Episode 70 — Kicking Off 2026 with Sara Keller (Nusenda Credit Union Foundation)

About this episode

Swim Karim interviews Sara Keller about philanthropy and community impact through the Nusenda Credit Union Foundation.

Episode 71: Kicking Off 2026 with Sara Keller (Nusenda Credit Union Foundation) We’re kicking off 2026 with a powerful conversation about philanthropy, leadership, and community impact. In this episode of The Nonprofit Insider Podcast , Swim sits down with Sara Keller, Executive Director of the Nusenda Credit Union Foundation, to explore how New Mexico’s largest credit union has spent the past decade investing deeply in communities across the region. Sara shares her personal journey from nonprofit work in Eastern New Mexico to leading one of the most influential credit union foundations in the Southwest. Along the way, she offers three pieces of advice every nonprofit leader should hear, rooted in humility, service, and a genuine love of community. The conversation also goes behind the scenes of grantmaking at scale. Sara walks listeners through how the Nusenda Foundation distributed $1 million in grants in 2025, what it really takes to review more than 400 grant applications, and how her team approaches relationships with nonprofit partners—even when funding decisions are difficult. Swim and Sara also discuss the Foundation’s Community Rewards® program, a unique way Nusenda…

People in this episode

Host: Swim Karim

Guest: Sara Keller

Topics covered

• philanthropy
• leadership
• community impact
• grantmaking
• nonprofit partnerships

Keywords

• philanthropy
• leadership
• Nusenda Credit Union
• grantmaking
• community rewards

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Nusenda Credit Union Foundation

Places: New Mexico, Southwest

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