Leading the Shift: How CEOs Can Build Sustainable Giving at Scale

<p>What if the boldest move your nonprofit could make isn&#39;t raising more money, but making sure people actually know you exist?</p><p>That&#39;s the curveball Kendra Davenport, President &amp; CEO of Easterseals, throws at host Dave Raley in this episode of the Sustainable Giving Podcast. Easterseals serves 1.5 million people every year through a federated network of 70 affiliates, 38,000 employees, and markets spanning 48 states and D.C. But for Kendra, a three-decade nonprofit leader (and Operation Smile alum), the real battle isn&#39;t the money. It&#39;s awareness.</p><p>We step out of the mechanics and into the CEO&#39;s chair. Kendra gets refreshingly honest about the &quot;big bet&quot; that reshaped Easterseals&#39; entire model — going all-in on Direct Response Television — the politicking it took to bring 70 independent affiliates along, and the moment they pulled their brand-new program off the air after just three months to retool. Along the way: a car that ran 40 years with zero maintenance, a first-ever Telly Award, and a whole lot of hard-won wisdom on leading change you can&#39;t mandate. Grab a coffee — this one&#39;s a keeper.</p><p>Top 5 things Dave and Kendra dig into:</p><ul><li><p>The big bet on DRTV and the &quot;halo effect.&quot; Why Easterseals gambled on direct response TV knowing it&#39;d take 3–5 years to pay off, and how it revived a dying direct-mail program while lifting digital and face-to-face by double and triple digits.</p></li><li><p>Awareness is the real crisis. One in four Americans is disabled, yet outside that community almost no one knows what Easterseals does. Kendra&#39;s fix: authentic, unscripted storytelling from real participants, the kind that earns awards and moves people to give.</p></li><li><p>There was no choice. An aging donor base, the smallest average gift, a heavy direct-mail program — Kendra unpacks the organizational soul-searching behind diversifying into recurring giving before it was too late.</p></li><li><p>Growing vs. truly scaling. They&#39;re not the same. Kendra breaks down the capital, the board conversations, the ROI patience, and why the risk of <em>not</em> changing is the biggest risk of all.</p></li><li><p>Leading change you can&#39;t mandate. With 70 CEOs and independent boards, national can&#39;t issue directives. Kendra shares how she led through trust and influence and how to tell the difference between resistance to overcome and resistance that&#39;s telling you something tru