In today's nonprofit landscape, success goes beyond merely passion. It requires strategic planning, solid financial management, and a mindset that treats the organization like a thriving business. Nonprofits need to view themselves as more than just mission-driven. They must adopt corporate best practices to grow, sustain, and scale their impact. But how can nonprofit leaders shift their thinking and embrace corporate strategies?What key business principles can nonprofits apply to increase their financial health and expand their reach? Learn how adopting a corporate mindset can drive nonprofit growth, scale impact, and build stronger networks with Laura Bonnell from The Bonnell Foundation!Nonprofit Pulse is a podcast that explores trends, insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their mission.See the full transcript and show notes: https://www.anedot.com/blog/nonprofit-pulse-nonprofit-growth-seeing-nonprofits-as-corporationsLearn more about Nonprofit Pulse: https://www.nonprofitpulse.com/Nonprofit Pulse is brought to you by Anedot:Anedot helps organizations save time and money with powerful giving tools. With an easy-to-use platform, no monthly fees, and award-winning service, Anedot makes it easy for organizations of all sizes to receive donations online and grow their base. Anedot is trusted by more than 30,000 nonprofits, churches, ministries, campaigns, and universities.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Learn more about Anedot 💡: https://bit.ly/38R5nvuGet started today 🚀: https://bit.ly/3Egh8K2Schedule a free demo 📅: https://bit.ly/3ngskjYLike us on Facebook 👍🏼: https://bit.ly/3k4kXu0Follow us on Twitter 🐦: https://bit.ly/3C7mCVUFollow us on Instagram 📷: https://bit.ly/3lddZlK
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
In today's nonprofit landscape, success goes beyond merely
passion. It requires strategic planning,
solid financial management, and a mindset that treats the
organization like a thriving business.
Nonprofits need to view themselves as more than just
mission driven. They must adopt corporate best
practices to grow, sustain, and scale their impact.
But how can nonprofit leaders shift their thinking and embrace
(00:23):
corporate strategies? What key business principles can
nonprofits apply to increase their financial health and
expand their reach? I'm Josh with The Antidote and
welcome to Nonprofit Polls, where we explore trends,
insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their
mission. On this episode, we're joined by
Laura Bunnell on why seeing nonprofits as corporations is
important for change and growth.Laura is the founder of The
(00:46):
Bunnell Foundation, an organization that provides tools
to navigate the difficulties of living with cystic fibrosis.
Originally a seasoned journalistwith 25 years of experience in
Detroit, Laura founded The Bunnell Foundation in 2010 after
her daughters, Molly and Emily, were born.
With CF, Laura shifted from a journalism career to nonprofit
leadership, combining her storytelling skills and
(01:08):
commitment to advocacy. Now, she's raising awareness,
supporting families, and workingwith legislators to drive
meaningful change for those living with CF.
Hi, Laura. Thanks for joining us on
Nonprofit Pulse. Thanks for having me, I'm
excited to be here. Awesome.
Well, excited about our topic today.
We're going to be talking about why nonprofits should really
(01:30):
look at their their organizationmore as a business and run it
more as a business and maybe some of the ways that that
nonprofit leaders view their their nonprofits.
So maybe first, just starting out, you know, many folks, as I
mentioned, view nonprofits as purely mission driven
organizations rather than structured businesses.
(01:50):
So really, from your perspective, Laura, why is it
important for nonprofits to adopt A more corporate mindset,
and how does this shift impact growth and sustainability?
I think mindset is is everything, right?
It's how we think about ourselves.
It's how we portray, it's how wefeel confident.
And I think for too long, it's like, oh, you're a nonprofit.
(02:12):
It's almost like you're not a real NFL team.
You're you're just, you know, you're in the baby leagues or
whatever you know, it's called. You're, you're not in the
majors, you're in the minors kind of thing.
And I think that attitude is so hurtful or harmful sometimes to
nonprofits because we are doing so much.
(02:34):
So I think it's really importantto say, you know what, I am
having a big influence on a hugepopulation and it's really
important. And like a corporation, which I
view myself as, even though I ama nonprofit, we need to make
money so we can support our program so we can help people
(02:57):
across the country. There's 40,000 people across the
country with cystic fibrosis andthere's 10 million carriers, and
they all have spouses and children and friends and family.
So it's really important to act like you're in it to win, and
you are. Hey, if you're enjoying this
(03:19):
episode, will you take a moment to leave us a rating interview?
Your feedback helps us reach more nonprofit leaders just like
you. Thanks for listening.
And now back to the episode. Yeah, I totally agree.
And just thinking of even about my own work working here at
Antidote, you know, I work in tech, and there's a lot of
opportunity in tech and a lot ofdifferent spaces, you know,
sectors in the industry. And when I get talking to
(03:42):
friends or others about working at Antidote, we we get to help
nonprofits change the world. And I could be working at a
place that's helping, you know, Levi's optimize shipping their
clothing, but that wouldn't havethe meaning an impact in my own
life. And so I totally agree that, you
know, if businesses can be run in a certain way that that grows
(04:06):
and is healthy and efficient andin increases their impact year
over year, why can't nonprofits do that as well, especially when
the when the outcome is so much more important than just
commerce? It's, it's changing people's
lives and, and even in some cases kind of generationally
changing their families and, and, and their children and, and
so on and so forth. So thinking about financial
(04:28):
stability, Laura, how can nonprofit leaders really start
viewing their organizations as revenue generating entities
instead of charities? And what are some of the the
corporate best practices that that you would recommend they
apply to strengthen their financial health?
