Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership

This episode features Kelsey Picken discussing a practical lifelong learning framework for nonprofit leaders, covering formal and informal education paths and leadership as multiplication.

This episode discusses nonprofit mergers, using the host's announcement of PMA Nonprofit Leadership's merger with Armstrong McGuire as a case study to explore what nonprofit leaders need to know about such strategic partnerships.

This episode features an interview with Christy Pietrica, CEO of Hearth, discussing how nonprofit leaders can build trust, empower teams, and shift from reactive firefighting to strategic leadership with clarity and compassion.

This special Thanksgiving episode reflects on key learnings from 2025 by highlighting seven notable guests who shared valuable resources and ideas for nonprofit leaders.

This episode features Dianne Chipps Bailey sharing three essential practices for successful nonprofit leadership, focusing on revenue diversification, board engagement, and personal well-being.

This episode features an interview with Theo Ellington and Genevieve Leighton-Armah discussing how to be an adaptive leader in turbulent times, aimed at nonprofit and philanthropic leaders.

This episode features Rebecca White discussing how nonprofit leaders can transform stagnant strategic plans into actionable strategies using a practical four-step approach.

This episode explores how nonprofit leaders can practically implement AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to enhance marketing, fundraising, and donor engagement while maintaining a human touch.

This episode explores how nonprofit leaders can secure funding by shifting from transactional proposal writing to building meaningful, trust-based relationships with funders.

This episode features Will Acuff discussing how nonprofit leaders should prioritize building authentic relationships and community partnerships over control to achieve lasting impact.

This episode features Rachel Platt discussing five budget-friendly strategies to help nonprofit leaders retain their best employees and reduce turnover.

This episode explores how nonprofit leaders can offer valuable lessons to the business world, flipping the typical narrative of business teaching nonprofits.

This episode features an interview with Stephen Newland about five essential finance skills that nonprofit leaders need to develop financial confidence and improve their organization's management.

This episode features an interview with Janelle Moravec, executive director of the Youth and Family Counseling Organization, discussing how to lead nonprofits with both immediate effectiveness and long-term sustainability through succession planning, mentoring, and navigating organizational change.

This episode features an interview with Shilpa Alva, co-founder and executive director of Surge For The Future, discussing how nonprofit leaders can strategically scale their organizations during periods of dramatic growth.

This episode features Sarah Mann Willcox discussing how nonprofit leaders can better understand funders' perspectives to build stronger relationships and improve fundraising strategies.

This episode features an interview with Garrett Cathcart, co-founder and executive director of More Perfect Union, discussing the challenges and leadership skills involved in building a nonprofit from the ground up, particularly focusing on veteran-led organizations.

This episode features an interview with Sarah Tucker discussing how nonprofit leaders can apply Edward de Bono's lateral thinking concepts like Six Thinking Hats to solve complex problems with limited resources.

This episode explores how scarcity mindset affects nonprofit organizations and offers practical strategies for leaders to overcome it and reclaim strategic leadership.

This episode features David Rhode discussing five essential topics for nonprofit leaders to build sustainable and successful organizations.

This episode features Mary Kelly, a Navy veteran and founder of Productive Leaders, discussing how nonprofit leaders can prepare for and navigate crises using the PIVOT model framework.

This episode features an interview with Ora Grodzki about how nonprofit leaders can move beyond quick fixes to create lasting cultural transformation through better listening and shared power.

This episode features an interview with Patricia Glass, founder of Flourish Nonprofits, discussing how nonprofit founders can avoid common mistakes to turn their passion into real community impact.

This episode explores why nonprofit leaders struggle to secure unrestricted revenue and features Sherry Quam Taylor discussing alternative approaches to fundraising.

This episode explores how nonprofit leaders can effectively communicate their mission to inspire action, featuring an interview with Salvatore Manzi, founder of Leadership Communications.

This solo episode provides four practical ideas for current and aspiring nonprofit leaders to advance their leadership journey immediately, based on a presentation from the AFP Icon Conference.

This episode features an interview with executive coach Chris Wong discussing his Bridge Framework to help nonprofit leaders build a high-performance culture by enhancing communication, accountability, and collaboration across different leadership levels.

This episode features an interview with Amy Seintourens, a fraud management expert, discussing practical strategies for nonprofit leaders to protect their organizations from fraud.

This episode explores why professional development initiatives often fail in nonprofit organizations and provides practical solutions to make them more effective.

This episode features an interview with Shanavia Montgomery discussing her ABCs framework for nonprofit leaders to build community impact from grassroots to grasstops levels.

This episode explores why nonprofit boards become disengaged, arguing it's often a clarity issue rather than lack of commitment, and provides practical solutions to re-engage them effectively.

This episode features a moderated panel discussion with four statewide nonprofit association experts who share insights and resources on current challenges facing nonprofit leaders, including financial volatility, policy shifts, and workforce burnout.

This episode features John Griffith discussing essential endowment strategies for nonprofit leaders to ensure long-term financial stability and mission growth.

This episode features a conversation with Logan Herring, CEO of The Work Group, about rethinking nonprofit organizational structures to create lasting community change rather than just managing problems.

This episode features Mary Gallivan discussing practical AI insights for nonprofit leaders to implement without overwhelm, focusing on tools and responsible usage.

This episode features Tom Kelly discussing how nonprofit leaders can effectively partner with family foundations by adopting entrepreneurial approaches, integrating AI, and building long-term relationships beyond transactional funding.

This episode features Sean Kosofsky discussing how nonprofit leaders can negotiate their salary, severance, and overall career protection through what he calls 'executive protection'.

This episode features Ivan Canada, executive director of the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, sharing four essential resources for nonprofit leaders, covering advocacy, compliance, fundraising, and peer connections.

This episode features an interview with Maggie Kane, founder of A Place at the Table nonprofit cafe, discussing how to maintain mission integrity while achieving financial sustainability in nonprofit leadership.

Host Patton McDowell interviews Brett Loftus, CEO of Cross North Communities for Children, to discuss how unacknowledged trauma and toxic stress affect nonprofit leaders, often disguised as burnout, and explore strategies for addressing these issues in organizations.

This episode discusses the common problem of nonprofits treating marketing as a luxury, which limits their long-term impact.

Kevin Dean, CEO of the Tennessee Nonprofit Network, shares his harrowing first experience as a nonprofit executive, including laying off staff and facing loneliness.

This episode features an interview with Russell Harvey, founder of the Resilience Coach, discussing practical tools like the VUCA framework and resilience wheel to help nonprofit leaders navigate constant change and build resilience.

This episode features an interview with Tracetta Washington, founder of Profitable Productivity, discussing strategies for nonprofit leaders to overcome burnout and enhance productivity.

This episode features Alice Joyce and Carol Holland from TowneBank discussing how community banks can provide financial tools, strategic support, and networking opportunities to help nonprofit leaders achieve growth and sustainability.

This episode explores how nonprofits can move beyond transactional fundraising by measuring meaningful metrics and building authentic donor relationships, featuring insights from MarketSmart founder Greg Warner.

This episode features Dan Johnson discussing his Five Levels of Sustainability framework to help nonprofit leaders achieve sustainable funding for their organizations.

This episode features Andy Price, CEO of the Grand Canyon Council of Boy Scouts of America, discussing how to rebuild fundraising strategies and regain donor and board confidence when traditional methods stop working.

This episode features Dr.

This episode features an interview with Cherian Koshy, a global expert on philanthropy, discussing how behavioral science and practical tools from his book 'Neurogiving' can transform donor engagement and inspire generosity for sustainable fundraising results.

Host Patton McDowell interviews Kevin Wilkins about breaking free from operational constraints to build a thriving mission-driven culture in nonprofit organizations.

Host Patton McDowell interviews Shannon Williams about how executive directors can build confidence in fundraising and balance it with other responsibilities.

Host Patton McDowell interviews Alexia Moss about strategies for nonprofit leaders to recapture time and enhance operational efficiency.