Sally is the founder and CEO of Commonwell Marketing, a heart-centered marketing and leadership firm that helps nonprofits and rural health organizations stand out.A former brain injury rehabilitation therapist turned marketer, Sally brings a rare blend of art and

science to her work—applying the neuroscience of belonging, trust, and human connection to marketing, communications, and leadership strategy.

Key Takeaways:

• Sally’s work sits at the intersection of neuroscience and marketing, showing that effective nonprofit communication isn’t about doing more, but about doing less with intention—simple visuals, few words, and a clear emotional hook consistently outperform dense, information-heavy messaging.
• Emotion is the gateway to attention and memory. According to Sally, nonprofits have 2–8 seconds to spark an emotional response; if they start with data dumps, history lessons, or program lists, the brain simply checks out to conserve energy.
• Instead of trying to make people care, great nonprofit marketing finds and attracts people whose lived experience and “philanthropic heart” are already aligned with the cause—shifting from convincing and chasing to resonating and inviting.
• The “energy” behind communication matters just as much as the words: desperate, scarcity-based, or pushy outreach is neurologically and emotionally repelling, while servant leadership, curiosity, and genuine human connection build trust, oxytocin-driven bonding, and long-term engagement.
• Rural health organizations face unique pressures—funding volatility, hospital closures, staffing shortages—but Sally stresses that no amount of new programs or technology will transform outcomes without strategic, trust-building communication that makes patients feel seen, safe, and confident choosing local care.

“More stuff for the sake of stuff is not what the world needs from marketers.”

“There has to be something in it that triggers a neural response in our brain of emotion… at roughly two to eight seconds, you've got to capture an emotion enough to get attention, then people's brain starts to wander.”

“There is no transformation without engagement and connection, because they don't know that you have a cool new telemedicine, or who it's for, or… why would I want to trust it?” – Sally Mildren

Reach out to Sally Mildren at:

Website: commonwellmarketing.com / theleadershipcafe.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@christiansforimpact/videos

Book: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/getbook

Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence

1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders

Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.

2. Team Coaching + Training

I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.

3. Board Retreats + Trainings

Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results.

Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com

Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs:

https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect

Book Maryanne to speak at your conference:

https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

JD Bauman is the executive director of Christians for Impact and co-author of a new book on effective altruism, All the Lives. You can change how you turn good intentions into real impact. It shows how you could move beyond. Feel good philanthropy, I make a maximum Impact on problems that you care about. JD spends most of his time helping analytically minded Christians find careers that have maximum social impact or donate effectively.

Key Takeaways:

• Passion is what brings people into mission-driven work, but it’s not enough to create meaningful change. JD emphasizes that without data and evidence, even well-intentioned efforts can unintentionally cause harm or fall short of their potential. Pairing heart with strategy is what turns care into real-world impact.
• Not all good actions are equally effective, and that distinction matters. JD illustrates how some interventions can be hundreds of times more impactful than others, even when both are “doing good.” Understanding cost-effectiveness allows leaders to multiply the difference they make.
• “Band-aid” solutions are often criticized, but they can still create life-changing outcomes. In a world where immediate suffering exists, practical, scalable interventions such as poverty relief and disease prevention can dramatically improve lives today. Long-term systemic change and short-term relief must coexist.
• The nonprofit sector often lags in innovation due to fear of risk and failure. Unlike startups, many organizations continue programs that don’t work because shutting them down feels unacceptable. JD argues that testing, failing, and iterating are essential to discovering truly impactful solutions.

“In the real world, we don't have an impact just by caring about something.”

“If you want to be someone that has a maximum impact possible, that really wants to make the most of everything you've been given and do the most good possible, then it's going to require a heart and a head as well.”

“If you don't take those risks, you're never going to find what works.”

- JD Bauman

Reach out to JD Bauman at:

Website: https://www.christiansforimpact.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/christians-for-impact/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christiansforimpact/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@christiansforimpact/videos

Book:

https://www.christiansforimpact.org/getbook

Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence

1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders

Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.

2. Team Coaching + Training

I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.

3. Board Retreats + Trainings

Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results.

Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com

Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs:

https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect

Book Maryanne to speak at your conference:

https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker

Naomi Hattaway is the founder of Leaving Well, a practice devoted to helping organizations treat leadership transitions not as crises or cleanups—but as acts of cultural maturity. She works with mission-driven teams to address board development, succession planning gaps, and workplace transition support. Through interim executive leadership and advisory services, Naomi's work lives at the intersection of trust-building, systems change, and the radical belief that how we end things matters just as much as how we begin.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership changes are often treated as crises even though they are normal and predictable. Naomi reframes exits as acts of cultural maturity rather than simple HR events. Thoughtful offboarding helps organizations create healthy closure and continuity.
• Transitions affect not only leaders but also the team that remains. Founder departures can trigger identity questions when organizations are built around one personality. Acknowledging grief and uncertainty helps teams move forward with clarity.
• Succession planning should involve the whole team, not just top leadership. Documentation, relationship handoffs, and knowledge transfer strengthen organizational resilience. Sabbaticals and temporary leaves can help organizations practice navigating absence and return.
• People respond to change in different ways, and each style brings value. Understanding these differences helps teams balance stability with forward movement. Healthy organizations accept that transition is messy but handle it with intention and care.

“We need to normalize the reality that people leave.”

“We put so much effort and beautiful intention into the onboarding, and then the offboarding is not the same level of energy.”

“We have to start somewhere by being a little bit better to each other when it comes to goodbye.”

- Naomi Hattaway

Reach out to Naomi Hattaway at:

Website: https://naomihattaway.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/naomihattaway

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/naomihattaway

Let’s Work Together to Amplify Your Leadership + Influence

1. Group Coaching for Nonprofit Leaders

Want to lead with more clarity, confidence, and influence? My group coaching program is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to communicate more powerfully, navigate challenges with ease, and move their organizations forward.

2. Team Coaching + Training

I work hands-on with nonprofit teams to strengthen leadership, improve communication, and align around a shared vision. Whether you’re growing fast or feeling stuck, we’ll create more clarity, collaboration, and momentum—together.

3. Board Retreats + Trainings

Your board has big potential. I’ll help you unlock it. My engaging, no-fluff retreats and trainings are built to energize your board, refocus on what matters, and generate real results.

Get your free starter kit today at www.theinfluentialnonprofit.com

Connect with Maryanne about her coaching programs:

https://www.courageouscommunication.com/connect

Book Maryanne to speak at your conference:

https://www.courageouscommunication.com/nonprofit-keynote-speaker