Finding Courage in Community with Diana Farias Heinrich

In This Episode

What if ethical transformation in the nonprofit sector doesn't start with policy, but with people? 

In this episode, Maria Bryan is joined by Diana Farias Heinrich, founder of the Ethical Nonprofit Summit, to explore how courage, connection, and accountability can reshape the way we fundraise, communicate, and lead.

This conversation isn't a checklist of best practices. It's a powerful reflection on what happens when we acknowledge our past harm, choose integrity over fear, and build spaces that remind us we are not alone in this work.

About Diana Farias Heinrich

Diana Farias Heinrich (she/her) is the CEO of Habrá Marketing and a champion of ethical nonprofit storytelling. Through her Equastory™ framework and The Ethical Nonprofit Summit, she actively safeguards equality, respect, and dignity in nonprofit communications while helping organizations raise funds with integrity. She's a certified Advocate for Survivors of Domestic Violence and for DEI in the Workplace. 

Get Your Ethical Nonprofit Tix!

Go to EthicalNonprofitSummit.com and use code WITNESS20 for $20 off

About Host Maria Bryan

Maria Bryan is a trauma-informed storytelling trainer. She helps nonprofit leaders tell powerful and impactful stories that resist harm. Maria has over fifteen years in marketing communications in the public sector. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and is professionally certified in Trauma & Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation. Maria is a firm believer that storytellers make the world a healthier, safer, cleaner, and happier place.

Connect with Maria

Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email

Transcript

Maria Bryan: Hello. Today, we are exploring what it means to lead as an ethical nonprofit professional—and how we can do that in community. Diana Farias Heinrich is with us again, my first repeat guest! She is the visionary behind the Ethical Nonprofit Summit, which is coming up June 4th through 6th. She's the CEO of Habrá Marketing and creator of the Equastory.

Today, we are going to talk all about the upcoming Ethical Nonprofit Summit. Diana, welcome.

Diana Farias Heinrich: Thank you for having me back, Maria. I didn’t know I was your first repeat guest—I feel so honored.

Maria Bryan: You are my first repeat, and I’m just so thrilled. This is the second year of the Ethical Nonprofit Summit, but it just feels different this year.

Before we get to that, what inspired you to create this really beautiful community event?

Diana Farias Heinrich: Oh, I think it's been a long time coming. When I first started in my nonprofit career almost 10 years ago, I really loved sharing stories about the people I was serving—until one day, I shared a story about a young woman whose abusive ex was being let out of jail.

And I realized I had put out this young woman's first name, her last name, her program location, her kids' names—all of these identifying details, just a Google search away. In my effort to do good, I had inadvertently put her in harm’s way.

So I sit down at my computer, starting to take down all the information I can about her, when I have this intrusive thought: “What if it looks like we didn’t actually give out the amount of scholarships we said we did? Are we going to lose donors? Am I going to get in trouble for this?”

It made me pause, but I pushed it aside and did it anyway. And that’s really where this all started.

Once I started my consulting business in marketing, I realized I wanted to teach other people the process I had built along the way. I started speaking at different conferences, sharing my Equastory framework. People would come up to me afterwards asking questions, and I realized they were hungry for this information.

They were either making the same mistakes I had made or didn’t know how to do things “the right way.” So I thought—we need a space to have these conversations and go deeper. And then I thought, well, I can make that space for people. Thank you, internet!

That’s how the Ethical Nonprofit Summit was born. I wanted to create a space for people to come together and talk about how to prevent harm, how to take care of clients, and how to live up to our integrity as nonprofit professionals.

Maria Bryan: When folks are learning about something as difficult and emotionally vulnerable as being ethical, we can do that by learning from people doing it wrong or showing how to do it right.

There’s something, Diana, about you saying, “This is me. I’ve done things wrong, and it’s okay.” You hold that space so generously.

You’ve called things out without putting up barriers for folks. You always lead with your stories of what you wish you had done differently. Thank you for sharing that and for taking that harm and building something phenomenal with it.

This year, the summit is bringing together an exciting lineup of speakers. They’re challenging traditional fundraising and community engagement models. They’re confronting oppressive power dynamics and systems. Why are these themes so essential this year?

Diana Farias Heinrich: You know what? This year, I feel like the summit is even more essential than it was last year.

With the current administration in the White House and the nonprofit sector under tremendous pressure, we need to come together. We need spaces like this where we can talk, find our allies, and realize we’re not alone.

It started as a space to talk about ethical storytelling and fundraising, but this year it has the potential to be a space where we find hope in each other.

