The Rich Nonprofit

Lisa Avila
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Your vision is too big to keep putting off. I'm Lisa Avila, and this podcast is about creating impact and legacy by starting or scaling a nonprofit. We dig into the real strategy behind building organizations that change lives. If you've been told you can't make money AND change the world, you're in the right place. I've worked for nonprofits, served on nonprofit boards, and I'm here to share what I've learned so women entrepreneurs can see that they can start their own nonprofits and pursue their big vision. We're going to talk about making money while saving the world. About creating generational wealth and sharing it with other women. About what it looks like when you're building impact and legacy, when you're hopeful because you're changing lives and seeing the outcomes. In some episodes, I'm walking you through frameworks and real decisions. Others, I'm sitting down with women who are building their nonprofits in real time. Every conversation is about turning ideas into strategy and strategy into impact. This is for the woman who's ready to make her nonprofit work, whether she's been running one for years or she's finally ready to start. Let's get to work.

  1. May 12

    63. The 6 Sins of Performative Impact: Why Caring Isn't Building

    Last week, Lisa told you why she renamed her community to Impact Rebels. This week, she's going deeper. She's calling out the six patterns she sees in women who care deeply about a cause but haven't built anything yet: Some of them she's been guilty of herself. This isn't Lisa on a soapbox. It's her handing you a mirror.  Main Topics Covered in this Episode: The Mission Statement Mirage and why your About page isn't impactWhy showing up at the gala once a year doesn't countWhy polished leadership doesn't move peopleThe lie of "I just need more revenue first"The single move to take this week if any of these landed Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Book your Impact Reality Check, 30 minutes, $97 (https://tidycal.com/poppygrovellc/impact-reality-check) Connect with Lisa Avila: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@lisaavila.co More About The Rich Nonprofit Podcast: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    16 min

  2. May 5

    62. Good Girl to Impact Rebel: Why I Renamed My Community

    Lisa sat down for a four-hour Telegram session with her mentor this week and realized something had to shift. Not the business. Her. In this episode she tells the story of what happened, why the good girl identity has to go, and what it means for every woman still showing up as the polished version of herself in her business. Built for Bigger is now Impact Rebels. This is where she explains why. If you were raised to be nice, agreeable, and not too loud, and you're starting to feel that version of yourself isn't going to build what you came here to build, this episode is for you. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: Why the Catholic school good girl training was killing her business voiceThe moment she decided to shed the polished versionWhat Impact Rebels stands for and who belongs in itWhy the polished version of your content doesn't land the way you think it doesFinding the women who've been waiting for your volume to come up Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Join the Impact Rebels FREE Telegram Community (https://poppygrovellc.myflodesk.com/impact-rebels) Connect with Lisa Avila: LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila/)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/)TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@lisathestrategist_) More About The Rich Nonprofit Podcast: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    8 min

  3. Apr 28

    61. Why You Can't Stop Fighting for Your Community (Even When It Costs You)

    Last week Lisa talked about the women who stop showing up for you. This week, she's talking about why YOU don't stop — even when it's thankless, even when it costs you friendships, even when you're exhausted and nobody's clapping. Inspired by a blog post she read about justice and why some people are wired at a deep level to fight for fairness, Lisa breaks down the difference between ambition and a calling, why women in impact work burn out, and how to build sustainability around the fire inside you. She also gets into what happens when the people around you feel threatened by your growth, and why their reaction is never about you. If you've ever laid awake thinking about funding, programming, and why the city council still hasn't emailed you back, this is Part 2 of a two-episode series. Start with Episode 60 if you haven't heard it yet. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: The difference between ambition and a calling, and why it matters for how you buildWhy some women are wired to fight for justice and literally cannot look away from unfairnessThe burnout trap: how "I'll just do it myself" keeps your impact smallWhat happens when people around you feel threatened by your growthHow the 4 P's framework turns your calling into something sustainable and scalable Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Brand Impact Strategy: build impact into your business without burning out (https://poppygrovellc.com/brand-impact-strategy) Connect with Lisa Avila: Join impact rebels free Telegram community (https://poppygrovellc.myflodesk.com/impact-rebels)LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila/)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/)TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@lisathestrategist_) More About The Rich Nonprofit Podcast: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    12 min

  4. Apr 21

    60. The Loneliness of Leading: Why Women Don't Support Women

    You drove home from the event. You checked your phone. Nobody said anything. Nobody recorded your talk, nobody tagged you, nobody sent you a text that said "that was amazing." And you sat with that. This week on The Rich Nonprofit, Lisa gets personal about the loneliness of leading as a woman building impact. She shares what happened with a friend she supported for over a decade who got a big opportunity and then acted like she barely knew her. She talks about the pattern she sees in her own life and in her clients' lives: women who pour into other women, champion them, believe in them, and then one day look around and those women are gone. This episode is about what happens when "empowered women empower women" doesn't play out the way it should, why it hurts so much when the people closest to you go quiet, and why Lisa is choosing boundaries over bitterness and not slowing down. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: The pattern Lisa sees in her own life and her clients': pouring into women who disappear once they level upLisa's personal story about a decade-long friendship that went silent after a big opportunityWhy nobody talks about what happens when "empowered women empower women" doesn't play outThe difference between setting boundaries and getting bitterArchangel Michael energy: boundaries up, heart open, vision clear Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Brand Impact Strategy: build impact into your business without burning out (https://poppygrovellc.com/brand-impact-strategy)DM Lisa on Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/) Connect with Lisa Avila: Join Built for Bigger FREE Telegram Community (https://poppygrovellc.myflodesk.com/built-for-bigger)LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila/)Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/) More About The Rich Nonprofit Podcast: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    15 min

  5. Apr 14

    59. The Money Side of Starting a Nonprofit with Erika Millard

    You've got the mission on your heart and the drive to match. But should it be a nonprofit, or should you keep running a mission-driven business? And once you decide, what does the money side of this look like when nobody's handing you a manual? This week on The Rich Nonprofit, Lisa sits down with bookkeeping and QuickBooks expert Erika Millard for an honest, back-and-forth conversation about what it takes to start and scale a nonprofit, from both the strategic and financial sides. They cover when a nonprofit makes more sense than a business, the systems you need before you think you need them, how to stop avoiding your numbers, and why paying yourself as a founder is not optional. If you've been sitting on a nonprofit idea or you're early in the build and feeling overwhelmed by the financial piece, this episode gives you the clarity and the structure to move forward. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: How to know if your idea should be a nonprofit or stay a mission-driven businessWhy Lisa recommends starting with impact in your brand before going full nonprofitThe first systems every nonprofit founder needs (donor management + bookkeeping software)TechSoup: the money-saving hack most founders find out about too lateFinance Friday and other ways to make bookkeeping a habit you keepWhy keeping personal and nonprofit finances separated matters from day oneHow networking fuels nonprofit funding (and it's simpler than you think)Board relations, grant applications, and why your numbers need to be dialed inWhen and why nonprofit founders should start paying themselvesResources Mentioned in the Episode: Brand Impact Strategy: 90-minute intensive to map impact into your brand - https://poppygrovellc.com/brand-impact-strategyTechSoup: discounted software for nonprofits (techsoup.org) Connect with Lisa Avila: Join Built for Bigger FREE Telegram Community - https://poppygrovellc.myflodesk.com/built-for-biggerLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavilaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/ Connect with Erika Millard: Website: https://erikamillard.com/ More About The Rich Nonprofit Podcast: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    42 min

  6. Apr 7

    58. The Real Reason You Haven't Started Building Impact Yet

    A woman DM'd Lisa about her teenage son, who's already making an impact in his community. No business, no team, no funding. Just an idea and action. Meanwhile, the women Lisa works with have the revenue, the audience, and the experience, and they're still telling themselves they're not ready. This episode is a mirror. Lisa gets into the real reason successful women stall on building impact (it's not logistics, it's identity), and walks through what a first step can look like when you stop waiting for someday. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: Why "someday" is not a strategy and what's keeping successful women stuck in research mode instead of actionThe identity tension: she's been rewarded for building wealth, not for leading impactWhy the fear isn't paperwork. It's putting her name on something and not being able to follow throughWhat first steps look like when you don't need (or want) a nonprofitResources Mentioned in the Episode: Brand Impact Strategy: 90-minute intensive to map impact into your brand 00:00 - The DM about a high schooler creating community impact  00:57 - You have everything he doesn't except the willingness to start  01:28 - Someday is not a strategy. It's a hiding place  01:58 - Why she hasn't started: it's not laziness, it's caring too much  02:27 - The identity problem: rewarded for wealth, not impact  03:25 - What she's really afraid of (and it's not the 501(c)(3))  04:49 - You don't have to start a nonprofit to start creating impact  06:17 - Scholarships, giving programs, partnerships, and saying it out loud  08:04 - The 4 P's framework and Brand Impact Strategy  09:03 - You've had this idea longer than he's been alive. What are you going to do about it? Connect with Lisa Avila: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/ More About The Rich Nonprofit: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    10 min

  7. Mar 31

    57. Launching a Nonprofit Without Burning Out: Gabs Hayes on the Pivot

    Gabs Hayes came into her strategy session with a plan to build a Reddit community, launch an in-person event in April, and keep producing her family podcast. Three months later, all three have changed. In this episode, Gabs sits down with Lisa to talk through every pivot, why she made each one, and what it looks like to build a nonprofit without white-knuckling the whole thing. If you've ever felt the pressure to be on every platform, force growth before you're ready, or hold every key to the kingdom yourself, this one's for you. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: Why Gabs scrapped her in-person April event and what she's doing instead (hint: dance party in a box)The Reddit experiment and why building a community on a new platform wasn't the right move for this seasonWhat happened when her husband went all-in on their annual fundraiserPausing the podcast and letting go of content that wasn't driving the mission forwardHow to build a nonprofit without holding all the keys yourself Connect with Lisa Avila: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/ Connect with Gabs Hayes / Overwhelmed and Over It: Website: overwhelm.family  Resources Mentioned in the Episode: Overwhelmed and Over It: overwhelm.family More About The Rich Nonprofit: The Rich Nonprofit is for cause-driven women who are starting or scaling a nonprofit, or integrating impact into their brand. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on strategy, leadership, and legacy.

    30 min

  8. Mar 24

    56. How to Build Social Impact Into Your Brand (Without Starting a Nonprofit)

    You watch the news, feel that pit in your stomach, and then go right back to your content calendar. You're not alone. Most successful women have separated "impact" from "business" in their heads, and that separation is keeping them stuck. In this episode, Lisa breaks down why you don't need a nonprofit to start using your brand for more than selling, and walks through ways to build impact into what you already have. Main Topics Covered in this Episode: Why successful women keep putting impact in a separate box from their businessWays to create impact without a 501(c)(3)How to stop defaulting to end-of-year donations and gala appearances as your entire impact strategy Why complicity isn't just silence. It's having the resources and choosing comfortable over committedResources Mentioned in the Episode: Brand Impact Strategy: 90-minute intensive to map impact into your brand - https://poppygrovellc.com/brand-impact-strategy Connect with Lisa Avila: - Join Built for Bigger FREE Telegram Community: https://poppygrovellc.myflodesk.com/built-for-bigger - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamavila/ - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisathestrategist/ More About The Rich Nonprofit Podcast: The Rich Nonprofit is for mission-driven women who are starting or scaling nonprofits. Each week, Lisa Avila delivers straight talk on nonprofit strategy, funding, leadership, and legacy.

    8 min
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5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Your vision is too big to keep putting off. I'm Lisa Avila, and this podcast is about creating impact and legacy by starting or scaling a nonprofit. We dig into the real strategy behind building organizations that change lives. If you've been told you can't make money AND change the world, you're in the right place. I've worked for nonprofits, served on nonprofit boards, and I'm here to share what I've learned so women entrepreneurs can see that they can start their own nonprofits and pursue their big vision. We're going to talk about making money while saving the world. About creating generational wealth and sharing it with other women. About what it looks like when you're building impact and legacy, when you're hopeful because you're changing lives and seeing the outcomes. In some episodes, I'm walking you through frameworks and real decisions. Others, I'm sitting down with women who are building their nonprofits in real time. Every conversation is about turning ideas into strategy and strategy into impact. This is for the woman who's ready to make her nonprofit work, whether she's been running one for years or she's finally ready to start. Let's get to work.

Information

  • Creator
    Lisa Avila
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    63
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Lisa Avila
  • Show Website
    The Rich Nonprofit