We welcome Katie Warnock, CEO and Founder of Staffing Boutique, for a “New Year Trend Forecasting” conversation—focused squarely on what nonprofit leaders must do to operate smarter, steadier, and more sustainably.

Katie opens with a morale boost that’s grounded in real numbers: philanthropy is getting culturally “cool,” even as many executive directors and development leaders report that fundraising has felt exhausting and uphill. She points to GivingTuesday results and rising volunteer participation as signals that generosity isn’t disappearing—it’s changing shape. When donors can’t always give more dollars, many still show up with time and energy. And for organizations, that means the business of fundraising still comes down to relationship strength and trust built over time. As Katie puts it, “relationships matter so much… who are they giving to… all the fundraisers that they’ve stayed connected with through the years.”

From there, the conversation turns practical: AI is no longer a novelty—it’s becoming a daily operating strategy. Katie shares how nonprofits can start small and immediately reduce drag in workflows: faster acknowledgements, cleaner data entry, and smarter automations inside fundraising systems. She also describes tools that tame inbox overload and speed scheduling—freeing leaders to spend more time on high-value work that only humans can do.

Then the discussion gets candid about operating in a heated political environment. Katie suggests nonprofits create scenario-based plans that anticipate policy shifts, funding constraints, and communication traps—so boards and leaders aren’t improvising under pressure. Finally, she names what many are privately feeling: cultural fatigue. Burnout at the top is real, and retention can’t rely on salary alone. Katie offers a menu of “value-add” investments—from professional development to flexible schedules—supported by listening systems in HR and a dedicated budget line.

It’s a trend episode with a strong business bottom line: sustainable mission delivery depends on smarter systems, healthier leaders, and talent practices that actually match today’s workforce realities.

00:00:00 Welcome and New Year trend forecasting kickoff
00:01:45 What Staffing Boutique does for nonprofits and education
00:03:24 Philanthropy is cool and what the data suggests
00:06:28 Why relationships still win when giving gets tough
00:07:05 AI as a day-to-day operating strategy for nonprofits
00:09:00 Inbox overload and AI tools that reduce admin time
00:11:13 AI agents as the next evolution of alerts and research
00:12:33 Planning for a heated political environment
00:18:37 Culture fatigue and leadership burnout in 2026
00:22:00 Retention through investment beyond salary increases
00:27:24 Closing thoughts on people, staffing, and execution

#TheNonprofitShow #NonprofitLeadership #NonprofitHR

Find us Live daily on YouTube!

Find us Live daily on LinkedIn!

Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show

Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.com
Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

If your nonprofit is staring at a funding gap in 2026: your money problem may actually be a structure problem. Host Julia C. Patrick welcomes Dr. Sharon Elefant of The Nonprofit Plug to talk about why grants and big gifts don’t “save” organizations when the foundation underneath is shaky—things like weak financial controls, unclear governance, founder-centric operations, burnout, and stalled growth.

Dr. Elefant frames it in plain language: when infrastructure is messy, even good funding becomes risky. She shares a real example of a funder walking into a site and asking, “What would you do with $100,000?”—and the leader couldn’t answer beyond “I need a million.” That moment exposes a common challenge: passion without business readiness. As Dr. Elefant puts it, “Funders don’t fund passion. They fund systems… impact… data… proven methodologies.” The practical shift starts with smaller, sharper thinking: her team asks clients, “What would you do with $5,000?” so leaders can articulate spending with purpose and credibility.

The duo then connects the dots to the daily realities nonprofit leaders face—grant reporting, accounting requirements, staffing ramps, and the inevitable pressure of post-award management, reminding viewers that grant dollars aren’t free; they demand operational strength. Together, they push the conversation toward healthier revenue design: Dr. Elefant suggests keeping grants to a manageable slice (she’s comfortable around 25%) and building the remaining 75% through stronger revenue streams like major donors, sponsorships, partnerships, and especially program service revenue. She normalizes earned income with examples nonprofits already recognize—hospitals, daycares, universities—and shows how fees can expand access through sliding scales and subsidized services.

The episode lands on relationships and board performance: cultivate funders like humans, ask them what they want, and bring mindset training to the boardroom with clear expectations, accountability, and the courage to treat board service like real work. Sustainable funding follows sustainable operations!

00:00:00 Welcome to 2026 and today’s funding reality check
00:01:32 What The Nonprofit Plug does
00:03:18 Why funding problems are structural problems
00:04:46 The $100,000 question leaders struggle to answer
00:06:40 The $5,000 question that builds real clarity
00:09:22 Why grants are episodic and can’t create sustainability
00:11:38 A realistic grant percentage and smarter revenue balance
00:12:13 Program service revenue explained and why it’s ethical
00:14:24 Contracts with schools and government as revenue pathways
00:18:17 What funders want now trust outcomes survival
00:20:48 Funder cultivation relationship building that wins
00:24:36 Getting boards to shift mindset and raise expectations

Find us Live daily on YouTube!

Find us Live daily on LinkedIn!

Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show

Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.com
Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show

how nonprofits set goals that actually move revenue, relationships, and results. They start with the metric many teams avoid because it can be a rude awakening: donor retention. Tony walks through a simple way to calculate it, then connects the number to what leaders feel every day, time and budget pressure. His reminder lands like a CFO truth bomb: “The data doesn’t lie.” If your team assumes things are fine because a few familiar names show up at events, this episode brings you back to reality and gives you a starting point for a better plan.

From there, the conversation turns to relationship depth. The point is not endless list building. It is quality over quantity, supported by segmentation and donor tiers, and backed by a pipeline you can actually manage. Julia frames it in plain business language: your pipeline is not a vague hope, it is a set of lanes that deserve goals, tracking, and steady motion all year, not a December scramble driven by board pressure and gala season.

They also press into revenue diversification, especially when grant and government dollars can shift quickly. Multiple lanes are not just safer, they keep fundraising work more sustainable for the humans doing it. Then they move to data and tools: a robust CRM, mobile access, timely notes after donor meetings, and capacity building funding that can help pay for the systems and training.

Finally, they tie it all together with culture. A culture of philanthropy means everyone owns the donor experience, including customer service, and teams can celebrate other organizations’ wins without losing confidence.

Find us Live daily on YouTube!

Find us Live daily on LinkedIn!

Find us Live daily on X: @Nonprofit_Show

Our national co-hosts and amazing guests discuss management, money and missions of nonprofits!
12:30pm ET 11:30am CT 10:30am MT 9:30am PT

Send us your ideas for Show Guests or Topics: HelpDesk@AmericanNonprofitAcademy.com
Visit us on the web:The Nonprofit Show