Meet Alphonsine. She may be the world's bravest sister. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, her parents and two siblings were killed in the conflict leaving her to raise three younger siblings under the age of 10. It's a harrowing story of survival, chasing educational dreams and eventually landing her dream job at Cisco. Today, she's talking about paying her good fortune forward through a new nonprofit benefiting Rwandan children, and she's even brought a board member into the discussion. Love and hope reign supreme in this chat.

Episode Highlights

• Alphonsine’s Story (5:00)
• Alphonsine’s resilience and how she rose above the storm (9:00)
• Alphonsine’s education and journey to the United States (14:00)
• “Education is a top priority for me because of what it has done for me.” (15:50)
• The founding story and mission of Rising Above the Storms (17:30)
• The story behind the name of Rising Above the Storms (20:30)
• Devin’s connection to the mission and how she became involved (22:00)
• Rising Above the Storm’s digital strategy and what Devin is bringing to the organization (27:00)
• Start with your audience. Hone in on how to market to them (29:00)
• How COVID pushed them to move into the digital space to create a virtual fundraising event (30:00)
• An overview of the programs within Rising Above the Storms and how they change lives through a message of hope, advocacy for orphans, and empowerment through education (33:00)
• Impactful stories of philanthropy in Alphonsine and Devin’s lives (40:00)
• Alphonsine’s One Good Thing: You don’t have to change the world. You don’t have to change a town. Have an impact on 1 person.
• Devin’s One Good Thing: Networking is the single most important thing you can do to get knowledge and awareness out there. Be vulnerable and network.

For more information and episode details visit: www.weareforgood.com/episode/81

The We Are For Good Podcast is co-hosted by Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE and welcomes the most dynamic nonprofit leaders, advocates and philanthropists to share innovative ideas and lessons learned 3x a week!

Want to hear insider details and to get our best roundup of tips, freebies, resources and show notes from each episode? Join the Good Community - it's free! Visit www.wearefor

Thank you to our partners 🩵

Big gratitude to Givebutter, RKD Group, DonorDock, Feathr, Whiteboard and Sowen for their partnership in growing the Impact Uprising. If you’re searching for a new CRM, tech tool, brand partner, direct mail partner, or impact strategist— we’d love for you to start with our trusted recs. We’ve vetted them so you don’t have to. Head to weareforgood.com/recs to learn more.

Support the show

Become a Member and Get All-Access to Everything We Are For Good!
Experience the Impact Uprising Membership by We Are For Good: an ecosystem to learn, connect + grow in the power of a value-aligned community. Members gather monthly with Jon + Becky at exclusive members-only meetups + get video access to all new podcast episodes in an ad-free experience + so much more! Learn more + join us at weareforgood.com.

Say hi👇
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter