Next in Nonprofits – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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 tax deductions are not a decision factor for many).

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
• Brand Analysis
• Brand Guide (Sample: Mirasol's OFFICIAL New Brand Guide!) 

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.

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?)

Sheetal Puri is the Senior Director, Digital Fundraising for the Wikimedia Foundation. "The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and our other free knowledge projects." Wikimedia is supported by millions of individual donors, and projects like Wikipedia serve billions and billions of web views every month.

Host Steve Boland asked Sheetal to discuss a project to segment communications between existing donors (about two percent of Wikipedia users) and users who have not yet made a financial contribution. Her team sent an email to recurring donors before a campaign launch providing those donors with an option to avoid seeing on-site messaging related to the campaign. The option to install a cookie provides some technological convenience, but more importantly, a recognition of the relationship with existing donors while reaching out to non-donors.

Sheetal discusses the goals behind this connection to donors, as well as other potential ways for supporters to serve as ambassadors for mission-based organizations.

Karen Graham is the founder of Karen Graham Consulting, with whose "20+ years experience in nonprofit leadership, consulting, and capacity building earned me a broad knowledge of how people, process, and technology can work together to create impact."

Karen was part of a team with NTEN and Lehman Associates collaborating on a survey of donor management system (DMS) satisfaction in the nonprofit community. The full survey materials are available at Karen Graham Consulting. Karen joins host Steve Boland to discuss the survey and the implications for organizations working with DMS' - which according to the survey is most nonprofits! Karen shares insights on the issues rated with highest and lowest satisfaction, the most commonly used DMS', and investing in the people operating the systems to understand the highest level of return.

Lesley De Paz is the lead consultant at Nonprofit Orchard, which offers a "step by step approach to align all aspects of my organization helping us to reach our potential."

Lesley recommends and uses logic models and theories of change to help nonprofits in their work. She joins host Steve Boland to talk about the difference between a logic model and a theory of change, how outputs are different from outcomes, understanding your own inputs to create change, and much more! Visit Nonprofit Orchard to see some examples of logic models, learn about templates, and find other resources.

Lynn Margherio is the Founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons, which "provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play. We supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities." Cradles to Crayons uses a lot of volunteers - of all ages - to meet their mission goals.

Lynn joins host Steve Boland to talk about the importance of volunteerism as a component of building both service delivery and community support for nonprofit missions. The Cradles to Crayons "Giving Factory" (a warehouse where volunteers can give to their mission) has thousands of volunteer visits every year and Lynn talks about leveraging that commitment to further engagement in the mission work over time. Lynn talks about growing from faxes and spreadsheets to using a customized Salesforce implementation (more on Salesforce for nonprofits in this podcast episode), the importance of relationship and connection with volunteers, and much more.

Lynn also has a TEDxBeaconStreet talk about building an "army of empathy" including volunteers and building a culture of connection from a young age.