Well, I think one of the first things is I, I don't know many
people that say I love asking people for money.
(04:51):
I don't think it's naturally comfortable, even though again,
I'm a non profit and that's whatnonprofits do.
But I had to get comfortable with it.
I had to change my mindset. I'm not asking for money for me.
I don't need to buy a new car. It's not for my house, you know,
payment. It's it's for a population of
(05:14):
people that we're going to help again with all these programs
and financial assistance and lung transplant grants and
scholarships and mentoring programs.
So I had to get past that. And now I unapologetically ask
for money. 1000, How about 2000?I have, you know, or even I
(05:35):
stopped saying 10,000 and started saying how about 25,000,
you know, for bigger companies and with no regrets.
And you wouldn't believe how many people say sure, or
sometimes they'll still say, whyaren't you asking for more?
You know, if you ask for more, Iwould give it to you.
So now I ask for more. And if I have to go down, I go
(05:59):
down, you know, But I think it'sreally important.
I also think it's part of, you know, portraying yourself as
confident and that you should begetting this money because you
are doing good work and you are efficient and you do have a
financial and a strategic plan. And this isn't frivolous.
(06:21):
And like, we've been around for 14 years.
And whatever your nonprofit story is, you just have to have
the confidence and the transparency in what you're
doing to say this is what we do with your money.
This is who we're helping and beable to support that and really
(06:43):
explain how it all works with, you know, no looking back or
feeling guilty about it. Yeah, Thinking about how
nonprofits typically operate, I would say many if if not most
nonprofits are, are operating reactively instead of
proactively. What are some key kind of
(07:03):
strategic planning practices from the corporate world that
that you think nonprofit should adopt to to grow and and really
scale effectively? Well, I think for us it was a
point when I said to the board, do you know how much money we're
spending on paper clips? Do you know how much money we're
spending on folders? Do you know what our CF Familiar
(07:25):
program cost? And when no one could answer, I
said we are now making more money and we need a strategic
planner. And I remember when I said that
the strategic financial planner was going to be 4 grand, there
was, we lost a board member. He under no circumstances wanted
(07:47):
to pay for a grand for someone. It was just outrageous to him.
And I said you cannot grow if wedon't have a strategic plan.
I mean, we, we have, you know, ACPA and a treasurer and a
bookkeeper. We have all that in place.
We always were being responsiblewith the money, but we had no
(08:08):
financial plan for the future. And you couldn't grow if you
couldn't say this program's worth this much, this is worth
that much, and every board member needs to know.
So again, you can be transparentand you can explain where all
your money is and when you applyfor grants and sponsorships, you
need to reconcile everything andyou need to say, I spent exactly
(08:31):
this. And you know, it's very, and
that's another thing to remember.
Corporations do that too. But I mean, nonprofits are held
to a very high as they should bea very high place as well.
So that's really important to know that in order to grow,
you've got to spend some money too.
Laura, you emphasize the importance of collaboration and
(08:54):
always saying yes. Can you share examples of how
collaboration and knowledge sharing among nonprofits can
lead to greater impact by by saying yes?
Absolutely. And I always say yes to if
somebody wants me to speak or they want me to talk them
through some public relations orthey want me to connect them
(09:16):
with somebody. You always get so much more when
you're willing to share and you make 5 new friends and then they
have connections. I've never had it backfire.
I mean, when I say yes and I go to a speaking engagement, I meet
new people. I went to a mixer last night
that our mish bio, our industry,you know, they held and I met 4
(09:43):
new people and everybody seemed to have a cystic fibrosis
connection, even though one person was in cancer, one
another person was in epilepsy. But I learned so many things and
they're so smart and these are all scientists, you know?
And then your willingness to share always has somebody who
wants to help you back, even though you can't have that as an
(10:06):
expectation. But every event that I go to,
when I meet people, I either getfunding or friends.
I either have somebody who says I want to invest in you, I want
to give you, you know, it's not like 1,000,000 bucks.
But I also did get somebody who started funding our scholarship
(10:26):
program just because they heard about us and we had a good
reputation. And the CF community is also, I
think a little bit rare on many fronts as a disease, but also as
we're very close knit, there's truly no competition.
If I'm like, hey, we got 500 bucks from this group, you might
want to reach out. And I would say to everyone,
(10:48):
places you don't even think of, I went and applied for a little
grant at Meijer and I got a yes in 24 hours.
So anybody looking for some money, write down Meijer because
I got, I asked for two grand andthey gave me a grand.
But it, it's huge. You know, we give out hospital
(11:08):
bags and now I can stuff the hospital bags with these granola
bars from Meijer. You know, it just alleviates a
cost. So places you wouldn't even
think. And now they know me there
because I'm, you know, I'm coming into the ear Meijer and
I'm promoting it. It's all good.
(11:29):
It always pays off for whomever.I love that and I love the
funding and friends. I feel like we could, we could
spend 30 minutes there just talking through that.
