Community Hives

Community Hives is designed for organizations that want more than just another online platform—it’s a relationship-building engine that turns passive members into engaged, connected communities.

As Founder & Community Strategist, I help associations, membership-based organizations, and nonprofits foster real, meaningful engagement through one-to-one and small group networking experiences.

How are we doing this?

🟡 Provide a Plug-and-Play Community Solution – Community Hives isn’t just another Slack, Mighty Networks, or LinkedIn Group—it’s a platform that has your community opt-in for introductions, handles reminders, and builds curated connections

🟡 Help Organizations Move Beyond Engagement Gaps – Many communities struggle with getting people to participate. I work with teams to eliminate friction, increase participation, and create sustainable engagement loops.

🟡 Lead Growth & Implementation – I oversee platform adoption, and coach organizations to see measurable improvements in member retention, participation, and relationship-building.

The Impact:

✔️ Increased engagement rates 3x higher than traditional online community models
✔️ Helped associations & nonprofits strengthen member retention through structured peer-to-peer networking
✔️ Designed a system that removes the burden of forum-style engagement—making community-building efforts see a higher ROI for organizations

Let’s Build a Stronger Community Together
If your association, membership organization, or nonprofit is struggling with low engagement, inactive members, or disconnected conversations, let’s talk about how Community Hives can change that.

📩 Give me a shout! admin@communityhives.com

Founder & Community Strategist

The Nonprofit Hive

As Co-Director of The Nonprofit Hive, I lead the marketing and community strategy for our 2,400+ member global network of nonprofit professionals. My focus is on growing meaningful engagement — not vanity metrics — through storytelling, peer connection, and authentic communication.

I oversee brand and content strategy and member experience across platforms, helping nonprofit leaders, consultants, and partners connect through curated one-to-one Hive Chats, LinkedIn Live events, and our Community Hives platform.

Key Responsibilities & Focus Areas

Community Building: Designing systems and rituals that nurture belonging and deepen engagement within a global peer network.

Marketing & Communications: Leading storytelling, content strategy, and brand partnerships to sustain a vibrant and values-aligned community.

International Partnership Development: Co-creating opportunities that expand our global reach and  elevate trusted voices in the nonprofit sector.

Strategy & Leadership: Co-directing the vision and operations of The Nonprofit Hive alongside our leadership team, focusing on sustainable growth and accessibility.

Thought Leadership: Representing The Hive through articles, speaking engagements, and collaborations that explore what makes communities thrive.

Co-Director, Community and Marketing

The Nonprofit Hive is more than just a network—it’s a community of nonprofit professionals who believe in collaboration over competition and the power of peer-driven learning.

As Founder & Chief Engagement Officer, I lead community strategy, engagement, and growth, ensuring that nonprofit professionals don’t have to navigate challenges alone.

What I Do:
Build & Foster Connections – I create spaces where nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and consultants can support, collaborate, and learn from each other. Our community is designed to be high-touch, high-value, and actually useful—no fluff.

Facilitate Meaningful Engagement – From weekly Hive Chats to LinkedIn Live discussions, I curate conversations that matter, tackling issues like fundraiser burnout, tech overwhelm, and the changing landscape of nonprofit work.

Drive Growth & Reach – The Nonprofit Hive has grown into a 1800+ strong community, with thousands of engagements each month. On LinkedIn our content sparks real conversations, from crowdsourced nonprofit advice to deep dives into sector trends.

Champion Community-First Strategies – I advise organizations on how to strengthen engagement, create real connections, and design communities that thrive—whether through tech, peer networking, or intentional programming.

The Impact:
✔️ Over 16,000 facilitated 1-1 conversations with nonprofit professionals all over the world.
✔️ 10,000+ engaged nonprofit professionals on LinkedIn
✔️ Thousands of interactions each month, with an active community that doesn’t just “like” but shares, comments, and connects
✔️ Consistently high attendance in Hive Chats & events, proving that people crave authentic, supportive spaces

Let’s Connect!
I love helping nonprofits, associations, and mission-driven organizations build communities that actually work. If you’re looking for better engagement, stronger connections, or guidance on how to create a thriving nonprofit network, let’s chat!

