Why Being “Nice” Isn’t Working Anymore for Nonprofits: A conversation with Amira Barger

About this episode

Amira Barger discusses the impact of niceness on nonprofit effectiveness and shares insights from her book.

AMIRA, AMIRA, AMIRA. The name is making waves in the nonprofit space. And her book is on fire. In this episode of The Nonprofit Insider Podcast , Swim sits down with Amira Barger , author of The Price of Nice: Why Comfort Keeps Us Stuck and 4 Actions for Real Change . Amira shares what she’s hearing from nonprofit professionals across the country, the emotional weight many people are carrying right now, and the moment she knew this book needed to be written. Together, Swim and Amira explore how niceness often shows up as compliance, avoidance, and fear—especially in times of political uncertainty and sector-wide change. The conversation also tackles nonprofit burnout, communication breakdowns, and why “being nice” can erode dignity, humanity, and organizational effectiveness. This episode is thoughtful, challenging, and necessary listening for nonprofit leaders, HR professionals, fundraisers, and anyone feeling stuck between comfort and courage. Listen on Apple Podcast here: https://bit.ly/Ep72TheNonprofitInsiderPodcastApple Listen on Spotify here: https://bit.ly/Ep72TheNonprofitInsiderPodcastSpotify Learn more about Amira Barger here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amirabarger/…

People in this episode

Host: Swim Karim

Guest: Amira Barger

Topics covered

• nonprofit challenges
• organizational effectiveness
• burnout
• communication breakdowns
• political uncertainty
• comfort vs courage

Keywords

• nonprofit
• burnout
• niceness
• organizational change
• communication
• Amira Barger
• The Price of Nice

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Apple Podcast, Spotify, Penguin Random House

Books & works: The Price of Nice: Why Comfort Keeps Us Stuck and 4 Actions for Real Change

More episodes of The Nonprofit Insider Podcast

• Ep. 77 Megan Laks of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angles · June 11, 2026 · 37 min
• EP 76-Anyone else burnt out & Why I'm changing my opinion on AI in the Nonprofit World · June 3, 2026 · 23 min
• Knowing Your Worth (and Adding Tax), A Conversation with Severina Ware, CVA · April 8, 2026 · 59 min
• Cesar Chavez Ramifications, The Cost to Attend Points of Light Conference in D.C. · March 31, 2026 · 19 min
• A Rant: Why I Hate State Lotteries (and the DC-Based Nonprofit on My Naughty List) · March 11, 2026 · 22 min
• Episode 70 — Kicking Off 2026 with Sara Keller (Nusenda Credit Union Foundation) · January 14, 2026 · 49 min