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Starting a nonprofit is easy to dream about and hard to sustain. Plenty of people have a mission burning in their heart, but very few know how to turn that mission into something fundable, lasting, and impactful. In the final episode of the Mission to Movement series, we break down the three things that separate a nonprofit that just exists from one that actually becomes a movement: identity, simplicity, and consistency. 1. Identity Is More Than Your Name When people start a

Starting a faith-based nonprofit? Before you run to file your 501(c)(3), slow down for a second. I know the paperwork feels like the big first step. But the truth is, filing the paperwork does not automatically make your vision healthy, fundable, or sustainable. It just makes it official. Before you file, there are five foundations you need to start building. A Clear Mission Statement Your mission statement needs to be simple enough that your board, volunteers, and supporters

By Ken McQuiller | Nonprofit Missionary If you are thinking about starting a nonprofit, chances are the first thing on your to-do list is filing a 501(c)(3). Stop right there. Before you spend money on legal fees and paperwork, you need to get clarity. Skipping this step is one of the most common and costly mistakes new nonprofit founders make. In week four of the Mission to Movement series, we are walking through five questions you must be able to answer before you ever touc

By Ken McQuiller, Nonprofit Missionary | Mission to Movement Series, Episode 3 One of the most common mistakes I see nonprofit founders make sounds something like this: "God has given me a vision, so now I need a grant to fund it." I understand the urgency. The passion is real. The need is real. But here's the truth: your first step shouldn't be getting a grant. Before you write a single word of a grant application, there are foundational things you need to have in place. Let

By Ken McQuiller | Nonprofit Missionary You have the passion. You have the burden. You feel called by God to launch a nonprofit that serves your community and advances the Kingdom. But somewhere between the vision and the execution, something gets lost — and more often than not, it's because there's no structure to hold it all together. In the Pentecostal and charismatic world especially, "structure" can feel like a dirty word. Like you're boxing in the Holy Spirit. Like you'

By Ken McQuiller | Nonprofit Missionary God has a funny way of making things clear. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been doing something I probably should have been doing more of: getting on calls with people. Sales calls. Discovery calls. Conversations with founders who have an idea in their heart, fire in their eyes, and a sense that God is calling them to build something. But many of them are also carrying the same question: “Where do I even start?” As I’ve had these con

By Ken McQuiller | Nonprofit Missionary If you've been pouring hours into grant applications only to face rejection after rejection, here's something worth considering: the problem might not be the grant itself. It might be the strategy — or lack of one — behind how you're pursuing funding. In this episode of the Nonprofit Missionary Podcast, I walk through the four most common grant-writing mistakes I see nonprofits make. These aren't obscure technical errors. They're strate

Artificial intelligence is no longer a buzzword for tech companies. In 2026, it is a tool that every faith-based nonprofit and church needs to understand, even if they choose not to use all of it. In a recent episode of the Nonprofit Missionary Podcast, host Ken McQuiller shared his firsthand experience using AI in his grant writing consulting practice and the lessons he has learned along the way. Whether you are a skeptic or a curious early adopter, this guide breaks down th

Fundraising in the Bible: 4 Lessons from the Feeding of the 5,000 for Faith-Based Nonprofits By Ken McQuiller | Nonprofit Missionary Podcast Most people don't hear sermons about fundraising from the pulpit. But the Bible is full of principles that translate directly into how we fund faith-based nonprofits, ministries, and missions. In this episode of the Nonprofit Missionary Podcast, we explore one of the most well-known miracles in all four Gospels — the feeding of the 5,000

fter two years of nonprofit consulting, I noticed a pattern — and it bothered me. Faith-based nonprofits would find me, get excited about grant writing, invest $2,500 in a five-grant package, and then walk away disappointed when not every grant came through. Some saw great results. Others didn't. But the ones who didn't? They didn't just lose faith in me — they lost faith in grants altogether. And that's the real problem.

By Ken McQuiller | Nonprofit Missionary Podcast Introduction We've all heard them — the jaw-dropping testimonies where a student opens their mailbox and finds a check for the exact amount they owe, or a missionary shares how God provided out of nowhere. These stories are powerful, inspiring, and worth celebrating. But here's a take you might not expect: radical testimonies, when misapplied, can actually hurt faith-based nonprofits. In this episode of the Nonprofit Missionary

On a recent episode of the Nonprofit Missionary Podcast , I spoke with nonprofit consultant Katherine Lacefield about one of her...