We love introducing you to meaningful conversations and powerful ideas, and today, we're thrilled to bring you something a little different — a bonus episode from our friends at the Mission Forward podcast. If you haven’t tuned in yet, Mission Forward is all about the people and stories driving social change, and we think you’ll find a lot to love.

In this special episode, host Carrie Fox sits down with Leonard Burton to explore his powerful journey from a Detroit stage play to national leadership in justice, tracing the mentors, moments, and moral clarity that shaped his vision for a more equitable future. It’s a conversation packed with insight, strategy, and heart — just the kind of content we know you value. So settle in and enjoy this special episode of Mission Forward.

Why are urban and rural America so at odds?

Author Barbara Kingsolver has answers as she joins the second episode of our sister podcast from the Chronicle of Philanthropy: The Commons in Conversation.

The Pulitzer Prize winner frequently writes and talks about the origins of — and cure for — what she calls "urban-rural antipathy." Her most recent novel, Demon Copperhead, aims to dismantle stereotypes of her native Appalachia that she says infect politics and contribute to a mutual loathing between urban and rural Americans.

Kingsolver talks with Chronicle of Philanthropy deputy opinion editor Nandita Raghuram about her writing and philanthropy's role in rural parts of the country. She also shares a bit about Higher Ground, a home she and her husband established for women recovering from addiction.

Visit The Commons, a Chronicle special project exploring how Americans can come together, strengthen communities, and repair our torn social fabric. And sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Watch this interview on the Chronicle's YouTube channel.

Go Deeper

• Read an excerpt from Demon Copperhead.
• Read a New York Times story about the home that Kingsolver and her husband established for women recovering from addiction.
• Listen to a 2023 interview with Kingsolver about Demon Copperhead as "the great Appalachian novel."

We're excited to introduce you to the Chronicle of Philanthropy's latest podcast, The Commons in Conversation — a new show that explores how nonprofits and philanthropy can bring Americans together and strengthen fractured communities.

The Commons in Conversation uncovers solutions in interviews with advocates, leaders, and thinkers, including philanthropist Reid Hoffman, author Barbara Kingsolver, and democracy scholar and nonprofit leader Danielle Allen. Join Chronicle editors and writers as we bridge divides across lines of politics, race, class, gender, and more.

The first season kicks off with an urgent question: How can we reverse the trend of declining trust in institutions? Philanthropist and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is looking for answers with a $10 million open call for organizations working to build faith in government, the media, public health, universities, and more.

In this episode, Hoffman joins Chronicle editor-in-chief Andrew Simon and Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, to talk about Hoffman's competition and how philanthropy can help restore trust.

Make sure to subscribe to The Commons in Conversation in your podcast app so you don't miss an episode.

As federal spending cuts, government policy shifts, and economic turbulence roil the nonprofit world, nearly 90 percent of leaders are worried they’re burning out, according to a new study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

To help leaders figure out how to avoid exhausting themselves and their staffs, we turned to Sean Goode, an executive coach, to tackle this topic for our final episode of the first season of Nonprofits Now: Leading Today.

Goode led Choose 180, a Seattle nonprofit that works to keep marginalized youth out of the criminal-justice system, and then took a senior role at the Seattle Foundation before he decided to focus full-time on helping mission-driven executives lead better. His experiences have led him to challenge many conventional approaches to nonprofit leadership.

Among Goode's insights:

• Curiosity is an essential trait for any leader.
• Recognize the toll it takes when you only focus on what’s new and what’s next.
• Make fundraising about community engagement, not transactions.
• Being a good CEO is a lot like being a good parent.

Connect with Sean on LinkedIn. And watch a video recording of this interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw_UQNKAji4

For more advice on preventing burnout, check out these articles from the Chronicle:

• (Tool Kit) "How to Prevent Employee Burnout” by Chronicle Staff
• “Making Big Changes? Survey Finds Leadership and Staffing Are Keys to Success” by Jim Rendon
• (Opinion) “Sabbaticals and the Case for More Rest for Leaders of Color” by Cora Daniels
• (Opinion) “Could Term Limits for Nonprofit Leaders Ease the Burnout Crisis?” by Chitra Aiyar
• “Burnout Plagues Nonprofits, With Bad Effects for Mission. Sabbaticals May Help.” by Emily Haynes
• “How Leaders Can Help Fundraisers Avoid Burnout” by Emily Haynes
• “How Fundraisers Can Get Off the Road to Exhaustion and Burnout” by Emily Haynes
• (Training) “Foster a Culture of Well-Being” by Chronicle Staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to Chronicle at philanthropy.com/subscribe.

