On a Mission for Nonprofit Leaders is a podcast sharing practical ideas and inspiring conversations to help nonprofits grow, strengthen funding, and increase their impact. In this episode, John Gillespie and Kim Bulger sit down with Shawn DeCarlo, Director of Community Impact at CareOregon. Every nonprofit leader knows the frustration: you've done the work, you believe in your mission, but the grant proposals aren't landing. Shawn has spent over a decade on the funder side, and he's here to answer the question every nonprofit wrestles with: How do you tell an impact story that actually gets funded?
Shawn DeCarlo is the Director of Community Impact at CareOregon, where he has spent over a decade overseeing community impact grantmaking. He works closely with grant recipients, reviewing proposals and guiding selection decisions. Over the years, he’s built relationships with more than 400 community-based organizations, giving him a front-row seat to what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to proposals to funders. Before joining CareOregon, he led a team of community fundraisers at Oregon Food Bank, developed a corporate portfolio of impact philanthropy clients, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia.