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Choosing the right investment advisor is one of the most important and least understood decisions nonprofit leaders face. In this episode of The Nonprofit Edge, host Chris Looney is joined by Michael Skillman, Partner and Senior Wealth Advisor at Beacon Pointe Advisors, to break down how nonprofits can lead a smart, confident investment counsel search without needing to be investment experts. Michael walks listeners through what to do before, during, and after an advisor search, with a focus on clarity, governance, and long-term mission protection rather than chasing short-term performance. This conversation is especially helpful for executive directors, CEOs, and senior nonprofit leaders with limited investment background who want to make sound decisions and avoid common pitfalls. Key Takeaways • Why most nonprofits react to investment searches instead of planning them • How to clarify the role investments play in supporting mission outcomes • The importance of defining success beyond just returns • Why governance and investment policy matter more than hiring a big-name firm • What questions to ask advisors and what red flags to avoid • What a healthy, long-term advisor relationship should look like 🎧 Listen to remember this simple truth: you do not need to be an investment professional to lead this process well.
The Nonprofit Edge: A Conversation with Michael Skillman – Episode 10
Episode Title: What Is Behind Christian Generosity and Fundraising for a Christian Organization Guest: Justin Coleman, Salvation Army In this episode of the Mastering Fundraising Podcast, host Chris Looney sits down with Justin Coleman to explore the deeper foundations of Christian generosity and what it truly means to fundraise for a Christian organization. This conversation goes beyond fundraising tactics to examine faith, stewardship, leadership, and responsibility. Justin shares how his leadership journey has always been rooted in ministry rather than a traditional career path, and how his faith shapes the way he leads teams, stewards resources, and builds trust with donors. Together, Chris and Justin unpack core biblical principles that inform Christian generosity, including the belief that God owns it all and we are simply stewards, that to whom much is given much is required, and that God loves a cheerful giver. Justin explains how joy in giving comes from understanding impact and how transparency and accountability are essential expressions of faithful stewardship. The conversation also highlights the unique responsibility fundraisers carry when representing Christian organizations, the importance of meeting human need without discrimination, and how leaders can invite donors into participation in God’s work rather than framing giving as sacrifice or obligation. Key Takeaways from the Episode: Christian generosity flows from stewardship, not ownership. Joyful giving grows when donors clearly see the impact of their generosity. Transparency builds trust and honors both donors and God. Fundraising in a Christian context is ministry, not transaction. Leaders must stay grounded in mission, especially during economic uncertainty. Vision, humility, prayer, and authenticity are essential for Christian fundraising leadership. This episode offers encouragement and perspective for fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and anyone interested in faith based generosity that is rooted in purpose, trust, and impact.
Mastering Fundraising: A Conversation with Justin Coleman – Episode 15
365 Nonprofit Leadership Lessons #64 Building trust and engagement with donors is key
In this episode of the Mastering Fundraising, host Chris Looney sits down with Ray Watts, Interim Vice President for Advancement at California State University, San Bernardino, for a thoughtful and practical conversation on plannual giving. Plannual giving is the intentional integration of annual giving and planned or asset-based giving. Ray challenges the traditional separation between these strategies and makes the case that loyalty, consistency, and generosity today are often the strongest indicators of legacy gifts tomorrow. This conversation moves beyond technical planned giving mechanics and focuses on donor behavior, mindset, and relationships. Ray reframes planned giving as a celebration of asset-based philanthropy and shares real-world examples from his career in higher education advancement. In this episode, you will learn: • Why planned giving should be understood as asset-based philanthropy, not a technical specialty • How annual giving behavior predicts future legacy giving • Why most donor wealth is not held in cash and what that means for fundraising strategy • The Three Circles of Philanthropy and how they help identify donor opportunity • How loyalty, leadership, and legacy intersect in donor relationships • Why planned gifts are often simpler than nonprofits assume • How annual fund and planned giving teams can work together more effectively • Practical ways to invite donors into conversations about perpetuity and long-term impact This episode is ideal for nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and board members who want to build sustainable philanthropy while honoring donors as whole people, not just transactions. Be sure to like, follow, and subscribe to Mastering Fundraising, and check out our other podcasts, Lead for Good and The Nonprofit Edge, for more conversations on leadership, governance, and the future of the nonprofit sector.
Mastering Fundraising: A Conversation with Ray Watts – Episode 14
Mergers & Acquisitions in the Nonprofit Sector: A Conversation with Tim Davis of Glick Davis & Associates In this episode of The Nonprofit Edge, host Chris Looney sits down with Tim Davis, President of Glick Davis & Associates, to explore one of the most misunderstood and transformative topics in nonprofit leadership: mergers and acquisitions. Tim draws on more than two decades of experience helping organizations navigate complex transitions with both strategy and humanity. Together, Chris and Tim unpack: Why mergers and alliances are becoming more common across the nonprofit landscape How leaders can tell the difference between a short-term financial fix and a true long-term strategy The human side of mergers—trust, culture, and communication What a well-run merger process really looks like, from early conversations to board approval and implementation How partnerships can preserve mission, protect staff, and expand community impact Whether you’re leading a nonprofit that’s thriving, struggling, or simply evolving, this episode will help you think differently about collaboration, sustainability, and the future of impact. 🎧 Subscribe to The Nonprofit Edge wherever you get your podcasts. 💡 If conversations like this help you lead better, connect with the community shaping the future of the sector at Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership.
The Nonprofit Edge: A Conversation with Tim Davis – Episode 9
365 Nonprofit Leadership Lessons #63 leaders must understand the needs of the communities they serve
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Nonprofit leaders know the construction of, building consensus for, and approval of the annual budget is one of the fundamental building blocks of sound financial management.

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1 day ago
Nonprofit leaders kn
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Strong nonprofit leaders build agility into their organizations to improve service delivery, enhance stakeholder (external and internal) satisfaction, foster innovation, respond to change, and improve problem solving.

Join @Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership (Fulcrum), an exclusive membership community of senior nonprofit executives, where the mission is to build stronger nonprofit leaders, leading to a better world.

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3 days ago
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Nonprofit leaders use annual board retreats to accomplish strategic planning by creating a space for board members to share ideas and reach a consensus. This can help the organization carry out its strategic plans with a unified mindset. Annual board retreats can also be utilized to help accomplish team building and unity, learning, planning and strategizing, socializing, problem solving, training and orientation, and re-examining goals and objectives. With many annual board retreats coming up in the first few months of the new year, what are your goals and objectives? Please share here.

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4 days ago
Nonprofit leaders us
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Extending staff tenure, particularly within the development department, is a critical responsibility of nonprofit leadership, as leaders who retain and promote talent reduce the costs of turnover while building experienced teams capable of strengthening relationships and driving greater mission impact.

Join @Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership (Fulcrum), an exclusive membership community of senior nonprofit executives, where the mission is to build stronger nonprofit leaders, leading to a better world.

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5 days ago
Extending staff tenu
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Nonprofit leaders today must develop an adaptive communication style, which enables leaders to more effectively connect with people by tailoring messages to the unique needs, preferences, and understandings of the audience.

Join @Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership (Fulcrum), an exclusive membership community of senior nonprofit executives, where the mission is to build stronger nonprofit leaders, leading to a better world.

#LEADforGOOD

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6 days ago
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Without proper leadership, nonprofit organizations quickly devolve into silos and chaos.

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7 days ago
Without proper leade
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The best nonprofit leaders know the value of their donors to the organization’s capacity to advance the mission and work as hard (if not harder) to retain and upgrade existing donors than they do to find and acquire new ones.

Join @Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership (Fulcrum), an exclusive membership community of senior nonprofit executives, where the mission is to build stronger nonprofit leaders, leading to a better world.

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1 week ago
The best nonprofit l
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A delicate balance and/or tension is constantly at play and managed delicately by nonprofit leaders endeavoring to create psychological safety and staff well-being while also maintaining accountability and high-performance expectations.

Join Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership (Fulcrum), an exclusive membership community of senior nonprofit executives, where the mission is to build stronger nonprofit leaders, leading to a better world.

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1 week ago
A delicate balance a
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Strong fundraising results are rarely about luck.
They are about alignment.

The AAA Prospect Strategy is a simple but powerful framework for identifying where meaningful philanthropic support is most likely to emerge.

It reminds us that strong giving happens at the intersection of three critical attributes.

Ability
This reflects a donor’s financial capacity to make a gift at a meaningful level. Capacity sets the range of what is possible. While it is important, ability alone never guarantees a gift.

Affinity
Affinity reflects belief in the mission, emotional connection, and personal alignment with the organization’s work. Affinity is built over time through engagement, storytelling, trust, and shared values.

Access
Access refers to the organization’s ability to reach the donor through the right person, at the right time, in the right way. Access often comes through board members, volunteers, peers, or staff who have authentic relationships with the prospect.

The most successful fundraising outcomes occur where all three overlap.
High ability without affinity leads nowhere.
Strong affinity without access often stalls.
Access without ability limits impact.

For nonprofit leaders, this framework brings focus and discipline. It helps teams prioritize prospects, deploy leadership strategically, and invest energy where the likelihood of success is highest.

The takeaway is simple.
Fundraising is not about chasing every possible donor.
It is about identifying the right prospects and aligning ability, affinity, and access with intention.

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1 week ago
Strong fundraising r
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The effective management of staff requires a highly tailored approach for everyone. Nonprofit leaders will not succeed with a rigid or formulaic approach to staff management. One size does not fit all.

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1 week ago
The effective manage
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There is value in building consensus and laying the groundwork for a proposed change or project. It is often translated as "preparing the ground" or "laying the foundation".

The Japanese gardening technique known as “Nemawashi” is where the root system of a plant is carefully dug around and prepared before transplanting. The goal is to create a stable foundation so the plant can survive and thrive in its new environment.

In the nonprofit space, the strategy to employ Nemawashi is effective when introducing new ideas, deciding on business matters, or making changes to current processes.

It's crucial to get the right people on board early to increase the likelihood of a proposal being implemented.

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2 weeks ago
There is value in bu
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The strongest nonprofit leaders are “pleasantly persistent”, not giving up on their goals easily, pursuing many different angles, and always with a velvet touch toward the achievement of the objective.

Join @Fulcrum Nonprofit Leadership, an exclusive membership community of senior nonprofit executives, where the mission is to build stronger nonprofit leaders, leading to a better world.

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2 weeks ago
The strongest nonpro
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