much more! Favi mentions TRUTH project the as one community-centric process that recognizes the colonial nature of land-grant universities but looks to indigenize the conversation.

Patrick Kincade is Regional Director at Stonebridge Capital Advisors, a firm offering portfolio management services and related advising to nonprofit organizations as well as businesses and individuals. Patrick talks with host Steve Boland about a range of ways nonprofits can be ready to receive larger gifts, especially gifts that may not be cash. Gifts could be donations of stock, or gifts of value like real-estate or even new classes of assets like cryptocurrency. Patrick talks about planning, tools to have at the ready, and when it may be time to decline some more complex gifts. This podcast expresses the views of Patrick Kincaid as of the date indicated and may not represent the views of Stonebridge Capital Advisors, LLC (“Stonebridge”). These views are subject to change without notice and Stonebridge has no duty or obligation to update the information contained herein. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Moreover, wherever there is the potential for profit there is also the poss

This special 200th Anniversary episode of the podcast is hosted by KD Bauer and features members of the Next in Nonprofits team! KD talks with Steve Boland, Kathleen Conroy and Chelley McLear about sharing knowledge in the nonprofit sector. (Team members Bruktait Kebede, Keren Gudeman, and Grace Mayo contributed ideas off mic!) Next in Nonprofits chooses to do this in many ways, including by producing this podcast! Many charities learn a great deal about community support, new tools, partnerships and so much more. Sharing that learning is not always the top priority of any one group, but organizations like Next in Nonprofits get to learn from the stories and missions of many different groups. KD leads the team through a conversation about what brings people to nonprofit missions, how knowledge sharing - especially in a team - can create better outcomes, and contributes to a framework of abundance over scarcity. Also, listen in to know why we are referring to the Nine Inch Nails song "Echoplex".

Jim Scheibel is a professor of practice of at Hamline University, where he shares a wealth of experience in public life from his time as a leader of places such Corporation for National and Community Service, as Mayor of Saint Paul, and in other leadership positions in the nonprofit sector. Jim has incorporated ethics into his teaching for many years, and frameworks Jim has used to evaluate ethical issues can be an important starting point for the issues of today. Ideas like the Latimer Test (or the "smell test"), having an "oath" or set of values with which to evaluate questions, the Triangle, and more.

Brandice Daniel is the founder and CEO of ICON360, "non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling the barriers facing Black designers and fashion programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)." Brandice joins host Steve Boland to talk about the value of sponsorships and connections to the mission of an organization. Brandice shares ideas on how to begin relationships with larger organizations (including budgeting small amounts to open doors with the first conversation), showing up where the brand managers are meeting (rather than struggling to get individual meetings), the value of intimate moments with brands seeing the impact of your work and more.

Tyrus Hayes is the Director of Strategic Engagement for Al-Maa'uun, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit whose "mission is to alleviate poverty and oppression within black and communities of color in North Minneapolis and surrounding areas through direct service and advocacy." The Next in Nonprofits Podcast usually focuses on a broad topic of interest to the nonprofit community rather than featuring the story of a single nonprofit. We were approached by Podcasthon to divert from our regular format once a year to lift up the work of a specific mission. We are proud to bring the story of Al-Maa'uun to the podcast! Tyrus joins host Steve Boland to talk about the mission of Al-Maa'uun to meet the "Neighborly Needs" of the communities in North Minneapolis and beyond. The organization has grown from just a few volunteers to over 25 paid employees cooperating with other groups to meet needs. Al-Maa'uun is a 2Gen organization and uses this framework to help build a community response to this work.

Shoshana Grossman-Crist is the Founder and CEO of Social Impact Compass, providing support in grants and other support for impact missions. Shoshana joins host Steve Boland to talk about the impact of changes in funding streams in 2025. Shoshanna shares her insights getting a foot in the door for new support during these transitional times, including a short email, and a concept note format in lieu of a more formal case statement. Some funders are increasing their giving commitment (Shoshana mentions MacArthur Foundation as an example) and others are considering more flexibility right now. Shoshana mentions many resources on her website and elsewhere, but wanted to be sure the Foreign Aid Bridge fund was included in the show notes!

Jackie Russell is President of Teak Media and Communication whose mission is "to increase recognition and revenue for socially responsible companies and nonprofit organizations." Jackie joins host Steve Boland to discuss communications strategies and public relations in a time of rapid, unpredictable change. Jackie shares her thoughts and experience in prioritizing the work of messaging for nonprofit organizations in 2025. Jackie talks through different audiences and the need to stay in touch during this time. It's important to "start where you are" in this work and not second-guess what could have been done in the past. Jackie talks about growing diversity in media channels, connecting sponsors and influencers to your mission, sharing your good news, and much more.

Noah Parrish is the Communications Director for Gender Justice, which "envisions a world where everyone can thrive regardless of their gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation" and works to "dismantle legal, structural, and cultural barriers that contribute to gender inequity" in Minnesota and North Dakota. Noah has worked in strategic communications across a variety of sectors: policy organizing, philanthropy, and electoral work.   Noah chats with host KD Bauer about his experience with crafting compelling messaging and building media relationships to advance human-centered narratives that cut through misinformation and disinformation. From rapid response to long-term strategy, he leads with a data-based approach to maximize audience engagement across a digital landscape. Noah shares ways that small communications teams can focus on what's most important—all while reducing burnout and navigating future challenges.

Dick Senese is the Treasurer of the Board of Directors for LGBTQ Leaders in Higher Education, which "advances effective leadership in the realm of post-secondary education, supports professional development of LGBTQ leaders in that sector, and provides education and advocacy regarding LGBTQ issues within the global academy and for the public at large." Dick has served on nonprofit boards throughout his career, and joins the podcast to discuss stewardship with host Steve Boland. Dick talks about his experience with volunteer boards, how thanking donors and other supporters for their engagement is an easy "ask" for most board members, how tracking relationships over time can improve outcomes, how getting comfortable with talking about resources is not as scary as some may thing, and much more.

Molly C. O'Connor (she/her) is the Owner and Principal Consultant of Coco Canary, a consulting practice which is "cultural workers using evaluation, community engagement, and art to keep organizations grounded in their values and held accountable to their social justice goals." Molly joins host Steve Boland to talk about creative evaluation. Molly's own background includes quantitative research and has evolved to include qualitative components to better understand impact. Molly shares her thoughts on the importance of stories toward meaning-making, engaging community in the process of evaluation, thinking about evaluation ahead of program launches as well as being ready to shift after a launch, and much more.

Laura Tufano is the founder and principle of Tufano Consulting, and is "a Certified Fund Raising Executive and has raised money for social justice, the arts, education, and human services over the course of her 20-year career." Laura joins host Steve Boland to talk about how nonprofits can be open to all the ways donors may choose to give. One-time cash gifts and recurring donations online are great tools to involve donors, but nonprofits can help donors expand their thinking. Laura talks about the value of picking up the phone and just talking to donors, and then being ready with ideas which may support how they can best give. Laura and Steve talk about gifts of stock, donor advised funds, but also ideas like required minimum distributions from retirement accounts, legacy gifts, and even real property! (Hint on that last one - what does your gift acceptance policy say?)