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Becky
Our missions are made to move, to create change in the power of community. But change doesn't happen when we sit still.
John
Hey, I'm John.
Becky
And I'm Becky.
John
Welcome to Making a Movement, a five part limited series from We Are for Good. This series is all about unlocking movement in your mission. We're weaving together the stories and lessons that have stuck with us from the movement builders, dreamers and doers who we've gotten to meet along the way.
Becky
It's time to take that initial spark as activated and watch your movement take flight. We're so glad you're here. Let's get started.
John
Hey, friends. Welcome back to Making a Movement series. If you're here, it means you are someone who doesn't want to just watch change happen. You want to help move it forward.
Becky
Yeah. And I mean, we had on the show last time the incredible Seth Godin. Like, remind us that strategy is motion. And so today we're getting into that motion and we're going to be digging into the first step in our move framework. And it is the M. Mobilize with purpose.
John
I love that we came up with an acronym for this series. But y', all, what's so good is that every movement, big or small, begins with belief. And I know you hear us talk about this because it is bedrock to how we show up and how we believe that movements and culture changing causes like take root. But they don't just start with belief. They also have a really clear why. And we want to talk about that because belief alone is not what moves people. Purpose does action does all of these things kind of coming together.
Becky
Yeah. And I mean, belief has been foundational to our story. It's core value number four, that it's not about the money, it's not about your big hairy, audacious goal. It is about why someone believes enough to come into your movement. And so in this episode, we're going to break down how you can take your why and turn it into a spark that moves people to do something. Now, extra emphasis on the syllable of because we really want you to hear some real world stories from some of our favorite guests and we want to leave you with practical ways to mobilize with purpose this week.
John
Let's do this. So, I mean, we really wanted to unpack about how do you build movements with purpose? Because when you take belief and think about how are we going to purposely move people? It does start with the spark. The spark may be the first thing. So I want to talk about starting with belief and that belief may Be inside of you right now. But we have a saying around here that it doesn't just start with belief. It scales with belief, too. And so as you think about whatever cause or movement or initiative that you're trying to push forward, you want to think about, like, how that's the very bedrock, but also from that belief is going to stem some values, maybe the values that you want to see perpetuated in the world that aren't there. What is that kind of North Star? Because when you allow your values to be embedded at the very core of your movement, it allows it to be integrated into how you show up. This is how, you know, you hear Becky and me talk about marketing is mission. Well, it's the way that we show up in the world is allowing us to live out our values in real time. Because even the way that we show up is being part of the change. It's not talking about it. It's not on some plaque. Maybe it's on those things, too. But the way that you actually move through the world is creating the change. And I think what is beautiful is that Seth also talked about values. You know, your values don't often change, but it's the tactics, the way that we kind of display those, the way that we transform our strategy into the real world of how we show up, Those are the things that change. But we can hold fast to the values that we're starting from. And that's such like, a exhale that it's like, man, we know that what we're doing moving forward is connected to the greatest possible thing that we want to bring into the world, and that's our values.
Becky
And isn't it a comfort, John, like to know someone is who they say they are? And in a world where it feels like we're not sure what's real, your values are real. And the way you express them and show them is just going to be a magnet to people that believe them. So I love that we're starting off with that. The second core principle that we really want to unpack is that every movement has belief. We can fundamentally agree with that, but it lives or dies by action. I need everyone to understand that it's not just enough to say, yes, we're here. Yes, we love your nonprofit. Yes, we love your mission.
John
And.
Becky
But if they don't know what to do, then the movement cannot continue. So your first step doesn't need to be big. It just needs to be about that motion that Seth was talking about in that first episode. It needs to be doable it needs to be invitational. And I just think that when we do that and we make that first step clear, we make it human, then other people are saying, oh, I can do that. That's one simple thing that I can do today to help. And once you compound that in the movement, that that's when things really become exciting. So yes, we're going to tether to that belief, but we're going to connect it inextricably to the action that we want them to take.
John
Yeah, I love that you're talking about action. And I can picture so many people's faces even in our we are for good community of like how it shifted when they became part of the activation. They were not being broadcasted to. And so this is really the third piece is inviting community in to not just broadcast to them. You know, they're actually very much integral and incorporated at the very core level of your movement. Because the best marketing that we have found, it says invitation to belong. I mean, I guess we can just keep quoting Seth Godin all day, but it's like people like us do things like this. It goes back to affiliation. Who does people. Who do people want to be connected to? If your cause is perpetuating these values that we started with, people want to be associated with that because that's what they see at their highest level. Self too. So it's, it's less about the polished messaging and it's way more about the heart aligned invitation. That's that sacred space that we get to live in with these causes that are so deeply meaningful. We get to be part of somebody's story when they activate on like a heart level and a values level. This is where it really gets interesting because it's no longer you as the carrier, it's community as the carrier.
Becky
I think community is the carrier is so powerful, it invites so much more in. There's more hands, there's more voices, there's more amplification, there's more of everything when you share. And that's fundamental to who we are. And so I want to go back to action a little bit. So I'm going to move on to the fourth core tenet. And it's that when you get to that action component, we want you to make the invitation clear, emotional and communal. I mean think about this. Y' all people move when they understand what to do and how they see you see them as a catalyst. They start to believe that their actions matter. They feel like they're a part of something that's bigger. And when you can be very concise, which, let's be honest, is Becky's hard, hard like, thing to capture because I'm so verbose and talkative. But it's got to be so finite. It's got to be rooted in the heart work. Because we want to know why we should be motivated to move. And when you say it's all of us, tiny little gestures of action again start to compound. So ask yourself, like, what am I asking people to do? How will they know that it matters? And how will they know they're not alone in it? And that becomes like, your next action step is socializing and communicating what's happening under the iceberg. How are these compounding things gathering to move something in? This just moves us from this transactional work into more invitational work. You know, it's more purposeful, but it's still totally human. And so get those small little shifts, like get them on repeat and just have people acting in the best interest of where you want the mission to go. And as it gets bigger, guess what? Somebody's going to feel like, wow, I'm really a part of building something meaningful that is scaling. I mean, we talked about this with Seth, because we're just going to keep saying, we talked about this with Seth and everybody's going to drink their coffee. But it's like, think about the greatest movements of our time. They all started out with just a couple people pouring in. Like, I just think about Movember, Invisible children. I mean, there's just so many. And they started small because they were clear, they were emotional, and they were community activated.
John
More of this. And, you know, if you've hung around, we are for good very long. You know, we believe as one of our core values is that we should simplify, intelligrate story. Right? And that's the next step of this, is to center story and lived experience. Because we believe that storytelling is the heartbeat of connection. And that's gonna start with your own personal lived experience in many cases, or maybe it's of someone really close to you that you feel inspired to take this on or to kind of lean into solving this problem. But how can we shift the language where it becomes an invitation that this isn't just building around your one story.
Becky
Okay, love the story piece. You know, I am here for every little bit of it. Centering lived experience is just a whole different way to conn. And I want to loop to the last core value. And I want to tell you that it's this notion we see that you can empower those who are on the edges, because it's about shifting leadership, shifting voice and action away from the center. And it's moving it into the hands of those who are all around the circle. Your community, your partners, your staff, your supporters. And it is one of the most powerful ways to build movements that are self sustaining and authentic. And so what does this mean? This means that we have to start like decentralizing decision making, inviting more people on the ground to lead. It means we have to elevate community storytellers, not just the people funding or running the programs. And. And we want to give people tools, not just tasks. And there I am back. I feel like I'm like a broken record today. I'm like back to those simple, repeatable actions we don't like. A movement doesn't say do this, it says, here's how, now make it yours. And I think that is the difference. And so shifting that language from our impact to it's ours, it's all of ours, it belongs to all of us. And so when you give that power to people that are on the outside of your circle, they're on the edges. We talk about the power in the lurker all the time. Something shifts big time. And the ownership component is a beautiful connectedness of all of us. So those are really the six core tenets that we're seeing for how to mobilize with purpose. But, you know, we can't just talk about it like, we gotta, we gotta pull in some examples, right, John?