CEO and Co-Founder

Good Nonsense

Sometimes the best ideas come from the conversations that aren’t in the agenda. Good Nonsense is our podcast where my nonprofit bestie, Evan Wildstein, and I chat with nonprofit humans, changemakers, and the beautifully over-caffeinated about the real stuff—burnout, breakthroughs, and all the messy in-between. Think less polished panel, more voice note from your smartest, snarkiest friend.

No fluff. Just good nonsense.

Co-Host, Podcast Rabble Rouser

Ember 2 Action

As the Chief Engagement Officer at Ember 2 Action, I am dedicated to transforming social impact ​ideas into meaningful action.

With a background in marketing, sales and customer success, I love celebrating and valuing the true champions of any nonprofit organization—the volunteers, peer-to-​peer donors, event participants and advocates. 

My role is grounded in relational marketing, viewing ​every interaction as an opportunity to create lasting connections. By leveraging innovative techniques ​and personal interactions, I am to inspire and drive action, helping our nonprofit partners achieve ​their goals and make a lasting impact.

Chief Engagement Officer

Xlerate

Xlerate is a coalition of nonprofit marketers, fundraisers and agency professionals who are committed to advancing digital and omni-channel marketing for nonprofits and charities. Enabled through the strength and value of our coalition of members and partners, we provide a hub for networking, discussing best practices, and sharing information and resources to advance leadership in integrated marketing.

We’re building the conference we always wish we could attend. Our first event on January 26, 2017, in Ottawa sold out; our second in Vancouver on September 28, 2017 was a packed house similarly was our last event in Toronto on November 2, 2018. Our vision is to host events across Canada, and eventually North America.

Community-focused conferences
Carefully curated educational experiences
Affordable professional development
Fun, relaxed atmosphere that inspires creativity
Unique networking opportunities

Xlerate Day features multiple sessions such as — Leadership, Data, Campaigning and Stepping Up — focused on the latest trends, best practices and actionable insights.

Co Organizer

Yeeboo Digital

Creative problem solver and energetic digital expert - supporting my team as it grows while also driving forward existing client relationships.

Leveraging the combined knowledge of an amazing nonprofit services team to engage with current and new nonprofit clients as they grow digitally.

Marketing Responsibilities include:

- collaborating with members of the team to develop marketing strategies and product services
- providing a thoughtful and memorable experience for new clients/potential partners AND an ongoing relationship with current NPO clients
- Collaborating with the marketing team on a newsletter/email program to provide a value add to current/past/prospective clients
- Social media marketing content generation and deployment. Set new social media objectives and strategies
- establish, coordinate and lead creation of articles and case studies for Yeeboo Website
- engagement in key industry conferences, webinars and sponsorships
- Reporting for content marketing that focuses on performance metrics and opportunities for growth/testing

Sales Support:
- Hubspot CRM maintenance
- First point of contact for incoming sales inquiries. Begin the customer journey
- Develop and increase customer data quality
- Build potential client partnerships
- Support the sales team on related calls and client conversations

Relationship Growth Specialist

cloudStack Services

Front to end client interactions from creation and execution of marketing collateral, to then introductory calls and sales demos of Salesforce NPSP, to continued client success and engagement post-implementation. My goal is to provide nonprofits with a tech consultant they can trust to listen to their needs and provide best product fit.

Marketing responsibilities
- creation and maintenance of social media collateral across LinkedIn, FB, Instagram and twitter
- collaboration and management of copywriters for content creation and ongoing website work
- management of website support and creation
- Maitenance and use of Hubspot 
- creation and execution of cold email marketing campaigns
- creation of company monthly company newsletter

Sales responsibility
- prospecting of potential nonprofit clients who would be the right market fit for our product and Salesforce (use of LinkedIn Sales Navigator)
- arranging and communicating introductory calls with potential clients through 4 potential entry points
- ongoing collaboration with other Salesforce implementation partners and Salesforce AE's on prospective clients
- provide product demos to potential clients
- collaborate with technical implementation teammates on creative solutions based on the unique needs of prospective clients
- creation and negotiation of contracts with clients

Customer Success
- ensure customer success with ongoing Salesforce and product training monthly
- creation of training collaterals including training videos, training documents and knowledge hub
- continued follow up with clients at monthly markers to ensure continued product success and prevent attrition
- identify and satisfy potential new customer projects/products during interactions with current clients

Sales And Marketing Specialist

KEYS Kingston

In their mission to build stronger communities through innovative employment, education, and information services, KEYS Job Centre provides support for many government-assisted refugees (GAR) coming to Canada.
Family support teams make a tremendous difference to newcomers who are making a new
life in Kingston. It is a neighbourly gesture to offer friendship and support to the newcomers
who are beginning a new life here. Community members can help newcomer families who
came to Canada as government-assisted refugees get settled within Kingston.

● Typical activities include:
○ Providing conversational English support
○ Introducing the family to fun, affordable things to do in the community,
including activities for children and youth
○ Helping the family learn the Kingston Transit system
○ Helping the family learn where to shop, along with other social and informal
activities as relevant.

● Suitable Family Team Members are:
○ Committed to spending time with their newcomer family (up to 8 hours/month)
○ Available to be active on the Family Team for 6-12 months
○ Open to working collaboratively with people from diverse backgrounds,
including newcomer families from other countries and volunteers with different
perspectives and experience
○ Committed to anti-racism and promoting welcoming inclusive and diverse
communities
○ Committed to building self-sufficiency and autonomy of newcomer families
○ Willing to attend a volunteer orientation session (2 hours) plus additional
training sessions on relevant topics

Refugee and Resettlement Services Kingston Volunteer

TEND

Job Summary:
To provide timely and professional customer service for all current and potential customers of TEND. To coordinate the professional services of TEND associates, including booking, tracking, contracting and invoicing, and to ensure the accurate and timely dissemination of information to support booked trainings. To support the creation and maintenance of TEND client management systems (Salesforce, Asana and Excel) and ensure that current and correct client data is available and accessible at all times. To provide insight into sales trends with a goal of supporting the growth of TEND business.

- Strategize on products and creative solutions for existing clients
- Walk clients from process of potential customer to satisfied (and repeat) client
- Provide information verbally or by email about products/trainers/timeframes
- Work with clients to find a product offering that meets their budget.
- Walk client through booking process and connect them with our trainers
- Problem solve any concerns/issues that may come up between booking and speaking engagement
- Follow up with client post-speaking engagement and ensure quality/client satisfaction
- Provide analysis of the current market based on customer requests and conversations
- Establish trust and maintain brand recognition in the growing mental health/workplace wellness industry and ensure TEND is the go to place for future requests
- Contract negotiation and pricing for live and online training solutions
- Collaborate with marketing, communications and training team members to produce desired products for our current customer base and potential future clients
- Creation of Workplace Wellness series at the Sanctuary.
- Creating custom proposals for major accounts 
- Liaise with TEND Associates to set up bookings, assess availability and ensure delivery of booking details
- Provide data-driven reports on associate bookings, trends, needs for new associates

Client Manager

Sales Manager

Communications/Administrative Coordinator for a Kingston-based company serving a national and international community.  TEND provides tools, training and resources to  assist “helping professionals” in getting and staying healthy at work and in life.  TEND  provides training both live, and online to individuals and organizations across Canada and internationally.  Communications Assistant will support the Co-Executive Director based in Kingston with the daily operations of TEND including: answering emails and phone calls, shipping purchased made through the online store, organizing materials for live-training sessions, arranging and booking travel and accommodations, fielding IT related questions that pertain to the online courses, updating the TEND website, running errands and performing other tasks as needed.

Communications and Administrative Assistant 

Modern Primitive

Management of all day to day activities of a busy retail destination, recruiting/training of staff, receiving of merchandise and organization of said merchandise. Direct sales, handling of purchases, some bookkeeping, deposit of profits to the bank, etc.

General Manager

Growing Relationships with Nonprofits, Consultants and Tech Partners

I’ve always been a community builder.

Long before I launched The Nonprofit Hive I was the one bringing people together, making introductions, and finding ways to build connections that mattered. It was house parties, group chats, mom collaboratives, facebook groups, a community of stroke survivors. I wasn’t just drawn to community building; I lived it.

I know what it feels like to be the glue—the one who sees potential in relationships, who believes that the right connections can change everything. That instinct has shaped my career. And now, I support and build intentional, high-impact communities that help organizations move beyond engagement metrics and into real, lasting relationships.

💡 What I Do:

I work with associations, nonprofits, and membership-based organizations to strengthen their communities, whether through technology, strategy, or hands-on consulting.

Where am I doing this?

✅ Community Hives – A high-touch, low-lift platform designed for real 1:1 relationship-building—because networking should feel natural, not transactional.
✅ Ember2Action – Taking social impact ideas and turning them into action, with a deep focus on volunteer engagement and community-driven initiatives.
✅ The Nonprofit Hive – My own peer-driven network for nonprofit professionals, built on authenticity, shared learning, and collaboration.

