Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership

Patton McDowell
  • 5.0 (115)
  • Non-Profit
  • Updated Weekly

Ranked #1 on FeedSpot's Nonprofit Leadership and Philanthropy podcast lists, Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership is the go-to resource for current and aspiring nonprofit leaders. Hosted by Dr. Patton McDowell and powered by Armstrong McGuire, the show delivers practical wisdom from the sector's most experienced executives, fundraisers, board leaders, and consultants — every Thursday.Patton brings 30+ years of nonprofit leadership, coaching, and consulting experience, and shares proven best practices for individual and organizational success drawn from his work with hundreds of nonprofit organizations. With 366+ episodes, a 5/5 rating on Apple Podcasts, and listeners in 130+ countries, Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership is where serious nonprofit professionals come to grow. Hit subscribe and accelerate your path to nonprofit leadership. Learn more and access all episodes at www.armstrongmcguire.com/podcasts

  1. 1d ago

    382: From Shoe Drive to Global Movement (Andrew Lovedale)

    Episode 382: From Shoe Drive to Global Movement  (Andrew Lovedale) Episode Summary Too many nonprofit founders assume that the people who love them will automatically support the mission they've built, and few learn how costly that assumption is until donors who cheer from the sidelines never actually give. Andrew Lovedale, Founder and Executive Director of Access to Success (A2S), learned that lesson firsthand after a shoe drive he started as a Davidson College basketball player, whose run to the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight alongside teammate Steph Curry helped raise the first 10,000 pairs, grew into a nonprofit now serving thousands of children and families across Nigeria. He walks through how A2S evolved from handing out shoes to building a longitudinal, community-designed model that spans an after-school academy, university scholarships, and entrepreneurship programs; how he rebuilt his donor base from scratch once his own athletic platform faded; and why he now asks donors to treat their giving like a long-term investment rather than a quick transaction. Listeners will walk away with a sharper way to build donor relationships around shared passion rather than personal affection, and a reminder that sustainable impact takes years, not headlines. About Andrew Andrew Lovedale is the Founder and Executive Director of Access to Success (A2S), a Davidson, NC-based nonprofit that provides sustainable, holistic programs for Nigerian children and their communities, from an after-school academy and university scholarships to workforce development and entrepreneurship initiatives that now reach roughly 10,000 people a year. Born and raised in Nigeria, he earned a basketball scholarship to Davidson College, where he and teammate Steph Curry led the Wildcats to the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight before he moved on to a brief professional basketball career. What began as a personal shoe drive for friends back home, sparked by a moment in the Davidson equipment room, grew over more than 15 years into A2S's current ecosystem model, which has produced results ranging from students turned software engineers to a former A2S scholar who became a medical doctor in her twenties. Lovedale now leads A2S's two boards, one in the U.S. and one in Nigeria, as the organization pursues a dual sustainability strategy aimed at generating 25 percent of its revenue from Nigeria by 2035, and he still travels there each quarter to host A2S Community Talks, the sessions where the people A2S serves help shape what the organization does next. Resources Andrew's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-lovedale-81b40833/Access to Success (A2S): https://a2sfoundation.orgA2S Community Talk (ACT): the quarterly town hall sessions Andrew holds in Nigeria to gather direct feedback from staff, scholars, and community members, now also held for U.S. donorsBook recommendation: When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian FikkertJoin the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy!  www.institutepl.orgFollow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, and please leave a review!Learn more about the leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire: ArmstrongMcGuire.com

  2. Aug 13

    381: What Leaders Must Know to Build Cross-Sector Power (Karen Riordan)

