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- [00:00]
Rhea Wong
Hey. Hey, Sam, quick question. Have you marked December 3rd on your calendar? That's right. Giving Tuesday, the world's biggest day of generosity, is right around the corner, and it's time for us nonprofits to shine. Here's the deal. Giving Tuesday isn't just a day. It's the day to rally your community, inspire your donors, and, yeah, raise that money, honey. And guess what? The fine folks at GivingTuesday are actually sponsoring this podcast episode, which means they've got your back with all kinds of resources to help you crush it. Head over to givingtuesday.org where they have free templates, tools, and tips to get you ready. Whether you're looking to plan that perfect campaign or just need a little extra pep in your step, they've got everything you need to make this Giving Tuesday your best yet. So hit up givingtuesday.org to get ready for December 3rd, and let's make some magic happen.
- [00:57]
Welcome to nonprofit Lowdown. I'm your host, Rhea Wong.
- [01:01]
Hey, podcast listeners, it's Rhea Wong with you once again with nonprofit Lowdown. Today I'm excited because my guest is Margaret Wong. She is the president and CEO at the Southern Poverty Law center and SPLC Action Fund. And today we are talking about how we make geographically specific causes nationally relevant. Margaret, welcome to the show.
- [01:24]
Margaret Wong
Hi, Maria. Thanks so much. It's great to be here.
- [01:27]
Rhea Wong
I am so excited. I think you might be like one of the fanciest people we've ever had on the podcast. That was so exciting.
- [01:33]
Margaret Wong
I'm not sure how fancy, but I appreciate it.
- [01:35]
Rhea Wong
All right, before we jump into this very interesting question, and I think particularly interesting given the political moment that we are in right now. So when this post, I think, will be late October, we will all be heading to the polls soon, so we're going to be talking about that. Let's put a pin in that one. But talk a little bit about yourself and your journey to nonprofit. And Southern Poverty Law center is a very impressive nonprofit. So how. What's the journey, Margaret?
- [02:00]
Margaret Wong
Oh, I appreciate that. So I actually grew up in the South. Most people don't suspect that when we meet. I've managed to drop my accent along the way. But I grew up in East Tennessee, in the hills of Appalachia, and my parents met in graduate school and chose to work at East Tennessee State University. And from a very early age, I spent a lot of time seeking out family in different parts of the world. My mother's family had been in this country for a long time. A Caucasian family Primarily from New England. My father's family was primarily still back in Asia, in China and Taiwan. And so I spent summers between New England and Taiwan, or China and Tennessee. It was a very unusual experience growing up, but I think the joy of it was that it really opened my eyes to learning about different experiences, to seeing parts of the world that didn't seem familiar but should be familiar, and to trying to find a place where I could hopefully make the world better. And that is how I landed in the nonprofit sector, and I have been in that sector almost all of my career.
- [03:15]
Rhea Wong
That you didn't just fall out of a coconut tree as is.
- [03:18]
Margaret Wong
Right. I love that line.
- [03:20]
Rhea Wong
I know. We all love that line. Biracial female leaders are having a moment right now. So can you talk to me for yourself? As a biracial Asian American female leader in the nonprofit sector, what are some of the challenges and opportunities that you've seen in your career? Because, speaking as an Asian American woman myself, having run a nonprofit, I would often be in rooms where I was the only. And I'm just curious about your experiences.
- [03:46]
Margaret Wong
So much of the experience in the nonprofit sector is your career progresses, and you decide what it is you're looking for as you move forward. So in many of my earliest jobs, I came to recognize that mission of organization was deeply important to me just because I cared about the issues, but because I believed that we had to actually walk the walk and not just talk so many places. I'd started out as a women's rights advocate, and I was in organizations where women were not seen as equal. And so I recognized that is not a place I'm comfortable, and that's not a place that I want to serve. And so I spent my journey learning. This is really important to me, and that's really important to me. And at a certain point, I realized, actually, I just want to make the decision so that I can make sure the mission is aligned with my value system and my beliefs. I turn to management. And while there are many days when I really miss the more programmatic or advocacy side of the work, most of the time, I'm really glad that I can create the space and the environment for people to flourish, regardless of what their own experience may have been in.
- [05:00]
Rhea Wong
The past, I'm curious. I think the Southern Poverty Law center is. We might, at least in my mind, might associate with the south, might associate with a very black American experience. And so, as a woman who does not identify as a black American, like, what has been, what have been the challenges and opportunities for you leading this organization?
- [05:21]
Margaret Wong
Yeah. In many ways, our decision at the Southern Poverty Law center to focus on communities of color in the Deep south, and particularly black communities, is a reflection of the recognition that for too long, efforts have been made to divide and to isolate communities of color, other communities that may face discrimination or marginalization from one another. I really believe that the way that we build an inclusive, multiracial democracy is by making deep commitments to working together across racial lines, across gender lines, cross sexual orientation lines, and religious lines. And that means we have to be able to talk about the experience of other communities and to believe wholeheartedly that their liberation and their equity is grounded in our own. And so, in many ways, I think it's been really exciting for me to be part of an organization that is so deeply committed to ensuring racial equity for African American communities in the Deep South. While we see the constituencies of AAPI and Latino Latinx communities growing in the Deep south, we also know that they will never achieve equity if we haven't ensured that African American communities are first and foremost receiving that same equity. And so I think being able to talk about that and the importance of working across those lines is something that I've really appreciated here.
- [06:55]
Rhea Wong
Yeah. And I'm so glad that you said that, because at this moment of taping, we are still in the middle of the DNC convention. And I just really appreciated Michelle Obama talking about those who would try to sow division between us. But we are more alike than we are different. And I think this divide and conquer strategy is not going to work.
- [07:17]
Margaret Wong
I completely agree. And one of the most amazing things that I have learned in my older years about the Civil Rights movement is the incredible role that has been played by AAPI leaders, by Latinx leaders over the generations of the Civil Rights movement. Right. This is not new. We're not discovering something. From the very beginning, you had Jewish and Asian and Latina leaders joining the movement, and that's why it became so effective. And that history is so often shrouded by those who are trying to divide us. And I think the moment that we're in right now, where we're seeing an incredible celebration of the diversity that makes us so strong, is actually really an exciting moment for all of us in this community.
- [08:04]
Rhea Wong
Certainly actually literally personified in Kamala Harris. Exactly. I hope I'm not going to listen to this podcast later and be sad about this moment of hope, but positive eyes. This is going to be great. Okay, I'm going to switch tacks a little bit here. So the Southern Poverty Law center obviously focused on issues of the South. Here I am in New York City. Why should I care? And not to be obtuse about it, when I'm here in New York, there are so many things that are in my own backyard. How have you made Southern Poverty Law center relevant to people who are not living in the South?
- [08:40]
Margaret Wong
Yeah. So one of the most important things for everyone to remember is that your rights today are being threatened because of what is happening in the Deep South. We have attacks on women's reproductive health that started with a case from Mississippi that gave the Supreme Court the opportunity to take away a constitutional protection that had been in place for 50 years. We have attacks on voting rights that started with a case from Alabama that have now spread to states across the country. And we're seeing it being used as justification to deny access to the ballot boxes for people who might have disabilities, for seniors, for young people, for all kinds of folks who are now being deprived of their right and opportunity to participate in our democracy. So many of our fundamental civil rights in this country depend on recognition and protection under federal law, and that is under assault because of the courts, because the Supreme Court has decided to prioritize not protection of civil rights, but protection of their own benefits and wealth. That means that what's happening in the south is coming near you to a theater near you, to a civil local government near you at any moment. And so it matters very much what is happening in the South. It matters very much that the south has been under invested in for centuries and decades. Right. So we had to think about how can we make positive change happen in the south to actually protect rights across the country. And so at the Southern Poverty Law center, we cite the old adage, as the south goes, so goes the nation all the time. We recognize that, that our fight may be focused on the Deep south as a way to make change happen there, but it will have national and even global ramifications across the country and around the world.
- [10:44]
Rhea Wong
That's such a good explanation of why does it matter even if I don't live in the South? But tell me, I'm assuming that you spend a good deal of your time fundraising. And so I'm just really curious. Hey, it's nonprofit Luda, and we're going.
- [10:58]
Margaret Wong
To get into it. That's right.
- [11:00]
Rhea Wong
Curious. Like, how are you able to make that case to folks in New York and California? And frankly, the folks that think that it couldn't possibly happen here? We're good.
- [11:13]
Margaret Wong
I know it is amazing. Something like a third of all women in this country have lost the right to control their bodily autonomy since 2022. And you can thank the Deep south state of Mississippi for that. The Southern Poverty Law center, when we started, was a small law. The whole idea behind the organization was that there were these incredible civil rights laws passed in the 1950s and 60s, and somebody had to make sure that state governments in the Deep south were actually complying with those laws. And so a lot of our early cases were suing local state governments to comply with federal civil rights protections. Over the years, we've seen that really shift a lot. And one of the biggest recognition over the last 20 years is that the courts are no longer the defenders of civil rights. And that's been that way in our states for a long time.
- [12:10]
Rhea Wong
So I'm just rolling my ass like this, thanks, Supreme Court.
- [12:14]
Margaret Wong
But now today, we're at a point where maybe none of the courts, maybe not our local and state courts, and maybe not the federal courts, are going to be the place where we can go to seek remedy for civil rights violations. So that also means something else important. That means that we can no longer rely on the law and the judicial system as the tool for protecting civil rights. So that means a little bit of a shift for us as well. So, on the fundraising side, as you asked about, one of the things that we're trying to do is to demonstrate if we want to see protections of civil rights, we actually have to affect national legislation and state legislation, and we have to influence policy because many of the things we thought were safe have now been overturned or challenged. And so that's a different strategy that is not just winning in a court case. That's actually organizing and mobilizing and galvanizing people to become active in the civic engagement process. So that's encouraged us to point ourselves in a different direction when we're talking about the financial needs of the Southern Poverty Law Center. We're no longer saying we're doing cases in court, that you and we need your support. We do some of that still. But we're also talking about we need to support community organizations on the ground in the Deep south who are going into rural communities, who are going into communities that have never been asked what their political priorities are. We need to support efforts to help them participate in governance, to hold members of their elected officials accountable for what they've committed to do on behalf of their constituents. And so it's a strategic shift, too, and that is now part of our fundraising strategy, is to help people see that the way we protect reproductive rights, or the way we decarcerated and stop criminalization of communities of color in our states is that people get involved, they elect people who represent their values, or they get rid of people who aren't actually helping advance civil rights in their communities.
- [14:26]
Rhea Wong
So I'd love for you to speak a little bit about what it looked like to make those shifts internally, because I think the bigger an organization is, the more complicated and complex it is to turning the Titanic a little bit. And as we know, like, our rights are under threats at a faster rate than they ever have been before. And so curious about what did that look like internally? What are the sort of processes and systems that you used in order to recalibrate around this moment?
- [14:56]
Margaret Wong
One of the most important things we did as an organization is that we adopted our very first strategic plan. So while the organization is 50 years old, we're in our first strategic plan. And the idea was to actually do a collective analysis and assessment of where our contribution could be most effective in advancing civil rights in our states. And we recognize we still need litigation. We've got to be champions of civil rights protections in our states. But we needed to expand and add some other capacities when we agreed on the strategic goals that we wanted to set. That actually then enabled us to then think about what capacities, what strategies do we need to deploy to actually accomplish those. It's been a process. We. We actually started this even before I began officially in the role, and we just adopted the strategic plan two years ago, and we're now in the process of resetting how we do the work. And as you say, it is a little bit like driving an oil tanker or whatever the big boats are, that you have to take a while to turn and to move in a new direction. But there's also a tremendous commitment from across the organization to really having the impact that we want to achieve in our states. And that's perhaps one of the most exciting things, is we've made a commitment to doing monitoring and evaluation, setting metrics for each of our objectives, so that over time we'll be able to say with confidence, yes, we can do this, and it makes this impact, or we learned a great lesson about what doesn't work, and we're shifting to try something else that can be more meaningful.
- [16:45]
Rhea Wong
Margaret, one of the things that I'm really. I've been thinking a lot about recently is around brand and scope. And Southern Poverty LA center is certainly a national brand. It's certainly on the larger side of nonprofits. I think it is one Hundred million dollars a year.
- [17:02]
Margaret Wong
It is.
- [17:03]
Rhea Wong
And I'm just curious, can you walk us through the key inflection points that grew you from a small local based organization to this national brand? Because I think a lot of people, I don't think that there are many organizations that have successfully scaled in the way that you have scaled. And so I think my audience would be curious, what were those decisions, what were those pivotal moments that really got you to where you are today?
- [17:29]
Margaret Wong
Yeah, the organization. When we were founded in 1971, we were part of an era when a lot of nonprofits were using or began using direct mail as the fundraising strategy. And in fact, one of the founders of the organization had run a business using direct mail previously and so brought that to the organization as the primary way to raise money. It was also a moment, Rio, when donors, and I think, of individual small donors across the United States really believed in organizations. They identified organizations that they thought were meaningful and effective, and they made lifetime commitments, many of them, to supporting those organizations. And so that meant they might have started out as small donors and then over time, they might have become bigger donors. But the cue was they were very loyal. They are very loyal. And we are part of that experience, part of that generation of nonprofits. So we still today get 85 to 90% of our funds from small individual donors. The average gift, wow, Southern Poverty as well center is $22. Yeah. And I have to say that makes me really proud. That means a lot of people believe in the work we do. It's not. We don't rely on big donors or companies to advance our work. We have a lot of people who think the work is valuable and who chip in. But that's also a reflection of the fundraising of that moment. And what we've seen over the years is that younger generations, particularly millennials and gen zers, they don't approach philanthropy in the same way. They're not struck by the name of an organization. They don't align themselves with loyalty points to a particular org. They care about issues. And they might support several organizations who work on that particular issue. And it might be temporary because it might be a campaign that organization is doing right now on that issue. But then in a few years, they might be doing something else, and that donor may have moved on. And so we have to develop a different way of talking to younger donors and potential donors. We have to explain what the issues are that we work on and why people should trust that we can do something about it. What we say we're going to do.
- [19:53]
Rhea Wong
Yeah, that's so interesting, because actually you anticipated my next question around the younger donor, because from the data that I've seen, the younger donors tend to be, obviously, they're digital natives. They tend to be more cause selective versus org selective, and they tend to be less likely to stick around for many years. And so I'm curious in thinking about trying to build a base of the next generation, and they tend to actually trust institutions far less than their predecessors. And so I'm curious, how are you thinking about reaching this next generation for when the boomers and the Gentleman Xers start to exit stage left?
- [20:34]
Margaret Wong
Exactly. One of the key challenges, and this has always been true, even from the beginning of the Southern Poverty Law center and similar organizations. Many donors and supporters want to do more than write a check or click a button to give money. They want to feel like they're part of the effort. And I think that's especially true of millennials and Gen Zers that they've articulated. They want to be more part of the work. They want to feel like they're making a bigger contribution. They don't discount financial contributions, which are important, but they want to be more part of the work. And so that's a real challenge for people who aren't used to thinking about volunteer engagement, supporter engagement, in ways that could really shift how effective we are. But it's one of the things that, to your question, is exactly what we're trying to think through. What are ways that our supporters can get involved beyond sending a postcard to their member of Congress or writing a check? Are there other things that people could do that would really feel exciting, compelling, make them understand the purpose of the work? So SPLC for a long time has been in the business of tracking hate and extremist groups across the country. We did that because one of our earliest cases was actually suing the Ku Klux Klan for the lynching of a young black man in Alabama. And we realized we didn't know enough about the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups. So as part of the research for the case, we started documenting, who are these groups? What do they do? What are they seeking? And that's become a huge scope of work for us. We have, we put out an annual Year in Hate and Extremism report that has been going since 1990. We think it's the longest longitudinal study of hate and extremism certainly in the country, but probably in the world. So that work is pretty specialized. We're not taking volunteers to help us do this. Trafficking but are there ways that we could engage with supporters and communities to think about preventing extremist ideologies from spreading? And so one of the things we've been doing lately is a project with the Peril center at American University to work with communities who might have seen some extremist activities in their communities and their neighborhoods, and they want to push back collectively. How do they do that? What are the resources available? What are the materials that they can use to educate themselves and others about what's happening? What kind of supports can they use from local government or from the local law enforcement? Those are all things that we've never done before, but we're now exploring to try to find ways where community engagement is actually central to the effectiveness of the work.
- [23:26]
Rhea Wong
Yeah, that's so interesting because actually I'm doing a podcast episode later today about giving circles. And I think that there's something about, especially with the younger generation having lived through the pandemic during the really critical social years, that there is a real feeling of disconnection and loneliness and a real desire to be connected and to be in community. And so I think that it's such an opportunity for us as fundraisers to be that guide to help them find a sense of purpose together. I love that because we're better together. What was I going to say? I had a thought, but I forget. Okay, so you're about to finish your.
- [24:11]
Margaret Wong
Fourth year, and actually I meant four and a half.
- [24:13]
Rhea Wong
Four and a half.
- [24:14]
Margaret Wong
Woo goes fast.
- [24:15]
Rhea Wong
So what are you thinking about as far as your priorities in the next steps? Because certainly the work of SPLC is more important and more relevant now than it ever was. And I think that we are seeing extremes of behavior and racism and hate as we never have before. We're seeing threats to our reproductive rights and our democracy as we've never have before. Margaret, what's on the docket you planning? How are you going to save America?
- [24:43]
Margaret Wong
Thanks, Rhea, for the simple question of the of the hour. So, a few things. The south is in a moment of incredible transition. The states of Georgia and Florida have had some of the biggest population growth over the last decade of the entire country. When you look at the diversity of our states, we have some of the largest percentages of communities of color in our populations. For example, Mississippi has 45% of its population are people of color, 40% African American. Georgia, as we know well, has been diversifying very quickly, as has Florida. So amongst our states, we have some of the biggest diversity. And yet when you look at the political, elected officials in our states, you don't see that reflected, and you see some of the biggest pushback against diversity coming out of those states. Pushes to ban the teaching of inclusive history in schools, or banning books that might talk about African American history or that sort of thing. What that means is that we're on the verge of some really big changes. If organizations like the Southern Poverty Law center and others are successful in both making investments and encouraging others to come make investments in the South, I believe that, say over the next five years that we are going to see an incredible transformation with more and more people of color running for public office, organizing in their communities, making demands of their elected officials at the local and state level that are going to start making change happen. And I don't think this is about getting representation of a particular racial community. I think this is about electing political leaders who feel accountable to those who put them in office. And that's really what's been missing. So what we hope is that over the next several years, as we're engaging, as so many other groups are doing this hard work on the ground of organizing in communities and really reflecting what community priorities are in political agendas, we'll start to see that shift. And when that happens, the Deep south is going to be a very different political force nationally than it is today. I think it's going to happen in the next five to 10 years. I really do. We've started to see some of it in Georgia, but it is. Mississippi is poised to be next. And looking at the activism this year and this year's elections in Florida, with the. The abortion ballot on initiative on the ballot with other states, we're looking at a moment where we're starting to get to a place where people can see that this can change if they take the responsibility themselves.
- [27:34]
Rhea Wong
That's such an interesting point because I was actually going to ask you how demographic changes in the south may be shifting and making red states purple or maybe even bluish. So I think. Right.
- [27:47]
Margaret Wong
It's really been fun listening to the vice presidential candidate for the Democratic Party this week and thinking how very different his experience has been in Minnesota from, say, my experience in the Deep south or yours in New York. But also the sense of responsibility that he's talked about. I mean, that's pretty. That's pretty universal and pretty amazing. And if we have that approach, again, it's not actually about political parties or about which community you come from. It's very much about understanding that your responsibility as an elected official is to help and support the people who live in your district and to make sure that the laws are doing what's best for your community. And I think that would be, that really would be transformational. I think we're heading to a moment when the south and other parts of the country can actually start changing what it means to be involved in politics so it becomes less of a negative sort of thing and more of an opportunity to really give back.
- [28:47]
Rhea Wong
And I have to say, just personally speaking, I am so excited to see all of these groups that are trying to work with folks to run for office, people who had not traditionally ever considered doing so, because we need those voices. We need that diversity. Not speaking of myself, because I don't, I do not want to run for office. I'll be sitting with Michelle Obama on the sidelines, but I am so there for the rest of you guys.
- [29:11]
Margaret Wong
Well, never say never because you never.
- [29:13]
Rhea Wong
I know Tim Wall said never. Look at him now. Well, in closing, I mean, Margaret, this is so interesting, you know, and actually, as you're talking, I just listened to the Daily this morning, this terrifying study, and you probably know all about it, but about how they're trying to change the electors in Georgia in advance of being able to say that the election was stolen or I have concerns about the validity of these ballots. And it's just the, the idea that we could be using the law as a weapon versus as a protection for people is. And again, I know that's been true for some people in this country forever. So this is not like news to anybody. But it's, I don't know, it was a very sobering reminder of what happens when we're not vigilant and when we're not putting the resources that we need to put behind the things that really matter.
- [30:02]
Margaret Wong
It's really true. And I really do understand why so many people in the Deep south are disengaged from the civic process. If you are in the Deep south, you are already struggling with a lack of infrastructure and services where you live, whether it's how badly mangled the roads are in Jackson, Mississippi, whether you have access to running water in the Black Belt in Alabama. These are people who every day deal with issues that nobody in the United States should have to deal with. And if that's your situation and you're already working, maybe even more than one job to put food on the table, to try to keep your housing when the elections come around and you ask yourself, are any of these people going to make a difference in my daily life? Why? Why would I take time off from work because again, most people are, don't get, aren't given time to vote. Why would I take time off from my wages if what I do is not going to have an impact? And so part of our responsibility is helping to build confidence amongst people that participation does result in real changes in people's lives. And so that means you can't just come in every four years and get people committed to voting in this election at this moment, you actually have to be there and invested in their lives and you have to see what their daily life is like and what their challenges are. And you have to commit to making it better so that they see the value of their own participation and their leadership moving forward because they understand what kind of difference it can make. So that is the greatest service that we can do is not just to create false hope, but to actually build confidence that engagement with government, engagement with public service makes a big difference in our lives, collectively, in my life, personally, in the lives of my children, my family.
- [32:06]
Rhea Wong
That's a beautiful note to end on, Margaret. As we sign off, is there any advice that you can give to nonprofits out there who may be place based and thinking about how do we build a brand and awareness on the national level? How do we make our cause relevant to people who may not be living in our communities or in our city or in our state?
