Latest / We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits / 489. Associate Boards + Engaging the Next Generation in Your Mission - Nelvin Johnson

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489. Associate Boards + Engaging the Next Generation in Your Mission - Nelvin Johnson · We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Hey, I'm John.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: And I'm Becky.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: And this is the we Are For Good podcast.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: 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
  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.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: So welcome to the Good Community.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabbit fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: So let's get started.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Becky, it's community week.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: It's community week, the time to spotlight our favorite people and their missions.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: And what do we have a favorite human in the house today?
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I mean truly so.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Nelvin Johnson entered into our world in possibly our most favorite way, isn't this true?
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: I mean our text thread like erupted with laughter when I think I had noticed Nelvin attended one of our live events and I kind of reached out, just like what we typically do is like, hey, thanks for being in the community or thanks for joining us, and Nelvin writes back appreciate the message.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Couldn't make this public but just as an FYI, your podcast will either help me be a trailblazer or get me fired.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Time will tell and I remember replying.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: I'm like man.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: I hope it's the trailblazing one, brother, but we're in it with you either way.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: So it is just a huge honor to have Nelvin Johnson in the house.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: He is the development officer at the Bowery Mission, which is an incredible organization serving New Yorkers who are experiencing homelessness or facing hunger, and they provide these incredible wraparound services.
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: And so Nelvin's story, though, is a little unique.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: He grew up in the financial sector and he moved during the pandemic kind of phase, so we're going to have him kind of fill in the gaps.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: But I have to read a little bit of his LinkedIn bio to set the tone for the kind of human that's sitting across from us today.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: He says I am so happy to be here.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: What you guys are doing is so, so crucial.
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: Your reach is so impressive and I hope you get to hear it a lot.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: But I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart because I feel like for everyone like myself who gets this opportunity to share their voice there are thousands of others listening and being encouraged, being inspired that you might not even get to hear it.
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: You get to talk to you.
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: You believe so deeply in what you do in the sector and in others, and I love your values, which you highlight so often.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: You guys have truly been a catalyst and a North Star for me as I start my journey in the social impact sector.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: So thank you, oh, my friend, goodness sakes.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: I mean, I knew we were like kindred spirits, but I mean everything that you share.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: I just, I'm so grateful that you're here, can't wait to hear your story, and you know how we start this.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: We want to hear your story.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: Take us back to growing up, take us back to meeting little Nelvin and what brought you to this work today.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would love to.
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: I am, like you, shared, an optimist and dreamer.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: I am an any gram eight and I have the working genius of galvanizing and enablement.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: I know we just thought that.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fantastic, I was born in Qatar.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: I came to New York City.
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: I came to New York when I was one year old and I have been in New York ever since.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: I had a priest in Tinfilly but New York, between the city and the suburbs.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: I grew up in a very traditional mono ethnic church and I witnessed very little being done to impact the community and the world around me and the actions didn't seem to be lining up to the words that were shared.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: And it always kind of confused me a little bit, because I love the principles of loving your neighbor, taking care of the poor, the orphan, the widow, but I wanted to see that lived out and I wasn't experiencing that, you know.
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: So there was a deep longing in my soul to be part of something bigger.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: But it wasn't until I got to college where I discovered this rich and vibrant community of do-gooders and people trying to change the status quo.
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: What will kind of lit the fire for me was during a church service.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: They were actually talking about a recent partnership and trip with this organization, Love 146, and they're a global organization focused on ending child sex trafficking.
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: Let me tell you that broke my mind Like I did not know what to do with that I did not under.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: I literally just did not understand it, because I was just asking the most simple question like how could this exist in the world?
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: You know, it wasn't making sense to me and I was reading this book by Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, and in it he says that we are called to hold our hands against the wounds of the of a broken world to stop the bleeding.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: And that resonated with me so much and I've quoted it to others and I see people connect to it at a very visceral level and it's shown me that there's so much potential in the world and so much good in the world.
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: Something Dan Plata said recently was you can't be held accountable if you didn't know.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: You know, and I now knew all these things and I knew that there was space for me to be a part of it.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: So, like I said, that really looked the fire for me and over the next few years in college and a little after college, I did what I could and what I thought I could do is put together awareness events and small fundraising events for organizations like Love 146 and Invisible Children Saved Our Four.
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: To Write Love on Our.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Arms.
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: Some of our favorites.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: Totally.
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and it was really impactful and I feel like I was outside of those things.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: I feel like I was doing enough to just kind of go with the flow.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: You know, I was in sales because I love people and I was good at it.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: I got into banking for something a little bit more stable after I got married in 2013 and I wanted something more stable that could provide for the family, you know, but at the same time, my soul was.
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: I wasn't paying attention to this fully, but my soul was being crushed and the fire was almost out.
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: And then, in 2017, my daughter, olivia, was born, and this is a whole other story, but she had a really rough start to life.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: She actually spent the first nine months of her life in the NICU seven and a half months actually in Philly at CHOP and it was hard, there was a lot to get through, but we kept fighting and when we were at the tail end of it, we actually got home.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: She was born in Marge and we got home to New York on December 31st 2017.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: So just in time for the new year.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: But as we kind of came to that end, I started thinking about what I wanted for her life and I started thinking about the idea of success and how it's so much different than what I imagined it to be.
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: I wanted to lead by example and I wanted to show her that it's important to follow your heart.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: So it really helped awaken my purpose.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: So as soon as I got back, I tried joining some associate boards and getting involved in like a tangential way at least.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: I got really involved with my firm's corporate social responsibility initiative and that was fun and that was definitely hooked.
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: I was looking for a more permanent way in, but I couldn't really find one.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: So then COVID hit.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: We had our second kid, our son Eli, and the COVID was terrible right, but the silver lining for me was that it finally gave me time to pause, to think, to reflect and, right when it was about time to go back into the office in 2021, I knew I couldn't go back.
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: My wife Sheba and I would have been married for 10 years and she's always known that that's not where my heart was and she was so supportive of my decision to make the leap into the social impact sector.
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: And a month after casually looking I think it began in July I said I made the decision to leave.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: I started looking and my supervisor my then supervisor set up a meeting with me and I knew something was up, but basically he told me that I had 30 days to ramp up my productivity or we could kind of start talking about off-boarding.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, john Becky, it took.
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: It took what in the?
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: actual no listen.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: No, no, no, Sorry, I'm not sorry.
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: That's awful, but it honestly took everything in me to pretend that I was surprised and hurt by this Surprise.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: I'm not even kidding you.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: It was such an incredible sign that this is exactly where I was meant to be.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: You know, like I called my wife down and told her the she's not like I got promoted because of the way I was acting or something you know, but I was like no, I think I'm finally out.
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: You know I can do it.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: So I started talking to a few nonprofit friends because I didn't know where I fit right.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: So I started talking to a few nonprofit friends about what I would be good at and what I might be able to do where I should be Pretty sure every single one of them said development.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: And then two or three of them had mentioned the Bowery Mission and started kind of a line because I hadn't even thought about the Bowery Mission.
• 10:35
  Speaker 3: But six years prior to that, through the investment bank that I was working with the corporate social responsibility program, we had done a volunteer event with the Bowery Mission and I just remember such good things and positive things and I was yeah, I was just.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: I fell in love during the interview process again and haven't looked back since.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Okay Story.
• 10:57
  Speaker 2: Here's the thing we mentioned at the top that, like your LinkedIn comment, was, I'm either gonna be a trailblazer or I'm gonna get fired.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: And I'm like Nelvin you were a trailblazer long before you found we are for good, like we talk so often about people who listen to their nudges.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: Thank you for bringing up that damn Pilata quote, cause you can ask John and Julie I've probably brought it back up at least six times since he was on the podcast on September that when you're awake and when you're conscious, you have a choice, and I think never has there been more pivotal moment in our history of those of us that are living that we're standing at that intersection of are we gonna go back and double our sales or are we gonna take this other path and say no, like I've gotta do something different?
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: So you literally are one of the trailblazers of the great resignation.
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: You are one of the people that inspires us every single fricking day, because you remind us that there are good humans out there in the world, people who reject hate, that reject grind, that reject when values don't line up with principles, and I just think that you are the type of person that gives us so much joy, and that is what we celebrate on community week, but we gotta get into the Bowery mission cause one.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: I'm obsessed with marketing and your storytelling, but we gotta talk about what it is, because when I look at your incredible images and the stories that you tell like I get a feeling about the Bowery mission.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: But take all of our listeners through it, talk to us about your mission, what you're doing to serve, and, woe nally, are you in the right spot?
