Latest / We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits / 114. The Best of Season 2 - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE, Becky Endicott, CFRE, and Julie Confer

Transcript

114. The Best of Season 2 - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE, Becky Endicott, CFRE, and Julie Confer · We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

• 0:01
  Jonathan McCoy: Hey, I'm john.
• 0:02
  Unknown: And I'm Becky.
• 0:03
  Jonathan McCoy: And this is the we are for good podcast.
• 0:06
  Becky Endicott: nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.
• 0:15
  Jonathan McCoy: We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.
• 0:23
  Becky Endicott: So welcome to the good community, where nonprofit professionals, philanthropist world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
• 0:34
  Jonathan McCoy: So let's get started. Hey, Becky, welcome everybody here the season two finale recap, what do we call this,
• 0:42
  Becky Endicott: I call it the book end, we are putting in bookend on the most incredible sets of conversations that we have had that have blown our minds. And I hope by virtue of tuning in, you got so much out of it. And we're just here to lift up almost the cliffnotes version of the best of the best as we just kind of geek out on the fact that we have grown as individuals and as humans by virtue of having all of these individuals in our world. I feel
• 1:09
  Jonathan McCoy: like I have to tell people all the time, the enthusiasm is real. I mean, this is not like fake we really do and are so endeared and touched by truly everybody that comes through the podcast and everyone the way that they show up and serve this industry and lift all sales. So I think the tone that I'd love to set with this was something that was said by truly one of our favorite guests of all time. She's like the goat right?
• 1:31
  Becky Endicott: She is junk out.
• 1:31
  Becky Endicott: Julie like commands us anytime that we're actually not acting like a bunch of old farts. So we're talking about Susan MacPherson. And on the surface She is the founder of MacPherson strategies, and she's a corporate social responsibility expert, but she is a serial connector. And she is that guest that when I listened to her episode, I could not absorb it all. And she has a phrase that she uses. And that's what we're going to talk about today to set the tone.
• 2:04
  Jonathan McCoy: And that phrase is Jomo Jomo, the joy of meeting others.
• 2:09
  Becky Endicott: And that is what we're talking about today is we sort of do a nice, putting a nice bow on this season. And it's, it's about how we have learned and we hope you have to learning about the power of meeting people the power of listening, the power of making connections, and that is what the business of nonprofits is all about.
• 2:31
  Jonathan McCoy: I agree, it's really like the only way that we can make the biggest impact that our missions deserve. I mean, you can't go at this alone. And that just holds true everybody that we talked to every founder story that we've had this season, all points to that, yes, you've got to have a dream, you got to have a bold vision. But you got to start locking arms with people that share those values. And that's when something turns into a snowball that just is got so much momentum and makes a huge movement.
• 2:57
  Becky Endicott: We started this podcast last August, August of 2020. And we're in six months into the pandemic. And I don't know john and Julia, what you were thinking this podcast would be, but it has morphed into this life affirming experience of just meeting people where they are knowing that we all have something to give and to learn from each other. And to just sit back and think about how all of these big bold visions have not only allowed our missions to succeed, and thrive in COVID.
• 3:34
  Becky Endicott: But it's also so affirming that we need to be thinking bigger, we need to be challenging the status quo, we need to be looking at things that trigger us of Oh, that's the way things have always been done. And we need to be looking at trends.
• 3:50
  Julie Confer: So one thing moving into this next season that we really wanted to dive into with each of our guests, I had them think about trends that they were watching or just things that they were paying attention to coming out of the craziness of 2020. So we just want to bubble up a few of those themes that we kind of thought so I'm going to start by talking about our women of impact week presented by virtuous. We were so excited to see that this was our most downloaded week. But apart from that just the conversations were so special.
• 4:22
  Julie Confer: And so ones that I still think about every day. So huge thank you to virtuous for helping make that week happen. But we just kept seeing throughout a lot of our conversations, these amazing women leading phenomenal movements, phenomenal nonprofits, and so we were just excited to share those. The women wish she's the first in Episode 93, Kristin and Tammy.
• 4:44
  Julie Confer: They are the authors of impact a step by step plan to create the world that you want to live in.
• 4:47
  Julie Confer: And they are just an exact example of what to look at. If you were looking to start your own movement. They're doing it so fantastically. It's not a word.
• 4:58
  Becky Endicott: It is a word and You should use it, I look forward.
• 5:02
  Julie Confer: And then Episode 97 with nivin at the skim. She is just your storytelling guru.
• 5:07
  Julie Confer: And it's a conversation that I am still thinking about. What resources are you providing your donors? What narratives are you sharing? Go back and listen to Episode 97. Dr. Freeman sharing the story of madam CJ Walker in Episode 95 is one that I think I listened to that episode four times, and still get something out of it. I just think there's something so rich and learning the history of the philanthropy space, and the people that were huge players in it. And Madam CJ Walker was one of those. So it was just such an honor to hear all of those stories, all five of those conversations, those are just a few. Make sure to go check that week out. And all of those episodes,
• 5:49
  Becky Endicott: I'm telling you, I felt changed by that story of madam CJ Walker and that entire discussion. And I'm also just sitting here while you're talking, Julie and thinking, do you remember when the skim came on the podcast?
• 6:02
  Jonathan McCoy: Yeah.
• 6:02
  Becky Endicott: What is our life that was like? Yeah, pinch me kind of a moment.
• 6:08
  Jonathan McCoy: It's so true.
• 6:08
  Jonathan McCoy: But it like it just parallels.
• 6:10
  Jonathan McCoy: Everything we're saying is that when we kind of lock arms together with like minded people, like that's where the magic happens. Okay, one of my favorite trends is innovation.
• 6:20
  Jonathan McCoy: And I feel like that's such like a buzzword of 1990. Right. But the idea of being future focused as an organization is just Paramount, and we can't endure 2020 and not think about, how are we going to be ready for the next time that we need to pivot?
• 6:36
  Jonathan McCoy: Sorry to use that word completely, you know, and like, I love some of the conversations that bubbled up because they kind of scare me as philanthropic purists, you know, it's like, we like to think it kind of hurts my heart to hear some of these stats. But the base of the donor pyramid, if you think about the typical donor pyramid, we're talking about the grassroots level, the stats tell us that that is eroding. You know, philanthropy hasn't seen a dip, because there's a lot of major, huge players. Now, obviously, billionaires making huge pledges and giving pledges, are booing this a little bit, but there is power in the people. And we really want to address that the nonprofit's that are addressing that and are leaning into those kind of movements are the ones that are future proofing in our minds. And so I look at some of the conversations we had with Nathan Chapelle. Go back and listen to that. But he said the real pandemic is happening in philanthropy, because we have a 40% average retention rate, your donors are your most incredible asset. And if you're losing, literally 60% is being lost year over year, it is almost impossible to really build a snowball, I mean, so this has got to get reversed.
• 7:46
  Becky Endicott: And I'm sorry, I have to jump in here. Because if if you go back to core value number one, if you believe that everyone matters, you are intent on making an annual giving donor feel like a major gift donor, you can completely flip the script on that number. When people feel seen when they feel like their gift matters. Even at a modest level, your potential to grow that and infuse it long term and the organization has such explosive staying power.
• 8:19
  Jonathan McCoy: Yeah, you're spot on. And this conversation has come up in a lot of different ways over the course of the season, I think you'll hear it. Gabe Cooper called it the generosity crisis, that even first time donors, it's even more dismal that 76 76% of the time, that's going to be their one and only gift to your organization. So we think about innovation, it's like how are you evolving for this next big shift to get more people involved? but also how are you practically just getting plans in place to be ready for God forbid the next pandemic to come down the line, but that so your impact doesn't get delayed, and we know what to do what your continuity plans, think German, we love our conversation, which is good GM, she dove into all things, operations, and just really getting your business side of house set up in a way that that makes you more recession, proof and COVID proof and all these things.
• 9:08
  Becky Endicott: And I was so afraid that people would not tune in to Germans episode because it was operations based.
• 9:14
  Becky Endicott: And I am just here to tell you folks, please listen to Jermaine. Because it was the most fascinating It was probably one of my favorite episodes of the season. And you know how anti numbers I am because I have never been able to do math in my life. But she breaks it down in such a palatable and easy way.
• 9:33
  Becky Endicott: And I if I were in a nonprofit right now, I would be taking that to my operations manager and saying we have an incredible opportunity here.
• 9:40
  Jonathan McCoy: And the last thing I'd say on innovation is this whole idea of venture philanthropy with Dr. Angela Jackson was the episode. And let me just say a theme that I see it just a highest level is it's time for nonprofits to also lay their egos down. You're not the only person trying to change and shape the world and sometimes the nonprofits, not that Was direct path to that maybe you need to partner with social good companies and investors and look for creative ways. Because we have to come back to the core of why are we existing? What are we trying to eradicate, the process to get there can look a lot of different ways. And I love the idea of venture philanthropy because it is infusing capital in an unrestricted standpoint that would never be available through traditional channels.
• 10:22
  Jonathan McCoy: But it's thinking about things differently. I think that's what innovation is all about.
• 10:26
  Becky Endicott: I've loved this conversation around innovation, because I'm here to say that, you know, nonprofit is a little bit stuck in the mud here a little bit living in the past.
• 10:37
  Becky Endicott: And with this sort of antiquated thinking of, you know, this is the way the last 10 people who've had my job have done it, it has really helped making us miss out on the creativity on the innovation, the way that we could completely think about something in a new and different way. I loved Dr. Jackson talking about venture philanthropy because it really underscores this belief we have, the entrepreneurs have a really incredible role to play in the nonprofit space. And if we can play well together in that sandbox, the person who's going to win is the mission and the people who are at the end user of our missions.
• 11:17
  Jonathan McCoy: I'm clapping emoji right now in my head.
• 11:18
  Becky Endicott: Thank you for your clapping emoji. So I want to pivot a little bit, I guess we said pivot twice. Now john, starting to get a tech into a dei conversation. And, you know, we have a lot of conversations with a lot of different individuals about diversity, equity and inclusion. And that is incredibly intentional.
• 11:35
  Becky Endicott: Because as much as we want to disrupt the nonprofit space, and we want to think about things differently, we want to infuse that innovation and that creativity into what we do, we also want to level the playing field. And there are a lot of our friends who are in this sector who are serving the sector, who do not have a seat at the table. And the way that we have structured our organizations and our cultures haven't been in, aligned in a way that has cultural vibrancy at its core, and your culture cannot be entirely vibrant, if everybody is not at the table.
• 12:16
  Becky Endicott: And so we really love diving into the dei conversation. And part of that is probably just by virtue of being these Caucasian individuals who are sitting in the middle of Oklahoma, who want to understand what life is like, around the world, what is it like in your shop, you know, whether you're across the country, or maybe you're in a different country or a different continent. And so we love bringing in these experts that can really teach us and talk to us about how do we empower diverse teams? How do we bring in top level talent, you know, for people who are not represented in our organizations? So it's really about looking at your ecosystem?
• 12:56
  Becky Endicott: To our the people that are on our teams? Are the people sitting on our boards are the people we serve, that we're serving, are they represented well. And I really think that that can help build a pipeline of talent. And I think one of the people that I love that came on and talked to us and gave us the real talk is kushana Palmer, and she talked about how to recruit and empower a diverse team. And she had this quote that I'm always thinking about, it says, being able to talk about transformation means being able to be self aware enough being vulnerable enough and present enough in the current phase of your life so that you can lead from a place of a beginner's mind. So if we're coming into a dei conversation, almost like an infant, if you are not someone that has looked at this, we need to just be listening. And kushana has these four tips for recruiting diverse Fundraising Professionals. It was Episode Number 63, you can check out and then the other individual I was thinking about was Kim Nyoni. And Kim is with you and Lv foundation. And we talked a lot about the diversity inclusivity advancement pledge.
• 13:57
  Becky Endicott: And it's not just a pledge, it was a call to action. And I love that he that the higher ed space was rising up to say we need to do better in our teams. And Kim kind of walked us through how we can be a part of that. And then the last one I kind of wanted to lift up was Karen moody harden.
• 14:17
  Becky Endicott: And she was with the Council on foundations. And I just think that her team is centered on doing the really healthy work that fosters great in a vibrant work environments. They're about developing diverse people advocating for progress. And it's about bringing people together around these topics so that everyone feels included.
• 14:39
  Becky Endicott: And that was Episode 98. I just really encourage anyone if you are on your own dei journey, please lean into these conversations. I feel like I have grown my mind as much as I've grown my heart and it just kind of empowers me and makes me want to see what I can do to bring more people into mom's kitchen table. And
• 15:00
  Jonathan McCoy: it is going to be a learning and growing process because I think this even connects to what we just talked about innovation is that what's your commitment to retaining that talent, because just getting people in the door is only half the battle. But building the ecosystem that you just spoke to, of what makes it a vibrant place where people feel plugged in to stay, and to make a longer lasting impact, it'll create trickle down across the board.
