From Rome to Fundraise Up: Salvatore Salpietro’s journey from tech to impact

Summary

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RKD Group: Thinkers – Episode Summary

Podcast: RKD Group: Thinkers
Episode: From Rome to Fundraise Up: Salvatore Salpietro’s Journey from Tech to Impact
Date: July 10, 2025
Host(s): Justin McCord, Ronnie Richard
Guest: Salvatore “Sal” Salpietro, Chief Community Officer at Fundraise Up

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Episode Overview

This episode of RKD Group: Thinkers delves into the dynamic and unconventional career journey of Salvatore “Sal” Salpietro, tracing his evolution from a tech-obsessed youth and IT specialist in Rome to his present leadership position at Fundraise Up, a cutting-edge nonprofit fundraising platform. Sal’s story is more than just a professional timeline—it’s a narrative of transformative personal choices, relentless curiosity, and ever-present passion for blending technology with human connection to drive impact in the nonprofit sector.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Roots & Rome: Escaping and Reinventing (03:13–07:07)

• Origin Story: Sal discusses being raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and how leaving that community sparked his desire for a radically new path—ultimately leading him to Italy.
  • “My only way to really get away from that and change that trajectory was to take myself out of that completely. And I did that through a study abroad that led to full time employment at the American University of Rome.” (04:25–04:50, Sal)
• First Nonprofit-Flavored Experience: Working in IT at the American University of Rome and UC’s campuses in Italy introduced him to the nonprofit and higher ed space.
• Pivot Point: Tech was his entry point, but living abroad spurred an interest in people, psychology, and anthropology, leading to a shift in academic focus.
  • “I really realized I loved humans and psychology and anthropology, and that led me to stop pursuing my undergrad in computer sciences…” (06:23–06:39, Sal)

2. From IT to Project Management & Entrepreneurship (07:51–10:54)

• Transition to London: Moved pursuit from pure IT to project management and leadership roles, fostering people-focused skills.
• Startup Experience: After his boss was ousted in a hostile takeover, Sal co-founded the digital agency Icebox.
  • "We did big, big projects for Procter and Gamble, Nike, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but ultimately the direction he wanted to take that went somewhere different than where my life needed to go." (09:48–10:13, Sal)

3. A Search for Meaning: The “Calling” to Nonprofit Impact (10:16–12:58)

• Why Nonprofits? Fatherhood and a craving for fulfillment drove Sal to seek out a mission-driven role, landing at Child Mind Institute as Director of Digital.
  • "I wanted to do something that gives back, that makes a difference…When you become a father, some of your perspectives of life and your objectives change." (10:56–11:10, Sal)
• Tech Shock: Sal’s for-profit background led to a “holy shit moment” upon seeing nonprofit tech’s limitations.
  • "I did have a very stark, I'm gonna say it, guys, holy shit moment when I got there and saw the tech and what they were working with." (11:39–11:47, Sal)

4. The Fundraise Up Origin Story (12:58–16:57)

• Sliding Doors Moment: Sal responds to a cold email from the new startup Fundraise Up and pilots their platform at Child Mind Institute—leading to a fivefold increase in donation revenue overnight.
  • "We 5x our donation revenue one day to the next." (14:35–14:37, Sal)
  • "It's not disruptive of the donor experience. And that just led to an explosion of revenue for the organization." (15:16–15:29, Sal)
• From Power User to Partner: Impressed with the product, Sal invested in Fundraise Up’s WeFunder campaign, caught the founders’ attention, and ultimately joined the team after a pivotal dinner—eschewing another opportunity in London.
  • "They basically said, what do we have to do to make you not do, to have you not take that and start this with us? And that's it." (18:53–19:02, Sal)
  • Startup realities were real: “We got a third floor walk up in Brooklyn on top of an old firehouse, working next to a kitchen sink and a toilet. And it was like the classic startup kind of story…” (18:40–18:56, Sal)

5. Integrating Passion with Leadership (19:03–22:52)

• Passion as a Compass: Sal’s blend of tech and compassion is central to his leadership.
  • “...the mission behind the metrics and the numbers... if you're able to keep that foremost and at center, the passion is inevitable.” (20:26–20:40, Sal)
  • “The passion is masked frustration and anger sometimes, right? Because I know that it's way easier to buy pizza or sneakers than it is to give.” (20:44–20:54, Sal)
• Impact Mindset: Advocates for transparency in nonprofit outcomes—impact, not just metrics:
  • “I never see on dashboards when nonprofits are working a column that says impact—how many trees, how many kids are we getting mental health treatment for? ...If that were there, we'd have a lot easier of a time building passion.” (21:47–22:46, Sal)

6. Restlessness, Recharge, and What’s Next (22:52–25:39)

• Restlessness as Driver: Sal recognizes his tendency towards restlessness as a fuel for change—but also acknowledges the risk of burnout after six and a half years of relentless energy.
• Taking a Break: Announces a five-week break in Italy to recharge, reflect, and shape his next move.
  • “That five week break, really, is for me to figure out where to take it from here and see where that goes. So I don't know. I don't know. But I do know when I see it, it'll be very evident...” (23:24–23:39, Sal)

7. Perspectives on Anxiety, Restlessness, and Action (25:03–26:27)

• Reflection on Mental Energy: The hosts and Sal discuss how realizing one’s own anxiety or restlessness can fuel more of the same, underscoring the importance of mindful breaks.
  • “The antidote to anxiety is action. So you got to do something, right? And for me, that is this break.” (25:43–25:55, Sal)
  • “The action is almost inaction, right?... I'm going to sit in Sicily in a little low key villa in the mountains and chill…” (25:55–26:14, Sal)

8. Leadership Lessons & Influences (27:10–28:34)

• Key Influences: Shout-outs to mentors, especially Mark Delou, for teaching a servant-leadership approach:
  • “His approach was always, I'm here alongside you, I'm not here above you. And I'm here to support you and help you be successful, not tell you what I need for me to be successful.” (27:24–27:37, Sal)
• Sal’s Leadership Philosophy: Prioritizes empowerment and support over top-down management.

9. The “Yellow Mandolin” Story (28:44–30:51)

• LinkedIn Identity: Sal’s well-known LinkedIn photo with a yellow mandolin is a conference booth prop—he doesn’t actually play mandolin, but the image took on a life of its own.
  • “I'm like so afraid to change the photo...because I'm like, nobody will know who I am if I change that photo.” (29:24–29:33, Sal)
  • The photo is now widely memed and re-imagined with the help of AI.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On non-traditional career paths:
  “You can see how [restlessness] leads from the one thing to the next...” (00:56, Ronnie)
• On the first job overseas:
  “Told my parents I was going to go for six months. Ended up staying for almost six years.” (05:00–05:19, Sal)
• On technology and impact:
  “I can talk to both sides of this and I can kind of bridge some of that sometimes.” (07:41–07:48, Sal)
• On nonprofit tech’s shortcomings:
  “I was kind of like, wait, wait a second, this can’t be right. Where’s the actual one?” (11:46–11:50, Sal)
• On immediate success with Fundraise Up:
  “We 5x our donation revenue one day to the next. Like literally one day.” (14:35–14:38, Sal)
• On servant leadership:
  “What do you need from me? Not here's the metric I need you to hit. And I learned that from him.” (27:41–27:45, Sal)
• On life and memes:
  “I have, like, me with that [mandolin] as Indiana Jones. I've got me as, like a rebel pilot in Star Wars...” (30:34–30:38, Sal)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:56: Framing the theme of career restlessness and passion (Ronnie)
• 03:13: Sal’s Rome backstory and cultural/faith departure
• 05:26: Early techie days, love for technology, first jobs
• 07:51: Moving to London, project management, and entrepreneurship
• 10:16: The “calling” from commerce to nonprofit Child Mind Institute
• 12:58: Discovering Fundraise Up, the email that changed everything
• 14:35: Overnight donation revenue 5X growth
• 16:00: Investing in Fundraise Up and becoming a key team member
• 19:54: On passion as a nonprofit leader’s essential element
• 22:52: Restlessness, taking a break, and pondering what comes next
• 25:39: Insights on burnout/anxiety and the power of stepping back
• 27:10: Shout-outs to impactful mentors and leadership lessons
• 28:44: The true story of the yellow mandolin photo

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Conclusion

Salvatore Salpietro’s story is a testament to curiosity-driven reinvention, tech-enabled impact, and the centrality of passion in nonprofit leadership. His journey offers inspiration and practical lessons for nonprofit professionals on harnessing both innovation and empathy to make lasting change—while also reminding us of the importance of rest, reflection, and a little bit of humor along the way.

