The Nonprofit MBA Podcast with Stephen Halasnik

Stephen Halasnik
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  • NON-PROFIT
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The Nonprofit MBA Podcast's purpose is to provide new business insights and fresh creative ideas for Nonprofit Executive Directors and their teams that will help them improve their Nonprofit organizations. Hosted by Stephen Halasnik, Managing Partner at Financing Solutions. Stephen sits down with Nonprofit executives and discusses ways to fundraise, forecast, and even fix your organization for a larger impact. Financing Solutions is the leading provider of Lines of Credit to Nonprofits.

  1. 6D AGO

    Is Your Nonprofit Mission Achievable? – Nonprofit MBA 9.4

    Is your nonprofit mission actually achievable? In today's uncertain funding environment, nonprofit leaders are being pushed to prove not only that their work matters, but that their mission is realistic, measurable, and aligned with real community needs. In this episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik speaks with Dr. Zuri Tau, founder and CEO of Social Insights, about how nonprofits can evaluate whether their mission is achievable, why theory of change matters, and how organizations can build stronger evaluation systems without needing massive budgets. They also discuss how funding instability, shifting public sentiment, and growing accountability pressures are forcing nonprofits to rethink strategy, clarify impact, and define success in ways that truly reflect community needs. In this episode, you'll learn: Why nonprofit missions should be aspirational but still measurable How nonprofits can assess whether their mission is achievable Why community-defined success matters How theory of change helps uncover blind spots Practical ways small nonprofits can begin evaluating impact This is an important conversation for nonprofit leaders, board members, funders, and anyone thinking seriously about strategy, outcomes, and long-term impact. Guest: Dr. Zuri Tau, Founder and CEO of Social Insights Host: Stephen Halasnik, Co-Founder of Financing Solutions

    33 min

  2. MAR 10

    Change Management in Nonprofit Strategy: How Smart Organizations Stay Ready for What Comes Next - Nonprofit MBA 9.3

    Change management in nonprofit strategy has become increasingly important as nonprofit leaders balance mission, funding uncertainty, and leadership transitions. In today's environment, that challenge is becoming far more complex. Funding can shift quickly, leadership transitions can happen unexpectedly, and external events can reshape priorities almost overnight. In this episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik, Co-Founder of Financing Solutions, speaks with Matt Glazer of Blue Sky Partners about one of the most important issues facing nonprofit organizations today: change management in nonprofit strategy. Glazer has led strategic planning efforts for more than 50 organizations and works with mission-driven groups on strategy, operations, leadership, and organizational development. Blue Sky Partners helps nonprofits and social impact organizations clarify vision, set priorities, and build practical roadmaps for growth and impact. The conversation highlights an increasingly clear reality in the nonprofit sector. A strategic plan is no longer enough if it sits on a shelf. In a world of funding interruptions, workforce strain, board turnover, and policy volatility, strategy must become a living process. That is where change management plays a critical role. This topic is especially timely because the nonprofit sector is facing real pressure. Data from the National Council of Nonprofits shows that nonprofits generate more than 80% of revenue from fees for services and government grants and contracts. At the same time, the 2025 Nonprofit Finance Fund survey found rising demand for services, increasing costs, and growing concern about future government funding.

    37 min

  3. MAR 10

    Why Fast, Secure, Reliable Nonprofit Websites Matter More Than Ever- Nonprofit MBA 9.2

    Nonprofit leaders often overlook website maintenance, security, and speed. Yet, a nonprofit website is critical infrastructure for fundraising, donor trust, and search visibility. In the early days of the internet, a nonprofit's website was little more than a digital brochure: a static page listing a mission statement, a mailing address, and perhaps a grainy logo. Today, that same website is the organization's front door, donation engine, volunteer recruiter, grant validator, and public trust ledger all at once. For nonprofit leaders, the shift has been profound. A slow or insecure website is no longer an inconvenience. It is an operational risk. On a recent episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions sat down with Garrett Goldman, co-founder and CEO of StateWP, to explore what nonprofit executives need to understand about website security, performance, and governance in 2026. The conversation revealed a critical truth: nonprofits must stop treating their websites as one-time design projects and start treating them as mission-critical infrastructure.

