234: The Power of Growth Through Challenges in Nonprofit Leadership with Lauren Isbell

Summary

Summary of "Episode 234: The Power of Growth Through Challenges in Nonprofit Leadership with Lauren Isbell" on What the Fundraising

Introduction

In Episode 234 of What the Fundraising, host Mallory Erickson engages in a profound conversation with Lauren Isbell, the Executive Director of Nevis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting individuals with the rare skin condition congenital melanocytic nevi. This episode delves into Lauren’s journey through leadership challenges, the strategies she employed to overcome obstacles, and the growth her organization has experienced through incremental changes. The discussion offers invaluable insights for nonprofit leaders and fundraisers seeking to navigate the complexities of running a successful organization.

Lauren Isbell’s Background and Journey into Leadership

Lauren Isbell introduces herself by sharing her lifelong connection to the nonprofit sector, tracing back to her childhood involvement with Girl Scouts. Her passion for serving others led her to her first role as a grant writer and eventually to her current position as the sole Executive Director of Nevis in 2019.

Lauren Isbell (03:57): "Since then, I've been stepping into that leadership role and learning more about what it means to lead a nonprofit and how mindset affects the work we do day in and day out."

Lauren's personal life deeply intertwined with her professional journey when her daughter was diagnosed with congenital melanocytic nevi. This pivotal moment inspired her to lead Nevis, driving her commitment to the cause and shaping her leadership style focused on protecting her team's mindset and fostering a supportive organizational culture.

Early Challenges as an Executive Director

Taking on the role of Executive Director came with significant challenges. Lauren navigated the complexities of leading a small nonprofit, especially during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced her to transition to remote work and manage increased personal responsibilities, including homeschooling her children and caring for her daughter diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Lauren Isbell (04:20): "It was a rough couple of years coming on and just having lots of life adjustments that were outside the scope of the job."

The pandemic exacerbated existing challenges, leaving Lauren as the sole staff member handling everything from financial management to social media. This overwhelming situation compelled her to rethink her approach to leadership and organizational management.

Turning Point and Strategic Shifts

After a year and a half in her role, Lauren recognized the need for external support and strategic changes to prevent burnout and ensure organizational growth. She engaged her board in leadership development, which included working through John Maxwell’s leadership principles. A significant turning point occurred when her board chair, who was diagnosed with cancer, encouraged her to embrace storytelling as a core strategy for donor engagement.

Lauren Isbell (06:22): "You're a storyteller. Just tell the damn story. Tell it to anybody who will listen."

Realizing the necessity of building sustainable systems, Lauren began outsourcing tasks she was not proficient in, such as QuickBooks and social media management. This fractional support model allowed her to focus on fundraising and strategic planning, gradually transforming the organization’s operations.

Incremental Changes Leading to Significant Growth

Lauren attributes her organization’s success to implementing small, incremental changes that collectively yield substantial results. She emphasizes the importance of honing fundraising skills and developing a strong foundation before scaling efforts.

Mallory Erickson (10:17): "These 1 degree shifts, these little things over time, they add up, they snowball, they build momentum."

Lauren shared the impressive growth in Nevis’s Giving Tuesday campaigns, illustrating how strategic refinements in donor engagement and email marketing led to a dramatic increase in donations from $8,000 in 2022 to $30,000 in the current year. This success underscores the impact of consistent, deliberate improvements over time.

Overcoming Doubts and Managing Pressure

Throughout her journey, Lauren faced moments of doubt and significant pressure as a nonprofit leader. She balanced her eternal optimism with the reality of struggles, particularly when making critical decisions like rebranding the organization’s image.

Lauren Isbell (15:34): "I cried the whole week of that board meeting. I was so nervous and I just was like, I don't know if this is the right decision."

Lauren credits much of her resilience to the unwavering support from her board and her personal support network. She highlights the importance of having a reliable support system to navigate the emotional and logistical challenges of nonprofit leadership.

Lauren Isbell (25:34): "Having that support system in the board... is so important too. But I know I've lived to tell the tale that I know that that's not how it is in probably most nonprofits. So I really do think even if that support can't come from your board, find it from somewhere."

Key Takeaways and Insights

1. Embrace Incremental Change: Small, consistent improvements can lead to significant growth over time. Focus on refining processes and strategies step by step rather than seeking immediate, large-scale changes.

2. Leverage Support Systems: Building a strong support network, whether through board members, peer groups, or personal connections, is crucial for navigating the pressures of nonprofit leadership.

3. Outsource and Delegate: Identifying areas where external expertise can be brought in, such as financial management or social media, allows leaders to focus on core responsibilities like fundraising and strategic planning.

4. Storytelling as a Fundraising Tool: Effectively communicating the organization’s story enhances donor engagement and can significantly boost fundraising efforts.

5. Continuous Learning: Staying informed through podcasts, coaching, and peer interactions helps leaders adapt and implement best practices tailored to their organization’s unique needs.

Conclusion

Lauren Isbell’s story is a testament to the power of resilience, strategic incremental changes, and the importance of a strong support system in nonprofit leadership. Her journey with Nevis showcases how facing challenges head-on and embracing continuous learning can lead to remarkable growth and impact. This episode of What the Fundraising serves as an inspiring guide for nonprofit leaders seeking to elevate their organizations through thoughtful, sustained efforts.

Notable Quotes

• Lauren Isbell (03:57): "Since then, I've been stepping into that leadership role and learning more about what it means to lead a nonprofit and how mindset affects the work we do day in and day out."

• Mallory Erickson (10:17): "These 1 degree shifts, these little things over time, they add up, they snowball, they build momentum."

• Lauren Isbell (15:34): "I cried the whole week of that board meeting. I was so nervous and I just was like, I don't know if this is the right decision."

• Lauren Isbell (25:34): "Having that support system in the board... is so important too. But I know I've lived to tell the tale that I know that that's not how it is in probably most nonprofits. So I really do think even if that support can't come from your board, find it from somewhere."

Connect with Lauren Isbell

To learn more about Lauren Isbell and her work with Nevis, visit nevis.org or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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If you enjoyed this summary and wish to delve deeper into fundraising strategies and nonprofit leadership, consider listening to the full episode on Mallory Erickson’s website.

Transcript

[Mallory Erickson]

Foreign.

[Lauren Isbell]

Nonprofit Leaders Mark your calendars Join me June 3rd and 4th at the free 2025 donorperfect community conference. It is all about connection this year and you are going to learn about connection in terms of donor engagement and learn proven strategies to drive real impact. Register [e-mail] donorperfect-conference that's donorperfect.com donorperfect-conference.

[Unknown Speaker]

I will say that I'm an eternal optimist, optimistic to a fall enneagram7 the whole way. Like it's gonna be better tomorrow. It's fine. However, I will say that there have been plenty of times where the struggle is real. You know what I mean? And especially I think about big decisions.

[Lauren Isbell]

Hey, my name is Mallory and I'm obsessed with helping leaders in the nonprofit space raise money and run their organizations differently. What the Fundraising is a space for real and raw conversations to both challenge and inspire you. Not too long ago I was in your shoes, uncomfortable with fundraising and unsure of my place in this sector. It wasn't until I started to listen to other experts outside of the fundraising space that I was able to shift my mindset and ultimately shift the way I show up as a leader. This podcast is my way of blending professional and personal development such so we as a collective inside the nonprofit sector can feel good about the work we are doing. Join me every week as I interview some of the brightest minds in the personal and professional development space to help you fundamentally change the way you lead and fundraise. I hope you enjoy this episode, so let's dive in.

[Mallory Erickson]

Welcome everyone. I am so excited to be here today with Lauren Isbell. Lauren, welcome to what the fundraising.

[Unknown Speaker]

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.

[Mallory Erickson]

