The Influential Nonprofit

Hosted by Maryanne Dersch

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271

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Oct 2026

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About the show

You want your nonprofit to make the biggest impact possible on those you serve and to do that you need a community of support. Each week, join Maryanne Dersch, nonprofit revolutionary, as she interviews nonprofit leaders who are growing their influence to raise more money and do more good. If you want to fundraise with ease, build better relationships with board and staff, or just need a shot of fresh ideas and inspiration, this show is for you.

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November 5, 202637 min

Melanie Buttarazzi: Fostering Trust

Dance can offer young people a way to express what words can’t—and discover strengths they didn’t know they had. This episode explores how trust, authentic connection, and movement can help youth build confidence and imagine new possibilities. Key Takeaways: Movement can give people a way to express experiences they may not yet have words for. Trust starts with genuine connection, empathy, and showing up consistently. You can inspire people, but you can’t make them choose a particular path. Give relationships room to develop on the other person’s timeline. Before starting a nonprofit, consider whether partnering with an existing organization could help you do the work without taking on the full administrative burden. “Sometimes when words just aren't there, knowing that these young people go through, you know, various amounts of trauma and different life challenges and situations, dance could be that vehicle for them to express what words they can't say.” “When we dance, it's a mind-body experience together. You know, you get to get out of your head, out of your thinking brain, and just into your mind-body connection. That’s a really beautiful experience because it's meditative.” “You can never really make people do something. You can, I feel like, you can only show them and inspire them and let them come to it.” - Melanie Buttarazzi Melanie Buttarazzi is a Toronto native, calling Los Angeles her home for a decade. As a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance, her career as a dancer has led her to work with various artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell, Pitbull, and Ne-Yo. With a BFA in Dance and Performing Arts from York University, she has taught and adjudicated dancers across Canada and the US. Her choreography has been seen in showcases and concerts across North America on stages for TEDx and Blue Shield of California. Her dynamic career achievements include commercials and productions for Sony, Budweiser, Ford, Honda, Hulu, and fashion brands like Christian Louboutin. She has worked on stage and on set in television and film for 15 years. Melanie’s passion for dancing has been the driving force for her entire life. This passion has led her to share the gift of dance by starting a nonprofit organization for youth in underserved communities called Fostering Dreams Project. The organization partners with various nonprofits and school districts to bring a comprehensive curriculum designed to enrich the lives of foster youth academically and socially. Melanie is determined through dance to continue providing youth with support systems and community to help them see that they belong to something bigger than their circumstances. Reach out to Melanie Buttarazzi at: Website: https://www.fosteringdreamsproject.org/ Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

October 29, 202645 min

Seven Touches Myth: What if We Got It Wrong?

What if the “seven-touch rule” isn’t a proven formula, but a way to feel more in control of an uncertain process? This episode explores how fundraisers can move from counting contacts to building genuine donor relationships—and honor each donor’s agency along the way. Key Takeaways: Repeated exposure can build familiarity, but it doesn’t establish a universal number of contacts needed to prompt action. A follow-up should serve the donor or the relationship—not just relieve the fundraiser’s discomfort with uncertainty. Fundraisers are responsible for clear communication and meaningful invitations; donors are responsible for their own decisions. A donor’s silence or “no” is information, not proof that the fundraiser has failed. Measure relationship progress through engagement and meaningful connection, not simply the number of outreach attempts. “Just because familiarity can increase through repetition doesn't mean seven contacts will produce a decision or action, or that seven contacts are necessary to create some kind of action.” “Influence is about creating the conditions in which someone can make a meaningful choice. Control is about trying to produce the choice I want.” “A meaningful yes requires the freedom to say no.” - Maryanne Dersch Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

October 22, 202638 min

Control, Avoidance or Trust?

When a donor goes quiet, should you follow up—or let go? This episode explores how to tell the difference between trust, control, and avoidance, and how to act without trying to control someone else’s choice. Key Takeaways: The same action or inaction can come from trust, control, or avoidance; examine what’s driving it. Follow up to offer useful information or an invitation, not just to relieve your own uncertainty. Acceptance means recognizing reality and responding; avoidance means trying not to experience something uncomfortable. Do your part, then respect where your agency ends and another person’s begins. Fundraising is about making a genuine “yes” possible, not pressuring someone into giving. “Control tries to escape uncertainty by doing more. Avoidance tries to escape uncertainty by doing less.” “Trust is the ability to stay present without certainty.” “You can want something deeply without needing to control it, and you can care about a relationship without chasing it.” - Maryanne Dersch Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

