Nonprofit Management And Staffing
Discover the art of strategic management and effective staffing in our collection of education videos–dedicated to the unique needs of nonprofits and NGO’s. Dive into crucial facets of successful executive leadership, exploring everything from team building and volunteer coordination to performance management and conflict resolution. These array of lessons, from Top Nonprofit Sector Experts, illuminate the complexities of managing a nonprofit, offering you actionable insights and practical tactics to elevate your organization. You’ll find ways to assemble a passionate team, who shares your mission, with in-depth guidance on cultivating a positive work culture, fostering employee engagement, and keeping your staff motivated, regardless of the challenges that arise.
Step into a conversation that goes right to the heart of nonprofit operations: banking relationships, establishing credit, and securing financial footing for long-term stability. Guest Jason Garcia, CEO of Holdings, a bank just for nonprofits, offers real guidance on how nonprofits can think like businesses when it comes to financial credibility and strategy.
Jason begins by sharing his vision for HoldingsForGood.com: “Our hope and mission is to be the dedicated partner for nonprofits across the U.S. and help them achieve their goals and increase their chances of success in their missions.” With a career built in community banking and startup finance, Jason brings a sharp perspective to an area where many nonprofits struggle—creditworthiness.
The conversation turns to the importance of establishing a credit strategy early. Jason advises that nonprofits should begin as soon as possible, even if they aren’t immediately seeking loans or credit lines: “The best time to talk to different credit providers is when you don’t need it.”
Practical steps emerge throughout the conversation, cohosted by Ellie Hume and Julia Patrick. Building a strong permanent file of organizational documents—EIN, IRS determination letter, bylaws, state registrations—was identified as essential. Ellie emphasizes that many nonprofits have these materials but often can’t locate them when needed. Jason describes how physical addresses (not PO boxes) are becoming non-negotiable due to fraud prevention measures, a reminder of how operational details intersect with financial access.
This important discussion expands beyond traditional lines of credit. Vendor relationships, government contracts, and reporting to credit bureaus such as Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax were positioned as overlooked opportunities to build a financial profile. Ellie points to the frustrations nonprofits face when executive directors are forced to tie personal social security numbers to organizational credit cards.
What will be clear is that banking relationships are not just transactional; they’re strategic. From choosing the right accounts and systems that sync seamlessly with accounting platforms, to knowing when to push for the removal of personal guarantees, nonprofits must think about finance as a forward-looking strategy rather than an emergency fix.
The episode closes with an energizing call from Jason: operate like a business. By being proactive with credit, asking the right questions of financial partners, and benchmarking against peer organizations, you can position your NPO for resilience!
#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitFinance #BankingForGood
Dr. Stephanie Rose-Belcher, COO of JMT Consulting, and Kristen Stine, HR Director at JMT Consulting, explore the real financial and human costs of nonprofit staffing. This discussion blends finance, HR, and leadership into a compelling narrative about how organizations can protect their missions by rethinking how they hire, onboard, and retain talent.
Stephanie begins by framing the evolution of nonprofit finance within a technological context. Reflecting on the industry’s shift from ledgers to AI-enabled platforms, she notes: “Technology lets finance leaders be much more of a strategist than ever before, not just someone crunching numbers and submitting reports.”, capturing a fundamental truth: today’s nonprofit financial leaders are central to strategy, not just compliance.
Kristen brings the HR dimension into focus by quantifying the staggering financial cost of turnover. “According to the Deloitte survey, we’re looking at anywhere between 50 and 200% of the annual salary of a person to recruit them, onboard them, and get them up to speed,” she warns. Beyond dollars, she points to the strain turnover places on morale, workload, and culture. Investing in retention, she argues, is not a “nice to have” but a fiscal necessity.
The discussion highlights how onboarding inefficiencies further magnify these costs. While skilled professionals may shorten the curve, Stephanie cautions that “to get to mastery and really know the organization and its nuances, it takes a hard four months for an experienced person and six months or more for others.” Without deliberate investment in training, mentorship, and culture-sharing, nonprofits risk losing ground during this critical period.