I am really excited to have this conversation with you. We met on LinkedIn and where I watched you comment on a post with just so much curiosity and openness and this mindset that I was really inspired by. And I wanted the opportunity to sort of interview you and talk through your journey as an ed and sort of what has allowed you to be the leader that you are today. And so we're going to get into all of that. But why don't you just introduce yourself to everyone, tell everyone sort of what brings you to our conversation and then we'll. We'll get into it.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sure. My name is Lauren Isbel. I say I've been living the nonprofit life since girlhood, if you count slinging Girl Scout cookies. I kind of grew up around nonprofits and partnering with nonprofits on service projects and things As a kid and was always kind of interested in that and got my first job as a grant writer and pivoted in and out of different spaces in the nonprofit sector until a cause showed up in my living room in 2017. My daughter was born with a rare skin condition called congenital melanocytic nevi. It's okay if you haven't heard of it. It only affects about 1 in 500,000 people. And through our journey through finding her care team and finding organizations that support patients like her, I landed as their sole staff and solo executive director. I was their third ED in the tenure of the organization in 2019. So since then have been kind of stepping into that leadership role and learning more about what it means to lead a nonprofit and what it means to show up in the sector as someone that really cares about people, protecting their mindset and how that affects the work that we do in, day in and day out as we build our organizations.

[Mallory Erickson]

And you. And you've had. You had a little bit of a similar like, story arc to mine. And so I'd love for you to just share that with folks, like what it was like at the beginning becoming an ED without a roadmap and what your. Some of your kind of like initial learning journey was that that moved you into becoming the leader that you are today.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, I became ED in June of 2019. So I had barely gotten my feet wet and our. The pandemic happened and so that was a challenge. But also I moved from a larger and I think this might happen a lot, especially in your first organization to be an ed. I moved from a larger organization where I reported to the CEO was on the leadership team. We were like 4 or 5 million dollar annual budget at the time, a fairly large nonprofit for the area that I'm from to I'm showing up in my living room every day trying to figure out how to work from home before it was cool trying, you know, manage all that came with the pandemic in just a very short period of time. And so that was a challenge to say the least. I have four kids, so we went from them getting on the bus and going to school every day to mandatory homeschooling and. And then my middle daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. So that was just a huge like curveball that no one saw coming. So it was a rough couple of years coming on and just having lots of life adjustments that were outside the scope of job. But then also thinking about how what do you do as a team of one when from everything from putting transactions in QuickBooks, to posting on social media, when I think about it, to trying to just manage the day to day operations of a patient advocacy organization, I feel like I had my work cut out for me.

[Mallory Erickson]

Oh my goodness. Yeah, that is quite the combination of challenges. And so it sounds like you kind of like hit this moment maybe as all of those things were coming together where you were like, I can't keep doing it the way I've been doing it. Like if I keep going spinning all these plates in the ways that I am, like, this isn't going to work either for me or for the organization. And then that sort of started you on a journey of shifting things both inside of you and inside of the organization. So talk to me a little bit about that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, so by the time I was about a year, year and a half in my board was like, okay, this isn't good, like we need to support her more intentionally with leadership development or whatever that looks like. So my board chair at the time started meeting with me. We're going through John Maxwell, you know, just talking about leadership at a really high level. And then he gets diagnosed with cancer and dies maybe I guess four months later. And during his kind of final time, I say, we have this like Tuesday with Maury experience. I'm meeting with him every week online. We're going through leadership stuff. And at one of our last conversations together, he tells me, he says, lauren, you're a storyteller. Like that's who you are. That's how you show up in the world. Like, just tell the damn story. Just do it. Tell it to anybody who will listen. So I know it was just a really impactful moment, but then at the same time I was like, well, how the heck do I do that when I feel like I'm so buried in all the things I'm not good at that I couldn't do the things that I really felt like I was born to do. And so, and just the overall realization that two, almost two years into this role at this point and we're not growing as an organization, we're just kind of treading water and really only getting marginally ahead because I'm the only person on the payroll, you know, we, our overhead is quite low. And so anyway, just started reaching out to additional board members. They stepped up, stepped in and said, let's make a plan. And so we called a gentleman who had been a long term time donor of our organization who was a CFRE and said, what do we do? And so he invited us to Come to a training. We came to the training. We walked away from the training, realizing how much of a gap there was between, like, being ready for a major gifts campaign and, like, where we were. Like, we needed, like, sustainable systems that weren't sitting there. We weren't even on a path where we could, like, sit down and have meaningful conversations with donors about what would create synergy with him. It was really like, what are the systems we need between where we are and what the picture that he is painting? And so that was my challenge. And our organization ended up taking a fraction. I read an article in Forbes magazine. It was kind of 2021, 2022, and it was called the Future is Fractional. And I was like, fractional. Like, I can't afford someone full time to come in and do QuickBooks, but, like, maybe I could find a contractor who's, like, servicing lots of clients. So we started with that because I was terrible at the quickbook. You know, I didn't need to be doing our P and L, like, that was somebody else need to be doing that. And so I started there, and then from there it was like, okay, well, now let's see if I can find someone to help me wrangle this social media stuff, because it's sucking too much of my time, because I'm not good at it. I mean, I can do it, but someone else, that. That's their wheelhouse. So that's exactly the model we took. And we just kept taking all these little pieces and, like, starting everyone out at 10 hours a week, like, the smallest contract I could get them to agree to, just to, like, give me some breathing room to think about fundraising in a way that's either, like, do this fundraising thing because your organization deserves it, and that's what's going to be able to drive the initiatives that you really want to do forward. But it was kind of like, I've got to either free my time up to do that or just get out of the way and let somebody else build a system that's better. And so with that, it really started snowballing into, like, getting the things that were sucking up all my time that I wasn't great at. And then learning the craft of philanthropy, getting on LinkedIn, figuring out who the voices were in the room that were worth listening to and could meet me where I am. Started listening to a ton of podcasts and just anything, reading anything I could get my hands on about fundraising. And to say that just those incremental learnings that I feel like in so many ways I'm still getting started, but like it's working. So it's fun to be on the journey where you feel like what you're doing is aligned with something that you really enjoy.

