Trust is the currency most nonprofit leaders never learn how to spend, and Karrah Lompa built an entire career learning how to earn it. As Managing Director of the UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership and Co-Founder of the Watts Leadership Institute, Karrah has spent over a decade proving that grassroots community leaders already hold the real solutions to their neighborhood's hardest problems, they just need partners bold enough to trust them.
In this episode of What Works, Karrah breaks down trust based philanthropy, unrestricted funding, nonprofit sustainability, and why chasing grants can quietly destroy a mission.
02:53 Why do grassroots leaders already hold the real community solutions
08:58 How do you build trust across different community subcultures
17:55 Why unrestricted funding changes everything for nonprofit sustainability
27:08 What happens when nonprofits start chasing dollars over mission
41:58 Why should every nonprofit leader finally learn to pay themselves
52:47 Is infrastructure the missing piece behind passion driven nonprofit work
If you are a philanthropist, funder, program officer, or nonprofit leader ready to build real community trust and sustainable impact, this conversation will reshape how you give and lead.
Connect with Karrah Lompa here on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karrah-r-lompa/
Website: https://luskin.ucla.edu/
The future of philanthropy will not be written in grant applications, it will be built in trust, and that future starts now.
#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention
#whatworkspodcast #nonprofitleadership #missiondriven #operations #scalingimpact #nonprofitmanagement #leadershipthatinspires #nonprofitexcellence #socialimpact #teambuilding #burnoutprevention
WhatWorks is a bold and insightful podcast for non-profit leaders who want to go deeper than surface-level conversations. Hosted by Marla Moody, a seasoned operations executive with decades of global experience, the show uncovers what truly makes mission-driven organizations thrive. From scaling systems to building resilient teams and fighting burnout, WhatWorks goes behind the scenes of the world’s most impactful non-profits.