Collective impact—a framework where organizations across sectors come together with a shared vision—can play a big role in addressing complex issues like economic mobility.

This is especially important in cities like Charlotte, where decades of structural barriers have limited upward mobility for many residents.

Collective impact brings together nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to work toward common goals, using data to measure progress and drive decisions.

Today’s guest, Khalil Salim, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation at United Way of Greater Charlotte, shares his expertise on how this collaborative approach is being used to address Charlotte’s challenges, and his thoughts on Raj Chetty’s latest research.

You’ll Hear:

(03:09) What is the United Neighborhoods program and how does it use collective impact

(06:01) What makes collective impact different from other collaborative approaches

(11:00) How to measure and document success from a shared goal

(17:53) The challenges of doing collective impact work

(20:45) How to balance broader indicators with community-defined success metrics

Connect with Khalil Salim and learn more about his work with the United Neighborhoods program.

When it comes to conducting a needs assessment, one of the most important things you can do is listen to the community you’re trying to help.

Integrating community voice into your assessment creates programs and services that genuinely reflect what people need and want.

Community members have firsthand knowledge about the challenges they face and the resources they lack, which can really shape your understanding of the local landscape.

This episode kicks off a series that will give you strategies, tools, and resources needed to create stronger, more thorough assessments.

We’ll discuss where to find secondary data that can shed light on your community’s current landscape and how to collect your own data through surveys, focus groups, and interviews.

You’ll hear:

(01:33) What is a needs assessment?

(05:00) How to avoid assumptions and ensure community voice is central to your assessment

(07:18) Four key benefits of conducting a needs assessment for nonprofits

(11:32) Three steps to conducting an effective needs assessment

Behavioral health issues are closely linked to larger social and environmental factors.

That’s why communities need to come together and find sustainable solutions.

For those in human services, mental health, or prevention work, it’s easy to focus solely on delivering programs and services.

However, advancing your mission often involves looking beyond these to embrace advocacy, systems change, and environmental strategies.

Joining us is Kristin Kidd, co-coordinator of the SAMHSA-funded Southeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center and director of the North Carolina Behavioral Health Equity Initiative.

Kristin has a wealth of experience working with organizations that use community organizing to promote behavioral health equity.

We discuss how nonprofits can leverage advocacy and systems change to advance their missions, even within the constraints of nonprofit guidelines.

You’ll Hear:

(03:17) How community organizing can bring positive changes to behavioral health.

(07:52) How Kristin has gotten grantees out of the nonprofit industrial complex mindset.

(12:32) What it looks like to have community organizing in the behavioral health space.

(16:50) How coalitions and grantees are collecting data from the community to push for policy changes.

(23:04) How to go about advocacy in a non-partisan way.

(26:44) If Kristin forsees more organizations taking environmental approaches toward behavioral health challenges.

Connect with Kristin and learn more about the Southeast PTTC and NCBHEI.

Building a strong data culture in nonprofits and public sector organizations can bring big advantages. When leaders focus on using data, they save time, raise more money, and make better choices for their organizations.

Even though it might seem tough to invest in data with limited budgets, the long-term benefits make it worthwhile. By using data to guide their actions, organizations improve how they work and make a bigger impact on the people they serve.

In this episode, Drew shares exactly how creating a culture of data can lead to these positive changes. You’ll also hear real examples of organizations using data to make smarter choices, improve their programs, and build long-term success.

You’ll hear:

(02:45) How investing in data capacity saves time and allows your organization to focus on its mission.

(04:00) The real reason many organizations remain stuck in manual and time-consuming reporting.

(05:10) How better data leads to securing that next six-figure grant for your nonprofit.

(07:05) The challenge three out of four nonprofit leaders face when evaluating and reporting impact.

(09:30) Why data is essential for making better strategic decisions and empowering leaders to think long-term.

A strong and effective board can make a big difference for organizations, especially those that are looking to grow, get to the next level, be more strategic, and ultimately increase their impact.

With decades of experience revitalizing alumni boards and developing leadership in nonprofits, our guest, Deb Macfarlan Enright, shares her strategies for engaging board members and cultivating effective leadership that drives meaningful impact.

We explore how nonprofits can transform their leadership approach by leveraging the passion and expertise of their members to build stronger communities.

Whether you’re an executive director, a board member, or a nonprofit leader, this episode will share how to create a dynamic, engaged, and impactful board culture.

You’ll Hear:

(01:45) Three strategies for recruiting excellent board members

(06:28) How to attract board members with specific skills like legal, HR, or networking

(21:19) What a new board member needs to learn to be effective in their first 90 days

(27:11) What approach to take to ensure accountability among board members

(29:47) How to measure board members’ contributions beyond attendance

For many organizations, the challenge isn't just in collecting or analyzing data—it's in making data a core part of the decision-making process.

Leaders often find it difficult to embed a culture where data-driven decisions are not just encouraged but are the norm.

Despite having access to valuable data, teams may hesitate to use it due to a lack of confidence, unclear expectations, or insufficient support from leadership.

In a previous episode, we explored what defines a strong culture of data, including leadership commitment, data literacy, and governance.

But today, we're taking it a step further by discussing the practical strategies you can implement to cultivate this culture within your own organization.

You’ll hear:

(02:25) How you can create rituals around data to make it a regular part of organizational practices

(04:40) Why asking questions instead of giving answers encourages data-driven decision-making

(08:14) What celebrating data use publicly does to foster a positive and inclusive data culture

Resources Mentioned:

• EP41 Does Your Nonprofit Have a Data Culture?

• Multipliers by Liz Wiseman

The rise of youth vaping presents a new and significant challenge in the field of substance use prevention. Despite celebrating the decline in cigarette smoking as a public health win, nicotine use has now moved to vapor products and pouches.

This issue is closely linked with concerning trends in youth mental health, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic. Understanding the connection between these two factors and exploring how communities can create supportive environments to address them is crucial for effective prevention efforts.

Keri-Lyn Coleman, a national expert in substance use prevention, joins us to discuss how leveraging data collection tools and building collaborative partnerships between schools, universities, and local organizations can improve our efforts.

By integrating these approaches into community initiatives, we can create more effective and sustainable solutions to support youth well-being and prevent substance use.

You’ll Hear:

(02:04) The unique challenges that youth vaping presents compared to more traditional substance use prevention efforts.

(08:57) The tension between implementing strict school policies, such as zero-tolerance policies, and the need to keep students engaged in school without resorting to punitive measures.

(14:28) What challenges organizations are facing with data collection on student vaping, and how they are addressing these issues.

(18:36) How in states like California and Colorado, organizations leverage statewide surveys and local data to assess substance use and mental health at various levels.

(31:24) Why the future of prevention efforts will require considering the intersection of mental health and substance use.

Connect with Keri-Lyn Coleman and learn more about Collaborative Planning Group and Wellscreen.

What is a data culture? When we talk about culture, it's about an environment. It's about practices. It's about habits. It's kind of like the air you breathe—the part of an organization that's sometimes hard to pinpoint but is always there.

A data culture means creating an environment where the use of data is a priority in decision-making and is part of everything you do. You gather evidence, collect data, evaluate programs, and use this information to make decisions about management, fundraising, and more.

A data culture has several key elements, and we’ll cover five of them so you can understand what’s important for building an organization that uses data in everything it does. Data should not be an afterthought but a central part of how an organization operates, makes decisions, and evaluates its impact.

You’ll hear:

(03:11) How strong commitment from leadership drives a data culture

(05:52) Why data literacy is crucial across your organization

(07:10) What it means to make data accessible and usable throughout the organization

(08:59) The importance of establishing a framework for effective data management

(11:24) How to integrate data into daily decision-making processes