The Influential Nonprofit

Maryanne Dersch
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You want your nonprofit to make the biggest impact possible on those you serve and to do that you need a community of support. Each week, join Maryanne Dersch, nonprofit revolutionary, as she interviews nonprofit leaders who are growing their influence to raise more money and do more good. If you want to fundraise with ease, build better relationships with board and staff, or just need a shot of fresh ideas and inspiration, this show is for you.

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    Why Follow-Ups Don't Work

    Key Takeaways: Chasing a yes often comes from anxiety, not intention, and people can feel that pressure immediately. When you stop needing a specific outcome, your tone relaxes and trust increases naturally. Your role is to help others decide freely, not to manage your own fear through follow-ups.Momentum shows up as shared energy, mutual curiosity, and agreed-upon next steps. Chasing looks like one-sided check-ins, escalating urgency, and tension after sending messages. Learning to tell the difference protects your time and preserves relational integrity.People avoid giving honest answers when saying no feels costly or awkward. Explicit permission to decline reduces avoidance and leads to faster, cleaner decisions. Trust grows when people feel respected, regardless of what they choose.Fantasy relationships rely on polite delays that sound like yes but function as no. Booking the next meeting during the current one turns vague interest into real movement. When someone will not schedule a follow-up, it is often wiser to release than to pursue.  “Pressure is when a donor feels managed. Relationship is when they feel respected.”   “A fantasy relationship just means that you’re not able to be honest. So you’re both pretending… because nobody knows what to say to actually get you out of it.”   “The more permission you give people to say no, the more likely they are to say yes.”  - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    36 min

  2. 29 JAN

    Why You Need To Embrace Your Inner Coach

    Key Takeaways: Lasting fundraising growth does not come from better tactics alone but from changing the internal narratives that drive behavior. Coaching addresses fear, money stories, and self-doubt that silently undermine even the best strategies.Fundraising leaders often carry invisible baggage that affects how they show up with donors and teams. Coaching builds awareness, emotional neutrality, and sovereignty by separating facts from stories and reducing reactive behavior.Effective fundraising leaders coach boards and staff through fear, avoidance, and shame rather than simply training them. Through questions, accountability, and normalized discomfort, coaching creates ownership without blame.Over-functioning leaders burn out when they carry all the emotional and relational weight alone. Coaching redistributes responsibility, strengthens collaboration, and removes leaders as the bottleneck in fundraising efforts.  “Strategy is great. Training is great. You need both those things, but mostly they do not shift your mindset. They do not shift your thinking.”   “Sovereignty means you own your own thoughts, choices, and actions. You do not outsource your confidence to outcomes, and you do not let no define your worth or competence.”   “At its heart, fundraising is a team sport. When you coach instead of carry, you stop being the bottleneck.”  - Maryanne Dersch     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    27 min

  3. 22 JAN

    Hear Yes Faster by Meeting Donors Where They Are

    Key Takeaways: Fundraising nos and prolonged indecision often reflect emotional readiness, not the quality of the ask. Letting go of over-attachment to a yes allows fundraisers to listen more clearly.The Map of Consciousness offers a practical way to understand donor behavior without ranking people as better or worse. Effective fundraising adapts presence and strategy to a donor’s current emotional state.Lower emotional states call for safety and acknowledgment rather than solicitation. Courage is the turning point where donors become open to clear, values-based asks.Repeated follow-up does not move donors emotionally; trust and presence do. When a relationship leads, financial support follows.  “The issue isn’t your ask. It isn’t your words. It isn’t your case. It’s that the ask is happening at the wrong level of readiness.”   “You cannot argue your way into a yes.”   “Love doesn’t need a pitch; it needs a pathway.”  - Maryanne Dersch     Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    42 min

  4. 15 JAN

    The Five Love Languages of Fundraising

    Key Takeaways: Centering fundraising on genuine care, honesty, and alignment creates trust and long-term support rather than transactional gains. Actions from authentic relationships feel meaningful, while actions solely for money feel manipulative.Loving donor relationships are honest, authentic, and aligned. They are not transactional or performative, and both the donor and organization benefit from shared values and mutual yeses.Applying love languages in fundraising—words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, meaningful gifts, and shared experiences—builds connection without pressure or manipulation. Each interaction should reflect respect, care, and intention.Listening, personalization, and alignment are critical. Engaging only with donors who resonate with the organization’s mission fosters sustainable giving, while letting go of misaligned relationships protects energy, trust, and long-term impact.  “If we are doing things for our donors because we genuinely love and care about them… that’s a loving relationship.”   “Love languages don’t replace integrity. They express integrity.”   “Healthy donor relationships don’t come from saying the right thing. They come from being in the right relationship.” - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    34 min

  5. 1 JAN

    Supercharge Your Year With 90 Day MOST Plan

    Key Takeaways: 90 days is long enough to get something done, but short enough that there’s some urgency to it. The 90-day MOST stands for Mission, Objective, Strategy, and Tactics. It accounts for having an overall vision and creating simple strategies to implement each quarter. We need to have a clear vision so that we know what we’re looking for. Before creating a plan, take time to create a vision board. Visualize what you want to create in your life and depict it in your vision board. Once you have a vision, determine an objective. Then, create three strategies that will serve to achieve that objective. Under each strategy, create three simple tactics. Keep it simple.   “90 days has been studied to be very effective. It's long enough to get something done. But it's short enough that you there's some urgency to it.”   “We create the vision. And then from that vision, we create the plan. But we don't want to plan while creating the vision, because we wind up talking ourselves out of doing some bold things.”   “We're keeping it very, very simple. The more complicated you make this, the less likely it's going to work for you. So you pick what would make this quarter be the win for you.”  - Maryanne Dersch   Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    23 min

  6. 25/12/2025

    Smarter Goals, Bigger Wins

    Key Takeaways: Reframe goals as guides, not judgments. Traditional output-focused goals can create pressure and burnout; goals should inform your direction, not define your worth or success.Wrap up the year holistically. Reflect on wins, surprises, and growth beyond numeric targets, release what no longer serves you, and recognize internal and relational progress as real achievements.Make goals human-centered, not just metric-centered. Reframing SMART goals to be Supportive, Meaningful, Aligned, Relational, and Tension-free ensures they strengthen trust, connection, and values alongside traditional metrics.Measure relationships, not just money. Track trust, reciprocity, affinity, consistency, and advocacy to prioritize connection and mission impact, understanding that financial outcomes naturally follow strong relational foundations.  “Goals aren't good or bad. They are just what they are. They are information.”   “If we're only measuring our worth by input and output, we're really missing a lot on what we're doing and the progress that we're making.”   "Work can be joyful. Grace, ease, joy is sustainable. Hustle and grind is not.” - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    33 min

  7. 18/12/2025

    Boundaries & Agreements — How to Ask for What You Actually Want in the New Year

    Key Takeaways: Sustainable change begins by raising standards, not just managing expectations. Standards define the floor you will no longer fall below, while expectations shape the ceiling you desire. Boundaries and agreements act as the walls that uphold both.Boundaries focus on what you no longer want to tolerate or experience. Agreements clarify what you do want and how it will work in practice. They turn avoidance into intention and make expectations visible to others.Agreements reduce resentment by replacing unspoken rules with shared understanding. They teach others how to relate to you personally, professionally, and in leadership spaces. Strong agreements create safety, predictability, and mutual respect.Raising standards often invites testing, especially in the early stages. Holding the agreement while releasing the outcome allows relationships to adjust naturally. Over time, people either rise to meet the standard or drift away.  “We can't change behavior unless we change the boundaries and agreements that uphold and support that behavior.”   “We teach people how to treat us.”   “Your internal agreements will determine your external results.”  - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    33 min

  8. 11/12/2025

    From Stress to Strength: Your Leadership Energy Reset for 2026

    Key Takeaways: Many nonprofit leaders enter the new year already depleted from the holiday rush. Emotional residue from 2025 lingers in the body and shapes early decisions. A reset begins by acknowledging how much energy was carried forward unnoticed.Leaders often bring guilt, unfinished conversations, and unresolved pressure into 2026. Closing loops matters more than fixing everything that happened. Release becomes the doorway to entering the new year with clarity and choice.Leadership begins with knowing your actual energetic capacity, not the idealized version. From that honesty, you choose what stays, what shifts, and what boundaries support you. Agreements rooted in calm reshape how you lead and how you protect your energy.Reclaiming means deciding who you are becoming and leading from that center. Leaders choose identities like calmer, clearer, or more sovereign and act from that energy. This practice restores agency and ensures no circumstance dictates your value.  “If you don't pause or reset, you're going to step into the new year carrying the energy of the old one.”   “Every boundary, every decision, every conversation, every interaction is going to come from that survival mode place - that's the lens through which you're going to view the world.”   “Reclaiming your energy means consciously choosing the leadership identity you want to embody this year.”  - Maryanne Dersch       Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.  2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.  3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect   Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

    22 min
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About

You want your nonprofit to make the biggest impact possible on those you serve and to do that you need a community of support. Each week, join Maryanne Dersch, nonprofit revolutionary, as she interviews nonprofit leaders who are growing their influence to raise more money and do more good. If you want to fundraise with ease, build better relationships with board and staff, or just need a shot of fresh ideas and inspiration, this show is for you.

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