📊 The Impact I have created:

🔹 Connected 1,800+ nonprofit professionals through structured, meaningful conversations. This has resulted in jobs, cross-country collaborations and deep international friendships.
🔹 Facilitated over 7,000 1:1 conversations across 73 countries since Oct.2023
🔹 Increased engagement rates 3x higher than typical networking spaces by fostering one-to-one connections that actually stick.
🔹 Helped organizations retain and activate their communities through better strategy, stronger tech, and smarter engagement models.

If You Found Me, You Might Be…
✔️ Leading a membership-based organization and struggling to get people to actually show up and engage.
✔️ Managing a nonprofit or association and looking for better ways to foster relationships among your members.
✔️ Trying to choose the right technology to support your community—without it becoming another ghost town platform.

👉 Let’s talk.

Whether you need community technology, consulting, or just an honest conversation about what actually works, I’d love to connect. Message me here, or reach out at tasha@thenonprofithive.com

I got a new job!!!

And it's a total upgrade ❤️ 👏 

I have been CEO by default (a team of 1 until recently). But I was never wanting to be a solo leader. I love being on a team, I love workshopping ideas and I never wanted to be building alone.

But I needed the right teammate.

And so upgrading my position to Co-Director while being joined by the incredible Nicole Jamrozinski as our new Co-Director is the smartest thing I will do for The Nonprofit Hive this year.

She has the knowledge of the sector + passion + thoughtfulness + care I knew I needed back in my life since we worked at a little hippy store together almost 20 years ago.

When we started picking up projects together a year ago through Ember 2 Action and then when she came on to help with all things Hive it felt like I let out a breath I had been holding.

It felt RIGHT.

So I could not be more excited to see what we build together with OUR community.

Tasha Van Vlack

Keeper of authentic nonprofit client relationships.

Tasked with the responsibility of expanding the Yeeboo teams' relationships' with both nonprofits and partners in both quantity and quality.

Frequently playing tech-therapist for my less tech-inclined clients.

Still in the first stages of figuring out what your nonprofit organization needs? Not a worry I will just listen. Looking for feedback on your potential plan? Amazing, I've got the experience and can provide feedback. Wanting to be cost-effective in your digital fundraising strategy? Why don't we discuss your needs vs wants and make a staged plan to get everything you need over time.

Community is a Verb - Global Community Builder and Strategist @ Community Hives/The Nonprofit Hive

About last night....

It was incredible.

With support from the team at Donorbox, my co-director Nicole Jamrozinski and I were able to bring our The Nonprofit Hive community in to real life to celebrate 2 wonderful years of connection.

We had to keep it relatively small, but those who showed up brought a depth that highlighted in real time HOW different this community is.

That it is attracting the movers and shakers of this sector. The innovators. The collaborators. Those who consistently stand up and serve.

This will 100% not be our last in person TO event AND it likely is going to spark something bigger for this community as we start to hit larger #'s across other major cities in North America, Europe and Africa.

To me, community in action is the most beautiful space to be in. Thank you to all those last night who showed me what it means to build something magical together. 😍

Thanksgiving feels COMPLICATED for me this year.

I grew up in a small town in Canada.  A place where most people looked like me, came from the same background, and shared similar stories.  

Community meant family ties, familiar faces, and a sense of belonging that was tight—but also narrow. Restricting. An echo chamber.

Now I’ve lived more than half of my life in cities. I work in the nonprofit sector, I’m openly progressive (borderline socialist, if you ask my family), and I’m raising kids who get to experience a very different kind of community.

For them, diversity isn’t abstract—it’s normal. They tell me about Ramadan from their classmates, we make plans to attend a local Día de los Muertos celebration, and their friends don’t all look like them. My youngest has a class of 25 kids from over 10 countries speaking 15 languages. That’s celebrated. That’s beautiful. It's everything my heart wished for growing up.

But here’s the tension: when I go “home” for Thanksgiving, I return to family spaces that don’t reflect all my values anymore. To some, I’m “too progressive,” too focused on “big city stuff and world affairs.” And yet, these same spaces are where I first learned what it meant to belong.

And underneath it all, I know I’m still on a journey—unlearning, reckoning, and listening.

 - Reconciling that my ancestors were colonizers (a word my family, who has been here for seven generations, feels SUPER UNCOMFORTABLE WITH).
- Questioning the words of our national anthem that claim “this is our land” without always acknowledging what we destroyed.
- Shaking off the shackles of capitalism that were ingrained in me, while leaning into a life of service and resistance.
 - Trying to belong without othering, and to hold space for racial, religious, and political conversations in this ever-evolving world (and being woefully unprepared for those tensions).

Reconciling these two worlds is messy. It’s also a gift. Because it reminds me that community isn’t fixed—it grows, it stretches, it asks us to hold love for where we came from while making room for where we’re going.

This Thanksgiving I am going to be back in the woods, at a hunting camp, with the community I was born in to, and reflecting on the community I am co-creating in my present.

Community is a Verb - Community Builder and Strategist @ Community Hives/The Nonprofit Hive

How does it feel to write a love letter and have your affections returned???

It feels INCREDIBLE.

More gushing to come but so thankful for the last two years ♥️♥️♥️

Two years ago, on October 19th, 2023, the very first Hive Chat took place — less than 30 nonprofit pros showing up to connect.

Fast forward to today:
🌍 90 countries
💬 6,000 + 1-to-1 conversations
💛 2,400 + members
…and a whole lot of impact that can’t be measured in numbers alone.

The Hive has grown into a living, breathing community built on generosity, curiosity, and care. Every member who’s shared a story, joined a chat, or cheered someone on — you made this real.

Here’s to connection as a practice, to community as a verb, and to all of you who’ve helped turn a small idea into something global. 🐝

#TheNonprofitHive #CommunityIsAVerb #Community #Nonprofit #CommunityBuilding

Some of the most INCREDIBLE nonprofiteers are between jobs right now.

So in LOVE with the following resources, make sure to check them out.

1. Ted Fickes runs the Future Community Jobs board - https://lnkd.in/gTxgzDvw

2. Claire Waiksnoris🦋 has supported many nonprofiteers I know on their journey to their next role - https://lnkd.in/gmpc9Wx5

3. Nonprofit Tech for Good just put out this great resource - https://lnkd.in/gwYt5ibm

Its time for nonprofit to really support nonprofit. Know of a great role??? share it in the comments and lets help crowdsource some amazing opportunities for The Nonprofit Hive community.

#community

The strongest communities right now are those where peer-led learning is the goal.

In a world where information is at our fingertips like never before (and disinformation in equal measure) those we trust and have relationships with become our go-to's for advice, resources and continued learning.

I was lucky enough to gather twice yesterday with members of our The Nonprofit Hive community who are my continued fall back for learning in the nonprofit sector.

First with our ambassadors, nonprofit professionals who are super-connectors in this sector and who continue to open doors for us as a community to grow meaningfully. Follow ALL of these brilliant humans! Dan Drucker, Amina Mohamed, Ade Olowo, Chris Moses, Jared Novoseller, MA, RPCV, Courtney Harrness and Eleanor Campbell who missed the photo!

And then in the afternoon we gathered with our Trusted Hive Partners, nonprofit pros who have entered consultancies to continue to serve this sector with the expertise they have gained over years in social impact. We were all fortunate enough to get a session led by Malcolm C. and Seth Giammanco on the power of Notion (my mind is still blown) ❤️ 

Our partners have expertise from corporate fundraising (Heather Nelson) to nonprofit job search (Claire Waiksnoris🦋) to nonprofit technology and IT(Michael Clinton). Follow them and reach out should you be searching for supports!
Janine Ayoub, Sigrid Penner, Madeleine Nance, Rebecca Marchiafava, Jessica Pang-Parks MES, CVA, Paula Douglas Seidel, CAE, IOM, Megan Whitney, Rhiannon O'Leary, Rachel Zant, Jeremy Haselwood, Saad Qureshi, Christopher McGown, Bobbie James, Olivia Lopez-Wheeler, Hannah Zachry, Joanna Lund-Pops, Kimberly Lewis, Allison Prieur, Shannon Cherry and Tim Lockie who missed the photo!

Even community builders need community.

And it was so very cool to share space with the incredible collective of community builders brought together last week by Francisco Opazo at the Toronto Community Week conference.

So many takeaways that I am still processing (and a couple conversations I need to weave back in to) but as someone who builds community off of gut and vibes it was so interesting to talk with builders focusing much more on systems and a structure we are just building NOW, 2 years in.

