Life & Leadership with Kim Williams

Episode 97 | From $20,000 to Six Figures: What North Texas Giving Day Taught Me About Community Trust

For four consecutive years, the number of individual donors to American nonprofits has declined. The steepest drop is at the bottom of the pyramid, donors giving under $500. At the same time, major donor and corporate giving has grown, which means total revenue numbers can look stable even as the base of community support is quietly eroding. That erosion matters more than the dollar amount. A broad, active community of small donors is one of the most important signals of organizational credibility you can send to foundation funders, government partners, and major donors. It says: this organization matters to people, not just to institutions. Today, we talk about how to stop the decline and invest in the future.

Episode 96 | Stop Asking Donors to Fund Growth. Ask Them to Fund Excellence.

What if I told you that the most powerful fundraising ask you could make right now has nothing to do with serving more people? What if the ask that would inspire your most loyal, long-term donors is not about expanding your programs at all? Today, I want to challenge one of the most deeply held assumptions in the social sector: that growth is always the story donors want to hear.

Episode 95 | The Funding Cliff Is Real: How Help Your Nonprofit Avoid It

The era of reliable federal and state funding for social service organizations is ending. Not pausing. Ending. The Nonprofit Finance Fund's 2025 survey found that 36 percent of nonprofits ended 2024 with an operating deficit, the highest figure in a decade. More than half have three months or less of cash on hand. At the same time, the number of individual donors has declined for four consecutive years. We are in a sector where costs are rising, demand is up, federal appropriations are shrinking, and the donor base is getting smaller. That is not a temporary storm. It is a structural shift. Today, we are going to talk about how to address it and avoid it. Kim offers three strategies for going from vulnerability to sustainability.

Episode 94 | How to Evaluate the Leadership Team You Inherit

One of the hardest realities many new leaders face is this: inheriting a leadership title does not automatically mean you inherited the right leadership team. The question becomes, how do you know who needs development, who needs clarity, and who may no longer fit the future of the organization? Today, we’re talking about one of the most emotionally difficult parts of leadership transition: Evaluating the leadership team you inherit. Because one of the greatest mistakes new leaders make is assuming they must either keep everyone or replace everyone quickly. Wise leadership requires discernment, patience, and honest evaluation.

Episode 93 | Everyone Said They Wanted Change…Until Change Actually Started

Have you ever walked into a leadership role thinking people wanted transformation… only to discover they were far more comfortable with familiarity? One of the biggest surprises new leaders face is this: people often celebrate the idea of change until change actually begins. That’s because transition disrupts comfort, familiarity, relationships, routines, and sometimes identity. I had to learn that leadership during transition required more than strategy. It required emotional intelligence, consistency, patience, and trust-building. Because transition reveals what stability was hiding. In today's episode, we talk about it.