Page de couverture de The Unfiltered Non-Profit: Leaders Share It All

The Unfiltered Non-Profit: Leaders Share It All

The Unfiltered Non-Profit: Leaders Share It All

Auteur(s): Cherry Chan
Écouter gratuitement

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
Épisodes
  • How an 83% Grant Approval Rate Actually Happens

    How an 83% Grant Approval Rate Actually Happens
    Feb 5 2026
    In this episode of the Unfiltered Nonprofit Podcast, we're joined by Deepa Chaudhary, founder of Grant Orb AI, to talk about what really drives grant success — and why so many nonprofit leaders feel stuck in an endless cycle of funding pressure. Deepa brings a rare perspective to the conversation. She's worked on both sides of the grant table: writing applications inside nonprofits under real operational pressure, and reviewing and awarding funding from the funder side. Her experience includes co-founding United Way Mumbai, raising funds for international organizations, and working with major foundations, corporate funders, and government agencies across Asia-Pacific. At one point, as a solo fundraiser, she wrote just six grant applications — and five were approved. That experience shaped how she thinks about grants today. Deepa explains that winning funding isn't about writing more grants — it's about alignment. Understanding who a funder is, what they care about, and how your work fits their priorities matters far more than polished language. She also emphasizes the long game: organizations that build real relationships with funders — beyond reports and deadlines — are far more likely to receive repeat funding. Grant Orb was born out of this reality. Deepa saw firsthand how grant work often falls to executive directors late at night, or doesn't happen at all because teams simply don't have the time or capacity. When new AI tools emerged, she saw an opportunity to apply them to one of the most time-consuming parts of nonprofit work. What once took 40–50 hours — researching opportunities, drafting applications, and tailoring responses — can now be done in minutes, starting from unpolished notes. Because Grant Orb is built by someone who has reviewed grants as a funder, the platform focuses on what actually matters: fit, clarity, and funder priorities. It helps nonprofits find aligned opportunities, strengthen weak sections, and avoid wasting time on grants that were never a good match in the first place. One example Deepa shares is a small Vancouver school that had never written a major grant before, but used the platform to apply for funding and secured $25,000 from the Canada Post Foundation. At its core, this episode is about access. Deepa's goal isn't to replace human judgment, but to level the playing field — so funding success depends less on time, staffing, or budget, and more on the strength of an organization's mission and ideas.
    Voir plus Voir moins
    32 min
  • Leading a Nonprofit Without Having All the Answers

    Leading a Nonprofit Without Having All the Answers
    Jan 22 2026

    In this episode, we sit down with Claude-Paul Boivin to talk honestly about the path into nonprofit leadership — and what it really takes to lead well once you're there.

    Claude-Paul shares how his career didn't follow a straight line, and how early exposure to public service helped shape his understanding of impact, responsibility, and decision-making. As the conversation unfolds, he reflects on the moment he realized that strong governance, financial clarity, and internal systems aren't "behind-the-scenes" work — they're what make meaningful mission work possible.

    We dig into the realities of stepping into senior leadership, including the pressure to have all the answers, the isolation that can come with the role, and the importance of learning to ask better questions instead of trying to do everything alone. Claude-Paul speaks candidly about how leadership shifts when you move from doing the work to creating the conditions for others to succeed.

    The conversation also tackles the role of finances in nonprofit sustainability. Claude-Paul explains why understanding your numbers — even at a high level — leads to better decisions, stronger board conversations, and less reactive leadership.

    This episode is a grounded, practical listen for nonprofit leaders at any stage — especially those navigating growth, responsibility, and the quieter challenges that come with leading purpose-driven organizations.

    Voir plus Voir moins
    33 min
  • 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?"
    Voir plus Voir moins
    26 min
Pas encore de commentaire