S1: E23 - Economic Uncertainty and Your Nonprofit: 5 Actions You Can Take, No Matter What’s Happening Around You
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Release Date: 10/27/2025
S1: E25 - Art Meets Impact: Balancing Mission, Money, and Audience in Nonprofit Leadership
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
How do you stay true to your mission and pay the bills? How do you engage your community and challenge them to think differently? And how do you do all that without burning out? In this episode of Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, I’m joined by Sara Dean, Artistic Director at The Pear Theatre in Silicon Valley, CA, and a board member of Theatre Bay Area. Sara brings an incredible mix of creative courage, business pragmatism, and heart-centred leadership to nonprofit work, offering takeaways for anyone navigating mission-driven challenges. We talk about: Navigating the tension between...
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S1: E24 - The AI Tool Built for Nonprofits—Not Big Tech, with Aram Fischer of Change Agent AI
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Artificial intelligence is evolving fast, but today’s expert guest tells us AI is also entering a new phase of stability, making now the ideal time for nonprofit leaders to get comfortable and curious with this technology. In this week’s episode, I chat with Aram Fischer, co-founder and CEO of Change Agent AI, an alternative to tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Change Agent AI is purpose-built from the ground up for nonprofits, advocacy groups, and social impact professionals. We talk about what makes Change Agent AI different: from stronger privacy and anti-bias safeguards to a smaller...
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S1: E23 - Economic Uncertainty and Your Nonprofit: 5 Actions You Can Take, No Matter What’s Happening Around You
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Episode Summary: In this teaching episode of Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, host Nate Birt, founder of Silver Maple Strategies, coaches nonprofit leaders navigating an increasingly uncertain economy. What can you as a nonprofit leader do to navigate volatility and come out ahead? A lot, actually! Here are five practical, actionable strategies you can implement immediately whether you’re up against government shutdowns, mixed economic signals, or donor unpredictability. And you can take these actions without burning out or losing your mission-driven focus. Whether you're in survival...
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S1: E22 - Nonprofit Leadership Amid Rapid Change: Lessons from Extension Foundation CEO Beverly Coberly
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
How do you lead a nonprofit with clarity, morale, and flexibility when the world around you is rapidly changing? In this episode of Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, Nate Birt sits down with Beverly Coberly, CEO of , for a powerful and wide-ranging conversation on what it means to lead through complexity without losing your values, your vision, or your team’s energy. Bev brings deep insight from her decades-long career in the U.S. Cooperative Extension System. She shares insights about nonprofit leadership from her days growing up on a Missouri dairy farm to leading a national...
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S1: E21 - How Compassion Can Rebuild Communities: Mike Servello’s Model for Ending Hunger with Dignity
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Episode Summary In this episode of Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, host Nate Birt speaks with Mike Servello, Founder and CEO of Compassion Coalition, Inc. Mike shares how his nonprofit has grown from a providential beginning in Utica, New York, into a model for feeding millions of people without taking on debt or relying on ongoing government funding. You’ll hear how a donated warehouse and early support from Walmart launched an innovative system of community grocery stores that transformed entire neighborhoods once labeled as “food deserts.” Mike also unpacks why restoring...
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S1: E20 - Bringing People Together for a More Sustainable Future with Carrie Vollmer-Sanders
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Soil health. Sustainable ag. Regenerative practices. These topics are no longer niche. They're front and center in conversations about the future of food, farming, and resilience. This week on Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, I sit down with Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, president of Field to Market, a nonprofit coalition of nearly 200 organizations working to advance sustainable agriculture. Carrie is a sixth-generation farmer, coalition-builder, and lifelong learner who is passionate about helping farmers thrive while stewarding the environment. We explore what it means to lead in a...