And, and shout out to Meyer. I lived in Indianapolis for
about four years and was introduced to Meyer and, and
love their love their kind of vision of what they do as a, as
(11:51):
a grocery store and, and they'rejust overall experience a great,
great community, community, business community company.
It really is. And by the way, you just apply
online and you fill out the formand you get a reply in 24 hours.
It's crazy. It's the fastest funding I've
ever received. This podcast is brought to you
(12:11):
by Antidote. With more than 13 years of
serving nonprofits, churches, ministries, campaigns and
schools, Antidote has processed billions of dollars in
donations. That experience has guided us in
building tools that save your organization time and money.
Join more than 30,000 organizations and increase
giving today. Learnmore@antidote.com
(12:32):
anedot.com Antidote Save time and money with powerful giving
tools. So Laura, how can nonprofit
leaders build those deeper connections with with with
donors and and other nonprofit leaders?
What are some strategies that that you use for fostering
relationships that lead to long term support and partnerships?
(12:55):
You know, both the the funding and the friends side of that as
you mentioned. I think you have to be
professional, but I'm I'm friends with everyone.
I am constantly checking in constantly because January and
February I'm hounding them for money and they know it and I
know it. But the rest of the year I'm
like, Hey, how you doing? Did you have a hip replacement?
How, how's it going? Like, I want to know like, oh,
(13:17):
your kids are going off to college.
How's that going for you? Your dog died.
I mean, like, you literally haveto be invested in them as people
because they are. And they will leave their job,
they will lose their job, but they're going to get to another
job. You want to stay connected with
them because it's worked for me over these 14 years.
(13:37):
They moved to another job and they're thinking of us still.
And the one big thing I always tell people, if you reach out to
a farm or a business and they say, sorry, can't help you this
year, don't like discount them, don't get, you know, start bad
(13:58):
mouthing them, say to them, well, how can I help you?
Is the company having a hard time or what?
You know, what do you need? Do you need to like vent?
Do you want to go for coffee? Or if you're not in the same
area, you know, I'm here to talk.
I can, can I tag you? Will it help if I'm tagging you?
Because you know how corporations change and
(14:19):
sometimes sales are up or pharma's, you know, backing out
of cystic fibrosis or whatever it is, they don't have it.
Can't it shouldn't be A1 sided relationship.
If you can do something for them, be a friend.
It's super important. And I have to tell you this
story really quick. So this is what happened.
I, you know, this is how I am with everybody who, you know,
(14:43):
supports the Bonnell Foundation and in life, whatever.
But this one company reached outto me and said, I know you're a
creative thinker and we need your help.
They had a program that was helping people with cystic
fibrosis with vitamins and another foundation that had
millions and millions of dollars.
(15:05):
They weren't able to fund this vitamin program.
So low income people were not able to get vitamins.
And they said, can you commit $40,000 to this vitamin program,
which we could not do, we could commit 15,000.
But I said yes. And then I went to every other
foundation and said we need to come up with 40 grand between
(15:27):
us, you know, because we alreadyhave money that set aside for
medical assistance. So it was, that's how we did it.
But I thought they came to me because I'm open to listening
and brainstorming and it was important to hear that and
remember how important it is to always collaborate and
(15:48):
brainstorm because that's what we're all about is helping the
community. So that's been just happened in
the last month and and we're getting so many requests.
That's awesome. That's awesome.
And thinking back to what you said earlier about a potential
donor not being able to give andthen you reach reaching out
saying, well, how can I help you?
(16:10):
I just love that and I love the relationship building and that
and also just that, that foundational principle of
reciprocity, that for fundraisers, you should always
be thinking about ways that thatyou can lead first in building
that relationship in a reciprocal way.
And not just to ask, not just saying, I know this person or
(16:30):
this organization has the means to give, but coming to them and
saying, how can I help you? Is there any way that we can,
that we can make this a win win for for both of us?
I think that's huge and and really opens up a lot of
opportunity to reach out to folks and, and organizations,
companies that you may not, you may not think you have any way
to to partner with. Yeah, I love it.
(16:54):
And I have to tell you one more quick example.
At this mixer last night I met this cancer group, 20 year old,
maybe 30 year olds, but a young group of people that are working
this cancer camp for kids. And they had really good karma,
which I'm so in tune with, but they get I said, Oh my gosh,
you've given me a great idea. I deal a lot with parents who
(17:15):
have kids with CF and I thought they have this camp for kids and
I said, I'm going to have a campfor parents.
We're going to have booze, we'regoing to have whatever people
want, but we're going to have a dinner.
It'll be like 3 hour Cam becauseparents are busy, but we're
going to do something and like meet.
We can meet on Zoom one month. We can meet in person one month.
(17:36):
So from just that last night, I was like, Oh my gosh, you've
given me this great idea. So it's so good to talk through
things with people. So earlier you mentioned about
resourcing an expert and I wouldreally want to dig into that.
You know, most nonprofit leadersreally hesitate to invest in
that kind of expert advice, thinking we can't afford it.
(17:59):
Or is that the best investment? Can you share with our listeners
some insights on on why nonprofits really should lean in
there and seek professional guidance in areas like finance
or marketing operations and really how can this investment
ultimately pay off? Well, we don't know everything.
And I, I was talking with a woman yesterday and I was like,
(18:22):
you're like this. I, I love people that are
smarter than me. That's who I need.
