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The Nonprofit Podcast

The Nonprofit Podcast

Jena Lynch, Brittan Stockert & Cara Augspurger 231 Episodes Aug 20, 2026

The Nonprofit Podcast is a weekly show offering real-talk fundraising insights for nonprofit professionals. Hosted by Jena Lynch and Britt Stockert, it delivers practical, actionable advice without fluff. The podcast also features field updates from Cara Augspurger. Each episode aims to inspire and equip listeners to fundraise smarter and lead with confidence.

Episodes

Ep 218| End-of-Year Fundraising: A Giving Season Roadmap for Nonprofits
Ep 218| End-of-Year Fundraising: A Giving Season Roadmap for Nonprofits Aug 20, 2026 1528 Send us Fan MailYou can't repair the runway while the plane is taking off. 🛫That's Darrin Cook's blunt take on why Giving Season prep has to start in August, not November. Darrin joins Jena Lynch to break down how early infrastructure work, not last-minute campaign scrambling, drives real Giving Season results. He shares a framework for auditing donor data and donation flows now, bu
Ep 217| Strategic Planning Isn't an Implementation Problem - with Dr. Renee Rubin Ross
Ep 217| Strategic Planning Isn't an Implementation Problem - with Dr. Renee Rubin Ross Aug 13, 2026 1520 Send us Fan MailA plan built by a few people at the top and handed down is just paperwork. Dr. Renee Rubin Ross argues real ownership comes from who's in the room while the goals get decided, not just who signs off on them.Dr. Ross is the founder of The Ross Collective and author of Inclusive Strategic Planning for Nonprofits. In this episode, she and Britt break down her five-step spiral pla
Ep 216| How to Write a Nonprofit AI Policy & Close the Donor Trust Gap
Ep 216| How to Write a Nonprofit AI Policy & Close the Donor Trust Gap Aug 6, 2026 618 Send us Fan MailOnly 26% of nonprofits tell donors when AI helped write to them. 76% of donors say they should be told. That's not small! It's a fifty-point trust gap that grows every time an organization reaches for a new tool without a plan for it.This week, Jena Lynch digs into what's actually pulling nonprofits toward AI right now (hint: it's burnout, not hype), why donors
Summer Rewind| 5 Steps to Building a Nonprofit Strategy That Actually Works
Summer Rewind| 5 Steps to Building a Nonprofit Strategy That Actually Works Jul 30, 2026 867 Send us Fan MailMost nonprofit strategic planning mistakes don't show up until year-end, right when your fundraising push exposes exactly what's missing.Being busy isn't the same as having direction. In this Summer Rewind, Cara Augspurger, CFRE, breaks down the five steps that took her organization from constant firefighting to a plan that actually holds up, in six months.What you&a
Summer Rewind| Why Your Nonprofit's Next Leader Needs More Than Potential - With Chris Wong
Summer Rewind| Why Your Nonprofit's Next Leader Needs More Than Potential - With Chris Wong Jul 23, 2026 1452 Send us Fan MailGreat performers don't always make great leaders. That gap is costing nonprofits people they can't afford to lose.As nonprofits head into the busiest stretch of the year, Britt Stockert revisits a listener favorite with Chris Wong, founder of Leadership Potential and a licensed therapist who builds leadership programs inside nonprofits. They talk about accidental leadersh
Summer Rewind| Slow Fundraising: How to Do Less and Raise More with Chad Barger
Summer Rewind| Slow Fundraising: How to Do Less and Raise More with Chad Barger Jul 17, 2026 1407 Send us Fan MailSummer time and the living...could be easier!Nonprofit teams are gearing up for the second half of the year, and this Summer Rewind brings back one of the show's most practical conversations for that exact moment.Jena Lynch talks with Chad Barger, founder of Productive Fundraising, about slow fundraising: an approach built on doing fewer things, doing them consistently, and le
Summer Rewind| 3 Reasons Nonprofits are Missing out on Donations in 2026
Summer Rewind| 3 Reasons Nonprofits are Missing out on Donations in 2026 Jul 9, 2026 817 Send us Fan MailSummer is a good time to slow down and check the quiet gaps in your fundraising…before Giving Season prep picks up speed.This episode is a fan favorite, back for our July summer rewind series.Donors haven't stopped giving. They've just gotten more careful, and that means small friction points matter more than they used to. Jena Lynch and Britt Stockert talk through three
Ep 215| Giving USA 2026 - The Fundraiser's Breakdown
Ep 215| Giving USA 2026 - The Fundraiser's Breakdown Jul 2, 2026 1334 Send us Fan MailGiving hit a record high in 2025. What's underneath that number will shape your fundraising strategy for the next decade.Americans gave $617 billion to charity in 2025, a record, and real growth even after inflation. Five of nine nonprofit categories hit all-time highs. The sector showed up!!But the Giving USA 2026 report tells a more layered story. Jena Lynch and Britt Stocke
Ep 214| Retain Your Top Fundraisers: 5 Simple Strategies That Cost Nothing
Ep 214| Retain Your Top Fundraisers: 5 Simple Strategies That Cost Nothing Jun 25, 2026 907 Send us Fan MailNearly seven in ten nonprofit employees are actively looking for new jobs…and it's not always about the paycheck.Britt Stockert and Cara Augspurger talk through five low-cost ways to help your team feel appreciated and connected to the mission. Cara draws on real examples from her work at Grace Care Center Foundation, where a culture of recognition has helped keep people engag
Ep 213| 4 Filters Every Nonprofit Leader Needs for Smarter Fundraising Decisions
Ep 213| 4 Filters Every Nonprofit Leader Needs for Smarter Fundraising Decisions Jun 18, 2026 1402 Send us Fan MailEvery nonprofit team has one…the decision that keeps getting pushed to next week. The platform that's been under evaluation for three months. The recurring giving program that still doesn't have a name. The donor email that's been rewritten twelve times and still hasn't been sent.In this episode, Jena Lynch and Britt Stockert get into why fundraising decisions s
Ep 212| The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle: Why Good Fundraisers Burn Out
Ep 212| The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle: Why Good Fundraisers Burn Out Jun 11, 2026 769 Send us Fan MailThe fundraising capacity gap is the distance between what a nonprofit needs to raise money sustainably and what it's actually resourced to do. And, right now?... That gap is widening.In this episode, Britt Stockert, Fundraiser Coach at Donorbox, unpacks what it is, where it shows up in daily development work, and why it keeps getting misdiagnosed as a performance problem when
Ep 211| The Nonprofit Visibility Gap - and the Funding It's Costing You!
Ep 211| The Nonprofit Visibility Gap - and the Funding It's Costing You! Jun 4, 2026 1735 Send us Fan Mail“Doubt kills donations.”Before a donor ever gives, they’ve already formed an opinion of your organization. It takes a minute. Sometimes less. And most nonprofits have no idea what’s coming up about their mission.What they find in those moments either builds confidence or raises doubt.In this episode, Jena Lynch sits down with Tori Burrello, Marketing Manager at Candid, to talk abou

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