[Mallory Erickson]

Yeah, well. And you've had some pretty tremendous success. Like, I think what I was really blown away by for you was I'm trying to remember exactly the post where we got connected, but. But you had shared basically like a win or sort of a growth metric around your donor base. And then. And it was sort of in the midst of a lot of folks saying the opposite about kind of what had been happening for them. And I think I responded to you like, wait, like, how did you do this? Like, tell me more about this. And then you said that piece around sort of incremental change and just trying the next thing and being open minded to something, being different or curious about something over here. And then I feel like so often when we. And I'll let you share a little bit more about the results in a second, but I feel like so often when we are looking for big results, we think the change has to be big. Right? We're like, oh, if I want to double or if I want to 5x in size, the change needs to be as like we have to do this 180. And you sort of proved what we actually know to be true about change, which is that these 1 degree shifts, these little things over time, they add up, they snowball, they build momentum. So talk to us about all that.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. So I think when you and I were connecting, it was around Giving Tuesday. And a lot of people in the nonprofit industry are kind of like, is Giving Tuesday worth it? Has it like peaked? Are we done with it? You know, what's going on? And in my experience, I went from, I think in 2022, we did. We had kind of always combined Giving Tuesday with like our year end. And we hadn't really done a specific call out on Giving Tuesday. And my 2023 number I think was like 8, 000. The first time that I actually tried to send out some emails and like do something specific. On Giving Tuesday, we raised about $8,000. And then in 2023 it got, we got a little bit bigger. I think we were up to like 11. And then just learning like what a strong appeal looks like, learning how to do email marketing better, putting all those pieces in motion for a full scale campaign. We were able to do about 30,000 this year, which I mean, to me one of the beautiful things about Nevis outreach is if you're connected to this condition. You really care about it. So I don't have to try to constantly sell new people. It's just my core supporters show up and as they've been cultivated better and more intentionally and kept informed of the impact that their gifts are making. More intentionally. It's just been incredible to see the kind of support that has came out from, from our group and the other support that we've been able to attract as a result of that. And I just think that that's where it start. The wheel starts turning right? Like you have to put those basic tenants in motion for a period of time. It's not fast. And I think a lot of people are like, oh my gosh, I sent out 10 emails and I, you know, only did this or that. And it's really about honing that craft and perfecting it over time. And I can't to see what we do. And I mean we're already thinking about different themings and ideas for 2025 and trying to stay out in front is something that I could not possibly do when I was just the person doing all the things. And so now it's really neat to have a whole plan for the whole year kind of already on paper and starting to think about how all these different campaigns fit together to help us hit our goals.

[Lauren Isbell]

If you are a fundraising professional or nonprofit leader, you won't want to miss the 2025 donorperfect community conference. I'm excited to be your host for this free event on June 3rd and 4th. It's all about building deeper connections with your donors, your team and your mission. You'll learn how to create lasting donor relationships, boost your digital presence, and transform one time donors into lifelong champions of your cause. You'll walk away with practical strategies, fresh insights and a renewed passion for your work. Join me and Register [e-mail] donorperfect conference. That's donorperfect.com donorperfect conference. I cannot wait to see you there.

[Mallory Erickson]

Okay, so I love hearing, I love hearing this story for so many different reasons. But I'm curious. I have to believe there were moments throughout all of this where you had doubt or, or maybe didn't feel as optimistic as you do today. Like hearing you say like, I can't wait to see what we do next year. What were I like? That's like the, my deepest hope for fundraisers is that they feel that way about fundraising, that type of excitement and engagement. And I can imagine for a lot of people hearing this right now, especially sort of the moment that we're in that level of kind of like optimism and excitement might feel really far away. And so I'm just sort of curious for you, like how mentally did you, like, what was some of the self coaching that you did around that time? Or just knowing that it's not linear. Once we start to change our mindset, it doesn't mean that we always feel positive about things. And I always want to kind of dispel that belief.

[Unknown Speaker]

I will say that I'm an eternal optimist, optimistic to a fall enneagram7 the whole way. Like it's going to be better tomorrow, it's fine. However, I will say that there have been plenty of times where the struggle is real, you know what I mean? And especially I think about big decisions where at the end of 2022, so when we got back from that CFR meeting where we were kind of having a shift in a different saw what was possible maybe on down the road. One of the things they told us is you have a 1999 clip art logo. Like your website is heavy and hard and awful. And so you should really think about what all that looks like. And so I went to the board and said, you know, I think we need to spend some money on a rebrand or refresh a new website. And for a small nonprofit, like that's a big investment to say, okay, I'm going to spend 15 or 20 thousand dollars on some people might not say matters at all. And so I mean, I cried like the whole week of that board meeting. I was so nervous and I just was like, I don't know if this is the right decision because, you know, I mean, I treat this cause is so close to me. Like I treat every dollar like it's my own. Like I'm so cognizant of the mom, dads and grandmas and grandpas that put their hard earned money in our, at our, for our disposal. And I want to just never take that for granted for a second. And sorry I didn't say to get emotional, but it's just like a big ask. Like that was a lot of pressure for me and of course the board, you know, gave it some thought and pushed back a little bit. We had to revisit, you know, do some different things. But when the time was right, the time was right and we did move forward with that and I'm so grateful that we did. And I felt like it brought much needed new energy and different things. And I'm not saying that the solution to all your fundraising problems is a new logo. Like, that's certainly not it. But at the same time, like, I think that having a brand that people can see, and I remember listening to a podcast and hearing someone say, you want it to have the McDonald's effect. You want it to show up on someone's email or in their mailbox and like, they know that's something from you. And we just didn't really have that before. And so I don't know, it's been really fun to lean into that more creative, more fun brand identity that we have today. But that was a big conversation that I was just so nervous about. I can think of several goals that I set in 2023 that like, I just didn't know enough. I was saying, oh, I can mail out an appeal and I'm going to get $10,000. And then I would mail out the appeal and I would get $4,000 or whatever. And so there was just lots of trial and error about getting it right. I will say went to the library and just read everything I could read and have really tried to be a student of other people who have done this. And I think that's a big thing too. Like, no one is born knowing how to do all these things related to fundraising. And it even still, like, my development team is me and Ed, who's involved in a lot of different things across the organization. And one ten hour a week development coordinator and then, you know, a fractional marcom support. She's pretty close to full time now, but I mean, but she does all of our social media, does blogs and all the, you know, website, all the things. So this still tiny team is churning out a lot of information and I don't know, it's just, it's been interesting to watch the evolution and now I'm like, we put out an appeal and it's so beautiful and I just love, you know, different elements that you see that we've been able to incorporate and things. And it's just really cool to say, oh man. To look back at the ones from, you know, two or three years ago, I'm like, no wonder that was only raising $4,000. But when you know better, you do.