John
Yeah. That's what I'm really excited about this series, is that, you know our point of view and honestly, the experiences we've been invited into through the lens of this podcast, hundreds of conversations, has fundamentally changed our worldview. Like, it's easy to say that out loud. And so I want to, you know, kind of curate this next section as we unpack. How do we really get to a clear why and how do we put that into action? This is not our voices. This is not Becky and me sitting around with a Google Document, although we do have a Google Document, which is awesome.
Becky
We got a Google Document for everything, let's be honest.
John
Thank you, Julie, for creating this Google Document. But these are the voices of movement builders, of people who have are in the shoes right now and who are sharing their way. And so we're going to take a section of each of these episodes coming up, where we're threading story and you can go back and you can go much deeper and we're going to link up the past podcast episodes. So if there's something here that sparks for, you know, that the full episode is fire. So I mean, we can't start this conversation without looking back to this why. As we start to unpack the why in action, I think it's really interesting to start listening for real friction. And what do I mean by that is like, where is there kind of a rub that's blocking engagement? Like, where are you running into a hard stop? This can lead us into a beautiful opportunity for innovation. And Seth set the stage for this, that we are designed as nonprofits. We haven't found the solutions yet. We're still actively looking for the answers. So pivoting should be our jam, right? Like finding the new path. This is like in our DNA. So, so how can we think more innovatively that leads us to sparking more emotion by removing that friction for people, for people to come into our mission. What's blocking them now? And let's think about can we remove those barriers? How can we move faster? Why has it always been done that way? There's, you know, there's so much opportunity there when you start to look at it with a different lens.
Becky
I think a great example of this is Scott Harrison. When he founded Charity Water, he kept hearing the same thing over and it's people don't trust charities. They were really cynical about where the money went and, and the stats backed it up. We've talked about them on the podcast. We've looked at the Edelman Trust barometer and Trust in nonprofits. What is and was then low.
John
So here's Scott talking about how that simple but bold choice mobilized trust and ultimately unlocked millions of people to act. Hey friends, here's a bit of real talk. This movement doesn't happen without community. And that includes our incredible ecosystem partners.
Becky
Big gratitude to Gift butter, RKD Group, donor Doc Feather whiteboard and so on. These aren't just sponsors. They're mission driven allies showing up to fuel change alongside us.
John
Their support helps bring you the free tools, education keynotes and summits because they believe, like we do, that investing in people is what powers real impact.
Becky
So if you're searching for a new CRM tech tool, maybe a brand part partner, direct mail partner, or even an impact strategist. We'd love for you to start with our trusted Rex. We vetted them so you don't have to.
John
You want to learn more, head over to weareforgood.com Rex that's we are for good.com recs for VIP access to orgs and amazing humans doing really great work.
C
So I had 10 years of club promoting experience and then two years taking pictures and following doctors around as this kind of volunteer photojournalist. So I really didn't know any better than I have any worked for me because I got to start with a blank piece of paper. So I kind of came back to New York and I'm talking to people who go to nightclubs and work at Sephora or MTV or Chase Bank. And I learned there was a real cynicism when it came to giving to charities. Where does my money go? How much of my money is actually going to get eaten up by overhead and salaries? And then I learned there was data behind that. So USA Today, I think it was, had done a poll that found 42% of people said we don't trust charities. And the biggest problem people had was just all around money. Where does the money go? Where does my money go? What does my money do? So the only person I thought that just as I looked at models, the only person I thought had kind of solved this with a drop the mic moment was this billionaire hedge fund manager called Paul Tudor Jones. And he was in New York City and he started something called Robinhood. And he basically said, I'm a billionaire, I can afford to pay the overhead for my charity. So that 100% of what you all give public will go directly to helping youth in underserved and underprivileged education situations. So that was so successful, he eventually got bigger than the overhead he wanted to pay and he put together a small board. So I remember writing him a letter 16 years ago. He never wrote me back, but kind of said, well, I don't have a billion dollars, but I think I have a couple hundred dollars. And I went to. It was Commerce bank at the time on Broadway and Bond in New York. And I opened up two separate bank accounts is that I'm going to try and raise all the overhead separately from a small group of people who don't mind paying those unsexy overhead costs. And then I'll make this public promise in the other bank account that whatever a donor gives 100% will go directly to the field to directly construct water projects. So that was really, I mean, it was a simple idea. We could just say forever, 100% of your money goes directly to fund water projects. And I guess that. So if the first kind of pillar was the 100% model, the second pillar very quickly was proof. And then building the tools from the ground up to try to show people where their money went, I mean, that's.
Becky
What I'm talking about. That's mobilizing with purpose. That's listening for what holds people back and just simply removing that obstacle. And Scott had this really clear why. And it wasn't just that everyone deserves water water. It was, we're going to rebuild trust in giving concurrently.
John
I mean, yeah, you look now, 15 plus years later at the ripple effect that was created by removing that friction. And, you know, not people just giving, but people also sharing and coming together generously because people felt that it was believable and that action felt safe.
Becky
So the takeaway here, if people aren't moving, don't just push the belief louder. Like, listen for the real friction that's holding them back and solve for that. So, okay, we got another one we got to talk about. We've talked about how do we get a clear why in the action? And I want to transition to another belief. And it is this different angle of mobilizing community. So let's look at a totally different kind of example. You've got my friend, my hero, sweet Sarah Cunningham, with free mom hugs. And you have an individual who saw this deep pain, like people in the LGBTQ community who were rejected by their families. Like, this is. This is something that is so deeply personal to me and her why was love and it was belonging. And her first action, show up, hug people, stand in the gap. It was that simple.
John
I remember the day Sarah came to the podcast and here's some of her retelling that story in her own words.
D
So when my son came out of his closet, I had to go into mine and I had to just re examine everything that I believed. And when you do, you get educated on things like the history of human sexuality, on science, on evidence, and suddenly you realize that you've misunderstood and misinterpreted with the very best of intentions. And a pivotal moment was when my son said, mom, you know, I want you in every aspect of my life, but it's up to you how much you'll be in it. And I really realized then that something could go horribly wrong. So many times families are devastated and alienated from this situation when they don't allow space to have that conversation and to learn. So pivotal moments took us from the church to the Pride Parade without losing my faith, without losing my son, and meeting a beautiful, spirit filled community and just getting educated and then being accountable to what I've learned. For example, I learned that my straight son has more rights than my gay son. And just the history of what's happened to the LGBTQIA community has been such a travesty. I'm here now. I'm so glad to be on this side of the story. Lots happened in 2014. We stood with my son at the pride parade. In 2015, I made a homemade button that said free mom hugs. And with anyone who made eye contact with me, I would say, could I offer you a free mom hug or high five? And from that experience started the nonprofit Free Mom Hugs.
Becky
Has there ever been a nonprofit that's more for me, like just stand on a street corner and ask people if they want hugs. Like, I want that job.
John
Yeah. I love playing back these clips because even since that story was shared, you know, in the first year that we were on We Are for Good to look at, like, how the ripple has spread because Sarah didn't start with some complicated program. She literally just stood on a sidewalk with a sign and like physically tangibly giving a hug. And now it's expanded so much and it's in so many communities, but that's it. It's like the simple human action that thousands could repeat.
Becky
Movements grow. When that first step is so clear again that people say, I can do that, that's mobilizing with purpose. I think this is such a brilliant example.
John
So as we kind of like look at this next clip, I want to talk about the unexpected mobilization that sometimes happens.
Becky
I love this one.
John
The surprise, the sneak attack. So we've seen how a clear why, plus a simple ask can mobilize people in really personal ways. But what if your mission is bigger than you? Like, what if it's tackling a massive systemic problem like hunger or food waste and you don't yet have a blueprint?
Becky
Okay, you're teeing me up really nicely to talk about my, one of my favorite charities, farmlink Project. And what you're explaining is exactly what Ben Collier, Aiden Riley, and just this group of gritty, like passionate college kids did to create the Farm Link project movement. They saw mountains of food going to waste on farms while millions of people were hungry during the pandemic. And they just said, this makes no sense whatsoever. And they didn't wait for permission. They didn't wait for a perfect plan or get board approval for the ten year strategic plan. They just picked up the frickin phone, made one call, and moved millions of pounds of food to people who needed it. So going to give you the gift of hearing this straight from their mouths. So here's Ben and Aiden telling that story.
E
We started the FarmLink project in April of 2020. So, two months after the pandemic began, and I think for a lot of people, there never really had been a time where things felt more out of their control. Farmlink was this opportunity to lean into, hey, there is something we can be doing, and it might work, it might not. We're not really sure what's going to come of this, but we're going to try, and we're going to bring in people who want to be a part of it, and we're going to see where it goes. And, okay, we're seeing all these articles, these news stories about farmers with too much food. Let's just call farmers. I remember the first day I really spent probably 8 hours on farm link work was I spent 4 hours in the morning researching, just on Google, a list of probably 200 farmers, and then four hours in the afternoon calling every single one of them one by one. Most of them not answering or not wanting to listen or actively telling us what we were doing. Sounded like a scam. How many do you think we actually tried to connect with before we got through to our first farm?
F
Yeah, hundreds. I mean, there was. It was like, over 200. There was a point where we thought, oh, this is. This idea is wrong. Like, stupid, stupid idea. Like, farmers are not throwing out food. Of course they're not. That'd be ridiculous. And it was amazing that once we got connected with that first one, who was like, yeah, he had a bunch of eggs. He had, like, thousands of eggs that he was going to basically throw out, it was amazing how that opened the door to more and more people. And, like, now we're at a point where our big barrier to entry is not that we don't have enough food to move. There's 20 billion pounds of food going to waste in the US every year. It's that we need more people, more fundraising, more resources to help get that to people who need it.
Becky
Boom.
John
Yeah.
Becky
That's unexpected mobilization. I mean, this is what mobilizing with purpose looks like when you don't have a roadmap. You see the gap. You make that first connection, you test it in the real world. And guess what? I mean, now farmlink has moved hundreds of millions of pounds of food with an army of individuals who are all around the world making this difference. And it's an extraordinary story.
John
Yeah. Like the juxtaposition of thinking about Ben and Aiden in their college dorm rooms, doing this to what's happened now is just crazy. So if you're listening and you feel like you don't have everything figured out yet. Or maybe you're dealing with imposter syndrome, which it's really leading us into this truth that, look, we live in this space that we've not yet solved the problems, but we're mobilizing anyway. We're trying new things, and it's imperative that we come at them with creativity, with innovation, with motion. You know, motion is such a thread of we are for goods activation right now because we don't want to just stand still. We want to try stuff, we want to throw some darts, and we want to see what's going to stick. So some prompting questions for you right now is what's your next phone call? You know, what's your next email? What's your first email? Maybe what's the simplest step to prove that this idea that's on your mind could actually move?
Becky
Loving those simple, repeatable actions that you just ended with, John. I think it's leading me and teeing me up very beautifully to get into this one good thing takeaway. This is the mobilization we want you to do this week. And I want you to think about. This is your move. Think it a bit like chess. I want you to get these pieces in order. The first is identify that clear. Why? What is your why? What is the purpose? What is the rallying cry? Two, what's the one thing that you want someone to do right now? It doesn't have to be a massive move. It just has to be some forward motion. And the last one is, how will you tell them? How are you going to share that? Because not everybody's hanging out in that same space. So we really have to canvas just a little bit. And then once you figure out where those spaces are, how do you build in those repeatable motions that keep that momentum and that energy going? This is your move this week. We know you've got it.
John
And putting that to repeat, that's like such a superpower. Love that you lifted that B. Well, as we're closing out, I mean, listen, friends, movements begin with belief. I. I feel like we, you know, have proved this time and time again in these stories, but they live or die by action. So we want to encourage you to get really clear here as we take our next steps aligned with your true north and that purpose. And, like, let's go for it, you know, let's go. So our next episode, episode three, we are going to be talking all about how to organize and optimize because once you got mobilized, you need some systems to keep that momentum alive. And so I hope you'll come back for that conversation.
Becky
And if you're loving this series, would you like, take a minute and leave us a review and a rating in the podcast app? We haven't asked for that in quite a quite a long time. But that is one action we would love for you to do on behalf of this community. Because doing so is going to help us get in front of more change makers like yourself. It's going to help us share this content and get it into the right hands. And it's going to be more of that fuel in motion that's going to grow this movement we call the Impact Uprising right here at We Are For Good. You've got this. We've got it together. You are not alone. We are so glad you're here. We'll see you.
John
Waiting for you.
Podcast: We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
Hosts: Jon McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE
Episode Title: Making a Movement: Mobilize with Purpose
Release Date: July 21, 2025
In Episode 633 of the We Are For Good Podcast, hosts Jon McCoy and Becky Endicott delve into the intricate process of mobilizing communities with purpose to build impactful movements. Titled "Making a Movement: Mobilize with Purpose," this episode is part of a five-part limited series aimed at equipping nonprofit professionals with innovative ideas and actionable strategies to amplify their missions effectively.
The episode kicks off with an emphasis on the essential building blocks of any successful movement. Jon and Becky discuss the MOVE Framework, positioning "Mobilize with Purpose" as the foundational step. They assert that while belief is the bedrock of a movement, it must be coupled with a clear purpose to drive action.
Becky (00:10): "Our missions are made to move, to create change in the power of community. But change doesn't happen when we sit still."
Jon further elaborates on the importance of a clear 'why' alongside belief, noting that:
Jon (01:05): "Belief alone is not what moves people. Purpose does. Action does. All of these things come together."
The core of the discussion revolves around transforming the foundational belief into actionable steps that engage the community meaningfully. Becky and Jon outline several key principles:
One of the standout examples discussed is Scott Harrison's Charity Water, which revolutionized donor trust in the nonprofit sector by committing to a 100% donation model. This approach guarantees that all public donations directly fund water projects, addressing widespread cynicism about how funds are utilized.
Scott Harrison (14:07): "What I thought was a simple idea was to just say forever, 100% of your money goes directly to fund water projects."
By transparently separating overhead costs and operational funds, Charity Water not only rebuilt trust but also mobilized millions of donors to act confidently, leading to a ripple effect of generosity and community support.
Another compelling narrative is that of Sarah Cunningham's Free Mom Hugs, a nonprofit that began with the simple act of offering hugs to individuals in distressing situations. Sarah’s personal journey from a churchgoer to an advocate for the LGBTQ community underscores the power of personal transformation and grassroots action.
Sarah Cunningham (19:05): "In 2015, I made a homemade button that said Free Mom Hugs... from that experience started the nonprofit Free Mom Hugs."
This initiative highlights how clear, actionable steps coupled with a heartfelt purpose can inspire community members to replicate simple gestures, thereby scaling the movement organically across various communities.
The Farmlink Project exemplifies how spontaneity and addressing immediate needs can lead to significant mobilization. Founded by Ben Collier and Aiden Riley during the COVID-19 pandemic, Farmlink tackled the issue of food waste by connecting surplus farm produce with those in need.
Ben Collier (22:40): "Farmlink was this opportunity to lean into, hey, there is something we can be doing, and it might work, it might not. We're going to try."
Despite initial skepticism and numerous rejections, their persistent efforts led to millions of pounds of food being redirected from farms to underserved communities, demonstrating the impact of innovative problem-solving and relentless action in mobilizing a large-scale movement without a predefined blueprint.
As the episode progresses, Jon and Becky distill their discussion into actionable insights for listeners aiming to mobilize their own movements:
Becky (25:50): "Identify that clear why, what is your why, what is the purpose, what is the rallying cry. What's the one thing that you want someone to do right now... How will you tell them?"
In wrapping up, Jon and Becky reiterate the symbiotic relationship between belief and action in sustaining movements. They emphasize the necessity of moving beyond merely advocating for a cause to actively engaging and empowering the community to partake in tangible actions. The episode concludes with a preview of the next installment, which will focus on organizing and optimizing systems to maintain movement momentum.
Jon (26:50): "Movements begin with belief. They live or die by action... let's go for it."
Listeners are encouraged to take the week's mobilization challenge seriously, applying the discussed principles to propel their missions forward with renewed purpose and community engagement.
This episode serves as an invaluable resource for nonprofit professionals seeking to ignite and sustain meaningful movements. Through insightful discussions and inspiring real-world examples, Jon and Becky equip their audience with the knowledge and tools necessary to make a lasting impact.