Creating Community for Good

October is Ethics Awareness Month, and we acknowledge the importance of this topic with fundraising consultant Eric Heininger, CFRE. Eric is the founding managing director of EDEN+ in Des Moines, Iowa, and founder of the Des Moines Fundraising Institute. Today, we cover two key ethics topics: gift acceptance policies and sexual harassment in fundraising and volunteer management. There is a very personal story that Eric shares with us, that hasn’t been shared anywhere else before, so I invite you to listen with a compassionate ear as It’s important to have these conversations.


Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources.

Giving Circles have existed since the beginning of time, we just haven’t called them that. Communities around the world have always had systems of supporting each other for communal prosperity. But wealth and finances have become so personal and private, especially in the US, that if you don’t have the capacity to give a significant amount, or you don’t know where to begin with philanthropy, you might not get involved at all. This episode’s guest, Sara Lomelin, discusses the importance and evolution of giving circles and how she and Philanthropy Together are taking ‘giving’ back into the mainstream… and beyond.

Sara is a connector. Introducing people who care with trustworthy organizations is a passion. Originally from Mexico City, Sara moved to the United States 24 years ago. She began her philanthropic career as a fundraiser in the Bay Area Latino Community Foundation — knowing nothing about fundraising — and started a giving circle with 16 Latinas that were born in the US, each of them putting in $1,000 dollars per year. She’s since developed the largest Latino donor network in the country and is now the Founder and Executive Director at Philanthropy Together, an organization whose mission is to connect and catalyze the field of giving circles to democratize and diversify philanthropy.

Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources.

Nonprofits raise almost half of their annual budgets between October and December. So, no matter what kind of organization you have, you need to be doing something throughout the holiday season -- and now is the time to strategize and activate plans. This is why I’ve called on area expert Mike Spear. We talk about End of Year Giving, #GivingTuesday, and what you can do in January to steward your donors and cultivate them for bigger gifts.

With over 10 years in the social sector, Mike comes from a different background, and his ideas are reflective of a mindset that’s beyond traditional fundraising. He was a journalist and a filmmaker, before working in a little startup called Stay Classy Productions. Since then, it has evolved into Classy.org, a social enterprise that creates top-notch online fundraising software for nonprofits, modernizing the giving experience to accelerate social impact around the world. Mike Spear recently created Moonshot.co and the Cause & Purpose Podcast. Working directly with high-impact organizations ready to level up for major growth, he focuses on the “why” first, and then strategies for major impact from there.

Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources.

When it comes to pursuing a career in fundraising, people like Darcie Champagne Wells are worth watching. She is the Nonprofit Executive and Market Leader at March of Dimes in the Greater Houston Area. She’s deeply passionate and recently celebrated a major milestone —  she and the team she manages have collectively raised $100 million! She has been with the March of Dimes for the last 12 years and been in this profession for the past 25 years, but for her, this is just the beginning of the journey. She’s hoping to raise her next $100 million in just half the time. Darcie and I know each other from our collaboration on The Campaign to End Premature Birth for the March of Dimes where our team designed and ran a major gifts program for individuals, starting with the launch of the capital campaign (shout outs to a few teammates at the end of these show notes.) In this episode, we have a friendly conversation that veers away from formality into a place of truth and authenticity (my favorite kind of pod!).

Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources.

Among the vineyards of wine country, near the small town of Sonoma California, you can find a 32-acre non-profit that provides a safe haven for about 150 animals. Charlie’s Acres Farm Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization caring for abused, homeless and rescued farm animals, was founded by my dear friend Tracy Vogt in 2016. By educating the public on animal welfare issues she is changing the way society views farm animals, creating a community — both physically and virtually — and opening a space for people to congregate and connect around an aligned mission: kindness and compassion.Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s so much connectivity between people who are really trying to do good in the world through their individual actions and through their business. How we define good and how we choose to engage in that, allows us to shift our perspectives from the self and the ego into the collective and the spiritual. Some common traits can be found between people who are both self-loving and community-driven in the way they carry themselves through life and the rituals that they practice. Such is the case with my latest guest in the show, Brad Black, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of EO and Everyone, an essential collection of natural and organic body care products that puts responsible manufacturing ahead of profits. Brad is a spiritual and mindful person who is changing the world by taking care of his neighbour — one bottle at a time.Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ever since he was a young kid Troy Alexander, founder of TROY Skincare, wanted to build something meaningful. Having been in prison for 2 years as a youth — and taking it as an opportunity for personal growth — Troy turned a negative into a positive. In his own words, ‘prison was really my MBA. It was the greatest experience I could have ever had in my life.’ Troy shows us that through hardships come perseverance, grit, and growth. Since then, he has embarked on a journey of love, understanding, and success.In today’s episode of Creating Community for Good, we take a dive into the mind of how a kid behind bars can turn into a journalist for Forbes, The New York Times, and Details; how he was able to travel the world and consult luxury brands like Bentley, Range Rover, and Jaguar; and ultimately, how he became a successful entrepreneur raising $2.5 million for an untapped market in the straight, male fashion and self-care industries with TROY Skincare. This is a story synchronistically following the conversation with our previous guest, Celia Tejada, and our conversation about providing art and counselling to youth in juvenile hall via The Imagine Bus Project.Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professionally, she’s a powerhouse: Restoration Hardware’s retired Chief Creative Officer. Philanthropically, she’s an influencer: Former Board Chair, Major Gifts Donor, and Activist. For our guest today, Celia Tejada, her love of humankind runs much deeper than these roles: Her statement today is that, ‘You should always look for the light — for what inspires you. Some times are harder than others, but you cannot lose sight that life is short.’ Times of uncertainty bring great opportunities for creative development. The power of creativity is transformational: allowing your heart and your soul to transcend from your body and fly away. Creativity means being able to live in the now, while honoring the past and being excited about the future. Savor the tiny moments.Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There are so many things we can’t do during these days, and for event planners like Kelley O’Brien, creativity has been essential in order to pivot during the crisis and keep the business going. Things are much different now than they were six months ago, and we’ve seen a huge increase in virtual events, and more and more people engaging online to collaborate. Unfortunately, it is hard for event planners to make the magic happen without human-to-human interaction, so how can we delight donors and keep relationships with vendors and donors open? In today's episode, Lindsay Simonds explores the universe of events and fundraising with premier event producer Kelley O'Brien, as she shares how things have changed during the pandemic and how those who’s industries have been rocked can slow down, take time to center oneself, and get healthy.Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do we know if an organization is worth contributing to? Impact monitoring and evaluation is paramount today, but it wasn’t always so — and it won’t be much longer. Determining philanthropic priorities has changed generationally. Going back to the times of the Silent Generation (think: our oldest, living or recently-passed generation), there were far fewer nonprofits than now, and they were supported primarily because of their brand, celebrity endorsement, relevance to society and scope of service. There was trust, legacy and loyalty. It evolved over the last decade or so to focus on impact monitoring and evaluation to prove relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact of activities in the light of specific objectives. Return on investment and overhead were most closely examined — almost obsessively. While the intention behind the rigor and review is good, it caused many to lose sight of the bigger picture. Nonprofits were then forced to reallocate funds from the program to reports. That’s why evaluation is evolving again now. In this episode, Corey Newhouse — consultant, analytical brain power, and founder of Public Profit — unveils a new measurement: are we addressing the root issue with our work (not just putting a bandaid on it) and are we tracking learnings over time? Head to CreatingCommunityForGood.com for full show notes, key takeaways and episode resources. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.