October 15, 202634 min

Sharri McIntyre: Avoiding Burnout

Burnout isn’t a badge of effective leadership—and rest doesn’t have to mean stepping away for weeks. This conversation explores practical ways to delegate, challenge assumptions, and help teams navigate change with greater care. Key Takeaways: Burnout can grow when leaders assume they must do everything themselves or always be available. Rest can be built into everyday routines through small, restorative actions. Delegation works better when people receive clear instruction, a demonstration, practice, and feedback. Teams can reach the same goal in different ways; allow room for varied approaches. Notice burnout signs early and seek support from someone you trust. “Burnout is happening because we aren't putting the proper stopgaps in place, and it's usually because of mindset.” “Acknowledge where you are, and acknowledge you're not alone, and find someone that you trust that you can talk to, because every strategy or approach to navigating it could differ, so find someone you trust.” “If I can help you create an environment where growth feels grounded, and leadership feels human, I think we've accomplished the great goal.” - Sharri McIntyre Sharri McIntyre is the Founder and Principal of The McIntyre Collective, where she serves as an executive coach, leadership consultant, and strategic advisor to high-growth founders, executives, and organizations. Drawing on extensive experience in talent development, organizational culture, and business strategy, she specializes in guiding leaders through complex scaling challenges, team alignment, and performance optimization. Through tailored coaching and interactive advisory programs, Sharri empowers executives to refine their leadership vision, foster high-performing workplace cultures, and drive sustainable organizational impact. Reach out to Sharri McIntyre at: Website: https://themcintyrecollective.com/home LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharri-mcintyre/ Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

October 8, 202624 min

What Makes Us Say Yes?

Why do people say yes or pull away even when the choice seems logical? Explore how trust, safety, autonomy, and the freedom to say no shape meaningful decisions. Key Takeaways: Decisions are shaped by trust, safety, desire, fear, and past experience—not logic alone. Uncertainty can feel like danger, but discomfort does not always mean something is unsafe. Clear agreements make expectations mutual; boundaries clarify what you are and are not available for. A meaningful yes requires the genuine freedom to say no. Your responsibility is to create the conditions for a choice—not to control someone else’s decision. “Trust, safety, desire, belonging, fear, uncertainty, our past experiences, our nervous system-all of these things contribute to saying a yes or saying a no.” “A meaningful yes requires the ability to say no.” “Your job, remember, isn't to force the yes. Your job is to create the conditions where the right people can genuinely choose it.” - Maryanne Dersch Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

October 1, 202624 min

Allison Wyatt: Building Your Personal Board

Running a nonprofit can be lonely, and your board of directors may never think about your growth as a leader. In this episode, Allison Wyatt explains how to build a personal "circle of champions," so you always have someone to call when things get hard. Key Takeaways: Your board of directors supports the organization, not you. Your growth as a leader is up to you. Each seat on a personal board fills a different gap. A sponsor opens doors, a coach keeps you accountable, a mentor saves you from trial and error, and a feedback giver tells you the truth. Good leaders go first. When you model growth and talk openly about your mistakes, it's safer for your team to try new things. Feedback should work like a pitching coach: small corrections as you go, not a surprise at the end of the season. Fill the seats before you need them. Being clear about who you call for what means no one friend gets asked for everything. “You need somebody you can trust who's willing to be really honest with you and not just affirm you.” “That's the thing we see in a lot of organizations is that people are really scared to try new things because failure is not safe.” “We are going to make some mistakes. We are going to learn things. We are going to use that data to do better the next time.” - Allison Wyatt Allison Wyatt is the Founder and CEO of Edgility Talent Partners, where she leads the delivery of equity-focused talent management, executive coaching, and compensation strategy for nonprofit and social sector organizations. A former Vice President of Human Capital Consulting Services at Koya Leadership Partners and Vice President of Human Assets at Education Pioneers, she brings deep expertise in building scalable HR practices, performance management, and pay equity frameworks. Allison holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a BA in East Asian Studies from Wesleyan University. Reach out to Allison Wyatt at: Website: https://www.edgilitytalent.com/team/allison-wyatt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonwyatt/ Toolkits: https://www.edgilitytalent.com/building-your-personal-board Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

September 24, 202617 min

Stop Looking for New Donors, Activate the Ones You Have

At 60, Maryanne discovered her hair had been naturally wavy all along — she'd just never created the conditions for it to show. In this solo episode, she turns that surprise into a fundraising lesson: your next donor, partner, and big idea are probably already in your orbit, waiting to be activated. Key Takeaways: Capacity is usually present; conditions are what's missing. "I need more" often means you haven't fully seen or used what you already have. Most people give because they were asked — the connection-to-action gap is usually a missing invitation, not a missing audience. Your email list and existing relationships outperform purchased lists and cold social media. One simple question activates a network: Who do you know that needs this? Certainty and control are myths; chasing them manufactures frustration, while experimentation makes room for something new. “Sometimes we are asked to look outside of ourselves for tools and solutions that may already be in us.” “There are people who want to act; they just haven't been asked.” “Influence isn't about forcing movement; it's about creating the conditions in which movement becomes possible.” - Maryanne Dersch Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