I like to hang out around them. They have so many ideas, right?
And so I, I was talking with herabout we need to do better in
social media. We need to, you know, do better
in storytelling, even though that's my whole background, but
(18:42):
there's still ways. And then I talked to people who
don't cost anything, people in the media who are like, who I
say, you know, you don't have cystic fibrosis in your world,
but why would you listen to a podcast about CF And they're
like about the story, not necessarily about the CF.
(19:03):
And then I would say as far as the money goes, every just about
every amount of money that I've spent on an expert in either
social media or in finance or instrategic planning or in
developing your board, it's beenworth it.
It's paid for itself because we're making more money because
(19:26):
we hired that strategic person easily paid for the money we
spent. And the same with social media
or going to classes or even going to conferences.
I would say that is if you don'tthink you can go think about it
again, it's a plane ticket. If you can't stay for three of
the conference days, maybe stay for two or stay for one because
(19:49):
you connect with people and it always pays off.
So you're an advocate for for mentoring and mentorship in the
nonprofit space for leaders? Why is mentorship so important
for you and, and really for the nonprofit space and, and how can
leaders effectively build that kind of mentorship or, or
support network? I ask people all the time.
(20:13):
I have my friend who's also ACF mom and she's the executive
director of a found ACF foundation in California.
And I always say to her, you're you're my mentor, you're my
person. She's a bigger organization.
She's been doing it longer than me.
And I love to say to her this, Ihad an idea about this.
(20:36):
What do you think? And she'll say it was actually
about our mentoring program. I'm like, do you think there's a
need? And she was like, there's no one
out there doing it. Great idea, do it.
And now it's growing so quickly and we got a grant for it and no
one else is doing it. And we are getting people coming
from California and all over thecountry now who want to be
(20:59):
mentored by another CF parent. So it's just really important to
share ideas. And then somebody will reach out
to me and say, I was thinking about doing this.
It's also about respecting your boundaries.
I don't want to go after anotherfoundation who's doing all the,
they're doing, you know, marathons and races and half
(21:20):
marathons. That's their lane.
My lane is different. My lane is parents, my lane is
podcast, my lane is stories and giving out financial assistance.
So everybody kind of, you know, it's not research, that's what,
you know, another foundation does.
So I think it's respect and we collaborate together as well, so
(21:42):
it's really nice. Laura, we started off the
podcast talking about kind of the issue around how many folks
see nonprofits as as different than businesses in a in a
negative way, thinking of them as illegitimate or the minor
leagues. So for our audience out there,
what steps can nonprofits take to really shift that perception
(22:02):
and ensure that they're seen as essential and serious
organizations within their communities and industries?
I think we definitely have to take ourselves seriously.
And I think some of this might sound silly or it might sound
egotistical, but anybody who knows me knows that's not how I
am. But I will say, I call myself
(22:23):
the CEO of the foundation because executive director
sounds very nonprofit and it, itdoes sound silly.
But if you're the CEO of a corporation, people want to talk
to you. So I made myself the CEO of the
Bonnell Foundation because, oh, it's, it just, it's silly, but
it sounds better. And then I really do try and
dress very nice going to events and everything because it's how
(22:47):
we're perceived. And that is your first encounter
with people and people like it or not, do judge you right away.
And if I'm, if I'm in a T-shirt and jeans, regardless of what my
foundation is, it's just important to be the face of it.
And, and so that's why I do that.
(23:08):
I, I just think it's, you know, it's really important.
Just wrapping up here, Laura, for for this episode.
Any resources that you'd like toshare around today's topic?
Yeah, I think I always look for like, Michigan Nonprofit
Association is a group. There's all kinds of nonprofit
groups. I'm also in this rare disease
(23:31):
diversity coalition because cystic fibrosis, for example,
under diagnosis, people of color, it's in and every, every
facet of the United States has gay people in it, right?
And so you want to make sure you're representing everyone
(23:52):
because it's really inclusion isso important.
So make sure you're reaching outto other networks.
I make sure that I talk with theNational Association of African
Americans with Cystic Fibrosis, and we have ACF Familia page
that is in Spanish so the Hispanic community can get
(24:16):
information about cystic fibrosis.
I think the American Thoracic Society is a great organization,
Organizations that you respect and think, wow, they're
organized, join them, find them,talk to someone, you'll learn
from them. They'll be interested in your
organization. And then when you're working on
(24:37):
bipartisan issues and you know, legislation like the Haemophilia
Foundation, they kill it. They're so good and I love
working with them and I have a great bond with their, you know,
the head of the one in Michigan.So those things, it's like, all
right. And then we're all going to be,
you know, in a rare disease community event and then we're
(25:00):
all there together. It's just the greatest feeling.
Awesome, awesome. And the last question, Laura,
for for this episode, a questionwe ask every episode is my
favorite question. If you were on stage in front of
1000 nonprofit leaders and you could share one thing, one
sentence about today's topic, which is why you should be
running your nonprofit like a business or corporation, what
(25:22):
would you say? I think it's you're telling your
story and you're helping other people and tell your story
everywhere and be kind and inclusive because if you're not,
why are you doing this? So yeah, I think trying to keep
(25:42):
it short, that's what I would do.
Tell your story and include everybody.