Both guests emphasize that solutions need not be costly. Flexible scheduling, sabbaticals, leadership development, and even creative benefits platforms can create workplaces that people want to stay in. They stress the importance of tailoring approaches across generations: younger staff may prioritize professional growth, while older or part-time staff may value flexible time. Equity, transparency, and HR creativity, they argue, can reconcile these different expectations.
The episode closes with a look ahead to JMT’s Innovate 2026 conference in Washington, DC—an event designed to unite finance leaders around not just technology, but broader trends shaping nonprofit leadership and sustainability.
This conversation challenges nonprofit leaders to view HR and finance as inseparable. Recruitment and retention decisions are not only about culture—they are also about stewardship of resources, organizational stability, and the ability to serve missions with consistency and strength.
Leadership isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence, awareness, and courage. That’s the central message of this sparkling conversation featuring Wendy F. Adams, CFRE, CEO of Cultivate for Good, co-host Ellie Hume of Your Part-Time Controller, and co-host Julia Patrick. Together, they unpack what it means to truly “read the room” and lead with authenticity.
Wendy brings her trademark candor and wisdom to the conversation. Affectionately called the “Elephant Slayer”, she reminds us that every meeting has unspoken dynamics—and ignoring them doesn’t make them disappear. “There’s always one in the room and it doesn’t get any smaller. We’ve got to be able to read that,” she offers. Her advice? Pause, acknowledge what’s happening, and create space for truth to emerge. Far from being awkward, this honesty often gives others permission to voice what they’re feeling too.
Ellie adds valuable perspective from the accounting and numbers world, where emotional intelligence isn’t always the strongest suit. Her questions prompt Wendy to outline practical strategies—like intentionally setting tone before a meeting, clarifying expectations, and practicing emotional awareness in social settings as a warm-up for boardroom discussions. It’s not about being naturally gifted; as Wendy emphasizes, “Spoiler: it didn’t come natural to anyone. This girl is working on it all the time.” Growth comes from steady practice.
The trio also explore the modern challenge of hybrid and virtual meetings. Cameras off? Silence in the Zoom squares? Wendy pushes back against the false assumption that silence equals agreement. Instead, she encourages leaders to embrace pauses, ask clarifying questions, and bring remote participants into the conversation first. It’s about building connection and respect, not just plowing through an agenda.
Julia raises a deeply personal question: can seasoned leaders in their 60s really evolve? Wendy’s answer is refreshingly hopeful—yes. Tools like the “Five Voices” framework help leaders understand their natural style while intentionally developing their weaker “voices.” Courageous leadership is about humility and transparency, she argues. Admitting to your team that you’re learning and evolving isn’t weakness—it’s a strength that inspires trust.
For emerging leaders, Wendy’s advice is equally empowering: don’t wait for perfection. Ask questions, seize small opportunities to lead projects or meetings, and allow your leadership style to grow alongside your organization. If you outgrow your current space, that’s not failure—it may simply mean it’s time to align with a new environment that fits your values and vision.
In a conversation that feels more like a real-time crisis briefing than a casual update, Derick Dreher, Government Funding Department Leader at Your Part-Time Controller (YPTC), breaks down the latest turbulence in federal funding. If your nonprofit depends on government grants—or even corporate partnerships—you’ll want to pay attention.
Derick opens with a stark truth: “Change is the only constant these days.” Over the past several months, nonprofits have faced an unprecedented series of delays, freezes, and sudden shifts in the flow of federal dollars. From an outright funding pause by the Office of Management and Budget to agency-specific cancellations and now a new executive order forcing a 30-day grant-making pause, the reliability nonprofits once counted on has been replaced with a precarious “rolling boil” of uncertainty.
But it’s not just about delays. The newly passed One Big Beautiful Bill—a sprawling 900-page spending package—introduces a corporate giving floor of 1% of taxable income. The concern? Many corporations have historically given just under that threshold, meaning some could cut giving entirely, while others may “bunch” donations into large, infrequent gifts, creating cash flow whiplash for nonprofits.
Derick also tackles a thorny, politically charged issue: DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) language in grant applications. After an executive order forbidding “illegal discrimination” without clearly defining it, some nonprofits began scrubbing websites and documents out of fear of jeopardizing awards. New DOJ guidance offers more clarity, but each organization will need to work with legal counsel to understand the implications.