• 15:22
  Julie Confer: I love the word ecosystem. I feel like we heard that in a few conversations this season, and even some that we have coming down the pipeline and season three, and I just maybe my age, I'm 25. But I feel like all of these conversations just helped us see more of a global view or just a nation wide view of philanthropy and our sector. So I love that we're bringing up that word, because so many of these conversations just helped me get out of my own bubble and my own ways of thinking just to think of how every decision plays into a larger ecosystem around our world and around our
• 15:54
  Becky Endicott: country. I love that, Julie. And you
• 15:57
  Jonathan McCoy: know, it takes people across the talent spectrum and different seats of the house. Because we don't just interview CEOs on this podcast, we interview people in all different walks of life in and outside of organizations. And it literally takes everybody to build the ecosystem that we're talking about
• 16:12
  Julie Confer: our world got bigger and smaller at the same time, if that's possible. That is a good description of it.
• 16:18
  Julie Confer: Another trend that we saw was focusing on your mindset. And if you're the one holding your own self back, I think you hear a lot about best practices in the industry and all of our conversations and a couple that I'm about to lift just really helped shift my own mindset of just how are we holding ourselves back? I think that's just not a common conversation in our industry. So we saw this in Episode 88 with Julie Ordonez with major gifts. And I remember asking her in that episode, just how intimidating it might be for a young professional to make that big ask. And she just walked us through having the courage and how we hold our own selves back in those conversations. And she had a amazing quote that I still think about, that there are problems that we can solve in our lifetime. It's not just that we don't know how to solve them.
• 17:08
  Julie Confer: And it's not that the resources are not there. It's that we lack the courage to ask people to join us in the fight. so good and so, so good. And then Aaron Eddie in Episode 91 talked a lot about self doubt. And I think we all were bobbleheads in that entire episode, just nodding our head listening to her wisdom, and she just broke down how your true values and discovering your own values can change everything in your business. And then Mallory Erickson in Episode 60, she walked through the four fundraising tips to transform your fundraising this year, so it's not too late to transform your fundraising this year ago, listen to that one. And she talked a lot about perfectionism, and how that can leave us paralyzed in a state of inaction, and hyper analysis.
• 17:47
  Julie Confer: And I think young professionals and even seasoned professionals can run into this. perfectionism can be one of the biggest things that hold us back. So that was a mindset shift for me. And then our dear friend out of Atlanta, Dana Snyder, talked us through how to level up your online marketing, and how our websites and social channels or our storefronts right now, especially in the pandemic, and she dove into how to leverage events, social media, and just broaden your donor base on all things digital. So those were just a few there were a ton of conversations that dove into mindset. But that was a big thing that I have thought about throughout the season. And
• 18:27
  Jonathan McCoy: I'll say this is probably not everybody's experienced. But I think Becky and I would both agree on this.
• 18:32
  Jonathan McCoy: I mean, that we're in the nonprofit fundraising side for 15 plus years. How often do we just talk about the tactics of like, Oh, you need to try doing this, or you need to try to try harder, or do more work later.
• 18:43
  Jonathan McCoy: And we never talked about like, what mindset? Are you going about this process or this project or making the ask? And I love that these conversations took us there. I really just think of like Aaron Eddy of like, you don't find your identity in the profit and loss statement or in your fundraising goals. Like if you're looking there, if your identity that's gonna be, you're gonna be off from the very beginning.
• 19:08
  Becky Endicott: Absolutely. It almost makes me think of a hamster wheel, where you're chronically just running all the time doing the same thing over and over, and I mean, even just Mallory Erickson, it's like, after she talked for two minutes, I was like, This is the consultant I have always needed and wanted in my life. And if you are someone who wants to break free from the ways of old, I mean, these right here these four that Julie has just dropped, I mean between Julie Ordonez Aaron Eddie Mallory Erickson and Dana Snyder. I mean, Dana Snyder. Let me just tell you what she is saying about your website. Being your front porch in the window to your mission soul is so true if you don't have a digital strategy, especially now, in post, pandemic, I guess we're not even out of the pandemic, but it's just proof positive, that you have to have a landing place for your donors and your people to come and get to know your soul. Get to know what you're about. I mean, please listen to these episodes. If you haven't, they will change your view on the way that you approach fundraising.
• 20:53
  Jonathan McCoy: Taking a quick pause from today's episode to thank our sponsor, who happens to be one of our favorite companies virtuous, you know, we believe everyone matters. And we've witnessed the greatest philanthropic movements happen when you see an activate donors at every level. And virtuous is the platform to help you do just that. It's so much more than a nonprofit CRM. virtuous helps charities reimagine generosity through responsive fundraising.
• 21:12
  Jonathan McCoy: And we love it because this approach builds trust and loyalty through personalized donor engagement. Sound like virtuous may be a fit for your organization, learn more today@virtuous.org Follow the link in our show notes. Okay, something else that I think is a huge trend. And sadly, this shouldn't be a trend. Hopefully, this has been true for a lot of organizations, but the ones that are making the biggest impact that we see, they are so tightly laser focused, connected to those that they're serving, and the program delivery fundraising aspect. And what do I mean by that is, they're in so much communication with the people that they're serving, that they're designing it around them in an ethical way, in a responsible way, in a way that comes not as a savior to the person but as a partner as a How can I help and provide resources that are actually helpful? And that just creates this purity of mission? And I think if she's the first sorry to come back to them already, that do this so thoughtfully in a global mindset that they are humble enough to say, we don't have all the answers. We actually believe the women that we're serving around the world do, and we want to provide empowerment to those great ideas. We saw that from our friend lirica. Monique from Baker, Ripley in just their 100 plus year, you know, organization that's been serving the Houston area in the same way adapting to the needs of the community. And even our friends in New York, the skim. I mean, I think that they have been so in touch with their listener, that they know them so intimately, that they've created the content that they want and crave to be able to be well informed, well activated citizens that take responsibility.
• 22:49
  Becky Endicott: And it shows they have millions and millions of followers and listeners and people pouring in. And why do they keep pouring in. Because they are listened to because they're handed a microphone, because they're aligning their values of what's most important to them, they have a very clear customer avatar of who is the person that they are trying to, to serve. And they just literally give them that microphone. So I love those examples. Okay, I'm going to take us in a different direction now. And I want you all you all, All to have you tell me about the episode that made you cry.
• 23:27
  Becky Endicott: Julie, I'm going to start with you.
• 23:28
  Julie Confer: I got one immediately, um, Episode 81.
• 23:32
  Julie Confer: With the rising above the storms team, often seen and Devin often see and shared her personal story about escaping the Rwandan genocide and the nonprofit that came from that heartache. And I felt that episode and every fiber of my body it was one that just sat with me for so long, because I spent some time in Uganda while I was in school at Au, au and I worked with a women's Advocacy Network there with women who had been abducted during Joseph coneys. Army. It is so hard to relate when you hear these stories of tragedy.
• 24:08
  Julie Confer: But that episode was just so inspiring to hear how much alfonsina loved her siblings, and the hope and the joy that they provided her, which then inspired her to start rising above the storms, so that she could help other kids just like their family. It's just so hard to wrap my brain around how individuals can take these unimaginable tragedies and turn them to good. So it is it's a very hard episode to listen to, but you will feel so inspired, so humbled. And it was just such a joy to meet their team and that we just feel so lucky that she shared her story with us. So thank you to the rising above the storm steam.
• 24:48
  Jonathan McCoy: This season's brought several times that I think you know just definitely pause and one of them was Dr.
• 24:53
  Jonathan McCoy: Tyrone Freeman's. We've talked about this episode a couple of times imagined madam CJ Walker, the whole story. But I'll tell you Dr. Freeman's personal story too. While you know he had he was in a loving family that supported his dreams. I think, you know, really what struck me and stands out is just I remember him being affirmed by this random guy in his church that is you're gonna go on and do great things. And he felt so boosted and I remember just leaving that day just thinking words matter. You know, words matter so deeply in how we're either building people up or tearing people down and we're in a really sensitive, special place in the philanthropy After that we need to understand and recognize the power of that. And how can we set up and help people on a trajectory to go on and do amazing things enough.