But I also received some pretty amazing validation while I was there on how what we are doing at The Nonprofit Hive/Community Hives is different.

("Wait, you don't have a forum???")

It started with a powerful workshop given by Christina Garnett, EMBA that encouraged us to "Build for Trust/Feeling/People" (which has been our mission since day at the Hive).

And the metrics ARE following as we grow solely through organic marketing and word of mouth.

(I've been diving in to her new book "Transforming Customer-Brand Relationships" also and its GREAT)

Richard Millington's morning keynote highlighted how AI is changing our searchability online and how it will affect communities was the reminder that our scrappy approach hasnt relied on SEO or how Google ranks us or the algorithm changes of Meta products and ads; and that this a real strength moving forward.

I am still stumbling along on this community building journey but maybe we are closer to the New Playbook for Community Building than I had ever thought.

Hopefully this post is your CTA to get OUT THERE and find your community (around your work, a hobby, something that brings you joy, local initiatives).

We are better for sharing and learning together, every damn time.

Nearly half of new businesses are being formed by women.

This recent report by Gusto was an interesting read as one of those women. (link in comments!)

While for me starting a business was never the dream, women are starting new businesses to have more flexibility, to address the lack of growth opportunities, and to maintain a remote-first work/life post-COVID.

Last night at Builders Club I had the pleasure of joining in with the many talented women at "Women who Launch."

And the energy there was the best I have been a part of since starting a business. 

Congrats to Sarah-Beth Bianchi and Samantha Campbell for an amazing event, and make sure to check out these amazing KW, women-led businesses!

Pixel Bridges – UX and Digital Education consultancy removing the technical barriers to you starting your business
​Sarah-Beth Bianchi Coaching – Empowering you through personal and professional coaching
Myra’s Voice – Creative services and event photography
​AutoCate (Stefanie Bruinsma) - Helping you understand your vehicle inside and out
​HerSay - Amplifying your voice within the healthcare system
Baxier - Designing high-converting websites and strategy-driven brands that help growth-focused businesses attract the right people and scale with confidence
​LenJo Bakes (Lenore Johnson) - Specializing in designing and crafting beautifully bespoke cakes

If you are one of those women either considering starting a business or in those new messy days, I could not recommend more reaching out to other women who have been there and start building your community ❤️

Everyone should have Mike Esposito, in their corner ❤️ 

Thank you for highlighting all of our hard work and community building right around the moment we turn 2 YEARS OLD The Nonprofit Hive!

Helping nonprofits fundraise more effectively

I know the suspense has been killing some of you. So I won’t make you wait any longer.

The first Nonprofit Leadership Series interview was with Tasha Van Vlack, Director of Community and Marketing at The Nonprofit Hive and CEO of Community Hives.

I felt like I was handing Tasha an Uno Reverse card, as she just interviewed me for a Hive member feature a month ago 😂

Tasha has built a true home for nonprofit professionals to connect, learn, and belong. I couldn’t think of a better person to kick off this series. Our conversation was filled with wisdom, laughter, and a vision for what’s next in our sector.

My favorite quote from Tasha: “I think we’re entering a new era of community, one that’s less about visibility and more about belonging. My hope is that The Nonprofit Hive continues to model what’s possible when you focus on depth over breadth.”

Full interview link in the comments!

The best kind of networking doesn’t feel like networking.
It feels like belonging.

It's hive chat day here at The Nonprofit Hive AND for me this upcoming weekend is Thanksgiving.

So much to be thankful for.

Thankful to our many Hive members who are joining today from over 20 countries in conversation.

Thankful to our members celebrating a milestone # of chats - 
Andrew Miller (50), Amy Petersen (35), Rachel Borgatti (25), Melissa Segal (20), Dave Lewis (25), James J. O. (25), Chris Moses (50)

And thankful to our sponsor this week, LifeLegacy, who is supporting nonprofits with planned giving solutions and has one of the BEST TEAMS in the business.

Community is being talked about so much because we crave spaces for belonging in this divisive world.

If you are looking for a nonprofit space, come and join us!

https://lnkd.in/g7uziTJF

Some days there’s no such thing as “balance”—just a very human juggle.

Canadian Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie for breakfast, kids underfoot… and a Zoom room full of nonprofit folks trading tiny stories of kindness that somehow felt huge.

On 10/10 we hosted an Idealist.org Day community meetup with our The Nonprofit Hive crew. No big keynote. No perfect agenda. Just space. Stories. Faces. The kind of hour that reminds you why we do this work.

A few threads I can’t stop thinking about:

- Depth over width. Connection doesn’t require a big room—one real conversation can change a week.
- Who’s missing at the table? We named Indigenous voices, frontline workers, small-org leaders, funders who “get it,” and people who question the sector. 

Then we asked: what’s one small way we can make space for them?
- Kindness is specific. A neighbor’s soup on a hard day. A nurse who pauses to wipe tears. A quick LinkedIn shoutout that makes someone feel seen. The little things aren’t little.
- Consistency = care. Rhythm matters. Showing up—messy, imperfect, on a holiday weekend—still counts.

If you were there, thank you for bringing your courage and your tenderness. If you missed it, you’re invited to the next ones: 11/11 and 12/12. Come as you are. Bring a story, a question, or just your coffee.

https://lnkd.in/gFQzhVgA

👉 Your turn:
Who’s not at your table yet—and what’s one small way you could make space for them this week?
What’s a tiny act of kindness that stayed with you?

(So lovely to see your faces Bobbie James, Francesca Roberto Cota, 🔆 Anne Nevel, CAE, Dan Drucker, Stephanie Cooper, LMSW, Helen N. Bryant, Pius Isabirye, Musa Konneh, Elaine Mew, CVA, Amina Mohamed, Emily Fitzsimmons, Alpha Maiseli)

"If not me, then who?"

My friend Zoe Metcalf said that to me right around the time we were celebrating our 1 year anniversary at The Nonprofit Hive and it has stuck with me.

I really just wanted this community to exist -- not to be the one building it....

And what I started on our first chats 2 years ago today was just a shot in the dark, a chance taken on a dream with the most ridiculously hacked MVP of all time.

And the last year has brought some BIG LESSONS in to my life, so I took some moments to gush about all of you, share the last two years in review, and celebrate the HECK out of being a startup headed in to year 3!!

https://lnkd.in/g28tYwBB

#thenonprofithive #startup

Two Years of The Nonprofit Hive

Continuing to gush and reflect on last week's Hive meetup.

The people. The conversations. The VIBE (oh man, the vibe...)

Nonprofit is full of good humans doing great work and I am fortunate every day to be in community with 2500+ of them.

A huge thanks to Donorbox, our incredible sponsors, for bringing online to the real world for a night of connection that has me dreaming already of what 2026 will look like 😍

What a joy. 

Last week, members of our Toronto Hive community came together in person to celebrate two incredible years of connection, curiosity, and collective growth.

We’ve had thousands of 1:1 conversations across 90+ countries — but there’s something special about seeing familiar faces in real life. The laughter, the hugs, the shared stories that remind us why this work matters.

A huge thank-you to our sponsor, Donorbox for making this gathering possible — and for being the kind of partner who doesn’t just support community, but actually joins it. Jonah Brotman from their team showed up with genuine interest, open ears, and a deep commitment to listening to what matters to our members.

This was just the beginning. 🌍 

As our global community continues to grow, we can’t wait to explore more local meetups, more hybrid experiences, and more opportunities to bring our weekly 1:1 connections to life — in living colour.

Here’s to the conversations that start online, but ripple far beyond the screen.

— The The Nonprofit Hive Team 🐝

Trust has always been an ongoing piece of work.
Hard to earn and a continued investment to keep.

And AI has made it infinitely worse (in nonprofit but also in all sectors).

Listen I get you wanted to be able to send 1,000 emails a day vs 100. To adjust your marketing fluidly based on audience to deliver custom offers. To create videos that looked like "real" humans without concerns of exploitation or ethical storytelling.

But....guys....we all KNOW it's AI.

Maybe we didn't 12 months ago. Even 6 months ago. And yes, it sounds better, its mimicking "us" (the real humans) BETTER. But now its got us questioning every interaction meant to be human and wondering what's "real".

Real community is messy. It's all people and emotions and hard parts and BEAUTIFUL parts. AI can't fake community.

You know what I have had multiple people say during a Community Hives demo to me? 

"You didn't talk about AI once. I love that."

I wrote this article a little while ago but AI + Community is still living rent free in my head so here it is again. (link in comments)

What are your thoughts on AI??

