The power of relationships, curiosity and boundaries in nonprofit leadership

Summary

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Podcast Summary: RKD Group: Thinkers

Episode: The Power of Relationships, Curiosity, and Boundaries in Nonprofit Leadership
Date: June 11, 2026
Host: Nipa Eason
Guest: Stephanie Chompalmal, Northern New England Division, The Salvation Army

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the foundational elements of nonprofit leadership—relationship-building, continuous curiosity, and setting boundaries. With 20 years of experience at The Salvation Army, Stephanie Chompalmal shares her rich insights into how embracing new challenges, nurturing both internal and external relationships, and maintaining strong personal boundaries have been keys to her sustained impact and satisfaction in the nonprofit sector.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Stephanie’s Twenty-Year Nonprofit Journey

• Diverse Roles & Continuous Growth
  Stephanie describes her varied career within The Salvation Army, starting with entry-level roles and moving through positions in grant writing, event planning, and major giving.
  • “It’s not super common to stick around in one place for so long... There’s always something to do, a great project to take on.” (01:07, Stephanie)
• Culture of Learning & Support
  She credits supportive supervisors and a culture that encourages ongoing learning as critical factors.
  • “They were always very encouraging of, ‘What education do you need? What do you need to learn?’” (03:46, Stephanie)
• Embracing Change
  Stephanie notes that adapting to new technology and evolving communication strategies have kept her work dynamic and engaging.

Building Relationships Across Teams

• Navigating Tensions with Empathy
  Stephanie discusses the inherent “tug of war” in nonprofits between ambition and limited resources, highlighting the importance of collegiality.
  • “I think we just try to get together and essentially be friends... understanding what other people do and what pressures they're up against.” (06:14, Stephanie)
• Layered Organizational Insight
  Her longevity at The Salvation Army has enabled a deep understanding of how every division and stakeholder pursues different, but potentially aligned, goals.
  • “We all just have different goals. We have to accomplish something different. And then you start to learn through conversation where it intersects.” (08:18, Stephanie)

Humanizing Donor Communication

• Blurring Internal & External Communication Skills
  Stephanie believes colleagues at all levels can be approached like donors—in search of mutual alignment and understanding.
  • “My colleagues... in many ways are donors too... There’s not a whole lot of difference.” (09:48, Stephanie)
• Importance of Listening & Language
  She emphasizes active listening and checking for true understanding:
  • “How I say something may or may not be interpreted the way I intend... Is the message I want to convey what’s being heard?” (11:24, Stephanie)

Curiosity, Learning, and Embracing Failure

• Intentional Self-Education
  Stephanie’s ongoing studies in psychology, sociology, and new communication channels inform her work and keep her skills current.
  • “Communication is always evolving... I always try to kind of just continue that education on my own.” (13:54, Stephanie)
• Thriving on Change
  Change is stimulating, not draining, for her:
  • “It’s exciting—there would just be a ceiling to your learning... People are just far more complex than that. And to me, that’s really exciting.” (14:17, Stephanie)
• Embracing Failure and Trying New Things
  • “Expect that failure comes. It’s part of the game. I think I learned really early on that you will fail and... it’s good and positive.” (23:40, Stephanie)

Healthy Boundaries: Work, Home, and Well-being

• Structured Separation
  Stephanie is firm about keeping work and home separate to avoid burnout.
  • “For me, it’s kind of an unpopular opinion, but I have, like, pretty rigid boundaries around, like, home and work... That wall really helps me that it prevents the burnout.” (15:15, Stephanie)
• The Challenge of Boundaries in a Flexible Work World
  She recognizes that not everyone or every nonprofit culture respects this structure, and encourages organizations to support staff wellness.

Career Advice for Nonprofit Professionals

• Explore, Say Yes, and Don’t Fear “Not My Job”
  Stephanie shares how her willingness to take on new responsibilities led to learning and advancement.
  • “My advice is going to be... just try anything, you know, temporarily. Learn a skill in your organization. Fill in for somebody. Don’t be afraid to do more.” (21:59, Stephanie)
  • “That attitude just, like, closes you off... The ability to just say, ‘nope, I want to help, I want to do whatever it is’ allowed me to learn so much more.” (21:59, Stephanie)

Memorable Moments & Relationships

• Personal Connections with Donors
  Stephanie’s most cherished memories are personal—a donor singing to her over the phone, or sharing stories.
  • “I’ve had donors that, like, sing to me on the phone... The way that they feel like they can share their life, not just their philanthropy, has been great.” (27:25, Stephanie)
• Hands-On Community Service
  Her favorite times include community toy shops during the holidays.
  • “It’s my favorite thing to do at Christmas... I leave the end of the day with my cheeks hurting from smiling so much.” (28:48, Stephanie)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I feel like my workday ends to go pick up my daughter and to be with my family. And the weekends are really time together to relax… That wall really helps me… it prevents the burnout.” (15:15, Stephanie)
• “When you realize that what my goals are and someone else’s goals are, they don’t intersect—or finding where they do—in fact intersect is just really immensely important.” (06:14, Stephanie)
• “The ability to just say, ‘nope, I want to help, I want to do whatever it is,’ allowed me to learn so much more…” (21:59, Stephanie)
• “Expect that failure comes... if you just don’t go the route for the sake of not failing, you will have tried nothing.” (23:40, Stephanie)
• “The ones that I look back on are really... sitting at my desk and having a donor ask if she could sing to me.” (27:25, Stephanie)
• “It’s always an all hands on deck sort of atmosphere...” (01:49, Stephanie)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:00 – 03:00: Stephanie’s career evolution in nonprofit roles
• 05:10 – 08:00: Navigating departmental tensions through relationships
• 09:20 – 12:00: Internal communications and donor relationships
• 13:54 – 15:10: Continuous self-education and adapting to industry changes
• 15:10 – 17:30: Setting boundaries to avoid burnout
• 18:10 – 21:50: Advice for new professionals & the value of saying "yes"
• 23:40 – 24:58: Handling fear of failure and importance of supportive environments
• 27:25 – 29:45: Cherished memories and the importance of human connection

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Three Main Takeaways for Nonprofit Leaders

1. Build Relationships with Stakeholders
   Both inside the organization and externally with donors—aligning goals is crucial, especially within complex, multi-level organizations. (29:57, Host)

2. Commit to Continuous Learning
   Growth comes from saying yes to new challenges, embracing change, and not letting the fear of failure hold you back. (30:10, Host)

3. Establish and Respect Boundaries
   Protecting time for yourself and your family enables you to show up fully at work and at home. (30:28, Host)

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Summary

Stephanie Chompalmal’s conversation provides a masterclass in nonprofit leadership rooted in curiosity, authentic relationships, and self-care. Her experience reaffirms that staying open to learning, nurturing connections (internally and externally), and maintaining clear boundaries are not just strategies for professional growth—they’re essential for finding long-term meaning and fulfillment in the nonprofit sector.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Arcady Group Chat podcast, where we bring you behind the scenes of nonprofit life. We shed light on the compassion and purpose behind the individuals solving the world's most challenging problems. I'm your host, Nipa Eason. Today we're talking with Stephanie Chompalmal with the Northern New England Division of the Salvation Army. As the annual fund and Advancement services manager, Stephanie works across multiple teams to align goals and find new ways to communicate with donors. She's been with the organization for 20 years and brings a wealth of knowledge about building relationships and understanding donor psychology. Let's chat. Hi, Stephanie. It's so nice to meet you and have this conversation with you. How are you today?

[B]

I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity.

[A]

Yeah. I was looking at some of your history and your profile, and you've been with the Salvation army for 20 years.

[B]

I know it's crazy how long and it doesn't feel like it, but it has been a long time. I've had a lot of different jobs being here, so not the same role in all those 20 years, but it's pretty incredible. It's not super common to stick around in one place for so long, so it's a great experience.

[A]

Do you want to talk a little bit about some of the different hats you've worn at Salvation Army?

[B]

Sure. I came to Maine with just like a year or so of experience in nonprofit, so I was just, you know, trying to look for a job, get myself squared away. So I actually started as the plane getting secretary and was thinking, I'm just going to get my foot in the door in nonprofit, and I'll probably move on to something else. But it just never happened, you know, from there, it rolled into a coordinator position, and it rolled into filling in a lot of roles as employees from our development department. They came, they went, and I just always was happy to sort of fill in and learn grant writing or event planning, major giving, and I just never really got bored. I'm now the annual fund manager, and we have an incredible team that we all work closely together. So it's always an all hands on deck sort of atmosphere in which there's just never a time to get bored. There's always something to do, a great project to take on. So I just haven't gone anywhere.

[A]

That's amazing. And that's. I mean, it speaks to the beauty of this organization. Right. That you came in thinking it was probably temporary and then stayed for so long.

[B]

It's just. I mean, I think in Many nonprofits, it's really easy to wear multiple haps. You're doing lots of things. So just as the, you know, our division and the Salvation army have grown through technology and changing times, there's just always something to take on new. There's always a new project to build on and a new challenge to take on. So I never felt that need to move on to something else because I hit a ceiling. And the Salvation army has been really, really great about always allowing me to take on new skills and sort of push the envelope and, you know, push the ceiling up further so we can always, you know, do the next thing.

[A]

That's an awesome environment where they're encouraging that kind of growth and curiosity and the ability to take on those new challenges. Are there any that come to mind in. I mean, in the last 20 years that stand out to you as, like, oh, this was, like, a tough thing, but we managed to kind of navigate this.

[B]

This time it was, I think, well, in part, I just want to say, a lot of it had to do with. I had incredible supervisors that were always sort of recognized, hey, if she gets bored, she's probably not going to stick around. So they were always very encouraging of, what education do you need? What do you need to learn? And as new projects came up, so a lot of them revolving around technology, divisional, territorial, national integrations with our systems just allowed for new opportunities. Each, each with each step, it just never really fell flat. And so every time a new initiative sort of came down the pipeline, I was always, you know, first or the only one to say, hey, I really want to do that. I really want to be part of that. And so it just always kept me growing, for sure. I don't know that there's one particular one that stands out just so much as every time I hit that point of, like, I'm not sure if there's much to learn, there's always something that comes down. And that's even happening now as we speak, which is pretty exciting.

[A]

Yeah, it is. I feel like that. And that sets a tone, too, for, like you said, your teams, the people that you're working with all the time, where they know that you're going to be the one stepping up to learn something new, do something new, and then they feel like it's a safe space to try new things, too. Right. Is that a. Would you say that's like a cultural kind of theme that you all try to encourage with each other?

[B]

I would say yes and no. Right. There's like an inherent tension that always exists in the nonprofit world, where you always have a tug of war with what the development team wants to accomplish, we want to try the next innovative thing, whether it's social media, media, or, you know, just meeting people where they're at. But it always does cost money, and there is a balance that has to be had with how much does it cost. Can we afford to make this investment in taking those small incremental steps? Certainly. I like to think that I'm always pushing the envelope. No, we have to do the next thing. We have to progress so that we're not sort of like, you know, stuck and then just not being competitive with how we reach our donors. Yeah.

[A]

So how do you navigate that, that balance, that tug of war?

[B]

Very kindly, I think, I would say, you know, I think we just try to get together and essentially be friends. That sounds a little cheeseball, but in getting to know everyone, whether it's personal or just becoming friends, but understanding what other people do and what pressures they're up against, I feel like is a really important aspect of everybody's sort of getting what they want. When we realize that what my goals are and someone else's goals are, they don't intersect, or finding where they do, in fact intersect is just really immensely important. And understanding that you're going to just navigate the conversation to say, well, how do we both get what we want? Or if we can't sort of get there, what does it take to get there? What small steps do we take to get there in terms of maybe this is going to take a lot longer than we had hoped for, but we want to work there. But I really do feel like it starts really just basic with being friends, you know, with the people that are in your office. I mean, maybe not besties, you don't have to go out to dinner or anything like that, but just getting to know them and understand, you know, when they have that day, that's like, oh, I'm so upset. With xyz, they share and you just learn a little bit about, well, what they're up against or what their goals are and just it makes it a lot easier for everyone to understand. Well, this is how we eventually get to the same page. So that I feel like when you have that tug of war conversation, you always have tucked in the back of your brain, okay, I know this person needs to accomplish this, and I can make sure that that messaging and that, you know, the ideas are flowing with that in mind so that there's not a sense of pushback because, well, this just gets Me further away from my goals, so it can't happen. I think that's really important.

[A]

Yeah, that's super important. And I feel like that's there's a level of like humanizing each other and remembering that we're all people trying to do the best work possible.

[B]

Everyone's trying to do their best. It's an incredible experience. The Salvation army is international, so there's multiple levels of international, national, territorial, divisional, our local offices and the communities. And every single one of us has different goals. And there was a time when I started years ago where I felt like, oh, those people, the territory, they have no idea what they're doing. And those people over there, they just don't get it. And then you realize as you get to know everyone over the years, we all just have different goals. We have to accomplish something different. And then you start to learn through conversation where it intersects and okay, so maybe they do really get what's going on and I just didn't realize it. So. So I think that there's a lot of that. And in an organization this large, sticking around for so long has helped me so much to understand how each layer is trying to do something different and just the ability to check in with everyone and see if we're on the same page and then you just have that tug of war. It just happens less frequently.

[A]

I feel like that kind of extends to communicating with donors too then. Right. Like, do you feel like that that's kind of a similar overlap in how you, I mean, your background is like corporate communication. So I feel like there's a lot of intersections in internal communication and donor communication.

[B]

Absolutely. I, it's funny, I always think of it that way where I feel like my colleagues, you know, at all the different levels in many ways are donors too. Right. I. They still have a goal. There's. We're all have a philanthropic goal. It's just sort of separate and different. Even though we're, we're trying to, you know, this one organization, we, we do have the same mission. And yes, just like our donors, we're all trying to accomplish this mission, but we all have different things that are driving us that are really steering the ship for, you know, our closer and longer term goals. So I think that is exactly the same and there's not a whole lot of difference. And some people really make this distinction. And I think. No, you're absolutely right.

[A]

So there's like a humanizing of our donor too. Right. Like we reach out to them and find the common goal, the intersection like you were talking about. And how do you feel like your background has helped you with that?

[B]

I think communication has just been a foundational. It reaches into all aspects of life completely. It's a lot of just listening, but understanding that how I say something may or may not be interpreted the way I intend. Same thing coming from the donor that might be speaking to us and ensuring that we are really speaking the same language or really grabbing that moment where you realize, hey, we're not speaking the same language. Which seems funny to say, right?

[A]

We're all.

[B]

I mean, in this context, we're all speaking English, but we really cannot be communicating the same thing. So always looking for that, and whether that's with donors or just with colleagues, I'm always looking for is the message I want to convey. Is that what's being heard? And I think that most of the time it is. But you always have those moments where you're like, yeah, it's just not happening. Or you send something and you think, wow, I just didn't notice it that way. But they interpreted it totally and completely a different. And now we need to, like, go back to the drawing board. So that foundational aspect of communications, which I think is really grounded in just psychology and sociology, has honestly just served me in every single aspect of my life, like, even just personal relationships, that it definitely helps in work, but it just doesn't fall short anywhere in terms of a skill that's needed.

[A]

Yeah, so you mentioned psychology and sociology. Is that stuff. Have you done further study in that,

[B]

or are you superficially. As part of my marketing and background and communications, you know, group communications versus interpersonal communications, small group communications. They all have different needs and, you know, skills that you would interact differently in each of those scenarios. So that is part of my education and background as well. I chose to take on things like psychology and sociology everywhere I could. So all those electives pull from there. But it's also just my own personal interest. It's what I choose to read or listen to in podcasts. So I like to always be educating myself in those areas. And especially in the world of communications, where it's changing and evolving. Right. However, many years ago when I was in school, it was completely different. We were, you know, part of class. You're talking about, you know, more paper journalism, reading the newspaper every day to. In order to discuss it. And now I feel like there's no, like, physical newspaper. That's not how we're keeping in touch. Social media just was starting then. So that communication is always evolving. So ensuring that I'm sort of always sort of keeping up with that. And I love the psychology with how social media is changing, how we communicate, how we think, how we interact with the world around us. So I always try to kind of just continue that education on my own as well.

