Podcast Summary: The Conscious Entrepreneur

Episode: EP 119 – High-Performance in a For-Purpose Business: How Strong Leadership, Top Talent, and Mission-Aligned Fundraising Create Generational Change
Host: Sarah Lockwood
Guest: Jason Jantz, Co-Founder & CEO, Cross Purpose
Date: December 15, 2025

Main Theme & Episode Overview

This episode features Jason Jantz, CEO of Cross Purpose, a nonprofit organization dedicated to moving families from poverty to prosperity through long-term, holistic support. The conversation explores Cross Purpose’s unconventional deep-impact model, the importance of organizational culture, how to attract and compensate top talent in the nonprofit world, and a transformational approach to fundraising. Jason provides a grounded, contrarian perspective on for-purpose business success—looking past surface metrics and hustle culture to build generational change through depth, human-centered leadership, and values-driven strategy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cross Purpose’s "Deep Not Wide" Model (01:45–08:48)

• Long-Term Commitment:
  Jason describes Cross Purpose’s approach: walking alongside families for 10–15 years, not just for months.

  "We take people who live in financial poverty...wrap them inside family and relationships...get them a job that’s not just a job, it’s a career." (B, 01:45)

• Transforming Metrics of Success:
  Their focus isn’t numbers but "proving what love looks like in today’s day and age."

  "Are people experiencing the American Dream, which the majority of Americans think is no longer possible?" (B, 03:55)

• Rejecting the “Help As Many As Possible” Mindset:
  Instead of maximizing quantity of impact, they maximize depth:

  "You can either go deep or wide. You can rarely do both." (B, 08:48)

2. Organizational Growth & Founder’s Journey (04:18–08:32)

• Sustained, Fast Growth:
  40% YOY growth, from $4M to $20M in five years, and expanding from one to four sites.

  "We're pretty tired right now, but grateful for it." (B, 04:18)

• Personal Motivation & Origin Story:
  Jason’s personal experience with poverty infuses empathy and commitment in leadership.

  "How do we not just help people in poverty become happier people in poverty?…How do we actually help people get out of poverty?" (B, 05:21)

• Innovation as a Lifelong Practice:
  Jason sees his work as a life's pursuit, citing big, systemic visions like creating alternative economies and unlocking wealth-building tools for marginalized communities.

3. Building and Sustaining Top Talent (12:30–15:00, 31:55–32:32)

• Attracting the Best:
  Breaking with the "mission discount" trend, Cross Purpose offers market-rate compensation and benefits.

  "I'm proud to say that we compete at the regular market or above. Our average salary on our staff is $91,000." (B, 12:30)

• Leadership Development and Well-being:
  Strong focus on culture—learning, connection, leadership development (e.g., leadership retreats, flexible benefits).

  "People are everything…Having a good and healthy and strong staff, tackling the number one problem is vital." (B, 14:10)

• Addressing Compensation Stigma:
  Jason doesn’t receive donor pushback for high pay; he argues top talent is essential for tackling huge social problems.

  "If we pay them less, we’re going to get less quality leaders across the board…You could make the case that you should be paying social sector leaders 30–50% more than the private sector would pay a COO." (B, 32:32)

4. In-person Connection and Organizational Culture (15:00–17:42)

• Deliberate Relationship Building:
  Despite trends toward remote work, Cross Purpose prioritizes in-person interaction: weekly all-staff meetings and annual staff retreats.

  "Social capital is the most powerful force in the world...We have a 4:1 on-site, remote policy...Once a week, all hundred staff together." (B, 15:12)

• Creating Community:
  Staff share life stories in meetings, reinforcing interpersonal trust and belonging.

5. Conscious, Data-Driven Leadership (17:42–21:54)

• Mind of a Business, Heart of a Nonprofit:
  Rigorous management using EOS/Scaling Up, data dashboards, and transparent reporting.

  "We operate with the mind of a business and the heart of a nonprofit...We're very dashboard driven, data driven. Our results are on screens, on the walls." (B, 18:06)

• Outcomes Over Activities:
  Inspired by a business mentor, Jason rejects reporting on activity (like “heads and beds”) in favor of genuine transformational outcomes.

