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Evolved Nonprofit Sector Panel Replay | Otter.ai

Evolved Nonprofit Sector Panel Replay

Julie Confer40min

Woodrow Rosenbaum

00:00

What we need to recognize here is that fundraisers have the agency to change what's not working for us, the system is getting the result that is optimized for. If we want that to change, we got to change the practice. So that means you have the agency, it also means that you have to take accountability. So yes, there's lots of issues. Where are the opportunities in those issues?

Jonathan McCoy

00:28

Hey, I'm John. And I'm Becky. And this is the We Are For Good podcast.

Becky Endicott

00:32

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.

Jonathan McCoy

00:41

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.

Becky Endicott

00:50

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.

Jonathan McCoy

01:01

So let's get started. Hey, welcome back to summer of evolution. I have been so jazzed to bring you this week. This week is all about building an evolved nonprofit sector. And you know, we have these kinds of conversations all the time on the podcast. But back in April at the Virtuous, responsive nonprofit Summit, we were able to bring together some of the best minds to just have an open conversation about what does it look like to be responsive? What does it mean to evolve and use kind of our collective strength to meet the moment and this was one of my favorite conversations, and so I'm so excited to lift it today on the podcast. It features Mallory Erickson, you know her she's the founder of the power partners formula, and host of what the fundraising, Isla maileg. She's the founder and CO principal of venture leadership collective. And Marie Daugherty. She has been a multiple time guest on the show the CEO of Bob Woodruff Foundation, and Woodrow Rosenbaum, he's the chief data officer at Giving Tuesday, and President and CEO of with intent. Can't wait to hear what you think about this conversation. So you don't need me to tell you that the nonprofit sector in the world is evolving incredibly rapidly, right. And we just came back from AFP icon. And I think right around that same time, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project had just rolled out their newest report showing a decline that I don't think any of us were shocked by. But it's so painful to see when there's a decrease in dollars as degree decrease in new donor and donor retention overall. And at that same conference, we're sitting at dinner and Burke actually with Virtuous said, Have you guys ever heard the difference between a buffalo and a cow? And I'm like, No, I have not heard you know, what is this? It's like a joke. And I love this as kind of like a starting point for this conversation. But I guess cows run away from the thunderstorms, whereas buffalo is run straight toward it. And I did feel like this moment of like, and that is what we're positioned to, as the people that were surrounded by here are people that were very well aware of what's going on. We're very attuned with a lot of the competing factors and some of the systemic things that are driving the place that we're in today. But we're not afraid like we're moving forward boldly. And so I just wanted to start that conversation with that, and just say, kick it to say, what are the biggest challenges facing you in Iowa? I want to start with you to just kind of give some context for what you're seeing, what are the challenges that the nonprofit sector is facing?

Aila Malik

03:12

Yeah, well, first of all, thank you for inviting me on to this panel. And it's really great to be amongst some awesome, folks. My shop has a unique advantage of seeing a lot of different organizations, big and small missions across the country. And there's really three things that we're seeing is big trends. Operationally, we are seeing that this, there's so much fatigue, and sort of hangover and COVID recovery, that staffing challenges are hard, there's a lot of vacancies, there's burnout, there's fatigue, we're also seeing that sort of post COVID recovery. The models may have swung people may have done remote models, they may have moved into what we call more service programming and working with higher numbers as opposed to deeper outcomes. And so we're seeing that folks are not actually being thoughtful about what revenue strategies need to match their their current programming. And then strategically among the bigger movements and political structure that we have here in the country, people we're seeing a real need for organizations to think about the so what of their work. So what is the system's change approach? What is what is actually going to be materially different in and inequity and injustice, that your mission sort of deserves the right to get the sustainable funding? And I guess my advice for organizations and folks that are listening would be to really take a moment to reexamine your roots. So reexamine your impact strategy model, what was your intention? What is your what I call social profit metric that you are going to advance and rally your operations around and given that your staff retired? What is the true cost of your model? So if your staff retired and you Need to reduce caseload ratios? What is that true cost so that your development targets and revenue plan, which a lot of experts here will talk about, match your sustainable need, and that your private philanthropy can be about innovation and the so what of your organization?

Becky Endicott

05:17

Think I'll just gave us a playbook for innovation right there because we need to be looking for where we need to be forecasting growth. And I know Amory, you had a quote about that on our podcast that you had a four star general on your board who talked about how do we look over the horizon, which is why the Bob Woodruff Foundation was prepared. When we got into a pandemic, you were fully prepared, because you were ready for that moment. And I think you the Bob Woodruff Foundation just does a beautiful job on collaboration. And I wanted you to talk about the changes that you're seeing and how we think nonprofits will be funded, and the future and how will overall sustainability affect nonprofits? And what do you all seeing in your shop?

Anne Marie Dougherty

06:01

This is a really good questions. And hi, I'm so happy to be here. I am both like, I feel like a student, I'm scribbling everything down, I'm so happy to be here, thank you for having me, changes. So I think we just need to pay attention to the mood, the mood of the markets, the mood of middle America. And in its simplest terms, I think if you are considering if people feel like they have less money because of inflation, or they feel like they might have less money in the future as people and then folks who are overseeing budgets in for philanthropy, that's something that, you know, we need to pay attention to. So I the mood out there is grim and uncertain at the moment, nobody knows what's going to happen with the economy. And so I think it's making the environment more competitive for nonprofits, I think we're gonna see less money being invested from corporates, and less money being invested from individuals. So we're going to in the near term, so that means we need to be more competitive. And I really like that social profit term. So we've got to be really sharp with the pitch. And I think we're gonna see less multi year commitments. The good news is that family foundations, and the ultra high net worth individuals are still going to be giving. So again, it's just sort of making maybe adjusting to a changing environment. And I would say, to prepare for that, we talked about this in one of the podcasts we did together by being sticky. So if your organization is solving a business problem for the corporation that you're partnered with, it's going to be a lot easier. If you make it about them, not about you, even though it is about you, and all the people, you're helping just make it about them, then I think you have a better chance of hanging in there through what's going to be a difficult time. And then quickly, my three tips for all fundraising is really, it's three simple things, follow up, follow through, and be nice. And I emphasize the nice piece, because at the end of the day, if you have to make decisions about budgets that are getting smaller, you have a higher likelihood if if the folks on the other end are like I love working with them, even if I'm going to give them less, I'm going to keep them in my portfolio.

Jonathan McCoy

08:18

I just love seeing you all on the same screen because I've been coached by each of you. I feel like in different aspects of our life and partnerships, we're already getting into this are evolving. You know, I think you're already speaking to that. So I want to kick it to Woodrow with this, that we believe aligned partnerships to be really dynamic. How can we be confident in the impact that they're making in the world? And how do you encourage organizations to own their expertise to find value align partners so they can lock arms with those who do the work?

Woodrow Rosenbaum

08:44

Yeah. Thanks for having me, guys. That's a really good question. I think it's at the moment, maybe one of the more important questions to be asking you, you reference the 2022 fundraising affected this project results that we recently released, and and it is worrisome. And I think part of what's worrying there is the degree to which the reaction was yeah, I'm not surprised. And I think that ongoing decline in the number of donors, and now this weakening in the actual dollars that we're getting from that smaller group, is the main challenge that the sector is facing. And I think one of the most important things to recognize is that although we are facing certain headwinds, those results are not inevitable. And so finding the right organizations to partner with is one of the very actionable things right what this is something that gives us agency, as, as a sector, as an industry of our how we can chart a course that's going to that's going to not just help us survive, but actually might help us thrive and the competition that we're seeing in the space is a direct byproduct of hyperfocus on large donor stewardship. And although we are I would never say we need to do less engagement of large donors. But what we've been concerned about over is the multi year trend toward fewer and fewer givers and this erosion of the grassroots Foundation. And we know that organizations with a broad base of support are more likely to be resilient and to be able to weather economic storms, because those mid to large, large donors are the ones that are that change their behavior most in response to the economy. So it's not an either or situation. But but we have too many eggs in one basket. And now we're seeing the beginning of the effect of that. So what do we do? Well, one of the things we can do is partner with organizations, because we are we are not really in competition, at the kind of grassroots give her end of the scale, right? There's Yes, fewer and fewer large donors, and that large donor engagement is a different environment. But what we need right now is diversification. And that's where we have an opportunity to partner with organizations in the same geography as us with a similar or complementary mission. We see a ton of this on Giving Tuesday the day. But there's nothing special about giving Tuesday. That means you can only partner and find those opportunities on that day. This is something we can and absolutely must be doing all year round. If we're going to if we're going to address this this consolidation issue we're facing.

Becky Endicott

11:35

Woodrow I already see the chat blowing up with love for you. Because you are saying what of all of us are thinking right there and I and giving Tuesday, your your chief impact officer with giving Tuesday's telling you it's not just one day, this has got to be baked culturally into every day and how we're engaging, right, the responsive nonprofit Summit, which is all about creating a way for everybody to be a philanthropist seeing philanthropy at every level from the grassroots all the way up to that mid major. Now, most of what I've learned about of all Partnerships has come from Mallory Erickson, I am such a student of hers. And I think what you have done to teach us about power partners formula mindsets. I mean, talk about the power that nonprofits have right now in power and partnerships, talk about the assets that they can bring to the table to disrupt what you know what we consider a really 1.0 model of partnerships that we grew up with John and I, which was here's our gala proposal, we're going to slide it across the table, and how many tables are you going to buy? That is the old model talk about this progressive moment that we are sitting in, to truly bring what we have to bear to the table to create a really sound partnership. Yeah.

Mallory Erickson

12:50

Well, thank you for having me on this panel as well. I think my head is going to fall off from all the nodding. I've already been doing what everybody has been saying. But I love this question. Because I think first of all, we have been confusing for a long time a funding solicitation with a partnership proposal, those are not the same thing. And so asking for somebody to support our gala to have a table tent at some event, any of those things that is not partnership building, that is a request for funding. And so I think the very first thing is recognizing that what partnership really means is about aligning incentives. And I think sometimes we get a little weird about that word in the nonprofit sector. But the reality is, is that with any type of partnership, you're building, the goal is a mutually beneficial partnership, a win win. And so that starts with believing that there is a win win between you and that company, that there actually is something that you both want to see happen in your community attached to this issue area. And you have to believe that in order to actually formulate a partnership, because if you don't believe that you're going to ask for funding, you're going to ask them to give you some money because you don't have money and they have money and you just want them to solve that funding problem for you. So it starts with that belief that you actually share. In some goals you share in some incentives. And those look different between a corporate partner and a foundation and an individual. aligning incentives is customized based on the interest and orientation of the type of funder that you're talking about. And I talk a lot about assets and understanding the assets of your organization because what I have found is after watching hundreds of nonprofits go in front of different types of partners is that the only thing they know how to talk about of value are the programs and services that they offer inside the organization. And I understand that orientation because that's what we're thinking about day and night all the time. But all of your organizations have so many things of value, things of value that align with the different incentives of those potential partners. You have things of value, like your audience, your email, list your following on social media, the thought leaders on your board of directors, your connection to policymakers, you have tons of assets that are valuable to those foundations, you're talking to those corporate partners, you're talking to those individuals you're talking to. And once you start to understand that, and you start to integrate that into how you align incentives with these partners, that's how you actually build partnerships. Oh, my

Jonathan McCoy

15:39

gosh, I mean, I'm just feeling this. I mean, there's so much power that is here. And I think I've heard this through threaded through so many conversations today already, but it's a different posturing than maybe some of us have, you know, about a scarcity. It's really the opposite of that. And if we're going to evolve, if we're really going to meet this moment, with this level of partnerships, we believe it starts from within, you know, and Becky's alluded to this in our own journeys. But the mindsets that we embrace, we're realizing really the importance of this, and I want to say Mallory, it was you that looked at me on a podcast once and said, I was like, you know, what, what's the mindset that you need? And you said, first, you need to realize that we all have mindsets. Like I mean, it's like, this is not something that you don't have you have it, but we need to like adjust what your mindsets are. And so I like to kick it to all of y'all to just say, what are those mindsets that you think could help bring the walls down and allow us to really move into these kinds of partnerships?

Woodrow Rosenbaum

16:33

I mean, you alluded to this already, that the the mindset that is very prevalent within the sector for lots of very good reasons. But they're the prevalent mindset is one of scarcity. And, you know, I saw I saw a question go by in the chat, how do we how do we engage more broadly, with when we're when we're overwhelmed with what we already have on our plate? And again, I think partnerships is part of the answer to that. But I think that, despite what might be in the environment that impacts us, the most prevalent the most, the most substantial mindset shift that has to happen is from scarcity to abundance. The data actually don't support that we're in a scarcity environment, despite the trends that we're seeing. So I guess what I would ask is, if you were in a situation of abundance, how would that change how you behaved within this marketplace? And that, to me, is a useful kind of thought process, right? Not even you don't even have to buy it yet. Just what would you do differently? If this was an abundant situation? Because it is?

Aila Malik

17:41

I mean, I'll just double click I mean, I find myself Woodrow that is absolutely right. You know, I'm going to take it to a micro level, I think the follow on to Woodrose sort of intentionality of abundance and what what what has to be true to really step into that for you is a question I asked myself is, is what does being fully expressed look like? And I mean, that at a micro level and a macro level, and what I mean is, the world needs us as leaders to be awake, to be active to be fully expressed in intentions of equity and justice, whatever that is, whatever the mission is for your organization. And so, how what rooms are you showing up to where you feel that you are muting yourself where you are not wholly expressed or something where you are not being perceived in your full authenticity? What is blocking that what what needs to be true for you to be in a in a micro place of abundance? And then as an organization, what does your mission look like when it's fully boldly advanced? What are you up to? What is the so what of of your impact? Because back to what Mallory's saying and your assets, people want to partner and join with people that are up to something and so if you get really clear on your full expression, like partnering with us, means that you're taking a stance for education equity, or you're taking a stance for this really big bold vision. And yeah, it could be part aspirational, but in a world of abundance, being able to have a rallying cry of your full self expression as a leader and then that to have an organization that's really up to something is inviting, it's attractive, as long as it's authentic, and as long as it's something that I'm you back to I think what everybody has said that you really believe and so I'll just I'll just say that much

Anne Marie Dougherty

19:34

about you and Marie. I love just said you know you believe that's what I was gonna say that what is it the sign in the locker room and said last so believe. I think that the power of a concept, I know that but being positive so it's Woodrose point if I believe it abundance environment is true and real and how We're going to shift our mindset, I would recommend that we bring a really positive attitude to the table and that we are with all of the people we're interacting with going back to the fatigue, I don't think it's just in the nonprofit sector. So let's be polite, let's be prompt, let's be persistent. And at the end of the day, the one of the reasons I think that drives us all to work in and around the nonprofit sector is our passion for whatever the topic is we're working on, and passion is palpable. So I would bring that mindset to the table of what really drives you. And let's do it with a positive attitude. And it turns out, it's abundant out there.

Jonathan McCoy

20:41

We're taking a quick pause to get real with you friends,

Becky Endicott

20:44

because let's face it, it's a new world, donor expectations are higher than ever, and donors want to know what their personal impact will be, which means we need to start by building a truly resonant message.

Jonathan McCoy

20:56

And if you follow, we're for good. You know, we're advocates for nonprofits need to disrupt and adapt in order to grow. And our friends at foster Ave agree,

Becky Endicott

21:03

you might know foster Ave by their former name Snavely associates. But here's the thing. They're evolving alongside the sector too. As a philanthropic communications consulting and creative agency, they see how campaign communications are facing a revolution these days. And luckily for us, they're sharing their insights.

Jonathan McCoy

21:21

The foster Avenue team is sharing a 10 point checklist for creating campaign communications that meet the moment. And we want to get this checklist into your hands so you can start refining your messaging right away,

Becky Endicott

21:32

rabbit today at Foster avenue.com backslash good.

Jonathan McCoy

21:36

So whether your campaign launch is three years away, or six months away, foster Avenue can help you accelerate to the next phase.

Becky Endicott

21:43

We want to see your campaign have all kinds of success. So hope you will check out foster Avenue.

Jonathan McCoy

21:49

That's Foster avenue.com/good.

Becky Endicott

21:55

Mallory, what about you bring us home?

Mallory Erickson

21:58

Well, I think I just want to sort of double click on this piece around the fact that our beliefs create our reality with just a little bit of science, because there's a lot of science to support this here, the science around serendipity actually supports this the science around how our emotions are made by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, which has been some of the most breakthrough science of our time demonstrates that what we believe to be true, we start to see around us. And when we don't believe something is true, our brain literally cannot simulate it into our reality. So if we do not believe there are partnerships out there, if we do not believe there's enough funding out there, our brain actually physically cannot see it. So this is so incredibly important for us to understand. And me, I'm gonna give you a quick example, for folks who are like, ah, think about a time where you've heard about something for the first time, and then all of a sudden, you start to hear about it or see it everywhere. Okay, probably everyone has had that experience. That's an example of exactly what I'm talking about, you have been cured of something called experiential blindness. And once you have a context for something, your brain can actually register it in other places. So this is exactly the same thing that happens based on what we believe to be true about what's out there and what's not. The other thing I'll just say really quickly is that I, I think, like, it's important to understand, I think Sonia put something like this in the chat that like scarcity lives in our brains, but it also lives in our bodies. And it can be really overwhelming to experience. And it can be really overwhelming when that scarcity is leading to a sympathetic nervous system response, right, like fight or flight. And so I just also want people to, in addition to, we're looking to shift their mindset to abundance to acknowledge and validate how they feel, because tough love and think positive and don't be so negative Mallory, all of those types of things are actually going to really keep you stuck. And so acknowledge and validate how hard the last few years have been start to think about the assets your organization has, and start to lead into that question that Woodrow asked at the beginning. How would you behave today, if you believed there was abundance? I love that framing. So that's my double click.

Becky Endicott

24:18

I feel like this is the warm mom hug that all of us needed today, because this is your hype squad for living and working in a world where we all love what we do. We're getting paid for it. You know, in a living wage, we are taking care of our mental health and we're living in joy. This is why we got into this work. And I'm going to throw a curveball at Emory a little bit because we didn't plan for this. But I just think as we talk about the evolution of partnerships, I want you to talk a little bit about this get your six community that you've built, which is completely completely grassroots community. We had Emery on the podcast the first time she talked about an incredible partnership they had with the NFL which is sort of the starry eyed, you know, thing that we're all trying to grasp. But then she comes back and talks about grassroots and how this got your six movement started to just trend across the country, talk about it and tell us how you built that.

Anne Marie Dougherty

25:14

Sure. And I'll try to do the really short version because it was a long road. But interestingly, it started with a belief, it started with a belief that there's that word again, every veteran who gets out of the military could transition into a new job and a new home and the next chapter of their lives in a way that was successful. live there, you know, go on, and live, happy, fulfilling lives. But what turned out is that when you get out of the military, it's a huge life transition. And depending on where you live, and what you need, the circumstances are going to be different. And there was no centralized resource that gave hyperlocal hyper relevant results to help people make really important life decisions. Turns out, there was no silver bullet to creating that it wasn't an app, it was actually good old, roll up your sleeves, hard work, build relationships, town, by town, community by community, figure out who's the mayor of Veterans Services in each town. And I'll tell you, it's not the same in each town, and then start to build bridges between those organizations, we now have the largest non governmental network of organizations that exists to support veterans in our country, we have reached to almost 20 million of the 22 million veterans in our country. And we're, we're still working all 50 states and territories. So that that was a long and winding road. But anyone who is interested in supporting veterans in their community, please go to the Bob Woodruff Foundation's website and click on got your six because there is a hyper relevant hyperlocal resource for wherever you live.

Jonathan McCoy

26:58

I love it so much. It's kind of like where's Anne Marie, last time you're in San Antonio, and you're at the White House just casually. So all these places all around the country. And so Mallory, I look to you in this next piece, because we talked about mindsets. But we also want to think about this revolution starts from within, and we pour a lot as founders of a startup, we have to pour into our own personal self growth to just keep showing up day after day. And we look to you for that guidance, too. So I want to talk about the power of self growth. That's something we lifted on the podcast this year as a trend that we think can be revolutionary to nonprofit professionals that pour into this. But where Where can this work be done? You know what resources and just kind of what would you tell the nonprofit professional that wants to pour into bettering themselves this year?

Mallory Erickson

27:43

Yeah, I mean, I think personal development in this way is such a personal journey. And there's so many different types of resources to invest in. I always think of this, as you know, I talk a lot about the fact that donor behavior is a response behavior. And it's a response behavior to the behavior of a fundraiser. And that can feel really overwhelming. But I think it's also really empowering. Because like Woodrow said, this data, these trends are not inevitable. And so but they're things that impact how we show up and our ability to take action or to not take action, we experience resistance and overwhelm, because of certain types of behaviors that we're trying to take. And so I think the first step is figuring out where are you experiencing the most resistance? Where are you experiencing the most dread? Where are you experiencing the most overwhelm? How does that show up for you? And then I think investing in resources, listen, for some people, it's therapy for other people, it's executive coaching. For other people. It's a community group environment, where they're co regulating with other people. But I think recognizing that fundraising is not a checklist, and it's about the fundraiser and good fundraising is about the wellness, the wholeness, the empowerment, the actions of the fundraiser. And so the things that allow you to be emboldened and embodied and to be able to get up every day, and deal with ghosting and deal with rejection and have time to heal and do it again. At the end of the day, I think that is the core of what can change this sector by putting fundraisers and their wellness at the center of it.

Becky Endicott

29:24

Boom, that's exactly right. And we're actually even hosting a mental health panel later on in the week. And we're going to be diving into this at a much deeper level with some incredible experts. Thank you, Mao, for just centering it on the one human being and looking within yourself. I think that's an incredible practice for all of us. And I want to give everybody the floor here because you all have been on our podcast stage before you know we end all of our conversations with a one good thing. And so we want to know what's your one good thing for this panel could be a piece of advice, a life hack or a quote. Woodrow I'm gonna go to you usually have the wisdom bombs, drop it on

Woodrow Rosenbaum

30:02

your well, I'll do my best. I mean, I definitely take issue with being described as a warm hug. I usually try to err more on the side of love. I mean, what Mallory's had is so key, I think what we need to recognize here is that fundraisers have the agency to change, what's not working for us, the system is getting the result that is optimized for. If we want that to change, we got to change the practice. So that means you have the agency, it also means that you have to take accountability. So yes, there's lots of issues. Where are the opportunities in those issues? Belonging is is a challenge. It's a challenge across our society right now. And yeah, okay, that creates certain challenges to traditional fundraising approaches. But who has the prescription for that affliction? It's nonprofits that can deliver on that sense of belonging. So there's the flip side of that coin. Now, it's up to you to take action on that.

Becky Endicott

31:09

I love what about your one good thing,

Aila Malik

31:11

when we look at finding your people, and when we look at the agency of a fundraiser, I think there's two pieces. I think, one, we're all fundraisers and so those of us that might be in programs or might be in other parts of the organization, we are ambassadors for the work, and we can take up our voice and take up our relational skills to be able to spread the message and ignite people to try to rally around what our needs are. And so my second piece is like, finding your people, if you are a direct line fundraiser is about really leaning into your own internal organization, no money, no mission, we often see a lot of tension between development and programs in most organizations and HQ and site and regional. Right. And we we have to run the a good leader, your CEO should be invested in creating a mantra that we are all in for the same mission advancement, no money, no mission, no metrics, no mission. So how are we all talking? How are we all experiencing and being ambassadors to the work and I think having using your kindness and your relational ism internally to align with your internal ambassadors and and break down those barriers will be hugely helpful to your own sort of sense of self and power, as well as advancing the mission that you came to work for, and that you care about so deeply. So I do think I do think leaning in and creating community within your organization is important.

Becky Endicott

32:44

I mean, I just see the cultural ripples that will result as just sort of employing those methods to that's not just yourself. I mean, that is a cultural. It is it's the ripple that keeps going and going. And we want more people to lock arms with and get involved with that. So Mallory, what about you one good thing?

Mallory Erickson

33:02

Well, I've never been able to do one anytime you guys have asked. I'm gonna combine, I'm gonna sort of combine two. One is, you know, fundraising is not a necessary evil. And I think this goes with what I was saying it is not a means to an end, your fundraising is the work. And we have to start to understand that that fundraising is about creating belonging, and community and networks and movements. And we need to own that and get excited about that instead of siloing it off in the corner. And we need to understand that money moves in connection. And you know, what doesn't allow you to connect, burnout and overwhelm and scarcity mindset and all those things. So you have to figure out what will allow you to connect to connect with your donors with your team members, you cannot hustle yourself into connection. And then provide yourself seek out the sources the resources, the community that helps you tap back into your connection.

Becky Endicott

34:06

So wise, so was okay. Amory, bring us home.

Anne Marie Dougherty

34:10

Okay, no pressure? Well, first of all, I feel like I belong here. And I just want more, more, more, more and more. I've already made three new friends today. And I can't wait to tune into the whole rest of this. I think it's a personality trait that if you ask for one answer, and the person looks simply can't contain it to one, it says something about you. I'm not sure what it says. But I had a TED last Oh, quote, but I'm changing it.

Becky Endicott

34:34

You can do both. We'll let you we love Ted Lascaux in this house.

Anne Marie Dougherty

34:38

All right. Well, this is my new inspired one thing is that it's here. Like I want to take a deep breath. I want to smile like this is food for our brains and our hearts. And I don't know if we do it enough, but this is good. This is really good. This is good. It's good. Okay, you want the TED last? Oh,

Becky Endicott

34:55

yeah, I wanted I want the TED last so why don't all right yeah,

Anne Marie Dougherty

34:59

yeah. Okay, ready? Ready? All right, there's two buttons. I never like to hit. That's panic and snooze. So what I say to all of the leaders and all of the fundraiser raisers. Let's stay steady, my friends. No panic. No snooze. Let's just stay steady.

Becky Endicott

35:22

We made and Marie quotes on Pinterest board somewhere. So they're so good.

Jonathan McCoy

35:26

And I mean, we kind of have the snooze button, because we have a couple minutes and I saw this question bubble up earlier. So I want to kick it. Thank you, Suzanne. We'll try to pull it up on the screen. How can nonprofits with a more niche niche or niche we can choose that focus area connect with broader audiences, especially when an oversaturation and scarcity is a concern? I want to open this up to the group want to be I want to jump in, take that one. And you have to say the word niche so I can hear how you say.

Aila Malik

35:53

I mean, I can take us I can take a stab we have a lot of clients that have niche. Oh, sorry, niche models. And and I think I think you really need to think about your impact and what you're up to in in in really, really own those narratives so that you can decide what is it that authentically moves other people into connection. So I'm going to share with you one, I'm a current interim CEO of a very small nonprofit that focuses on Sacramento and Bay Area with its education equity focused, but we have really big dreams about how to align with the education system, how to advocate for more funding for low performing students. And so the narrative or my my pitches of what's real to what we're up to goes from actual students served and teachers, you know, our actual footprint, all the way up to what impact would look like for us in three years. Right. And so when I'm on the road, talking to a corporate partner, where I'm aligning to Mallory's earlier, very wise point, really understanding and connecting with what is the value proposition that moves us both. And when I'm looking at who to align for broader assets? I am I am thinking through which pitch feels compelling. And often I will say to a relationship, I'll say, you know, let me tell you where we are right now, here's what we've done, here's what we've served, here's what we're up to. But let me also tell you what I'm excited to have you helped me build. And then I'll talk about the greater vision. And I'll say, you know, partnership for us can look like a transactional vote of confidence with your old school gala sponsorship, or it can look like really a multi year partnership where we're bringing out kids to their workforce, and we're doing panels with your employees. I'm like, I am down for everything on that spectrum. Let's talk what what moves you. So I think it's really for me, it's authentically thinking through your specific niche program model. And then what is your so what what does that look like? Even if it's aspirational? How do you begin to invite people to help you build that thing? Anybody?

Woodrow Rosenbaum

38:05

Yeah, I was just gonna say, I think that's really good practical advice. I also think there are two questions in this in that statement, right? The first, what do you do if you have this niche? Mission? And the second was, if scarcity is a concern? Well, you don't get to the answer on the first unless you kill the second. Because the answer there is intersectionality is a thing. And the only thing holding you back from broad partnership is your fear of scarcity.

Becky Endicott

38:35

That's it. That's it right here. Y'all this was such a powerful conversation, I want to thank our four panelists for honestly, rewiring hearts minds the way we need to look at our vision and our own personal, our own personal journey here. Wherever you are, wherever you are, in your nonprofit, whatever role you're sitting in, you have the potential to embrace this abundance, this joy, this kindness, this niceness, this stepping through into abundance. And I really encourage everyone to go and connect with all four of these panelists, please go listen to their podcasts. Woodrow is coming onto the podcast soon. So stay tuned for that one. But get to know them because they're incredible thought leaders, and they are the architects who are helping to reorg and rebuild this world that we're gonna live in.

Jonathan McCoy

39:24

I would top it with a TED last quote if I had it, but honestly, so much gratitude such for hearts. Thank you, everybody for joining us. Thanks so much for being here. We hope you're loving the summer of Evolution Series. And to learn more you can head over to we are for good.com/evolution All the playlists resources and other ways to help you get inspired and activated this summer. We'd also love for you to join the conversation, share what you're learning on social media, or join us at our free community at We Are For Good community.com Bonus points for snapping a picture and showing us where you're listening from. Can't wait for the next conversation. So See you soon friends

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