The Nonprofit Lab
Challenge the status quo. Welcome to The Nonprofit Lab, a podcast dedicated to the ongoing discovery of how we can all be a part of bigger social change through the lens of the nonprofit sector. Join us as we work to uncover and challenge the status quo in the world of nonprofits.
Episodes
Creative technologist, artist, and archivist Adrian Jones joins The Nonprofit Lab to explore how technology can help communities preserve history, reclaim overlooked stories, and see the places around them differently. From tracing his own ancestry to building Looking Glass with augmented reality, Adrian shares lessons on memory, tinkering, persistence, radical giving, and why nonprofit leaders need to protect human judgment in the...
Nonprofit leaders are surrounded by more tools, technology, and advice than ever, but are we skipping the fundamentals? Meghan Speer, Executive Director of Nonprofit Hub, joins The Nonprofit Lab to explore what nonprofit leaders actually need to build stronger, more sustainable organizations, from fundraising and storytelling to leadership, community, and the foundational skills that keep good going.
What if fundraising was less about individual transactions and more about belonging? Grapevine founder and CEO Emily Rasmussen joins to explore the power of giving circles and what nonprofits can learn from collective giving. She breaks down how community, collaboration, and donor agency can deepen relationships, strengthen retention, and turn generosity into something people experience together.
What makes nonprofit leaders think differently?
We sit down with Cherian Koshy, author of NeuroGiving, to explore the neuroscience behind nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and generosity.
They unpack how the brain responds to giving, why nonprofit leaders are wired to navigate unique pressures, and how understanding human behavior can help organizations become more effective fundraisers and leaders.
If you work in nonprofit leadersh...
After September 11th, David Paine and Jay Winuk had an idea: transform a day of tragedy into one defined by service. Nearly 25 years later, 9/11 Day has become one of America’s largest day of service, engaging tens of millions of people and helping establish September 11th as a federally recognized National Day of Service. David and Jay share the personal story behind the movement, the long road from an idea to federal legisl...
How do you modernize digital fundraising at one of America’s largest and most recognized nonprofits while staying true to a mission that’s endured for more than 160 years? In this episode, Rupert Schutz, Director of Digital Operations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, shares lessons from leading digital transformation across a nationwide network of local organizations.
From donor experience, stewardship, and A/B tes...
What does it take to build a nonprofit that creates lasting impact? Linda Latkso Lockhart, founder of Global Give Back Circle, shares lessons from more than 20 years of empowering women and girls across East Africa through mentorship, education, leadership development, and economic opportunity. We explore nonprofit sustainability, fundraising, corporate partnerships, donor stewardship, long-term strategy, and why transformational c...
What makes someone trust a nonprofit enough to give? Javan Van Gronigen, Founder at Donately, joins the show to explore the future of digital fundraising through the lenses of trust, storytelling, design, donor psychology, AI, recurring giving, campaign strategy, and what nonprofits must do to inspire generosity in an increasingly crowded and skeptical digital world.
Dino Verrelli, founder and CEO of Project Purple, shares how his father’s battle with pancreatic cancer became the catalyst for building an organization dedicated to funding research, supporting patients, and helping families facing one of the most devastating diseases in the world. He talks about turning personal loss into purpose, what it took to grow Project Purple from the ground up, why trust and transparency matter so m...
Candace Jordan, Chief Development Officer at Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, joins me for a conversation on affordable housing, donor stewardship, corporate partnerships, and trust-based fundraising.
We explore what people often misunderstand about Habitat’s model, how Atlanta Habitat combines construction, mortgages, financial education, sweat equity, and home preservation, and what nonprofit leaders can learn about storytellin...
Giving is growing, but the gap between nonprofits is widening.
Drawing on data from over 7,500 nonprofits in Blackbaud Institute’s 2025 Trends in Giving report, alongside insights from their Risk Readiness research, Lori Poer and Kate Averett Anderson break down what’s actually driving growth across the sector, and why some organizations are pulling ahead while others fall behind, and most importantly, what to do about i...
Doug Paul, Managing Partner at Catapult, shares how nonprofits can turn vision into action through co-created strategy, cultural alignment, and practical experimentation. With insights from supporting over 1,300 organizations, Doug outlines how to move beyond dusty strategic plans to build nimble, people-powered roadmaps that actually drive impact.
Are you growing your nonprofit fundraising, or quietly leaking donors? Salvatore Salpietro, Chief Growth Officer at Dataro and former Chief Community Officer at Fundraise Up, unpacks how digital friction, outdated segmentation, and hidden retention loss are costing nonprofits revenue. Discover how AI-driven predictive modeling and smarter signals can reduce churn, improve targeting, and strengthen fundraising performance.
Donor value attrition is one of the most overlooked threats to nonprofit sustainability. Jeff Schreifels ofVeritus Group breaks down why growth can hide retention problems and how disciplined relationship-building protects long-term impact.
Dr. Maryna Baydyuk fromUnited Help Ukraine shares what it means to lead a humanitarian nonprofit through an active war. From her upbringing in Ukraine to organizing aid under constant uncertainty, she reflects on trust, listening to people on the ground, and making life-and-death decisions when there are no perfect options. This conversation explores leadership under pressure, donor fatigue, and how nonprofits can stay human, credi...
Attention doesn’t always equal impact, especially in nonprofit fundraising. In this episode, Whole Whale founder George Weinerabout how nonprofits can turn donor attention into real commitment, why fundraising funnels break down, and what recent platform controversies reveal about power, consent, and trust in nonprofit tech.
LinkedIn is the most overlooked fundraising engine in the sector. Mario Hernandez at Impact Circlereturns to share how he raised $1M organically, built a 55,000+ person community, and developed a repeatable system nonprofits can use to build trust, land corporate partners, and grow revenue -- all without ads, gimmicks, or pitch-slaps
Armine Afeyan, CEO of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, to shares how “gratitude in action” can reshape modern humanitarianism. We explore Aurora’s unique approach to uplifting grassroots humanitarians, the power of storytelling to inspire empathy, and how individual acts of courage ripple into global impact. It’s a reminder that generosity is contagious—and that every person has the capacity to chan...
Trish Davis, Vice President of Major Gifts & Planned Giving at Susan G. Komen, shares how true stewardship goes beyond fundraising—it’s about listening, gratitude, and connection. From her service in the Air Force to leading national philanthropy strategy, Trish reveals how to build donor trust at scale, keep relationships personal in a digital age, and turn gratitude into lasting impact.
Lynette Bell, President of the Truist Foundation shares what strategic philanthropy looks like in action, and how trust, data, and collaboration can turn philanthropy into long-term, systemic change. We explore how Truist Foundation is redefining corporate philanthropy through its focus on economic mobility, small business resilience, and community-centered investment.
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