Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell

Episode: How to Build a Community Ambassador Program with Tasha Van Vlack
Date: October 8, 2025
Guest: Tasha Van Vlack, Community Builder, Engagement Strategist, Founder of Nonprofit Hive

Overview

This episode dives deep into how nonprofits can strategically and sustainably build a community ambassador program. Host Julia Campbell and guest Tasha Van Vlack explore the practical steps and mindset shifts necessary for empowering genuine, trusted voices to advocate for your cause—without overwhelming your team or budget. Their conversation is filled with actionable wisdom, memorable personal stories, and the unmistakable energy of two passionate sector leaders.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Tasha’s Nonprofit Journey & The Birth of Nonprofit Hive

• Tasha's Background:
  • 8+ years in the nonprofit sector, from client management to fundraising/marketing specialist roles.
  • Realized her “natural knack for connecting humans,” especially across LinkedIn.
  • Founded Nonprofit Hive: a 1:1 global community for nonprofit professionals with over 2,300 members in 80 countries.
  • "I just realized how impactful community was when you got to do it with other people in a way that felt at scale for everyone, not just me." — Tasha (05:53)

2. Rethinking Ambassadors: Internal Micro-influencers vs. Celebrity Endorsements

• Common Misconception:

  • Many nonprofits believe they need celebrity ambassadors (e.g., Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift).
  • Reality: Powerful, trusted voices often come from within — dedicated donors, volunteers, and community “super-connectors.”
  • "Who are your champions? You probably already know who a lot of those people are." — Tasha (07:49)
  • Trust and authenticity are more important than manufactured messaging.

• Control vs. Co-creation:

  • Nonprofit hesitancy often comes from fear of losing message control.
  • Julia’s analogy: “It’s almost like having a teenager... at the end of the day, there has to be some grace, some trust, some alignment with values.” (10:09)
  • Tasha: "More positivity—voices about your nonprofit—is only going to be a good thing." (12:57)

3. Structuring a Community Ambassador Program

• Finding the Right People:

  • Initial instinct: choose "power users"; Better approach: find those with mission alignment already speaking about your org.
  • Some supporters (especially introverts) are uncomfortable with public roles—offer them private ways to show support (like anonymous testimonials or Google reviews).
  • "It's actually the people who are already talking about us...that indicated to me they had the impulse to believe that deeply in what we were building." — Tasha (15:25)

• Creating the Role:

  • Low barriers to entry; don't overburden ambassadors.
  • Have tiered levels (e.g., country ambassador vs. general ambassador).
  • Set expectations and timelines—not indefinite commitments:
    • “People struggle when there is not a potential end date for a volunteer commitment.” (16:25)
  • Emphasize recognition balanced with autonomy.

• Key Elements for Success:

  • Clarity around expectations.
  • Opt-in/opt-out flexibility.
  • Ongoing communication and recognition.
  • "It’s meant that the majority of our ambassadors get out there and talk about us... and they've got that vibe." — Tasha (17:59)

4. Ambassadors and Incentives

• Meaningful Incentives Over Swag:
  • Incentives can include special access (to leaders, to each other), networking, or being part of exclusive communications.
  • “Someone on your team needs to own this program—even if it’s not a heavy lift program. Don’t just assume it will happen ad hoc.” — Tasha (19:24)
  • Regular, focused touchpoints (email, meetups, WhatsApp groups).
  • Let ambassadors form their own sub-communities and support each other.

5. From Transactional Fundraising to Community Building

• Mindset Shift Required:
  • Traditional fundraising is transactional. The future is “community-centric”—donors, volunteers, and ambassadors belonging to something bigger.
  • "Community supports operations, marketing, and fundraising... It's like community is at either end of the spectrum." — Tasha (22:40)
  • Volunteers can become donors and vice versa; engagement deepens identity.
  • Regular, meaningful rituals (not always big gestures) help reinforce belonging and engagement.

