Make Mission Graham-Pelton | Nonprofit Consultants

Sexual harassment within the nonprofit sector, often perpetrated by donors, is an uncomfortable yet very real experience for fundraisers. But researchers and fundraising leaders are bringing light to this darkness – and they’ve joined us for this important episode.

This disquieting truth is supported by data. An article written by episode guest Dr. Erynn Beaton and her co-author Megan LePere-Schloop states that about 76% of fundraisers have experienced some type of work-based sexual harassment in their careers. People of color and LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience harassment and in more severe forms, including sexual coercion.

Power, privilege, and organizational and relationship management are entwined in this intractable problem. Tackling it requires not only the full commitment of nonprofit organizations but the bravery and fortitude of those leaders within them.

Episode guests Karen Isble and Chelsey Megli exhibit that bravery and fortitude in spades. They join Make Mission to share the work and results of the Collaborative for Respectful Workplaces (a consortium of higher education institutions) to not only build dialogue around the issue, but also develop best practice recommendations and push the industry to address the inherent power dynamics in fundraising and to prevent and respond appropriately to misconduct and harassment incidents.

For years now, most of us have been swept under social media’s spell. In spite of the fair criticisms it receives, we can't deny its importance as a tool for engagement.

Now there's a new kid on the block when it comes to nonprofit messaging: TikTok. And as a result of its frenetic short-form videos, artificial intelligence, and relative ease of video creation and amplification, it is changing the way organizations relate to their audiences.

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Kimberly Wiley, Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Leadership and Community Sciences at the University of Florida, who led a team of researchers to code 1,160 TikTok videos from 58 nonprofits to better understand how organizations use the platform – and which messages engage their audiences the most. We also learn from Darcy Porter, Associate Director of Communications and Content Strategy, who has harnessed the power of TikTok at SUNY Brockport to mastermind everything from student influencers to a viral video memorializing a beloved campus squirrel.

Can you prepare your nonprofit for a future that looks wildly different from the present? It's a future with a blockchain's worth of new words, definitions, and approaches to understanding futurist donors who have deep passion and pockets for new, disintermediated technologies.

When focusing your fundraising efforts toward the future, there are many things to consider, from cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens to Web3 and decentralized autonomous organizations. In this episode, Anna explores these concepts, the ways they can influence your fundraising behaviors, and how trust-based philanthropy remains key with University of Cincinnati Kautz-Uible Professor of Economics Dr. Michael Jones and Wake Forest University Assistant Director of Development and Web3 aficionado Joel Rivera.

With the increasing use of Donor-Advised Funds in the modern philanthropic landscape, understanding how people give is becoming just as important as understanding why people give. However, the relative newness of this giving vehicle can cause anxiety among even the most seasoned of fundraisers. And like many nascent subjects, research on its function and the qualities of those who use it is relatively limited.

That’s starting to change, thanks to podcast guest Dr. Dan Heist and his work with the Donor-Advised Fund Research Collaborative, which has set out to create a robust, anonymized database regarding DAFS. This evidence-based research will ultimately influence policy-making to support philanthropic leaders and development practitioners.

One of those practitioners is podcast guest Heather Engel. In her work as Associate Vice President for Gift Planning at The University of Virginia, she remains at the forefront of strategizing and advising on the thoughtful -- and often complex -- methods that donors engage in to ensure that they’re maximizing their giving.

In this episode, we discuss this important and impactful gift mechanism and the ways that donors tend to view their DAF giving, from planning to implementation.

Some are calling it The Great Resignation. Others, including the guests on this episode, see it as “The Great Opportunity.” No matter how it is viewed, nonprofit boards and executives must work together to navigate transitions seamlessly, which often includes hiring and onboarding new nonprofit leaders.

Research shows that board leadership is crucial, especially during an executive transition. During this time, what does a supportive, engaged board look like? What do board members most need as they stretch their capacity to assess the needs of the organization and identify and onboard a new leader? What results can stem from this preparation, or lack thereof? Based on the preferences and priorities of board members during the hiring process, how can a burgeoning nonprofit executive position themselves for a leadership position?

Our guests include Dr. Mandi Stewart, an associate professor at North Carolina State University and researcher on nonprofit executives, executive transition management among nonprofit boards, and board management of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and Sally Bryant, president and CEO of executive recruitment firm Bryant Group, who is known for elevating both human and organizational capacity so that they thrive together.

What causes are women paying attention to and how does their support manifest? How are girls and young women today building philanthropy into their whole-self development? How are women particularly fulfilled by their philanthropic activity, and motivated to create change? And most of all, how can they best be served by the organizations they wish to support?

In this episode, we’re joined by women’s philanthropy researcher Dr. Elizabeth Gillespie, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Administration at the University of Memphis; and Megan Murphy, Global Executive Director of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, which is at the forefront of building community-minded women leaders among their 370-plus member schools across the globe.