What If You Killed the Grant Application? Rural Philanthropy That Actually Works with Megan Langley

What If You Killed the Grant Application? Rural Philanthropy That Actually Works with Megan Langley

What if the grant application is the thing standing between a small town and the money it needs? Megan Langley of StrengthenND asked that, then scrapped the application entirely. This episode of Tellwell: The Podcast is a working session on rural philanthropy and what it takes to move resources into communities the funding system skips. Megan leads StrengthenND, a North Dakota organization supporting smaller communities through grant making, an incubator farm, local foods work, and a People Power AmeriCorps program. She makes the case for community-owned capital, trust-based grant making, and systems change that starts with one small lever. If you raise money for a mission, fund other people's work, or fight for a town most maps ignore, this one is for you. 🌾 Ask yourself: 📌 Does your grant process reward good writing more than good ideas?  📌 Are you funding the prettiest brochure, or the org closest to the problem?  📌 When a project changes mid-grant, can your grantee call you, or are they stuck to a promise from nine months ago?  📌 Who in your community gets left out before they ever hit submit? By the end, you'll know how to: * Rethink the grant application as a barrier instead of a default * Design funding that lets a town of 150 compete with a fifteen-million-dollar org * Build trust-based relationships that survive a change in scope * Find the one lever of change worth pushing in a community * Structure community-owned capital that treats a town like an entrepreneur * Spot the difference between efficiency fixes downstream and systems change upstream * Lead like a builder when tearing things down would be easier Key Quote Highlights: "What's that one lever that we could push to make things easier for everybody, to make it more equitable for everybody? Get rid of a grant application." "It doesn't matter what you've done in the past. We're just gonna have to try. Everything is figureoutable." Guest Bio: Megan Langley leads StrengthenND from a farm outside Souris, in a community of about 35 people. She started at the Minot Area Community Foundation, where she kept a dream book of ideas the system was not ready for yet. Today she runs grant making and rural development across the state, including the Creative Community Solutions program that has funded 44 of 45 projects by getting to the root of what people actually need. Learn more at strengthennd.com ⏱ Timestamps (estimated, verify against the final edit): 00:00 Meeting in Williston and why rural gets overlooked  04:11 Why rural is a choice worth defending  07:09 The dream book and parking ideas that are not ready  11:09 Finding the one lever of change in a community  12:16 Killing the grant application and what changed  17:08 A 44 of 45 success rate and why trust beats brochures  21:05 The rooster, the wiffle ball bat, and figureoutable 📌 Resources Mentioned: * StrengthenND: strengthennd.com * Creative Community Solutions grant program * Cheyenne Grit, the community-owned financing pilot in Cheyenne, ND * Northwest North Dakota Community Foundation * Minot Area Community Foundation * The Arnold Bezran Fund 🔔 Stay Connected: Subscribe for weekly conversations with nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and mission-driven storytellers. New episodes every week. * Website: wetellwell.com * Tellwell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wetellwell/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wetellwell/] * Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkringen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkringen] 📣 About Tellwell: The Podcast: Tellwell: The Podcast is a weekly show hosted by Max Kringen, founder of Tellwell Story Co. in Fargo, North Dakota. Every episode is a real conversation with the people building trust and belonging inside mission-driven work. You get honest talk and usable ideas that change how you show up for the people you serve. #ruralphilanthropy #nonprofitleadership #grantmaking #northdakota #ruraldevelopment #communityfoundations #missiondriven

Remember the Lesson, Forget the Mistake. Building a Fearless Nonprofit with BIO Girls' Missy Heilman

Scaling a nonprofit usually means working harder until something breaks. Missy Heilman found another way. She spent 15 years in marketing and tech before launching BIO Girls in 2013, and she brought a business mind to a mission most people lead with their heart alone. The result: one Fargo church program grew into 120 locations across five states, reaching thousands of girls every year. In this episode, Missy Heilman breaks down nonprofit strategic planning, how she avoids mission drift, and why she still shows up as a hands-on site director while running the organization. She talks openly about the teen program that failed, the EOS operating system her team runs on, and the stretch goal they missed on purpose and still call a win. 💡 If you lead a nonprofit and you want to grow without burning out your people or losing your why, this one is for you. 🌱 Ask yourself: * Are you chasing shiny new programs that pull you off your actual mission? * Does your strategic plan live in a binder on a shelf, or does it run your week? * Are you afraid to call a pilot a failure when the data says it is? * When did you last get out of your CEO chair and back on the ground? By the end, you'll know how to: * Scale your programs without becoming surface-level or burning out your team * Build a three-year strategic plan that actually drives quarterly decisions * Protect your mission when every good idea wants a piece of your capacity * Run an operating system like EOS inside a nonprofit, not just a business * Reframe a missed goal as progress instead of a verdict on your worth * Stay connected to the people you serve when you could delegate it away * Lead a team that treats failure as a point in time, not an identity Key Quote Highlights: "My friends and coworkers, they dreamed big for me before I was willing to." "Failure is a point in time. It doesn't define who you are, and the best thing you can do is remember the lesson, forget the mistake." Guest Bio Missy Heilman is the Founder and CEO of BIO Girls, a nonprofit that helps second through sixth grade girls build self-esteem and understand that they matter. Before going all in on BIO Girls in 2018, she spent 15 years in marketing and technology, including CRM and marketing automation work that shaped how she scaled the organization. Under her leadership, BIO Girls has grown to 120 program locations across five states and now reaches roughly one in eight North Dakota girls every year. She is also a mom of three and a half Ironman triathlete.  Learn more at biogirls.org ⏱ Timestamps (estimated, verify against the final edit) * 00:00 The marketing mind behind a mission * 03:30 From two girls to 120 locations across five states * 08:50 Why every decision at BIO Girls is mission first * 13:36 Avoiding mission drift and the teen program that failed * 17:50 What makes a strategic plan you actually use * 24:28 Leading without fearing failure * 31:32 The postmaster mom who set the example 📌 Resources Mentioned * BIO Girls: biogirls.org * EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System * Olivet Lutheran Church, Fargo * North Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey 🔔 Stay Connected Subscribe for weekly conversations with nonprofit leaders and mission-driven storytellers. * Website: wetellwell.com * Tellwell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wetellwell/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wetellwell/] * Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkringen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkringen] 📣 About Tellwell the Podcast Tellwell: The Podcast is a weekly show hosted by Max Kringen, Chief Storyteller and founder of Tellwell Story Co. in Fargo, ND. Every week, Max sits down with nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and mission-driven storytellers about the real work of building trust and belonging. You get honest conversations and takeaways you can use in your own organization. #scalinganonprofit #nonprofitleadership #strategicplanning #missiondriven #biogirls #nonprofitpodcast #storytelling

Success Without Fulfillment Is the Ultimate Failure! Leadership Clarity with Kara Jorvig

Most leaders think they're self-aware. Most are missing the mark, and the gap shows up in how their teams feel about them. In this episode, Kara Jorvig, Founder and CEO of Allegro Group, sits down with Max to unpack why self-awareness in leadership is the foundational skill most executives skip. Kara advises CEOs and senior teams across the country on building clarity, alignment, and trust through feedback. She names the leadership gap plainly, explains how boss holes actually get formed under pressure and pace, and makes the case that personal growth is what drives real business results. Kara has spent her whole career studying people, leadership, and clarity and alignment, and she brings that lens to every CEO she advises. This one gets honest fast. 🎯 Max even owns his own "asshole-ish tendencies" on the record. 🪞 Ask yourself: * Do you think you're self-aware, or have you actually tested it? * Who in your life is willing to hold up the mirror, and do you trust them? * Are you applying what you learn, or just collecting books and podcasts? * Has success started to feel a little empty? * When did you last admit you didn't know something? By the end, you'll know how to: * Spot the self-awareness gap that keeps confident leaders stuck * Build the kind of trust that makes hard feedback possible * Receive a mirror without getting defensive * Separate "I'm aware of this" from "I'm doing something about it" * Lead through pressure without projecting it onto your culture * Temper your intensity instead of trying to rewire who you are * Anchor your work in values when success stops feeling like enough Key Quote Highlights: "Success without fulfillment would be the ultimate failure." (Kara Jorvig) "The most important part of being a storyteller is actually being a story listener." (Max Kringen) Guest Bio Kara Jorvig is the Founder and CEO of Allegro Group, where she serves as chief advisor to CEOs and presidents navigating growth, scale, and leadership transitions. She has spent her career studying leadership, business, and human behavior, starting with a decade of interviewing and placing people in jobs. Her work pairs strategy and team performance with a deep belief that personal growth translates into business results. Rooted in North Dakota values of work ethic and humility she learned from her mom, a kindergarten teacher, she now advises leaders across the country on the skills and behaviors that drive culture. Learn more at [GUEST WEBSITE URL] ⏱ Timestamps (estimated from transcript; verify against the final edit) 00:00 Meet Kara Jorvig 01:08 What Allegro Group actually does 04:35 The self-awareness blind spot, and how boss holes get formed 10:00 Trust, mirrors, and the courage to give feedback 20:51 Midwest values, work ethic, and lessons from Mom 27:00 A loss that changed everything 29:02 Lead with love, every day 📌 Resources Mentioned * Allegro Group: https://allegro-group.com/ * Adam Grant's podcast work on vulnerability and feedback [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-love-criticism-worklife-with-adam-grant/id1544098624?i=1000624379530] * Brené Brown on curiosity and vulnerability 🔔 Stay Connected New conversations every week. Subscribe so you don't miss one. * Website: wetellwell.com * Newsletter: Start with Story [https://wetellwell.com/sunday] * Conference and community: WellTold * Tellwell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wetellwell/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wetellwell/] * Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkringen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxkringen] 📣 About Tellwell the Podcast Tellwell: The Podcast is a weekly conversation with nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and mission-driven storytellers about the work of building trust and belonging. Hosted by Max Kringen, Chief Storyteller and founder of Tellwell Story Co. in Fargo, ND, every episode gives you practical thinking and real stories you can bring back to your own mission. Less theory, more of what actually works when you're trying to lead people well. #selfawareness #leadership #nonprofitleadership #fundraising #trust #feedback #missiondriven

How to Build Higher Education Branding That a Whole Community Believes In with Meloney Linder

How do you rebuild university brand trust after a massive transition? In this episode, Meloney Linder (VP for Marketing & Communications at the University of North Dakota) breaks down 8 years of building brand consistency, shifting to data-driven storytelling, and earning community belief.  Checklist before you watch/listen: ✅ You lead marketing for a college, university, or mission-driven institution. ✅ Your brand got reset, and buy-in still feels shaky. ✅ Athletics or one program defines you more than your actual mission. ✅ You want data to settle the "everybody's a marketer" debates. ✅ You believe stories should come from your community, not your committee. Higher education branding fails when nobody believes it yet. Here's how UND earned belief.  When Meloney stepped into her role in 2018, the university was navigating a historic brand reset. The Fighting Sioux logo was retired, the brand was entirely new, and community buy-in had to be built from the ground up. What she did next is a clinic in university marketing. 🎯 She shows how a "Leaders in Action" positioning went from a document to something people felt in their bones. By the end, you'll know how to: • Inherit a half-written brand and find where to start. • Give people new reasons to believe when athletics no longer carries the brand. • Tell stories that reaffirm what's already true about your institution. • Build a data culture from zero so opinions stop running the room. ... ⏱ Timestamps 00:00 – Meet Meloney and the UND brand evolution 02:25 – Fergus Falls, two daughters, and Sophie the Havanese 03:50 – Inheriting a brand fresh off a major reset 08:22 – The moment the brand became real 10:37 – Why a logo and tagline are not your brand 14:41 – Building a data culture from scratch 19:52 – The UND stories that surprised her 22:00 – Selling higher ed's value in a TikTok world 24:24 – Feedback is a gift

Scott Holdman Live at WellTold: Fundamentals, Eldership, and the Future of Donor Engagement

If your donor engagement strategy is louder than it is listening, this episode is for you. Nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and executive directors: Scott Holdman shows you how slowing down builds the trust your campaigns are missing. Recorded live at the WellTold Conference in Fargo, North Dakota, this conversation between Max Kringen and Scott Holdman digs into what actually moves nonprofit fundraising forward. Scott has coached hundreds of organizations across the Upper Midwest as the founder of Legacy Logic. You will hear why listening builds trust faster than pitching, how to lead with fundamentals, and why eldership and community belong at the center of nonprofit leadership today. ✨ By the end, you'll know how to: * Listen for the priorities buried inside a donor conversation * Identify the fundamentals your role keeps skipping * Sculpt your strategy by removing, not adding * Invite multi generational voices into your fundraising * Spot the difference between change and real evolution * Use the TALK framework to run better donor meetings * Build community in a culture that defaults to alone Key Quote Highlights: > "If you look at the person next to you, they're as mysterious and amazing and as wonderful as a planet.""We could do anything but we can't do everything, and now we have to learn how to do prioritization." Guest Bio Scott Holdman has spent more than two decades helping nonprofits and givers close the gap between good intentions and real impact. He is the founder of Legacy Logic, where he works as a philanthropic butler, a trusted partner walking alongside givers and the organizations they support. Around the Upper Midwest, Scott is considered fundraising royalty. Learn more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottholdman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottholdman/] ⏱ Timestamps * 00:00 – Welcome to a live episode * 03:30 – Why listening is as powerful as speaking * 08:00 – Fundamentals vs. dopamine distraction * 13:15 – Change vs. evolution * 18:45 – The hardest fundamental Scott learned * 24:00 – Eldership, authenticity, community * 32:30 – Life tasks and life quakes 📌 Resources Mentioned * Scott Holdman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottholdman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottholdman/] * Legacy Logic, Scott's advising practice * The TALK Framework by Alison Wood Brooks * Bill Plotkin on the role of elders * Seasons of Story framework by Tellwell * WellTold Conference, Fargo, ND 🔔 Stay Connected Subscribe to Tellwell: The Podcast so you never miss a conversation built for mission-driven leaders. * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tellwell-story-co [https://www.linkedin.com/company/tellwell-story-co] * Website: https://wetellwell.com [https://wetellwell.com] * Newsletter: Start with Story by Max Kringen 📣 About Tellwell the Podcast Tellwell: The Podcast is hosted by Max Kringen, founder of Tellwell Story Co. in Fargo, ND. Two people, two microphones, one real conversation for nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and mission-driven thinkers. #nonprofitfundraising #donorengagement #nonprofitleadership #storytelling #fundraisingstrategy #welltold #tellwellpodcast