Shownotes
In this episode of The NonProfit Nook, host Wendy Kidd tackles prevalent myths that hinder nonprofit organizations. She addresses misconceptions such as non-profits shouldn't make a profit, nonprofits can't pay well, nonprofits are competitors, and the anxiety around fundraising. Wendy emphasizes the importance of financial sustainability, fair compensation, collaboration, and relationship-based fundraising to build stronger and more effective nonprofits. Tune in to learn how to challenge these myths and improve your organization's practices.
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00:00 Welcome to The NonProfit Nook
00:52 Myth Busting for Nonprofits
01:52 Myth 1: Nonprofits Aren't Supposed to Make a Profit
03:39 Myth 2: Nonprofits Can't or Won't Pay Well
05:28 Myth 3: Nonprofits Are Each Other's Competition
07:02 Myth 4: I'm Not Good at Fundraising
08:35 Conclusion and Call to Action
Mentioned in this episode:
Transcripts
Welcome to The NonProfit Nook, the podcast for nonprofit
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:leaders, board members, and community
change makers who want to build
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:stronger, smarter organizations.
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:I'm your host, Wendy Kidd, a longtime
business owner and nonprofit leader,
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:and I'm here to bring you real talk,
real tools and real stories to help
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:you thrive in the nonprofit world.
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:I'll be talking with
local nonprofit leaders.
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:Community change makers and experts
in everything from board development
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:to fundraising and digital tools,
sharing real stories and simple
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:strategies you can actually use,
because running a nonprofit is hard,
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:but you don't have to do it alone.
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:Let's get started.
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:Wendy Kidd: Hey everyone.
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:Welcome back to The NonProfit Nook.
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:Today I'm talking about myth busting
for nonprofits, the stories we
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:need to stop telling ourselves.
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:So today I wanna talk about
something that quietly holds a lot
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:of nonprofits back, and that's myths,
not laws, not best practices, myths.
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:And I use that term because I am
a fan of the TV show, MythBusters.
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:I love that show.
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:I love that they blew things
up and did all the research.
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:It's fantastic.
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:Unfortunately, I can't blow
anything up physically, but I
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:hope I blow some of these things
out of your belief system today.
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:These are the things
that nonprofits are told.
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:Donors repeat it and leaders internalize
it until they start shaping decisions,
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:often in ways that hurt sustainability,
staff and ultimately impact.
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:And the thing is, most of these myths
sound noble on the surface, but when
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:you actually live this work, you
realize how damaging they can be.
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:So today we're gonna bust
a few of the big ones.
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:So myth number one, nonprofits
aren't supposed to make a profit.
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:This one is probably the most
common and the most misunderstood.
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:When people hear the word nonprofit,
they assume it means you can't make
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:a profit like you're supposed to just
break even or be unprofitable every
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:year and feel guilty if you don't.
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:But non-profit is just a tax status, guys.
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:It's not a financial philosophy.
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:It simply means that there's no owners
or shareholders taking the profits home.
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:It does not mean the organization
shouldn't generate more money than
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:it spends In reality, this surplus
is what allows nonprofits to breathe.
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:It's what covers delayed grant
payments, unexpected expenses, and
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:quite honestly, moments of crisis.
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:It's what allows leaders to plan
instead of constantly reacting and
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:honestly, running an organization
without margin isn't noble.
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:It's risky.
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:Donors want to see that your nonprofit
is stable, that you can deal with
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:the unexpected when it happens.
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:They don't wanna be the
only thing holding you up.
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:If a nonprofit collapses because
it can't sustain itself, the people
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:who lose aren't the spreadsheets.
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:It's the staff, the
clients, and the community.
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:Planning for surplus is not greedy.
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:It's responsibility.
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:I love this quote.
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:Sustainability isn't selfish.
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:It's how nonprofits stay
in service long term.
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:And no, I don't know who said it.
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:So now that we've started talking about
money, the next myth usually shows
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:up right behind it, especially when
that money is connected to people.
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:Number two, nonprofits
can't or won't pay well.
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:Let's be honest, this myth hurts.
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:There's this unspoken belief that
nonprofit professionals should accept
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:lower pay because the work is meaningful.
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:As if purpose is supposed
to replace a paycheck.
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:It drives me crazy.
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:Nonprofit jobs are not lesser jobs.
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:They require leadership, compliance
knowledge, financial oversight,
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:fundraising skills, emotional
intelligence and crisis management.
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:Yeah, all, all at once.
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:And on top of that, many nonprofit
roles are really emotionally heavy.
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:People working in housing, food
insecurity, domestic violence,
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:healthcare, mental health, grief support.
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:They're absorbing trauma every day.
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:Secondary trauma and burnout are not
side effects, their occupational hazards.
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:So honestly, some nonprofit roles
deserve hazard pay, or at least
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:additional support and benefits.
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:Paying market-based, documented
reasonable compensation is not
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:only allowed, it's necessary.
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:Better talent demands better pay,
and wouldn't you want the best
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:people to provide the best services?
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:Underpaying staff leads to
burnout, turnover and instability.
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:And instability hurts the mission far
more than fair salaries ever could.
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:You can't build strong programs
on burned out people, so you
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:must pay your people fairly.
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:Once nonprofits start paying
fairly and think sustainably,
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:another fear often pops up.
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:The idea that everyone else doing
similar work is somehow the enemy.
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:And that gets us to myth number three.
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:Nonprofits are each other's competition.
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:And I wanna talk about this one through
a small business lens for a moment.
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:As a business owner, collaborating with
others who offer similar services has
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:been a complete game changer for me.
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:We share what tools work, what technology
helps, what the market is doing, and how
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:we handle all those fun challenges that
come along with small business ownership.
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:But maybe just as importantly,
we support each other.
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:There is something incredibly
powerful about having a peer who
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:understands the pressure, the stress,
and the responsibility of the work.
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:Nonprofits can benefit from this
exact same kind of collaboration.
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:So many times people tell me they
feel like they're in competition with
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:others who do the same things simply
because they're competing for the
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:same grants or the same sponsors.
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:But that's not true.
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:From a funding perspective, collaboration
often makes things easier, not harder.
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:Donors and funders don't
always want to choose between
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:organizations doing similar work.
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:They wanna invest in solutions and
partnerships create stronger ones.
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:No one organization has to do
everything alone, and when organizations
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:partner, each can focus on what
they do best, collaboration doesn't
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:dilute impact, it multiplies it.
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:So reach out to other nonprofits,
I promise you won't regret it.
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:And finally, let's talk about the
myth I hear most often, especially
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:from nonprofit leaders themselves.
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:I'm not good at fundraising.
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:This one usually comes with a lot of
anxiety, and I hear people say things
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:like, I'm not good at asking for money.
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:I don't wanna sound salesy,
or I'm just not a fundraiser.
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:Here's the reframe.
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:Fundraising is not about asking for money.
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:It's about relationships.
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:It's about listening.
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:It's about sharing stories.
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:It's about helping someone connect
their values to your mission.
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:The actual ask is just one small
moment in a much longer relationship.
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:And honestly, stewardship
matters more than the ask anyway.
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:You should have a much more in-depth
relationship with your donors.
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:Think of some of your touch points
with your donors: the thank you notes
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:that you send, updates through things
like newsletters, engaging them as
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:volunteers, or seeing them at your events.
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:It's all about transparency and
letting people see the impact
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:of their support even before
they've contributed financially.
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:It's about building that
relationship, and I know you guys
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:are great at building relationships.
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:Fundraising is ongoing.
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:It's not something you do only
when you're desperate and it's
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:not just one person's job.
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:Boards, staff, volunteers.
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:Anyone who builds relationships is
already contributing to fundraising.
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:And if you can build
relationships, you can fundraise.
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:Here's the thing, these myths,
they're what keep nonprofits
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:underpaid, overworked, isolated,
and afraid of money conversations.
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:But when we let them go, we make space
for conversation and consideration.
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:We create healthier nonprofits
and healthier people when we
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:stop believing in these myths.
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:Sustainability, collaboration, fair
pay and relationship-based fundraising
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:are not failures of mission.
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:They're commitments to it.
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:So I'll leave you with
this question today.
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:Which of these myths have
you believed or been told?
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:And what would you change if you
stopped believing in those myths?
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:I wanna hear from you.
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:I'm serious.
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:I want to hear from you.
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:Let me know if I busted any of these myths
for you and how it changes your mindset.
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:Shoot me an email, or better
yet, let's chat about it in
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:my podcast Facebook group.
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:I'd love to hear what other myths we can
bust, and maybe I'll do another episode
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:like this with more myths that come up.
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:Thanks so much for listening today.
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:I truly appreciate you letting
me stand on my soapbox and try
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:to bust some of these myths.
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:Thanks for listening
to The NonProfit Nook.
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:We're building better nonprofits together.
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:If you found today's episode
helpful, please subscribe, leave
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:a review, and share it with other
nonprofit leaders who need support.
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:list for extra tips and updates.
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:You can also visit thenonprofitnook.com
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:to see the show notes and leave a comment
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:Your feedback shapes the show.
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:See you next time.