As leaders at every nonprofit — no matter the size or cause — grapple with challenges to their missions and finances, it’s especially important to tap into the wisdom of executives who have helped their organizations weather previous threats.

Barron Segar is one of those leaders. He took over as head of World Food Program USA just a few months before Covid ripped across the globe.

Before that, he worked as executive vice president and chief development officer at Unicef USA, and he is a founding executive board member of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, serving more than 30 years on the National Board of Directors.

Segar walked host Stacy Palmer through the ways he is persevering through current leadership challenges. He discussed how he is talking to his staff and leaders about preparing contingency plans in case funding gets tight; how he decided to call staff back to the office a few days a week and explained his rationale; and why he put into the budget money for each staff member to take advantage of professional development.

Among his advice for leaders:

• Candor with staff is essential, especially in anxious times.
• Always ask about the staff’s capacity to handle a new project.
• Changing course is okay.
• Ask donors what the organization is doing right and where it needs to improve.

Connect with Segar on LinkedIn.

Watch a video of this interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/StKzFQR4ob4

For more advice on leadership, check out these articles from the Chronicle:

• “A Really Tough Job: Nonprofit CEOs Work to Make Their Roles More Manageable” by Ben Gose
• “Me and My Shadow: A Peer Learning Model Helps Leaders Grow” by Ben Berger and Shuki Taylor
• “How to Retain Skittish Donors Amid the Economic Turbulence” by Rasheeda Childress
• “Tips to Maintain Your Well-Being Amid Tariffs, Layoffs, and Recession Talk” by Rasheeda Childress
• “How to Find Fundraising Mentors — and Best Learn From Them” by Rasheeda Childress
• “Show How Your Nonprofit Is Making a Difference: 10 Dos and Don’ts” by Lisa Schohl
• “(Video) Two CEOs Share Insights on Leading in Challenging Times” by Chronicle Staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Todayis hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at theChronicle of Philanthropyand from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to the&nb

Valerie Jarrett is no stranger to the tough challenges nonprofit leaders face today. She is now head of the Obama Foundation, which is working to build an extensive library and community center in Chicago. From that perch she collaborates closely with leaders who pursue a wide range of social-change and economic development efforts.

Jarrett built many of her leadership muscles decades ago, when she served as a key senior adviser to President Barack Obama through all eight years of his presidency. In the years since, she also served on many corporate and nonprofit boards.

What she learned in the White House — responding to crises like the Great Recession — and now emphasizes as a nonprofit CEO, is the importance of assembling and building a great executive team. Host and Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer talked with Jarrett about her team-building strategies and advice to fellow leaders. Jarrett says not only does a strong executive team get more done, but it also enables the CEO to spend as much time as possible working on big-picture issues that are essential to the organization's future.

Among her recommendations to nonprofit CEOs:

• Start thinking about the whole team from the very first interview with a candidate for an executive role.
• Make sure everyone at the leadership table feels welcome.
• Encourage the leadership team to change course when needed.
• Delegate everything you can to others.
• Ask people how you can make their jobs easier.

Follow Jarrett on LinkedIn.

For more advice on recruiting, see these article from the Chronicle:

• “A Really Tough Job: Nonprofit CEOs Work to Make Their Roles More Manageable” by Ben Gose
• “Leaders’ Advice for Other Leaders” by Ben Gose
• “Humanize Your Hiring Process — Here’s Why and How” by Mordy Walfish
• “(Video) How to Hire and Retain Top-Quality Workers” by Chronicle Staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to the Chronicle at philanthropy.com/subscribe.

Like all workplaces, nonprofits are now filled with up to four generations of workers as boomers work along with millennials and people in Generations X and Z.

Each generation approaches work and careers differently, which leads to struggles at some organizations. But at the best-run nonprofits, leaders are ensuring that differences in work styles and life experience enhance an organization’s ability to meet its mission.

