Ep 1 Unleashing the Potential of Nonprofits for Social Change
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[00:00:00] Welcome to Impact Unleashed, the nonprofit edition, where we dive deep into the untapped potential of nonprofits and their remarkable ability to create a lasting impact. I'm your host, Sara Mayer. Let's dive in.
Sara Mayer: Hello, everyone. I'm super excited to dive into episode number one, unleashing the potential of nonprofits for social change. As you may or may not know, I've spent 23 years as an adult in the nonprofit sector. I have been on staff. I've served on the board. I founded nonprofit organizations. I've worked as a consultant to help nonprofit founders get off the ground and running.
Sara Mayer: And I've done some nonprofit work as a youth as well. So I've been there, done that. I've pretty much seen it all yet. I know that there [00:01:00] is a tremendous potential for nonprofits. And so we are going to dive into the social impact and change that nonprofits have the potential to make now. Many of you may be wondering what are the key characteristics of nonprofits and the key characteristics, or I would say the biggest characteristic is that they truly desire to make change and provide services for those that they support.
Sara Mayer: They are mission driven and they know what their calling is and they're driving to it. There are so many different Types of nonprofits. You have nonprofits that are education based, healthcare based, focus on poverty, environment, human rights, all different things. But what is common [00:02:00] between them all is they truly care about the people and the things that they serve.
Sara Mayer: And the mission is at the core of their organization. I know my life has truly been impacted by the work that I have done with nonprofits. I have been the founder of several nonprofits, and I can tell you that nothing fills me up more than the opportunity to impact and help. others. So let's talk a little bit about the different ways that nonprofits may make a difference to create social change and impact.
Sara Mayer: Many nonprofits are advocacy and policy based. Their desire is to make change and to change things for others. Based on the things that have happened in the past, other nonprofits do direct service delivery. They provide food directly [00:03:00] to those in need of food. They provide shelter to those who need shelter.
Sara Mayer: There's. Other nonprofits that are community focused on engaging and empowering the community to take action and to make a change within that community. Some nonprofits work through collaboration and partnerships in order to achieve their mission and some focus on research, no matter what your nonprofit.
Sara Mayer: Mission is, or the venue and vehicle that they use it to deliver that nonprofits are here for the greater good. And they're here to impact lasting change. There are some common challenges and. Opportunities for nonprofits, I think it's important to remember that nonprofits do face challenges in funding resource constraints, [00:04:00] occupational organizational capacity rules that they may need to follow and.
Sara Mayer: Sometimes nonprofits have challenges overcoming these obstacles, and that's why we're here. So if you're a board member, a founder somebody working at a nonprofit, someone supporting a nonprofit, a volunteer or donor, please know that nonprofits have. Successfully navigated these challenges. And this podcast is all about giving you the tools, tricks, and resources in whatever capacity you are involved with your nonprofit so that you are able to make the greatest impact possible.
Sara Mayer: And it's really about. Amplifying that impact, so we will talk all about technology and digital platforms that will help you enhance and reach the impact of nonprofits. [00:05:00] It's a digital age and being able to reach more people than just in our immediate location. Is one of the coolest parts. We'll also talk about storytelling.
Sara Mayer: Many nonprofits have such a powerful story to tell and being able to effectively communicate that story does allow a nonprofit to mobilize and support for their cause. Nonprofits totally can leverage the social media that is out there, crowdfunding and other tools to amplify impact. It's really about getting that message out there because More people working towards that mission, the more likely the impact will be greater.
Sara Mayer: I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the future of nonprofits and social change. So there have [00:06:00] been many changes in the nonprofit sector, including impact investing, social entrepreneurship, cross sector partnership. These are all great opportunities for nonprofits to collaborate and make a. Greater social change impact nonprofits do have the opportunity to sit at the center of change and to really address that root cause of the social issues.
Sara Mayer: And so I think it's important as nonprofit leaders and volunteers and donors to really continually learn and adapt and measure what they're doing in the nonprofit so they can maximize the impact and nonprofits are change makers. There are so many stories of. Leaders who have founded a nonprofit because something happened [00:07:00] and they wanted to make a change.
Sara Mayer: They wanted to change the outcome for others. And those are the journeys that allow us to learn from their challenges that then change the trajectory of the impact of the nonprofit. So I'm excited in this podcast where we will highlight some of the people who have truly. started and founded things that have made big changes.
Sara Mayer: And of course we will hear from you, our listeners. So I want to know, what do you want to know about leading a nonprofit, about working at a nonprofit, about donating to a nonprofit or about volunteering? Because it's truly those questions that on this podcast, we will seek out so that you are provided those resources.
Sara Mayer: So in conclusion, nonprofits have. [00:08:00] A tremendous ability to create social change and make a big impact and nonprofits are doing this every day, but there are challenges that they face that are different than other organizations or businesses. So if you are a donor, a board member, a volunteer, I encourage you to tune in to this podcast.
Sara Mayer: So subscribe, download, rate, review, and share so that you truly can. Help your nonprofit make a greater impact and achieve their mission. Get ready. We are on a wild ride and have some exciting episodes coming up. If you want to be in the know, go to nonprofit impact unleashed. co and sign up so you are able to get the alerts as new episodes come out.
Sara Mayer: Let's dive into the powerful world of nonprofits, shall we?
Sara Mayer: Thank you for [00:09:00] tuning in to this episode of Impact Unleashed, the nonprofit edition. I'm so excited you were here on this journey. If you haven't signed up for our newsletters and wonderful resources, please visit nonprofitimpactunleashed.co. Again that's
Sara Mayer: nonprofitimpactunleashed.co. I look forward to seeing you on our next episodeof Impact Unleashed.