The power of relationships, curiosity and boundaries in nonprofit leadership | RKD Group: Chat

Nipa Eason (00:04.866)
Welcome to the Arcade Group Chat Podcast, where we bring you behind the scenes of nonprofit life. We shed light on the compassion and purpose behind the individuals solving the world's most challenging problems. I'm your host, Nepa Eason. Today, we're talking with Stephanie Chompamall with the Northern New England Division of the Salvation Army. As the annual fund and advancement services manager, Stephanie works across multiple teams to align goals and find new ways to communicate with donors. She's been with the organization for 20 years and brings a wealth of knowledge about building relationships.

And understanding donor psychology. Let's chat. Hi, Stephanie. It's so nice to meet you and have this conversation with you. How are you today?

Stephanie Chanpimol (00:44.098)
Good. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Nipa Eason (00:48.386)
Yeah, it's I you know, I was looking at some of your your history and your profile and it's you've been with the salvation army for twenty years.

Stephanie Chanpimol (00:58.656)
I know. It's crazy how long and it it doesn't feel like it. but it has been a long time. I've had a lot of different jobs being here, not so not the same role in all those twenty years, but it's pretty incredible. It's not super common to stick around in one place for so long. So that's a great experience.

Nipa Eason (01:16.888)
Do you want to talk a little bit about some of the different hats you've worn at Salvation Army?

Stephanie Chanpimol (01:21.358)
Sure. I came to Maine with just like a year or so of experience in nonprofit. so I was just, you know, trying to look for a job, get myself squared away. So I actually started as the plane giving secretary. and was thinking I'm just gonna get my foot in the door and nonprofit and I'll probably move on to something else. but it just never happened. It, you know, from there it rolled into

a coordinator position and it rolled into filling in a lot of roles as employees from our development department. They came, they went, and I just always was happy to sort of fill in and learn grant writing or event planning, major giving. And I just never really got bored. I'm now the annual fund manager. and we have an incredible team that we all work closely together. So it's always an

all hands on deck sort of atmosphere in which there's just never a time to get bored. There's always something to do, a great project to take on. so I just haven't gone anywhere.

Nipa Eason (02:31.542)
That's amazing. And that's I mean, it speaks to the the beauty of this organization, right? That it you've you came in thinking it was probably temporary and then for so long.

Stephanie Chanpimol (02:42.734)
state a lot. It's just, I mean, I think in many nonprofits it's really easy to h wear multiple hats. You're doing lots of things. so just as the, you know, our division and the Salvation Army have grown through technology and changing times, there's just always something to take on new. There's always a new project to build on, and a new challenge to take on. So I never felt that need to

move on to something else because I hit a ceiling. and the Salvation Army's been really, really great about always allowing me to take on new skills and sort of push the envelope and, you know, push ceiling up further so we can always, you know, do the next thing.

Nipa Eason (03:27.032)
That's an awesome environment where they're encouraging that kind of growth and curiosity and the ability to to take on those new challenges. Are there any that come to mind in I mean, in the last twenty years that stand out to you as like, this was like a tough thing, but we managed to kind of navigate this this time?

Stephanie Chanpimol (03:46.602)
It was I think well in part I just wanna say a lot of it had to do with I had incredible supervisors that were always sort of recognized, hey, if she gets bored, she's probably not gonna stick around. so they were always very encouraging of what education do you need? What do you need to learn? And as new projects came up, so a lot of them s revolving around technology,

divisional, territorial, national integrations with our systems just allowed for new opportunities each each with each step. It just never really fell flat. And so every time a new initiative sort of came down the pipeline, I was always, you know, first or the only one to say, hey, I really want to do that. I really want to be part of that. and so it just always kept me growing for sure.

I don't know that there's one particular one that stands out just so much as every time I hit that point of like I I'm not sure if there's much to learn. There's always something that comes down and that's even happening now as we speak, which is pretty exciting.

Nipa Eason (04:56.674)
Yeah, it is, I feel like that and that sets a tone too for like you said, your teams, the people that you're working with every all the time, where they know that you're going to be the one stepping up to learn something new, do something new. And then they feel like it's a safe space to try new things too, right? Is that a would you say that's like a cultural kind of theme that you all try to encourage with each other?

Stephanie Chanpimol (05:19.662)
I would say yes and no, right? There's like an inherent tension that always exists in the nonprofit world where you always have a tug-of-war with what the development team wants to accomplish. we want to try the next innovative thing, whether it's social media or you know, just meeting people where they're at, but it always does cost money. And there is a balance that has to be had with.

How much does it cost? Can we afford to make this investment in taking those small incremental steps? certainly I like to think that I'm always pushing the envelope. No, we have to do the next thing. We have to progress so that we're not sort of like, you know, stuck. and then just not being competitive with how we reach our our donors. Yeah. So

Nipa Eason (06:09.742)
How do you navigate that, that balance, that tug of war?

Stephanie Chanpimol (06:14.762)
Very kindly, I would think I would say. You know, I think we just try to get together and essentially be friends. So that sounds a little cheese ball. But in getting to know everyone, whether it's personal or just becoming friends, but understanding what other people do and what pressures they're up against, I feel like is a really important aspect of everybody sort of getting what they're want. When when we realize that what my goals are and someone else's goals are

They don't intersect or finding where they do in fact intersect is just really immensely important. And understanding that you're gonna just navigate the conversation to say, well, how do we both get what we want? Or if we can't sort of get there, what does it take to get there? What small steps do we take to get there in terms of maybe this is gonna take a lot longer than we had hoped for.

But we want to work there. But I really do feel like it starts really it just basic with being friends, you know, with the people that are in your office. I mean, maybe not besties, you don't have to go out to dinner or anything like that, but just getting to know them and understand, you know, when they have that day that's like, I'm so upset with XYZ, you know, they share and you just learn a little bit about well, what they're up against or what their goals are and

just it makes it a lot easier for everyone to understand, well, this is how we eventually get to the same page. So that I feel like when you have that Chug of War conversation, you always have tucked in the back of your brain, okay, I know this person needs to accomplish this. And I can make sure that that messaging and that, you know, the ideas are flowing with that in mind. So that there's not a sense of pushback because, well, this just gets me further away from my goals. So it can't happen. I think that's really important. Yeah.

Nipa Eason (08:09.11)
That's super important. And I feel like that's that there's a level of like humanizing each other and remembering that we're all people trying to do the best work possible.

Stephanie Chanpimol (08:18.742)
Everyone's trying to do their best. It's an incredible experience. The Salvation Army is international. So there's multiple levels of international, national, territorial, divisional, our local offices and the communities. And every single one of us has different goals. and there was a time when I started years ago where I felt like, those people, the territory, they have no idea what they're doing. And

You know, those people over there, they just they just don't get it. And then you realize as you get to know everyone over the years, we all just have different goals. We have to accomplish something different. And then you start to learn through conversation where it intersects and okay, so maybe they do really get what's going on. And I just didn't realize it. So I I think that there's a lot of that. And in an organization this this large sticking around for so long has helped me so much to understand.

how each layer is trying to do something different. and just the ability to, you know, check in with everyone and and see if we're like on the same page. Yeah. And then then you just have that tug of war. It just happens less frequently.

Nipa Eason (09:31.299)
I feel like that kind of extends to communicating with donors too, then, right? Like do you feel like that that's kind of a similar overlap in how you I mean, your background is like corporate corporate communication. So I feel like there's a lot of intersections in internal communication and donor communication.

Stephanie Chanpimol (09:48.27)
Absolutely. I it's funny. I always think of it that way where I feel like my colleagues, you know, at all the different levels in many ways are donors too, right? I they still have a a goal and there's we're all have a philanthropic goal. It's just sort of separate and different, even though we're we're trying to it, you know, this one organization, we we do have the same mission. and

Yes, just like our donors, we're all trying to accomplish this mission, but we all have different things that are driving us that are really steering the ship for, you know, our closer and longer term goals. So I think that it's it's exactly the same and and there's not a whole lot of difference. And some people really make this distinction. And I think, no, it you're absolutely right.

Nipa Eason (10:38.03)
So there's like a humanizing of our donor too, right? Like we reach out to them and find the common goal, the intersection, like you were talking about. And how do you feel like your background has helped you with that?

Stephanie Chanpimol (10:52.174)
I think communication's just been a foundational, it reaches into all aspects of life completely. it's a lot of just listening, but understanding that how I say something may or may not be interpreted the way I intend. Same thing coming from the donor that might be speaking to us and ensuring that we are really speaking the same language, or really.

grabbing that moment where you realize, hey, we're not speaking the same language, which seems funny to say, right? We're all, I mean, in the this context, we're all speaking English, but we really cannot be communicating the same thing. So always looking for that. And whether that's with donors or just with colleagues, I'm always looking for is the message I want to convey, is that what's being heard?

And I think that most of the time it is, but you always have those moments where you're like, Yeah, it's just not happening. Or you send something and you think, Wow, I just didn't notice it that way, but they interpreted it totally and completely a different and now we need to like go back to the drawing board. So that foundational aspect of communications, which I think is really grounded in just psychology and sociology, has honestly just served me in every single aspect of my life, like even just personal relationships. Yeah.

that it definitely helps them work, but it just doesn't fall short anywhere in terms of n a skill that's needed.

Nipa Eason (12:18.764)
Yeah. So you mentioned psych psychology and sociology. Is that stuff have you done further study in that or are you

Stephanie Chanpimol (12:26.706)
superficially is part of my marketing and background and communications, you know, group communications versus interpersonal communications, small group communications, they all have different needs and you know, skills that you would interact differently in each of those scenarios. So that is part of my education and background as well. I chose to take on things like psychology and sociology everywhere I could. So all those electives pull from there.

But it's also just my own personal interest. It's what I choose to read or listen to in podcasts. So I like to always be educating myself in those areas. And especially in the world of communications where it's changing and evolving, right? However many years ago when I was in school, it was completely different. We were, you know, part of class, you're talking about, you know, more paper journalism, reading the newspaper every day to in order to discuss it. And now I feel like

There's no like physical newspaper. That's not how we're keeping in touch. social media just was starting then. So that communication is always evolving. So ensuring that I'm sort of always sort of keeping up with that. And I love the psychology with how social media is changing how we communicate, how we think, how we interact with the world around us. So I always try to kind of just continue that education on my own as well.

Nipa Eason (13:54.55)
Yeah, definitely. And yeah, like you said, everything keeps changing and our attention spans keep changing. And all of that, I think, is like you were saying, like a new challenge, honestly. It's like I feel like it's a new challenge almost daily where you're getting some form of new data, new information. How do you how do you keep up with that without getting burnt out?

Stephanie Chanpimol (14:17.134)
I think for me it's exciting. So I thrive on it. It's not something that I would burn out on because I feel like it's what keeps me engaged, right? That next thing to learn about is that's gonna be the next thing that we're gonna to do or we're gonna incorporate, or the next generation is gonna be communicating just totally different than we expected. So for me, I'm always taking that in and that's exciting to me. Cause I think without it

There would just be a ceiling to your learning, right? It would feel like, okay, I learned this job, it's a task, I do it over and over and over, and it doesn't really change. And that's not the case. people are just far more complex than that. and to me that's really exciting. so it would be a difficult thing for me to burn out on.

Nipa Eason (15:01.858)
Yeah. are there anything in the last twenty years at Salvation Army that you've found hard or challenging in terms of like to avoid that kind of burnout? Because nonprofit work can be kind of challenging in that way.

