Impact Audio – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode of the Impact Audio explores the invisible forces that can nudge people away from (or toward) charitable giving. Sam Caplan digs into research, chats with a social psychologist, and breaks down why some common tactics to encourage donations can actually backfire.

He covers:

• Why context is more important than you think

• How a focus on ROI can get in the way

• What to do when the problem feels too big

Episode Notes:

• Read the research on prosocial behavior

• Check out the experiments focused on calculative mindset

• Dig into the study by Matthew Chao on demotivating incentives in charitable giving

• Read about the adverse effect of choice in donation decisions

• Learn more about pseudoinefficacy

• Find out how unfairness can impact charitable donations

• Dig into the role of identity in charitable giving

• To learn more about Submittable’s groundbreaking Microsoft Teams integration, visit submittable.com/teams

This episode of the Impact Audio podcast features Andrea Bell, Director of CSR Learning Programs at ACCP. She sits down with Sam Caplan to share their thoughts and takeaways from the 2025 ACCP Annual Conference.

Andrea and Sam discuss:

• Why CSR leaders must develop serious business acumen alongside their impact expertise
• The shift from measuring only external impact to demonstrating internal business value
• Why resilient leadership matters more than ever in uncertain times

Links:

• Follow Andrea on LinkedIn
• Follow Sam on Linkedin
• Learn more about ACCP
• Read ACCP’s insights blog
• More about the 2025 ACCP Annual Conference
• Listen to our recent episode with ACCP CEO, Andrea Wood
• Listen to our 2024 episode with former ACCP CEO, Carolyn Berkowitz
• Check out keynote speaker, Luvvie Ajayi Jones’, book “Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual”

This episode of the Impact Audio is a conversation between Submittable Sam Caplan and Ian Witthoeft, who sat down to discuss their experience at the 2025 National Grant Management Association Conference.

They cover:

• How recent budget cuts are changing government grantmaking

• The dueling priorities of compliance and impact reporting

• AI’s potential role in fraud prevention

This episode of the Impact Audio podcast features Abigail Epane-Osuala, president of the GE Healthcare Foundation, and Ash Rogers, Co-CEO of Lwala Community Alliance. They share how they built a partnership that utilizes the inherent strengths of each organization.

They cover:

• The principles and practices that create strong funder-grantee relationships

• How to build short-term benchmarks for long-term impact measurement

• Forging partnerships across the public and private sectors

This episode of the Impact Audio podcast features Nick Cain, VP of strategy and innovation at the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. He shares the foundation’s approach to AI, and how the nonprofit sector can start building the technology they need for themselves.

He digs into:

• Real-world examples of AI shaping social impact outcomes

• How the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation builds the technology their grantees need

• The story behind Grant Guardian, a financial due diligence tool for foundations

This episode of Impact Audio features Tom Knowlton, CEO of CSR Talent Group. He shares how some companies are tailoring CSR programs to better meet employee needs.

He digs into:

• The keys to engaging hard-to-reach employees

• How to think more holistically about employee engagement

• Real-world examples of individualized volunteer programs

One trillion dollars of federal funding was distributed via government grants last year. We all have a stake in how this money moves and how these decisions are made.

Today on Impact Audio, David Clark, managing director at BDO and self-described “compliance nerd,” explores how the expectations and goals around government grantmaking are shifting.

He covers:

• How the legislative process shapes funding

• Specifics updates to Uniform Guidance

• What transparency and equity look like in the public sector

This episode of the Impact Audio features Fred Tan, head of social impact at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He shares how HPE teams up with their customers to make meaningful progress on some of the world’s most pressing issues.

He digs into:

• Building partnerships at the personal and organizational level

• Strategies to find the right social impact niche for your company

• The mechanisms that create real innovation

This episode of Impact Audio features Woodrow Rosenbaum, chief data officer at GivingTuesday. He shares how the organization has stepped up to help solve one of the most common issues facing nonprofits—how to access and derive insights from data.

He digs into:

• The story behind GivingTuesday’s data strategy

• Why standardization is not the endgame

• The data that reveals a big opportunity for attracting more donors

This episode of the Impact Audio podcast features Megan Strand, director of strategic consulting at Realized Worth. She lays out how an employee volunteer network can transform employees’ relationships with their company’s social impact work.

She shares:

• The structures that underpin genuine engagement

• How to balance your focus between current state and future state

• Why you should be aiming for the IKEA effect