find your cause

Joseph Smalzer
  • 5.0 (9)
  • Non-Profit
  • Weekly

"find your cause" is the official podcast of Greater Than Zero Percent (GTZP). GTZP is 501(c)(3) non-profit on a mission to find people and organizations that are changing the world and sharing their stories. We believe that however big or small of a positive impact you have, every bit counts. As long as you are adding greater than zero percent, the momentum you build is already changing the world.

  1. 6d ago

    Who Survives When the Nearest Birthing Center Is 90 Minutes Away? with Carmen James Randolph

    Carmen James Randolph is the founding president and CEO of the Women's Foundation of the South (WFS), a New Orleans public foundation that builds the health, wealth, and power of women, girls, and gender expansive people across 13 Southern states.  Carmen has spent more than three decades in nonprofits and philanthropy, starting with literacy and education work with children in Washington, DC, then at the Meyer Foundation, and from 2014 to 2021 as Vice President for Programs at the Greater New Orleans Foundation.  WFS opened in 2021 with $1.3 million, raised first from about 85 donors in philanthropy, and within 30 days its home state was hit by Hurricane Ida. Its first grants were $5,000 awards that nonprofit leaders could spend on their own rest and leadership, and that model now runs in six state cohorts.  In this episode Carmen explains why women and girls of color in the South receive $2.15 per person in philanthropic funding, how WFS tracks a 50 to 60% gain in leaders' reported impact, the $15 million AMANDLA Fund designed with grassroots leaders, and a planned fund for maternal and infant health in states where mothers in labor are flown out of their communities to give birth. Timestamps: [00:50] Who is Carmen James Randolph? [01:18] What is the mission of Women's Foundation of the South? [01:39] Why did Carmen give three decades to philanthropy? [08:14] Is your vision big enough? [09:17] Why do Southern women of color get only $2.15? [11:37] How did WFS open its doors with $1.3 million? [14:19] What can $300,000 do for burned out leaders? [16:38] Why did leaders score 11 out of 30 on self-care? [18:42] Why fund the leader first? [24:49] How does WFS measure its impact? [26:49] How do nonprofits work under today's political pressure? [33:08] Why watch Southern state houses? [34:59] What is the $15 million AMANDLA Fund? [37:04] Where will WFS be in five years? [38:12] What happens when there's no birthing center nearby? [42:52] Why did the state cut a program that saved babies? [44:31] How can you support WFS? [45:33] How will your end of year gift be doubled? Guest Links: Website: https://womensfoundationsouth.orgLinkedIn (Carmen James Randolph): https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmen-james-randolph-8821106LinkedIn (Women’s Foundation of the South): https://www.linkedin.com/company/womens-foundation-of-the-south/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/womensfdnsouthInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/womensfdnsouth/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@womensfoundationofthesouth2487Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/womensfdnsouth.bsky.socialGTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    Who Survives When the Nearest Birthing Center Is 90 Minutes Away? with Carmen James Randolph

  2. Oct 29

    Why Do School Dropout Rates Spike at Puberty? with Cherie Hoeger

    Cherie Hoeger is the co-founder and CEO of Saalt, a B Corp based in Boise, Idaho that makes reusable period care: medical-grade silicone cups, discs, and period underwear. She started the company in 2018 after a call with her husband's aunt in Venezuela, who could not find pads or tampons in stores.  Saalt is sold at Target, Walmart, REI, and costco.com, and Cherie has appeared on Good Morning America and The View. Saalt gives 1% of revenue to partners in menstrual health, girls' education, environmental sustainability, and water, sanitation, and hygiene, and has launched its own 501(c)(3), the Saalt Foundation.  Before Saalt she worked as a technical writer and ran e-commerce ventures. On this episode she explains how reusable products tie into period poverty, school dropout, and B Corp governance, and how nonprofits that serve women and girls can partner with Saalt. Timestamps: [00:47] What is Saalt, and what is its mission? [01:08] How did a phone call to Venezuela lead Cherie Hoeger to start Saalt? [02:14] Can reusable products help solve period poverty? [03:53] What is period poverty, and what happens when girls have no period care? [05:04] Is it documented that girls leave school when they start their periods? [06:23] Why isn’t every woman already using reusable period products? [08:41] Did Cherie’s own skeptical daughter switch to a cup? [09:54] What is different about reusable products now compared to 5 or 10 years ago? [10:56] Cup, disc, or underwear: which one fits you? [12:18] What makes Saalt period underwear different? [13:17] What does Saalt offer for teens and first periods? [14:36] What is a B Corp, and why did Saalt choose that path? [17:34] What is the difference between the shotgun and the targeted approach to giving back? [19:17] Why does Saalt give 1% of revenue instead of profit? [19:58] Which nonprofit partners does Saalt work with, and what happened in rural Nepal? [21:47] What did a girl in Kenya say after receiving a cup? [22:14] How does Saalt measure the impact of its giving? [25:03] Will reusables overtake disposables in the next 10 years? [27:23] Is the market share for reusable period products growing? [27:53] How can listeners and nonprofits get involved with Saalt? [29:23] How did Saalt respond after the Lahaina wildfires? [30:02] What advice does Cherie leave for nonprofit leaders? Guest Links: Website: https://saalt.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherie-hoeger-5b3679b/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saaltco/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saaltco/GTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    Why Do School Dropout Rates Spike at Puberty? with Cherie Hoeger

  3. Oct 19

    Spam Texts: Who Is Really Behind Them? with Laura Parker

    Laura Parker is the CEO and co-founder of The Exodus Road, a nonprofit that finds and frees people trapped in human trafficking and works toward a world where no human is bought, sold, or exploited.  She and her husband Matt moved to northern Thailand with their three kids for a short humanitarian stint at a children's home for hill tribe girls, where they learned how fake job offers pulled teenage girls into sex trafficking in Bangkok and Pattaya. Matt became the organization's first undercover operative, working with the Thai Royal Police to identify minors in bars and brothels.  Today The Exodus Road runs intervention work with law enforcement, aftercare through Freedom Home (a government-approved residential shelter in southern Thailand), and Influenced, a prevention program that teaches kids and families how to stay safe online. Laura and Joseph cover the origin story, forced labor, trafficking-run scam compounds in Southeast Asia, and the goal of impacting one million people in five years. Timestamps: [00:31] What is The Exodus Road’s mission? [01:10] Why did Laura take on human trafficking? [02:18] How do fake job offers lure girls in Thailand? [03:08] How did Matt become a police informant? [03:42] What happened on Matt’s first case? [04:06] How did a creek-side talk start The Exodus Road? [05:54] How does Laura stay hopeful in this work? [08:46] How did they weigh the danger with three kids? [11:22] Why did Thai police need a Western man? [12:33] How has sex tourism in Thailand changed? [14:26] How does buyer demand drive trafficking? [16:54] Why is spotting a trafficking victim so hard? [18:33] Why does aftercare matter? [19:24] What is Freedom Home? [21:04] Why do survivors often go back? [21:44] How many Freedom Home survivors stay free? [22:08] Should sex tourism be banned? [23:36] What should governments do? [25:45] How does cheap consumer demand fuel forced labor? [26:28] What other types of trafficking exist? [27:14] Why are some scammers trafficking victims? [28:57] How many are trapped in Myanmar’s scam compounds? [29:33] What keeps victims inside scam compounds? [30:24] How should we view the people who scam us? [31:20] Where is The Exodus Road headed in five years? [31:57] What is the Influenced program? [32:39] How will they reach one million people? [34:10] How can listeners get involved? [36:28] What is Laura’s closing message? Guest Links: Website: https://theexodusroad.com/LinkedIn (Laura Parker): https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamlauraparker/LinkedIn (The Exodus Road): https://www.linkedin.com/company/theexodusroad/home/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheExodusRoad/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theexodusroadYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theexodusroadGTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    Spam Texts: Who Is Really Behind Them? with Laura Parker

