Send us Fan Mail It's easy to assume a healthy board is one where everyone shows up, serves on committees, and believes in the mission. But what happens after the meeting often tells the real story. In this episode, Marcia explores why commitment is about far more than attendance. It's about keeping promises, taking ownership, and creating a board culture where CEOs and Executive Directors can focus on leading the mission instead of managing unfinished business. In this episode, you'll ...
Aug 6
7 min
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the first episode of a special 8-part Board-CEO Partnership Series on Nonprofit CEO SPARK! Throughout August 2026, I'll be releasing two short episodes each week to help you strengthen one of the most important relationships in your organization: the partnership between your board and your CEO or Executive Director. Each 8–12 minute episode is packed with practical strategies you can immediately put into action. Together, we'll explore how to build a board cu...
Aug 4
10 min
Send us Fan Mail Culture doesn't happen by accident. It's built one leadership decision at a time. Many nonprofit leaders accept high turnover, burnout, and 60-hour workweeks as part of the job. But Rachel Hutchens believes there's a better way. "If you can't do your job in 40 hours, there's too many things in your job." — Rachel In this episode of Nonprofit CEO SPARK, Marcia sits down with Rachel Hutchens, Executive Director of Bluff Lake Nature Center, to discuss how she's inten...
Jul 28
32 min
Send us Fan Mail What if recurring donors aren't the result of better fundraising...but stronger relationships? Many nonprofit leaders focus on acquiring the next donor. But the organizations with the strongest recurring giving programs think differently. They focus on earning trust, deepening connection, and helping supporters feel like they're part of something meaningful. In this episode of Nonprofit CEO SPARK, Marcia sits down with Abby Jarvis, researcher, writer, and speaker at Neo...
Jul 21
31 min
Send us Fan Mail What if the thing making you a "good leader" is actually burning you out? Many nonprofit CEOs wear perfectionism like a badge of honor. But what if it's really fear disguised as commitment? In this thought-provoking conversation, Marcia sits down with Tessa Bridge, author of Do Your Part: Bold, Sustainable Leadership for Social Impact Leaders in a Time of Polycrisis, to unpack why so many purpose-driven leaders feel responsible for everything, and how letting go of impossib...
Jul 14
36 min
Send us Fan Mail Most leadership stories begin with a crisis and end with a comeback. But what about everything in between? In this episode, we're talking about the messy middle, that season where funding is uncertain, difficult decisions have to be made, your team is looking to you for answers, and you have no idea how the story will end. My guest, Annie Bacci, CEO of TGTHR on a mission to end youth homelessness, shares an honest, behind-the-scenes look at what it really feels like to lead t...
Jul 7
27 min
Send us Fan Mail As nonprofit leaders, many of us assume we need to excel at everything. Vision. Strategy. Fundraising. Culture. Operations. Communication. Systems. Execution. But what if one of the biggest reasons leaders feel overwhelmed isn't because they're doing too little—it's because they're trying to do too much? In this episode of Nonprofit CEO SPARK, Marcia shares a leadership lesson that transformed the way she built teams and scaled organizations: understanding the difference betw...
Jun 30
15 min
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Nonprofit CEO SPARK, Marcia Beckner talks with Dr. Patton McDowell about one of the biggest challenges nonprofit leaders face today: how to lead with confidence when everyone has an opinion, meetings take over the calendar, and decision-making starts to stall. With more than 35 years of nonprofit leadership experience, Patton shares practical strategies for reducing overwhelm, improving team meetings, managing pushback, and making decisions without waiting ...
Jun 23
34 min
Send us Fan Mail What does it take to lead with confidence when the world feels increasingly uncertain? In this episode of Nonprofit CEO SPARK, Marcia Beckner shares key insights from the 2026 AFP ICON Conference in San Diego, where she attended as press and interviewed more than two dozen nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, speakers, exhibitors, and technology partners. From AI and donor behavior to leadership resilience and the future of fundraising, one theme emerged again and again: nonprofit...
Jun 16
16 min
Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Nonprofit CEO SPARK, Marcia Beckner sits down with a true industry culture leader, Lorii Rabinowitz, to discuss how nonprofit CEOs can successfully navigate growth without sacrificing team well-being, culture, or mission alignment. Under Lorii’s leadership, the Denver Scholarship Foundation has grown from 32 to more than 90 team members while maintaining an extraordinary 94%+ retention rate. Lorii shares how her organization co-created a thriving culture by...
Jun 9
42 min
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