The Charity Charge Show: Recent Episodes
Charity Charge
The founder of Charity Charge, Stephen Garten chats with nonprofit and social impact leaders from around the country about social good, fundraising, and everything in between.
In Episode 102 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Lisa Van Dusen, Executive Director of Palo Alto Community Fund, whose mission is to focus on the unique needs of our community and channel charitable giving of local donors to effective organizations that improve the quality of life for everyone in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.
Stephen and Lisa Van Dusen talk about innovating quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic and trust based philanthropy.
Van Dusen has dedicated her career to helping build thriving communities through philanthropy, advocacy, entrepreneurship and media, bringing more than 30 years of cross sector experience to the Palo Alto Community Fund.
Previous to joining the Palo Alto Community Fund, Van Dusen was Chief Relationship Officer at Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund (SV2) where she led innovation and learning initiatives that deepened awareness, engagement and giving to address social and environmental challenges in Silicon Valley and globally.
Her accomplishments include expanding and diversifying SV2’s donor community, introducing field-leading impact investing and spearheading advocacy program offerings.
Van Dusen, who has lived in Palo Alto for 35 years, has held a variety of professional and civic leadership positions, including launching two groundbreaking local media ventures—Cable Communications Cooperative of Palo Alto (Cable Co-op) and Palo Alto Online.
She revived and co-led Leadership Palo Alto and created and hosted First Person, a video interview series featuring Silicon Valley trailblazers. In addition to her experience as a social entrepreneur, Van Dusen brings expertise in sales, marketing and communications with the Palo Alto Weekly and other organizations.
She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards including, Palo Alto Art Center, Planned Parenthood (Golden Gate), WINGS Guatemala and in numerous civic leadership roles. She has been recognized extensively, including as a Silicon Valley Women of Influence, TEDx speaker, Leadership Midpeninsula Senior Fellow and California College of the Arts Leading by Design Fellow.
Lisa Van Dusen on trust based philanthropy: In June 2019, our board signed off on a strategic plan that was committing to trust based philanthropy meaning that instead of the dollars that were raised each year going into our endowment that the default would be for the funds to go out the door and pass through grants to nonprofit organizations in our community.
Our donors could still specify if they wanted their contribution to go to our endowment but the default would be to get the money out to the organizations making a difference in our community.
We believe this would lead to a deeper connection and knowledge exchange with our community, organizations, and other leaders, to connect us with what is going on. I also see it as investing in ourselves as an organization, which I think is really significant.
We had great support for this initiative and met our three year plan goal in the first year. Trust base philanthropy is at it's core saying, "here is money, we trust you as an organization to know how to deploy it best." If that is to pay your staff, then that is what you should do, or it's to keep your lights on, use the money for whatever you need.
With our strategic plan we are fundamentally choosing, who we who we are betting on as an organization, and trusting them to do what they need.
In Episode 101 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of American Public Health Association (APHA), whose mission is to improve the health of the public and achieve equity in health status.
Stephen and Georges Benjamin talk about what APHA learned from the COVID pandemic, APHA's role in shaping American healthcare policy over the past 150 years, and the importance of having financial reserves in place.
Georges C. Benjamin is known as one of the nation’s most influential physician leaders because he speaks passionately and eloquently about the health issues having the most impact on our nation today.
From his firsthand experience as a physician, he knows what happens when preventive care is not available and when the healthy choice is not the easy choice. As executive director of APHA since 2002, he is leading the Association’s push to make America the healthiest nation.
Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of American Public Health Association, on the importance of having financial reserves: We try to be fiscally conservative and have multiple revenue streams and live with in our resources each year. Of course COVID is stressor on those financial goals. That's one of the reasons we have reserves is so that you can go into them when times are hard. The last couple of years, we've had to go into reserves a little bit, because times are hard.
But we were able to do that because every year we were able to take any surplus revenues that came in and put them in the bank. Having a good savings account is important. However, I also think it's important that people figure out what's important for you to do and focus your mission - then put your resources behind that focused mission.
For us, if it hurts people or kills people, the public health community has a role in it, but we can't solve all the problems. Instead we try to solve the problems that we think are important for us directly and then we partner with others who have the strength to tackle other problems.
We don't really care who gets the credit, we care that the mission gets done. We hold ourselves accountable to the mission getting done as our main measure of success.
In Episode 100 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Grant Trahant, Founder of Causeartist and RefiJobs. His mission is to show that everyone — from shoppers and professionals to entrepreneurs and investors — can change the world by making decisions that benefit the people and places around them.
Interested in listening to the full episode and hearing more from other nonprofits? Check out more episodes here.
Stephen and Grant Trahant talk about what it takes to build a business or nonprofit from the ground up, reflect on what Stephen's learned from 100 conversations, and the unifying power of listening to and spending time with others.
Since 2013, Causeartist has been read in 150+ countries. Over this time Grant has interviewed 700+ social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and impact ventures from around the world.
The mission has always been to highlight innovations within ethical fashion, regenerative farming, climate tech, fair trade products, impact investing, and sustainable travel.
He also hosts the Disruptors for GOOD podcast and the Investing in Impact podcast.
Connect with Grant on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Grant on listening to others and seeing what truly unites us: One advantage I get from talking to people around the world is that I experience that no matter where you are, no matter where you live, people still want the same thing for themselves, for their communities, and for their kids.
Whatever it may be their level of passion is the same. Whether they're from India, Southeast Asia, Delaware, Toronto, or Mexico City, wherever it may be, everybody's problems are pretty similar.
It could be dealing with mental health or dealing with economic issues, although different places approach problems and issues differently there are always people trying to solve them.
We're unified in trying to solve problems together on all continents and cities around the world.
About Causeartist causeartist – [cause-artist] noun. a person who uses their talents and skills to impact the world.
Since 2013, Causeartist has been read in 150+ countries. Over this time I have interviewed 700+ impact entrepreneurs, impact investors, and impact ventures from around the world.
Causeartist is a global community of social entrepreneurs, builders, creators, and conscious consumers, who believe business can positively impact the world.
In Episode 99 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Vicki Burkhart, CEO of The More Than Giving Co., whose mission is to give nonprofits with visionary leaders and compelling missions an affordable, on-demand staffing solution to supplement the bandwidth and skillsets of their volunteer force.
Stephen and Vicki Burkhart talk about More Than Giving's work with nonprofits to provide the staffing they need, the importance of a living strategic plan, and the four critical things for nonprofit success.
Vicki Burkhart is founder and CEO of the More Than Giving Company. She has 30+ years of experience in the nonprofit arena as an Executive Director, nonprofit executive and consultant.
After earning a B.A. and M.Ed. from Penn State, Vicki advanced to hold leadership positions in development and donor relations, including serving as the VP of Advancement at the MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine. At the same time, she was serving several nonprofits as their Executive Director.
Collectively, these roles gave her extensive, hands-on experience with major gift cultivation (including personally closing multimillion-dollar gifts), board development and strategic planning, membership development, organizational development, and volunteer management.
In 1999, Vicki founded More Than Giving with the goal of delivering innovative solutions to help more volunteer-driven nonprofits achieve sustainability and growth.
Vicki on the four critical things for nonprofit success There are four things that I think are critical to a successful nonprofit:
- A strategic plan - It's usually the first thing I ask for when I engage with a new client. All of the organizations that I lead, as an Executive Director have active strategic plans. By active I don't mean strategic plans that you do and put on the shelf and look at you know once a year. I mean, strategic plans that actually navigate the direction and path for the nonprofit, where you make decisions based on your plan, you look at revenue generation and leadership succession based on your plan. The strategic plan is a document that I think no matter how large or small the nonprofit is, is critical to that success.
- Finding the right board - I intentionally use the word right because boards that I have worked with evolve, just like the nonprofit evolves. The founding board may be replaced by what I like to call the transition board a few years in, this transition board can then allow you to start separating operations from corporate responsibility. It defines the role of the board and the board's committees a little bit more and that of what staff does. Then the transition board shifts as the organization matures and starts to move into a more corporate board. It's important for nonprofit organizations to spend time finding the right people to sit on each of these boards. For the founders board looks very different than a corporate board.
- Maintaining and building capacity - It's important that a nonprofit has the people and resources to support the growth of the organization. This gets back to, our paradigm shift in staffing and being able to have the right technology in the right infrastructure needed to support the growth of the organization.
- Internal support - With the right internal support your professionals and your volunteers can focus on the work that they need to do. That's where you want someone who's sitting on your board making visits to prospective donors and you don't want them sitting in the office just doing light bookkeeping or sending out acknowledgement letters. Organizations really have to look at, if you get this much of volunteer time, how can that best be used?
In Episode 98 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Nancy Long, Executive Director of 501 Commons, whose mission is to serve nonprofits as experts, innovators, and partners.
Their passion is to amplify the strengths of nonprofits—so ALL people and communities flourish. Stephen and Nancy Long talk about the resilience of nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic, 501 Commons recent reports regarding nonprofit employee compensation, and common mistake nonprofits make with grants.
Nancy Long is the Executive Director of 501 Commons. 501 Commons addresses the national problem of nonprofits having limited access to the expertise they need to optimize their organization. The organization provides consulting, contracted services, and other forms of support.
This allows organizations to have the technology, data, management, fundraising, finance, and human resources expertise they need.
Before becoming executive director of 501 Commons, Nancy worked in health care as the Vice President of Strategy and Organizational Development at Group Health Cooperative. Nancy was on the health care reform policy staff for the Washington Health Services Commission.
She served as the Director of Marketing for the Basic Health Plan. She developed groundbreaking research to promote health insurance to diverse communities and implemented community-based outreach that resulted in unprecedented participation and diverse enrollment.
As the Director of Quality for the Washington State Hospital Association, she represented hospitals on regulatory matters and led a quality of care research project with rural hospitals.
As the Director of Marketing & Community Services at Pacific Medical, she led the effort to create the Cross-Cultural Health Care Program, which has done breakthrough work on culturally and linguistically accessible health care.
Nancy has a BA in social psychology (University of Texas), and a master’s from the Evans School (University of Washington), where she was also a lecturer, teaching nonprofit leadership and management.
John LuxIn Episode 97 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to John Lux, Executive Director of Film Florida, a not-for-profit entertainment production association for Florida's film, TV, production & digital media industry.
Stephen and John Lux talk about John's unique career path, Film Florida's mission to support the film industry in Florida, and the challenges in showing value to individual members in a large membership based organization.
John has been the Executive Director for Film Florida since June 2016 and manages the day-to-day operations of the organization after spending 20 years working in the industry.
John is responsible for Film Florida operations, marketing, membership recruitment and finance. In addition to his other responsibilities for Film Florida, John is a social media enthusiast and has been handling the Film Florida social media strategy and day to day management of the website since 2014.
In previous roles John has been responsible for operations, finance and marketing positions including day-to-day operations (including all project proposals and budgets), finance (POs, APs, ARs, cash flow planning, etc.), and marketing strategies (social media, award submissions, press releases, communication with media, etc.).
John started in operations for the Walt Disney Company and helped Orlando-based IDEAS transition from Disney to an independent corporation and was instrumental in the transformation and growth of the company for 18 years.
After graduating from Purdue University, John worked in the live entertainment industry managing a staff of 300+ for an outdoor music and entertainment venue in the Chicago area before moving to Florida to join Disney where he received Disney’s rare and highly respected Partners In Excellence award.
His strong Chicago roots are reflected in his undying passion for college football, especially his alma mater, the Purdue Boilermakers and his home town teams, Blackhawks, Bears, Bulls, White Sox, Cubs and Northwestern University.
In Episode 96 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Jeff Mazur, Executive Director of LaunchCode, whose mission is offering free tech education and job placement opportunities to bring new people from all backgrounds into the tech field and reshape the way employers think about hiring. Stephen and Jeff Mazur talk about LaunchCode's impact on providing people with the skills to enter a career in tech, creating a sustainable revenue stream to facilitate growth within a nonprofit, and the importance of embracing a learning mindset.
Jeff Mazur is an experienced executive with a proven record of leading nonprofit organizations through growth and strategic change. Presently heading LaunchCode, a high-impact workforce and economic development organization with an acute focus on helping regions flourish via technology education, civic partnership and corporate engagement.
Jeff Mazur on embracing a learning mindset:
What I've learned is that the longer I do this work, the less and less I know, and that that's actually a good thing that I should want to be true. I want to be comfortable with not knowing as a leader, because as we do more, and as we grow, there are new things that I ultimately am responsible for making decisions about that are entirely unexplored in the prior history of the organization and my tenure with it. So I don't know the answers to those new things but that's okay. Learning the answers and coming up with what we think as a team would be the best solutions is the highest order work that I can do in the organization. That was honestly somewhat surprising to discover, because the assumption might be "Well, in the first year, you're going to find some things that you never did before. In the second year, you're going to kind of get it down. Then the third or fourth or fifth year it's all old hat" And But I've found that not to be true. If it were true, it would be a signal to me that I, and we as leaders, weren't pushing the organization to do enough new things or to change itself and evolve or figure out how to test the edges of the space that we work in.
In Episode 95 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Stella Kafka, Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), whose mission is to advance the atmospheric and related sciences, technologies, applications, and services for the benefit of society. Stephen and Stella Kafka talk about the pros & cons of switching to a virtual meeting model, joining an organization from an outsiders perspective, and AMS's mission to use science to keep people safe.
As executive director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), a non- profit worldwide scientific and educational organization of amateur and professional astronomers, Stella Kafka utilized a combination of talent, skills, and scientific accomplishments that she now brings to her new role as AMS executive director. Kafka obtained her B.S. degree in physics at the University of Athens, Greece, and a master’s and Ph.D. in astronomy, with a double minor in physics and geophysical sciences from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. After completing her Ph.D., Stella held a series of prestigious postdoctoral positions and fellowships, first at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, where she received the National Optical Astronomy Observatory Excellence Award, then at IPAC/Caltech, and finally as a NASA Astrobiology Institute Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Stella also brings with her a wealth of managerial experience. In addition to serving as the director of two research and mentorship programs for undergraduates while in Chile, Stella managed editorial, marketing, financial, business development, operations, and production aspects of journals at the American Institute of Physics (AIP). As a journal manager at AIP, Stella successfully oversaw the launch of a new journal and served as a liaison between publishing and research communities. On top of her research and management abilities, Stella brings an international perspective to her work. After growing up in Greece, she obtained a Proficiency Diploma in the French language (she has one in English, too), pursued higher education in the United States, and worked and traveled in South America (including Chile, Argentina, and Brazil). Stella is fluent in Greek and English and speaks Spanish and French. Stella enjoys interacting with people of every age and background and has honed her communication skills through mentoring students, classroom teaching, and lectures to professional and public audiences. And then, like all good communicators, she knows when to stop and listen.
Stella Kafka on in person meetings fueling powerful brainstorm sessions and problem solving:
At some point in trying to understand a solution to a problem, it requires a little bit of getting out of your comfort zone and discussing aspects of science that maybe you don't know very well. I find that is much easier when speaking in person than it is virtually. I think that COVID made us more efficient and more accessible in terms of utilizing different methods of communication and increasing inclusivity. However, we're still trying to replicate those in depth, in person experiences and online technology is just not there yet. I'm not really sure what the end result will be, maybe we will actually come up with some kind of visors and virtual working places that will bridge the gap we are currently dealing with. That is our challenge. Although we aren't all the way there yet, I really like the increased efficiency and the fact that we can actually do things much faster using virtual technology.
In Episode 94 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Katie Appold, Executive Director of Do More Good & Nonprofit Hub, whose mission is to create and curate content to help nonprofits do more good. Stephen and Katie Appold talk about the upcoming Cause Camp (September 14-15, 2022), the struggles nonprofits are facing transitioning to a digital fundraising model, and creating great nonprofit boards.
Katie’s nonprofit career includes a variety of leadership roles for human service, foundation, and publishing-related nonprofits as well as many volunteer roles. Under Katie’s leadership, nonprofit organizations have developed new programs related to free healthcare, affordable and accessible housing and literacy programs for K-12 students. In her first Executive Director role, Katie increased the annual revenue of the organization she led by 300% and received the top grant prize in the nation for affordable housing through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. Today, she leads Do More Good, the parent organization of Nonprofit Hub and Cause Camp which collectively serve more than 50,000 nonprofits throughout North America. Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in business administration and a masters degree in nonprofit leadership. Katie is the past board president of Gracious Grounds, a housing organization serving individuals with disabilities. She is an active member of the Grand Rapids Young Nonprofit Professionals, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, Cause Network, the Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Katie Appold on the struggles nonprofits are facing in transitioning to a digital fundraising model and the speakers at Cause Camp 2022:
I would say the largest challenge that we're seeing organizations face is a transition to majority digital communication and fundraising. Pre-pandemic in person events like galas, golf outings, and one on one coffee meetings with donors were still happening. Thankfully, those things are coming back, and they're coming back strong, which is wonderful. But over the two years when the pandemic was at its peak, people really had to communicate digitally, and nonprofits had to raise their support digitally. So we're seeing a lot of organizations who are doing the right things, but they need to tweak and perfect and test and learn how to do them better.
Our solution is that we've built this year's Cause Camp's speaker list to address a lot of those issues that we see nonprofits facing. This year we have Dana Snyder, the gal who was the driving force behind Movember, talking about how you can take your mission and make it an online movement. We will also have Nathan Hill talking about how you can communicate to donors why they should give to your mission digitally? Because if you have no other way to connect with a donor other than email, it's crucial to know what you can say and do in that email to 1) make them open it and 2) connect with them in your message. Chris Hammond will also be talking about how nonprofit leaders need a strong personal network to build a strong organization, which I think is something that is often overlooked. Chris is going to talk about how to create that personal network digitally using tools like LinkedIn and connecting with people via text and email to keep relationships strong. Additionally, we have Mark Ostach, who's talking about hybrid work environments for nonprofits and how to make teams thrive.
Interested in listening to the full episode and hearing more from other nonprofits? Check out more episodes here [maxbutton id="3" url="https://www.charitycharge.com/charity-charge-podcasts/" text="Charity Charge Show" ]
In Episode 93 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Erin Mote, Executive Director of InnovateEDU, whose mission is to eliminate the opportunity gap by accelerating innovation in standards aligned, next generation learning models and tools that serve, inform, and enhance teaching and learning. Stephen and Erin Mote talk about creating expertise throughout organizations by including diverse leaders in discussions, giving and receiving social capital to uplift others, and finding the 80% that we have in common to move missions forward without getting stuck on trying to agree 100%.
Erin Mote is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of InnovateEDU. In this role, Erin leads the organization and its major projects including technology product development, work on data interoperability and data systems, and an urban education Fellowship for new educators. She leads the organization’s work on creating uncommon alliances to create systems change - in special education, talent development, and data modernization. An enterprise architect, she created, alongside her team, two of InnovateEDU’s signature technology products - Cortex, a next-generation personalized learning platform, and Landing Zone - a cutting-edge infrastructure as a service data product.
Erin is also the co-founder of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School with her husband Dr. Eric Tucker. She is a recognized leader in technology, mobile, and broadband and has spent much of her career focused on expanding access to technology in the US and abroad. She has led ground-breaking initiatives, including scaling wireless communications to the developing world, developing global and national strategic technology plans, and working with the country’s leading technology companies. Erin has served in an advisory capacity to the White House/OSTP’s US Ignite Initiative, the Obama Administration’s Global Development Innovation Policy, the State Department’s TechCamp program, and the Obama Administration’s intra-agency process for Rio 2.0 and Rio+20. Erin served as the founding Chief of Party for the USAID Global Broadband and Innovations Alliance – a $19.5 million global technology expansion project. Erin has served in senior positions with CHF International and Coulter Companies after starting her career as the Director of External and Strategic Relations for Arizona State University. A recognized leader in alliance building, Erin serves in an advisory capacity for several leading international organizations including Digital Promise, SXSWedu Launch, XPrize, and the Barbara Bush Foundation. She is an Aspen Institute Socrates scholar and a proud alumnus of the University of Michigan.
Erin Mote on creating expertise throughout organizations:
We also believe it's really important to create expertise. Oftentimes one of the things that we'll do is sponsor other leaders to be able to participate in conversations so that it's not always the CEO of an organization that we're inviting to the table. We might invite somebody who's more junior or somebody who hasn't yet had that opportunity to share their voice. This particularly impacts women and people of color. One of the things that we do is stipend folks to participate in some of our projects where we'll be working on large scale infrastructure. We provide a stipend because usually they can only get permission to participate because they're bringing revenue into the organization. It's important for us to always be asking, "how do we expand the social circle we operate in to further increase our alliance building work?"
Interested in listening to the full episode and hearing more from other nonprofits? Check out more episodes here [maxbutton id="3" url="https://www.charitycharge.com/charity-charge-podcasts/" text="Charity Charge Show" ]
In Episode 92 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Terry Beswick, Executive Director of GGBA, whose mission is to champion opportunity, development, and advocacy for our LGBTQ+ & Allied business community. Stephen and Terry Beswick talk about Terry's career in activism and the importance of listening to diverse communities so that strategies are informed by a wide range of lived experiences.
Terry Beswick (he/him) has been executive director of the GGBA since October 15, 2021. At the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, he advocated for HIV/AIDS research and treatment with ACT UP, Project Inform, the Human Rights Campaign and the White House Office of HIV/AIDS Policy. After the advent of effective treatments for HIV, Beswick worked as a journalist for the Bay Area Reporter and other LGBTQ community publications. More recently, he spearheaded a successful campaign to preserve the Castro Country Club for the queer recovery community in San Francisco, co-founded the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and co-chaired the LGBTQ Cultural Heritage Strategy. Beswick was a Community Grand Marshal for the 50th Anniversary San Francisco LGBTQ Pride Parade and Celebration in 2020 and served as Executive Director of the GLBT Historical Society from 2016 to 2021.
Terry Beswick on creating sustainable change with a diverse community:
If there's anything that I've learned throughout my career, it's that the LGBTQ community is kind of a misnomer. Since we're a collection of different communities and subcultures and what brings us together are our gender and sexuality differences from the "Norm" and the experiences that we've had around that. Therefore, bringing all these different communities and cultures together to have impact on creating change is often a challenge. What I've learned is that listening and collecting people's ideas to navigate the differences of opinion and approach is always important to overcoming the challenge of community organizing. San Francisco is notorious for being extremely divided around the best approach to effecting change and I think that listening allows the space for any new idea to emerge from the people who are most directly affected. That way the affected communities feel ownership over the solution. Directing things from on high has never worked, in terms of creating sustainable change.
Interested in listening to the full episode and hearing more from other nonprofits? Check out more episodes here [maxbutton id="3" url="https://www.charitycharge.com/charity-charge-podcasts/" text="Charity Charge Show" ]
In Episode 91 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to David Street, Strategic Director Next Gen Organizing of Bread for the World, whose mission is to be a collective Christian voice urging our nation's leaders to end hunger at home and abroad. Stephen and David Street talk about the mission of Bread for the World, Street's work with adolescence and social media through his nonprofit P.E.N. (Promote, Enrich and Nurture) DMV, and the process of setting up a new nonprofit.
David Street is a native of Washington, D.C. and has over 13 years of grassroots organizing and engagement experience. He also serves as the Strategic Director of Next Gen Leadership for Bread for the World. Outside of his work in the organizing space, Street also serves as the Executive Director for P.E.N. (Promote, Enrich and Nurture) DMV, a non-profit that specializes in mentoring and social media training with high school students and aspiring leaders living in Washington, D.C. Street received his Bachelors in Political Science from North Carolina A & T State University and holds a Masters in Theology from Wesley Theological Seminary.
David Street on starting a nonprofit:
It took me about a year to get my nonprofit off the ground; because I interviewed people who had already set up nonprofits, who were already in a similar space, and I just asked a whole bunch of questions. I did about 8-10 interviews with people who had small to medium sized nonprofits. I've been working in nonprofits all my life so I was able to tap into the vast set of knowledge that my colleagues have. I also did other types of research, along with bringing people together and asking questions. After this year of research, we then filed the paperwork and all the other legal aspects. Since we took the time beforehand we already knew what our mission was going to be and who from that advisory board during the planning process would transfer into the board of directors. In that time we also had acquired seed funding, so it wasn't just like we only existed on paper, we had actually acquired some funding from a couple of local churches. I would advise others to do their homework, reach out to people and don't just jump in there; figure out if you have a niche and if there isn't a niche, create one.
In Episode 90 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Dr. Noeen Malik, CEO & Founder of Scientudio Inc., whose mission is bridging the gaps in Global Welfare program under Endorse Hope, community wellbeing is at the forefront of what they're working towards together. Scientudio believes that a single action can make a difference in society, and collaborative actions can greatly impact the world. Stephen and Dr. Noeen Malik talk about her background and extensive experience working with nonprofits, along with Endorse Hope and Great Lakes Peace Center Global Welfare Campaign to contribute towards girl children's school retention through improved menstrual hygiene and sanitation management.
Dr Noeen Malik is a nuclear medicine scientist (expertise: drug discovery and PET/CT imaging), a published author, a business strategist, the Executive Director of Public Affairs at GIANT (Global Immunization Action Networking Team; with WHO-UN), California, and a Research Scientist in MIPS at Stanford School of Medicine. Recently, she founded a small pharma-consultancy firm, Scientudio Inc. Scientudio launched a hands-on business internship program designed to impart to students and early-career phase scientists the relevant skills-set to thrive in the industrial sector. As an executive director of public affairs and infrastructure committee member of GIANT, she works together with WHO/UN in collaboration with 20 countries globally to bring awareness about immunization/vaccines. The volunteer work she does includes human rights activism with Amnesty International, IRC, and IYC-UN and fundraising for SOS Children’s Village. Besides, her philanthropy venture, "Endorse Hope", which focuses especially on under-developed countries to support their efforts in building up their internal capacity. She is also a cartoonist designing the Science Myths Playing Deck: Concept and artwork, science illustrator & communicator. Being a scientist, her duties revolve around managing bench work to preclinical evaluations to cGMP production of clinical radiopharmaceuticals and facilitating the commercialization of innovations. In her spare time, she loves photography, cartooning, hiking, and kayaking.
Dr. Noeen Malik on Endorse Hope and Great Lakes Peace Center Global Welfare Campaign providing sanitary pads to girl children:
The problem there is that girls who are going to school cannot afford branded sanitary pads that are either reusable or disposable. What they have to do during their menstruation days is stay at home. With needing to stay home each month these girls get far behind in their curriculum. Sometimes schools do support them by providing extra teaching assistance, but of course, the teachers are also working on limited salaries so they cannot provide that much extra assistance. Then what happens is these girls ultimately either drop out of school to earn money or sit at home during their menstruation days and fall further behind in their education. This Global Welfare Campaign supports the Great Lakes Peace Center who actually distributes the sanitation kits from school to school. They teach the girls how to make their own homemade, hygienic reusable sanitary pads and these kits are good for one year, greatly supporting the girl's in their pursuit of education.
Interested in listening to the full episode and hearing more from other nonprofits? Check out more episodes here [maxbutton id="3" url="https://www.charitycharge.com/charity-charge-podcasts/" text="Charity Charge Show" ]
In Episode 89 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Thomas Canavan, Executive Director of National Law Enforcement Museum, whose mission is to honor the role of law enforcement, in service to society, by recognizing the sacrifices and valor of law enforcement, educating the community, and making it safer for those who serve. Stephen and Thomas Canavan talk about the effect of COVID-19 on the National Law Enforcement Museum and how CALEB (Community Alliances and Law Enforcement Bulletin Network) is bringing communities and law enforcement together.
Thomas Canavan is the Executive Director of the National Law Enforcement Museum and beginning in late 2019 began refocusing the Museum into what it is today…a place that honors the history and heroism of law enforcement officers. Thomas leads the Museum’s operations which includes exhibitions, education, outreach, and fostering strategic partnerships, all of which focuses on telling the story of American law enforcement.
Thomas is an accomplished non-profit professional with leadership expertise in developing exhibitions as well as educational and outreach programs that focus on building thriving communities. His experience includes establishing collaborative program environments; development and oversight of innovative educational programming; and cultivating strategic partnerships and alliances between local government, corporate sector, and nonprofit organizations. He holds a Master of Science, Arts Administration from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts, Studio Art from the University of Maryland.
Thomas Canavan on using social media to bring communities and law enforcement together:
After the death of George Floyd, there was a lot of unrest around the country, and the relationship between communities and law enforcement, in certain places, was very strained. In this environment we as an organization we were thinking about our platform, and the connections that we have to the law enforcement community as a whole and wanted to see if it were possible to pull together best practices within that community on a national level. We ended up creating CALEB (Community Alliances and Law Enforcement Bulletin Network) a national bulletin board, where we invited people to post what works in their communities to see if we could make something positive happen. Once we had collected a lot of ideas, we saw that a lot of engagement was happening in other parts of the country. Overall we wanted to create a social media platform that was built and designed so that the law enforcement community and the public could come together to have a dialogue about what's working in their communities. We want to help pull all this information for the benefit of engagement with law enforcement who are really busy, working long hours in long stretches of days in a row. CALEB is a really great project and we're hoping that more people will hear about it and start to participate.
In Episode 88 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Nora Super, Executive Director of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, whose mission is to help people build meaningful lives, in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities. Stephen and Nora Super talk about the importance of support for our aging population, being an effective leader through vulnerability, and creating policies aligned with the needs of those with lived experiences.
Nora Super is the executive director of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging. In this role, Super provides strategic direction for two primary focus areas: Healthy Longevity and Financial Wellness. In 2020, Super launched the Milken Institute Alliance to Improve Dementia Care, which seeks to transform and improve the complex health and long-term care systems that people at risk for and living with dementia must navigate. Super is a respected thought leader, frequent speaker, and prolific writer on healthy longevity and the economic and social impact of global population aging. From 2014 to 2016, Super served as the executive director of the White House Conference on Aging, where she received wide recognition for her nationwide efforts to improve the lives of older Americans. She has also held leadership roles at the US Department of Health and Human Services, AARP, Kaiser Permanente, and USAging.
Nora Super on the importance of involving those with lived experiences in policy creation:
It's important to us to always make sure that we have people with lived experience as part of all the policy decisions we have. We make many policy recommendations and we want to make sure in all those conversations that we have someone who's living with dementia themselves or a caregiver of someone who's living with dementia to give us their real experience and feedback. This input stress tests the policies because sometimes people in government or research institutions think a policy will work on the ground but the people who are living with this may see issues we didn't so they will tell us, this makes a difference to them, or no. We get a lot of good feedback about what's too complicated, what's helpful, what they wish they had known earlier and those comments help drive our work.
In Episode 87 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Robert Feiri, Executive Director of Gateway Center of Monterey County, whose mission is to serve adults with Developmental Disabilities by fully supporting their individual rights and choices, and empowering them to live full and productive lives with dignity and independence within the community. Stephen and Robert Feiri talk about sustaining motivation through challenging times, breaking old habits to bring future successes, and the importance of a peer support system.
Robert Freiri is the Executive Director of Gateway Center of Monterey County. He has been a nonprofit Executive Director for 23 years including seven years as Habitat for Humanity's Executive Director and seven years as the Executive Director of Chamberlain’s Children Center. Robert has also been a Nonprofit Manager for 35 years.
Robert Feiri on sustaining motivation in challenging times:
I think that what always kept me going is the focus on our mission, to make sure that even if it's been a tough day or we didn't win that day, that we're still on track to succeed at our mission and meet the needs of our clients. For me, when it's been a rough day I make sure that before I leave, I'll walk into the residential facility and spend 20 minutes with one or two of the residents. That always reminds me why I'm here and why we all do the good work that we do. That's what recharges me more than anything so that I can be ready to go and hit the challenges the next day. In the end it's really about the people that you serve and if you're doing a good job with that, your batteries will stay charged.
In Episode 86 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Jason Watters, CFO of GiveDirectly, whose mission is letting donors send money directly to the world’s poorest households. They believe people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives — cash enables that choice. Stephen and Jason Watters talk about GiveDirectly's innovations in technology to increase efficiency of donations from donor to recipient, the importance of financial transparency in the nonprofit sector, and being a respectful guest when working with countries, governments, and citizens to develop trust.
Jason holds a B.S. in Finance from Georgia State University and an MBA in Finance and Economics from the New York University, and joined GiveDirectly from a long string of Private Equity and Venture Capital backed technology companies, most recently Imbellus, Inc. and has served in a variety of CFO, COO, and Chief Innovation Officer roles. Jason started his career with a short stint at the US Department of the Treasury and a decade at McKinsey & Company.
Jason on GiveDirectly's commitment to financial transparency:
We make the claim, "90 cents of every dollar you give us goes into the hand of a recipient, unconditionally" and we've done an amazing job historically, providing transparency into that claim. However, about six months ago, in the context of the UN putting a call out to Elon Musk for $6 billion to help with a food program. There was a conversation about transparency, and proving that if Elon was to give $6 billion, it's not going to be run off by middlemen or spent on things other than what it was intended for. Elon Musk coined the term open source accounting which I think is a very good idea. This discourse sparked our team to ask ourselves the question, "Are we as transparent as we could be?" and ultimately, "Is there any reason that we wouldn't give audit rights to all of our stakeholders, donors, recipients, and governments we operate with to let them examine the books the same way that we would an investor?" After discussing internally it took 24 hours for the entire executive team to say, "Yes, we want to put all of our audit papers out publicly. We want to create a system where anybody can explore our transaction data and not only know where the 10% which doesn't go to recipients ends up." Now we're actively working on this open source accounting with our AWS partners to create a data exploration tool where anybody can go and look at how we spend our money, which recipients the money goes to, the salaries of the executive team and our staff, and what vendors we choose to do certain things. Also, should you happen to be a particular donor, we're shooting towards a world in which you can track your specific dollars, all the way through our system, to specific recipients on the other end. For example, we told you your money is going into Rwanda, so we want to show the 230 people that got your money and their stories of what they did with the money. This will also include accountability where we say, 1% of the money was lost to fraud, and one percent is pretty good, but still we didn't run that program perfectly. This will give donors the ability to make an educated choice on whether to give to us again, and whether to trust us with their money.
In Episode 85 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Holly Wissmann, Director of Philanthropy of Breakthrough Central Texas & President of AFP Greater Austin Chapter, whose mission is to facilitate ethical and effective philanthropy in Central Texas. The members of the Greater Austin Chapter represent a cross-section of professionals who serve the diverse nonprofit organizations of the Austin community. Stephen and Holly Wissmann talk about Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Austin Chapter's Philanthropy Day that is coming up March 24, 2022 along with AFP's commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) locally and globally and the paradigm shift happening in the non-profit sector from donor-centered to community-centered fundraising.
Holly Wissmann leads AFP's major gifts program and has helped grow the individual giving program from $500,000 to $3 million annually, serving more than 2,600 students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates. Having experienced the transformative impact of higher education on her own family, Holly is honored to have the opportunity to pay forward that gift every day, serving on a team dedicated to educational equity and partnering with students and families to realize their college dreams. Prior to joining the Breakthrough family in 2013, Holly served for seven years at ZACH Theatre, where she was on the team responsible for the Topfer Theatre Capital Campaign. A proud graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and Terry Scholar alumna, she holds a B.B.A. in Marketing and B.A. in Dance and serves on the Terry Foundation Alumni Advisory Board. In her 11 years as an active member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Holly has served in a variety of volunteer and leadership roles, including Philanthropy Day Chair and current President of the Greater Austin Chapter. In her personal time, she performs with East Austin-based, AZTLAN Dance Company, her artistic home for 16 years, and loves spending time with her partner, Fabian, and their fur babies, Xochi, Xico, and Ivan.
In Episode 84 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Janet Torres, CEO of Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, whose mission is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty through holistic literacy services. Stephen and Janet talk about the importance of connecting with staff members while working remotely and why radical vulnerability is a key leadership skill.
Janet Torres works as Chief Executive Officer at The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Janet is a proven leader with an outstanding track record of public service, business and programmatic acumen, and the ability to bring people together. With over 20 years of public service as a legislative attorney, policy advisor, she has held various senior management positions in government/community engagement with global nonprofits such as the Wildlife Conservation Society, The New York Botanical Garden, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and most recently as Executive Director of The Kindness Campaign. Torres holds a B.A. in Political Science, Economics and Public Administration from Fordham University, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.
Janet Torres on why vulnerability is an important leadership skill:
I find that as a leader, I think you're always tempted to say, "I'm fine, everything's great." To give this outward impression of strength and that you know what you're doing. Even though sometimes you're really thinking, "I'm terrified. I don't know if I'm making the right decision or I'm just going to make a decision because I'm going to have to make a decision." What I think is important when talking about self care and burnout is that I've started practicing radical vulnerability with my board and my team, where it's okay for me to say, "You know what, I'm feeling burnt out." or "You know what? I may not have all the answers and I get scared too sometimes." That's been a game changer for us. It's scary to do because sometimes I think leaders may be afraid to be vulnerable since they're thinking that doing so will end with people respecting them less because they admit they don't have all the answers. I disagree with that. I've found that radical vulnerability as a leadership skill has actually benefited me and has humanized me to my staff and my board members; which then allows me to empathize and work with them more closely because they're open to being vulnerable in return.
In Episode 83 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Rebecca Powers, Author of Trust Your Cape & Founder of Impact Austin, whose mission is to cultivate and expand the knowledge, passion, and generosity of their members to make a positive impact by developing strong relationships and leveraging the power of collective giving. Stephen and Rebecca Powers talk about her new book Trust Your Cape that chronicles her journey of starting, building, leading and then letting go of Impact Austin.
In 2003, Rebecca Warren Powers lost her brother and, as a result, founded Impact Austin, a collective giving organization that brings women and their financial resources together to make a profound impact in Central Texas. Rebecca has received multiple awards recognizing her leadership and speaks nationally along with mentoring women in cities across the US as they form their own collectives. Rebecca is well-known in Austin, Texas, for her philanthropic passion and empowering women to help others. She graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1976 and worked as a sales rep for IBM for 14 years before retiring to raise her children. Rebecca and her husband live in Austin, Texas. They have two grown children, a wonderful son-in-law, and one perfect grandson.
Rebecca on what she learned when letting go of Impact Austin:
I always said that the day, the pain of running Impact Austin, was more than the joy that I got from it was the day it was time for me to retire because that meant what I loved doing and what I was good at doing was no longer what Impact Austin needed. When I did step down it was time for us to hire someone because no one was going to do what I did as the founder for free and work all those hours which meant that we became a different kind of organization, we had an employee, and that transition was messy. We had several missteps in that and it was hard for me to let go of my baby, but it was never my intention for Impact Austin to be "Rebecca's Impact Austin"; it needed to be the community. However, it was hard for me to let go of it when I didn't feel like it was able to blossom and fly on it's own. In hindsight, I should have let go a little easier than I did. Luckily I always had good people around me who called me to attention, and that's what you need is for people who are tough saying, "This isn't your place anymore. This is what we need, and this is how we're going to move forward." I was grateful for the people who told me that. Now I know Impact Austin is thriving without me because there are members now who are like, "I've heard of Rebecca Powers but I'm not sure I've ever seen her or if I just know the name." Which to me is like, "Yay, I'm not seen as an influence, and keeping my thumb on the organization." But it's hard to let go of your baby, I think it was harder to let go of Impact Austin than to let each of my kids go off to college.
In Episode 82 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Kim Langbecker, Executive Director of the Sacred Fire Foundation, with the mission to ensure the continuance of Indigenous wisdom traditions and to expand awareness of how and why these worldviews and their embodied values are crucial to modern society. Stephen and Kim discuss her unique background, working with indigenous communities, and her hopes for a post-pandemic world.
Kim Langbecker has more than twenty years of experience working in the social sector as an Executive Director, Event Producer and Strategic Development Consultant. Her ED experience includes Terra Conservation Initiative, and two non-profits which she founded: Indigenous Land Rights Fund and Journey to the Heart. Prior to her work in the world of social change, Kim enjoyed nearly 20 years in the music business as a promotion executive, working with five major labels. No matter where her journey has taken her and for as long as she can remember, she has been drawn to Indigenous cultures. Kim believes very strongly that now more than ever we have much to learn from our Indigenous brothers and sisters. Kim lives with her partner and a variety of wild creatures who frequent their home in the hills above Santa Fe, NM.
In Episode 81 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Brad Voss, Executive Director of Made in the Streets, whose mission is to love and serve children from the streets of Nairobi, Kenya - meeting their physical, emotional & spiritual needs; loving them fully; equipping them to earn a living & sending them out to a new life. Brad and Stephen talk about fundraising, seeing donors as a customer, and the benefits and drawbacks of running an NGO in Kenya from an office in Texas.
Brad comes to MITS with twenty years of valuable experience as a youth minister, preacher, consultant, and leader. Brad is passionate about developing the natural skills and talents of his team, so that together they can achieve their mission to love and serve street kids, in Kenya, across Africa, and around the world. Brad lives in North Richland Hills, TX, with his wife, Shannon, and their two children, Phoebe and Judson, where they all play an active role in their local church, schools, and community. Brad is a graduate of Abilene Christian University, where he earned two degrees: a BS in Communications and a MA in Religion.
In Episode 80 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to Jim Starr, president and CEO of America’s Charities, which inspires employees and organizations to support the causes they care about. Stephen and Jim discuss corporate giving and new trends in fundraising.
An accomplished leader with more than 30 years of experience and a proven track record in the nonprofit and healthcare sectors, Jim has served in national and field executive leadership roles with multi-million dollar revenue and expense targets. He also brings a wealth of experience in strategic planning, business development, and partnerships. Prior to joining America’s Charities, Jim served the mission of the American Red Cross in a variety of senior leadership roles that touched every aspect of Red Cross services. Jim holds an MBA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a BA in Organizational Communications from George Mason University.
In Episode 79 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks to George Weiner, Founder and CEO (or Chief Whaler) of Whole Whale, a digital agency that leverages data and tech to increase the impact of nonprofits and for-benefit companies. George and Stephen discuss digital advertising and its benefits for nonprofits, plus the 2021 Nonprofit Advertising Benchmark Study.
Prior to Whole Whale, George was the CTO of DoSomething.org. Over the course of 7 years, he managed the platform overhaul of DoSomething.org twice (winning a Webby Award) and helped to build a community of over 1.5 million young people taking action. Realizing that much of DoSomething’s success was owed to smart, lean use of many democratized tech tools (including Google Analytics and the Google Ad Grant), George founded Whole Whale with the goal of helping nonprofits both storied and start-up to move their missions forward with the tools at hand. He is also the co-founder of Power Poetry, the largest teen poetry platform in the U.S, a safe, creative, free home to over 500k poets.
In Episode 78 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Brandolon Barnett, Author of Dreams Deferred and Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Industry Solutions for the Salesforce.org Philanthropy Cloud. They discuss Brandolon’s new book, the Great Resignation, and breaking down existing silos of work and social responsibility.
Brandolon is also the Founder of Democratize Ventures, a project which helps entrepreneurs of color in DC & New York through mentorship, product advice, and annual angel investments. He also holds an MA in International Studies with a specialization in International Economics from the University of London SOAS. Previous roles include NGO and foundation work managing programs in the realm of environmental sustainability, cultural heritage, and economic development in major US markets and on the ground in 5 countries.
In Episode 77 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Nancy Kriegel, Executive Director of Yad Chessed, with the mission to provide emergency financial assistance to Jewish people in need while preserving the dignity of each client. The funds they distribute for food, medical expenses, shelter and other essentials, as well as their guidance, help alleviate economic distress and move each client toward a more hopeful future.
Nancy J. Kriegel joined Yad Chessed as Executive Director in December of 2019. Prior to her current role, Nancy worked at Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) in senior positions overseeing efforts to strengthen area Jewish Day Schools. Previous to CJP, Nancy was a founder and co-president of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education. Before dedicating her career to Jewish communal service, Nancy was a practicing attorney with degrees from Boston College Law School and the University of Pennsylvania. Nancy lives in Sharon, MA, with her husband and has three young adult children.
In Episode 76 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Karen Lee, CEO of Pioneer Human Services, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit social-enterprise organizations in the United States. Pioneer provides career paths and living wage jobs for a population many disregard. There they believe every person has value and potential and their work is centered on helping them realize both.
Under Karen’s leadership, Pioneer successfully operates several revenue-generating businesses that provide living wage jobs to mission-related employees and help fund its mission of empowering people who have been involved in the legal system to build healthy, productive lives. Headquartered in Seattle, Pioneer serves over 10,000 people a year through its diversion, treatment, housing and job training programs. Karen is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
In Episode 75 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Stephanie Gripne, Founder and Executive Director of the Impact Finance Center. The IFC is a multi-university nonprofit academic center that identifies, trains, and activates individuals and organizations to become impact investors, helping them better align their assets with their values. Stephen and Stephanie talk about educating investors and rethinking nonprofit finance.
Dr. Stephanie Gripne is an academic entrepreneur, impact investor, researcher, educator & the creative force behind Impact Finance Center, Impact Investing Institute, Investor Clubs, Impact Investing Giving Circles, and Who’s Who in Impact Investing and the vision to catalyze the National Impact Investing Marketplace to catalyze $1T of investment. Stephanie founded Impact Finance Center in 2012. Stephanie sets the vision and provides leadership for the entire organization while focusing on business development, client engagement, and industry thought leadership through her research, writing, and speaking.
In Episode 74 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks about corporate social responsibility and thinking like a VC with Kenzie Ferguson, Vice President, Foundation and Corporate Social Responsibility for Delta Dental of California and the Vice President of the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation. Delta Dental Community Care Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California and its affiliated companies. Its mission is to increase access to oral health care, fund oral health education and support organizations that serve vital needs in our communities. Since 2011, the Foundation has awarded more than $60 million across 15 states and the District of Columbia.
Prior to joining Delta Dental, Kenzie was consulting with nonprofits and women-owned small businesses in Morocco and France and was TE Connectivity’s first Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. Kenzie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Master of Business Administration degree from Nyenrode University, and is a PhD student at the International School of Business in Paris.
In Episode 73 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Marc Pollick, Founder & President of the Giving Back Fund. The Giving Back Fund (GBF) is a national nonprofit organization that encourages and facilitates charitable giving by professional athletes, celebrities, high net worth individuals, existing nonprofit organizations, corporations and others who truly desire to give back. They provide philanthropic consulting, management and administrative services while operating as a flexible, convenient vehicle for establishing individual foundations and fiscally sponsored projects under a governance structure like that of a community foundation. Stephen and Marc talk about Marc’s journey from Holocaust scholar to founding the Giving Back Fund and how nonprofits can search for efficiencies in their field.
Marc Pollick is an internationally recognized speaker, writer and consultant on philanthropy and charitable giving, who has guided the philanthropic efforts of an impressive clientele of celebrities, professional athletes, high net worth individuals and corporations. Prior to entering the philanthropic world, Marc had an extensive career in academic Holocaust Studies, working with 1986 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Elie Wiesel. He was Founding Executive Director of the Zachor Institute for Holocaust Studies and founded The Elie Wiesel Institute for Humanitarian Studies.
In Episode 72 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Ken Tsunoda, Vice President of Development and Network for TechSoup. TechSoup equips changemakers with transformative technology solutions and skills they need to improve lives globally and locally and their mission is to build a dynamic bridge that enables civil society organizations and social change agents around the world to gain effective access to the resources they need to design and implement technology solutions for a more equitable planet. Ken and Stephen talked about TechSoup’s Direct Public Offering (DPO), an opportunity for individuals and funds to be part of the growth of TechSoup. More information about the DPO can be found at techsoup.org/investor by emailing invest@techsoup.org
Ken was previously General Manager of NGOsource, the game-changing service that revolutionizes global philanthropy for U.S. grantmakers. A project of the Council on Foundations and TechSoup, NGOsource is an online service that certifies NGOs as equivalent to U.S. public charities through a process called equivalency determination. Ken’s career has included management roles in non-profit organizations, VC-backed technology start-ups and leading global firms. Prior to TechSoup Global, he served as Executive Director of Sager Family Foundation, which incubated start-up social ventures in conflict areas, including Rwanda, the West Bank, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Ken earned a B.A. with honors in Physics from Harvard University, and an M.P.P. degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
In Episode 71 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Jonathon Nevett, President & CEO of the Public Interest Registry (PIR), with the mission to empower, through the Internet, those who are dedicated to improving our world. As long as you have a mission, PIR can help you make it go live online. Stephen and Jon talk about why your nonprofit should have a “.org” domain and how PIR works to maintain the trust that a “.org” conveys. If you see a fraudulent use of a dot-org URL, please report it to abuse@pir.org
Jon Nevett is a veteran of the domain name industry. He co-founded Donuts Inc. in 2010 and helped to raise in excess of $150M to form a registry of over 240 Internet domain extensions. Jon is also a founding Board member of the Domain Name Association, the domain name industry’s trade association. Previously, Jon served as Senior Vice President at Network Solutions, where he was responsible for policy, government affairs, registry relations, and the corporate ethics office.
In Episode 70 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Baron Jay Littleton, President and Founder of the Baron Jay Foundation, with the mission to motivate and empower economically disadvantaged individuals — especially youth — to become productive and contributing members of society. They discuss the power of mentorship and Mr. Littleton’s decision to start his own foundation.
Baron Jay Littleton founded the Baron Jay Family Foundation in 2004 to give back to disadvantaged communities in ways that can truly make a difference. He is committed to using his business savvy, experience as a motivational speaker, and celebrity image as a positive role model to uplifting disadvantaged youth, especially in urban America and in Africa. Mr. Littleton believes that computer literacy – along with English skills development and financial literacy – are keys to closing the global digital divide.
In Episode 69 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Daniella Genas, Founder of She’s The Boss, a business advisory service that equips ambitious entrepreneurs with the tools, guidance and accountability to build profitable, sustainable, systems driven businesses. Daniella and Stephen discuss how social enterprises and nonprofits can benefit from strategic planning and thinking like a start-up.
Daniella launched her first successful business in 2007 and her second business in 2014. She sold both businesses in 2015. In addition to her entrepreneurial endeavours, Daniella lists University Lecturer, Charity Trustee and Visiting Industrial Fellow as roles in her portfolio career. She has an MBA (Advance Strategy & Innovation) and Masters in Enterprise, in addition to her entrepreneurial experience and formal business training.
In Episode 68 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Lisa Newcomb, Executive Director of Quest Therapeutic Services, whose mission is to provide exceptional pediatric therapy services to enhance the lives of children with disabilities in the Delaware Valley. Stephen and Lisa talk about insurance gaps, how to plan for an unexpected pandemic, and how Charity Charge is helping NGOs feel get away from feeling "less than" in banking relationships.
Quest Therapeutic provides a range of therapy services, including early intervention, occupational and physical therapy, and hippotherapy, also known as equine-assisted therapy, in which the therapist uses the horse as part of an overall treatment plan to achieve specific functional goals, such as improving postural control, balance, sensory integration, and/or walking.
Lisa Newcomb joined Quest Therapeutic Services as the Executive Director in February, 2017. Lisa has held numerous positions in the non-profit sector over the past twenty years, both professionally and as a volunteer. Prior to her arrival at Quest, Lisa was the Executive Director at the Melanoma International Foundation for over a decade, managing events, donors and corporate relationships. She volunteered for Make-A-Wish and served on various boards like The Giving Tree. Lisa is passionate about serving her community, loves to read and enjoys spending time with her husband and three grown children.
In Episode 67 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Claas Ehlers, CEO of Family Promise, whose mission is to help families experiencing homelessness and low-income families achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. Claas and Stephen talk about how homeless prevention and diversion make fiscal sense, how anyone can use their special skills as a volunteer, and Family Promise's transition from their founder as CEO to Claas in 2016.
A graduate of New York University, Claas worked in video production, publishing, business development, and advertising while also teaching English as an adjunct professor at two local community colleges. From his work with low-income students, he saw first-hand the struggle of families to change their economic circumstances.
In 2002, he was able to align his passion for social justice with his career, joining Family Promise to lead a project to diversify the faith groups involved in its programs. In January of 2016 became the second president in the organization’s 28-year history. Outside of work, Claas’s interests include running, hiking, the New York Mets, music, and cooking. He lives in Mountainside, NJ with his wife, Ellen Pluta, a professor at Stern School of Business at NYU and has three children: Arabella, Luke, and Colette.
In Episode 66 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Tim Kachuriak, Founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer for NextAfter, whose mission is to decode what works in digital fundraising and then equip nonprofits with that knowledge to fulfill our vision to unleash the most generous generation in the world.NextAfter combines the perpetual learning of a fundraising research lab, the practical application of a digital-first agency, and the rigorous instruction of a training institute.
Tim started in the digital advertising before he transitioned into the digital fundraising field. He is the author of multiple books on nonprofit fundraising, has trained organizations around the world in fundraising optimization, and is a frequent speaker at international nonprofit conferences. Tim is also the co-founder and board member for the Human Coalition, a member of the board of directors for Open Doors USA, an Advisory Board Member for the SMU Digital Accelerator, Advisory Board Member for Kids Prosper Kids, and an Advisory Board Member for the Blackbaud Institute for Philanthropic Impact. He lives in Prosper, TX with his wife Rebecca and their four children.
In Episode 65 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen talks with Marc Rand, Managing Partner of Community Capital Advisors and Executive Director of American Nonprofits. Their discussion covers a range of issues in nonprofit finance, including credit unions, community foundations, and donor advised funds.
Marc Rand began his career in commercial banking, mostly international banking. After a few years of this, he did a “little soul cleansing” by joining the Peace Corps, where he helped open credit unions in western Romania. He is the former Program Director for or Loans and Affordable Housing at the Marin Community Foundation, where he developed one of the nation’s first donor development strategies connected to impact investing.
In episode 64 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Gabrielle Magid, Founder and CEO of Stronger Than Stigma, with a mission to empower, inspire, and support those struggling with mental health issues and the people who care about them.
In 2013, Gabrielle Magid, then a student at The University of Florida, noticed that despite free counseling being offered on college campuses, students weren’t going. Students struggled alone and in silence. Back then, just talking about the subject of mental health was brave. Then it became trendy. But young people needed more than talk. They needed action and advocacy. Stronger Than Stigma was born from these beliefs. Gabrielle graduated from the University of Florida. The day after her graduation, Stronger Than Stigma was granted 501(c)3 status from the IRS.
In episode 63 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Rachel Hand, Executive Director at Family Promise North Shore Boston, one of more than 200 affiliates of Family Promise with the mission of housing families and helping them get back on their feet.
Rachel Hand joined Family Promise North Shore Boston as the Executive Director in January of 2019. She spent the previous decade working in the field of homeless services. Her prior jobs include on-the-ground direct service with individuals experiencing homelessness, intake coordination and case management for recently housed individuals, and working to assess and place individuals and families into permanent supportive housing for the City of Cambridge.
In episode 62 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Julia Warren, Founder & Executive Director at Celebrate RVA, with the mission to give disadvantaged children a memorable birthday celebration in a safe and fun environment.
She currently serves as the Executive Director and is a firm believer in the power of a celebration and how joy can impact a child’s heart. Passionate about creating meaningful impact, Julia also works closely with corporate and small business sponsors to help create a culture of community, giving, and philanthropy. She has been named as one of STYLE Weekly’s 2019 Top 40 Under 40, The Prospect’s 20 Under 20, The Law Firm of Allen & Allen’s 2015 Hometown Heroes, and Richmond Inno’s Top 25 under 25.
In episode 61 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Chad Hickey, Founder & CEO of Givsly, whose mission is to inspire and develop new ways professionals can give back by connecting for-profits.
Headquartered in New York City, Givsly is a for-purpose company built around the belief that as the world around us evolves, so should our options to create social impact. While business professionals juggle many day-to-day tasks, creating social impact should not be perceived as an additional burden. Instead, Givsly develops new ways of creating impact by thinking differently about how your current everyday tasks and resources can give back. Givsly introduces a portfolio of ways for professionals to give back while doing business. Partners can utilize meeting time to raise money for nonprofits through the Givsly platform or get out in the community with clients through planned Givsly experiences. Whichever path you choose, Givsly strives to make social impact simple but impactful.
In episode 60 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Brian Davis, President of BryteBridge, which also runs Charity Net USA.
After a 20-year career in financial services, Brian Davis took over as President of BryteBridge, including CharityNet by BryteBridge, in November 2019. He saw the potential to leverage his expertise building, growing, and leading businesses to support nonprofit organizations in their foundational years, through BryteBridge. Since joining BryteBridge, Mr. Davis has expanded the team by 36% and focused on providing continuing services to nonprofits throughout their lifecycle, with a particular emphasis on the early years of their existence. To support his aims of finding solutions to the challenges faced by nonprofits, he commissioned additional research, which led to BryteBridge’s first report, The Essential Work of Emerging Nonprofits.
In episode 59 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen interviews Matthew Connelly, Chief Executive Officer at Good360 whose mission is to transform lives by providing hope, dignity, and a sense of renewed possibility to individuals, families, and communities impacted by disasters or other challenging life circumstances who, without us, would struggle to find that hope.
Matt Connelly joined Good360 as Chief Executive Officer after having served on our Board of Directors for eight years, including the last four as Co-Chairman. Matt is a transportation and supply chain industry veteran with a 32-year track record at UPS where he most recently developed the network strategy and design for the US transportation network and was responsible for the sourcing of purchased transportation.
In episode 58 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen interviews Lauren Isbell, CEO of Nevus Outreach, whose mission is dedicated to bringing awareness, providing support, and finding cures for people affected by congenital melanocytic nevi and related disorders. After attending her first conference in 2018, she served as a volunteer on the Fundraising Committee prior to being selected as the new CEO of Nevus Outreach in 2019.
In episode 57 of The Charity Charge Show Stephen speaks with Charles Thomas, Executive Director of Outward Bound Adventures whose vision is to ensure that youth from diverse communities will have access to nature, environmental education, leadership development, and preparation for careers in conservation.
Charles Thomas has worked at Outward Bound Adventures seasonally and part-time for nearly 20 years and then worked full-time as Executive Director for 16 years. During that time, he created several award-winning programs dedicated to enriching the lives of underserved urban populations, especially low-income inner-city families, by introducing them to the therapeutic value of spending time in wild places and open spaces.
In episode 56 of The Charity Charge Show Stephen speaks with Beverly Hamilton, Interim CEO of 3 Day Startup, whose mission is to make entrepreneurship accessible. Beverly brings over twenty years of leadership experience from across different industries. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from UT Austin and is a member of the International Ombudsman Association.
In episode 55 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Joe Waters, Founder of Selfish Giving whose mission is to help others find success in their cause-related goals. Joe Waters shows businesses and nonprofits how to build win-win partnerships that raise money and change the world. Joe writes the web's leading cause marketing blog, Selfish Giving, and is the author of two books on the subject.
In episode 54 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen speaks with Andrew Glantz, Founder, and CEO of GiftAMeal, whose mission seeks to empower people to fight hunger in their community while supporting local businesses. In addition to GiftAMeal, Glantz serves on the Washington University in St. Louis Alumni Board of Governors and guest lectures at the university on the topics such as marketing, negotiations, and entrepreneurship.
In episode 53 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten speaks with Don Wettrick, CEO and Co-Founder of StartEdUp, whose mission is to empower students and teachers to actively change education through employing innovation and entrepreneurship in the classroom. Don Wettrick is known for his award-winning work as a middle school and high school teacher; educational and innovation consultant; and educational speaker.
In episode 52 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten speaks with Ron Klabunde, Founder, and CEO of the Replenish Foundation, whose mission is to replenish the economy of families and communities across America. Their goal is to establish generosity as the new gold standard which will create the foundation that is essential for addressing society's greatest needs.
In episode 51 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen interviews Olivia Hayden, Senior Digital Fundraising Specialist for Whole Planet Foundation. Through her creative ideas, Olivia Hayden is responsible for the Whole Planet Foundations' social media, website, and graphic design. The mission of the Whole Planet Foundation is to empower the world's poorest people with microcredit in areas where Whole Foods market responsibly sources its products. Enjoy this episode, as Stephen and Olivia explore Olivia's journey with the Whole Planet Foundation and the impact of their amazing nonprofit program.
In episode 50 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen interviews Lisa Rodman, CEO of Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation. Lisa Rodman has been a part of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation team for 10 years. The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation is located in Southern California and the focus of their work is the preservation of Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Their mission is achieved through education and outreach programs which show just how beautiful and valuable the 400-acre lagoon really is. In this episode of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen and Lisa discuss the history of Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation, how to cope with the challenges that COVID brought into the workplace, how to continue moving forward and so much more.
In episode 49 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen interviews Cory Ames, Grow Ensemble's Co-Founder and CEO. Cory previously worked as the CEO of Firegang Dental Marketing. Cory then founded Grow Ensemble. Grow Ensemble is a social impact media and marketing company that is dedicated to sustainability, social impact, and in general making the world a better place. In addition to all of the great work Grow Ensemble does in the media and marketing sector, it is also a 1% for the Planet Member, meaning that they have donated 1% of their top-line revenue to environmental nonprofits since 2019. In this episode of the Charity Charge Show Stephen and Cory discuss the benefits of starting a podcast, all of the components that go into producing a successful show, and other digital marketing strategies.
In episode 48 of the Charity Charge Show Stephen interviews Suzanne Stone, Livestrong’s Chief Strategic Solutions and Programs Officer. Suzanne has previously worked with non-profit organizations such as Court Appointed Special Advocates and Children's Miracle Network as well becoming the Executive Director of the Lake Travis Education Foundation and the Director of Corporate Development for LTISD. In this podcast, Suzanne and Stephen discuss Livestrong’s mission and Suzanne’s work in the nonprofit sector. Suzanne touches on how Livestrong has been an impact funder, and how investing in the quality of life is essential. Suzanne also explains her perspective on the diversification of nonprofits and how they are able to adapt and advance in the economy.
In episode 47 of the Charity Charge show, Beasly Reece, CEO at NFL Alumni, shares a bit on his journey as well as his passion for supporting the youth as well as retired NFL players transitioning out of the sport. Reece, the former defensive back and played for Dallas Cowboys in 1976, New York Giants (1977-83) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1983-84). After his playing career, Reece was a network analyst on NFL games for both NBC and CBS. He also went on to work as Sports Director at KYW-TV in Philadelphia in 1998. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2012 and left the Philadelphia station in 2015.
In episode 46 of The Charity Charge Show John L. Lehr, CEO of the Parkinson's Foundation shares the insight he has gained after more than two decades of nonprofit fundraising and management experience. John played a pivotal role in merging two legacy Parkinson’s organizations into the Parkinson’s Foundation in 2017. Since then, the Foundation has nearly doubled its revenue to $35 million. Under John’s leadership, the Foundation earned a 4-star charity rating from Charity Navigator and a Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.
In episode 45 of the Charity Charge Show Ian Adair addresses the mental health crisis and why so many people struggle to ask for help. Ian is a three-time nonprofit CEO; a recognized expert in leadership, fundraising, and nonprofit management; and a sought-after speaker for nonprofit and leadership conferences around the country. Ian is a speaker, author, and advocate concerning mental health awareness and addressing mental health in the workplace.
In episode 44 of the Charity Charge Show, Cassandra Vieten shares a bit on the background of the John W Brick Foundation as well as their upcoming Never Alone Summit. Cassandra is a licensed clinical psychologist, mind-body medicine researcher, author, consultant, and public speaker. She is the Executive Director of the John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of The Marin School in San Rafael, where her daughter graduated from high school, the Board of Directors of Partners for Youth Empowerment, and the Board of Directors of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative.
Margaret Myers - Senior Editor at Atlantic 57
Margaret is an editor, storyteller, and digital media strategist with a passion for teasing out the big idea from the smallest nugget. With over a decade of experience as a newsroom leader, Margaret uses her journalism skills to help brands develop their authentic voice and connect with audiences.
To learn more check out our blog at https://www.charitycharge.com/margaret-myers-atlantic-57/
In episode 42 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Matt Prindiville, the Executive Director of UPSTREAM.
Matt is a recognized thought leader within the plastic pollution community and advises the United Nations Environment Program on their plastic pollution strategies. He is one of the founders of the global Break Free from Plastic Movement and the founder of the Cradle2 Coalition and Make It Take It Campaign. He helped establish and advance the Electronics Takeback Coalition, the Multi-State Mercury Campaign, and the Safer Chemicals and Healthy Families Coalition. Matt has written for the Guardian, GreenBiz, and Sustainable Brands among other publications. He’s been featured in the Economist, the New York Times, on NPR’s 1A, Jack Johnson’s Smog of the Sea film, and consulted with 60 Minutes on their plastic pollution special.
In episode 41 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Selene Benavides, Chief Financial Officer at The Association of Latino Professionals For America and Consero Global.
Selene Benavides is Client Finance Director with Consero Global where she helps companies address complex financial requirements with software applications while scaling finance operations more efficiently and reducing G&A expenses to allow for greater investment in driving and supporting top line growth for her clients.
Prior to her new role, Ms. Benavides was the Chief Financial Officer/Chief Operations Officer for the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, located in Irving, Texas where she was responsible for helping its leadership define the strategic direction of the organization, enhance its offerings and reduce its expenses, all while overseeing the Operations, Finance, Legal, and IT functions of the business which includes 40 Chapters across the nation.
In episode 40 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with John Eyth, Chief Financial Officer at Arc Human Services.
John has been associated with Arc Human Services/Arc of Washington County since 2018, serving as Chief Financial Officer. He has worked for almost 25 years as a Controller and Chief Financial Officer in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. For the past 11 years, John has worked as a Chief Financial Officer for several providers of Intellectual Disabilities Services. He received a Business Administration Degree in Accounting from the University of Mary Hardin Baylor. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. He is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM).
Nonprofits vs. COVID-19: Adapting to a virtual environment while remaining mission driven
Thoughts from Jye Turk, Founder of SolvED and Board member at Young Nonprofit Professional Network Austin.
In this episode, listen how Jye Turk works to remain fluid and adaptable while administering programs and running a nonprofit organization virtually. SolvED is an equity-centered organization committed to providing access to tutoring services, specifically to students who have been historically underserved by the public education system. At SolvED, Jye recognizes, communicates, and develops the importance of the family’s role in a student’s education; distinguishing between school and education, allowing a more fluid experience for the family and the student.
In Episode 38 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Scott Jackson, President and CEO of Global Impact.
Learning from Past Crisis: Advice from Scott Jackson on leading a nonprofit amidst COVID-19.
In this episode, Scott Jackson, the President and CEO of Global Impact, shares valuable insights and lessons gained from successfully leading organizations during times of crisis.
Global Impact’s mission is to grow global philanthropy and build partnerships and resources for the world’s most vulnerable people. It has raised almost $2 billion since inception. A global development, fundraising and marketing veteran, Jackson has held leadership positions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, including the global health and development nonprofits PATH and World Vision. He has worked in more than 60 countries. Jackson has worked at all levels of the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Full post and bonus content here.
In episode 37 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats about COVID-19 and its impact on nonprofits with with Jeff Rum, the co-founder of Yearly.
Jeff is Co-Founder of Yearly and is Founder & CEO of ignite: action An award-winning creative director and marketing strategist, Jeff has nearly 18 years of experience in marketing and communications, brand strategy, social media, and digital advertising. Jeff’s consulting work includes projects with Fortune 500 companies such as Bose, Fossil, Mercedes-Benz, and PepsiCo and he has led campaigns with nonprofits including Human Rights Campaign, Save the Children, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and United Nations Foundation. In 2018, Jeff published his first book, Post with Purpose: A Digital Strategy Handbook.Jeff received his BA from American University in Communication: Visual Media and Jewish Studies. He received his MA from Georgetown University in International Studies. He resides in Potomac, MD with his wife Jessica and three children, Eva, Maxim, and Ori.
Yearly makes it fun and easy to create digital annual reports that inspire and delight, saving organizations time and money. Yearly's mission is to change the way annual reports are created and experienced. Yearly aims to break the mold and disrupt the age-old annual report.
I want to thank all of our cardholders that have been using Charity Charge to donate their cash back to fund the nonprofits of their choice. We always cover 100% of the donation processing costs so all of your valuable cash back goes to fund your organization.
More than ever the nonprofits you care about locally, nationally, and globally will need our collective support. We are working on a few new initiatives to further help the nonprofit community.
Starting tomorrow, I will be featuring nonprofit leaders on our podcast to share tips, strategies, and most importantly inspiration to educate those running nonprofits of how they can navigate their organizations through these challenging times.
Sending out so much love to everyone. It’s important in times like these we come together for the common good. To get involved please email me stephen@charitycharge.com
In episode 36 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Dave Armon, the CEO of 3BL Media.
Dave joined 3BL Media in 2014, serving first as CMO and a member of our board. A former journalist, he spent 20 years at PR Newswire, where he was president and COO. His experience in marketing and PR software includes developing the social media monitoring platform Techrigy (sold to Alterian), PR workflow platform dna13 (sold to CNW Group) and broadcast intelligence platform Critical Mention. A New Yorker, Dave enjoys mentoring young professionals, travel, Scrabble and swimming.
3BL Media delivers world-class, purpose-driven communications for leading global companies and NGOs. Our digital distribution, leadership and editorial platforms reach an audience of 10+ million, connecting clients to an unrivaled network of media, corporate leaders, investors, professionals, organizations and policymakers. They support sustainability leaders through peer networking and professional development while our annual summit, the 3BL Forum, inspires breakthrough thinking.
In episode 35 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Tamra Ryan, CEO of Women's Bean Project and Interim CEO for the Social Enterprise Alliance.
Tamra Ryan Tamra Ryan is the CEO of Women's Bean Project, a social enterprise that provides transitional employment, while operating a food manufacturing business, to women attempting to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty. Tamra is a former partner and board member for Social Venture Partners-Denver, currently chairs the Board of Directors for the Social Enterprise Alliance and is on the advisory board for the Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at the University of Denver.
Congressman Mike Coffman (R-CO) recognized Tamra’s servant leadership and entered it into the Congressional Record of the 115th Congress, Second Session in May 2018. She was honored by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado and is part of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Leadership Network.
She was a presenter at TEDxMilehigh and is a highly sought-after speaker for topics such as compassionate leadership and social enterprise. Tamra is the author of The Third Law, a book which highlights the societal obstacles and internal demons that must be overcome for marginalized women to change their lives. The Third Law has won numerous awards for women/minorities in business and social activism. She is currently working on her second book, Followship: How to be a leader worth following.
In episode 34 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Ray Wezik, the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the International Myeloma Foundation(IMF).
Ray joined the IMF advocacy team in 2014. In his role, Ray helps to expand the IMF’s state policy initiatives and grassroots network with a focus on prevention, innovation, access, and approval of treatments for people living with multiple myeloma.
Prior to joining the IMF, Ray advocated for homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis, using his skills to negotiate alternatives to foreclosure and eventually establishing his own firm.
Ray earned his Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice from Roanoke College in 2007. He passed the bar in Maryland after earning his law degree from Tulane University in 2011. While at Tulane, Ray ran the Alternative Dispute Resolution section for the school’s student-run moot court team, winning several international competition awards in Chicago and London.
Founded in 1990, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is the first and largest organization focusing specifically on multiple myeloma. The IMF’s reach extends to more than 525,000 members in 140 countries worldwide. The IMF is dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients while working toward prevention and a cure through our four founding principles: Research, Education, Support, and Advocacy.
In episode 33 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Jeff Rum, the co-founder of Yearly.
Jeff is Co-Founder of Yearly and is Founder & CEO of ignite: action An award-winning creative director and marketing strategist, Jeff has nearly 18 years of experience in marketing and communications, brand strategy, social media, and digital advertising. Jeff’s consulting work includes projects with Fortune 500 companies such as Bose, Fossil, Mercedes-Benz, and PepsiCo and he has led campaigns with nonprofits including Human Rights Campaign, Save the Children, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and United Nations Foundation. In 2018, Jeff published his first book, Post with Purpose: A Digital Strategy Handbook.Jeff received his BA from American University in Communication: Visual Media and Jewish Studies. He received his MA from Georgetown University in International Studies. He resides in Potomac, MD with his wife Jessica and three children, Eva, Maxim, and Ori.
Yearly makes it fun and easy to create digital annual reports that inspire and delight, saving organizations time and money. Yearly's mission is to change the way annual reports are created and experienced. Yearly aims to break the mold and disrupt the age-old annual report.
In episode 32 of The Charity Charge Show, our founder Stephen Garten chats with Sam Porritt, founder of the organization Falling Forward.
In August of 2011, Sam suffered a spinal cord injury that resulted from an accident while he was on vacation in Italy. Initially, Sam was paralyzed from the waist down. His recovery from such a catastrophic injury would be a long one. Thankfully, Sam learned that his medical insurance placed no limit on rehabilitation. Fewer than 1% of policies have such a benefit. Sam's insurance covered nearly two years of intensive physical therapy. With the skill and support of many rehab professionals, Sam recovered. He's now able to walk with a cane, drive a car, and work part-time.
During his more than two years in rehab, Sam saw the impact of therapy caps first-hand. Sam met hundreds of patients whose recoveries were cut short when their insurance benefits stopped and they were unable to pay out of their own pockets. In August of 2013, Sam launched the Foundation to give other patients the same opportunity that he had --- to continue medical rehabilitation and to recover to their full potential.
Prior to his accident, Sam spent more than 25 years in marketing and advertising, building some of America's largest brands. While working for Payless ShoeSource, Sam's responsibilities included managing the company's Foundation and philanthropic activity. Sam earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
In episode 31 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Phyllis Everette, the CEO and Founder of Saffron Trust Women's Foundation.
Phyllis is a woman of passion, vision, and purpose is the Founder of the Saffron Trust Women's Foundation (STWF). An organization that strives to remove barriers creating better life outcomes for women. Before STWF, Phyllis served as Program Director of a Health Clinic, working with Women's Health Care. Phyllis has 25 years of experience in corporate environments. She has been employed at Warner Chilcott Pharmaceuticals, ADP Brokerage, and Dell. Phyllis started her first organization In 2000 where she was the founder of Parents Taking Action Today ( PTAT )advocating for parents whose children were incarcerated, leading support groups for parents at the Essex County Juvenile detention center in Newark, New Jersey, where she also published a weekly newsletter. Phyllis also served as Executive Director of Family Support, a non- profit organization, centered on creating healthy families.
Phyllis holds an MSM Specialization in Organizational Structure, BS in Business, concentration in Human Resources Management. She holds a Certification in Supportive Employment and is a practicing life coach.
Phyllis Everette aka writer Saffron Trust put pen to paper to heal her wounds. What culminated was a story, “From Insanity to Serenity,” filled with drama and an overarching theme and message of recognizing the importance of community and how significant surrounding love, forgiveness, and freedom is important to live your truth. Focusing and praying to understand how to fulfill the purpose God had intended for her life, led Phyllis to become active in causes far bigger than her.
Writing her memoir, she undertook a literary journey that encompasses her personal life experience which describes a journey in her heart. Phyllis strongly feels her journey directed her to the mission of STWF. Her hope and desire for her personal story are that readers remain steadfast and become consciously aware of what forgiveness means, and of a much greater duty that each of us is morally obligated to recognize. Phyllis has 3 children and 4 grands, who she quotes “are the wind beneath her wings”.
The recognition and success that Phyllis has achieved that continue to inspire her, gave her pause when asked, “why me”, with “why not me”. Her signature mantra is “Born to give herself away.” So, she is committed and has dedicated her life to unconditionally helping to make a difference in someone else’s life.
Phyllis socially engaged in her community. She is pursuing coursework in Undoing Racism and Undoing White Supremacy Austin, addressing multi-racial communities to end personal structural, and cultural racism to building a racially just Austin.
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In episode 30 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Sally Blue, social change consultant and Interim Executive Director of The Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering(TAME).
Sally has worked in a variety of settings – university offices, Girl Scout campfires, unpaved paths in the mountains of Guatemala, board rooms, and sustainable gardens, to name a few of the more than 50 transitioning orgs she has worked with to date.
After serving in both frontline and management positions, including six months as an Interim Executive Director, Sally joined a nationally-recognized consulting firm where she facilitated strategic planning and visioning work, capital campaigns, and training for Boards, volunteers and staff. She founded Sally Blue Consulting in 2013.
An active volunteer in the community, Sally is past Board President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater Austin Chapter, a mentor for young professionals, and a graduate of Leadership Austin Essentials Class of 2017. When she’s not at theater practice with her daughter Ruby, Sally’s working on her first novel and plotting her next trip to Mexico or maybe the beach.
In episode 29 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats AJ Garcia-Rameau, Director of Ventana Ballet.
Ventana Ballet is a professional dance company based in Austin, TX, specializing in contemporary ballet dance performance. The word ventana, meaning window, embodies the company’s organizational mission and vision, seeking to provide inspiration, accessibility, opportunity, and technical structure.
Ventana Ballet’s Mission is to provide artistically relevant, technically proficient, and publicly accessible dance performance and education opportunities to the community. Ventana Ballet’s Vision is to inspire, entertain, and educate audiences through a disciplined and innovative approach on presenting next-generation choreographic works.
Ventana Ballet is fiscally sponsored by the nonprofit organization, Austin Creative Alliance.
In episode 28 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Rob Lowe, the creator of the influential Giving Back Podcast.
The Giving Back podcast celebrates the great work of the charities, both the problem they are solving and the impact they have on the people they serve. Rob's guests talk about how and why they got involved with a charity or cause. Listeners' walk away from each show with ideas and resources to make a difference on a cause they feel passionate about.
Rob is a very inspiring person and his passion radiates through this interview. He was an early supporter of our work at Charity charge and has been a tremendous ambassador and advisor ever since.
In this episode we close out 2019 and talk about whats next in 2020, inspiring story's from Rob, trends he sees in the nonprofit world, and how to overall be more passionate about the things we do in life.
In episode 27 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Preston L. James, II, CEO of Divinc.
DivInc transforms the existing entrepreneur tech ecosystem into a more authentically inclusive environment. Through their efforts, they inspire, empower and enable underrepresented founders to build successful high growth businesses. The organization aims to unleash the untapped and hidden innovative talent within communities and generate an entrepreneur mindset shift for generations to come. Divinc believes diversity and inclusion drive innovation. Through programming, they help build a more authentically inclusive innovation ecosystem. Since 2016, they’ve provided 64 founders and 49 tech and tech enabled companies with critical strategies to succeed and grow their startups.
DivInc’s accelerator program is an intensive 12-week startup accelerator that provides a unique culture of support and best equips people of color and women entrepreneurs with strategies critical to creating exceptional companies, driving job creation, and contributing to strong economic growth. Additionally, the program is designed to drive focus toward product solution fit and accelerate business development and growth by providing access to essential resources.
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
In episode 26 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Erinn Wright, the Director of Development, at Well Aware.
Erinn graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Marketing and a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofits. Originally from Dallas, but a self-proclaimed Austinite, Erinn is passionate about social impact, Spanish, travel, tacos, and dogs.
She first became involved with Well Aware as a Development Intern while studying at UT, and has been highly active in the fight for clean water ever since. Erinn is devoted to connecting the impact of Well Aware’s work abroad to each supporter and nurturing the organization’s growth through fundraising and communications. Outside of Well Aware, Erinn can be found talking about her love for Spain or singing highly off-key at live music events in Austin.
Well Aware is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Austin, Texas that provides innovative and sustainable solutions to water scarcity and contamination in East Africa. The organization funds and implements life-saving water systems to drive economic development and empower communities.
In episode 25 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Michelle Monroe, the Executive Director of the Abundant Life Foundation.
The Abundant Life Foundation is a philanthropic organization fueled by passion and a genuine love for the community on the Island of Roatán. Roatán is located 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras. The organizations work is focused across three primary initiatives: education, community and conservation. The foundation identifies opportunities to make the most impact, and take a long-term, community-driven approach with the goal of providing sustainable solutions, building upon the skills of community members, and leading to personal and community growth and well-being.
Since the foundations first days on the island of Roatán, their involvement has been providing scholarships and support motivated students to pursue an education. To further the efforts of making a positive impact in the Bay Islands, the foundation then added community development and, finally, conservation to preserve the 2nd largest reef system in the world, the Mesoamerican Coral Reef.
In episode 24 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Andra Liemandt, the founder and CEO of The Kindness Campaign.
Andra Liemandt is the founder and CEO of The Kindness Campaign, a national nonprofit devoted to research-based emotional intelligence and anti-bullying. Launched in 2015, TKC designs interactive SEL (social emotional learning) curriculum and programming for schools and workplaces, with a focus on developing kind leaders and emotionally aware schools and companies. Under Andra’s leadership, TKC’s reach grew from five schools to 82 in two years, and today, serves over 40,000 students. Over the past two years, the organization has partnered with Bumble, KIND Bars, Dell Inc., Nordstrom, and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to bring TKC’s on-site programming to children and adults nationwide.
After a career in large corporate account management and pharmaceutical sales at Dell Inc. and Abbott Laboratories, Andra pivoted to philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. Now a national speaker on kindness and bullying, Andra has given keynote addresses for AT&T and IBM conferences, Paul Mitchell Schools nationwide, and the National Charity League. She is a recipient of Austin Woman’s Way Business Award for Social Impact (2018), and was a finalist for the Phyllis Richards Austin Icon for Children Award (2018). An active philanthropist, Andra currently serves on the Girl Scouts of Central Texas 2019 Women of Distinction Committee, and is on the advisory board of Baylor Scott & White Health. In 2015, Andra was named Cover Woman for Austin Woman Magazine’s September Edition, and in 2018, she joined the board of the GRAMMY Museum.
Andra is also the founder and drummer for The Mrs, a pop-rock band that has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “The Queen Latifah Show,” BuzzFeed, People Magazine, and Billboard. Their first music video, released in 2014 and featuring their signature “Magic Mirror,” currently has 5.4 million views on YouTube. Since then, The Mrs has shared the stage with Maroon 5 and Jon Bon Jovi, and has enjoyed musical collaborations with Paul Oakenfold and more.
In episode 23 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Joe Iannello, Leadership Austin Executive Fellow at One Voice Central Texas.
Joe is an IT Executive Leader with extensive cross-industry and global experience in technology, process, data, project, resource, change and relationship management. Over his careers his awards span throughout innovation, GovTech, and Leadership.
2018 Innotech Austin IT Lifetime Achievement Award;
2017 GovTech Southwest Technology Innovation Leadership Award;
2016 Computerworld Premier 100 Technology Leader;
IT Executive Leader with extensive cross-industry and global experience in technology, process, data, project, resource, change and relationship management
In 1979 Leadership Austin was founded—by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce (GACC)—with the mission of providing leadership training to those with a passion for Greater Austin. In 2002 they became a stand-alone 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, while sustaining close ties to the GACC. Today they continue to believe each of us can engage in collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable leadership for our community.
One Voice Central Texas is a coalition of the leadership of over one hundred nonprofit health and human service organizations working to make sure that everyone can contribute to our community and thrive. They represent the integrated network of human services that connects everyone of all ages and circumstances to social resources, opportunities, and support so that each person can reach their highest potential. The organization the voice for those in the community who may have difficulty weathering the life storms that affect all of us.
In episode 22 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Caroline Page, Development Director at Friends of the Children Austin.
Friends of the Children Austin's mission is to break the cycle of generational poverty. Our model is to achieve this goal through intentional relationship. Friends Austin provides professional, salaried, full-time mentors, called "Friends," to kindergarten children facing the highest risks. The organization stays with those children for 12.5 years - no matter what. Friends Austin launched in 2017 and is the first and only professional mentoring organization in Austin. Friends of the Children has been serving vulnerable youth and families nationally for more than 25 years. The Harvard Business School Association of Oregon showed that for every $1 invested in Friends of the Children, the community benefits over $7 in saved social costs. Helping one child saves the community $900,000!
In episode 21 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Terri Broussard Williams, Chief Inspiration Officer at Movement Maker Tribe.
Terri Broussard Williams is an award-winning lobbyist, philanthropist, social impact strategist and professional speaker who has spent the past 20 years helping leaders and organizations create systemic change to further their mission.
Terri believes that leaders turn moments into movements and this is a philosophy she's lived her entire life. Recognized for her innovative approach and strategic insight, Broussard Williams’ public service began as the youngest board member to sit at the table of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and has since continued through her involvement in international philanthropic and humanitarian organizations.
Named one of five most influential women in Central Texas by the Austin Business Journal.
In episode 20 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Kathryn Engelhardt Cronk, Founder & CEO at MissionBox.
Kathryn has over 25 years in the nonprofit service arena. First, as a direct service provider with adults suffering from mental illness and later as an executive director of nonprofits in the areas of substance abuse treatment, child abuse prevention and grief and loss support. She has also served as VP of Community Impact for United Way and developed the first 211 for Central Texas.
After seeing a critical nonprofit need for service and impact reporting technology, Kathryn founded Community TechKnowledge (CTK). In that role as CEO and co-designer of CTK software and services, she worked to provide nonprofits with tools that build capacity, prove the impact of their efforts and support mission success.
In 2015, CTK was sold to Vista Equity Partners, which merged CTK with Social Solutions Global.
After CTK, Kathryn founded Mission Box.
MissionBox recognizes that nonprofit work is critical to the well-being of us all, everywhere around the globe. MissionBox founders, staff, board members and advisers have deep and long experience in working in, and serving, nonprofits of all types and sizes, over the last 30 years.
In episode 19 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Jessica Reeves, Entrepreneur and former COO of Voto Latino.
Jessica is an experienced professional with a history of working in politics, marketing, and nonprofits. Skilled in Nonprofit Management, Digital Strategy, Media Relations, Fundraising, Spanish, and Partnerships, Jessica holds a strong focus on Latino Issues, Voting rights, Innovation, Government Relations and CSR. She also holds a B.A. from Boston College and an M.A. from Georgetown University.
Voto Latino is a pioneering civic media organization that seeks to transform America by recognizing Latinos’ innate leadership. Through innovative digital campaigns, pop culture, and grassroots voices, the organization provide culturally relevant programs that engage, educate and empower Latinos to be agents of change. Their mission is to build a stronger and more inclusive democracy.
In episode 18 of The Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Steve Wanta, Co-founder and CEO of JUST.
JUST invest in female entrepreneurs with access to capital and coaching within a supportive community of peers. Their goal is to help their entrepreneurs build stronger businesses, build better money habits, and increase their social capital. Beyond the repayment of a loan, improved client outcomes will lead to their entrepreneurs increasing their savings. The goal is to instill the confidence around their own capacity to change and improve. This skill of learning and doing will result in more resilient communities. JUST's role continues to evolve to offer new, more, and better services for our community. These are positive steps forward toward a more just world where people can live with less stress and more joy.
Steve is also the Co-founder of Impact Hub Austin and was tech Global Impact Director for nearly a decade at the Whole Planet Foundation(the nonprofit arm of Whole Foods).
Topics covered:
1)How he got the inspiration to leave a global nonprofit at his role at Whole Planet Foundation and venture out to start his own nonprofit.
2)what is micro-credit and what has he learned in 15 years of doing micro-credit. what works, what doesn't, and how to do it properly.
In Episode 17 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Shannon Meyer, the Executive Director of Response.
Response is an Aspen-based nonprofit agency that supports victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Their mission is to work with communities to end domestic and sexual abuse and to support survivors in achieving safety and empowerment.
Response’s services include a 24-hour crisis line, individual advocacy, emergency short-term shelter, help with safety planning and protection orders, referrals to other community organizations, and immigration assistance. Prevention education programs are presented in area schools on subjects such as healthy relationships, teen dating violence, gender stereotypes, and sexual assault bystander intervention.
Shannon has a strong background working in the conservation profession. volunteer management, environmental policy, public speaking, and environmental education.
Shannon holds a M.S. in Environmental Policy fro the University of Montana.
In Episode 16 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Matt Stephenson, the Co-founder of Code2College.
Central Texas is facing a crisis. Despite its regional reputation for innovation, the nearly 5,000 technology companies with offices in the Austin area and several world-class research institutions, there remains a shortage of skilled, local talent to fill a wide variety of technical roles. Companies continue to source technical talent from outside of Texas and abroad, and as the explosive (and consistent) growth of the area would indicate, the pace is far from slowing down.
What’s worse, there is a huge population of students in Central Texas who remain underserved. Facing a talent surplus and opportunity deficit, many girls, students of color and low-income students lack two of the most critical factors to entering pathways into STEM careers: exposure and practical experience. Students who haven’t met a data scientist, don’t have an anesthesiologist in the family, nor heard of the investment banking industry, are unlikely to pursue these or other technical fields. And those who do will find themselves behind the curve once matched against their affluent and/or well-resourced counterparts.
Herein lies an opportunity to develop a pipeline of diverse, local technical talent for the region. Code2College is a multi-year, career prep and college access program that leverages local volunteer technical talent to teach coding and web development skills to traditionally underrepresented students in order to push them to and through college, and into STEM careers.
In Episode 15 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Shayna Dunitz, the former Director of Operations at 3 Day Startup and the current Chief Operations Officer at Central Athlete.
3 Day Startup (“3DS”) teaches entrepreneurial skills to university students in an extreme hands-on environment. This proven program provides students the tools they need to start successful companies. Over 12,000 3DS alumni from 400+ programs across 6 continents–at over 150 schools including Harvard, MIT, WHU (Germany), Technion (Israel), and the University of Texas–have launched more than 90 companies that have collectively raised $130 million in investor capital.
Over 38 companies emerging from 3DS have been accepted to prestigious accelerators such as Y Combinator, TechStars, and Capital Factory. While early programs focused strictly on technology- and web-enabled startups, demand has led the team to expand the program to function across broader entrepreneurial endeavors. Schools have hosted 3DS programs focused on themes such as social innovation, energy, culinary, hardware, and more.
Foregoing a grant-supported model, the founders developed an earned-revenues strategy—3DS charges universities, governments, and corporations to deliver programs—which allowed the organization to grow in a scalable and sustainable way while preserving mission autonomy. Running 3DS as a successful business operation keeps entrepreneurship in the organizational DNA and allows the organization to remain faithful to the philosophy of learning-by-doing.
Eugene Sepulveda is the CEO of the Entrepreneurs Foundation, a director and partner in Capital Factory. He also serves as a senior advisor & the campaign treasurer for Austin Mayor Steve Adler. He previously served as the President and CEO of Marfa Public Radio and as co-chair of President Obama's LGBT Leadership Council. He currently serves on the national finance council for former HUD Secretary Julian Castro’s presidential campaign.
Eugene has over 30 years experience from banking, high tech startups, and higher education. He taught in the MBA and undergraduate programs at the University of Texas' McCombs School of Business, served as CFO for an Austin-based semiconductor startup, and was Austin's first technology banker. He currently serves as vice chair of Austin’s Airport Advisory Commission, on the board of the Barton Springs Conservancy, on the executive committee for the McDonald Observatory’s Board of Visitors, on the advisory board of the Sustainable Food Center, as chairman emeritus of People Fund, and as chair of Jolt Texas’ leadership council.
Eugene's rewards and recognitions include being recognized as the Best Austin Booster (Austin Chronicle), Best Professor (Alpha Kappa Psi), as a nominee for Outstanding Elective Professor (UT MBA), the Human Rights Campaign’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the HRC Bettie Naylor Visibility Award, 2014 honoree by the Mex Net Alliance, an Austin Under Forty award winner, the Austin Business Journal Heavy Hitter in Finance, and honored by the Austin City Council by the declaration of a Eugene Sepulveda Day in 1994 and Eugene Sepulveda and Steven Tomlinson Day in February 2015. Eugene is married to Dr. Steven Robert Tomlinson. They have 6 nieces and nephews and 13 godchildren.
Eugene can be reached at: eugene@abporter.org
This weeks Testimonial Tuesday comes from Alyssa Ikner, the Finance & Administration Manager at United Way of Blount County.
“Our previous credit card was severely outdated. There were no rewards, rebates, points, or any other benefit. We were limited to one card and that card only had the organization’s name printed on it. Any time an employee needed to make a purchase, they would have to “check out” the card from a secured drawer. Sometimes merchants would question the authority of the employee signing for the purchase. This did not put us at ease. Also, if an employee was away at a conference, they would have the physical card and everyone back at the office would be without it. We also didn’t have online access to our account. We had to wait for the statement to come in the mail before we could reconcile all the transactions and pay the bill. I can’t tell you how much easier it is to have our new Charity Charge cards for each employee, with their name and organization name printed on them. The statement is available online and I can see right away who has made which purchases.
We (United Way of Blount County) were looking to replace our old corporate credit card with a card that had the modern features we needed. We were struggling to meet our financial and internal control needs with only one physical card with a low limit. After researching several credit cards offered by our community banks, we still felt like there was something missing. We weren’t ready to commit to anything yet. Then, we learned about the Charity Charge Nonprofit Business Card, and it just made sense. We are always looking at ways to supplement our revenue and decrease expenses. After seeing the passion behind the founder of Charity Charge and seeing its mission align with ours, we knew we wanted to be a part of this on the ground level.”
-Alyssa Ikner, Finance & Administration Manager at United Way of Blount County
In Episode 13 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Kate Williams, the CEO of One Percent for the Planet.
1% for the Planet is a global organization that connects dollars and doers to address the most pressing issues facing our planet. They are a network of 1,200 member companies and thousands of approved nonprofit partners located in more than 40 countries. Started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, former owner of Blue Ribbon Flies, members have given more than $150 million to environmental nonprofits to date. Learn more at onepercentfortheplanet.org.
Kate can be reached at: kate@onepercentfortheplanet.org
This weeks Testimonial Tuesday comes from Jill Zimmerman, the Chief Financial Officer at Villa Montessori School.
I wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you so much for being able to set a new credit line with Charity Charge that will help our school meet our purchasing needs! For years, we have had credit cards through a large, national bank, that also acts as our school bond trustee. This bank wouldn’t give us a limit higher than $35,000, because we didn’t maintain a depository relationship with them. This made larger purchases during the summer months very difficult, as we had to pay the balance down weekly to free up availability. Our depository relationship is with another bank, and while that bank offered us a higher limit, their cards were continuously hacked online and we were regularly cancelling and replacing cards due to poor fraud controls built into those credit cards.
In no time at all, Charity Charge was able to get us a credit line of $100,000, based on the strength of our financials and our operations. We are very grateful for your help in getting us a credit line and resulting credit cards that will actually meet our operational needs on a regular basis.
Thank you so much! We are looking forward to working with you going forward!
- Jill Zimmerman, Chief Financial Officer at Villa Montessori School
In Episode 12 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with EP 12: Tim Scott – the founder of Mitscoots and UT Professor Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations
Tim is the founder of Mitscoots Outfitters, a social enterprise on a mission to outfit and employ individuals transitioning out of homelessness. Leveraging some past military and ad world experience, he has guided the team in growing Mitscoots into a national brand that has ultimately helped to lift individuals off the streets and out of homelessness. Through strategy, community building and grit, they've bootstrapped a great social enterprise into 200+ retail partnerships with a significant e-commerce presence.
Pivoting off that experience and at the insistence of colleagues, Tim founded Benefit Branding, a full service ad agency focused on social impact branding. With a unique technique for strategy, target audience insights, and long term planning, the team helps clients build customer relationships by telling their story in the best way possible, everywhere possible.
Tim also teaches branding and strategy as a faculty lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin in the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations.
Tim can be reached at: timscott@utexas.edu
This is a brand new segment we will be doing each and every Tuesday. Our founder, Stephen Garten will be reading testimonials from nonprofits who have shared their excitement and thoughts about working with Charity Charge. Hope you enjoy. :)
"Thank you and to your team for working really hard to get ALPFA a CC with a nice line of credit that we can use without having to pay the credit card in advance of each payment based on our needs. ALPFA has gone through 4 years of insolvency and it has been really, really difficult to get any bank to give us any form of credit, including major banks. However, our financials and our cash situation are in much better shape now with $5.5M in sales yearly (past 4 years) and only about $250K of debt compared to $5M same time 4 years ago. You saw this for yourselves and helped us! The impact we want to do for our Latino community on furthering their education and obtaining their first career jobs cannot be done alone and very happy to see Charity Card as a partner on this endeavor!"
- Selene Benavides, CFO at ALPFA
In Episode 11 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Scott McAninch, the Executive Director of The Nonprofit Council.
The Nonprofit Council is a membership organization comprised of the Executive Directors, Presidents and CEO's of 501(c)3 organizations along with nonprofit professionals and for-profit businesses in South Central Texas. Our mission is to SUPPORT, CONNECT and STRENGTHEN the leadership of nonprofit organizations. We strive to accomplish that mission through advocacy, training, resource sharing and the strength and extensive knowledge of our combined membership.
Scott began his marketing/promotion career with the launch of independent television station KABB in 1985. After 20 years of successful broadcasting marketing and promotion work, Scott made a move to the nonprofit sector consulting for The San Antonio Nonprofit Council.
He was hired as the Executive Director in 2007. In 2015, The San Antonio Nonprofit Council became The Nonprofit Council and opened their membership to all 501c3 organizations in an effort to expand their service and membership in South Central Texas.
Scott can be reached at: scottm@tncouncil.org
In Episode 10 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Kathy Terry, CEO and Founder, InLieu.
inLieu allows users to make donations in lieu of purchasing material gifts and at the same time makes donating fast, easy and social! (So unique we have a patent pending). inLieu provides a live social feed of every transaction that can be liked and shared with friends. It’s never been easier to support your friends by supporting their cause.
How does In Lieu work?
For individuals: You want to support your friends and the causes they love, but it’s not easy. For one, you have to find the website for the charity, fill out a long profile and hope that your friend gets notified of your donation. And if they do receive a notice it could be months after you made your donation.
For nonprofits: You want to make donating easier for your donors whether it’s at an event, supporting individual fundraising efforts or giving your supporters an easy platform to just make donations. inLieu does this and more. What if you could send a message and tell all your supporters in lieu of that second cup…
Kathy is also the Co-founder of P. Terry's Burger Stand and Taco Ranch in Austin, TX.
Kathy can be reached at kathy@inlieu.com
In Episode 9 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Katie Russell, the Demand Generation Manager at SAFE Alliance.
The SAFE Alliance (SAFE) is a merger of Austin Children’s Shelter and SafePlace, and is dedicated to ending violence and abuse for everyone.
SAFE is a merger of Austin Children’s Shelter and SafePlace, and is dedicated to ending violence and abuse for everyone in our community. The organization's stand against child abuse and neglect, sexual assault and exploitation, and domestic violence. SAFE delivers comprehensive services to address the broad spectrum of needs for these survivors and works diligently to create awareness and capacity for prevention through innovative, collaboration, and highly-effective programs for at-risk demographics. SAFE is committed to changing lives (by effecting outcomes for survivors), systems (by making them more responsive), and communities (by generating healthier, more respectful environments). SAFE | Stop Abuse For Everyone.
Contact Katie: krussell@safeaustin.org
In Episode 8 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Jye Turk, the Founder & Executive Director of SolvED.
SolvED serves individuals and communities that experience a disconnect in life, particularly historically underserved populations facing challenges involving education, access, and community. Their unique solution to these challenges is a comprehensive tutoring approach that addresses social, communication, and behavioral needs of individuals. Not only does the tutoring approach set students up on a positive life trajectory, but also taps into the brilliance of the Greater Austin community, employing tutors who have lived experiences similar to the students they serve.
The organization believes that addressing the needs of the multiple generations within communities is key to building equitable outcomes and developing generational wealth.
You can reach out to Jye via his email here: jye@solvedtutoring.org
In Episode 7 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten chats with Zane Wilemon, the Founder of Ubuntu Life.
Ubuntu Life grew out of a friendship between Jeremiah Kuria and Zane Wilemon, pastors from Kenya and Texas. Meeting weekly over lunch in Maai Mahiu, a transit hub an hour outside Nairobi, they talked about faith, growth, and empowerment. Together they created a center for children with disabilities, providing life-changing therapy and medical care for kids who suffer from physical challenges and social stigma.
Over 15 years at the head of Ubuntu Life, Zane has helped the organization grow from a charity with 3 employees to a blended nonprofit business employing over 80 individuals in Kenya and the United States, with sustained revenues over $1.5 million annually. Zane is a frequent inspirational speaker, recipient of the Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership from the Seminary of the Southwest.
In Episode 6 of the Charity Charge Show, the founder of Charity Charge chats with Don Wettrick, the Founder of StartEdUp and the STARTedUP Foundation.
StartEdUp is a global network of the most renowned innovators, educators and entrepreneurs. They define and employ the tactics of real innovation and leave the buzzwords in the dust. Their nonprofit wing, The STARTedUP Foundation, empowers student entrepreneurs and innovators with collaborative, immersive experiences, accelerator programs, and the first seed fund for students 14-18. Our goal is to prepare students to be enterprising contributors in this changing world.
In Episode 05 of the Charity Charge Show, the founder of Charity Charge chats with Page Whalen, Founder of We Are No Alamo
Today, people living with serious mental health concerns still experience social stigmas and negative misconceptions. But the fact is, people can expect a better quality of life than ever before. Medications have improved, new evidence-based therapies have developed, and organizations like We Are No Alamo (WANA) are building initiatives to bring renewed awareness surrounding mental health.
WANA promotes the engagement of open and honest conversations about mental health. A growing amount of research shows that offering positive support to those suffering with MI, compared to promoting lifestyle and behavioral changes, helps those struggling live healthier and more productive lives. WANA seeks to build a community of acceptance and connection. To help shape this future, WANA started a podcast! The podcast provides a “stigma free zone” for people to open up about their mental health struggles and share their stories, while also providing mental health information and resources.
WANA is dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by mental illness. We strive to shape a future where all people affected by MI can experience hope, recovery and wellness in a world free of stigma.
Across Central Texas, children live with the shame and stigma that often comes with being challenged by parental incarceration. When a child loses a parent to incarceration, they lose possibly the most significant person in their life. As a result they face significant risk factors that can make it difficult to succeed in school.
Seedling believes in the promise of every child: the promise of an education, the promise of a future, and the promise of all they can contribute to society.bThe Seedling mission is to support children challenged by parental incarceration with innovative, research driven, school-based mentoring.
In Episode 03 of the Charity Charge Show, the founder of Charity Charge chats with Morgan Hurley, Director of the Texas Stars Foundation.
The Texas Stars Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the community through various forms of support including financial contributions, gifts in kind and volunteerism. Formed in the summer of 2010, the Texas Stars Foundation is the official charity of the Texas Stars Hockey Club. The Foundation strives to utilize the talents and resources of the Texas Stars players, families, staff and ownership to enrich the greater central Texas area and military children throughout the United States.
The Texas Stars Foundation has three pillars of focus for their giving, programs and partnerships: youth engagement, honoring military families, and assisting those in need.
- The Texas Stars Foundation supports local charities and organizations by distributing more than $100,000 in cash gifts and grants during the 2018-2019 season.
- Texas Stars players, staff, and mascot Ringo, make numerous community appearances at hospitals, local nonprofits, schools and central Texas businesses.
- Thanks to the generous support of fans, players, players families and staff, the Texas Stars Foundation has distributed over $900,000 during the 2010-19 seasons in cash donations and gifts in-kind to more than 700 different local nonprofits.
In Episode 02 of the Charity Charge Show, the founder of Charity Charge chats with Bob Pearson, the CEO of the Medic Alert Foundation.
For more than 55 years, the foundation has worked with leading emergency and healthcare professionals to develop state-of-the-art medical information standards and married these with unequaled information security and technology to deliver the most dependable, the most responsive, the most intelligent, the most trusted emergency identification and medical information network. Their industry-leading medical information collection and guaranteed information delivery ensures that emergency responders and hospital staff get your up-to-date medical information when they need it, to make informed decisions about your treatment and care.
In Episode 01 of the Charity Charge Show, the founder of Charity Charge chats with Cami Hawkins, the CEO of Marathon Kids.
Marathon Kids works for any kid, at any fitness level. Kids set their goals and track their progress on a journey to complete four marathons, or 104.8 miles, over the course of the running club season. They run, or walk, one lap at a time, one day at a time, and before they know it they’ve gone farther than they ever dreamed.
They learn how to fuel their bodies so they can run faster, better, longer. And for a little extra motivation, they earn fun Nike rewards at milestones along the way. They have a network of dedicated adults showing them how it’s done, and most importantly, a motivated and inspiring coach supporting them every step of the way.
Research shows that when kids participate in Marathon Kids, they have a much better chance of getting enough daily physical activity. That’s good news for their bodies, and their minds. When they feel healthy, they perform better in school and exhibit better behavior. The organizations methods have been tested and verified by the scientific community. Research shows that our running clubs effectively jump-start healthy, long-lasting change. Participant rewards are the best around – kids love them and feel even more motivated to reach their goals. But more than anything, Marathon Kids love running because it’s fun. Running means speed and freedom, healthy competition and accomplishment. The program teaches kids the joy in running a distance (104.8 miles) that plenty of people think is impossible.