  4. Oct 14

    Why a NICU Mom Can't Give to NICU Charities with Maria Bryan

    Maria Bryan is the Partnership Marketing Manager at DonorBox, where she runs the ambassador program after spending two years as a DonorBox ambassador herself, and the founder of When Bearing Witness, a trauma-informed storytelling training program and podcast for nonprofit storytellers and fundraisers. She facilitates the When Bearing Witness Trauma-Informed Storytelling Certification Program, which trains storytellers to gather and tell painful stories in ways that promote safety and wellness while resisting harm. She holds a Master's in Public Administration and a Bachelor's in Journalism, and is certified in Trauma and Resilience, Trauma-Informed Space Holding, Trauma-Informed Coaching, and Somatic Embodiment and Regulation. In this episode, Maria explains the difference between being trauma-informed and trauma-responsive, walks through the full story journey from consent to publication, and shares why her own week in the NICU with her newborn daughter changed how she reads fundraising appeals. Timestamps: [00:48] What are DonorBox and When Bearing Witness? [03:12] What is trauma? [04:53] What does trauma-informed mean? [05:56] Trauma-informed vs. trauma-responsive? [06:35] Is trauma more common in nonprofits? [07:54] Why aren't fundraisers trained on trauma? [09:36] Are good intentions enough? [10:27] What did Comic Relief change? [12:46] Why copy 20-year-old campaigns? [13:07] How did the NICU change Maria's view? [15:30] What should you ask before telling a story? [16:11] Who does every story affect? [17:19] Is the story owner ready? [17:44] Does your ask use guilt or shame? [18:31] What is asset framing? [19:28] Why let story owners review first? [20:46] When should a story stay anonymous? [21:27] What if they want it taken down? [22:09] How do you ask without false urgency? [23:14] What is a "go-away gift"? [24:54] Can storytelling be too safe? [26:34] Who draws the line on painful stories? [28:23] What will donors stop responding to? [29:32] How can tools protect donors? [31:23] What should every storyteller hear? Guest Links: Website: https://www.mariabryan.comDonorBox: https://donorbox.org/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariabryancrtv/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donorboxInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/donorboxTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@donorbox GTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    Why a NICU Mom Can't Give to NICU Charities with Maria Bryan

  5. Oct 8

    The Typhoon Haiyan Airlift and the Gap After It with Weanne Estrada

    Weanne Estrada is the Mental Health Specialist at ADRA International, the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. ADRA serves in about 120 countries across roughly 1,000 projects in health, nutrition and water, education, livelihoods, and disasters and emergencies, with a mission to serve humanity so all may live as God intended. Weanne grew up in the Philippines, where recurring typhoons made disaster relief a regular part of life. After college she volunteered in the government response to Typhoon Haiyan, providing psychological first aid to survivors airlifted to Manila, and left that work asking what happens to people once their loss fully sets in. That question led her into humanitarian mental health. Today she builds mental health support into ADRA's other programs, including psychological first aid for distribution volunteers, child-friendly spaces, and World Health Organization training for non-specialist health providers in places like Sudan, Yemen, and Myanmar. Timestamps: [00:26] Who is Weanne Estrada, and what is ADRA's mission? [01:21] Why did Weanne choose mental health? [02:09] What did Typhoon Haiyan show her about the gap after a disaster? [03:22] Is mental health its own program at ADRA? [05:22] What is psychological first aid? [06:45] What do people miss about the psychological impact of disasters? [08:16] Why is a disaster where "no one died" still full of grief? [09:06] How do you help children heal after trauma? [10:47] How does mental health care change for adults? [11:31] What do you do when there is no psychiatrist nearby? [13:10] How does faith shape the way ADRA serves? [14:41] What would be lost if ADRA's mental health work disappeared? [15:21] What happens to children and trafficking survivors who never get treatment? [16:27] How can trauma affect memory enough to get someone denied resettlement? [17:34] How do you measure the impact of mental health work? [18:33] Why does Weanne have beef with Maslow? [19:59] What small signs show that hope is returning? [20:53] Is media a help or a harm for the people ADRA serves? [23:55] What would a perfect mental health response to a disaster look like? [25:11] Why does ADRA adopt existing health facilities instead of building its own? [25:42] What is task shifting, and how did it work in Myanmar? [26:56] Can AI help close the mental health gap? [30:19] What does Weanne hope to see from ADRA in 10 years? [31:23] How can listeners get involved with ADRA? [32:06] What makes ADRA Connections different from other short-term trips? [33:43] Can someone get psychological first aid training on the way to a disaster? [34:54] What does Weanne want listeners to take away? Guest Links: Website: https://adra.orgLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/adra_2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinADRAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrainternationalGTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    The Typhoon Haiyan Airlift and the Gap After It with Weanne Estrada

  6. Sep 30

    Did 1 Fund Push "Apple Inc." to Drop Leather Watch Straps? with Claire Smith

    Claire Smith is the founder and CEO of Beyond Investing, a firm that builds investment products for vegans and environmentalists. After more than three decades in finance, including years at UBS and as a research analyst and partner at Albourne Partners, she left her hedge fund analyst role in 2017 to start the company. Beyond Investing runs two ETFs, the US Vegan Climate ETF (VEGN), operating since 2019, and the International Vegan Climate ETF (VEGX), which launched recently. Both screen out animal exploitation and fossil fuels across the supply chain. She also leads Beyond Impact, a venture arm backing animal-free startups, co-founded the Beyond Animal networking platform, and heads the Beyond Cruelty Foundation, which campaigns for a proposed SDG 18 on zero animal exploitation. Timestamps: [0:00] Why did an $8 million coal trade bother Claire? [0:22] Who is Claire Smith? [0:39] What is the mission of Beyond Investing? [1:28] Why did Claire take up this cause? [4:49] What qualifies a company as vegan? [6:26] What are the less obvious ways companies harm animals? [8:52] Is it wrong to assume big tech has no animals involved? [9:14] Why is Amazon excluded? [10:15] Why was Microsoft removed from the portfolio? [11:28] How has the portfolio changed geographically? [13:06] What should a CEO do to get into one of the indexes? [15:59] Why was Apple removed, and did it change the Apple Watch? [17:29] How does Beyond Investing measure carbon? [19:37] How does Claire balance capitalism with personal conviction? [21:14] What was the hedge fund story that changed her path? [23:52] Why did that trade feel wrong to her but not to him? [25:16] Why did Claire have to build the funds herself? [26:38] What is a "cow unit," and why did Claire interrupt a pitch? [28:01] Is cruelty-free better for business? [30:39] Will eating meat be a delicacy in 100 years? [32:38] How can listeners get involved? [33:58] Can you buy the ETFs through Fidelity? [34:46] What is the Beyond Cruelty Foundation, and what is SDG 18? [37:07] Any final words? Guest Links: Website: https://beyondinvesting.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-smith-8a461a1/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondinvesting/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyondinvesting/ GTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    Did 1 Fund Push "Apple Inc." to Drop Leather Watch Straps? with Claire Smith

  7. Sep 14

    Why Do Women Need Seven Conversations to Run for Office with Sarah Jakle

    Sarah Jakle is the founder and executive director of DemocraShe, a national nonpartisan nonprofit that gives historically underserved high school girls free online training in resiliency skills, public policy leadership, and civic engagement, paired with a stipend so cost is never a barrier to participating. Sarah built the program after a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis derailed her career as a social worker studying trauma and resilience through a military-focused master's in social work. She turned that research into practical tools (what DemocraShe calls "amygdala skills") for regulating fear and self-doubt, first for herself, then as national outreach director for a voter registration organization and Get Out the Vote director for California NOW, and now for the thousands of girls who go through DemocraShe's programs. She founded DemocraShe in January 2021 after learning that high school is the last point where boys and girls believe they can run for office equally. The organization is now 92 percent girls of color and 70 percent first generation Americans, and Sarah's five year goal is to grow the program to serve 115,000 girls by 2030. Timestamps: [00:00] Cold open: what did a rheumatologist tell Sarah she'd never do again? [00:56] Introduction [01:09] What is the mission of DemocraShe? [01:31] Why did Sarah found DemocraShe, and what's the origin story? [05:31] What are the early signs a woman is counting herself out? [07:17] Is there an evolutionary reason women's brains respond to risk differently than men's? [12:07] What can a woman do right now to work through that response? [15:55] How does DemocraShe turn these practices into an actual program? [17:35] What changes do girls see in themselves before and after the program? [22:12] What are DemocraShe's plans for the next five to ten years? [29:25] How can someone get engaged with DemocraShe? [30:58] What does Sarah want to leave listeners with? Guest Links: Website: https://www.democrashe.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/democrashe/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DemocraShe-110108011246367Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/democrasheorg/ GTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    Why Do Women Need Seven Conversations to Run for Office with Sarah Jakle

  8. Sep 5

    80% Return to Their Trafficker. Empowered Network Changed That with Kristy Norbert

    Kristy Norbert is the co-founder and executive director of Empowered Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2017 that partners with survivors of human trafficking to achieve economic independence. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience, Kristy didn't set out to work in anti-trafficking. After moving to Connecticut, she met Abby Fabiaschi, the board chair of an anti-trafficking organization operating in Southeast Asia, and once she saw exploitation up close, she couldn't walk away. The two co-founded Empowered Network to address the gap that exists after crisis services end, partnering with survivors who have reached stability to build a 12-month empowerment plan covering housing, education, and employment. The organization serves around 200 survivors per year, with fewer than 2% of graduates returning to exploitation after completing the program. Timestamps:  [00:00:00] Who keeps going back? [00:00:33] What is Empowered Network? [00:01:04] Why did Kristy end up here? [00:03:25] What does trafficking look like in the U.S.? [00:06:09] How does Empowered Network define trafficking? [00:06:48] What is familial trafficking? [00:07:58] What long-term impacts does nobody talk about? [00:08:36] What gap did Empowered Network exist to fill? [00:10:24] What is the re-trafficking rate? [00:11:31] When does a survivor enter the program? [00:13:46] What are the two program pathways? [00:15:06] What careers and wage gains are survivors seeing? [00:16:42] How did Empowered Network change how it measures impact? [00:18:46] Why does this data matter to survivors too? [00:20:34] What do survivor stories from the program look like? [00:24:43] What keeps Kristy going? [00:26:08] How does she stay grounded doing this work? [00:27:52] How has this work changed how she parents? [00:31:40] Where is Empowered Network headed? [00:33:50] How can someone get involved? [00:36:04] What does Kristy want people to know? Guest Links: Website: https://www.empowerednetwork.comLinkedIn (Kristy Norbert): https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristy-norbert-73448231LinkedIn (organization page): https://www.linkedin.com/company/empowerednetworkorg/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpoweredNetworkorg/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empowerednetworkorg/ GTZP Links: Website: http://www.gtzp.orgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greaterthanzeropercent/Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/find-your-cause/id1528910691Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ZeAnlQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@gtzp

    80% Return to Their Trafficker. Empowered Network Changed That with Kristy Norbert
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

"find your cause" is the official podcast of Greater Than Zero Percent (GTZP). GTZP is 501(c)(3) non-profit on a mission to find people and organizations that are changing the world and sharing their stories. We believe that however big or small of a positive impact you have, every bit counts. As long as you are adding greater than zero percent, the momentum you build is already changing the world.

Information

  • Creator
    Joseph Smalzer
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    217
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Joseph Smalzer
  • Show Website
    find your cause