Equally eye-opening is a startling public perception gap: only 5% of Americans believe they’ve interacted with a nonprofit, despite most having lifelong contact with them—from hospitals and schools to museums and sports leagues. Derick urges nonprofits to continually communicate their value to stakeholders and elected officials, noting that state and local funding often originates from the federal level.
Looking ahead, he’s watching two key indicators: the volume of grants listed on grants.gov (a barometer of federal stability) and the progress of 12 appropriations bills that must pass before October 1 to avoid a government shutdown. His advice? Increase the frequency of cash flow projections, consider lines of credit, and engage corporations now—before the 2026 deduction changes kick in.
Derick’s message is both calming and urgent: understand what you can control, seek accurate information, and act strategically to protect and position your nonprofit to thrive, even in a climate where certainty is in short supply.
In a sector that thrives on purpose yet struggles with burnout, Paul Hanscom, Chief Growth Officer at Ewald Consulting, unpacks what happens when nonprofits become risk-averse after a crisis—and the surprising costs of playing it safe.
This conversation is a powerful challenge to nonprofit leaders: don’t retreat. The world is still changing—rapidly—and the organizations that will thrive are those who remember what got them through the last storm and are brave enough to face the next one head-on.
Paul, a Certified Association Executive (CAE), begins with a reflection on 20 years of working with nonprofit boards and executives. His insights span not just the tactical, but the philosophical: What is lost when an organization, once agile and responsive during the pandemic, slips back into indecision and overly cautious governance?
As Paul notes, “We’ve opened up people’s eyes and created new opportunities… they don’t want to go back to the way things used to be.” This sentiment fuels the entire conversation—a reminder that organizations grew stronger by being nimble, collaborative, and bold during the pandemic. Now, many are at risk of losing that momentum.
Paul addresses executive burnout and decision fatigue. Boards are often leaning harder on Executive Directors and CEOs, who are caught between exhausted staff and cautious boards. As Paul puts it, “The turnover rates for executive directors have never been higher.” This reality points to the need to reassess organizational culture—not with fear, but with clarity and courage.
This dynamic discussion considers the root of the sector’s current malaise. Is it fatigue? Fear? Habit? The answer, Paul suggests, lies in building a risk-aware culture—where calculated experimentation is embraced, failure is allowed within reason, and data is balanced with decisiveness. He shares a compelling example of a board reluctant to shift from a “C” level initiative to an “A” one, simply out of fear they’d land at an “F.” The longer they waited, the more performance declined. It’s a parable many in the sector will recognize.
Perhaps the most valued idea comes toward the end: technology will change, funding will fluctuate, but what remains is the need for belonging. Paul makes the case that associations—and nonprofits writ large—are uniquely positioned to fulfill that human desire for connection, identity, and authenticity. “There’s nothing quite like it elsewhere,” he says, “and the clearer we can communicate that to the world, the more we resonate.”
Explore a rarely discussed intersection in nonprofit leadership: the power of interim roles in development and fundraising, with Jeffrey R. Wilcox, President of Interim Executives Academy, and Joan McBride, CEO of GreatRake, McBride and Associates. This conversation charts new ground—arguing that interim fundraising leaders are not temporary placeholders but catalysts for cultural and operational evolution.
Jeffrey emphasizes that nonprofit organizations often treat development challenges as process issues, when in fact, they require deeper organizational change. “We don’t need a consultative intervention,” he declares. “We need an evolutionary capacity-building process.” Interim development professionals, he explains, are trained not just to execute fundraising tasks but to reimagine philanthropy as a shared, embedded function across an organization.
Joan shares her own trajectory—from consultant to interim executive—and reinforces the value of a full-year commitment in interim roles. This timeframe allows for relationship-building, stabilization, and insights into the entire annual fundraising cycle—giving successor hires a strong foundation for long-term success. She points to one assignment where her interim groundwork helped a permanent hire stay three years—well beyond the national average of 19 months for development directors.
The episode also confronts difficult truths about turnover, burnout, and unrealistic expectations in fundraising leadership. Jeffrey notes that many fundraisers are “kicked to the curb” despite their talent. His solution? An intentional training program rooted in 14 core protocols for sustainable philanthropic leadership. These protocols are designed to ensure that interims leave behind a strengthened infrastructure and a clear pathway for future leaders.
The discussion widens to explore systemic issues—from federal funding cutbacks to AI’s impact on communication, from work-life balance across generations to equitable fundraising in diverse communities. What ties it all together is Jeffrey’s passionate statement: “Interims have to bring an organization a commodity called hope.” More than strategists or managers, interim leaders are meant to restore belief in what’s possible.
This fast moving episode reframes interim development leadership not as a stopgap, but as a proactive, strategic solution to one of the sector’s most persistent challenges: building a culture of philanthropy that endures.
For nonprofit leaders who want to improve internal communication, build a culture of philanthropy, and empower their entire team to support fundraising goals, cohosts Julia C. Patrick and Tony Beall spark an important and timely conversation about the often-misunderstood role of fundraising teams—and how to break down the organizational silos that hold back true impact. This
With wit, warmth, and wisdom, the pair explores why internal teams—from programming to finance to marketing—need to better understand the full picture of development work. From donor stewardship to impact selling, the development role is far more than gala invitations and lobster dinners. “Fundraising is everyone’s business,” Tony shares, “because all departments contribute to the promises we make to donors.”
The cohosts lay out how development professionals are often misperceived as simply social butterflies, when in fact their work is relationship-building, mission-selling, and impact-driving. They offer smart, actionable suggestions for fostering stronger internal collaboration—such as shared Google Docs for monthly updates and scheduled cross-departmental briefings—to ensure all team members know what’s happening across the organization.
Julia and Tony also discuss the powerful role of storytelling, customer service, and donor engagement, comparing nonprofit stewardship to luxury brand experiences. They encourage staff to become donors themselves—to feel what it’s like to be thanked (or not) and to understand the emotional side of giving.
They wrap up with a compelling case for emotional intelligence in leadership. Julia recounts a story where a development director felt deflated after discovering their C-suite colleagues didn’t know the annual fundraising goal—only to realize that fear, not apathy, was behind the silence. “There are no dumb questions when we’re trying to serve our community better,” Tony adds.
It’s budget season for nonprofits, and Dr. Stephanie Rose-Belcher, Chief Operating Officer at JMT Consulting, brings powerful insight to the table in this energizing session with host Julia Patrick. With over three decades of nonprofit sector expertise, JMT helps finance departments move from back-office cost centers to proactive strategy drivers—and Stephanie shows us how. Whether you’re preparing for the fiscal year or completely rethinking how your nonprofit builds financial strategy, this episode offers more than insight—it gives you a roadmap.
“We need to stop thinking of budgets as fixed and start treating them like what they really are—a living, breathing plan of action,” Stephanie begins. This instructive conversation lays out exactly how nonprofit leaders can reframe budgeting as a collaborative, mission-aligned process rather than a one-time spreadsheet task.
The conversation opens by emphasizing the necessity of starting with a strategic plan. Before anyone touches a budget template, the entire leadership team needs to align on long-term goals, funding mechanisms, and sustainability models. Only then does budgeting begin—with intention and purpose.
Stephanie urges nonprofit leaders to ditch the siloed approach. Budgeting shouldn't live with just the CFO. It must involve department heads, development teams, and the board to ensure full alignment between goals and resources. This transparency avoids the all-too-common tension that arises when program and development departments operate without a shared roadmap.
One standout tip: Build not one, but three budgets—best case, expected case, and worst case. “This isn’t just a COVID-era idea,” Stephanie asserts. Scenario planning is a best practice that strengthens resilience and foresight.
Stephanie also shares how benchmarking and key performance indicators (KPIs) can become tools for empowerment, not just financial oversight. When done right, they spark innovation and teamwork. Monthly forecasting and open communication about KPIs help leadership make smarter decisions and enable course corrections before things go off track.
But transparency must be handled with care. Stephanie offers practical advice on sharing financial realities without inciting panic. By pairing clear updates with actionable solutions, organizations can rally their teams around shared responsibility instead of fear.
