Next in Nonprofits

Mobile payments and nonprofits with Melissa Johnson

Melissa Johnson is a Payment Specialist with Merchant Maverick, “a comparison site that reviews and rates credit card processors, POS (Point of Sale) software companies, shopping carts, mobile payments services, and small business software.” Melissa has written extensively about mobile payment processing, including such topics as the Square Cash app, Venmo for Business, and much more.

Melissa joins host Steve Boland to discuss the evolving state of accepting donations and payments, from traditional online credit card processing to contactless payments (such as Apple Pay or Google Pay with a phone), to app-based donations or payments. Melissa shares her insight on costs of processing (hint: there is going to be some), integrating data systems to processing, and new players trying to emerge in a crowded space.

More info at https://nextinnonprofits.com/podcast

• Cash App review ::
• Merchant Maverick ::
• Melissa Johnson ::
• Venmo for business ::

Charitable deduction impacts with Kari Aanestad

Kari Aanestad is the Director of Advancement at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, whose mission is to “ inform, promote, connect and strengthen individual nonprofits and the nonprofit sector.” Part of Kari’s work is to understand trends in giving and how organizations communicate to supporters of their work.

Changes in tax law last year means fewer people will itemize deductions, so while gifts to charities are still deductible, more people will not see a financial benefit from giving. Learn morea about those changes and tactics for nonprofits in our episode with Russell James. Kari joins host Steve Boland to discuss a recent report in the Star Tribune about early results from year-end giving campaigns in 2018, how these numbers don’t show a dramatic or pervasive decline in giving, what motivates donors to give beyond a tax deduction, and how to stay informed of trends in this area. M+R Labs has shared some thoughts, and some combined historic data is available from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project.

More information at NextInNonprofits.com/podcast.

• M+R Labs year-end review ::
• Star Tribune article on year-end impacts ::
• Russell James episode about tax law changes ::
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits ::
• Kari Aanestad ::
• Fundraising Effectiveness Project ::

TechSoup with Rebecca Masisak

Rebecca Masisak is the CEO of TechSoup, whose mission is to " build a dynamic bridge that enables civil society organizations and changemakers around the world to gain effective access to the resources they need to design and implement technology solutions for a more equitable planet." TechSoup has long facilitated donations and discounts on software for nonprofits and libraries, but in recent years has added hardware and services to its offerings.

Rebecca joins host Steve Boland to talk about a growth plan for TechSoup to meet more of the needs in a broader range of areas by growing their access to capital. A recently partnership with the Nonprofit Finance Fund was one part of the path, and TechSoup is also asking for investment using a Direct Public Offering, which provides both individuals and organizations an opportunity to be part of the growth in their mission work. Rebecca talks about the growth and changes in their software donations and discount program, adding new programs over time, and engaging a larger conversation about using capital for mission growth.

Nonprofit Social Capital with Dr. Una Osili

Una O. Osili, Ph.D., is an economist with significant experience in research and policy in the fields of household behavior and economic policy. She is also associate dean for research and international programs at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Dr. Osili was featured in a Time magazine article about trends for philanthropy in 2019, where she explained the idea of adding the idea of "testimony" to the traditional thinking of giving "time, treasure and talent" as ways to support nonprofit missions.

Dr. Osili talks with host Steve Boland about listening and engaging to leverage social capital of supporters, transparency in nonprofit work and outcomes supporting a mission more than an organization, and much more.

Nonprofit Transparency with Corrie Zoll, In the Heart of the Beast

Corrie Zoll is in the Executive Director of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HOTB), whose mission is "to bring people together for the common good through the power of puppet and mask performance." HOTB produces a range of programming, including an annual May Day parade and celebration with tens of thousands of attendees.

The May Day events and other costs over time have led to some organizational challenges for HOTB, and the staff and board decided to have a public conversation about those difficult issues. Corrie talks with host Steve Boland about how HOTB decided to make a public announcement, how to provide layers and depths of information to different audiences, predicting the results of transparency in difficulty, and more.

Nonprofit Accounting Standards with Katie McCloskey of Sage Intacct

Katie McClosky is a product manager at Sage Intacct, a cloud-based financial management software package for nonprofits (and others) to understand and communicate their financial position. A recent update to accounting standards for nonprofit organizations (ASC Topic 958) changes how nonprofit organizations recognize revenue, talk about restrictions of gifts, and more. Katie talks about updates to Sage Intacct to help clients understand the changes, and prepare them to engage their staff and supporters in telling the full story of their sustainability, liquidity and more. Sage has additional resources available, including upcoming and recorded webinars from Sage to learn more.

Grantseeker from Fluxx with Dan Schoenfeld

Dan Schoenfeld is Vice President of Strategic Development at Fluxx Labs, "a network that powers giving in the world by connecting givers and changemakers to build capacity, increase visibility and improve collaboration." Fluxx is a Pledge 1% company (and listeners can learn more about that with our podcast episode with Ryan Martens), and has chosen to give back with the creation of Grantseeker, "a free online grants management tool that helps you create and manage tasks, track all of your grant applications and keep your whole team on the same page."

Dan joins host Steve Boland to talk about the origins of Grantseeker, how the tool leverages the development of Grantmaker, key functions like task assignments and views, and much more. Dan is also hosting a December 18 webinar for those wishing to learn more about measuring and telling your story.

Call for Code with Angel Diaz

Dr. Angel Diaz is the Vice President of Developer Technology, Open Source & Advocacy at IBM. IBM gathered partners for the Call for Code, "a worldwide, multi-year initiative that inspires developers to solve pressing global problems with sustainable software solutions."

Dr. Diaz joins host Steve Boland to talk about why IBM created Call for Code, how the Call reached non-governmental organizations and developers around the world, the decision to focus on helping in the wake of natural disasters, moving from a minimal viable solution to deploying technology solutions at scale in disasters and more. This year's winner is Project OWL, which helps restore communications using mesh networks deployed in disaster area. View the video of Project OWL here.

Nonprofit strategic planning with Sarah Olivieri

Sarah Olivieri is the founder of the Impact Method at PivotGround, " a business framework for nonprofits designed to help them thrive in the digital age."

Sarah joins host Steve Boland to talk about the evolution of strategic planning for nonprofit organizations in the Internet age. Concepts such as agile implementation, working in sprints, and more can inform an ongoing strategic framework rather than a set of immutable goals over a very long period such as a three-year or more plan. Connecting to long-term change, short-term externalities, and more are part of the conversation.

Google Ads Grants with Michael Rasko

Michael Rasko is the founder of Rasko Digital Marketing, which "help(s)nonprofits maximize the impact of their Google Grants accounts." Google Ads (formerly Adwords) grants are a specific donation program to help nonprofit organizations use up to $10,000 a month in search advertising from Google.

The process of setting up and using Google Grants can be frustrating, and Michael offers expertise in overcoming barriers to getting access to the program, how to understand the impact of the program, tying your program to conversion goals in Google Analytics and much more. Michael's writing on this topic was featured on NTEN.org and around the web.