We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

20% fewer people give to a cause today than they did in 2000. Only 19% of donors give a second time. And just 14% of nonprofits can accept the assets where most wealth actually sits.
Allison Fine, president of Every.org and four-time author on technology and social change, calls it the generosity gap. In this special episode, she joins Jon and guest co-host Joan Garry, founder of the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, to talk about how nonprofits close it. 🩵
In this episode, you'll hear:
Why 97% of wealth sits in non-cash assets like stock, crypto, and DAFs, and what it costs you when donors can't give them easily
The leaky bucket: why only 19% of donors give again, and what happens when you put that number in the middle of the board table
Why the best move for a burned-out nonprofit might be to cut half its programs
How a $200 donor at GLAAD turned into a multimillion-dollar legacy gift
You'll walk away with a clear case for doing less, asking less, and building deeper relationships with the everyday donors who keep you standing. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
(2:48) Joan's new handbook for nonprofit board members
(6:18) Allison's story: from Sleepy Hollow town council to Every.org
(9:49) The generosity gap: 97% of wealth vs. 14% of nonprofits
(11:49) Burnout, boards, and the case for doing less
(19:17) Friction is the kryptonite to generosity
(22:15) The leaky bucket: why only 19% of donors give again
(27:26) The $200 donor who left GLAAD millions
(29:54) One good thing
Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/751
Meet Givebutter. 💛 Fundraising, donor management, and marketing, all in one place.
And they just launched a whole lot more. Givebutter Magic puts AI to work, building campaigns and suggesting goals in minutes. Donors get their own branded portal for receipts and recurring gifts. Plus, send video messages right from Givebutter.
Same platform we love. Way more possible. See what’s new at weareforgood.com/givebutter.
//

Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.
Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.com
Say hi 👋
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter

When Becky Carlino walked in as the first-ever VP of Development at Volunteers of America of Massachusetts, the donor base had collapsed from roughly 2,000 active donors to fewer than 100. The reason? The organization had stopped talking to them.
Becky has spent 25+ years doing the relational work that makes fundraising actually work, including leading two successful capital campaigns at VOA Ohio & Indiana. Now she's rebuilding from the ground up, and her blueprint starts with one word: love. 🩵
In this episode, you'll hear:
How to rebuild donor trust after years of silence, and why the first move is simpler than you think
How shifting from a donor-hero narrative to a shoulder-to-shoulder model changes not just your messaging but the entire relationship donors have with your mission
Why your instincts as a fundraiser matter more than you think
You'll walk away with a back-to-basics playbook for rebuilding donor relationships, one newsletter, one story, and one $5 gift at a time.
Episode Highlights:
(4:28) Becky's origin story: national parks, history, and a historical society
(6:13) Why Volunteers of America is "in the love business"
(9:04) From 2,000 donors to under 100
(11:47) The first six months of rebuilding
(13:57) What builds a great fundraising program
(15:12) Centering love in donor storytelling
(18:31) Removing the agency from the story
(24:17) Trust your expertise: the one good thing
Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/750
Meet Givebutter. 💛 Fundraising, donor management, and marketing, all in one place.
And they just launched a whole lot more. Givebutter Magic puts AI to work, building campaigns and suggesting goals in minutes. Donors get their own branded portal for receipts and recurring gifts. Plus, send video messages right from Givebutter.
Same platform we love. Way more possible. See what’s new at weareforgood.com/givebutter.
//

Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.
Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.com
Say hi 👋
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter

Archana Jayaram stepped in as CEO of Brooklyn Community Services just as one of New York City's oldest nonprofits entered its 160th year. Her first move wasn't a bold new vision. It was a question: "What do you need?"
Founded in 1866, BCS now serves more than 14,000 Brooklynites a year across housing, mental health, education, and workforce development. Archana shares how she's honoring that legacy while listening her way toward what comes next. 🩵
In this Possible in Practice episode, you'll hear:
How to lead change inside a long-standing institution by starting with the people who do the work
Why the people closest to the problem are the ones who know what they need, and how BCS stays community-centric at scale
What young people in Brooklyn said they actually need for their mental health, and why it surprised everyone
You'll walk away with a listening-first playbook for leading through legacy, change, and chaos. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
(2:16) Archana's story: West Virginia roots and the power of mutual aid
(3:30) Inside the government–nonprofit partnership
(7:03) BCS's founding story: guided by history, not bound by it
(10:09) Staying community-centric while serving 14,000 people
(13:04) What young people said about mental health
(16:38) Leading change inside a legacy institution
(20:41) A donor who doubled his gift without being asked
(24:01) Build a ladder out of chaos: the one good thing
Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/749
Meet Givebutter. 💛 Fundraising, donor management, and marketing, all in one place.
And they just launched a whole lot more. Givebutter Magic puts AI to work, building campaigns and suggesting goals in minutes. Donors get their own branded portal for receipts and recurring gifts. Plus, send video messages right from Givebutter.
Same platform we love. Way more possible. See what’s new at weareforgood.com/givebutter.
//

Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.
Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.com
Say hi 👋
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter

A note before you listen: This episode discusses suicide and suicide prevention. If you or someone you know is struggling, you’re not alone. In the U.S., call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. Outside the U.S., visit findahelpline.com to find support near you. 
Ali Borowsky used to design for the NHL Winter Classic. Now she designs something far more personal: a small blue box that tells whoever finds it that strangers care. 🩵
Rooted in her own lived experience, Find Your Anchor brings color, creativity, and humanity to suicide prevention. Guest co-host Aila Malik brought Ali to the mic to share how a grassroots nonprofit with a product reached 116,000 boxes through handwritten notes, community box builds, and partners from middle schools to the San Francisco 49ers.
In this episode, you'll hear:
Why letting partners lead is the fastest way to reach communities you could never reach alone
How staying "unapologetically analog" helped a small nonprofit scale without losing its soul
What happens when 3,500 requests arrive in 24 hours and your business model is karma
How to protect your own wellness when your heart work becomes your job
You'll walk away with a fresh take on partnership, scale, and the small things that keep people going. 
Episode Highlights:
(4:42) Ali's story: creating what she wished she'd had
(5:41) What's inside the box, and what an "anchor" really is
(10:39) Three ways the boxes get into the world
(13:17) Customizing boxes with nonprofit partners
(16:21) From box one to 116,000: staying unapologetically analog
(21:37) A nonprofit with a product: when your business model is karma
(24:05) What Ali has learned about win-win partnerships
(27:04) Staying well while doing heart work
(35:41) One good thing: learn three people's anchors
Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/748
Meet Givebutter. 💛 Fundraising, donor management, and marketing, all in one place.
And they just launched a whole lot more. Givebutter Magic puts AI to work, building campaigns and suggesting goals in minutes. Donors get their own branded portal for receipts and recurring gifts. Plus, send video messages right from Givebutter.
Same platform we love. Way more possible. See what’s new at weareforgood.com/givebutter.
//

Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.
Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.com
Say hi 👋
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter

Jeremy Vallerand and a few friends turned a Mount Rainier climb into a fundraiser: $1 for every vertical foot, $14,410 total. It was supposed to be a one-off. It wasn't.
Today, Atlas Free is a global network of 160+ organizations in 67 countries fighting sex trafficking, still fueled by the community hikes and climbs that started it all. 🩵
In this Possible in Practice episode, you'll hear:
How one climb became hundreds of community-led hikes and climbs every year, and the simple idea that made it spread: do what you love to fight what you hate
Why Atlas Free stopped sending Americans overseas and started backing the local leaders already doing the work
Why donors can tell when you only want their money, and why community has to come before the ask
What a $1 million gift and an $18.37 piggy bank taught Jeremy about stewarding every act of generosity
You'll walk away with a blueprint for inviting your community into the mission, not just the fundraising. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
(3:09) Refugees in the spare bedroom and the trip to India that changed everything
(6:52) Climb for Captives: turning a Mount Rainier climb into a $14,410 fundraiser
(9:00) "Do what we love to fight what we hate": how one climb became hundreds
(10:48) From one climb to 160+ organizations in 67 countries
(14:00) Ethical storytelling: what you choose not to say
(17:52) Monthly giving: why community comes before the ask
(20:51) A $1 million gift and an $18.37 piggy bank
(23:39) The one good thing: who you're with matters more than what you're doing
Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/747
Meet Givebutter. 💛 Fundraising, donor management, and marketing, all in one place.
And they just launched a whole lot more. Givebutter Magic puts AI to work, building campaigns and suggesting goals in minutes. Donors get their own branded portal for receipts and recurring gifts. Plus, send video messages right from Givebutter.
Same platform we love. Way more possible. See what’s new at weareforgood.com/givebutter.
//

Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.
Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.com
Say hi 👋
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter