We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

We Are For Good
We Are For Good
  • 4.9 (274)
  • Non-Profit
  • Updated Semiweekly

The We Are For Good Podcast brings nonprofit professionals + everyday changemakers into conversations with the most innovative, heartwired leaders in social impact. Hosted by Jon McCoy + Becky Endicott, each episode unpacks fresh mindsets, practical skills + inspiring stories designed to help you work smarter, build healthier cultures + accelerate our collective impact. Join our value-aligned community—it’s free—at weareforgoodcommunity.com. About We Are For Good We Are For Good is a storytelling, learning + activating community built for nonprofit professionals + everyday changemakers. Through our podcasts + media, purpose-driven activations + global gatherings, we equip for-good leaders with the connection, skills + inspiration to grow their impact. Because we believe community is everything—and together, we can create an Impact Uprising. Learn more at weareforgood.com.

  1. 1d ago

    741. Fundraising Problem or Distance Problem? The Reframe That Raised $1M - Connie Lewin

    Connie Lewin found the funders. She wrote the emails. She sent the proposals. The response was silence. With a $1 million goal for a small nonprofit in Rwanda and no established high-net-worth donor network, Connie had to quickly step into a leadership role and take responsibility for the organization’s goal to scale its impact and operations in three years. What finally moved the money wasn't better writing. It was closing the distance between donors and the people at the center of the mission by tapping into donors' heads and hearts and making the case for giving by connecting business strategy with empathy. 🩵 In this Possible in Practice episode, you'll hear: The reframe that changed everything: It's not an ask. It's an invitation — and what that actually changes about who you approach and what you sayWhy an unfiltered list of hundreds of prospects feels like progress but isn'tWhat donors are really asking when they hesitate (it's not whether your work is good)How a 16-year-old raised over $40,000 climbing Kilimanjaro — and what it proved about belongingYou'll walk away with one question to run before your next appeal: do we have a fundraising problem, or a distance problem? 🩵 Episode Highlights: (2:27) Connie's origin story: a fourth-grade cleanup in New York City(3:48) Walking into Rwanda: big vision, scrappy team(5:30) The $1M opportunity — and the plot twist(8:21) "The response was silence"(9:00) The reframe: not an ask, an invitation(10:00) Three moves that closed the distance(13:59) Funder personas and the confidence gap(17:47) Why an unfiltered list of hundreds of prospects feels like progress(18:49) What donors actually want to know(22:13) Bella's Kilimanjaro climb and the power of belonging(25:33) One Good Thing: fundraising problem or distance problem?Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/741 Join us at The Spread! Givebutter's biggest innovation event of the year is here — The Spread, built entirely around co-creating with nonprofits like yours. 💛 We Are For Good is joining forces with GB to host in-person hackathon meetups on Friday, Oct. 2, in New York, Seattle, LA, Denver, and Indianapolis, so you can build alongside other nonprofits in the community. Learn more and save your free spot today. // 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

    741. Fundraising Problem or Distance Problem? The Reframe That Raised $1M - Connie Lewin

  2. 3d ago

    740. Start Before You're Ready: How Creative Futures Collective Grew from 10 to 3,500 Without a Roadmap - Jai Al-Attas

    Jai Al-Attas started a record label at 16, sold it to Virgin Records at 24, and never went to college. So when he moved to LA and tried to get people from a reentry program and a homeless youth org into music industry internships, the question that kept coming back — "are these people in college?" — landed personally. He didn't have a plan. He had a chip on his shoulder and $1,800 he needed for rent. He spent it on 10 Chromebooks instead. 🩵 Today Creative Futures Collective has moved 3,500 creatives through its programs in 10 cities across three countries — into Nike, Live Nation, Interscope, Forbes 30 Under 30, and one Ralph Lauren artist residency. In this episode, you'll hear: Why renaming "internship" to "futureship" unlocked doors that had been closed for two years — and what that says about the language your org is usingHow Jai and his co-founder funded the first cohort out of their own savings, and why that upfront risk was the only way to get a case study worth showingWhy he refuses to call any of this charity, and how that reframe changed who was asking whom for a favorHow COVID accidentally democratized access to the creative economy — and the alumna who did her placement from a reservation in ArizonaWhat to do when corporate partners write you a check but won't open the door you actually asked them to openYou'll walk away with permission to start the thing you've been waiting to be ready for. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (3:33) From a record label at 16 to a one-way ticket to LA(5:48) "Are these people in college?" — the gatekeeping that started it all(7:24) Futureships, and paying for them out of pocket(9:21) COVID, remote work, and Naomi Glasses' path to Ralph Lauren(12:36) Scaling with Amazon, Soho House, and 10 cities (14:38) Why this was never charity — and how Untalent was born(19:13) Best Buy Teen Tech Centers and what partnership looks like(25:10) One good thing: start before you're readyEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/740 Join us at The Spread! Givebutter's biggest innovation event of the year is here — The Spread, built entirely around co-creating with nonprofits like yours. 💛 We Are For Good is joining forces with GB to host in-person hackathon meetups on Friday, Oct. 2, in New York, Seattle, LA, Denver, and Indianapolis, so you can build alongside other nonprofits in the community. Learn more and save your free spot today. // 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

