Nonprofit Jenni Show

Grant Writing Mentor Teresa Huff explains the basics of how grants work, how to find grants that are a good fit for your nonprofit, and how to build relationships with grant makers. She also talks about her podcast, Grant Writing Simplified, and free grant writing resources available on her website. REMINDER: Submit your nonprofit to be featured on the upcoming 100th episode of the Nonprofit Jenni Show! Visit tinyurl.com/jenni100 no later than February 28 to fill out our short form. Visit nonprofitjenni.com to get Marketing and Fundraising resources, find support for your organization, or to contact Jenni.  Produced by Ben Hill Sound Music by Emily Summers ©2021 Nonprofit Jenni. All Rights Reserved.

Becky Rossman, CEO of Neighborhood House, shares advice about how to ensure your board’s by-laws are up-to-date, set expectations for board members, and consider collaboration opportunities with other nonprofit organizations. Contact Becky at beckyr@nhpeoria.org. Plus, Jenni shares how your nonprofit can be featured on the upcoming 100th episode of the Nonprofit Jenni Show! Visit tinyurl.com/jenni100 to apply to have your nonprofit featured on the podcast. Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofit leaders seeking guidance in the areas of Marketing and Fundraising. Visit nonprofitjenni.com to learn more. Produced by Ben Hill Sound Music by Emily Summers ©2021 Nonprofit Jenni. All Rights Reserved.

Jenni talks about how to personalize communications with each of your different audiences, including corporate partners, major donors, monthly donors, and even people who just passively follow your nonprofit on social media. Also, Jenni’s sister Michelle comes back for another round of Nonprofit Trivia, all about fundraising and communications in 2021. Get Jenni’s 2021 Communications Calendar at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore Get Jenni’s Nonprofit Social Media Cheat Sheet for FREE at tinyurl.com/nonprofitjenni Our podcast guest this week is: --Michelle Gustafson from Caritas of Austin Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofit leaders seeking guidance in the areas of Marketing and Fundraising. Visit nonprofitjenni.com to learn more. Produced by Ben Hill Sound Music by Emily Summers   ©2021 Nonprofit Jenni. All Rights Reserved.

Jenni outlines six ways your nonprofit can partner with corporations and local businesses in 2021, even during the COVID-19 pandemic! (Plus, listen all the way to the end of the episode for a bonus seventh way to partner with businesses.) Also, listener Brent Oest joins us for another round of Nonprofit Trivia to answer questions about--you guessed it--how nonprofits can collaborate with businesses. Talk to Jenni: Schedule a half-hour call to “Pick Jenni’s Brain” about your fundraising and marketing challenges, or send me an email about anything you like! Bonus Tip #7: Download Jenni’s Silent & Online Auction Guide to learn how to request corporate donations for a charity auction. Plus, get Jenni’s spreadsheet of over 140 US corporations that love to donate to charity auctions! Our podcast guest this week is: --Brent Oest from Neighborhood House Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofits and social impact organizations seeking guidance in the areas of Marketing and Fun

This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, hear from a fellow listener as she explains what she’s learned about how to host safe fundraising events in the midst of COVID-19. Also, Jenni shares a story about a client she’s helping to improve their individual donor database. Want to host an online auction like Jada’s organization did? Visit nonprofitjenni.com/courseandmore to get Jenni’s Online Auction Guide with a bonus gift of Jenni’s list of over 140 corporations that love to donate to charity auctions!  Need help staying in touch with each of your donor segments in the new year? Get Jenni’s Marketing and Communications Calendar with tasks you can complete each week throughout 2021 at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore! Our podcast guest this week is: --Jada Hoerr from Midwest Food Bank Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofits and social impact organizations seeking guidance in the areas of Marketing and Fundraising. Visit nonprofitjenni.com to learn more. Produced by Ben Hil

This year has been full of unexpected challenges, so this week, let’s talk about how to plan for the new year. First, Dr. Patton McDowell (podcast host of “Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership”) discusses mergers, alliances, and other forms of collaboration that could help your nonprofit work more efficiently and have a greater impact. Then Jenni offers three tips to improve the way you communicate with your supporters in 2021. Find Jenni’s Marketing and Communications Calendar at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore! Our podcast guests this week are: --Dr. Patton McDowell / pattonmcdowell.com/podcasts --Michelle Gustafson, who hops in for our new “Dad Jokes” segment! Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofits and social impact organizations seeking guidance in the areas of Marketing and Fundraising. Visit nonprofitjenni.com to learn more. Produced by Ben Hill Sound - benhillsound.com Music by Emily Summers. ©2020 Nonprofit Jenni. All Rights Reserved.

