Blake Talks Good

So many of us live in fear of being forgotten. But what if that were actually the goal of life? What if being remembered and celebrated by all was actually a mark of failure rather than success? In this episode, I'll share this upside-down realization and the biblical, personal, and marketplace evidence that proves it. Their is virtue and FREEDOM that comes from knowing that a good life is a life that will be forgotten!

Feeling overwhelmed by how many organizations ask you for money? There are SO many good causes out there - your kid's team, your church, a food bank, a neighbor fighting cancer, a missionary going overseas, a crisis pregnancy center - how can you possibly decide where to give your hard-earned wealth?

In this episode, I'll share my SEVEN RULES for choosing where and how to give in a way that makes the greatest possible impact. You can't meet every need; but you can grow as a donor to meet more needs more effectively than ever before!

• Don't give up
• Don't go shotgun style
• Set a stretch budget
• Start close to home
• Follow your passion
• Ask HARD questions
• Build a relationship and followup

I hate the word "called" as it's used in Christian culture. Man, it messed me up. Here's why the word has become toxic for many of us, as well as the far better word I now use to describe how I move through life. Oh, and also, NO I DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR. Let me explain...

When someone can't pay rent, buy groceries, or afford a medical bill, they often turn to a local church for assistance. Yet many church leaders - pastors, elders, deacons, staff, volunteers - have never been trained in how best to help a person or family struggling with material poverty. That lack of knowledge can be devastating; you can actually do more harm than good in these crucial moments. So in this episode, Blake shares his six rules for how churches can have the greatest impact and cause the least harm when serving those in financial need. This is essential information for everyone in church leadership, whether on staff or a volunteer.

Rule 1: Educate yourself

Rule 2: Begin with strengths, not deficiencies

Rule 3: Keep your eyes on the 3 types of poverty intervention: relief, rehabilitation, development

Rule 4: Practice the 80/20 rule

Rule 5: Always include required action steps

Rule 6: Follow assistance with relationships

Here are my Top 10 truths to know before starting a non-profit or choosing to work at a non-profit. These are things that I either wish I would have known before starting OnRamp or was grateful that I already knew. Some of these are good news; some are bad; but all are critical to know before investing your life in non-profit work. Most apply to working at a church as well.

Outline:

1. It's easier than you think... administratively
2. People WILL judge how you spend your money
3. It's very lonely work
4. Those you serve will inspire you
5. Those you serve will disappoint you
6. Burnout is real
7. Nothing matters more than choosing the right board
8. The negatives of work still apply
9. Payroll is scary!
10. You will almost certainly not regret it

In this episode we talk about something most people hate as much as having teeth pulled - fundraising! How do you get over that terror and effectively, confidently raise money for your charity, church, ministry, mission, or project? How do you raise money without exploiting those you hope to serve? How can you turn donors into true, long-term partners? Find out as I share my top 5 lessons learned while raising fund for OnRamp these last ten years.

Outline:

How to fundraise effectively without losing your soul

• You’ve got to be passionate about the mission
• You are pitching an investment, not panhandling 
  • We are not beggars looking for handouts - we are visionaries showing people how they can make the greatest possible impact with their lives
• Your clients’ dignity infinitely outweighs any donation
  • Your clients should be the owners of their stories and the heroes of their stories
  • Be careful about exaggeration - bending the truth will cost your organization in the long run
• Your donors are people, not prospects
  • DO NOT view them as bank accounts, see them as unique individuals whose lives matter as much as your clients’ lives
  • Care about their journey and their growth
• Stories outperform events

For anyone battling depression, anxiety, loss, or loneliness, there is hope! Your suffering CAN get better and it CAN bring about surprising good in your life and in your community. In this episode, Blake shares his own story of trying to do good while battling clinical depression these last twelve years. As much as he hates depression, OnRamp wouldn't exist without it! Discover the good that can come in and through your pain.

0:05 Introduction: Welcome and topic

0:22 Why this topic matters for mental health

0:48 Personal backstory and aim: doing good while depressed

1:17 A life before depression and turning point

2:16 Onset details: lead blanket metaphor and mornings

3:15 Depression remains; faith context: God can still do good

3:41 The central claim: depression can have a meaningful impact

4:08 Three key lessons overview

5:02 Lesson 1: Depression can get better (rest, exercise, sleep, diet)

5:29 Self-care basics and why they matter

6:18 Leading yourself: self-care as a foundation for helping others

7:36 Lesson 2: Counseling and therapy as essential

8:00 Medication: Lexapro and the view of psych meds

9:24 Lesson 2 continued: Depression can bring good; redemption idea

9:49 Redemption: redeeming good from suffering

10:10 Humility transformation: depression broke arrogance

11:25 OnRamp origin: how depression led to helping others

12:09 Marlo story: meeting a client and perspective shift

12:33 OnRamp’s broader impact

13:02 Starfish story introduction

13:56 Starfish story continuation

14:21 The moral: one starfish matters; doing good one at a time

14:51 The need is vast; impact for the family we helped

15:12 OnRamp scale and the "one" mindset

15:35 The one-starfish principle in practice

16:04 Final takeaway: helping one person is enough

16:41 Closing: looking forward to next episode

Diversity in leadership leads organizations to better decisions now and in the future. It's a simple truth that has somehow become controversial in our current day and age. Don't let that controversy distract you from building the best leadership team possible for your charity, business, church, or organization. In this episode, I'll reveal why diversity of gender, race, socio-economic level, and education will strengthen your organization, and I'll walk you through practical steps for building that diversity without compromising quality. I'll even give advice for complementarian churches to effectively get more women at the table to improve the care they provide their congregations. Note that this episode includes ten minutes of Q&A from close friends who listened to an early draft of this topic. Enjoy!

In this bonus Hot Take, Blake shares advice he received from the president of Tuskegee University about the single most important thing college students can do to build the resilience, adaptability, and soft skills that will be essential to surviving the chaos and change that AI is bringing to the workforce.

Blake Talks Good with guest Chris Field, the founder of Mercy Project, an anti-human-trafficking organization that's rescued hundreds of kids from slavery in Africa, lecturer at Texas A&M, consultant to many non-profits, including OnRamp, recent addition to our College Station School Board, and author of multiple books on how to do good better, including "A Billion Hours of Good: Changing the World 14 Minutes at a Time." Chris brings inspiration and practical, proven advice on how to make a measurable, long-term impact for good in your world.