Laura Hope Whitaker took over
Extra Special People (ESP) as a college sophomore. The organization had a $125,000 budget, a $50,000 deficit, and a founder who had just passed away from pancreatic cancer. Twenty-one years later, ESP runs a $8 million budget across five communities in Georgia and North Carolina, employs 50 full-time and 200 part-time staff, and operates a social enterprise that employs 85 adults with developmental disabilities.
In this episode of the
Charity Charge Show, host Stephen Garten sits down with
Laura to talk through what it actually takes to scale a nonprofit, why "nonprofit is just a tax code," and the leadership principles she documents in her new book,
The Joy Exchange.
Quick Summary
- ESP serves people with disabilities through afterschool programs, family support, and a social enterprise called JavaJoy.
- Laura took over as a sophomore in college after the founder died, inheriting a deficit and four board members (one of whom was in jail).
- Her core growth framework: treat the nonprofit like a business, know the numbers, and be unapologetic about fundraising.
- Board management is a strategic function, not an obligation. Boards should evolve as the organization evolves.
- Mentorship and continuous learning have been the constant throughout 21 years of leadership.
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About Charity Charge
Charity Charge
is a financial technology company serving the nonprofit sector. From the
Charity Charge Nonprofit Credit Card to
bookkeeping,
gift card disbursements, and
state compliance, we help mission-driven organizations streamline operations and stay financially strong. Learn more at
charitycharge.com.
What is The Charity Charge Show - Nonprofit Podcast?
The Charity Charge Show features candid conversations with nonprofit executives, founders, and social impact leaders about what it actually takes to run a mission-driven organization: funding, operations, leadership, and the lessons nobody puts in the annual report.
The show is hosted by Stephen Garten, founder and CEO of Charity Charge, a Public Benefit Corporation founded in 2015 in Austin, Texas. Charity Charge provides financial tools built exclusively for nonprofits, including a credit card underwritten to the organization's EIN with no personal guarantee and no annual fee.
More than 3,000 nonprofits have used Charity Charge to manage their spending.
Learn more at www.charitycharge.com