Podcast appearances and mentions of bob hopkins

"Kindness is the highest form of intelligence." — Bob Hopkins In this inspiring episode of Discover Your Potential, hosts Dan Gilman and Anna Devere welcome philanthropist, educator, and author Bob Hopkins for a conversation that will touch your heart and spark your desire to give back. Bob, the visionary behind Philanthropy Misunderstood, has spent a lifetime promoting kindness, service, and social impact. Through captivating stories and decades of community work, he reveals how small acts of kindness can lead to massive change—for individuals, communities, and the world.

Philanthropy Understood In this episode of The Nonprofit Exchange, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with my dear friend Bob Hopkins, a renowned philanthropist and author, as we celebrated the release of his new book, Philanthropy Understood. This episode serves as a sequel to our previous discussions, reflecting on the evolution of philanthropy over the past nine years since we first began this journey together. Bob shared his personal story, illustrating how his early experiences with his mother delivering groceries to those in need shaped his understanding of philanthropy. He emphasized that philanthropy is not merely about money; it is fundamentally about people and the love of mankind. His childhood memories of bringing joy to children in a trailer park left a lasting impression on him, igniting a lifelong commitment to doing good. As we delved into his new book, Bob explained that it aims to redefine philanthropy by showcasing the stories of individuals who have made significant impacts in their communities. He highlighted that the proceeds from this book will benefit scholarships, reinforcing his belief that philanthropy is about giving back and uplifting others. Throughout our conversation, Bob recounted various inspiring stories, including his encounter with a baby he found in the snow decades ago, who he later reconnected with after 30 years. He also shared his experiences in Mexico, where he witnessed the transformative power of community initiatives led by families dedicated to improving the lives of others. We discussed the importance of legacy and how individuals can reflect on their lives and contributions. Bob encourages his students to think about their purpose and the impact they want to leave behind, emphasizing that it's never too early to consider one's legacy. As we wrapped up the episode, Bob left us with a powerful message: to pay attention to the world around us and to seek opportunities to make a difference. He urged listeners to break free from the constraints that hold them back and to embrace the potential for change in their lives and communities. This episode is not just a celebration of Bob's work but a call to action for all of us to engage in philanthropy in our own unique ways. I encourage everyone to look out for Philanthropy Understood, set to be released in January 2025, and to reflect on how we can contribute to the greater good in our everyday lives. Watch the full episode at - https://synervisionleadership.org/2024/11/26/npe-philanthropy-understood/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

De los creadores de 'Alsina corrió el Tour de Francia' llega 'Feijóo fue jugador de fútbol americano'. Esta semana, Jorge Abad recupera una entrevista que le hicieron los corresponsales Kevin Farrell y Bob Hopkins de Colorado, donde hablar con él de cosas mucho más interesantes que las preguntas que le hizo Alsina en 'Más de uno'. 

El miércoles el equipo de 'Más de uno' hizo una ficción sonora en directo retransmitiendo el asesinato de Kennedy 60 años después. Jorge Abad recupera cómo los americanos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, nuestros presentadores americanos de referencia, casi narraron la muerte de Kennedy en directo. Por último, J.F León pone el broche musical hablando de Nikki Hill, una cantante de Carolina del Norte, que está de gira por toda España y es un auténtico festín de blues-rock. 

El miércoles el equipo de 'Más de uno' hizo una ficción sonora en directo retransmitiendo el asesinato de Kennedy 60 años después. Jorge Abad recupera cómo los americanos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, nuestros presentadores americanos de referencia, casi narraron la muerte de Kennedy en directo. Por último, J.F León pone el broche musical hablando de Nikki Hill, una cantante de Carolina del Norte, que está de gira por toda España y es un auténtico festín de blues-rock. 

Jorge Abad recoge cómo los americanos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, nuestros presentadores americanos de referencia, retransmitieron la jura de la Constitución de Leonor. Vinieron a Madrid desde Denver (EEUU) para hacer un programa especial y se hicieron algunas preguntas sobre el acto: ¿Por qué Leonor no va vestida de flamenca? ¿Por qué no suena 'La Macarena', el himno oficial de España?

Jorge Abad recoge cómo los americanos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, nuestros presentadores americanos de referencia, retransmitieron la jura de la Constitución de Leonor. Vinieron a Madrid desde Denver (EEUU) para hacer un programa especial y se hicieron algunas preguntas sobre el acto: ¿Por qué Leonor no va vestida de flamenca? ¿Por qué no suena 'La Macarena', el himno oficial de España?

Bob Hopkins, WB2UDC, agrees that having an elmer was the fastest way to ham radio success, and being an elmer and paying it forward benefits everyone including the elmer, the new ham, and the hobby.  WB2UDC loves to make large public demonstrations for kids by making contacts to the ISS, the International Space Station, and the US Space Shuttles when they were flying.  This reprise of my conversation with Bob Hopkins, WB2UDC, from January 2016, is my QSO Today.

Jorge Abad nos trae a 'Más de uno' la versión de la CNBSBC de la ficción sonora '1492', esta vez protagonizada por los famosísimos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, que le dan un toque mucho más especial.

Jorge Abad nos trae a 'Más de uno' la versión de la CNBSBC de la ficción sonora '1492', esta vez protagonizada por los famosísimos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, que le dan un toque mucho más especial.

Jorge Abad nos trae a 'Más de uno' la versión de la CNBSBC de la ficción sonora '1492', esta vez protagonizada por los famosísimos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, que le dan un toque mucho más especial.

Jorge Abad nos trae a 'Más de uno' la versión de la CNBSBC de la ficción sonora '1492', esta vez protagonizada por los famosísimos Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell, que le dan un toque mucho más especial.

Jorge Abad considera que en 'Más de uno' no se ha contado bien la guerra interna del PP por el espionaje a Ayuso. Por eso, hoy nos trae el programa especial que hicieron en CNBSBC News los presentadores Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell. Un show sin precedentes que demuestra cómo una crisis política se puede contar de forma espectacular para que enganche a los oyentes. 

Programa completo de Más de uno. Carlos Alsina entrevista a Darina Tkachenko, experta en educación internacional; Irene Maxinovich y Olena Bratel, profesoras de español en Ucrania. En la tertulia, Ignacio Varela, Marisa Cruz, Rafa Latorre y Rubén Amón debaten sobre la actualidad política. En 'La íncula', Sémper y Madina comentan el abandono de Ucrania por parte de la comunidad internacional en la guerra con Rusia. Después, en la segunda parte con Begoña Gómez de la Fuente y Javier Ruiz Taboada, nuestro chef Robin Food nos prepara magras con tomate. En 'La Cultureta' recomiendan libros y películas para entender el contexto de guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania. Luego, Jorge Abad nos trae un programa especial que han hecho Bob Hopkins y Kevin Farrell sobre la crisis del PP. Por último, J.F León pone el broche musical al programa con la canción 'Give peace a chance' de John Lennon. 

Today our expert guest is Bob Hopkins. He's spent the last 30 years in business heading non-profit organizations and publishing the magazine Philanthropy World. Bob is one of the most well-known people in philanthropy anywhere. After retiring from the magazine in 2007, Bob went on to teach communications at The University of Texas and to teach in other roles around the world. Known for his robust desire to make a difference in the community as well as his passion for philanthropy, he has received the Hero of Humanity Award from The Art of Living Foundation, and he has been a fundraising executive for the last 30 years, having served the Association of Fundraising Executives.  In all of his philanthropic work, Bob has realized that it is often misunderstood – leading to his book, Philanthropy Misunderstood. Most people believe that philanthropy is simply giving money to a cause, but the fact is that philanthropy has nothing to do with money. It is about how you express a love of mankind. It wasn't until we needed a name for those people who wrote out big checks that we changed that definition. Philanthropy is giving a wallet back that you found on the floor. It's acknowledging someone that is homeless and possibly hurt or in danger when others try to ignore them. Philanthropy can mean any number of things outside of simply giving money to a cause. The truth is that people give because of what it does for them. It makes those who give have a better life and there's nothing wrong with that. If everyone did more good – knowing that they are actually the biggest beneficiaries of that good – the world would be a better place.   The Biggest Helping: Today's Most Important Takeaway “Everybody can be a changemaker. Everybody can change the life of somebody positively – only if they're empathic. And so I tell my college students that today is the first day of the rest of your life. Giving is a habit – it's habit formation – and, so, I'm empowering everybody who's listening to me today that – even if you think you're a giver – go, do something specifically that you didn't think of before. Call up somebody next door, go knock on the door and find out how you can help them – and it's an amazing thing that the first person next door probably needs your help – mentally, physically, or whatever.”   --   Thank you for joining us on The Daily Helping with Dr. Shuster. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts to download more food for the brain, knowledge from the experts, and tools to win at life.   Resources: philanthropymisunderstood.org Read: Philanthropy Misunderstood Read: Give to Live by Douglas Lawson philanthropykids.org   The Daily Helping is produced by Crate Media

In 1954, Bob Hopkins worked at the Vancouver News Herald. He was a friendly man who kept to himself and was liked by his colleagues. None of them knew that Bob was gay and lived a secret life. He had to. In the 1950s homosexuality was illegal and coming out would have meant losing his job, his place in the community, and possibly his family. This podcast is based on original research and interviews and a story from my book Cold Case Vancouver: the city's most baffling unsolved murders. For show credits, sources and information about my books, blog or podcasts, please visit https://evelazarus.com

Philanthropy Misunderstood by Bob Hopkins The word PHILANTHROPY isn't new, but many think being a philanthropist is about money. In Bob Hopkins' new book, he assures us it IS NOT. He and 100 of his friends define, by way of their good deeds, that philanthropy is about LOVE OF MANKIND. Philanthropy Misunderstood is a 256-page coffee- table book that will surely entertain and inform you. You won't want to put it down. It is colorful and exciting. “Bob Hopkins Introduces us to 100 plus new best friends…people like you and me who give of themselves who actually LOVE others. What a joyful time Bob shares with us. Optimism and hope emerge from every page. Each person's story sparkles. Each one makes us prouder to be fellow ‘homo-sapiens'.” Dr. Claire Gaudiani, philanthropist, author and international lecturer. Bob recalls his first experience with his mother when he was five years old in Garden City, Kansas as they delivered groceries to a poor family during the holidays. He remembers the pat on the back he received from someone for doing good. “Maybe it was God,” he recalled. For more information, go to Philanthropy Misunderstood.   Read the Interview Hugh Ballou: Greetings. Welcome to this episode of The Nonprofit Exchange. Wow. This is going to open your mind to a whole new world. I just met Bob Hopkins recently on a recent trip to Dallas. Some of our previous guests that started Barefoot Winery said, “You have to meet Bob.” When I was in Dallas, I rang him up, and we met. They had shared his book with me called Philanthropy Misunderstood. I thought it was a nice book. When I started digging into the stories and what Bob knew about philanthropy, I said, “We have to share this with other people.” Bob, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Tell people a little bit about you and your passion. Bob Hopkins: Thank you, Hugh. I am so honored to be invited to be here with you as your guest today. I am glad to know that there are some other people in the book in your audience today. I am an older person. I have been around for a long time. Every 20 years, I ask myself, “What am I doing, and where am I going?” I have divided myself into four different segments of my life. I am on the last 18 years. I give myself another 18 years to live. I am trying to figure out what to do, so I am probably going to go to a seminar called PSI in June to find out what I'm going to do next. But, Hugh, I have been involved with this word “philanthropy” for the last 45-50 years. I learn more about what it means all the time. Then I became confused and realized that what I thought philanthropy was is not. Or maybe it is part of, but that's why I had to dig into it and tell stories of 108 people who actually do philanthropic things for other people. That's what this book is about. Hugh: How long have you been engaged in the nonprofit arena with leaders and different kinds of organizations? Bob: I came to Dallas in 1984. I had just been involved as the director of development on the National Council of Alcoholism and learned all about this word called “fundraising” and philanthropy. Found out that the two of them are together as one word and one meaning, and they are also separate things. Some people get them mixed up. They think that fundraising is about money, but so is philanthropy. I have learned that philanthropy can be about money, but largely not. Instead, it's doing good things for others. That's how I got involved with this. I have been in Dallas for 38 years, and I have been working in raising money and now writing a book. I did a magazine called Philanthropy in Texas for a while. Every decade, I learned a little bit more about what that word means. Hugh: Bob, you and I are in our mid-70s, we'll say. We could be sitting back, chilling, and not doing anything. But you and I have a passion for being engaged. Why aren't you sitting around? You're teaching classes, and the stuff that you're asking your students is really profound. You're active with some local charities still. Why is this important to you? Bob: I don't know. I do it because I don't know what else to do. I do play tennis, and I do ride horses. Those are two of my hobbies. I do spend time doing those two things every week, so it's not like I'm constantly thinking about philanthropy, even though I have a horse named Philanthropy. I watch the USTA, and did you know the USTA is a nonprofit organization? They wouldn't survive if they didn't get contributions from people. They do good for others. I guess I'm involved with philanthropy pretty much all the time, even though it's my joy. I love doing it. I like talking about it. I like telling people about it. I like finding people who are doing different new things. I have found so many people over my 40 years that I decided to put them in a book. That's where Philanthropy Misunderstood came from. Hugh: I've had the joy of visiting a couple. The whole family does this water project. I won't get into it, but I want you to tell people. You called them up and said, “You have to meet Hugh.” I went over there, and it was an amazing visit with the whole family. I met the couple. I didn't meet the kids, but I have heard about them and their involvement. How about highlighting some of the stories? Let's talk about this one first; they will be guests on the show in June. It's folding paper. How does that help people? Bob: This is a crazy story, and it's a fabulous story. It's been so fabulous that it's been on Good Morning America. Neiman Marcus actually helped these girls sell these ornaments that are called origami that they make. Their church and schools make them with them. They have volunteers of hundreds of people who do nothing but help make origami, and they sell the origami for $50-$75 a piece. To date, they have raised over $2 million building water wells to actually give water around the world. 170 different water wells in 17 or 18 different countries. These girls are 15, 13, and 10 years old. They started it when they were 4, 5, and 6 because Daddy is part Japanese. He said, “We need to do some origami.” One thing led to the other. I'm not sure what the other is and how detailed you have to get in to find out what the thinking was of the parents, about involving their children in making these origami. That's their life. It is now their life. These girls are so smart because they are in a business. The 15-year-old is the president of the foundation. It's a cool thing. Hugh: I went to visit the whole house and the project. These volunteers come in to do the folding. It's engaged people in a focus. I don't know if the people come in and do that right now, but maybe the family can do more while the kids are out of school. There is another story in here that has a big picture, and it's Bonnie and Michael with Barefoot Winery. They were guests a couple months ago, and they were the ones who connected us. Tell the story about how you got connected and their story in the book. Bob: It's so interesting because Eric is actually the one who introduced me to Bonnie and Michael. He was the marketing director of Barefoot Wine. What Bonnie and Michael did, when they couldn't sell the wine, because nobody wanted to buy it because there was no place to buy it, and liquor stores didn't want to buy it because nobody was asking for it. They started giving it away to charities on the beach in beach towns, mainly starting in Florida. He would give it to them for free, and he said, “If you like it, go to your grocery stores and tell them to buy it.” Long story short, over 15 years, it became the #1 wine in America. Bonnie and Michael did it through giving wine away to charitable causes. I know that they had a marketing plan here. They said, “This is cause-related marketing,” which are words we used to use. They didn't really know it was philanthropy because they really wanted to sell wine. But it also made them feel good, too. I have taken Bonnie and Michael on a philanthropy trip to Mexico. So I got to watch them in action. It didn't have to do with wine; it had to do with building schools and painting houses for people in Mexico. It's a great story. They are in the book, and they should be. Hugh: The book is what you would call a coffee table book. It is hardbound. It's a $45 book. The quality of printing and the quality of the stories and an amazing layout and design. It should be $100. It's one of these treasures. My fourth book, which you have a copy of, Transforming Power, I teach people how to do things. I got to a point where I said, “Hmm, people want to be inspired by stories.” That's one of the premises behind this show is for people to tell their stories. There are people out there in the trenches who are struggling to make ends meet, to pull people together, to rally volunteers, to rally their boards, to rally their funders. Let's talk a bit about this title and what's behind it. What is the biggest misunderstanding on both sides, the funder and people seeking funding? Bob: It started with me. I was always told that philanthropy was about money. I started a magazine in Texas all about people who had money and gave it away. I would come into my staff and say, “I think we need to do Boone Pickens on the cover of the magazine. And the first question was, “How much money does he give away?” That was the common question. That was whether or not we were going to put him in the book on how much money they gave away. Finally, after a while, I realized, You know what? I know a lot of people who do so much more than writing a check. They're never recognized. I have this incredible woman from Houston named Carolyn Farb who spends 26 hours a day helping people learn how to raise money, but also build a hospital, and do all kinds of things. She is not known to be a huge giver, even though she is a giver; therefore, her picture would not be on the front cover of anything because of money. But it would be because of the word “philanthropy.” I realized, because of Carolyn, that I was talking to the wrong people. I needed to be talking to people who were in the book. The people in the book probably give money as well, but that wasn't what I wanted the focus on. I wanted them to tell me why they do what they do. Why do they build origami and build water wells around the world? They don't get any money for it, and they don't give any money. They give things. Well, they do give money because they raise money in their case. Bonnie and Michael, they give money, too. Instead, they gave wine. Chip Richey gives his time and effort and expertise in filmmaking. He's made lots of films about the Indians and Oklahoma. He did things for me for my philanthropy courses. There is Jordie Turk who was a student of mine, who volunteered on his own dime to come to Dallas and video my launch party. His name is not even on the piece. But he did it. He loved it. He is happy about it. I think that's what philanthropy does, moreso than what money does, is gives you joy. That's what everybody says. I get so much more out of what I did than what I gave. Hugh: Philanthropy is both. We have to run the organization. It's like having a car. You have to put gas in it. But there is a bigger piece to this. It's not money alone. Sometimes, people want to give money to save their conscience. They want to be doing something, and they're not really involved with it. So they want to buy a place. but buying a place and stepping up and working. Talk about the synergy of the two of those together. Bob: I'm a giver. But nobody would ever recognize me as a financial giver because I give $100 or $200 or $25 or $50 or whatever. I'm involved with a lot of organizations. I give not necessarily because I love the organization, but I love the person who is asking me. So I write a check in order to continue this relationship I have with this person as a friend or as a person who works with me. But when I actually take on a project and get my feet dirty and hands wet, and I go out and build something, or I paint, I come back tired, but for some reason, I give myself this secret pat on my shoulder and say, “You did good today, Bobby.” That's what happened to me when I was five years old. My mother and I went to give groceries in a trailer park in Garden City, Kansas. We walked away, and I felt this hand on my shoulder. It was patting my shoulder, and it said, “You did good today, Bobby.” I looked around, and there was nobody there. That is the feeling I have gotten because of giving my time and efforts, as opposed to writing a check to get you off my back to say, “Go. I put my name someplace.” They go, “Oh wow, $100. Thank you so much.” Then they come back the next year and do the same thing. There is just a real difference between the people who are in the trenches and the people who aren't. Hugh: I think it's important to give at any level. You say that you won't get recognized for $25 or $50. But if we get a lot of people who support us with their time, talent, and money—you give your time, talent, and money. There is a triage there that are all magnified by each other. If you have the synergy, if you have one person who gives $25, great. If you have 1,000 people who give $25, then you are paying salary and rent and some operating costs. Then you can rev up the engines and focus on your mission. I do find a lot of charities are compromised in many ways, but as you know, the story of SynerVision is we want to empower leaders to step up to the level that they can take the organization. I noticed some of your students are here from the class, and I want to talk about them as well. There is a synergy in those three. We spend time teaching leaders how to raise the bar on their performance so we know how to engage people who are philanthropic-minded. There is a whole lot of stuff there. Jeff, “Bob has given many of us the gift of learning to give, and it is life-changing.” What a quote that is. Talk about your students. I got to sit in on three classes last week. You're doing this Zoom group session education, which is quite remarkable. Your gracious spirit with them, and you see what's inside them, and you see potential that maybe some of them don't see in themselves. You said to me you challenged them to think about writing a eulogy, but you also mentioned doing some research on a nonprofit organization. There was a need for you to have to explain what that meant. What is a nonprofit organization? Talk a little bit about the class. Bob: I taught at a university here. I was teaching business and professional speaking. I decided I wanted to bring in my love and passion to the course. How am I going to bring my love and passion into the course when philanthropy is not in the syllabus? I included philanthropy in the syllabus. When you talk about business, you are going to talk about nonprofit businesses. They had never heard of a nonprofit business, even though they had. They knew what the Salvation Army and the Red Cross was. They knew what the Boys and Girls Club and Boy Scouts are. But they didn't know they were nonprofit organizations. They didn't know there were two million of them in the United States. They didn't know that half of the things that are positive about our country is philanthropy. I said, “Okay, let's have you all look at a nonprofit you are connected with.” They had no idea they were even connected with one. Landon is a new student this semester in my class right now. You asked him a question and asked him to talk when you were in my class. He did. He has a passion. You can feel it when he talks, about the things he does or can do and wants to do to serve people in our community. What I'm doing is there is maybe a small fire underneath them already, and I'm turning up the heat. They get passionate about it, and I empower them to do something about it once they learn about the fact that they can do it. They can do something on their own. Landon is one of those. He has several physical problems, and one of them is with his eyes. He picked a nonprofit organization that had to do with sight. He loves being involved with something he can connect with and understand. We all do. We all can. I am attention-deficit. There is a nonprofit organization and a school that has to do with children teaching children about dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorders. There is something I can do. There is something everybody can do because we all have something that we are connected with, and we just didn't know it. Hugh: I was going to come in and say hello, and I stayed the whole class for two of them. We are recording this in the middle of being sequestered home. It's a time of refreshing, renewal, revising, and thinking about how when we go back to work, how we are going to define the new normal. We are leaders. We will reset the bar. I don't think we're going to go back to what we did before. Most of the people in the book didn't do things in ordinary ways; that's why they are in the book. These stories will inspire others not just to do the same old thing that they always had observed, but to think about what they bring to the table that's really special. What is the new opportunity? Bob, let's dig into some more of these stories. The book is divided into sections. Talk a little bit about why that is and why that's important. Bob: I had some great people working with me. Tom Dolphins from Kansas City designed the book. The book is so attractive that people want to find out what it is. It's not just the words, but it's the design. And Ann Vigola from Lawrence, Kansas started out as my editor. She happened to be a student of mine prior to that. Ann spent a lot of time figuring out how to organize this book because as being an attention-deficit person, I have all this information up here. I didn't know how to organize it. It was organized starting out with topics. We did One Day at a Time because I am a recovering alcoholic, and I wanted to talk a little bit about that topic. One Day at a Time also had to do with the AIDS epidemic. I had a brother who died of AIDS, and I wanted to focus on that. Every person in here has had something to do in my life. People would say, “You didn't do so-and-so. They are such a great person.” I said, “I know, but I didn't work with them.” All of these people, I worked with. All the stories in here, many of them, I had something to do with. Chip got me involved in the Phoenix Project, or maybe I got him involved, which was helping warriors coming home from war, connecting them with their spouses on retreats with horses and massages. Chip actually put together a video about this whole thing. I was involved with that. I went to the sweat lodges with these warriors and watched them connect and relate to each other. They are all stories I have been involved with in one way or another, and that's one story I like a lot. Jordie worked with me with the poorest of the poor kids in Mexico in Guanajuato, Mexico, Leon. We would go to the poorest school, and I would tell the teachers, “I want to take your kids for just an hour once a week and bring in 20 of my students. We will teach them philanthropy.” We watched children change because of a handshake. Jordie was able to volunteer his time, even though he was a student of mine, to put this fabulous piece together that is on YouTube. These are all stories we were able to capture. I wish I'd had these two men together with me for all of the stories because somebody's contacted me and said, “We need to make a movie here with these short stories.” Some of them still have long-lasting things. One of the people in Mexico said, “Just teaching a child to do a handshake and watch her change as a person week after week after week has changed me as a person,” she said. It does. When you do philanthropy, it changes you. Hugh: That's a great sound bite. Serving churches in music ministry for 40 years, I took many mission trips. We went to give them, but we came back having received a lot more than we tried to give away. There is a reciprocity to giving. You're a giver, but you're blessed by your giving. You're enriched by your giving. You give stuff away, but it really impacts you. When I am with you, you're just full of energy. You're this most passionate energized person purposeful person. What more about the book? Was there a story here delving into their story for the book, that really moved you more than any other story?   Bob: Yeah. We took a vote in our little group who put this book together, Ann, Tom, and I. There is one called “Bridging the Gap.” It is written by Morgan Herm. He is a schoolteacher. He talks about a bridge that is in Pennsylvania, where he lives. He would go and meditate there. On this bridge, he noticed that somebody had put in a letter between the planks. He opened the letter, and it was a letter that a person had written about them being able to become at peace with themselves because of meditating on this bridge. He put the letter back. Then there was a collection of letters that people would put in about how this bridge had brought them peace. It helped them through their divorce, or it helped them through their domestic violence. Morgan finally built a mailbox so people could put their letters in the mailbox. They could read each other's letters. That's philanthropy. That bridge serves as a philanthropic metaphor or example of peace and love. That's one of my favorites, and it's written so well because Morgan is an English teacher and writer. Hugh: Each contributor wrote their own story. Bob: They wrote their own stories. There was a couple of them that I wrote. There was a woman named Ruth Altschuter in Dallas who died last year. I wanted her in the book. So I went to her husband and said, “Would you write this for me?” He said, “No, I can't write anymore. I don't write.” I said, “Let me write Ruth's story, and you approve it.” He said okay. But most people wrote their own stories. One lady wrote a story that I told her should be 1,000 words. It was 5,000 words. I read it and realized I couldn't cut anything out. It's the history of Swiss Avenue, which is one of the oldest historic districts in the United States. She called it, “Philanthropy Built Her Neighborhood.” It's about how the mansions and big houses on Swiss Avenue became run-down in the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. You could buy a piece of property here for $10 or 25,000, which are now going for $2 million, back in the old days. She wanted to tell the story about how it became a fabulous neighborhood that is looked upon as one of the premier places in the United States. It ended up being 10 pages, and I left the 5,000 words. It is the longest story. It wasn't meant to be that way, but it's really well done, so I didn't cut it out. Hugh: You said here. Is it in Dallas? Bob: Yes. I live in that district. I live in the Swiss Avenue historic district. Hugh: Wow, that's fascinating. Landon has a question. Landon, you're live, so if you have your mic on, do you want to talk to us? Landon Shepherd: My question is, let's say I have an idea for a nonprofit I would like to start. But I don't really know exactly how or where to start it, or who to talk to about getting started with what I want to do. What would be your advice to some of the students who may have these ideas, but don't know how to work out these ideas? Hugh: That question is for your professor? Landon: Either one of you guys. Hugh: We'll tag-team on it. Go ahead, Bob. Bob: He's a student of mine, and I will definitely have a talk about that. But we have in Dallas and in Fort Worth and every major city in the United States a center for nonprofit management. The centers for nonprofit management in each of the major cities are where people can go learn about giving and learn how to start an organization, a 501(c)3, the who, what, when, where, why. They have seminars all the time. You can go to the Community Foundation of Texas. You can go to the Dallas Foundation. These are other avenues of where people are experts in this. Yes, there is a way to do that. Landon, I will tell you who to contact here in Dallas. Hugh: There are centers like that in every city. There is also a universal presence called SynerVision Leadership Foundation. We have a blue button at the top of our page labeled, “Join.” We have this community with all kinds of resources. Sometimes, we find how to do strategy or how to do leadership or how to do fundraising or how to do a brand or marketing. We put it in one contiguous process so you don't have to look around. You can look at our site and see if that suits you. Combine working in person with one of these centers Bob is talking about. That would give you a leg up. Bob, I know half of the nonprofits started each year will close ultimately. My take on it is they haven't done a good job of looking at the market to make sure it's not being duplicated, and they haven't really activated their board and set themselves up for success. What is your idea of why some of those close? Bob: You're right. They usually are started by people who don't have any information. They have a passion, which you have to have for the topic. People who have cancer, they want to start a nonprofit organization that has to do with cancer and raise money in the name of somebody. The Susan G. Komen Foundation was started by Nancy Brinker here in Dallas because her sister Susan G. Komen had breast cancer. She told her before she died, “I am going to find you a cure for this.” What Nancy did was she surrounded herself with experts who knew how to put together a nonprofit. Now, it is the best one in the world. I can tell you five or six right off the top of my head that didn't last for more than a year because they didn't have a board of directors, they didn't know how to do their paperwork, they started raising money without knowing how to be a fundraiser. Let me tell Landon and everybody this. There is an association called the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in the United States. 35,000 professional fundraising people. I was a member of this group for most of my years as the president here in Dallas, and went to all the major conferences. There are conferences every year with AFP. There is a luncheon in most major cities every month that bring together all the people who raise money for the nonprofits in any city. There is a program with a speaker. It is a time to network, the people who have been there and done it before. That's how you do it. Hugh: Building a network around you. There is a peer-to-peer network, which is great, but you want to have a network of people who are even better than you. In my case, it's not hard to do. But hang around people who have been there, done that, and are experts. We have Jeffrey Fulgham watching who has a question. I want to allow you to talk. Jeffrey has been a member of that and is a certified fundraiser. Why is it important for you? You went through the certification process and studied development for so many years. Do you want to comment on the organization and why it's so important for people to understand now? Jeffrey Fulgham: I have always looked at it as a cliché of the good housekeeping seal of approval. I think this gets more important every day. This needs to be a profession, and it needs to be professional, not just in fundraisers but in nonprofits. There has to be some standard. We hope it's a standard of excellence, but there has to be some standard by which people can look and say, “Okay, this is an organization, or an individual, who is committed to certain principles, certain basic values, that transcend whatever it is that that organization is involved in.” Obviously, there are certain organizations whose values are going to be different than another one. But those values are related to the mission, not the operating strategy or the integrity of the entity or the integrity of the individuals working within it. What it allows us to do is create that standard. When someone looks at an organization, they have Guidestar to go to and the other metric organizations. But they also have a way to look and say, “Hey, this is what these organizations support. These are the values they support. This organization belongs to them and subscribes to these values. They subscribe to certain values. They set the standard.” Of course, the CFRE sets the standard as well. I think it's important for people who are giving, but also for people who want to get involved as volunteers, who want to go work somewhere. Do you want to work for an organization who subscribes to certain values and has that level of integrity? That's the main reason why I think it's all important. Hugh: Great. Before I let you go back into your listening mode, do you have a question for our guest today about philanthropy or about his book? Jeffrey: You know, that's the first time I've heard of this book. I'm definitely going to have to get a copy of it. I think it's really interesting that you mentioned that philanthropy is not necessarily about money. I always tell people that fundraising is not about money; it usually ends in money, but it's about relationships and about creating relationships that are long-lasting. Those relationships should transcend the money in that just because in a bad year, and we're having one by the way, where people are not going to make gifts to organizations they care about because they have to take care of their families and their friends. They will give more money to their church. They will make hard decisions about who they are giving to. If that person doesn't make a gift to my organization but they have been supporting me for 20 years, do I abandon them and ignore them because they are not giving money through our fundraising? No. Because I have a relationship with them that transcends their financial giving, or possibly their volunteerism. It becomes a different thing. Philanthropy is definitely a mindset beyond money, and I love that you are bringing that to the surface so people can understand what it's about. Hugh: I'm glad you asked me where to get the book. There is a website called PhilanthropyMisunderstood.org. You can find out how to get the book there. Bob: Thank you, Jeffrey. I want to know more about you as well. I am a member of AFP and of CFRE as well. There are a couple of people in the book who are CFRE, Scott Staub and Alfonse Brown. They have great stories in there not about fundraising. As you say, it was about relationship-building and the volunteerism they participated in as well. Hugh: Not everybody wrote a story in there. There is a story about a horse. Who wrote that? Bob: I wrote that one. It's my best story. I wanted Philanthropy to be on my front cover, and Philanthropy happens to be my horse. This woman by the name of Tracy Carruth, who is a big philanthropist in Dallas, breeds horses. I happen to have an Arabian horse. She breeds Arabian horses. Napatoff, who is her most beautiful world champion horse, was retiring. Before he died, or left the breeding ring, she wanted to make sure that I got an offspring from Napatoff. She gave me the semen from Napatoff to go into Sherry Rochesta, who was my Arabian. Through that, we got a beautiful horse that I named Philanthropy. I wanted to start that as my first story. My editor didn't like it, so we put it into the back. I am there with Tracy Carruth and our horses. That's the story. Hugh: The standards for everything, the quality of the writing and the photographs, the design of the book, all of these sections in the book. You start out with Circle of Influence. Jeffrey headed us that way. It's not about money; it's about relationship. When you and I had lunch recently, we talked about relationship. You now have a relationship with all these people, and they wanted to be in your book. Why is relationship important to our work? Relationship in our teaching at SynerVision, it's the underpinning of leadership and ministry, and it's the support for communications. Funding and philanthropy happens as a result of relationship. Say a little more about relationship and how it's important. Bob: Debbie Mrazek, who is one of the writers, wrote a part in the book called “Your Circle of Influence.” Who are all those people who will take care of you, who will take you to the airport and lend you sugar and tell you where to get the plumber? I had my students write down 100 people they know, wheedle it down to 25, and then 15 who will be in their circle of influence. I teach networking. It's not what you know; it's who you know. That's the first thing and last thing I say in my classes. My students, I say, “How many people do you know?” They didn't know 100 people. One of them knew seven. My family members. No, I don't want to meet anybody. No, I don't need people. I said to the class, “I'm going to take students to Nepal. It will cost $1,500. How many of you can raise the money to make it happen?” I went to this girl who said she knew seven people, and she didn't want to know any more people. She said, “I don't know anybody. I don't want to know anybody. I guess I'm not going to Nepal.” I said, “I guess you're not.” We took people to Nepal because my students most of the time realize that they have a great number of people around them who care about them, but there is a methodology of how to influence people and how to cultivate people and how to get them to be your friends, and more than friends, how to be a good friend, how to help people, and actually go around hunting for things to do for people. That's what I want my students to become. I don't think that we get anywhere in life without others. That's one of the key principles that I teach in my communication classes. Hugh: Your class that I sat in on is really about communications. You're really promoting good thinking skills. Communication to me is based on relationship. We can send a whole bunch of emails that nobody reads. It's not about data. Bob: No. I send emails, and I pick up the phone. We used to send faxes. We used to go knock on their door. We used to drive by. I think that this time right now, we're trying to figure out how to continue life in solitude since we are told to stay home, and stay home alone. I think we're finding this television and this computer even more important than ever since this is how we're able to stay in touch, through this cell phone we love so much and this computer. However, I can go next door and knock on the door and take them a cake and say, “I was thinking of you and realize you may not have any desserts at your house today.” Sometimes, I'll have my lawnmower man come out and next door, they don't mow their lawn very much. “Go mow their lawn. I'll pay you.” The people come home and say, “I can't believe you had somebody mow my lawn.” It was a philanthropic idea I had, was to love mankind and do something for the person next door. Hugh: Bob is an inspiration. My ideas are popping. You have 100 creative ideas every six seconds. You're prolific. In these stories, 100+ stories from people who helped change the world. We are all doing our part. It's not one person. But one person can start a movement. My friend in Lynchburg, he was the person who founded Stop Hunger Now, which is now Rise Against Hunger. Before we had a setback with coronavirus, they were on target to package 750 million meals. Their vision is to end hunger in our lifetime. It's not just about packaging the meals; it's about a lot more than that. One person thought of that and founded it, and it's now a major movement that will exist long past his lifetime, which is what he wanted. It's a legacy. What are the legacy possibilities for any of us who say, “I want to do something for humankind and have it keep going?” Are there possibilities for all of us? Bob: I always say, “What are you doing for the person who just passed away in your life? What will you do for your mother? What will you do for your father?” I got involved with building schools in Nepal with Don Wilkes. Let me tell you about Don Lueke since he is here. Don Lueke is from Kansas City; he and I met probably 30 years ago because he taught children at his school about giving. It's the Junior Leadership. It's similar to my PAVE program (Philanthropy and Volunteers Education). For the last 15-20 years, he and a man by the name of Steve O'Neill, who are businesspeople in Kansas City, take time out of their week every week to teach children at the Catholic school where their children go about giving back. This has become so sophisticated that this last year, I was a part of a seminar they had at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where all of his students, maybe 30 or 40 of them, came and gave presentations on nonprofit organizations they had helped in the community. He does similar things to me: empower young people to get involved in the community. There is a double page about him and this group he is doing it with. Don Wilkes in Nepal for example. What can you do to honor somebody? He said, “If you can make a contribution of a couple thousand dollars, we will put someone's name on a classroom in a school we are building in Nepal.” I called my brother and sister and said, “For $2,000, we can put our mother's name on a classroom in Nepal.” My brother says, “I want to see a video of what it looks like.” I sent him the video, and he called me back immediately and said, “Let's do it.” My sister said, “Sight unseen, let's do it. We want to honor our mother.” For $2,000, our mother's name is on a school's room in Nepal. I know because I went to Nepal to see it. I had to go see my mother's name. When I got out of the car, and the children were clapping for me because I was amongst them, because I gave a simple $2,000 and put my mother's name on the deal, gave me such joy that we decided to do it again. I put my cousin's name and my aunt's name in another classroom on another school they are building in Nepal. That is a way you can provide not necessarily for yourself, but for somebody else that meant a lot in this society. Everybody we run around with meant a lot in this society. They did something in their lives that changed the world. Hugh: Absolutely. That's an inspiration. Are you willing to entertain questions if I open everybody's mic? Bob: Absolutely. Eric Groover: Bob, this is Eric Groover from the University of North Texas. How are you doing, Bob? Bob: Hi, Eric. It's good to see you again. Eric: Hugh, I just want to say thank you for hosting Bob. Bob and I are new acquaintances through some of our students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science here at the University of North Texas in Denton. Just north of the DFW metroplex. Bob was actually scheduled to come speak to some students on our campus last week, and unfortunately we had to cancel that. Bob was gracious enough to bring up some of the books that we purchased for our students and faculty and staff. We spent a few minutes violating the university's shelter-in-place order, visiting in my office for 20-30 minutes. I just wanted to say, Bob, that it's been lovely watching you today and hearing your stories again. Just a huge thank-you to Hugh for hosting this event. He does you credit, and I'm glad for that. Thank you very much. Hugh: Thank you, Eric. Blessings. Nancy Hopkins: This is Nancy Carol Hopkins. Yes, I am Bob's sister. I am watching from Tucson, Arizona. Obviously, Bob has been an influence in a lot of people's lives, including mine and our younger brother. I wanted to make a comment on the volunteerism point. First of all, Bob gets asked frequently how come he stays so young and is so active at his age and has so much energy. If you look up and do some research on volunteerism, there is a lot of research that shows that volunteerism actually helps you medically, emotionally, physically, keeps you young literally. It does. There is medical research to prove that. If anybody wants to know how Bob stays so young and energetic, it has nothing to do with vitamins and pills he is taking. It has everything to do with the work that he does. Hugh: Very helpful, Nancy. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for sharing that. Nancy: You're welcome. Hugh: You don't have to take tonic if you hang around Bob Hopkins. Nancy: That's right. You don't. Hugh: That's so rich. By the way, our governor slapped a stay-at-home order on us until June 10. The exception is volunteerism. If you volunteer for a charity, you can get out and do it. That was a good thing, I thought. Penny Rambacker: Hi, this is Penny Rambacker. How are you doing, Bob? Bob: They said Penny. I was hoping it was you. Penny: I'd like to make another comment about the idea of having purpose. I think Bob has a purpose, as many of us philanthropists have. I have been reading a book recently that said two of the things you can do to be the happiest in life are 1) to have a purpose and to feel needed, and that keeps you young and alive, and 2) is to be grateful. Those of us that practice gratitude and appreciate what we have are oftentimes people who are giving because they have seen other people with greater needs than their own. They become grateful for all of the things they have in their life. I had a huge gratitude lesson back when I first got into this. That was when I visited the garbage dump in Guatemala City. I saw children living there. It really touched my heart, and I had to do something about it. I found my purpose, and I felt grateful for the life I have. Two good things to think about when you are doing philanthropy. Yep, that's me and my kids. Hugh: What page is that on, Bob? Bob: Pages 48-49. Hugh: Love it. Great stories. Penny, where are you? Penny: I am in Naples, Florida. We work in Guatemala. My charity has built 57 schools in the mountains of Guatemala. We also sell handicrafts. We just sent an e-newsletter telling people to visit our store online. It's virus-free. You can go shopping for a greater good. If you want to go shopping, we have great things at Store.MiraclesInAction.org. Hugh: Good for you. I have been to Guatemala, and people are very poor. They have lots of wonderful natural resources. They do wonderful clothes with all these designs that are brilliant. What are you showing, Bob? Bob: This is Don Lueke's page. He is on pages 82-83. Hugh: Don, do you want to comment? Don Lueke: This is a great opportunity to showcase your work, Bob, and the work of everybody in that book. I appreciate the efforts on your part. Just want to add. We talk about having a purpose. I think that is what makes us get up every day, or at least get up quicker. I don't know if I have a lot more to add. I'm humbled by everybody's story in the book, so I think I am just one of many. Hugh: Thank you for sharing. I am humbled being part of Bob's network. *Sponsor message from Wordsprint* Bob, what is a parting thought you'd like to leave people with today? Bob: I am going to do another book called Philanthropy Understood. It's going to be new people. Some of the old people we want to expand upon, too. I'd like to do something with TAMS. I think TAMS is a great program that Eric Groover has been a part of before. There are so many people that I have been thinking about. That's what I'm doing right now, and that's why so many people are here who are in the book because I sent them a memo telling them all that we are needing to stay together on a monthly basis. We did have a man pass away yesterday in the book, Charles Lowe. He has spent 45 years working with the disease called neurofibromatosis, and I worked for them for eight years. I was able to tell all of the people in the book about his passing. So many people responded who didn't even know Charles, but did know his article in the book. I think the more we create this circle of influence around ourselves, the richer our lives are going to be. Also, the kinds of people we depend upon, I always try to find people who are smarter than you who have more things going on for them because they will lift me up instead of running around with people who will pull me down. My challenge to everyone is to continue these kinds of groups, and continue doing good together. That is the real fun about philanthropy and being volunteers. It's a togetherness thing. I did go with Penny to Guatemala, and I loved the experience. She is in the book. I went with her 20 years ago. I included her in the book because that experience changed my life 20 years ago. It's one of those many things that make up a person. It's so much fun going back in my history, in my family. My sister is the greatest philanthropist of our family. She is doing more than me even. I think that's the joy. I don't even say it's happy anymore; it's a joy to walk out on my front porch and say, “God, take me. What is my next step? What do I have to do next?” You know what. Somebody picks me up and takes me. I think that's the lesson I have learned more than anything: you have to be willing and tell people. Hugh: Bob Hopkins, you are a gift to humankind. Thank you so much for being our guest today. Bob: Thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nonprofit Fundraising in our COVID-19 World with Martin Leifeld Martin Leifeld, author, coach, consultant, and public speaker directed the raising of over $500 million dollars during his 24 years of fundraising leadership in the St. Louis region. Martin authored the book, FIVE MINUTES FOR FUNDRAISING - A Collection of Expert Advice from Gifted Fundraisers. MartinLeifeld.com provides nearly 125 video presentations about leadership and fundraising matters. Martin served as vice chancellor for university advancement at UMSL for 10 years. He led a dramatic increase in fundraising, averaging $26.4 million per year. University Advancement had 140 employees and a $16 million budget focusing upon alumni engagement, community relations, fundraising, marketing and communication, university events, and St. Louis Public Radio. Previously, Martin was associate vice president for university development at Saint Louis University and director of development for the Diocese of Belleville, Ill. Martin was named the 2018 Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the AFP St. Louis Regional Chapter. Martin was selected as the 2020 Millard S. Cohen Lifetime Achievement Award from St. Louis Public Radio (KWMU).   Read the Interview Hugh Ballou: Greetings. This is Hugh Ballou. Welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Every week, we have a guest who has knowledge and wisdom, and experience in a topic. They have been there and done it, and they have some things to share with you. You're sitting in the seat as clergy, nonprofit leader, or board chair. Maybe you're a business person thinking about launching a nonprofit. This series is here to help you think out of the box, think of some new paradigms, and learn from some people who are experienced. Today, my guest is from St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of this book, Five Minutes for Fundraising: A Collection of Expert Advice from Gifted Fundraisers. Martin Leifeld, welcome. Would you tell people a little bit about yourself, and why is it that you do what you do? Martin Leifeld: First of all, it's an honor to be on your program today, and I appreciate your audience. I hope I can be helpful. I've been in various leadership roles for around 45 years. 25 years of those were in small and larger universities. 25 years, although they didn't overlap exactly with the universities, I have been involved in fundraising. About two years ago, I retired after 10 years as vice chancellor for advancement at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, which is our local urban land grant university here in St. Louis. I had a wonderful run there. Long story short, here in the St. Louis region, which is where I spent my 25 years of fundraising, over $500 million raised, that's a lot of money for St. Louis. It's not about the dollars raised; it's about the involvement, the lives changed, and the impact because of the dollars raised. Two years ago, I retired. It wasn't my timing, to be honest with you. I had health issues. My handle in the last couple of years has been author, coach, consultant, and speaker. A little bit of everything. I think you know what I mean. I have a website, MartinLeifeld.com. There are over 120 videos there on fundraising and leadership. You were kind enough to point out the book. I have been doing podcasts, a couple dozen of them, and regular postings, particularly on LinkedIn. I am trying to give back. This is all about trying to give back to a profession that has been such a blessing for me, so good for me in so many respects. Certainly developed professional skills. I have grown as a person by doing this extraordinary work of fundraising. Hugh: We have in the audience two fundraisers who are CFRE. They're here because they heard about you. We'll let them ask questions later. Martin: I'm beginning to sweat, Hugh. Hugh: They're very nice people. Martin: I hope so. Hugh: I had a funding professional last month. He said he reads a fundraising book a week. My area is transformational leadership and the conductor. The best leaders I worked with in corporate or nonprofits are the people who are always working on themselves. The famous speaker Jim Rohn always said, “Work on yourself harder than you work on your business.” I wrote that down and have been working on it ever since. 73, and still working. Martin: I'm impressed by somebody who would read a book weekly. There is a chapter in the book called, “The Three C's of Fundraising.” The first is competence. If you want to be involved in fundraising, being somebody of impact who makes a difference, you have to develop competency. There are two ways to do that. One is lifelong learning. You are a student of the game, of the practice. That can include certifications and the like. You mentioned CFRE, which makes me nervous. You go to webinars like this, podcasts, so on and so forth, to remain educated and current in the field. But book-learning alone doesn't make you an impactful person in the work of philanthropy. You have to add to that experience. In any profession, if you're working diligently and are learning, being humble as you work your way through successes and failures, you should acquire the kind of experience that makes that study you do come to life and be most virtuous. That's just competence. You have to have confidence. Confidence is not bravado. It's not fake it until you make it. Real confidence grows alongside the development of competence. But to get to your point, the third C is character. What donors want is someone who is competent. They want to recognize a competent professional who is doing their work with excellence and to have that quiet confidence that comes over the course of time. But what they are really looking for is people with outstanding character, people who are virtuous and trustworthy, people who you might say they know they can do business with. They can shake hands and make something happen. If you don't have all three operating, I don't think you can be a master in any profession. Hugh: Absolutely. I have earmarked a few things. I want to talk to you about the correlation between leadership and fundraising. Did you just sit down and say, “I want to write a book?” What was the inspiration, and how did you connect with the people in there, who are all experienced fundraising professionals? Martin: You might find this story curious. Since I turned 30, every consecutive decade since, on the 9th, the 29th, the 39th, etc., I would use that year very deliberately to reflect on my life up to that point, trying to look at success and failure, places for improvement. To look at the next 10 years and try to project what I can do to have an impact. I should say every decade, I got more intense about this, too. Six years ago, when I was 59, I was really working through that year. I decided in that spring to take 100 days and really drill down about the future. Every day in my journal, Day 1/100, Day 15/100, I began my journal. Journaling is part of my morning ritual. Seeking ahead, you might say. Believe it or not, around day 72/73/75, I have what I call a small I, inspiration. The inspiration, as I referred, was to give back to the profession. I wanted to start there. I thought, Well, I had done so much mentoring and coaching and fundraising with staff and volunteers. I was very good at doing something briefly. Somebody asked a question, as you can tell, I can go on for five minutes. Five minutes, I can give a good answer that would be appreciated. Maybe I could do some brief videos. Then I thought, Well, not everyone wants to watch a video, let alone look at me for a few minutes. People prefer to read. Let me do both. So the genesis of the book logistically was transcribing my first year and a half of videos on these very subjects. Hugh, you may know this, and your audience may also. Seven minutes of video, especially the speed at which I talk, only translates to a few pages. I got into this and thought, I am not going to have a book. The other part of this was I never tried to give a comprehensive answer about something. It was more stuff I noodled about, experimented with, discovered that I thought was helpful. That is what prompted me to go out and recruit 26 others to join me as collaborators in this. It was a fun experience because maybe 60% of them I knew, some very well, but the others I went out and recruited based on word of mouth and reference. I had to establish a relationship with them, like a donor, and ask them for their assistance. I found overwhelming willingness to be supportive. Hugh: Wow. 26 of them here, all by name. Each chapter says, “Collaboration.” Speak a little bit about how collaboration works for you, and how it manifested itself in the book. It's interesting how you have each section with dots and italics to stand apart, where there is a dialogue. Martin: What I was trying to do was say something about the particular subjects, insight and angle. I had come to realize through experience and effort and training. Then I wanted to enrich it. I tried to find people. I called them collaborators. In other words, I wanted to start with what I had to say about a particular subject and ask them to add to it. Nobody really directly contradicted me as a collaborator. But they collaborated in the sense that they took the content seriously and enhanced it with their own reflections. Many of them added stories that put the flesh on the bones of the point of the chapter. It was interesting. If I had asked people to write it, they wouldn't have written it because they were too busy. I had somebody help me interview them. We came to it in different ways based on the needs and availability and interest of my collaborators. I tried to collaborate logistically and practically in order to have them help, but they were generous about their time. The thing about this word “collaboration” is the goal is a joint thing we do together. The goal is to bring the best of more than one person to bear in order to, as you talk about with synergy with your organization, to get that synergistic gain, to get that exponential gain that you can't get with just yourself necessarily. Even if you have the authority with CFRE. Hugh: People introduce me sometimes as Hugh Ballou, an expert in leadership. I say, “I'm Hugh Ballou, a serious student of leadership.” Martin: Hear, hear. Hugh: The title of this episode is, “Fundraising in COVID-19.” And the post-COVID-19 world. There are some consistent things and some new thoughts. That chapter with leadership, the Three C's, your collaborator said, “ABC: Authenticity, belief, and confidence.” You and I were talking before about how fundraising is terrifying for a lot of us. I don't want to go. It's like when I was a teenager calling a girl for a date. I didn't want to get turned down, so I stood by the phone and sweat. Is that like people wanting to make a money call? What is it about trying to raise money that is so fearful? Martin: I don't know. It's all about fear. It's the fear of the unknown. It's the fear of being rejected. The fear of fumbling your way through it. The fear of someone being rude to you. If you will be embarrassed in front of them or embarrass them. It's something new. I haven't done it before. For those in religious work, it's unseemly. I shouldn't have to do that kind of thing as a pastor. Leave that to someone else to do. There is a lot of things. When I first got into major gift fundraising, in the St. Louis area, I would criss-cross southern Illinois, a larger rural area, sometimes driving an hour or an hour and a half to see someone. Talk about sweating bullets. I would rehearse half the trip, “Hugh, would you and Mary consider a gift for the education of poor elementary kids, a gift of $10,000? You could even pay that over three years.” I would say that over and over again because I couldn't trust myself. When I first began to do it, and I fumbled, it was a long drive back, knowing I hadn't done what I set out to do. I began to rehearse very seriously. Once I got in the home or the office, who knows what might happen? It might be something I couldn't predict. All I had to do was say, “Hugh and Mary,” and out would come the rest because I had rehearsed it. For those of you being called upon to raise money, practice makes perfect. You can do it. But let me shift into something more serious. Fundraising is a privilege. Fundraising is the most honorable of work. Fundraising is a spiritual work. Fundraising is actually a vocation. I came to this once I was talking to a very wise woman about fundraising and the struggles. She said, ‘Martin, you're in a helping profession.” A helping profession? I had never thought of it that way. I thought, Especially now, physicians, nurses, first responders, educators, oh my gosh, the young families. Two of my kids are educating kids at home. They have a manifold of appreciation of what it takes to be an educator now that they are trying to do that in their living rooms and around the kitchen table. But I hadn't thought of my profession of being something that was actually about helping. That's what it is. What we do as fundraisers are facilitators in effect. I like to refer to myself as a facilitator of philanthropy. What we do is on behalf of worthy causes. In effect, what we want to do is come alongside, almost put our arm around someone's shoulder, and say, “Look, there is an opportunity that makes sense to you as I have gotten to know you, and through which you can demonstrate great impact on this world. Here is the idea. Would you consider it?” That kind of work is very powerful and honorable work. I have had the privilege, as many of your audience have had, of interacting with some people of extraordinary success, Fortune 25 executives. I have had some of those people say to me, “Martin, I could never do that job. That is too hard a job.” Some of them knew it first-hand because they were chairmen of nonprofits or board members. They were called upon to go out and do it. They knew first-hand what I was doing full-time. They respected it. We underestimate the value, the contribution we are making in this work. Hugh: Wow. That's a paradigm shift. Somewhere, and it may be in this chapter, “Five Generous Fundraisers,” before we talk more about donors, let's consider you as the fundraiser. Somewhere, you talk about the impact it has on donors to actually donate. There is a point of philanthropy that releases something in you to make that donation, to see something happen. Talk about that. That is an inspiration that we don't think about, the impact that it has on the donor. Martin: First of all, it's all about the donor. What we tend to do is focus on ourselves. In one sense, we should because we want to be professional and effective and do the job with excellence. We also want to represent our organizations with integrity, as effectively as we can. It's all about the donor. What we're into is a business of building lifelong relationships, not just after a transaction. We want to build and support the relationship that the donor has with the organization for their lifetime hopefully. In that relationship-building process, there are opportunities for financial exchange. What this is about is not a transaction although writing a check or giving away stock or a document with a commitment is part of it. But what it's really about is helping people to influence the world for the better, and to demonstrate their values and what matters most to them. In that process of a donor taking their eyes off of themselves and looking outward, looking at, “Okay, I have been fortunate enough to have accrued these assets,” rather than being preoccupied with how I could take care of myself, I am going to give it to others or to the world to improve it. As they do that, they become greater people. Biochemically, by the way, we change. Enzymes are released. One person called it the family bonding enzyme. I used to notice that somebody would make a big gift to one of my organizations and suddenly they would be everywhere. They would be at every event, bringing friends and colleagues, talking about the organization with great enthusiasm. What's this all about? By their making a serious commitment, a gift of greater significance, there was something that happened within their entire being. A wise man, as you know, once said, “It's better to give than to receive.” There is something we receive as an internal, spiritual, reward by giving of ourselves generously. One of the ways we give ourselves generously, certainly in this contemporary age, is with financial resources in addition to our time and talents. Hugh: That's so good. The other thing I earmarked is you wrote this chapter about the donor development cycle. There is a transaction, and there are those who never ask for the sale. I have been there many times. One higher net worth person asked me, “You didn't ask for the sale.” It was my first conversation to get acquainted. But he was a businessman, “What do you want?” Another one, I am packing up to leave after I told him about what I was doing. He said, “Don't you want a check?” Then he wrote me a check and handed one to me a lot bigger than I thought. That was about relationships. But this cycle, you go through steps, identification, qualification, and more. Talk about the process. There is a transaction, but there is a lot more to this process. Martin: The bottom line is this is about a relationship. In the course of a relationship, you go through seasons. In this particular cycle that we use in our fundraising business, you identify. Then qualify, which means are these people of capacity? Are these people who have an interest or potential interest in what we represent? Then we cultivate, which is about building a relationship and involving them in the organization. That can include charitable giving, but not a gift of greater significance. As we get to know them, we are able to think about, Okay, given what they are interested in, how does that align with what we are about as an organization? What dimensions of our organization would be something that would make sense to them, that they would desire to support? Then we have the conversation about asking. Some people are proponents of never asking for money. They just listen their way to a gift. I have always believed to have conversations about money, about scale, about impact, about size. That might be, with this amount, you can do this and that. Provide some options. But I always want to be working with numbers. People want to know what we would like them to do. My experience has been perhaps more often the opposite of yours. If I don't ask, I get something smaller than what I had hoped for. I have always been one to say, “Let's talk about money.” It's a part of life. It's how we carry on in this world. Most people want to get to the bottom line, “How much do you want?” They can say yes, no, maybe so. They want to make that happen, but they can't make that happen now, or they will have to think more creatively about it. They can't write a check. I have always taught our people the 80/20 rule. Listen 80% of the time. COVID-19 has brought us to a hard stop here in some respects, but when you think about the frenetic pace of life that has only gotten faster and faster during our adult years, it has reached the point of sheer lunacy. Was anyone listening to anybody? One of the reasons we are such a divided nation is we completely lost the ability to listen, and listen with respect. What I found in fundraising, and I think many professionals in other fields would say the same thing, if you want success in your life, in your business, in your endeavors, you listen. It wouldn't be that I would listen 100% of the time. But what I found is people desperately wanted to be heard. They wanted to be listened to attentively, appreciatively, and respectfully. Honestly, when I think about to what extent I was a great fundraiser in my career, it's because of the power of listening. I have to ask for money, too. But listening puts us in that best position to understand. What I would do is retain, record, and retrieve. Three R's. Retain. Somebody had something to say during the course of the conversation. I was listening closely and thinking, That's important. Record. I would get in the car, call my assistant, and tell them, “Start taking notes.” Or I'd get back to the office and start typing at my computer. I would record all the various things I thought would be insightful and helpful, not just for me, but for anyone in my organization who would have reason to engage with those people. This is all about preparation. When I would prepare for my next visit, I would retrieve. The thing is in work like this, we are in front of different wonderful people each day. If a month has passed, there is no guarantee I would remember what someone said was important to them a month ago. One way I would respect them is I would retain, record, and retrieve, so that when I would return to them, I could say, “Hugh, so how's Mary Alice doing? You were talking about her facing that surgery.” Or, “Hugh, how's that billy goat dog of yours doing? You were worried about this.” Or, “Hugh, you said you were going to be marrying off your son Charlie. How'd it go?” People know I am representing the organization, but they love the fact that I listened to them as people. I cared about them as people. Do you think when it came to talking about a gift eventually, that put me in a better position to be taken seriously? Without question. It seems like, Geez, this is common sense, isn't it? We have lost a lot of common sense. Hugh: The problem with common sense is it's not very common. *Sponsored by EZCard* Let's pivot. You talked about some brilliant reframing of some old scripts we tell ourselves that minimize ourselves. I am guilty as anybody else, maybe more. That's not my job. I teach leadership. We have been in an era of lockdown. We are going back to work in Virginia. Churches are a sort of meeting with very limited engagement. No children. No singing. There is a new paradigm of how the exercise classes are in the parking lot with rain all week. People are getting paychecks from unemployment. What if that money runs out? Then what? We are facing some new challenges. How does that impact fundraising going forward? Martin: If you look back to the great recession, some sectors did better than other sectors in terms of fundraising. In the great recession, I had just come to the University of Missouri to take a campaign that was already underway public. I was there a month, and the economic sky fell. The world was thrown in the craziness. It doesn't exactly line up with our situation today, but there are some similarities certainly. Long story short, we decided to go ahead with our campaign. In my first year there, we raised 54% more than any other year in the history of that institution. When I hear someone say, “Boy, we can't ask for money now. People don't have it,” I immediately say, “That's not necessarily true.” One thing I would say is this: If somebody is philanthropic, and they have less money, are they less philanthropic? I don't think so. Philanthropy is a part of a value system. Let me ask you this about the organization you represent. Has its value proposition changed because of this pandemic? No, it hasn't. Now, if you are a food bank, there might be more urgency, immediacy. Crises bring out people's desire to try to do something for others, whether it's by cutting a check or by cheering on the streets for the first responders and nurses. People want to be supportive. One way they are supportive is certainly with their philanthropic support. Hugh: Love it. Would you like to have some questions from our audience? Martin: As long as they're all soft balls. Hugh: No guarantees. There's Jeffrey Fulgham from Richmond, Virginia. He is a CFRE and has done many good things. Used to be in Lynchburg, but moved just a couple hours away. Do you have a particular observation or question for our guest today? Jeffrey Fulgham: I don't really have a question, but I love what I'm hearing, Martin. The first thing when I came on (I missed the very beginning) is the part you were talking about studying, and that's only part of the equation. You can glean all this information, but if you started moving through your presentation, you were talking about relationships, which has always been the meat of this business. It's never more important than it is right now of letting folks know we care about them, and you hit that nail right on the head. That's what I have been preaching to my clients and associates: how important it is to stay connected to people and let them know that this relationship is a personal relationship before a financial relationship. I really liked what you said about character because I think that's the core of what we're doing. It's the core of leadership. If you don't have the character, you probably shouldn't be a fundraiser or in leadership either. The other thing that you mentioned about evaluating, that was so good. I didn't start doing it early enough. I wish I had done it the way you did it. The last five years, I have taken the month of December, or January because we are so darn busy in December that we don't have the time. I did a post-mortem on the year and on my life. How could I be better? This is great stuff. I'm glad I connected today. Martin: Jeffrey, pleased to meet you, and thanks for your great comments. I'm glad I'm in the ballpark with mine. One of the things, in fact, I just did a podcast on this, writing a chapter on someone's book on morning rituals. Every morning, as part of my morning ritual, I have one page in my personal/professional planner (I call it that), and I review what matters most about my life. That is a way for me to get locked and loaded for the day, in order to go forth and have the greatest impact possible, as a professional, but as a person. What am I all about as a person? Being able to define that, have it clarified, reviewing it every day has been amazingly powerful. One other thing I would say around the word “authenticity” is people want to be authentic, and they want authentic people in front of them. We don't have to be perfect in our work, but we want to be respectful, thoughtful, and do it the best way we can. Fundraisers come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities, and they understand that. But they don't want a fake, a snake salesman. They want a human being that they can respect and look up to. That's what they want from us. Jeffrey: I definitely agree with that. That authenticity and character and genuineness, people would ask me about having these relationships with people. I said, “You have to be in a genuine relationship. You can't have a relationship where you want someone to think that it's about the fact that you like them and want to be in a relationship, but it's really about the money, so you are clocking it so that it looks genuine. It might work for a little while, but it won't work for you forever. If you really want to have successful fundraising, it's about long-term relationships with people.” I'm fortunate that I am connected to people who I am three or four organizations removed from now. I still have relationships with them, and I still talk to them, especially right now with everything going on. Staying in touch. That's the fun part of this business. It's the most fun. Martin: The relationships is the most gratifying part of the deal. It's not about the dollars raised although that's great, too, because it can accomplish great things. In our business, we get to meet the most wonderful people. Phenomenal people. When I think about my own personal and professional development, a lot of it was profoundly stimulated by the people I have gotten to spend time with in this work of fundraising. Hugh: And I have gotten to spend time with Jeffrey and Bob Hopkins. Bob, you've been quietly listening. Do you have a question or comment for our guest today? Bob Hopkins: I'm in my backyard outside. Didn't know I had any airwaves back here. Beautiful day in Dallas by the way. I am loving listening to you. After 40 years of doing this kind of thing, you think you know it all. While I might say I do, it's so much fun to remember some of the key aspects of the fundraising process. When you first started talking, I thought, Why doesn't he talk about listening? Sure enough, 15 minutes later, you talked about listening. I am so grateful for that conversation. I teach speech, and I'm teaching people how to talk. But there is a chapter in my book called “Listening.” I spend about five minutes on listening because I don't think people need to know anything about it, and I am so wrong. As you said, the 80/20 thing is so true. I have so many great stories of when I didn't listen, and you know what? I didn't get the gift. Or when I listened and waited and patiently took my time about receiving, that I got about six times more money than I would have gotten had I asked earlier when the person wasn't ready. Martin: It's such a great comment. Pleased to meet you. We talk about this in a lot of fields, the blending of art and science. As I said, developing competency is about education and experience. Maybe that's the better way. This is a work you learn on the job; it's on the job training. As we stick with it, it saddens me when I think about the turnover in the profession. If something is willing to stick with it and keep at it, as you all know, the satisfaction is phenomenal to be in this work. To become competent at it over time is immensely gratifying. Beautiful horse by the way, Bob. Hugh: That's not his current one. He has one he is really proud of. That's his passion. One day, I was having lunch with him in Dallas, and he went off on this horse thing when I asked him about his passion. The principle is 80/20. 80% of your results are produced by 20% of your people. 80% of your inventory only produces 20% of your profits, but 20% produces 80% of your profits. It goes with donors; it's a repeated principle. When I wrote my first book, Moving Spirits, Building Lives, it's about church musicians and transformational leaders. That is when I moved into leadership. It took me 40 years to write this and 30 days to put it on paper when I was leaving the profession. I determined in that book the Ballou 10/90 principle. As a music director, 10% of my job was music; 90% made that possible. I am thinking as far as a professional fundraiser, the 10% is what people see, but 90% is under the iceberg. 90% is relationship, staying in touch, that allows that 10% to happen. There is a lot that happens that is invisible to most people, but that is where the hard lifting is. Let's hit real hard on this. We still have money in the economy. The fed printed more digital currency. Money didn't go away. Some people are struggling to make ends meet, but some companies are doing really well. Google had a record-breaking quarter. Grocery stores are slammed. There are some ministries that are challenged. Some restaurants are out of business. There is still money out there and people who want to make a difference. What is the change of mindset for addressing the new normal here? Martin: In some ways, the mindset hasn't changed. In other words, we have an organization worthy of support that is doing important work in this world. We are engaging with people who want to make a difference with their lives and resources to the extent that they can. They may have taken a hit financially, so they may not be able to do something right now. They may have to structure it differently. Back in the great recession, we mentioned we raised 54% more than any other prior year in the institution's history, that wasn't people writing a bunch of huge checks. People were writing smaller checks, making pledges over longer periods of time, putting gifts in their estates, and so on. Bundle it all together, and it would be a number that was not insignificant for them, but they couldn't do it. Even today, a year ago, someone might give you a large number with checks over a couple of years. Now, they still want to give you that number, but it will be put together in a different kind of package. What we need to do is be sensitive to people. We are all talking the same talk here. We have to put the concern for the people first. There are relationships. If we treat them that way, whether they can make a gift now or later, we are building the relationship for the long term. We are doing our job with the relationship by putting them and their concerns first. We all have stories and connections, a degree or two away from us, of people who have been profoundly impacted by this. We should know it firsthand, and be sensitive as we engage with others. To raise major gifts, it's typically a face-to-face, labor-intensive business. Up until very recently, there hasn't been any face-to-face work. Difficult to have a talk with a donor ten feet apart. Tools like Zoom, even my sister who just turned 80 years old knows how to use Zoom. We can all use Zoom. People welcome Zoom calls or the equivalent. They desire that human interaction. If we get on a call like this, we just have a conversation, and we listen to them, that's powerful. Hugh: whoever thought of this term “social distancing,” it's physical distancing. We are still social. Anti-social distancing. This book is chock-full of stuff that is not rocket science. It's a solid experience when people have been there and done it. Stuff that most of us don't know. You have been around and done this for years; you've practiced this. I'm a musician. We rehearse. You have rehearsed a lot. What I am so appreciative of is you put it in a book to share with people. Why should people have this book? Where can they get it? Martin: Why they should get it is it's a way of staying current in the work. If you are a beginner, it's an insightful introduction to the work. It's getting 27 seasoned professionals' input, not just one's. I call it Five Minutes for Fundraisingbecause each chapter is about a five-minute read. They are stand-alone chapters. You don't have to read it in consecutively. You can go to what resonates or what you need right now. In terms of the book, if you want an autographed one, 15% off, no shipping and handling, go to MartinLeifeld.com and order it there. You can get it on Amazon as well. Like any book, it's available on multiple channels. Hugh: It's not an expensive book. *Sponsored by EZCard* *Message about a Youth Philanthropy Conference on 6/27* This has been a very helpful interview. Lots of good sound bites. What do you want to leave people with today? What is a challenge or thought as we go into the unknown? Martin: Every day we are going into the unknown. That was six months ago, too. It's new every morning, as it says in the Book of Lamentations, for those of you who look at the Bible. What we're after is helping people become greater through philanthropy. We're doing that through putting them first, respecting who they are, helping them to demonstrate their value system to the world. Hopefully, by working with our organization as part of their way of doing so. We are privileged. It's honorable work. It's worth people devoting their lives to. Not to highlight myself, but this is powerful. When I retired two years ago, they had a party for me, which was very nice. A number of the donors were there who I had worked with for years. Unbeknownst to me, they had a video. If you go to YouTube, it's there. This couple who were the first alumni in this young university to reach a $5 million-level gift of cumulative giving was on the video. This is what they said, and I think it pulls it together and certainly represents so much my gratitude for the work of philanthropy in my life. They said, “By teaching us about giving, Martin, you have given us a great gift. Our philanthropic involvement with the university has enhanced our lives on many levels. We owe that to you. Martin, because of your professionalism, expertise, and friendship, you made something that is truly enjoyable even more rewarding. You showed us the way to contribute in a meaningful manner, and this resulted in our receiving so much in return.” Hugh: What a great summary. Martin: Isn't that amazing? That's what it's about. Hugh: It is amazing. You have touched people's lives on both ends of the spectrum. Martin, thank you for sharing your wisdom and time with us today. Martin: Thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don't Stop Networking, Just Do It Differently Interview with Dr. Ivan Misner Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization.  Founded in 1985 the organization now has over 9,400 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world.  Last year alone, BNI generated almost 12.3 million referrals resulting in $16.7 billion dollars worth of business for its members. Dr. Misner's Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California.  He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 24 books including one of his latest books – Who's in Your Room? He is also a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and has been a university professor as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne. Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by CNN and one of the “Top Networking Experts” by Forbes, Dr. Misner is considered to be one of the world's leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world.  He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York. Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, the BBC and The Today Show on NBC. Among his many awards, he has been named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Red Cross and was recently the recipient of the John C. Maxwell Leadership Award.  He is also proud to be the Co-Founder of the BNI Charitable Foundation.  He and his wife, Elisabeth, are now “empty nesters” with three adult children. Oh, and in his spare time, he is also an amateur magician and a black belt in karate. More information at: www.bni.com www.ivanmisner.com   Read the Interview Hugh Ballou: Greetings everyone. This is Hugh Ballou. Welcome back to a new episode of The Nonprofit Exchange, where we talk to leaders and get their secrets to success, what they found that's worked, what didn't work, what's their wisdom. Each week is a different person from a different place with a different experience, but they have a passion for excellence. Today's guest is the founder of a really neat networking group called BNI. I will let him tell you a little bit about BNI. I have been a member over the years, and I have done networking as a nonprofit leader, as a church professional, and as a business professional. I find out that networking is as misunderstood as leadership is. There are a whole lot more varieties of what people call networking, but Ivan Misner stands alone as a person who has developed a whole new system for networking. Ivan, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange today. Ivan Misner: Hugh, thank you very much for having me here. You're right. I am the founder of BNI. We have now 9,500 groups in more than 70 countries around the world. But what you may not know about me is I have spent some time in the nonprofit world. My second management job was as an assistant to the president of a nonprofit transportation business in Los Angeles called Commuter Transportation Services, Inc., which was rideshare before there was Uber. It was computers bigger than this room to set up rideshares. It was funded mostly by the government and private corporations. I worked there for a while. I have been on the boards of nonprofit organizations for more than 30 years. Lot of experience in the nonprofit world. Hugh: You know some of the challenges that nonprofits are facing. Today, even more challenges. I like to say that, in the words of my co-publisher of our magazine and friend Jeff Magee, we suck at networking. Suck is halfway to success. Ivan: I like it. Hugh: I stole that from him, but I give him attribution. We go into a crowded room and say, “Hey, it looks like the stock market. We are trying to bid higher than the next person.” But I found my experience in BNI to be relationship-building and also the people I met there, I still know. I'm not active in that anymore. Life has taken me different places. I moved; I didn't get out purposefully. I found it is multi-dimensional. Let's go back. When did you found BNI, and why? Ivan: I started BNI in January of 1985. I was a management consultant. I helped companies with hiring, training, and evaluating employees. I got most of my business through referrals. I was looking for referrals. I went to a lot of networking groups, and the groups I went to were just playing mercenary. I'd go to these meetings, and I felt like I'd been slimed, and I needed to go home and get a shower. Everyone was trying to sell to me. Everyone was trying to sell. I didn't like that. I went to these other groups that were totally social; it was happy hour and hors d'oeuvres. Nobody was doing business. I didn't like either of those groups. I wanted the business, but I didn't want it to be mercenary. I wanted the social, but I wanted it to be relational. What I did was merge this concept of business and relational, and the glue that would hold it together is our principal core value of Givers Gain. This idea of that if I help you, you'll help me, and we'll all do better. Hugh, I'd like to tell you that I had this vision of an international organization, but I just wanted some referrals for my consulting practice. I wanted to help my friends. One thing led to another, and it turned into two, to 10, to 20 groups. By the time it hit 20 groups, I realized, and it happened in less than a year, that I had struck a chord in the business community. We don't teach this in colleges and universities, even in business. I get it. You're a nonprofit. You feel like you aren't prepared. But business isn't prepared either. We don't teach this in school. That's when it hit me that we needed to teach this and provide a platform for businesspeople. We now have 9,500 groups in more than 70 countries. Hugh: 9,500 groups. We have people from a couple countries here, Algeria and Texas. Ivan: Texas is its own country. Hugh: We are in the south. We think California is another country, but we are confused about Texas. Ivan: I grew up in California. It is another country. Hugh: It will fall off in the ocean someday. What my mission is is to help nonprofit leaders think out of their box to learn some really good business principles. Sometimes, in networking, we do the inverse. We don't want to ask anybody for anything. Or we come from a position of need. “Oh, I need this. Help us.” Tell me about the framing that nonprofit leaders, we have clergy, we have executive directors, we have board chairs, we have people in what we like to call the for-purpose, not for-profit, community. What is the mindset we need to have as we approach networking? Ivan: I think the first mindset, and it's something I teach everyone and I think applies in the nonprofit world just as much as in the for-profit, is the foundation of networking is something I call the VCP process: Visibility, Credibility, Profitability. You first have to be visible. People have to know who you are and what you do. Then you move from visibility to credibility. People know who you are, what you do, and that you're good at it. That takes a long time to go from visibility to credibility. But when you get to credibility, then you can move to profitability, where people know who you are, what you do, that you're good at it, and they are willing to refer people to you. They are willing to bring people to you, whether it be a for-profit enterprise or a nonprofit enterprise. They are willing to refer you, support you, help you. That takes time. Networking is much more about farming than it is about hunting. It's about cultivating relationships with other business professionals. I think this fits the nonprofit world well, but I don't think the nonprofit world knows that. They keep thinking they're different. The VCP process applies to both. Hugh: Absolutely. We have this brilliance we can offer. We feed people, we clothe people, we help people get jobs. We do all this philanthropic work. That is our mental capital. Over here, we want financial capital. There is a space in between where you do what you're talking about. It's relationship capital. Ivan: It's social capital, yeah. Hugh: We build that. It's relationship. It's trust. It's being social.  I don't care if you're an introvert or not, and it takes energy away from you. It's still important for the leader and the board. Tell us about your board experience. Did you help them think about networking? Ivan: Let's talk for a moment about, before you asked about the board, you were talking about- The gray hair, things are slipping my mind. Yeah, I have been on a number of boards. I am an emeritus member of the board of directors for the Leroy Haynes Children's Center in the Los Angeles area. I was on their board for almost 20 years. I have been on the board of trustees for the University of La Verne. I am presently sitting on the board of directors for the Austin Boys and Girls Club. I started my own foundation, so obviously I am on the board of my own foundation. I have had a lot of work in the nonprofit world for a long time. The nonprofit world does a lot of really good work. Hugh: Yeah, I was talking about trust and having a conversation. It's a process to go from what we got to offer to people writing a check. Ivan: Yeah. Thank you. When you have that, there are a number of things that one can- You talked about introvert and extrovert. That is the thing I wanted to touch on. A lot of people assume you have to be an extrovert to be good at networking. That's not true. What's really funny- This is absolutely a true story, and I wrote about this about eight years ago on my blog at IvanMisner.com. I have more than 1,000 posts, and I have been blogging there for more than 13 years. One day, I was talking to my wife. We weren't quite empty nesters; our kids were in high school. They were at practice. It's just my wife and me. It was great. This is what it was going to be like. I said something to her, “You know me, honey, I'm an extrovert.” She was like, “No, you're not.” I said, “What do you mean I'm not? Of course I'm an extrovert. I run the world's largest business networking organization. I can't be an introvert.” I have been married 32 years. I don't know if you're married or not, but this is so husband/wife relationship. She's like, “Okay, honey, that's what you think. That's fine. You can be an extrovert.” “No, it's not what I think. I am a keynote speaker. You can't be an introvert.” “Whatever you think.” “Why do you think I'm an introvert?” She had been reading this book and telling me the differences between them. Then she said something that hit me, “Extroverts love to go out to recharge their batteries. Introverts want to hide and get away from everybody.“ “Okay, that definitely sounds like me.” But I am not an introvert. So I walk into my office at home in California, and I got on the Internet and found a test to take. I was going to show her that I am not an introvert. So I take this test. True story. I take this test, and it comes back with “Congratulations, Ivan. You are an introvert who is a situational extrovert.” I looked further, and it said, “When you are talking about something that you are very knowledgeable about, when you are in your wheelhouse, when you are with close friends, you come across as an extrovert. Otherwise, you are an introvert. So go apologize to your wife.” It didn't say that last part, but I did. I said, “Hey, I can't believe this, but you're right. I am an introvert.” Even before I discovered that, I told people introverts can be great at networking. The reason why they can be is that they're much more likely to listen than to speak. A good networker is like a good host, an interviewer. Hugh, you're asking me questions and letting me answer. That's what a good networker is. A good networker asks questions and lets the person speak. Extroverts love talking. What is their favorite subject? Themselves. So people assume that an extrovert is a great networker. That's not true. They are a great networker if they have learned to slow down and be an interviewer. Ask questions just like you are. Hugh: Take a note. Don't use your personality type as an excuse. Ivan: That's exactly right. Hugh: Sometimes, Myers-Briggs and many of those instruments, I am way over on E. When I am in a group where I am not the subject matter expert, I can flip over, and I am quiet. I am a situational introvert. That is a good term. It really is about our processing and our energy. I gain energy. I am a conductor. I finish a two-hour rehearsal, and I am raring to go. I have adrenaline. Other people have to go to bed after a social event. You're so true. When an introvert speaks, they have thought it out, and then, boom, it comes out as a complete thought. Extroverts just blurt it out. It's in process. Our assumption is we are going to have a conversation. The important thing that rose in your conversation to my attention was that we are talking to potential donors. The scenario you just described, we are networking. We want to listen to them. What are they interested in? We want to go up to the ATM, put in a card, and get some cash. Guess what? They don't want to be an ATM. They want to find out what they're interested in. That is a form of networking, isn't it? Ivan: It is. And sometimes you find out it's not a good fit, but you want to find people who it's a good fit. Their values and vision on the impact that they want to make in their community is congruent, resonant with yours. Where you can find those levers that you can pull that are resonant with their goals in life, the things they want to make a difference in, then you have the right person. You have to find out. You have to learn about that individual before you can start trying to pull money out of them. Hugh: Yes. In the social benefit world of churches and nonprofits, we receive money because we provide value. Ivan: Yes. But isn't that the same in business? Hugh: It's all the same. People buy from us because we give them value. There is a trust level there. There is a monetary exchange. It's an exchange of energy, trust. There is lots of ways to think of it. Having conversations, you're so right. It's 10% talking. When I studied coaching, they said, “Coaching is 90% listening. Most of the other 10% is listening.” I have had clients who solved great problems that they have given me credit for when I was a listener. Ivan: And asking questions as a coach. Hugh: Yes. Absolutely. Listening actively. We might already be nervous when approaching a donor or in front of a group or a new network of people. What is your advice to nonprofit leaders? We do have a mix of people on here. Some people have a nonprofit and a business. Some people have a church or synagogue and a business. Some people have only one or the other. What is your advice for people as they are approaching, let's say, a new group opportunity to network with other professionals? We have some anxiety or apprehension or concern about that. What is your advice to get the right mindset as we go into an opportunity to meet new people? Ivan: The right mindset is about building relationships with people. It's not as you said about transaction. It's about the relationship. In one of my books, I wrote something you might find interesting. In a book I wrote called Truth of Delusion, where I ask questions, I say, “Is this statement true, or is it false? Is it a delusion?” One of the statements we made in the book, “You can network anywhere, any time, any place, even at a funeral.” Is that truth or delusion? Of course, the overwhelming majority say, “No, you cannot network at a funeral.” Here is our answer. The answer is it's a truth. But here is the key. This is important. If you hear that answer, you have to hear this first sentence after that answer. You must always honor the event. You don't go to a funeral passing out your business card. That's completely inappropriate. But if networking, as I believe it is, is about building relationships with people, then there is no place that is inappropriate to build a relationship. Let me give you an example. I was at a church function years ago, one of those potluck things in the afternoon. Everybody brings in meals. Lot of fellowship. People are talking. I saw a business guy who I wanted to get to know. He was very successful in the area. I struck up a conversation with him. One of the questions that I suggest people ask, after you say, “Tell me about your business. Who are you? What kind of clients are you looking for?” all the normal stuff. A question I like to ask, but you can't start with this, is, “What are some of the challenges you run into in this business?” He gave me an answer I'd never heard before. He said, “Business is awesome right now. My biggest challenge is I want to give back to the community. But sometimes my years are up, and some years are not up as much. I am having good years one after another, but some are incredible. I don't want to give away all that money. But I am not big enough to create my own foundation. I don't know how to deal with that.” I said, “Have you ever heard of a community foundation?” He said, “No. What are those?” I said, “There are a lot in Southern California. There is the world's largest called the California Community Foundation. You can create a fund under the community foundation under your own name. John Doe Foundation. It's part of the California Community Foundation. There are restrictions on the kinds of things you can do, but they are pretty reasonable.” Back then, it only took $10,000 to open a fund. It may be more now. He said, “Oh my goodness. I have never heard of one of those. Hang on. Here's my card. Would you mind? Do you know anybody there?” “Yeah, I know the VP of Development.” “Would you introduce me?” “I'd love to introduce you.” That's what networking is. You can network anywhere, any time, any place, even in church, if you honor the event. To me, honoring the event is about making connections with people. If you can help someone in some way, then that's what networking is. He was in a business that wasn't relevant to BNI. If I had wanted to call him, if I had called him next week and said, “Hey, it was great talking to you.” By the way, I introduced him to the VP, and he opened up an account like that. If I had called him a week later and asked him to get together to learn more about what he did, do you think he would have taken my call and met with me? Yeah. Why? Because I made the beginning of a relationship. We stayed connected through church. We never did business together. That's what networking is. It's about helping people. It comes back around to you. Hugh: That is a great story. Givers Gain. What is that? That summarizes BNI. How did you arrive at that? We tend to use too many words. It's brilliant in its simplicity. Ivan: It's predicated on a theory in social capital called the law of reciprocity. The law of reciprocity basically is what goes around comes around. If you put things out to the world, it will come back to you. To me, that phrase was the simplest way of explaining what could be a somewhat complex concept. The concept of giving is actually more complicated than it sounds because when you really get to it, people start asking, “When do you know that you're giving too much and not getting anything in return? How do you ask? Do you give, give, give and never ask?” There are subtleties and complexities to the concept of Givers Gain. The bottom line is you have to give to people before you expect them to give you anything. Giving might be a referral to someone else, not selling your business, but giving them ideas, connections. Hugh: Law of reciprocity. Thank you, Napoleon Hill. The problem with common sense is it's not very common. Ivan: It's not commonly applied. Hugh: No. I've been doing this kind of work in the church for 40 years as a music director. People thought I was smart, so I served a 12,000-member church, so they asked me to come do board development and leadership development with them. I developed my third career out of that. I really struggle with how things have changed so dramatically. The work has gotten more and more important over those last 32 years I have been doing this work. It's more important now than ever before in history. In this changed world, in this new normal, it's up to us as leaders to set the bar for the new culture and the new engagement. What are your thoughts about how things have changed, and how networking is important in this new time? Ivan: Listen, networking has always been important. What I have done is codify it and organize it and structure it and explain it in a way that I think is useful. But it's always been important. In terms of leadership, there are a couple of concepts that I was taught by- I did my doctoral work at USC under Dr. Warren Bennis, which was in his day the world's leading expert on leadership. That mantle has been handed over to John C. Maxwell, who is an amazing man. I have had the opportunity to meet him on a number of occasions. Truly holds the crown of the expert on leadership today. But one of the things I learned from Warren when I studied with him was something that I think applies today and will apply 100 years from now in leadership. Two concepts. One is contextual intelligence. The second is adaptive capacity. Contextual intelligence. This is something I don't hear talked about much in leadership other than Warren. You really need to understand the context of the challenge. The context and the players will determine elements of how you address a particular challenge. So you really have to understand the context of this particular problem because the same problem in a different place might not have the same context. It might not play out exactly the same. I will give you an example. The second thing is adaptive capacity. One must have the ability to adapt to the changing contextual intelligence that you are confronted with. We talked about these concepts, and I understood them. I saw it come out and play out in the real world at the university where I was on the board. Warren was speaking. He did an event. I invited him to speak at an event at the University of La Verne. He spoke. It was right before the new president had taken office. He sat there in front of a big audience and said, “What do you guys think of the new president? She's amazing, isn't she?” Everyone thought she was fantastic. She hadn't started yet, but she had been on the campus off and on for more than a month. He said, “Is she prepared, or what?” “Yeah, she's completely prepared.” He said, “From day one, everything will come into place.” “Yeah!” He leaned into the microphone and said, “You're all crazy.” We were shocked. He said, “She's prepared, yeah. But the minute she walks in, there are going to be changes to the environment that nobody predicted. And so her ability to adapt will be critical in the success in her role in this university.” Within 30-60 days after she came in, the university lost its preliminary or interim accreditation for the bar association's law school. Yeah. She had nothing to do with it. She'd been there for only a month, less than two. There was an interim accreditation, and there was one more step to get to fully accredited. Lost it. Completely lost it. She had one year to regain interim accreditation, or it would be lost permanently. Well, you know that requires incredible adaptive capacity. It also requires contextual intelligence. The law school was on a track. It was doing fine. She had to understand the whole board. She had to see the entire chessboard of the university and see where things were going and what she thought was going to be okay actually wasn't. Understanding that a lot of resources had to go to that. A lot of adapting had to take place. That was all part of the leadership process that I think is something that 100 years from now will still be just as important, no matter what the technology or situation. Understanding the context and being able to adapt are key elements of a successful leader. By the way, the university is fully accredited as a law school now. Hugh: Three Feet from Gold, Greg Reid writes about how we don't give up. You're right there. Edison said, “Most people give up just before they succeed.” You and I were talking a bit as we were launching the live feed. We haven't been on airplanes in a while. One person said we're finding out now which meetings could really be held by email instead of having to be there. I haven't been too sad about cancelling some of my trips. It's a whole new world of working from home. I miss the interaction and the chemistry of being present, but I am just as busy as when I was traveling, maybe more. How do we network from home? How do we work from home? We are in the business, and we need to have positive cash flow to do our work. How do we function at home, especially now? Ivan: First of all, I think that we will go back to meeting people in person. That's not going to completely disappear. The genie is out of the bottle a little bit. What I foresee is some kind of hybrid where you will see a lot more done online and a lot done in person. As you know, with BNI, we are talking about 9,500 in-person meetings every week. We had to turn on a dime. We flipped within weeks to 9,500 online meetings. We now run online meetings. When we are out of this great pause (I like to call it that), I think there will be still some groups who may want to continue to meet online. But I think we will end up with some kind of hybrid system. In the meantime, while we are working at home, there are a number of things that are important to know. First of all, I started BNI out of my house. I have worked from home for most of the last 37 years. When I had the consulting business, I remember going to the city to get a business license. This was in 1983. They were like, “Where's your office?” I said, “I work from home.” “Yeah, you can't get a business license.” 1983, you could not get a business license. “That's not a business.” “Yeah, I'm a consultant. I don't need an office space.” “You can't have a license.” I could not get a business license from the city because I was working from home. Things have changed a lot since then. A couple years later, by the way, you were able to get a business license. I started BNI in my home, and I have been working off and on for the last 37 years. Now my office is in Charlotte, North Carolina, but I work here in Austin, Texas. This is my home office I am talking to you from. There are a number of things I could recommend. I hate the phrase “social distancing.” Hugh: Thank you. Ivan: I do. We need to be more social than ever. It's physical distancing. It's not social distancing. I believe we need to be more social than ever. You start with that. Then some of the things I talk about in working from home is you should have a dedicated workspace. I have a nice office. I didn't always have a separate office. Sometimes it was in the corner of the dining room or in a basement. I remember when I got kicked out of one bedroom because we were about to have a child, and I got kicked out of the second bedroom because we were going to have a second child, so I had to move out into an office. As we grew, then I had office space in my homes. I have worked from home most of the last 35 years. Have a dedicated workspace, even if it is a corner of the room. Were you going to say something? Hugh: No. I was just wondering how long it took you to figure out why you kept having children. Ivan: Yeah. I figured that out. It was planned. My wife was the most amazing woman to deal with the pregnancy. She loved being pregnant. It was quite an experience with her. Here's another one. Don't get distracted by bright, shiny objects. I keep this here by my desk because I am always talking to entrepreneurs, and they are always chasing bright, shiny objects. You want to be successful at whatever you're doing, whether it's for nonprofit or for-profit? Here's an important key. Do six things a thousand times, not a thousand things six times. It doesn't have to be six. It could be five or seven. Do six things a thousand times, not a thousand things six times. What I see businesspeople do is they constantly chase new things rather than really have a program and work it and work it and work it and work it until it becomes successful. If I have any superpower at all as a businessperson, it is that I am a dog with a bone. I am very persistent. I am good doing six things a thousand times. I think people who do that are much more likely to be successful. Here are a couple of other suggestions. No social media. Now, if it's business, if it's for your nonprofit organization, that's fine. But no cat videos during the middle of the day. They are forbidden. Something happens to the space/time continuum when you get on Facebook, and you end up on some YouTube video an hour later. How did I get here? Stay off of social media unless it's related to your organization. Right now, more than ever, micro-dose the news. Micro-dose the news. I see people who are overdosing on the news. Don't do that. It's so easy to do from home. Don't do it. All you see is doom and gloom and the end of the world. Don't get frozen by fear. Let fear focus you, not put you in a state of fear. Get focused by fear. Don't get frozen by fear. Hugh: As a performer, I had to learn that. When you get on stage, you have all of these people staring at you. You turn around with a baton and 75 musicians and 200 singers. It's like, Ooh. They are all looking at me. I have to tell you, when Berny had me speak on stage, it's a whole lot easier than conducting. But people are staring at you, so you have to have a whole different mindset. There is believing in self that is important, no matter what we are doing here. We have our core values and our guiding principles of how we use those values. We have something worthy, but working, like Jim Rohn used to say, work on yourself harder than you work on your business. I can't tell you how perfectly aligned everything you have talked about today is with what we teach at SynerVision. I have come to call what we are doing now anti-social distancing. I don't know what brilliant person came up with the term, but it is physical distancing. We are more social than we have been before. Ivan: Yeah, I think so. Hugh: I have a blog on that. I am in central western Virginia in the Appalachians. It's lovely this time of year. Ivan is in Austin, Texas. He has given us lots of bites of wisdom today. You could be listening to this during the isolation we have, semi-quarantine, whatever we call this. Ivan: The great pause. Hugh: It's like a music, you have a GP, a grand pause. I teach my leadership principles. One of them is value the rests, which makes everything else work. There are rests in music for a purpose. It's not absence of sound; it's a clarity place. I am finding this is a great time for clarity. You have that shiny thing. What is it? It's a jewel. Ivan: I don't remember where I got it. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. Hugh: You're under my control. Watch this. Nonprofit leaders are social entrepreneurs. We all ought to be social entrepreneurs because we have the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit. People ask me, “Do all you entrepreneurs suffer from insanity?” I say, “Heck no. We enjoy it.” There is this certain possibility mindset that we have. We have this vision. It's important, and the stuff you talk about leadership, I quote John Maxwell and Bennis in my writings and books and online courses. Working at home is the new normal, and the new normal going forward is going to be a hybrid. Many of our for-purpose social benefit communities have to be out there feeding people. I am in Lynchburg, Virginia. We have the highest per-capita poverty in Virginia, like 25%, with 28 agencies who feed people. It's important for them to network amongst themselves, which they are not really doing. There is a space for us to learn about networking that is critical. It comes from leadership. Nothing happens without leadership. I quote John Maxwell a lot. There is network, a verb and a noun. Bob has a question. Let me let Bob talk. Bob Hopkins from Dallas, Texas. Why don't you ask your question in person? Bob Hopkins: Okay. Hi, Ivan. Bob Hopkins here. By the way, that picture you see was 40 years ago. I am an old man like you. I have white hair. Ivan: I'm just glad I have hair. I don't care that it's white. I'm just glad I still have it. Bob: I have lots of it, too. Thank you. I am a college professor. I teach in Dallas. I taught at UTA for about 10 years, and now I am teaching junior colleges. I teach speech communications, and I teach networking. Ivan: Let me clarify my statement. It's usually not full-time professors on these webinars. Let me clarify my statement. I only know of one university in the United States that has a core curriculum university course on business networking. That is the University of Michigan, taught by Dr. Wayne Baker. That is the only university in the United States. Do teachers talk about networking during class? I think they teach mostly the wrong stuff, not necessarily the right stuff. There are no courses on networking to speak of in the world. Bob: I know that. Because I think networking is so important, I couldn't have done what I have done or be where I am without who I knew. Of course, I tell my students, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Ivan: Wait. Let me add to that. I don't think it's what you know or who you know. It's how well you know each other that counts because the question is, do I know that person well enough that I could pick up the phone and call them? Would they take my call? If I asked them for a favor, would they be willing to do the favor? It's not just knowing somebody; it's knowing them well. That's the key. I'm sorry. I keep interrupting you. I'll stop. Bob: The rest of the story is I have them write 250 people that they know down, whittle it down to 25 who are in their circle of influence that they can rely on, and that they do know, and they consider their mentors and counselors and parents and grandparents, etc. They have to write them a letter. The letter is, “I love you so much. I want us to continue this. I want to have your back and you have mine, so I want you to know you are in my circle of influence.” What you said is true. I like what you said about how well do I know these people? That is the important thing. My question is: Why not? Why are we not teaching this? Why is the academia? Is it because they have never been in business and don't know the importance of it? Ivan: That is my answer. Are you a full-time professor or adjunct? Bob: I'm adjunct. Ivan: So you know. I was an adjunct professor for 16 years. You know that it's the full-time tenured professors who control the curriculum. Even the president of the university does not control it. When you are talking about business professors, it's the full-time tenured professors who determine the classes. I really get hate mail when I say this. Most full-time tenured professors in business have never run a business. Bob: I know. Ivan: That's why. You can get a Bachelor's in marketing and not know how to sell. We don't teach sales techniques. Most business professors, it's like heaven forbid I should get my hands dirty and make a sale. They love social media. They will teach social media. They love advertising because you don't have to get your hands dirty and sell. They don't teach sales, closing sales, business networking. It's because it's taught mostly by full-time tenured professors. Wayne Baker is the only exception I have ever seen in the last 30 years in Michigan. Bob: The reason I am here is because Hugh and I have connected because I ran nonprofit organizations for 35 years before I started teaching college. I have only been teaching for about 10 years. The nonprofit sector is something I also teach. I have a book called Philanthropy Misunderstood. I teach my students philanthropy. I was called by my dean at one of these universities who said to me, “Bob, nonprofits are not businesses. Why are you teaching nonprofits in your classroom?” Hugh: Oh my. Ivan, I don't know if you can see my screen. But this is Bob's book. It's a brilliant book. There are world-changing, life-changing nonprofits. He has had a long career. Ivan: Bob, I agree with you. I think the lessons learned in business and in nonprofits are oftentimes, at the very least, overlapping, if not the same. Bob: I was excited to know who you are and that you are the one who founded networking. Thank you. Ivan: Well, I founded BNI. Networking has been around for a long time. I organized it. Hugh: Bob, thank you for coming in. Let me prevail upon your secrecy there. Tell him the name of your horse before you leave. Bob: That horse there is not the one that I have now, but the one I have now is named Philanthropy. Ivan: I like it. Hugh: He's all in. Ivan: Bob, thanks for sharing your knowledge. Bob: I'm in Dallas. Once this settles down and the traffic isn't too bad, I will drive to Austin to meet you. Ivan: All right. You got it. Be well. Hugh: Bob is a peach of a guy. I went to Dallas. My wife is a clergy graduate of Perkins School of Theology. The week before the airlines quit taking us places. I had a guest who founded Barefoot Winery. They said, “You have to meet Bob,” and we have connected and have been doing amazing stuff since then. Ivan: That's networking. Hugh: Yes. They accidentally founded a winery. They were marketing people. Great story. I have had some wonderful people in six years on this show. You're giving us really useful, helpful nuggets. This is so good. To find out about BNI, go to BNI.com. And IvanMisner.com. Ivan: IvanMisner.com. I have 13 years of content up there. It's all free. Check it out. Hugh: Love it. Ivan is the man. He has been such an influencer over those many years. Let's talk about the difference between network as a verb and network as a noun. Ivan: How would you define it? Hugh: Having a network, those are people who you have done due diligence with. You know who they are. I spent 40 years in church ministry, music ministry. I never had lunch alone. I always met with somebody. I got the most useful information, and they got information because they asked me questions, “What do you do anyway? We see you an hour on Sunday. What do you do the rest of the week?” I realized the Ballou 10/90 rule. The 10% is what you see, and 90% is what you don't see that makes that 10% possible. Networking is an activity to connect and meet people and to share and to provide value for people. A network is the people who you know. What do you think? Ivan: That's a good definition. Both of them are really, if it's done right, are about relationship-building. It's about the relationships you create. Hugh: Absolutely. Leadership is based on relationship. Communication is founded in relationship. The flow of money is based on relationship. Ivan: Oftentimes. Hugh: Let's talk about something that is not money flow. Let's talk about boards. I am going off being the president of the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra board. I was a guest conductor. They elected me when I wasn't looking to be president. I am going off, and they are doing this board nominating process. This is networking also. We don't know how to make the ask for money or for people. I love it when people ask, “Would you serve on this committee or this board? It's not a lot of work.” You know they're lying to you. How do we come forward? You've been on boards. It may be hard to get the right people on the board. How do we frame the conversation when we want to invite people to consider a board position? Ivan: The first thing you do is you go to them with someone who knows them really well. If that's you, that's great. Otherwise, I think the third party testimonial is incredibly powerful, and when you have somebody who says- Let's say Bob says to me, “Ivan, you really should be active in Hugh's organization. Hugh has done an amazing job. He has created this organization that has done this thing. That should resonate with you because you're interested-“ My emphasis in nonprofits tends to be children and education. I believe children represent about 20% of today's population, but they represent 100% of the future. It's about children and educating them. If he can make that linkage, then he has connected the two of us. Then we can have that dialogue about how I might be able to help you or you might be able to help me. The third-party endorsement process is the best way to get donors, board members, committee members. It's easier for me to say no to somebody I don't know, trust, or like, than it is to say no to someone I know, trust, or like. Hugh: Ah. Point well taken. That's sage advice. I can see why you've been very successful over the years. Starting a business, growing a business, and maintaining the viability of a business are three different things, aren't they? Ivan: Oh yeah. Very much so. An entrepreneur needs to figure out pretty quickly, or even in a nonprofit, when you're in that nonprofit in whatever role, if you want to be happy with what you do, it's very important that you work in your flame and not in your wax. Let me explain that. When you're working in your flame, you're excited, you're on fire, people can hear it in the way you speak, they can see it in the way you act. When you're working in your wax, it takes all your energy away, people can hear it in your voice, and they can see it in the way you act. Over time, the things that are your flame- Let me speak for myself. The things that were my flame when I started BNI are no longer my flame. Many of those things, I don't want to do them anymore. It's very important to learn the skillset of how to delegate effectively, how to select the right people, delegate effectively, put them in charge of that area so that you can continue to work in your flame and not in your wax. 90% of my time is in my flame. This is the fourth interview I've done today. I'm sort of the Colonel Sanders of BNI now. I am the spokesman for networking. Hugh: Love it. Tell us about your nonprofit that you founded. Ivan: I started the Misner Family Foundation and the BNI Foundation. Two different foundations we have created. Both focus on children and education. Misner Family Foundation is a private foundation for my family, supporting children and education. The BNI Foundation primarily supports children and education, and it's the charitable arm of what BNI does. We do both activities to help kids locally as well as funding grants and things like that locally. BNIFoundation.org, you can find the website for it. Hugh: BNIFoundation.org. Think about a closing thought or a tip or challenge you'd like to give people who are listening to this. It could be years from now. We have been doing these interviews for six years, Ivan. We've had some incredible people. *Sponsor message from EZCard* Ivan Misner, I don't know why you said yes to come on to my show today, but I'm glad you did. I wrote to you on LinkedIn, we had a short exchange, and you agreed. What thought or challenge or tip do you want to leave people with today? Ivan: We are living through challenging times. I don't know what our future holds, but I do know we can influence it. I do know we can make a difference in it. I also know that your mindset is so incredibly important. I think hope is much more powerful than fear. Fear paralyzes us. It freezes us. When we are afraid of what the future will hold or what will happen, we just freeze. What we need to do right now more than ever is focus, not freeze. That focus can come with hope. The only other thing you need to add to it is action. You have hope, and you take action. When you do those things, you can come out of times like this, and you can make it through times like this. Be creative. Be innovative. Think about what you can do. My nonprofit, the Austin Boys & Girls Club, that I am on the board of, they created something called Club on the Go, where you can come by and pick up food that they package so there is still that social distancing. Be creative. Have hope. And influence your future. That is my closing thought. Hugh: Ivan Misner, you are a gift to all of us. Thank you for being on The Nonprofit Exchange today.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Organizational impact is a result of effective leadership! The SynerVision Leadership Nonprofit Reactivation Symposium is a one-day intensive virtual event for you to learn the skills to stand up or grow your nonprofit, recruit the right board and volunteers, create a winning strategy, and attract donors to support your mission. This symposium is designed to equip nonprofit leaders and clergy to break through barriers in performance for themselves, boards, staff, and volunteers; and to attract the funding to support the fulfillment of the organization's mission. To register for this Virtual Symposium go HERE   Read the Preview Conversation Dr. Thyonne Gordon: Well, I guess we can introduce ourselves, huh? I am Dr. Thyonne Gordon. I am here in sunny Los Angeles, California. I am your story strategist. I help people with curating and creating the best story of their life, their project, their idea, their business. As Hugh continues to pull me back into the nonprofit world, I help nonprofits to curate their story of great success. Hugh Ballou: You're so valuable to this sector. Let me introduce who's here. We're here to share with you. It's a preview session. Thank you for being here today. Today is a special edition of The Nonprofit Exchange. It's thoughts, ideas, encouragement, empowerment, learning, examples to learn from. It's people who have something to share. Everybody here has been a guest on previous episodes of the podcast. We'll have some more people joining us. These are presenters for the Nonprofit Reactivation Symposium that will happen on May 1. I wanted the presenters to give you their story about what they're going to share with you. Also, why did they want to show up? I am going to start with Dr. David Gruder. David, you've been with me doing this kind of stuff for a way long time, back since water. This is #27 of these live events. This one is the first one that is virtual, and it's very different. It was the Leadership Empowerment Symposium for years. You and I started noodling on the title. Share a little bit about what we talk about and why we named this a reactivation symposium. Dr. David Gruder: Right. Well, first of all, it's a pleasure to be here with you, Hugh, as always, and to be with these wonderful, esteemed colleagues who I so respect and appreciate and love. The changes that are going on in our society right now that have been brought to the forefront through the COVID-19 crisis are changes that have been under way for a while in a lower-key manner, that in a sense flew under the radar. Because of what's been magnified through the COVID-19 crisis, we really are in the process of establishing what's being called a new norm. Nonprofits are going to be dramatically impacted by this new norm. So what we at SynerVision Leadership Foundation are committed to doing is helping nonprofits stay ahead of that curve so that we craft the new norm together as the nonprofit world so that nonprofits can fill their proper place in the world in a more effective way in the new norm rather than be drowned out because of the craziness that is going on as the new norm emerges. Hugh: Craziness. Whoa. I love it. We were talking a little bit before we officially started. I had a technical glitch, and my Zoom disappeared off my computer. I am back. We were talking about being busier than ever. When somebody says, “Why do we need reactivation?” you are going to talk a little bit… Tell them about what you're talking about. David: The topic I am going to be speaking on is reenvisioning leader development in the new normal. The things that have been emerging during this COVID crisis really illuminate the necessity of, I don't want to be dramatic here too much, but pretty much an overhaul of the vision of what leadership is going to need to include that people were thinking of as optional before now. Now it's mandatory. I am going to be covering four key areas of new norm leadership and leader development in my talk. Hugh: We won't tell them exactly what that is yet. David: Ooh, it's a secret. You have to show up to find out. Hugh: It's a secret. Each of you have recorded a little promo that we have put out on the Internet and invited people to come. The latest one I got a few minutes ago was from Dr. Gordon. We have some California people here. David Gruder, you're way south, Spanish-speaking San Diego. Thyonne, you're a little north of there in Los Angeles. Talk a little bit about what you're talking about, and why. Thyonne: Yes, I'm Dr. Thyonne. I will be talking about shifting your crisis story through board leadership. I'll be speaking in regard to how boards and executive directors and organizations overall need to work together during the time of crisis more than ever. No matter what, board leaders and their executives should always be in mind step. But during a crisis, it's really important for the board to step up and take their leadership role and do it in a more advanced way than they have in the past. I'll be speaking about how board members can show up in that type of way. Hugh: We'll be talking more about that. This is the special edition of The Nonprofit Exchange. This particular event, we have a key sponsor, EZ-Card. *Sponsor message from EZ-Card* We have Greg Sanders today. Greg represents the EZ-Card company. It's his company. He founded it. But you're not just a tech guy, are you? Just a little bit about Greg. Why are you supporting the work of SynerVision Leadership Foundation? Greg Sanders: I just want to say what a privilege it is first of all to be here. I understand this is a relatively informal gathering, so I did not wear a suit and tie. I agree with Dr. Gruder. This time is a time of transition. So many people are learning new technical skills, supportive technologies, to enable them to conduct business and do face-to-face meetings in this type of venue as opposed to meeting at Starbucks and going to live venues. Not just businesspeople, but their customers. If I am going to do an estimate and put a roof on your house, I am not going to come to your house anymore. I am going to ask you to hop on your phone or computer. The normal person on the street is also developing all of these online skills. So to David's point about nonprofits, every nonprofit I'm aware of works with a skeleton crew. They are time-challenged and resource-challenged, and they probably don't have time to think about what Dr. Gruder is going to talk about, which is how to rest and reshape and reform. They are trying to survive. Coming on Friday is so valuable. What we're doing at EZ-Card is we are the supportive technology. I am not a major speaker. I will speak briefly about possibly using EZ-Card along with Zoom or other technologies which move your message forward in this particular environment. That is what EZ-Card is. I will be explaining the benefits of EZ-Card as a mobile app. When I think of a nonprofit, they have to get their message out. They have to raise money. They have to let their supporters know this is our valuable work we are doing day in and day out. Any video they can show where they are caring for children or at-risk populations, any way to get their message out there, and they can do that with EZ-Card on their phone. That is what we'll be doing, and we are happy to support the event itself. If you'd like to look at it and share it with people to get there on Friday, you just text LDR, which is an abbreviation for leadership, to 64600. Two things will happen. You will get a link to your phone. You click the link, and the EZ-Card opens. It could take you to the SynerVision website. It could take you to details about Friday's event. You can register. But it will also give Hugh and the leadership team your mobile number so they can send you text reminders about the event. Text LDR to 64600. We'd like to provide similar technology to any nonprofit if we can help you do what you do better and help you raise more money. Hugh: It's an amazing tool. I know David Gruder has one. The others of you who have seen it. Sherita just saw it for the first time. Bob Hopkins out there in Big D, Dallas, Texas. You're recording as you were wearing this ten-gallon hat. So passionate about philanthropy he even named his horse Philanthropy. Bob Hopkins: I did. I did, and I do. Hugh: It's this kid who said to his dad, “Your ten-gallon hat won't hold ten gallons; it only holds four quarts.” Tell us what you are going to talk about and why you want to talk about that. Bob: It changes every hour quite frankly. I just got off the television looking at the president of Brown University. By the way, universities are nonprofit organizations. Talking about how hundreds of thousands of colleges are going to stay afloat because they depend upon tuition, and lots of kids aren't going back to school at this time because they don't know what they're going to do, and they don't have jobs anymore. They won't be able to afford to go. I'm sure every board of directors of every university or college in the country is madly trying to figure it out. One of the people I invited to come on Friday as a student is Alfonse Brown. He's at a university in Florida, an African-American law university, the oldest one in the country. He has board meetings all day Friday and Saturday, trying to figure out what they are going to do in the fall. Not in the summer. We have already figured out the summer; we are doing Zoom, just like we're doing now. What are they going to do in the fall with those huge buildings, with billions of square feet? With students, I have 22-24 students in my classroom. We cannot handle six feet apart. If every classroom doesn't have 24-26, they will lose money. Thousands of colleges will have to close. Then I'm thinking about my students. My students have been introduced to the nonprofit sector in my class because I teach communications with a focus on nonprofit management. I'm thinking about them because what are they going to get out of it, and what message am I going to give them? I have a requirement that all my students come to this class on Friday. It's half of their final. Then they have to write a critique on what they experienced, what they got out of it as 50 points, and they have to write their eulogy for the other 50 points. After this semester, they will probably want to die anyway, so their eulogy might be appropriate. I don't know. I'm going to look at what you all are going to talk about, so I will try to fit in so I am not talking about the same thing. I listened to speaking about boards of directors as well as Thyonne. There are so many avenues of how to talk about boards of directors. How to get them, how to keep them, how many to get, what are their responsibilities, those kinds of things. I think, and you already messaged it to me right now, is how they will stay afloat. That's what boards of directors are going to want to know when they come to see us when we are talking about nonprofit management and organizations. How are we going to stay afloat? What is the new normal going to be? I think that changes every day, too. We are supposed to in Texas open up last Friday. I went to the bank just now. There was one man in there without a mask on. I went to the president sitting in the corner and said, “Is it a requirement to wear masks now?” He said, “Yes, it is, but we're not enforcing it. It's a $1,000 fine, and we're not enforcing it.” I said, “Why not? It's a rule and a law. If I have to do it, they have to do it because I am not being protected, but they are being protected from me.” I tell you every minute I find something different. Our lives are going to change not just from the board level, but from the people who come to participate with us. All of them won't be board members. They will be people who are not involved in the nonprofit sector as a living or in a vocation, but as maybe just a volunteer. Hugh: Bob and I met recently. My wife was going to Dallas for a conference at SMU. We were introduced by guests on my show who were the founders of Barefoot Winery. They accidentally founded a winery; it's a great story. We connected. Bob, you have a book in your hand there? Bob: Hugh, I'm so sorry you asked. This is my book. It's called Philanthropy Misunderstood. Is that appropriate for the time. I think it should be Management Misunderstood, Nonprofits Misunderstood, Our Planet Misunderstood. My next book will be called Philanthropy Understood. Hopefully in the next two years, we will figure that out. Hugh: Sherita and Thyonne will have some stories for you there. They have a massive amount of connections and nonprofits they have worked with. The new normal is you go into the bank with a mask on. It used to be when you walk into the bank with a mask on, they will be nervous. Now if you don't have a mask on, they're nervous. The new normal is opposite polarity. Bob: They are still nervous because they arrested two men and asked them to leave. Unfortunately, you people of color will understand this. These were two black men with two black masks on. The people behind the counter were uncomfortable with them and asked them to leave, not knowing if they had a billion dollars in the bank or whatever reason they were there. It didn't matter. We have a lot of challenges coming up. Hugh: Sherita, on that happy note, tell folks- Bob has been a lifelong champion of nonprofits. He has been a CFRE with the fundraising professionals. He is a wee bit older than me. Finally I am in a group with one person who is my senior. My sister Sherita out there, where are you now? Arkansas? Sherita Herring: I am in Hattieville, Arkansas, of all names, right? Bob: I know Hattieville. Sherita: The fact that I am even here in Hattieville. When I was a young girl, do you guys remember Petticoat Junction? I used to want to live there. I loved Betty Jo, Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, Uncle Joe. I loved the pig Arnold. Most people did not realize how much I am a country girl. I am telling you that story because what I am going to be talking about on Friday is there are grants that exist even now that will allow you to live your most unbelievable dreams. I am living my dream. I am sitting here on 30 acres of land that has been passed down in my family for over 100 years. It's been almost 50 years since my great-grandfather passed away and anyone has lived here. It's not a cliché for me. I am living my best life right now in an RV with chickens and Guinea, and he is out there spraying. That's what I'll be talking about. Thank you for having me on with these other experts, Hugh. Hugh: We have Wil Coleman. He is a great musician out there in Raleigh, North Carolina. We will hopefully have Dr. Williams here in just a minute. Sherita: He is coming on now. Hugh: We also have a presenter who is not here, Bishop Ebony Kirkland. If you go to the landing page for the symposium at NonprofitLeadership.live, I am watching my phone. People are registering. It's exciting. We want to fill the house because there is so much important work to do. If you click on the pictures for these good-looking people, a video will pop up with an invitation as to what they are talking about in more detail and why you should come. This word “reactivation,” it's a mystery word for some of us because we are working as hard as we can. It's a new era. It's an important era. Bob has invited students. He is in the classroom again. He's worn a lot of hats. I gotta tell you, I have been in his class with his students. They come to our nonprofit leadership group on Thursdays. You are inspiring a new group of leaders, profound group of leaders coming up. There is a lot of untapped potential for people who might get overlooked. I remember, Bob, when I was 18, I had a chance to conduct when I was nothing but potential. Somebody like you believed in me. Somebody like you said, “Hugh, give it a go.” I was able to step up into a whole career. Let's go back to David Gruder for a minute. I want to ask any of you to shout out when you can. This is such an important occasion. Bob just talked about colleges who are a specific type of nonprofit. Big universities with big budgets and a lot of foundations and history are having challenging times. Imagine a small community organization that wants to feed people, clothe people, house people. They are working on a bare strings budget. David, what's important for our mindset? What's important for how to equip ourselves to rethink leadership and our work? David: Oh my. Well, okay. Short version is that we need to shift our, what's called in psychology, locus of control. Right now, in society, there is an external locus of control. What locus of control has to do with is how a person centers their ideas about where control lives. Right now, a lot of people are thinking that society and government and COVID-19 and external circumstances are the boss of them. That is a mindset that is a surefire recipe for victimization, powerlessness, and empty, unhelpful forms of rebellion. That has to shift into what in psychology is called an internal locus of control, where I'm the boss of the future I create. I'm the boss of my own stories that I tell myself and the emotions that I have and response to those stories and the words and actions that I say and do in response to the emotions I have about the stories I create. That is a skillset that is developable, and it is a crucial skillset, not only for leaders to embody, but for teams to be trained in how to do because without that, there will be no conscious, elevated, spiritual architecting of a new norm that is helpful to humanity rather than harmful to humanity. Hugh: David Gruder says things, and I say, “Gosh, I wish I would have put those words together like that.” He is a champion wordsmith. Anything else you want to share? Thyonne, I was so impressed by your short video. Of course, I was impressed by all of them, but yours is in mind because I got it most recently. It was passionate. You used to be part of a foundation that sent you out to do board capacity building. Why is it so important for us to learn ourselves as leaders, to equip ourselves as leaders to grow and engage our boards at a higher level? Thyonne: Thanks for the compliment on the video that you had me do at the last minute. It's really important for us as leaders to engage and interact with our boards because our boards are what make our organizations. They hold the fiduciary responsibility for our nonprofit organizations, which means if they're not working in step with the executives and the team at the organizational level, you absolutely could slip and fall. Your board is like your safety net. They are looking at things. Their role is to actually make sure the organization is staying afloat, is sustainable, is doing what it says it's supposed to do, staying in line with the vision and the mission. Your board is your support system. It's important for leaders to understand the relationship and the role they have with their board members. The foundation that I worked with prior was the Annenberg Foundation here in Los Angeles. We did do capacity-building by teaching board leaders how to work in alignment with the executive director. The program was called Alchemy. It was a magical program to bring together the executive director and a support person, or a champion, and the board chair. They had to come together in the program, which we would do quarterly. We came for classes and learning how to work together, how to build the capacity of the organization, and even how to fundraise. With them working hand in hand, they were able to have much higher success rates. It's important for leaders to understand the importance of their board and what their board roles are. Especially with small organizations, when you start an organization, my mom is on the board, my brother is on the board, and my sister down north. They're like, “Yeah, sure, you can put my name down.” They have no idea what it means to be responsible on a board. They don't know anything about board governance. It's important for leaders who want to start these nonprofits to understand your board is a serious thing. It's not just your mom and grandma and everybody who said, “Yeah, we should do that. That sounds cool.” And you're selling pies or chicken dinners or whatever it is to raise money. That's great, but if you have a board who understands their fiduciary responsibility, they will say, “We can sell these chicken dinners, but we also have to expand and talk to somebody like Sherita about how we find grant funding and how we are in alignment with that and how we stay with our vision and our mission. If you're working with saving the chickens, selling chicken dinners might not be a good idea.” Hugh: Absolutely. Thyonne: It's important for us to know what we're doing and that our boards know their roles. Hugh: I want to get Sherita on here for a minute. Sherita has some family issues, and she needs to go tend to some of those important things. She set you up for this thing that you are going to talk about. Everybody thinks there is grants, and it will be a smooth road going after them. You send in an application, and people will give you all this money. We have to learn some things as leaders, don't we? Sherita: Yes. For one, grant funders are investors just like any other investor. People think that there is a magic potion or something when it comes to grants for the nonprofit arena. That's why another time when Hugh and I worked together, and I wrote that article, “Nonprofit - The Stepchild of Business,” people treat a nonprofit like a side gig or a hobby. They don't put much into it. They might submit one grant or two grants and don't receive it and say, “See, everyone told me not to do this.” But they have been trying to get money for their for-profit business for 20 years and kept trying until they succeeded. They will not put much into the nonprofit arena but expect a greater return. That's what tends to happen. When you're going after grants, it's a joint process with the executive or whoever they choose to work with the person that is writing the grants because even myself, I raised over $30 million. We developed over 600 organizations. But there is no way to just take it upon myself and write about my clients' accomplishments without their assistance. I am very good at what I do, but I am only as good as the information received. People expect you to write a grant for a building, for the grant-writer to write about it without their input. The grant-writer doesn't know their accomplishments, who they have worked with in the past as far as collaborations, their projects. It has to be a joint effort in order to make it happen. Yes, like you said, I lost a very dear uncle this morning. I tried to clear my calendar to be on here with you, but I got the call this morning that my uncle passed away. I am working on a couple of things. Before I leave, it's also important for people. Just today or yesterday it was reported, a director of an ER committed suicide. She was in New York at a major hospital. Had contracted coronavirus herself while treating patients. Got well, went back to work, and yesterday, committed suicide. Organizations after every catastrophe, whether it is Katrina or the 1930s Depression, after every catastrophe, it doesn't stop there. There is going to be an aftermath. There is cause and effect. Organizations are going to need to get prepared for depression, suicide prevention, PTSD, while also like professionals like ourselves, helping people to regain themselves after this. With every issue or problem, there is grant funding. That is why grants are there: to address problems and issues. This is why the nonprofit arena, and you hear about grants more during times like this. It's not that it operates less. The nonprofit arena steps up more. It's important to understand that, understand how you can stabilize your footing, and understand the process of how to go after funding in order to ride this wave. Yes, it is a negativity that is happening right now. Yes, we are losing lives. Yes, a lot of businesses are closed right now. If we understand how to ride the wave of what is happening right now in addition to knowing how to survive and move forward in it, that is what I will be talking about. I thank you for having me on, including me with these other experts. Wil, hi, how are you? It's been years. Tell Pastor I said hello, and I do want to speak with you guys following on this. David Gruder, Greg, Thyonne, and Bob, I look forward to being with you on Friday. Have a very blessed day. Hugh: That was so profound. It's time for some summary statements. I'd like to start with Bob Hopkins. Every time I talk to Bob, I am amazed at the depth of knowledge he has about a lot of different topics. He is living the sweet life. He could be tending his garden, but he is out there inspiring students and teaching. He has joined the SynerVision team and wants to help us take the magazine up another level and do some work with us. Blessings to you and sharing your gifts, and thank you for being a part of this presenting team. We are going to wrap up here and let everybody have a moment to say something. What would you like to add to the conversation? Bob: I'm anxious to read the content again of everybody and what we are going to do and where I fit in. I am going to be there for the entire time. A lot of it might be off the top of my head after I have learned what I have heard from you. I don't want to go on a tangent that doesn't have some relationship to what we are already talking about. I think as a time when we all speak for 20 minutes at a time, then I'm later on in the afternoon. I'm the last speaker. At least that was the schedule I saw. Hugh: I messed with it because we had some changes I had to make. I am going to send that out to you right after this session. You do have several times that you are going to be able to influence people and share some of your stuff. I have had to rework it. Our Bishop Kirkland in New York couldn't be here today. She is sitting in New York talking to people about working together, collaborating. She is going to share with us Friday about that. We will get a report on how that is going in New York City. Bob, you could speak off the top of your head all day and not duplicate yourself. You have such a wealth of information. We are going to talk about philanthropy. His book is brilliant. He lifted it up before. Your book is 100-something stories of nonprofits and how philanthropy really works. We think we know what philanthropy is, but it really is different. How do boards connect with that? You have experience running nonprofits as well as being a resource to them. We have had to make the schedule a little fluid, but it's not a whole lot different. I have moved you up in the day a little bit. Whenever you talk, people are going to listen. It's like one of those big investment companies. When they talk, we all listen. Knowing that, you're going to have great gifts to share. Don't put yourself down. You have a lot of important stuff to share. Thank you for being part of this great presentation team. Bob: Thank you. Hugh: Greg Sanders. Why is the work of a nonprofit so important? Why are you sponsoring SynerVision? Greg: My mother and my father were both university teachers. My mom was in foreign languages, Spanish. My father was in music. I taught sociology for 30 years. I have a big heart for students who can't figure out what the heck they are going to do with their lives when they are 18-22, which is an important thing I felt like I did when I was working at the university. Not just transmitting content, but helping people figure out their futures. I think about Dr. Gruder who is known for integrity. My feeling is that everything we do should be of service to other people. I love the nonprofit organization because they wear right on their sleeve that we are here to serve. Businesses should have that same mindset. If what you do is not improving the quality of life for other people, you should go do something else. That is what EZ-Card attempts to do. I tell people if you are going to build a house, you could do it with your bare hands, but it's a lot better to do it with tools, even with power tools, because if you spend $1 on a power tool, it's going to help you save hundreds of dollars in building that house. That is what we are trying to do at EZ-Card. If the technology fits and helps people to do what they have chosen to do to help other people in a more efficient manner, that is what we're all about. I think we are right. We need to rethink the way we are doing everything, and we need to think about it in terms of helping other people. We are trying to make money during this period of time, but we are also caring for people. Just recently, I had one middle-aged adult talking about taking care of her 88-year-old mother right now and saying, “My mom was healthy. She went out with her friends. She went to restaurants. She had an active life. Now she is cooped up in her house and is wasting away. She is no longer actively engaging.” My advice is to maintain your normal life as best you can, even having to shelter in place. How can you maintain the routines? How can you maintain life as normal? It's that kind of strategic thinking that nonprofit organizations have to be maintained in. You can't do some things the way you did them before, but you can make a semblance of those activities and try to keep those healthy routines in place. I am privileged to be a part of it. We are trying to drive some traffic to what is happening on Friday from the EZ-Card side. Hugh: Text 64600 with LDR in the message. You will have the SynerVision card. Dr. Gordon, how would you like to close? Thyonne: Hugh, I hope you can keep David, Greg, Bob, and Wil because I plan on putting on my mask and kidnapping Bob from Texas. Bob, don't pay attention. I am going to be grabbing you and bringing you to California. Bob: My bags are packed. Thyonne: I have already texted Greg's site. I am excited about that. David, I know how I feel about you. Wil, I just met you. This is going to be an amazing symposium. I am excited to be part of it. Anyone who misses it, you are about to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime. That is what we have to understand as nonprofit leaders and people in this space. I will speak as an African-American woman. This isn't our first time in a crisis. We know how to get through a crisis. Nonprofits, we are used to not having a whole lot and making a lot happen. In this crisis, we are the leaders. We actually know what to do already. Our leadership style is what everybody else is trying to do. We have been doing this makeshift thing for a long time. We have such an opportunity to take this thing by the horns and make an opportunity of it. That is what I will talk about with the board leadership as well. When board leaders step up right now, there are all sorts of opportunities for us to come out of this thriving and leading during this crisis as well as through this crisis to help us get through it. There is so much opportunity. With the people who will be at this symposium, wow, you will get the ideas, the information. You will have the knowledge that you need to break through and make a change in your organization. I am excited. Hugh, let's make it happen. Bob, don't look for me, but I am coming to get you. Hugh: That's awesome. You may have noticed some old white guy. Sometimes we're clueless. Some of us know how to dress, but not me. Wil, did you say Pastor is on here? Blessings. Do you have a picture, or will you just talk to us? Dr. Kevin Williams: I am just going to talk to you. I don't have a picture today. Hugh: Thank you for being here. All of us have crazy schedules. We have some awesome folks. You are going to talk about how Paul said be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Talk about the transformation that you are going to talk about. You will be square up at noon EST at the symposium. It's the spot before we take a lunch break. Tell us why we need that and why you want to share that with people. Kevin: Right now, I think one of the greatest challenges that that could hinder any individual is to be stuck to an old way of thinking. Everything that has transpired recently has caused two waves of thought. One wave is people believing that things will go back to the way that they were, which is a very dangerous mindset. The other thought is understanding that they won't go back to the way that they were, but also understand what is getting ready to come. Any time there is going to be advancement, either you are going to be a reactionary person or you will be an initiating individual. Thought leaders nowadays have to initiate so that we can provoke other people to initiate and not be reactionary. Usually, if you are reactionary, you are going to suffer the consequences of reacting. But when your mind is renewed, when Paul talks about that, he is talking about a renovation of taking out some old things, almost like renovating a house, taking out some old things and literally changing the scope of the house and the aspect of it so that it can meet your current needs. The same thing happens in the mind. If a person doesn't transform their thinking and get out of the old stuck way of thinking, they are going to ultimately implode and damage themselves. But when an individual comes into a mind renewal, this is why symposiums like this are key and important, because what you have then is you have thought leaders who are ultimately like construction workers. What we're doing is aiding the individual to renovate their thinking because in this renovation, people are not just going to learn about what's new, but also learn the type of thinking they should have that has hurt them before but also is going to help them now because now we're open to a new way of thinking. If you look at what's happening with the United States, with the government, with the marketplace, everything is shifting. Look at stocks. Look at the different kinds of currency now, like cryptocurrency. All of these different things that are happening, our mind has to be renewed. The next thing is we have to make sure that we don't fall into the hands of something that we don't ascribe to because with all of this that is happening, by being a faith leader, I understand that God has an agenda. Even though God has a focus and a vision for all of us, so does the enemy. We have to make sure we are not operating in something that looks like it has a form of goodness, but denies the power thereof. As thought leaders, one of the things I believe that is important is that our thinking definitely has to change in order for us to be effective for this coming time and for this generation right now that is depending on us to see something for them that they cannot see for themselves. Hugh: Awesome. Dr. Williams, it's been a few years, but you invited me down to work with your congregation. We did some leadership stuff. Wil and I did some music stuff. Also, the very first symposium happened in Greensboro at your church. Did you know that? Kevin: Wow. I knew that we did the symposium, but I didn't know it was the first one. Hugh: That was a shorter one. It was an evening. You put out the word, and everybody came. I remember Bishop Willimon asked somebody why they came, and they said, “Pastor said to come.” He was quite impressed with that. This is #27. It's changed a little bit. Of course, we can't do it live right now, so we are doing it virtually. It's a celebration of something we started in Greensboro at New Jerusalem Cathedral. Thank you for helping me launch this so many years ago. Kevin: Most definitely. I always want to be a part of things that you're doing. Hugh: Blessings. You've been a blessing to me. Thank you for being here. You're sharing it with your tribe. Bishop Kirkland is out here in New York City getting people to collaborate. She is doing some important work today. She will be with us on Friday. May 1. Be there. Thank you for getting in here. As we close out here, my brother David Gruder, you get the last spot. You know Dr. Williams, don't you? David: Yes. We have not talked or seen each other for a number of years, but I am delighted to reconnect. Hugh: This has been a great conversation. What do you want to leave us with? David: What I want to leave you all with is a quote from a 20th century thought leader that many of you are familiar with by name at least, Buckminster Fuller. What Bucky Fuller said was, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” This Friday, we are going to be talking about how nonprofits get to invent their future in effective, useful ways. I am really looking forward to offering some key psychological foundations for inventing a new future. Hugh: And you have a book. Do you want to offer a virtual version of it? Tell us about that. David: Very briefly, yeah. I have been involved in one capacity or another with 24 books now. One of them is a book I was the psychology editor for called Transcendent Thought and Market Leadership. That is by Bruce Raymond Wright. I have been blessed by Bruce to be able to offer a digital copy of the book as a gift to everyone who attends the symposium on Friday. Hugh: We will have some other gifts, but that is a significant one. David, thank you for being here. Kevin, thank you for being here. Greg, thank you for being here. Bob, thank you for being here. Thyonne is going to capture you and take you to California. He can do a book signing there. He will do that in California. I look forward to putting a spin on nonprofit leadership in a good way and inspiring people to go out there and make a huge difference. Thank you so much for sharing today with everybody.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Never doubt the impact of living your purpose and speaking that truth can have. Bob Hopkins is a Dallas philanthropist who has been teaching elementary school children across the world how to volunteer in order to help them become the best version of themselves and contribute dynamically to their communities. In this episode, we talk about some of his programs and the effect they had on then 9-year old Amit Banerjee who could never forget Bob's words. He took them home with him and they completely transformed his family conversations and actions to embrace philanthropy. Now at age 20 Amit is running Philanthropy Kids to keep his mission alive and growing by celebrating and inspiring philanthropy in the next generation of youth.

Never doubt the impact of living your purpose and speaking that truth can have. Bob Hopkins is a Dallas philanthropist who has been teaching elementary school children across the world how to volunteer in order to help them become the best version of themselves and contribute dynamically to their communities. In this episode, we talk about some of his programs and the effect they had on then 9-year old Amit Banerjee who could never forget Bob's words. He took them home with him and they completely transformed his family conversations and actions to embrace philanthropy. Now at age 20 Amit is running Philanthropy Kids to keep his mission alive and growing by celebrating and inspiring philanthropy in the next generation of youth.

Never doubt the impact of living your purpose and speaking that truth can have. Bob Hopkins is a Dallas philanthropist who has been teaching elementary school children across the world how to volunteer in order to help them become the best version of themselves and contribute dynamically to their communities. In this episode, we talk about some of his programs and the effect they had on then 9-year old Amit Banerjee who could never forget Bob's words. He took them home with him and they completely transformed his family conversations and actions to embrace philanthropy. Now at age 20 Amit is running Philanthropy Kids to keep his mission alive and growing by celebrating and inspiring philanthropy in the next generation of youth.

Never doubt the impact of living your purpose and speaking that truth can have. Bob Hopkins is a Dallas philanthropist who has been teaching elementary school children across the world how to volunteer in order to help them become the best version of themselves and contribute dynamically to their communities. In this episode, we talk about some of his programs and the effect they had on then 9-year old Amit Banerjee who could never forget Bob’s words. This show is broadcast live on Tuesday's 6PM ET on W4CY Radio – (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network (http://www.talk4media.com/).

With Suns coach Earl Watson being fired after an 0-3 start, we look at the fastest firings and shortest coaching stints in NBA history on the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA Podcast. We discuss Dolph Schayes being canned after one game with the 1972 Buffalo Braves, Gene Shue losing his job one year after taking the Philadelphia 76ers to the 1977 NBA Finals, Carl Bennett going from the Fort Wayne Fastpitch Softball League to coach of the Pistons, Paul Westphal feuding with DeMarcus Cousins, Jack Ramsay's final stop in Indiana, the revolving door of coaches for the St. Louis Hawks, Jerry Tarkanian's 20-game stint with the 1993 San Antonio Spurs, Lenny Wilkens taking over the 1978 Sonics from Bob Hopkins, Albert Soar finding success in three major league sports, and Bill Musselman's nightmare year in the ABA. We also dig into brief pro coaching stints for Kevin McHale, Andy Phillip, Earl Lloyd, Mike Brown, Chick Reise, John McLendon, Don Delaney, Bruce Hale, Ed Sadowski, Paul Westhead, Byron Scott, Mike Farmer, Sidney Lowe, Cotton Fitzsimmons and Roger Potter. And, as a bonus, we look at the murky origins of the Quad City DJs and our plans for an Earl Watson retrospective. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When work is fulfilling and fun, why would you ever want to quit? That's Bob Hopkins' philosophy, and with it he has joyously cultivated a long life and career full of profound enrichment while making an impact literally across the globe through an astonishing number of initiatives. His PAVE program, or Philanthropy and Volunteerism in Education, is about changing lives by giving children a new outlook on life through Service Learning and Community Involvement. Bob´s program follows first and second graders for three years. These formative years, with the assistance of college students in their classroom each week, celebrates amazing outcomes. The results have given children self-esteem, that has increased their academics and consequently their choices. Overtime, Bob believes the PAVE program lessen crime rates and eventually eradicate poverty. What an incredibly noble mission and legacy to leave.

When work is fulfilling and fun, why would you ever want to quit? That's Bob Hopkins' philosophy, and with it he has joyously cultivated a long life and career full of profound enrichment while making an impact literally across the globe through an astonishing number of initiatives. His PAVE program, or Philanthropy and Volunteerism in Education, is about changing lives by giving children a new outlook on life through Service Learning and Community Involvement. Bob´s program follows first and second graders for three years. These formative years, with the assistance of college students in their classroom each week, celebrates amazing outcomes. The results have given children self-esteem, that has increased their academics and consequently their choices. Overtime, Bob believes the PAVE program lessen crime rates and eventually eradicate poverty. What an incredibly noble mission and legacy to leave.

Bob Hopkins, WB2UDC, joins Eric, 4Z1UG, in this QSO Today about the importance of ham radio Elmers, especially in the lives of kids, and how to pay it forward to future generations of hams. Bob is an active elmer with kids through the New Jersey Boy Scouts of America as well as creating opportunities for kids to speak to astronauts first aboard the Space Shuttle and now to the International Space Station.

Experiential journalist Rak Razam hosts a provocative panel discussion from the 2012 Nimbin Mardi Grass on strategic responses to the War on Nature's ally, marijuana. In 1973, almost 40 years ago, the laconic Australian town of Nimbin was first “occupied” by the Aquarius Festival, and twenty years later in 1992, Bob Hopkins heralded the next “occupy” cycle with his one-man protest-surrender at Nimbin police station. Where are the politics of change in 2012 - locally, nationally and internationally? What has evolved, for the better or the worse, over the last four decades? Is 2012 the beginning of a new wave of drug law reform activism? Is there anything to learn from the successes of other political/social movements who have also struggled for fairness and justice? This special 2-hour panel is for organisations and individuals to share their plans, visions and information about their activities, as well as providing an opportunity for seeding synergies and alliances. With PANELISTS: Graham Askey [Help End Marijuana Prohibition Party], Stephanie Barlow [Happy Herb Company], Paul Cubitt [Law Enforcement Against Prohibition], Mamakind [Cannabis Campaigner, Journalist and Author], Annie Madden [Australian Injecting and Illicit Drug Users League], Steve McDonald [Psychedelic Research in Science & Medicine], Moose [Cannabis Campaigner], Jim Moylan [Civil Liberties Observer Group], Matt Riley [Independent Activist], Ann Symonds [Founder, Australian Parliamentary Group on Drug Law Reform], Dr Alex Wodak [Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.