The Influential Nonprofit

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.

The Influential Nonprofit is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 260 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.

Unknown Host hosts The Influential Nonprofit, a business show with 260 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #260

  Becoming a Regulated Leader

  Aug 8, 202631 min

  What if your leadership wasn’t defined by urgency and chaos, but by calm, clarity, and presence? In this episode, you’ll learn how to become a regulating presence whose nervous system quietly shapes the entire culture of your organization. Key Takeaways: You cannot regulate another person’s nervous system, but you can become a regulating presence that others naturally attune to. Your energetic state is contagious; how you walk into a room can either escalate panic or invite everyone to breathe and settle. Calm becomes accessible when leaders design predictable, consistent, and psychologically safe environments with clear roles and next steps. Coaching through curiosity—rather than correcting through criticism—helps dysregulated team members explore what feels urgent and where they need support. Many people, especially in nonprofits, unconsciously build their identity around chaos and busyness, and only self-awareness and willingness to do the inner work can shift that pattern. “You don't make somebody calm; you make calm accessible through productivity, through predictability, through curiosity, consistency, psychological safety, clarity, and simple next steps.” “Clarity creates leadership that reassures.” “If urgency becomes contagious, so can steadiness.” - 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

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  Episode #261

  Becoming a Regulated Leader

  Aug 6, 202631 min

  What if your leadership wasn’t defined by urgency and chaos, but by calm, clarity, and presence? In this episode, you’ll learn how to become a regulating presence whose nervous system quietly shapes the entire culture of your organization. Key Takeaways: You cannot regulate another person’s nervous system, but you can become a regulating presence that others naturally attune to. Your energetic state is contagious; how you walk into a room can either escalate panic or invite everyone to breathe and settle. Calm becomes accessible when leaders design predictable, consistent, and psychologically safe environments with clear roles and next steps. Coaching through curiosity—rather than correcting through criticism—helps dysregulated team members explore what feels urgent and where they need support. Many people, especially in nonprofits, unconsciously build their identity around chaos and busyness, and only self-awareness and willingness to do the inner work can shift that pattern. “You don't make somebody calm; you make calm accessible through productivity, through predictability, through curiosity, consistency, psychological safety, clarity, and simple next steps.” “Clarity creates leadership that reassures.” “If urgency becomes contagious, so can steadiness.” - 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

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  Episode #259

  Can You Trust Yourself?

  Jul 30, 202634 min

  When do you ignore the red flags your body, brain, and intuition are screaming at you—and what does that cost your leadership? In this episode, learn how to stop outsourcing trust and start making calm, confident decisions rooted in your own inner knowing. Key Takeaways: Self-betrayal rarely comes from a lack of information; it comes from overriding what your body, observations, and intuition are already telling you. Instinct, intellect, and intuition are three distinct but complementary information systems, and wise leadership means giving each a “seat at the table.” External pressures—from family, boards, donors, or cultural conditioning—often masquerade as wisdom but are usually fear dressed up as good advice. Many leadership mistakes happen when trust is outsourced to boards, consultants, or “important” stakeholders instead of starting with the question, “What do I know?” True freedom is not about avoiding hurt; it’s about becoming someone who no longer abandons themselves in order to avoid discomfort or disappointment. "You can have every signal, every red flag, every fact, every intuitive knowing, and still betray yourself." "Our goal is to become people who never have to abandon themselves in order to avoid getting hurt." "Because when you trust yourself, you don't have to know how the story ends. You simply have to know that you'll stay with yourself through every chapter." - 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

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  Episode #258

  Why We Struggle To Trust

  Jul 23, 202631 min

  Learn why your nervous system keeps mistaking uncertainty for danger—and how shifting from hypervigilance to trust can transform your leadership, fundraising, and everyday decisions. This episode shows you how regulated leaders create calm, confidence, and influence, even in the middle of crisis. Key Takeaways: The nervous system’s primary job is safety, not truth, so it often creates stories that feel real but aren’t actually based in facts. When uncertainty arises, the brain rushes to “fill in the blanks,” which can trigger anxiety, catastrophizing, and unnecessary conflict in leadership and fundraising. Hypervigilance can look like being extra prepared, caring, or productive, but if it is driven by fear and the need for control, it never truly calms the nervous system. Trust doesn’t eliminate uncertainty; it increases your capacity to tolerate it and move forward, believing you will handle whatever happens. The most influential leaders are the most regulated ones—they set the emotional temperature, create psychological safety, and stop making decisions from a dysregulated state. “People think trust removes uncertainty. It doesn't. It increases our ability to tolerate uncertainty.” “As leaders, we communicate more than information. We communicate emotional safety, and your nervous system becomes a part of your leadership.” “You don't need more confidence. You need a nervous system that no longer mistakes uncertainty for danger.” - 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

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  Episode #257

  Living Life Fully Expressed

  Jul 16, 202631 min

  Discover how to close the gap between who you are on the inside and how you show up on the outside. In this solo episode, you’ll learn a practical, seven-step framework to live fully self-expressed—through your choices, boundaries, presence, and the courage to speak (or stay silent) with intention. Key Takeaways: Self-expression is much more than “speaking up”; it’s about living in alignment so your daily choices, boundaries, and presence reflect who you truly are. Continually suppressing your truth widens the gap between who you are and how you show up, leading to resentment, burnout, and feeling like a victim of circumstance. Agreements and boundaries are powerful tools of expression that define what you are and are not available for, and they communicate your values more clearly than repeated complaints. Curiosity-driven questions like “Help me understand what you mean by that” can defuse conflict, create safety, and often make problems “go away” without an argument. Living fully expressed is a daily practice of sovereignty and discernment—choosing what to say, what to ask, when to stay silent, and how to act so your life becomes a more effortless “super highway.” “Sometimes the most powerful self-expression isn't speaking a truth, it’s refusing to continue betraying one.” “Full self-expression isn't measured by the number of words you speak. It's measured by how intentionally your life reflects who you truly are.” “One of the greatest gifts and one of the best skills you can have is we can give the other person the experience of feeling fully heard, and sometimes the most authentic response isn't an answer; it's curiosity.” - 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

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