    29 min

  4. MAR 3

    The New Math of Doing Good: How Nonprofits Can Thrive in Uncertain Times - NonProfit MBA 9.1

    Nonprofit financial management has become one of the most important challenges facing nonprofit leaders today. Economic uncertainty, changing donor priorities, and shifting government funding have made financial strategy more critical than ever. In this episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik speaks with Nick Jain, co-founder of Eagle Rock CFO Services, about how nonprofit financial management can improve through stronger budgeting, better bookkeeping, operational discipline, and measurable outcomes. Below is a summary of their conversation, followed by the full podcast transcript. In an era of political shifts, economic whiplash, and tightening donor priorities, America's nonprofits find themselves navigating a new and unsettled terrain. For decades, the sector has been a quiet giant—employing roughly one in five American workers before 2025, powering food banks, religious institutions, arts organizations, veterans' groups, and thousands of other mission-driven enterprises. But what happens when funding priorities change? When donors redirect their giving? When government support ebbs in one region and expands in another? On a recent episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik, co-founder of Financing Solutions (a leading provider of nonprofit lines of credit), sat down with Nick Jain, co-founder of Eagle Rock CFO Services, to explore a question weighing heavily on nonprofit leaders: How can nonprofits manage their finances better—especially in uncertain times? Their conversation revealed something both sobering and hopeful. The nonprofit sector, Jane argues, is neither fragile nor immune to change. It is enduring—but only if leaders run it with discipline.

    33 min

  5. JAN 30

    How We Grew Our Nonprofit to $30 million - NonProfit MBA 8.34

    In this episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, host Stephen Halasnik speaks with Luke Mickelson, founder of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, about how a small garage-based Christmas project grew into a nearly $30 million nonprofit operating across the U.S. and beyond. Mickelson shares the key inflection points behind that growth, including realizing the scale of child bedlessness, transitioning to a formal nonprofit, leveraging a major media moment from Returning the Favor with Mike Rowe, and—most importantly—building the right governance structure, systems, and processes to sustain rapid expansion. The conversation explores why treating a nonprofit like a real business matters, how a "franchise-like" chapter model with a single EIN enabled scalable growth while preventing mission creep, and how COVID ultimately helped the organization slow down and professionalize operations. Mickelson also discusses the critical distinction between visionary founders and operational leaders, the necessity of investing in talent, and why long-term nonprofit success depends on strong leadership, clear roles, and disciplined execution of best practices.

    47 min

  6. JAN 28

    Your Nonprofit Staff: Building Your Strategic Asset - NonProfit MBA 8.33

    In this episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik sits down with nonprofit HR expert Allison Wyatt, from Edgility Talent Partners, to explore why an organization's staff should be viewed not as an expense, but as a strategic asset. Wyatt explains how intentional hiring, clear role design, and ongoing staff development directly impact mission effectiveness, financial sustainability, and organizational culture. The conversation covers common nonprofit staffing mistakes, the hidden costs of turnover, and how leaders can better align people strategy with long-term goals—even with limited budgets. Together, they emphasize that nonprofits that invest thoughtfully in their people build stronger, more resilient organizations capable of greater impact.

    43 min

  7. JAN 16 · VIDEO

    How Nonprofits Can Survive Tough Grant Cycles and Reduce Staff Burnout - NonProfit MBA 8.32

    In this episode of the Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Stephen Halasnik talks with Michael Toguchi, Chief Strategy Officer at eResources, about how nonprofits can streamline grantmaking and donor programs to save time and reduce staff burnout in a tighter funding environment. They explore how recent economic and political shifts have made grants harder to secure, pushing organizations to apply for more funding with limited resources. Michael explains how combining strong internal processes with nonprofit-specific software can create efficient, repeatable workflows for grants and donor management, improve results, and protect organizations from staff turnover, ultimately freeing teams to focus more on their mission and impact.

    33 min

  8. 12/10/2025

    How Nonprofit Arts Organizations Evolve for Community Impact- NonProfit MBA 8.31

    In today's rapidly changing nonprofit landscape, nonprofit arts organizations are facing significant challenges. Traditional models of fundraising, ticket sales, and audience engagement no longer meet funder expectations. The conversation between Stephen Halasnik and Alan Harrison highlights a core shift taking place: arts organizations and community impact must now be directly connected. Organizations that can measure and demonstrate their impact are the ones best positioned to survive and thrive. Harrison's career spans more than 300 theater productions on and off Broadway. He is the author of the Scene Change series, which argues that arts nonprofits must rethink their missions, focus on outcomes, and demonstrate tangible benefits to their communities in order to survive.

    44 min
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About

The Nonprofit MBA Podcast's purpose is to provide new business insights and fresh creative ideas for Nonprofit Executive Directors and their teams that will help them improve their Nonprofit organizations. Hosted by Stephen Halasnik, Managing Partner at Financing Solutions. Stephen sits down with Nonprofit executives and discusses ways to fundraise, forecast, and even fix your organization for a larger impact. Financing Solutions is the leading provider of Lines of Credit to Nonprofits.

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