Why AI is driving us closer to real community

I struggle to be apathetic.

It’s both a superpower and a challenge. I feel things deeply; about people, about systems, about what could be better. 

And that drive to care is what keeps me in the work. But it’s also what makes rest, detachment, and perspective tricky sometimes. (and makes social media a nightmare for me to engage in right now...)

Recently Evan Wildstein and I sat down with Samantha Reusch, Executive Director at Apathy is Boring - L'apathie c'est plate, and one thing she said has really stuck with me:

“The smallest unit of a democracy is a conversation between two people.”

It’s simple, but deep. Democracy isn’t built on institutions alone — it’s built in the spaces between us. Every time we slow down long enough to ask someone what matters to them, to listen with curiosity instead of defensiveness, we’re quietly rebuilding civic trust.

That idea sits at the heart of everything I care about, from how we connect inside The Nonprofit Hive to how we show up for our communities more broadly. 

Whether it’s democracy, belonging, or the nonprofit sector itself, the work always starts one conversation at a time.

Listen in here: 

Spotify - https://lnkd.in/gbGSGHhQ
Apple - https://lnkd.in/g2ygqJvb

Who’s someone you could reach out to this week — not to convince, but to connect?

Nonprofit work needs to be taken seriously!!

Also, holy heck do we all need a good laugh right now...

When Evan Wildstein told me he wanted to do a "guided meditation to meet the nonprofit moment" I wasn't sure what that meant.

But this was too delightful and relatable not to share :)

What nonprofit meme-worthy moment would you add to this meditation??

(mine would be continuing to duplicate all the new files from our brand new CRM in to excel because a senior co-worker refuses to learn the expensive platform...)

From MANY nonprofiteers I dont hear burnout as the ultimate reason for leaving.

They leave because the culture is so out of alignment.

They leave because there are no opportunities for growth.

They leave because of moral injury in what the org says vs what it does.

They leave because there is no psychological safety.

All of these reasons ALSO mean that despite wellness initiatives they cant shake the deep feelings of burnout from the work.

I SHOULD be crispy as heck (60+ hour weeks for way too long) BUT my work holds DEEP meaning.

And I have some days where I feel like it is all impossible but those feelings dont LAST.

The culture I exist in is amazing.

The people I surround myself give me safety and care.

I am growing so fast I have growing pains…

Nonprofit Leader Co-Creating Belonging & Systems Change through Philanthropy and Social Impact Innovation

We can’t solve nonprofit burnout with another wellness workshop.

Turnover isn’t just about pay.

It’s about purpose.

When staff feel seen and valued, they stay. When they feel isolated and expendable, they leave.

Belonging isn’t just retention.
It’s resilience.

Build belonging and you’ll solve for burnout before it starts.

#Belonging #Fundraising #Philanthropy #Burnout #TheNonprofitEdge

Nonprofits have been playing the great generational guessing game for years.

Boomers love galas. Millennials want impact reports. Gen Z only gives to climate causes (and only via TikTok).

As a marketer, we keep tweaking campaigns for age brackets, thinking its only going to take a few changed sentences to drive donations from 25 year olds vs 50 year olds. But what if the real drivers of giving aren’t generational at all?

What if it’s about trust, transparency, and shared purpose — things that cross every demographic line?

This week’s The Nonprofit Hive Live dives straight into that question with nonprofiteers who’ve seen every “trend” come and go… and are ready to talk about what actually builds connection.

Shoutout to Sara Hoshooley of Charity Shift for backing conversations that push the sector forward.

https://lnkd.in/gvfwtb9u

“Community builders can create spaces for real healing, where people feel validated and empowered.”

Can't describe how much I love this quote from my community building friend Candice G.

What is more powerful right now than being SEEN in a world where we are told we are too small to make a difference and have an impact??

Here is a fun little article from our talk with some amazing takeaways from community builders :)

You don’t have a community.
You do community.

And if community is a verb, then engagement is the metric that matters.

Join me on Tuesday if you love hearing someone wax poetic on nonprofit + community building, enjoy watching an avid hand-talker almost knock over her coffee or just have questions about community building at your nonprofit you need answered...

Thank you to Matt Hugg for organizing the Nonprofit Impact Summits' Gather for Growth this coming Tuesday!

*note, this is an affilitate link and any registrations through it support The Nonprofit Hive community!*

Link below.

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