9 Nonprofit Trends That Matter in 2024: Activate the One = Grow the movement

12:23AM Feb 20, 2024

Speakers:

Jonathan McCoy

Becky Endicott

Brady Josephson

Keywords:

people

nonprofit

community

movement

brady

charity

feel

donor

good

organizations

mission

moments

talk

podcast

day

trends

long

surfing

story

learn

Welcome back to the nine nonprofit trends that matter in 2024. Sponsored by our good friends over at our RKD Group, we love this value aligned partner that's helping nonprofits build long term donor relationships through next generation tech data and marketing strategies that are driving omni channel experiences and donations. Learn more at RKDgroup.com.

Hey, I'm Jon.

And I'm Becky.

And this is the We Are For Good podcast,

nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.

We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an Impact Uprising.

So welcome to the good community. We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropist, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.

So let's get started. Becky, what's happening?

You know, this is one of the trends that I just poured my heart and soul into, and I am so excited about talking about it today, I will not lie.

I know I feel like this is like just so you and it's been you afternoon, you for 20 plus years, this has always been new to be. So I'm really excited to talk about a trend today. And you're finding us in the middle of the trend series. So if you're new to the podcast, or new to this episode, we take the first part of the year to unpack the trends that we see, you know, spanning across a lot of different conversations where organizations are finding success and finding really a lot of impact by pouring into certain things. And today's is one of our favorites. It's called activating the one equals grow the movement. So unpack that for us be okay,

I think what I want to say before I dive into this as we talk to so many people who are in nonprofits in social enterprise, and they are struggling with how are these people on to the left, and to the right of me having so much influence online? How are they getting so many people to sign up? How are they getting so many people to talk about them? And there's just this general sense of not just FOMO. But like, I want to do that. But I don't know how to do that. And we don't have a nonprofit that has those kinds of followers. And I'm here to tell you yet do you 100% do and we want to unpack that playbook for you. Because it's no longer just about hitting our KPIs. Trying to find donors trying to find prospects, we are in that era philanthropy right now where we are growing movements in the movement is going to feed everything that I just said. But it's also going to feed so many other things. True community is building with people discovering solutions together that's going to advance your mission. And they're going to create believers who will not let you fail. And I got to finish this long diatribe of my love with this great quote from Darren Isom, who is just an incredible impact professional over at the Bridgespan group. And he says, when you think about community building, you have to think about it like this. Because ultimately, if people have a sense of belonging, and a space, they'll cross town, they'll pay whatever it cost. And you'll go and see things that aren't very interesting, just because you feel like you should be there. And so that's what we're trying to unleash within your movement. And we are so excited to dive into it today.

I love I mean, riffing on this topic, because the idea of just like building with community just feels so much better. And our missions get so much brighter. And so I want to break out some key points that we see that just kind of like are sub bullets of this. And the first one is this fundamental belief that it's no longer valuing donors just on the money that they're bringing to the table. And we lifted this as a full trend for a year to say it's no longer just about a mount. It's about behavior, like what are those signals that we're seeing of donors, or believers or volunteers, or people surrounding our mission that are like Hello, over here, I'm really engaged, and I want to get plugged in, and so on. So that means is that it's time to loosen the grip, you're gonna have to give up control. If you're welcoming more people into the picture. It doesn't mean stray from your values or your vision. It's just like, give up the control on areas where people can make it more tuned into the community and more connected to the community and in their voice and not just in your voice as an organization. And it's really just shifting your mindset. You know, we talk about community as a business, we see this in the in the for profit world, these Sass companies are all about building communities that are going to help them lead to better products because they haven't been very in tune knowledge of what the customer really wants. It's the same idea is like when we build in community, our missions are going to be that much more connected to the people that we're trying to engage with are ultimately our beneficiaries as well. And it starts from a place of creating authentic, safe place of belonging but you have you read about this so well and I feel like Darren is quote, just really tease this up. But how do we get in lockstep with the believers of our mission? It just feels so much You'd better that way too. And then the last thing, this is probably one of our favorite quotes to say around here. But we want to give our community the gift of activation. Those people that want to see you succeed, they want to see your mission permeated throughout your community want to be mobilized, they want to know, what's the right next step for them? How can I get plugged in? Is it a gift? Is it a volunteer hour? What is it that you need from them, and get really clear on that activation to start building the movement.

I love that we ended with activation, because that really is the key. And the other one that we want to lift is just that collaboration can be your best friend, let's start looking at influencers, prominent figures, volunteers, maybe their rabid fans or partnership organization, all of them have a role to play in movement building. So we really need to be intentional about mapping out an engagement strategy for whoever it is that you're going to target and then sequence accordingly. And I just want to say y'all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is going to be your community. So play that long game core value number 10. Have we're for good, and start small with one. And why do we do this, because we want to co build and iterate all the time, like you just mentioned, Jon, because giving his identity. And it's not just the dollar amount that gives people identity, it's the way they show up. And when they feel value in the way they show up, guess what they're gonna keep engaging. And if they love it, and believe in it, they're gonna bring a friend.

So good. I mean, this is not a new conversation to the podcast, which is why this episode, all these trends episodes, we want to give you a playlist because if this is kind of like striking a nerve or a chord with you, we want to give you some resources. So we've put together a playlist, gosh, there's got to be like 10, or 12, maybe 15 episodes, but our hope is with the playlist that you know, you could share these with either friends that you have in the community, or maybe it's like your board members or your team to get just ideas flowing. So let's start running out with some pro tips. We got three of them coming at you. And the first one is are you looking at your data? You know, we can tell you the trends all day long. What we're seeing across the sector, when it comes down to is what's happening in your world, who are the people that are probably flying under the radar of your organization, it's time to dig in, look at who's giving monthly, maybe people who have given loyalty over the last few years, multiple times a year, who are your volunteers, who's the people opening all of your emails, never missing one of those. Those are people that are giving you signals, they're showing engagement metrics through their opening and their clicks and their comments. And those are people that probably are ready to be activated even further. So think about it is a great brainstorming topic for your team. What is unique to your organization where people are giving you a signal that maybe you're missing, these are the people to get activated to build your movement. And then secondly, this is Pro Tip number two, build out a community journey. Note, we did not say donor journey, which is something we talked about on the podcast, because many of your rabid fans may not yet be a donor. And I think this is such an important inflection point to realize a lot of our conversation today is about getting people active socially, right. So they may be using their social capital and not transacting a gift yet. And maybe they never will. Which is which is also great. But the world is full of just digital lurkers. I hate the word lurker. But you know, it's kind of true. It's the people that are following your journey that are not necessarily involved yet. But they're watching and they're waiting for the moment to get compelled to get involved. So where's their proverbial front door of your organization? How do people get engaged that are just kind of on the sideline? Is it through social media? Or is it through some kind of event? map those entry points and determine your engagement strategy? Do you have a way to really invite people and give them the gift of activation, so you can transfer everybody that's a lurker into somebody that's engaged some way in your mission. And then third, you know, we're threading this through all of our trends. But fringe joy is a vibe, you know, like that is like such a heartbeat of total vibe. Good news travels fast. You know, we believe in spreading good in the world, and you and your mission, the stories that you're telling the things that you're reversing, hopefully in your communities, is bringing more good into the world. So how can we create content that helps evoke that joy? It's a community builder, it's getting people rallied around the four instead of just what they're against in the world. You know, it's like, what is something that's binding us together? So make a conscious effort to share your joys from big moments to little moments? And then use that uplift to be an activating moment for your community? How can an ambassador's take the next step, expand the ripple. So never forget that call to action whenever you're sharing the joyful vibe?

Oh, so good. And so I want to put a little bow on this before we introduce our absolutely outstanding guests that's going to come in and talk to you about this and practice. But I really want you all to think about when you combine these strategies, which PS is called trying stuff, you can create this dynamic and inclusive moment. It's going to attract, it's going to engage and it's going to retain a diverse group of people who are all committed to driving the same positive change that you want to see in the world. So consistent communication, collaboration, and a focus on your shared values are absolutely key components of successful move. meant building. So lean into that. And know that if you get stuck, come back here, we got a whole community, we got resources, we got content and examples for days, we want to help you get unstuck,

okay, we can't talk about activating the one to grow the movement without going to the source of just a movement that we have watched for years and honestly want to always get into the DNA into the heads of what makes Charity Water move. And so with this episode, it is like such a huge honor to welcome Brady Josephson. He's the VP of Marketing and growth at Charity Water. And he like, doesn't just know this stuff, he like lives and breathes this stuff. So I can't wait to introduce you to Brady. He calls himself a charity nerd. He's an adoptive dad. He's a five time fantasy baseball league champion, which is about the only way I could probably ever hope to win anything sports related. And he is just he leads this team at Charity Water of storytellers, creatives, marketers, that are all, you know, collectively responsible for growing, supporting and celebrating the Charity Water community and their impact. And what I love about Brady's bio is that the three questions he says that have really guided his career, which I think is so powerful, is one, how do people give to how can nonprofits raise more money online? And three, how can organizations best help people in need around the world? I mean, we're talking to somebody that is so dang curious and has been pouring into these ideas. And so it is a huge honor to have such an expert in the house and such a good human to Brady, welcome to the we're for good podcasts. We're a little excited, you're here.

I'm very excited to although the stakes have been raised with that intro, you should have you know, downplayed it a little bit like you're just the guy, you're gonna blow this.

Well, I mean, we want to get into the trend topic, but we don't want to blast past your incredible story, too. Would you kind of take us back to you know, Brady, growing up some of the formative experiences that gets you asking these, like, really cool questions. Take us back. Oh,

man, you know, it's, it's the classic tale of a young boy growing up in rural Canada, who dreams of being a nonprofit marketer, you know, just

a tale as old as

you know, I'll keep it brief. I know y'all like to talk about moments. And I think that's great. Because anytime you look back, it really is just stitching together a series of moments. And obviously, there's tons of life in between those things. But there are these like, you know, markers along the way. And I've had many of those the decision to become a nonprofit professional. And unlike a lot of folks, I intentionally chose this space. From an early age, I changed my major in college to focus on nonprofit management, and then went on to get a master's degree, relatively young, somewhat accidentally different story, focused on nonprofit administration. And so you know, that's a bit of a different journey. But the decision was this, like, moment I had at the back of the chapel at North Park University, where I was going to school, and I was an elementary education major at the time, I thought that was one of the best ways I could help. The world was being a strong role model for young men and girls, for kids and provide education and love that took a business course and was like, What is this beautiful thing with competition and strategy, and oh, this is interesting. And then the tsunami in 2003, that just destroyed Southeast Asia and took the lives of 200,000 people just really rocked my world a bit. And we had this service on campus, and I was in the back row, I didn't want to be there. And it was just this moment, when I was like, that's what I'm going to do. You know, watching these NGOs, respond and help rebuild the lives of people was just something that I was like, that's what I need to do. And so I changed my major the next week, and many other moments along the way. But you know, is one of those big moments of saying this is what I want to do with my life. And that's, that's really been one of the guiding things.

We talk so often about leaning into your nudges. And I love that you have this commonality Brady with Jon, who also spent a year in southeast Southeast Asia in Thailand after the tsunami doing some mission work. And I just think the collective of people who lean into those nudges and just keep following them leads to such incredible things. And we're sitting here staring at you, you know, leading Charity Water, which is like probably the goat of all modern goats in terms of activating the one and creating and growing a movement. And we've we visited with Scott Harrison, we've had Vic on the podcast or Dear people, good friends. And they've talked often about this just new approach to generosity, how and I believe the quote that Scott gave us that will always be in my head is I think about nonprofit. Not at all. I don't think about it at all and what's going on in the sector. And I think that there's really a healthiness to having that approach. So talk to us about why you think we need a new approach to generosity and how that guides your process.

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Yeah, well, I mean, first, you know, charity, water being the goat I had nothing to do with that. That's a lot of people who've come long before me and, you know, it's an honor and a privilege to try to continue that and, and do what we can today with where we are. But in terms of new approach, I think the biggest thing is like I consider myself to be a pretty, you know, data lead data driven person and marketer, and the reality is just I don't see the data, like, I've been in the space 15 plus years and things that we're talking about 15 years ago, first time donor retention, stubborn 2% of GDP going towards philanthropy, like we're in the same boat, for the most part. And the biggest thing from a like, sectoral perspective, or metric that nobody talks nearly enough about, is the percentage of disposable income that has given to charities, in the last year, we have on record in 2022, it was the second lowest all time and the lowest since 1995. So from a marketing perspective, that's what we call wallet share, like we are taking away less and less and less wallet share than we were 3040 years ago, which means all of the things that we've been doing all of the data, all of our podcasts, all of our things, at a high level is not moving the needle. So what is it that we're doing and what needs to change? Because continuing to do the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results is, you know, the definition of insanity. And I feel like that's what's been going on. And so, for me, it's a lot of the data. And well, a lot of times we've made progress, you know, since charity, water started, there was over a billion people who lacked access to clean water. And now it's down to 703 million over those 17 years, and we've been able to provide 17 and a half million people water in that time period, which is amazing. Still one in 10 people on the planet that don't have access to water, like we have to be moving faster and 2020 We're looking for things on the moon on Mars, and it's just water under people's feet that we can't access, you know. And so, again, you look at the date on the philanthropy side, but then you just look at our world and say, We're doing good, but is it good enough? And I'd say no, we're not making enough progress. And so that's when you have to look at your process and what you're doing and say if we're not getting the results we want, what are we doing from a process or a strategy perspective? And that's where I think we need to revisit a lot of things. Yeah, I

mean, I think something that charity water is always like, I kind of rocked in my soul is this idea that when we tackle these problems that are just massive in the world, that it's never going to be just like one person being able to do that even the wealthiest individuals with the amount of insane wealth that some people have in today's world, there's not enough. And you need a movement, like you need an movement for a lot of reasons. But you really need it to actually even move towards solving this. And so this one, I think there was like an audience of one of like, how do we talk to somebody about this, this trend of how do we activate the one to grow the movement? I wonder Brady, what have you, you know, learned throughout your career about growing and movement? And you know, what does that look like?

I like it, you guys just do softball questions like, how do you grow move? Well, first, I'd be How do y'all define a movement? I kind of have my own definition. But I'd love to hear from you. Like when you say movement, like what does that mean to you, Jon, or Becky?

I think it starts with one person, one person, human human, authentic, vulnerable, starting from there, creating a sense of belonging, giving them a sense of shared purpose, and then unleashing it, but that would just be me. Yeah,

I mean, mine's probably too long of an answer. But I, you know, we had this really interesting context of employee giving in our past careers, and we saw this like movement happen. But it only got so far for the first few years because we were controlling it as a staff. And there was a definitive point, we said, what if we release control and brought in other Ambassador different people into this? And it's like, literally, something switched. It's like, all of a sudden things were happening that we couldn't explain because it wasn't us doing it. It was other people doing it. It's like, that's kind of the concept that comes to mind.

Okay, yeah, I think I think both of those are good. It's I think movements are, you know, there's no single definition necessarily, but in my mind, there's kind of like capital, like all caps movements, like the civil rights movement, but then there's like, kind of like lowercase movements, which is what we're talking about, I think, which is like, how do you have more dynamism? Maybe in your marketing and fundraising or more communal or collective, instead of it just being kind of us out to you and this very transactional piece So a couple things we'll get into more like the details, but one analogy that I was thinking of, and I've never used this before, so like we're workshopping it, our

podcast breaking

is, is thinking about surfing. And again, growing up in, you know, the prairies of Canada, all my surfing knowledge is like Keanu Reeves and point break. So I don't know,

From the prairies of Oklahoma, like I relate to this. So this would be a great surfing chat

right here. Yeah. Not a not a man of the sea here. But what I know about surfing is you have to have some things, you need to have a board, you need to have a wet suit, you probably need a car or transportation, there's some physical tangible things that you need to have, there's some skills that you need, you need to have balance, you need to have strength, you need to know how to swim, or at least tread water long enough for someone to pick you up. And then you need to practice you know, you have to whether it's dry land, or with a coach, or the shallow end of a pool, you know, you have to practice trying to surf, you don't just go surfing and surf like it takes time and practice. And then eventually, the thing that dictates whether you have like a good safe surfer, a great surf or a bad surf is the wave. And that's not really in your control. Right. So like your job is to get the things that you have practice like crazy and put yourself in the best position, and then go surfing all the time, and hope that you can catch a wave, a big wave, a great wave. But if you're not doing the things and you're not even trying to surf, you're never going to catch the wave. And I think that's the thing that so many nonprofits do is they're not even going out to the ocean. They're not even thinking about surfing, you know, or

getting discouraged when it doesn't work right out of the gate to correct or

does it work exactly as we had planned or exactly as we had budgeted or exactly as our board understands, we're going to do it. And I want to compliment you on that. Because I think just the nimbleness of Charity Water is in the fact that risk is encouraged that innovation is encouraged. And we understand that to build something as big as a movement. We're gonna fail so many times, we're going to learn things and unlearn things the entire time that we're going. But it's like, we do want to catch a wave. And we want people to feel like they know where they can start, you know, when they're going to go by their board. Or maybe they're looking at the terrain, you know, and so talk to us about some of those hallmarks of a modern movement. I think there's a lot of people looking back. I know when we had Adam girone on the podcast, who was started Movember, you know, he was hired at other organizations. And he said, I kept having the board come to me saying, make another Movember. And he's like, Hey, that's that was lightning in a bottle, you cannot just recreate these things. So let's talk about hallmarks of a modern movement, and what nonprofits and not just nonprofits, social enterprise, do gooders what they can do to start thinking about setting a foundation for these movements.

Yeah, so this is my maybe more like, you know, the board and skills side of that analogy. And I think, you know, taking one one step back, I do think it starts with leadership. And being able to, you know, you always want to play the long game. I do think, you know, taking a new approach, it's so much comes back to board and leadership and openness to risk and all the structural factors that we have to deal within this space. Without that, then even when you go surfing, or even when you try these things, it's going to be limited. So that alignment from from top down. And I think more than probably anything, Scott's leadership and his vision as a founder, not being too beholden to nonprofits, and then, you know, the board and Vic in early years is the thing that is most powerful and hardest for anyone to replicate. You know, tons of organizations have kind of maybe learned from some design in some storytelling or peer to peer, and that's great. But there are some secret sauces of Charity Water that are pretty impossible to replicate are much, much harder. And one of them is, is that leadership side of things. And then the other one, honestly, and where a lot of movements come from is that that deep, deep, deep commitment to one person, you know, I think of the expression like one in a million, where people are both one, but within a million. And I think doing both of those things is really hard. Because if you just make it about the one and this is what most direct response fundraising is, it's an exchange and we've gotten really good at you know, making a great offer a human size problem, a solution that's understood a price point that's like a good deal, a sense of urgency. It's kind of like Stephen screens method of four components of a great offer, and then we make it this kind of one to one, hey, you can do this today. And that's great. And people can exert kind of competence. I'm a good person or autonomy. These are my values, but there's no communal element to it. It's just a one to one connection and you give you feel good and then you go about your day and you're not. Hey Jon, I just gave to this organization. Hey, Becky, you need to check this out, because it's become so transactional with one person so it's reorienting so much Have what we do to be a little bit more about the collective and the one because if it's all collective, then it's just an overwhelming problem. Oh my gosh, 703 million people lack access to clean water, what on earth can I do? And it's like, we're all gonna do it together. And you're like, Yeah, but are we. So finding that like, deep commitment to our person, and you give five bucks a month or $50,000 fundraise, whatever it is, you're a part of this. But you're still one, right? So it's like this oneness within the million NIS. And being able to do both is really tricky. But it has to evolve beyond just the oneness. And that's what, you know, Charity Water has been trying to do for yours is saying, we can end this in our lifetime, but it takes all of us and that's been in the DNA from day one. Dang,

I mean, so many thoughts. I

know. And I'm just like, so happy that we're having this conversation. I mean, Brady, like I want to, I want to double click on on what I feel like y'all have accomplished with creating community in light of that, because I do think, I don't know if you've heard us say this, but we've interviewed obviously, like 500 Different people on this podcast. And you'd be surprised how many times it's come up that there is like a spring donor in our midst, which is like the monthly giving program at church, it's hilarious. That is people that are

high, bringing other people into the spring and

in the recording on the before and after. It's because there's such an identity associated with it, that they feel proud to be a part of it. They feel like they are part of something they meet up, or they have chats or whatever. So I'm just curious, like, how does your team kind of pour in to creating this community? I mean, I'm gonna get back to like your bio says, you know, you work with storytellers, creatives, marketers, which is our people, you know, like using kind of all the different brain and heart and connection points. How are y'all really pouring into creating this engaging community? Like, what's kind of your thought process for doing that?

Yeah, so a few things. One, I think we've done a really great job at actually showcasing the community. So you know, people say we want to community and then you never hear about people in the community. And so I think we tell kind of, quote, unquote, beneficiary stories or stories about the people and communities that we impact is good or better than anyone else. But that's not that uncommon for other nonprofits or other organizations to talk about those stories. What we have done a great job at in our history, whether it's Scott's story, or Rachel Beckwith story or Nora's story, or just average people, we've, we've highlighted and showcase so many of those people's stories. And it makes people feel like oh, there are other people like me and creates that sense of connection. And so if you want a sense of community, you have to share about people in the community. Otherwise, are you really a part of a community? And the answer is like, no, like, then you're just using words in so I think that's something that we've, we've done, and we've actually kind of moved away from as we've evolved and been more focused on our programmatic work. And even internally, we're saying, I think we've lost a little bit of that, that juice in that energy. And, you know, even last night, our support experienced team held an event called remarkable together, and it was invite to our spring community and a few other donor groups. And it was just an hour to share stories primarily of other donors in the community. And that's it, you know, average everyday heroes, people that are doing small, but significant things to the water crisis. And so you have to invest in that and showcase those stories. And I think that's one of the things that we've done really, really well.

If you've done it, not just Well, you've done it beautifully, because one of the secret sauces that I've always felt great movements have, you know, other than the authenticity and the vulnerability is this sense of belonging. And when you've when you see other people who value the same things that you do, and they're coming at it with purpose, and with love, and with whatever it is competition, and, and this tenacious spirit of no quit, and then you see yourself in their story, or you get lifted from the pack. I mean, think about this, you guys, remember when your teacher used to put a gold star, like on your shirt? Because you answered something, right? Like, the dopamine that hits the serotonin that's released is insane. And it's like, that is the same with our movements. And I think too long, we've been looking at how do we highlight this top donor and, and make them feel so good about their gift or this company. And really, what we keep saying is flip that donor pyramid upside down and start with that bass. The bass is going to fuel the major. And I just think you all have done this in such a beautiful way. And I mean, the spring is just a thing to behold. And I just want to say well done, well done to you all because you really embrace this giving his identity. So just kudos to you all I want to talk about story and I think that you are such a beautiful storyteller if you've not gone and checked out Brady's website, Brady josephson.com I encourage you to just go see the way he's written his story, it just pulls you right in. And we just think that it's the great connective tissue that pulls all of us together. So I want to ask you, Brady, what's a story of generosity, a story of philanthropy that has happened in your life that is just stuck with you. We want to celebrate it here.

Well, there's a lot, you know, like I said, I've spent my whole career in the space. And I've been very lucky to work with great people and organizations. And my kind of, you know, founding story is one and, you know, when I was thinking about this, there's a, there's a story, there's no way I'm going to be able to tell without crying, just, you know, spoiler alert, that I haven't really told too much. And it was, again, back back in real formative years where I went to school in Chicago, and again, growing up in in the prairies had a great family, a great life, but you're really not exposed to a lot of things. In so going to school in Chicago, in the city of Chicago was just this mind blowing, eye opening world changing experience to me. And, you know, the school's mission is to create students that live lives of significance and service. And they took that very seriously. And so did I was like, This is great. I want to do this. And so really invested in volunteering. And one of the programs is a reading program in Cabrini Green. So that was a really tough neighborhood in downtown Chicago at the time, and you got matched up with a student. And I remember going the first week and I got matched up with a student Anthony, and there's just this moment, like I had long hair at the time. I didn't quite have a puka shell necklace, but

it wasn't far off. Jon Brady, you're the same

shoes, or were you barefoot?

Chicago that sounds cool. Yeah, it's

cool. You know, and and I'm just, you know, I play hockey. And so and I'm trying to connect with with Anthony, right. It was just a young black student growing up in inner city, Chicago. It was like, Hey, what are we going to, you know, connect on and eventually, we found our way to sports in football, and he was a big Chicago Bears fan. I remember asking him like, Hey, have you ever been to a to a Bears game? He goes, No, no, I was like, you know, that's fair. It's expensive. I haven't been to a game either. He said, No, I've never I've never seen a game I've never even seen them on on TV. I was like, Oh, wow. And he goes, I've actually never seen a football game ever. And it's such a trivial thing in light of things like, you know, injustice and racism and socio economic. But the fact that this boy loves the sport, and he's never really seen, it was just this moment of like, oh, my gosh, that is crazy. Our worlds are way further apart than I'd imagined. And I think when you get into telling different stories in something that again, Charity Water does really well is, yeah, we have the traditional narrative and arc and what that looks like. But we add in these textures and details about the people and communities we serve that really resonate, you know, like one of our most powerful stories is a woman named Helen up to the big kind of takeaway from her story is that it wasn't just about the time being safe with access to clean water, or what it meant for the future of her family. For her one of the things was that she could wash her clothes, and feel beautiful, is the quote is, now I feel beautiful. And it's these little things when you can say you know, the time saved and the economic impact. But when you just step back as a woman or a mother or a man, it doesn't matter and just say, yeah, the human dignity and peace that comes with just wearing dirty clothes day after day. What would that do to you, you know, or this boy Anthony was like, favorite sport, he can't even watch it. And so you know, in school, we actually created a day called Viking Kids Day bustin every kid visit campus and see what a day in the life was. In, you know, I was one of the the planners of this, and we scheduled on a day where we had a football game and made sure you know that anybody could watch this game. And it did this day is one of the most, like, proud moments of my career wasn't just because this kid could watch a football game. I know, that's not that significant in the grand scheme of, of life or world, but it's just, you know, these, these small things that we solve problems for, for one person, you know, and it's just, it just sticks with you. And I think, you know, especially as you start serving 10s of 1000s, or millions of people like you, you can't forget that it's about Anthony, and that it's about Helen, you know, at that that granular level, and your comms and your marketing and just even waking up every day. You know, and that's something that really has stuck with me is kind of small or trivial as it might be, you know

It's the trivial things that are the things that stay with us forever, they Nestle and implant so deeply into our soul. And I think that the thing I want to say to everybody because I mean, as you're telling that story, Jon, I don't know what you were envisioning. But I was just picturing you and Eric. Jon used to mentor a little boy and he would like do origami with him and we would go and mentor at the school together and it reminded me so much of that, but it's like, we got Remember, the Anthony's in the Helens and the Eric's? Like? How do we tap into that like on really hard days on days where we're struggling on days where we can't find the hook, it's like, go back to humanity, go back to dignity. And that is what's waiting to be unleashed in your movement because that's real. In a world where we don't know what's real online. That is real. That is something that I can connect with Kali,

yo, I mean, the through line of this conversation, that it's all about the one like, it's just, it's so poignant. In what way to go on the way you storytel That, I mean, I think that is a lesson of just like how all of us can talk about things of our mission, whether they're giant, whether you're solving the water crisis, but that brings you into this human level. And it's like, we all have those stories of how our missions, take the edge off certain things or allow people to feel or have these moments of dignity. So that's so beautiful, man, I really appreciate you sharing that. I mean, I'm dying, that we're rounding up this conversation, there's been way too fast or a trans conversation, we have a long back, for sure. But we can't let you go without asking for your one good thing, this could be a piece of advice, or just something you want to leave with our community they What's your one good thing?

Can I do three quick ones, because once you're strong enough,

three we've had to.

One is, instead of a mentor, if you don't have one, which is great. Think about a board of advisors. And you know, asking someone to be a mentor is pretty intense, like, Hey, will you mentor me. And I heard this concept, my thought, oh, that's actually what I've unintentionally done is I've probably four to eight people in my life that I can kind of call on almost kind of whenever I want, but it's very casual, it's not structured, and they can speak into the work I'm doing or where I'm at. And so if you have a few those people in the world, whether you've made it more official, and you know, I want to bring them here to Nashville for a weekend and have to connect with each other, or it was just more ad hoc, just think about a personal board of advisors. I think that's a cool concept for personal professional development. You know, when you think about changing the approach, I think one of the things for a lot of us is, you know, play to win and not to lose, I think that's a big thing that ties into fear, but so many of us is I just don't want to screw it up. You know, I just don't want to screw up this email, or this campaign, or this year, and we're just holding on to what we got. And it's just not a winning strategy. At best, you don't lose, but you rarely rarely, rarely win, you know, so whether that's in your personal life or strategically for nonprofit as much as you can just thinking about, you know, playing to win and not to lose. And then a version of that, I think is something that I thought was a quote from my dad. And it turned out to be a Bruce Springsteen quote. Like his dad, what the, like plagiarism it's, it's only rock and roll is the quote. And the long form of the quote is Bruce Springsteen was talking about, you know, you got to play each and every gig as if it's like, the only thing that matters in the entire universe and just play your heart and soul out. And at the same time, it's just rock and roll. Like, it's just a concert, in being able to carry those two things, I think, especially in our space, where we deal with heavy stuff, you know, like, there's literally people dying in the world today, because they don't have access to water. And that can weigh you down and carry a weight that doesn't allow you to do what you need to do. So you have to hold that and carry that and, you know, honor that, but at the same time, find a way to be like, it's just an email, it's just a marketing campaign, you know, like, put it in the right bucket. And if you can do both of those things, I think it allows you to kind of work in the way that I think we should be working with serious intent, but you can have fun and be light and make mistakes, too, you know, so that it's only rock and roll piece, and stuck with me. So there you go. Three quick ones. So good.

Brady, just thank you so much for coming in here. I feel like you were able to take this extremely complicated concept and make it so dang simple. And so people, please connect with Brady, Brady, tell us where you're hanging out online. Tell us, you know, where you where they can connect with you. And honestly, I would also say as a one good thing, go follow Charity Water. If you're not on socials, watch what they're doing. This is happening in real time. And it's really, really brilliant.

Yeah, I mean, I'm not on online as much as they used to. But LinkedIn is probably great. And I would I would plus one that obviously, I'm biased. But I think, you know, giving supporting other organizations is a great way to learn. And that's how I used to do a lot of research and I was at next after we'd give to hundreds and 1000s of organizations and see the experience and I think the spring is one of the best things that you can do to invest in our world, but also as a professional, like, just give five bucks, see what the experience is like, see what you get. And if you don't like it, you can pause and cancel anytime but I think you'd enjoy the experience and you'll learn a lot from it. So check out you know, charity water.org/the Spring or just go to charity water.org and click around and we'd love to hear earn your donation in the future, and

you be a part of a community 74,000 friends are in there and be your friends. So go check it out,

Brady, it's such an honor, thank you for this conversation. I feel like we're just like fist pumping over here with so much excitement of getting this out to the community. Appreciate you.

Thank you so much for having me and thanks for your work.

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