Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I’m having a total pinch-me moment because I have Darian Rodriguez Heyman on the podcast today. A lot of his work has been foundational in my career.
Darian is an accomplished fundraiser, social entrepreneur, and best-selling author. He has co-founded several social impact conference series, is an in-demand fundraising consultant, and is a frequent keynote speaker at social impact events around the globe.
We talk about how valuable strong leadership is in a nonprofit, navigating effective meetings, how to manage stress while facilitating an organization that can fundraise successfully, and more.
In this episode:
- [01:24] What led Darian to devote his work to philanthropy and social impact
- [03:49] Managing stress while facilitating an organization that can fundraise successfully
- [07:35] Expanding your board’s fundraising through connection
- [12:03] Navigating effective meetings
- [18:33] Helping leaders lead well
- [25:17] Maintaining and stewarding donor relationships
- [30:34] Coaching boards to build an inclusive environment
- [34:23] Collaborative leadership
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“Half of executive directors leave not only their job but the sector within five years. And the number one reason is frustrations around fundraising.”
“If you’re not willing to take care of yourself for your own good, do it for the clients that you serve. Because if you don’t, you’re not going to be able to sustain this work.”
“You’re too talented to be unhappy. So if you’re not in a functional environment, if you’re not in an atmosphere where you feel like you’re giving your best stuff, and you’re doing your best work, then that’s probably a huge red flag that there’s something wrong.”
RESOURCES
You can find the Consent Agenda template here and the Board Matrix Tool template here.
Reach out to Darian to take advantage of the pro bono coaching session he offered to all of my listeners. Get in touch with your website and he will be happy to jump on a call for 15 minutes to find out a little bit more about your organization and struggles and point you to some resources and best practices that may help.
You can find Darian’s books here.
CONNECT WITH DARIAN
Darian’s life’s work of “helping people help” started during his five-year tenure as Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation, where he launched their Nonprofit Boot Camp and grew it to the largest nonprofit gathering in history in only one year. That led to his two best-selling books as well as his work as Editor-in-chief at Blue Avocado, the popular online magazine for nonprofits. Darian has since co-founded several other social impact conference series, is an in-demand fundraising consultant, and is a frequent keynote speaker at social impact events around the globe.
LinkedIn: Darian Rodriguez Heyman
Twitter: @dheyman
Website: helpingpeoplehelp.com
CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Certified Stress Management Coach, and Certified EmC train the trainer. She is the Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, a nonprofit consulting and coaching business. She has worked in both small and large nonprofit teams in the human services, homelessness, and youth sectors; and she specializes in the EmC process, nonprofit leadership, board development, and fundraising. Haley is a passionate, impact-driven, experienced nonprofit professional whose mission is to empower, elevate and engage nonprofit leaders to build healthy, thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com