Episodes

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Catherine Ashton.  Catherine tells us the three pillars to grow your grant program. She explains the importance of language choices, getting organized, and where to find the money. Catherine is passionate about helping nonprofits raise money. You will enjoy these conversations with Catherine.  […]

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Catherine Ashton.  Catherine tells us the three pillars to grow your grant program. She explains the importance of language choices, getting organized, and where to find the money. Catherine is passionate about helping nonprofits raise money. You will enjoy these conversations with Catherine. 

You’ve probably heard of the “feedback sandwich” where you put criticism in between two positive or flattering comments.  Well Beth Wonson wants to rid the work world of that model because we’re now so trained to hearing it that it undermines the whole experience.  She has a completely different approach to feedback – and challenging

How much of your day is spent firefighting?  How much time do you spend on things that aren’t urgent or – just as you get to the really important tasks – you get interrupted by colleagues who just want to have a quick word about something.  Today’s guest, Kally Gagnon is a nonprofit coach who

When you think of volunteers for your nonprofit, what are you hoping they’ll achieve for you?  Yes, of course there’s no wages to pay but just like free puppies, there’s a ton of work involved if you want any chance of success.  And if you’re putting in that work, don’t you want to get the

Think Grant Writing Is Boring? Think Again! Grant writing might sound a little dry, and maybe it can be at times, but it can also be quite creative and innovative. There may be days when we feel stuck or can’t think through a problem. We’ve stared at the screen so long, when we close our eyes

This episode is bursting with “do good” flavor! Today’s great guest is Sybil Ackerman-Munson. Over the course of her career Sybil has devised strategies worth $45 million for large and small private foundations, individual donors and public charities. She has a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School, a Masters Degree from the Yale School

In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Sarah Olivieri.  Sarah Created the Impact Method, a framework that helps non-profits simplify their operations. Sarah and Travis talk about the process of improvement, the need to hear from the people on the ground, and why It is O.K. to pay your staff.      Conversation Highlights:  {00:35} Introduction

This episode is bursting with “do good” flavor! Today’s great guest is Sybil Ackerman-Munson. Over the course of her career Sybil has devised strategies worth $45 million for large and small private foundations, individual donors and public charities. She has a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School, a Masters Degree from the Yale School

In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Sarah Olivieri.  Sarah Created the Impact Method, a framework that helps non-profits simplify their operations. Sarah and Travis talk about the process of improvement, the need to hear from the people on the ground, and why It is O.K. to pay your staff.      Conversation Highlights:  {00:35} Introduction

On this episode we talk about the business life of a female entrepreneur. She started out with a literal lemonade stand at 5 years old. We talk about if you should go into college or business right away. We talk about what it’s like to be a female CEO in today’s world. Is business growth

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Sarah Olivieri.  Sarah Created the Impact Method, a framework that helps non-profits simplify their operations. Sarah and Travis talk about the process of improvement, the need to hear from the people on the ground, and why It is O.K. to pay your

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Sarah Olivieri.  Sarah Created the Impact Method, a framework that helps non-profits simplify their operations. Sarah and Travis talk about the process of improvement, the need to hear from the people on the ground, and why It is O.K. to pay your

Seems like there are always at least half a dozen jobs going for senior fundraisers or directors and the turnover rate is scary, the average time someone stays in one of those jobs is around 18 months.  My guest today is Kimberley MacKenzie, one of Canada’s premier nonprofit coaches who’s done the fundraising gig herself,

You’ve got your nonprofit mission and vision, and if you follow me anywhere else you’ll know about having an impact statement.  But what about your Wow Factor?  Nonprofit founder and coach Katie Blomquist tells me how valuable it is to have not just a distinguishing feature for your nonprofit but one that really grabs attention. 

We tend to think of marketing as a way to tell people about our nonprofit or our services or maybe an event.  It’s one-way communication.  Especially with digital marketing, where we’re sending emails or posting on social media.  Digital strategist Chris Barlow takes a different approach, which is about using digital marketing to serve donors. 

We don’t have a crystal ball to tell us what to do over the next year to re-emerge from lockdowns and other Covid restrictions.  But we do have leadership expert Heather Wolfson, and she talks to me about what these situations really demand from us as leaders.  She tells me how to get a good

Today’s episode is about the totally irrational and emotionally driven decision to donate.  The question isn’t why do people give, but why do they give to your nonprofit?  Or why should they?  Founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer at Next After, Tim Kachuriak, has run hundreds if not thousands of experiments to see what

How Do I Start a Grant Writing Business from Scratch? Have you ever wondered… Where do I start as a grant writer? Do I have the skills to help nonprofits? Where do I find clients? How do I price my services?  If so, then you’re in good company! Over the last few months of podcasting, the

373 days after his first appearance, he’s back! Scott Burlingame is unapologetic about fundraising. (And he’s also really good at it.) Up your fundraising game in just 30 minutes and find out how Scott’s team survived a 60% budget cut.  Scott is the Executive Director of Independence, Inc., a Minot, North Dakota-based Center for Independent

373 days after his first appearance, he’s back! Scott Burlingame is unapologetic about fundraising. (And he’s also really good at it.) Up your fundraising game in just 30 minutes and find out how Scott’s team survived a 60% budget cut.  Scott is the Executive Director of Independence, Inc., a Minot, North Dakota-based Center for Independent

In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Mark Pfister.  His popular book, ‘Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,’ an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up a Board, finding the perfect Board Members,

In this episode of Nonprofit Architect, Travis talks with Mark Pfister.  His popular book, ‘Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,’ an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up a Board, finding the perfect Board Members,

Can your nonprofit survive on major gifts alone?  Do you have enough loyal donors to keep you afloat?  Maybe in your case they’re the same people but it’s easy to separate the size of a gift from the frequency and take for granted the people who give us $10 or $25 month in, month out. 

We all want to be influential when we’re communicating with others  But mindset and leadership coach Maryanne Dersch will tell us to think about how we’re communicating to ourselves, first.  Are we being consistent?  Is our internal voice in alignment with our external voice?  If not, that disconnect is going to show up in our

Where are you with grants?  Have you been spending hours and hours filling out forms, shooting them off, and hoping for the best?  Have you been successful with small grants and now need to step up your game?  Grant expert Rachel Sacks walks me through the strategic thinking nonprofits need to do before they even

18 months ago no one was talking about virtual events but we’ve learned so much in doing them that now that we can plan for in-person events, why give up the virtues of online?  In this special feature edition of the podcast, I moderate a panel including yotme founder Barry Hinckley, events producer and founder

This Veteran is in need he had an accident on the 4th of July that made him lose his left eye 👁 and possibly his right eye. Please help if you can this gentleman proudly served his country and is in need of our help. If you can donate anything even if it’s only five

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Mark Pfister.  His popular book, ‘Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,’ an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up

Check out this video preview of The Nonprofit Architect Podcast where Travis interviews Mark Pfister.  His popular book, ‘Across The Board: The Modern Architecture Behind an Effective Board of Directors,’ an Amazon best-seller with circulation in over 70 countries, has influenced a whole new generation of Board Directors. Travis and Mark talk about setting up