Awesome, awesome. Laura, this has been such a
helpful conversation. It's got me thinking in in
multiple directions, but just again, thinking about nonprofit
leaders should be deadly seriousabout their work because their
work is deadly serious. Their work is changing lives.
(26:04):
And, and really, nonprofits should probably take a step
forward or a step toward rather taking their nonprofit to the
next level by implementing best practices that businesses
implement, by resourcing expertsand, and really thinking of
themselves not as a charity, butas a serious operation that is
changing lives. Thank you so much, Josh.
(26:25):
It was great to come on your podcast.
I appreciate it. Thanks, Laura.
Hey, thanks for listening. You enjoyed this conversation.
Please share or leave us a rating and review wherever you
listen to podcast. Also, head over to
nonprofitpolls.com to sign up for our monthly newsletter as
well as check out all the links and resources in the show notes.
We'll see you next time.
In today's nonprofit landscape, success goes beyond merely
passion. It requires strategic planning,
solid financial management, and a mindset that treats the
organization like a thriving business.
Nonprofits need to view themselves as more than just
mission driven. They must adopt corporate best
practices to grow, sustain, and scale their impact.
But how can nonprofit leaders shift their thinking and embrace
(00:23):
corporate strategies? What key business principles can
nonprofits apply to increase their financial health and
expand their reach? I'm Josh with The Antidote and
welcome to Nonprofit Polls, where we explore trends,
insights, and resources that help nonprofits accomplish their
mission. On this episode, we're joined by
Laura Bunnell on why seeing nonprofits as corporations is
important for change and growth.Laura is the founder of The
(00:46):
Bunnell Foundation, an organization that provides tools
to navigate the difficulties of living with cystic fibrosis.
Originally a seasoned journalistwith 25 years of experience in
Detroit, Laura founded The Bunnell Foundation in 2010 after
her daughters, Molly and Emily, were born.
With CF, Laura shifted from a journalism career to nonprofit
leadership, combining her storytelling skills and
(01:08):
commitment to advocacy. Now, she's raising awareness,
supporting families, and workingwith legislators to drive
meaningful change for those living with CF.
Hi, Laura. Thanks for joining us on
Nonprofit Pulse. Thanks for having me, I'm
excited to be here. Awesome.
Well, excited about our topic today.
We're going to be talking about why nonprofits should really
(01:30):
look at their their organizationmore as a business and run it
more as a business and maybe some of the ways that that
nonprofit leaders view their their nonprofits.
So maybe first, just starting out, you know, many folks, as I
mentioned, view nonprofits as purely mission driven
organizations rather than structured businesses.
(01:50):
So really, from your perspective, Laura, why is it
important for nonprofits to adopt A more corporate mindset,
and how does this shift impact growth and sustainability?
I think mindset is is everything, right?
It's how we think about ourselves.
It's how we portray, it's how wefeel confident.
And I think for too long, it's like, oh, you're a nonprofit.
(02:12):
It's almost like you're not a real NFL team.
You're you're just, you know, you're in the baby leagues or
whatever you know, it's called. You're, you're not in the
majors, you're in the minors kind of thing.
And I think that attitude is so hurtful or harmful sometimes to
nonprofits because we are doing so much.
(02:34):
So I think it's really importantto say, you know what, I am
having a big influence on a hugepopulation and it's really
important. And like a corporation, which I
view myself as, even though I ama nonprofit, we need to make
money so we can support our program so we can help people
(02:57):
across the country. There's 40,000 people across the
country with cystic fibrosis andthere's 10 million carriers, and
they all have spouses and children and friends and family.
So it's really important to act like you're in it to win, and
you are. Hey, if you're enjoying this
(03:19):
episode, will you take a moment to leave us a rating interview?
Your feedback helps us reach more nonprofit leaders just like
you. Thanks for listening.
And now back to the episode. Yeah, I totally agree.
And just thinking of even about my own work working here at
Antidote, you know, I work in tech, and there's a lot of
opportunity in tech and a lot ofdifferent spaces, you know,
sectors in the industry. And when I get talking to
(03:42):
friends or others about working at Antidote, we we get to help
nonprofits change the world. And I could be working at a
place that's helping, you know, Levi's optimize shipping their
clothing, but that wouldn't havethe meaning an impact in my own
life. And so I totally agree that, you
know, if businesses can be run in a certain way that that grows
(04:06):
and is healthy and efficient andin increases their impact year
over year, why can't nonprofits do that as well, especially when
the when the outcome is so much more important than just
commerce? It's, it's changing people's
lives and, and even in some cases kind of generationally
changing their families and, and, and their children and, and
so on and so forth. So thinking about financial
(04:28):
stability, Laura, how can nonprofit leaders really start
viewing their organizations as revenue generating entities
instead of charities? And what are some of the the
corporate best practices that that you would recommend they
apply to strengthen their financial health?
Well, I think one of the first things is I, I don't know many
people that say I love asking people for money.
(04:51):
I don't think it's naturally comfortable, even though again,
I'm a non profit and that's whatnonprofits do.
But I had to get comfortable with it.
I had to change my mindset. I'm not asking for money for me.
I don't need to buy a new car. It's not for my house, you know,
payment. It's it's for a population of
(05:14):
people that we're going to help again with all these programs
and financial assistance and lung transplant grants and
scholarships and mentoring programs.
