Ennoble | A True Charity Podcast

If your dashboard is always green, you might be measuring the wrong things. True Charity has long pushed ministries to track outcomes — long-term life change — instead of just outputs, or activity. But more data collection brings its own tangle of problems. In this episode, we walk through seven tough questions every ministry should ask before adding another metric to the dashboard, so your data drives real stewardship ...

Ideas and implementation are not the same thing. Just as an aspiring pilot needs both the classroom and the cockpit, effective charity practitioners need to know what to do and what it looks like to actually do it. In this episode, we walk through nine field-tested models — pulled straight from True Charity Network members who've lived them out — that turn effective charity theory into real, dignity-affirming practice.

E...

True Charity's Amanda Fisher walks Summit attendees through ten field-tested program models that move ministries beyond the handout and into real, dignity-affirming change.

In just a few fast-paced minutes per model, she unpacks Earn-It Projects, Food Co-ops, Christmas Markets, Mentorship Programs, Self-Reliance Clubs, Award for Performance, Work Shuttles, Childcare Co-ops, Discounted Provider Networks, and Charitable Loans — ...

Episode Summary

This month's Ennoble episode features a bold, satirical piece from James Whitford: a parody in the tradition of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters, imagining what the Devil himself might think of the American Dream as the nation marks its 250th birthday. 

Writing from the voice of the Adversary, Whitford traces how the phrase "pursuit of Happiness" — originally rooted in Jefferson's substitution for Locke's...

Episode Summary

This month's Ennoble episode dives into a 2023 study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examining what happens when SNAP recipients face work requirements — and whether cutting government food assistance actually leads to greater food insecurity. 

You'll Learn

• How researchers used a "natural experiment" to isolate the real effects of SNAP work requirements on food insecurity
• The three key fi...

Episode Summary

This month's Ennoble episode takes listeners to Southeast Georgia, where a growing movement of over twenty-five organizations — nonprofits, funders, and churches alike — is putting effective charity principles into practice. Author Amanda Fisher traces how the region moved beyond one-way, emergency-only giving toward a shared commitment to long-term, dignity-driven transformation.

You'll Learn

• How over ...

Episode Summary
Effective charity can be lonely work. When you’re committed to relational, dignity-driven care in a world still largely defined by handout culture, it’s easy to feel like you’re fighting the battle alone. The True Charity Summit exists to change that.

In this episode, Cole Edmonson recaps the 2026 True Charity Summit in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, where over 200 practitioners from 27 sta...

Episode Summary

What does transformational generosity actually look like — and is it possible to give more than a handout without giving less money? In this episode, Jeff Ferguson, True Charity's Vice President of Advancement, tackles a question that stopped a room of nonprofit donors cold: if effective charity means being with rather than doing for, should donors give less?

Jeff's answer is a resounding no — but it does ...

Episode Summary

The demands of charity work can make every task feel urgent. Emails pile up, problems arise, and the important work gets crowded out by whatever is loudest. In this episode, Dan Remmenga — nonprofit leader, fundraising strategist, and founder of C3 Cultivation — shares how three simple disciplines can help charity practitioners escape the busyness trap and lead with clarity and faithfulness.

Drawing from p...

Rachel explores the vital role of proximity and place in pursuing holistic work alongside people in poverty. Drawing on her experience with LOVEtheLOU, she will share practical examples of cultivating grassroots leadership, creating opportunity within at-risk neighborhoods, and walking with communities as they navigate challenges toward flourishing.

This educational content is just the tip of the iceberg for practical resources avai...

Join us for a powerful panel discussion on this year’s conference theme, By Design. Featuring two case managers and two program participants from Network member organizations, this conversation will offer a firsthand look at what dignifying, empowering, and hospitable case management looks like in practice.

This educational content is just the tip of the iceberg for practical resources available through the True Charity Networ...

Michael Matheson Miller, Senior Research Fellow and Chief of Strategic Initiatives at the Acton Institute, illuminates the connection between the design of the human person and poverty alleviation work, equipping us with a richer vision of purpose and meaning in what we do each day.

This educational content is just the tip of the iceberg for practical resources available through the True Charity Network. Check out how it can help yo...

Episode Summary

Navigating charitable solicitation registration requirements can feel overwhelming, but failing to comply with state fundraising laws can carry serious consequences for nonprofits. In this episode, Frank DeVito breaks down what nonprofit leaders need to know about charitable solicitation registration, state exemptions, donor contact requirements, and ongoing compliance obligations.

You’ll learn:<...

Episode Summary

Charity work can be deeply rewarding — and deeply discouraging. In this episode, Bethany Herron shares two powerful stories that reveal both the heartbreak and hope found in relational charity work.

This conversation explores why dignity-driven charity requires tenacity, relationships, and patience — and why faithfulness matters even when outcomes feel uncertain. Whether you are a donor, volunt...

Episode Summary

How much data is too much — and how much is not enough? In this episode, we explore key insights from The Goldilocks Challenge by Dean Karlan and Mary Kay Gugerty, recapped by Nathan Mayo.

The conversation unpacks how ministries and nonprofits can move beyond measuring activity alone and begin collecting data that actually improves outcomes. From understanding the difference between monitoring and evalua...

Episode Summary

Business is a powerful force for good—especially when leaders intentionally use it to serve others and strengthen their communities. But beyond ethical practices and mutual benefit, there is a deeper calling: to be generous, to give sacrificially, and to steward businesses in ways that uplift the vulnerable. This episode explores how business leaders can play a transformative role in poverty alleviation, using ...

Episode Summary
Many people remain in poverty because they fear losing government benefits, keeping them stuck in dependency. In Why People Stay Stuck in Poverty: Understanding the Welfare Cliff, James Whitford explores how this fear prevents freedom and flourishing, and shares practical ways to help people take the leap toward self-sufficiency. Through stories like John’s, we see that overcoming the welfare cliff is possi...

Episode Summary
Are you tired of top-down solutions that merely slap a band-aid on poverty’s deeper wounds? Bob Woodson provides hope that civil society really is the answer. 

In Lessons From the Least of These, Woodson shares principles for empowering communities from the inside out, emphasizing personal agency, relational transformation, and the importance of grassroots leadership.

You'll Learn:

1. How personal agency...