"Funding the Future NOW" Podcast

Funding the Future is where fundraising meets real-world expertise. Hosted by Dr. Randy Dirks, a fundraising practitioner with 25 years of experience and StoryBrand certification, this podcast brings you practical, tactical insights you can use immediately to increase your effectiveness. Each episode features in-depth conversations with experts from diverse fields—from storytelling and data analytics to leadership and donor psychology. Randy bridges the gap between their specialized knowledge and your fundraising challenges, translating cutting-edge strategies into actionable approaches for donor relations, major gifts, annual campaigns, and nonprofit leadership. Whether you're cultivating relationships with major donors, crafting compelling campaign narratives, or leading a fundraising team, you'll walk away from every episode with concrete tools and fresh perspectives drawn from proven practitioners. This isn't theory—it's battle-tested wisdom appl

"Funding the Future NOW" Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Dr. Randy Dirks, with 75 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Dr. Randy Dirks hosts "Funding the Future NOW" Podcast, a business show with 75 episodes published.

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  "Funding the Future NOW" Podcast

  Rich Armenia - The World Doesn't Have a Food Shortage. It Has a Logistics Problem

  Aug 13, 202631 min

  A conversation with Rich Armenia, Executive Director of Feeding Charlotte. Nearly 40% of the U.S. food supply ends up in a landfill. In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, roughly 120,000 people are food insecure. Rich Armenia calls that "the dumbest problem we could possibly have," and he built an organization around fixing it. I sat down with Rich on the Funding the Future Now podcast to talk about food rescue, volunteer retention, and why he refuses to tell donors he is ending hunger.

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  "Funding the Future NOW" Podcast

  Christine Mangino - Turning Radical Transparency Into Donor Trust

  Jul 27, 202624 min

  In this episode of Funding the Future Now , Dr. Randy Dirks talks with Christine Mangino, president of Queensborough Community College (CUNY), about earning donor trust through radical transparency. Rather than hiding hard numbers, she shows her foundation board the full budget down to the penny — because when leaders share only good news, people stop believing them. She builds trust by letting donors see the work firsthand, whether at a campus celebration or graduation, where one donor told her, "I know I am giving my money to the right place." The same authenticity drives her internal culture and her crisis leadership, which she sums up as optimism paired with a plan. Her message is simple: people trust what they can see, so show them everything — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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  "Funding the Future NOW" Podcast

  Bob Dees - Your Donors Are Smarter Than Your Timeline

  Jul 23, 202634 min

  In this episode of Funding the Future Now, Randy Dirks talks with Bob Dees, president of the National Center for Healthy Veterans, about how to fund and lead work that takes years to show results. Bob argues that sophisticated donors don't actually expect quick wins, and that the leader's job is to measure outcomes while also painting the complexity of the challenge, illustrated by a veteran who would have been counted a loss at three months and a clear win years later. Drawing on thirty-one years in the Army, Bob names the sector's most common failure as vision without operational strategy: nonprofits cast the vision but skip the phasing, role definition, and lines of authority needed to actually get there. He closes on language, arguing that organizations should look through the windshield rather than the rearview mirror, using a prophetic name, tagline, and vocabulary that names where people are headed instead of what happened to them.

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  "Funding the Future NOW" Podcast

  Dr. John Fuchko - The Power Is in the Question

  Jul 23, 202632 min

  Dr. John Fuchko closed a nearly 10% budget gap at Dalton State College by opening the books to his campus instead of handing down cuts from the corner office. He also posted the highest giving year in school history, more than $7 million, without a campaign to rally anyone around. His explanation traces back to a line from a mentor named Bill Goodwin: the power is in the question. We also get into what five command tours taught him about planning, what he had to unlearn when he left the military, and the three filters he uses to decide what earns his time. If your senior leaders are still asking you for permission, John has a blunt diagnosis for you.

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  "Funding the Future NOW" Podcast

  Marcus Menesse - The Fastest Way to Lose a Donor Is Also the Easiest to Fix

  Jul 21, 202624 min

  Marcus Meneese has been running a nonprofit for fourteen years, and when asked what quietly destroys donor trust, he did not hesitate for a second. Marcus Meneese Sr. founded Stronger Than My Father fourteen years ago in Nashville to serve young men growing up without fathers. Leadership skills. Career exposure. Drone flying, cooking, auto mechanics, podcasting. Real things boys can see and touch, because touching a career can trigger a mind toward a future it had not imagined yet. I sat down with Marcus on the Funding the Future Now podcast. Three things he said are worth every executive director's attention.

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