So I had to get past that. And now I unapologetically ask
for money. 1000, How about 2000?I have, you know, or even I
(05:35):
stopped saying 10,000 and started saying how about 25,000,
you know, for bigger companies and with no regrets.
And you wouldn't believe how many people say sure, or
sometimes they'll still say, whyaren't you asking for more?
You know, if you ask for more, Iwould give it to you.
So now I ask for more. And if I have to go down, I go
(05:59):
down, you know, But I think it'sreally important.
I also think it's part of, you know, portraying yourself as
confident and that you should begetting this money because you
are doing good work and you are efficient and you do have a
financial and a strategic plan. And this isn't frivolous.
(06:21):
And like, we've been around for 14 years.
And whatever your nonprofit story is, you just have to have
the confidence and the transparency in what you're
doing to say this is what we do with your money.
This is who we're helping and beable to support that and really
(06:43):
explain how it all works with, you know, no looking back or
feeling guilty about it. Yeah, Thinking about how
nonprofits typically operate, I would say many if if not most
nonprofits are, are operating reactively instead of
proactively. What are some key kind of
(07:03):
strategic planning practices from the corporate world that
that you think nonprofit should adopt to to grow and and really
scale effectively? Well, I think for us it was a
point when I said to the board, do you know how much money we're
spending on paper clips? Do you know how much money we're
spending on folders? Do you know what our CF Familiar
(07:25):
program cost? And when no one could answer, I
said we are now making more money and we need a strategic
planner. And I remember when I said that
the strategic financial planner was going to be 4 grand, there
was, we lost a board member. He under no circumstances wanted
(07:47):
to pay for a grand for someone. It was just outrageous to him.
And I said you cannot grow if wedon't have a strategic plan.
I mean, we, we have, you know, ACPA and a treasurer and a
bookkeeper. We have all that in place.
We always were being responsiblewith the money, but we had no
(08:08):
financial plan for the future. And you couldn't grow if you
couldn't say this program's worth this much, this is worth
that much, and every board member needs to know.
So again, you can be transparentand you can explain where all
your money is and when you applyfor grants and sponsorships, you
need to reconcile everything andyou need to say, I spent exactly
(08:31):
this. And you know, it's very, and
that's another thing to remember.
Corporations do that too. But I mean, nonprofits are held
to a very high as they should bea very high place as well.
So that's really important to know that in order to grow,
you've got to spend some money too.
Laura, you emphasize the importance of collaboration and
(08:54):
always saying yes. Can you share examples of how
collaboration and knowledge sharing among nonprofits can
lead to greater impact by by saying yes?
Absolutely. And I always say yes to if
somebody wants me to speak or they want me to talk them
through some public relations orthey want me to connect them
(09:16):
with somebody. You always get so much more when
you're willing to share and you make 5 new friends and then they
have connections. I've never had it backfire.
I mean, when I say yes and I go to a speaking engagement, I meet
new people. I went to a mixer last night
that our mish bio, our industry,you know, they held and I met 4
(09:43):
new people and everybody seemed to have a cystic fibrosis
connection, even though one person was in cancer, one
another person was in epilepsy. But I learned so many things and
they're so smart and these are all scientists, you know?
And then your willingness to share always has somebody who
wants to help you back, even though you can't have that as an
(10:06):
expectation. But every event that I go to,
when I meet people, I either getfunding or friends.
I either have somebody who says I want to invest in you, I want
to give you, you know, it's not like 1,000,000 bucks.
But I also did get somebody who started funding our scholarship
(10:26):
program just because they heard about us and we had a good
reputation. And the CF community is also, I
think a little bit rare on many fronts as a disease, but also as
we're very close knit, there's truly no competition.
If I'm like, hey, we got 500 bucks from this group, you might
want to reach out. And I would say to everyone,
(10:48):
places you don't even think of, I went and applied for a little
grant at Meijer and I got a yes in 24 hours.
So anybody looking for some money, write down Meijer because
I got, I asked for two grand andthey gave me a grand.
But it, it's huge. You know, we give out hospital
(11:08):
bags and now I can stuff the hospital bags with these granola
bars from Meijer. You know, it just alleviates a
cost. So places you wouldn't even
think. And now they know me there
because I'm, you know, I'm coming into the ear Meijer and
I'm promoting it. It's all good.
(11:29):
It always pays off for whomever.I love that and I love the
funding and friends. I feel like we could, we could
spend 30 minutes there just talking through that.
And, and shout out to Meyer. I lived in Indianapolis for
about four years and was introduced to Meyer and, and
love their love their kind of vision of what they do as a, as
(11:51):
a grocery store and, and they'rejust overall experience a great,
great community, community, business community company.
It really is. And by the way, you just apply
online and you fill out the formand you get a reply in 24 hours.
It's crazy. It's the fastest funding I've
ever received. This podcast is brought to you
(12:11):
by Antidote. With more than 13 years of
serving nonprofits, churches, ministries, campaigns and
schools, Antidote has processed billions of dollars in
donations. That experience has guided us in
building tools that save your organization time and money.
Join more than 30,000 organizations and increase
giving today. Learnmore@antidote.com
(12:32):
anedot.com Antidote Save time and money with powerful giving
tools. So Laura, how can nonprofit
leaders build those deeper connections with with with
donors and and other nonprofit leaders?