    Episode 381: What Leaders Must Know to Build Cross-Sector Power (Karen Riordan) Episode Summary Nonprofit leaders often assume advocacy, cross-sector partnerships, and funding diversification are someone else's job — but Karen Riordan, President & CEO of Together SC in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, argues that building real power for the sector starts with everyday relationship-building. Drawing on three decades of for-profit marketing experience before her move into nonprofit leadership, Riordan makes the case that nonprofits are businesses too, deserving of the same respect, visibility, and strategic rigor as any company in the community. She shares how to build relationships with lawmakers long before you ever need something from them, why chambers of commerce and civic groups are an underused bridge to the business community, and how to have hard budget conversations with your board before a funding crisis forces the issue. Listeners will walk away with concrete, low-lift ways to build cross-sector alliances, advocate for their organization without feeling like a lobbyist, and lead with pride even when the funding landscape feels shaky. About Karen Karen Riordan is President & CEO of Together SC (formerly the South Carolina Nonprofit Association), the statewide network that strengthens and champions the nonprofit sector across South Carolina, a role she stepped into in 2024. She spent three decades building brands in the for-profit world, first in the tourism industry and later in automotive marketing, where she managed teams of up to 1,200 employees, before moving into the nonprofit space by way of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, where she founded both Keep Myrtle Beach Beautiful and Partnership Grand Strand. A journalism graduate who has volunteered for nonprofits since high school - across subsectors from animal welfare to food insecurity - Riordan now channels that business rigor and marketing instinct into raising the visibility and respect of nonprofits statewide. She's an avowed re-reader of Jim Collins' Good to Great and a self-described “maniac” for a good thriller series in her downtime. Resources Karen's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/karen-riordan-72a88a2Together SC: TogetherSC.orgCheck out Together SC's “Nonprofits Get It Done” campaign (modeled on the National Council of Nonprofits) and their upcoming scenario-planning workshops for budget diversificationBook recommendation: Impact Networks by David EhrlichmanFollow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership and please leave a review!Learn more about the leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire:  ArmstrongMcGuire.com

  3. Aug 6

    380: Relationships Shape Everything: What Leaders Must Know to Build Community (David “Dae-Lee” Arrington)

    #380: Relationships Shape Everything: What Leaders Must Know to Build Community (David “Dae-Lee” Arrington) Episode Summary Many nonprofit leaders believe they've built real community and trust within their organizations — but David “Dae-Lee” Arrington argues that what looks like connection is often just proximity, and that gap is costing leaders more than they realize. Founder and CEO of Bridge Builder Leadership in Charlotte, NC, Dae-Lee shares how his own journey - from a Black, working-class neighborhood in Norfolk, Virginia to a mostly white, affluent Charlotte suburb at age nineteen - sparked a career spent helping leaders move from transactional relationships to transformational ones. He introduces the idea that “growth can hide fragmentation,” explains why psychological safety and trust function as an under-built layer of leadership infrastructure, and walks through the three-question framework: Who Am I? Who Are They? Who Are We?  that grounds his Bridge Builder cohorts. Listeners will walk away with a concrete first step for building trust across difference, and a challenge to examine whether their own relationships are truly authentic or simply convenient. About Dae-Lee David “Dae-Lee” Arrington is the Founder and CEO of Bridge Builder Leadership, a Charlotte, NC-based organization that builds relational capacity and trust infrastructure among leaders across sectors, race, and generation. Raised in the Huntersville neighborhood of Norfolk, Virginia, he moved to Charlotte at nineteen in 2001, an experience that reshaped how he thought about community and connection across difference. He studied multimedia web design at the Art Institute of Charlotte and spent his early career split between the tech and entertainment worlds, working as a producer and recording artist while using music to bring people together in Charlotte's faith community and later as part of the Creative Mornings leadership team. Prompted by conversations with fellow leaders following the death of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016 and the events of 2020, Dae-Lee launched Bridge Builder Leadership to help leaders build the relational foundation - self-awareness, trust, and authentic connection - that he believes is missing from most leadership development. Over the past five years, he has led ten cohorts of leaders through that work, and describes himself, fittingly, as “an introverted lover of people.” Resources Dae-Lee's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daeleebridgebuilder/Bridge Builder Leadership website: https://www.webridgebuild.com“Growth Can Hide Fragmentation” (read and add your voice!): https://www.webridgebuild.com/growth-can-hide-fragmentationBook recommendation: The Art of Gathering by Priya ParkerLearn more about the leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire

  4. Jul 30

    379: How to Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor (Derric Bakker)

    379: How to Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor (Derric Bakker)  Episode Summary Nonprofit leaders and fundraisers are exhausted, and the instinct when results slip is to simply work harder. In this episode of Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, Derric Bakker, Founder & CEO of DickersonBakker, argues that today’s struggle is not a down cycle teams can out-hustle but a structural shift in how people give, driven by demographics, the widening wealth gap, fraying community and religious ties, and donors who now expect the personalized experience every consumer brand delivers. Returning after his 2022 conversation (Episode #181), Derric makes the provocative case behind his new book: the relational behaviors long reserved for the top 1 percent of major donors, listening first, personalizing every touchpoint, stewarding consistently, and protecting trust, can become the operating system for fundraising at every level. He explains where AI makes that possible at scale, where it must never replace the human on the other end, and what a practical first step looks like, from rethinking donor survey data to reimagining portfolio size and gratitude. Listeners come away with a clear-eyed diagnosis of why the old model broke and a hopeful sense of the leadership and board decisions that move an organization toward a better way. About Derric Derric Bakker is the Founder & CEO of DickersonBakker, a fundraising consulting and agency firm that helps nonprofit organizations grow, thrive, and make a bigger impact, with a team of more than 50 working with over 100 clients a year. Across more than three decades in the sector, Derric moved through three chapters, roughly a decade as a frontline practitioner, a decade in consulting, and leadership of the firm he launched in 2010 that later merged to become DickersonBakker, and he is now entering a fourth focused on writing, teaching, and thought leadership as Andrew Olson takes the helm as president. Mentored early in his career by the legendary Jerry Panas, Derric built his expertise on relationship-based major gift fundraising, the foundation of his new book. Reflecting on the pace of change, he often points out that nearly everything about the work has been transformed by technology since he started, yet many of fundraising’s core assumptions have stubbornly stayed the same. Resources Connect with Derric Bakker on LinkedIn and learn more about DickersonBakkerDerric’s book: A Better Way to Fundraise: Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor — explore the book and discussion guides at betterwaychampions.orgRecommended reading: Nonprofit AI by Nathan Chappell (who, with Brian Crimmins, was a past guest on Episode #211, Is Philanthropy in a State of Crisis?)Registration is open for Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy - Learn more at institutepl.orgLearn more about Inperium, a nonprofit that helps health and human services organizations grow without sacrificing their mission: Inperium.orgLearn more about the leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire: ArmstrongMcGuire.com

  5. Jul 23

    378: The Money Myths Holding Your Nonprofit Back (Sean Hale)

    378: The Money Myths Holding Your Nonprofit Back (Sean Hale) Episode Summary Too many nonprofit leaders quietly avoid their own finances, trusting that a clean audit or a capable CPA means everything is handled, and that blind spot can put a mission at real risk. In this episode, Patton talks with Sean Hale, founder of Nonprofit CFOs, who busts five money myths that hold organizations back: that the audit has them covered, that finance is the CPA’s job, that nonprofits aren’t supposed to make a profit, that confusing financial reports are just part of the territory, and that you say yes to whatever a funder asks. Drawing on more than two decades inside the sector and a contrarian, plain-English style, Sean explains what a standard audit actually does and doesn’t catch, why a whistleblower policy and strong internal controls protect an organization far more than people realize, how an executive director can engage with the numbers in twenty minutes a month without becoming a bookkeeper, and why building a modest annual surplus is one of the smartest things a board can do. Listeners will walk away with practical, doable steps to raise financial literacy across their whole organization and the confidence to push back when a grant simply isn’t worth the cost. About Sean Sean Hale is the founder of Nonprofit CFOs, a team of finance and accounting professionals who provide nonprofits across the country with bookkeeping, fractional and interim CFO support, and special projects such as grant due diligence. His path into the sector started early: his mother led a nonprofit for thirty years, and his first job there involved pushing a broom for minimum wage. As an adult, Sean has worked in the sector since 1999, wearing nearly every hat across four different nonprofits over twenty-one years before launching his own practice. He found that he could make the biggest difference in the finance and administrative side of the work, helping organizations get their operations buttoned up so they can focus on mission. Known on LinkedIn for his sassy, contrarian, and occasionally grumpy take on nonprofit finance, Sean is on a mission to help leaders ditch the jargon, ask better questions, and stop accepting the pain. Resources Connect with Sean on LinkedIn; Nonprofit CFOsGet Sean’s Financial Dashboard Starter Kit, free with code PATTON2026 at nonprofitcfos.comThe Thief in Your Company by Tiffany CouchLearn more about Inperium, a nonprofit that helps health and human services organizations grow without sacrificing their mission: Inperium.orgFollow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership at www.armstrongmcguire.com/podcastsFind more leadership resources at ArmstrongMcGuire.com

  6. Jul 16

    377: Stop Pushing Harder: How Great Nonprofits Build Momentum (Suzanne Smith)

    377: Stop Pushing Harder: How Great Nonprofits Build Momentum (Suzanne Smith) Episode Summary Nonprofit leaders are exhausted, pushing harder and still feeling stuck. Suzanne Smith, Founder and CEO of Social Impact Architects, offers a different path. Drawing on sixteen years of consulting and her forthcoming book, The Nonprofit Flywheel, she reframes Jim Collins’s flywheel for the social sector: translate business practices, don’t transplant them. Suzanne walks through the six elements, impact, brand, revenue, and operations, held together by culture and governance, and explains why momentum builds only when all six align. She shares proof from the TACA arts accelerator in Dallas, where participating organizations saw average budgets rise roughly 40 percent and foundation support climb 77 percent, then challenges leaders to rethink old norms through what she calls Nonprofit 2.0. Listeners walk away with a practical diagnostic for finding the friction in their own organizations and a reminder that lasting impact comes from working smarter, not harder. About Suzanne Suzanne Smith is the Founder and CEO of Social Impact Architects, a social change agency in Dallas, Texas, that helps nonprofits, government agencies, and cross-sector systems move from stuck to strategic. Describing herself as “trilingual” in nonprofit, government, and business, Suzanne began her career as a lobbyist after earning a government degree from the University of Texas, then went on to complete her MBA at Duke, where she studied social entrepreneurship under pioneer Greg Dees. Over the past sixteen years she has founded nonprofits, served as a board chair, and taught the next generation of social entrepreneurs as an educator and consultant. She writes the Social TrendSpotter newsletter, a top nonprofit publication on Substack, and her TEDx talk, Everyone Is a Changemaker, reflects her belief that anyone can make a difference. She calls herself half therapist, half mechanic, a nod to her therapist mother and her love of finding the right tools to get unstuck. Resources Connect with Suzanne on LinkedIn; Social Impact Architects; MeetSuzanne.comSocial TrendSpotter - Suzanne’s weekly newsletter on the future of the social sectorTEDx talk: Everyone Is a ChangemakerThe Nonprofit Flywheel: A Playbook for Sustainable Growth, Smarter Strategy, and Lasting Impact by Suzanne Smith, launching October 1, 2026, with a free digital edition and companion resourcesThe Power of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic) by David EmeraldLearn more about Inperium, a nonprofit that helps health and human services organizations grow without sacrificing their mission: Inperium.orgFollow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership at www.armstrongmcguire.com/podcastsFind more leadership resources at ArmstrongMcGuire.com

  7. Jul 9

    376: Who Should Be Part of Your Strategic Planning Process? (Renee Rubin Ross)

    Episode 376: Who Should Be Part of Your Strategic Planning Process? (Renee Rubin Ross) Episode Summary Too many strategic plans end up gathering dust on a shelf, or worse, frustrating the very people who were left out of building them. In this episode, Renee Rubin Ross, Ph.D., Founder of The Ross Collective and author of the new book Inclusive Strategic Planning, makes the case that who you involve in planning matters just as much as the plan itself. Drawing on more than twenty planning processes, she walks through her five-step spiral, kickoff, discovery, prioritization, planning, and implementation, and introduces a simple framework for deciding who belongs in the room: deciders, builders, and sharers. Renee explains how to know whether your organization is even ready to plan, how to scale the work up or down when capacity and funding feel shaky, and how to keep a plan alive through consistent communication and disciplined implementation. Nonprofit leaders will come away with a practical, inclusive approach that turns planning into a source of energy, alignment, and focus rather than another document destined for the shelf. About Renee Dr. Renee Rubin Ross is a recognized leader in board and organizational development and strategy, and the founder of The Ross Collective, a consulting firm that designs and leads inclusive, participatory processes for social sector boards and staff. Committed to racial equity in the nonprofit sector, she guides leaders and organizations through strategic plans and governance processes that deepen social change, racial justice, engagement, and community strength. Renee is the author of Inclusive Strategic Planning: A Five-Step Process to Expand Energy, Alignment, and Opportunity. She also directs the Nonprofit Management Certificate program at Cal State University East Bay, where she teaches strategic planning and board development. A past board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management and a member of the Technology of Participation facilitators’ network, she earned her doctorate in education and Jewish studies from New York University, where her research explored parent participation in schools. She lives in Northern California. Resources Listen to the episode: www.armstrongmcguire.com/podcastsConnect with Renee on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/reneerubinrossThe Ross Collective: therosscollective.comInclusive Strategic Planning: A Five-Step Process to Expand Energy, Alignment, and OpportunityBook recommendation: My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa MenakemCal State University East Bay Nonprofit Management Certificate programFollow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, and please leave a review! Learn more about the leadership resources at ArmstrongMcGuire.com