    740. Start Before You're Ready: How Creative Futures Collective Grew from 10 to 3,500 Without a Roadmap - Jai Al-Attas

  3. Sep 9

    739. The Simple Gratitude System That Doubled Donor Retention (From 33% to 66%) - April Thompson

    April Thompson took a grassroots foster care nonprofit from 33% donor retention to 66% — and grew the donor file from about 100 to over 400 along the way. The system behind it was two touches: a personal voicemail within 48 hours, a handwritten note from a board member days later. Both logged in the CRM. That's it. 🩵 In this episode, you'll hear: The "one-two punch" gratitude guide that doubled retention, and how to document it so nobody loses track of the last donor touchWhy a ringless voicemail drop is the highest-return, lowest-lift gratitude tool most small shops have never triedHow to batch and schedule 10–15 personal thank-you messages at a time, so gratitude runs on a cadence instead of on your memoryWhy an unscripted message with the "ums" left in builds more trust than polished copyHow the same gratitude practice recovers failed recurring gifts — and keeps the door open for donors who pauseIf you've been waiting for a bigger budget to fix your retention numbers, April's answer is a lot simpler and starts this week. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (2:43) April's path: hotel galas, animal shelters, and learning on her feet(4:42) Fractional fundraising before it had a name(6:04) The case study: 33% to 66% with a team of one(7:54) The single most effective tool in her toolbox(10:14) Batching gratitude and recapturing failed recurring gifts(12:08) Voicemail drops in a year-end campaign(13:54) The gratitude guide: the "one-two punch" system(14:56) Start with the capacity you actually have(16:19) A moment of philanthropy: founders(17:49) One good thing: giving gratitude is never time wastedEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/739 // 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

    739. The Simple Gratitude System That Doubled Donor Retention (From 33% to 66%) - April Thompson

  4. Sep 7

    738. The Storytelling Strategy That Turns Donors into Believers (And How to Build It) - Annie Wood and Max Kringen

    The film ended and the room went silent. Then it roared. Over the next three years, hundreds of donors gave more than $300,000 to build one young woman a home of her own. That's what belief looks like when it shows up. Max Kringen and Annie Wood of Tellwell Story Co. have spent years studying how it gets built — and it isn't luck, and it isn't a bigger ask. 🩵 In this episode, you'll hear: Why a muddy story keeps donors stuck in transaction mode — and how confusion becomes a tax on every dollar you raiseThe Story Seasons framework: introduce, educate, engage, remind — the rhythm that moves someone from curious to committed across a yearWhy most organizations stall in "engage" and skip the season that actually builds reciprocityThe input nobody plans for: your story listening strategy, and how to empower frontline staff to collect what mattersHow Tellwell engineered belonging into the Well Told Conference, down to the name tagsYou'll walk away with a build sequence for turning one-time givers into people who say I want to be part of this. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (3:31) Three friends, one bar, and a studio built on listening(4:54) Annie's path from startup ecosystems to Tellwell(7:21) Belief over transactions: what unclear stories really cost(9:24) The build: introduce, educate, engage, remind(13:14) What it looks like when a leader finally has the word(17:26) Designing belonging: shielded vulnerability and place-and-replace(21:37) Making ethical storytelling practical, not academic(22:51) Story listening: the strategy before the strategy(25:33) Belief in the room: Ella's painting and Lizzie's home(30:34) One Good ThingEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/738 Join us at The Spread! Givebutter's biggest innovation event of the year is here — The Spread, built entirely around co-creating with nonprofits like yours. 💛 We Are For Good is joining forces with GB to host in-person hackathon meetups on Friday, Oct. 2, in New York, Seattle, LA, Denver, and Indianapolis, so you can build alongside other nonprofits in the community. Learn more and save your free spot today. // 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

    738. The Storytelling Strategy That Turns Donors into Believers (And How to Build It) - Annie Wood and Max Kringen

  5. Sep 2

    737. How to Find and Activate the Right Influencers for Your Mission - Trevor Boffone

    The right influencer for your mission probably isn't the biggest account in your city. It's more likely someone already following you, already talking about your cause, and already waiting to be asked well. Trevor Boffone had three months and zero dollars to activate creators for Mental Health America of Greater Houston's new provider-matching platform. His first list of 20 got him one yes. His second approach — an open call and a radically honest ask — got him 26 pieces of content. 🩵 In this episode, you'll hear: Why "influencer" has nothing to do with follower count — and how that redefinition widens your pool overnightThe first place to look for creator partners: your own follower list, filtered for local people who already care about your causeThe activation script most orgs get wrong, and why leading with "we have no budget, we need one post, we understand if you pass" earned roughly 75% yesWhat to offer instead of money — and the moment an ask tips over into unpaid laborWhy handing over full creative control with no scripts and no edit requests produced better content than a brief ever couldHow 26 public posts with SEO-rich captions became a discovery engine, surfacing the platform in Google and AI search months laterYou'll walk away with a repeatable way to identify the creators who already believe in your work — and activate them without a media budget. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (2:49) From the classroom to 750K followers: learning the creator side(6:04) Why nonprofit content falls flat — and what creators fix(8:10) The assignment: activate creators for Care Connect with no budget(10:50) Finding the right creators: the open call that changed everything(12:05) Activating without paying: creative control and 26 pieces of content(14:48) Why scripts kill creator content(15:58) How to find the right influencers for your own mission(18:14) Story of philanthropy: Lily's Toy Box(19:35) One good thing: don't forget about fun(19:58) How to connect with Like MindsEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/737 // 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

    737. How to Find and Activate the Right Influencers for Your Mission - Trevor Boffone

  6. Aug 31

    736. Meet the Nonprofit Building a Brand + Movement Around Unity - Adam Mizel, Us United

    "There's so many brands for division in this country. Where's the brand for unity?" That question is why Us United exists. Adam Mizel spent more than 30 years in finance and entrepreneurship before his wife Tanya asked him the question that ended that chapter: What are you going to do? 🩵 What he did was build a brand — hats, T-shirts, media, storytelling, leadership — and wrap a movement around it. Us United now runs a unity pledge, monthly cross-bubble conversations, Unity Seats at live sporting events, and a sheriff network nearly 100 strong. In this episode, you'll hear: Why Adam believes a movement without a brand stays invisible, and what he built firstThe three things that still unify Americans, and how Us United turned them into the entire strategyWhy funding a brand is harder than funding a program, and how he makes the case when there's no spreadsheet to hand a donorThe one-to-two-minute weekly action he asks every supporter to take, and why he calls it "changing the algorithm"If you're leading brilliant work that nobody sees or funds, this is a conversation about the gap between the two. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (3:10) Yelling at the TV: the question that started it(4:30) Flint, Sheriff Swanson, and the six-hour march(5:50) Where's the brand for unity?(6:26) Sports, music, and food: the three cultural drivers(7:43) Building the on-ramps: the pledge, the algorithm, 30 For Us(9:45) Unity Seats and the 25th anniversary of 9/11(12:01) Why a brand is harder to fund than a program(15:42) If you're not telling your story, nobody is(19:42) One good thing: dare to fail gloriouslyEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/736 // 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