Stephanie Chanpimol (15:15.828)
For me, it's kind of an unpopular opinion, but I have like pretty like rigid boundaries around like home and work. it's I feel like in this world where you can have everything at your hands, we're carrying around laptops and iPads and our phones and we could work all the time. It's really not something that I picked up in my environment here. And it's something that over the years I've I've really have to pay attention to that I to not get sucked in because it is. You your phone can ding all the time, your email can be coming up.

But that I feel like my workday, you know, ends to go pick up my daughter and and to be with my family. And the weekends are really time together to relax, to enjoy all the other things that I love in my life, you know, exercising and cooking. And that wall really helps me that it it prevents the burnout. And but I feel like it's kind of an unpopular thing now where

There's flexibility to work from everywhere. But sometimes I feel like if you're not really careful, it just you end up working all the time. Yeah. and it's easy to to prioritize that over the other things in your life if you're not careful. So for me, it it's just kind of being somewhat rigid with, you know, my day begins and ends here, and my week begins and ends here. And I sort of know that. And

The environment that I'm in now is super supportive of that, you know, taking care of yourself and your family. so I I think that's again, it's a it's another reason to have stayed for so long is there's a great respect for that. And I see a lot of people that just have a really hard time with that boundary or organizations that don't necessarily want to allow for it. So I think, yeah, it just leads you to being done because you never get an off.

Nipa Eason (17:10.018)
Yeah, for sure. I feel like you need to teach me about these rigid boundaries. Cause it is, it's hard, you know, we're a remote first company too. So it's you have to kind of set that that boundary. Like I am with my family right now and this is the time. Yeah.

Stephanie Chanpimol (17:19.34)
Yes.

Stephanie Chanpimol (17:26.114)
Yeah, I don't work from home. So it's a different environment in that it forces you know, shutting a door and leaving. so I imagine that's a whole new challenge working from home.

Nipa Eason (17:39.456)
It is. But, you know, like I said, like like you said, actually, the rigid boundaries help a lot, right? So stepping back, if you're with your family, you're with your family. Yeah. If you're and having that supportive environment makes such a big big difference. Yes. I'm so glad that you all have that. Yeah. Yeah. okay. So switching gears a little bit. a lot of people that we talk to are interested in how how you got to where you're where you are in your

specific job and role. But then also like if you have any advice for people who are wanting to move in that kind of similar direction.

Stephanie Chanpimol (18:16.418)
Yeah, I it's interesting. When I went to school in it was corporate communications, like marketing, advertising, I really thought I was going to like rule the world, work at like a top advertising agency. I was gonna have like my amazing business suit and I was just gonna rock it. And by the end of my college career, when I was interning, I was with an advertising agency. I worked with a business suit in their marketing and

It actually fell flat. And I was so discouraged because I thought, my goodness, what have I done? I've gotten all of this education in an area that I don't think I really enjoy. when I graduated and started reading job descriptions, I found, hey, all this stuff in the nonprofit world seems like something I'm really interested in. And that's where I landed. I where I realized I use all of my marketing, advertising skills within.

The nonprofit world, very similarly, but with a very different end game, right? The goal is the mission. The goal is to raise funds, to help more people. And there was a much greater sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, where I felt like, okay, my effort is like gonna do something. Cause I know if you're working in the nonprofit world, you're really not here to like make lots of money. your your measure of success is really being measured in.

how much you help people or programs that you're able to start and to make a difference in the community. So it's just a different goal.

Nipa Eason (19:49.878)
And it's an interesting trajectory, right? Like you you went in thinking like you wanted this one direction, but moving into like a more a career that's providing more meaning, honestly, right?

Stephanie Chanpimol (20:02.51)
Right. Yeah. And using all of the skills. It didn't I I was so glad that my skills translated into something else besides the career path that I intended, you know, being at a big business and, you know, moving the way up through the top there. This just feels good. I feel good on a daily basis. when I look back and on everything, I feel like I I really did something. I really supported something that made a difference in this world.

and I think that I really needed that. in terms of getting to where I am, like in my position, that was really just a long game of always, I just wanna, I wanna help. I I want to try the next thing, I want to learn the next thing. so over the years, as you know, people come, they go, retirements, they just move on. I was always like, I want to.

I wanna try that. Well, they're you know, like we're in between. And and I would just take on all these responsibilities to the point that over the years, I just was able to grab every single aspect of development and fundraising at some point and know all of these different areas, start to see how they intersected with what I was doing. and it's been incredible because I learned so much, even if it was outside my job. I always had a real like.

Sticking point for the people that always say, it's not my job. I I sort of understand, right? You want healthy boundaries around not taking on too much, but at the same time, I feel like that attitude just like closes you off, right? The ability to just say, Nope, I want to help. I I wanna do whatever it is. Doesn't matter that it's my job. It just allowed me to learn so much more that I feel like I was able to grow faster.

and take on more responsibilities and be respected for taking on those responsibilities successfully. But it really is part of what prevented that ceiling from never coming was just the desire to keep wanting to learn. So I ultimately my advice is going to be, you know, just try anything, you know, temporarily learn a skill in your organization, fill in for somebody, don't be afraid to do more.

Stephanie Chanpimol (22:20.622)
because I think you'd be surprised how many things you learn that are unexpected. It's not just I'm just picking up this extra job duty or I should be paid more. It's to me it's always been about learning.

Nipa Eason (22:35.094)
Yeah. And I feel like there's so many opportunities in nonprofits to learn. Like you said, we're you're wearing different hats, but like you're learning all the different aspects about your mission and how you help people.

Stephanie Chanpimol (22:46.114)
Yeah. It's an always, I think, a nonprofit, an all hands on deck situation where there's just not a shortage of things to do. You don't, you know, frugally, you don't want to spend your money on lots and lots of personnel to do all the things because we want our our profits to go towards helping people. So we want to minimize that. so the exchange for that is doing many things. For me, that works. I thrive in that. I I think that I'm

wouldn't do so great if it was just like, you know, very rigid. The same thing, day after day after day. I love the, you know, excitement of today is not the same as yesterday and it's totally unexpected. And I didn't accomplish what I thought I would, but I did accomplish all these other things. So I do really like that.

Nipa Eason (23:31.478)
Yeah. How what would you say to someone who is a little scared of trying something different and new or learning because they're scared of the failure aspect of it?

Stephanie Chanpimol (23:41.21)
that's a good question. I I guess maybe just coming along the person that you admire and you know asking them to teach you. I've been so fortunate to work with so many incredible people where I feel like if I really didn't know, I just find that person that I'm comfortable with that I feel like I can ask a lot of questions and go back and even repeat those questions that I get it. but also, if at all possible.

I just expect that fair layer like comes. It's it's like part of the game. I think I learned really early on that you will fail and that to some degree it's good and it's positive. because if you just like don't go the route for the the sake of not failing, I feel like you will have tried nothing and you'll really limit what you could do. again, environment really helps. I've been in a really supportive environment where, you know,

Trying new things is sort of celebrated. but there's definitely failures that come for sure. And you learn really quick when you think, Hmm, I'm not gonna repeat that again. Yeah. but just knowing that it will happen. We'll all trip over ourselves at some point.

Nipa Eason (24:57.048)
For sure. and we were talking about nonprofit work being a little bit challenging and you setting pretty strong boundaries between like your home life and work. And you mentioned cooking and exercise. What are what are some of your favorite things to do outside of work?

Stephanie Chanpimol (25:11.928)
I do love to exercise running as much as I can. but some injury sort of prevents me from running as much as I want, but I do resistance training. I love science and nutrition. you know, just learning. I I listen to like podcasts all the time about it. I love plant based cooking.