Change starts at a personal level, then moves to a team, then to an organization, and then to the sector. That’s what the Ethical Nonprofit Summit is—a catalyst, a tool to advance the movement.

I'm really looking forward to the conversations in the roundtable rooms, in the chat, and from the incredible speakers—Rachel D’Souza, Allie Levene, you, Maria, and Frank Velasquez Jr., our co-host.

Our panelists are folks who have shared their stories on behalf of nonprofit organizations or who are implementing ethical storytelling and fundraising practices. Because the last thing we want to do is harm the communities we’re here to serve.

Maria Bryan: That first story you shared about having to make a very quick decision—that kind of moral calculus you had to do in your head—is something I think a lot of us can relate to.

If you’re striving to be more ethical but feel alone in it, the summit is a reminder that we don’t have to do this alone. We can be proactive together. We can have tough, nuanced conversations together.

So many summits feel like a webinar marathon—you pop into a session that looks interesting, but this one is so different. It supports both learning and connection. Can you share more about how the summit is structured?

Diana Farias Heinrich: Yes! One thing I don't want people to have is FOMO.

We’re such a niche topic among all the other nonprofit conferences, but I’m really focused on creating a shared experience. That’s already hard to do virtually, but this is a one-track conference.

You never have to pick between speakers. We’ll all listen together at the same time, be in the chat together, ask questions together—that’s by design. We’ve built in breaks so you can refresh yourself and come back ready for the next session with the same group of people.

It’s June 4–6, from 9:00 AM to 12:45 PM PST each day. That schedule helps make it accessible for folks across time zones, including those joining internationally.

Recordings will be available for three months afterward—no upsell or separate purchase.

Days 2 and 3 also feature nearly hour-long roundtable sessions with facilitated conversations. Topics like changes in government funding language—we’ll talk about that. I may not have the perfect answer, but someone in our community likely will.

The roundtables are a chance to be vulnerable and real. Ethics are subjective, and nobody’s perfect—but with expert facilitators guiding the conversation, you’ll never feel stuck.

The whole summit is designed for us to go through it together.

Maria Bryan: So, listeners—if this is the kind of community you’re looking for, head to ethicalnonprofitsummit.com to get your ticket. For $20 off, use the code WITNESS20.

Right now, we’re tired. The nonprofit sector is burnt out. We’re dealing with moral fatigue. Do you see this summit also serving as a recentering point?

Diana Farias Heinrich: Yes, absolutely.

The most heartwarming surprise last year was reading the comments. People said things like, “This made me feel less alone,” or “I found my community.” That connection—that’s what makes the Ethical Nonprofit Summit different.

It was the most beautiful surprise to me, and that’s why I’m so excited to do it again this year.

Maria Bryan: My experience last year was that yes, there were hard truths—but also so much encouragement, inspiration, and even humor.

There’s a session filled with just fun and joy. You’ve done such a great job, Diana, of not letting the space feel doom-filled. It’s actually fun—an adventure.

The whole branded theme is: we’re going on an adventure toward a more ethical and equitable nonprofit space.

So, if someone is considering attending, and they feel like they’re the only one in their organization pushing for more ethical approaches, what advice would you give them?

Diana Farias Heinrich: I’d say: come to the summit. Find your people.

I’m always a resource, and I know you are too, Maria. Sometimes, we just need that one person on our side to give us the courage to speak up.

For me, the word that keeps coming up as we plan the summit is courage.

I want people to come here and draw courage from one another. When I see you speak out—or you see me speak out—it gives us inspiration, hope, and most of all, the courage to act.

That’s what I want people to take away from this. And I know they can.

Maria Bryan: Okay, remind us—how can we get tickets for the June 4th–6th Ethical Nonprofit Summit?

Diana Farias Heinrich: Go to ethicalnonprofitsummit.com and use Maria’s code: WITNESS20 to save $20 on your ticket.

Maria Bryan: We can’t wait to see you there. I know a lot of our listeners are already planning to attend—I’ve even heard folks bring it up in the Storytelling Circle!

Diana, I’m so excited. I’ll be co-hosting alongside you and Frank Velasquez Jr. It’s going to be a party. We’re going to have community—

Diana Farias Heinrich: And surprises too!

Maria Bryan: Surprises! It’s going to be good.

Diana Farias Heinrich: It’s going to be fun, y’all. Things will be deep, yes—but also joyful.

Maria Bryan: I’ve said before that joy is resistance—and I think that’s going to be a theme again: joy and rest as resistance. And community as resistance.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Diana Farias Heinrich: Thanks for having me, Maria.

Maria Bryan: Thank you, Diana.