[Ep. 88] Why Change Feels Impossible — And Why Your Funding Depends on It (Grounded Leadership with Melissa Cowley Wolf and Brian Loevner)
What if the biggest threat to your funding isn’t the economy or your donor file, but your organization’s resistance to change?
Nonprofits are navigating shrinking capacity, shifting donor behavior, and a massive generational wealth transfer, yet many are still clinging to outdated structures and strategies that make it nearly impossible to adapt. In today’s episode, Melissa Cowley Wolf interviews Brian Loevner to discuss why change is so hard for some nonprofits, and how to maximize impact instead of minimizing pain.
Tune in to learn practical ways to rethink board and governance power, embed transformation into your nonprofit’s DNA, and prioritize serving your community over preserving your organization.
Episode highlights include:
Why so many nonprofit leaders feel maxed out, and how overcapacity has forced them to become reactive instead of strategic
The surprising reason “mature, successful” programs may actually be your biggest obstacle to change
Real-world examples of transformation funds across the U.S. (and how they’re helping nonprofits rethink collaboration, revenue, and structure)
An example of how competing nonprofits serving the same community merged to increase impact and funding
A simple exercise you can do today to uncover hidden capacity in your team
Why the classic 3-to-5-year strategic plan no longer works — and what a culture of ongoing 90-day planning looks like
How aspiring leaders can run “small experiments with radical intent” inside their own departments, even without a full organizational mandate
Why your mission is to serve your community, not preserve your organization — and what that mindset unlocks for leaders and fundraisers
Listen here:
Additional Resources
Sustained Collaboration Network [models for sustained transformation]
[NPFX] Why Consistency Is Your Strategic Advantage
[NPFX] Rethinking How We Do Good: What We Can Learn from This Funding Crisis
[NPFX] The Intersection of Organizational Wellness and Impact
[NPFX] The Future of Museums: A Crisis of Relevance
Guest
Brian Loevner is an executive leader, consultant, and producer with thirty years of experience. In 2018, he founded BLVE Consults and has since worked with numerous arts non-profits both in the US and Canada to reimagine their operations and expand their impact. As a fundraiser, Brian has raised over $7 million for organizations and productions in the last 10 years. His work as a consultant has been in assisting nonprofits, such as One Aim Illinois, Calgary Arts Development, Media Burn Archive, Calpulli Mexican Dance, and many others in building strong teams of professionals, creating systems for success, and planning for the future. Brian has also produced over 150 theatrical productions. His most current producing project is the podcast, My Brother David, an iHeart Original podcast, which was recently named an Official Selection of the Tribeca Festival.
Host
Melissa Cowley Wolf is a strategic advisor, executive coach, author, and speaker working at the intersection of leadership, organizational impact, and philanthropic strategy. She is the founder of MCW Projects LLC, an advisory firm focused on next-era executive development and mission-driven strategy for leaders seeking meaningful impact. With more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, leadership coaching, and campaign strategy — including work on campaigns up to $4 billion — Melissa has partnered with leading cultural, corporate, and academic institutions, philanthropists, and changemakers. Her coaching approach integrates wellness and somatic practices to help executives build clarity, groundedness, and strategic insight in a volatile environment. Named a Global Innovator Transforming the Art Industry, Melissa also directs the Arts Funders Forum, a platform advancing private support and new financial models for the cultural sector.
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