These are the voices we consistently learn from — and recommend to EDs who want to stay ahead of where the sector is going.
Why this topic matters
The nonprofit sector doesn’t have enough genuinely useful educational content focused on operational skill building — the kind that helps leaders get better at the work, not just feel motivated about it.
Why this person
Her YouTube channel is building exactly that library, with a substance-over-polish approach that respects your time and focuses on helping leaders actually improve.
Why this topic matters
Strategic planning is supposed to be the foundation of organizational growth, but too many nonprofits treat it as a document-creation exercise rather than a genuine operating system for decisions.
Why this person
She doesn’t just help organizations plan — she helps them think about how to operate as modern, future-ready organizations.
Why this topic matters
Audiences increasingly trust content from real people over organizational accounts, and most nonprofit EDs are sitting on untapped credibility they’re not putting to work on LinkedIn.
Why this person
She helped shape how we think about personal content strategy at Proimpact, and she’s exactly the kind of voice that keeps posting from sliding to the bottom of your to-do list.
Why this topic matters
Fundraiser churn is quietly undermining development programs across the sector, and most organizations are treating it as an HR problem rather than a culture and strategy problem.
Why this person
She connects two things most people address separately — more effective fundraising tactics and sustainable fundraising cultures — and the combination is one of the most powerful growth recipes out there.
Why this topic matters
Monthly giving has become one of the most important revenue drivers in nonprofit fundraising, and organizations without a strategy here are leaving predictable, recurring income on the table.
Why this person
She went all in on monthly giving early, produces consistently excellent educational content, and her podcast and LinkedIn are two of the best places to stay current on what’s actually working.
Why this topic matters
Staff retention has been one of the biggest drags on nonprofit growth for decades, and the data shows the sector is actually losing ground compared to other industries in recent years
Why this person
Evan co-created the Social Impact Sector Staff Retention Report, which surfaces the nuanced reasons staff stay or leave beyond compensation — which give EDs a framework for how to keep your team bought in.
Why this topic matters
Too many nonprofits have communities that feel more like mailing lists than movements — and the difference between the two is what determines whether your supporters actually carry the mission forward.
Why this person
What makes him worth following is his core belief: community isn’t a strategy — it’s the whole game.
Why this topic matters
Most nonprofits are dramatically underusing email — not just under-growing their lists, but under-sending and under-strategizing one of the highest-ROI channels available to them.
Why this person
She's constantly running experiments and sharing real results, making her the single most useful follow in the sector for anyone trying to get more out of their email program.
Why this topic matters
Most nonprofit social media still looks like a bulletin board for event announcements — and the gap between “we know we should” and “we know how” is where organizations lose the most ground.
Why this person
Her work is grounded in storytelling — the skill that makes every other digital channel work better — and she pairs it with practical, hands-on guidance small teams can actually use.
Why this topic matters
Branding is one of the areas where the nonprofit sector is just starting to catch up, and the organizations making intentional choices about how they present themselves are pulling ahead.
Why this person
She started by reworking our brand at CoachArt and has since built a practice focused on helping nonprofits understand branding as a strategic growth lever — not just a logo refresh.
Why this topic matters
Every ED is fielding questions about data and AI adoption, but very little of the guidance out there addresses whether the way you’re collecting and analyzing data is actually equitable.
Why this person
She operates in the practical middle ground between “jump in” and “be careful” — helping organizations do more with data and AI while centering the humans behind the numbers.
Why this topic matters
Governance is the topic most EDs only talk about honestly over drinks at a conference — and that silence is exactly what keeps the same dysfunction cycling through boards across the sector.
Why this person
She brings those behind-closed-doors conversations into the open with practical advice, honest takes, and anonymous stories that make EDs feel less alone and more equipped to act.
Why this topic matters
Automation has massive potential to save time and improve results across nearly everything your organization does, but it often gets overlooked because it doesn’t clearly belong to any one role.
Why this person
She delivers quick, immediately implementable ideas — not abstract frameworks — making her one of the most practical follows for any ED looking to make their operations more efficient.
Why this topic matters
Major gifts remain the highest-leverage fundraising channel for most organizations, but too few EDs invest in understanding the psychology of why donors actually give at that level.
Why this person
She brings a rare dual lens — deep understanding of donor psychology and the internal psychology of fundraising teams — plus sharp, practical thinking on how AI can reduce burnout across development.
Why this topic matters
Digital community is one of the biggest strategic opportunities for nonprofits right now, but most organizations still treat it as a nice-to-have rather than a core growth channel.
Why this person
She built The Nonprofit Hive into one of the fastest-growing communities in the sector by combining deep understanding of community psychology with the tactical chops to actually execute.
Why this topic matters
Most AI conversation in the nonprofit sector stays at the conceptual level — what it means and how to think about it — while organizations need practical guidance on what to actually do with it today.
Why this person
He consistently teaches simple, immediately usable AI tactics that will directly improve how your team is applying these tools — not just thinking about them.
Why this topic matters
Established nonprofits carry decades of “we’ve always done it this way” habits, and no amount of pushing harder fixes upstream problems like misaligned strategy and underprepared managers.
Why this person
Her entire practice is built around helping organizations at critical inflection points, and the way she thinks about strategic alignment and change leadership sharpens how you lead.