You may have noticed that your employees all need support from you in different ways. We all have our own unique strengths, weaknesses, and quirks -- How can you lead your team to effectively support and empower each individual to do their best work? This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, we chat with Alycia Halladay from the Autism Science Foundation about employing individuals with autism. We also revisit a conversation with Meredith Benton from the Healing Trust with advice on developing a supportive work culture. Jenni also invites you to “pick her brain” about your year-end fundraising plans, relationships with business partners, and any other marketing or fundraising challenges you need help with. Schedule a call with Jenni at calendly.com/nonprofitjenni or check out her mini-courses and templates at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore. Our podcast guests this week are: --Alycia Halladay from the Autism Science Foundation (autismsciencefoundation.org) Read the policy brief here: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www

Nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, we still have no idea when it will be safe to host events in person again. Some nonprofits were able to pivot quickly to virtual events, but many nonprofit leaders still feel unsure how to get started in planning their organization’s first virtual event. This week, Jenni interviews Melissa Norden, the Executive Director of Bottomless Closet in New York, about how she planned and hosted her nonprofit’s first ever virtual event. We also play another round of nonprofit trivia! This time, our trivia questions are all about how to make your fundraising events earn more revenue. Our podcast guests this week are: --Melissa Norden from Bottomless Closet (bottomlesscloset.org) --Michelle Gustafson from Caritas of Austin This episode is sponsored by the podcast “Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership”, hosted by Dr. Patton McDowell. Find “Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership” wherever you listen to podcasts, or visit pattonmcdowell.com/podcasts to listen. Nonprofit Jenni provides consult

Can you believe we’re approaching the end of 2020 already? It’s been a heck of a year! As nonprofit leaders search for creative new ways to generate sustainable revenue for their organizations, Jenni wants to provide some food for thought. In this episode, we’ll play a quick trivia game about the most successful types of creative revenue ideas! We’ll also revisit an interview from the archives with Brad Kimbler, CEO of the social enterprise Staff 360, which is owned by the nonprofit Safe Haven Family Shelter.   Jenni also shares an update about a free way to spread the word about your nonprofit or social enterprise’s products and services during the holiday shopping season. We’re compiling a “Gifts That Give Back” ecatalog for people who want to support good causes this winter, and you can apply to have your items included for free! Visit tinyurl.com/nonprofitjennigifts to submit your items for consideration.   Our podcast guests this week are: --Michelle Gustafson from Caritas of Austin --Brad Kimbler from S

To help kickstart year-end giving, many communities host Local Giving Days, also known as Days of Giving. For example, upcoming giving days include Colorado Gives Day in Colorado, GAgives Day in Georgia, and Give to the Max Day in Minnesota. Even if you don’t have a local giving day coming up in your community, Giving Tuesday is coming up on December 1 as the International Day of Giving, celebrated all over the world to support nonprofits. This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, we’ll share an example of a local giving day fundraising campaign, and talk about four reasons nonprofit leaders shy away from Giving Tuesday. Jenni also shares an update about a free way to spread the word about your nonprofit or social enterprise’s products and services during the holiday shopping season. We’re compiling a “Gifts That Give Back” ecatalog for people who want to support good causes this winter, and you can apply to have your items included for free! Visit tinyurl.com/nonprofitjennigifts to submit your items for conside

If you haven’t listened to the Nonprofit Jenni Show episode about “Nonprofit PR: How to Work With Media to Attract New Supporters”, we recommend you listen to that episode first! This week, we’re following up on some extra FAQs about nonprofit Public Relations (PR). We also chat with two nonprofit leaders who are responsible for their nonprofit organizations’ PR initiatives. Nonprofit Jenni Show listeners can get an exclusive discount on Jenni’s “Build a PR Plan” Mini-Course! Go online to bit.ly/buildaprplan and use discount code “PR10” to get 10% off the mini-course. The mini-course includes:--A manageable half-hour webinar about how to build your PR plan--A worksheet to start building your PR plan as you watch the webinar--BONUS GIFT: A free copy of Jenni’s PR Contact Log Template to help you learn to research and track communications with media partners Our podcast guests this week are:--Meredith Schweitzer from the School for Advanced Research--Staci Davis and Alli Beth from Waves Nonprofit Jenni provides

In small and medium nonprofits, marketing duties often fall to the Executive Director or Development Director who don’t know the ins and outs of tactics like Public Relations (PR). Recently, Jenni has received a lot of questions about press releases, social media influencers, and other PR topics. This week, we want to demystify nonprofit PR and help your organization build a stronger PR plan. Nonprofit Jenni Show listeners can get an exclusive discount on Jenni’s “Build a PR Plan” Mini-Course! Go online to bit.ly/buildaprplan and use discount code “PR10” to get 10% off the mini-course. The mini-course includes:--A manageable half-hour webinar about how to build your PR plan--A worksheet to start building your PR plan as you watch the webinar--BONUS GIFT: A free copy of Jenni’s PR Contact Log Template to help you learn to research and track communications with media partners Our podcast guests this week are:--Joanna Mazo from Park Center--Samantha Taitano from Mañe'lu Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting servic

Jenni receives a LOT of questions about social media best practices for nonprofits, so we wanted to offer a few easy tips to improve your nonprofit’s social media presence, engagement, and overall success in earning support for your mission. In this episode of the Nonprofit Jenni Show, we cover seven social media tips that are super easy to implement right away! Jenni also shares a quick update about the new podcast release schedule, and some ways you can help support the podcast. If you feel like your nonprofit’s social media, website, or other marketing materials could use a quick audit, schedule a free half-hour call with Jenni at nonprofitjenni.com/contact You can also get Jenni’s “Nonprofit Social Media Cheat Sheet” for FREE when you sign up for email updates at nonprofitjenni.com! Finally, if you feel like you need help with your overall web presence (not just your social media), get Jenni’s “Website Marketing Mini-Course” at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore for just $49. Nonprofit Jenni provides cons

This week, listen to the second part of Jenni’s interview with thought leader and advocate Jon Royal about how to bring up the topic of equity and race with your nonprofit’s leadership team. (Check out last week’s episode to hear Part 1!) We continue talking about how to be sensitive and respectful while still approaching the conversation with bold and inspirational courage. In this podcast episode, Jon and Jenni mention several resources, including: --Jenni’s Racial Justice Awareness Kit, available at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore Our guest this week is: --Jon Royal (jonroyal@gmail.com) Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofits and social impact organizations seeking guidance in the areas of Marketing, Fundraising, Growth, and Starting Up. Visit nonprofitjenni.com to learn more. All information in the Nonprofit Jenni Show is very general in nature, and may not apply to your specific nonprofit organization. Please direct clarifying questions to Nonprofit Jenni by visit

Ongoing events like the spread of COVID-19 and #BlackLivesMatter have recently made inequities in our healthcare, educational, correctional, and other systems more obvious on a national level. Fortunately, we’ve seen many nonprofits revisit their Diversity / Equity / Inclusion (DEI) policies (or build completely new ones from scratch) as a result. This week, Jenni speaks again with thought leader and advocate Jon Royal to discuss an example of how your nonprofit can promote equity and racial justice in your community. This episode is Part 1 of 2 -- look for Part 2 next week! In this podcast episode, Jon and Jenni mention several resources, including: --Jenni’s Racial Justice Awareness Kit, available at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore --Chenjerai Kumanyika, who you can find on Twitter at twitter.com/catchatweetdown --The podcast “Seeing White”, which you can find at sceneonradio.org/seeing-white --The book “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America” by Richard Rothstein

Many nonprofit leaders are (fortunately) revisiting or creating new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies as a result of systemic inequities that have been revealed by COVID-19 and #BlackLivesMatter. A huge part of an effective DEI strategy is developing an inclusive, supportive culture among your staff and board. This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, nonprofit executive Brenda Jimenez joins us (for the second time!) to offer her advice for hiring and retaining awesome team members. We also talk about how to attract the right type of candidates so you don’t make a bad hire, and how to promote diversity within your team. We mentioned several resources in this episode, including:--The June 12 podcast episode featuring Brenda Jimenez called “Tips for Pro Bono Relationships”, which you can find on your podcast platform under the Nonprofit Jenni Show--The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance’s Cost-of-Turnover Calculator, which you can use for free at nonprofitleadershipalliance.org/calculator --Mentor New

Starting a nonprofit internship program is no joke. I’ve heard people flippantly tell nonprofit leaders, “Just get an intern for that!” in response to legitimate complaints about a lack of time to accomplish all the tasks on their plate… But hiring an intern is even more difficult than hiring a new employee because interns are often still figuring what type of career they want to pursue, and usually have little to no prior experience. This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, the founder and director of Learning Life shares his experiences developing an internship program, including the way he manages his Summer 2020 interns remotely in the wake of COVID-19. We also talk about how to make internships fair for both parties, especially if you want to open up your internship to candidates who don’t have the luxury of being able to afford to take a full-time unpaid position. Our guest this week is:--Paul Lachelier from Learning Life Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofits and s

Back when it first became clear that in-person nonprofit events wouldn’t be possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, I recorded a coaching call I had with two nonprofit leaders (Emily and Sydni) to advise them on how to plan their very first virtual fundraising event. They gave me permission to release the recording on my podcast, so I published the call on May 1 in an episode called “Advice for Your First Virtual Fundraising Event”. After the call, Sydni downloaded my Silent and Online Auction Guide (available at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore) to decide whether they could pull off an online auction at the event. This week, Sydni is back on the podcast to share her tips for YOUR next charitable online auction! She gives some advice that comes straight from my Silent and Online Auction Guide, plus she shares the behind-the-scenes story of how her nonprofit planned a successful auction that ended up bringing in an additional $8,700 of event revenue. Download Nonprofit Jenni’s Silent and Online Auction Guide

There are a million interconnected issues which have created our monstrous incarceration systems, and incarceration is just one more area where racial inequities become so glaringly obvious. This week on the Nonprofit Jenni Show, two Ameelio representatives come on the show to have a conversation with me about some of the specific failures of our incarceration systems. We discuss the solutions Ameelio offers to nonprofits, those who are incarcerated, and their loved ones. Some of the nonprofits Ameelio has partnered with so far include: --DreamKit (dreamkitapp.com)--Community Partners in Action (cpa-ct.org)--Perception Programs (perceptionprograms.org)--Inmates to Entrepreneurs (inmatestoentrepreneurs.org) If your organization is interested in partnering with Ameelio to serve inmates and/or their loved ones, please contact Emma Gray by emailing emma@ameelio.org If you want to help spread the word about Ameelio’s free communication services for inmates and their loved ones, please direct your constituents to a

In light of the recently revived Black Lives Matter movement, acts of police brutality, and following riots and protests, I thought it was important to look back at some conversations I had back in January with a couple experts in equity. Originally entitled “I’m Not Interested in Equality Because Equality Isn’t Good Enough”, this episode has become extremely relevant again as nonprofit leadership teams review their DEI policies and goals.  I also talk about some free and affordable communications tools your team can use to spread the word about systemic racism and how community members can help advocate for the rights of the Black community. You can find these tools at nonprofitjenni.com/coursesandmore Our guests this week include:--Jon Royal, who works as a theatre director and a social sector thought leader--Chandra Williams, the CEO of Center for Student Achievement Solutions Nonprofit Jenni provides consulting services and coaching calls for nonprofits and social impact organizations seeking guidance in