How do you lead when everything feels uncertain? Carina Santa Maria, CEO of Shelter Youth and Family Services, shared a bold, forward-thinking approach to nonprofit leadership in challenging times. From weathering funding impasses and the pandemic to rethinking donor relationships and pioneering new models of care, Carina proves that crisis can be a catalyst for transformation.
Shelter-Inc.org, based outside Chicago, has served vulnerable youth and families for 50 years. Yet Carina candidly shares that despite its legacy, the organization has had to reinvent itself multiple times. Whether navigating Illinois’ state budget freeze or pivoting during COVID-19, the common thread has been resilience backed by strategy. “We had to pivot and find the resources to make sure those services were delivered,” Carina says.
But this conversation is about more than survival—it's about rising. Carina reveals how she and her team moved away from event-based fundraising and focused on cultivating deep donor relationships. The result? A record-setting $1.8 million raised in one year—without galas or trivia nights. This change didn’t come easy, but it paid off with greater mission alignment and long-term investment from supporters.
Carina also discusses the organization's next bold chapter: building Illinois’ first DCFS-approved group home for child victims of human trafficking. What began as a donor’s $50,000 trust experiment has blossomed into a $5 million initiative. “He told me, ‘I don’t care if it works. I just want to see you think outside the box,’” Carina shares. It’s a stunning example of what’s possible when leaders are trusted and supported to innovate.
The episode touches on advocacy, trauma-informed storytelling, and building credibility through impact rather than sentiment. Carina makes a compelling case for nonprofit leaders to demand their place at decision-making tables and challenge outdated narratives that nonprofits are less strategic than their corporate counterparts.
For nonprofit professionals, this conversation is both a challenge and a blueprint. Carina reminds us that strategy, communication, and vision can carry organizations through uncertainty—not just intact, but stronger.
What if your volunteer engagement strategy was more than just a nice-to-have? What if it were the heartbeat of your nonprofit’s growth, donor development, and impact? That’s exactly the message Nicole R. Smith, Executive Director of AL!VE (Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement), and Allie Acridge, Volunteer Engagement Specialist at The Women’s Community, bring to this energizing conversation.
Nicole, a Certified Volunteer Administrator (CVA), kicks things off by explaining the value of professionalizing volunteer engagement: “Managing volunteers, when done well, is like a conductor overseeing an orchestra.” She urges organizations to treat volunteer engagement as a strategic function that touches every part of the organization, not as an afterthought or disposable tag.
Allie echoes that sentiment through her work with a domestic violence and sexual assault shelter, where volunteer coordination is both delicate and essential. “You come to a point where you need more—and AL!VE is that ‘more,’” she shares. From managing trauma-informed volunteers to maintaining confidentiality and safety, Allie’s day-to-day shows why expertise matters in this field.
The conversation spotlights AL!VE’s broader mission: to empower, educate, and connect volunteer leaders nationwide. Nicole emphasizes how volunteers can—and often do—become donors, board members, and organizational champions. But that transformation requires intentional communication and inclusion from all levels of the organization. “Volunteers who are treated well will become your biggest advocates. They’re better than any marketing campaign you could buy.”
The duo also introduces the AL!VE Impact Awards, which recognize outstanding volunteer engagement leaders across the country. Whether you're nominating someone new to the field or a seasoned pro, these awards celebrate those orchestrating impact behind the scenes—and they're open now.
For those feeling like a “department of one,” Nicole reminds us: “You are not alone. We are your people.” From monthly workshops to a thriving network of peers, AL!VE offers a powerful support system for those championing volunteerism as a profession, not just a task.
Whether you’re in leadership or in the trenches, this episode is a rallying call to elevate volunteer management and treat it as the profession it truly is.
Finding great fundraising talent doesn’t have to feel like searching for unicorns! On this Fundraisers Friday conversation, Julia Patrick and Tony Beall team up to demystify the talent search and show nonprofits how to recruit smarter, not harder. Whether you’re scrambling to fill a vacant role, thinking about future staffing needs, or exploring nontraditional ways to build your dream team, this conversation is packed with smart ideas and refreshing encouragement.