  "I don't care how many people you train…if they don't get a job that gets them out of poverty, we're not counting it as a success." (B, 18:52)

6. Contrarian Fundraising: Transformational, Not Transactional (21:54–28:42)

• No Galas, No Transactional Events:
  Fundraising is built on deep, donor-aligned relationships and shared vision, never pressure or spectacle.

  "If I were to write a book on fundraising, I would say: How We Raised $100 Million with No Galas, Golf Events, or Good Old Boys Clubs." (B, 24:05)

• “Shoulder-to-Shoulder” Philanthropy:
  Engages donors as true partners:

  "It’s shoulder-to-shoulder, looking at a horizon and saying, what do we want to build together?" (B, 22:53)

• Focus on Fewer, Deeper Relationships:
  Customized campaigns and multi-year partnerships with transformational donors.

  "We have a very small pool of donors that fund our organization…It’s more life giving to have that kind of relationship; that is a transformational relationship." (B, 25:34)

• Advice to Boards/Founders:
  Jason urges organizations to avoid the “transactional” gala fundraising trap and instead steward deep, lasting donor partnerships aligned with both needs and values.

7. Startup Advice for For-Purpose Entrepreneurs (28:42–31:55)

• Due Diligence & Humility:
  First, research existing efforts and learn from the best before launching something new.

  "Chances are you’re not the first. Spend a year and go visit the best in the business before you craft your solution." (B, 29:13)

• Get the Right People and Plan:
  Build a small, trusted board and secure keystone donors. Write a robust, impact-focused business plan.

  "Please don’t forget the impact you plan on having in the first three years. That is your primary fundraising tool." (B, 30:44)

8. Rethinking Philanthropy: Leader-Backed, Not Cause-Backed (36:38–38:47)

• Leader-Backed Philanthropy:
  Jason argues for backing strong, committed leaders in the social sector, similar to how investors back founders in Silicon Valley.

  "Why do we not think of the social sector with leader-backed philanthropy?...Find a good leader...and bring your friends together—say, we’re behind you." (B, 36:38)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Organizational Depth:

  "Lighting a candle in the darkness is more powerful often than size…Make something really great and let it attract people who will then copy what you do." (B, 08:48)

• On Donor Partnerships:

  "The best philanthropy is not knee to knee, full frontal assault...it’s shoulder to shoulder, looking at a horizon and saying, what do we want to build together?" (B, 22:53)

• On Building Culture:

  "We want to create a workforce that people actually want to get up in the morning and go to. That’s the goal." (B, 17:28)

• On Pay and Talent:

  "You will get the talent that you pay for…If you’re worried that donors are going to flee, you’re getting the wrong donors." (B, 32:36)

• On Social Sector Leadership:

  "The biggest complaint of our sector is that they're sloppy in the work that they do. 80% of all nonprofits are under a million dollars of revenue…We’re not going to solve the problems of the world unless we grow and scale the social sector." (B, 33:11)

• On Wealth Transfer & National Impact:

  "We are going through the largest wealth transfer in global history…$124 trillion will be transferred to the next generation. We could literally put a $200,000 intervention in place per household [in poverty]..." (B, 38:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction to Cross Purpose & The Deep Impact Model: 01:45–08:48
• Growth Story & Personal Motivation: 04:18–08:32
• Going Deep vs. Wide in Social Impact: 08:32–12:21
• Attracting Top Talent & Compensation Philosophy: 12:30–15:00, 31:55–32:32
• Building Organizational Culture & In-Person Connections: 15:00–17:42
• Leadership and Data-Driven Management: 17:42–21:54
• Contrarian Fundraising Approaches: 21:54–28:42
• Advice for Nonprofit Founders and Boards: 28:42–31:55
• Rethinking Executive Compensation: 31:55–35:45
• Philanthropic Investment in Leaders Over Ideas: 36:38–38:47
• Closing: Wealth Transfer & A Call to Action: 38:47–40:40

Tone & Final Reflection

The conversation is candid, passionate, and deeply practical—infused with Jason's conviction that real change requires long-term, human-centered commitment, and rigorous, supportive infrastructure. The episode offers a case study in anti-hustle, values-based leadership, and challenges listeners to rethink how they give, lead, and support causes for generational impact.

“If I just took that same thinking and thought of my neighbor in poverty [as I do with my own children], wow, that would change the world. But it would take a deep sacrificial love over a long period of time.”
—Jason Jantz (B, 11:22)