Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast

In this episode, I walk through the 4 core metrics vital for your nonprofit's success. I can't overstate the importance of tracking and understanding your organization's health, effectiveness, and alignment with its mission. Yet, for many nonprofit leaders, navigating this terrain can feel overwhelming and perplexing, leaving them unsure of where to begin. I'm sharing a four-part, structured approach to tracking and measuring your organization's health on a month-to-month basis. While the concept of metrics may seem daunting, they are simply a targeted set of data that you and your team choose to track and analyze. Much like numbers on a dashboard, these metrics serve as quick and efficient indicators of your organization's overall health and performance. By paying attention to these metrics, you can identify areas that require further attention and ensure that your organization remains on the path to success. Remember, you don’t need to track every metric; instead, focus on selecting 1-3 key metrics in each of the four crucial areas of your organization’s health and operations. What Listeners Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Program Impact Metrics:Strategic Alignment Metrics:Financial Performance Metrics:Stakeholder Engagement Metrics:Simplicity is Key: Step-by-Step Guide: Identify Key Areas:Select Metrics:Implement Tracking:Review and Adjust: Resources Mentioned: Nonprofit Template Vault:4 Parts of a Strong Financial Dashboard Episode:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this episode, I dive into the concept of a Brain Trust—a facilitated gathering that leverages the expertise of advisors and thinkers to tackle specific organizational challenges. Imagine convening your “dream team” of advisors and strategic thought partners, all focused on solving a real, tangible problem your nonprofit faces. It's not just about sharing ideas; it's about action-oriented problem-solving that's grounded in real-world issues. I'll guide you through why Brain Trusts are a simple yet powerful tool for your leadership toolkit, covering their benefits across cultivation, stewardship, and network expansion. You'll learn how these gatherings can deepen engagement with your board members, foster intimate connections with potential donors, and broaden your network with invaluable insights. Here's what you'll learn: The Essence of a Brain Trust:Why It's a Game-Changer:Setting Up for Success:Five Key Takeaways: Brain Trusts center on solving specific, real-world challengesThey are a potent tool for engaging potential and existing supportersDiverse perspectives enrich the problem-solving processStrategic planning and participant selection are crucialFollow-up is keySteps to Hosting a Brain Trust: Identify the Challenge:Curate Your Participants:Plan the Agenda:Facilitate Engagement:Follow Up:Resources Mentioned: Nonprofit Template Vault:brookerichiebabbage.com/templatevaultConnect With Brooke Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTubeConnect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In today's podcast, I share a concrete method for communicating your work to potential supporters — no matter who they are: The Stakeholder Communication Bridge. Drawing from my own experience with fundraising and network building, the Stakeholder Communication Bridge is a straightforward and powerful framework for clarifying and connecting your mission to the activities and outcomes that make your organization stand out. If you've ever struggled to articulate the impact of your work in a way that resonates broadly, this episode is your roadmap to cultivating deeper connections and fostering a diverse community of supporters. What Listeners Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Clarifying the Problem:Distinguishing Strategies from Activities:Articulating Intended Impact:Building Shared Affinity:Reducing Mental Friction: Step-by-Step Process: Articulate the Problem:Outline Your Strategies:Communicate the Outcomes:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

The end of a quarter is a powerful opportunity for growth and strategic planning. In this episode, I share five critical questions that can guide you and your team through a meaningful exercise of introspection and evaluation, helping you stay on track toward, and aligned with your goals. Whether you're utilizing these insights during a quiet week or a CEO day, this episode is your guide to refining your approach, optimizing resources, and making strategic, impactful decisions. What You Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Resources Mentioned: Past Episode Links:CEO DayPost-It Planning SystemConnect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In today’s episode, I offer a catalog of the episodes in which I’ve done a deeper dive into how to think about and operationalize leverage. You can find all of the episodes in this curated playlist: brookerichiebabbage.com/leverage-playlist Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this episode, I’m doing a deep dive into the concept of leveraged networks - the secret sauce to expanding your organization's capacity, influence, and impact without breaking the bank. As a founder and leader myself, I've navigated the complexities of growing an organization, and I've discovered that the strength of your network can truly make or break your impact. Today, I'm sharing personal insights and strategies on how to build and leverage a micro-group within your broader network to achieve your strategic objectives. This episode is a goldmine for anyone looking to amplify their reach and accomplish more with less. What You'll Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Identify Your Strategic Objectives:Map Your Network:Engage and Cultivate:Tailor Your Approach:Nurture and Appreciate: Resources Mentioned: Leveraged Leadership Strategy Bundle - brookerichiebabbage.com/leveragebundle Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this episode, I walk through how Key Financial Indicators can serve as a high leverage navigational compass through the murky world of your financial health. Whether it's understanding your liquidity to seize new opportunities or measuring your mission's efficiency to ensure alignment with your values, KFIs are indispensable tools. What You’ll Learn: Key Takeaways: Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

Over the past 25 years, I've learned that understanding the concept of leverage can mean the difference between sustainable growth and burning out. In this episode, I explore three areas in which leverage is critical: evaluating your impact, leveraging your network and partnerships, and optimizing your use of resources. I share concrete questions every organization should ask itself in each of these 3 areas, as part of an organizational leverage self-audit process. What Listeners Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Conducting the Leveraged Leadership Self-Audit:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

A CEO Day isn’t just about stepping away from the day-to-day tasks. It’s about stepping fully into a role that demands vision, strategy, and long-term planning. In this episode, I share why dedicating time to think like a CEO can be a game-changer for your organization. From fostering a mindset shift from managing to leading, to ensuring every effort aligns with your overarching objectives, a CEO Day is your catalyst for growth, innovation, and renewed focus. What You’ll Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process for Planning Your CEO Day: Frequency and Scheduling:Location:Planning the Day:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

Do you ever wonder about the approaches someone actually takes to grow their organization’s budget, team, board and impact? Like what strategies do they actually use to go from a $450K budget, a tiny team, and awesome but scrappy programs to a $2M budget a strong team, board, and impact that go along with that growth? The answer is by using approaches to growth that are intentionally about increasing leverage. In this episode, I’m breaking down five of the most powerful organizational and leadership principles that leaders who take their organizations to the next level use to help them lead in a more leveraged way. This is my second episode in this leveraged leadership series, and like the last one, it’s super concrete. What You'll Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Balanced Scorecard:OKRs (Objectives and Key Results):RACI Matrix:Flywheel Concept:Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule):Resources Mentioned: Leverage PlaylistConnect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

I'm resharing one of my most popular podcast episodes: A fantastic conversation with Cindy Wagman, Founder and President of The Good Partnership, best-selling author of Raise It! The Reluctant Fundraiser’s Guide to Raising Money Without Selling Your Soul, and host of the top-rated podcast, The Small Nonprofit. Cindy offers a mini-masterclass on how to build your fundraising team as your organization grows, before you have the budget for a full-time development director. She shares: Plus, Cindy breaks down how to know when you’re ready to build your team, what to look for in a fractional fundraiser, and how to integrate external development support into your team for maximum impact. Links Mentioned ==> RAISE IT!: The Reluctant Fundraiser's Guide to Raising Money Without Selling Your Soul Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast! I'm your host, Brooke, and today, I’m thrilled to share an insightful conversation with one of my dearest friends and a true game-changer in the nonprofit world, Rachel Bearbower. As the founder of Small Shop Strategies, Rachel is a wizard in teaching nonprofit leaders the art of untangling complex systems to focus on what truly matters – nurturing relationships and boosting fundraising efforts. In our chat, we delve into the nuts and bolts of building effective systems in small nonprofits. We’ll explore Rachel's unique approach to time management, and her strategies for creating a harmony between digital and analog systems. Whether you're a seasoned executive director or a budding nonprofit enthusiast, this episode is packed with practical advice, relatable experiences, and a touch of farm life charm from Rachel's life in Iowa. What the Listener Will Learn: Five Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Identify Your Goals:Baseline Your Current Systems:Simplify and Organize:Implement Sunup and Sundown Routines:Regularly Review and Adjust: Resources Mentioned: Visit WebsiteExplore CalendlyAsanaNotionGoogle DriveDiscover AirTableConnect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this episode, I unravel the art of getting out of the daily hustle to carve out space for strategic visioning and impactful leadership. Join me as we explore how to harness 3 specific strategies for spending time on high leverage activities throughout your leadership journey, whether you're implementing them today or aspiring towards them as your future benchmark. What You'll Learn: Elevating Productivity with Energy-Aware Scheduling:Prioritizing with the Big Rocks Philosophy:Batching for Focus and Efficiency: Key Takeaways: Energy Mapping for Optimal Performance:The Big Rocks First Approach:Batch Work to Reduce Cognitive Overhead:Intentional Scheduling to Guard Your Time:Mindful Replenishment of Energy: Step-by-Step Process: Map Your Natural Energy Flow:Implement the Big Rocks Strategy:Batch Your Tasks:Protect Your Scheduled Time:Replenish Your Energy Intentionally: Resources Mentioned: Leverage Playlist:www.brookerichiebabbage.com/leverageplaylistLeveraged Leadership BundleThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:How to Get Into Flow State:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