What are some strategies that that you use for fostering
relationships that lead to long term support and partnerships?
(12:55):
You know, both the the funding and the friends side of that as
you mentioned. I think you have to be
professional, but I'm I'm friends with everyone.
I am constantly checking in constantly because January and
February I'm hounding them for money and they know it and I
know it. But the rest of the year I'm
like, Hey, how you doing? Did you have a hip replacement?
How, how's it going? Like, I want to know like, oh,
(13:17):
your kids are going off to college.
How's that going for you? Your dog died.
I mean, like, you literally haveto be invested in them as people
because they are. And they will leave their job,
they will lose their job, but they're going to get to another
job. You want to stay connected with
them because it's worked for me over these 14 years.
(13:37):
They moved to another job and they're thinking of us still.
And the one big thing I always tell people, if you reach out to
a farm or a business and they say, sorry, can't help you this
year, don't like discount them, don't get, you know, start bad
(13:58):
mouthing them, say to them, well, how can I help you?
Is the company having a hard time or what?
You know, what do you need? Do you need to like vent?
Do you want to go for coffee? Or if you're not in the same
area, you know, I'm here to talk.
I can, can I tag you? Will it help if I'm tagging you?
Because you know how corporations change and
(14:19):
sometimes sales are up or pharma's, you know, backing out
of cystic fibrosis or whatever it is, they don't have it.
Can't it shouldn't be A1 sided relationship.
If you can do something for them, be a friend.
It's super important. And I have to tell you this
story really quick. So this is what happened.
I, you know, this is how I am with everybody who, you know,
(14:43):
supports the Bonnell Foundation and in life, whatever.
But this one company reached outto me and said, I know you're a
creative thinker and we need your help.
They had a program that was helping people with cystic
fibrosis with vitamins and another foundation that had
millions and millions of dollars.
(15:05):
They weren't able to fund this vitamin program.
So low income people were not able to get vitamins.
And they said, can you commit $40,000 to this vitamin program,
which we could not do, we could commit 15,000.
But I said yes. And then I went to every other
foundation and said we need to come up with 40 grand between
(15:27):
us, you know, because we alreadyhave money that set aside for
medical assistance. So it was, that's how we did it.
But I thought they came to me because I'm open to listening
and brainstorming and it was important to hear that and
remember how important it is to always collaborate and
(15:48):
brainstorm because that's what we're all about is helping the
community. So that's been just happened in
the last month and and we're getting so many requests.
That's awesome. That's awesome.
And thinking back to what you said earlier about a potential
donor not being able to give andthen you reach reaching out
saying, well, how can I help you?
(16:10):
I just love that and I love the relationship building and that
and also just that, that foundational principle of
reciprocity, that for fundraisers, you should always
be thinking about ways that thatyou can lead first in building
that relationship in a reciprocal way.
And not just to ask, not just saying, I know this person or
(16:30):
this organization has the means to give, but coming to them and
saying, how can I help you? Is there any way that we can,
that we can make this a win win for for both of us?
I think that's huge and and really opens up a lot of
opportunity to reach out to folks and, and organizations,
companies that you may not, you may not think you have any way
to to partner with. Yeah, I love it.
(16:54):
And I have to tell you one more quick example.
At this mixer last night I met this cancer group, 20 year old,
maybe 30 year olds, but a young group of people that are working
this cancer camp for kids. And they had really good karma,
which I'm so in tune with, but they get I said, Oh my gosh,
you've given me a great idea. I deal a lot with parents who
(17:15):
have kids with CF and I thought they have this camp for kids and
I said, I'm going to have a campfor parents.
We're going to have booze, we'regoing to have whatever people
want, but we're going to have a dinner.
It'll be like 3 hour Cam becauseparents are busy, but we're
going to do something and like meet.
We can meet on Zoom one month. We can meet in person one month.
(17:36):
So from just that last night, I was like, Oh my gosh, you've
given me this great idea. So it's so good to talk through
things with people. So earlier you mentioned about
resourcing an expert and I wouldreally want to dig into that.
You know, most nonprofit leadersreally hesitate to invest in
that kind of expert advice, thinking we can't afford it.
(17:59):
Or is that the best investment? Can you share with our listeners
some insights on on why nonprofits really should lean in
there and seek professional guidance in areas like finance
or marketing operations and really how can this investment
ultimately pay off? Well, we don't know everything.
And I, I was talking with a woman yesterday and I was like,
(18:22):
you're like this. I, I love people that are
smarter than me. That's who I need.
I like to hang out around them. They have so many ideas, right?
And so I, I was talking with herabout we need to do better in
social media. We need to, you know, do better
in storytelling, even though that's my whole background, but
(18:42):
there's still ways. And then I talked to people who
don't cost anything, people in the media who are like, who I
say, you know, you don't have cystic fibrosis in your world,
but why would you listen to a podcast about CF And they're
like about the story, not necessarily about the CF.
(19:03):
And then I would say as far as the money goes, every just about
every amount of money that I've spent on an expert in either
social media or in finance or instrategic planning or in
developing your board, it's beenworth it.
It's paid for itself because we're making more money because
(19:26):
we hired that strategic person easily paid for the money we
spent. And the same with social media
or going to classes or even going to conferences.