Tony kicks things off with a reality check: “There’s a lot of talent out there—but how do we find them, and how do we know they’re the right fit for our organization?” From there, the episode unpacks practical strategies for uating current and future needs, exploring interim and fractional solutions, and rethinking how we define “qualified” candidates.
One concept is hiring for ‘high will, low skill’—especially in entry-level and mid-tier fundraising roles. These candidates bring enthusiasm, adaptability, and mission alignment, even if they lack years of sector-specific experience. As Tony explains, it’s about looking beyond resumes and finding people who are ready to grow with your organization.
The duo also makes a strong case for casting a wider net when posting jobs. Sure, LinkedIn and Indeed are fine—but why not also try your Chamber of Commerce, Urban League, or networking groups? They suggest your next superstar might be a hotel events manager or a corporate sales leader ready for a purposeful pivot into the nonprofit world.
They also tackle “the poaching taboo” head-on. Recruiting local fundraisers isn’t shameful—it’s smart, as long as you’re doing it to grow your mission, not to raid someone else’s donor portfolio.
Finally, they discuss the pros (and myths) around using recruiting agencies. Think they’re just for C-suite hiring? Think again. Even small shops can benefit—these pros understand the landscape, fine-tune job descriptions, and save tons of time and stress.
These two provide you a toolkit for building a resilient, adaptable, and passionate development team—one smart hire at a time.
If you've ever worked in a nonprofit and found yourself fronting expenses on your personal credit card, you're not alone—and you're definitely not doing it wrong. But there's a better way. Our host sat down with GiveFront.com , to unpack how nonprofits can modernize the way they manage spending, reimbursements, and financial oversight.
Founder of GiveFront, Matt Tengtrakool, brings a unique dual lens to the discussion: one from years of hands-on experience running and managing nonprofit finances, and another from building financial technology designed specifically for the sector. His message is clear—nonprofits deserve modern tools to track spending, reduce fraud risk, streamline compliance, and eliminate burdensome reimbursement systems.
He explains that many organizations still operate with a single credit card passed around among staff—a system ripe for errors, delays, and a lack of accountability. GiveFront provides an alternative: customizable, trackable virtual cards that make it easy for even volunteers to make approved purchases. “You want to allow people to spend for your organization, but you also want control,” Matt explains. “And having the systems set up from the start is extremely important.”
The conversation covers common friction points between program teams and finance departments, shedding light on how better spend management can actually strengthen relationships across departments. Host Julia Patrick and Matt explore the psychological side of transparency, the real costs of missing receipts, and the ripple effects of poor policy enforcement.
Matt also shares how sales tax refunds—often ignored due to their complexity—can recapture up to 10% of an organization’s spending. With GiveFront’s built-in tools, nonprofits in states like North Carolina and Utah can automatically generate sales tax refund documentation without drowning in paperwork.
The episode wraps with practical advice: adopt a spend management platform, train your team on internal financial policies, and revisit those policies regularly. Because managing money well isn’t just about spreadsheets—it’s about trust, clarity, and making sure every dollar does the most good.
What if becoming a pilot wasn’t a dream reserved for the few—but a real career path for young people in underserved communities? In this inspiring conversation, Dana Donati, CEO of Breaking Down Barriers.org, shares how their aviation nonprofit is rewriting the narrative on who gets to fly.
Founded by former American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and his wife, Gwen, Breaking Down Barriers takes flight training and mentorship directly into Dallas communities where aviation has historically been out of reach. From first-grade classrooms to community colleges, Dana and her team spark interest in aviation careers early—well before the traditional fork-in-the-road moments of college or military service.
Dana explains, “Becoming a pilot is expensive. So sometimes that automatically pushes out the group of people that have the skill, just don’t have the financial means.” That’s where Breaking Down Barriers steps in—with scholarships, mentorship, and ongoing support that go beyond one-time transactions. Students sign a promise on day one: not just to succeed, but to return and uplift others in their community.
In a sector facing a massive talent gap, especially post-pandemic, this model isn’t just feel-good—it’s workforce development at its finest. Dana outlines how they rotate mentors every three months to give students exposure to multiple professionals and expand their aviation networks—replacing outdated “lifelong mentor” models with something more agile and sustainable.
This conversation goes beyond aviation. It becomes a blueprint for how nonprofits can foster generational change by focusing on access, exposure, and reinvestment. From field trips to local airports to connecting aviation with brands kids already know—McDonald's, John Deere, Disney—Dana's team finds innovative ways to plant seeds of possibility.
For nonprofits wrestling with how to reach and shape future professionals, Breaking Down Barriers offers more than a flight path—it offers a runway.
The Chief Investment Officer at Christian Brothers Services, Steve Sliwinski, offers a highly approachable yet technically sound guide to nonprofit investment strategy. With decades of financial experience and dual designations as CFA and CAIA, Steve breaks down how organizations—regardless of size—can begin managing and growing their financial assets responsibly.
From policy benchmarking and committee structure to modern investment tools and trends like IP transfers and crypto, Steve’s insights will help demystify what can often be an intimidating subject. This episode is a must-watch for boards, CFOs, and executive leaders seeking clarity on how to begin—or refine—their investment approach.
The discussion begins with a history of Christian Brothers Services, which evolved from a cooperative model among Catholic schools into a nationwide provider of retirement, insurance, and investment services for thousands of institutions. This story serves as an example of scalable collaboration and strategic vision, offering NPO’s a compelling model for shared resource management.
Steve explains that waiting for a major windfall to begin investing is outdated thinking. “It’s certainly not out of reach to create a well-diversified portfolio with under $100,000,” he shares, emphasizing that even small recurring contributions—like payroll-deducted retirement savings—can grow into substantial assets over time. The message: nonprofits don’t need to be large to think long-term.
Much of the conversation centers around the role of the investment committee. Steve offers a fresh take, stating that technical expertise isn’t always necessary. What matters most is “a long-term orientation and strategic mindset.” Ideal committee size? Three to seven individuals with high-level focus, not necessarily financial professionals.
The conversation, with host Julia Patrick, continues into policy development and investment alignment with mission. Steve discusses how ESG (environmental, social, governance) or values-based screening—once costly—is now affordable and feasible even for small organizations. He encourages nonprofits to create an investment policy document in partnership with a consultant or a platform like Vanguard or Fidelity to ensure thoughtful, repeatable decision-making. He stresses the importance of sticking with the strategy through market fluctuations: “Set the policy at the beginning, know why it exists, and abide by it—especially in difficult times.”
What happens when artificial intelligence collides with nonprofit hiring? Katie Warnock, CEO and Founder of Staffing Boutique, brings over two decades of recruitment wisdom to unpack the evolving world of nonprofit staffing—where AI, automation, and applicant tracking systems are rapidly reshaping the game.
From resume reviews to video interviews scored by machines, Katie walks us through what’s real, what’s useful, and what still absolutely needs a human touch. She describes AI as a powerful tool—but not a one-size-fits-all solution.
She shares how AI can now instantly generate candidate pipelines, automate scheduling, and send emails with the ease of a few clicks. But for seasoned recruiters like Katie, there's hesitation: trust and nuance still matter. And for organizations hiring in the nonprofit space, personality and mission alignment can't be faked—no matter how good your chatbot is.
This episode also explores the do’s and don’ts of keyword optimization, especially for nonprofit resumes. Katie gets specific about how grant writers, development staff, and even tech candidates should tailor their resumes for today’s smart hiring systems. Generic titles like “fundraiser” or “event planner”? Not enough. Think: gala, silent auction, CRM platform, institutional giving.
But perhaps most eye-opening is Katie’s reflection on the new loop: AI-powered interviews are becoming so common that some candidates now use AI to answer questions during the interview—prompting some companies to head back to in-person hiring. “There has to be some sort of reversal,” Katie warns. “How do you even trust that a resume was written by the person who actually did the job?”
This is a refreshingly candid, real-world conversation about modern hiring challenges in the nonprofit sector. You’ll walk away with smarter strategies, tech tools to explore (or avoid), and a renewed appreciation for the irreplaceable value of human connection.