- [32:28]
Margaret Wong
Yeah, I think so. Many of us are struggling with very similar challenges wherever we are. And it can be really hard to bounce between. This is why it really matters to us locally and this is how it connects to the rest of the country. But I do think it's invaluable to make those arguments and those points. In the state of Alabama, we've been suing the government of the state for years to try to stop the criminalization of the unhoused. They're constantly passing laws that prohibit you from asking from help that prohibit you from camping outside whatever it might be. And that has been a local issue where most of the country was not treating the unhoused that way. Unfortunately, thanks to the Supreme Court, again, that is now going to be happening all across the country. So people who are really focused on the local issue of how do we help and support people who've lost access to housing is now a national problem. And it gives you a chance to tell that story not just about what's happening in your community. Oh, that matters for your community and you should talk about it in your community, but help people contextualize that even if we solved it in our community, it wouldn't solve the problem because the next town over is also dealing with that problem, and the next state over is also dealing with that problem. So we can't fight all these battles one at a time. We have to really find ways to champion changes at the national level that really advance and protect civil rights across the country.
- [34:02]
Rhea Wong
Yeah. Thanks so much. And actually, as you mentioned it, I'm actually from the Bay Area, so Kamala and I were neighbors. And so the issues of the unhoused are front and center in California right now. And it's a tough problem, for sure.
- [34:16]
Margaret Wong
We're not going to solve it by locking people up and putting them in.
- [34:19]
Rhea Wong
Certainly not. Certainly not.
- [34:21]
Margaret Wong
The commitment that I'm already hearing from the Harris Waltz campaign is a commitment to building affordable housing. And ultimately, that is what's needed. We have to get more housing available. But again, we can tackle this at local levels or we can recognize that it's a national problem. And either way, we have to connect those narratives so people understand why it. It's a. It's an issue of state for them.
- [34:45]
Rhea Wong
That's right. All right, Margaret, thank you so much. This is such an enlightening conversation. I really appreciate it.
- [34:51]
Margaret Wong
Thank you, Ria. I had so much fun. Thanks for having me.
- [34:53]
Rhea Wong
Same here. Good luck to you. Fight the good fight, my friend.
- [34:57]
Margaret Wong
Thank you.
- [34:57]
Rhea Wong
For those of you who want to learn more about splc, we'll make sure to put it all in the show notes, and we'll put Margaret's LinkedIn if you want to get in touch with her. So, Margaret, as we sign off, what is it that folks can do to support the work of SPLC and of democracy more broadly?
- [35:11]
Margaret Wong
Absolutely. Okay. So first and foremost, everybody needs to vote. Go vote. Whether it's in your local elections, whether it's at the national level, actually vote up and down the ballot. All of those positions matter. Even local dog catcher positions can matter because people should share your values if they're working in service of your community. But that's first thing. Second thing, check out our website. It's www.splcenter.org. and we have a whole range of issues and information and ways to think about the work and to get involved if people are interested. And then lastly, I think no matter where you are in the country, you have to think about how your civil rights are being protected and advanced or threatened. And you have to find ways to work locally or nationally to stand up not only for your own rights and your own family's rights and your loved ones, but all of the people that you care about. Across the country, we're at a moment where civil rights are not guaranteed, and we've seen that consistently over the last few years. So if civil rights matter to you, don't let them slip away. Find ways to fight back. Find ways to get involved and hopefully come join us at the Southern Poverty Law center to do work together.
- [36:34]
Rhea Wong
Fantastic. So this is posting November 4th. Go vote people. I hope you may be listening to this while you're waiting in line to vote.
- [36:42]
Margaret Wong
Awesome.
- [36:44]
Rhea Wong
Hey you, it's Ria Wong. If you're listening to nonprofit Load On, I'm pretty sure that you'd love my weekly newsletter. Every Tuesday morning you get updates on the newest podcast episodes and then interspersed we have fun special invitations for newsletter subscribers only and fundraising inspo because I know what it feels like to be in the trenches alone. On top of that, you get cute dog photos. Best of all, it is free. So what are you waiting for? Head over to riawong.com now to sign up.