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Hey, I'm John.
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, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
So let's get started.
Becky, can we just go to the Bay Area today?
We are going to the Bay Area we're going to hang out with not only our friend but we're going to hang out with like a incredible thought leader evolved nonprofit purist, and somebody who's going to teach you about some incredible modern day campaigns and innovation today. And we're just honored to have Sterrin Bird in the house today we first met Sterrin through our friend Lindsey Simons. And we all used to hang out together once a week and clubhouse. They were kind of just push the envelope of what's actually trending in the sector. What do we need to do to elevate the sector? How are we seeing, you know, kind of the experiences modernize and Sterrin was this voice that came up and every time she talked, I would feel my my head tilt and my eyebrow quirk. And I would think she is thinking of things in a completely different way than the rest of the world. And I think when you find someone who's a 30 year veteran in the nonprofit sector, who has taken all that lived experience all that knowledge, but it's still so growth mindset to be focused on how to innovate and keep raising the bar, you've kind of found somebody special. So that's who we're excited to introduce you to today. Sterrin is the senior director and nonprofit advisor over at a little known company called Salesforce. And she is just a nationally recognized leader in the nonprofit community. She has this incredible passion and emphasis on pouring herself into capital campaigns and major gifts. She had her own practice at one point. And if you are questioning the Sterrin know her stuff? I'll just tell you that she has worked on more than three dozen capital campaigns in the U.S. that have exceeded more than $5.5 billion worth of fundraising. I mean, we're talking about incredible organizations like Duke Medicine, University of California, the Red Cross, March of Dimes, and underpinning all of that she's got these incredible certifications because she is that lifelong learner, and executive certification in nonprofit management and leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School. She's a True North Leadership Fellow. And she's got all of these incredible underpinnings and great hallmarks to her but she is a great person. And she has an evolved mindset about how to empower leaders, nonprofit executives, board chairman, staff leadership all throughout the organization. And the thing I love most about her is that she is a warrior mom of two teenagers. And also mom pup to the two year old puppy Jerry Garcia living in the Bay Area. So staring get into our house are so excited to hang with you on the We Are For Good Podcast.
Well, thanks for having me, you guys. That's a heck of an introduction. I'm very flattered to be here. And thanks for having me.
I'm just so excited. Jerry Garcia Bird, like made it into the podcast interview, he deserves his time in the sun.
He's my furbaby.
I know it will kind of take us back like tell us about where you grew up. And what led you to even pour into this kind of work. We want to hear your winding journey.
I'll begin at the beginning. And my family of origin was what I would describe as philanthropic and when I say philanthropic, what I mean is my parents, my grandparents, my cousins, we were all volunteers first. So I think I would I would lead with we were always volunteering at church at school. My mom was the one that ran the Strawberry Festival at my grammar school and, you know, was organizing all the games. And then ultimately, as we all know, as parents, certainly that those are often the fundraising arm for many schools. And so I just grew up around in a family that was always participating in the community in a really rich way. So that's sort of my, the beginning of that journey. And then as it happens, as I grew up, my family went through some pretty challenging times, frankly. And at one point, while you know, as I moved through my family of origin, and we, you know, we had all this volunteering going on all this wonderful community surrounding us, my parents fell on some really hard times, actually. And at one point in my college career, my parents were actually homeless. So I was in college, and my parents were homeless. And so I was the person in high school and college that was because of my family of origin was always organizing people to volunteer and give back. So I was the person in my sorority that would organize Habitat for Humanity builds or food drives, etc. And then as it happened, having been wired that way, then I also saw my parents and my younger brother and my younger sister really struggle, because I was already out of the house and had made my way into college, and saw them have to be held and lifted by the community. So there was a point where my parents were, you know, leveraging food banks to eat. They would, you know, at one point, they were living in my aunt's base, my aunt's basement, um, this is hard to say, but true. And the community and their church surrounded them and helped them build themselves back up in a way. And so I've been not only not me, I guess me personally, and my family of origin. But I've, I've been a giver, both and a recipient of so much love and, and care, and which is the definition of philanthropy that, I guess I, you could say, I'm sort of hardwired for this work.
I mean, I would say you're hardwired for this work. I mean, what a beautiful thread that you're able to pay that forward and how just your story just connects. And I can just see that it's fueled you. And now you're in this incredible position, that you are syncing on the biggest of ideas, you know, working with Salesforce that works with 1000s of organizations on the nonprofit side alone. And you get to have this perch, and it's not lost to me that the bird is at the perch of right so you just have like really incredible view.
It was inevitable. It was coming.
Sorry, it just flew out of me. But I mean, you're such a proponent for innovation, I want to transition and kind of hear about what you see from that perch where you're at, because we, you know, talk about it a lot on the podcast, we'd like this a unique moment in time as digital transformation. I mean, that's already happened. But what is on the horizon? You know, and how can we all play a role in amplifying it? Whatever organization we're representing today?
It's a great question. And I would say that I've always been kind of the person when I was in house as a fundraiser, I was often the person that people would hire to break things, and make change, and at the same time, raise a lot of money very quickly. And so I, I garnered that reputation. And I even had a supervisor once that referred to me as general disruption.
I like that. I love that.
I mean, that was, you know, I was always disrupting so that word disruption is, is not new to me. And actually, you know, that was probably a decade ago, even. But, you know, it's interesting when I think about digital transformation and innovation in the sector in general, what comes to mind for me right now, which I think is really important for us all to pay attention to is that for organizations who had dipped their toe in the water around that, probably three years ago, who had looked at, you know, automation around marketing, or automation around engagement, and distributed marketing, or artificial intelligence, in terms of segmentation, and really thinking about how to play to their potential on their file so that they could make, you know, decisions about how to staff and how to do fundraising. Those organizations were in a better position pre pandemic than those that weren't then here we go, pandemic, right. So the pandemic fast forwarded the entire sector, I would argue, and forced us to have to take a look at this in a way where it was no longer could you run around an office with six different spreadsheets and a ruler and compare notes with your colleagues. Whether you're in a university, or in a federated nonprofit, or frankly, in a local NGO, like you didn't have the benefit of that, because we were separated from one another. So here we were, and it was time to do this. And now, so we've gone through that for two years. Organizations are walking towards it and are more curious about it and are showing I would argue, more courage around being willing to change. And now we are looking at two years into this. Now we're looking for facing down a recession, which is yet another challenge to the nonprofit sector. We and we've experienced that before. You know, you I was at the Red Cross after 9/11 I was, you know, raising money in 2008, and now we're looking at how are we going to shore up what we're doing both from a revenue perspective and a marketing perspective as we face yet another time where it's going to be really difficult. And so that was my, I was laying the foundation there, Jon, but all say, we have to innovate. And we have to be able to have data insights we data is king, we have to know what our data is telling us, we have to know what to do with it, we have to be able to make decisions about resources internal, we have to be able to tell the stories and measure our impact, and tell the story of what our impact is doing in our communities in ways that we, you know, 10 years ago, could only have dreamed of. And so I think it's about measuring impact, knowing what your data is telling you being able to tell the stories that need to be told, at scale, on the right channel, at the right time to the right people. And honestly, the only way to do that now really, is to have the courage to do it digitally, while my parents and my grandparents might still be enjoying getting things in the mail. Those days are behind us. I mean, there, there's a place in time for it. But frankly, we're here and we have to keep going.
I love bringing the humanity into what feels like tech and our friend Tim Lockie champions this, you know, a lot and I love supporting his work because it there is this human element that we're often a barrier into this. And it's like the tech is there. It's been there, and it's ready to go for us. But what blocks internally and rewiring do we need to do in our heads. And I love that you lead with courage, I think that's a really good word choice.
Well, at the end of the day, and you know, my Salesforce friends and colleagues and I've been a Salesforce fan for more than a decade, even before I worked there. The bottom line is the technology doesn't raise more money people give to people, what the technology does is enable the nonprofit organization to be more nimble, to be to have better insights and actionable insights, to do their work more efficiently, whether it's on the mission delivery side and to be able to measure it, or whether it's on the fundraising and marketing side to be able to know who you're talking to, what they care about what content is resonating. And then that just fires up your fundraisers to be able to have the human conversation that is necessary to raise money. I mean, raising real money is will forever be a people thing. It's a human thing. And that's why, you know, I would say the biggest barrier to digital transformation or to innovation isn't the technology, it's fear. And we have not been incented as a sector to innovate, you know, because we don't have a lot of margin for error. You know, we don't have contingency plans. I mean, if we're really going from raising the money to making the payroll to paying for the programs, we don't have a lot of room for failure. And so the idea, that's why I say courage, it's like, get curious about what can you do with technology to inform your business? You know, and it doesn't always have to be fundraising and marketing. It could be program, yes, I mean, and you also don't have to buy it all at once and change the whole organization at once. I mean, it's like renovating a house, maybe you start with a bathroom. And before you start with a kitchen, and I think the the other thing that I I mean, I that I really have always appreciated about the technology partners that I've worked with, and the one I worked for is that it's about coming alongside the NGO, and really understanding the work that they're doing. And you're not a vendor, it's not something you put a coin in. And you're you're by, you know, a marketing tool. It's about really understanding the vision and the strategic vision for the organization. And then how do we do the bathroom, and then maybe the kitchen, and then maybe another bathroom in a way that you can measure and see the impact of what you're buying and deciding to innovate and understanding the time to value and how to bring your team along. Because at the end of the day, they if the tool is the tool, but if your team doesn't use it, it's not going to work. So you got to manage the change. You got to manage the change in the pace of change too. And I think that's something that you can look to your partners to do.
Okay, you keep pouring this kool aid because we are drinking every drop of it right now and I and I love that you just call out the fear and it exists. And I don't want anybody out there who's listening to feel put upon like we're we're all fearful hay, it is baked into every part of this, the scarcity model is baked in everywhere in the way we spend, and the way that our boards operate. And the way that we empower volunteers, it is just a fabric and it's going to take some time to unwind it. And I'm with you, I am here for this digital revolution. It's not coming, it's here, we're in it. And we can no longer be fearful of tech, because tech is the way that's going to walk us through it. But thank you for helping just talk about the human to human will never not be the focal point of how we transform missions.
Somebody asked me the other day, if I thought that philanthropy would go the way of the dinosaur, if it would always if it's just changed forever, and it's, and it's over, or it's going to be different. And you know, what my response was, is that the very again, the very definition of philanthropy is people helping people and its love of mankind, or people kindness. Okay, so my argument was, well, as long as there are people on the planet, we're gonna keep helping each other. So it will never go away. And if you remember that, it's like, that's the middle of what mean, the entire sector was born out of filling a gap in communities to make sure people had like my parents food, shelter, education, health care, whatever we the government and the private sector, we'll never do at all, there will always be a third sector, there will always be a nonprofit sector. 12 million people work in the nonprofit sector right around this country alone, like 10% of us, of course, it's huge. We have to, we will always help each other. And but what we have to do to your point, Becky is think about and give the nonprofit sector its do right now, in terms of what what we're doing, we maybe need to tell our stories a little bit better about the impact that we're having, and how we're measuring it, and what would our world look like absent the sector. So let's give our give the sector a little bit of grace here and hold it up and give it the tools it needs. And the board's need to help pay for it and need to understand that this is not optional. These organizations were they to cease to exist, there are millions of people that would go without basic human needs. And it's a human exercise. So, you know, it's never gone away. And then digital is never going away, either. And we you know, we will always help each other. And I think we just have to get smarter about how we run, you know, we would never tell Pepsi, not to be efficient, or not to have you know, market marketing or correct insights like I would never dream of that we
wouldn't it there are systemic problems that we need to be set up. Particularly you mentioned and on the what we think is coming as a recession is coming. And I remember the oh eight recession. I'll give everybody just a little bit of insight. We were 40 days away from launching a billion dollar campaign. Do you remember this, John, I know you remember it. We're all like PTSD from it. Like 40 days away from launching a billion dollar campaign. And I remember the day that Bear Stearns like collapsed. And I remember when all of these financial institutions were falling, and we looked at each other and said, This is going to be painful. But we got to pull the plug on this, we cannot have 1000 person sit down multi plated dinner, to talk about this, the timing isn't right. And we know that we will work through those things, we will work through that recession, we will figure out a way to adapt because I think nonprofits are nimble as well. We know how to do a lot with a little and so I think there's a lot of people out there, you know, they see the recession, you know, that's kind of on the horizon. We've had two years of just mind blowing life thrown at us. So I want you to kind of talk to us about capital campaigns and major gifts, like in the modern era through this lens. You've you've gone through more than two dozen capital campaigns we talked about, you've had all this success with them. What are you seeing right now? And how modern campaigns are evolving? In a post pandemic world? I don't know that we're in a post pandemic world, but we're out of the thick of the pandemic, what's changed and how do we need to adapt?
So I think a couple of things come to mind for me around campaigns in particular, and you know, I often I joke often that I run my life like a campaign because I grew up in the business backwards, right? I have inherent like sense of urgency and creating, you know, just running my life in that way but I I think for me campaign is a verb. And so, you know, you create a campaign around a moment, a sense of of an issue or a moment of urgency in your organization. And it is an invitation to the people that support you to step up and do more. So at its very core, that, to me is what a campaign is, and I don't think that will change COVID recession, or evermore I think the way people are approaching campaigns right now, I think the name of the game is people have to be organizations need to be very careful. And this is where the date, knowing your data and knowing your file and knowing who's engaging with you how and why the depth of relationship that you have with the people that are supporting your organization, and how that looks and the insights you have on your file should be at the fore of making decisions about campaigning right now. And I think it comes back to innovation, it comes back to, you know, modern fundraising and marketing and really understanding, you know, what do we have now, that and what does that look like? What do we want to do? And how do we talk about that? And, and so I think that campaigns in and of themselves, you know, the old the university model is they're always in a campaign, and it's five years, and they roll together. And I think major gifts initiatives might bubble up more to the fore as opposed to comprehensive campaigns, as we look at the next couple of years around particular initiatives. I would argue that organizations that are issue relevant right now will have an easier time, campaigning as it were, whether it's refugee resettlement, whether it's food, access to health care, after what we've seen through COVID, I think those organizations have a leg up in terms of talking about issues and making a real rallying cry about why there need to be additional resources in a bigger way focused at that. And I think organizations perhaps that are not necessarily issue or like timely, right now, I mean, which is not to say that a museum isn't timely, like arts and culture is very important to our communities, and to the fabric of who we are as a country in particular. But I think people will struggle as they look at the economy, and they make choices about where they're going to lend their support. And so I think it's incumbent upon the organizations to really understand who's in their universe and who's supporting them, to really take a look at prioritizing the things that the work that they're doing that's mission centric, and to really tell those stories in meaningful ways and bring people closer to them. And to support those initiatives in a campaign motion. That might not be called, you know, the today's children tomorrow's leaders campaign, it might be, you know, an initiative around access to food, or it might be an initiative around access to the arts and culture and music as so here's, here's a great example, or how I would position this, like were I to be asked by an arts organization, how to talk about funding for a particular project, as we look at budgets, and we look at a recession. And as cuts are made in schools, around arts, I mean, my kids school cut out their art program last year, because they just couldn't afford it is that a gap that a museum or an arts organization could fill that's community based that people could really get behind? Because art and art and music is really important to our children's whole development. So that's just like a that's a back of the napkin example. And that could be not necessarily a $50 million dollar campaign, but it could be a really beautiful, you know, $10 million effort to support a school district in a particular community. It's local, and people could realize and see the impact and it would beautify, you know, a school district in a town like mine, for example.
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Taking a quick pause from today's episode to thank our sponsor, slingshot group, our friends over at slingshot group partner with nonprofits to recruit and hire great leaders build remarkable teams and unleash your missions potential. You know, we talk often about how much your organization's culture matters, especially today. And not just being a place that attracts talent, but also becomes a magnet to connecting donors to your mission. Slingshot group is the organization we trust to help you do just that. It's so much more than a staffing and executive search firm, slingshot group goes deep and gets to know your culture. So they can help you find the leaders and staff who will take your mission to the next level. Sound like slingshot group might be a fit for your organization. Learn more today at slingshot group.org or follow the link in our show notes. I mean, this is where the innovation your experience just shines. Yeah, as I think as you're describing, this is so applicable to anybody that's maybe first time coming into a campaign. When you know your donors, you know, the values, you know, the values that you're trying to perpetuate. That's where this magic can come alive. It's not saying take a hard, right. It's saying where can you minimize risk, because you know, you have the support behind this, and it aligns with what you're trying to do. But it may look a little different than it would have a few years ago, like what a great example. I think that is I'd love to see more innovation. And how can
I want to jump in here real quick, because I'd like to draw a parallel to my past experience with campaigns. And I think it would be interesting to juxtapose a 1.0 versus a now a to a 2.0 model. Because, you know, for any of us that have grown up in the sector, and I've got about 20 years in the sector, you know, campaigns have a formula. And there are things you do in the silent phase and, and the prep work that we're doing in the silent phase is usually just so behind the curtain, and you're developing your case for support, you're building that prospect list, you're starting to socialize, you know, are these priorities, something that our big funders, you know, would want to gravitate toward and at what level you're, you're you should be looking at the data, please listen to sterren when she's saying the data has got to be key here. But the 1.0 motto would be grabbing your data out of your CRM, the 2.0 is much, much bigger. It's got to be Google Analytics. It's got to be where your people hanging out socially. It's also got to be, you know, yes, definitely from your CRM, it's also got to be qualitative, what are people experiencing. And I also think if you are someone that's getting ready to get into a campaign right now, take those key messages, that case for support, start socializing them, digitally, start pulling in some of those messages, start pulling in the need talking about it, you can get into a warming cycle of people who may not ever be on that prospect list, but they may have a massive network, they may have a very important voice, there are going to be people who are bringing other things to the table other than cash. And I'm telling you that these things will translate to a financial ripple at some point. But I do think the way that we're thinking about campaigns is too siloed, and the digital revolution of flexing that data, flexing your channels and where people already are. And really setting the foundation of why this need exist. And what you're doing to combat it is going to warm up to that actual launch, which we know typically doesn't happen until there's at least 50% of funding that's already in the queue.
So you should always be in a silent phase. And you should always be telling your story. And you should also always be listening. So as you're telling your story, you know, understanding how your story is resonating at scale, particularly as you're doing it digitally. And having those insights gives you an A way to make informed decisions about your case for support. And it also informs how to deploy your fundraisers against the potential on the file, because there'll be having the right conversation with the right people at the right time. And so and that's where the digital piece keeps the bottom what we used to call the bottom of the funnel, you know the the it keeps it warm all the time. Big because you, it's not just, you know, gone are the days, I'm an old lady in this field where you would, you know, do a newsletter and you'd have to print it. And then you have to do that anymore. I mean, you can, something can happen. And you can actually make it relevant to your mission right now and tell that story and talk about how people can impact it. And you
are not an old lady, your skin care regimen is working wonderfully. You look great. You're hilarious.
Well, I mean, okay, we can't not tap your brain, you are an expert in major gifts. Also part of your career is that I mean, what do you think some of the misconceptions fundraisers have about soliciting major gifts? And I keep coming back to that word courage? I mean, I think it starts with that. And our, our mutual friend, Lindsey Simon's really talks about leaning into that courage, and I love that. But what would you say? What are some of those misconceptions fundraisers have?
So one of the biggest misconceptions is that, and again, this is gonna sound funny, but folks with a lot of means are just have kids, they have hopes, they have dreams, they have fears, they get cancer, no matter how much money they have, they can't buy your way out of an unfortunate health diagnosis. There are people. And so the thing for me about major gifts in particular is, yes, it's about courage. It's also about curiosity, and really getting to know a person and building trust with that donor. And at the end of the day, as a fundraiser, I have always felt that my job, particularly in asking for big, big gifts, and I've asked for some Whoppers in my time, I'm actually just helping somebody do something they really already want to do. Yeah. And so it's it's my job is to make sure that the donor has a beautiful experience and is informed about what the issue or the building is that they're that we're trying to build. And what that what will happen inside that building is the magic. It's not actually just the building and making sure that they really have line of sight into that. And taking the time to make sure they have the line of sight is the impact and really understand that they are uniquely positioned to make something like that happen in their community. And then it's merely an invitation to invite them to do it. And I have to say that I have, I have made I've had incredible experiences with that. And I've made some lifelong friends, actually, who have been some of the biggest donors I've ever worked with. And they still will call me and say, What do you think I should do? Like for an organization that is approaching them about a gift? And I don't even and now and they're asking me for advice? They said, Well, they didn't ask me for it that way. I said, Well, have you thought about asking them this question or that question? So I think for me, that is the ultimate human experience and fundraising is it's really about building trust, and helping someone do have impact in a way that in some cases, maybe they never dreamed they could. I mean, I say that with my hand on my heart with intention, because it's there. It's magic. In a lot of ways,
it is magic. And the reason it's magic is because it's so deeply personal. Yeah. And it's just straight Erie that you talk about your donors coming back to you because I had a donor, one of my old donors reach out to me last week with a proposal that someone had given them. And they said, Do you think that this is right? Do you think does this feel good to you? And I will never say yes or no. In those situations, I will always ask questions, you know, and it's really just about and my question always came back to like, what do you what is your ultimate legacy? Back at back out? Does this fit within that ultimate legacy goal? And I agree with you, I mean, just being able to be in the world, helping to foster those moments are some of the greatest and most selfish gifts that we could ever give ourselves. Because for me, it just fueled me. And I wanted to just replicate that feeling over and over again. And I don't feel like we can jump off major gifts yet before I asked you this question. But I want to know from your perspective from the bird's nest, the perch, I had to stop with these. I want to know what you think has changed in major gift solicitations since COVID. I mean, we've had people on we had lirica Monique who talked about the art of major gift solicitation in a pandemic world you know, when you're doing it on Zoom, what a donors want now major gift donors that could be a little bit different than it was before as we move into this new phase of of Learning growing and giving,
I think I don't know that it's new, but I think it has a new flavor to it. I think measurement and understanding where their dollars are going and the impact it's having and the time and the expression, time to value comes to comes to mind for me is, how is it that the $10 million that I give you, what is that going to do in 90 days, six months, 12 months and 24 months, and how is this major gift going to be a jumping off point and be and what I do to get something going is going to be sustainable. And that for me comes back to the impact measurement and the really understanding and running your nonprofit like a tight ship and a business. And really having a sound understanding of what that looks like. That's what comes to mind for me off the top of my head. We are lemmings at the end of the day, like we do we do for each other. And we do in you know, like, we do look around when we do this, we don't want to be alone, we didn't want to be alone in the pandemic. And we don't use everything. And we don't want to be alone. And again, the very definition of this kind of work is about doing for community and in community with one another. And so I think it's also about understanding who else is leaning into this and who is with me on this. And so to that point back to my just to tie it to keep kind of pulling the thread through this. That's again, where as you look at donor files, we look at a recession. And we look at the barbell effect that often happens in a donor file in times like these where you have really big givers. And then you might have your monthly smaller givers, the extent to which you can really hold space for the middle and have and keep cultivating them and keep retaining them. And keep building that community of supporters is what will build your pipeline to create more major gifts. And it also shows your major givers that they are not alone. So again, that can be done. It's a very human exercise. But it can be that's where you leverage technology to do that at scale. Virtually, you know, yeah. So I just think and I would also say the other thing that's really cool about the the format and the way we work now that I think you know, many organizations, you look at some of the I was talking to a global organization that resettles orphan children around the world, but not long ago. And what they used to do with major donors is take them to the orphanages around the world. And that was so they could give them this experience. Now you can do that with not only with virtual reality, but you can give people access and insight into the work that is being done in country or in a community. And they don't have to leave their house. So remember, when you used to have to call up and try to, you know, I'm not sure a lot of people want to have lunch with me. I mean, I'm nice, and I'm cool and everything I do.
These are busy people that you know want to have impact and are interested in the mission. But they're really busy. You I can give them access to the mission and what's going on, right from their dining room table in really creative ways. You could do it with virtual reality, you can do it with video, and you can do it with FaceTime, even like it means you have to get good at it. I'm not saying you have to walk around with your phone, there are people that would go for that. But I just think that's the other thing is giving people access to the mission to feel it is also something that's really interesting. And then I'll say one more thing, and I'll be quiet as I also think place based philanthropy where people really feel that they are giving in a place where they're in their local communities is also I think, a trend right now, when I look at my town and how the things that sort of sprung up in terms of community action during the pandemic. I'm on the board of a mental health organization here in town, and we ended up having a food drive every Friday. And my kids and I worked the food line every single Friday in the pandemic masked up with gloves and the whole nine yards. And it was a partnership between the mental health organization and our Silicon Valley Food Bank. And so it was I think organizations coming together to address need and local communities and showing those partnerships, doing the thing you're really good at but doing it with a partner and then donors gravitate towards that. And we though both of those organizations raise more money in the pandemic because they demonstrated collaboration and talked about it. And I think one of the things you know, with scarcity mindset and this After you know, I have an abundance mindset, I have to to be a fundraiser. And I believe wholeheartedly that there is enough in the world for everyone. And the job of a fundraiser is to help move those resources towards the people who need it most. And so I think the way that we work together and if we talk about that, we are not as as NGO's in competition with one another, it is incumbent upon us to be scrappy, and creative, and reach out to each other and say, what if we did this together? And then I and I would be I've seen it happen, and I will continue to say it beat this drum, people will give more to that.
Well, I think you know, the thing that feels like would divide us this pandemic, and all being kind of remote and virtual, the examples you share, like, still bring out this connection, which threads back to what you shared, and we know to be true as the most important thing is these relationships and the connection that we have with each other. So I mean, this is just beautiful. I love that it's steeped in technology at the same time. It's such a good conversation. But I want to you know, as we start to wind down, we celebrate philanthropy every day it exudes from you that you love this space, too. Would you share a story where philanthropy has impacted you in a way it can be smaller, big, but it has just stuck with you over the years?
When I was in high school, so bear with me on this when I was in high school. That was sort of the the beginning of really the rough patch with my parents. And I was lucky enough to go to an all girls Catholic High School in Los Angeles, I went to Mary mount and sister Colette was my principal. And I was the captain of the soccer team. I was the president of the retreat team. I was like on Student Council, like I was that kid, right? Okay. So I was, you know, I was a student government geek my whole life. So and I was all through college, same z's, right. So I that was who I was. So in. The summer before my senior year of high school, my parents were circling the drain. And my dad came home and announced that our family was moving to Ohio because he had gotten a different job. And he was picking us up and we were leaving. And I looked at him and I said, I am not moving to Ohio and missing my senior year of high school like I'm I have nine months left of school, and then I'm going to college, presumably, so and I did go to college, but I want to stay. And so I went to school, and I used to deliver the assembly every Monday morning and my blazer and my khaki skirt and my penny loafers. And as the assembly ended I asked Mr. Collette if I could speak to the student body. And so I did. And I told the student body that my parents were leaving and that I was interested in renting a room and a house and staying and finishing my schoolwork at Marymount. And so about a week later, a girl that sat next to me in my American government class passed me a note and said my mom said you could move in. And so from a very basic philanthropy perspective, I then moved into Tara's house and lived with her my entire senior year and my parents came and met with Tara's parents. And they made an arrangement where I think my parents were going to pay Tara's mom $500 a month for me to live there. And my parents moved to Ohio and I moved in with Tara and her family and I lived there my entire senior year. In the spring of my senior year, Sister Collette called me to her office and told me that she was really concerned and she said, sarin, I'm I'm sorry, but your parents haven't paid your tuition since your sophomore year. And I'm not sure I can give you your diploma. And I said, Well, what do you mean, you can give me my diploma? And I said, if you go give me my diploma, I can't go to college. And she said, I Well, the Board of Trustees. Now this was in the 80s. Because I again, I'm old. Nowadays, they usually just yank the kid of the parents. But what happened was that the Board of Trustees sister club said, so this is this has been really challenging, but I've gone to the board and the Board of Trustees has funded your tuition for the remainder of your senior year, and it's still up for debate about how we're going to handle this. And I looked at sister Colette and I said, if you have to sue my parents or if you to pursue legal action against my parents, you can, but I'm asking you to please let me graduate so I can go on to college and she said, I hear you. She goes, I want you to I will let you graduate. I want and we were sitting in the chapel at Marymount went and in the third pew. I remember this so clearly and I said, okay, and she said I want you to make me proud and she's like, and we don't have to talk about this again. I share that story as if to say that I'm so I was the recipient of the generosity of people who had given to the endowment of at Marymount in order for me to receive my tuition. And as a result, the first gift I make every year is to marry Mountain High School for the financial aid fund. And financial aid and access to education, for me is a very, very light food is another one where I think every kid is entitled to the education if they can do the work, and if they show up and do the work. So fast forward to four years ago, I was honored by Marymount as the alumna of the year
for my work and philanthropy in the whole thing, so I found myself back in that chapel with my children, Mary and Tommy sitting in the same pew, with Tara and my best friends from high school. And I told this story. And I and I said, you know, the generosity of others is what perpetuates and propagates the future, in almost every case. So whether you are making a gift to a hospital, or you are making a gift to a school, or you are making a gift to your church, it's not about it's never about what you're going to necessarily you are going to get out of it today. It's about the future, I had the gift of a private Catholic all girls education, because people I don't know, made those gifts. And so it's my responsibility to make those gifts to the best of my ability so that another little girl can do that and make something of herself. That's the one that comes to mind today.
The word courage is just at the front of my mind. sterren like for you to have the Moxie at 17 or 17, or however old I was, yeah, to the walk on stage. I'm seeing your penny loafers and your khaki skirt. I'm telling you guys, that was a storytelling masterclass to bring someone along, and to say I'm moving, I know somebody out there can help me using your platform will of course, you've raised more than $5.5 billion. Because when you have had that courage, when you have been poured into with such generosity, everything else just kind of melt away, the fearlessness melts away. And that is why I am so proud to be in this work, I am so proud to know you. And to know that you can leverage a story like that, and take it into a place and say it was paid forward to me. I'm paying it forward to somebody else, find a way to pay forward your life story to somebody else in the thing that really speaks to you. That is what gets us up and gets us moving and gets us staying working in the sector. That was absolutely gorgeous. And what an extraordinary story. So how are we going to wrap this up with a one good thing? I have no idea. But I pitched that to you staring with take your courage and what else can you leave us with? Give us a one good thing. This tends to be a, quote a life hack. What would you leave with our listeners today? What comes
back to and I've said it over and over again. And it's funny to have you both reflect this back to me. But I think what it is is it's about courage. It's about curiosity. And it's about letting go of your fear of fear of failure. I think we can't afford in this sector to worry that we're going to fail we have to know actually, and this is the part of me where my faith plays into this is that we are for each other and we are of each other. And so we need to continue to do for each other. And so let's get really courageous about that because we don't know what's around the next corner. But if we hold on to each other we can do it and we can we can every single person listening to this can make a difference.
Sterrin Bird I'm so glad you're in this world and if you came into this conversation looking for the innovation in tech and you just got sucker punched with this ending like this is what we're all fighting for. That's why we want to have these conversations and thank you for taking us to those types places today. So how can people connect with you I mean, you're at Salesforce how can people reach out to you personally and follow along in your journey?
Um, so I you can find me on LinkedIn is probably the easiest place to find me on LinkedIn for sure. You can also just reach out to me at Salesforce. I mean, you're more than welcome to reach me at Salesforce, my phone number and my email and all of that good stuff is all over my LinkedIn and I do my level best to reply to anybody within At least 24 hours, that's the fundraiser and me. You know, that reaches out to me. And I hear for the taking. So this is not work for me, this is my life. This is my vocation. So in any way that I can help support anybody listening in terms of just finding that courage and getting really curious about what to do and how to approach your challenges, that's what I'm here for. It's my life's work.
I would also reflect back to you, I think it's your joy, as well. And that really comes through so please come follow sterren me she is such an evolved thought leader. And when she speaks, I listen. And I lean in. I mean, she's got a great website, stare and bird.com that you could also check out the has some great resources. Keep going, my friend, keep pouring yourself into the sector. We just are here for it. We adore you. And just thank you so much for the wisdom and the heart that you brought to us today.
Absolutely. It's my pleasure. I'm flattered you invited me.
It's such an honor.
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