  8. Jul 2

    375: Outrageous Kindness: A Framework for Unlocking Philanthropic Potential (Kristina Joy Carlson)

    375: Outrageous Kindness: A Framework for Unlocking Philanthropic Potential (Kristina Joy Carlson) Episode Summary When disruption hits, many nonprofit leaders go quiet and wait for conditions to settle before they act, and that pause quietly signals to donors and communities that the mission can wait too. In Episode 375, Kristina Joy Carlson, CFRE, Founder and CEO of Outrageous Kindness, makes the case that perfect is never coming, and that the leaders who keep moving are the ones who build the strongest relationships. Drawing on decades in global philanthropy and a personal season of loss and recovery, she walks Patton through her KIND Method: Know More (challenge the assumptions that quietly kill donor relationships), Impact (reconnect to your own why so authentic passion does the persuading), Navigate (communicate honestly and bring a plan when funding shifts), and Deliver (do what you said, then circle back so people know their gift mattered). Along the way she offers a simple impact audit any leader can run today, a reframe of asking as a muscle you strengthen with use, and a reminder that asking a good question and truly listening may be the most outrageous kindness of all. Listeners will leave with a practical roadmap for leading with generosity when the conditions are anything but ideal. About Kristina Kristina Joy Carlson, CFRE, is the Founder and CEO of Outrageous Kindness, a mindset, method, and movement she built to help nonprofit organizations create stronger relationships, healthier cultures, and greater impact. She has spent most of her career in global philanthropy, helping organizations connect with people, engage donors, and grow the resources that fuel their missions, work that took her into campaigns, leadership transitions, and seasons of significant disruption. The daughter of a fundraiser and minister, she learned early that generosity changes the giver, the people around them, and the community, a conviction that now anchors her writing, speaking, and consulting. She is the author of Outrageous Kindness and will keynote the North Carolina Philanthropy Conference on September 3 with a talk titled “Perfect Isn’t Coming.” Based in Oxford, Mississippi, she leads through hard seasons with the same belief she teaches: your circumstances do not define you. Resources Kristina Joy Carlson on LinkedInOutrageous KindnessThe Seven Faces of Philanthropy by Russ Alan Prince and Karen Maru FileAn American Life by Ronald ReaganFollow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership — and please leave a review!Leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire: ArmstrongMcGuire.com

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About

Ranked #1 on FeedSpot's Nonprofit Leadership and Philanthropy podcast lists, Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership is the go-to resource for current and aspiring nonprofit leaders. Hosted by Dr. Patton McDowell and powered by Armstrong McGuire, the show delivers practical wisdom from the sector's most experienced executives, fundraisers, board leaders, and consultants — every Thursday.Patton brings 30+ years of nonprofit leadership, coaching, and consulting experience, and shares proven best practices for individual and organizational success drawn from his work with hundreds of nonprofit organizations. With 366+ episodes, a 5/5 rating on Apple Podcasts, and listeners in 130+ countries, Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership is where serious nonprofit professionals come to grow. Hit subscribe and accelerate your path to nonprofit leadership. Learn more and access all episodes at www.armstrongmcguire.com/podcasts

Information

  • Creator
    Patton McDowell
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    382
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership
  • Show Website
    Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership

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