Amber Melanie Smith

If I could tell my younger self what skills to focus on building in the nonprofit and social impact space, here's a short list:

🤝 Authentic relationship building
📢 Communicating complex ideas clearly (avoid the "curse of knowledge"!)
🎤 Public speaking
🕸️ Understanding social impact systems and ecosystems ("how stuff works")

What about you?

#socialimpact #nonprofits #socialentrepreneurship

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

Amber Melanie Smith

Sometimes we all need little reminders of the good in the world, and sometimes those reminders come from unlikely places. This is my furbaby, Kira. A few weeks ago, she saved a life. ✨💕

On our walk she dragged me over to a storm drain where a blind Maltese senior doggo had fallen and we thought was dead. There was a poster just across the street with the photo of a missing dog, and it just so happened it was the same dog. 🐶

We called the owner to let them know we thought we found their pup, and notified animal control on the off chance the dog was still alive.

An hour later, animal control came by and discovered... the dog was still alive!
According to her owners, she had been missing almost a week by that point, and it had been a particularly hot day... hard for any dog to weather without water, but especially a senior pup.

Animal control fished her out and returned her to her family, who immediately took her to the vet, who confirmed she was just severely dehydrated but otherwise okay.

Needless to say, Kira got many treats when we got back home. 🦴

What acts of goodness or kindness are fueling you these days?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 18

Amber Melanie Smith

Okay, I let my podcast software create a cartoon version of me recording a video.
I don't know, I'm torn. 🧐

It accurately captured my growing candle collection at least. (I have a problem. Don't judge me.)

What do you think? 😆

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 16

Amber Melanie Smith

Did you know I have a weekly newsletter called Changemaker Mondays where I share funding opportunities, upcoming events, and quick tips with over 8K fellow changemakers like you? It comes out every Monday morning (hence... Changemaker Mondays.) 😁

Here's the link to join Changemaker Mondays ☀️ ☕ 🌍
tinyurl.com/nonprofitsandchangemakers

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 10

Amber Melanie Smith

SUPER curious - how many of you watching are Board members?
What is your top Board-related challenge?

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 8

Amber Melanie Smith

Curious! If I did videos responding / advising on your questions, would you be interested in submitting questions to be discussed in those videos?

2 months ago | [YT] | 14

Amber Melanie Smith

Happy #NationalNonprofitDay! Loving this new campaign from ‪@NatlCouncilNPs‬ aimed at raising public awareness about the important work nonprofits do. How are you celebrating? :) #NonprofitsGetItDone

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

Amber Melanie Smith

What do you think?

Source: ‪@guidestar‬ blog.candid.org/post/data-suggests-us-nonprofits-e…

2 months ago | [YT] | 17

Amber Melanie Smith

Nonprofits are often the invisible force keeping communities together, uplifting neighborhoods, and creating opportunities. But few people realize how much they impact their lives. Happy to see some of these stories told in The Nonprofit Quarterly ‪@NPQ‬ --


"When asked if she ever thought much about nonprofits before experiencing these crises, Karen paused. “Honestly, no,” she said. “I didn’t realize how many I interacted with. But nonprofits are everywhere.”


She’s right. Across the United States, there are more than 1.5 million formal nonprofit organizations—ranging from food banks and shelters to museums, credit unions, and social clubs. Collectively, the nonprofit sector contributes $1.4 trillion to the US economy each year and employs more than 10 percent of the country’s private sector workforce, according to the National Council of Nonprofits. Individually, each nonprofit forms a thread in the invisible network that helps our communities not just survive but thrive.


We asked Karen what she hoped people take away from her personal story. She thought for a bit, then said, “You just have to be there for your community. Sometimes you’re the one giving. Sometimes you’re the one receiving. But that’s how we get through. We’re not meant to do life alone.”"

nonprofitquarterly.org/were-not-meant-to-do-life-a…

3 months ago | [YT] | 25

Amber Melanie Smith

Real quick -- Will you let me know what you think?

I'm considering launching some toolkits (templates, resources, special training content) to hopefully help out with some key areas I get questions about a lot. Which of these would you get excited about?

(PS - if you want updates on resources I share make sure you're on my newsletter! tinyurl.com/nonprofitsandchangemakers

4 months ago | [YT] | 21