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: Thanks so much, becky.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: The Bowery mission.
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: I can't talk about the Bowery mission without mentioning some of the history behind it because, as a stand, we are one of New York's oldest nonprofits, founded in the 1870s.
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's taken us back over 150 years now.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: It was founded in response to a rapid rise in the number of immigrants living in poverty here in New York City.
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: Our earliest founders, jerry and Maria McCauley, were actually Irish immigrants themselves who grew up in extreme poverty.
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: Their stories began with a lot of personal suffering.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: They both drank heavily at an early age.
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: By the time Jerry was a teenager, he had joined a gang of River Thieves, basically like kind of like a pirate oh my gosh.
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: At only 19, he was a huge robbery and sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: But it's in that moment that something awesome happened.
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: Jerry experienced God's unconditional love in prison.
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: Because of that and the persistent generosity of others in the midst of brokenness, there was transformation.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: So the McCauley's vision for a place of welcome and healing was born out of their own story of redemption, out of being served when they had nothing to give back, out of being loved when there was little reason for anyone to care.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: And now, 150 years later, new York City's shelter system is struggling.
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: There are tens of thousands of new migrants.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: I'm sure that you've seen the stories and read the headlines, seen some pictures In this moment of crisis in our city, I'm so proud of the Bower mission and how we have responded to that.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: Our response was not, but you don't belong here.
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: It was and continues to be.
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: You are a human like me.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: You have a story, you have a life that's worthy of love and worthy of care, and this year we're increasing the capacity at our iconic Thanksgiving celebration next week and we're inviting new migrants and asylum seekers to join us for a hearty, traditional American Thanksgiving meal, and I'm so glad that we get to do that.
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: This impactful quote that our president and CEO, james, has said before was even before the famous words give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free were engraved on the Statue of Liberty.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: The Bowered Emissions stores were already open to New Yorkers seeking refuge and 15 years later sorry, 15, 15, 15 decades later they remain open to provide meals, shelter, clothing and showers to anyone in immediate need.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Our residential programs provide a caring and safe place for adults in crisis to achieve personal goals, for work, heal from past trauma and overcome barriers to independent living.
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: We're such big believers in the fact that healing takes place in the context of community.
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: One of my favorite programs is our children's program.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: We offer city camp and summer camp for kids coming from families living at or below the poverty line and to play your values out.
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: I believe that this is playing the long game.
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: I believe that this is investing in the future.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: I believe that this generation of kids that we are serving at our camps can be the ones that break that cycle of generational poverty and crisis.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: The kids are all cared for in a loving environment and given the opportunity to learn new skills from volunteer partners, like cooking and coding, and photography and music.
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: They get help every day with the homework and so many of them work with tutors and mentors, giving them a chance to thrive.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: Okay, nelvin, you're quoting our values back to us.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: You know that's one of our love languages over here, but I was thinking about values when you were talking, because your origin story of how you even got into this work you talked about those draws, those things that kind of hurt your heart.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: They're just stuck with you.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: This is why we talk.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: When we talk about storytelling, it always starts with values.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: It's like if we're not using that as the hook, it's when we get so annoyed with cheesy themes.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: It's like we've got the most human of stories, the most important of missions, and we settle for like a cheesy theme when it's like we could go deeper because that's what this is about and so I just love that.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: That drew you to the work, Like it was a magnet to you and now you get to build it from the inside out, Like it's just a beautiful transformation.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: And the values are freaking cool.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: I mean like I want to read a couple of them.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: It's like love, actively make it better, like respond to God's calling with commitment, like I just think, whether you're religious or not, like you can feel those values and I just commend you for how outstanding and subversive they are, absolutely.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: And I mean the threat of community is here and you know we have, since Julie moved to New York, which has been like one of the greatest gifts to our company.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: And it feels like we've watched Julie just come alive in so many ways with her life too, but she got to connect with you IRL at one of your young professional events and she's like texting us like this is incredible, like we have to tell this story.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: You've built this and engaged these young professionals in your mission.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: Would you talk about it?
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: You know what's the role of young professionals and what's the impact that they're having in your organization and really in the community.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely Right.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: Our associate board is such a vital part of our mission and this is one of my favorite topics, so you might have to cut me off at some point but it's a community of 50 passionate young professionals mobilizing their resources to engage deeply and make lasting change for a cause that they really care about, and they're doing all this while working full-time jobs.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: You know they have a variety of backgrounds and skills and let me tell you about some of their impact.
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: Just this past year, we've had more than 10 corporate sponsors from within the associate board rallying their companies to come volunteer to sponsor an event.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: To just be a part of what we are doing.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: We've had a variety of fundraising and advocacy event.
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: We've had almost 500 volunteer hours served and they've created and it's part of wild to me, but they've created a net impact this year that is closing in on half a million dollars.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Oh, man, Julie, you're a part of that.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: I'm so proud of you, thank you to everybody who did that.
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: Adding that up to tell part of the story, though that's so smart.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: I just look at what you're doing and even I'll give you a little shout out here from Julie it's fun.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: She was like it's fun and it's cool and it feels good and it's like it totally takes the best of what Gen Z wants to do and millennials and PS.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: Like I want to be adopted Do y'all know that by like Gen Z and millennials, because I just think they're the coolest the most amazing, yes, like just the way they chase impact is amazing to me, but I think you've.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: my point is is you've made giving serving something that people want to do on their social time and it gives them purpose.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: And I'm wondering, like, what opportunity do you feel like exists for nonprofits today to kind of engage this next generation into their mission?
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: Why should they build an associate board?
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: That's a great question, becky, and I really do feel like it's a missing piece in so many organizations and that it can bring so much impact and do so much good.
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: Beautiful thing.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: You mentioned millennials and Gen Z.
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they, let's face it, they embrace the fact that they can change the world.
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: It's so amazing, right, and it's true.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: I believe it.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I don't think we need to convince the next generation of donors that giving back is important, because millennials and Gen Z they grew up in a culture where caring and social good was woven into the fabric of everyday life.
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: I think they're already searching for ways to leave an impact on their city and in the world.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: Our job is to activate and harness the power of the collective community and watch the magic happen.
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: They bring a passion and expertise.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: They leverage their unique skills, networks and experiences.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: Our group is so diverse and we see this lived out so well.
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: They bring in fresh perspectives, and it's easy to as you guys well know, it's easy to get trapped in a pattern of doing things, thinking it's working, but and maybe it is, but not to the best that it can work right.
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: With fresh perspectives from AB members, it's a great chance for us to try new things and thrive.
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: One of the most tangible benefits of having an associate board is their ability to raise funds and secure resources.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: Their fundraising efforts complement our strategies, providing financial support for various programs and initiatives.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: They gain a lot of leadership experience too.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: They gain a valuable leadership experience, and it's a unique chance for them to contribute to cause that they're passionate about and they advocate for change.
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: They advocate for change by advancing our mission, by engaging with their community, whether it's their friends or their colleagues or the family.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: We've seen it all, and it's beautiful.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: I mean it's just so cool and so heartfelt and the power of community.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: It's kind of random.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: You're explaining this situation and I'm thinking yesterday I was our family was volunteering with this mobile food pantry here in the city and I was talking to a lady who was showing up and on the way back to her car I'm carrying this like heavy box of like random food assortment right and on the way back to her car she's like yeah, my daughter didn't want to get out of the car because she feels embarrassed.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: And I'm like this is why, like, these things are so important.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: I feel like it's just like how can we bring community together and why the hero narrative is so important to like break down, that's the collective, that we're all in this together, that it's not us and them.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: It's like we're working at these problems together.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: You know, I just think this is the way that you're engaging and the heart at which you're gathering people and I just think that is a beautiful representation of the values that we're talking about, you know.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: So would you kind of talk about what specifically like for those that are looking to engage, to cultivate and activate their rub rabid fans?
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: You know what are the ways that have been the most successful for you, that you really feel like gets people engaged and motivated in their roles.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah well, it was helpful for me, coming from a place where I've been on various associate boards before this role.
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: And one thing I can tell you not to do is treat people like dollar signs, say we have, let's, let's onboard Twenty people so we can make a give, get a thousand dollars each and raise $20,000.
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: That's not the right way to look at it, because that's not what it's all about.
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: The right way to keep people engaged and motivated is to care about them as people.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: It's to bring them inside, you know, it's to share our impact often, share their impact, often, I'd say it's so important for organizations to be vulnerable.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: You know, share your strengths, share your weaknesses, share your needs.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: I love connecting the dots and connecting people to other people and people to things, and the associate board members are so willing and eager to help with way beyond what is right in front of them.
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: In the sector, we're always stretched so thin, right in places like marketing, fundraising, gift and kind.
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: What is the right answer here?
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: I mean For me like it's a secret weapon, hidden plain sight.
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: You know, the associate board is a secret weapon, hidden plain sight.
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: It's all about Activating and mobilizing that group and inviting them into the process.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: It's so brilliant and it is.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: Take such a page from this playbook that we're talking about, which is like marketing, is mission to me, because when you look at your rabbit fans as something other than dollar signs to your point and you look at the level of assets they can bring in terms of you guys are tired of hearing me say it, but you know, grab your coffee and take another drink, because I'm saying it again Is there, bring him more to the table than just the funding and their passion, that unmatched passion, that storytelling like let's be honest, if you're in Gen Z, you probably got thousands of Followers on some of your social channels because you've been on social media since you were probably eleven or twelve, and so you cannot underestimate how impactful that spirit of influence can be, how far they can cast a ripple.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: And I think your point about just making your needs known and just saying this is where I need some help.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: That is what we call unlocking.
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: You know the impact, uprising.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: Do it for yourself, do it for your mission, like in any way, and I think if we can just Do what you're, what you're really casting here, which is expand our thinking about how do we use our people.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: How do we use them as an amplifier To the messages that are that are happening right now in the world that we need to get out?
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: Is there something that we need?
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: Is there something we need trending?
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: Is there something that we need to get some movement on?
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: My gosh, unleash this rabbit fan potential because all of a sudden, it's not just you, the nonprofit, with them the mic and the mouthpiece, saying you're saying what you want the world to hear.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: It's your believer saying what they believe about your mission and asking people to come along.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: That is far, far more powerful.
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: So I love this associate board concept.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: I hope everybody's taking notes and I really encourage you To reach out and look at the bow remission, because they're really setting the town, I think, on this in a real modern.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: But I but I gotta go back to this whole.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: Like you left your job, becky and John style pandemic and went all in.
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: Like you over a decade, you know in the financial services area and you wanted to like just do the most good.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: You're talking about these innovative ideas, passionate storytelling.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: What is this journey been like for you?
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: Like I think people are interested.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: Like what has happened to the people who are chasing their passion in the great resignation like.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: What is the journey been like transitioning to nonprofit, and what mindsets are you bringing to your work now that are helping just propel you in this work?
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well loaded questions.
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: So let's, let's start with.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: Start unpacking.
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: What it was like to transition to the, to the sector.
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: You know it was a.
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: It was a mix of things.
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: You know it was.
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: It was beautiful and it was hard and there were things that were working, but I was played with questions of why things worked the way they did, and not just that, my nonprofit.
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: At every single one I looked like it just seemed like everyone accepted the way things were, but I felt like there was something missing.
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: I felt like we could Be more and and just do more.
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: You know, and very early In my Nonprofit career of two years, I learned about Dan Plata's YouTube Sorry, ted talk and it just gave so much life and breath to all my feelings and the things that I was thinking and I said to myself yes, if we can embrace this, we can change the world together.
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: You know, I know you guys have quoted this before, but it's one of my favorite seat of.
• 29:18
  Speaker 3: Plato says our generation does not want to have to read.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: We kept Our charity overhead low and I think it's worth Amplifying this again because I don't want that conversation to die.
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: You know that movie was incredible and life-changing.
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: I don't want this conversation to die, so let's talk about it as much as we can.
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: We kept a charty overhead low.
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: We wanted to read that we changed the world, you know, and we want others to ask us not about our rate of overhead, we want them to ask us about the scale of our dreams.
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: I've always said like, if people aren't Laughing at our dreams or just kind of rolling their eyes and we might not be dreaming big enough, you know.
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: So the two things that really set me on course for and kind of affirmed me, being in the sector For the rest of my life was that TED Talk and then we are for good podcasts.
• 30:09
  Speaker 3: So Thank you, guys for that.
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: One thing that was really different about being in the sector was that I was able to Bring my full self to work and I loved that so much and it took some getting used to, but within like two or three months I had friends that were closer than Any relationship that I developed at any of my past jobs.
• 30:38
  Speaker 3: You know, and I think it's because we share the same heart, right, we share the same vision and same passion for change, and we're there really is a sense of we're all in this together, and Accepting that and acknowledging that has been really life-giving for me, accepting that there's no mission greater than than myself.
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: So the mindsets that I'm bringing to work right now I love.
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: This is a new, new passion and interest of mine.
• 31:06
  Speaker 3: It's focusing on culture, focusing on our culture, focusing on Self-care.
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: You know, a human capital is magic, right, like focusing on self-care and mental health has been so important because I Started therapy for the first time in my life Just a couple months ago and it's been.
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: It's so good.
• 31:31
  Speaker 3: It's so good more people should do it.
• 31:33
  Speaker 3: I think it's just been very a life-giving and very freeing.
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: I feel like it's decluttered my mind a lot and helped me See more clearly.
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: And another mindset I bring to work Guess this is considered a mindset, but it's a dream or mindset, you know it's.
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: It's asking about dreams, approaching things with a sense of Optimism and not this, you know, toxic optimism, but a clear optimism that acknowledges the hard things and Recognizes the good things, that sees where we are and where we can be, you know, and really just trying to define and live out more of an abundance mindset, knowing that changes possible, believing in the mission and pressing forward.
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: Melvin Johnson, we really liked you when we really did like you before this podcast we did.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Like you, just getting to hear your story more and understand more of your heart in this like this is what it's about.
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: So if we needed a commercial for the we are for good community.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: Melvin is the type of person that hangs out and the we are for good community and is Available to lock arms for impact.
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: You know that's the power of this community.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: When you have that abundant mindset, you have this, no ego.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: This is how we will change the world.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: One relationship, one Connecting arms, locking arms for good.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: I just feel so.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: I don't know honored to have this time with you and I want to give you space to celebrate philanthropy with us, like you know we do on this podcast.
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: What's a moment that you've seen philanthropy in your life that's gonna stay with you.
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: One moment that really sticks out to me actually happened earlier this year, when I was volunteering and Serving meals during lunch.
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: So, as you may know, we serve hundreds of meals a day anywhere from 600, 600 to 800 meals a day across all our campuses, and that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner.
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: We are open 365 days a year.
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: We do not close in.
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: So in January I was serving and I Was just stopped.
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: It's a meaningful experience every time, but I was just stopped in my tracks because, for the first time, I Saw children on our food line and that doesn't happen.
• 33:57
  Speaker 3: We serve men and women and I was very confused, and so I asked about it and I learned the story.
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: That's what I wanted to share.
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: I learned that about two weeks before that, without warning, a bus of migrants was dropped off to a hotel that was pretty close to our flagship location, the iconic red doors.
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: A number of them showed up at our doors towards the end of our dinner service.
• 34:26
  Speaker 3: Our Food services managers who's an?
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: Inquired and then confirmed that there should be enough food to feed them, and so, even though we were like wrapping up, we welcomed them in for a meal, and they were surprised to see children among them, as young as five years old to teenagers.
• 34:46
  Speaker 3: So, from the initial estimate, initial estimate of how many people we were going to serve was wrong.
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: It was actually two times that amount, but by the grace of God there was enough food for them all.
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: And Susan said I don't know how we have leftovers, but we do.
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: And I was so moved by the story because there's so much more to it than meets the eye.
• 35:11
  Speaker 3: You know, there was no backup plan, there was no script, there was no fear.
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: Yes, all our staff stepped up, but you, they always step up.
• 35:21
  Speaker 3: Our staff always steps up, they always do the right thing.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: But our volunteers too.
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: They stayed later and they served and they didn't have to.
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: The migrant parents continued to stand in line with their kids, with their head raised high and a forced smile on their face, just for their kids.
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: That was so moved because I was reminded that the power of collective good and it's truly a force to be reckoned with.
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think, what I want to say about this and you know, we don't get political on this podcast because we just don't have any space for it, because it muddies the water and we want to rise above that but I want to put a little pin on this.
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: As we're coming up on Thanksgiving Y'all you're gonna get a lot of opportunities to be angry about a lot of stuff in life.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: You're gonna be asked to pick a side or another, and I am asking you because this story is such a clear, just picture of what I'm about to say please choose the side of humanity, please choose the side of people who are suffering and help.
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: It doesn't matter who, what someone looks like, what their religion is, what their political affiliation is.
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: When you see people who are hurting, if you can be a light, please be a light.
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: And we don't want to have kids forcing smiles to come and earn a meal anywhere.
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: We want kids to feel safe and to feel joy and to be able to be sitting in the chair where Nelvin is dreaming their biggest dream, because they feel safe, because they feel loved.
• 37:06
  Speaker 2: And so you know we're gonna get into a holiday season here.
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: We are in a difficult time in the United States, around the world, and the one thing that we can control right now is our kindness, and I want everyone to just take the Nelvin Johnson nudge and pleaseling into that, because I think these stories are incredibly important to humanize us.
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: I think it's this cognitive diversity which all of us benefit from and it awakens our humanity, and I just want to say, as we're getting into the one good thing, thank you for awakening humanity in this conversation, nelvin.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: I mean, we feel so seen and valued.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: The Bowery mission seems so humanized.
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: Your daughter, olivia, is someone that we've been rooting for since the first five minutes of this conversation, so let's celebrate that and let's tie it up with a really pretty bow and give us your one good thing today.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: What are you gonna leave with our audience?
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: I really wanted to say sincerely something that I wish I heard years ago and that still impacts me today.
• 38:14
  Speaker 3: I just wanted to say to anyone listening don't be afraid anymore.
• 38:18
  Speaker 3: If you're listening to this, I know you have big dreams, so start the conversations that you wish were happening.
• 38:26
  Speaker 3: Don't be afraid to lean in, to listen and to be vulnerable.
• 38:30
  Speaker 3: Ask the questions you wish other people were asking you.
• 38:33
  Speaker 3: Talk about your dreams.
• 38:35
  Speaker 3: Learn about other people's dreams.
• 38:37
  Speaker 3: Ask so you can start making things better and help push your mission forward, Because you are capable enough, strong enough and smart enough.
• 38:45
  Speaker 3: What you're doing is good, so keep showing up and keep doing the hard things.
• 38:50
  Speaker 3: You're exactly where you're supposed to be for such a time as this.
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: Nelvin's like your personal hype squad.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: I need this on repeat, but there's a lot of times in my life that I've needed to hear that.
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you sharing that.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: I know it's gonna be awakened from this conversation.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: I'm excited for people to reach out to you, nelvin, and I know you're gonna have some new rabid fans chasing you down after this interview, so point us to how folks can connect with you directly.
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: And then, where do you show up online?
• 39:19
  Speaker 3: The only place that show up online is LinkedIn.
• 39:21
  Speaker 3: I'm terrible with social media.
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: I don't have any other social media.
• 39:25
  Speaker 3: Find me on LinkedIn.
• 39:27
  Speaker 3: Come along for the ride.
• 39:28
  Speaker 3: I love meeting new people and talking and connecting and figuring out how we can do better together.
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: I gotta manifest something.
• 39:37
  Speaker 2: I want to come volunteer at the Bowery Mission at some point.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: I would love to be in your world, yeah do-gooders.
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: Maybe we get an event going in New York City, because I would love to just be a part of that, but thank you for coming into our house.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: Thank you for being the most beautiful expression of why community matters.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: That is why we have Community Week on this podcast, because we meet a lot of cool people doing a lot of cool stuff, but in my opinion, the coolest people doing the coolest stuff are the people in this community.
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: So thank you for illuminating that and keep going, nelvin.
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: You are truly making Olivia and Eli so dang proud.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: So grateful to know you, my friend.
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: Thanks for coming.
• 40:16
  Speaker 3: Thank you guys for the opportunity to share.
• 40:18
  Speaker 3: Love you guys.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for being here.
• 40:22
  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.
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: We'd love for you to come join our good community.
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: It's free and you can think of it as the after party to each podcast episode.
• 40:36
  Speaker 2: Sign up today at WeAreForGoodcom.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: Backslash hello.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: And one more thing if you love what you heard today, would you mind leaving us a podcast rating and review?
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: It means the world to us and your support helps more people find this community.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much, friends.
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: Can't wait to our next conversation.