Running a Nonprofit Like a Business Laura Hope Whitaker, Extra Special People

Laura Hope Whitaker took over Extra Special People (ESP) as a college sophomore. The organization had a $125,000 budget, a $50,000 deficit, and a founder who had just passed away from pancreatic cancer. Twenty-one years later, ESP runs a $8 million budget across five communities in Georgia and North Carolina, employs 50 full-time and 200 part-time staff, and operates a social enterprise that employs 85 adults with developmental disabilities. In this episode of the Charity Charge Show , host Stephen Garten sits down with Laura to talk through what it actually takes to scale a nonprofit, why "nonprofit is just a tax code," and the leadership principles she documents in her new book, The Joy Exchange . Quick Summary ESP serves people with disabilities through afterschool programs, family support, and a social enterprise called JavaJoy. Laura took over as a sophomore in college after the founder died, inheriting a deficit and four board members (one of whom was in jail). Her core growth framework: treat the nonprofit like a business, know the numbers, and be unapologetic about fundraising. Board management is a strategic function, not an obligation. Boards should evolve as the organization evolves. Mentorship and continuous learning have been the constant throughout 21 years of leadership.

You can listen to Running a Nonprofit Like a Business Laura Hope Whitaker, Extra Special People online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Running a Nonprofit Like a Business Laura Hope Whitaker, Extra Special People is an episode from The Charity Charge Show by Charity Charge.

This episode is 38:46 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Charity Charge Show when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.