Small Nonprofit: Fundraising Tips, Leadership Strategies, and Community-Centric Solutions for Canadian and American Nonprofit

Send us Fan Mail Nearly half of nonprofit Executive Directors are reporting burnout as a serious concern, and that number is climbing fast. In this episode, we dig into the Center for Effective Philanthropy's 2026 report and unpack what's actually driving the crisis: rising service demand, shrinking budgets, and boards and staff who often can't be the safe space EDs need. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria is joined by Caitlin McBride, a Certified Fundraising Executive with close to 15 years in the sector, to talk honestly about burnout and what small nonprofit leaders can actually do about it, starting today. Connect with Caitlin on LinkedIn Read the Center for Effective Philanthropy, 2026 report Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most nonprofits ask foundations for what they think a funder is comfortable giving, not what the mission actually needs to succeed. That gap is costing the sector real impact. This episode pulls back the curtain on how private philanthropy really operates: why 95% of foundation assets sit invested with zero connection to mission, why "private" family foundations are actually funded with public money, and why the polite, small ask has become the norm even when it guarantees failure. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Glenn Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation and author of Control: Why Big Giving Falls Short , to talk about what happens when a foundation commits to spending down its entire endowment instead of sitting on it. Connect with Glenn on LinkedIn Visit their website Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Throwing spaghetti at the wall can't fix broken fundraising systems. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio, a fundraising expert with over 15 years of experience, shares what it actually takes to turn acquisition and retention into a repeatable system instead of a scramble. You'll learn how to move donors through each stage of the funnel, from total stranger to lifelong supporter, and why retention deserves more of your attention. This episode is Part 1 of Maria's live workshop, "How to Get More Donors, Retain Your Base, and Deepen Their Connection," recorded for a cohort of nonprofit leaders. Connect with Maria on LinkedIn Watch The Golden Circle by Simon Sinek (TED Talk) Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Small nonprofits are constantly told to do more with less. More fundraising, more reporting, more services, same tiny team. This episode flips that pressure on its head. Instead of asking "how do we do more ourselves," our guest makes the case for asking "who could we build this with together?" You'll hear real examples of what collaboration actually looks like on the ground, from a food bank that partnered with mental health organizations to a youth coalition that hit real growing pains. We break down why duplicated efforts hold small nonprofits back and how the right partnerships create capacity instead of just more work. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Daniel Francavilla, a marketing strategist and capacity-building consultant who works with nonprofits through The Good Growth Company, Daniel Does, and Clarity Content. Daniel has spent years helping nonprofits and social purpose organizations tell their stories and build the kind of partnerships that expand reach. Nonprofit leaders will walk away with a clearer sense of what collaboration can look like beyond the usual program partnership and why capacity-sharing might be the missing piece in their strategy. Visit Daniel's website: https://www.thegoodgrowth.company/ Learn more about the Together for Impact Summit, coming this November 5th: https://www.thegoodgrowth.company/summit Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most leaders don't talk about what actually happens the day you walk into an ED role. They talk about the vision and the strategy, not the fact that your admin manager just quit, the reserves are empty, and you're going to have to let people go before you've even found the bathroom. This episode is about that first year as an ED, unfiltered . On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, I sit down with Lenny Sweeney, Executive Director at SHORE Centre and a fundraiser of nearly 20 years across community services, gender-based violence, disability, and reproductive justice work. If you're a first-time ED, considering becoming one, or currently in the middle of a challenge, this episode will make you feel a lot less alone. Connect with Lenny Sweeny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenny-sweeney-cfre-a8309b11/ Learn more about SHORE Centre (Sexual Health Options, Resources and Education): https://www.shorecentre.ca/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Search engines were never built with equity in mind. The organizations that show up first are the ones with money for ads, not necessarily the ones doing the most impactful work. For small and grassroots nonprofits, that means decades of good work can go unseen by the donors, program officers, and advisors who'd want to support it if they only knew it existed. It's clear the playing field was uneven long before AI entered the picture. But AI is also changing who gets found, and not always in the direction people assume. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, host Maria Rio sits down with Brandolon Barnett, Chief Innovation and Philanthropy Officer at Giving Compass, to unpack why small nonprofits struggle to be discovered and what it actually takes for donors to find you in a AI-first digital landscape. Nonprofit leaders will walk away understanding why "just post more on social media" isn't the fix it used to be and what steps they can take instead without needing a tech team or a big budget. Connect with Brandolon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandolon/ Visit their website: https://givingcompass.org/ or https://gg.givingcompass.org/ Learn more about how donors and funders find you in the age of AI: Free self-paced course here Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Ever felt pressure to chase every funding opportunity that crosses your desk just because the deadline lines up and the dollar amount looks good? This episode is your permission to slow down. You'll learn why "does this person have money" is the wrong first question, and what to actually look for before you sink hours into an application or a pitch. You'll hear the real cost of chasing misaligned funders (hint: it's not just your time), and get a practical framework for spotting values alignment before you're locked into a partnership. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, host Maria Rio is joined by Caitlin McBride, a certified fundraising executive with close to 15 years of experience helping small nonprofit leaders make fundraising feel easy, ethical, and less chaotic. Together, they unpack how experienced fundraisers actually assess whether a funding opportunity is worth pursuing, and nonprofit leaders will walk away with a clear-eyed way to evaluate funders before committing time, energy, or their organization's reputation. Connect with Caitlin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/caitlinmcbride-ethical-fundraising/ The Unbearable Hypocrisy: Fundraising in a World of Compromised Integrity: Read here CHAPTERS 00:00 Why Not Every Funder Is Worth Chasing 01:43 Meet Caitlin McBride: Making Fundraising Ethical and Less Chaotic 02:35 The "Looks Good on Paper" Trap — Money, Deadlines and Program Fit 03:41 Not All Money Is Good Money: Hidden Time and Reputational Costs 05:58 How to Check a Funder's Real Giving History (CRA Website Tip) 07:27 Values Alignment: Vision, Tactics, and How Donors Treat Your Staff 09:11 Closed-Door Funders: Why "They Won't Talk to You" Is the Answer 12:14 Scarcity Mindset vs. Being Strategically Picky About Funders 13:21 The "Ends Justify the Means" Debate in Nonprofit Fundraising 14:49 Funding Should Follow Mission, Not the Other Way Around 15:27 Assessing the Grant Application: Is It Worth Your Time? 16:23 Sneaky Recognition Requirements (Christmas Gifts, Logo Wars, and More) 18:41 Sponsorship vs. Donation: Know What You're Actually Signing 20:00 Why Being Picky Is the Strategic Move Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most nonprofits pour everything into the people and causes they serve, and forget the staff doing that work every single day. This episode flips the script. We're talking about what it actually looks like to take care of the caretakers, especially when your team is dealing with trauma, grief, or emotional burnout as part of the job. You'll hear how one nonprofit built a staff wellness program from the ground up, fueled almost entirely through community donations, not big budget line items. We also get into what happens when a founder hits her own breaking point, and what she changed because of it. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Laurie Hood, founder and CEO of Alaqua Animal Refuge, a 20-year-old organization that rescues and rehabilitates animals from cruelty and neglect cases. Nonprofit leaders will walk away with a real framework for supporting staff wellbeing without needing a bigger budget, and a reminder that modeling rest starts at the top. Visit their website: https://alaqua.org/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are the fastest-growing way to give in Canada, the US, and the UK, and most nonprofits still don't have the words "donor-advised fund" anywhere on their website. This episode isn't a case for DAFs. It's a case for having a strategy for them anyway, so that money moves toward community instead of sitting in an advisor's spreadsheet. In this episode, Mike Todd (Transform Philanthropy) breaks down what's actually happening when a DAF gift lands in your mailbox, why "anonymous" almost never means what you think it means, and how to stop losing gifts you didn't even know you were being considered for. Connect with Mike: mike@transformphilanthropy.ca Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miketodd/ Visit their website: https://www.transformphilanthropy.ca Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Posting on social media and hoping donations follow? You might be setting yourself up for disappointment. In this episode, we get into why social media is often a top-of-funnel tool, not a direct-response one, and why that's not a bad thing once you understand how to use it right. We talk about the algorithm problem nobody wants to admit: that even your own followers might never see your posts. We also dig into what actually makes content land, from ditching jargon to using strength-based framing that invites people in instead of guilt-tripping them. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Farra Trompeter, co-director and worker-owner at Big Duck, who has spent over 30 years helping nonprofits use communications to build brands, run campaigns, and grow sustainably. If you've ever wondered whether your org "should" be on every platform, or worried your content isn't landing the way you hoped, this conversation gives you a clearer way to think about both. Connect with Farra: farra@bigduck.com Connect with Farra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farra/ Visit their website: https://bigduck.com/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail If your fundraising calendar is back-to-back grant deadlines and event planning, you might be stuck on a treadmill that's working against you. Grants and events share something that doesn't get talked about enough: they're two of the highest time investment portfolios in the fundraising world. The good news? If you're good at grants, you're already sitting on a foundation of skills that translate directly into individual giving, corporate, and social enterprise. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio is joined by Caitlin McBride, CFRE, a Certified Fundraising Executive with over a decade of experience who is on a mission to make fundraising feel less chaotic and more doable for small nonprofits. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Your fundraiser just handed in their notice. Now what? Before you dust off that three-year-old job description and blast it out, there are a few things you need to know. Fundraiser turnover is one of the most disruptive events a small nonprofit can face. Donor relationships go quiet, grant deadlines get missed, and someone who already has a full plate suddenly inherits a whole new set of responsibilities. If the hiring process that follows is reactive rather than intentional, you risk losing good candidates, burning out your team further, and making an expensive hire that doesn't stick. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Brittny Wilson, CEO and founder of Rooted Hire, an executive search firm built specifically for nonprofits. With over 20 years of in-house fundraising experience and six years running her own search and interim services firm, Brittny knows this terrain from every angle. In this episode, she walks Executive Directors through the real cost of skipping the assessment stage, why the "starry-eyed" hire from a big shop usually doesn't work out, and what you can do differently starting today. Visit Brittny's website: https://www.rootedhire.com/ Connect with Brittny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittnywilson/ https://www.instagram.com/rootedhire Hiring Process Audit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q7ax3DqErnzNmepydJEx5ncjuCJHoKh4/view 10 Pitfalls of Nonprofit Hiring: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dBnxhytGuSyAB55G7e21YYq4iVtRqIas/view Support the show

Send us Fan Mail A burnt-out Executive Director doesn't just affect themselves. The team feels it. The culture shifts. The bold, brave decisions that your community depends on? They stop happening. And yet, so many EDs stay well past their limit because the tools, staffing, or board support to do anything differently simply don't exist. If you're an ED who's been running on fumes, or a board member wondering why your leader seems like a different person than the one you hired, this conversation is for you. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Jocelyn Helland, a nonprofit leadership consultant with over 20 years of Executive Director experience. Jocelyn now works with small and medium-sized organizations through coaching, fractional fundraising, and interim ED leadership helping them solve the sticky problems that keep great leaders stuck. Visit Jocelyn's website: https://www.jocelynhelland.ca/ Connect with Jocelyn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jocelynhelland/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most nonprofits are good at issuing apologies, but terrible at actually changing. There's a difference between saying "I'm sorry" and doing the work of repair, and that gap is exactly where trust goes to die. In this episode, we get into what accountability actually means, why so few organizations do it well, and what it looks like when it's done right. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Chris Talbot (they/them), Communications Lead for Community-Centric Fundraising, and a queer, transmasc, non-binary, mixed race, autistic advocate who has spent years working to make spaces genuinely safe for marginalized people. Nonprofit leaders listening to this episode will walk away with a concrete framework for taking accountability, a clearer picture of why changed behavior, and not apologies, is the actual measure of accountability, and a harder look at the double standard of who gets held to account in our sector. Shahem Mclaurin's page, which has links to their socials, podcast, and work: https://www.5hahem.com/ Christabel Mintah-Galloway's page, which has links to her relational toolkit, relational skills workbook, workshop, and socials: https://www.christabelmintahgalloway.com/ Book: Turn this world inside out: The emergence of nurturance culture : https://bookshop.org/p/books/turn-this-world-inside-out-the-emergence-of-nurturance-culture-nora-samaran/012f25ca4db67954 Chris's website: https://www.mxchristalbot.com/ Twitter: https://x.com/mxchristalbot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mxchristalbot/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxchristalbot/ Them's Wild podcast: https://dashboard.rss.com/podcasts/themswild/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail You've been told that keeping donors happy is how you protect your revenue. What if that's actually the thing bleeding your organization dry? In this episode, Maria Rio makes the case that donor-centric fundraising isn't just a values problem, but also financial one. She breaks down exactly how centering donor comfort drives away your most aligned supporters, tanks staff morale, and keeps your organization stuck addressing symptoms instead of causes. Maria introduces the ACT framework, a concrete three-step roadmap that any fundraiser can start using without board approval, a strategic planning retreat, or organizational consensus. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio draws on over a decade of fundraising experience, her personal history as a service user, and real results from organizations like The Stop Community Food Centre and Out on Screen to show nonprofit leaders what Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) actually looks like in practice, and how to start shifting toward it, starting tomorrow. This episode is a re-recording of the keynote Maria gave at ENCC 2026. Learn more about CCF here: https://communitycentricfundraising.org/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Hiring a fundraiser feels like the obvious solution when revenue is tight and the need is growing, but doing it before you're ready can set everyone up to fail, including the person you just hired. Before you draft that job description, there are real systems, mindsets, and infrastructure pieces that need to be in place. And if you don't have them yet, there's a smarter path forward that most small nonprofits haven't considered. This episode breaks down what "ready" actually looks like, what supports might be the bridge your organization needs, and how to stop the costly cycle of hiring, struggling, and starting over. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio is joined by Caitlin McBride, a Certified Fundraising Executive with over a decade of experience helping organizations raise money with less chaos. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail The Changemaker Wellbeing Index reports that 31% of nonprofit workers experience food insecurity — and for frontline staff, that rises to 48%. The very sector working to end poverty is, in many cases, perpetuating it through its own payroll. The good news? There's a practical, achievable path forward, and it is easy to get started. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Anne Coleman, newly-appointed Executive Director at the Ontario Living Wage Network. Anne has been doing this work since 2014, supporting employers across Ontario, including a significant number of nonprofits, to calculate, commit to, and get certified for paying living wages. This episode tackles one of the most uncomfortable truths in the nonprofit world: we can't claim to believe in economic justice if we're not paying our own people enough to live on. You'll hear what a living wage actually is, how it's calculated, why it's so different from minimum wage, and what it looks like to make the commitment as an organization. You'll also get the real business case for paying better so you can make the pitch to your board with confidence. Connect with Anne at anne@ontariolivingwage.ca Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Your volunteers are giving something money can't buy, and most nonprofits are treating that gift like an afterthought. When you start seeing volunteers through the same lens as major donors, the way you recruit, steward, and engage them completely changes. And when you connect volunteerism to your broader fundraising and governance pipeline, you stop treating it as a nice-to-have and start building something that actually lasts. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Karen Leies, President and CEO of The Seeing Eye, the world's oldest guide dog school, to talk about what it really means to run a volunteer program well. With 500+ puppy raisers a year, a robust volunteer program, and a board of directors that often wears multiple hats, Karen brings hard-won insight on how nonprofits can stop leaving volunteer potential on the table. If you've ever struggled to keep volunteers engaged, convert their involvement into deeper commitment, or get your board to actually show up — this one's for you. Connect with Karen on LinkedIn Visit their website: https://seeingeye.org/ Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Most nonprofits don't have a succession plan for their Executive Director because the whole thing feels risky to bring up. What if the board thinks you're already halfway out the door? What if there's no time, no budget, or no one ready to take over? Learn what a real succession plan actually contains, how to start the conversation without putting yourself on the chopping block, and why waiting until someone retires (or worse, dies suddenly) is not a strategy. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, host Maria Rio sits down with Dr. Keena Mosley, CEO and Chief Transformation Officer of Momentum Leadership Group, with over 20 years of experience in leadership development across the nonprofit and education sectors. We dig into what happens after a role transition, what that person does before they walk in on day one, and how they navigate those first few weeks. Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Some funders are quietly draining your organization's capacity before they even decide whether to fund you. This episode breaks down the difference between funders who treat nonprofits as true partners and those who bury you in 140-page applications with a 3% chance of success. You'll learn how to identify where a funder falls on the spectrum, what equitable grantmaking actually looks like in practice, and why your time is worth protecting as a strategic resource. We also get into the nuts and bolts of building a smarter grant strategy so you can make better decisions about where to spend your energy. On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio is joined by Caitlin McBride, a Certified Fundraising Executive with over a decade of experience in the sector on a mission to make fundraising feel less chaotic for small nonprofits. Together, they dig into Vu Le's Equitable Grantmaking Continuum, share their own experiences with A+ and not-so-A+ funders, and give nonprofit leaders a practical lens for evaluating grant opportunities before spending hours on an application that was never really winnable. The Equitable Grantmaking Continuum: https://legalfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Equitable-Grantmaking-Continuum-Full-Version-Updated-March-2021-2.pdf Support the show