This week is another quick strategy episode. I’m sharing a powerful strategic framework that organizations use to anchor and align their growth: Intentional Design. What You'll Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Identify the Focal Problem:Problem Analysis:Set a BHAG:Develop a Theory of Change:Outline Activities:Infrastructure Assessment:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this episode, I’m thrilled to share my conversation with Farra Trompeter, Co-Director and Worker - Owner at Big Duck. Not only is Farra just delightful to talk to, every time I talk to her it’s like a masterclass in strategic brand building. She - and her colleagues at Big Duck - have been the go-to for nonprofit brand building for as long as I can remember. I used to devour their resources when I was an ED, because they helped me come to see my organization’s brand as more than just its logo and website. And that’s what we’re talking about today. We discuss how an effective brand - one that actually serves as a driver of growth and funding and impact - is so much more than your visual aesthetics. It’s about how you define and articulate your organization's identity, your impact strategy, and your daily practices. Farra dissects the elements of an effective brand and offers both practical advice for organizations of all budget sizes to enhance their branding efforts and excellent examples of what an effective brand strategy looks like in practice. Enjoy. What Listeners Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Elevator Pitch Exercise:Materials Review:Strategic Review: Resources Mentioned: Big Duck:Visit Big DuckBrandraising by Sarah Durham, Big Duck's founder:Find the BookConnect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this week’s quick strategy episode, I dive into a pivotal mindset shift that revolutionized my approach to leading and coaching: the concept of 'WHO not HOW.' This idea isn't just a strategy; it's a growth catalyst, steering you away from mundane tasks and towards high-impact activities like visioning, strategy, and relationship-building. What You'll Learn: Key Takeaways: Resources Mentioned: Jack Graham's Podcast Episode:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In this episode, I explore the concept of the flywheel concept, a game-changer for any organization aiming for sustainable growth and impact. Developed by Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great,” this concept is about building systems that gain momentum over time, propelling your organization forward with each turn. I share my journey of understanding and implementing this powerful tool, offering concrete examples and actionable insights. Whether you’re struggling with donor retention, seeking more impactful results, or simply looking for a sustainable growth model, this episode is your guide to harnessing the true potential of the flywheel in your organization. What Listeners Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Understanding the Flywheel:Building Momentum:Action to Result Cycle:Analyzing and Refining Processes:Testing and Implementing the Flywheel:Step-by-Step Process: Identify Your Goal:Assess Current Systems:Streamline Processes:Close the Loop:Test and Refine:Resources Mentioned: Jim Collins’ Book “Good to Great”:Find It HereFund Your Strategic Vision:Sign Up HereNewsletter Graphics:Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

In today's episode, I’m talking with two of my favorite people: Becky Endicott and Jon McCoy, co-founders of We Are For Good. They pull back the curtain on one of their collective superpowers: A strategy they’ve used to grow their community to tens of thousands of nonprofit leaders and practitioners, and one of the simplest and most powerful ways to amplify your organization’s impact. Content syndication. Content syndication is the process of turning a single piece of content into a ripple effect of engagement, growth, and community building. If you're leading a small or growing nonprofit and wondering how to make your voice louder and your footprint bigger, this conversation is a gold mine of strategies, inspiration, and real-life examples. We walk through how syndication works, and how, when paired with strategic storytelling and genuine engagement, you can use it to turn your mission into a movement! What you’ll learn: Key Takeaways: Understanding Syndication:Impact Arc Framework:The Power of Stoking:Strategic Storytelling:Voice Authenticity:Step-by-Step Process: Identify Core Content:Adapt for Platforms:Engage and Respond:Monitor and Iterate:Resources Mentioned: Impact Arc Framework:Otter.ai:Syndication Strategies from 'We Are For Good':Connect With Brooke Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

What do I do with new donors so I don't lose them? The answer is: Learn as much about your new donors as possible so that you can communicate with them better and more intimately. In today’s episode, I’m going to give you an easy, low-hanging fruit strategy for gathering information about your donors so that you can begin to segment and personalize your emails, donor appeals, and even events. What Listeners Will Learn: Key Takeaways: Step-by-Step Process: Choose an Email Service ProviderIncorporate Various Links in EmailsSend Diverse Email TypesAnalyze Engagement DataConduct A/B TestingResources Mentioned: FYSV Online Course by Rhea WongDetails HereConnect With Brooke LinkedInInstagramYouTubeConnect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube

Today I’m doing a special rerun of one of my most downloaded and shared episodes, as a tribute to my sister, Darcy Richie. This tribute show is airing on January 30th and Darcy would have been 42 years old today. I think honoring her work - of which she was so proud - is just one way that I can celebrate her today. This episode is a celebration of three things that Darcy was so very good at: >> Managing people in ways that helped them step into the best version of themselves, in whatever role they were in; >> Listening and hearing both what people were saying and what they meant to convey; and >> Building organizational teams that allowed people not just to work across difference, but to transcend it, so that their work together was greater than the sum of their individual parts. If you’ve heard this episode already, I recommend listening again. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. It’s a fantastic conversation between me and my thoughtful and talented sister. Enjoy. Connect With Brooke: Enhance your leadership journey by connecting with me. Let's explore the paths to impactful leadership together: LinkedInInstagramYouTube