[Mallory Erickson]

Better, you know, oh my goodness. I had a donor the other. Well, she's a very good friend of mine now and. But she was the largest donor at one of the last organizations that I ran and we became friends through like, you know, kind of doing community work together. And then she ultimately became a donor and she found she must have been cleaning out her office she found, like, old printout flyers of, like, my organization that I had given her some folder. I was like, oh, my God, these should be burned. But yeah, one of the things I appreciate about everything that you said is, like, that the relationship between finding the people that you felt like you needed to. To learn from. Right. Like, really doing that learning, but also being prepared to test and iterate. I feel like sometimes when we're too, like, it's that combination that I think is really special because I do think it's great to learn, like, best practices and to learn from people in this space. And it always feels so hard, like, especially sitting on the other side sometimes of being like, well, this answer that I'm giving right now is so different for every type of organization based on capacity, skill set, who your donors are, and it's never one size fits all. And so I think for, like, one of the takeaways I hope folks take from this is like, that. Yes. Like, find your people, find the voices, find the knowledge that are really going to help you think differently and try different things and then also still be ready that something that worked really well for somebody else might not work for you. And that's how you're going to learn and you're going to iterate and you're going to grow.

[Unknown Speaker]

Absolutely. And I can think of one of the biggest challenges with that was when I first learned was learning about direct response appeals. And I was like, okay, so I'm supposed to, like, give them indica, like, dynamic paragraphs. And like, all this stuff felt, like, so hard. I was like, how do I even do that? Or response cards that are individualized to each person. Like, and I know I'm sending out a small number compared to a lot of shops. Like, I mean, my 2000 feels huge to me, and that's a drop in the bucket for some people. But I was like, how do you even do that? Like, what is mechanically that look like it? Like, everyone was telling you to do it, but no one said, okay, you have to go to Excel and you have to do this and you have to do that. So it took getting in a group of people regularly. I joined Rachel Muir's Mastermind fundraising elite coaching. So I started doing that, and in that setting, I could watch people. Like, they would send videos of, like, okay, here's how I, like, went to Excel and downloaded my reports. And once it's here, you can do this. To put merge. I learned the other day how to put Merge fields in Canva. I didn't know that was A thing you could do in Canva, but you can. And so I'm still, you know, all the time learning, but it took being in a group setting like that where I could learn the mechanics and not just, okay, like, the best direct response person in the world says, make this as personalized as you can, but then, like, how do you do that? Exactly. So I think that there's space for all different types of learning and just being open to, like, you're not going to learn everything on a podcast or a book or whatever. Sometimes you're going to have to get shoulder with other people who are doing the work. And that kind of goes back to your other point about just having. In those low points when you have to talk yourself out of not quitting, then, I mean, you have to have somebody. You could pick up the phone. I have a girlfriend that works in the development office at a medical school not far from here, and I would pick the phone regularly and be like, okay, talk me off a ledge. You know what I mean? And that's just as important as being willing to sit down on your lunch break. And instead of really taking a lunch break, like, try to learn something on a podcast on your lunch break, you know, or whatever. So I don't know. I think that there's opportunity and there's so much information out there these days, and I feel like half the battle to me now is not getting overwhelmed by, like, oh, all the things I'm. I'm not doing yet, you know?

[Mallory Erickson]

Yes, well, that triage of, like, do I really need to do this? Because it's solving a problem that I'm currently experiencing and want to address versus am I wanting to do this because everybody on LinkedIn is telling me I should be doing this. And so now I'm doubting that I'm a good fundraiser unless I do this thing right. Like, I think that's why it's so important to really be like, problem sort of centric as you're figuring out fundraising strategies, that they're really rooted in the challenge that you're experiencing and the capacity that you have to address that challenge and all of those things. Yeah, I totally appreciate that. Okay. Can I ask you one more question?

[Unknown Speaker]

Sure.

[Mallory Erickson]

