Podcast appearances and mentions of Dan Pallotta

This episode, we bring you another instalment in our series where leaders at Scotiabank interview experts on an issue that resonates with them. Today, you'll hear a conversation about re-thinking the typical approach to charitable giving hosted by Nicole Frew, Executive Vice President & Co-Head of Global Banking and Executive Champion of Scotiabank's Employee Giving Campaign, with activist, speaker and author of Uncharitable: How restraints on non-profits undermine their potential, Dan Pallotta. They discuss the problem with how we currently think about charity, the importance of dreaming big when it comes to the sector and some practical questions people should be asking before they decide where to donate their time and money.  Other episodes of the Leadership Series:  Challenging the narrative around women in farming  The power of allyship in the workplace  For legal disclosures, please visit http://bit.ly/socialdisclaim and www.gbm.scotiabank.com/disclosures   Key moments this episode:  1:40 – A little background on Dan's history in non-profit and activism  4:03 – Dan walks us through what foundational changes we need to make in our current thinking around non-profits  7:33 – What does innovation in the non-profit sector look like?  10:04 – Advice that Dan gives to non-profits around how they can innovate their approach to fundraising and giving  13:12 – What about smaller non-profits? Can they use the same approach?  14:44 – What should donors be thinking about when they are looking for a place to donate?  16:28 – If a non-profit does want to change, how can they get donors on board?  18:01 – The number one key to success for non-profits, according to Dan   

Welcome to Purposely SHORT, a weekly episode, featuring one of our friends or past guests and their expertise on a certain topic. This weeks episode features Ian MacQuillin founder of Rogare - The Fundraising Think Tank. The discussion centre's on the challenges of advocating for fundraising and changing public perceptions about charity overheads and salaries. Despite efforts like the Impact Coalition and Dan Pallotta's Charity Defense Council, misconceptions persist that charities are inefficient. The issue is less about information deficit and more about ideological views on charity operations. The conversation suggests developing a new narrative that values fundraising practices rather than just providing facts. It emphasises engaging critiques with ideological arguments and reframing discussions to highlight the importance of professionalism and effective management in charities.

In this episode, Brian and Cory explore the themes of collaboration and community building in our city, drawing parallels to NASA's successful model of teamwork and goal-oriented projects as documented in the monograph "The Flat Org Chart" by Dan Pallotta. This is part tow of the conversation we started last week, talking about the importance of restoring the spiritual soil of cities, overcoming barriers to collaboration, and practical steps for fostering unity among various organizations and individuals. This isn't just for high level leaders. It's also for everyday leaders making disciples and leading microchurches as well. We have to think about collaboration at every level if we're going to see the gospel flourish in our city. 

On today's show, we welcome one of the most influential human beings of my career: Dan Pallotta, champion of charity and the entire nonprofit business sector. Dan's take on how we as a culture think about charity the wrong way planted a bedrock philosophy in my head for how I was going to grow and lead Stupid Cancer to scalable success without the pitfalls of donors complaining about "Overhead." "I'll give you money but don't spend it on electricity. Only programs." Dan's much-ballyhooed book "Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential" has a new, more digestible School House Rock version called "The Everyday Philanthropist" that I encourage every single nonprofit Board member, staff member, and donor to read immediately. My favorite quote from Dan is this: "Human. Kind. Be Both." Dan's Latest Book: The Everyday Philanthropist. Dan's TED Talk: The Way We Talk About Charity is Dead WrongSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to today's episode, “On the Corner of Homelessness & Funding ”. Today we the guest are, your hosts, Emma & Joe! Homelessness is a complex issue. We don't claim to explore every part of this intersection, but hope that each conversation brings new clarity to the reality as a whole. Please keep an open, curious mindset as you listen, and seek to learn, just as we are. Hosts Emma Hughes and Joe Ader of ⁠Family Promise of Spokane⁠. Produced by Cheree LaPierre and Gwyn Griffith Recorded at Central Spokane Public Library Links to referenced articles and additional reading: Are You Misappropriating Your Nonprofit's Funds? A Look At Restricted Donations Nonprofit, Not-for Profit & For-Profit Organizations Explained A new way to judge non-profits: Dan Pallotta at TED2013 | TED Blog Shelter Audit Points Toward Scattered Site Model Family Promise's FLASH Program helping house families Funding Sources for Ending Homelessness Spokane Valley to have homeless shelter beds for the first time Differences Between Public and Private Sources of Funding

Joining us in this episode is Dan Pallotta, American entrepreneur, author, and humanitarian activist. His experiences with dysfunction in the nonprofit sector have influenced his work, from his viral TED talk to his most recent project, the Uncharitable Movie. Together, we delve into deeply held perceptions about charities, how they are problematic, and how we can reframe the narrative and move forward. We also explore the potential of creative, breakthrough thinking, unburdened by costs & structure, as a powerful tool for real fundamental change in the nonprofit sector.   Listen & share! Don't forget to check out our full episode list. Read the full transcript here

Today's Five-Star Guest is Dan Pallotta, a legend in the nonprofit world due to his dynamic impact on fundraising, communication and his unique ability to positively transform nonprofit supporters, funders and those who serve.   Dan invented the multi-day charitable event industry. Dan was one of the founding partners for TED's phenomenally successful Audacious Project, which curates some of the most promising and daring social change projects in the world, and has raised close to a billion dollars for them.In the last ten years, Dan has given over 400 talks on philanthropy and innovation in 38 states and nine countries.Dan's iconic 2013 TED Talk has been viewed more than 4.8 million times, viewed over 1,000 times a day around the world and one of the 20 most-commented TED Talks of all time. It has been ranked one of the 100 most-persuasive TED Talks of all time.Dan is also a best-selling author, musician and popular keynote speaker.Connect With Dan: https://www.danpallotta.com/Dan's Song, "The Mailman":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXD9WaLw2GEDan's Upcoming Movie Info:  https://uncharitablemovie.com/Get on our waiting list for our new nonprofit & fundraising community filled with on-demand courses and live webinars that are exclusive to members! Learn all about what's in store to support you and your leadership team at www.DoGoodYOUniversity.com!Support This Podcast! Make a quick and easy donation here:https://www.patreon.com/dogoodbetterSpecial THANK YOU to our sponsors:Donor Dock - The best CRM system for your small to medium sized nonprofit, hands down! Visit www.DonorDock.com and use the Promo Code DOGOODBETTER for a FREE month!iTunes: https://apple.co/3a3XenfSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2PlqRXsYouTube: https://bit.ly/3kaWYanTunein: http://tun.in/pjIVtStitcher: https://bit.ly/3i8jfDRFollow On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoodBetterPodcast/Follow On Twitter: @consulting_do About Host Patrick Kirby:Email: Patrick@dogoodbetterconsulting.comLinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fundraisingdad/Want more great advice? Buy Patrick's book! Now also available as an e-book!Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing GoodAvailable through Amazon Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1072070359

Join host Rich Frazier and guest Jarrett Ransom for a candid conversation on what it takes to be successful — and stay sane — in nonprofit fundraising. Jarrett shares insights from her 15-year journey as a consultant in the nonprofit sector, including her latest inspiration from the documentary "Uncharitable" featuring Dan Pallotta. Other topics include the need for innovation in fundraising, how to achieve a healthy work-life blend, and the value of bringing who you truly are into your work. Free 30-minute fundraising consultation for NPFX listeners: https://www.ipmadvancement.com/free Want to suggest a topic, guest, or nonprofit organization for an upcoming episode? Send an email with the subject "NPFX suggestion" to contact@ipmadvancement.com. Additional Resources IPM's free Nonprofit Resource Library: https://www.ipmadvancement.com/resources Nonprofit Nerd: Impact Unleashed https://nonprofitnerdimpactunleashed.buzzsprout.com/ Uncharitable, official website https://uncharitablemovie.com/ [NPFX] How to Prevent Nonprofit Staff Burnout and Create a Culture of Wellness https://www.ipmadvancement.com/blog/how-to-prevent-nonprofit-staff-burnout-and-create-a-culture-of-wellness [NPFX] The Intersection of Organizational Wellness and Impact https://www.ipmadvancement.com/blog/the-intersection-of-organizational-wellness-and-impact [NPFX] Self-Care for Nonprofit Fundraisers: How to Avoid Burnout https://www.ipmadvancement.com/blog/self-care-for-nonprofit-fundraisers-how-to-avoid-burnout Jarrett Ransom, aka the Nonprofit Nerd, has worked exclusively with nonprofit organizations for over 20 years. She is passionate about creating community and empowering others to see and exceed their full potential. As a trusted advisor, she has helped clients successfully raise millions of dollars in support of their missions. In addition to being a member of the IPM Advancement consulting team, she is president and CEO of the Rayvan Group. Jarrett also serves as the host of the podcast "Nonprofit Nerd: Impact Unleashed." https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrransom/ Russ Phaneuf, a co-founder of IPM Advancement, has a background in higher education development, with positions at the University of Hartford, Northern Arizona University, and Thunderbird School of Global Management. As IPM's managing director & chief strategist, Russ serves as lead fundraising strategist, award-winning content creator, and program analyst specializing in applied system dynamics. https://www.linkedin.com/in/russphaneuf/ Rich Frazier has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years. In his role as senior consultant with IPM Advancement, Rich offers extensive understanding and knowledge in major gifts program management, fund development, strategic planning, and board of directors development. https://www.linkedin.com/in/richfrazier/

On this episode we take an in-depth look at the 2023 documentary film "UnCharitable", based on the book and TED talk by Dan Pallotta, which argues that the current funding model for the nonprofit sector is broken. Including-An interview with the Director of the film, Stephen Gyllenhaal, in which he talks about how the film came about, what he learned through making it, and what the plans are next for taking the film's aims forward.-A critical assessment of the film-Some short perspectives from a few of the attendees at a recent screening of the film held in London (organised by Why Philanthropy Matters and kindly hosted and made possible by Vitol Foundation): Natasha Friend from Camden giving, Amy Braier from Pears Foundation, Angela Kail from NPC and Ruo Wu and Alison Talbot from Winckworth Sherwood.Related linksUnCharitable movie websiteThird Sector column about the film by Ian MacQuillin (another attendee at the recent WPM screening event) WPM guest article by Tom Le Fanu on the overhead mythWPM short guide on core cost fundingWPM short guide on impact measurementPhilanthropisms podcast with Mary Rose GunnPhilanthropisms podcast with Dr Ewan KirkPhilanthropisms podcast on Philanthropy & Business

Welcome to Monday Night Talk podcast for February 26, 2024! Guests and topics for this podcast includes the County Update with Plymouth County Commissioner Chairman Jared Valanzola along with a discussion about seeking a second term. Dan Pallotta, a former county commissioner is now working with the city of Brockton as their point person for their ARPA projects. Florence Ann Romano, author and parenting expert, shares insight on the congressional hearing that involved the heads of like X, Facebook, Tik Tok and other social media platforms about exploiting children. Finally, three of Brockton's school union leaders; Kim Gibson (president of the Brockton Education Association), Stacy MacDonald (president of Brockton Education Support Professional Association) and Joe Campbell Independent Brockton Administrative Assistants and Technical Employee Association) are guests on the program. They will share insight on how the budget shortfall is affecting their respective members, the call for the National Guard,  the issues with students fighting and what needs to be done. Do you have a topic for a future show or info on an upcoming community event? Email us at mondaynighttalk@gmail.com.  If you're a fan of the show and enjoy our segments, you can either download your favorite segment from this site or subscribe to our podcasts through iTunes & Spotify today!  Monday Night Talk with Kevin Tocci, Copyright © 2024.

Dan Pallotta is the architect behind some of the biggest non-profit events like the Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and AIDS Rides, which have collectively raised vast sums for various non-profits. But Dan thinks conventional wisdom surrounding non-profits is all wrong: in his view, traditional metrics like low overhead and minimal staff costs hinder non-profits and prevent them from attracting top talent, investing in advertising, and innovating in fundraising. In this episode, Dan argues for a paradigm shift to unshackle non-profits and allow them to reach their fullest potential. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/au4pgoV_k7s Uncharitable Movie - https://uncharitablemovie.com Follow Dan Pallotta: https://danpallotta.com | https://twitter.com/danpallotta Follow Andrew Yang: https://andrewyang.com | https://twitter.com/andrewyang To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Season 8 Finale

In this episode, your host Amy Milne gets real with Eric Epstein, President of Global Impact Productions, a full-service event production company that produces outdoor challenge peer-to-peer fundraising events on behalf of select non-profits. Eric kicks things off by sharing his unique journey into the non-profit world (spoiler alert: his first job was as a science teacher!). Eric introduces us to the ‘Platform for Engagement', an insight-driven, integrated, branded fundraising program that will have you thinking differently about your events. Amy and Eric talk candidly about how they've been influenced by Dan Pallotta and why giving space for participants to have their own experience is worth gold on event. Make sure you listen until the end to hear a hilarious story about Eric's first time using a bullhorn; you'll be laughing out loud! We love Eric's willingness to be vulnerable and get real, and you will too. Get ready to meet your new event bestie!To connect with Eric, head to www.globalimpactpro.com and click on Contact Us. Also, make sure to check out their LinkedIn page where you can find an article that dives deeper into ‘The Platform for Engagement'.“The goal for our events is actually to create a safe space where the participants can have the experience that they need to have.” – Eric EpsteinConnect with us:Beyond Fundraising Inc: https://www.startingbeyond.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-milne-8946791/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milneamyr/https://www.instagram.com/startbeyond/

"People like their charity workers poor." We head to the bar at the International Fundraising Congress, and the corner marked 'Dull' for a conversation with Peter and Tash from DTV delving deep into the latest film release - Uncharitable. It's a feature-length movie building on Dan Pallotta's TED Talk, you know the one. We begin with dreams of being a film director and starting out roughing it at Goldman Sachs before diving into overheads, CEO pay, marketing, risk appetite and rushing to get a version released to show at IFC. We talk the best plenary sessions ever, differing views on funding and a focus on impact rather than income. We talk media reaction, how to reach policy makers and changing opinions on the high street to defend the sector. If you'd like to see the movie at the upcoming premieres in London and Sydney on Thursday 30th November 2023, then send an email to helloDTV@DTVgroup.co.uk and we'll see you there. --You can support the show through Patreon and find us on www.domoregood.uk or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Get in touch if you'd like to feature or star on the show. It goes without saying really but the episodes contains our opinions - essentially things we overheard in meetings, stole from presentations and read in magazines. Thanks for listening.patreon.com/domoregoodpodtwitter.com/domoregoodpodinstagram.com/domoregoodpod

Today, we have a special guest, the renowned author, entrepreneur, and speaker, Dan Pallotta. Dan offers profound insights into the nonprofit sector, urging us to challenge the status quo and redefine the norms of how nonprofits operate. His thought-provoking ideas will undoubtedly inspire you to think differently and drive positive change in your community.Are you ready to embark on a transformative journey? Don't miss this episode, as Dan's wisdom is sure to spark action.Dan is the founder and President of the Charity Defense Council, a national leadership movement dedicated to transforming the way the donating public thinks about charity and change. His newest book is, “The Everyday Philanthropist: A Better Way to Make a Better World,” a pocket guide designed to change giving perspectives for donors of all ages and abilities.Learn more about the Documentary Dan and team released titled Uncharitable: https://uncharitablemovie.com/Welcome to the Plywood Podcast: Real talk for social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders.Plywood is a nonprofit in Atlanta leading a community of startups doing good. Over the past 12 years, we have worked with over 1000 startup founders and nonprofit leaders wrestling with the tensions of starting, growing, and sustaining.Think of The Plywood Podcast as a kitchen table conversation debating the pros and woes of running a business and sustaining a nonprofit. We dive into building business plans, sustaining relationships (personal and professional), diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, forming values while being a part of true cultural change for good, and so much more.Learn more about Plywood at PlywoodPeople.comPlywood is a nonprofit in Atlanta training and supporting a global community of social impact leaders.

We are closing this mini series on sustainable transformation for leaders, especially in the nonprofit and social impact sectors. Sustainability goes beyond financial stability; it encompasses the long-term ability to achieve our organization's mission and make a lasting impact. To be sustainable we have to establish efficient and scalable systems that drive operational efficiency and effectiveness. This coupled with strategic planning, our organizations can adapt to changing circumstances, engage stakeholders, and fulfill our mission over the long term. In this episode, we address the critical components of nonprofit leadership and sustainability by highlighting the essential element of self-awareness for leaders, their role in creating robust systems within their organizations and the importance of involving the team in planning and knowledge-sharing to prepare for a future where leadership transitions are inevitable. This is our last episode of the Charity Unscripted mini series. Our goal for this series was to equip you with the tools and insights that you need to create sustainable, impactful organizations that can thrive in the long run. We hope that the nuggets of wisdom shared in these four episodes will help you continue to make a positive and lasting impact on the communities and causes you serve. Mentions Jenny Instagram Uncharitable the Movie TED Talk by Dan Pallotta  

Overhead encompasses management, general costs, and fundraising expenses, critical components that keep nonprofit organizations operational. It's crucial to comprehend that nonprofits are not businesses; they are driven by a mission to create a positive impact. However, to fulfill this mission, they require a level of financial stability and resources, which overhead helps provide.   Over the years, mistrust and skepticism have grown around nonprofits, partially fueled by media coverage and misconceptions about where donations should be allocated. While it's essential to scrutinize overhead spending, we must also recognize that to run successful programs and initiatives, nonprofits need the right talent and resources. By restricting donations to specific programs, donors inadvertently hinder the organization's ability to invest in crucial management and support functions, leading to burnout among nonprofit leaders.   Join us in this unconventional conversation as we talk about the crucial role of overhead in nonprofit operations and the need for a balanced approach to funding that supports both programmatic initiatives and essential support functions for long-lasting impact. Regardless of the side you stand on in this conversation, a donor or a nonprofit leader, we need to come together and talk about the sustainability of the impact we are trying to create.   Mentions Jenny Instagram Uncharitable the Movie TED Talk by Dan Pallotta  

Dan Pallotta talks with us about the conversation he ignited with his 2013 TED Talk about the way nonprofit organizations are funded. “We want the nonprofit sector to solve huge problems. We want the nonprofit sector to be able to dream gigantic dreams,” he says. However, there are still many problems with how nonprofits are evaluated and how people and other entities choose to fund them. “I would say that that conversation is where gay marriage was in… about 1945. We have a long way to go.”Pallotta's new feature-length documentary UnCharitable, featuring stories from figures like Edward Norton and Darren Walker, exposes the dark side of philanthropy with a call to action for a radical new way of giving.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meet Dan. He's a humanitarian activist, entrepreneur, author and now filmmaker

Today, we have a special treat for all you film enthusiasts. We're privileged to be joined by the acclaimed director, Stephen Gyllenhaal (Losing Isiah, The Patron Saint of Liars), who has recently helmed the thought-provoking film "Uncharitable." Based on the book, “Uncharitable,” by Dan Pallotta, this film follows the stories of four iconic American charitable efforts that were crippled or destroyed by old ideas. Gyllenhaal also discusses why charities should be considered non-partisan, and offers his thoughts on the highly controversial film, "The Sound of Freedom." "Uncharitable" hits select theaters September 22 (NY) and September 29 (LA) before streaming.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"That employee giving campaign created an internal movement. And that movement then started to ripple."In this episode, Jon and Becky share their unique journeys from graphic design and marketing into the world of nonprofit fundraising and philanthropy. They discuss how their experiences led them to view themselves as "marketers disguised as fundraisers." We explore how breaking down silos between marketing, fundraising and other roles can amplify organizational impact, and how marketing can mobilize movements for your cause. This episode is an ode to the power of marketing in connecting people, building movements, and making believers of us all.Episode Highlights-Case Study: Employee Giving Campaign (9:40)-Authentic Marketing (17:00)-Building Movements around our Causes (27:00)-The Power of Community in Marketing (46:00)About Jon and Becky:Jon McCoy and Becky Endicott are the co-founders of We Are For Good and co-hosts of the top-ranked We Are For Good Podcast.We Are For Good is a new media ecosystem for the social impact sector, and is on a path to impact more than 1 million change-makers by 2025. They gather a community around shared values, connect + amplify creators by using the power of media to storytell, teach + activate around our vision of an Impact Uprising.The We Are For Good Podcast, with more than 450 episodes, has featured interviews with inspiring change-makers, best-selling authors + disruptive thought leaders including Seth Godin, Dan Pallotta, Vik & Scott Harrison, Nancy Brinker and so many more. Today We Are For Good is recognized by ListenNotes as one of the top 1% of all podcasts internationally. With more than 500,000+ downloads - and more than 20,000 monthly listeners.Guest links:Jon's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanpmccoy Becky's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-endicott/ Additional links:We Are For Good***Hosted by the brilliant team at Feathr (https://www.feathr.co/).Feathr is the nonprofit marketing platform designed to help mission and member-based organizations build purposeful connections with their community to grow impact with confidence.Special thanks to our producer, We Are For Good Studios, and to Feathr's very own Max Anderson, who wrote and performed our theme song.

This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/209-academic-words-reference-from-dan-pallotta-the-way-we-think-about-charity-is-dead-wrong-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/nLsEYbZ__Gs (All Words) https://youtu.be/ACxgX-uHe9Q (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/ru3HIgjEYaY (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)

Today's episode features Kirrily Graham, founder of Dovetail Social Enterprises. Through Dovetail, Kirrily is on a mission to transform how small & medium sized charities operate, creating more sustainable organisations through empowering micro, small and medium sized businesses to develop successful charity partnerships that don't just raise the funds they need for their projects but also become social impact investors, building the charity's capacity and capabilities to amplify the great work that they do in the world.  Kirrily's combined experience of working in the NFP industry, running her own micro, small & medium-size businesses (MSME) as well as working in the corporate sector, has led her to create her own Social Enterprise to empower partnership between MSME's and small but mighty, grass-root charities.  If you are a leader of a small to medium business and you want to make a greater difference in the world through simple and powerful partnership with grass-root charities that will help them scale – this episode is for you! Kirrily shares with us How her background in the charity sector and her own personal burnout experience opened her eyes to a massive gap that small charities are struggling with The TED talk by Dan Pallotta that got right inside her head and spurred her to take action How all of this led to her starting Dovetail Social Enterprises She explains what a Social Enterprise is She shares the really smart model that she has created through Dovetail that benefits both charity partners and the for-profit businesses who join her program She talks about some of the charity partners within her program as well as the vetting procedure she goes through in selecting them She highlights the different levels of partnership a business can come in at; and at the top level, she talks about Charity Challenges – a wonderful opportunity to fundraise while challenging yourself and potentially your team or even your clients. Her vision for scaling the program to create more impact Network for Good - a great way for anyone interested to get involved now   Resources and links to connect with Kirrily Kirrily Graham Linkedin Dovetail Social Enterprises website Network for Good

Meet Dan. His TED Talk "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong," went viral less than a decade ago and has been viewed millions of times by starry-eyed dreamers everywhere who are intent on using their creativity and innovation to do good. [insert image of us frantically waving as some of these believers] We're talking nonprofit disruption, marketing, involving your kids in philanthropy and generally working hard not to fangirl over him too much. Join us for the convo we waited to have since the first time we hit play and we're excited to share again today.Today's GuestDan Pallotta, TED Speaker, Entrepreneur, Author + Humanitarian ActivistEpisode HighlightsDan's story and journey to where he is today (2:45)The difference between the non-profit and for-profit sector  (6:45)Combating the overhead crisis - (13:10)What is holding people back? - (17:25)If you aren't being laughed at, you aren't dreaming big enough (17:30)Leaning into disruption (23:45)Dan's advice for young professionals (24:00)Explore the full potential of your humanity and inspire your donors to join you (27:00)Background of the Charity Defense Council (32:30)A powerful moment of philanthropy in Dan's life (35:35)Infusing philanthropy into raising kids - (38:35)Dan's One Good Thing: Life is happening right now.  (40:30)For more information + episode details visit: weareforgood.com/episode/451.About our Sponsor: Foster AvenueAs a philanthropic communications consulting and creative agency, Foster Avenue sees how campaign communications are facing a revolution these days. And luckily, they're sharing their insights. They are sharing a 10-point checklist for creating campaign communications that meet the moment. And we want to get this checklist into your hands so you can start refining your messaging right away.Learn more today at www.fosteravenue.com/goodWe want to thank the sponsors of this year's Responsive Nonprofit Summit that we co-presented with our friends at Virtuous. Thank you to Community Boost, DonorSearch, Feathr and Philanthropy Network for your support. We are honored to lock arms with you!

This podcast is a commentary and does not contain any copyrighted material of the reference source. We strongly recommend accessing/buying the reference source at the same time. ■Reference Source https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_dream_we_haven_t_dared_to_dream ■Post on this topic (You can get FREE learning materials!) https://englist.me/113-academic-words-reference-from-dan-pallotta-the-dream-we-havent-dared-to-dream-ted-talk/ ■Youtube Video https://youtu.be/QvgapuIZG5s (All Words) https://youtu.be/ng4S1pmQMqE (Advanced Words) https://youtu.be/mqnlPd3niNA (Quick Look) ■Top Page for Further Materials https://englist.me/ ■SNS (Please follow!)

In this episode, your host Amy Milne gets real with Eric Epstein, President of Global Impact Productions, a full-service event production company that produces outdoor challenge peer-to-peer fundraising events on behalf of select non-profits. Eric kicks things off by sharing his unique journey into the non-profit world (spoiler alert: his first job was as a science teacher!). Eric introduces us to the ‘Platform for Engagement', an insight-driven, integrated, branded fundraising program that will have you thinking differently about your events. Amy and Eric talk candidly about how they've been influenced by Dan Pallotta and why giving space for participants to have their own experience is worth gold on event. Make sure you listen until the end to hear a hilarious story about Eric's first time using a bullhorn; you'll be laughing out loud! We love Eric's willingness to be vulnerable and get real, and you will too. Get ready to meet your new event bestie!To connect with Eric, head to www.globalimpactpro.com and click on Contact Us. Also, make sure to check out their LinkedIn page where you can find an article that dives deeper into ‘The Platform for Engagement'.“The goal for our events is actually to create a safe space where the participants can have the experience that they need to have.” – Eric EpsteinConnect with us:Beyond Fundraising Inc: https://www.startingbeyond.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-milne-8946791/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milneamyr/https://www.instagram.com/startbeyond/

In episode 219, Lindsay Hadley is on to discuss the upcoming release of the documentary "Uncharitable". After many years in the nonprofit sector, Lindsay has become one of the most sought-after consultants and producers. This conversation challenges us to envision an unconstrained nonprofit sector. What if the charities could attract the best leaders, talents, and ideas? What if smaller operations with less impact stopped and those resources went to the best organization solving the problem? We get into these questions and more in this episode of Think Orphan. Podcast Sponsor Multnomah University's Masters in Global Development and Justice The M.A. in Global Development and Justice (MAGDJ) program prepares students to work across the nexus of justice, peacebuilding, and transformational community development work. The curriculum seeks to develop compassionate leaders, who are trauma-informed and prepared to support human flourishing in whatever context they work in. Resources and Links from the show Uncharitable Documentary Dan Pallotta's Ted Talk - The Way We Think about Charity is Dead Wrong Lindsay's Book Recommendation- Bonds that Make Us Free Show Notes Lindsay shares her background in nonprofit (5:05) Her involvement working in orphan care and global poverty (7:30) Overhead myth and a real example (17:25) Ted Talk behind 'Uncharitable' (24:00) Lindsay explains her role as an executive producer (33:00) The role risk plays for non-profits (38:00) Appreciation in the non-profit sector (49:00) The best organizations would grow (51:00) Lindsey's book recommendation (55:00) To see ourselves in the other (57:00) Lindsey's most influential person (59:00) Joe Ritchie on Caring for Orphans (1:00:00) Brandon and Phil recap their talk with Lindsey (1:02:00)  The overhead myth (1:03:00)

Today's Five-Star Guest is Dan Pallotta, a legend in the nonprofit world due to his dynamic impact on fundraising, communication and his unique ability to positively transform nonprofit supporters, funders and those who serve.   Dan invented the multi-day charitable event industry. Dan was one of the founding partners for TED's phenomenally successful Audacious Project, which curates some of the most promising and daring social change projects in the world, and has raised close to a billion dollars for them. In the last ten years, Dan has given over 400 talks on philanthropy and innovation in 38 states and nine countries. Dan's iconic 2013 TED Talk has been viewed more than 4.8 million times, viewed over 1,000 times a day around the world and one of the 20 most-commented TED Talks of all time. It has been ranked one of the 100 most-persuasive TED Talks of all time. Dan is also a best-selling author, musician and popular keynote speaker. Connect With Dan: https://www.danpallotta.com/Dan's Song, "The Mailman":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXD9WaLw2GEDan's Upcoming Movie Info:  https://uncharitablemovie.com/Get on our waiting list for our new nonprofit & fundraising community filled with on-demand courses and live webinars that are exclusive to members! Learn all about what's in store to support you and your leadership team at www.DoGoodYOUniversity.com!Support This Podcast! Make a quick and easy donation here:https://www.patreon.com/dogoodbetterSpecial THANK YOU to our sponsors:Donor Dock - The best CRM system for your small to medium sized nonprofit, hands down! Visit www.DonorDock.com and use the Promo Code DOGOODBETTER for a FREE month!iTunes: https://apple.co/3a3XenfSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2PlqRXsYouTube: https://bit.ly/3kaWYanTunein: http://tun.in/pjIVtStitcher: https://bit.ly/3i8jfDRFollow On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoodBetterPodcast/Follow On Twitter: @consulting_do About Host Patrick Kirby:Email: Patrick@dogoodbetterconsulting.comLinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fundraisingdad/Want more great advice? Buy Patrick's book! Now also available as an e-book!Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing GoodAvailable through Amazon Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1072070359

Dan Pallotta—entrepreneur, innovator and best-selling author of “Uncharitable”— revisits his unconventional take on philanthropy. With a forthcoming documentary under the same name, Dan explores what's changed in the decade since his 2013 TED Talk, the 16th most commented Ted Talk of all time. Note to All Readers: The information contained here reflects the views of AllianceBernstein L.P. or its affiliates and sources it believes are reliable as of the date of this podcast. AllianceBernstein L.P. makes no representations or warranties concerning the accuracy of any data. There is no guarantee that any projection, forecast or opinion in this material will be realized. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The views expressed here may change at any time after the date of this podcast. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. AllianceBernstein L.P. does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. It does not take an investor's personal investment objectives or financial situation into account; investors should discuss their individual circumstances with appropriate professionals before making any decisions. This information should not be construed as sales or marketing material or an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument, product or service sponsored by AllianceBernstein or its affiliates. The [A/B] logo is a registered service mark of AllianceBernstein, and AllianceBernstein® is a registered service mark, used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P. © 2023 AllianceBernstein L.P.

Helping schools help students is a mission that began in Alyse Maslonik's childhood.From living in a domestic abuse shelter to creating a self-funded business that now raises millions of dollars for under-privileged children, Alyse has experienced it all. At age 21, with a measly $63 dollars to her name, she packed up everything she owned and set out on a journey to change her life. By the age of 23, she was managing a multi-million-dollar property asset in Charlotte, NC and went on to become one of the youngest Sales & Marketing Representatives for a custom home builder in the Charlotte region, where she developed a love of helping people achieve their own piece of the American dream through home ownership.With fierce determination and a belief that she could make a difference, Alyse founded RedefinED Advisors LLC, a strategic development partner for non-public and private schools that now offers a wide array of services to help schools grow funding and enrollment.As CEO of RedefinED Advisors LLC, Alyse continues her lifelong mission through the Triumph Over Tragedy Scholarship Award, which provides additional scholarships to students that have demonstrated their ability to triumph over tragedy and who have remained resilient in the face of adversity.To learn more about RedefinED Advisors, please visit: https://www.redefiningeducation.org/Connect with Alyse and RedefinED Advisors on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/redefiningeducation/Here's the link to the TECH IN MOTION Fireside Chat: https://events.techinmotion.com/fireside-chat-c-light-technologiesThe link to Dan Pallotta's Ted Talk: https://youtu.be/bfAzi6D5FpMThank you for carving out time to improve your Founder Game - when you do better, your startup will do better - cheers!Ande ♥https://andelyons.com #bestyoutubechannelforstartups #startupstories #startupadviceJOIN STARTUP LIFE LIVE MEETUP GROUPGet an alert whenever I post a new show! https://bit.ly/StartupLifeLIVECONNECT WITH ME ONLINE:https://twitter.com/AndeLyonshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andelyons/https://www.instagram.com/ande_lyons/TikTok: @andelyonsANDELICIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTSArlan's Academy: https://arlansacademy.com/Scroobious - use Ande15 discount code: https://www.scroobious.com/How to Raise a Seed Round: https://bit.ly/AAElizabethYinTune in to Mia Voss' Shit We Don't Talk About podcast here: https://shitwedonttalkaboutpodcast.com/SPONSORSHIPIf you resonate with the show's mission of amplifying diverse founder voices while serving first-time founders around the world, please reach out to me to learn more about making an impact through sponsoring the Startup Life LIVE Show! ande@andelyons.com.

Join the Nonprofit Mythbusters: www.nonprofitmythbusters.com Getting Over the Nonprofit Overhead Myth In 2013 Dan Pallotta released his TED Talk that called out what is now known as The Overhead Myth. The nonprofit sector was hopeful that things might turn around. Now, almost a decade later, has anything changed? Have we stopped judging organizational effectiveness based solely on how much (or how little) a nonprofit organization spends on operational costs? I've rounded up some nonprofit colleagues and thought leaders to join me in a roundtable conversation about this important topic, and you are invited to listen.  It's not enough to say something's wrong with the way things are done. We need to educate and provide better tools to truly shift the status quo. Reframing the Nonprofit Narrative While interviewing Michael Thatcher, CEO of Charity Navigator, the topic of overhead came up. Today I'm sharing a transcript of the conversation with you: Michael Thatcher: So one of the things I think that's important with the new platform is, and what we're trying to do with the ratings, is to re-articulate the nonprofit narrative. So that there's not this tremendous focus on overhead, and how much gets spent on programs, but actually shift donor perceptions away from that towards what's the impact? And what are the results that the organization is making? What are the other attributes that actually make me want to invest in this organization? Ultimately, when we're looking at overhead, we're looking at where money's being spent. We're not looking at what money's actually achieving. The only way we can tell that story is this kind of brings it back to the individual nonprofits. Give us that data. Give us your performance data so we can actually tell a better story. Because overhead's easy; we pull that from the from the IRS tax forms, and that is what donors are using as a proxy for impact. It doesn't tell you a thing about impact. And it's actually can be really harmful.  If you under-spend on actually taking care of your people, you will actually damage your organization. You'll have staff, you'll have attrition rates, that you can't manage because at a certain point people have families; they've got to support their families, and if you're under paying your staff, then they're not going to stay with you because they actually have to make a living. So we should be paying. We should be paying appropriate rent wages for non-profit staff. We should be telling the story of the impact we're making in the world.  Charity Navigator is really trying to make that front and center. If you look back historically, we were part of, you know, we've been part of different letters that had been sent to donors, to the nonprofits, on the overhead myth. But this is such an important moment right now, where we have so many issues in our world that need to be addressed. And they talk about the difference we're making in the world. So that's one thing is like, tell the story of the impact you're making. Use platforms like Charity Navigator to actually amplify that message. And stop talking about overhead. Teresa Huff: I just want to hug you right now! I am cheering and clapping on the inside. Because I see that so much. And it's such a struggle, and a frustration, especially for small nonprofits. And I hear it I see the churn that you're talking about the burnout, the overhead and the the turnover. In people. It's like a puzzle shifting around, somebody moves and the dominoes fall, and it's like, okay, they're gonna shift around in the community somewhere else. And it happens so much. And that inconsistency hurts the organization too. Because then their programs, people build up rapport, and then somebody's gone the next week. It's tough all around, and nonprofit leaders are wearing so many hats, and they're often exhausted and don't know where to focus. I think these conversations and these supports need to shift and what you're saying, we need to shift the the way we are approaching it and the perception around overhead. Spot on; I'm right there with you. Michael Thatcher: So one thing I was saying, you said, nonprofit leaders wear many hats. We do. And the smaller the nonprofit, the more hats you have to wear. Yeah, that means you are not overhead. Right? You are probably doing a lot of program work. And so one of the errors that I see a lot, particularly from smaller nonprofits is that they'll put the executive in as a management or administrative expense entirely. That's rarely the case. You know what, you know how much program work you're doing, you know how much administrative work you're doing and how much fundraising you're doing. Do those allocations appropriately. It's not a one size fits all approach. And so be careful how you actually report. You do have to report on this, right? In other words, the IRS rules are the IRS rules. And also state rules are state rules. You've got to follow those. But know how you're spending, track your time, and then figure it out. And then just put that in your annual reporting. Teresa Huff: Yes, thank you for saying that. And for clarifying that, because I've tried explaining that. And sometimes people get it, and sometimes they don't. And it can be a tricky struggle to try and convey. And I think the more we educate the public, and our potential donors and supporters, sometimes they just don't know. And we need to take responsibility for educating them in doing a better job of helping them understand what it really takes to run the nonprofit and then paying people to do their job is not a bad thing. It's an investment in the program and in the community and in the impact. Michael Thatcher: 100%.   Attend the Nonprofit Mythbusters roundtable conversation:  www.nonprofitmythbusters.com   Connect with Teresa Huff: Website: www.teresahuff.com Take the Quiz: Do you have what it takes to be a grant writer? Social: LinkedIn Community LinkedIn Instagram Pinterest Get on the Fast Track to Grant Writer:  www.teresahuff.com/vip

Devin: What do you think of as your superpower?Lindsay: One of my weaknesses is loving myself. What's funny is my dear friend Henry Ammar says that our weaknesses are just our strengths with fear attached. So, when I think about my superpower, I believe that I have an incredible superpower and ability to love and especially love other people. I think that for years I've struggled with loving myself. But ultimately, what I've realized is I have a deep and profound love of self. It comes from my ability to see myself in others; I look so deeply for the best in people.Lindsay Hadley has long been a player in the impact community. She's becoming a player in movie and television production, preserving her focus on impact.UncharitableLindsay has just wrapped production of Uncharitable, a documentary film about Dan Pallotta's TedTalk, book, work and mission to reframe how we think about charity. The film features the CEO of TEDx, saying that Dan's talk is the most “paradigm-shifting” message in the history of the TEDx stages.The film, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal (Maggie and Jake's dad), features Ed Norton and luminaries in the nonprofit sector.Lindsay summarizes the message of the film:The concept basically goes into the idea of how overhead is demonized currently in the nonprofit sector, that the general thinking or perspective or paradigm is that the smaller the overhead or the smaller percentage of overhead spent in a nonprofit means, the better the nonprofit is—the more worthy of your donor dollar. We basically showcase a very strong case for support that that is utterly false. That will utterly betray you if you're looking at a percentage of overhead to indicate impact.Lindsay suggests an analogy to make her point. Image holding a bake sale where the ingredients, marketing and time are all donated. Sales reach $100. All $100 goes to the cause, say, helping the homeless. Zero goes to overhead. In an alternative scenario, an organizer puts on a big concert with profits going to the homeless. Revenues top $10 million, but it costs $5 million to put on the event, meaning 50 percent is overhead. Which do the homeless prefer?She further argues that high-impact leaders should be well compensated. “If we can make somebody who makes a violent video game on the cover of Forbes for their financial success, why can't we put the face of a woman who ends domestic violence on the cover of Forbes? I would love her to make absurd amounts of money because that's a heartbreaking generational trauma that has all kinds of negative impact on our society.”MadeLindsay is now working on a television series. She's partnered with the Harmon Brothers, who produce The Chosen, which has reached an audience of 300 million people. They finance the show via crowdfunding.The Harmon Brothers have won a number of awards for their internet marketing campaigns for products like Poo-Pourri, Squatty Potty, Purple Mattress and others.“They've taken five companies to unicorn status using their incredible gifting as storytellers and creatives and marketers; they've won countless Webby and Telly Awards,” Lindsay says. “They're the best internet marketers in the world.”Lindsay is working with them to fund the show using what the Harmon Brothers call their “torch campaigns.” These crowdfunding campaigns help fund pilots that help raise more money to produce high-quality television programming.Lindsay recently spoke at SuperCrowd22 and is excited to use investment crowdfunding to capitalize production of her new show, Made.Made will feature artisans who are the “literal masters of their craft, the Michael Jordans of their thing,” she says. “They make things with their hands forged in fire, stuff that is archaic.” Examples range from people who make samurai swords to hats.Lindsay describes the concept of the show:We really feel like people will fall in love with these artisans as we find out how they were made as human beings, as we learn about what they make. Then we're going to try to weave celebrities into episodes as apprentices who are genuine fans of that master craftsman's art. and get them to bring their quote-unquote fame, their limelight onto these artisans who are literally like masters of their craft, just like maybe a celebrity is a master of their craft in film or music.Watch for the new show!In all her work, Lindsay uses her superpower, love of self, to enable her empathy and love for others.How to Develop Love of Self As a SuperpowerLindsay didn't always see her love of self—certainly not as a superpower—but over a seven-year journey beginning with a particularly dark chapter in her life, she's discovered and built upon it to serve others.“Sometimes I'm trying to posture, pretend I feel good about myself or whatever it may be, and people see right through it,” she admits.She notes that a friend told her that weakness is just a superpower with fear attached. “I think that love is the point. To see the best in someone is the embodiment of love. I think that's one of my superpowers. I hope to learn to love myself more, more freely, better, more sincerely, and more unadulterated with those insecurities that come with fear of that superpower.”“About seven years ago, I had kind of this year from hell where a lot of difficulties, heartaches, challenges, whatever came into my life—and stressors,” Lindsay says. “I think it was like a death by a thousand cuts where I had a lot of hard things back to back to back to back. I had situational anxiety, and that led to situational depression.”One of her mentors shared something profound with her. “External validation can become like an addiction, just like anything, just like pornography or alcohol or sex or any other substance food. It can actually be an addiction to get those hits of external validation.”Lindsay acknowledges that her work ethic, network and good fortune have provided lots of opportunities for external validation.She was meeting with her mentor in Africa during an extended visit. The context of the conversation was helpful. There, seeing hardworking people who couldn't possibly work their way into her level of success provided a perspective that enabled personal progress.She learned two fundamental principles there and then. First is the importance of gratitude—“radical gratitude.” She saw the need to not only value and appreciate the obviously good things in life but also the benefits of the trials, challenges and problems she experienced.Second, she saw the need to surrender. “All religions try to get us to this place of now, surrender, peace, acceptance and love, a state of love,” she says.She finds part of surrender in forgiveness. Lindsay shared:Oprah Winfrey—I just listened to her—she's such a baller. She said something about forgiveness. She's been through a lot: sexual abuse and all kinds of difficulty in her childhood. She talked about forgiveness as really just accepting what happened and not trying to control for a different outcome of what happened in the past. It happened. Acceptance, right? So, this happened; I can't change anything about it. What are the gifts and the fruits of it now? Who am I becoming because of it? And loving the journey and just this surrender.By following Lindsay's example and advice, you can make love of self a superpower that strengthens your empathy and love of others, enabling you to do more good in the world. Get full access to Superpowers for Good at devinthorpe.substack.com/subscribe

If you google Dan Pallotta, he comes up identified as an "American Entrepreneur". While true enough, this description is really only part of the story. Dan is a visionary, a development economics guru with a Harvard sheepskin, a social sector champion and a bold leader. You may already know of of him, since he's been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Forbes magazine, among others. Or you may have already seen him, since he's appeared on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, American Public Media's Marketplace, the TED Radio Hour, the BBC's Business Matters, and on numerous NPR stations, among others. In fact, if you haven't seen his viral TED Talk "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong" on YouTube, go there as soon as you finish listening to this episode. It'll change your whole worldview. There's a link at a aboldleader.com to help you get there. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/aboldleader/message

¿Por qué no tratar la ayuda al desarrollo bajo criterios empresariales? Pablo Melchor, desde Ayuda Efectiva, invierte cada euro allí donde se genere un mayor impacto. Las políticas basadas en la evidencia, popularizadas por los experimentos de Esther Duflo, ganan hoy seguidores. ¿Conseguiremos eliminar la extrema pobreza? ¿El optimismo racional de Hans Rosling o el discurso catastrofista y antimercado de Oxfam? Hablar con Pablo te lleva inevitablemente al escenario positivo. Su pasión es contagiosa.Escucha el podcast en tu plataforma habitual:Spotify — Apple — iVoox — YouTubeArtículos sobre finanzas en formato blog:Substack Kapital — Substack CardinalApuntes:Not a memo. Pablo Melchor.Poor economics. Esther Duflo & Abhijit Banerjee.Epistemic learned helplessness. Scott Alexander.Imagología. Milan Kundera.Factfulness. Hans Rosling.La lavadora mágica. Hans Rosling.Economía liberal para no economistas y no liberales. Xavier Sala i Martín.Steve Jobs, world's greatest philanthropist. Dan Pallotta.Índice:0.28. Gestionar una ONG según criterios de eficiencia.13.57. ¿Cuál es el mayor problema que puedo yo resolver?19.25. La crítica a la campaña ‘Apadrina a un niño'.28.45. El virtue signaling de las misioneras instagrammers.36.55. ¿Estamos delegando la solidaridad a los estados?47.20. Mandar dinero es más eficiente que repartir alimentos.57.55. La revolución de los experimentos aleatoriezados.1.20.19. Vivir con menos de 1,90 dólares al día.1.26.15. ¿Por qué los periodistas solo explican las desgracias?1.40.38. La PAC como competencia desleal a los agricultores africanos.1.45.25. La ventaja comparativa de Jobs no era en el tercer sector.1.51.30. Expectativa versus realidad en el mundo del emprendimiento.

Season 2, Episode 62Monday Motivation: A Honest Look At The Nonprofit Industry with Serena Hope Sun of Breaking TabooOn this special Monday Motivation episode of the Choose Your Struggle podcast, Serena Hope Sun of Breaking Taboo returns to chat with Jay about the good and the bad of running a nonprofit. Learn more about Breaking Taboo at: https://breaking-taboo.org/The Ted Talk we talk about by Dan Pallotta: https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=enAs a special bonus, anyone who leaves The Choose Your Struggle Podcast a review on their site will get 25% off a tank top or, if you already own one, a care package of other Choose Your Struggle items on the house! Just take a screen shot or a pic with your phone and send it to info@jayshifman.com with your address and your choice.What do you think? Everyone who responds, either by social media or my website, will get a sticker mailed to them. The first person to respond each week will get a magnet! So reach out or post something on your personal social media and tag me (and maybe share the show in the process?)!If something in this episode upsets you, or makes you feel a certain way, take a moment and do some mindfulness. When you have the words, the thought thrashed out, send it to me! Share the podcast, tell the world your thoughts. That's how we make change.No Good Egg or Card on Monday episodes.Looking for someone to wow your audience now that the world is reopening? My speaking calendar is booking up fast! But if you're interested in bringing me to your campus, your community group, your organization or any other location to speak about Mental Health, Substance Misuse & Recovery, or Drug Use & Policy, reach out to my strategist Ryan Holzhauer at ryan@jayshifman.com. Tank Tops are in! You can see what they look like on the website (thanks to my wife for modeling the women's cut). Reach out through the website to order. If you're looking for something a little less expensive, magnets are in too! Check them out on the website or Instagram. Patreon supporters get a discount so join Patreon! Support the Podcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ChooseYourStruggle Review the Podcast: https://ReviewThisPodcast.com/Choose-Your-Struggle. Support the Podcast, a different way: https://podhero.com/401017-ikv. Learn more about the Shameless Podcast Network: https://www.shamelessnetwork.com/ My Partner Bookshop (Support Local Book Stores and the Podcast in the Process!): https://bookshop.org/shop/CYS My Partner Road Runner (Use Code CYS for 10% off): www.roadrunnercbd.com/ref/CYS As always, you can find more at my links: https://jay.campsite.bio ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

OVERVIEW: Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner, and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast speaks with Matthew Zachary, Founder, and CEO of OffScrip Media. Matthew talks about launching his nonprofit organization Stupid Cancer and his audio broadcast network, OffScrip Media. As a cancer survivor himself, Matthew also shares his personal experiences and passion for patient advocacy. This interview contains explicit language.    EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Before graduating from college, Matthew was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was given six months to live and told surgery was the only option.  Following the surgery, he remained unhealthy for five years. He found hope and inspiration by playing the piano, which became a part of his rehabilitation.  Matthew launched his nonprofit, Stupid Cancer in 2007. He wanted to provide a voice for young adults living with cancer and build community instead of isolation.   He launched the first health radio show in 2007. He built the first international trade show for young adult cancer survivors and also developed an e-commerce website.   Under his leadership, Stupid Cancer became a powerful brand in cancer advocacy. His nonprofit had an impressive portfolio of revenue channels and used net margin profits to pay the bills and reinvest in growth. Matthew stepped down as the CEO of Stupid Cancer and became the strategic advisor in 2019.  Matthew advises running a charity like a business. There are challenges when starting a charity. He references Dan Pallotta as an expert on cause marketing and someone who understands the fragility of the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. You can grow and scale a charity without donors.  You need hardcore customer experience to appreciate volunteer management. After taking a sabbatical in 2019, Matthew realized he missed being behind the mic. He launched OffScrip Media, the first digital health podcast network focused on patient advocacy, education, and empowerment.  OffScrip Media features nine shows, including Out of Patients, which he hosts.  Today, Matthew is focused on scaling his media company by acquiring and incubating podcasts. He advises on audience cultivation and monetization.     3 KEY POINTS: Matthew's cancer diagnosis and personal experiences inspired him to start Stupid Cancer. His nonprofit ignited a global movement advocating for adolescent and young adult cancer programs. A nonprofit organization is still a business, and running one doesn't mean you cannot make a profit.  Don't start a podcast until you've done your due diligence. TWEETABLE QUOTES: “We did things [for] cancer... because we could, and we kept getting funding for it.” - Matthew Zachary “If you don't know how to run a company, don't start a charity.” - Matthew Zachary “Even outside of healthcare, Gen X is just a lost conversation.”  Matthew Zachary   RESOURCES: Matthew Zachary's website: https://www.matthewzachary.com/ Matthew Zachary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewzachary OffScrip Media: https://offscrip.com/ Out of Patients podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/out-of-patients-with-matthew-zachary/id1482032829 Dan Pallotta's website: https://www.danpallotta.com/ **Rate/review the HEA podcast - https://lovethepodcast.com/hea **Subscribe/follow the HEA podcast - https://followthepodcast.com/hea #HealthcareEntrepreneurAcademy #healthcare #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #podcast #patientadvocacy #cancersurvivor #healthcarepolicy #nonprofit #charity 

Meet Dan. His TED Talk "The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong," went viral less than a decade ago and was viewed by millions of starry-eyed dreamers who were intent on using their creativity and innovation to do good. [insert image of us frantically waving as some of these believers

Activist, humanitarian, author and builder of movements, Dan Pallotta joins Raising Your Inner Voice to dispell what you think you know about non-profits. This inspiring conversation will open you up to more possibilities in how you think about giving to charities. For more info on Dan, check out https://www.danpallotta.com/

At the center of charitable giving and human transformation is Dan Pallotta. A controversial activist and fundraiser, Dan is the founder of Pallotta TeamWorks, which invented the multi-day AIDS Rides and Breast Cancer 3-Days; the president of Advertising for Humanity; and the author of three best-selling books. His 2013 Ted Talk, “The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong,” has been viewed more than 5 million times and has been ranked one of the 100 most-persuasive TED Talks of all time.  Join us for an eye-opening discussion on charitable giving that just might transform the way you think about changing the world. Learn more about Dan’s philosophy on charitable giving: The Everyday Philanthropist Uncharitable Connect with Dan Pallotta: Website: DanPallotta.com Facebook: @DanPallotta Twitter: @DanPallotta YouTube: @DanPallottaChannel TED Talk: “The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong” TED Talk Connect with The Broadway Gives Back Podcast: Facebook: @broadwaygivesbackpodcast Instagram: @broadwaygivesbackpodcast Twitter: @broadwaygives Hosted & Executive Produced by Jan Svendsen and co-produced & edited by Jim Lochner. A proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network. Special thanks to Dori Berinstein, Alan Seales, Brittany Bigelow, Katie Rosin, and Yo Nikolova from BPN; Julian Hills from The Bulldog Agency; Eric Becker and Broderick Street Music; the Charity Network; and Glenn Weiss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2013 Dan Pallotta gave a TED Talk that changed the nonprofit world. Dan's lecture entitled, "The way we think about charity is dead wrong" pushed forward the idea that society views charity incorrectly. In this episode of the podcast, we revisit the speech and highlight what has changed and what has stayed the same in the past 7 years. Intro music by Swamp Dogg - "Do You Believe"

How is it possible to create friends out of the people we see as against our own personal beliefs? I talk to Kelsey Roberts about how experience is at the root of our beliefs, and how sharing those stories can help create a deeper understanding of the people around us, turning foe into friend. While our ideas of how to make the world better may not always align, each of our individual stories is a piece in solving the puzzle of the issues around us. Follow Zocayo on IG and Twitter Follow me on IG and Twitter: @graubenlara Follow Kelsey on IG and Twitter Email: wearezocayo@gmail.com Participate in a free story exchange through Narrative 4 Ted Talk: The way we think about charity is dead wrong | Dan Pallotta

Today’s show is a little different. My guest, Michelle Begina, is a financial advisor, speaker, author, and — at least in my own opinion — is a money therapist. Certainly, one of the more hybrid experts I’ve had the privilege of speaking with. With a great deal of intentional vulnerability and discomfort on my part, we talk about money. It doesn’t just make the world go ‘round; it’s a topic that unites everyone and — like math — is a universal language where judgment, stigma, guilt, and the forces of good and evil duke it out on a day to day basis. In the interest of channeling my fellow expatriated nonprofit founders and executives who went into the private sector to “earn a living,” there’s a lot to unpack there — and I am not shy about sharing my own personal sentiments on entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and guilt. The NPO business model is so flawed, it’s almost designed to fail, and COVID made that more apparent than ever. I also don’t live my life to be the richest guy in the graveyard and hedge my entire political belief system on the single-voter issue factor of our time — the “401k”. Life’s too short. So from “financial psychology” to “your money story” to “fiscal script” to the emotional weight and mental health issues surrounding leadership and just trying to get by in life, I hope you enjoy this alternate but related universe episode of Out Of Patients with Michelle Begina. Enjoy the show.

El día de hoy platicamos con Karla Lara sobre las los pensamientos y creencias que nos limitan a emprender y sabotean justo cuando nos lanzamos "a lo grande". Búscala en redes como Karla Lara Coach o escríbele al +525534003727. Por cierto, ella impartirá clases en WellBAproject.com súmate ahora a la comunidad de expertas en bienestar ¡te espero! Te recomiendo ver el video de Dan Pallotta: la forma de ver la beneficiencia es totalmente incorrecta.

El día de hoy platicamos con Karla Lara sobre las los pensamientos y creencias que nos limitan a emprender y sabotean justo cuando nos lanzamos "a lo grande". Búscala en redes como Karla Lara Coach o escríbele al +525534003727. Por cierto, ella impartirá clases en WellBAproject.com súmate ahora a la comunidad de expertas en bienestar ¡te espero! Te recomiendo ver el video de Dan Pallotta: la forma de ver la beneficiencia es totalmente incorrecta.

Ardee and Tony are bringing you their impressions of the virtual NIO Summit. Speakers included, Jen Shang, Jay Baer, Brian Miller, and Dan Pallotta. In today's epsode you will learn which speakers had the most fascinating marketing insights and which ideas Ardee and Tony are most excited about testing.

Dan Pallotta is one of my heroes. His book, Uncharitable, dared to challenge the conventions that constrained the way we thought about charity. His 2013 iconic TED talk has been viewed nearly 5 million times. My first interview with him a couple of years ago is one of my favorite interviews ever. And now he's further distilled his insights into The Everyday Philanthropist, a simple, easy-to-understand guide to help us all understand that there's a better way to do giving. In this interview, you'll get a small taste of what Dan is about. It's too good to sum up here. You'll have to listen. And then go buy the book. Seriously, go buy this book.  We're not getting a cut or anything.  But we need everyone to read this. Here's the link to find it on Amazon. Big thanks to Dan for helping us all dream bigger. #EveryMileMatters

Dan Pallotta has disrupted the non-profit sector because of one simple premise - He dared to dream big. Not only that, but he encouraged non-profits to dream big as well and get the support they deserve. It is very difficult to understand the non-profit world at first glance, but Dan has done an excellent job helping people know how to evaluate and support different charities. He recently released a book called "The Everyday Philanthropist" that details everything you need to know about your own charitable habits, and how they interact with non-profits. Dan is probably best known for his record setting Ted Talk "The way we think about charity is dead wrong". If you're interested in learning more about helping others through philanthropy, I highly suggest you check out Dan's work.

"I think what's really silly is for grown men and women to squander this tiny, tiny little bit of time we have here on Earth to make a difference on anything less than the most daring breathtaking dream we're able to dream." - Dan Pallotta

Shift Your Money Relationship: Finding Your Money Leaks with Chella Diaz Chella Diaz knew at a very young age how to manage money, at 9 years old she would go to the Farmer's market and knew the vendors that had the best product at the lowest price. She purchased her car at 17 and her first home at 23. Chella was married for 17 years and has two sons. For over 15 years, Chella has been on her spiritual journey. Chella has been hosting workshops to empower people to master their money skills. Her simple approach to creating a spending plan that will serve you today and for many years to come will allow you to reach your financial goals with joy and grace. Chella has worked with many coaches and mentors and created a program that meets each client where they are and provides them with the tools they need to unpack their emotional baggage around money. Interview Transcript Hugh Ballou: It's 2pm on the Eastern Coast time zone. We are hosting The Nonprofit Exchange yet again. Every week, it's special. We have a guest who shares some really good stuff. We are talking about money today, but it will be different. It's one of those things everyone talks about. *Sponsored by EZCard* My guest today is Chella Diaz. Long-time friend, but we finally connected, and I understand why she needed to be on this show and tell you things that she knows. Chella, tell people a little bit about yourself and why you're doing this thing that you're doing. Chella Diaz: It would be my pleasure. It's an honor to be here. It's all about timing. We have known each other for several years, and I'm glad we're here. The timing is absolutely prefect. I have been good with money since I was nine. I was just one of those little interesting kids. I purchased my first car when I was 17 and my first house when I was 23. Before some of you start jumping, I have been speaking for a long time. My dad was a baker, and my mom was a housewife. Some of you may think I got lots of help. I did, but not financial. When I went to purchase my first house, I was short $1,600. My dad did lend me the money at that point in time, but up until then, it was just one of those things that made sense. I have two amazing boys, young men now. I spent many years in the corporate world. I was a real estate underwriter. Along with my being good with money, I got the opportunity to review over 20,000 real estate loans. I got to see this black and white stuff. This is me reviewing tax returns and seeing how the wealthy save their money and the folks that don't have money. I saw a pattern. After my divorce, and after the company I worked for shut down, I knew that I didn't want to go back to that. I knew there was something bigger I wanted to do. That was when I published my first book Money Bootcamp. My idea was to empower high school and college students. That was when my business idea began. The first business idea doesn't always take off. Then I was asked to speak at various women's groups. For me, that was when the light went on. Watching and teaching women not only how to manage money but also how to set themselves apart so they always have enough money to do what they want to do, and watching the lights go on. I do work with some men, but my main audience is women and high school students and college students. To me, I feel that this is my way of giving back. This is my mission. I get to have so much fun doing it. People always say, “Find something that you like, and you will never work a day in my life.” I feel very fortunate because that is what I am doing right now: having an amazing time. Hugh: Yeah, you gotta have fun. I am still doing what I do in my senior years and enjoying it more than ever before. There is a lot more to do and more to learn. My area is leadership and organizational development. It's a big area. Money is another big area. We start out in the nonprofit world with this word “nonprofit.” We immediately set the tone that is negative. We have profitability. It's not profit in the sense of a business where we look out for our shareholders and have this big salary for the top person. It's a for-purpose enterprise, where we are doing charitable work, but watching money. We have this negative thing about money from the start. When we minimize things and we cut pennies, we are really hurting ourselves in terms of how we manage money. We're in an era where women leaders are stepping up. This is a good time for you to talk about how women bring unique skills to the marketplace as entrepreneurs running a social enterprise or business. My wife is a clergy in the Methodist church. There are new opportunities for women to bring fresh perspectives and ideas. Let's talk about how we see money. What are the biggest problems in how people think about money? Chella: I believe it goes back to when we are five years old, and we begin to hear, “We can't afford it. You have to work hard for your money. Money does not grow on trees.” These are three of the most popular phrases I come across. When we think about that story we hear, how it travels and grows with us, so that we can't afford it. Now we are here in a purpose, where we want to help people, but we are still having this, “I can't afford it. You have to struggle for money.” That interferes with our mission and purpose. It prevents us from asking, going after, and showing up. Whether we are working on our passion project, it doesn't matter. We tend not to show up for our business. We tend not to share. Most importantly, we do not ask for what we need. Hugh: In the case of nonprofits, we are sharing our vision and our mission and the impact that we're having on people's lives. In a way, we're asking, but we're inviting people to participate in that work. We start these habits. If I hear you right, we have been spoonfed these from the beginning. We were told things about leadership that don't work, and we have been told things about money that don't help us at all. What is the antidote to this? Chella: It's going and identifying what that story was and connecting to how that is currently affecting your financial picture. It sounds simplistic, but every single one of my clients who has done this- Once you have identified and shed some light on this, then you are no longer subject to that story. It's giving a voice. Hugh: Don't give the voice to the story. It's like we download software in our computer, but we have to learn how to use it correctly. We only use the templates. We have Ryad here from Algeria, part of Bob Hopkin's class in Dallas. He has a special interest in inspiring young leaders to think about philanthropy in a new way. To be a philanthropist, we don't need to be afraid of money. Philanthropy is not all about the money. We do make financial contributions. As we welcome new people into the Methodist church, we say to participate with your time, talent, and money. There is a triple invitation, but there is an opportunity for young people to understand. I had Ivan Misner on the show last week. The motto for BNI is Givers Gain. It's a different mindset. How do we get an awareness of some of these negative things we have been taught? You are in who we have been taught. How do we have an awareness to gain a mindset? Chella: By simply beginning to write. As we are sitting here, I am a huge note-taker. As you are saying wisdoms, write down. Sit down for 10 minutes, for seven days, silent, and think about those money conversations you listened to. That will bring them up to awareness. Everybody has a conversation. There are a few of you out there who are not going to have it because adults do not talk about money. Go back. 10 minutes. Seven days. I would love to hear from you what your feedback is. These things, the minute you begin to give the mind a task, it will do it for you. But if you don't remember, that is also very telling because that means as a little child, what stories did you make up about the fact that adults were not talking about money? That is also very powerful. You make up a story as a kid as to what that meant. I wish I was making this up. As an adult, it's possible you are in a relationship, and you don't talk about money. But you have this white elephant in the room that nobody is talking about. Not hearing a conversation is also incredibly telling. What did that little child make up as a story? Hugh: We know that we give energy to what we think about. If you think about debt, we are in a panic time. The media wants to scare us so that we read their newspaper or watch their show. We don't need to buy into these narratives that have penalized us. Dan Pallotta has this keynote where he talks about the way we think about charity is dead wrong. Nonprofit is a good starting point. It's a bad word; it's a lie. But it's the word we know. It's a genre of operating. It's a tax-exempt business. Part of the headline here is, “Money Leaks.” What do you mean? Do you carry it in a bucket, and it leaks out? Chella: I am going to make that a picture. As we go through life, and we get services, and we don't realize that some of these, are we using them? The most traditional one would be a membership to the gym and we don't use it. There are so many other things that we go out and purchase, and we don't use. Those are the money leaks. Those are the ones. But also, how are you choosing to spend your money? This is the $100,000 question. If you are able to sit down and track your finances for 30 days, whether you go back and do it or start fresh from here moving forward, if you are able to track any time you spend over a dollar on a notepad or a Word document or an app, at the end of the four weeks, you are going to divide that list into how much you spend on wants and how much on needs. I prefer to do it every week, so it doesn't seem like such an overwhelming task. For four weeks, how much did you spend on wants versus needs? At the end of the four weeks, you will find your money leaks. One of my favorite examples is a young lady was spending $750 a month for lunch. You don't realize how much you're spending. You go to the bank and get the money. You're on automatic pilot. You don't realize where the money is going. By taking the time to do this one task for four weeks, whether it's lunch or dinner or snacks- One of my clients, $125 in snacks. He would stop at the corner store before getting to work to pick up snacks. $125 for snacks? Imagine what you could do with $125 a month extra. By doing this one task, you are going to find where your money leaks are. I don't believe in giving up everything. After you find the money leaks, my lunch person, she decided to put away $500 toward a down payment of a house, but she still went out to lunch. She still had $250 to work with for lunch. You will find what other choices you can make with your money. How are you choosing to spend your money? That's where the magic happens, folks. Hugh: You start buying a $5 latte every day. That adds up to a lot of money. That is a lot of money over the terms of a week, a year. You add all those wants up, not needs. You can get an app like Mint, which shows you every day where your money went. It's free. Is something like that helpful? Chella: Absolutely. It's doing the work for you. The only thing with some of those apps. If you are able to track everything, fabulous. Sometimes you may not be able to track stopping at the store and picking up flowers. When you pay with cash, that is where Mint may not be great. But it is a great start. I like Mint. Hugh: I try to do everything on a credit card. I don't care what the interest rate is. A high interest rate encourages me to pay it off. To me, the interest rate, the higher the better. I can't pay interest, so it encourages me to pay the thing off. My particular card gives me a summary by category in addition to the Mint, and it also gives me hotel points. I go to a lot of hotels I don't pay any money for. There is a liability in a credit card where you just use credit without the cash to pay it at the end of the month. There is an accountability process here. If you are struggling to make ends meet, you have to be aware of your own spending. We go out and have drinks with friends, and we spend money. We don't have to do all that. We can drink water and have a good time and have a wine at home. Pay for a bottle instead of one glass at a restaurant. Or give it up all together. How do you stay on track? Do you have an accountability partner idea? Maybe we encourage each other. Chella: Hugh just brought up a big idea. If you know anybody who has credit cards, ask them to add up three months' worth of interest. How much did they pay in three months? When you see that, let's say it's $500 for three months. That is going to be $2,000 for the year. This is the game-changer. When you start thinking not only am I making the credit card company rich, but what could I be doing with $2,000 at the end of the year? Imagine what that looks like in your bank account. I find that when people do this task, they are able to go out and work maybe a little bit harder for the short term to pay off that debt, be it selling something or doing something extra so that money can flow into their account. The accountability is one of my favorite things to do. I still have two accountability partners. I suggest they cannot be a spouse or significant other. This is something you're working on yourself first. Then you can come together. It's not that you can't tell them what you're doing. Once upon a time, purchasing personal development courses was a weakness for me. Any time I saw it on TV or an event, any time I went to spend over $100, I needed to call my accountability partner and share that I wanted to buy this thing I could not live without. You tell each other what your goals are, what your weaknesses are, and then you call each other during that time. After I started talking about it, justifying why I needed to buy this, it was so silly. I really didn't need it. An accountability partner helps you to stay on track on whatever financial goals you are. It helps you stay away from the shiny objects, and they are there to celebrate any time you achieve a milestone. Hugh: These are all good personal growth habits. I wanted you on the show because we all bring our good and bad habits into the workplace. Many of our audience has a vision for changing people's lives through a nonprofit they founded; sometimes they run it, or they get other people to run it. We want to identify these because the personal problems become systemic problems and a problem for the organization. In the nonprofit world, we are required to have a board of directors, and they oversee the money part. The same issues that you just talked about do exist in organizations. I have seen organizations who are broke, but there is no discipline or system or accountability or awareness of living beyond our means. We don't have the money coming in, but we have to do these programs because they are compelling. You have to take care of home first. How do leaders bring these shortcomings into the business? How does that hurt everybody? Chella: That's why I think you have to start at home. Find your money leaks, fix them. Once you start to do that, what happens is you begin to see other opportunities, whether it's the saving $500 a month. Other opportunities begin to present themselves. Debt creates overwhelm and stress. When you are stressed and have to think about how you make those payments, there is that “Another payment, I have to write out ten checks.” I know people don't do that anymore. Automatic pay, whatever that is. I need to pay ten bills versus three bills. That takes stress. When you are able to get that under control at home, those skillsets will transfer to your organization. You are able to come up with different ideas for a fundraiser. You are able to share about your project to that person you haven't thought about sharing. It opens up more space for you to be able to be more productive and bring in more money to your nonprofit, or what I call a passion project. Hugh: Your passion project. What is your passion project? Chella: My passion project is to do workshops for high school students and college students. It's interesting because I hear a lot from them about how they don't care about the money, but they want to make a difference. I say, “In order to make a difference, you need the money.” Hugh: Ryad, as a young person facing the life ahead, does this stimulate any questions for you, or do you want to comment on what you're hearing? Ryad Benabdelkader: Yes. By the way, I like the use of the credit card. Where I live, it's not used very much. People love cash. They never use a credit card. Starting with my family and my parents, they just use cash in Algeria. But I like the idea of the credit card because you have to think about how to use the money twice. You won't just buy it with cash. Each time my parents are just spending, spending, spending. If it was with a credit card, it would be better, and they know where to spend the money. I love the idea of credit cards. I hope we will apply it one day. Hugh: You're in Algeria. Ryad: Yes. Hugh: How do you pay for things? Physical cash or digital payments. Ryad: Physical cash. Hugh: I understand you were admitted to a college in France, so you will be going to France. How will this kind of information help you think about managing your expenses in college? Ryad: I love the idea of credit cards because like this, I will manage and optimize how and where to spend the money without carrying cash. I would just be buying this and this. With a credit card, I will only buy things I need with limits. Each time you see the card, you think about money. Hugh: Before I go to Professor Hopkins, let's talk about philanthropy. In order to be a philanthropist, you want to manage your time because we give time and talent, but we also give money. Why do you think it's important to manage our own finances? Why do you think it's important to have our house in order to be a better philanthropist? I will give you some time to think about it. Bob, what kinds of questions do you have today? Bob Hopkins: Thank you very much. Unfortunately, I hate this topic. I hate this topic for me personally. I hate the words, “I can't afford it.” In respect to you, I think your topic and what you tell the students is what they need because people need to manage money. I have never been able to do that unfortunately. Because of my elderly age, what you see on the horse is what I look like today. I am 50 years older than that person on that horse. I try to teach students to think positively instead of thinking, “I can't have, and I don't have.” I think that God gives us everything we need, and you just have to have a positive attitude about it. Unfortunately, I don't manage money very well. For some reason, there always seems to be money when I need it. But I do understand, and it's a good thing I don't have children. I was thinking of you when you said, “What did I think of money when I was five years old?” I could always have what I needed. When I became an adult, my parents divorced, and I think one reason that happened is because of money. It's not been one of my best topics. Hugh: Let me introduce you to my friend Chella. Bob is a colleague in Texas. Sandy, do you have any questions here? Sandy Birkenmaier: My parents didn't have a whole lot of money when I was growing up. When I was 10, they bought their first brand new car. They had no credit whatsoever because they'd always paid cash for everything. I learned pretty early that it was important to have a credit record at least. My dad died when I was 13, and we had even less money. I never had money when I was growing up unless there was something special I needed to buy. I had to justify then why it was that I needed money. I raised my kids that you do need to establish a credit record, but you need to not be using a credit card unless you are able to pay that credit card off. I pretty much managed to do that through adulthood. There have been times where things have gotten rough, and the credit cards have stacked up, but I got them paid off as quickly as possible. I think I have a pretty good relationship with money. Hugh: Great. Sandy, thank you. Chella, that triggered a couple of interesting topics. Thank you for allowing me to have you comment. When you start an enterprise and apply for a credit card, they will check your personal credit. You are the founder of this and want to apply for a credit card. This is one area that is important for having your act together. Do you want to comment on that? Bob's relationship with money, he's a mover and shaker. He is an energy field. I am sure in his career with nonprofits, he has seen a challenge with money. It's an attitude that comes from the top. Those are two areas for you to bounce off of. Chella: Actually, Hugh, you mentioned earlier. When it comes to money and credit, people think about it as a negative thing. But you are proof that that's not the case. You are able to get things for free. It's about learning how to use the system. I have a friend who got a 32-inch flat-screen TV for free. She was a business owner, and she charged a lot, and she paid a lot. She accumulated so many points. That's the thing about credit cards. We can use them to our advantage. We can use them just like Sandy, thank you for sharing, and Bob. We are going to come back to you. But you can use these credit cards to your advantage. They don't have to be the bad word. This is a tool you can use to get free stuff. I personally have gotten gift cards. You can give them away for gifts. It can definitely work to your advantage. Know that the magic is you only need three types of credit that is being reported. All you need is three lines in order to build a credit score. Hugh: Three lines? Three credit cards? Chella: It could be a credit card. A car loan. Anything that reports. It cannot be paying rent. That is not reported. Utility bills, those are not reported. Those do not count. Three, be it two credit cards, a car loan. Three of them in order to build credit. That's it. Hugh: It's all back to what you were talking about. It's a matter of discipline or attitude and an awareness. I see a lot of people start a business or nonprofit, and they say, “We will make money and do these things.” How important is it to put a budget line item on there to mark our discipline for spending? Chella: I love that. I don't like to use the b-word. The budget. If we start thinking about, “This is how I am creating a spending plan” instead. It sounds softer and not quite so rigid. But if you create a spending plan, then you have choice. You are spending this. This is how much we allocated for this and that. Create a spending plan, and stick to it. Sometimes, we want to do, and we want to serve. But if we don't have the money coming in, it's going to stop sooner or later. There is only so much you can do. Right now, I do know quite a few nonprofits where the money is just not coming in, and they may need to shut down. Hugh: It's a challenge for the whole sector. Small businesses, churches, restaurants, nonprofits: we are challenged to how we do things. My wife and I have gone through a personal discipline of looking at expenses, and we spend a lot less than we used to. We eat really well, and we do pretty much anything we want to do, but we stay under budget every single month. Even though I have a number of credit cards, and a lot of credit lines, we primarily use one, so I don't have to remember to pay the others. Everything comes on the 1st of the month, so there is a ritual in paying it all. 100% on-time payments, no interest charges. It's been a good discipline that has energized us, and we have more money to support the charities we want to support. It feels good to be able to give some to other people. When you build your budget, let's talk about the giving part of this. Part of philanthropy is money. Part of it is showing up. You talked about showing up earlier. It's not just physically present, but it's emotionally present. Where does giving come into our financial system? Chella: Giving should be up here with paying yourself, giving, then meeting your obligations, then down the line should be your wants. Not to deprive yourself. But I am saying if you put it in that order, I guarantee you that you will always have money for everything. It just shows up. The money always showed up for Bob. I agree with you. I think that God gives you all that you need. I am delighted, and I believe in thinking positive. Where I see the struggle is we want to think positive, and your students are saying that. It's the monkey chatter behind the scenes from the money conversations we heard as children. We have that conflict. It's about identifying it so that it's minimized. I haven't been able to make it go away entirely, but it is minimized, so the voice is softer and not as loud. It's about making the voice softer. Hugh: That annoying voice that lies to us. A while back, we had Dr. David Gruder talking about the psychologist's view of money shadow. Say more about how those negative scripts hurt us. Chella: Because we believe them, right? I'll share mine. My dad was a baker. He definitely shared that you have to work hard for your money. He did. He worked very hard. One time, he took two jobs. One paycheck went toward a down payment for the house. After we bought the house, he quit the job. So he did work hard for his money. He was incredibly successful and bought lots of great properties. I grew up that you have to work hard with money because my dad did physical work. He was a baker. When I did my very first paid speaking gig, I went through it. Here I am getting paid for something I love doing and for talking. I went through that psychology. It's about what that five-year-old identifies with, and how we carry that along with us. Which is why I think identifying it and releasing it is where the key comes in. You're no longer subject to it. Hugh: You started talking about the lies we hear about money. What were those? Chella: You have to work hard. You have to struggle. Money does not grow on trees. And we can't afford it. Those are the ones that keep coming up, no matter what income you're in. We go back to whatever those adults have. The key here is that this is something- Think of it as a gift. These stories we have been told are a gift. Sometimes I think it comes from good intention. The adults want to prepare us for the future. They want to set us up for success. The stories they are giving you are a gift. Now give them back. It was a gift that you don't have to take. It's okay to give the gift back. Hugh: Wow. I was formulating another question, but I got into what you were talking about. I can't afford it. That's code for, “I don't like it,” or “I don't understand what you're asking me.” Isn't it? Chella: it is. It also could be simply that the adults didn't understand. We go back to the adults. We go back. Even if you now look at the grocery store and see a mom and kids, if you hear the mom saying, “No, we can't afford it,” what is that child's interpretation of money? It's not about the fact you said you can't afford it, because maybe you can't, or you don't want to. Telling them you can't afford it is about the interpretation the kid is walking away with. Hugh: You're choosing to spend money on something else. It ceases to be a reason and becomes an excuse. There is no reason to pay for anything you want. Back to your list of wants and needs. Do you do this on a monthly basis, a weekly basis, in hindsight or forecast? Chella: I like the moving forward because you become more aware. We're sure nothing slipped through the cracks. Keep track of your money for seven days. Any time you spend a dollar, you write it down. I like to divide the seven days into wants and needs. That's it. I don't analyze it or judge it. We just do a black and white list. You do this for four weeks. You will find some of the things that you are ready to let go from that list. What are some of the things, like my lunch person? Along with going out for lunch, she is putting $500 toward a down payment of a house, which was important to her. Once you find something you can replace it with, I take it Bob likes horses. Can we buy new toys for the horse? Does that work? Once you are able to find where the money is going and you choose something else to do with it, that is where you begin to shift and accumulate to have money for those things. You're a perfect example, Hugh. You have a spending plan, but you are always able to do the things you want to do. It's about having the choice to do what we want to do. Hugh: A spending plan doesn't mean you can't do fun things. A whole lot of things don't cost money, or very little money. Sometimes the free things are healthier anyway. What I see often is, especially in early-stage organizations, we make bad decisions on spending. We put wants ahead of the needs, like hiring staff prematurely until we have enough money in the bank to pay for that person for at least a year. We get out ahead of it. We assume the product will sell. We assume the donors will donate. We will assume we will get grants. So we hire in preparation for that. That is a bad habit we bring over with our personal life. We bully our way through here. Really, we need to have a foundation of revenue becoming revenue until we can get an executive director or a funding specialist on our staff. It's good to get someone on staff who knows how to handle money. So it needs to be the right choice at the right stage, and we need to have a plan that can work, and an accounting system to track it. We can't keep it in our head. We have a lot of systems that interface with our credit cards and bank accounts. It's automatically kept up to date for us. It's a good era to manage that. We get a chunk of money. A donor writes us a large check. Whoopee. We can go to work. We can hire people and buy equipment and rent space, and we run out of money. We haven't looked at our forecast. A budget is a spending plan, but really what's our cash flow projection? In business, we call it a burn rate. You are spending money and not selling things enough to offset the cost of doing business. It's still a burn rate in the nonprofit world. We're not offsetting the old revenue with new revenue. We are spending the money without creating new money. There is a relationship to money that comes from our personal life, that brings in good discipline and running an organization. I am not perfect in all of this. I am not here saying I am the model; I am here to say we are all struggling and need to improve. Do you want to comment on any of that? Talk a little bit about that. After that piece, we have a relationship with money, but our relationships with people impact our cash as well. Chella: I could not have asked for a better set-up. That is why if you do the 30 days for your personal life and your business, you will know exactly what it takes to run your business on a monthly basis. When you get that $100,000 check, what if you are able to put away one to two years of monthly revenue on your business and spend the rest on projects? At least you know you're covered for however many months. We don't know when the next money will come in. That's magical. You know that you at least will be able to continue to do that work for the amount of time. The more money that comes in, the better. But cover that base first. It's a work in progress. Sometimes we will fall off track a little bit, and then you get back. But keeping track or finding out what it is you need on a monthly basis is magical because then you will always be prepared. It's the ideal situation. Also, that peace of mind will come with it. Prematurely hiring someone. What if you are able to ask them to volunteer five hours, ten hours a week? Then you will get to know each other, see each other's skillsets. When you are ready to hire them, they will be able to step in. It's that intern, if you will. Then you know if they are a fit for your company. Asking for that volunteer is a great way to help you until you can get the money ready, but also find out if they are a fit for your company. If not, you will spend a lot of time and money investing in something that may not work. A volunteer is a great way to help you, and do what you want to do, which is help. You want to give back. But you don't have to spend the money. Hugh: Yes. Relationships. We have mental capital, a product or service, and the work we do, and we want financial capital. But there is this relationship capital in between those. Chella: I want you to think about money and relationship the same way you would do a business partner, a donor, or whatever. How you're talking to that donor is the same way you should be talking to money. If you are telling money, “I don't have enough. You're never enough,” if that was a partner, and this is where the money relationship shifts. If you are in a relationship, because you are, we are in a relationship with money, whether we are readily able to admit it or not. Talk to money the same way you would talk about a potential donor. How you would treat that person is the same way. Treat the donor the same way as money and treat money the same way as the donor. This is a win-win for all. There is something for the donor to contribute to your organization. Think about money. Start dating money. Get to that point where you are ready to make a commitment and get married. Hugh: Find your money leaks. Develop a plan. Get an accountability partner. Don't bleed yourself dry. Don't deprive yourself of fun things. But be responsible. Your analogy with the person who was spending $750 and they cut it down to $250 on lunches, they can now save money for a house. In the world of nonprofits, we want to put away money to build an endowment fund. People do give to it specifically, but we can build it in more than one way. Having an endowment fund allows you to build interest that could pay for your operations expenses if it was large enough. That is a discipline for nonprofits. *Sponsored by EZCard* Chella, this has been useful stuff. This is not just theory, but applicable information. This is what we like to do: help leaders be better leaders. What closing thought would you like to leave people with? Chella: I truly encourage you to do the four-week challenge. It's just four weeks to finding your money leaks and get your money journey on track. Love to hear from you. It's been a pleasure and an honor to be here today. Every single person who has done this, their money conversation and relationship has shifted. Highly encourage you. It's only four weeks.   Hugh: Only four weeks. Your life is a downer if you don't do it. Chella has been building her website. Chella Diaz, thank you for being our guest today on The Nonprofit Exchange. Chella: It's been an honor, thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ATTENTION - this sermon will start off crazy in the beginning. We promise it will make sense after the first few minutes. :) Dan Pallotta is probably best known as having one of the most widely listened to TED Talk ever titled, “The way we think about charity is dead wrong." It’s a provocative and challenging push to re-envision and re-engage how nonprofit organizations think about how they can truly impact the world. He begins his talk with the statement, “I want to ask if we even believe that the nonprofit sector has any serious role to play in changing the world.” Today, in that same spirit we ask the question, "Do WE even believe that the church has any real role in changing the world?" In this message we call out: The way we’ve been thinking about fear is dead wrong. Let us see fear, let us walk through fear, but let fear move us and not immobilize us. The way we’ve been thinking about “sanctuary” is dead wrong! Churches should only be sanctuary for people - NOT for ideas, thoughts, innovations, and risk-taking. The way we’ve been thinking about prayer is dead wrong! Do we truly pray powerful prayers and walk in the charge that Christ gave: "Greater things will you do in my name?" --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

On this week's episode, Krista talks with Liza Moiseeva, cofounder of GlobeIn, the leading social enterprise subscription box company - and the only subscription box company to achieve official Fair Trade designation for its work supporting artisans from around the world and in developing countries. They talk about impact investing, for-profit vs. non-profit, fair trade, the importance of consumer education, social justice issues, and how to celebrate and not exploit people in developing countries as a westerner and how we can do better.Links from today's episode:The GlobeIn Website: http://globein.com/Liza's Podcast: https://brightly.eco/podcast/The Brightly Website: https://brightly.eco/Dan Pallotta's TED Talk about charities: https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=en Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overhead is confusing and a ridiculous measure of a nonprofit's value, impact, and success. And yet, we keep having to talk about it. Episode Highlights● What is the “Overhead Myth”?● How are other organizations perpetuating it?● How can donors truly evaluate the effectiveness of a nonprofit?● New Hashtags from Brittny: #ItsAllTheWork● To restrict or not to restrict when giving.Resources● More podcast episodes can be found here● You can download a copy of the episode's transcript here● Check out Dan Pallotta's popular TED Talk, “The way we think about charity is dead”: https://blog.ted.com/correcting-the-overhead-myth-how-dan-pallottas-ted-talk-has-begun-to-change-the-conversation/ Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Making Your Organization Attractive for Cause Marketing Collaborations Sheryl Green is a writer, speaker, and animal rescuer. She is the author of four books including her most recent, Do Good to Do Better: The Small Business Guide to Growing your Business by Helping Nonprofits. Sheryl also serves as the Director of Communications and Cuddling for Hearts Alive Village Animal Rescue in Las Vegas. There's a way to position yourself so that businesses want to work with you and help you raise money.     Read the Interview Transcript Hugh Ballou: Happy first of the year! It's 2020 when we're recording this. Russell is in Denver. I'm in central western Virginia, the commonwealth of Virginia. Sheryl is in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. Sheryl, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Tell people a little about what you're doing and why you're doing it. Sheryl Green: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited. The why I'm doing it I think is the most important to start with. In 2008, I went through a very difficult divorce and moved out to Las Vegas for a fresh start. Went through horrible divorce, horrible bankruptcy. Did not know anybody here besides my parents. Ended up in a pretty serious depression. At that point, my step-mom dragged me off the bathroom floor, where I was curled up hysterically crying, and she said, “Go do something for someone else.” And it was the best personal advice, and it turned out to be the best business advice that I'd ever gotten. I found my way to animal rescue. I started out doing small adoption events, and eventually I worked my way up to creating 5,000-person events. I put on a festival and started as the director of communications (and cuddling) for Hearts Alive Village Las Vegas. Even though this has been a volunteer role pretty much the entire time, and I've been on the board, but it started to dawn on me just how difficult the nonprofit world is. Anybody that has spent any time in there, you have spent half of your life with your hand out, begging for money and begging for help. It took a while to put that together. I started my own business with speaking and writing and things like that and realized that if a nonprofit could actually connect with a business, and even more importantly in my world, a small nonprofit could connect with a small business, we could make some real differences in our communities. That is what got me on this path. Hugh: Whoa. What a novel concept. I have worked with nonprofit leaders for 32 years. Russell has a whole history in various forms of working in nonprofits. It spans more years than that. I am in the saddle as the president of the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra. Doing stuff inside of an organization is different. I developed my methodology working inside of organizations. I have been working outside for so many years. It's good to go back inside and see both sides of this. I'm pleased that all the systems we created actually work. There is a funny relationship that organizations have with businesses. Businesses don't understand basically why it's good for business to be active and to support nonprofits. When you first have a conversation, do you start with a nonprofit or a business? Sheryl: It depends on the situation. I was going to say that I start with the nonprofit, but you know what? Now I am starting to work closely with small businesses, showing them, going beyond the obvious “Yes, you should help, and we should change the world together,” going beyond that and showing them the benefits to their business of helping, getting in front of a new audience, attracting those who believe in the same things as you and really branding yourself as someone who cares about more than just money. Hugh: Triple bottom line. Sheryl: Yes. Hugh: People, the planet, and the profit. Sheryl: I like that. Hugh: It is. There is books behind you. Are any of those books created by you? Sheryl: Those books are all by me. I've been writing. I started out with fiction back in 2009. I have a degree in forensic psychology. I never actually got to hunt down serial killers, which is what I wanted to do. Instead, I decided to write about them. Those books have not yet seen the light of day, but they will. I moved into writing nonfiction probably about four years ago now. And started out with a personal development book about my own experiences. Then moved onto how can I help businesses and nonprofits improve their organizations. Hugh: Wow. I'm sure we can find those on Amazon. I will put them on the interview. SherylGreenSpeaks.com is your main website. I believe it's on the page we set up for this interview. A little more. How does the book connect you in the world? Does the book have a functional reason? Is it just you telling your story? Sheryl: That's a longer story. My journey in speaking has been circuitous. I started out not knowing what I was an expert in because in the speaking world, you're not a speaker, you're an expert who speaks. I realized after my divorce and the hard knocks I've taken that I was really good at getting kicked and getting back up stronger and being that resilient, learning how to teach resilience. I started out on that path. It took a little while to realize that wasn't necessarily where my heart was. I moved into realizing I'd been writing content for businesses and nonprofits for a couple of years at that point, and I realized that I'm a storyteller. It started out when I wrote fiction and moved onto when I was actually writing for businesses. I realized I could teach businesses and nonprofits how to communicate what they do and how to share that story so that they can really better serve their clients and donors. One of the stories I wish I could tell you exactly where I came across the term “cause marketing.” I don't remember. I suspect there were angels in a bright light. When I realized that there was actually something in place for nonprofits and businesses to work together, that became one of the stories that I recommend we tell. You've got your why story, which most people talk about their origin. You have success stories, and that you're actually doing what you say you do. The cause marketing story goes beyond that for me. I like to call it selling warm fuzzies instead of widgets because for the business, it becomes less about what they actually do and what they sell and more about who they are and what they stand for. It evolved from there. I started studying cause marketing and learned more about it. I realized it could make a huge impact in how nonprofits and businesses operate and in the cesspool of disaster that our country is in. I'm sorry. That wasn't positive, was it? Hugh: It's realistic. You didn't blame anybody. Sheryl: No, no. It's just a mess. We won't go into that. Hugh: Fascinated by going back to ancient stuff. Going back to the Bible, in Ecclesiastes, he says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Back when they wrote those books, they are dealing with the same kind of stuff we have right now. It seems like in all these years, we could have progressed civilization. Sheryl: Just a lot less social media back then, so it wasn't as painful. Hugh: People had a way of getting things out. There are several points of connection that come to my mind. One of our guests gave us a different word, for-profit and for-purpose. Nonprofit is a dumb word because you have to make a profit, but it does identify the segment. The business can be a donor to the nonprofit, which is philanthropy. The business can be a sponsor, which is their marketing money. The business can provide in-kind support. It could be printing, volunteers. People in the company might want to be of service. If it's a food bank or a free clinic, they could go down and serve on a regular occasion. We have donors, sponsors, in-kind contributions. Those are very different. And then there's making space available. Sometimes companies have meeting rooms or event spaces and planning and implementing skills. There are those kinds of connections. Are there others? Do you want to talk about those and how they benefit both sides? Sheryl: While I use the term “cause marketing,” I want to give this brief statement that it's not just cause marketing. That term has been pigeonholed for the buy one/get one, the pin-ups in stores, where it's transaction-based. While that is wonderful and definitely one of the approaches that you can take, I think there is a lot more that we can do, from the small business standpoint, in terms of standing for a cause. So that it's not just if you buy this, I will donate, which is great, and you should do it. But there is also spreading awareness, sharing your audience with that nonprofit. Creating awareness around the cause. A lot of people don't even know what issues are out there. I don't know how this is even the case, but I was at a fundraising workshop a few months ago, and she said that some people don't donate because they're not asked. Hugh: That's right. Sheryl: They're clearly not on my Facebook page because I am asking for donations all the time for the rescue. Creating that collaboration, and I will not say partnership, gives you the ability to bring your customers into that world, into that cause, and gives them an easy way to support it. The reason I say that is because there are so many different things. You touched on a bunch of them. The easiest way to look at that is time, talent, and treasure. You can donate some of your time or your employees if there is a specific job that needs to be done, and treasure, your money, your in-kind services. You mentioned real estate, giving space. The large organizations, the large businesses, they know this. They have got this down. A lot of my examples will be from the animal rescue. PetSmart donates space all the time for local rescue groups to come in. It's no skin off their back because they have the space anyway. They are getting more people into the store. They have a higher footprint in there. If you get a dog or cat in PetSmart, chances are you will buy some supplies in there. You won't turn around and go to Petco. Again, they get that benefit, the halo effect of we're just not about making money, we want to find those pets homes. We know that our audience, our customers care about that cause. It's something that the larger businesses have known for years. I think the larger nonprofits have known for years. But when it comes to the small businesses and the small nonprofits, who I think get left out of the conversation because they don't have that staff. It's just a bunch of dedicated people who are giving up their weekends and spare bedroom to work for a cause. Hugh: There's another channel, which I did leave out, which is board members. People in the company can serve as board members. I'm thinking as you talk about cause marketing, it's because marketing. It's because it provides value to humankind. Because it's good for business. Because, because, because. Sheryl: That was almost the title of the book. Hugh: Was it? I want to toss the interview to Russell, who has some thoughtful questions. This is very helpful, Sheryl. Thank you for sharing today. Russell, what are you thinking? Russell Dennis: I'm thinking I love her approach. When you get a good idea, write a book. That way people know about it. It creates accountability for yourself because you publicly went out and said things. Large organizations do have a little bit more bandwidth on the marketing front. You have businesses of all sizes. Some of the larger ones may have in-depth plans. Talk a little bit about ways that small nonprofits can get on the business's radar screen. On the flip side, talk about some ways businesses can identify some of these smaller organizations that are doing work that is In line with their corporate social responsibility programs. Sheryl: I think first, from the nonprofit standpoint, even the small ones, you are building a business. The small ones that survive and eventually grow larger, they understand this. The ones that are just a bunch of gung-ho people who have huge hearts and really want to change the world, they're wonderful and amazing, but they're going to burn out. If you don't look at it as a business and creating a sustainable organization, you will fall flat. One of the biggest things that I've seen—of course there is the whole debate on overhead—a nonprofit that turns around and waves a flag proudly, saying, “We don't pay anybody. Everything goes into our programs 100%,” it's fantastic for the first three to six months. After that, it's not sustainable. Thinking about it as a business is that first step. The second one is building that brand. Realizing just like a business, you need to be raising awareness constantly. You need to be building your social media footprint and your email list and making yourself attractive so that somebody would want to come and say, “Yeah, I want to work with you. You have 10,000 followers. You have an email list of a couple thousand people I would love to get in front of.” From the nonprofit standpoint, it's being able to communicate what you do very clearly. What is the benefit you bring to the marketplace? Even though it's for purpose, you're still in a marketplace. Communicating that and raising that awareness constantly. For lack of a better term, keeping your nose clean. Keeping that reputation up. News travels fast. It really does. There are great quotes out there, none of which are coming to mind right now. A reputation can be destroyed in one Facebook post, one conversation, one argument that you have, or one bad-mouthing of another organization. Making yourself attractive is about you have to look good before you can attract someone. That sounds so bad. Building up your group, your brand. Being easy to work with. I talked about this in my book. We had an e-cig company that reached out to us and wanted to do some fundraising for us. I asked her what she needed. How can we help? Logos, promotion. What can we do? She said, “No, you're fine. We'll tell you when we have the check.” They brought the comically large check, and we did the photos and everything. She thanked me for being easy to work with. And it blew my mind because they want to give you money. Why are you making it difficult? If it's a good match, do what you can, and I understand. We're understaffed. Some are not staffed at all. Find that person who is willing to be that point of contact. Sometimes they don't want to do what the rescue or the organization does. I don't go into the shelters. I don't pull animals out. I can't do it. It hurts my heart. But I can do this. Find those people. Find the people who want to be the go-between, the media, the connection. Did that help? Russell: When you're talking about getting people involved, I love time, talent, and treasure, that's what I talk about, it's hard to confuse it. People who give you one will generally give you the others if you ask. It's astounding how many people don't ask. There is something about asking, which speaks to a concept of value, I think. Value is a word that gets a different angle placed upon it by a business. What you're doing when you're trying to create or grow something, you're actually providing value. When it comes to looking at a nonprofit, and you talked a little about overhead, people don't think of the value of those types of things when it comes to a nonprofit. Businesses are rewarded by higher-end marketing geniuses coming up with campaigns and investing in making their people better so they can provide better service. There is some sort of resistance when it comes to charity work to the idea of having a nonprofit invest in these things. How do you flip that conversation around in the minds of people who write a check? As far as having the infrastructure to actually deliver value. Sheryl: The first thing that I do, I'm a huge fan of Dan Pallotta. His TED Talks should be mandatory watching material for every human being. In my book, and I took a smart-ass approach to it because that's how I am, I invited business owners, and I did about three pages on this. I said, “Hey, I have this great opportunity for you. I would love for you to come work seven days a week, ten hours a day, and I'm not going to pay you. I want you to bring all of your employees with you. We're not going to have a roof over our head. It will be cold while we're working. But it will be okay because you will have that inner feeling that you're changing the world. Don't worry when your bills come, when your mortgage arrives in the mail. You just write, ‘I'm changing the world' on it, and they will zero out your balance.” I went for about three pages. One of my beta readers stopped in the middle and didn't like it. She got to the end and was like, “Nope, you needed every single bit of this.” It was about changing the mindset from both the business's point of view and the nonprofit point of view. My founder actually waited to file the paperwork for the nonprofit because she didn't want to spend that money on paperwork and business when she could be saving a life with it. We all have that attitude going in. You have to realize that it's not self-sustaining. You're not going to get far ahead. As Dan Pallotta talks about putting a marketing flyer on the laundromat wall for a bake sale, and you bring in $200, and everyone is doing a Snoopy dance, but when you actually put money into this intelligently and properly and not just throwing money around like many businesses probably do, but you actually invest in improving and in growing and in spreading that awareness. I think it's just a mindset shift that businesses need to make, but nonprofits need to make first so they can help them. Russell: It definitely is when you start talking about value. If you get someone who is working for a human services agency, they can talk a great deal about how they sit in front of people and how it's important to move people from where they are to a better place, which is what an organization is set up for. When it comes to talking about value, that is something I think that nonprofit leaders need to have- That's the other mind shift. They have to be able to talk about that and couch that in terms that are valuable to their supporters. It's about finding out the right language to use. There is a process for each of them to get connected with one another. It's a little different. Talk a little bit about the process the business goes to find a good project. Same thing for the nonprofit, and where you see the most common disconnects for each one of them when trying to get connected to the right people. Sheryl: I want to speak about value for a second. Then I will jump to that. There is that value that you need to communicate to the community, what we do for the community. There is also the value you inherently have as an organization to communicate to the business. We have these people following us. We have this space. When it comes to finding that partner, the best thing I have seen is once you've identified what you care about, there is a couple different ways that businesses can go about this. This is what I care about as the founder or CEO because I have this history with it. There is let me find out what my employees care about. There is also what makes sense for my business, my industry. If you are a restaurant, you might want to work with a food bank. If you're a home builder, you might want to work with someone who provides housing for less fortunate people. There is always that match-up. That can go horribly wrong. Choose wisely. But then when it comes to choosing the actual nonprofit, this is why reputation is so important. There are people who will go out there and look at IRS records. You can spend half your life reviewing different nonprofits and seeing what their score is. Or you can just put it out to your people and say, “Hey, we are going to be supporting a nonprofit. Which ones do you like?” I think that's honestly for me the best way to 1) spread the word early that you will be supporting a nonprofit, even before you start, so it gets the word out and gets people excited about it. 2) It gets people involved. They now have a say in what you're going to do. You're way more likely to go along with something if you have a say in it. 3) Learning that reputation. Who is actually good out there? Who is doing what they say? Who is messing around and not going to be around for very long? I think that's the best way for a business to look. What was the other part of that question actually? Russell: How should that nonprofit look? What is the disconnect? What is the most common thing they overlook in their efforts to identify the best partners in the business world to work with? Sheryl: From the nonprofit standpoint, your reputation as we've said is important before. Your reputation is important after. Collaborating with a business that has some shady practices, maybe they're in an industry you don't want to be associated with. We get so excited. We need the money. We need the funding. You will give us some money! Thank goodness. We don't care who it comes from. But when you do create that collaboration, when you do work with a business, you are taking on their garbage. Let's put that nicely. Really realizing what are those values that you want to continue upholding as an organization? What businesses fit those values, fit the industry, make sense, because the halo effect, that business is going to get something from you. You want to make sure that what you get from them isn't just money and then damages your reputation. Russell: One of the toughest sentences for a business or nonprofit to digest is “No.” That word is a full sentence. I don't think a lot of people wrap their mind around that. There are times when that is the appropriate response. When you're talking to either a business or a nonprofit, and that word comes up when you get that match, somebody says, “No,” how do you help people look at that? How do you help them have the proper perspective on that in these situations? Sometimes people shut down when they hear that word. Sheryl: You have to think about it like dating. Everybody that you go out with is not the right person for you. That's okay. It doesn't speak badly about you. Most of the time, it doesn't speak badly about them. It's just not a good fit. In the nonprofit world, we are so passionate about what we do, and we care so deeply about our cause that many of us will do it for free. However, not everybody cares about your cause. It's hard to hear, but when I was just hitting the street asking for small donations from businesses, I started out my conversations after a while with, “Hey, are you an animal lover?” I'm not going to waste the next 10 minutes and my breath in the whole spiel of why we're amazing and saving animals if you don't care. Figuring out is that their cause, is that something that matters to them. If not, it's going to be okay. You have to pick yourself up and move onto the next one. Same with the business aspect. Realizing that nonprofits are not just crawling around begging. They are building their own brand and reputation. Depending on what you do, it might be an industry they're not wanting to connect with. Or it could be something you're doing. It could even be what you're offering. That's one of the most difficult things that we run into from the nonprofit side is businesses approach us and say, “We want to give you this.” That is awesome, but we don't need that. They want to bring 60 people down to have a wonderful volunteer event. That's amazing, thank you. We literally with fire code can't have 60 people in there. So it comes down to is it a good fit culture-wise, values-wise, but is it also a good fit? Do they want what you have? Do they need what you're offering? If not, it's nothing against you. It's not just a good fit. It's all in the mindset of can you accept that and move to the next organization? If not, you have to fix things on your end. Hugh: You're singing the song that Russell sings. He has this point of clarity that we never really find out by listening what people are interested in and what their passion is, whether it's board members or donors or corporate collaborations. I'm wondering, talk about the responsibilities on both sides. We get a sponsor. Great, boom. There is some responsibility because that is marketing money. We have to be careful when we make a pitch in nonprofits. The call to action has to go to a home page. There are some requirements there. A good example I refer to a lot is Viking Cruises on public television, Sunday nights with Masterpiece Theatre. They show a sizzle for more information. That is a clear demonstration of how sponsorship works for both sides. Sheryl: This was something I learned on the journey of writing the book. I had no idea. I was as guilty as organizations putting out, “Hey, go buy this because we will get something out of it.” It's actually funny. I was reading Cause Marketing for Dummies. They mentioned an attorney in Las Vegas who specialized in cause marketing. One of my best friends is an attorney. After I got over the why would you need an attorney fantasy world, I reached out and actually was connected with him within a week. We sat down, and he told me all about this responsibility, which I don't think small nonprofits understand. You cannot act as an advertiser for these businesses unless you want to kick off an UBIT (Unrelated Business Income Task). I'm not an attorney. I'm not a tax accountant. By all means, please find someone who knows more than I do. But it is realizing that you can't be that advertising firm for a business no matter what they're doing for you. I like how you put that, you can't have the call to action. Hugh: When you do a call to action, it kicks in that dynamic. Russell knows more about it from the IRS. There are complete guidelines. You do present the brand, and they resonate. Viking Cruises is a great example. They are in the hour where when the people who can go on cruises are on TV. They show the boats and the great stuff, people having fun. There is some clear guidelines there. It shows that this business is supporting really high-quality entertainment on television and this nonprofit. To me, there is a win-win. Just as we're talking, I thought of a fifth connection. There is what is called earned income, like an Amazon Smile account, or a grocery store that gives 5% to charities when you shop. Most companies have a residual, where they take money and make a donation to the charity. There is ways you can register. That is generated income. All of these have very strict rules around them. There are lots of reasons to have conversations in business. Why don't charities have a conversation with business about any of these topics? Sheryl: Honestly, I think it comes down to the perceived value of the nonprofit and their own perceived value, not thinking they have anything to offer. I go through all the different ways to do an inventory on your business and your nonprofit to see what you have to give, all of the things you mentioned and more. When you realize that value, you're more likely to approach, to say, “Hey, we would like to work with a business. We know we can offer them” the brand, the audience, and even just saying, this is where those rules kick in, just saying, “Hey, thank you for the support to XYZ business. Check out their website and see how they're helping us.” Putting that out there. Great, you gave us money, and moving on with your day. When you talk about responsibility of the nonprofit, I believe that one of the biggest responsibilities the nonprofit has is to educate the business. When you see these pin-up campaigns, the point of sale at a register, you go in, and if it's active, the cashier is actually saying something to you, it's like, “Would you like to support childhood cancer?” They're dead. They've said it 4,000 times that day. They have no idea what the organization does. Instead of saying, “Oh, cool, you want to raise money for us? Great, go ahead. There is information on our website,” if you could take the time to, if you have a facility, give a tour. If you do not have a facility, talk to the employees and explain what it is you do, why it's so important to the community you serve, and what their donation does so that they can have the conversation with a customer if they ask. But they can be excited about it. It's not just Day of the Walking Dead there with zombies spouting out that same line time and time again. There is passion behind it. “You know what? If you do this, we get to help kids with cancer!” How cool is that? They have that fire in them. Turning it into not a partnership, but the attorney made it very clear that he can't call it a partnership, or he pops out from somewhere and yells at you. When you collaborate with someone, you make it that true collaboration. Here's what we do. Here's how you get involved. Here's why you're important. Hugh: It's a win-win situation. Russell It is important. It is valuable to have that common language. The point of overwhelm for both sides is, Ok, we have to come up with this type of thing. We want to save X dollars on taxes. We want to raise X dollars. Then it's throwing something against the wall to see what sticks. How important is it for them to be focused? What kind of steps can they take to identify organizations that are a better fit so that when they start prospecting, they are actually in a better position to get a Yes because they've done a little bit of homework? Sheryl: I think one is identifying exactly what you need. If it's $6 million, you're either going to go to a lot of small businesses or shoot for a larger organization. If it is maybe just some donations that you need or some help, you need an accountant to come in, really identifying what it is you need before you approach anyone else. That's a huge part. Respecting their guidelines. I learned this unfortunately very early. Some of the larger casinos and corporations don't see the value in animals. They do wonderful things in the community, but they are strictly focused on human services and things that affect humans directly, like food, home issues. When I walked in there all excited to explain how animals are the best thing ever and rescuing them is amazing and how that impacts humans—anyone who has had an animal understands that—but it's not within their guidelines. So if it is a larger organization, realizing that they might just not be focused on you. Beyond that, if they do have guidelines, checking those out. Also finding out where they have donated in the past. What do they care about? Where do they put their money? What do they expect in return? Is this a true collaboration where they are expecting marketing help? I almost want to back out of that statement. What are they expecting out of this pairing? That's important. One of the other things, and this is why I focused on small businesses and small nonprofits with the book, is if you are a small nonprofit and you reach out to the largest business, the huge corporations, you're not even on their radar. Unfortunately, they want to work with the large nonprofit. We see that even at the local level where they are the biggest nonprofit in town. They are who the businesses want to work with. Go with the small guys. If you're a small guy, it's okay to work with a small guy. It means more to both of you. I did one interview where she just kept saying, “If you want to go to the big corporation, who do you contact?” I was like, “You don't want to do this.” Start out with a small business. Start out at the grassroots community level. You will get more attention, more help, and more funding for your time invested. Russell: It is. What are some things that a small nonprofit needs to look out for? On the flip side, what are some things that a business needs to look out for when they are considering doing these types of collaborations? Sheryl: Once you have done all of your homework, once you have researched their reputation in the community—and I can't say that enough just how important it is to know who you're dealing with and whether they are an amazing organization, nonprofit and for-profit organization, do other people see them that way? Unfortunately, it comes down to you can be the best organization on the planet, but if someone decided you weren't and smeared your name, do you want to add that danger to the situation? Once you've done your homework and watched out for all those earning signs, trust your gut. It sounds trite to really rely on your emotions here. I know everybody is so numbers-focused. When you are getting into a situation, either as an individual or as an organization that you are not supposed to be getting into, when you look back on it six months, a year, six years later, you can go, “That didn't feel right. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up.” You go that icky gut feeling, that feels professional. Look for the icky gut feeling. Pay attention. I think, and I've gotten into some situations like this in my business. When I look back and think about that first meeting and those first conversations, “That wasn't good from day one.” You ignored it because you were excited about money coming your way. Do your homework, and trust your gut. Hugh: We tend to forget, especially in the nonprofit side, the touchpoints that are so important, not only with sponsorships, but donors. You want to update them with messages telling them what is happening. Like you talked about earlier, we are going around with our hand out all about the money. Well, it's not. It's about the impact of the results of our work. Everybody shares in that. Putting together a win-win, but also having somebody in the organization who is dedicated to that messaging, any of those types of connections. You want to stay in touch. Sheryl: I think that it's something that a lot of organizations struggle with. Having somebody handle that, but also remembering. Saying “Thank you” is easy. Being grateful is very easy. Looking at this is how many lives were saved, these many children got shoes, and these many homeless people were fed or served. Whatever that may be, whatever that impact is, it's not just the appreciation that keeps donors and businesses coming back to help over and over again. It's knowing that they've actually made an impact. That's a great point. I don't even know if I addressed that in the book. It's going in the second edition, courtesy of you. Hugh: Also, you want to continue to focus on the value, and you want to keep that thread going. I was touched that you said that. It seems natural. We're winding down this thoughtful interview. You mentioned Dan Pallotta. He has some good paradigm shifts. We tend to dumb down. His TED Talk is “The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong.” *Sponsor message from SynerVision's online community for community builders* Sheryl, what is your final thought? Is there a particular challenge or tip or thought that you would like to leave people with? Russell will close out this helpful interview. Sheryl: Final thought. I think that working together, there is nothing that we can't do. Without getting into any government stuff, there are a lot of problems out there that the government is not fixing. It's up to the nonprofits and the for-profits to get together and find a way to make this world a better place. It might sound cheesy to put it that way, but we all have that responsibility. When we lean on each other and work together to make it better for everybody, that's better for everybody. Oh, and spay and neuter your pets. Russell: I think Skittles will enjoy this interview. It is important. Thank you so much, Sheryl, for coming and sharing your wisdom with us. Do Good to Do Better: A Small Business Guide to Growing Your Business by Helping Nonprofits.This book will go on our list. 2020, we are going to have lists of books that nonprofit leaders should read that we will be highlighting. This book is one of them. There are other books. Another one is Asking Rights by Tom Ralser. These are books that can help get that conversation going so that we can collaborate to do more good in the community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lo que no nos cuesta, hagamoslo fiesta. Por qué la mira del emprendedor social puede cambiar el sistema egoísta de los negocios?

First, Pallotta raised millions to fight cancer and AIDS by inventing multi-day fundraisers. Now he’s out to change everything you think about charity -- and yourself.

Welcome to the WELL + WILD podcast! This podcast is designed to inspire you to spend your life doing work that lights you up. I'll be sharing stories of people who have done the unconventional and achieved success, on their own terms. They managed to escape a path that they recognised wasn't for them and instead, chose to do something wild and aim for their true desires. This week I spoke to JB, the founder of the tech company PetRescue. Based in Perth, Australia JB left school at 17 and built his career around his love of technology, starting several different business and working for a few companies, he ultimately founded PetRescue, a not-for-profit animal welfare company which uses technology to rehome hundreds of thousands of Australia's animals. It was a fascinating discussion where we discussed topics such as entrepreneurship, finding a co-founder, working for the charity sector and debunking some myths about this - I definitely learnt a few things! JB also shared a really honest and insightful perspective on men and mental health. He shared some of his experiences and provided some really valuable advice for anyone who feels a little bit stuck with something in their life and I thought this was a super valuable message. Show Notes Yoga by JB Website: https://www.yogabyjb.com/ Yoga by JB IG https://www.instagram.com/yoga.by.jb/ JB IG https://www.instagram.com/petjb/ Pet Rescue Website https://www.petrescue.com.au/ Pet Rescue IG https://www.instagram.com/petrescueau/ JB's Men & Yoga / Mental Health Awareness Medium Article https://medium.com/@petjb/are-you-a-man-great-this-article-is-for-you-fa44ae625637 Book Recommendation: Finding Ultra by Rich Roll TED Talk: ‘The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong' - Dan Pallotta https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=en

Day #31 - Continuing Improvement   Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. -Harry Truman  Read good books with a highlighter in your hand. Mark the passages that stand out. Put the book away and read others. Come back to this book sometime in the future and have a different color highlighter in your hand. Notice that you highlight different passages than you did previously. You are ready to learn something new that you weren’t ready to learn the last time you read that book. Repeat this periodically to learn new things and to remember what you have forgotten since the last reading. Gather knowledge and apply the learning. Don’t just acquire facts uselessly. Practice what you learn and take notes in your journal about the results. Review your journal frequently and you will learn from yourself.    Leadership Resources *   Leadership Modules: The Unbound Leader: Unlocking Your Inner Potential https://synervision.kartra.com/page/unboundleader    Books: Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking About Human Interactions (Roberta Gilbert) http://amzn.to/HuEHlG Master Leaders: Revealing Conversations with 30 Leadership Greats (George Barna) http://amzn.to/HxjfLS Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life (Henry Cloud and John Townsend)  http://amzn.to/HVFjQn As A Man Thinketh (James Allen) http://amzn.to/MQk1qD Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill) http://amzn.to/1teERAl Twist: How Fresh Perspectives Build Breakthrough Brands (Julie Cottineau) http://amzn.to/2cBWjx9 Platform: How to Get Noticed in a Noisy World (Michael Hyatt) http://amzn.to/2cwxAxe Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature (Connie Zweig and Jeremiah Abrams) https://amzn.to/2UaUYBx Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche (Robert A. Johnson) https://amzn.to/2Ey6q4V Ask (Ryan Lesesque) http://amzn.to/2BNnT9e Articles: Conducting Power-Packed Meetings: http://bit.ly/1e1SqeB Websites: Bowen Center (Bowen concepts) http://thebowencenter.org Sponsorships (IEG) http://sponsorship.com Six Challenges Facing the Nonprofit Sector (Notre Dame) http://bit.ly/2Eb5chG Five Challenges All Nonprofit Leaders Must Come To Terms With (Forbes) http://bit.ly/2nGYJkb 2011: The Year to Shape Up Nonprofit Boards (FastCompany) http://bit.ly/2Ea4Ovs Tools: Evernote http://evernote.com Videos: TED Talk, Dan Pallotta, “The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong.” http://bit.ly/29LyJOx TED Talk, Simon Sinek, “Begin with Why.” https://vimeo.com/108989093   * Links are affiliate links. Proceeds go to my nonprofit, SynerVision Leadership Foundation.

Curry, karaoke and comments from the listeners. MZ starts off with curry recipes from the audience before threatening the audience with karaoke preparation. After fielding calls and e-mail from the listeners, MZ shares a TED presentation called "The way we think about charity is dead wrong" with Dan Pallotta.

A Nonprofit is a Businesswith Alan Harrison [caption id="attachment_1275" align="alignleft" width="200"]     Alan Harrison, CDCF[/caption] Alan Harrisonis a nonprofit executive with over 25 years of for-profit and nonprofit experience in a diverse set of roles. Born in Pennsylvania, Harrison holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Geneva College and an M.S. degree in Biology (specializing in Ecology) from Lehigh University. There is a pervading view that nonprofits are somehow less serious than for-profits. I have run across this several times in many situations. Some people think that somehow the money just rolls in and work is a big party every day. There is also a view that everyone works for a pittance and you couldn't really support yourself or a family working for a nonprofit. These views could not be further from the truth. After many years of experience in nonprofit I have learned that a nonprofit is a business, just a different kind of business. For-profit businesses make goods or services in pursuit of money for shareholders or owners. This is the “profit” piece. Nonprofit businesses also make goods or services. The difference is that the nonprofit business is not in it to make money for an owner or shareholder, they are there to make good of some sort for a group of people that will benefit from the good or service. In simplified terms I like to think of nonprofits as business that make good not money. Nonprofits businesses are not a party. Everyone who works at a nonprofit goes to work every day and works just like anyone else. If you do your job you keep it and succeed, if you don't do it you get disciplined and eventually lose it. Nonprofit businesses have all the same functions as for-profit businesses. There are finance, HR and IT people. Someone cleans the offices and takes out the trash. Any function you can associate with a for-profit business is there with a nonprofit business. It may look a little different, but it is there. The fundraisers are analogous to the sales people in a for-profit business. Read the Interview Transcript Hugh Ballou: Welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. It's Hugh Ballou and Russell Dennis. It's kind of an interesting day here in central western Virginia. We're expecting some snow tonight and a storm on the weekend. How is it in the Rocky Mountain high of Colorado? Russell Dennis: Well, it's actually sunny today. It's a bit chilly, but it's very sunny. We're just going through a typical Colorado winter. I don't worry about it. If I don't like it, it will be different in five or ten minutes. Hugh: It may make people feel cool because they might be listening to this podcast in the heat of summer. Think about how cool it is. I got a little hair standing up here. Russell, you don't have that problem. You can't see him on the podcast, but he's a smart man – he doesn't waste any energy growing hair. Russell: I haven't had a bad hair day in a long time. Hugh: I'm thinking you haven't had a bad day. It's always a good day with Russell David Dennis. We have a person who is in the space of philosophy and practice that we are, Russell. It's Alan Harrison. We met on LinkedIn and had some conversations. He said he'd like to share his wisdom with nonprofit leaders. Alan, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Alan Harrison: Thank you, Hugh, and thank you, Russell for having me here. I'm very excited to be here and looking forward to today. Hugh: Tell people a little bit about who Alan Harrison is. Alan: I've been in the nonprofit space for over 15 years now. Before that, I was in the for-profit space for almost that long. I spent a lot of time in the water treatment industry. I have a Masters degree in biology. Toward the end of that part of my career, I wanted to make a change and moved into the nonprofit space. I moved from technology into operations. Most of my nonprofit career has been spent in administration, HR. I have been vice president of administration. I have been CEO of a small nonprofit, running things from an administrative and financial standpoint as opposed to technology. That was a big change for me, but I have never looked back. I enjoy it and really love the nonprofit space. Hugh: We are talking about good sound business principles today. You've come from the business world. We use the funny terms “for-profit” and “nonprofit.” Right there is where we set up a false premise with the word “nonprofit.” We have had guests who talk about it being a social benefit or a tax-exempt charity. One guest gave us the title “for-purpose” organization. You and I spoke a little bit last week. You're very passionate about the principles that you teach and bring to this tax-exempt world of charities that are really cause-based. We're working to improve people's lives. The bottom line is ROL, Return on Life, the impact that we have in people's lives. Let's start from why do you think it's important that these kinds of organizations, which we will use the word “nonprofit” because that is the sector we're talking to—we're talking to clergy, leaders of associations that are tax-exempt like a chamber of commerce, or cause-based community nonprofits, all over. Why is it important for us as leaders in this sector to understand business principles? Alan: The first point that I would make is that a nonprofit is a business. I like the term “not for profit” because we can make a profit. There is nothing wrong with making money. Certainly we raise money. Nonprofits offer goods and services, and they charge for those things. There is nothing wrong with that. The difference is that they take that profit not to make money; they take that profit to make good. There is a principle they are trying to advance, whether that is feeding people who are hungry, trying to make people healthy, global health, or just the health clinic in your local community. It doesn't matter. They are taking that money, whether it's a profit or a donation, and using it to make good in that community. The reason we need to keep business principles in mind is because it is a business. All the things that a business does, a nonprofit does. We have finance people, and administrators. We sign contracts. We have buildings we need to upkeep. We have employees. We have HR departments. Everything that a business does, a nonprofit has to do as well. You might say they don't have sales, but they really do. Fundraisers are analogous to sales. Every function you find in a business or a nonprofit you would find in the opposite organization. Hugh: We set ourselves up for failure when we minimize those things you just talked about. We expect it's going to happen. Even at the detriment, we say we can't make a profit, or we can't charge too much money for that, or we have to dumb down. What are some of the scripts people tell themselves and others that make some of those things you talked about difficult? Alan: First off, when you talk to people about a nonprofit, they think somehow the money just comes. One of the biggest errors I see people make in politics and the nonprofit world is they assume that if they do good or the right thing, somebody will support that. That's not the case anymore. There was a time a lot of years ago where you could go to a donor and say, “Hey, I'm doing really great work. You need to support what I'm doing.” The donor would say, “You are doing good work. I do want to support what you're doing.” It's not that way anymore. We're well past that. We are in a time where it's an exchange of value. Just like if I buy a pair of pants from a clothier near me, I want to give him money. That is the value he gets; the value I get is a nice pair of pants. It's no different for a nonprofit. If I am going to a donor, I need to explain to them the value proposition: what they are getting for the dollars they are giving to me. It may be marketing. It may be publicity. It may be something that encourages their employees because employees are interested in social enterprises and organizations that make a difference. Whatever that value proposition is, I need to go to my donors with. A lot of people don't realize that. They think if they are doing a good thing, they will give me money. The great nonprofits, the ones that are really successful, understand that. Hugh: Those in business build a strategy. At least, some of them do. At SynerVision, we consider the strategy to be central. As you know, I'm a musical conductor. If we don't have a musical score, nobody knows what to play. We go into our space with all our volunteers and board members and staff and say, “Go,” and they don't know where to go. There is a lack of understanding where they can be engaged and what they are supposed to do. Part of that is understanding what our brand is and what our unique value proposition is. You just spoke about value propositions when you are making a presentation. I don't think we're very good at either defining it or expressing it. What do you say about how we get there? Alan: You mentioned brand, which is important for a nonprofit. As a nonprofit, you have your reputation and your brand. People need to be crystal clear on what that brand is. When you think of a good nonprofit, the Nature Conservancys, and the CAREs, and the American Cancer Society, people know what those organizations are about. They know exactly what the American Cancer Society is. They know exactly what CARE does. They understand that brand identity. Those organizations understand their brand identity is what is out there. It's no different than Google. People know Google's brand identity and Microsoft's brand identity. It's the same kind of an idea. It needs to be marketed the same way as those organizations would. One thing I always recommend to a nonprofit is get your values. Know what your values are. Understand what they are. Put them first and foremost on your webpage. If you go to the really successful organizations, one of the first things you will see on their webpages is what their values are. Lead with those values. Lead with that brand. Lead with that understanding. That is what a lot of nonprofits don't do. They don't have a 30-second elevator speech where they can distill their brand down into a few short sentences that make people go, “Oh, I'll get that.” That will allow you to understand whether you can connect with that person. Some people won't be interested in what your mission is, and that's fine. But it will allow you to connect with those who are interested in your mission and find out who those people are pretty quickly into the conversation. You don't want to spend six months or a year cultivating a donor who really isn't interested in your mission. You want someone who will be clued into what you're doing. Hugh: Russell, that's one of the messages you bring up very often with board members and donors. Find out what they're interested in. Do you want to chime in and come up with another question for him? Russell: Everyone has a different motivation. When you're talking about value, which is a word that is rarely used in nonprofit circles, the value is in the mind of the supporter. You're going to be talking to multiple audiences. You have a message for volunteers. You have a message for donors. You have a message for people in the community. Really what we're talking about is profit. With nonprofits, there is a profit. There is a social profit. There is a monetary profit. The discussion that Alan started with values, that is very important because when you look at where it is that you see yourself fitting, where you want people to go as a result of being exposed to your services and products, what is it that you ultimately want them to have? What is the experience they're going to get? You almost have to set the table for your own measures in a sense by explaining where people start and where they end up. That is something that you measure. Everything doesn't fit in a pivot table. There is a place for where Berny calls the dolphin story and the results. People want results. Donors are very sophisticated now. Are you delivering results? What do those results look like? As a business, it's really important to run a business like a business. It's about good stewardship. Alan is kind of like me. You had a different career, and then you transitioned into this career. What would you say was the biggest surprise when you got when you moved out of your old career into the nonprofit space? What was the one thing that was the biggest shock to you? Alan: I think for me, when I moved from the for-profit to the nonprofit world, I remember I was moving into the Nature Conservancy. Someone there called my old boss and said, “Can Alan do this job?” He said, “Of course he can. It's an NGO.” That's what surprised me. I have never been anywhere where people work harder or where people were more talented than the nonprofits I work in. People have this view that it's kind of a party or money somehow comes rolling in or we don't really work; we just lay around all day. That to me was the biggest surprise. When I went to the CDC Foundation, it was during the ebola crisis in Africa. I have never seen people more dedicated, work harder, more talented, than anywhere I have been in my life. This idea that people aren't working or people don't work hard really was a surprise to me. I was taken aback. I have become a nonprofit evangelist when I talk to people. We have analogous to sales. We have finance. We have HR. We have IT. Every function you can think of, people are working hard. You have to do your job just like anywhere else. If you don't do your job, you lose your job. There is this view that somehow it's not serious. Hugh: What Russell and I do as a resource for leadership and strategy and performance, it's harder in this sector. I served inside the church for 40 years. There is a really good case of dumbing down and not having the standards you're talking about. It's the same as any other generic nonprofit, except churches think people will walk in the door. We have lost in the mainline denominations our relevance. I still believe in it. I'm a critic of it to help it. But it's the mindset that we develop that is a scarcity mindset. With scarcity thinking, the mindset ought to be abundance. God has given you abundance, but you have to be a good steward of it. The piece that Russell brought in, one of our colleagues, Berny Dohrmann, runs a business growth conference for 25 years. It attracts entrepreneurs. They come in from the business side and the nonprofit side. There are characteristics that are the same. The dolphin thing he was referring to is “Here is my sweet little dolphin,” but there is no substance to your ask. You just are petting your dolphin, and you want everyone else to pet it. The point you're making is there is a quantifiable value you bring. Instead of talking about ROI, we talk about ROl, Return on Impact. It's really bottom line impact. We take your values. We have to be clear on what we value. As we do strategy, we take core values to another level. People write these words that they don't understand. We develop guiding principles. How do you make decisions based on these concepts? Being a principle-based organization, what we're now teaching nonprofits is how to develop your strategy and develop the principles. You will take that strategy and integrate it into performance, which is as you probably have experienced is a big gap. We have a lot of well-intended, passionate, dedicated people who are low on the performance scale. Really, these people want to do more. In many circumstances, they work harder here than they do in their day jobs. Do you want to come back at us with some other thoughts? Alan: I would agree that people work hard in nonprofits. Some of the people I have talked to who transitioned from for-profits to nonprofits are saying they work harder now than they ever did in the for-profit world. You have to wear a lot of hats. Money is scarce. There is a lot of challenges. Another challenge for nonprofits you touched on is the impact and measuring the impact. Donors want to hear about impact. That can be a challenge for nonprofit. In a for-profit, you can look at your balance sheet and your P&L sheet for the quarter. You can say you sold 27,000 widgets. I made this kind of gross margin and net profit. It's fairly simple. But for a nonprofit, if you are a single cause nonprofit, you feed hungry families for example, or you feed homeless people, you have one number to work with. But a lot of nonprofits do multiple things. It becomes extremely challenging to measure impact. I have been in nonprofits that had up to 80 or 100 active projects. How do you measure impact across 100 active projects? That becomes difficult. You start to focus on ones that are most important or most impactful. There is no question that you don't just have a number. We did 27% this year. Our gross margin is 12%. That is not how a nonprofit works. When you look at your impact, you have to break it down by project, by population you serve, by the areas you serve. It's a huge challenge for a nonprofit. Russell: I think the place people have to begin at is- I was looking at a book, The Social Profit Handbook by David Grant. A lot of times, when we think of having programs evaluated or people coming in and assessing, we look at it like other people assessing us. The model that we teach at SynerVision and where people bring to is look at how can we do what we're doing better once we decide what it is that we're doing. If we don't make a decision or try to measure what we're doing, other people will do that for us. The purpose of evaluation is not to get a grade to give a better check. The purpose of evaluating and benchmarking is to get better at what you're doing, deliver more impact, and find new ways to collect that information so people can understand that value. It's having the people you're working with talk about how being affiliated with your organization has made a difference. There is a lot that goes into storytelling. It captures that information that won't fit neatly on the pivot table that helps us connect with people emotionally that helps define some of that impact. That ROI is return on impact, or return on influence, these types of things. The thought pattern that people have around nonprofits really needs to change. You addressed that very well, Alan: how people seem to think it's quick and easy. There are a lot of people who are reluctant to write a check because they say, “I'm not interested in paying your rent. I want to make sure every dollar I give you goes into the program.” If you don't have an infrastructure to deliver it, you don't have a program. How do we create a shift in that focus with people? What are some things you've done to help shift that thinking around? Alan: I think your point about overhead is important. No one goes to Google and says, “You shouldn't have a finance department. Those should be all volunteers. You shouldn't have an IT department. Those all should be volunteers.” You know what you get with volunteers. You have very dedicated people who have little time, and they can't necessarily put in the time you need them to put in. Just like any other business, you have to pay for what you need. Imagine a large nonprofit depending on a volunteer CFO. It will be a mess. Or a volunteer IT department. It will be a mess. You have to have a well-oiled, well-run organization. You're competing in the same talent pool. There is a subset of people who want to be in nonprofit. They love the nonprofit, they love the mission, and I honestly believe the employees who stick around in nonprofits are the ones who love the mission. You're still competing for the same talent pool. If I need to hire a CFO, that CFO could go to another organization or for-profit. The idea that we shouldn't be paying for overhead, or whatever that number is, doesn't make a lot of sense. The finances need to be transparent. They need to be reasonable. You shouldn't be spending 90% on overhead obviously. But you have to have enough of a spending to hire people who have families and car payments and house payments and those kinds of things. I think we need to have honest conversations with the foundations, the corporations, and the other donors who seem to have this mindset that this should all be for free. It's not. They want a good product. They want excellent services to the population that we serve, or the cause that we serve, so they have to understand that comes with a cost. You have to have good people to have a good product. You have to have good people to offer a good service. You have to pay those people so they can live; they have to send their kids to school and pay their car payments. Russell: The flip side of that is there are some nonprofits who think, “Hey, we're doing worthy work. Why aren't people coming? Why won't they write us a check?” There is that other piece where from the side of the nonprofit, they don't always understand what people are looking for, what motivates them to support a cause. How do you have that conversation with nonprofit leaders to get them to understand the sort of things that will motivate people to lend that support? Alan: You touched on it when you talked about value. It's an exchange of value. There is some value that that donor has to be getting from the nonprofit, whether it's a demonstration to their employee base that they are making a difference in the world and they are a socially conscious organization, whether it's a marketing campaign that they can build around the work they're doing with an organization, whether it's something that makes them feel good. It doesn't matter what that value is. What you have to do as a nonprofit is understand what value they're interested in and determine if you can supply that value. If you can't supply that value a particular donor is looking for, stop talking to that donor. You're wasting your time, and you're wasting their time. Find a different donor that would be interested in the value you offer. If I sell suits and somebody is not looking for a suit, I probably don't need to talk to that person, and they probably don't need to talk to me. It's the same thing. Russell: Is there a point where you say a lot of nonprofit leaders hanging on beyond where they probably should simply say ‘Next”? Is it a common problem for nonprofit leaders to continue to try to implement strategies to attract donors that they might just not be the right fit for? Alan: I think it's harder for a nonprofit leader to say that. As nonprofit leaders, we care so much about what we do. We care so much about our cause that it's hard to imagine someone else wouldn't care about that. It's hard to see maybe that someone doesn't care about that. We'll keep pushing a value that maybe that other person isn't interested in. But there is somebody who is interested. Your time is better spent finding that person who is interested. Hugh: It's a good match. People have a philanthropic side. They want to volunteer. But really, they don't want to volunteer for everything. We sometimes talk people into volunteering when they really don't want to. Then they don't perform. We blame them when it's really our fault. We have a vision of what they ought to be interested in instead of having a conversation. That also goes with putting people on boards and putting them in slots, like a treasurer, secretary, communications. We put people in the wrong place. Going back to what you were saying about the misconceptions, I am not sure if you have seen the TED talk by Dan Pallotta, “The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong.” Have you seen that video? Alan: I haven't. Hugh: Look it up. It's the stuff you guys were talking about. We think we can't spend money on marketing. We think we can't take risks. We lose a few hundred dollars, and people will go insane. Disney has a $200 million flop on a movie or more than that today; that's just the cost of doing business. The other one is this overhead thing. It's a fallacy. You're paying people. We can't pay decent salaries. You're going to give up this big corporate job and work for less money, and we expect you to do the job of three people for a third of the pay. There are some really unreasonable expectations we have. Those are the biggest myths, which are totally wrong in my book. What do you think? Alan: I agree. I have seen people on boards that clearly weren't interested. They don't do anything. Six months later, they resign. It doesn't make sense. You have to understand what drives that person. You have to take the time. The myth that you can't spend money or take risks, one of my favorite quotes is from Samuel Johnson, who was one of the Founding Fathers of the country. He said, “If all danger must be removed, then nothing will ever be accomplished.” The idea is that if you reduce the risk to zero, you won't accomplish anything. That is an absolute fallacy that we can't have any risk in a nonprofit organization. All risks have to be considered. They have to be logical. You have to have reasons behind them. When things fail, you have to learn from them. I had a boss years ago who said, “Fail faster.” I thought that was crazy until I realized what he was saying was there is going to be failures in life. Accept them when you get to them, move past them, and get on to something else. Things are going to fail. You will try a program that won't work. You will try to serve a new population that doesn't work. You have to accept that risk you took in trying to serve that new population isn't working and get on to something where you really can have an impact. Hugh: Underneath of what you were talking about, this conversation of embracing good, sound operational principles, they are the same for a for-profit or a not-for-profit organization. But there are some subtle differences that actually we have a lot more regulations in the nonprofit arena. We have to be careful with how money is used. Especially if there is designated gifts. If people give us money for a certain thing. There is a public persona. You mentioned American Cancer Society, which is a curious organization to me. We are talking about overhead. But they raise tons of money. Only 12% goes to research. That is a classic example of exorbitant salaries and overbenefiting the employees. Every little goes to the end result. However, people look past that somehow and there is a lot of money donated to that organization. There is a persona, a marketing piece that is evidently very strong. But on the other side, we feel defeated because other organizations are taking all the money. Last time I checked, money is a renewable resource. Part of our thinking, it's fundamentally, where I'm headed with this, sorry to ramble, underneath this is leadership. Nothing happens without leadership. The organization is the reflection of the leader. There are organizations that do a very good job like American Cancer Society of presenting themselves in marketing, but there are other organizations who probably have 10% overhead and make a lot of impact, but they are vastly compromised by their lack of effective board and lack of revenue. What do you think of leadership as being an anchor for what we're talking about? Alan: There is no question that you need a leader who understands that all of these things are important. If you have a leader in a nonprofit who only focuses on providing the service or whatever good the nonprofit is doing and doesn't get out there and talk about the organization and market the organization, recognize how important branding and marketing is, you are not going to go very far. Another item that you touched on is accountability. It's holding people accountable. A lot of people in nonprofits think we need to be nice. I would argue that we do need to be nice and treat people with dignity. But treating people with dignity and being nice to them does not mean not holding them accountable. Accountability is a big piece in nonprofits that can be a challenge because everybody wants to be nice. Sometimes you have to say this person isn't working out, this project isn't working out, this department isn't working out, and make a change. You can do that in a kind way. You can do that in a way that preserves people's dignity. But if you just let it slide, like I have seen happen, then you get mediocrity. Every organization is as strong as its weakest link. Every chain is as strong as its weakest link. It breathes down the whole organization. I would argue that leaders need to be focused on that accountability that sometimes is an issue in the nonprofit world. Hugh: We cause some of those problems. We put the wrong person in the wrong place, and then we are nice to them. They're trying. They are bringing down your culture. They are representing your brand in a negative way. It's damage control at that point. Alan: The brand has to come first. The mission has to come first. Everything that you do in the nonprofit has to be focused toward advancing the mission and advancing the brand. You always as a leader need to be asking yourself the question: Does this advance the mission in the best way? Does this advance the brand in the best way? I think a good leader can recognize, this isn't working. We need to make a change. We brought this person on our board who isn't interested. I need to have a conversation with that person. It takes some assertiveness and guts, but the leader has to be willing to make those kinds of changes and have those kinds of conversations in an organization. For some reason, they are more timid in nonprofit organizations than people are typically in for-profit organizations because it's perceived as not being nice. Hugh: It's being honest though. We want to be honest with people. Alan: That's right. Hugh: Russell, it's back to you. Russell: I think that honesty goes a long way, but honesty without compassion is brutality. It's all in how you go about putting things out there. As we look at this environment today, there is the realization that business principles are so critical to being effective stewards of things that are entrusted to nonprofits. I think there is a whole lot of confusion, but there are still some very subtle and distinct differences between the nonprofit or social profit and the purely profit entity. What do you see as the most important distinctions to make between the for-profit and the social profit entity? Alan: It's obvious that in the for-profit world, you are in it for the profit. You are trying to enrich shareholders. You are trying to enrich management. You are trying to have quarterly profits that increase every quarter. Anybody in the for-profit world is familiar with that. I have been there. We can't forget what our mission is in a nonprofit. That ‘s the difference. You talked about having compassion. The nonprofit world is about manifesting that compassion in the larger world. That is really what we're trying to do. We're trying to take that compassion we have and manifest it in the larger world. I would argue that while we can learn from the for-profit, the for-profit can also learn from us. That compassion for employees, for the larger world, that goes a long way. I always use the word “dignity.” I think we need to treat people in a way that preserves their dignity, in a way that doesn't threaten their dignity as a person. I think that the for-profit world would learn from a lot in some places. I would never say that all for-profits don't treat people with dignity. But it's much more common in that world. I think they would learn a lot from what nonprofits do in terms of treating people with compassion and dignity. Russell: Where do you think that you see more of a collaborative type of leadership? Another question I would ask is do you see some pathways to create more collaboration in both worlds? We are in a society today where people are really getting locked into their differences. I think we are suffering from it. How can collaboration as a way of life in both types of entities help us with our larger conversations with how we approach each other as people? Alan: I think nonprofits and for-profits should be collaborating with each other. One thing I like about the millennial generation is they really want to make a difference in the world. They have a lot of passion for recognizing what is wrong with the world, and wanting to make a difference. That becomes important just to have a work force in the for-profit world. As nonprofits, we can bring them opportunities to engage their employees in causes that are important to them, whether that is environmental things, whether it's feeding the homeless, those sorts of things. We can give them direct volunteer opportunities. UPS has a goal to have 20 million hours of nonprofit volunteer time with their employees. Nonprofits need to step up and talk to all the organizations out there about the kind of opportunities we can offer them to engage their employees. In those kinds of volunteer efforts. Those things go a long way for both organizations. The nonprofit gets exposure and marketing. People come away saying, “Wow, this is great. I got to do this or do that.” The for-profit gets an engaged work force that says, “I work for a great company. They let me take a day off and go plant trees for this tree planting organization, or go feed people in the soup kitchen that didn't have anything to eat that day.” I think those kinds of collaborations, which happen but probably don't happen nearly as much as they should. Russell: If you get somebody that comes out of university, it was a little bit different when the three of us attended, but now you are looking at a situation where somebody comes out, particularly if they have done any graduate work, they have this massive debt that they have to deal with. You have career opportunities and private enterprise that are driven by stock prices. How would you make a case to get somebody who is very talented to choose a career in the social profit field knowing they are leaving all of these other things on the table, and they have this debt? How do you make a case that it's really worthwhile to go into the nonprofit sector? Hugh: One thing I noticed with people who are coming out of university now is they don't expect to work for the same company for 25 or 30 or 40 years and retire from that company. A lot of people in the millennial generation go into a job knowing I want to be here for two or three years. I want this to be a resume-builder. I want this to be a skill-builder. I want this to be an opportunity. Then I am going off to the next thing. I think as nonprofits, we have to accept that, not try to change it, not try to talk people into working somewhere for 30 years, but go into talking to them about what this opportunity is. This is an opportunity to build your resume, this is an opportunity to wear a lot of hats and gain a bunch of skills, this is an opportunity to be exposed to donors, some of whom are people you may want to work for someday. If we go into it with the idea that we understand what these people want, we understand what this particular market or employee wants, and offer them that, then you're going to get more people saying, “I could go there for three years. That would be awesome to work with these big companies who are their donors and have volunteers. Then I can go onto the next thing.” I think accepting that approach of how they want to live their lives, they will be more interested in talking to us. Hugh: There is a lot of comments in this interview about money. I find the common perception is nonprofit leaders say, “If we just had the money, we could do more.” I come back with, “Can we see your strategy?” “I don't have one.” “How do you define the board's engagement on a scale of 1-10?” I get a 4.5. That's the reason you don't have money. If you had money, you probably wouldn't get the results you want. Do you experience that as a definition of what is missing? Do you have a different take on what they need to do to earn it or attract it? Alan: I certainly agree with you that money is not the be all end all. An organization needs to be in a position to effectively use any money they get. If you have a board that is engaged at a 4, you're right. I serve on a board, and it's an extremely engaged board. The organization is doing very well financially. That is because the board is engaged, and the organization recognizes they need to do marketing and branding, and they need to measure impact, and they need to do all of the things that are important. It comes back to those principles. You have to be willing to accept things just won't come rolling in. You will have to work for it. You will have to understand your audience. Pick the right audience. Execute. And demonstrate you have executed. It's no different than a for-profit business in that way. There are a lot of differences about what we do and what we're trying to accomplish. In terms of execution, there are a lot of similarities there. Hugh: Sometimes people get excited when I talk about team execution. They think they are going to shoot people. Alan: Let's hope not. That's not a good nonprofit. Hugh: We do it to ourselves. We bring in people because we have a perception they ought to be doing something rather than what Russell's vestige is, is find out what they are interested in first. I talked about ROL, return on life. We have a mission. That is our intellectual property. We're doing this. This is the value we bring. We want to get the money. We have this middle capital. This value capital. We want money capital, financial capital. But in the middle is relationship capital. We don't invest in that. Part of what businesses do is they are really, the ones who are successful, building relationships with their customers. In our customers in the nonprofit world are our supporters, stakeholders, donors, board members, volunteers. We don't do a good job of nurturing them, do we? Alan: No. Some organizations do a very good job of that, but others, again, don't take the time, like you said, to really understand what they are. You need to meet people where they are, not where you want them to be. You need to be willing to invest the time and effort in really understanding what people are looking for. Then you have to ask yourself the honest question of whether you can give them that. If you can't, you walk away. It's not the right fit. I think that because we love what we do so much, we project our love for what we're doing onto other people. That is a little bit of a pitfall for people in nonprofits. Hugh: It's common, isn't it? That's a common scenario, isn't it? Alan: Yeah, it's very common. I don't think it's any different than any other world. People tend to project their own loves and desires and interests on other people. But when you are running a business, it's dangerous, and it can be devastating. Hugh: I want to get one more thing on the table here before I go to the sponsor message. Russell and I serve leaders as an advisor. We don't customarily use the word “consultant” or “coach” because there is so much gray around what that means. 90% of those people who say they are consultants give us a bad name. We have gone from consulting to insulting to advising. We have a paradigm in SynerVision that is a WayFinder. We partner and have some strategies to guide the process. But our job is to help leaders step up their own game. I find that the people struggling are the ones who want to figure it out for themselves. I find by and large the successful leaders have someone like one of us as an advisor, whatever they call them. Why do you think people are reluctant to pay for somebody to help them learn, help them be accountable, give them a process, connect them in different ways? Why do you think there is a reluctance for people to do that? Alan: I think there is a little bit of a stigma attached to having a coach. There is some view that if we have to get this guy a coach, there must be something wrong. He's not doing his job. He's not performing. My view is that one of the greatest gifts that an organization can offer an employee is coaching, to help them get better on what they do, to help them understand how to get through the challenges they are facing. I think that's a huge gift an organization can offer an employee, whether it's a senior executive or a manager, to help them get better at their job. That is a stigma of we had to get this guy a coach, or we had to get this woman a coach, she must not be doing a good job. People will look down at that. I think we have to be very clear that coaching is a positive. Support is a positive. None of us are an island. None of us can completely be effective at everything on our own. Everything has strengths and weaknesses, things they will be good at and not. Giving someone support is a greatest gift an organization can give an employee. Hugh: That's a great answer. Russell, what do you think? Russell: I think having a trusted advisor is getting somebody that is outside of the scope of what you're doing and not so attached to it that they may have blind spots. I have discovered that for me. When I work with other people, they have what I call a superpower. We can't always define our superpowers. They are things that each of us do that are so easy for us that we tend to minimize it or blow it off. Or we may not even recognize it. When you talk to people around you and they say, “Oh, you did something,” and they will point out something you did. Having a system in place where you recognize everybody's superpowers and you recognize one another's superpowers is very important. Everybody's working to their strengths that way. It's honoring that. It's honoring what you're good at and having an outside perspective is how you can pull that genius that is right there in house. I find that when I'm working with organizations, they don't know how much they don't know. On the flip side of that, they don't know how much they already know. Having somebody to help them channel all of that genius is valuable. They will get more out of it. Taking that time over the long haul to really get better at what you do and to define what you do and to find the right people to collaborate with, to serve, to have pay for their services, taking that time is critical. If you don't take that time, you are serving the wrong people or reaching for the wrong people, you burn a lot of energy. Hugh: Alan, we have laid a lot of themes on the table today for people. You obviously have a lot of wisdom to share, a lot more than we can cover in this limited time. You have a lot of experience. You're taking some time off for family. You will go for your next venture next year. I'm curious to say where you end up. Whomever gets you will be lucky because you bring a whole lot of value and wisdom to their organization. *Sponsor message from Wordsprint* As we close out this really helpful podcast, Alan, what tip or thought do you want to leave with people before Russell closes us out? Alan: I think to boil everything down into a 15-second piece is that if you use business principles in a nonprofit and don't forget the compassion and the mission, you will be successful. You will maximize your chance for success. I hope people can take that away and cogitate on that a bit and apply that to what they do in the nonprofit world. Russell: Alan Harrison, it has been a joy to sit and speak with you. What is the best way for people to reach you? Alan: If they find me on LinkedIn and try to send me a connection request, I think that's probably the best way. I'm active on there. I would certainly love to make some new connections there. I want to thank both of you for today. This has been fun and stimulating for me. I always get my best ideas in conversation with other people who understand the subject. This was rewarding for me, and I hope it was rewarding for others as well. Russell: This is definitely rewarding work for us. That's why we do it. If you can't have any fun at it, why do it?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the 103rd episode of Giving Back Insights! Insights are our solo show to celebrate how our guests and their charities serve others, explore actions each of can take to make a difference in people’s lives and connect. Today we’re talking about Capacity to serve! Enjoy today’s episode and keep your comments and feedback coming.   Key Takeaways: When I started the Giving Back Podcast, I had no desire to start a nonprofit.  Every guest is doing amazing things and I had no desire to replicate their work or compete for funding.  Besides, it was too much fun talking to all these cool people to pick a single problem. Fast forward a couple of years, and I was thinking about how I could do some good.  I know that providing a platform for social impact leaders to share their mission is a step in the right direction, and I thought that I wanted to do more.  And I wanted to do something that would help the people who give so much and make such a big difference to others and their communities. Every guest, whether they lead, volunteer or donate, talked about nonprofits need for resources to make their organizations better.  Think about it for a second: they bust their asses working to help those in need when no one else will. They get lousy pay or sometimes they don’t get paid at all.  And they want to make their organization better so they can do MORE work. Sounds like there’s a need right there.  Since they’re already strapped for cash helping people, I had to find a way to fund all this do-gooding I had in mind, and I found an opportunity. One that matched the size of the scope of need.  So I started Strong Communities with the belief that people doing amazing things for their community should have the resources to make their organizations better. Our Mission:  Strong Communities exists to help nonprofits build their capacity to serve. Problem: nonprofits work on social issues that are critical to the strength of a community but struggle financially. What we do: we invest in people and organizations doing amazing things for others.  We provide them resources to build a stronger organization and develop sustainable funding that powers their mission. How we do it: we turn vacant and underperforming real estate into working capital to serve communities across America.  We work directly with property owners to identify the nonprofits that are solving problems they care most deeply about. About Us: The Giving Back Podcast launched on July 4, 2016, shining the spotlight on people and organizations doing amazing things for others.  Since then, hundreds of guests have shared stories how giving back has made a difference in people’s lives, including their own. Serving needs ranging from Veterans and Animal Welfare to Domestic Violence and Cancer treatment, each show is a reminder that making an impact starts one person at a time, and that everyone has something to give. Strong Communities was created to serve these incredibly dedicated servant leaders and their supporters.  A recurring theme is that despite incredible results and life-transforming efforts, nonprofits continue to struggle financially.  In order to grow, they need new sources of funding that are sustainable and reflect the value they hold to their communities. To help them grow, Strong Communities connects nonprofits to people and resources to build their human, financial, and organizational strength.  All with the goal of increasing their ability to fulfill their mission. In other words, we help them build their capacity to serve. How to fund such a venture?  As the host of the Giving Back Podcast, I connect with social impact leaders, purpose-minded individuals, and companies who seek to serve their communities in ways that last beyond the next fundraiser.  As it turns out, America has a nationwide inventory of vacant, abandoned, and underperforming real estate that is ripe to transform into capital directed towards solving problems in our communities. My friend Ryan Lee is a moderately intelligent guy with a lot of integrity who has a knack for not only creating successful businesses but also helping other people create successful businesses.  He once said, “Just imagine who you’d want to hang out with all day --- and build your business around solving their problems.” Well, I know that I love to hang out with people like my guests all day.  And I know what their biggest problems are. Keeping in mind the problem that we are working to solve, I’ve gathered some of the brightest business, real estate and tax people I know to harness the power of real estate to strengthen and rebuild communities across America.  Our five-year goal is to transform $10 Billion in real estate into ongoing community service. So that’s the start!  We’d love to have you join us and make a difference for the community you care most about. Check us out at http://strongcommunities.us/ and let us know where you want to be a hero. Dan Pallotta, TED 2013: “The way we think about charity is dead wrong” https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=en Simon Sinek: Start With Why, the Golden Circle clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw Remember: Always err on the side of love & kindness. Love & Gratitude, Rob Mentioned in This Episode: Giving Back Podcast StrongCommunities.us

Donors won't give to charities with “high overhead.” Right? But what structural problems does this cause? My guest, Dan Pallotta, busts the nonprofit overhead myth.

Donors won't give to charities with “high overhead.” Right? But what structural problems does this cause? My guest, Dan Pallotta, busts the nonprofit overhead myth.

Donors won’t give to charities with “high overhead.” Right? But what structural problems does this cause? My guest, Dan Pallotta, busts the nonprofit overhead myth. The post Ep 67: Busting the Overhead Myth (with Dan Pallotta) appeared first on Joan Garry Nonprofit Leadership.

Nsima and Brian discuss Ted Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking and explore ways to better engage any audience. It is essential that you understand your audience and the people you will be speaking to before setting up your speech or presentation. Disarm yourself and show your vulnerability to really connect with your audience. Idea 1 - Make a throughline A Throughline, which is "a connecting theme that ties together each narrative element. Every talk should have one." You should be able to summarize a throughline in less than 15 words and it's ideal that it has some bit of unexpectedness in them. With body language, you can fake it till you become it. More choice actually makes us less happy. Terrible city flags can reveal surprising design secrets. Idea 2 - Make the Idea Now that you have a throughline you can build your speech or presentation upon it. Here are the the tools that were outlined within the Ted Guide to Public speaking along with some speeches that used these tools. Connection, Narration, Persuasion, Explanation, Revelation Connection- Getting personal Rules from Tom Riley +Tell anecdotes relative to subject matter, the best humor is things around you + Have a funny remark ready if you flub your words, or if things gets messed up Build humor into potential visuals. Contrast between saying and showing Use Satire, say the opposite of what you mean, a comedic element Timing, give the laughter chance a moment to land, without fishing If you’re not funny, don’t try to be Example Ted Talks in this category: Kelly McGonigal - How To make stress your friend Ron Gutman - The hidden power of smiling Brene Brown - The power of vulnerability Sherwin Nuand - how electroshock therapy changed me Sir Ken Robinson - Do schools kill creativity? (Humorous beginning) Monica Lewinsky - The Price of Shame (humor) Rob Reid - The $8 billion iPod (satire in his talk) NARRATION - Learn to storytell The Arc of the story -character for empathy -build tension -offer the right level of detail -satisfying resolution Don’t over stuff with details that the audience won’t understand DO NOT LIE OR EMBELLISH details WITHIN YOUR STORY Example Ted Talks in this category: Andrew Solomon - How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are Sir Ken Robinson - Do schools kill creativity? Lawrence Lessig - We the people and the republic we must reclaim Malcolm Gladwell - Choice, Happiness, and spaghetti sauce PERSUASION You need to show them their assumption is wrong, and yours is right, rebuild something better in the listeners mind. PRIMING Prime the listeners mind with examples before you make your point Priming could be talking about the problem first. Talk about the problem and WHY it is a problem. Then talk about the your proposed solution. Intuition Pump? - Examples and stories to prime the mind for your point Example Ted Talks in this category: Steven Pinker, the surprising decline of violence Barry Schwartz, the paradox of choice , The jeans Priming example (makes you stressed) Elizabeth Gilbert, Your elusive creative genius, Genius comes and goes, it’s not who you are. Reason (If X is true, then Y must also be true) Example Ted Talks in this category: Dan Pallotta, The way we think about charity is dead wrong Emily Oster - Flip your thinking on Aids in Africa (Classic use of the detective story to help us persuade ourselves) Siegfried Woldhek: The search for the true face of Leonardo Classic use of the detective story to help us persuade ourselves EXPLANATION -Light the fire of curiosity. The need to close the knowledge gap -Bring in big concepts 1 by 1 -Use metaphors, take facts and connect them to someone’s existing mental model of the world -Use examples (Stories that use your point) -What do you assume your audience knows? -What’s your connecting theme? -What are the concepts needed to build the explanation? -What metaphors and examples will you use to build the concepts? -Do a jargon check. Make sure your use of wording fits your audience, -Make clear what the idea ISN’T before explaining what it IS. Makes it easier for the audience to understand and relate TRY AND FIND OUT HOW IT IS NOT TO KNOW SOMETHING! Robin Hogarth - The curse of knowledge Steven Pinker - Overcoming the curse of knowledge may be the most important thing in becoming a clear speaker Example Ted Talks in this category: Dan Gilbert - The surprising science of happiness (He explains extremely rough biology and evolution) Continues to fill knowledge gaps through the talk Deborah Gordon - The emergent genius of ant colonies Sandra Aamodt - Why dieting doesn’t usually work Hans Rosling - The best stats you’ve ever seen David Deutsch - A new way to explain explanation Nancy Kanwisher - A neural portrait of the human mind Steven Johnson - Where Good ideas come from David Christian - The history of our world in 18 minutes Bonnie Bassier - How Bacteria “Talk" REVELATION The Wonder Walk - a talk based on the revelation of successive images/ideas -“If you like that, just wait until you see this -"Walking them through step by step, but linking it altogether in a compelling way -Dreamscape speakers speak of the world as it might be - -Paint a bold picture and do so to allow others to see and WANT it -The more actionable, the better Example Ted Talks in this category: Martin Luther King - I have a Dream John F. Kennedy - The Space Race

We're all guilty of getting too comfortable - with our routines, social circles, the status quo. But is it stopping us from growing? This hour, TED speakers explore ways to push out of comfort zones. Guests include entrepreneur and podcaster Tim Ferriss, organizational psychologist Tanya Menon, author and blogger Luvvie Ajayi, writer Ann Morgan, and humanitarian activist Dan Pallotta.

An interview founder and executive director of Encompass Aryenish Birdie. Prior to Encompass Aryenish spent seven years at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine promoting alternatives to animal tests, where she was As a federal lobbyist.  In addition to her involvement in animal protection, Aryenish has worked in other social justice movements, including those striving for racial empowerment, queer rights, and reproductive freedom.  Aryenish and I talk about the urgent need for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive animal protection movement. We also discuss #Metoo and #ARMeToo, and how to get rid of the toxicity that is any form of harassment in the workplace and society as a whole. As a minority and a survivor of sexual harassment myself, this episode hits home.    Extras :  Encompass : http://encompassmovement.org The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong, Dan Pallotta : https://youtu.be/bfAzi6D5FpM AJ Garcia's #ARMeToo Statement : https://www.facebook.com/AJGarciaLive/posts/1181326428670398?pnref=story  

Nonprofit Marketing with Geo Ropert Interview Transcript   Hugh Ballou: This is Hugh Ballou and Russell Dennis co-hosting this episode of The Nonprofit Exchange. Hello, Russ. Russell Dennis: Good happy Halloween. Good to see you both. Hugh: As we are recording this, it is Halloween in 2017. You might be listening to this in another century. We are creating episodes for posterity. Russ, we have been on this journey for quite a while. Thank you for hanging in there and being my co-host. Russell: It's a pleasure. I meet so many interesting people, like Geo, who is here to talk to us today about marketing. And a lot of nonprofits don't think they have to do that, but you have to get your message out. Hugh: You spoiled the surprise. We were going to surprise them. Geo Ropert: I might as well hang up now. Hugh: Geo Ropert, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Geo: Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. I am certainly honored that you asked me to join you, and I am really looking forward to this today. Hugh: I looked at your resume, and you have been holding out on me. You haven't told me all that good stuff. We generally start out asking people to talk about themselves. In a little snapshot, the things that are related to PR and marketing. Then after you talk about yourself, what's your background in this really complicated, for those of us who don't know it, what's your background and what's gotten you here? After you do that, distinguish between PR and marketing. I know people confuse marketing and sales, but they also confuse PR and marketing. They don't know where sales fits. If you can sort that out. But first, give us a snapshot about Geo. Geo: I have 20+ years in the public relations and integrated marketing community. We'll talk about that as you had asked. I am accredited in public relations, which means I hold a national certification that less than 10% of PR professionals throughout the country have. I have won awards for my work, and I have been- It really is my passion. I love to communicate. I love to help businesses and organizations share their message across platforms, everything from traditional to new digital and social. I work especially with businesses and nonprofits to really help them be able to tell their story and for them to be the ones that people pay attention to when they speak, when they produce content, when they get out there to their audiences. I have worked in the nonprofit field. I have probably a little more than 10 years working exclusively for nonprofits, both 501(c)3 and 501(c)6 organizations, so I've spent a lot of time really in the trenches with those communities and have learned a lot and have really been able to translate that knowledge to help out organizations, especially nonprofits. That is where my passion lies: helping those folks be able to engage their audiences and gain the support and the resources they need so that they can do the good work that they do. If you want to talk about public relations and marketing, while they are similar, they are very different in the sense that public relations really has to deal with the side of a business that is the brand. It's the storytelling, it's the reputation-building, it's the work that is done to create buzz, if you will, to create information and knowledge. It's meant to educate and inform audiences so that they can understand what a business is, what they stand for, their mission, their vision, their values, their culture—all those things are public relations. Marketing, on the other side, is a staff function that is really about the promotion of products and services that the company has. If you are talking about selling widgets or if you are talking about having your organization that helps feed hungry children or protects kids from danger, these are the things that marketing does. It's getting out the word on those products and services. They work together intimately, but in most cases, people see that as different. I've been working in the realm where my belief is the industry has been changing to more or less meld those two together because it really is about communication, and the way we communicate today really blurs the lines sometimes. It is effective in both of its aspects. Hugh: Actually, you need to have a good public image or your marketing won't be helpful. Geo: If your reputation is shot, you could have the best products in the world, but nobody will buy them. Hugh: People also confuse sales and marketing. Sales is another animal. Do you want to give us a sound bite about what's different about sales? Geo: Sales is the process that marketing is geared to do, to make people aware of what those products and services are, the benefits they have for them. Then sales is the close. That is where all the process of engaging interesting, getting clients to pay attention and come to your website or make that phone call to your business, everything then is left to the folks in sales to close that deal. Hugh: We are going to focus on the marketing piece. We have had other experts on this series over the years. Cheryl Snapp Conner owns a large PR agency in Salt Lake City; she was here several months ago and is very eloquent about her field of PR, doing press releases and getting that image out there. The niche that is marketing, that's moving people toward understanding why they need goods and services—charities aren't in business for selling things. I'm using the word “charity” instead of “nonprofit” for this conversation. Why would a charity need even think about marketing? Geo: Because there are—let's see how many there are—over a million public charities in the United States alone. Those are a lot of voices out there, each vying for the attention. Hugh: Four million. 501 somethings. Churches and government. There are a lot of variances. Geo: I'm sorry. I had a million public charities. You're right about the four million. Everyone is clamoring for the attention, the pocketbooks of folks who can support their causes. As much as each of them are involved in very important and very worthwhile endeavors, there is a limited pie out there of funds and resources that are available. The ones who can tell their story the best, who can communicate what their audience is most effectively, are the ones who are going to succeed and be able to advance their causes where the others are basically struggling. I think we see more of the majority struggling than those we do being successful. Hugh: Absolutely. There is a fallacy out there, and it is exposed in Dan Pallotta's TED Talk, The way we think about charity is dead wrong, and he has a book to follow that up. The TED Talk says the fallacy is that nonprofits, he says charities, cannot spend money on marketing. That is taboo. I believe- Russell, we don't agree with that, do we? Russell: I disagree completely because a lot of people in nonprofits, especially if you are talking about a social worker or teacher, have difficulty talking about the value that their organization provides. It's a value proposition. A lot of people look at it as bragging when in fact it's just telling people that you are doing good work. Marketing is important. A thought just crossed my mind. I came up with a question because I know that reputation management and getting the word out there about what you're doing are separate but melded together. I was wondering what Geo thought is the right balance between PR and marketing. Geo: I think if you are looking for a balance, you really want to integrate them both effectively. I don't think you put one on top of the other in the sense that of course you have to have your brand identity established and visible and strong. People need to recognize it and know what you do, who you are, what you stand for, and what you do to benefit the community. That really is the telling of the story if you want to in PR. In marketing, it's telling people exactly what you do, why it's important that they support your cause. You say, “Well, we don't have products or services.” Most do. They have some type of service. They provide some type, whether that be support or education or advocacy. All of those things really fall into the marketing side of it. What a lot of nonprofits- You're right. They talk about marketing and PR and spending money on it as a taboo thing, that it's not something they should do. I agree. It is completely the wrong idea to have because unless you are spending money on your voice and getting your message across to people, you are going to be one of the majority that are having a huge amount of trouble keeping your funding sources alive, keeping your organization alive. That is one of the problems I see. What I also see is that many nonprofits- I can't tell you how many times a month I get approached by organizations that want to get support, but they are not able or willing to pay for it. They expect to have it for free, pro bono services. While I do believe in helping my community and I support an organization that I work with every year, sometimes intensely, unfortunately I have bills to pay. I have to be able to afford to keep the business running. Getting them to understand the value of PR and marketing, and marketing especially, is sometimes the hardest thing to do. Once they can really grasp that, and it comes from the leadership down, the executives, the board of directors, once they can understand that you put money into marketing is going to have a return on that investment and is going to grow the donor base, it's going to grow the support base, and they can see that, then it starts to make sense to them, and they are more willing to invest in actual professional services and, if not, investing in the tools and software that are able to accomplish that. Hugh: Geo, what's an appropriate amount as far as a percentage? Is there any kind of benchmark? You mention something that triggered this. We use the word “nonprofit,” and we go into this scarcity thinking that we can't pay for anything. We can't pay good salaries, we can't pay for services, we can't allot money to marketing, we can't spend money talking about the goods and services, the good that we do, the impact. That is what is going to drive sales. Sales is donations. Sales is for churches, synagogues, it's evangelism. It's growing your numbers in the 501(c)6s, the membership organizations. Why is it important? What is the impact of our work? We are telling a story. Go back to this. You started exploring about stories a while ago. Where does that fit? There is two questions in here. How do you figure out what's an appropriate amount to designate in your budget to marketing? What kind of information do you- You can't tell people everything, so you have a limited budget. If you grow the revenue, then you can grow that marketing budget in tandem with that. How do you decide what to market? How much to spend, and what is the story you are going to tell? Geo: According to the numbers I've seen out there, there was almost $400 billion given to charities last year alone. Of that, we would expect, as a business does, to spend a minimum of 10% at least on the marketing efforts. You could figure that is about $39 billion that would go out to help communicate that story, that message. That can fluctuate anywhere from on the low end to 5% on the high end to- Some of them are spending up to 15% if you look at charitable organizations and the nonprofit organizations, the 501(c)6s. What they do, the good ones, is they tell a consistent story that resonates. They have a mission. They focus on the mission in their campaigns, in their public relations and in their marketing campaigns, with a singular, strong message. You could have an organization. Maybe you do three or four different things, but your main mission needs to be conveyed and clear. What happens is oftentimes people say, Well, we do this, we do that, we help these folks, we help those folks. It confuses the message. There are millions of messages going out every day that we are being bombarded with. If a message from an organization comes across in three or four different ways, how are we going to be able to focus on that? It takes a minimum of seven times for somebody to see your name to recognize it, to see your message and recognize it. Unless they see that message seven times, maybe in a slightly altered way but still the same consistent message, the chances of traction are slim to none. Hugh: I have to think about that. What do you think, Russ? Russell: In terms of income, if people are spending money, they are going to want to know what I am getting back for this. How important is it to show a return on generating income? Is there a typical amount for nonprofits in terms of looking at return on investment with those dollars that they invest? Geo: I think what you do is you look at the 5-15% of your annual revenue as a baseline maybe to say, Okay, this is where we are going to start. What happens in nonprofits is they base their marketing revenue on those numbers, and if the numbers go down, so do their marketing efforts. Where I believe that you need to be consistent and strong and you have to have a budget set aside. It's not overhead to me. It really isn't considered an overhead expense like executive salaries and rent and those kinds of things. It is an expense that helps to generate revenue. If revenues start to decline and you cut way back on your marketing dollars, you might as well just expect those numbers continue to decline. Whereas I think good marketers and executives who understand their value of effective marketing are more apt to say, Okay, let's put in a substantial and usable amount of revenue into our marketing efforts. If we continue to do that and our mission continues to be strong and delivered across the right platforms, we are going to grow our revenue, we are going to grow our support, we are going to get the things we need to get. Hugh: I saw some evidence—Russ, that's a good question—during the last so-called recession that businesses cut way back on their marketing budgets, but the few that didn't kept market share and actually increased market share during that recession. Russ, I'm sorry, I interrupted you there. Russell: Just in your reply there, you hit on what I call the magic dirty buzz word, and that is overhead. People are in the frame of mind that anything that you spend beyond the actual delivery of those services is overhead and that you got to put the squeeze on that. You can't have a huge overhead. Marketing and PR is important. When a corporation goes out and spends money on that, they applaud them. They go out and hire superstar marketing people and superstar executives to run the organization. They pay them good salaries, but they draw in huge amounts of money. Nobody ever questions that because they can see that value. When a nonprofit or social profit tries to do that, it becomes taboo. It leads to what they call overhead. I don't think they are doing this, that marketing and PR among other things and fundraising are bad ways to spend that money. You have to have a good structure to have a good solid program. When it comes to marketing and PR with nonprofits, what are the biggest challenges that you see nonprofits having when it comes to actually taking it up, doing it, and doing it well? Geo: The thing I see is the lack of knowledge, the lack of experience, to do that job. Oftentimes, a lot of nonprofits will say, You are the reception today, and this afternoon, you are going to be our chief marketing officer. Very little knowledge of what it entails. This is a profession. This is something that people go to school for to get educated. Some of us have spent many hours a week, let alone throughout the year, honing our skills, growing our education to do that. That is one of the things. Another standing is the available vehicles to us for marketing. There are so many, but they have to be selectively chosen based on the type of audience that you have, the type of response that you want to get, and also basically the areas that you want to focus your attentions on. It's one of those things where so often I see, and people have sat down with some folks in the last couple of weeks and they said, “Well, we want to market our agency. We want to market our organization.” I said, “What's your budget?” “We don't have one.” “Good luck.” As much as you can get something, you can get free press donated. Media is great about supporting causes, local newspapers, publications, digital sites that will do that, but you still got to pay for things like Facebook advertising, social media advertising. You have to pay for websites and development and maintenance of those. There are costs to the things that you print and your direct mail costs. If everybody would give it away, it's wonderful, but I am also reminded that you get what you pay for. If you think you are going to get something free from these people, they will get it to you when they get it to you. They may not be there. They are probably not as deeply invested as somebody whom you pay, even if it is a modicum of money to at least value their services, their expertise. That is what I try to push people to understand. Spend a little money, and you can make a lot of money. Hugh: It's not really cost; it's an investment. Geo: Absolutely. Hugh: Going back to Russ's question on ROI, we have the old- There is another way that comes up here: advertising. Is advertising part of marketing? Geo: Yes, advertising is one of the vehicles we use to market. If you are going to spend money on advertising, that is part of your marketing budget. Return on investment, that is something that you want to set up with the organization. I think that's part of the goal-setting strategy for any organization is: Okay, what are your revenue or support goals that we want to have this year? Then back those numbers out and say, Okay, we believe that we're going to raise $3 million this year. We are going to spend $300,000 of that in marketing and PR services and software and vehicles and print and digital and creative costs and those kinds of things. It's very clear. An organization that has a track record can easily look at their data and say, Okay, we spent this amount of money on Facebook this year, and that got us the best return on our investment. We went over to Instagram or YouTube, and those didn't necessarily perform as well. We will allocate our resources where they work best. There are so many tools out there right now to be able to gauge what your efforts are doing. They are very measurable. We rely on them now. We can't just walk into a client and say, “We have an ad or an article in your paper. It has a circulation of 200,000. We multiply that by 1.5, and that is your average viewer.” No, now we can actually measure who sees the ad, who responds to it, who interacts with it, and we can trace them all the way from initial interest through that final check being written or that volunteer sign-up being taken care of. Hugh: That's really good. One of our sponsors at SynerVision is the company that prints our magazine Nonprofit Professional Performance, Wordsprint. Bill Gilmer has been on this show and on a panel that we had on PR a while back. His research is in the area of direct mail because he is a print house and a mail house. His statistics are very profound about when people get something in their hand. His research says it's 30% the message, 30% the person, 30% a regular rhythm, and only 10% the appearance. He has years of documentation. The donations don't only remain consistent with the donors, but they go up because people understand the impact of their money, the return on life, ROL. Their return on their investment is the return on people's lives, the impact. He calls that top of mind marketing. What does that term mean to you? He backs it up with an email. Joe, you got a magazine yesterday, did you look on page four? That doubles the open rate. His research almost without exception is that the donors remain engaged and remain donors because we have done more than ask for money. We have told them the impact of the work. That is part of your message in PR and marketing. Go back to top of mind marketing. Are there other ways besides this really valuable way? That is Wordsprint.com. For more information, you can go there. Geo, top of mind marketing, what is that, and what are other ways you can do that? Geo: Hugh, you mentioned one of the key things. People say direct mail and print advertising is dead. It is not. It is still one of the most effective ways to communicate, especially in the fundraising side for charitable organizations. Everybody has to go to their mailbox. Mail arrives every day. They look at that mail, and when that mail catches their eye, it is more likely to stay on the counter or on the table. It's whereas our digital information that we share comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Unless you're consistently putting that message out across the platforms that are available, they are great, and they do an enormously good job getting attention. Again, it's fleeting. I am a big believer, especially in getting messages across that people will read the direct mail, look at it, remember it. It's that visual imprint. It is great. What I always look at is a mix of marketing materials and methods in order to get the point across and to enforce it. If you see in the mail, and the next thing you know you have it on your website or you are looking on Facebook or one of your other social media sites and you see that message repeated again, that's seven times. How many times do you see it before it finally clicks and you say to yourself, “That is an organization I want to support?” You are absolutely right on sharing the value of their investment. What is that return to them? You can do it visually so much more easily than any way, shape, or form when you have it right there in front of you. You have pictures and stories and words that convey that mission and vision. Hugh: I am going to toss it to Russ. He is the one who asks the really hard questions. Russ's area, one of his areas of brilliance, is helping charities think about their funding options, how they get funded. Russ, relate it to what he was just bringing up and what we have been talking about. There is a relationship to getting more donors, keeping donors, raising donations through what we are talking about. I am going to toss it to you for some comments and questions if you will. Russell: I think this is part of what comes in when it comes to the fear of how much you spend. There are so many different channels out there that people are focused about which ones to use. The answer to that is it really depends on where your audience is. At my age, they like getting stuff in the mail; they can hold onto it. But if you are reaching out to younger people, they may be in social media, they may be on websites, they could be anywhere. I think if you tailored a channel to where your donors are coming from, you meet them where they are. It takes a little bit of homework to figure that out, but at that point, you can really target your dollars to where you want them to go. That is where people get overwhelmed. I think they should be working from their strengths and whatever works best. That may be direct mail and Facebook for some organizations; it may be Instagram and email if they have a younger audience. Talk a little bit about how you gauge that and how you help nonprofits figure out what the best mediums are for them. Geo: There is a lot of data out there on the demographics of every person on Earth right now. I like to say that with the analytics and data we have, we know what coffee you drink, when you wake up in the morning, what color pajamas you have, and what car you are driving to work. It's all there. We have become a very sharing society that we basically give it away and let people know who we are, what we do, what we like, and what we don't like. You were asking about what works. There is a 2016 Content Marketing Institute report on the nonprofits in America. Believe it or not, in-person events are still the largest and most effective way for nonprofits to get their message across and to gain supporters. That personal one-on-one touch-and-feel that people have in a personal interaction is still the most important, followed by illustrations and photos, e-newsletters, videos, social media content (interesting that it only ranks fifth out of the most effective tactics) followed up by case studies and those kinds of things, a lot of data and information and background information that people look for. It really is imperative that you have someone who understands how to read demographics, how to interpret those, and be able to take those and say, Okay, our group from 35-54 is mainly on this type of media or reads this type of publication or attends these functions. All of those have to be wrapped up. You have to get a real good understanding of who your audience is. That is the only way you are going to effectively market and spend your money. Again, you can throw that wide net out and put it out in a newspaper. It may have a circulation of 200,000, but only less than 1% of those people could be target audiences for you. You just wasted 99% of your budget right there to reach the 1% that is actually going to care. Russell: There is a lot of data out there on that. It is really easy to get lost in the weeds. What would you say are the most effective marketing strategies organizations can use to grow their share of that donor base or other supporters like volunteers or board members or advisors? Geo: Understand your market. Know what appeals to them. Know what their hot buttons are. Where do they have their most care? In business, we talk about the citizen brand, where you create the culture and a mission and a vision that reflects your audience. That is becoming an interesting thing to follow in the way that all organizations are operating is to say to their people: What is important to you? That is important to us. It really helps to create a stronger bond because people today want to know what is in it for me. How are you going to make my world better through your work? Even in a charitable organization, they are still saying that. How are you going to save the animals or save the rainforest, or how are you going to protect abused and neglected children? What is your culture going to do that is going to get me to want to write that check or volunteer my time and efforts? Russell: Those are brilliant reasons for reaching out repeatedly because you don't always have to have an ask. You can ask questions and find out what is important to them. You can take that language and recycle it and return it back to them in their solution. Geo: Exactly. The three important things to do when you are communicating, especially in the public relations realm, is to inform, educate, and entertain. You are able to do all of those things even with a charitable organization because you inform them of your mission, you educate them and show them what their results are of their support, and it is okay to entertain, too, because not every message has to be, We are in a terrible situation. Our clients are destitute. Our planet is falling apart, whatever that may be. It's also okay to take a lighter side, show how the organization reaches out in the community, show what some of the folks do in their daily lives, show behind the scenes of what this organization does in their daily work. Create that. Again, you want to create that personal feeling. You want the person who you are targeting to feel like those are the same people that I am, and I want to be with them. All three of those, if they are done properly and in the right percentages, you have an extremely effective message platform that works. Russell: Live videos from your events where you see people having a good time. What could be more fun? People can say, “Hey, I want to go to the next party these guys throw.” Geo: Video is hands-down the most important thing that people see nowadays. It has the largest effect. As I am sure is well-known, we have less of an attention span than a goldfish of less than eight seconds. Text doesn't do it. Photos are okay. But you put something on video, and that's why Instagram is growing and Facebook is such a volume. Facebook Live is the go-to platform for people to put their messages out there and all the video capabilities that Facebook and YouTube and Vimeo and theses platforms have. They have realized the importance that video has in marketing and public relations efforts. Hugh: So there is a lot of dynamics that come to mind. Russ, we have interviewed several people on this topic. It's like the quote Williams said, “Music did not reveal all of its secrets to only one person.” We can take marketing/PR and substitute it in there. I am hearing some different things. What about you, Russ? Russell: Every time I talk to somebody about this, I learn new stuff. There is a lot to grasp. There is a lot of approaches. Like anything else, different people resonate with different people at a different level. Hugh: I am sorry to interrupt you, but there is so much to cover that we can't just cover it in one podcast. The other people had really valuable stuff; you're not just contradicting them. You are filling in some of the cracks that we don't have time to deal with. Russ asked earlier how we measure the effectiveness of your campaign. I had somebody we're talking about. I wanted to introduce them to Bill Gilmer for this direct mail piece, which he is so successful at. They said, “Oh, I tried that last year, and it didn't work.” I said, “You went to the gym one day and that didn't work, either?” I stole that from Bill. Bill says flat-out, “You have to do this for two years four times a year in order to see tangible results.” We get in there and want to see success overnight. That is not reasonable, isn't it? Geo: No, it isn't. When we sit down with a client, I tell them that it's going to take us six months to be able to honestly make an impact in what we're going to be doing for you. We need six months' minimum. A year is what we really like. Those efforts are going to take time to gather steam. Developing and distributing content takes time to get it out there, to use it in all its various forms. We are very clear. We can measure on a daily, weekly basis everything that you want to know. We can tell you what's happening, but we can't tell trends until we are able to see some data come in. I just started with a client, and we are doing Google AdWords. I think we're going to have a great return. Can you tell us what we're going to be doing as we go every week or so? Yes, we can, but we are going to be testing various messages. We are going to find out if that message resonated or if we changed a few phrases, that one worked better. Then we are going to work on that and test another one. Eventually, after a while, you have got the data to back up and say, “These key words work. These key phrases are what are getting people's attention and are causing them to react and take action.” Anybody who wants it overnight is not going to get it. You really need to understand that because otherwise you are just spinning your wheels. You are throwing money at the next thing the next day. If one doesn't work, we'll put money here. No, let's refine what we are doing here because this is the platform that our audience is on. Let's make sure we work to create the messaging that is going to be effective. Hugh: You spoke about live video as a platform. You have spoken about direct mail. That's a platform. Speak about some of the choices for platforms on digital marketing. Geo: Digital is like the wild, wild West. There are over 242 social media sites, and those don't include the dating sites. Just in social media alone, you have a plethora. Those are general social media, industry-specific, interest-specific, all kinds of platforms. Right now, the digital platforms that nonprofits and charitable organizations are using and that have the most effect is Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, and Pinterest, in descending order. Those are the platforms that are available in a social media sense. You also have your website, which should be the hub of all of your marketing materials. All of your social media should direct back to your website. That has to be a very fluid and dynamic piece of work that is easy to navigate, easy to understand, clearly defines messaging, benefits, features, all of those things that any business and organization is going to want to put in front of folks. Then you have your digital platforms, your blogs and digital publications and those areas where you can use your message to get out articles, white papers. You can place ads within most digital publications that are attuned to your audience. They are all out there right now. As I said, you can really focus your marketing dollars where it's going to be best and you will get the phrase return because the data on each of those platforms is very clear. You don't have to guess about what's going to happen once you're there, as long as you understand that it's the place that you're supposed to be. Hugh: When I work with charities of all kinds, I suggest they have someone internal that has the communications hat on. When they hire a person like you to build out their marketing campaign or their donor management correspondence, there needs to be somebody that is focused on bringing in all the data to one point. Somebody like you can be more effective in helping the organization. I find so many people working in charities that are underfunded are overworked and stretched. Imagine without the right data you can't be fully effective, can you? Geo: No, not at all. Nor would you expect to be. I wouldn't want to walk in and be thrown into a situation where I wasn't given the tools or data. If you are the receptionist in the morning and you are the marketing person in the afternoon, I consider that a waste of money. You might as well just break me a nice check and let me go play golf because that is about what you're going to get out of that person. It's nothing against them; it's just they don't know how to do it. When my firm comes in and works with a nonprofit, I bring a team of folks. I have the web designers, the writers, the social media experts, the AdWords experts, the graphic designers, whatever that organization is going to need. I am able to put the team together and only for what they're going to ned. I am not keeping a full staff and having to pay salaries for people who aren't working on that particular project to keep the company running, which I believe helps the nonprofits out because they get exactly what they need. It's on time, great time, great service. That is what I think makes a difference. We get in there, and as I always look at it as a partnership, business or charitable organization. I call them partners. It's not only for the partners I work with to produce, but it's also the folks I work with because I want to be their partners in marketing and public relations and be a part of their success and help them to reach their goals. When I am doing that, I am as intimately involved in their organization as they are. I learn everything about it. I get data, I get history, I get nuances and rumors and innuendos and anything else they want to share that can help me to better understand how to operate so I can help them do what they really want to do, which is grow, succeed, and serve their communities. Hugh: Russ, we are in the last part of our interview. I am going to toss it back to you for some comments and questions, if you will. Russell: One thing that came to mind is that you do have a lot of these smaller shops that don't have the staffing or funding. What kind of tools could someone like Hugh or I give to an organization that is in this situation that would empower them enough to gather enough information that you would actually be helpful to them? Geo: There are a lot of free and very inexpensive software platforms that you can use for data analysis, data gathering. Google Analytics is #1. You can go to your website and once you set up your Analytics code, you can see exactly what kind of traffic you are getting to your website, where it's coming from, how long they're there, what kind of pages they visit, so you can determine your strengths in messaging. Facebook Insights is another one where if you are putting out Facebook campaigns, you are getting data back on the users. There is plenty of remarketing and other tools that Facebook has that don't cost you anything. It's just the cost you are paying for placing your ads. A customer relationship management software program is critical for every organization, especially when you are talking about data and analytics. A couple that are great that I've used is HubSpot. There is a free version of it, which is not as robust as their full system, but it allows you to be able to capture names and email addresses and then also to share that with your email system, like MailChimp or Constant Contact. You have CRMs like SalesForce or Zoho. All have a cost to them, which you have to consider when you are putting your marketing budget together. The software platforms you are going to use to analyze your data. You have to keep all of these things in check and in mind and find the one that is going to work best for you. There are a ton of fundraising management tools that are online that can help you out. SalesForce, Raisers Edge, Donor Perfect. I like Salsa. It's a really robust system that is fairly inexpensive, but it gives you the opportunity to manage your donors online and your messaging to them. A couple of free ones that I've seen work but have not tried yet are Donor Manager, Metrics, Donor Box, and Civic RM. Those are all free. They have different capabilities. You go online and can pull up a web search and say “Free fundraising software.” You will get a list of all of those that are there. There are a lot of great resources that compare them and show the pluses and minuses. Russell: One of the things that comes to mind because a lot of it is sofware-driven. If you are a nonprofit charity, you can register on the Tech Soup platform, and you can get licenses for commercial software at a reduced rate. That is an important thing for nonprofits to do because you can spend a ton of money on software. Geo: Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Companies do, but they are bringing in millions and millions of dollars, and that software is their life blood. I's critical now. You can't do business without knowing where your information is coming from and where your customers are coming from. Hugh: Amazing. There is a lot to know about this topic. I think we are going to wrap up here. Geo, we have covered a lot of the topics that we had thought about covering. Is there an area we haven't asked you about that you want to give us some data in before we do a wrap? Geo: One of the things that we work on as we are working with clients is: What is important to you? The results are interesting. This comes back to, and I have to agree with what happened in the Content Marketing Institute survey in 2016. Engagement, brand awareness, and developing client loyalty are the top three things that content marketing and marketing efforts are going to do or the goal of those for an organization. They want to get their base engaged, they want to raise that brand awareness, and they want those folks to take that action, to join that organization, to be there not just for that one check, but to be there for five to ten years down the road. Look at when you are setting up your PR and marketing efforts, make sure you establish some very clear goals as to what you want to achieve from them. Getting your name out is great, but what happens when you do that? What then do you want to happen? How do you want in sequence your efforts to move forward? If you start with the brand exposure, how do you then make sure that that becomes an engagement effort, and then how does that translate to getting the folks to say, “You know what? I am going to find out more about the organization and write a check and sign up to help out.” Hugh: That's awesome. That sounds like a good summary statement. What do you think, Russ? Russell: Absolutely. What do we want people to know, feel, and do? It just comes back in so many ways, but that can't be overemphasized because that is the whole kit and caboodle. If you're not there, you will never reach the people you want to get to. Geo: Never. It's easy to miss them if you don't know what you're looking for. Hugh: Geo Ropert, Ropert and Partners is your company. Thank you for sharing this information. I have learned a lot today. Russ, it's given me some ideas for us to move SynerVision in another direction. Russell: There is a lot of information people need so they can be good clients. There is a bit of an art and science in the pro bono. Like Geo pointed out, it's not for something you need yesterday. You have to be clear on what it is that you want out of that engagement. Even as a pro bono client, you have to in some ways behave like a paying client. That is another discussion. Geo, thanks for all the brilliant information you have provided. There is so much out there to take into consideration. But the main thought I want to leave people with is that you can't afford not to talk about what you're doing. You can do the best work in the world, but if nobody knows about it, nobody sends you a check. Geo: No. No, they do not. If you know any nonprofits that need some help in PR or marketing, give me a call. I can help out. Hugh: You will give them a free consultation, won't you? Geo: Absolutely. The consultation is free. The work isn't. Hugh: We'll put your link in the notes. Geo, thank you so much. Geo: Thank you, Hugh, and thank you, Russ. It was great to be here. Russell: Thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I walk with Dan Pallotta in Toppsfield, Massachussetts. Dan is an entrepreneur, author and thought leader who will change the way you think about charity. Dan founded the AIDS Rides and the first three-day cancer walks, raising over $500M for charity. His experiences led him to write three great books, including Uncharitable, How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, which is a must-read for anyone interested in making an impact. Dan has also given two of my favorite TED talks which I highly recommend that you watch and share widely: The way we think about charity is dead wrong. The dream we haven't dared to dream. Dan is now the founder of the Charity Defense Council, Advertising for Humanity and the Bolder Board training initiative.  Big thanks to Dan for walking with us and encouraging us all to dream big and be bolder. #EveryMileMatters! Subscribe on iTunes / Subscribe on Stitcher / Subscribe on Google Play     The post Dream Big, Be Bolder with Dan Pallotta, Entrepreneur, Author and Game Changer appeared first on Charity Miles.

Ed Bogle is a Strategic Planning Consultant that serves as a mentor, coach and consultant to entrepreneurs and non-profit executives. In the case of non-profits, Ed specializes in developing and implementing innovative solutions in defining their strategic value to those they serve and building a "brand" that moves beyond scarcity to a level of abundance.  His firm ideationEDGE works with their clients to understand their "value" creation and "revenue" production. He has worked with and served as a coach and mentor to several non-profits and two of Inc Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year regional winners. He developed a deep passion for non-profits through a frustration from serving on boards and seeing great visionary work die due to funding shortages and donor fatigue.  Understanding revenues and creating abundance comes from carefully crafted strategies driven from a long-term vision and a constancy of purpose. Some questions to ponder: What is strategy and why is it important to the charity I lead? Does a written strategic plan limit my creativity? Why and how should me board be involved in the planning? How does anyone predict the future with any success? Here's the Transcript Nonprofit Chat – Ed Bogle – 7/18/17 Hugh Ballou: Welcome. It's another session of the Nonprofit Chat live. We're going to talk about some important stuff tonight. Russell Dennis has been my co-host on this series. Russell, how are you doing tonight? Russell Dennis: It's another fine night here in the mountain west. Beautiful skies and life is good. Hugh: You are always good. We are in the old mountains. I am in southwest Virginia, and it's a lovely evening. We have a mutual friend on here tonight. Besides that, we know he is a very skilled professional. We know he works with business leaders on all levels. He has a special niche of helping entrepreneurs get clarity on what their vision is, on what their market is, and how we get there. We call that strategy. He has done some amazing projects with some specific nonprofits, and there have been some that have really done well. Ed understands the nonprofit space. He understands what the challenges are, and how to come around and address those challenges. Ed, welcome to the Nonprofit Chat tonight. Ed: Thanks, Hugh. I am privileged to be here. I have a great passion for the nonprofit world. We need them to do their jobs and live their vision and mission so we can make it a better world. I will do what I can to help. Hugh: Somebody once taught me that the work of nonprofits is more important now than ever before in history, and there are fewer resources. We have to do really well at describing the impact we are going to have in people's lives. I think it was a guy named Ed Bogle who told that to me. Ed: I had a good idea about some of that stuff now, didn't I? Well, you know, so many nonprofits, and even our churches, come from a position of scarcity so often. That clarity of vision and that clarity of the persona, the branding, you talked a couple sessions ago about the branding world, it is what gets people excited to your brand. It has a business flavor to it. When we do that, we find some pretty magnanimous results. We really like to carry into the nonprofit a lot of the business sector stuff and hopefully do it better. Hugh: Our friend David Corbin talked about brand slaughter. We illuminated a few things in that session, as you might expect. Everybody has a uniqueness to share about this. As I understand strategy, it is the framework that is going to help us engage our stakeholders. Otherwise, people are hunting for what to do. It's the clarity of the sequence. It's the railroad tracks to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Before we get into the strategy world, let's talk about the Bogle world. It's not the wine Bogle world; it's the Ed Bogle world. Ed: I drink a lot of that. Nah, I'm kidding. Hugh: But your people bring it over and you have a whole closetful. Ed: At one time, we had 45 bottles of Bogle wine in our house. Hugh: I know what to ask for next time I'm there. Let's talk about Ed Bogle. Who is Ed Bogle, and what is your background in strategy, and why is that important to you? We'll talk about you first, and then we'll talk about it for others. Ed: Basically, my undergraduate was in marketing, and my graduate degree was in strategy. But I was trained as an investment banker and commercial lender until that bank brought in a new president and said, “We want you to be the marketing and strategy guy because you have the educational background for it. You just finished our year-long management and development program, so you can do that.” I took that on, and the long and short of that story is that we grew the bank from $250 million to $1.6 billion in less than four years without an acquisition. It was all organic growth because he gave me carte blanche to focus on what was changing in the marketplace and how we related to our customers. That early on lesson was all about getting not only outside of the box, but it was innovating. We did some innovating stuff. Some of you may have heard of a little piece of equipment called an ATM. We put the first remote automated teller system in the country out. We put 12 units out all at once and promoted the living daylights out of it. That was 1975. The importance of that lesson is to look for the innovation, to look for the change. We so far exceeded our own expectations of what that would do. After I left the banking industry, I went to work for a little firm called Ernst and Young, then one of the big eight. I was part of a team of seven that built their strategy process over about a year long. Then I was leading a team of three to adopt that to the entrepreneurial services world. It was in my days at Ernst and Young that I had my first brushes with the nonprofit world. I saw a lot of people running around with a lot of tasks and people holding out their hats begging for the same donors every year. That is where I learned a term called donor fatigue, which all of us are familiar with. We wear them out. While I was at Ernst and Young, we created a process called focus strategic framework. Our plans end up on one page, and we have used it in the nonprofit sector as well as the church sector. It's all about change. One of the great lessons of strategy that I learned through that course of effort is one of the only constants is change. If you agree that the world is going to change, and you agree it is pretty unpredictable. Back when I used to speak and lecture, I asked, “How many people believe the conditions under which your business exist today will be the same three years from now?” I have never had anybody raise their hands. I would suspect that would be true in the nonprofit world. The way you conduct your business won't be the same three years from now. You get that clarity of vision, that clarity of purpose, that engagement culture that really goes with this. People ride for the brand. That is the critical part of the integration of the framework process. We have a new vision, mission, brand strategy. We have set objectives and all of that, and we know that is going to change, so we like to get people on a horizon of 5-7 years out, then concentrate what we are going to do the next 12-18 months. Then build such a culture internally that people are engaged in change. They have their antennae out. It's not solely the responsibility of the leadership of any organization; it's a responsibility of everybody. I don't know if the brand guys talk to this, but if I can get anybody in my organization riding for the brand—they defend the brand, understand the brand, have clarity on vision, mission, purpose of the organization—their role in fulfilling the brand, and I am not talking about their job description. If I get that, then I will have the ability to change and integrate and build a culture that will be successful. Then if I study the marketplace, it starts and stops with a customer or somebody that you are engaging in your organization. It starts with your constituents, your stakeholders. How are we creating value for them, and how do we create that value over time? If I pick on the churches for just a second, why is it that all the big churches out there now seem to be these rock 'n' roll churches? The non-traditional churches are having trouble getting people in their pews, yet the churches like- There is one here that has 26 locations around the country called Life Church. They have four locations in Tulsa. That place is packed. They have six services on Sunday, and all six of them are packed. Where is that coming from? It's all about understanding your target market and how you serve them. I'll quit there; otherwise, it will start to feel like I am teaching class. Hugh: That is part of what it is. Russ, does that pique some interest for you? Russell: It all makes perfect sense. These are some of the things that I have been trying to convey to people in creating a framework when I work with nonprofits. It's getting to that mission and understanding who you are at your core. Knowing people at your very core is important. Those churches with the music, what they are going to find is they have a younger audience. You're going out there and really talking to markets. It almost seems like dirty language to some in the nonprofit world, but what we have are customers; we just have different segments. Donors are one segment. The people who get your services are the other. If you don't understand what they need, the people that you put programs together to serve, nobody will access your services. I have had talks with people who say, “I don't get it. Nobody is coming.” We went through and talked about what some of those needs for those clients were. There is definitely a need, but they decided they are going to operate out of a location that was not accessible to the people they wanted to serve. Hugh: The church world is not very different than some of the other worlds. I was on a chamber webinar today with one of the chambers in Florida. Engagement, and especially engagement with millennials, but they said the other organizations in the neighborhood, the rotaries and other service clubs, have had sidebar with the chamber saying that they are having trouble growing their membership. They are having trouble engaging people. It was a whole session about board empowerment today. I suggested with a lack of strategy, people don't know where to be engaged or what to do. They aren't really clear what the endgame is. Furthermore, if they weren't part of the initial planning process, or at last a revision or upgrading, and doing tactics for the long-term objectives, they really aren't engaged at all. There is a trend for boards not to be effective. Let's go back to the centrality of strategy. As you know, I approach the world with the left and right brain. As a musician, we have a very specific framework. In music, it's the sheet music itself, the musical score. All the players have their parts. The analogy I make is that it's their strategy, and everybody on the team has their own piece of the action plan. They know when to play, how loud to play, how fast to play, and we direct the process rather than try to do it all. There is the heavy lifting on the front to put that together. Respond to some of that long dialogue about strategy. I am an Ed Bogle strategy fan. You strategize your life as well as everyone else. Ed: My wife also told me that that didn't work very well in strategizing your life and the raising of your children. With the latter, I would totally agree. It's impossible to strategize raising children, so give it up if you are trying it. I tried it, and it didn't work. In response to what you were talking about, Hugh, the whole thing is you want everybody in your organization to be bought into the mission and vision of what you are doing. Therefore, they need to be a part of it. That doesn't mean they need to sit through long planning meetings, but they need to be a part of the development of that strategy. In particular, one of the things we do oftentimes is we have people in the organization that have different roles or employees, in the case of some of them, that they write their description of their role. Not their job description, not their daily task, but what is their role in completing or living to that vision and mission of that organization? It's stunning what we come up with. If we attach them to this one-page framework, or any framework you use, what happens is they now have ownership. Russell mentioned common sense earlier, and the old adage is that it's not so common. What in particular that gives organizations sustainability, stickability, is the engagement of cultures. I want people internally riding for the brand. That means they are bought into that constant collaboration and innovation. They don't have silos of jobs. They are wrapped around what is our value, our brand promise is to our constituents. What is our brand position? How do they attach to that? What is their role in doing that? We use a few tools to do that. Hugh, I know you have a few things you do with organizations to bring them to that level. Gosh, if they've got this framework down and they understand it. If you give them vision, if you have a one-page framework that links from mission to vision, values, purposes, grand strategy all the way out to long-term objectives, competencies, capabilities, long-term objectives, short-term objectives, strategies, and action plan, it's a big one page. At the end of the day, I have had clients blow up wall-size versions of this framework, and we would do training sessions where they would work with their division, their people, for themselves individually as to how I am attached to that framework, that strategy. Then they would all autograph it. There is one client I started working with nearly 30 years ago that still does that stuff. They are running out of places for people to sign. It's amazing the difference it makes when you bring that level of consciousness up for their connection to the organization, vision and mission, as opposed to a set of tasks, a job task. It's critically important. I don't care if you're a charity, church, or for-profit. In today's world, if the only constant is change, how do you change? You have to have the people going with you. In fact, if you really look deeply at innovation in organizations, it usually comes from the lowest level, who are the people closest to our constituents or customers. Am I making any sense? Hugh: You are. Addressing the needs of the world. When you teach, usually when I am with you, you are teaching me. You don't know it, but I am listening. The describing the impact, especially for charities. If we are going to attract people who want to be engaged with us, as you know, in SynerVision, we are encouraging people to use other words than “volunteer.” We want servant leaders, we want community leaders, and in churches, we want members of ministry. There is another term that indicates they are active and are doing something meaningful. Volunteer means it's laidback and I will do what I have to do until I go home. We are about changing paradigms, and we get stuck in the activity mode rather than the results mode. Part of what I value about your teaching is we define the end result, we look at what we are going toward, so then we get people looking in the same direction. I heard you say a couple things here, and then I want to come back and ask you about the significance. One is about the one page. One was I've met your children and I think you did a fine job. They are fine human beings. Ed: My wife did. Hugh: That's usually the case. Ed: Credit where credit is due, please. Hugh: We overcame our shortages. What is the significance of being able to have it on one page? Ed: There are a couple of points about that. One is it's easy to digest and look at it. There are a lot of supporting documents sometimes. You can go to an electronic file on Mission, and there will be tons of documents and videos for people who want to understand and learn about those parts of it. We call it an agenda for leadership because it links everything together. The leaders of the organization now have the ability to go out and say, “Hey, here is our framework.” When most of our clients do quarterly reviews, including the nonprofits, they go in and do what we call the rearview mirror in the windshield. Rearview mirror is what has happened to us and why. Then you have the windshield, which is bigger. That is the proportionate amount of time you spend on that. The rearview mirror, what happened to you, you can't do anything about it, but you can take a little bit of the lessons learned. Some organizations now aren't even doing any rearview mirror. The Twitter CEO said a few years ago, “We don't even look in the rearview mirror anymore. It's all forward.” It's a little bit of creating processes internally. What you do is you look in the rearview mirror, you look out your windshield, and you bring it back into that framework and see if you need to change strategies. Is it something we need to do now? Do we need to reallocate resources? That one-page framework becomes a document from which you can make decision and assess changes in your organizations and make things happen. Hugh: There is some synergy in what you said and what David Corbin said. Everybody brings a little bit of extra perspective to the topics that people think they know a lot about but we really don't. I like that. Russell, do you have a comment or question brewing? He needs a hard question. Russell: You can't stump a man with as much experience as he has. He has been at a few rodeos. A lot of what he is talking about are things I try to incorporate. Having everybody participate in it is important. That seems to be a little bit of a problem spot from what I am seeing. You get a few people. You might even have a power driver or some really strong personality in the group, and they just take over. People don't have that buy-in if you don't bring everybody together to formulate. I see that again and again. Ed: That doesn't mean you have to drive people through lots of meetings. Especially in the corporate world, we have a lot of meetings. A client of mine refers to a staff meeting as a staff infection, which is what they affectionately call it. We could get into too many meetings. There are all sorts of tools and techniques to use to increase participation. It's not top-down. It's top-down, bottom's up, continuous flow of thought and conversation about strategy. Strategy is not the annual perfunctory enema that we go through to come up with a budget, which is what most corporations do. It is a process that should be integrated in and be a part of your management systems. It is not an outlier that occurs once a year. Create a plan and a budget. Hugh loves this phrase, but most of those plans end up as credenzaware. They go through this process. Any of you who worked in corporate America know what I'm talking about. They go through this annual ballyhoo of our assumptions and our plan. They hit the first of the financial projections, and expenses are too high, incomes and revenues too low, so they go back and redo it and redo it and redo it. Finally in December, the managers say, “What the heck is the number you want me to get?” Each department comes up with a way to hit their numbers. Now what do they have? We have a set of numbers not driven by a strategy. That spills over into the nonprofit world, too. A lot of the nonprofit world makes a lot of assumptions about what they cannot do. I don't know about you guys personally, but when I work with the nonprofit world, there is a lot of, “Well, we can't do that.” I worked with the Housing Authority of the city of Tulsa. One of the board members called the director an excuse bag. We're not funded. We can't be funded. We don't have enough funding. We can't raise that kind of money. They'd get into these circles of spiral downs. I have done it and seen it done elsewhere to where we can bring a level of excitement. Some of these nonprofits, it might take two decades to get to a certain point, but think about in the context of a corporation like Apple. It took them years to get to where they are. Did they have a road map to end up at the iPhone and iPad and all the services they provide now? No. They evolved to that. Any leader of any organization is the leader of change. It's not my job to come up with a five-year plan that we are going to stick to, live through, and file through. Go over the top with our energy levels and our dedication to that? No. It's the doctrine that may drive you. The purposes, the value systems are really important. Values can be a competency incidentally as a side note. What's important to me is the people are bought into that, including your constituents. Where a lot of organizations make the mistake is in raising money or attracting people to volunteer, they don't get them excited about it. Most of those organizations are about as exciting as- They have been doing the same thing for 24 years. I worked with one organization that is probably in its 30th year of the same annual fundraiser. It raises about the same annual amount of money. They just switch faces once a while because donors pass away or get fatigued. Where is the excitement? They have to get connected with your purpose, your why. A lot of folks forget about that. We have to go out and be very creative about how we craft and raise those funds and the funding. Hugh: To your point, there are two videos that are helpful. One is “Begin with Why” the Simon Sinek Ted Talk. “The Way We Think of Charity is Dead Wrong” by Dan Pallotta. He talks about how we have this perception that we can't do it, that we can't spend money on salaries or marketing. There is this fictitious percentage of overhead. Is your overhead too high? If you have to spend money on marketing and on bodies so you can serve the constituency and actually get traction to the vision you have articulated, I think busting those old perceptions- That is what I am all about: helping people shift their paradigm. I want to talk about the military part of tactics and transformational leadership because there is a synergy that occurred to me we have never talked about. We will expose it out here in public. But when you talk about strategy, I have actually had nonprofit leaders say, “No, no. I don't want to write anything down. It will limit my creativity,” to which I come back and say, “This is a solution map.” You've seen the SynerVision solution map, and you say that it's strategy, Hugh. Where do you want to be? How are you going to get there? I want you to respond this. My answer is that the strategy, the system, is the container for creativity. You can now be creative because you know how to be creative. You know where you're going, and you get the energy. Part of this is looking at your phases as you grow, so you are always keeping fresh. Talk about how that limits creativity and how you keep it fresh, your process of migrating it over time. Ed: The limitations on creativity is because we, corporations especially, everybody looks to the management for the answers, right? Creativity comes from the top, and that is totally 100% false. That is not generally where it's going to come from. The creativity or the future of any organization comes from within the people themselves and an examination on a periodic basis of that external environment is changing, both for opportunity and threat. Did Corbin talk about SWOT analysis? Hugh: He did not. Ed: He and I both abhor them, not because it's a bad tool, but the way we implement it. Everyone has the tendency to want to talk about what? Their strengths and their opportunities. They sweep the rest of the stuff, the weaknesses and the threats, under the carpet. If you have two of them, you have a SO-SO strategy because you are only focused on opportunities and strengths. You build an organization in response to people and constituents and how they are changing over time. One of my great frustrations when I run planning sessions is that I know I have young people in the room, and I know they are creative as hell and they have great ideas and thoughts. They don't want to embarrass themselves and bring that out. The leadership doesn't necessarily bring that out. In fact, in my early career, when I facilitated some of those meetings, it became a dialogue between myself and the CEO of the company. Boy was that meaningful. Not. We were limiting the creativity. We shift around, and we invite that creativity in. In fact, I encourage my CEOs of both nonprofit and for-profit organizations not to lay out scenarios. Let's come up with the scenarios. Let's put the antennae up. To me, one of the signs of great success in an organization is when I get compulsive innovation and collaboration. People talk around the water cooler, so to speak, although there aren't many of those anymore, about what's going on, what the future is, what the organization is. We do periodic methodologies where we check in with people and find out what is changing about our constituents. For example, if you want to get millennials involved with your organization today, they won't touch you with a ten-foot pole unless you can identify your why, your mission, your purpose, and how they have a role in fulfilling that. It's a whole different ball game. The limiting behaviors come because we have a tendency as leaders to bring people down the path we believe are important. That becomes trickier in the church world because they have doctrine. I also find doctrine personally as an excuse not to address what our members need. Hugh: Oh yeah. Ed: That's a fact based upon my experience. What was the second half you wanted me to talk about? Hugh: Actually to that point, that is one of the things limiting the church. The Methodist church is losing 1,200 members a week. That is not unique among mainline dominations. We have not made it relevant. We don't have a strategy. The Methodist church globally says that their mission is to make disciples. They need a strategist to help them develop a mission. What do you do after you develop disciples? We could talk about that all the time. Having someone who understands how strategy drives results. It's not inside. It's somebody external. The other part is your multi-phase growth plan and migrating it over time. Ed: What we do is bring in an organization into a three- or four-phase growth plan. That will cover a 5-7-year horizon. We don't have much detail, nor are we doing resourcing on phase three or four. We are resourcing that next phase because we are then using our quarterly meetings and our interchanges about what is changing and the opportunity, the rearview mirror, and the windshield to determine how we are going to change it. We continually update the phase growth plan. Even in the financial arena, we do a rolling horizon set of financials. Every quarter, we update that plan literally. It takes less than half a day to do it. But what a great investment. You are always revising that plan. Once you start down that path or mode, and you have people engaged in doing that, it changes the whole dynamics of the organization and its growth. I have seen it. I have done it in nonprofits. My favorite thing, the Life Senior Services here in Tulsa where I reside, that is such a dynamic organization. My latest one down in Houston, Texas called Reasoning Minds is a nonprofit all about math education. The bottom line is they are sitting right now on $25 million a year of revenues and income streams because of how they have structured. We got them out of scarcity mode and into a phase growth plan. They know where they want to be five years from now, and they had to bite the bullet and do some things differently, coming out of our strategy, getting rid of some things that were skeletons that hung in a closet forever, like committees. They were wasting time because nothing was attached to a framework; it was just commotion to commotion. Don't we all hate committees? When I was in the corporate world, they had committee meetings. You know how I treat committee meetings? I say, “Okay, you can form a committee as long as you write the epitaph of a committee.” What day are they going to die, and what is going to be the epitaph that says what is going to be accomplished? Hugh: What is your definition of a committee? It's a place where good ideas… Ed: …Die. No, they have a tendency to become- We have this committee and that committee, but they are not attached to a strategy. They become functional because they are supposed to do things. I'm not saying you kill committees. I am just saying to change the dynamics of what they are attached to. What is their contribution in the overall strategic plan? In the objectives? How do they contribute to that? Get the committee to identify that, and then you migrate it over time. Hugh: I don't know about this killing thing. I have spoken to a few people about team execution, and they got really excited because they thought they were going to get to shoot people. Ed: They though execution was a firing squad, huh? Hugh: I shouldn't joke like that. This is a lot of really good tactical stuff. Let's look at the grand strategy as a model of you have an objective, and then you define the tactics for that objective. Transformational leadership was birthed out of the military model, where you have to have a high-performing team that you cannot micro-manage when you are in combat. I have reframed that to be an orchestra model, and in a concert, you can't be telling people what to do. You have to have rehearsed. It's the integration of what's written into performance. We have to make it come alive. The grand strategy comes out of this world. Speak a little bit about objectives. We see a lot of people doing this, that, and the other. We are talking to social entrepreneurs who might be running a church, charity, or business. Nonprofit executives are entrepreneurs because we are not doing the corporate thing. People ask me if all entrepreneurs suffer from insanity. I say, “Heck no, we enjoy it.” Ed: Well said. Hugh: This military model of laying down this track, speak a little bit about the genesis of strategy and how that relates. Work in the leadership piece if you will. Ed: The whole thing, just to expound on what you are saying there. Strategy has its birth. When I became a student of strategy, there was a gentleman who wrote a book called Ongoing Strategist by Michael David. The book was published in the early ‘80s. He was the mentor who Arthur Young hired to supervise us seven young renegades on how to put this process together to sell it to our clients. He made us read Napoleon's Maxim on War, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War, whose basic premise was nobody understood the mission was; therefore, how could you ever win? It was pretty well borne out in the Vietnam War sadly. Some of the Middle East Wars had that flavor to them. It's hard for them to react in the field to what they are supposed to be doing. If you go deep into the military axioms, one word you never hear said is goals. Whenever you hear me use the word objective, they are interchangeable. Goals have the tendency to be softer, fluffier, not with a sharp edge. Military people are like they are going to take Mt. Sarabachi by next Tuesday. We want that kind of sharpness in our objectives in our organization so that the departments can break it down into pieces. The other thing that you learn about military stuff when you dive deeper is mass scale and superiority of defense. Charities don't have to work in these terms, but if you think about it, our nonprofits out there are competing for dollars, volunteers, and people. There is a thing about building a defensible position. The military world and its leadership, as you were talking about, if you get those troops out there, they are brought into the mission. They know we are going to win this war. The mission is to complete this war. They understand the mission. Their attachment to that becomes how they behave in the marketplaces, they execute your strategies and deploy your resources. It all ties back to that mission and that set of objectives. With real clarity of objectives. We let our business units and our subdivisions of our organization come back and say, “No, no, no, your long-term objectives are wrong. We need to change those.” Oftentimes they are not shooting high enough. A lot of the military stuff involves leadership, but it involves it to the point where people are doing what I talked about earlier, which was almost compulsive innovation and collaboration can make things occur. Work across departmental lines. It's not selfish. That's a lot of the problem with corporations. There are too many people competing with each other to rise to the top. Inside of those charity organizations, I think it is more critical maybe that we have that clarity of vision and mission and the attachment to purpose. The leadership has got to help embellish that and get people to buy into that, not just tell them what it is, but to buy into it. Why should they buy into it? How does it impact their daily work life when they are working with the organization? I don't know if I have successfully done the consultant bit and avoided answering your question, or if I was going where you thought I was going to go with that. Hugh: Russell, why don't you weigh in on that? Russell: I think you answered quite a bit there, why it's important for nonprofit leaders to buy into these types of things. I think that thinking is a lot softer in these nonprofit circles. With today's climate, we have to be firmer in our thinking because you are in business, you are providing value, and people need to see that value. We are in a place where there is a lot of noise out there, and people have a lot to choose from. If you don't give people good, firm calls to action, they will look to somebody else to solve the problem. With some of the problems we are facing, you have to be tenacious to get the resources and make a real difference in people's lives. The climate has changed in terms of what is out here, what is available. The government is looking to do less and less. They don't necessarily do everything. Ed: Sometimes it appears that way. Sometimes it doesn't. I don't know. If you figure out what direction our government is currently heading in, please send me a memo. I need to understand. I'm confused. Russell: I was just thinking about that remark that you made about the consultant not answering your question thing. You are going to have to get a lot better in the doubletalk to run . Ed: I would never succeed as a politician. I have been told I am excessively blunt in declaring the truth. Guess you can't do that as a politician. The importance of our charities, too, one comment came into my mind. We have a lot of people who are downtrodden and in poverty. We have a lot of bigotry in this country, let's face it. We have a lot of issues that are social issues. When the people get engaged and involved, that is when they get solved. Government does not have a great track record of solving social issues. Nor did our forefathers ever frame it to do that. We need our charities to step up and succeed. The good part about it is there is an awful lot of money and wealth out there that want to get involved into charities. Businesses, for-profit corporations, will not survive another decade without a purpose-driven agenda. If they don't stand for something for the greater good, their bottom line, their stock-holders, will not exist. The millennials don't buy into that. My youngest son got invited to General Motors up in Michigan. I had happy feet because we had just dropped $140,000 on his education. I thought that he would get this great job. He came back and said, “I can't work there. I don't like the way they do what I'm asked to do. I don't like anything about their values or systems. It's all about the profits. Their processes are bad. I will fail if I try to do that.” I did the standard dad bit and said, “Just get it on your resume for a little while.” Coming back full circle to that, the public/private partnership is only going to get bigger. You see more and more organizations working with nonprofits and dedicating some resources. We have a lot of billionaires out there who are looking for something. I got involved in a deal on a big project, and if you took the five wealthiest families in the country, three of the five were involved in this project. They want to get their money back out in circulation for meaningful things. There is an opportunity to do that, but they just don't want to hand their money to another charity that will fizzle and have a low-end impact. They want the exciting stuff. If you are a purpose-driven business—I am not talking about building a foundation and handing out money, I am talking about truly getting involved and adopting and working with these charities to really make things happen. That is where the leadership comes in. A quick side-note to Hugh in the leadership world: When we so succeeded with the Life Senior Services group and built such a powerful, responsive, well-thought-out organization where people fly in from all over the country to see, their question is, “How the hell did you guys do that?” We have around 36 board members. People will think that is a bit unwieldy. People are looking at it from the aspect of the board supervising and overseeing. That board is there to work with smaller groups and truly get involved in the execution of the strategy. We have attracted some business leaders out of the community, and a few of them provide money and help us raise additional money. I like a self-sustaining revenue model if I can get to it. The whole leadership thing is critically important, but you have to do it in a context of something people get excited about. Hugh: That brings us to the third question I posted earlier. The third one to ponder is about the board being engaged in the planning process. To your point, Ed, the integration of strategy and performance, you see people that write a strategy and it becomes credenzaware. It never gets integrated into the culture. We see people doing leadership and teams in the absence of a strategy. That is why I have created this nonconsulting position of the transformational leadership strategist. You can't separate leadership and strategy in my world. Ed: I agree. Hugh: The third point to ponder was about the board's engagement. We have spoken about it in this conversation. We are on the down-end of this hour. I want to hit some of the highlights about integrating the board into the process. In my experience of 31 years, the planners and the doers are the same. Otherwise, they will never be engaged. Talk about that a little bit. We are going to talk about how we predict the future as we wrap this up. Talk about how we engage the board and that process. Ed: The way we do that is because we use the focus framework process, which we developed in the hallowed halls of Ernst & Young years ago. I have tweaked it a lot since then and adapted it to the nonprofit world. We typically do is the board level talks of discussion, we set up with the boards that works really well, Hugh, and I think you do some of this also. One of the reasons we have 34 board members on Life Senior Services is we have mentoring and masterminds going on. I call it the M&Ms and the As. We build mentors. We use our board to mentor some of these people and help them build plans. We help them sit with the departmental people and build plans and facilitate. It makes a huge difference. The Masterminds is us masterminding the future. Everyone has inputs and portals to all of the things going on externally to our organization that might impact us in the future. We have masterminds going on, so people plug in and out of those. The leadership wants to monitor what is going on there. You know me, Hugh. I am an alliance partnership freak. I think one of the ways you get things done. One reason that Life Senior Services is successful and the Housing Authority is successful is because we built alliances with the people we needed to to execute our strategies. The leadership has got to in the planning process meet- There are two pieces to it. There is the overall purpose of the organization. What are our longer-term visions and objectives? There needs to be some clear definition there as to how you see that so we can at least get a scope of what we are trying to accomplish. The other part of that is the lower pieces of the organization flow that information back up, they react to that direction, some of them have been involved in mentoring and masterminding processes and have now created some departmental and divisional plans. Now we have a total integration between the board and the lower levels. That is not possible in every organization, but it works well for most. Did I successfully avoid your question? Hugh: There is not one right answer here. Ed: It does depend on the personality of the organization. One quick comment because I don't want to miss it in our last few minutes is that people who volunteer and get involved in boards flat-out need to be excited about what it is you're doing. Too many of these organizations don't look to their future in how it's really exciting. Back in the day when we were forming what was Tulsa Senior Services and now Life Senior Services formulated and moving forward, that organization was not exciting. It was mamby-pamby, oh they need a hotline, they need to find services, they need information, they need access to housing, caregivers. It is more of the perfunctory things these people need. We transformed the organization through the leadership. Man, when we start talking about the impact and the why of the organization, people bought into that. Then we transformed that out into the action. We did it pieces at a time. When we got that level of excitement up, then we attracted the funding. Hugh: That's the key. How can you say, “Give us money” when we haven't really done the preparation on the front end? Ed: They don't know what your brand is. I don't know if you got into talking about brand, but people don't buy into a brand today unless they connect to it emotionally. Hugh: One of the things that came up with both David Dunworth and David Corbin was that everybody in the organization represents the brand. Part of the engagement of the board is to understand what the brand promise, brand identity, and the brand pieces really are. How do they fairly represent the organization? It's not done that way in most of the charities that I've seen. I don't know about you, but there is a real connection of who you are and who you represent. Look at dragging off an airplane and you have Ann Coulter out of her seat. Ann Coulter missed a great opportunity. Delta was able to make it about her rather than their poor customer service. We won't mention the airline, sorry. You can take a pic. Those are brand slaughter. It does damage organizationally. All of this works together. It seems like it is an endless process with a lot of work. It is some heavy lifting and intense thinking. It is probably not as hard as most people make it. Ed: No, when you do it as an evolution, it's like raising your children. You won't open things up to them overnight and have them understand all of their possibilities. It is an evolution, and that is why we go through a phase growth plan and have them continually update that. It keeps the vision fresh. Back to the brand one more time. It's the brand emotion. All brands emote. It took me years to convince software developers that their brands had emotion, but I finally won those battles in most of those organizations. Even in your charities and nonprofits, what is your brand? What is exciting about your brand? Why would I want to get attached? One thing about millennials is they coincidentally by 2020 will be 40% of the work force. By 2025, they will be north of 55 or 60%. We will be dealing with the people that are millennials. They have to understand the purpose, the emotion of your brand to get connected to it. I am not saying categorically, but maybe that is the problem with your churches. They are not connecting their brand emotionally. Hugh: It is. Millennials will not substitute anything for integrity and authenticity. The boomers have done some disingenuous things, and millennials don't want anything to do with it. Actually, my article in my magazine Nonprofit Professional Performance 360 is about the similarities between the boomers and the millennials. We are going to wrap up here. Russ, I would like you to do a wrap-up on what you've heard. Russ has been taking notes on Ed Bogle sound bites. Then I will ask you, Ed, for your closing thoughts. Russell Dennis, what do you have to say on the end of this interview? Russell: This has all been good information. It's very important to have a strategy; everything starts with strategy. You get nowhere if you don't know what you're doing. It's critical to have younger people engaged. Some of these issues I have seen as a veteran, going to veteran events and organizations, there are no veterans under 25 at any of these events. In my mind, that's a problem. We see this across the spectrum. Your work has to mean something, or it does mean something. It means something to people out there. It's getting connected to the people that the work means something to that is the challenge. That takes work. There is a lot of work that has to be done internally, and you constantly have to have an improvement system and constantly measure and monitor what you're doing. You have to be excited about it because if you're not excited about it, who will write you a check? They will not be excited about your work if you are not excited about it either. It's really important. When it comes to masterminds and mentoring, I like the idea of reverse mentoring: getting some of these millennials in to teach older guys like us about these processes and new things. There is an opportunity inside an organization to do reverse mentoring because we have to bridge that generation gap if you are going to be relevant down the road. Hugh: Once again, Russell one-ups me. Ed, take us out. What are some closing thoughts for people? Thank you, Russ. Ed: Strategy is the discipline. It's part of your management process. It starts with your constituents and how you are going to serve them and how you are going to migrate it over time. Clearly understanding your brand and your emotion for them. That is where it all starts and stops. There was a brilliant guy, Theodore Leavitt, who was one of the founders of the real-marketing strategy world, who said a business, or even an organization for that matter, is all about finding and keeping a customer. You better take your constituents and understand them and your brand and what it represents to them. Hugh: Great words. Ed, thank you for sharing lots of really useful stuff tonight. Ed: Anybody that wants any further information on this, I am happy to share templates and stuff. Hugh: Thanks, Ed, for being with us. Ed: Thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes disrupters come from unexpected places. In order to solve our major social problems like poverty, hunger and education, we need innovation and new thinking to solve them on a grand scale. Would you expect a bankrupt nonprofit to have the answer? Or a restaurant that opens in an unpopular part of town? In this episode of Add Passion and Stir, two provocative thinkers share their creative strategies with host Billy Shore. Entrepreneur, author and activist Dan Pallotta is known for the creation of multi-day charitable events like the Breast Cancer 3-Day walks and AIDS Rides, as well as his iconic TED talk on how the way we think about charity is dead wrong. Boston restauranteur Garrett Harker restaurateur makes a practice of using his restaurants to activate up-and-coming neighborhoods and empower staff members to engage in this community revitalization. Billy Shore, founder and CEO of Share Our Strength and an innovator himself, asks Pallotta and Harker about how they use their respective platforms to disrupt norms. Pallotta uses his platform as a founder of nonprofits to voice his disagreement with society’s expectations of them. “Nonprofits should not be hamstrung,” he says, by things like an inability to spend money on fundraising or donors’ requirements of low overhead. “Nonprofits have the capacity to radically disrupt the world in a short period of time… We need to unleash their power to address massive social problems.” Harker uses the unlikely platform of placing a restaurant in a transitional neighborhood to transform a community and develop staff members. “We realized how galvanizing it can be to put together a staff and make it part of your mission not just to take care of people, but to help elevate a community and a neighborhood.” With restaurants such as Eastern Standard in Kenmore Square and Branch Line in Watertown, his twin goals of striving to be the best and positively impacting the neighborhood have led to many successes. Listen to the episode and marvel that the answers to our biggest social problems may not come from the usual suspects, and get inspired to disrupt norms yourself.

Activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend — not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments, even if that comes with big expenses. In this talk, he says: Let's change the way we think about changing the world. www.buildgrowandenjoy.com

Blake Canterbury is the founder of Purposity, a new organization that seeks to connect people as directly as possible to real needs in their community. The name itself is a reflection of their mission, a combination of the words "purposeful generosity". In this interview we are joined by Whiteboard co-founder Eric Brown, whose local Chattanooga company was instrumental in developing Purposity and bringing the platform to our city. To sign up for Purposity, check out their website: http://www.purposity.com/ Referenced in this episode: Whiteboard - http://whiteboard.is/ "The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong" by Dan Pallotta - http://bit.ly/2lNhBhL

Susan Boyle isn't the only one to dream a dream. We got the chance to talk to the all-around amazing Dan Pallotta in this week's Hubcast. Dan chats with us about his TED talk "The Dream We Haven't Dared to Dream" and how nonprofits should perform to meet their potential. It's an inspirational discussion that will invigorate and inspire to do more. Check out hearnebraska.org for more local artists. Intro - Bernardus "Made Up Your Mind" (bernardusmusic.com) Outro - A Ferocious Jungle Cat "C-Monster" (aferociousjunglecat.bandcamp.com) Special thanks to our sponsor DipJar. Check out more at nphub.org/dipjar Check out Cause Camp at www.cause.camp

Michael Slaby is the Founder and Head of Mission of Timshel, a startup that has developed a platform called The Groundwork to give organizations and brands more powerful digital tools to analyze all the data they are producing, help them organize supporters, get their message out, and raise money. According to Federal Election Commission records, Hillary Clinton has spent almost $500,000 on Timshel’s services since announcing her candidacy last year. Before starting Timshel, Michael was the CTO of Obama for America in 2008 and Obama’s Chief Integration Officer in 2012,  overseeing the campaign's integration of technology, digital strategy, and analytics.  listen on iTunes listen on stitcher In This Episode You Will Learn: How an "argument of violent agreement" got Michael into politics The differences between the 2008 election and 2012 election What the team took from the 2012 campaign to Timshel How Timshel balances being a for profit company and having a social mission How Timshel is helping Hillary Clinton's campaign Why they started a podcast Why we need to improve the availability of early stage capital here in Chicago (None of Timshel's investors are from here) Why Michael thinks Chicago has a bright future in impact analytics How entrepreneurs can balance the line between optimism and insanity Selected Links From The Episode: Dick Durbin, Illinois Senator Joe Rospars, Founder & CEO of Blue State Digital Harper Reed, Former CTO at Obama For America Dan Wagner, Founder and CEO of Civis Analytics UN Refugee Agency The Hive, digital arm of UN Refugee Agency Impact Engine The way we think about charity is dead wrong by Dan Pallotta,  Stephanie Hannon, CTO of Clinton Campaign Edelmen, Marketing Agency Fabretto Foundation Bright Pink I Am That Girl Food Tank Elevate Purpose, Timshel's podcast Rayid Ghani, Director of the Center for Data Science and Public Policy Kevin Willer, VC at Chicago Ventures JB Pritzker, VC at Pritzker VC Matter Data For Social Good University of Chicago Crime Lab UN Sustainable Development Goals Favorite Books:  East of Eden by John Steinbeck (where the name Timshel comes from) This Is Water by David Foster Wallace (given to every new employee)  Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Books: Actor-y An Actor Prepares (Stanislavski) - tried and true about how NOT to act in novel form The Second Circle (Rodenburg) - prior recommend - about acting, being present and harnessing your life-force for good! Acting In Film (Caine) - it’s a quick read and some if it seems a bit trickster-like, but it’s a unique point of view about film acting from one who has been doing it for decades.   Human-y (modern classics) The Alchemist (Coelho) - if you haven’t read this yet, please do… now, please! The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) - if you just skimmed this in middle or high school, go back and read it - great seamless example of transparent inner life. To Kill A Mockingbird (Lee) - story about prejudice vs. compassion - go back and read it!   (front list-ish) Between the World and Me (Coates) - OK I haven’t read this yet, but it’s on my nightstand and the reviews are nuts! Conceived in letter form from the author to his son. A Little Life (Yanagihara) - I’m not gonna lie, this book is loooong but the writing is acute and one of the 4 main characters is a actor. Takes place in NYC over several decades. If you have the time and the bandwidth for sadness, it’s a great read. Girl on the Train (Hawkins) - This was the big thriller hit last year and of course they are making the movie as we speak. Can you say unreliable narrator? (I knew you could).   Ted Talks: Researcher Brene Brown in her now infamous talk about vulnerability https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability Neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor - about the stroke she had in her 30’s which transformed her understanding of existence https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight Dan Pallotta’s most recent about humanity and dreaming together https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_dream_we_haven_t_dared_to_dream   Classes in LA: Jamison Jones Acting Studio -- just moved to Burbank The masterclass is an ongoing scene study class Monday nights from 7-11 in Burbank (across the street from Argentum photolab) Grand Opening for the Burbank space on May 14th at 4pm and on May 19th at 7pm there is a FREE Open class It's a class about finding your power as an an actor and honing your skill and unique sensibility. It's also about pointing out your weaknesses and your actor ticks and tells and getting rid of them, it's about awareness and specificity and being able to walk in the audition room or onset or stage with your most confident self, with your work prepared and complete. Email: jonesactingstudio@gmail.com   Art of Acting 5-week Shakespeare Intensive 5 weeks, 20 hours per week, 10 of which will be in rehearsal for a play -- by WS! If you mention my name, you’ll get a 50% discount! http://www.artofactingstudio.com/classes/shakespeare-intensive/ Audition Class with me - Breathe -- stop choking! Two Saturdays per month in June, July and August, I will be giving an audition class around breathing. We’ll focus on scenes or speeches you would be preparing for auditions and how to breathe through them (and not hold your breath) so you can stay connected to the inner life of the character and to your scene partner/reader. Come once -- come again. We will work with whatever you got and make it better! Space TBA in Burbank or Hollywood. Email me: lauren@firstbreathspeech.com if you’re in LA and you’re interested!   Online Class: How Your Voice Works - Elissa Weinzimmer (Episode #12 - Your Voice and Your Vibrator) How Your Voice Works is a new online class from vocal health specialist Elissa Weinzimmer, explaining the anatomy and mechanics of the voice in clear and simple detail. Visit www.voicebodyconnection.com and enter your information to get the first module of the course for free!   New mobile headshot with The Headshot Truck -- in LA and coming to NYC soon! http://www.theheadshottruck.com/ One of my acting students works as a make-up artist for them - ask for Kristin! Go where the truck is or have it come to you -- starts at $300 and is quick and fun.   Apps: Mediation -- Ok people, I have been remiss in the meditation, but I am re-upping and have found some good apps for you to try...   Meditate Me --Kelly Howell - The Brain Whisperer -- there is one for $2.99 and I think it’s worth it. It’s a guided mediation so we can help our brains to process our thoughts and experiences - like our bring laundry, you know? Dirty shirts cleansed and folded and back in the drawers? http://meditate.me/   Sattva This one is free and the structure of the app is pretty cool with a timer and a choice to engage in challenges and post on FB etc. There is a plethora of meditations from which to choose, which is super-fab. The sound quality is not up to the bar set by the tech, but they work just fine. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sattva-meditation-timer-tracker/id930904592?mt=8 Speech Ring I’ve developed an articulation tool that everyone is LOVING so far -- we’re not going to sell it online yet, though as we are still in the testing stage, but if you take my summer workshop classes OR you send me a message from the Facebook page we can probably work out a way for you to have one! Re-brand - taking a break -- if you want to know about all we’re cooking up, please go to the website and sign up for the mailing list so you don’t suddenly suffer from FOMO!

Quels sont vos rêves? Mieux encore, quels sont vos rêves brisés ? Dan Pallotta rêve d'une époque où nous serons aussi excités, curieux et scientifiques à propos du développement de notre humanité que nous le sommes aujourd'hui du développement de notre technologie. « Ce que nous craignons le plus est que l'opportunité d'accomplir notre vrai potentiel nous soit refusée », dit Pallotta. « Imaginez vivre dans un monde où nous reconnaîtrions simplement cette peur profonde et existentielle de l'autre -- et où nous aimerions profondément cet autre justement parce que nous saurions qu'être humain, c'est vivre avec cette peur. »

여러분의 꿈은 무엇인가요? 그보다도, 잃어버린 여러분의 꿈은 무엇인가요? 댄 팰로타는 우리가 기술의 발전만큼 인간성의 발전에 대해 흥분하고, 호기심 갖고, 과학적으로 분석하는 시대를 꿈 꿉니다. 팰로타는 "우리가 가장 두려워하는 것은 진정한 가능성을 채울 기회를 뺏기리란 것"이라고 말합니다. "존재에 대한 깊은 두려움을 서로에게서 알아봐주는 세상을 상상해 보세요. 그런 두려움을 안고 사는 게 인간이란 걸 알기에 서로를 대담하게 사랑하는 세상을요."

Was sind Ihre Träume? Oder noch besser, was sind Ihre zerbrochenen Träume? Dan Pallotta träumt von einer Zeit, in der wir so aufgeregt, neugierig und wissenschaftlich über die Entwicklung unserer Menschlichkeit sind, wie über die Entwicklung unserer Technologie. "Unsere größte Angst ist, dass wir keine Möglichkeit bekommen unser wirkliches Potenzial zu erfüllen", sagt Pallotta. "Stellen sie sich vor, wir würden in einer Welt leben, in der wir die existenzielle Angst in einander erkennen – und einander mutig lieben. Denn wir wissen, dass diese Angst ein Teil unserer menschlichen Existenz ist."

Quais são os seus sonhos? Melhor, quais sonhos você não pôde realizar? Dan Pallotta sonha com um tempo em que sejamos tão empolgados, curiosos e científicos a respeito do desenvolvimento da nossa humanidade quanto somos a respeito do desenvolvimento de nossas tecnologias. "O que mais tememos é não conseguirmos concretizar nosso verdadeiro potencial", diz Pallota. "Imaginem viver em um mundo onde simplesmente reconheçamos esse medo profundo e essencial uns nos outros, e amemos uns aos outros corajosamente por sabermos que sermos humanos é vivermos com esse medo."

¿Cuáles son tus sueños? Mejor aún, ¿cuáles son tus sueños incumplidos? Dan Pallotta sueña con un momento en el que seamos tan apasionados, y sintamos tanta curiosidad científica por el desarrollo de nuestra humanidad como por el desarrollo de nuestra tecnología. "Creo que a lo que más tememos es a perder la oportunidad de alcanzar nuestro verdadero potencial", dice Pallotta. "Imaginen vivir en un mundo en el que reconociéramos mutuamente ese profundo miedo existencial y nos amáramos unos a otros fervientemente porque sabríamos que ser humanos implica vivir con ese temor".

What are your dreams? Better yet, what are your broken dreams? Dan Pallotta dreams of a time when we are as excited, curious and scientific about the development of our humanity as we are about the development of our technology. "What we fear most is that we will be denied the opportunity to fulfill our true potential," Pallotta says. "Imagine living in a world where we simply recognize that deep, existential fear in one another -- and love one another boldly because we know that to be human is to live with that fear."

I've got a special edition of This Moved Me this week! I gave a big hint about it in my weekly This Moved Me newsletter a few weeks back... so, for those who are not signed up for these emails (why aren't you signed up for these?!), let me see if I can set this up for you.   A few weeks ago I attended the Minneapolis Foundation's 100-year anniversary conference. They had some HUGE keynote speakers lined up - Dan Buettner from the Blue Zone project (hilarious, I'm dying to interview him), Michio Kaku - the physicist futurist (he is really something - a total entertainer) - and then our guest for today's show - Dan Pallotta, founder and president of Advertising for Humanity and the Charity Defense Council.   You see, Dan invented the modern-day charity event, and in doing so, raised hundreds of millions of dollars for some of the biggest causes of the day. But it wasn't an easy ride. Dan's TED Talk - one of the 100-most viewed of all time - inspires and insists on a new way of thinking about how we treat charities and nonprofits so that these organizations have a fighting chance at actually changing the world.   Loved our brief 15-minutes to dig into how we can convince a sometimes unwilling audience!  

Join us as we welcome back author ("Uncharitable" & "Charity Case"), disruptor and TED Speaker Dan Pallotta to talk about innovation in the nonprofit sector, Founder of Pallotta TeamWorks, Dan is also the inventor of the multi-day charitable event industry. Survivor spotlight Erin Skarda, writer and curator for NationSwell.

Join us as we welcome back author ("Uncharitable" & "Charity Case"), disruptor and TED Speaker Dan Pallotta to talk about innovation in the nonprofit sector, Founder of Pallotta TeamWorks, Dan is also the inventor of the multi-day charitable event industry. Survivor spotlight Erin Skarda, writer and curator for NationSwell. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dan Pallotta, Chief Humanity Officer of Advertising for Humanity and author of Uncharitable talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his book. Pallotta argues that charities are deeply handicapped by their culture and how we view them. The use of overhead as a measure of effectiveness makes it difficult for charities to attract the best talent, advertise, and invest for the future. Pallotta advocates a new culture for non-profits that takes the best aspects of the for-profit sector to enhance the mission and effectiveness of charities.

Dan Pallotta, Chief Humanity Officer of Advertising for Humanity and author of Uncharitable talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his book. Pallotta argues that charities are deeply handicapped by their culture and how we view them. The use of overhead as a measure of effectiveness makes it difficult for charities to attract the best talent, advertise, and invest for the future. Pallotta advocates a new culture for non-profits that takes the best aspects of the for-profit sector to enhance the mission and effectiveness of charities.

Dan Pallotta, Chief Humanity Officer of Advertising for Humanity and author of Uncharitable talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his book. Pallotta argues that charities are deeply handicapped by their culture and how we view them. The use of overhead as a measure of effectiveness makes it difficult for charities to attract the best talent, advertise, and invest for the future. Pallotta advocates a new culture for non-profits that takes the best aspects of the for-profit sector to enhance the mission and effectiveness of charities.

When someone approaches you to donate to a non-profit, how many of you want to know how much of of its money goes to salaries and fund-raising and how much goes to actual program services? If you're like most people, that question probably figures into your decision. I myself have factored that question of how much is spent on overhead into my charitable giving. But is it a valid or wise way to make such decisions? According to today's guest, DAN PALLOTTA, while it may be helpful, much more important is how well they serve their mission, how good a job they're doing solving the problems you care about. In his earlier book, UNCHARITABLE, Pallotta, who has a record of helping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for causes, made the case that the way we think about non-profits and the rules we set for them, makes it harder for them to succeed on a truly significant scale. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend -- not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses). Where other folks suggest ways to optimize performance inside the existing paradigm, UNCHARITABLE suggests that the paradigm itself is the problem and calls into question our fundamental beliefs about charity. With a new book, CHARITY CASE: How the Non-Profit community Can Stand Up for Itself and Really Change the World and in a recent very popular TED talk, he says "My goal ... is to fundamentally transform the way the public thinks about charity within 10 years."

Almost every day, we read about passionate people who want to solve a big problem and they do so in myriad ways. We hear about social entrepreneurs, social enterprises, and for-profits and non-profits, all working toward social change. Clearly, we are long past the days when non-profits are the only do-gooders in the world. In 2008, a student at Stanford … Read more about this episode...

Dan Pallotta, president of Advertising for Humanity and author of "Uncharitable."

On this week’s show, I speak with nonprofit sector innovator and author Dan Pallotta who is challenging Americans’ long-held beliefs about charities that he says constrain nonprofits from solving the problems of the world. Pallotta invented the multi-day AIDSRides and Breast Cancer 3-Days Walks, fundraisers that have gone on for so long now that we […] The post Nonprofit Spark – In depth with Nonprofit Sector Innovator Dan Pallotta – 09/05/11 appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

SURVIVOR SPOTLIGHT HARRIE BAKST Young Adult Survivor Salivary Gland Cancer President & Founder Carnegie Sports Group KEN BERGER President & CEO Charity Navigator DAN PALLOTTA Founder, Pallotta TeamWorks Author, Uncharitable

SURVIVOR SPOTLIGHT HARRIE BAKST Young Adult Survivor Salivary Gland Cancer President & Founder Carnegie Sports Group KEN BERGER President & CEO Charity Navigator DAN PALLOTTA Founder, Pallotta TeamWorks Author, Uncharitable See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Aired 12/23/08 Charities may operate with the noblest of intentions - but according to DAN PALLOTTA, they are hampered from the very start by an irrational set of rules and assumptions. By barring or discouraging charities from wielding the most effective tools of capitalism, he insists, we limit their ability to fight the social problems they were formed to tackle on a truly significant scale. UNCHARITABLE goes where no other book on the nonprofit sector has dared to tread. Where other texts suggest ways to optimize performance inside the existing paradigm, Uncharitable suggests that the paradigm itself is the problem and calls into question our fundamental canons about charity. Pallotta argues that society's nonprofit ethic acts as a strict regulatory mechanism on the natural economic law. It creates an economic apartheid that denies the nonprofit sector critical tools and permissions that the for-profit sector is allowed to use without restraint (e.g., no risk-reward incentives, no profit, counterproductive limits on compensation, and moral objections to the use of donated dollars for anything other than program expenditures. http://www.danpallotta.com