    736. Meet the Nonprofit Building a Brand + Movement Around Unity - Adam Mizel, Us United

  7. Aug 26

    735. Case Study: How a Grant Rejection Turned Into a $223,000 Yes - Katie Hannah, Momentum Leaders

    Katie Hannah printed out the rejection email and brought it to the interview. "After careful consideration, our board of reviewers has determined that your application does not make the case for membership at this time." Most fundraisers file that away and move on. The Director of Development at Momentum Leaders sent one open-ended question instead — and it turned into a $223,000 yes for a leadership nonprofit in Birmingham, Alabama. 🩵 This is Possible in Practice, a limited series of case studies from leaders in the We Are For Good community — the ask they sent, the risk they took, and what happened next. In this episode, you'll hear: The exact email reply that reopened a closed door, and why an open-ended question is a near-guaranteed way to get a responseWhy a "no" often means your mission didn't survive the 100-word box, not that the funder isn't interestedHow to treat a rejection like a major donor visit: seek to listen, not to convinceThe in-kind donor who brought toiletries for years, then walked in at Christmas with a $100,000 checkA leadership reframe from a six-year-old that will change how you think about your own careerYou'll walk away with permission to get curious about the next no that lands in your inbox. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (2:22) Katie's path from broadcast to Birmingham fundraising(5:34) Inside Momentum Leaders: eight staff, $10.5M in salary gains(7:56) The no: driving 90 minutes to a panel, then getting rejected(11:44) Why your mission doesn't fit in 100 words(13:40) Get curious about the no: perseverance as a fundraising skill(15:34) The toiletries donor and the $100,000 check(19:15) "No means nurturing oneself"(20:05) One good thing: lead like a childEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/735 Join us at The Spread! Givebutter's biggest innovation event of the year is here — The Spread, built entirely around co-creating with nonprofits like yours. 💛 We Are For Good is joining forces with GB to host in-person hackathon meetups on Friday, Oct. 2, in New York, Seattle, LA, Denver, and Indianapolis, so you can build alongside other nonprofits in the community. Learn more and save your free spot today. // 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

    735. Case Study: How a Grant Rejection Turned Into a $223,000 Yes - Katie Hannah, Momentum Leaders

  8. Aug 24

    734. The Planned Giving Multiplier: Why Your Most Loyal Donors Are Your Biggest Opportunity - Tony Martignetti

    $1,500 in lifetime giving. A million-dollar gift in the will. Tony Martignetti calls it the planned giving multiplier — the gap between what a donor gives you while they're living and what they leave you when they're gone. It's often measured in the thousands. And the donors most likely to trigger it aren't your wealthiest. They're your most loyal. 🩵 Tony has spent 29 years in planned giving — as a frontline fundraiser, a director of planned giving at two nonprofits, and now founder of Planned Giving Accelerator, where his clients have secured millions in bequests. His new book exists to prove that unlocking the multiplier at your organization takes about a week. In this episode, you'll hear: The planned giving multiplier explained — and why the $35,000 average U.S. bequest is a major gift at nearly every small shopWhy a top prospect is defined by consistency, not capacity: 10, 15, 20 years of giving beats a big number every timeTony's three-step, one-week launch: identify your top prospects, start with gifts in wills, cultivate and solicitThe six myths keeping small nonprofits from ever asking — including the one that quantitative research flatly disprovesHow a historical society with one employee mailed 200 letters and got six people saying they'd include the org in their willYour loyalty data is already sitting in your database. Here's how to act on it. 🩵 Episode Highlights: (3:53) 29 years of making planned giving accessible(5:02) The book title that takes the friction out of the topic(6:40) Six myths that keep the multiplier locked up(9:07) The three-step, one-week launch(10:07) Loyalty over capacity: what makes a top prospect(12:38) One employee, 200 letters, six bequests(14:28) Why your toolkit can be minimal(17:36) The $35,000 average bequest and the 1,000-program goal(18:52) The multiplier in action: $1,500 in, $1M out(19:51) A postal worker's $750,000 legacy(21:06) One good thing: don't be intimidatedEpisode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/734 // 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

    734. The Planned Giving Multiplier: Why Your Most Loyal Donors Are Your Biggest Opportunity - Tony Martignetti
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The We Are For Good Podcast brings nonprofit professionals + everyday changemakers into conversations with the most innovative, heartwired leaders in social impact. Hosted by Jon McCoy + Becky Endicott, each episode unpacks fresh mindsets, practical skills + inspiring stories designed to help you work smarter, build healthier cultures + accelerate our collective impact. Join our value-aligned community—it’s free—at weareforgoodcommunity.com. About We Are For Good We Are For Good is a storytelling, learning + activating community built for nonprofit professionals + everyday changemakers. Through our podcasts + media, purpose-driven activations + global gatherings, we equip for-good leaders with the connection, skills + inspiration to grow their impact. Because we believe community is everything—and together, we can create an Impact Uprising. Learn more at weareforgood.com.

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