What happens when you stop fishing for board members in the same small pond and start casting into the ocean? According to TD Smyers, CEO and co-founder of BoardBuild.org, you get a board that actually reflects the people you serve and a lot more horsepower where it counts. TD admits he learned the hard way. Traditional recruiting leans almost entirely on the social circles of executives and current directors, which means sameness on repeat. BoardBuild flips that habit by opening a national pool and enabling a mutual search that matches what nonprofits need with candidates who are eager and prepared to serve.

TD frames diversity with refreshing specificity: race and ethnicity, age, gender, geography, and industry. The platform lets organizations search intentionally across those dimensions and beyond. Why it matters shows up in the results. A six-month study by Maya Consulting found that members sourced through the platform immediately energized strategic planning, governance, and fundraising. Board giving, often stuck around seventy percent participation nationally, moved upward as many of these new directors gave beyond their peers. That is not luck; that is design.

The modern boardroom, TD notes, isn’t limited by zip code. Remote participation widened the talent aperture without dulling performance. The real work, TD reminds us, happens between meetings—inside committees and follow-through—not during the quarterly roll call.

Two BoardBuild differentiators drive outcomes. First, the pool: “We built BoardBuild so there are no barriers to that pool,” TD says. No geographic, language, or socioeconomic walls. Second, the magic of mutual search: candidates define the causes and roles they want, organizations define the skills and lived experience they need, and “when passion and specificity meet the need, the magic happens.”

Funders are paying attention too. If you want smarter stewardship of grant dollars, strengthen the people making the decisions. Community foundations and statewide associations now use BoardBuild to help their grantees fortify boards with purpose and capacity. The net effect is a sector that collaborates more, competes smarter, and grows up a bit on boardroom practice. TD’ thesis is simple and persuasive: treat board service like the part-time job it really is, recruit from a larger world, and watch your organization’s strategy and resources stop wobbling.

#TheNonprofitShow #BoardGovernance #NonprofitLeadership

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Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
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When nonprofits tackle a major platform shift, the tech is only half the story. JMT Consulting pros Brady Haslebacher (Director of Program Management) and Dagmar “Dagi” Stanton (Manager of Education Services) map out the human and operational moves that make change stick.

This informative episode breaks down why big projects stall—no top-down buy-in, poor internal communication, and late user inclusion—and then shows how to reverse it with a clear cadence, a requirements doc everyone can point to, and training that respects different learning styles. You’ll also hear how to build champions: start with pain points, practice real workflows, revisit what was decided four weeks ago, and connect dashboards to daily tasks so executives and staff share one view of success.

Brady puts it plainly: “Without communication, missions fail.” From day one, he presses leaders to create a real pre-decision phase—document requirements, prioritize reporting needs, and establish ownership from the C-suite through front-line users. His data points are clear: a typical engagement runs ~90 days to go-live, ~60 days of hypercare, and one to two working sessions per week—about six months end-to-end.

Dagi brings the trainer’s lens, focusing on behavior and confidence. She works with teams who didn’t even choose the new system, flipping reluctance into momentum by making sessions unexpectedly fun and practical. Her mantra cuts through inertia: “The right answer isn’t ‘because we’ve always done it that way.’” She intentionally sets up safe mistakes so users learn how fast they can correct entries—lowering stress and building mastery. The result is less dread and more people who actually enjoy using the tools.

In closing, you’ll get details on JMT’s Innovate 2026 (Washington, D.C., May 4–6): a pre-conference day for deep skill building, followed by multi-track sessions that span software, finance, management, and sector trends—plus the chance to meet your people in person.

If you’re planning a system change—or sitting in one right now—this conversation gives you timelines, team roles, and a playbook to move from anxiety to adoption without the hair-on-fire moments.

#ChangeManagement #NonprofitTech

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Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
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We sat down with Amos Balongo, keynote speaker and communications coach, to explore a subject rarely discussed in the nonprofit space — personal visibility. Amos challenges the traditional mindset that humility and impact must exist in separate spheres, proposing instead that visibility is both a professional asset and a form of leadership.

Speaking from Honolulu, Amos sets the stage with a simple truth: “If you don’t speak for your work, nobody else will.” His message resonates deeply within a sector that often prizes quiet service over self-advocacy. For Amos, visibility isn’t vanity — it’s strategy. He reframes communication as the ability to connect and insists that becoming visible is a learnable habit rather than an innate gift. “It’s not hope; it’s a strategy,” he says. “You have to be bold, brief, and strategic.”

Show host Julia Patrick draws the connection to the real-world nonprofit landscape, where professionals work tirelessly to amplify their organizations while neglecting their own personal brands. The result, Amos explains, is that talent often remains unseen. Visibility, he emphasizes, begins with intentionality — knowing your stakeholders, communicating outcomes instead of effort, and building recognition across and beyond your nonprofit.

Amos’s philosophy merges clarity with courage. He invites nonprofit leaders to reject the old adage “let your work speak for itself” and instead cultivate everyday visibility — a daily practice of sharing progress, celebrating results, and speaking with confidence. He notes that humility isn’t silence; it’s authenticity. The key is to shift from describing how hard you’ve worked to explaining the difference your work has made.

Networking, too, takes on new meaning. Rather than collecting business cards, Amos urges purposeful connection rooted in belief, preparation, and authenticity. “Networking is an inside job before it becomes an outside job,” he asserts, reminding listeners that confidence in oneself and one’s mission radiates outward.

Ultimately, this conversation transcends self-promotion. It’s about alignment between who you are and how you are perceived — an integrity-driven approach to leadership. Visibility, Amos concludes, is not a one-time project but a lifelong habit, built daily through connection, clarity, and courage.

#TheNonprofitShow #LeadershipVisibility #NonprofitBranding

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Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.com
Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show