I think it's so meaningful to me that you got a little bit choked up when you were talking about the pressure of that moment. And I cry on this podcast all the time and pretty much everywhere that I am publicly. But what I'm always thinking about is just like the heaviness of the pressure that's on fundraisers and nonprofit leaders and like the interconnection of that pressure, right? The pressure to steward funds that honor the folks who give, the pressure to support the beneficiaries and the folks who need our services and the pressure to keep all of our staff employed and paid and all of those things. And just like the weight of all of that is like so much and I think it just makes such perfect sense that it creates like tenderness in us, right where it feels really emotional because it's really stressful. And I guess I'm curious, like, if there has been anything else, any sort of tools that you've used or strategies that you've had. Because that pressure can also be really paralyzing. And maybe it's a mix of your like eternal optimism. But to me there's like something here around how you haven't let it crush you, even though it sounds like it's really big, but how you let it be there and not hold you back from being able to take action or move forward.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, I think a big piece for me personally and I know this isn't going to translate universally, but because I am so connected to the cause and most, a lot of our fractional support that we've hired over the last couple of years are also connected, it's almost amplified because in maybe not even a great way because we care about the cause so much too. You know what I mean? So there's this. Whenever I was working at other nonprofit jobs, not that I didn't care about what was happening and how the organization showed up and was perceived and hit our goal, you know, achieved our goals or whatever. It's a little bit different when the organization exists to support people like you through a journey. And it's a double sided coin always because on one hand that creates this like passion fact fuel as you know, passion fuel. I love that term. But like you're super passionate about it. So it just like kind of sometimes gives you rocket fuel, but then you're super passionate about it. So sometimes it can really zap you towards burnout. And I think honestly when I think about the things that have centered me time and time again, it's been my board, which I feel like is 90% of the board comments in the nonprofit sector are negative. But I will put mine against anyone out there. They are such an incredibly encouraging. In the trenches with you every step of the way out. Shared about my board chair that passed away, the incoming chair after him, there were days where she probably should have fired me because I did not know what I was doing and I was still working through that iterative process, but she stuck with me and it was like her part time job mid pandemic to like help me figure this out. And she did. And then the leadership behind her have continued to just say, okay, Lauren, like, we're with you. We see where you're going and we're behind you with strategy, we're behind you with support, and we're behind you with whatever you need to take this organization on the path that we've charted for it. And I think that that's really powerful too is having that support system in the board. And I just feel like it can't be understated how important that is. But I know I've lived to tell the tale that I know that that's not how it is in probably most nonprofit. So I really do think even if that support can't come from your board, find it from somewhere. And I don't care if it's a group of girlfriends that you meet for coffee every Tuesday or whatever, like that can be just as impactful. But you have to have a place to land and it has to be a soft place because there are going to be days where it's hard and you're, you're going to have to have somebody that you've got to call and say, you know, oh, this did not go well today. Let me tell you about the less I learned.

[Mallory Erickson]

Yeah, I so appreciate that. And the other thing I sort of want to highlight for folks that I'm hearing in here is that Lynn Twist has this great quote. What you appreciate, appreciate. And I know that boards can be a real challenge. And you're right, we mostly hear a lot of really negative comments about it. And my guess is you've still had plenty of challenges with your board, it sounds like even in the logo conversation. Right. But I think your appreciation for them is probably growing. The parts of the board that are working and that that's also in those small moments and positive reinforcement and all of those things, building the board the way that you want it to be and helping them show up the way that you want them to be. Okay, I know that we're over in time. I'm so grateful for this conversation. Where can folks go to connect with you, learn more about your organization? Thank you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Sure. My organization URL is nevis.org n e v u s.org, nevis, like your knee. And then also you can find me on LinkedIn as well.

[Mallory Erickson]

Amazing. Thank you so much for joining me today.

[Unknown Speaker]

No problem. Happy to do it.

[Lauren Isbell]

I hope today's episode inspired or challenged you to think differently. For additional takeaways, tips, show notes, and more about our amazing guest and sponsors, head on over to Malloryerickson.com podcast and if you didn't know, hosting this podcast isn't the only thing I do every day. I coach, guide and help fundraisers and leaders just like you inside of my program, the Power Partners Formula Collective. Inside the program, I share my methods, tools and experiences that have helped me fundraise millions of dollars and feel good about myself in the process. To learn more about how I can help you, visit MalloryErickson.com PowerPartners Last but not least, if you enjoyed this episode, I'd love to encourage you to share it with a friend you know would benefit or leave a review. I'm so grateful for all of you and the good, hard work you're doing to make our world a better place. I can't wait to see you in the next episode. Nonprofit leaders, you know the challenge. Raising more funds, proving your impact, and telling your story in a way that moves donors. Liminal gets it. With 50 plus years of nonprofit experience, they help organizations elevate their brand, clarify messaging and inspire action. Ready to stand out. Visit meetliminal.com today.