Perdure

Revi Sterling and Alissa Stern
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Non-Profit
  • Updated Bimonthly

The business of doing good — examined honestly. Perdure goes inside the funding models, origin stories, and hard decisions behind the world’s biggest nonprofits. Hosted by two people who’ve spent their careers inside the sector, Revi Sterling and Alissa Stern. Perdure is proud to be part of the Devex Podcast Network, a collection of podcasts exploring the ideas, people, and organizations transforming global development. Through insightful conversations and expert perspectives, the network helps listeners stay informed on the issues that matter most!

Episodes

  1. Susan G. Komen Foundation

    3d ago

    Susan G. Komen Foundation

    Can a nonprofit own a color? For decades, pink meant breast cancer awareness. But what happens when a symbol becomes so successful that it takes on a life of its own? From "Save the Tatas" merchandise to pink fried chicken buckets to breakthroughs in cancer treatment, this episode explores the strange, fascinating business history of Susan G. Komen.

    31 min
  2. UNICEF

    May 23

    UNICEF

    You've probably shaken it—an orange cardboard box on Halloween night. But that box is just the beginning of one of history's most ingenious fundraising stories. We unpack how UNICEF went from a temporary postwar relief agency to a global money-moving machine with greeting cards, parametric insurance, and bond markets. What started with seventeen dollars changed everything!

    35 min
  3. Girl Scouts

    May 6

    Girl Scouts

    In this episode, we unpack the surprisingly complex business model behind the Girl Scouts of the USA cookie empire. From Thin Mints and local troop politics to national financial pressures and a shrinking membership base, the episode explores how a decentralized nonprofit built one of the most successful fundraising systems in history — and why that same structure now creates serious challenges. Along the way, they trace the origins of the movement in 1912 Savannah, break down how cookie money actually flows, and examine the tension between local ownership, national sustainability, and organizational identity. It’s a story about cookies, yes — but also about incentives, governance, trust, and what happens when a mission-driven institution outgrows the business model that made it famous.

    23 min
  4. Save the Children

    Apr 22

    Save the Children

    In this episode, we unpack how Save the Children built—and ultimately walked away from—a 100+ year fundraising machine, and why one of the most emotionally powerful ideas in development quietly broke at scale. We dig into how child sponsorship really worked, where the money actually went, and why donors stayed anyway. Along the way, we explore a bigger question: what happens when a billion-dollar nonprofit relies too heavily on a single funder—and that funding disappears overnight? From hidden fragilities in nonprofit business models to the rise of impact investing as a potential “second engine,” this episode takes a clear-eyed look at how money moves in the sector—and what it will take to make it more resilient going forward.

    46 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

The business of doing good — examined honestly. Perdure goes inside the funding models, origin stories, and hard decisions behind the world’s biggest nonprofits. Hosted by two people who’ve spent their careers inside the sector, Revi Sterling and Alissa Stern. Perdure is proud to be part of the Devex Podcast Network, a collection of podcasts exploring the ideas, people, and organizations transforming global development. Through insightful conversations and expert perspectives, the network helps listeners stay informed on the issues that matter most!

Information

  • Creator
    Revi Sterling and Alissa Stern
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Revi Sterling and Alissa Stern
  • Show Website
    Perdure

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