[A]

Yeah, definitely. And, yeah, like you said, everything keeps changing and our attention spans keep changing. And all of that, I think, is, like you were saying, like a new challenge. Honestly, it's like, I feel like it's a new challenge almost daily where you're getting some form of new data, new information. How do you keep up with that without getting burnt out?

[B]

I think for me, it's exciting, so I thrive on it. It's not something that I would burn out on because I feel like it's what keeps me engaged. Right. That next thing to learn about is that's going to be the next thing that we're going to do or we're going to incorporate or the next generation is going to be communicating just totally different than we expected. So for me, I'm always taking that in, and that's exciting to me because I think without it, there would just be a ceiling to your learning. Right. It would feel like, okay, I learned this job. It's a task. I do it over and over and over, and it doesn't really change. And that's not the case. People are just far more complex than that. And to me, that's really exciting. So it would be a difficult thing for me to burn out on.

[A]

Yeah. Are there anything in the last 20 years at Salvation army that you've found hard or challenging in terms of, like, to avoid that kind of burnout? Because nonprofit work can be kind of challenging in that way.

[B]

For me, it's kind of an unpopular opinion, but I have, like, pretty, like, rigid boundaries around, like, home and work. It's. I feel like in this world where you can have everything at your hands, we're carrying around laptops and iPads and our phones, and we could work all the time. It's really not something that I picked up in my environment here. And it's something that over the years, I've really have to pay attention to, not get sucked in because it is. Your phone can ding all the time, Your email can be coming up, but that I feel like my workday ends to go pick up my daughter and to be with my family. And the weekends are really time together to relax, to enjoy all the other things that I love in my life. Exercising and cooking and that wall really helps me that it prevents the burnout. But I feel like it's kind of an unpopular thing now where there's flexibility to work from everywhere. But sometimes I feel like if you're not really careful, it just. You end up working all the time, and it's easy to prioritize that over the other things in your life if you're not careful. So for me, it's just kind of being somewhat rigid with, you know, my day begins and ends here, and my week begins and ends here, and I sort of know that. And the environment that I'm in now is super supportive of that, you know, taking care of yourself and your family. So I think that's. Again, it's a. It's another reason to have stayed for so long is there's a great respect for that. And I see a lot of people that just have a really hard time with that boundary or organizations that don't necessarily want to allow for it. So I think, yeah, it just leads you to being done because you never get an off.

[A]

Yeah, for sure. I feel like you need to teach me about these rigid boundaries because it is. It's hard. You know, we're a remote first company, too, so it is. You have to kind of set that. That boundary. Like, I am with my family right now, and this is the time. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I don't work from home, so it's a different environment in that it forces, you know, shutting a door and leaving. So I imagine that's a whole new challenge working from home.

[A]

It is. But, you know, like I said, like, like you said, actually, the rigid boundaries help a lot. Right. So stepping back, if you're with your family, you're with your family.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you're. And having that supportive environment makes such a big difference.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I'm totally glad that you all have that. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. So switching gears a little bit, a lot of people that we talk to are interested in how. How you got to where you're. Where you are in your specific job and role, but then also, like, if you have any advice for people who are wanting to move in that kind of similar direction.

[B]

Yeah, I. It's interesting. When I went to school in this corporate communications, like, marketing advertising, I really thought I was going to, like, rule the world, work at, like, a top advertising agency. I was going to have, like, my amazing business suit, and I was just going to rock it. And by the end of my college career, when I was interning, I was with an advertising agency. I worked with a business in their marketing, and it actually fell flat. And I Was so discouraged because I thought, oh, my goodness, what have I done? I've gotten all of this education in an area that I don't think I really enjoy. When I graduated and started reading job descriptions, I found, hey, all this stuff in the nonprofit world seems like something I'm really interested in. And that's where I landed, where I realized I use all of my marketing advertising skills within the nonprofit world very similarly, but with a very different end game. Right. The goal is the mission. The goal is to raise funds to help more people. And there was a much greater sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, where I felt like, okay, my effort is, like, going to do something. Because I know if you're working in the nonprofit world, you're really not here to, like, make lots of money. Your. Your measure of success is really being measured in how much you help people or programs that you're able to start and to make a difference in the community. So it's just a different goal, and

[A]

it's an interesting trajectory. Right. Like, you went in thinking, like you wanted this one direction, but moving into, like, a more a career that's providing more meaning, honestly. Right.

[B]

Yeah. And using all of the skills. It didn't. I was so glad that my skills translated into something else besides the career path that I intended. You know, being at a big business and, you know, you know, moving the way up through the top there, this just feels good. I feel good on a daily basis. When I look back and on everything, I feel like I really did something, I really supported something that made a difference in this world. And I think that I really needed that in terms of getting to where I am in my position. That was really just a long game of always. I just want to. I want to help. I want to try the next thing. I want to learn the next thing. So over the years, as you know, people come, they go retirements, they just move on. I was always like, I want to try that while they're, you know, like, we're in between. And I would just take on all these responsibilities to the point that over the years, I just was able to grab every single aspect of development and fundraising at some point and know all of these different areas, start to see how they intersected with what I was doing. And it's been incredible because I learned so much. Even if it was outside my job. I always had a real, like, sticking point for the people that always say, oh, it's not my job. I sort of understand. Right. You want healthy boundaries around not taking on Too much. But at the same time, I feel like that attitude just like closes you off. Right. The ability to just say, nope, I want to help, I want to do whatever it is. Doesn't matter that it's my job. It just allowed me to learn so much more that I feel like I was able to grow faster and take on more responsibilities and be respected for taking on those responsibilities successfully. But it really is part of what prevented that ceiling from never coming was just the desire to keep wanting to learn. So ultimately, my advice is going to be, you know, just try anything, you know, temporarily. Learn a skill in your organization, fill in for somebody, don't be afraid to do more. Because I think you'd be surprised how many things you learn that are unexpected. It's not just, oh, I'm just picking up this extra job duty or I should be paid more. It's, to me, it's always been about learning.

[A]

Yeah. And I feel like there's so many opportunities in nonprofits to learn. Like you said, you're wearing different hats, but like you're learning all the different aspects about your mission and how you help people.

[B]

Yeah. It's an always, I think a nonprofit and all hands on deck situation where there's just not a shortage of things to do. You don't, you know, frugally, you don't want to spend your money on lots and lots of personnel to do all the things because we want our, our profits to go towards helping people, so we want to minimize that. So the exchange for that is doing many things. For me, that works. I thrive in that. I, I think that I wouldn't do so great if it was just like, you know, very rigid, the same thing day after day after day. I love the, you know, excitement of today is not the same as yesterday. And it's totally unexpected. And I didn't accomplish what I thought I would, but I did accomplish all these other things. So I do really like that.

[A]

Yeah. What would you say to someone who is a little scared of trying something different and new or learning because they're scared of the failure aspect of it?

[B]

Oh, that's a good question. I guess maybe just coming along the person that you admire and, you know, asking them to teach you. I've been so fortunate to work with so many incredible people where I feel like if I really didn't know, I just find that person that I'm comfortable with, that I feel like I can ask a lot of questions and go back and even repeat those questions, that I get it. But also, if at all possible. Just expect that failure comes. It's part of the game. I think I learned really early on that you will fail and that to some degree it's good and it's positive because if you just like, don't go the route for the, the sake of not failing, I feel like you will have tried nothing and you'll really limit what you could do. Again, environment really helps. I've been in a really supportive environment where, you know, trying new things is sort of celebrated. But there's definitely failures that come for sure. And you learn really quick when you think, I'm not going to repeat that again. But just knowing that it will happen, we'll all trip over ourselves at some point for sure.

[A]

Um, and we were talking about nonprofit work being a little bit challenging and you setting pretty strong boundaries between like your home life and work. And you mentioned cooking and exercise. What are, what are some of your favorite things to do outside of work?

[B]

I do love to exercise, running as much as I can. Um, but some injury sort of prevents me from running as much as I want. But I do resistance training. Um, I love science and new nutrition. You know, just learning. I listen to like podcasts all the time about it. I love plant based cooking and just getting the family to eat a little bit healthier and make better choices that are so connected with our bodies and our minds and understanding and appreciating that food is medicine. It's, you know, what we put in our body every day really matters and it can just, you know, enhance our life so much more. I know that. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I love that I spend so much time other than just, you know, I love to be with my family and just spend time with them, but anywhere I can incorporate exercise and, you know, eating good like whole foods, I'm all over it. And I just the same. That is that way. I am with marketing and communications and psychology and sociology. Just science and nutrition and exercise just fall in that category. I just can't get enough of it. You know, there's always new studies coming out and I love to, to learn about them and find those small ways that you can just tweak your life to, to make it better.

[A]

Yeah. And I feel like that probably applies so much to the work you all do too. Right. So finding like, ways to. That you're nourishing the people around you in your mission and in the way that you help people.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, the Salvation army does a great job just meeting very basic needs, but providing food and making sure it's nutritious food. You know, providing a space to be spiritual and to come in and just feel welcome is really important. So meeting those needs is definitely an aspect of what we do, and I love that about being here.

[A]

Yeah. What's your favorite memory of being at Salvation Army? Something that stands out in the last 20 years.

[B]

A single memory. I don't know. It's all gonna revert back to people. You know, the people that really touched my life, both professionally, personally. The things that actually stand out are really kind of silly things. Like, you know, one of my favorite donors that has passed away that I love, just, you know, sitting with her and her recliner and her telling me all of her stories in her life. And I've had donors that, like, sing to me on the phone, like, musical song, like, songs from musicals and stuff that I just. I don't know, make your day. Like, the way that you. You get to know people and the way that they feel like they can share their. Their life, not just their philanthropy has been great. There's really great achievements, like, oh, I worked with the donor, then we closed a multimillion dollar gift. There's achievements like that. But the ones that I look back on are, like, really, some of the ones that are smaller that I just. I don't know. I'll never forget sitting at my desk and having a donor ask if she could sing to me. And I thought, well, of course. So just getting to know people. It's all about the people. That's what I really take away and remember more than anything.

[A]

Yeah. Those relationships that you're building, both internally with the staff and then with the donors, too. That's amazing.

[B]

Yeah. And helping our clients, we get opportunity to work in the field some. So, for example, at Christmas, one of my very favorite things to do is work in our toy shops, which I just love. It's these incredible opportunities where the community has donated so many gifts and toys. It's. It's insane how generous people are. And, you know, parents get to come in, grandparents get to come in, and they get to shop for their children. And it's not just so exciting that a donor got to open presents on Christmas morning. Maybe they wouldn't have had that opportunity, but the awe of parents having the opportunity to have shopped for them and get to choose what they, you know, wrapped up and were able to gift, I feel like adds a level of integrity that I just. I. It's my favorite thing to do at Christmas. Like, it just never falls short for like I leave the end of the day with my cheeks hurting from smiling so much. So yeah.

[A]

Oh, that's beautiful. That's so beautiful. Thank you so much, Stephanie, for sharing your story with us today.

[B]

Absolutely. Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate. This is incredible.

[A]

This was such an insightful chat. Here are three takeaways I got from our conversation with Stephanie that I would take back to my nonprofit 1. Build relationships with your stakeholders. That includes the people within the organization and the donors. Especially in an international organization like the Salvation army, it's important to align your goals so that you can meet the organization's needs. 2. Continue to learn and grow. Having an open attitude and saying yes to opportunities that may not feel comfortable is so important. We have to be okay with failure to grow.

[B]

3.

[A]

Setting boundaries between work and home is also very important for our own health and well being. It's a good way to give 100% in both sides of our lives without wearing ourselves out. Want to chat with us? Email [e-mail] I hope I hear back from you. Either way, I'll chat with you next month.