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S1: E19 - Breaking the Hiring Mold: How Bus Stop Mamas Is Redefining Work for Moms with Mary Kay Ziniewicz
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Too many hiring systems are broken, and moms are often the ones getting left behind. But what if there was a better way? In this inspiring episode, I talk with Mary Kay Ziniewicz, founder and CEO of Bus Stop Mamas, about how she’s radically reimagining what work can look like for mothers. From her early career in law firm marketing to building a national platform that connects talented women with flexible, meaningful jobs, Mary Kay is a force for challenging outdated assumptions and rebuilding the hiring process with humans at the center. You'll hear how Mary Kay’s personal transformation...
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S1: E18 - Shared Prosperity, Capital Truths, and Letting Go of the Ego: A Conversation with Alfredo Mathew III
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
What if the path to real social impact began with letting go? In this episode, I sit down with Alfredo Mathew III, founder and CEO of SPCC One—the world’s first Shared Prosperity Community Corporation. Alfredo is a former public school educator turned social entrepreneur who’s building a bold, transformative model that reimagines capital, ownership, and community. Alfredo shares how his work empowers small businesses—especially Black and Brown-owned enterprises—to band together, unlock capital, and drive systemic change through shared prosperity models rooted in economic...
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S1: E17 - 3 Nonprofit Operations Bottlenecks That Are Costing You Growth (and How to Fix Them)
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
Do you ever feel like you're encountering a series of neverending bottlenecks within your nonprofit? Here at Silver Maple Strategies, we see this all the time - and it's nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it's part of the natural growth of any purpose-driven organization. The best part? There are tremendous solutions available to any leader looking to break through bottlenecks and deliver increasingly higher levels of impact. In this episode, I'll teach you how. It really boils down to focusing your attention and strategy in three key areas: Mindset: Erase doubt, stop denying your own...
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S1: E16 - 5 Grant Strategy Systems Every Nonprofit Leader Should Know
Secrets of Social Impact Communicators: A Silver Maple Strategies Podcast with Nate Birt
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by fundraising while trying to avoid burnout, you’re not alone—and this episode is for you. This week, I’m sharing five proven systems that can help nonprofit leaders like you build a more sustainable and scalable grant strategy. These are practical, field-tested approaches that will help you fund your mission without draining your energy. Here’s what you’ll learn: Strategy First – Why reviewing your plan beats chasing every shiny funding opportunity. More Pathways, Less Panic – How to diversify your revenue and forecast with confidence. ...
info_outlineEpisode Summary:
In this teaching episode of Secrets of Social Impact Communicators, host Nate Birt, founder of Silver Maple Strategies, coaches nonprofit leaders navigating an increasingly uncertain economy.
What can you as a nonprofit leader do to navigate volatility and come out ahead? A lot, actually! Here are five practical, actionable strategies you can implement immediately whether you’re up against government shutdowns, mixed economic signals, or donor unpredictability. And you can take these actions without burning out or losing your mission-driven focus.
Whether you're in survival mode or looking to build new momentum during choppy economic waters, this episode will offer you both clarity and encouragement for leadership in challenging times.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
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The five essential actions every nonprofit leader should prioritize during economic uncertainty
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How to apply the “four walls” budgeting principle from personal finance to your organization
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Why preserving current relationships is often more valuable than chasing new ones
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How to differentiate between a cost and an investment in your budget
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The underestimated power of saying no and practicing deep focus
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How creativity can serve as a survival tool
Tools & Resources Mentioned:
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Silver Maple Strategies Capacity Pricing Calculator: Get a transparent quote for nonprofit support spanning fundraising, communications and marketing, and artificial intelligence-forward operations in under 3 minutes: https://www.silvermaplestrategies.com/pricing-calculator
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Book Recommendations: Essentialism by Greg McKeown and Deep Work by Cal Newport
⭐️ Enjoyed this Episode?
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more nonprofit leaders like you discover strategies for navigating uncertainty with confidence and clarity. Thank you!
As always, special thanks to Lee Williams for producing the podcast and to Audrey Anderson for her marketing excellence in reaching the nonprofit leaders who can benefit from it.