#198 | From Grant Dependency to Financial Independence with Pedro Jose Rivera

In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Pedro Jose Rivera (  / pjrivera66  ) , a nonprofit fundraising strategist working at the intersection of law, philanthropy, wealth management, and nonprofit leadership. Pedro shares how Latino-led nonprofits can move from grant dependency to deeper financial independence by building diversified fundraising systems. He explains why organizations need to focus on individual giving, planned giving, corporate support, board engagement, and community-based fundraising instead of relying only on restricted grants. Kyle and Pedro also discuss the role of faith, family, generosity, board responsibility, peer-to-peer fundraising, and why asking for support is not begging. It is inviting people to invest in the mission. Episode History 00:00 — Introduction 00:45 — Meet Pedro Jose Rivera 01:30 — Pedro’s Puerto Rican roots, family, faith, and education 03:40 — How generosity was modeled in Pedro’s childhood 06:00 — What Pedro hopes to give through his work 06:45 — Moving Latino-led nonprofits beyond grant dependency 07:40 — Understanding individual giving, planned giving, grants, and events 09:15 — Where new nonprofits should start fundraising 10:15 — Why nonprofits must think like entrepreneurs 11:30 — Why organizations become grant dependent 13:30 — Creative funding strategies and peer-to-peer fundraising 15:30 — What executive directors often overlook 16:50 — The role of the board in fundraising 18:45 — Why passion without systems is dangerous 20:30 — The fundraising truth leaders need to hear -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference (https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/) Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) 📞 Schedule Your Call Here (https://links.theculturelab.org/widge...) 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers (https://the-growth-lab-community.lova...) 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance (https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable....) 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King (https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/)