I would say that is if you don'tthink you can go think about it
again, it's a plane ticket. If you can't stay for three of
the conference days, maybe stay for two or stay for one because
(19:49):
you connect with people and it always pays off.
So you're an advocate for for mentoring and mentorship in the
nonprofit space for leaders? Why is mentorship so important
for you and, and really for the nonprofit space and, and how can
leaders effectively build that kind of mentorship or, or
support network? I ask people all the time.
(20:13):
I have my friend who's also ACF mom and she's the executive
director of a found ACF foundation in California.
And I always say to her, you're you're my mentor, you're my
person. She's a bigger organization.
She's been doing it longer than me.
And I love to say to her this, Ihad an idea about this.
(20:36):
What do you think? And she'll say it was actually
about our mentoring program. I'm like, do you think there's a
need? And she was like, there's no one
out there doing it. Great idea, do it.
And now it's growing so quickly and we got a grant for it and no
one else is doing it. And we are getting people coming
from California and all over thecountry now who want to be
(20:59):
mentored by another CF parent. So it's just really important to
share ideas. And then somebody will reach out
to me and say, I was thinking about doing this.
It's also about respecting your boundaries.
I don't want to go after anotherfoundation who's doing all the,
they're doing, you know, marathons and races and half
(21:20):
marathons. That's their lane.
My lane is different. My lane is parents, my lane is
podcast, my lane is stories and giving out financial assistance.
So everybody kind of, you know, it's not research, that's what,
you know, another foundation does.
So I think it's respect and we collaborate together as well, so
(21:42):
it's really nice. Laura, we started off the
podcast talking about kind of the issue around how many folks
see nonprofits as as different than businesses in a in a
negative way, thinking of them as illegitimate or the minor
leagues. So for our audience out there,
what steps can nonprofits take to really shift that perception
(22:02):
and ensure that they're seen as essential and serious
organizations within their communities and industries?
I think we definitely have to take ourselves seriously.
And I think some of this might sound silly or it might sound
egotistical, but anybody who knows me knows that's not how I
am. But I will say, I call myself
(22:23):
the CEO of the foundation because executive director
sounds very nonprofit and it, itdoes sound silly.
But if you're the CEO of a corporation, people want to talk
to you. So I made myself the CEO of the
Bonnell Foundation because, oh, it's, it just, it's silly, but
it sounds better. And then I really do try and
dress very nice going to events and everything because it's how
(22:47):
we're perceived. And that is your first encounter
with people and people like it or not, do judge you right away.
And if I'm, if I'm in a T-shirt and jeans, regardless of what my
foundation is, it's just important to be the face of it.
And, and so that's why I do that.
(23:08):
I, I just think it's, you know, it's really important.
Just wrapping up here, Laura, for for this episode.
Any resources that you'd like toshare around today's topic?
Yeah, I think I always look for like, Michigan Nonprofit
Association is a group. There's all kinds of nonprofit
groups. I'm also in this rare disease
(23:31):
diversity coalition because cystic fibrosis, for example,
under diagnosis, people of color, it's in and every, every
facet of the United States has gay people in it, right?
And so you want to make sure you're representing everyone
(23:52):
because it's really inclusion isso important.
So make sure you're reaching outto other networks.
I make sure that I talk with theNational Association of African
Americans with Cystic Fibrosis, and we have ACF Familia page
that is in Spanish so the Hispanic community can get
(24:16):
information about cystic fibrosis.
I think the American Thoracic Society is a great organization,
Organizations that you respect and think, wow, they're
organized, join them, find them,talk to someone, you'll learn
from them. They'll be interested in your
organization. And then when you're working on
(24:37):
bipartisan issues and you know, legislation like the Haemophilia
Foundation, they kill it. They're so good and I love
working with them and I have a great bond with their, you know,
the head of the one in Michigan.So those things, it's like, all
right. And then we're all going to be,
you know, in a rare disease community event and then we're
(25:00):
all there together. It's just the greatest feeling.
Awesome, awesome. And the last question, Laura,
for for this episode, a questionwe ask every episode is my
favorite question. If you were on stage in front of
1000 nonprofit leaders and you could share one thing, one
sentence about today's topic, which is why you should be
running your nonprofit like a business or corporation, what
(25:22):
would you say? I think it's you're telling your
story and you're helping other people and tell your story
everywhere and be kind and inclusive because if you're not,
why are you doing this? So yeah, I think trying to keep
(25:42):
it short, that's what I would do.
Tell your story and include everybody.
Awesome, awesome. Laura, this has been such a
helpful conversation. It's got me thinking in in
multiple directions, but just again, thinking about nonprofit
leaders should be deadly seriousabout their work because their
work is deadly serious. Their work is changing lives.
(26:04):
And, and really, nonprofits should probably take a step
forward or a step toward rather taking their nonprofit to the
next level by implementing best practices that businesses
implement, by resourcing expertsand, and really thinking of
themselves not as a charity, butas a serious operation that is
changing lives. Thank you so much, Josh.
(26:25):
It was great to come on your podcast.
I appreciate it. Thanks, Laura.
Hey, thanks for listening. You enjoyed this conversation.
Please share or leave us a rating and review wherever you
listen to podcast. Also, head over to
nonprofitpolls.com to sign up for our monthly newsletter as
well as check out all the links and resources in the show notes.
We'll see you next time.
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