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The Unfiltered Non-Profit: Leaders Share It All

The Unfiltered Non-Profit: Leaders Share It All

Auteur(s): Cherry Chan
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À propos de cet audio

 Dive into the real world of non-profit leadership. Hear inspiring stories and experiences of leaders, with a focus on examining their operations. Get a candid look at the challenges they face in managing successful non-profits. This podcast is all about the unfiltered journey of leading a non-profit and making a difference. Développement commercial et entrepreneuriat Entrepreneurship Gestion et leadership Économie
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  • The Hidden Risk Nonprofit Boards Keep Missing

    The Hidden Risk Nonprofit Boards Keep Missing
    Jan 8 2026
    In this episode of the Unfiltered Nonprofit Podcast, our conversation with Angela Fenton, former board Chair of Pleo, went well beyond board mechanics. What really surfaced was the hidden cost of instability — not just to organizations, but to the people leading them. Angela spoke candidly about Executive Directors living in a constant cycle of "we have funding / we don't have funding," and how that emotional whiplash becomes a health risk, not just a leadership challenge. That framing matters. When boards delay decisions around sustainability, they aren't just managing cash — they're transferring pressure directly onto one person. Another underappreciated insight was how boards often misjudge risk. Angela described situations where boards hesitated to spend reserves on a fractional fundraiser because of fear — fear of depleting cash, fear it wouldn't work, fear of being wrong. But she reframed the real question: what is the risk of not investing? Staying understaffed, relying on an already stretched ED, and hoping the funding picture improves on its own isn't neutral — it's a decision with consequences. In this case, the board accepted short-term discomfort to create long-term capacity, giving leadership space to plan instead of constantly react. The episode also highlighted something boards rarely formalize: who carries the thinking load. Angela described how, without intentional support, EDs become the default strategist, fundraiser, operator, and emotional shock absorber. Her board made deliberate choices — allocating professional development funds, embedding future-focused conversations into performance reviews, and involving finance partners early — to redistribute that load. Not because it was generous, but because it was necessary for sustainability. The real insight here is this: good governance isn't about control, and it isn't about caution. It's about absorbing risk at the board level so it doesn't collapse onto staff, and making investments before burnout or crisis forces your hand. For boards and leaders reading this, the harder question isn't "Can we afford to do this?" It's "Who is paying the price if we don't?"
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    26 min
  • Turning $1 Into $3: How OCHF Builds Real Community Impact

    Turning $1 Into $3: How OCHF Builds Real Community Impact
    Dec 4 2025
    This episode of The Unfiltered Nonprofit Podcast features an honest, open conversation with Traci Spour-Lafrance, Executive Director of the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation — the team supporting 33,000 people across 155 communities, including 12,000 kids and youth. Traci walks us through what it really looks like to keep programs running at that scale, especially when funding shifts and the needs in the community keep growing. A few years ago, their biggest programs were funded by government grants that suddenly disappeared. Instead of cutting back, Traci and her team rebuilt their whole model. Now they stretch every donated dollar into $3 of programming by stacking subsidies, partnering with local recreation providers, and working with corporate groups who actually build the bikes, pack the backpacks, and help fund the programs they're supporting. Their leadership program brings in 150 youth a year, and their recreation program gets kids into activities they never thought they'd access. Traci also shares a moment many nonprofit leaders will relate to — realizing not enough people even knew the Foundation existed. That pushed her to join AFP Ottawa, start showing up at events, and talk about their work one conversation at a time. The result? Their fundraising revenue has more than doubled, their donor base is stronger, and the team has grown from "fundraising on the side of a desk" to a full resource development crew. We wrap the interview with a very real conversation about balance: leading a busy nonprofit, raising two kids, and finding routines that keep her grounded. It's a down-to-earth look at what nonprofit impact really takes when the need is huge, the dollars are tight, and you decide to keep going anyway.
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    31 min
  • How this nonprofit leader turned a strategic plan into real sustainability

    How this nonprofit leader turned a strategic plan into real sustainability
    Nov 13 2025

    Every nonprofit wants to build something that lasts — but sustainability can feel like a moving target.


    In this episode of the Unfiltered Nonprofit Podcast, Cherry Chan sits down with Melissa Shahin, Chief Strategy Officer at AFMC, to talk about what sustainability actually looks like when strategy meets execution.

    Melissa shares how AFMC shifted from being heavily grant-funded to running a successful social enterprise — the AFMC Student Portal — that now fuels its mission while reducing government reliance to under 20%. She explains how the team links board priorities to measurable outcomes using scorecards and indicators, helping them make faster, data-driven decisions.

    The conversation dives deep into what makes nonprofit sustainability strategies work:

    • tracking what truly matters instead of chasing every initiative,
    • being transparent about change and earning staff buy-in, and
    • building flexibility into work culture to protect teams from burnout.

    For any nonprofit leader wondering how to turn a solid plan into lasting impact — this episode is a masterclass in staying mission-driven and financially resilient.

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    32 min
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