Latest / We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits / 499. 6 Takeaways + One Good Thing from Season 8 - Jon McCoy, CFRE, Becky Endicott, CFRE and Julie Confer

Transcript

499. 6 Takeaways + One Good Thing from Season 8 - Jon McCoy, CFRE, Becky Endicott, CFRE and Julie Confer · We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Hey, I'm John.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: And I'm Becky, and this is the we Are For Good podcast.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Non-profits 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
  Speaker 1: 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.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: So welcome to the good community.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: So let's get started.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: What's up y'all?
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Season eight baby.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: We did it, we made it I know we are so excited to have Julie to the mic.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: I feel like you know Julie comes in at special occasions and helps us wrap the seasons because, Julie is working behind the scenes and knows this content and knows our guests so closely, and so I love having your lens in these conversations.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Jay, thanks for being here today.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: I'm excited.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: I think I talk on this podcast maybe four times a year and every single time they're doing construction somewhere around me.
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: So if you hear the noises of New York, I apologize in advance, but I'm excited to be here Y'all thanks for staying with us.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: We are closing out season eight and today we are rolling up six takeaways that we feel like have really lifted as themes this season, and then we're going to close out with some one good things.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: But it would be prudent in season eight that we would have to talk first about the two goats that came on to our podcast this season, Seth Godin and Dan Pilata.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Are you guys still pinching yourselves?
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I haven't recovered from those conversations.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think what we were feeling in both of them is this shift, and if you're feeling it, it's very palpable.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: I think it's real.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: It's not only just in the sector.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: There is a shift in the world right now and it feels like this is such a moment to embrace this new narrative of our work and the potential for movements and the moment for nonprofits to seize, and so we're really looking at this new era of modern philanthropy.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: We're talking about big innovation, which starts internally and starts with community.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: If you think back to episode 470, when Dan says you don't have to change how the entire world thinks about charity, you just have to change the way your world thinks about charity.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: And I love that so much because there was a call to action and it was very one to one.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Which is what I think is really trending right now, in this moment, is that need for personalization, that need for authenticity, that need to feel seen, and so I really love this idea about changing our world starting with small little actions, one to one.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: I wish I would have saved the four minute long voice memo that y'all got from me walking from the movie theater.
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: I would be scared to listen back because it was all of my honest feedback after watching Uncharitable, and so episode 470 was kind of like a part two, next step from that movie, and I definitely felt the energy that you're talking about, becky.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: You leave mad, excited, frustrated, because I was looking around the room and everybody in the theater with me worked for nonprofits.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: So I remember voice memoing y'all like the wrong group is here and that was like opening weekend we obviously were the people that were the most excited to probably see it and people have, I'm sure, taken friends and family since then.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: But I just I felt that energy of needing to expand our bubbles because Dan got me fired up and I know all the other nonprofit people in the room but it's time to like expand that circle and get the general public excited and on the same wavelength of that message.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: So I was feeling the energy and glad y'all got the four minute long voice memo of that energy.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: And I feel like from other friends in the sector specifically.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, it just does that like, pump you up and chew up that.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: And that's the power of like talking about these things and being like, oh, we could do this, like if we all got together on this, and that's going to be a theme that comes together in today's conversation.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: But we got to talk about Seth for a minute.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Seth- Godin, now I guess we are on a first name basis.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: It's our life.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: But he dropped one of the most impactful quotes that I think has stuck with me.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: I literally do think about it and quote it and shared in my family often, so this is really like resonated with me and he ended this really cool chat with saying you know what's your one good thing, Seth?
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: And he's like hey, you don't need more time, you don't need more information, you don't need all these things, you just need to decide Boom.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: And I think there's so much power in that and I saw that as almost a theme as it's kind of threaded through this season two.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: And I'll talk about Founder Series because that one really resonated with me.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: But it's always people that just make a decision to go and do and quit sitting and thinking about doing something, but actually take the action and figure it out as you go, and so I love that part of the episode.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: But there's so many nuggets.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: We could talk about a whole episode worth of just everything that Seth taught us.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean Seth is such a legend.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I mean him getting in the green room and talking about firing donors and quitting your galas, like it will never leave me at all, it was so good.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: But I think Caroline Griffin, who's the marketer on a mission I hope you guys follow her she, you know, made Seth's interview was the most poignant moment for her of 2023, of seeing what is possible, and I thought she had some great insight about what she had gleaned from Seth.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: And she says you know, unlike consumer brands, nonprofits don't have this tried and true formula, because we're literally out here trying to solve problems that have never been solved before.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: So what we're doing is a lot more experimental than like doing something like optimizing sneaker sales.
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: So let's remind ourselves daily, let's channel our Seth Godin, that this work is the great experiment and that we have to pour in to innovation to be able to write that new narrative.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: To sit in this moment and I think someone who's doing that really well that we talked to in season eight was Vance Rauch.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: This was episode 491.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: And we're talking about how do you make generosity frictionless?
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: And he says this, in my opinion, is absolutely critical we have to evolve and reach the new generation of donors where they are, which means making generosity frictionless, community frictionless, making our messages frictionless.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: So I'm here for that.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: And it's just like how the world is, you know.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: You know it's the things that we don't think about, that are frictionless.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: It's like it's really just kind of opening our eyes to be like, yeah, that should be the experience for our donors, like the same level of experience that we see in our daily life, how we buy things and how things appear, you know, on our doorstep.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: We want there not to be the tech slowing down people making a decision to support us or volunteer with us or whatever it may be.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Okay, so I really would love to just riff for a minute about the Founder series, Like I love that we get to get so excited about this.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: I love the Founder series.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Because, you know, everybody's stories is always unique.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: That comes on the podcast, but we just have a particular huge part of our heart for founders because, you know, early on I want to say it was season one there was this definition of like man.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: There's a left and a right road to a lot of times in our journey, and the founder chooses the harder road and the road that's less traveled, the road that's less prescripted, and say I see this, I'm going to step into this, I'm going to go for it, and so I just have a ton of respect for founders in this space.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: I think we learned a lot about that.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: You know, once you make that decision, though, it's no longer just about you, it's about building this personal network of support around you and y'all.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I can tell you that from our journey with we Are For Good.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Yes, it started off with the three of us sitting in Becky's bonus room on that really comfy couch.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: Thank you for having such a really comfy and satchel.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, because but, you know, looking at each other like, oh my gosh, we just jumped to start this thing but what we didn't know yet was the names and the faces of the community that would surround this.
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: That took it to a different level, that made it so much more meaningful, that added so much color and vibrancy to it.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: But I think just recognizing seasons, like I think that is a life lesson, just in general, of like Each season is for a different state of mind and for different areas to focus on and brook richie babbage to such a great job of breaking down that for founders and for new organizations, and when you're not mature yet you don't have to worry about all the things that you're gonna have to worry on down the road.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: But having this network of support really does like galvanize and give you so many more options and people to like lean on through the steps.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: So I gotta get some shout outs to my ash mira.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: The idea of what is it like to come in with a founders mindset to an organization that's really old this could be really applicable to you if you feel like Want to shake things up, you want to change things.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: That episode was just so powerful to think of how you can kind of come in with a new mindset of an organization that's probably gonna collapse or close down if it doesn't have some energy coming in.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: Then you can't mistake in heather salazar energy oh my gosh, with pink ribbon.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Good, just really.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: You gotta go listen to her story how something so personal can turn into something that's not like this national movement of just so many people pouring in from all different areas of life.
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: And then how about the first comedian we ever had on the podcast?
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: We had some funny folks have a professional comedian, steve hofstetter, really amazing human, and he started this organization called still city af, which is this amazing organization that houses comedians when they're kind of passing through the city or they just need help in life.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: But steve and this is not a new thing that we've seen on the podcast when you have somebody that's didn't grow up in development, like a lot of us maybe in the field, they just come in with a different lens and they come in with kind of a purity of how this can really work and we don't get mired in a lot of the bureaucracy and like a lot of the red tape that I think a lot of us Know about.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: But steve just saw a different way and built a really vibrant mission.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: So go back and listen to that episode two.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: It's four sixty seven.
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: Well, and broochy babbage is episode four, sixty three.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: I loved a ton.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: I feel like these conversations were kind of like therapy for us, just reflecting on our journey really were but they really were applicable.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: like it's, the same mindset can be used for anyone in any position.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: But in her episode she said she was talking about how the two most important things in all of her work Is intentionality and building the network of support.
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: So I think why I love these episodes so much was because, kind of going back to our comment about Seth Godin Just saying it's time to decide when we were in that bonus room we didn't have any issues deciding, moving, going for it, figuring out what to do.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: It's almost like now, three years in, we have a lot harder of a time like Deciding figuring out the next move.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: It's like this journey isn't like a because you decided to found an organization.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: That was the moment and that's your story.
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: It's like almost like three years in it's harder than that moment Because you have just like more feelings involved in it, I guess.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: So just connecting those kind of two trends, that was something I was thinking about, because that network of support is so important, because, as we're talking to these other founders, I was like, oh, that happened to them to on your 10 or your five or your eight.
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: It's like a journey and it's probably similar in any position.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: So and I don't even think like you have to be a founder to listen to those.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: I saw so much of my development journey and every single one of those individuals.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: But I agree with John.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: I especially looked at like Steve Hofstetter.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: I mean, go back and listen to that episode 467 one.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: He's funny as heck.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: And again, there is something about having fresh eyes on your nonprofit, on your messaging, on your community, on whatever you're looking toward in 2024.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: You don't have to put yourself in these boxes.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: I'm a founder.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: You don't have to just listen to the old playbook.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: It is like.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: Have your open mindset, keep learning, keep growing, because I think the answers are going to be there if you choose to lean into evolving.
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: Yes this next kind of takeaway that I saw.
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: It connects with the other ones that we've already been talking about.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: But business as usual is gone, done, so the words we put around it was just rethinking and rearchitecting your organizational focus, and so I think, for me at least, just listening to so many of the conversations this season and, honestly, over the last like three years in general, have really illuminated this theme.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: I think the, the ones that really like grab my attention, or the leaders that really stick with me and I feel like I have their advice running in my head, are those people that are changing up the status quo.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: They're creating a new business model, like charity water did, just innovating in ways that we haven't seen before, and so I think I want that energy, like moving into the new year of yes, please, how, how can we just rethink everything that we do and not have fear behind it?
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: So a quick, quick story.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: I was so excited I got invited to a vision night for new story back in October here in New York.
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: Some of their team was here and they sent an email and said this is not a fundraising event.
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: We want to have a dinner gather, community, share where we're going and how you can be a part of that vision.
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: So already, like, my guard was down.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: As a 27 year old, I'm like, yeah, I want to hear what y'all are up to.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: I want to be a part of that in, like, whatever way that I can, and I think of them already as one of the most innovative charities of today.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: I'm fast.
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: Company also agrees and there was an article that came out recently about them too that they had dropped the word charity from their title.
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: I don't know if we all remember seeing this.
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: I didn't replace it with homes right.
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, like instead of new story charity now they're just new story or new story homes Fact check me on that.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: But in the article they were talking about how, like they don't see themselves just as a silo Of a charity, like they are a innovative business solution.
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: They have a whole like investment side that you can come and make strategic investments with them and how much farther that will go for them as an organization and all of these things they broke down at that vision night and so I don't know I just left that night feeling so energized, not only for them I felt like a partner in it with them of where they were moving, but it's because they allowed community in and it was like the way they talked about themselves attracted me to it.
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: It was how they saw themselves differently, how they were innovating, like why would they do is different and the way that they do it.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: So just rethinking those traditional events, business models, even the way you approach a 27 year old in your community how could you like?
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: Totally reimagine that?
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: Because I can only imagine the ripples that came from that event, of just spending two hours with a room of 50 people and sharing your dreams of where you're going.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: I can only imagine what connections were made there.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: That is so brilliant.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: I applaud them.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: So let me be clear there was no oversized check at this event.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Correct, not a one Foam check.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: And this is what I value about you.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: Julie is like you are.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: So, gen Z, it's like what's fun, what's meaningful?
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: Where's my place in it?
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: How can I use what I have, whatever I have?
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: And I feel like they just got it.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: So, yes, I think that's a great call to not only how you're going to do it, to not only how you're looking at events, but how are you sharing your vision in such a big way?
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Because I can tell you, I got a lot of texts from Julie that night and she was probably another voice memo.
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: Poor guys, probably.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: We love those rants.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: But to me that tells me it worked.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: That tells me it worked and that it connected.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: So love that story.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: I mean, okay, so this trend that I have to lift Is not going to be a surprise, because we always talk about community is everything that's core to the values that we are for good.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: But I feel like kind of the 2.0 of like, where you start to put that together Is there's power in the collective and we just keep seeing this.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: This is like a through line Of really any story as a movement is built around an organization.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: But I think back to like episode 469.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: Our fellow podcaster and friend, stephen Hackett, who had this passion for St Jude just personally, right From his own life experience of his son, and it's turned into.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: He turned into he's launched this podcast, a thong that's now raised more than two million dollars, basically using what they've got and getting started, which I think is such a powerful thing, using the importance of storytelling and how he can thread people together.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: It's about community and movement building and we see so much movements happen in the power of the collective.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: But there's also like the power of Activating people.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: You know we talked about it with Mia Henry and I feel like we keep quoting Mia.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: We're gonna have to start sending her royalties every time we mentioned.
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: Yes, she is so freaking wise it's not even funny.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: I definitely go back and find the episode with her because you think about your mission as a movement.
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: How can you activate people to really accomplish Whatever it is is why we really challenge you to ask a bigger question.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: New story is asking a bigger question.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: Like Julie just described, they're lasered in on ending global homelessness.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: They don't care if it's through charity or through business or through whatever, because their goal is to end global homelessness.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: So, answering those bigger questions, activating community as a movement around it is is the where the power is at, and so I also got to talk about proximity is power.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: This is like a such a mic dropping moment with Sasha Dichter.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Do you remember when Sasha came on?
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: That was this season.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: That was an ungettable gets.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Sasha is so smart, so wise.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: He's been innovating Impact and charity for you.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: I don't think I believe is that whole episode.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: I was taking notes, I was.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Because, like I think, his Genius and you need to go back and like, find all the work that he's poured into through his TED Talk and but specifically his work now is all about just like, making sure that you are in step, locked in with community and is community really guiding and it's central to what you do.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: So I want to read this quote that that was really powerful.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Sasha said it seemed crazy to me that there would be human beings involved in the change You're trying to make in the world and in your day-to-day practice.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: We would never listen to them and never speak to them.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: But I think you could describe that most work in social change is that way and I want to ask you that, yeah, you listening, how Disconnected is the change and the actual work we're doing from the people?
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: That it's, you know, seeking to even help, and I think that's a bigger, better question that we need to be asking ourselves.
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: Well, and to connect that back to the to Stephen Hackett in the point before, I have to give st Jude credit because when I was an intern there, I was on the team that helped support fundraisers like this kind of like the unique bucket of someone that is a Podcaster or a gamer or a college sorority, just those other groups that want to be involved, like how can you support them?
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: So I have to give them credit, and even Sasha to he spoke about this in his past work at Ackumen.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: It's a different mindset that the nonprofit has, like being open-handed with their resources.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: Because can you imagine if Stephen Hackett had had this idea For that first year of that fundraiser and st Jude was like yeah, we don't really have like a podcast support arm.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: We've never done that before, like I know they just rolled up their sleeves and got him any resources, any access to what they had to help him.
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: So I think, just on that same point.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: It's like a mindset that the nonprofit has to have of don't say yes to everything.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: Y'all have funny stories of Having to say no to like random things that you're gonna get, but Just being really like open-handed again with how your mission takes shape.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: I think st Jude does that really amazing, being open-handed with how their mission takes shape.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: So just wanted to add that really good example, because can you imagine if they had said, oh, we don't have the time or that's not, that's not in our, our KPI, maybe next year or something like that?
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Because I mean, he's raised well over a million dollars.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Who for that organization to okay?
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, $2 million for that organization, and they just help them with graphics and they help them with marketing and they help them with reach and he's driving it.
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: And guess what?
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: His ownership of that narrative is so much more powerful, because it's real, because it happened to his child, then because it's totally authentic it was.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: I applaud your point, julie, because it's all about Looking at influencers not as just the random guy on tick tock.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: They could be, to your point, the college, you know Sophomore who was you, by the way, julie, you know raising money or it could be someone who wants to get back to their community.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: So think about that community in new and diverse ways.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: Okay, so we also got to give a nod to Emily, the founder over at grapevine, because I mean she has created this massive collective giving like kind of mobilizing the collective giving movement through tech, and she came on and shared the four C's of crowd granting.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: So if you're not familiar with that word, I love that word so much crowd granting it's the idea of community, collective resources, collaboration and continuation.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: So, as you think about, like, how to really harness these movements I mean again, I love that you said open-handed, julie, because that you know I say that a lot on the podcast I love the vision of just like how do you keep your vision really clear but be open-handed to how it takes shape.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: That is like involving community.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: In a nutshell, right, well, I love that we're not just like talking about this on the podcast.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: I think we really got to experience this firsthand.
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: So about a month or so ago, becky and I went to Out near the San Francisco Bay Area, to a community called Vallejo in Solano County, and we got to be part of this project that they're really, you know, trying to band together the community around, not just uplifting nonprofits, but like pulling in government and pulling in businesses that are mindful of how do we help our community thrive.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: There's basically this huge development coming into town that could really push a lot of the residents of this community outside of it or maybe you know, cause different gentrification and different things in the area, and so they're trying to be proactive in this, which is such an honor to get invited to be part of this project to.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: You know, go with island me like and flowy jones and spend the day with lia burn fall and chris rico there in slano county we got to be in community with.
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: You know there is 30 or 40 organizations present.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: There is people that are involved in local government, there is local business people.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Well, as far go foundation was there handing out their business card saying hey, we want to work with everybody in this room and it was just this like beautiful picture of the power of the collective.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: Like if we can just get in these rooms together, we realize that we're not as different as it feels like we are when we're in separate rooms and we realize the humanity of each other's, our stories, our personal passions, our organizations, how there's overlap.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: In that room we saw people not only just talk about the services that they provide, but be recipients of services, understanding that there was resources available to them.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: Like how magical is that to be like man?
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: We should talk more, like a lot of us have something that we can offer to other people right across the street from us and just to see it in real time, like maybe believe more than ever just the power of community in the most local sense as well as the broader global sense to.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: So I guess the takeaway is like just community is everything.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: So how can you find it right where you're at?
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: You know, whatever community that you're plugged into, like how can you build relationships there?
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: And then again, are we just gonna make this an infomercial for the?
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: We are for good.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: If you're looking for like minded people, like hey, we're gathered we want to pour more into that community in this coming year, to.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: So please come, come with an open hand, and I promise it's gonna be amazing.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: And I'm not gonna apologize for community, because it really dovetails into what our fifth takeaway is, because I think we're gonna talk about that there are no perfect outcomes.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: That is takeaway number five, and I want to talk a lot about reflections that we had after going through mental health week in October this season, and I really appreciated how Dr Thomas current came in and said there is no perfect outcome.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: Do you guys remember we had the world's foremost expert?
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: I'm perfection and needed this house, dr Thomas current.
• 24:34
  Speaker 2: It felt like he was talking to me and he was like we live in a world that celebrates the overachiever and we need to start thinking about how we embrace average, because the expectations that we put on ourselves are entirely warped.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: They are functions of things that are way beyond our control.
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: And so his challenge and I have to tell you I've been channeling it for two months how do we get comfortable with being ordinary?
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: Why do we have to exhaust ourselves by always reaching for the extraordinary, reaching for that goal that could be put upon us and our you know, in our goals for the year?
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: That is absolutely, ridiculously unattainable.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: And how do we find the courage to speak up and say those things?
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: I thought.
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: Jeff Shuck and Jennifer Mulholland, if you need a gift right now, if you need an ex-health friend, I want you to go listen to Jeff and Jennifer's episode.
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: It was episode 473 there with the plenty group.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: I swear they are our cosmic soulmates just in how they see the world in abundance.
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: And Jeff lifted this company, said there's no problem with self care.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: There's no problem with self care.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: He said where people get stuck as they go right to care and they jump over the self and boys, that I feel very seen and exposed in that moment.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: And he said self care starts with self.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: The grand invitation, and the invitation that requires vulnerability, is to see that we have what we want.
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: What we desire on the outside starts with ourselves, and so our emotions are not obstacles to that.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: They are such opportunities.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: So please go back, check out how to be calm, that whole leader that we know that you can be.
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: And Jennifer also added in this extraordinary 10 minute guided meditation that is in our podcast.
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: Cute, john, julie, how many times have you listen to that?
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: I was just about to ask that question.
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: I've done four.
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: Seven or seven, like five and I got it sent by someone in our community to me.
• 26:28
  Speaker 3: So that's what you know.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: It's amazing I'm going to be really raw right now until you have had some things happening in my life in the last couple months that are very heavy and hard, and I just felt like I needed to feel my feelings.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: A couple times and twice I have laid down on the floor of my office on my rug, played that guided meditation, cried my eyes out, breathed through it and just felt so much better at the end of it and I'm not saying this is a cure all, but that is self care, to take breaks, and I just want to lift that.
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: We also had DRS Alexander on there, who is amazing.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: This woman knows burnout.
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: If you are sitting in that, friends, please check in on episode 474.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: She goes through the 12 stages of burnout, how to recognize burnout in yourself and in others.
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: I think knowing both will give us grace as we move forward and she also talks about the role that community care plays in combating burnout, which is why I'd say I don't apologize for community, because I think community is very healing.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: I think community, and this one in particular, has shown humanity and rawness like I've never seen it before, and so just an incredible mental health week.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: Please go back, check it out.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: We also had just high level Brianna Lightfoot on.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: So if you want to know about moms in philanthropy, moms as business owners, she's got some great tips there.
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: And then we closed out with an incredible mission story with Haley Denison and spill the tea cafe.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: But we also took a survey y'all, and I want to thank everybody on this podcast in this community who fed into the survey and that survey.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: We will be distilling those results, coming out with what we glean from that in 2024.
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: But y'all, I can tell you I have read every one of your stories.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: I feel how heavy things are for you.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: I'm feeling it deep in my being.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: I know how hard things are for you and I want to tell you I see you, I value everything that you're going through.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: We value it and I want to tell you there is hope.
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: Please listen to what Jeff is saying about.
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: Don't just don't overlook that self piece of self care.
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: We're heading into the holidays.
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: I hope you took some time off.
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: Please take some time off, do things that fill your cup and if you need more resources, please come check out.
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: We are for goodcom backslash mental health.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: We have lots of podcasts that you can listen to, articles, books experts we are.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: We will always add to this every single year.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: It is a growing resource.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: It's all there.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: It's all free for you.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Yes, it really was such a powerful week and feel like it came at the right time for our team and, from feedback We've heard from other people, I think it was a good time for you to Okay the very last takeaway.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Number six is to look over the horizon and create a future ready organization.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: And it's funny because in my notes I'm sorry, seth, go to it if you're listening to this is like the 12th time we're quoting you.
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: I promise we have chill.
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: I wrote down again the quote just decide, because I think that is part of creating that future ready organization.
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: You can't just keep spinning your wheels and what if could happen?
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: Just make a plan, be ready for anything, because probably that plan is going to change.
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: And the most recent drop on the feed, actually with Aaron Davison, episode 496.
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: She was from big brothers big sisters, southwest Louisiana.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: This episode was one of those.
• 29:58
  Speaker 3: As I was editing, I was like this is going to help some people.
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: This is going to be good.
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: Like she had such a gift of storytelling and telling the story of how her team remained resilient and unwavering in their commitment to their community and mission after so many natural disasters, so many things were stacked up against them and they got a very mysterious email and phone call that ended up leading them to a really special gift that I won't ruin the surprise go back and listen to episode 496.
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: But they were just so smart about the gift and the investment that they received.
• 30:31
  Speaker 3: They immediately invested it into an endowment fund so that they could secure the future of their mentoring programs.
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: And just the way that she was talking about how to future proof your organization.
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: Sometimes when I'm writing questions, I diabolically think we're going to get like a magical formula from someone like it's always a hope, yes, but she didn't give us a formula, she's.
• 30:54
  Speaker 3: She was talking about how to future proof your organization, or just not even future proof.
• 30:58
  Speaker 3: To prepare yourself for the future is to stack your team around you, she said.
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: I firmly believe in stacking your team, which means everybody in the organization I feel is smarter than me.
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: So when disaster hits, you're all on the same team, you're all leveling up, you know who's in it with you.
• 31:16
  Speaker 3: And then her second thing was to diversify your financial portfolio.
• 31:20
  Speaker 3: So it wasn't a magical formula.
• 31:23
  Speaker 3: It was get a good team in place and diversify where your money is and be smart about it.
• 31:27
  Speaker 3: And I felt like I took a lot of that for our team and just how there's not going to be some magical formula that you can like prepare for the future.
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: So I just felt that in closing, as kind of our last takeaway as we are moving into the new year that was just such a theme of not only just those conversations but of this whole season is just how can we look ahead and not just be like reactive to everything happening in front of us, and how do we like be smart about what we're investing in with our time, our money, who are we investing in on our team, and just how that can amplify and move our missions forward.
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: So those are the six takeaways.
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: Okay, I got a brag on Aaron one more time, so good.
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: This is an episode you need to listen to and think about, because, for exactly what Julie is saying about how do you live in an abundance mindset looking over the horizon because I'll tell you this about Aaron when that major gift came in, she had less than two hundred thousand dollars in the bank and she was not even sure how that organization was going to stay afloat.
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: And this was after four natural disasters that they had endured in one year.
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: If you were living in a scarcity mindset, it would have been really tempting to take that one point one million dollars and put it right into where your programs and where your budget says it needs to go.
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: But the fact that she had this incredible abundance mindset to say, okay, this is future proofing, we're not going to live in that scarcity.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: And look at her now.
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: She grew that organization from five employees to seventeen.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: They have so many new programs.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: They have expanded how they are reaching out to youth in southwest Louisiana.
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: I just want more formidable executive directors out there to step into their abundance power and know that it will yield fruit.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: So love that, julie.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: I do too.
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: More, julie on the mic and she comes up to the mic kicking and screaming.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: I want everybody to know that you're so good, you don't see me ringing my fingers underneath my table right now.
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: I do.
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: I do in my mom part, but I'm so grateful for it.
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: So we got to close out with some one good things and John yeah.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: Mr CEO.
• 33:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what's your one good thing.
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: I love teasing John about being CEO and make it so cringe to him.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: Tell us what your one good thing is.
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: How are you going to roll up the season into a one good thing?
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: I mean, this is tough and the dreaded question always feels really hard to some eight.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: But I'll say what I was feeling this morning as I was reflecting on this and it's it's not new to this conversation today, but I think there is such a through line of just using what you know, and we talk a lot about trusting our gut, because you know there's a lot to be had in the data world and we talk about data and we need to know our numbers.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: There's also some instinctual stuff in our gut that you know.
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: You likely know what the right path is for you personally, for your mission.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: But you just got to like start and I'm gonna unpack next season or coming up soon, and this big life family decision that we've been Standing on kind of the fence post on.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: Like do we say, do we go, kind of in a literal sense actually, if you know, for you to share this story.
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but I think that there is so much power in just going find your people and just go, because the gut does not lead us wrong.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: Oftentimes, you know and I think so many of these stories that wouldn't have happened if people had not at the state, on the sidelines.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: So there's.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: There's the message that you need to hear if you're on the fence about something, it's time to decide.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: There's Seth Godin for the reference number twenty two.
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: Drink coffee.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: Drink Julie.
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: What about you?
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: What's your one good thing?
• 35:07
  Speaker 3: can I go on a rant for like just a moment?
• 35:12
  Speaker 2: Julie, yes, let me hear it.
• 35:14
  Speaker 3: My one good thing is to make good mainstream, and this is my rant some of my friends have fallen victim to like an innocent happy hour, turning into me like talking about this idea of why generosity and philanthropy needs to be more mainstream.
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: But I just, ever since we started we are for good it always irked me that, as a society like true crime, pop culture, reality TV, all of that is mainstream and, let's be clear, I love all of those things.
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: I don't want them to go away, but in that same level we can make good and philanthropy mainstream.
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: That's obviously why we started a media company, why we started a podcast, because we want these stories, these people, these leaders to be out there and in front of the public, because usually we are not, we are not.
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: And so I just been noticing and I'll let everyone in on my little game that, like, our world has so many different categories and if you go to like Apple podcast, there's categories of all the different podcast.
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: If you Watch award ceremonies, there's all these different categories.
• 36:19
  Speaker 3: There is never a like philanthropy, social good category and just like good, just why just why just watch for this?
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: you can be in on the game with me, even like my Netflix queue.
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: Like, where is the horizontal category?
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: That's like feel good media or like philanthropy get involved in good.
• 36:41
  Speaker 3: Like I will die on this hill.
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: Have you all seen the trend that, like, people are asking guys how often they think about the Roman Empire, or is this?
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: I'm obsessed with this.
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: Yes, john, how do you not know about this?
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: I should have sent you this from Reddit.
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: This is my fault.
• 36:56
  Speaker 3: I'll send you a Tik Tok after John, but everyone's like asking men how often they think about the Roman Empire started with like one tweet or something.
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: Yes, and guys are like literally every day this is my Roman Empire, like I think about this all the time.
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: It's so just anyways, I will slow this ramp.
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: But over just this past pod season and like also just in my current season of life, just with the way the world is, the way that media is taken over, and a lot of good and a lot of bad ways, I'll be honest, like I think we just have to get out of our own nonprofit bubble and make good mainstream in the way that we can.
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: And Seth kicked off our season Sorry, again, seth, hello and he said let's do something that matters, and I really really think that this media matters to our world right now.
• 37:44
  Speaker 3: So I know we're always telling people like invest in media, get a Tik Tok, think of yourself as a media company, and I definitely think that's like part of this.
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: One good thing.
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: But also just like normalizing stories of generosity, be crazy like me and bring it up at happy hour asking people by age what caused their passion about.
• 38:03
  Speaker 3: Because just the more we start like integrating generosity and philanthropy in our normal conversations, I just think it will become as mainstream as true crime, because I think it has the power to like do that, and it also will just help our world if that is mainstream.
• 38:19
  Speaker 3: So I'll just close out with my favorite quote from the whole season Hi Celeste Flores, from Giving Tuesday.
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: She said if the world operates from a place of generosity, that is how systems change and that's how we create a world in which we all want to live.
• 38:34
  Speaker 3: So I've been waiting to do that rant for like three years.
• 38:37
  Speaker 3: Thank you for giving me those five minutes, but just play that little game with me.
• 38:41
  Speaker 3: Look for the categories, because I think our community, and like we are for good in general, can play a part in making good a little bit more mainstream and top of mind.
• 38:52
  Speaker 3: Okay, I'm done now.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: That's like Celeste.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: Julie, I know I'm like laying the groundwork of follow your nudges.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: Take a peek.
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: Okay, julie, do the change you wanna see in the world.
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: Here we are, I don't think we plan this, but all of our one good things are gonna stack, because I do think if there is an actionable point to Julie's rant which, by the way, Julie needs a pulpit is when she steps into it.
• 39:17
  Speaker 3: it's so dang good, it's so good, but it's like I'll trap you at a happy hour one time.
• 39:21
  Speaker 3: It'll be fine.
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: Heck yeah.
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: And I wanna have happy hour with all of you and just ask that one question and see where it goes.
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: Like, what cause are you passionate about?
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: But we are a community that says we don't wanna have all the answers.
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: We want it to be abundant.
• 39:35
  Speaker 2: So if there is an action to Julie's rant, it's please add in your media adding your story to the white noise that's happening now.
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: We don't want, cause it's not white noise when it hits.
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: It is so divisive out there right now.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: It is so loud and mean.
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: Your feel good stories, your hope, your possibility, is the thing that is gonna cut through the noise and guess what happens?
• 40:02
  Speaker 2: This is back to the damn pilota.
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: Like just change your world.
• 40:06
  Speaker 2: You can start to change your world through your story.
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: It can start to ripple on and on the awareness comes.
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: Like here you go for the marketers.
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: Step one we're building awareness.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: Step two we're leading people to action.
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: You know, step three they're becoming a huge believer and that is how media is going to scale your impact.
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: So my one good thing is you gotta think about the movement, that it's not on your shoulders.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: This is not all on your shoulders, and I wanna tell you that I guess I'm still in my mental health phase.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: It's not all on you, and guess what?
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: When it's not on you, all on you it can become so much more powerful because power doesn't come from you, it comes from the collective.
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: It doesn't come from your major donor People, equal power, and the more people you invite to your metaphorical party, the more power that you can spread around to the community.
• 41:04
  Speaker 2: This means share your stories, collect them from the community, activate your action.
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: We talk about give people the gift of activation all the time when you release control and gosh.
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: I hope 2024 is the year that nonprofit releases that iron grip on control and allows community to take some of it.
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: The interpretation is gonna be more beautiful, the cognitive diversity is gonna be more expansive, and guess what?
• 41:34
  Speaker 2: It's gonna ripple, ripple, ripple.
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: And I hope that takes some of the burden off your shoulders, friends, that you don't have to do it all.
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: And so think about the power in the collective and think about how we can all be a part of moving something that's bigger than all of us, than our mission, back to spreading that good, activating that good.
• 41:55
  Speaker 2: So you got this in 2024, guys, are you amped up?
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: Cause I see the possibilities.
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: What about you guys?
• 42:01
  Speaker 2: I'm fired up.
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: I'm so fired up and I gotta think you know we're wrapping up the season.
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: It's kind of like December.
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: It gets the place where you're really reflective and if you think back to the start of 2023, how we started this season, we came at you with some trends that we were forecasting and I'm looking for all you avid rabid fans out there Does anyone remember what trend number one was that we lifted for the year?
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: Prioritized self growth right, boop, boop, boop, boop.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: And I feel like that is.
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: That is like everything in the world of AI and things that are changing so rapidly and the world is evolving.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: The news cycle is like impossible to keep up with.
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: We have to invest in our personal growth and you're in like-minded friends here, but let me just say we want to invite you into that deeper with us and that is why we have designed with an open hand.
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: We are for good pro, which is this way you can come in and grow alongside us.
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: It's we call it capacity building in community.
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: So if you're looking for how can I just understand what I should be doing the basics of what our work is in nonprofit development, come into pro.
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: If you're looking to like up your ability to close your end, and we've got incredible classes of like how to make a better year end ask how to make a better strategic plan, how to like get unstuck.
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: All of that is in.
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: We are for good pro and we want to have you join us for professional development all year long, not just on the podcast, but in a way where you can meet people, you can ask people live on these live webinars and just kind of be in community with other people that want to be growth-minded too.
• 43:35
  Speaker 1: So we've got a deal going on.
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: You can get it, lock it in for $297 for an entire year, and let me tell you that is a deal for how much people are going to be pouring into you in this environment.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: So we'd love to have you join us at.
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: We are for good pro.
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: You can get there at.
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: We are for goodcom slash pro, not to be confusing, but we are for goodcom slash pro to get that deal.
• 43:57
  Speaker 2: Thanks for pouring into yourself, thanks for listening.
• 43:59
  Speaker 2: Here I feel like you come to the best of the season so you can get the cliff notes.
• 44:03
  Speaker 2: We hope we delivered for you this year.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: And just know, gosh guys, we are rooting for you in all things and so proud when you look in the review mirror of what you've done for your mission this year.
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: Proud of you.
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for being here.
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: Friends, and 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.
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: We'd love for you to come join our good community.
• 44:27
  Speaker 2: It's free and you can think of it as the after party to each podcast episode.
• 44:31
  Speaker 2: Sign up today at.
• 44:33
  Speaker 2: We are for goodcom, backslash hello.
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: And one more thing if you love what you heard today, would you mind leaving us a podcast writing interview?
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: It means the world to us and your support helps more people find this community.
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, friends.
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: Can't wait to our next conversation.