In this episode of Nonprofits Now: Leading Today, host Stacy Palmer talks with two leaders who excel in working with people in different life stages.

Alexandra Bernadotte is founder and CEO of Beyond 12, an organization that works to ensure students from marginalized backgrounds graduate from college, and Elsa Morales-Roth, executive director of the Emilio Nares Foundation, which helps the families of children with cancer.

Among the suggestions from Bernadotte, who is a Gen Xer, and Morales-Roth, who is a millennial:

• Embrace what people of every age bring to the organization. Bernadotte makes a point of reminding people that intergenerational teams are “powerful because they’re not homogeneous.” What’s more, she says, intergenerational teams “don’t just get the work done, they build something that lasts.”
• Highlight achievements of staff members from each generation. Morales-Roth starts every team meeting by deliberately making sure that an employee from each generation gets a shout-out for their accomplishments and contributions.
• Put the mission and values first. One way Bernadotte puts this into action: Each year, Bernadotte creates case studies based on difficult or divisive issues the nonprofit had to confront. Staff members from across the organization form teams to discuss what they would have done with the same set of facts. Doing so helps people of different ages and backgrounds learn how others think — and figure out how to make decisions that best reflect the organization’s values.
• Give fresh thought to performance measures. Morales-Roth is instituting 360-degree reviews.

Connect with Bernadotte and Morales-Roth on LinkedIn.

Watch a video version of this interview on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSmFf8L5bOc&t=1s

Further resources:

• “Gen Z Is Open to Nonprofit Careers — But on Their Own Terms” by Ben Gose
• “(Opinion) Boomer Leaders Should Learn to Share Their Power — Like I Did” by Raymond A. Jetson
• "What Young Nonprofit Workers Want" by Jim Rendon
• “How Millennials Lead” by Heather Joslyn
• “(Tool Kit) How to Manage Several Generations at a Nonprofit” by Chronicle staff
• “Leadership at the Crossroads” by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest

Nonprofits are facing a series of financial hits — or bracing for them. Federal spending cuts have already forced many organizations to trim programs and lay off workers — and with policymakers considering more far-reaching reductions, additional austerity is likely. Meanwhile, the growing possibility of a recession could spell trouble for nonprofits that depend on foundations, corporations, and individuals for support.

To help organizations navigate this period, Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer turned to two leaders.

Aisha Benson, head of the Nonprofit Finance Fund, offers advice based on nearly three decades working with organizations on a broad range of fiscal matters. Myal Greene leads World Relief, which provides humanitarian aid around the world — and runs refugee resettlement programs in the United States. It relies on support from the federal government as well as private donors, and faced nearly immediate cuts when President Trump took office in January.

Among Benson and Greene’s recommendations:

• Do a cash flow analysis and prepare for different scenarios.
• Reach out to grant makers and other donors.
• Advocacy matters.
• Get legal advice and watch for misinformation.
• The past is not a perfect guided for today’s challenges.

Connect with Benson and Greene on LinkedIn.

Further resources:

• "Facing Federal Defunding, Nonprofits Draft Best and Worst Case Budgets" by Eden Stiffman
• "How to Lead Well in Uncertain Times" By Lisa Schohl
• "6 Ways Nonprofit Leaders Can Boost Morale in Chaotic Times" by Rasheeda Childress
• "7 Ways to Earn Foundations’ Trust and Win General Operating Support" by M.J. Prest
• "Know Your Rights: How Much Can Tax-Exempt Groups Speak Out?" by Roger Colinvoux
• "How to Retain Skittish Donors Amid the Economic Turbulence" by Rasheeda Childress
• "Fundamentals for Nonprofits" by the Nonprofit Finance Fund
• "Leadership at the Crossroads" by George Anders

Nonprofits Now: Leading Today is hosted by Stacy Palmer. It’s produced by Emily Haynes at the Chronicle of Philanthropy and from Reasonable Volume, Mary Dooe is the producer, Mark Bush is our engineer, and Rachel Swaby and Elise Hu are executive producers. Additional support comes from Margie Fleming Glennon, Andrew Simon, Nick Adams, Krista Niles, Amaya Beltran, and Kyle Johnson.

For the latest philanthropy news and analysis, subscribe to the Chronicle at philanthropy.com/subscribe