• 25:42
  Jonathan McCoy: Dr. Freeman is impacting 1000s, hundreds of 1000s of people's lives through his work through the lily School of philanthropy, and through his book and just his general ethos. So I love that episode,
• 25:54
  Becky Endicott: Dr. Freeman was probably one of the greatest humans we have met in two seasons, I love that you brought that up. mine that I wanted to bring up was Mike Turner with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
• 26:02
  Becky Endicott: And this just dropped a couple weeks ago. But you know, so many of us in nonprofit, are really working through some incredibly challenging missions. And I love that he came onto the podcast, and talked about grief informed workplaces and how to build those in cultures where the mission is hard, and you have people who are sick and dying.
• 26:30
  Becky Endicott: And in his mission, it was children frequently, this has got to be one of the hardest things that one could go through. And he talked about as a staff, how they were emotionally and mentally strengthening themselves to be prepared for this as a part of their workflow. And to me, it was such a brave exploration into embracing mental health, recognizing that to take care of our mission, we have to take care of our employees as well.
• 26:57
  Becky Endicott: And then Julie brings it home with this letter from Sam, who was her make a wish kid back when she was in college and just you know, filling her days with volunteering, and serving other nonprofits. And she was able to work with this young man on his Make a wish dream to go to Australia, and he ironically, also suffered from cystic fibrosis and the letter of what he had dreams for his future, just I mean, we were all crying on the podcast. And I also just want to say that we don't talk often about what happens once these episodes drop, and they go live. And I think the thing that was so beautiful to me about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation was, Mike shares this podcast episode in his network, and the amount of love and gratitude that that was just flowing down from these families that are so appreciative of what the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, whether it was the Rocky Mountain chapter, or the national one had dead is just very inspiring to us of why we do the work that we do. Well,
• 28:09
  Jonathan McCoy: we talk a lot about stories. And I think when we ask our guests about a story of philanthropy that's really moved them. Those are always some of the most poignant times of every interview, and it definitely feels like a turning point. And I think sometimes it's surprising of like, wow, you can see how something happening when you're a kid can really inform the rest of your life. Or maybe it's just happened that kind of keeps you going and wants to wants to stay involved in the industry.
• 28:31
  Jonathan McCoy: What's, what's your favorite story from this season?
• 28:35
  Becky Endicott: I'll start because I it gives me an opportunity to shout out to one of my favorite nonprofits ever, which is positive tomorrows, which is a homeless are a school for homeless children in Oklahoma City. And Susan ogl, who's the executive director of that organization shared the story about how they really make birthday parties and birthdays a big deal for these kids and how often it's sometimes the first time they ever have a party or the first time they get a gift.
• 29:05
  Becky Endicott: You know, when you think about an eight year old kid, for the first time ever getting a birthday gift for the first time. That's kind of mind boggling. We can't wrap our minds around that, as we're individuals with privilege. And we couldn't even begin to experience or understand where they're coming from. But the story she shared that was so powerful was about a little boy, I can't remember how old he was.
• 29:27
  Becky Endicott: But he was getting his first birthday party in his classroom.
• 29:31
  Becky Endicott: And when they had asked him what he had wanted, he kept saying all I want is a doll for my little sister, she has always wanted a doll. And that's what I want my one birthday gift to be.
• 29:42
  Becky Endicott: And you think about these children who have very little who have so little to look forward to. And this little boy can come in and be so selfless.
• 29:51
  Becky Endicott: It just makes me feel like I want to invest in a nonprofit that sees the value in that. And of course that little boy got his own gift and they made sure that during his birthday party, he was able to walk over that doll to his little sister and I'm telling you all the fields.
• 30:10
  Becky Endicott: Oh my gosh. Oh
• 30:10
  Julie Confer: my gosh. When Courtney Bullard in Episode 67 she was sharing the founding story of her nonprofit the pearl house which is a school and home for girls in Ghana Africa. And I don't want to spoil the whole story because the way Courtney presents it will give you goosebumps all over your body but she shares the story of a young girl arriving at the pearl house and what happens when She gets there, we'll just have you in tears. So make sure you go listen to Episode 67.
• 30:38
  Jonathan McCoy: I always resonate with like a founder story. I love the entrepreneur, you know, meet social good. And I think Nick Lynch's story of being we've given all the shout outs to make a wish today. But he was a wish kid, as a three or four year old with cancer, was able to go to Disneyland, had this experience with his family, and survive, ultimately survive cancer. And now he's probably our age,
• 31:03
  Becky Endicott: fast forward 30 something years,
• 31:05
  Jonathan McCoy: and he just feels he's not only hugely connected to make a wish, he's working with them on the social innovation side of things. But he's powered this startup that is literally going to revolutionize the way that nonprofits partner with social influencers, to make incredible movements. And so Nick, you know, the power of philanthropy and Nick's story, I just think just shines through. So I think what this all boils down to is that, if you've got a vision, put on your heart, for some reason, you got to stand up and do something about it, you preach. And we have met some of the most amazing human beings who have done that when probably people around them, were telling them, they were crazy, they were nuts, you're never gonna be able to do that. But these people have done it anyway, I think of some of the founders that are really disrupting in this space for good Gabe Cooper with virtuous max Friedman with give butter and his team, JD BB, and thank you. I mean, each of these houses had a crazy vision, they saw the need and just stepped into it. And the ripple is 1000s of people are empowered to raise more money for their nonprofit or to steward our donors to address the generosity crisis.
• 32:16
  Jonathan McCoy: Like, again, it's gonna take all of us coming together. And I love the people that are willing to stand up when no one else is
• 32:21
  Julie Confer: Hannah brancher called it her nudge. She said, Follow your nudges, because it may be the thing that changes the world. She's the founder of more love letters. So if you're out there with a nudge, we're here to tell you to go for it.
• 32:34
  Becky Endicott: I even think about like Marcus Daniel, who is a professional tennis player, like, visited with us and then went to the Australian Open, it was very, like surreal. But he is someone who is kind of like Hannah, who is not in the nonprofit space, but they saw this opportunity to build a movement. And now Marcus is gathering all of these athletes through high impact athletes, and pointing them in a direction of philanthropy, and getting using their influence and their followers to pour into those missions that are most important to them of so inspiring.
• 33:10
  Jonathan McCoy: So Wow. Season Two is one for the books, which comes back to our book, Becky, Oh,
• 33:15
  Becky Endicott: my gosh, you weren't a dad.
• 33:19
  Jonathan McCoy: But I can't tell you that we're going to find even more incredible humans in season two. But I can tell you the conversations because of the power of batching. Y'all, we have already recorded a few episodes. And the spaces and the conversations that we're stepping into, just truly have been so moving. You know, I think of some of the people that have said yes to us and have come on damn colada, and
• 33:41
  Becky Endicott: freakin Pilates, your favorite nonprofit TED talk of all time is coming on the podcast, I'm still pinching myself.
• 33:49
  Jonathan McCoy: And you know, you don't think that somebody like that can deliver something that's even more deep and more moving than his TED Talk. But just wait. He brought that we get to talk to Vic Harrison, one of the founders of Charity Water and one of our favorite people also. But truly, I mean, we're coming at you from that conversation of how do you take this idea of monthly giving that could help revolutionize your nonprofit, and she walks you through it. So that conversation is coming. And
• 34:14
  Becky Endicott: I think about beer get Burke Burton, who's coming on she is the queen of the African American development officers network. And what she has seen in the life experience that she has lived and how she has poured into people of color are professionals of color in our sector is so inspiring. It's about to take our dei conversation to the next level.
• 34:36
  Julie Confer: And just some of the topics we're diving into using arts and culture as economic development. We're learning how to launch a digital fundraising program in 21 days.
• 34:45
  Julie Confer: We're going to London y'all, and we're talking about impact investing, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals and our global to do list. I mean, they're gonna be amazing.
• 34:55
  Julie Confer: There's there's way more than about
• 34:56
  Jonathan McCoy: cryptocurrency.
• 34:56
  Jonathan McCoy: So get ready. Buckle up. We have two
• 34:59
  Becky Endicott: people coming on to talk about how to raise money without feeling creepy. How do I love that topic? I mean, I think that we can go and have the most progressive conversation but you have to know that we're going to go back to the basics here. And we're going to talk about how do we look at the basics and how do we reimagine them for good
• 35:18
  Jonathan McCoy: and you know, by virtue of just this table that we've created, we firmly believe in just the power of having a growth mindset and we've dropped in episode and season one because we believe so wholeheartedly in this. But truly if you want to transform your nonprofit and you want to transform the world for your mission. It starts with expanding what your beliefs are in that space that you can learn that you can grow, that you can do all these things that seem unfathomable. It's just a matter of leaning in and listening. And this podcast, we hope is just a place that you feel like you can connect as you give yourself the gift of time to invest in yourself as you listen and learn. And we just hope to just continue providing value.
• 36:00
  Becky Endicott: And you are worthy of that. I'm here to tell you, I guess this is my mom's speech right now. But I like want to pour into you right now, you are worthy of investment, we want you to grow as an individual, we want to care about you as a human being, which is why we bring in mental health topics and how to make connections with people, we want this sort of training to be completely holistic, because we can all contribute something back to your point, john, we all have something to give in this world. And if we're listening, if we're leaning in, we are absolutely sharpening ourselves, and our missions will be sharpened as a byproduct of that. And so I've been in nonprofit for almost 20 years.
• 36:44
  Becky Endicott: And I will tell you, I have grown more in the last nine months of having these conversations than I have in the 20 years combined. And I hope that you'll be able to say that too.
• 36:54
  Jonathan McCoy: So here's a couple things you can do. Number one, if you're not subscribed to the podcast, scroll up to the top and hit subscribe, because not only does that help us become more visible to more people, which leads to a bigger impact uprising in our sector.
• 37:06
  Jonathan McCoy: But it also just makes it super easy to find the content. You don't have to listen to every episode, you know, you're not our mom, or maybe you are Hey, Mom, but you want to listen, if you don't want to miss an episode that we're talking about, go ahead and subscribe.
• 37:19
  Jonathan McCoy: But the second one and this one's even more important, even if you don't subscribe, come join our community. So this community is something that we launched in the middle of season two, because we were tired of just having one way conversations on the podcast. We are so indebted and humbled that you're here listening in your earbuds, maybe you're washing the dishes, which is when sometimes to listen back to episodes or cleaning the house or driving to work. But join the conversation with us. Like we're available Julie's there, we hang out there on a daily basis. Go to we're for good community calm, you can join it's completely free. You will make friends, it's not just us there is a brain trust a lot of our podcast guests to one of our podcast guests like ask the questions. They literally the thing that I've learned is that people are so willing to share and to you know, it's not a guarded industry, it is a come and you know, help each other lift all sales.
• 38:12
  Becky Endicott: If there is any theme to this entire conversation. It's just listening. And I know that that just seems hilarious because we've been talking for more than half an hour here. But we want to be a company that listens You are the reason that we continue to show up comm follow us on social and talk into what we're thinking about what guests Do you know what topics have we not covered, your voice is the one that we want represented here.
• 38:37
  Becky Endicott: Please pour into it. Join our email list, do it only if you like freebies and really cool templates because we give a lot of stuff away. But we want it to be a place where you can go find community, find like minded friends who are really rooting for you. And I'm just here to tell you that john Julia and I, we are going to show up for you in the biggest way, because we think you and the sector are worthy of investment. And we know that we can create this impact uprising that is going to lead to this revolution and nonprofit. Our goal is to democratize and diversify philanthropy. And it's about going into spaces that no one else wants to go into having conversations that no one else is bold enough to have. We will keep showing up to do that because our missions are worth it. So please know that it's time to make an investment in you and investment of your time.
• 39:34
  Becky Endicott: Put some budget toward training toward creativity. And ask yourself what do I need? What classes do you need? How are you investing in yourself? If you don't have any budget for that?
• 39:46
  Becky Endicott: Come here to this podcast. We will make it relevant and helpful to you and we hope that will grow your mind as well as your heart.
• 39:53
  Jonathan McCoy: Okay, season three, here we come.
• 39:55
  Becky Endicott: Let's do it.
• 39:56
  Jonathan McCoy: So glad you're here.
• 39:59
  Julie Confer: Thanks for listening to our season. To recap, we've created episode playlists to help you dive into episodes that you may have missed. Follow the link in our show notes to explore them by category. You probably hear it in our voices but we love connecting you with the most innovative people to help you achieve more for your mission than ever before. We'd love for you to join our good community it's free and you can think of it as the after party to each podcast episode you can join today at weird for good comm backslash Hello. One more thing if you loved what you heard today, would you mind leaving us a podcast rating and review? It means the world to us and Your support helps more people find our community. Thanks friends.
• 40:31
  Julie Confer: I'm our producer. Julie Confer and our theme song is sunray by remain boys boom. Thanks for being here.