Nonprofit Utopia
113 episodes listed below
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Formerly known as Nonprofit ”U”, the Nonprofit Utopia podcast is an extension of the ideal community for emerging nonprofit leaders. We use our podcast as an online forum where nonprofit stakeholders can discuss the latest developments in the sector and increase their capacity to serve their clients and build sustainable communities. Valerie F. Leonard, an expert in community and organizational development is the host. Topics include nonprofit management, community development, capacity building and organizational development.
Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Valerie Leonard turns nonprofit funding, governance, compliance, and policy pressure into concrete questions leaders can use.
Nonprofit Utopia Podcast treats nonprofit leadership as practical operating work. Valerie Leonard moves between instructional sessions and group discussions, connecting mission-driven plans to funding, governance, compliance, and policy pressure.
Funders can see your board's warts; Valerie Leonard would like you to look first.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical fundraising reset for nonprofit leaders, with direct board and funding-climate advice.
This episode stays practical throughout. It keeps circling back to a few blunt pieces of advice: know the board, read the funding climate, and do not wait until the last minute to raise money.
A practical refresher on nonprofit year-end compliance and reporting.
Valerie Leonard lays out the compliance work nonprofit leaders face as fiscal year end approaches. She covers Form 990s, audits, year-end tasks, donor acknowledgments, and the reporting rules that can change with the kind of gift involved.
Fundraising evidence for working nonprofit teams.
Fundraising advice with operational backbone.
Practical leadership conversations for the social profit sector.
Clear talk for the charity sector.
Start with the room.
Valerie F.
Valerie Leonard, founder of Nonprofit Utopia, presents 12 signs that a nonprofit culture is preventing people and organizations from reaching their potential.
Valerie Leonard, founder of Nonprofit Utopia, explains how nonprofits can build employee handbooks covering policies, procedures, benefits, culture, and legal responsibilities.
Valerie Leonard, founder of Nonprofit Utopia, presents Sankofa as a Ghanaian philosophy of retrieving useful lessons from the past to guide forward movement.
Valerie Leonard of Nonprofit Utopia leads a session on community-level policy advocacy, joined by Sharif, CEO of Ethel New Life in Chicago.