Beyond Passion: Building Effective Nonprofit Leadership with David Rhode

This Week on The Heart of Giving Podcast David Rhode, author of "Passion Isn't Enough," shares practical insights from his journey founding Pitchin' for Baseball and Softball to consulting with nonprofit leaders. Three key moments:

 

"Running a nonprofit organization is running a business. And so in order for your business to succeed long term, you need a business model. You need to be able to track resources, people and money, and you need to be able to make a meaningful difference."

 

"There are three things which are present in the nonprofit sector that aren't in the for-profit sector. The first is people - they tell the story in the nonprofit sector. We're not spending money on marketing communications, so people carry the story forward."

 

"We as leaders need to be optimistic. We need to set a culture and a tone for the organization. If we're always complaining or worrying, then the organization's going to be down. I think resilience is one of the fundamental things that people need to be successful in life, let alone in the nonprofit sector."

 

Last week in Part 2 of our conversation with Dan Porterfield, Robert Diggs, and Markera Jones, we explored how Franklin & Marshall College's approach to talent development transformed lives. Markera shared her journey from feeling unwelcome in advanced classes to achieving perfect grades at F&M and eventually becoming a clinical psychologist focused on underserved communities. Don't miss this powerful testimony to how educational institutions can identify and nurture potential across all backgrounds.

 

New episodes every Tuesday on YouTube and your favorite podcast platforms. Support the show at give.org.

 

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