And just getting the family to eat a little bit healthier and make better choices that are so connected with our bodies and our minds and understanding and appreciating that food is medicine. It's, you know, what we put in our body every day really matters. and it it can just, you know, enhance our life so much more. I know that yeah, that pretty much is sounds

Nipa Eason (26:01.902)
No, I

Stephanie Chanpimol (26:02.272)
That's how I spend so much time other than just, you know, I love to be with my family and just spend time with them. But anywhere I can incorporate exercise and, you know, eating good like whole foods, I'm I'm all over it. And I just the same that is that I way I am with marketing and communications and psychology and sociologies, just science and nutrition and exercise.

just fall in that category. I just can't get enough of it. You know, there's always new studies coming out and I love to to learn about them and find those small ways that you can just tweak your life to to make it better.

Nipa Eason (26:40.066)
Yeah. And I feel like that probably applies so much to the work you all do too, right? So finding like to that you're nourishing the people around you in your mission and in the way that you help people.

Stephanie Chanpimol  (26:45.826)
Ways.

Stephanie Chanpimol  (26:51.148)
Yeah. Absolutely. I think, you know, the Salvation Army does a great job just meeting very basic needs. but providing food and making sure it's nutritious food. you know, providing a space to be spiritual and ha it to to come in and just feel welcome is really important. So meeting those needs is definitely a an aspect of what we we do. And I love that about being here. Yeah.

Nipa Eason (27:17.324)
What's what's your favorite memory of being at Salvation Army? Something that stands out in the last

Stephanie Chanpimol  (27:24.854)
A a single memory? I don't know. It it's all gonna revert back to people. Yeah. you know, the people that really touch my life, both professionally, personally. the things that actually stand out are really kind of silly things like you know, one of my favorite donors that has passed away that I I love just, you know, sitting with her and her recliner and her telling me all of her stories in her life. And I've had donors that

like sing to me on the phone, like musical song, like songs from musicals and stuff that I just, I don't know, make your day. They like the way that you you get to know people and the way that they feel like they can share their their life, not just their thilanthropy, has been great. There's really great achievements like, I worked with a donor, then we closed a multi million dollar gift.

There's achievements like that, but the ones that I look back on are like really some of the ones that are smaller that I just I don't know, I'll never forget sitting at my desk and having a donor ask if she could sing to me. And I thought, Well, of course. so I just getting to know people, it's all about the people. That's what I really take away and remember more than anything.

Nipa Eason (28:42.412)
Yeah, those relations relationships that you're building both internally with the staff and then with the donors too. That's amazing. Yeah.

Stephanie Chanpimol (28:49.23)
Helping our clients, we get opportunity to work in the field some. So, for example, at Christmas, one of my very favorite things to do is work in our toy shops, which I I just love. It's a these incredible opportunities where the community has donated so many gifts and toys. It's it's insane how generous people are. And, you know, parents get to come in, grandparents get to come in, and they get to shop for their children. And it's not just

So exciting that a donor got to open presents on Christmas morning. Maybe they wouldn't have had that opportunity, but the awe of parents having the opportunity to have shopped for them and get to choose what they, you know, wrapped up and were able to gift, I feel like adds a level of integrity that I just I I it's my favorite thing to do at Christmas. Like it just never falls short for like I leave the end of the day with my cheeks hurting from smiling so much. So yeah.

Nipa Eason (29:47.02)
that's beautiful. That's so beautiful. Thank you so much, Stephanie, for sharing your story with us today.

Stephanie Chanpimol (29:51.914)
Absolutely. Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate this. This is incredible.

Nipa Eason (29:57.998)
This was such an insightful chat. Here are three takeaways I got from our conversation with Stephanie that I would take back to my nonprofit. One, build relationships with your stakeholders. That includes the people within the organization and the donors. Especially in an international organization like the Salvation Army, it's important to align your goals so that you can meet the organization's needs. Two, continue to learn and grow. Having an open attitude and saying yes to opportunities that may not feel comfortable is so important. We have to be okay with failure to grow.

Three, setting boundaries between work and home is also very important for our own health and well-being. It's a good way to give 100% in both sides of our lives without wearing ourselves out. Want to chat with us? Email us at connect at rkdgroup.com. I hope I hear back from you. Either way, I'll chat with you next month.