Nonprofit Utopia Podcast

Mar 03 2025 100 ep. 61 mins 27

Nonprofit Utopia Podcast artwork

Formerly known as Nonprofit ”U”, the Nonprofit Utopia podcast is an extension of the ideal community for emerging nonprofit leaders. We use our podcast as an online forum where nonprofit stakeholders can discuss the latest developments in the sector and increase their capacity to serve their clients and build sustainable communities. Valerie F. Leonard, an expert in community and organizational development is the host. Topics include nonprofit management, community development, capacity building and organizational development.

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Nonprofit Fork In the Road: Navigating the Trump-Musk Policy Maze

Mar 03 2025 103 mins

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has had far-reaching consequences for the nonprofit sector, as many organizations rely on federal funding, regulatory stability, and government partnerships to fulfill their missions. With mass layoffs, budget cuts, and policy shifts under DOGE, nonprofits are facing significant challenges. Join us for an enlightening conversation on t

Just Checking: What You Need to Do Right Now to Keep Your Nonprofit In Compliance

Jun 11 2024 36 mins

Did you know that tax-exempt organizations are 2 times more likely than tax payers to be late with filing annual returns with the IRS? According to the IRS, there are about 2.95 million registered nonprofit organizations in the United States. Of this number, 1.065 million registered organizations, or 36%, lost their tax exempt status because they didn’t file Form 990 for three ye

12 Signs Your Nonprofit Organization’s Culture is Toxic And What You Can Do About It

Oct 27 2022 53 mins

Often called the personality of an organization, organizational culture is a shared set of workplace beliefs, values, attitudes, standards, purposes, and behaviors. It reflects both the written and unwritten rules that people in an organization follow. Your organization’s culture is the sum of all that you and your colleagues think, say, and do as you work together. If that sound

Developing Employee Handbooks That Create Win-Win Situations for Nonprofits

Oct 27 2022 33 mins

The nonprofit employee handbook can be used to support operations, communicate benefits and other employment retention policies and minimize risks that might arise from lawsuits and failure to comply with state and federal regulators. We will show you how to develop an employee handbook, what should go into it, and refer you to professionals who can review your finished product. If

The Power of Reflection In Moving Forward

Oct 27 2022 33 mins

Sankofa is a word in the Twi language of Ghana meaning “to retrieve" More commonly, it symbolizes taking from the past what is good and bringing it into the present in order to make positive progress through the benevolent use of knowledge. Sankofa is often symbolized by a mythical bird with its head turned backwards while its feet face forward carrying a precious egg in its mout

Making the Most of Your Volunteer Management Program Session 2

Oct 26 2021 58 mins

Making the Most of Your Volunteer Management Program Session 1

Oct 26 2021 40 mins

I have worked with a number of nonprofit leaders who live by the adage, "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." Often, when it comes to volunteer management, they don't pay quite as close attention. After all, volunteers are not salaried employees, and they are often brought on for ad hoc projects. The tendency is to give higher priority to processes that have greater budget

How to Use the Media to Effect Systems Change

Oct 26 2021 64 mins

According to Lawrence Wallack, a prominent health researcher, "media advocacy is rooted in community advocacy and has as its goal the promotion of healthy public policies. It can be differentiated from traditional mass media strategies in a number of ways. Media advocacy shifts the focus from the personal to the social, from the individual to the political, from the behavior or pra

Effecting Change Through Policy Advocacy Session 3

Oct 26 2021 77 mins

Generally speaking, when we think of organizational capacity building, we think of activities like board development, strategic planning and program evaluation. One often overlooked method for improving organizational capacity is developing issue advocacy campaigns. Not only do issue advocacy campaigns help develop leadership capacity for staff and stakeholders, but they can effect

Effecting Systems Change Through Policy Advocacy Session 2

Oct 26 2021 57 mins

Generally speaking, when we think of organizational capacity building, we think of activities like board development, strategic planning and program evaluation. One often overlooked method for improving organizational capacity is developing issue advocacy campaigns. Not only do issue advocacy campaigns help develop leadership capacity for staff and stakeholders, but they can effect