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Transcript

[Sal Salpietro]

Foreign.

[Justin McCord]

Welcome to the RKD Group Thinkers Podcast. I'm your host, Justin McCord. With me, Semi clean shaven, by the way. We haven't. I haven't seen your face in a moment.

[Ronnie Richard]

I hadn't seen it in probably three years. I think I just got bored and shaved it. That's the story. It's exciting.

[Justin McCord]

You got bored and so you changed your. Your face. Yeah. Ronnie Richard. For those that are not watching this in video, good old Ronnie. Clean shaven Richard. Actually, you're not clean shaven anymore, but.

[Ronnie Richard]

A little scruff, you know?

[Justin McCord]

Yeah. Ronnie didn't know what to expect going into this conversation. Highly anticipated it, and we deliver Goosebumps as a part of it. How about that?

[Ronnie Richard]

You gotta like that. Yeah. So our guest today, Sal Salpietro, he's chief community officer at Fundraise Up. We walked through his career path, and it really was fascinating. I always love hearing, like I said, people's origin stories. And when we talk to people and we bring up these memories. Yeah, it's always fun to see them kind of reliving their career path. But the thing that I was drawn to was there's almost this certain. And we talked about it in the episode, like a restlessness in his career, and it's like the intersection of that and his passion for what he's doing. You could see how it leads from the one thing to the next. And that's really excited to see where he continues to go in his career.

[Justin McCord]

Every time that I have time with Sal in person, he. He brings this light and this joy to the room that he's in. And I referred to it in the. The episode as zeal. And it's just the way that he shows up. And so to be able to learn somewhat of how that came about, how that is manifested in multiple circumstances was a real pleasure. And, you know, just the. The fact that his restlessness has not prompted him to shave his beard is. Is a good thing.

[Ronnie Richard]

So.

[Justin McCord]

So without any further removal of facial hair, here is Sal. Sal Pietro from Fundraise up on the RKD Group Thinkers podcasts.

[Sal Salpietro]

Sal. Dustin.

[Justin McCord]

Oh, man. Okay, I'm really torn on where to start, so I'm gonna give you the choice. In my left hand, I have option number one.

[Ronnie Richard]

Exciting.

[Justin McCord]

And in my right hand, I have option number two. So you get to pick.

[Sal Salpietro]

Okay, I'm gonna go with. Right.

[Justin McCord]

All right. Right hand. You did it in Rome. Like you.

[Sal Salpietro]

You.

[Justin McCord]

You had a part of your career working in Rome in it.

[Sal Salpietro]

Wild throwback. And I'm heading To see that place of employment in about eight days, which is a wild thing that you mentioned that. I was an it. I was an instructional IT technician at the American University of Rome. I was there for about four or five years. From there I went to work at the University of California, managing the IT for their Rome, their Italy campuses. And yeah, that was kind of like.

[Justin McCord]

My first.

[Sal Salpietro]

Toe dip into the dynamics of nonprofit institutions. Let's. Let's go.

[Justin McCord]

Because you're in the higher ed space, right? Yeah. What took you to Rome?

[Ronnie Richard]

Like, how did you get there?

[Justin McCord]

Yeah, like, yeah.

[Sal Salpietro]

I. Wow. Let's go, let's go in. Let's do it. I was raised a Jehovah's Witness, so I, in my late teens I left that and all of my friends were in their late teens getting married. And they were, you know, in very much that, that mindset of, you know, if I gotta get married before I do the thing. And that was what everybody was doing. And I was like, that's not my life path. And my only way to really get away from that and change that trajectory was to take myself out of that completely. And I did that through a study abroad that led to full time employment at the American University of Rome. So that was the catalyst. It was like, gotta get out.

[Justin McCord]

Yeah.

[Sal Salpietro]

And what's a good path that makes sense and doesn't kind of have much blowback? And it was, let me study abroad in Italy. And then I went and saw that I had a pathway for Italian citizenship, got my passport, did an interview at like 3 in the morning with the American University of Rome. They called me a couple days later, said can you be here at the end of the month? And I went there, told my parents I was going to go for six months. Ended up staying for almost six years. Wow.

[Justin McCord]

Were you a techie as a kid?

[Sal Salpietro]

Yeah, I mean I started on Commodore 64s, like the brown ones, because there's the Commodore 64, then there's like the white ones that kind of look nicer, right?

[Justin McCord]

Yes.

[Sal Salpietro]

And then you had the floppy drive that had, that were like belt driven. Like there were more belts and mechanics in those floppy drives than like a car today. So yes, I was a techie. I was doing BBSS bulletin board systems for those that are aware of midnight pseudo hacking as a 15 year old and all that stuff. So yes, techie took them apart, built them all that stuff.

[Justin McCord]

You are legitimately the most charismatic techie I think that I've ever encountered. Like the learning your IT background really stumped me. And then to Hear you even like to get so specific on the machines that you worked on and, and the tinkering, that's.

[Sal Salpietro]

Oh, yeah, yeah. It's wild. It was wild. Yeah. And I love all that stuff, all the tech side of it. I was a network admin. I did all the IT stuff. I had my Microsoft certifications in system administration. All that stuff had. They're outdated by now. But when I got to Rome, I really realized I loved humans and psychology and anthropology, and that led me to stop pursuing my undergrad in computer sciences. So I had my associate's in computer science. And then I said, let me shift this to sociology and start seeing how I can marry those two. So it kind of weirdly led to this place that I'm at now and this point in my career that kind of does marry those two things quite beautifully.

[Justin McCord]

You know, listen in. In my view of our studio right now, you're in the middle of the Oreo. Right. And so what. What you don't realize is. Yes. Yeah. Oh. Yep. What you don't realize is Ronnie is firmly in the STEM camp. Like, Ronnie is camp stem and Justin is the arts kid. And so like, you're. You're in a good spot in between us. Right, Right.

[Sal Salpietro]

I guess. And that's, that's been a bit of my calling card career was like, I can talk to both sides of this and I can kind of bridge some of that sometimes.

[Ronnie Richard]

So you're in Italy, you're six years there working in it. You had this moment of, I want to move more into the human side. How did that take shape and how did that. Your career path change from there? Where did you take it?

[Sal Salpietro]

Great question. I took it to London where I then lived for a couple years. And my progression from just core tech into some human components was project management. So I started looking into how do I get product managed certifications, how do I build team communication, motivation, all that stuff. And then I worked at a company in London for a couple of years where I was essentially a digital project manager. And that was a fun ride. They were acquired. My boss, who was like a boots on the ground kind of guy, super salt of the earth kind of guy, one day I went to work and he was gone. And it was sort of a hostile takeover and he was just ousted. And he said, let's meet for lunch. And he said, I want to start a business one day. I'll call you. And he called me a year later, and by this time I had moved back to New York and I was working at a Tech startup called Web Collage, which has now been acquired, was acquired by answers.com, it was acquired by Syndigo, went through a few iterations and that was E commerce optimization technology. So we were building dashboards and software to improve E commerce. So that's where I started getting this E commerce thread in my career where I started thinking like transactions, how do I get people to buy? How do you smooth that experience, what makes them do it and all of that. So I did that for a couple years while I was waiting for this phone call for my, for my old boss to say, hey, I want to start a company with you. Because you, you were doing something that I didn't encounter much in my career and I want to do something with you. And then we did and we started a company called Icebox which was fun. We that was running, I think it's still running. And I was a co founder of that. We did big, big projects for Procter and Gamble, Nike, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But ultimately the direction he wanted to take that went somewhere different than where my life needed to go.

[Justin McCord]

You've used the word calling a couple times. So let's get to the calling that took you from Icebox through a couple of other tech oriented and then nonprofit oriented things. And so let's Fast forward to 2019 and the calling that took you to fundraise up first in a consulting format, but then longer term in that relationship. Just unpack that version of a calling and that's part of your journey.

[Sal Salpietro]

So I can't talk about fundraise up without talking about what's just prior to fundraise up, which was my role as director of digital at the Child Mind Institute, which was my first full on nonprofit exposure, I at that time had a daughter on the way and just prior to Childmind Institute, and I said, I want to do something that gives back, that makes a difference. And Icebox was cool, but we were selling shampoo and sneakers and I wasn't getting fulfillment from that and I wanted to do something that would be more meaningful. I think we're all dads here. And when you become a father, some of your perspectives of life and your objectives change. And I wanted to do something more meaningful. So I got a phone call from Dwayne Flinchem and he said, hey, I started a CMO here at Childbein Institute. I'd like you to come run digital. And I said, well, I don't know nothing about nonprofit. He said, figure it out because that's kind of why I want you here because you don't know nonprofit. And I want you to take a different perspective. So I jumped in, had a great time. I did have a very stark, I'm gonna say it, guys, holy shit moment when I got there and saw the tech and what they were working with. And I was kind of like, wait, wait a second, this can't be right. Where's the actual one? Because I just came from a company that is in the business of helping other companies take money more easily.

[Justin McCord]

Right?

[Sal Salpietro]

What's happening here? And there wasn't something better. Not remarkably. That website was fantastic. We optimized. We're getting a million unique visitors a month. 1.3, 1.5. It was a strong content destination for parents that have children with mental health issues and challenges. And that was very fulfilling.

[Justin McCord]

So.

[Sal Salpietro]

Around that time, I get an email from fundraise up mail.net and it's the co founders basically spamming every nonprofit in the New York area saying, please, can we talk to you and can you try this? The gist of the email was something like, we have an idea that we think will work and we just need someone to try it. We're a couple guys in Brooklyn. We don't know anything about the nonprofit space, but we know a lot about being donors. And it's really hard to be a donor. And for me, it was a sliding doors moment. It's like, do you delete the spam, this fam, or do you hit reply and say, throw me a login? And I hit reply, I said, throw me a login. And literally, guys, I get goosebumps, literally. As I, as I just said that, like, it's a life changing moment, right? It maybe even not just my life, many lives. Or if it didn't, you know, if it wasn't the impetus for many things, it was certainly an accelerant for what happened after that. So I got the login. I again, remember, I'm from the for profit space at this point, right? And I'm not asking for permission. I'm not going to the board. I'm not running a show of hands. Should we change this? My job was improve digital, get donation revenue up. And I said, I'm just deleting this other thing we have and putting this in. And we 5x our donation revenue one day to the next. Like literally one day. Like, because we had a lot of visitors, remember? A lot of clicks, a lot of articles, you know, selective mutism, Anxiety in children, how to handle divorce. People are coming there to read. And I'm like, this donate button, I can click it while I'm reading the article and give while I'm reading the article without going somewhere else.

[Justin McCord]

That's huge.

[Sal Salpietro]

It's not disruptive of the donor experience. And that just led to an explosion of revenue for the organization. And that's kind of where things kind of took off from there. I just was rapid firing product feedback every day to the guys like, you need to do this. Designations are a thing you don't know about xyz. And they were literally just making changes as I was asking for them, which was nice, and it's not that way anymore, but it was nice while it lasted.

[Ronnie Richard]

So then how does that translate to, you're at Child Mind Institute, you're working with them. How did the conversation go? Did they ask, why don't you come join us? Or did you think, why don't I jump over there and help even more? How did it go from there?

[Sal Salpietro]

Yeah, so I googled fundraise up and the first thing that popped up was a We Funder campaign. If you're familiar with We Funder, you go up there to raise a few bucks for a startup from family and friends, and it was at some ridiculous valuation and it was super tiny, and they were raising like, you know, 50, 50 grand or something from friends. And I threw a couple pennies in there. I didn't have much. I had a new kid and a nonprofit job. But I was like, I think this is going to change the game. And when they saw that go through, they're like, oh, crap. A customer and a nonprofit have invested in us. Like, that's weird. Maybe we should talk to this guy a little more. And then, as the story will have it, like, you know, they invited me to dinner. I rolled up on a Vespa and they were like, that's the guy. And.

[Justin McCord]

Such a Roman thing.

[Ronnie Richard]

He's very bringing that Italian side with the Vespa.

[Sal Salpietro]

Keeping it with me, man. Keeping it with me the whole time. Yeah. But it was actually about a year from that point because they said one day we'd love to start a company and we'd love to have you join us. Kind of what I already had done about seven years prior with my other boss, right? And they said, we'll give you a call one day. And it didn't happen right away. And then I remember my cousin who lived in London, he wanted me to be a CTO for his company that he had there. And I went over to London. I had a wife and a two, three year old daughter, and I went over to London and we talked and I came back from that trip and I said, I'll do it. I'll be the CTO in London for your company. Got on the plane, sent an email to Peter and Yuri over at Fundraise App, the co founders. And I said, love you guys, you're going to do great. I'm here if you needed me as a sounding board. But I took a job offer and I'll be going to London. And the response came back within minutes. Again, I'm at 30,000ft and they say, can you meet for dinner when you land? So I literally land, guys, get my wife and daughter home, check on my Vespa, the tire's flat because I was gone for a week or two, stop and get the flat fixed. And then I get to the dinner spot. And they basically said, what do we have to do to make you not do, to have you not take that and start this with us? And that's it. And that was it. And I think it was like a couple months later where they said, well, we have an employee, I think we need an office. And we got a third floor walk up in Brooklyn on top of an old firehouse, working next to a kitchen sink and a toilet. And it was like the classic startup kind of of story that you hear, you know. Yeah, it's pretty crazy. That gets us to there. That gets us to there.

[Justin McCord]

Yeah. Right. Sal, you, we've known each other for a couple years and, and your zeal, your passion just, it just, it's so natural and you know, and that's what, that's one of the reasons why, you know, when I, I refer to thinking about Sal as the IT guy, it doesn't immediately click. But like in your role, and not just in your role, just the person that you are, your passion is, feels very central to how you lead and how you champion. And I'm curious if you can kind of like just unpack that for us a little bit.

[Sal Salpietro]

Like, what role.

[Justin McCord]

What role do you think? Not compassion, but what role do you think passion plays for today's modern non profit leader in this very complex ecosystem of technology and humanity? And with all the things that are coming at folks like where does that fit into the mix?

[Sal Salpietro]

The first thing I thought about when you said that about passion, I realized that I always think and have present, not even in the background, almost in the foreground, the mission behind the metrics and the numbers. And if you're able to keep that foremost and at center, the passion is inevitable. Right when I look at stats like 25% of nonprofits offer Apple Pay for giving and 85% of e commerce do. The passion comes. Look, the passion is masked frustration and anger sometimes, right? Because I know that it's way easier to buy pizza or sneakers than it is to give. And that fills me with some sort of rage frustration that I have to work to channel into passion and championing and trying to build confidence in the space to meet and close that gap. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah.

[Ronnie Richard]

Passion for change.

[Sal Salpietro]

Yeah. And I, you know, I was on a call this morning with an environmental organization and I'm telling them, like, you guys are planting trees and protecting nature. Like, I got a kid, we got kids, many of us. Like, I want her to see the polar bears, the forest, the coral reef. Like, get it together. Let's get that, let's close that gap. Let's get Apple Pay at 85% and meet the rest of the world. Why are we so why is it different? Why is there is carved out niche? So that's where the passion comes from. Where I think it's important is always to keep that in the front. Right. If we increase the metric, I never see on dashboards when nonprofits are working a column that says impact how many trees, how many kids are we getting mental health treatment for? How many polar bears are we going to say, where's that column? And I think if that were there, we'd have a lot easier of a time building passion.

[Ronnie Richard]

Speaking of passion and looking at your career path a little bit, there's a certain almost restlessness I want to say, like your passion is driving you to the next thing. It seems like, so what right now, what's the next thing? What are you working on? What are you thinking about?

[Sal Salpietro]

Look, I think right before we started the call, I told you guys I'm taking a bit of a five week break. It's been a sprint and a marathon that's hard to maintain. I feel like the last six and a half years fundraise up has instigated a lot of change and advancement. That's satisfying. It doesn't have to be. You're using fundraise up me at a broader scale. I'm like, the space needs to be aware and let's all step up. So that five week break, really, Ronnie, is for me to figure out where to take it from here and see where that goes. So I don't know. I don't know. But I do know when I see it, it'll be very evident and kind of just like me, that decision to move to Rome or that decision to start a company or move into the nonprofit space, those were very clearly the steps that I wanted to take. And I don't have that clarity at the moment, but I know that what I'm doing, I still enjoy it.

[Justin McCord]

I was reading a book last night and books about resiliency and some of the psychology behind resiliency. And one of the things that it noted was that one of the perils of anxieties is that the realization that you're anxious can be a fuel for being anxious. So like, think about it almost in a meta sense, like the. The idea recognizing that you're anxious can sometimes be an accelerant to being anxious.

[Sal Salpietro]

Right, right.

[Justin McCord]

And I think the same thing is probably too true around restlessness. Like the recognition that you're sensing. Restlessness can sometimes be an accelerant. And so I love that you're taking this time and that you have this chance to exhale. And I know that the sector is going to be better on the other side of this five weeks with whatever.

[Sal Salpietro]

I hope so. I mean, and to reference a book that you gave me, the soundtracks book by Jon Acuff, you know, I think one of the key takeaways is the antidote to anxiety is action. So you got to do something, right? And for me, that is this break. That is this like the action. The action is almost inaction, right? So action is like, I'm going to Italy. I'm going to sit in Sicily in a little low key villa in the mountains and chill and just take in the greenery and the beaches. So that's going to help me to pull back a little bit and look at it from a different lens. It's awesome, man.

[Justin McCord]

The place that we like to land a lot of times is talking about some of the people that have made an impact on you. And so I'm going to eliminate Peter and Yuri. You can't talk about them, but like just who are the people that have. That have left an indelible impact on how you show up and that have just helped put a dent in Sal's journey so far.

[Sal Salpietro]

One of the biggest influences in my journey was that guy named Mark Delou that started Icebox with me and it was really his leadership style and his approach was always, I'm here alongside you, I'm not here above you. And I'm here to support you and help you be successful, not tell you what I need for me to be successful. And that has become a core for how I work with others, how I approach anything that I'm talking about or researching or learning. My teams that I have had the privilege of working with over the years here at Fundraise up or other places. It's what do you need from me? Not here's the metric I need you to hit. And I learned that from him. And I found a few other folks over the years that have embraced the Adam Johnson who was our president for a key period in the company and some others. That's who I'll reference for that because I feel like it was the biggest influence in how I approach a lot of things.

[Justin McCord]

It's awesome. Okay, last, very last thing, we were going to get to the left hand eventually.

[Ronnie Richard]

I was going to ask about that. I was going to hold you accountable. I want to know what was in the left hand.

[Justin McCord]

So we talked about the right hand. So in the left hand is a yellow mandolin. And I need you to explain the heck out of. And I know the story, but I just, other people don't understand it. And so first of all, you're gonna have to like set up what the heck that means. But then, yeah, tell the, tell the yellow mandolin story, please.

[Sal Salpietro]

It's so wild, guys. I. Every conference I go to, people ask me if I'm gonna play the mandolin, the ukulele, if I'm gonna, if I'm gonna play something, I don't play that instrument. I play this guitar. I have about four of them up here that I've collected over my life. That was an off the cuff photo at HubSpot Inbound conference where they set up a LinkedIn booth and they had a bunch of props. I picked up a couple things, took a photo, uploaded it from my phone and that's like three years ago. And I'm like so afraid to change the photo like, like, because I'm like, nobody will know who I am if I change that photo. So it's still there. I mean, you know, if you guys give me permission one day, maybe, maybe post sabbatical, it'll be. That might be a trigger to change it to reflect the new cell. Changes in me. Yeah. Changes in me. It could be.

[Justin McCord]

It also might be, you know, you know, Jamie and other team members that might be listening to this and thinking about, you know, DXS and other events. Maybe there's a need for a photo booth with props that are, you know, that can help send other people on their own self branded journey of tiny instruments that are green.

[Ronnie Richard]

Pay it forward.

[Sal Salpietro]

And I get, I get funny people grab that photo now and they'll use AI to put me in different costumes. So I have, like, me with that. I have me with that as Indiana Jones. I've got me as, like a rebel pilot in Star Wars. It's ridiculous, but people are just, like, taking it now and they put it through. AI Put this in a costume. Yeah. That's fantastic. Awesome.

[Justin McCord]

Sal, keep doing your thing, man.

[Sal Salpietro]

Keep.

[Justin McCord]

You know, we're excited for you to get to have this break in this moment with your fam to recharge, but just know that there's a lot of us that are expecting that battery to be full in two months. And so no pressure.

[Sal Salpietro]

Okay.

[Justin McCord]

But, you know, but we appreciate you and thanks for hanging out with us today.

[Sal Salpietro]

Thank you for inviting me. This is awesome. I appreciate it. Group Thinkers is a production of RKD Group. For more information, including how you can partner with RKD to accelerate growth for your fundraising and nonprofit marketing needs, visit rkdgroup.com.