Hey there, you know, we believe community is everything. And that's what we're taking this week to introduce you to some of the incredible people doing amazing things here and the we're for good global community. Today's episode features Monique Parker. We met Monique in the We Are For Good community and she's the founder and executive director of little bit of good. You'll hear about her work to increase awareness and action around the funding and resource inequities in the nonprofit sector most specifically experienced within the black population. To meet Monique and find other like minded friends visit we're for good community.com Hey, I'm John. And I'm Becky. And this is the We Are For Good podcast.
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I'll tell you like we met our guest sometime last year and she was a force like an explosive force for good into the community. And so I'm going to introduce our community to Monique Parker, the force that is Monique Parker who is the founder of little bit of good who came into the weir for good scene. Sometime last year. She was in the for profit world and she was one of y'all. She was like had these hearts in her eyes for doing good. And as she's kind of tuning into the community, she's absorbing everything she can to learn about nonprofit and social impact and to watch her journey unfold over the course of probably a little over a year. Has John can we just say it is made our like parental hearts just grow
grass? Yeah. I remember the first time I met Monique that I was like holy cow who is this human being and how has it been 39 years of life before I get to meet her?
Yes. And the fact that she stepped fully into the thing that she wanted to see in the world is just aspirational. We're going to unpack that story today. But first I want to introduce her. Monique is the founder and executive director of little bit of good it's a nonprofit organization that supports black LED nonprofits in Central Texas through this really innovative 16 week capacity building accelerator program. And I know a lot of you out there have been asking about capacity building we are going to dive deeply into it. But she also has this really cool story about being a techie turned candle lady with a heart for community because she's got this incredible founding story of this organization. She started called blow Candle Company. It's a candle in home fragrance studio that's creating just really unique scents that are toxic, free and safe. But she is somebody who shows up for diversity and equity. She is a self proclaimed hype woman who takes a lot of pride in uplifting encouraging others in their life ventures so much so that she did it on her own. And so today we're going to be talking about how she took that dei strategist title that she was in the tech industry. And she really pushed it into nonprofit and who is making such a big splash we are so proud of how she shows up. Monique is also mama to fearless to to fearless and wild girls. And we're just delighted that she's in our house Monique, come in, we are so excited to tell your story. Hey,
y'all. Excited to be here. I have to say like everyone else who comes on the pod. It's like, life goals to get an intro from like the back. I'm like, I need to save this and then just submit it every time someone asked for a bio. Yeah,
well, I'm like, I'm happy to share that. But that is you. And that is the virtues and the values that you show up to give and I and this is why you're on the podcast, my friend. It's because you have so deeply leaned in to community and you are building something truly revolutionary and meaningful for the sector. But before we dive in, like we want to get to know Monique and we've already dropped a couple URLs. So clearly, we're all from the south over here. Like take us back to your origin story and tell us what led you to this moment today.
Yes, so although I say y'all every other word in conversation, I actually grew up in Tacoma, Washington. I went to college in Washington. So Seattle, Washington Tacoma area that is my home. i During college, I had my first daughter she is now 10. And so that was kind of the start of me My values, I guess, in terms of professionalism and career and really driving towards what I wanted, because now I had a small human had to make things happen. Very quickly got into the tech scene, I started recruiting really early on, and became an engineering recruiter. And so working in engineering, and in tech, especially as a black woman, obviously, you see a lot of inequity in terms of the way we recruit and the way we strategize around company culture, and hiring and policies and things. So I got really into dei as kind of an overall topic in theme and some of the things that I did, took a lot of different diversity, recruiting roles and opportunities, and then eventually became a strategist. So during that time, I was managing, you know, global efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion. And seeing a lot of things both internally with the companies that I was working for, but also in the way that we partnered with external organizations with nonprofits. And I've also always been a very curious person. And I asked a lot of questions. And why does this work this way? And how do we do this? Or why can't we do this? So being in di and having a lot of those questions, and specifically within tech, I think it kind of just gave way to me, thinking about how I could still work in a diversity capacity, but also be in an area where I felt I was having real world impact. And in the last few years, especially with George Floyd and the anti racism, uprising, and all of that, I felt like I really got to see, number one, how community community excuse me can really come together and support missions and impact but also how the lack of knowledge on nonprofits and organizations kind of lead to underfunding in certain areas. Like I said, I was working in strategy for a while. So I was talking to a lot of different nonprofits that wanted to partner with us, or we're asking for funding. And that's kind of what got me started thinking about little bit of good. If y'all remember, probably one of my first posts in the community, it was back when little bit of good was more so focused around strategy within capacity building, but it was much less specific, in terms of who we were supporting. And in that time, did a little bit more research conversations in terms of funding, and really saw the inequity in terms of Black led and white led nonprofit organizations, what capacity building means to opportunity for funding, and really kind of identified that as my gap for what little bit of good would be
Oh, my gosh, I love you. Going back to your story, though, Monique, because I look so fondly at when we met because you were this incredibly curious person. But I remember being so curious about you, too, because you had such expertise and such a gift for seeing the world without walls that it's hard to see whenever you're in the middle of nonprofit land and all of that kind of idea. And so I just saw so much synergy with the way you showed up, you had an open hand of how you wanted to serve. And then we connected on the handmade I mean, you were you're making handmade candles, we made handmade baby clothing. And I'm like that is a hustle. I'm like most people realize, but to put the hustle with that equity, you go conversation and wanting to like do something different. Like I love to see how this is shaped. And now we're celebrating that y'all are live like you have really shaped out what your program isn't. So I just want to give you runway to talk about what does that journey been like from you see the need you meet the people that this would, you know, impact to actually turning it into programs that are officially launching? Like what is that next steps and tell us how you serve today?
Oh my gosh, it's insanity. though. I do feel like getting started with the nonprofit with little bit of good was a much faster transition then starting with blue candle co so with that, I was like, Oh my gosh, I was really timid to ask people like to buy my candles. Oh my gosh, I'm asking people for money. Like there's so many options. I was so nervous. But by the time the idea for a little bit of good kind of started brewing I was like a year and a half into the business. And at that point, I was like, if people will buy my candles, I can get people to donate, you know, to this cars in this mission that like is going to do I mean I love candles obviously they're fantastic but this mission is going to serve and so many other ways. So like I can do this And I am much more of an impulsive person. So as soon as I decided I was going to do it, I was like, Okay, let's go get our 501 and recognize the privilege in being able to just go and do that I was still working full time. So I had, you know, additional income, I was like, Whatever, let's just do it. Let's figure out what bylaws are. And like get these three people's name downs for this board. But it really has been a collaborative building process. Because I don't come from a nonprofit background. And it is very different than, you know, building a business or being in the technical space, there was so much that I absolutely did not know. And so utilizing our We Are For Good community. And initially, when I started, I had this goal to interview 15 Nonprofit Professionals. So I posted and I was like, Can y'all just talk to me, I want to get an idea. First of you know, what capacity building needs actually are from just professionals across the board. And so I started there just picking people's brains, and then building out what I thought I wanted the accelerator to be. And then bringing it back to say like, what do you think about this? If you were to go through this accelerator? Would this be relevant? Is this impactful? And because again, this is not my background, I didn't want to build something from scratch. There are a ton of other consulting agencies and nonprofits that serve with various or within various points of capacity building. So my thought was, okay, how can we get together all of these different organizations, and pull from what they're already doing to create this well rounded accelerator program that's really touching on all the different targets of capacity building, without having to like build curriculum from scratch, it was definitely a community effort. So as you mentioned, we launched in August, officially with our first campaign through good butter, which was fantastic shout out to give better. And then we are now continuing to fundraise in our first application for our February 2023 cohort launches on November 2, and it'll run through the end of the month. So right now, we're just prepping in terms of making sure we have our facilitator straight. We're really working on, you know, what the curriculum looks like, what the roadmap looks like for participants. So it's happening.
Oh, yeah, it's happening.
And you have built this so beautifully. And I want to compliment you on what we observed that you did. And I want to give this as sort of a case study for anyone who's thinking about building something. But Monique was so active in the community. She was posting questions, she was getting resources, she was asking for help you were showing up to all the community coffees you were taking and telling your story. And people were reaching out. And we literally, were watching collaborations happen between you and other people in the community of Jeannie Barsoum, over a gifting brands. And I know you I think there was another one that you had, and you use the community in exactly the way we wanted you to, which is you walked in, you told your story beautifully, you open your hands and said, I really need some information. And people were just so generous in the community to step forward. I know you and Taylor Johnson, have built some really cool things. Hello, Taylor. And I want to just thank you for flexing the community in the way that you did. And I also like want to take a pause real quick, because we have a lot of young professionals on here. And I think we need to define what capacity building is. And I wonder if you could just do that for our audience and people who are new to that concept,
my personal, I guess, definition of capacity building because there are various ones out there, but it is any strategy or tactic that allows a nonprofit in their mission to be able to grow and scale. So whether that be systems, staffing, programs, funding, it's all the things that really allow you to grow and scale your mission and impact data. Yes, most important.
Thank you so much for that definition. I think it really sets the tone for what you're trying to do to make sure that nonprofits are not floundering, that there's a lot of intentionality baked into what we do, which is hard when you're spinning, you know, 100 different plates and buried in the tactics. This is really important strategic work. So I want to talk about your partnerships because I think you came right out of the gate. And you saw this opportunity for partnerships emerging within nonprofits and you absolutely seized it so tough Talk to us a little bit about how you approach building community partnerships with little bit of good.
Absolutely. I think, because I approached this in a way that like, I know nothing, I was just very open and willing to go into people and saying, This is what I think how can you help me? Do you have anything? Do you know anyone? Can you point me to anyone I'm literally open to talking to anyone still em. I think initially it started with Mallory, Mallory Erickson, who she was the listening to her podcast, originally introduced me to We Are For Good. And then after this idea got started started, she has the power partners program that she runs. And so getting in and talking to her a little bit more about funding, she actually introduced me to a couple different contacts who were so open arms to me that I was like, okay, it these are people who are like, the Michael Jordan's of fundraising and platforms in my head, and they're just like, Absolutely, we'll help you then let me go and talk to some of these, you know, smaller organizations on the ground. And so that got me out in talking to other accelerators in the for profit space, because to me, nonprofit for profit, same thing, same strategies, we just use our resources, our revenue in different ways. And so in talking to them, there is an organization here called giving. There's another nonprofit here. Well, I don't know if they're a nonprofit. There's another organization here in Austin, called SVP, their social venture partners. And they are in a group of just amazing individuals who want to put their money to work giving back to nonprofits, and talking to these different groups about what I wanted to do, what my thoughts were, and then just pitching to them, how I saw them helping me whether they have the capacity to do that or not, it opened up the door to be able to have a greater discussion of what potential partnership and collaboration look like. And then in every call, I was like, Is there anyone else that you can think of just like a recruiting call? Is there anyone else that you can think of that, you know, would benefit to speak to or anyone else that you can put me into contact with? I'm looking for people who can do X, Y, and Z, or, you know, you don't have a facilitator on this certain subject, do you know someone who's super great at that, and it kind of just created this community locally, but now has kind of branched out to other organizations supporting us in other states, because luckily, everybody's virtual now. So it's been nice. It's been fantastic. We've also just gotten a partnership with the University of Texas, so they'll be supporting us. I think, you know, there's a lot of different great people here who are willing to help
incredible,
I mean, yeah, your story just warms my heart, because I will say, I see a lot of our journey to have like, if you don't have a network to, you know, flex right out of the gate in the space that you want. It's just like having this open handedness having no ego, trying to just like, be a nice person in open doors. And it starts with one person, which leads to another person, which leads to another person that you're working with the University of Texas and all these kind of bigger partners. And I feel like what a testament to just showing up, you know, and being a good human and trying to build those relationships one at a time, because that's where everybody can connect on. So tell me about this accelerator. Because, I mean, you're finally launching it. And I love that you're doing it in cohort style, because I think that that is a powerful way to flex community and learning. So talk about what that accelerator is going to look like and what the transformation you want to create.
So it is a four month capacity building program. We are centering black led organizations, typically participants will be executive directors within the org. Throughout the program, from month to month, we have different core competencies that we'll be looking at. So in the first month, we'll do an ikat assessment, which is a really, really cool capacity building assessment that someone out there built. They now license it to other organizations, but basically, it surveys your board, your volunteers, your staff members, and then collects that data to spit out recommendations on gaps that you have in terms of capacity building. That's like using that. It's pretty frickin awesome.
That is amazing.
Yes. And they'll be able to use that information going into the accelerator so they have a little bit of an idea on things or opportunities to focus on. We start off with just kind of basic mission clarity, what does your website look like? Is it functional? Do you have basic social channels? Although some of that information sounds basic or sounds redundant. And if you think about nonprofits, and specifically black lead, and with smaller budgets, a lot of these founders get into it because there is a problem or a need that needs to be supported or something that needs to be solved. And so we don't necessarily think about, okay, you know, let's have this website, you know, all put together, it's no, we need the money. So we can fill this gap. So we can serve this community, and then it goes on from there. So really making sure and treating this like a startup, any startup, what basic information do we have how to potential customers or clients get in contact with us? We then move on to you know, budgeting, what systems do you have? Do you have an org chart, even, you know, how do we delegate activities, who's managing our year over year events, calendar, just making sure that they have those foundational things together. And then we're bringing in other experts in areas of storytelling and marketing and fundraising. So that at the end of the accelerator, these organizations have that three year strategy with tangible actions and things to be able to get going. The overall vision is that this accelerator helps to remove the barriers to funding for black led organizations. So the goal is that they leave with everything you need to be able to pitch to these larger partners, major donors. And it kind of culminates with the demo day, this is our hope and what we're fundraising for. But we hope to have a couple cash prizes where the participants will go, they'll talk about the organization, they'll basically pitch what they're doing, people in attendance can donate or vote with their dollars. And then hopefully, based off of fundraising, we'll be able to give out grants to the top three to five winners, holy
smokes. Like what a comprehensive, beautiful program that you're building, oh my gosh.
And I just want to say like you, you put everything in there, you put the kitchen sink into this accelerator. I mean, it starts with data, and goals, which is so smart. And the way that you are walking someone through this in a cohort and community makes people feel less alone. And I just want to compliment you on stacking the deck, not just with what we call the hard skills, you know, which is how do you do this? Here's the org chart or chart, and here's your website. And, and here's what your budget needs look like. It's like, No, we got to talk about storytelling. We got to talk about culture, we got to talk about these things that really shape our nonprofits, you are building something that I am so happy is in the world. And I can't wait to watch the evolution of it unfold, Monique. And I'm just sitting here wondering like, I want to let you as a founder just like, share your dreams with us. What what do you hope? What is your dream? And when you think about the future, what do you hope will come out of this,
I get emotional on like every call that we have together. I think in thinking about the future, a little bit of good, I would love for this to exist in every metropolitan city, large metropolitan city, and be able to expand the size of each of the cohorts. I imagine, you know, partnerships with meta and Netflix and all of these like huge companies that obviously have done business, right, but to be able to give that strategy and that insight to nonprofits, because again, it's the same, it's the same thing to me. And that's how I approach everything, every conversation. I'd love to be able to eventually have a fun that supports black led organizations. I think it's going to be a longer, you know, process in order to really start promoting equity in funding and getting to some of these large foundations. So really creating that ourselves for us and specifically having the money you know to give to other organizations. That's what I want. That's that's what I see.
Taking a quick pause from today's episode to share some true exciting news. To celebrate community week, we're officially launching our merch store. You can find it at we're for good.com backslash shop. There you'll find workbooks, coffee mugs supersoft T shirts with your favorite sayings and more. We want to see We Are For Good shirts and merch all across the globe and your corner of the world. snag a selfie with your merch and use the hashtag We Are For Good so we can see. You can find everything over at we are for good.com backslash shop
Hey friends, we're taking a quick pause to highlight more incredible members of the We Are For Good community.
I'm April Mercer zu ski at a university and I have worked on the periphery of fundraising for a lot of years. But I've only joined the fundraising team in the past year and a half. Surely after I shifted to this career, I found the weird for good podcast. And We Are For Good PRO shortly after that, and they have been a lifesaver. I listen to the episodes and to the trainings in spare moments in my car, when my kid isn't listening to songs about trucks. And I've been able to learn best practices, gain new ideas, and adjust my thinking on countless topics. I've taken notes on spare pads of paper, and on my phone at stoplights, then I quote you to all of my co workers. In a time when I've been scrambling to invent this job at my institution, you've given me reassurance and clear direction. Thank you, Becky, John team, you all are amazing. And so empowering. And I'm very grateful.
This community gathered is powering the impact uprising. And we feel incredibly honored to play even a small part of each of these stories. So wherever you're at in the world, hope you know our team and the encouraging humans gathered in the community are cheering you on every single day. If you're feeling the FOMO and you want to join us head on over to we're for good community.com We can't wait to see you inside.
Monique doesn't dream small.
Yeah. And I said I see it, you know, and I think you're absolutely get there because of just the way that y'all are iterating and just are holding on to the bigger vision but kind of open to how it takes shape and the people that get to step into this. So what a beautiful vision that you have. Okay, I'm going off script because we hear that you're starting a podcast soon. And we're just like when I hear this story because Becky's already mentioned Taylor, Taylor, you know, and you connected in the community, like tell us this origin story of this, we can connect up our listeners to this,
oh my gosh, so I love Taylor, I don't even know how we initially began talking. I know she had messaged me, in the community, maybe just to have a coffee chat, I'm not even sure. And then she ended up going on kind of a road trip with her brother. And one of her stops was Austin. So we were like, Oh, my gosh, let's get together, get a drink, let's meet. And then we met in person. And it was like, We are people like what was supposed to have just been a lunch like ended up meeting them later that night. And it was just like, we have to do something like we have to do something together eventually. So I ended up asking her to be on the board for a little bit of good. And, you know, utilizing her for her amazing brain and knowledge and all of the things in through some of those conversations around the structure of the org. We just kind of started like, what if we did our podcast? Like what? Like our conversations are so funny. But what would we want to talk about. And we both have very interesting stories in terms of how we've been touched by nonprofit and how, you know, we both got to a place when deciding that like this was what we were meant for. And we got the idea and the vision to create this podcast for the everyday giver, you know, people out in the community, number one to hear about these amazing missions, how they function, how they serve, but then to also hear directly from a beneficiary of their work. So Taylor being who she is, she was like, Oh my gosh, let's do a podcast on behalf of a little bit of good revenue generator, something to allow for earned income for the nonprofit. But also, were able to highlight you know, these amazing missions, were able to show potential funders what direct impact looks like through interviewing the beneficiaries, and like really leave people feeling inspired or wanting to make action and then having access to go and fund those nonprofit missions. So we just decided we're gonna wing it. We ordered our mics and everything so we shall see
what's gonna happen then if the mics are ordered. That is official for sure. I mean, there is nothing better than when do gooders get together in the wild. And they build for good. I mean, these stories give us life. Monique, we are absolutely rooting for you and Taylor, keep us posted on that. We want more podcasts coming into the space Building the impact uprising socializing these conversations, democratizing philanthropy, and making sure that everybody has access to pour into good wherever they are in the world. So I got to talk about community. And I want to get a little bit personal. And I want to hit this between the eyes a little bit, you know, I want you to talk about the importance of community in your life and where you've seen it in your work, but also want to talk about this dei component, and how people can be allies to your effort. And I want to talk about how black women black and brown women specifically are very marginalized, still in the sector, and how we can pour in as a community, to these black and brown women to build businesses to build more equity into the sector. So you got to two for there that you need to break down?
Well, number one, I think if you are in a hiring position or position to build and create strategy internally, figuring out a way to center experiences that you're not familiar with. So I think that there are a lot of nonprofits with amazing missions, and they do incredible things. But because they don't have people of color on their boards, or they don't have people of color in their staff or in their volunteer groups, you're missing a lot of key areas to be able to help answer. And if it's your intention to truly eradicate whatever the causes that you're working on, then you have to have a more diverse perspective in the way, you know, or the potential impact. And so I think hiring on people of color black men and women into these positions of authority or of influence within your organization is a great first step. I also think taking the time to make sure that you have a diversity focused strategy, whether that be in your giving, if you're a funder or a foundation, having a de ai strategy, or at least naming that that's something that you want to put emphasis on as a start. Through this work, we've done a lot of research around funding and what that data looks like by demographic and a lot of it doesn't exist. But you will go on different orgs websites, and it'll say what policies we specifically support. But it'll never mention, you know, certain demographics and how that support specifically ties in. So calling that out and calling out what you don't know, and reaching out for help with that. I think a lot of and especially white LED organizations, I think they kind of shy away from race work, because I don't know what to say, or I don't know how to say it, or I don't want to step out of line. And it's like, but we need to have those conversations in order for you to be able to expand your work, expand who you're serving. So, you know, not being afraid to at least start those conversations, I think. And with you mentioning community, I mean, starting here with our community, I'm willing to chat obviously, I'm not a representative for all black women in the world, but can give you initial, you know, insights, I think always just keeping it top of mind and not a secondary thing as you're planning out a new program. Figure out, you know, what communities, aren't we in or looking at the data in your city? And saying, okay, there are, you know, there's a 10% black population here, how many black people have we served in our organization? Do we have a function to even measure that? And starting to just question, you know, how we're doing things internally? And what small changes can we make, because it won't be a whole, you know, huge change at one time. And I think that that's what people kind of hesitate with is like, oh, my gosh, I can't do the big thing. So I'm just not going to do nothing. But even the small tweaks and changes really do make a difference over time.
I love that because I think it leads you into, you know, deeper questions, too, because having just the starting point and saying, Okay, why do we not serve that 10%? And what what are kind of the structures or maybe the things that bias that we don't even see that lift to the surface that could be keeping us in this lane or keeping our board to look a certain way. So I think it just you have to have that vulnerability or I feel like that's what I'm seeing is having the vulnerability say, I don't know, but I'm willing to like dig in and ask questions and have these kinds of conversations on our team.
I love what you just said there. because I was going to say something to the same effect, something that I'm learning in a lot of my anti racist work that I'm diving into is it's good to say, I don't know, or did I say the wrong thing? Or did I offend? Asking questions like that is a very healthy and good thing. And so I really appreciate your work in this. And I'm actually I want to drop a book recommendation and that I'm reading right now with a group of friends called our separate ways, black and white women and the struggle for professional identity, it will blow your minds. And if you are someone who really is thinking about how do I bake equity into my work? And how do I grab the hand of another woman or and I'm, and I'm talking to men too, like if you can be an ally in this. And I really think that working through and unwinding prejudices and biases that we didn't even know we had, you know, that we've that had been baked into our life and into our habits, that is going to be a way that we break these cycles. And I think just having a heart and a mindset that there is so much to be learned and unlearned in this is wonderful. And so I wanted to create some space to talk about this, because I think what you're doing Monique with little bit of good is one of those beacons in the space. And we just want to be an ally to it. So thank you for doing that. And just keep going.
Yes, and I do want to call out I love the theory of anti racism, but I definitely prefer anti oppression as my kind of my statement term, just because there's a lot of different areas that we're working in, and anti racism can be so limited, but anti oppression, my new favorite term,
Preach it here.
Thank you for speaking that over us, too. So okay, as we started to like wind down, you know, some of our favorite questions are tied to philanthropy. And you get to sit at this kind of cool intersection you're seeing people give to your startup, what is a moment of flood threat, you take us back to this and have to relate to that. But what's a moment in your life that you mean like, and this is, this is what matters here.
So there's an organization here called Mobile Loaves and Fishes. And they have a space in the community called community first village. And I have one of my really good friends here. I was feeling really, really down and she invited me to come out and volunteer. And I was like, Yes, this is what I need. And I pulled up to community first, it was my first time ever going there. And here in Austin, just like a lot of cities, the houses, epidemic is just huge and growing. And I pulled up and it's just this huge community with these trailers that have been redone, and overhauled and all of these tiny homes. And so initially, I'm like, wow, you know, they're building a space where people can have residents. But as you go around the community, they had an art house, which is where I was volunteering, they have an Automotive Center over there, they have mental health resources, doctors who live on site, the CEO and founder, he lives on site with his wife and a tiny home there. And I had just never experienced a organization that was so well rounded, in terms of how they were supporting, it just wasn't, you know, getting you into a home, it was providing you opportunity to make money, it was getting you mental care, they had opportunities, you know, for people struggling with substance abuse, like it was so well rounded, and just being there, like you feel, I don't know, just this level of goodness. And I was just like, wow, this is where, you know, these small ideas can go because they started forever ago, it was just a trailer that went around giving out food. And it has now grown to something so huge and so impactful, you know, in our area that like it stays with me, I tell everyone about Mobile Loaves like their founder, Alan, he just walks around over there. He's the nicest guy ever. He's so approachable. And it's just it was really inspiring.
Wow. I mean, I'm pretty obsessed with that nonprofit and it feels like you know, community is everything and when you can bake that into the process and make someone feel seen and a human. Everything that comes out of it just feels so much more hope wholesome and hopeful. So love that story. Okay, Monique, we need you to give us a little bit of good here with a one good thing you know, we end all of our conversations with the one good thing what's what's your one good thing you would give to the We Are For Good community today?
I would say okay, I have two good things and I can't just Do one. Number one is this community and the pro community I truly I tell everyone that it is like my nonprofit university, I watched all the videos because again, like I don't know what I'm doing here. But it was so valuable in terms of at least giving me a direction to get started, it gave me access to people who had resources and ideas. So truly wouldn't have been able to get going without our we're for good community and our pro community specifically. And I think my other thing is like, Just do it. Just know that you know, whatever idea you have, whatever is like sitting on your heart is something that you have been drawn to, it's there for a reason. And you can literally do any thing, there's so much opportunity, so much money out there, just start talking about it and start talking about whatever it is as if it already exists. We have a total of $1,800 raised for a little bit of good. But you would think that like we have million dollar budget the way I talk about it. So just get out there, speak your piece and like there's something there for you, whoever you are,
Monique Parker, I mean, you are an incredible growth mindset evolve human that we just feel so overcome that you are part of this community, and you inspire us. And so I'm gonna throw some one good things by blow Candoco because if you want to support Monique, let's do that right now. Let's also we're going to point you to all the social channels in the website for a little bit of good as we kind of round out. But join us in supporting this organization like this is a way that we can tangibly step in and put our money where our mouth is in supporting something that is truly here to uplift this community that wants to do good for their communities. So we just want to surround this organization. And you know, you you were born on our birthday, too, right? Wasn't it like birthday week when every little bit of good. Got it. We share a birthday, we're growing up together, we're about Thailand together. Like let's do this point to all the ways that little bit of good shows up online. And let's round this out.
We are at little bit of good.org. We're also on Instagram, where we will be sharing updates on the applications that come out as well as upcoming podcast episode. If you are a nonprofit interested in being on our podcast, if you are a professional interested in being a facilitator or mentor with the accelerator, or if you have someone great that you think we should talk to please reach out. Little bit of good org@gmail.com
Okay, one last thing, how can this community help a little bit of good? This is our this is our one good thing back to you. What do you need right now? It's community week, how can community rise up and help little bit of good,
we need funding as for any mission to really get off the ground, it would be amazing to have funding right now to be able to pay for some of the systems that we've invested in. We are truly grassroots at this point. And people have been so nice to volunteer their time and resources and treasures and all the things that we need funding we have a live campaign over on give butter or you know, feel free to reach out directly if you have a million dollar gift for me.
You can wire it. million dollar gifts that dropped from the sky. Yes. Well, I'm just so proud of you. You have built something absolutely beautiful and to know your daughters are watching their mama just chase her dream. Change the world. It's just a bomb to the soul. I'm just so proud of you.
Thank you so much. I love y'all. We love you.
Thank you, my friend. Keep going.
Hey, friends. Thanks so much for being here. Did you know we create a landing page for each podcast episode with helpful links, freebies and even shareable graphics. Be sure to check it out at the link in this episode's description. You probably hear it in our voices but we love connecting you with the most innovative people to help you achieve more for your mission than ever before. We'd love for you to join our good community. It's free. And you can think of it as the after party to each podcast episode. You can sign up today at we are for good.com backslash Hello. One more thing If you loved what you heard today, would you mind leaving us a podcast rating and review? It means the world to us and your support helps more people find our community. Thanks friends. I'm our producer Julie confer and our theme song is Sunray by Remy Borsboom