6. Tailoring Roles for All Personalities

• Different People, Different Paths:
  • Not everyone wants to go public; provide multiple ways to participate (e.g. scripts, toolkits, social prompts, referral emails).
  • “There has to be different avenues for people to figure out how to engage and support.” — Tasha (26:06)

7. Tools & Tech for Community Ambassador Programs

• Main Platforms:
  • LinkedIn as primary for Nonprofit Hive, but also Instagram, Facebook, TikTok (all scheduled from LinkedIn content).
  • "Choose your channel and repurpose." — Tasha and Julia (29:28)
  • WhatsApp for group connection.
  • Fixer AI and Lead Delta for communication and tracking contacts.
  • Streamyard & Descript for video creation; Proofpact for collecting stories.
  • "Our ambassadors know because there's a group of 12 of them, they're in a WhatsApp channel. Then we meet every other month for an hour to have more of an intimate reconnect altogether." — Tasha (31:10)

8. Letting Go of Perfection & Being “Loud”

• Authenticity, Not Perfection:
  • Let ambassadors speak authentically to their audience (“authenticity is one of the few ways to beat algorithms right now”—Tasha, 35:44).
  • Overcome nonprofit fear of being “too loud” with messaging or too repetitive—most people don’t see every email or post.
  • “It is okay to get... a little bit loud right now. I think we probably need that.” — Tasha (33:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Embracing Community Voices:

  • "If you sat down with a team at a nonprofit and said, who are your champions? You probably already know who a lot of those people are." — Tasha (07:49)
  • "What if your messaging, because many legacy nonprofits in particular have pretty bland messaging, what if it was spiced up a little bit?” — Julia (11:43)
  • “A healthy brand and a healthy nonprofit can probably handle some different messaging without it being totally one-sided.” — Tasha (11:45)

• On Inclusivity in Ambassadorship:

  • "My introvert community, because they want to support me too. And if I don't give them a way to do that, it actually disengages them a little bit." — Tasha (26:42)
  • “People giving—that’s so personal. ...Someone that is talking about it and talking about why they're involved, that is someone that is truly special.” — Julia (25:11)

• On Program Management:

  • “You have to have someone on your nonprofit team that…commits…so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.” — Tasha (19:24)
  • “Owning doesn’t mean full time; just someone just has to be like the buck stops here kind of person.” — Julia (20:24)

• On Community, Connection, and Belonging:

  • "People like us do things like this. That's my favorite Seth Godin quote." — Julia (24:41)
  • “If we can't figure this out, what are we going to do? Because that's what people are craving.” — Tasha (24:29)

• On Getting Started:

  • "Have a brainstorming session with your team and go, who are three to five natural champions? ... Make time for a few 30 minute calls in your schedule... before you go out and create all the cool collateral." — Tasha (37:20)

Important Timestamps

• 03:01 – Tasha’s background and founding Nonprofit Hive
• 07:49 – Internal micro-influencers vs. celebrity ambassadors
• 09:50 – Challenges of control and trust with ambassadors
• 13:40 – (Re)structuring a community ambassador program: selection and role design
• 18:41 – Thoughtful incentives for ambassadors
• 21:01 – Shifting from transactional fundraising to community
• 25:11 – Personal meaning in giving and involvement
• 26:06 – Supporting all types of ambassadors, including introverts
• 29:00 – Favorite tools and communications platforms
• 33:33 – Permission to be “loud”—frequency and content marketing
• 35:44 – Authenticity beats algorithms: trusting your community
• 37:20 – The first, tangible steps to start activating community ambassadors
• 39:30 – Fun shirt discussion, shared nonprofit pride
• 42:38 – Where to connect with Tasha and the Nonprofit Hive

Tone and Takeaways

Julia and Tasha’s conversation is friendly, relatable, and practical, encouraging nonprofit leaders to embrace vulnerability, trust, and experimentation in community building. Both highlight honest challenges—control, scaling, supporting introverts, and impact measurement—but stay focused on solutions and culture shifts needed today.

Final Call to Action:
Start small: Identify a few natural champions, have authentic conversations, and co-create your unique, mission-aligned ambassador journey.

Connect with Tasha:

• LinkedIn
• nonprofithive.com

“Community’s the future. This is where nonprofit should be … Let’s get people involved. Let’s give up some control. Because controlling it has not worked very well for us recently.”
— Tasha Van Vlack (40:03)