Nonprofits don’t get enough credit for being hard. All the challenges of running a business, plus the added complexity of fundraising, donor management, and proving impact to people who want numbers. The founders in this section have built organizations that tackle real problems. And they’ve done it without the luxury of a profit motive making every decision simple.
These interviews cover the full nonprofit landscape. Education. Healthcare. Environmental. Social services. Arts. Advocacy. The organizations that fill the gaps where business and government fall short. Which is a lot of gaps.
The founders here are honest about the challenges. Fundraising fatigue. Board dynamics. The tension between overhead and impact. The constant pressure to do more with less. And the moments that make it all worth it, which tend to be quieter than the challenges.
You’ll find insights on nonprofit leadership, grant writing, community engagement, measuring impact, and the art of telling a story that makes people care enough to act. If you’re running a nonprofit, thinking about starting one, or working in the social impact space, these conversations offer perspective you won’t find in a management textbook.
Paul Cothran is Vice President and Executive Director of VH1 Save the Music Foundation. In his position, Cothran oversees The Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the…
Meet Paul Cothran – Executive Director of the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
Scott Hed is the founder and Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska (SAA). The SAA is a program of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, an Anchorage-based non-profit. Scott’s background isn’t…
Meet Scott Hed – Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska
Rev. John Helmiere is the founder and “Minister of Listening” at Valley & Mountain Fellowship, a new spiritual community in the Rainier Valley, Seattle’s most diverse neighborhood. VMF’s vision is…
Meet Rev. John Helmiere – Founder of Valley & Mountain Fellowship
In February 2007 Meaghan Edelstein, a law student at Shepard Broad Law Center in South Florida , was diagnosed with stage 3B cervical cancer. After being misdiagnosed for over two…
Gina is a yoga instructor, educational advocate, artist, and founder of Lotus Light Arts, a non-profit outreach program for at-risk young women in Los Angeles that provides tools to build…
Ryan Cruse is an avid outdoorsman and environmentalist who is constantly trying to blur the lines between fun, work and doing good. He is the co-founder and director of outreach…
Dave Girgenti is the founder of Wish Upon A Hero, the world’s largest social helping website. Dave also serves as the executive director of Wish Upon A Hero Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit…
Kaye Popofsky Kramer founded Step Up Women’s Network and currently sits on the national board of directors of the nonprofit membership organization, which connects and advances professional women and teen girls. Step Up…
Meet Kaye Popofsky Kramer – Founder of Step Up Women’s Network
Kendra Stitt Robins is the founder and executive director of Project Night Night, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing care packages for homeless and transient children living in shelters across the country….
Jim Moriarty is the CEO of the Surfrider Foundation and an innovative leader in the environmental and action sports communities. From a skateboarding punk-rock kid to an architect of the…
Ben Munoz is a student, social entrepreneur, and patient advocate. In 2006, Ben Munoz suffered a life-threatening brain hemorrhage. He created an online support community so that he could connect…
Meet Ben Munoz – Founder of BensFriends.org and Stroke Survivor
Ethan Austin is the co-founder of GiveForward, a website that makes it incredibly easy to collect donations from friends and family for a loved one’s uncovered medical expenses. Having lost…
Meet Ethan Austin: Professional Dogooder, Co-Founder of GiveForward