E39: Corporate Culture and Leadership in Your Nonprofit with Marine Corps Veteran & Founder And CEO of Groundswell, Jake Wood

Lead with Heart | Philanthropy, Nonprofit Leadership, Nonprofit Management & Fundraising

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Welcome back to the Lead with Heart podcast. I'm very honored to have Jake Wood as my guest today. Jake is a Marine Corps veteran and the founder and CEO of Groundswell- a software company that enables companies to help their employees become modern philanthropists by providing tech-enabled donor-advised funds. Prior to launching Groundswell, Jake served as the founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization that is widely considered one of America’s leading nonprofits.
We discuss scaling an organization, the importance of storytelling in fundraising, developing a strong corporate culture, and the future of philanthropy.
In this episode:

• [01:15] Jake’s background and what led him to found Team Rubicon and Groundswell
• [07:16] Founder syndrome and delegating responsibilities
• [12:07] Instilling a strong corporate culture
• [15:52] Strategies to maintain a strong company culture throughout scaling
• [19:52] Strategies for scaling your nonprofit
• [23:36] The ethics of storytelling
• [27:37] Donor-advised funds and nonprofit collaboration

RESOURCES
CONNECT WITH JAKE
Jake is the founder and CEO of Groundswell - a venture backed software company aiming to democratize philanthropy by building a new category at the intersection of fintech, benefits tech, and charity. Prior to launching Groundswell, Wood served as the founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization that is widely considered one of America’s leading nonprofits. Before this, Wood served four years in a Marine Corps scout-sniper unit, leading Marines in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a dual degree in Business and Political Scienc

My book, Sow, Grow, Lead is live on Amazon! It shares my journey of starting a nonprofit in Malawi and offers practical strategies to help nonprofit leaders turn visions into reality, and create meaningful impact

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CONNECT WITH HALEY
Haley is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Certified Stress Management Coach, and Certified EmC train the trainer. She is the Founder of The Savvy Fundraiser, a nonprofit consulting and coaching business. She has worked in both small and large nonprofit teams in the human services, homelessness, and youth sectors; and she specializes in the EmC process, nonprofit leadership, board development, and fundraising. Haley is a passionate, impact-driven, experienced nonprofit professional whose mission is to empower, elevate and engage nonprofit leaders to build healthy, thriving organizations.
Instagram: @thesavvyfundraiser
LinkedIn: Haley Cooper, CFRE
Website: thesavvyfundraiser.com
Produced by Ideablossoms