Richard Fawal, founder and CEO of Voxtopica, joins PodBiz hosts Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan. He sits down to discuss how mission-based organizations—such as nonprofits, educational institutions, museums, and political campaigns—utilize podcasting to grow membership, increase awareness, and drive meaningful impact where the ROI isn't just about the financial bottom line.
For organizations stepping into this space, how does the conversation start regarding funding and professional podcasting within nonprofits and educational institutions?
"First off I think it's something where you know when we talk about nonprofit, when we talk about educational institutions for a lot of people out there, that's where a lot of budget for work comes from. Right. It's it's almost the same as working on a branded podcast, but the ROI looks different. And I want to talk about that in a little bit. But it is something where for anybody who's like, oh gosh, how do I podcast professionally working within the nonprofit space, working within the educational space is a great way to do that. Number one. And number two, it's a great avenue for nonprofits and educational institutions, universities to really get the word out right. It's another communication tool, and it's something that is fun. I think fun is underrated, right? Like when when we're thinking about like, oh gosh, the communications of a museum, right. Like to bring a lot of those stories and history to life, you know, to animate it and to add that, you know, hope that grabs you. Like, podcasts are such a natural medium for that."
When you’re pitching to nonprofits or mission-driven groups, how do you handle conversations when expectations and budgets don't align with reality?
"That's both like the most empowering conversation and the most just like oh this meeting could have been an email when you're having a conversation with them and it's like a potential client and they're like we have this idea and it could be a podcast. And you're like guys for what you're talking about and your goals and your perspective. Budget like that is not what this is... be well, you know, just like enjoy the rest of your life. And we could talk again if you have a different idea. But yeah it's okay. My gosh they do it. There's trust there. When you tell people, no, I'm not going to take your money. There's a bit of trust that you get from that."
How do generational shifts impact how organizations connect with supporters, build long-term capacity, and fund their initiatives?
"I mean, when you think about a lot of these organizations, the generation that founded them and really drove them as aging, right? And as we see boomers age, everything from, Social Security is, you know, having a heavier burden to elder care, to Medicare, to, you know, the great wealth transfer that we're seeing just start to happen as boomers pass on and including like housing, right. It's wild. And so, you know, when you think about that on a nonprofit level, it's something where a lot of these organizations where generationally, to be honest, people had the capacity to get involved. Whereas I think, you know, when you think about millennials, maybe more so, you know, a lot of a lot of us millennials kind of really came of age when the entire economy crashed. So there wasn't there wasn't the energy to make great social change. There was the energy to get a job."
When bringing a legacy organization into a contemporary media strategy, why is inclusivity and two-way engagement so critical?
"Then their baseline. Right. Oh that's, mean that's I think really important. Right. To make sure and you know, this is obviously true across the board for podcasting. But I think it's something where it's important, you know, also specifically on the nonprofit side where there's where there's a very much like we are a charitable organization, a bit of a high handed, feeling sometimes that people get is that it's not a one way street, it's a conversation. And if you want to reach a certain demographic, sometimes it's important to feature that demographic within your content strategy."
Where is the money in podcasting?
"Oh yeah. No they do I mean this is a conversation that we're having you know across the spectrum within podcasting. Right. Whether we are talking to some of the top organizations that run across hosting to adtech to creators, to indie podcasters. Right. It's something where, even on the large side, when we're talking to huge organizations, they're still looking for a slice of overall budget. Right. And and and I described this recently to someone as that third secret piece of pie you have at Thanksgiving, right? Like you've had you've had like you've had a piece of of pumpkin, you've had a piece of pecan. You kind of give it a little bit. You hung out, you had a cup of coffee, And then you're like, oh, maybe I'll just have like a tiny little, like third sliver of a pie. Like, I feel like for so long, podcasting in terms of the budget. We've been asking legacy media and, and a lot of advertisers that have invested in legacy media. We've gone to them and been like, can I have more than the tiny secret third slice of Thanksgiving pie? know, I think as an industry, we're like, hey, actually, we're we're we belong on that main dessert spread. You know, we belong up there with pumpkin and pecan..."
What's something people don't know about what you do?
"Well I mean obviously the internal politics and I think anybody who's kind of worked on the sales side understands just getting things across the line and the amount of stakeholders, you know, the more maybe not the merrier. But what's something that people don't know about what you do... Of course. Somebody uncle who wants to donate. Yeah. 100%. 100%. Yeah... all have to be they have to reach consensus for the state of the industry. Yeah yeah yeah."
What are you most excited about coming up in the podcast industry?
"We're back baby... In-person is the theme of 2026. Absolutely. And and I do think it's, it's an interesting thing right. You know we're seeing this with podcasting conferences as well. because also we are all so remote. It is something we're seeing the industry in person has become so much more of an enriching experience."
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