The Apparo Effect

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.

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.

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.

Pathway to Purpose: Helping People and Buiding Relationships

Apparo Director of Marketing Bleema Bershad hosts Caroline Wienecke on this episode of  The Apparo Effect to discuss the education and career twists and turns that led Caroline to start her own fundraising consultancy. She shares her journey from nursing school to nonprofit data entry, then to nonprofit operations, and dfinally, in her first fundraising role. The common thread: helping people and building relationships.

Caroline also shares fundraising advice, including the importance of good communication and relationship building to grow individual giving.

Cybersecurity Tips for Today and the Future of Breach Protection Technology

Apparo CEO Kim Lanphear hosts Apparo CXO Tech Host, Rick Doten, VP of Information Security at Centene Corporation, and CISO at Carolina Complete Health.

In this episode of The Apparo Effect, Kim and Rick delve into:

• Rick's role as Charlotte's security leaders' "cruise director" and the importance of building community
• How "security through obscurity" is no longer relevant and will not keep nonprofits safe
• Kim's recent email hack
• Cybersecurity tech - from MFA best practices to the role of AI in security risk to the evolution of password protection
• The changing role of CISOs
• Rick's support of Apparo and what motivates the time he dedicates 

Generative AI for Nonprofits: Guidance, Precautions, Applications, and Navigating Platforms

Apparo Director of Marketing Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo Technical Lead, Todd Reavis, who shares his advice and cautions for nonprofits as they explore generative AI.

In this episode of The Apparo Effect, Bleema and Todd discuss:

• Using artificial intelligence to save time including: "How do I.." questions, summarizing content, and generating graphics, ideas, and more
• Understanding the differences between Copilot, ChatGPT, and Google Genesis
• Protecting your nonprofit from the risks of using AI in the areas of intellectual property, accuracy of results, and data security

A Purpose-Driven Path: Nonprofit Career Challenges and Successes

Apparo Director of Marketing Bleema Bershad hosts Apparo Development Associate Karen Rosenfeld in this episode of The Apparo Effect. Karen shares her career journey, beginning with her first nonprofit job at age 14.

Karen reflects on:

• The significance of her high school youth group experiences
• Challenges she faced and overcame
• Past nonprofit successes
• Motivators to weave social good in corporate roles
• How she came into her role on Apparo's Development team

Nonprofit Leader Perspectives on SHARE Charlotte Nonprofit Leader Survey Results

In this episode of "The Apparo Effect", Apparo CEO Kim Lanphear is joined by fellow nonprofit leaders, Pete Vacho, COO of Veteran's Bridge Home and Dr. Sharon Jones, Founder of Dottie Rose Foundation. These leaders provide insights from the frontlines of leading nonprofits in Charlotte and delve into the Nonprofit Leader Survey Results. 

These diverse leaders discuss the:

• Importance of nonprofit collaboration
• Realities of nonprofit staff burnout 
• Precious, limited resource of time in the nonprofit world
• Need to maximize nonprofit efficiency
• Demand for expanded nonprofit access to event space

Innovating for Impact- Exploring Tech, Volunteering, and Collective Advantages

Apparo's CEO, Kim Lanphear hosts this episode of The Apparo Effect. In this episode, Kim is joined by Raja Musunuru, a business and technology leader from TIFIN and an avid Apparo supporter for the past decade. Kim and Raja explore:

• Raja's technology, customer-focused career path
• Career-enhancing benefits of volunteering with Apparo
• Demystifying technology challenges to create solutions for mission-focused organizations
• Technology's connection to corporate and nonprofit business processes 

The Intersection of Corporate Expertise and Nonprofit Impact

Apparo's CEO, Kim Lanphear hosts this episode of The Apparo Effect. For this conversation, Kim is joined by guest Donna Dunlap, Apparo Board Member and President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas. Kim and Donna discuss how their corporate backgrounds have informed their nonprofit careers, including:

• Commonalities between working in a corporation and in the nonprofit sector
• Corporate best practices that should be applied in nonprofits
• How nonprofits can move as efficiently as possible, given limited resources