The Fortify Foundation Podcast

Hosted by Fortify Foundation

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Latest episode

Jul 2026

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EN-US

About the show

The Fortify Foundation Podcast welcomes you to meaningful, in-depth conversations on topics related to Christian education, planned giving, fundraising, and more. We are building a community of people passionate about the future of Christian education. If you are an administrator, principal, pastor, teacher, support staff, parent, grandparent, or friend who loves or has been impacted by Christian education, this podcast is for you. Join us as we strive to sustain Christian schools for generations to come.

Listen to episodes

33 recent

August 21, 20261 hr 30 min

What Every Head of School Wishes They Could Say to Their School Board

What if Heads of School could speak completely candidly to their boards? In this episode, we explore the often unspoken realities of the Head / Board relationship and the simple shifts that can make those relationships more effective. We unpack the tension due to misunderstandings around governance vs. management, the complexity behind board decisions and their trickle down impact, and why public support from both roles is necessary to a healthy school culture. The Big Question: What would change in your school if the Board and Head of School moved from a relationship of supervision and second-guessing to one of genuine trust and fulfillment of their proper roles? Would you like to read more? You can access the original article at: https://www.fortifyfoundation.com/2026/07/28/what-every-head-of-school-wishes-they-could-say-to-their-board/

July 31, 202659 min

Building a Case for Support: What can it do for your School?

If your school has ever struggled to explain its impact, or if your fundraising feels more focused on raising money than advancing a mission, this episode will help you discover some potential pitfalls and ways to help change that. As with endowments, higher education has used Case for Support documents for decades. K-12 schools, however, have somehow missed out. We discuss some key reasons why that should change. What is it? Why do we need one? What kind of impact will it have? Join us as we discuss how a well-crafted Case for Support can bring clarity to your mission, alignment with your team, strengthen fundraising efforts, and help your constituents move from pockets to partners. Whether you're a Head of School, board member, advancement professional, or school leader, this conversation will provide practical insights for building stronger donor relationships and communicating a vision that inspires generosity. If you would like to read the original article, you can find it at: https://www.fortifyfoundation.com/2026/05/21/building-a-case-for-support/

June 12, 20261 hr 9 min

Map, Compass, and Calling - An Extensive Conversation on Strategic Planning

Dr. Brian Simmons joins us in today's podcast to share what he's learned over his 40+ years of experience in Christian education. How important is strategic planning? He's come to the conclusion that "a board cannot fulfill its primary responsibilities and a head of school cannot effectively lead the day-to-day operations of a school without a strategic plan!" Why is that? What difference does it really make? This episode takes a deep dive into answering these questions along with so many more! Every administrator and board member could glean some incredible wisdom into effectively fulfilling their roles and leading their schools more effectively! As promised, here are the... Book / Chart Recommendations: Dr. Simmons' Flow Chart / Strategic Planning Model: https://www.fortifyfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Strategic-planning-model.pdf "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey (Urgent / Important Matrix) "Master Planning: The Complete Guide for Building a Strategic Plan for Your Business, Church, or Organization" by Bobb Biehl Bobb Biehl's Strategic Planning Arrow Sheet: https://tools.bobbbiehl.com/products/strategic-planning-arrow-24x36-planning-sheet "The 4 Disciplines of Execution" by McChesney, Covey, & Huling "SMART" Goals chart by George Duran "Rethinking Sustainability" by Alan Sue

March 17, 202649 min

Getting Back to the Mission! Building an Authentic & Impactful Christian School

If someone were to ask you, what is the framework by which your school operates? What would you say? God has given Christian educators an absolutely incredible mission, but a lot of times the day to day challenges keep us from more fully accomplishing it. How can we change that? In this episode, Todd Clingman shares his framework through the 5 P's and how keeping them in the right order can transform schools into thriving, Christ-centered communities. Regardless of your role, this conversation offers some incredible insights and a renewed call to ensure you are accomplishing your mission in impacting students for eternity.

February 12, 202653 min

Building an Effective Fundraising Strategy

In this episode, we discuss the key elements to an effective fundraising strategy. Sometimes it can be the simple things that often get overlooked. What is the reason for fundraising and what kind of impact is it really having? Are we effectively utilizing our team and keeping cohesion so we don’t miss out on donor connections? What does our communication plan look like? Do we even have one? We provide a few key nuggets to help you and your team make the most of the opportunities God has given you. This conversation continues the momentum from Ruston Pierce’s recent Fortify Insights article on creating an effective fundraising plan. 🗞️ Read the article: https://www.fortifyfoundation.com/2026/02/12/7-steps-to-creating-an-effective-fundraising-plan/

December 10, 20251 hr 11 min

Can Events Still Help Our School?

What type of events has your school been running and are you being as effective as you can be with them? We explore several opportunities that your school could be implementing and evaluating to maximize impact. Often, we do great at the planning pre-event and execute well at the event. What does the post-product look like? Publish the numbers and move on to the next? You might be missing some great opportunities to expand your mission through what you already have on the calendar! Subscribe to our Digital Magazine below! https://mailchi.mp/fortifyfoundation/fortify-email

November 4, 20251 hr 11 min

Setting and Evaluating Tuition Rates in Christian Schools

We all know the importance tuition has on our overall budgets. But when is the last time you truly evaluated your school's tuition rates? Was the conversation geared towards increasing tuition or was there ever a consideration of decreasing the rates? The only way we could ever consider a decrease is if our overall budget is more than satisfied, right? Randy Sadler and Bob Arritt of Padeia Academy share some incredible and transparent insights of their personal discoveries when they stepped back and assessed some of their financial metrics in tuition setting. This is a great conversation to help all schools take a more detailed look at their current rates and the impact it might be having on their bottom line.

October 20, 202557 min

How to Turn a Tax Obligation into a Kingdom Opportunity w/ Guest Brad Blackburn

IRA's, RMD's, & QCD's! What do these acronyms mean and how can they provide a kingdom opportunity for both your donors and your school? Brad Blackburn, the founder of Dyadic Financial Management, joins us in this episode and shares some great insights that every school should consider to provide benefits back to their donors. Understanding a little about RMD's & QCD's can provide some great opportunities to further your mission and be a hero to your constituents!

August 25, 20251 hr 4 min

Challenges Christian School Boards will Face in the Next 5 Years

If a person had said to your school board, "We are going to spend a year in our homes and all of your students are going to do virtual school", your board would have probably considered having that person committed. However, we all did it, and no one saw it coming. Very few had a strategy to deal with it, and the role of the board in strategy became very visible and needed. School boards play a crucial role in the strategic operations of Christian education, However, the next 5 years are expected to bring a new set of challenges as educational landscapes continue to evolve. From adapting to career needs to managing political pressure, to adapting to possible changes in school choice, school boards will need to navigate complex issues to ensure students receive the best education possible! This episode shares some great food for thought on current & upcoming issues that every school needs to prepare for.

August 8, 202551 min

Perspective from a Philanthropist - What is Your Eternal Rate of Return?

In this episode, we have a conversation with philanthropist Wade McGuinn of McGuinn Homes. When learning about fundraising / development, we often focus on methods from within fundraising groups. But how often do we cross over the table and listen for the sake of learning from the givers themselves? Wade McGuinn provides some incredible insights of things we should consider when sharing our mission and building fellow missional champions.