Episodes

I hear from so many nonprofit leaders who struggle to get their board fully on board with their advocacy work. In that situation, the best case scenario is you’re missing out on a ton of potential. The worst case is you have one or more board members who are actively hindering the organization’s involvement in advocacy work. The good news is you can fix that. In this episode, we’ll reveal: The root cause of board members’ resistance to advocacy The most common misconceptions board members hav...

Aleta McLean has grown the contracting side of her organization’s revenue strategy to where she is now negotiating and landing 7-figure contracts with major partners. Part of what’s so inspiring about her journey is that she didn't start out with any sort of negotiation skills. In fact, her background is in counseling. And she has used the skills gained through her counseling work to become a powerhouse strategic relationship builder and negotiator. She shared tons of insights and some sage...

Wherever you are on your advocacy journey, there's always a next level of results that you're working toward. To get to your next level, there's an internal foundation that's as essential as all the technical advocacy tactics and strategies you use. That strong foundation is you – owning your influence and power and operating from the identity of a powerfully influential leader. In this episode we reveal: · What it means to own your influence and power · What it looks like when ...

If you're already stressing out at the mention of pressure, you’ll want to lean into this episode. You’ll discover how it can be one of the most important items in your advocacy toolkit, and how it can help you work more effectively with decisionmakers that are you allies, as well as influence those who aren’t on your side. By the end of this episode, I promise you'll think differently about pressure. In this episode we reveal: · The fourth pillar of successful advocacy · How ...

When you look at who's regularly successful in having big influence with decision makers, what you'll notice is that they almost always have a strong relationship with that decision maker. You probably know from personal experience how hard it is to influence a decision maker when you don't have a strong relationship. So why do some nonprofit leaders seem to have tons of success at this, while others struggle? In this episode, we’ll reveal: The third pillar of successful advocacy How one leade...

If you’re not crystal clear on the specific result you want, how can you ask a decisionmaker for it? And how will you know whether you’ve gotten it? In this episode I’ll show you how to drill down to the details of exactly what you want. And then I’ll show you the specific factors that determine the right way to ask for it. In this episode you’ll hear: The second pillar of successful advocacy The biggest mistake you may be making, and how to fix it The different kinds of ask, and when to use ...

If you don’t know exactly who is in charge of the thing you want, how can you influence the decisions being made? But knowing who’s in charge is only half the battle. You also have to know what’s going on in their head and heart so you can truly reach them. In this episode, we get into the details of how to do that, and what kind of results you can get when you do it well. In this episode, we reveal: The first pillar of advocacy success Assumptions that will get you in trouble How to figure o...

It’s time for a new conversation about non-profit advocacy. For a bigger, bolder vision of what progressive, direct-service nonprofit leaders can achieve, and the kind of transformative results you can get when you become a powerfully influential advocate for your services, your organization and the people you serve. In this very first episode, we dive right into that conversation. In this episode you’ll hear: Why direct-service nonprofits are the key to changing critical money and policy deci...