The Apparo Effect

Cybersecurity Insurance for Nonprofits: What You Need to Know

In this episode of the Apparo Effect podcast, Bleema Bershad and Stephanie McKee of Apparo host guest Lisa Carter, CEO and Founder of SpartanTec as they discuss the importance of cybersecurity insurance for nonprofits.

Skilled Volunteering with Apparo - The Apparo Effect Podcast

Skilled Technology Volunteers: Apparo volunteers take build skills and create social good in the community

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Apparo's Chief Executive Officer, Kim Lanphear hosts Darrell Thompson, CIO at Coca Cola Consolidated and Apparo Board Chair and Sherry Graziano EVP, Digital, Client Experience and Marketing at Truist, and Apparo Board Member. They discuss the benefits of skilled volunteering for not only the volunteer but the corporation as well.

In this conversation, they dive into: 

• Corporate priorities of creating social good and how they are aligned with skilled volunteering
• Talent retention and skill building benefits of skilled volunteering - including building of confidence, leadership, speaking and soft interpersonal skills
• The "feel good effect" of using everyday skills for creating social good in a small amount of time
• Ability to build "purpose at scale" by applying skills efficiently to help many nonprofits and those they serve

Building Nonprofit Capacity - The Apparo Effect Podcast

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Jada Charley, CEO of Crittendon of NC joins Apparo's CEO Kim Lanphear to talk about the importance of building nonprofit capacity.

In this conversation, they dive into:

• The Crittendon mission and their 122 years of impact. Their mission is to empower women and children through education, health, residential care, and supportive services. They envision ending the generational cycle of poverty and trauma, creating better tomorrows.
• Impact of trauma on the women they serve and the nonprofit's staff
• Running a nonprofit like a business without the resources of a for-profit business
• Challenges of successful implementation and optimization of use of new technology
• Nonprofit HR considerations, such as keyman risk
• Apparo and Crittendon's work together in the AI space

Nonprofit Skilled Volunteer Experience with Apparo - The Apparo Effect Podcast

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Apparo's Chief Executive Officer, Kim Lanphear hosts T.J. Felice, VP & Partner of the Charlotte Business Unit of Centric Consulting. T.J. discusses the variety of experiences within his 9 years of working with Apparo as a skilled volunteer.

In this conversation, they dive into:

• Technology skilled volunteering experience: being a Microsoft Excel coach, working with a team of volunteers on a Community Impact Project
• Apparo's ability to match volunteers to the right project and handle all administrative details
• The enjoyment of volunteering together with his colleagues to support nonprofits
• Professional skills that are built from volunteering, especially collaboration and creative thinking
• Skilled volunteering with Apparo is an important part of Centric's talent retention strategy

Technology Volunteers Make Impact for Nonprofit - The Apparo Effect Podcast

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Apparo's Director of Marketing, Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo's Director of Financial Development, Kristen Reed, and Praveen Gautum, CIO for BlueLinx. Praveen discusses his teams experience volunteering on Apparo's Community Impact Project with Streetwise Atlanta.

In this conversation, they dive into:

• How the BlueLinx team assisted Streetwise with their technology needs, allowing the nonprofit more time to focus on their mission.
• The unique opportunity to see behind the scenes at a nonprofit and learn about the day-to-day operations
• The benefits of being a skilled-based volunteer, including the convenience of timing/virtual opportunities and collaboration
• The volunteer experience led to staff professional development, leadership opportunities and creative problem solving.

Ethical and Secure AI for Nonprofit Efficiencies - The Apparo Effect Podcast

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Apparo's Director of Marketing, Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo's Chief Technology Thought Partner, Stephanie McKee, and David Flynn, Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte's IT Director.

In this conversation, they dive into:

• AI is changing the game when it comes to nonprofit efficiency
• Habitat Charlotte has applied AI to save hours of time
• AI can be applied by nonprofits regardless of technical sophistication
  • David shares a great example from a recent Apparo's Nonprofit Bytes & Insights webinar, Microsoft Automate
• AI can be applied to process automation
• Nonprofits can protect their data when using AI
• Nonprofits (and anyone) can avoid ethical pitfalls when using AI

Ai, Authenticity, and Impact - The Apparo Effect Podcast

Nonprofit AI Work: Balancing Authenticity, Innovation, and Community Voice

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Apparo's Director of Marketing, Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo's Chief Technology Thought Partner, Stephanie McKee, and Oscar Gomez, Marketing Operation Manager with Next Stage.

In this conversation, they dive into:

• Tips for ensuring authenticity, the importance, and challenge of authenticity when incorporating AI into nonprofit work
• Trends in nonprofit adoption of AI
• Updates from Next Stage, including:
  • Their 2025 initiative: Cultivate Impact
  • Next Stage's current work in Community Voice - Helping nonprofits understand and react to the needs of their communities

UX Assessment Volunteering - The Apparo Effect Podcast

Advancing Technology Access for Nonprofits: Skilled Volunteering for Social Good

On this episode of The Apparo Effect, Apparo's Director of Marketing, Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo's Director of Development, Kristen Reed, and Lenovo's Corporate Engagement Manager, Libby Richards.

Kristen and Libby discuss the significance of skilled volunteering and corporate-nonprofit partnerships, including:

• The Lenovo Foundation's mission of advancing access to technology and STEM education
• Lenovo's 8th annual Love On month of service, which included skilled volunteer support of Apparo
• Libby's personal volunteer experience with Apparo conducting a nonprofit Website UX Assessment 

Learn more about Apparo's Website User Experience Service.

Data's Role in Nonprofit Fundraising - The Apparo Effect Podcast

Clean Data, Better Fundraising: Insights from Nonprofit Experts

Apparo's Director of Marketing, Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo's Director of Development, Kristen Reed, and Data Bull Co-Founder and stellar Apparo Skilled Volunteer Matt Elliott on this episode of  The Apparo Effect. 

Kristen and Matt discuss the importance of data when it comes to nonprofit fundraising, they address topics such as:

• Matt's nonprofit background and personal data experience that inspired a business focused on nonprofit's data needs
• How ensuring data strategy supports fundraising strategy
• The need for nonprofits to have access to updated, clean data
• Trends in reporting, including the use of artificial intelligence to analyze data
• The importance of considering various audiences for motivation and storytelling

Read more about Matt's recent volunteer work with the Council for Children’s Rights.

Decreasing Nonprofit Expenses through Medicare - The Apparo Effect Podcast

Nonprofit Human Resources: Win-Win Benefits of Medicare

Apparo CEO Kim Lanphear hosts John Leary, Founder and Principal of Health Perspectives, on this episode of  The Apparo Effect as they engage in a compelling nonprofit human resources conversation about decreasing nonprofit expenses through Medicare, covering topics such as:

• Trends of those age 65+
  • Increased numbers in the workforce
  • Pivoting to follow their passion to work at nonprofits
• Lack of knowledge of the "win-win" benefits of Medicare
  • Decreased expenses for employers
  • Tailored benefits and cost savings for those 65+

Following their insightful conversation, Leary shared the results of The Kaiser Family Foundation's annual Employer Health Benefits Survey, revealing that nonprofits are paying almost $1,180 more than for-profits for single coverage and $2,358 more than for-profits for family coverage. 

John refers to the following quote from the Kaiser Family Foundation's President and CEO, Drew Altman, as eye-opening: “Employers are shelling out the equivalent of buying an economy car for every worker every year to pay for family coverage. In the tight labor market in recent years, they have not been able to continue offloading costs onto workers who are already struggling with health care bills.” Read more about the survey results.