Out of Survival Mode: How Innovation Can Transform Nonprofits

What if the key to nonprofit success isn’t just more funding, but better systems, leadership, and innovation?

In this episode, hosts Dave Raley and Carly Berna sit down with Dan Bentley, Managing Director of Impacto Consulting and host of the Innovate for Impact podcast. 

Dan’s work helps nonprofits break free from “survival mode” and become high-performing, impact-driven organizations. Drawing from both his for-profit background and nearly a decade of consulting in the social sector, Dan shares practical strategies for building resilient, innovative, and empowered teams, especially in the face of limited resources.

Together with Dave and Carly, Dan outlines the critical mindset shifts and organizational changes required to create meaningful, scalable impact.

Key Topics They Cover:

• What “survival mode” looks like in nonprofit organizations,and how to break out of it

• Why resource constraints actually fuel innovation in the nonprofit sector

• The four pillars of innovative organizations:

1. Ambition Focused

2. Creative Leadership

3. Client Centricity

4. Empowered People

• Why “Empowered People” is often the weakest link, and what to do about it

• Lessons nonprofits can teach the for-profit world about adaptability, systems, and solving real-world problems

• The power of systematized innovation and frontline empowerment, with examples from organizations like the Starlight Children’s Foundation

• Dan’s personal journey – from corporate insurance to international travel to founding Impacto Consulting

Plus, don’t miss the lightning round, where Dan shares the most random item on his bucket list, his surprising past in Australian hip hop, and the one cause he’d donate a million dollars to.

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Special thanks to editor and sound engineer Barry R. Hill and producer Abigail Morse.