September 17, 202635 min

Jeanine Becker: Aligning Personal Growth with Strategy

By gathering the right people around a bold vision instead of trying to carry everything alone, nonprofit leaders can completely transform their strategy. In this episode, you’ll hear how shifting paradigms, redesigning meetings, and embracing generative conflict unlock new levels of impact, funding, and sustainability. Key Takeaways: The way leaders see their role and their ecosystem determines which strategies they even recognize as possible. Vision doesn’t have to mean more weight for one person; it can become lighter when leaders intentionally gather others around the work. Treating meetings as spaces for inquiry—not just report-outs—creates more engagement, better problem-solving, and stronger culture. Generative conflict requires both attentiveness to others’ needs and the courage to name your own, so solutions can move beyond win/lose thinking. Sustainable impact on the outside depends on modeling sustainability, participation, and alignment inside the organization. “We need to be generative, not just kind.” “Board members are there because they want to serve, they want to contribute, they don't just want the information dump.” “Am I here to carry this whole thing on my back, or am I here to actually gather the team needed internally and externally?” - Jeanine Becker Jeanine Becker works where personal growth meets strategy. She partners with founders, funders, and executives responsible for moving millions — in grants, revenue, policy, and people — in the shift from carrying to gathering. She taught negotiation and collaboration at Stanford for a decade and founded On Purpose Together. Reach out to Jeanine Becker at: Website: https://www.onpurposetogether.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckerjeanine/ More Information: https://www.onpurposetogether.com/jeanine-becker-lib Book your Discovery Call here: https://www.onpurposetogether.com/call Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

September 10, 202626 min

The Surprising Power of Doing Nothing

Tired of chasing donors and over-following up? Learn how stepping back, releasing control, and trusting the “edge of your agency” can transform your donor relationships. Key Takeaways: Obsessing over the perfect number of follow-ups misses the real issue: you cannot control another person’s timing, readiness, or decisions. Your responsibility is to communicate clearly, create safety, and make the next step obvious, not to force movement or manufacture urgency. The moment you cross from honoring someone’s agency into trying to control their response, you’ve shifted from influence into pressure and risk pushing them away. Acceptance means recognizing there is nothing more for you to do, not that there is nothing you can do; that distinction turns helplessness into freedom. Leaving space, doing nothing after you’ve fulfilled your role is part of true influence, because it allows the other person to exercise their own sovereignty. "When you cross that boundary, when you start to try to affect their agency, that's called pressure, and that's where your influence ends, and pressure begins." "The more you try to make it happen, the less it's going to happen." "Sometimes action isn't strategy; sometimes the action is self-soothing, and it may relieve your discomfort in the moment, because you don't have to sit in uncertainty, you don't have to feel rejected, and you don't have to acknowledge that you might not get the outcome that you want." - Maryanne Dersch Ask for and receive all you want, need, and deserve without feeling rejected, ineffective, or pushy. Learn to manage your mindset, lead yourself and others more effectively, and have the meaningful conversations that drive your most important work. Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

September 3, 202625 min

Why Donors Pull Back

Scarcity-driven fundraising tactics-chasing, over-following up, pushing too soon-might be quietly sabotaging your donor relationships. In this episode, Maryanne Dersch shows you how to shift from pressure to flow. Key Takeaways: Scarcity in fundraising often begins as a nervous system response to uncertainty—like being behind goal or a donor going quiet—and can drive behaviors such as chasing, over-following up, and pitching too soon, which donors experience as pressure. Maryanne’s Donor Flow Framework (Awareness → Interest → Connection → Action) emphasizes moving people at their natural pace; scarcity wants to “skip ahead” to the ask, while flow means meeting donors exactly where they are and offering the next natural invitation. Shifting from pushing to curiosity, pitching to connecting, and chasing to inviting creates conditions where donors lean in rather than pull back, because they feel understood, sovereign, and not treated like ATMs. Sustainable fundraising grows from confidence, connection, and influence—trusting the value of your work, understanding what matters to donors, and creating conditions for movement—supported by intentional mindset practices like mantras about time and money that keep you out of scarcity loops. "Not responding is a response." "Scarcity tries to manufacture movement. Influence creates the conditions for movement, and that is my whole life's work in that sentence: creating conditions for movement." "Sustainable fundraising doesn't come from pushing harder. It comes from creating the conditions in which donors naturally want to move closer." - Maryanne Dersch Reference: Scarcity Donor Flow - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F1Q-Lbp1BQ5bklAsNqAf92zScepjBBOF/view?usp=sharing Ask for and receive all you want, need, and deserve without feeling rejected, ineffective, or pushy. Learn to manage your mindset, lead yourself and others more effectively, and have the meaningful conversations that drive your most important work. Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence 1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward. 2. Team Coaching + Training I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together. 3. Board Retreats + Trainings Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results. Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect Book Maryanne to speak at your conference: https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker