654. Five Years of We Are For Good: Lessons from the Journey - Jon, Becky and Julie

Summary

We Are For Good Podcast – Five Years of We Are For Good: Lessons from the Journey

Episode 654 | October 27, 2025

Host(s): Jon McCoy, CFRE; Becky Endicott, CFRE; Julie (Producer)
Theme: Reflecting on the 5-year journey of "We Are For Good,” the lessons learned, and the power of community-driven change in the nonprofit sector.

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Overview

This special anniversary episode celebrates five years of the "We Are For Good" podcast. Jon, Becky, and Julie candidly share the podcast’s origin story, highlight formative career experiences, delve into challenges faced building a values-driven media company, and outline the evolving mission to democratize nonprofit education and inspire collective action. The episode teases a major forthcoming announcement and closes with inspiring thoughts on generosity, belief, and the transformative role of community.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Unique Team & Non-Traditional Pathways

(00:34 – 04:43)

• Jon, Becky, and Julie reunite in person to reflect on both personal and professional journeys.
• Their 20-year friendship and unlikely beginnings at the OSU Foundation set the foundation for their shared vision.
• Early professional experiences highlighted the power of authentic storytelling and values-driven marketing.
• They recognized "marketing disguised as fundraising" and the importance of making generosity personal and story-centered.
• Becky: “We were a marketing team of largely 20 year olds... What if we got into the heart of people? What if we got into the heart of story?” (03:38)

2. Learning the Power of Community and Storytelling

(04:43 – 10:27)

• Shifting from large campaigns to rebuilding trust in small, everyday moments, especially through employee giving and culture-building campaigns.
• Turning a hospital in crisis (even used as a negative example at conferences) into a place where staff were seen, heard, and inspired to participate.
• Importance of building generosity from the ground up, “flipping the pyramid,” and focusing on the everyday donor rather than strictly major gifts.
• Jon: “Trust building happens one at a time. It can’t just happen at scale without getting to know people.” (04:43)
• Becky: “The power of small gifts powered by belief can change everything.” (09:47)

3. Origin Story: Launching We Are For Good

(10:33 – 13:00)

• Jon and Becky’s desire to democratize knowledge and their transition from consulting to podcasting.
• The problem: No platform for “real-time” conversations in nonprofit podcasting existed.
• Jon’s ambitious vision (initially wanting five episodes a week!), ultimately settling at three, and recognizing the medium’s potential for deep and wide impact.

4. The Catalyst: Taking the Leap

(11:48 – 18:42)

• Becky set a definitive quitting date (June 30, 2020); Jon agonized over the leap, facing uncertainty at pandemic’s onset.
• The role of support systems—Jon’s wife Candace’s pivotal pep talk:
  • “Jon, when are you going to quit giving up on your dream?... We gotta do this.” (13:08)
• Julie’s recruitment: A chance encounter at a gala years prior, her volunteerism, and her innate ability to transform raw assets into compelling stories led her to become the missing puzzle piece as producer.
• Julie: “While y’all were doing all of this at OSU Foundation, I was like—was I in third grade?” (17:50)
• Julie’s immediate “yes” and learning to produce the show through online resources and hustle.

5. Early Growth and Community Activation

(19:50 – 24:35)

• Launching the podcast with no platform but leveraging belief: hundreds of personalized emails to friends, colleagues, and supporters.
• Emphasizing "belief" and personalized asks—seeding the concept that any meaningful movement begins with engaged, authentic community.
• The drive to make sector learning accessible and democratized.
• Jon: “You don’t have to have permission to be in this room… we can actually make the table bigger.” (23:01)

6. Defining (and Living) Core Values

(24:35 – 26:41)

• Core values discovered organically—centered on simplifying, humanizing, long-term thinking, and above all, community.
• Community feedback led to evolving the platform: not just a podcast, but an ecosystem, media company, and ultimately a movement.

7. Hardships, Transparency, and the Power of Belief

(26:41 – 29:55)

• Financial stress and burnout have been constant companions.
• Building educational resources (e.g., "We Are For Good Pro") and convening sector experts—pulling off big ideas with minimal means.
• Genuine moments of “the well drying up” (financially and energetically), but each time, community support provided enough momentum to keep going.
• Becky: “We have rarely had two nickels to rub together this entire time… but the community just kept lifting and lifting….” (26:47)

8. Impact Up: The Community’s Big Leap

(29:55 – 33:08)

• Spurred by burnout and the desire for deeper engagement, “Impact Up” was launched: a decentralized, virtual and local event series powered by community hosts worldwide.
• They expected 10 cities to sign on; 25 did, spanning 10+ countries and 150+ gatherings in total.
• Notable stories from the field—Uganda, Mexico—illustrate Impact Up’s ripple effect and how community leads the way.
• Julie: “Once we launched Impact Up… it feels like we have a team of 35 because friends just wanted to help spread the word.” (31:42)

9. Flipping the Pyramid & the True Theory of Change

(33:08 – 36:10)

• The heart of the matter: shifting power back to the base (everyday supporters), not just major donors.
• Becky: “Belief is so much more powerful than the gift… when you can unlock that, We Are For Good is literally living proof.” (33:44)
• Affirmation that supporting “everyday change makers” and democratized, value-centered organizing is the new theory of change.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you can start with those believers and remind them why they’re there… when we launched, we didn’t launch with just Becky, Jon, and Julie. We launched with hundreds of people behind us.”
  —Becky (21:40)
• “The campaign is not just a campaign… then the podcast became not just a podcast. It was rippling out.”
  —Becky (24:35)
• “It’s never the big things… it’s always something small… a moment when you feel seen.”
  —Jon (36:29)
• “Everyone’s kind of waiting for someone else to be the generous one. It starts with you.”
  —Julie (37:19)
• “You are enough…. Show up as you are. Everyone matters.”
  —Becky (42:39)
• “What starts here ripples.”
  —Julie (35:12)
• “Hold on to your butts, because this is going to be a big announcement and… it is for you.”
  —Becky, quoting Samuel L. Jackson in Jurassic Park, teasing the next episode (43:44)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:34 – Reunion and introduction of the special retrospective episode
• 03:38 – Early professional journey and the genesis of values-based disruption
• 07:00 – Major shift in approach: focus on lived experience and small gifts
• 13:08 – The pivotal moment: Jon’s wife urges him to go for his dream
• 17:50 – Julie's background and joining the team
• 21:40 – Grassroots podcast launch strategy and community activation
• 26:47 – Candid discussion of struggles and the sustaining power of community
• 29:55 – The launch and impact of Impact Up
• 33:08 – Reinventing sector power structures (“flipping the pyramid”)
• 36:29 – Reflection on generosity and the importance of small acts
• 41:10 – “One Good Thing” round: parting personal wisdom from each host
• 43:44 – Teaser for the next episode and seismic upcoming announcement

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Tone & Language

The conversation is warm, candid, humorous, empathetic, and deeply personal. The hosts openly discuss vulnerability and struggle, often using playful self-deprecation, while consistently returning to messages of hope, community, and belief. The atmosphere is that of a close-knit, passionate team inviting listeners into both the messiness and magic of their journey.

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Closing

Highlights:

• Five years in, “We Are For Good” is less a podcast than a movement—built on humble beginnings, radical transparency, everyday generosity, and the unstoppable force of collective belief.
• Listeners are left with a compelling call to action: just start, show up authentically, and believe in the ripple effects of small acts in community.
• A seismic announcement is promised for the next episode, signaling the start of “We Are For Good 2.0.”

Final Thought:

“You are enough. Show up as you are. Everyone matters.”
—Becky (42:39)

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Next: Tune in Wednesday for a landmark update, We Are For Good 2.0!

Transcript

[A]

Hey, I'm John.

[B]

And I'm Becky.

[A]

And this is the We Are for Good podcast.

[B]

Nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more, and be more for the causes that improve our world.

[A]

We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.

[B]

So welcome to the good community. We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers, and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.

[A]

So let's get started. Hey, everybody. Welcome to a very special edition of We Are for Good. I mean, we are sitting in fancy couches with nice mics. You know, something's up. But today, friends, is a day that we just wanted to talk to our community really openly and have a conversation before a conversation. So something big is on the horizon. And we're like, can barely hold it in. But we wanted to reflect. Like, we've got Becky here, We've got Julie. When Julie pulls up a mic, you know, it's a special day.

[B]

You know, it's a big deal when Julie comes to the table. Cause we pretty much have to, like, twist her arm to come up here anyway. So it's a big deal to be.

[C]

Here, and we get to be in real life. That never happens anymore. So I'm happy to be here.

[B]

This is nice.

[A]

And I feel like we're never together in the same space anymore. Like, we're together virtually every day, but it's like to be here. So since we've been together last, we've celebrated five years of the podcast. And I think there's so much that's happened, so much that's changed so much that's still the same that we. I want to give context today in this episode and kind of give the through line of, how did this even happen? And where are we at today? Right.

[B]

Yeah. I just think five years is such a formidable start for a startup. You can see all my gray hairs and all the crow's feet on the side of my eyes from the growing pains of we're for good. But we have a really big announcement and something really exciting is about to happen for this community, for people who haven't even met us yet. And we felt like before we got to that announcement, we really needed to have the retrospect of, let's go down memory lane. Let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly, and let's explain this journey and how the heck we came to be here. So I love this.

[A]

And I mean, the fact that I'm.

[B]

Not in yoga pants is really weird. And how she would.

[A]

Totally like. We've known each other for almost like 20 years. And if you think back to like my hairstyle 20 years ago, it was kind of scary, actually.

[B]

It was exactly the same and it's been the same. And you get tweaked when you don't.

[A]

Get in your highlighted tip phase of high school. I mean, let's not bring that back.

[B]

But that was like everybody back then.

[A]

And.

[B]

Yeah, and you've seen me at every phase where I have so much nervous energy that I would, like, sit on tables, take my shoes off in the middle of meetings.

[A]

And your heating pad, that goes everywhere with you. Oh, my God, my heating pad does.

[B]

Go everywhere with me. That's what happens.

[A]

I mean, we have to go back to how we met and little Johnny.

[B]

Walking in and his clip on tie. Are we gonna talk about that?

[A]

I didn't know how to tie a tie. Why do we have to rub that in? But I wanted to imp, you know, about to graduate art school at Oklahoma State, looking for an internship. And there's this 8 and a half by 11 flyer that's so hideous that says intern needed at the graph.

[C]

It's true.

[A]

It was OSU Foundation. I wanted to do like the mission kind of work. And so I got really prepared for this interview. And I walk in and literally there is Becky Endicott, 25 years old, no.

[B]

Clue what she's doing.

[A]

Like, I thought you, like had your whole life together. You're like the director of marketing. But I got the job. And it's like we saw the world the same way and life was crazy then. Can we talk about what we were like, walking through? Yeah.

[B]

I mean, we were a marketing team of largely 20 year olds who were about to launch a billion dollar campaign. We were in the middle of just this story time at Oklahoma State where Boone Pickens was coming in. They're dropping all these hundred million dollar gifts. And we were trying to chart a new narrative for philanthropy and for generosity. And we didn't want to do it like everybody else. And we were like, what if we got into the heart of people? What if we got into the heart of story? And John is the most incredible designer. I say this all the time, make him uncomfortable. To this day, you are still the most brilliant impact designer I've ever met. Put it together with my writing and something happened with these marketers disguised as fundraisers. And we found this rhythm and we found this voice and this nuance way to write and connect. And we were like, how do we change everything about the way this sector approaches this? And how do we start in our little corner of the world even though we didn't know what we were doing and we just failed forward. And it was amazing.

[A]

It was also completely terrifying feeling like imposters figuring it out along the way. And I think those early years definitely planted seeds of like this community, of this idea of how can we talk about things when we don't know what we're doing? How can we find safety in that? And so that season led to going to help healthcare philanthropy. And you know, at the time we were like rebuilding from scratch. We went from a billion dollar campaign to like starting with seemingly nothing. And I think that was a season that really changed how we viewed philanthropy. How we saw movements work, also like solidified that. Story is everything. Authenticity is everything. Trust building happens one at a time. It can't just happen at scale without getting to know people, you know, like, it was definitely a season of life.

[B]

I love that you're at like the heady 10,000 foot view. And I'm like, do you remember when Garth Brooks was suing us our hospital? I mean, I think we literally walked in when that was actually happening. And so there was this question and this bigger nuance of is there trust in this organization? Oh, I didn't even know you guys were a nonprofit, this healthcare organization. And so we took a step back and it was. And I remember our CEO coming and saying, we need an employee campaign. So we have all of of this international media looking at us. We have staff who don't even know we're a nonprofit at the time. And we're like, how are we going to awaken this belief? How do we make it so much less about these distractors in the headlines and more about the human and more about what matters to them?

[A]

We wanted something that would be deeper. We're trying to rebuild a culture like it needed to be deeper than transaction. You know, story was everything.

[B]

Oh my gosh. And we built this campaign and it was baked in story. It was baked in the human, it was baked in their story. We had no goal. We're like, we're gonna everything the opposite of what has been done in the past. What if we centered lived experience? What if we said, you tell us what's important to you and then the onus is on us to not only tell you the story of what happened, but to tell you how many people Were impacted by it. And all of a sudden, that campaign took on a life of its own.

[A]

Yeah. Because it was more about everyone sharing what mattered to them. And then the generosity flowed from that. That's the great unlock. Everyone's talking about major gifts. Everyone's talking about building the donor pyramid. We would go to these conferences after. I would, like, hide my badge because we're the hospital getting sued by Garth Brooks. Like, totally. That energy. Right.

[B]

We were in a session where our hospital was used as a horrible case study. And it was like Homer Simpson, like, melding into the B of the bushes. Like, it was so terrible.

[A]

Yeah. But, like, the through line is like, that was planting seeds. Those years was like, community is everything. It's all about flipping the pyramid. And it's not the focus only on the top. It's activating the base. So this idea really set deep within us, and we started teaching employee giving. Not really knowing where that would go, but it planted the seeds for we are for good.

[B]

And not knowing the lessons that we were learning would soon become our values for we are for good. Even as you were talking about community as everything, I was thinking that this employee campaign taught us that we needed to simplify, humanize, and tell a good story, which is our core value number three. It was seeing that core value number one, everyone matters. And that we were gonna play the long game. Now I guess I'm just listing all of our core values, but it was truly, like, what made this moment in time so special? Was it lightning in a bottle? Or was it something that made stop and pause? How many times do we stop and pause? Now we are hit with 5,000 branded messages a day. 11 million bits of information. Our brains are so tired. How often do we stop? And that's where I felt like the magic was seen. And so we had this experience with this employee campaign, and we were like, okay, we have some core tenets here and learnings. Let's apply it to this gala. We're from Oklahoma. We say gala. I'm sure it's probably gala.

[A]

Gala. Gala.

[C]

Which one it is?

[B]

And then we were able to, like, 3x our gala. And it was the largest fundraising event in Oklahoma. And it was totally based on story. It was totally based on the human. It was totally based on lifting the base up.

[A]

Because if you're willing to play the long game, we're gonna have a buzzer every time we say our core values. If you play the long game, the payoff is worth it. By doing it slow and building it.

[B]

With community, building with Community, not your community. And let's just say I don't want people to think it was all sunshine and roses because we were humbled many, many times. And there were. There would be times. I remember the T shirt. Do you remember the T shirt phenomenon? I know. I'm.

[A]

I remember the year that it was printed crooked. So I kept, like, looking, and, like, that's what happened to our shirt.

[B]

But it was like, we were like, we want people to give just because it feels so innate. And it's like, no. People want to be a part of something bigger in a movement. They want to grasp onto something. We're like. We're marketers. We love a good brand. Let's put it on a T shirt. Let's put a threshold around it. Let's put story around it. And people who gave $5 per pay, period, which is $130 gift a year, ended up raising $600,000 in that campaign. In that campaign when combined together. And that was when we were like, the power of small gifts powered by belief. Yeah. Can change everything.

[A]

I mean, you're giving me so many hooks of, like, the. The actual starting of we are for Good. So we got to get into this.

[C]

It.

[A]

You know, I binged a lot of entrepreneurial podcasts and was in that space of, like, wanting to do something but wasn't sure what. And we thought we could be consultants to go teach people how to do employee giving. But what if we took the values that we've learned and put them into a podcast? Because at the time, I have a very geeky spreadsheet. I'll send it to everyone. So long of, like, before AI could map this, it's like, I spent hours, like, going through and figuring out, what are all the nonprofit podcasts out there. But there was nobody that just had, like, an ongoing conversation multiple times a week with people talking about what's happening right now, what matters, these disruptive ideas, not teaching the old playbooks. And we're like, we love talking to people. What if we told stories? What if we did it at a crazy pace? I wanted to do it five times a week.

[B]

Hold on. Yes, Julie.

[C]

I was like, is it going to see your face?

[B]

Do you remember when you tried to convince us to do five a week?

[A]

I wasn't. I thought it was the way, like, I kind of still am. Like, was that a misstep? It was the way, like, right. So like any good negotiator, we ended at three, which, like, allowed us to, like, have a pace that allows us to meet so many people and to have so many conversations. And I think what we weren't ready for was how, not only like, that it would change a community, but how it would change us, you know, in the process, too.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

But okay, we gotta talk about, like, actually jumping, right? Because we have this idea going on during that time. Okay, so from an idea that, okay, maybe we could have a podcast. Maybe there could be this community, this idea. Once we had the business plan, Becky is always so clear of, like, I am leaving June 30, 2020. I'm like, I love that you have so much clarity.

[B]

You know, I'm pretty sure I said that the June before that.

[A]

I know. And I'm like, plus, I love that you're ending on the end of a fiscal year. We appreciate that.

[B]

I wanted to close all my gifts. I wanted to. I wanted to leave my house better than I found it.

[A]

So, yeah, either way, you had a date. Thank goodness you had a date, because I can tend to put things off, you know? And so what we didn't see coming is we had this idea, and then everything of 2020, early 2020, started to happen. And I remember being in the office the day, like, March 13, when everything just shut down, and we're about to launch. We are for good. And I think in that moment, I was like, I have no idea what to do personally. Family, definitely not with, like, do I send an email now to donors or not? Like, what do we say? What do we do? What's our next move? Do we fundraise? And I guess I started questioning everything. So as we went home and we're working remotely, weird other things happened. I got these job offers that came in front of me, and it's like, I hadn't considered leaving in those 10 years. And these two offers came in at that same time. And it's like, when the world was upside down, I'm like, we should be chasing stability. I've got this amazing family that I want to support. And what's the right move? Do I take this path or do we do this? Which is why I think it's so funny. You're like, June 30th, I'm leaving. I'm like, I wish I had that clarity, you know, But I'm going back and forth. It was just kind of a season of asking a lot of questions. And there was a moment that I point back to, and it was like there was an energy flow. Talking about it with my wife, Candace, who obviously has been so much part of every part of this journey, like, took my shoulders in the office. And she was like, john, when are you going to quit giving up on your dream? Like, we gotta do this. And I feel, I feel it kind of come into my body now too. Like it was the belief. And that's such a through line of this conversation that she had belief when I didn't. And it helped me know, like, it's going to be okay. It's going to be beyond okay, but we have to do this. And it's like something switched. And I know you were kind of just waiting on me to make up my mind.

[B]

I mean, let's talk about this. I was on short term disability. I was on three months. I had taken off. I had the worst nervous breakdown in 20, which I've talked to so many of you out in the podcast world, in the nonprofit space who have had, you know, your mental health crises at the hands of nonprofit work. But I was so clear headed at that point because I was at the very end of those three months and I could see it and all it needed was for us to leap. And it had every reason for us not to leap. I mean, the world was closing down and we decided to do this. And you were like, there is a missing piece.

[A]

Yeah. Like, we can't do this plan with.

[B]

A missing piece with just you and I.

[A]

No way. And the short answer is we had to have a producer. Like, we can't have John's vision of all these episodes. Right. With like, clearly we cannot do that on all the things and to make it work. And we're like, who is that missing piece? And so what we didn't add is maybe like a year before we're having a gala. I'm going to say gala.

[B]

We're going back to the gala.

[A]

We're going back to the gala. It always ends up, I probably have a headset on. Let's be clear.

[B]

You got your chivalry chairs, you got your rubber chicken. Like, yes, we've all been there.

[A]

Passive aggressive fights over auction items. Things like these happen. Okay, so we've got that. But there are like four or five college volunteers on a Friday night that just came because they were a friend of our intern to come help to volunteer. And then you think, oh, they're just here for the free drinks or whatever class credit. I go to the back room and they're all like laughing and like typing in all these bids or whatever's happening in the back room, like having the best time. And I'm like, who are these people? Like, who are these kids? I'm sorry. That's so, like, diminishing. But it's like, who are these young kids? People that I got.

[B]

She was like, I give you.

[A]

I give you permission that are here on a Friday night doing this. And Julie happened to be one of those that night, which was wild.

[B]

She's like, the shining star.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I remembered her. But then she applied for a role and ultimately joined my team. And we were working on some project. Julie. And I remember we had made this video, and it was crap. Like, let's be very clear. It was, like, not making sense. I think we had filmed a bunch of stuff that, like, remember this video? And Julie's like, hey, let me just take it. And she took this script and the clips, and she threaded this amazing story out of what I thought was not great into something, like, amazing. And I'm like, becky, I think our missing piece is right here.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, she's been there. The whole time she's been there. It's Julie. I'm like, oh, my gosh. We have to tell her. We have to invite her.

[B]

And can I just say, how many of you out there have had someone in your shops who are young, hungry, curious, unbelievably talented? Like, I'm gonna get so emotional talking about Julie. Cause Julie Julia's like our whiz kid. She is, like. She is like the missing piece. She is the renaissance woman who could do anything. And she's quiet and humble, and she prefers to be in the background, which is why I'm so proud of you for being up here.

[A]

Thanks.

[B]

Glad to be honest, she can finally.

[A]

Talk, like, 40 minutes into the.

[B]

I know. I know, right? And it was like, you could. If you can think of that person that you could hand anything to, and they could just make it work. And you pulled Julian to.

[A]

I mean, you gotta share this story.

[B]

Yeah, share the story. And what it was like.

[C]

Well, I'm just giggling listening to all of this, because while y' all were doing all of this at OSU Foundation, I was like, was I in third grade?

[B]

I was, like, trying to.

[C]

Like, I was trying to piece together.

[A]

Oh, God, it's just so embarrassing.

[C]

My friend in college was your intern. So while all of that was happening, I was also studying nonprofit in college. I was one of those that, like, wanted to do this in college. And so my friend had us all come. Fun fact. I rescheduled a first date for that gala, so I'm actually, like, very. So I could come. So I'm actually very excited I did that because now we're here. Anyways, it was so fun. But fast forward to the moment where John is telling me about this dream. Because I've been on his team, I've been doing stewardship. I was able to, like, work on all the different teams at our foundation. So I just learned a ton. But we're sitting there working on an impact magazine and John's like, in a very John way. Becky and I are gonna leave this summer.

[B]

We.

[C]

We want you to come produce our podcast. What do you think? And I was like, record screech. Do you want me to close the door?

[B]

I think we should shut the door.

[C]

Our, like whole foundation team is down the hallway and he's like, come join this with us. But I always loved marketing. I loved storytelling. I would, like mix our, like, pep rally songs in high school. So it felt like such an immediate yes. It's the Jean and Becky effect, if they ask you to do something. I just wanted to work with you all. So I'll never forget.

[A]

I mean, did you hesitate? I feel like you were like, yeah. And I'm like, do you want to think about it?

[C]

It was like very 23 year old energy. I was like, let's do it. That's so fun. So, yeah, no, no hesitations at all. I was ready to jump in.

[B]

And then Julie spends like a couple weeks on YouTube to learn how to be a producer. Is that true?

[C]

I did. Took a couple classes, figured it out. All of our first guests were my old professors, my old intern boss at St. Jude. So it just was, it was a really organic way to like launch the podcast. We really just like plugged it in and figured it out. And I feel like that energy carried us through the last five years. But it's fun to think back to that, to that conversation.

[B]

So we're getting to launch. Yeah, right?

[A]

I mean, so I remember sitting in your bonus room, Becky, and right after we'd quit our jobs, and we're all on this sectional. Like, we just started this. What do we do now? So much of that energy, we knew we needed to set like a first deadline. And that was August 20th. Right. For the first podcast episode. So plugged in mics, just started talking and recorded a couple of episodes.

[B]

I wanna say that, like, because we have so many people that come on the podcast and talk about the fear they have of talking and speaking on our podcast. And I just want people to know we were scared.

[C]

I was scared.

[B]

We didn't know what we were doing.

[A]

Yeah. So we, we, we batched we created a bunch of episodes. We get to launch day, and we used the same strategy. The only strategy we ever knew was, how do we activate? Well, we didn't have an audience. I think people think that we launched the podcast, and it's like, we just knew all these people and had connections in all the states and around the world. And it's like, yeah, we started at step zero, you know, of the plan. And that looks like when you have nowhere else to start, you start with belief. Like, who believes in you? And for us, that list was everyone from your Spanish teacher.

[B]

Hi, Senora Stafford.

[A]

To, obviously, our families, to people that.

[B]

We have, Neighbors, college, everybody.

[A]

But, of course, also people in the nonprofit field that we knew would be excited about this and cheering for this. But that was probably the smallest subset at that moment, you know, and we. We sent a ridiculous amount of personalized emails. Hundreds, hundreds. Like, we took every night. Like, we would record during the day. We would do our consulting work to, like, pay the bills, and we would just at night write these very personalized emails to everybody asking them, hey, this is happening. Would you show up in this way? Could you do this?

[B]

You believe in us. You already know me. You know John, you know what we're about, you know, our values. We're gonna try something really big. We don't even know if it's gonna work, but we have this bigger dream, and here's three ways you could help us. And it was like, download the podcast, tag in somebody from nonprofit, share it. And so it was like, this is why we talk about staging so much and the importance of it in your campaigns. And anything you're gonna launch is that if you can start with those believers and remind them why they're there, what your shared commonality is, and tell them very succinctly what you want them to do. When we launched, we didn't launch with just Becky, John, and Julie. We launched with hundreds of people behind us who saw that trigger, and they leapt. We were all leaping at the same time. So we had this notion we wanted to disrupt the sector. You had this brilliant idea about building this podcast. But what we haven't talked about, John, is why. Why did we want to do this? Like, when we were sitting in all of those conferences, sitting in these ballrooms, and we're listening to talk about the strategy and the theory, there was just, like, something missing for us. And so that really became we are for goods. Why?

[A]

Yeah, we're laughing about being at those conferences where we're, like, hiding our badge. But I also Felt imposter on a different level of, like, I was not a fundraiser. I was a designer. I was a kid who got a job as a designer who learned marketing, who learned fundraising, and is now leading a program. And I just felt like the sector needed a different take. Like, you don't have to have permission to be in this room. Like, we can actually make the table bigger. There's room for you, and it comes with democratizing access to learning. And Covid changed all that, because everything's virtual. That maybe wasn't, but still creating, like, a community where people can feel welcome and that they feel like they belong because we actually believe that. That everyone has a superpower to bring. So how could we create a place where resources were available, ideas, innovation, and so podcasts fit that balance? You know, people anywhere can find it. And it's definitely part of the story of how people have found us, you know, over the years. So, I mean, the next couple of years after the podcast launched, you look back now and you see the through line. But at the time, it felt like we were meeting one person. That opened up another door. That opened up another door. So when you look back, it really was this snowball. It's like we were making new friends multiple couple times a week. We were in conversation with this community that was finding the podcast, and it was like changing us. And it was also changing our belief in what was possible, because it wasn't just the three of us with mics. It was this growing group of believers that, you know, we're connected on something deeper and bigger.

[B]

And then. I know I say this all the time on the podcast. The gala is not just a gala. The. The campaign is not just a campaign. But then the podcast became not just a podcast. To me, that was where the shift happened. It was like we were starting these convers conversations on the podcast, but then they would start to ripple, and then people would bring others in, and then we started to have some webinars, and then we would have meetups. Do you remember our community meetups? Like, where we would just hold space on zoom?

[A]

This is, like, nothing for you.

[B]

It was so basic, and people would just show up. And then I noticed there was this shift of, like, yes, we were learning, but there was this belonging and trust, and people were sharing such private and intimate details about their work, their personal life, the toll that it took. And it was like the community started to grow and build itself, which was so beautiful to me. And can I just say, like, such a relief that we didn't have to Figure it all out. Like, the community literally was guiding us.

[A]

I think that was planting seeds because we knew our values when we started, but we actually came back at one night. I mean, it was in the first few weeks of launching that Becky and I are messaging probably really unhealthy at, like, 2 o' clock in the morning.

[B]

Yes. Don't do that, please.

[A]

I think there's a missing value that we really need to, like, come out clear about. And that was community is everything.

[B]

And I was like, that is it. That is the bookend of all the values. But the reality was community was teaching us. They were evolving us. They were evolving each other. And do you remember how many times people come to us and say, what is we are for good? And we were, like, including our parents, our friends. Yes. Like, everybody.

[C]

Each other.

[B]

And it was like it was changing so much. First it was a pie, then it was a media company, then it was an ecosystem, then it was a movement. And it's like, yes, it is all those things to so many different people, but the community would drive it, they would direct it. And then we got to this seminal moment. I feel like when we decided to do Impact up, and I feel like we should talk about that just a hot minute.

[A]

Well, I mean, to be really transparent, it was in the hardest season of the good.

[B]

Can we just talk about. It has been so hard, friends. Like, burnout, stress, financial pressure. Like, we have never had money. Can we. Can I say that? I'm saying it. I'm freaking saying it. We have rarely had two nickels to rub together this entire time. And when we would tell people that, they would be so shocked, and they would say, oh, my gosh, but I see you everywhere. And it was like. Like, to me, that was just the flywheel effect of community. Just kept lifting and lifting, and it appeared that we were. But there were so many times where we. I remember one time we were trying to pay that bill at dinner for.

[A]

Well, let me set the stage of this. Okay. Yes, please do. I feel like we took this what I would call a risk. Like, where we've met so many amazing people through the podcast. We know we want to democratize education. What if we built the most amazing virtual bougie training? We're not giving nonprofits the scraps. They're getting, like, the best. That's what we deserve. Right? And so we took this bet and flew out seven. Seven amazing humans to Dallas, and we did this incredible recording to create what's now called We Are for Good Pro, or used to be Called We Are for Good Pro. But that night solidified everything, because the people here teaching and making these kind of ideas accessible, brilliant. Like. Like seeing people in their superpowers, you could feel the momentum building. Everything is happening. And I remember toasting the table. I have this weird thing of toasting. Like, I just feel like I need to toast when people are gathered for whatever reason, he does.

[B]

And Melba toast. So yes.

[A]

Yeah, Toast is a through line too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, like, I'm. I'm like, toasting this group and I'm looking around and I'm like, I can't believe, like, this has happened because we just started this podcast and to look around this room and there's people that flew in from New York work, and there's people that came in from Colorado and Los Angeles. Like, it was. Everyone left what they were doing to come here to be around this table. And it's this beautiful moment. And then literally the waiter drops off the ticket and I'm like, grab the ticket and I open it and the bill. I had this sinking moment of that's more than that is in our bank account.

[B]

Real talk here.

[A]

And I'm like this, like, lump in my throat. How could everything be so in sync and so out of sync in the same moment? And. And it was a tough.

[B]

It was a tough moment. But it was like, there had been so many times where, like, the well was drying up in the bank account or in our energy or whatever it was, and something would happen, always would happen. We had to create an entire slack channel for all of these incredible moments that would happen seemingly at the last minute that would push us to keep going. And. And I feel like impact up was one of those catalysts where we were like, the community is pushing us to do something different. We wanna have our own space. We wanna have our own conversations. We wanna go deeper. And I felt like you and Julie together had impact up in your brains. I really do.

[A]

I mean, I think we were all back.

[B]

Julie said it for three years. Let's be clear.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Julie was saying for, like, years, we need to do this.

[A]

Never knew what it would look like.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think we got so much clarity by fourth year. Third and three and a half, four years of we're building this with community. People are already there. What would happen if we invited people to this idea of, like, what starts here? Ripples. How do we have a central virtual event and then invite people to do local meetups wherever they're at? So we sent, like, a rogue email. We have a lot of rogue emails in our story.

[B]

Yeah, we're like, will this work? You know, we've. We call that. That's the innovation word. And we are for good is try stuff.

[C]

Try stuff, Try stuff.

[B]

Just try stuff.

[A]

And not only do people respond like, what I thought maybe we could get 10, 15 people, I remember thinking, like.

[B]

Let'S try to get 10 cities.

[A]

Like, the first time, there was 25 cities that were enthusiastic and gathered people and the host. And I just want to shout out the host, because people that not only believed, but enough to, like, invite your friends in person to take a leap and come into this idea is like, next level. But it's like, such a through line of the story. So thank you to the hosts that believed that for sure.

[B]

I want to, like, share a story or two about it, because I remember Katherine Lacefield McDonald was relocating from Canada to Mexico, and she was like, I don't have any community. We just moved here. So she used Impact up as a platform to go build community. And then she went out and met all of these nonprofits and pulled together a local meetup. And then we got Simon on the. On the Ginga. In Ginga, Uganda, on the Nile river, holding the biggest Impact up gathering by pulling together five villages as they wanted to talk about sharing power. That's when we knew something was special about this.

[C]

It was also freeing because it was peak burnout for all of us. I don't wanna speak for everyone, but it felt like we were all having a really hard time. And it was at least freeing for me because I would joke and tell people. They would think that our team was massive. And I would say, there's. You're looking at the team. Yeah. But once we launched Impact Up, I was like, it feels like we have a team of 35 because we would pull these events off. And it was friends that just wanted to help spread the word, plan it in their own city. The speakers at all of our quarterly events, like, really had ownership on it. So I feel like launching that a year ago really did help us in that way of just feeling like we. We didn't have it all on just our shoulders. And we were feeling that for a really long time.

[A]

And so now, y', all. There's been more than 150 meetups and across 80 cities. 10, 10 country, more than 10 countries around the world. I mean, more than anything, it taught us, it showed us, it proved what we already knew. Like, the community is everything, but I think it's beyond that. Like, community is our theory of change. It is how we actually believe that an Impact uprising can actually happen. Because it's not going to happen because of a person holding a mic. It's going to happen because people choose to show up and activate in their local community and. And person by person, city by city. That's how this moves and breathes. And so we have so much hope. Like, it has given us new energy around what's possible, because it's not us. It's like this community.

[B]

And then we end up right back where we started, which is flipping the pyramid, flipping the script, giving the power back to the front line. We look at that donor pyramid and we just forget about that base and this notion that the base is the unlock, the basis of everything. That your mission doesn't have to be a standalone, monolithic thing. It can be a movement of so many believers. And that belief, I mean, it's our fourth core value. That belief is so much more powerful than the gift. Belief is so much more powerful than the institution, than the brand. And when you can unlock that we are for good is literally living proof of tens of thousands of people who believed in something bigger and didn't want to do it alone. That we all are better when we're in it together. Like, that is what I feel like we are for good has unlocked within me. It is unlocked within this movement. And you look at it like an iceberg that we have only seen the very tip.

[A]

It's just the beginning.

[B]

This is the beginning. And what a hard, beautiful journey it's been.

[A]

Yeah. Can I just say, I'm so glad to have be on this journey with y'. All. Like, we. I feel like there's moments when we step back and we're like, it's just so fun. We get to do this as friends and like people that trust each other. What a gift to get to be as part of this Marty cry.

[B]

And I'm just like, I just love you guys so much. And we have had such high highs and such low lows that people don't even know about. And we chose each other, like, every time. And then this community, like, kept showing up. In times when we lost belief. We did. There would be moments. And I just want to thank this community. I want to thank you, too, for being just such heroes of mine and people who propped us up and kept it going. Kept it going.

[A]

Back at you. I'm glad we're all restrained by these.

[B]

Microphones and will not hug well.

[C]

And we started. We became obsessed with this line. What starts here? Ripples. And that's just what's lifting for me as y' all are saying, that we didn't know when we plugged in that mic that anyone besides our friends would listen or if we launched an event. We didn't know if anyone would come.

[B]

Just start.

[C]

You don't know what's going to come from you choosing to start. And, like, that translates in your mission. Like, whoever's listening to this right now, however you found us and wherever you are, that's just been percolating for me through listening to y' all say all of this. I'm just glad we. We tried it.

[A]

You're bubbling up for me, too. The thought that I let in, saying, like, it was just this random list of people, you know, that believed. And how are we five years later, me recognizing that's actually it.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

It's not the nonprofit sector that's going to change the world. It's like, actually, Signora Stafford, it's actually any of us that can be an advisor to somebody, be a friend to somebody, show up with kindness, fundraise for somebody. Like, what a clarion call that.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's never been about some avatar. It's about whoever wants to do good in the world. It's really moving.

[B]

Okay. Can I ask that, as we're winding down here, how has this experience for both of you reshaped how you look at generosity? John, I'm going to start with you. I'm not going to make Julie go first.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

It's never the big things. I mean, we've asked the question now.

[B]

600 times, 50 plus times.

[A]

Like, what's a moment of generosity that stuck with you? And it's disproportionately something that happened in childhood. It's always something small, like, 99% of the time, but it's a moment when you feel seen. I'm gonna just get on the sub box again. We can't think that the way to change the world is unlocking another major gift. Like, we have to recognize that it's actually how we can show up in this moment. Like, we have agency as individuals. And that's changed me. You know, I still get choked up, like, hearing these stories. And it's like we've asked the question a hundred times. Like, it's like it still guts you. That man, that's what this is all about, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So what about you, Jay?

[C]

So I was gonna say something similar, but I. I would build on it and say that it starts with you. Like, everyone's kind of just Waiting for someone else to be the generous one. And it starts with you and it starts with how you show up to work. I mean, launch a company with two of your friends and you will see like, like Becky said, every high, high, every low, low financial stress, all the things. But like if you choose to still show up generously or be there for a friend, it's what it's about. Like we get one life and I want to be around generous people, but I feel like listening to everyone on the podcast, it's always like you said, John, someone that's like, they set up a meal train when I had a kid and it changed everything. Like that moment changed them. So choose to be that for people and then they'll do it for someone else. And like we say, the ripple goes from the. But whoever's listening, you probably think it's some big grand thing. You need to be a philanthropist. Like go do something nice for your neighbor and.

[A]

But also go be a big sweet. That's like, we're for that. For the record, we're very much for that.

[C]

Amen.

[A]

What about you, Bea?

[B]

I just think that generosity doesn't look like what we think it is. We just think philanthropy is this big unattainable thing. And you've already said is seeing someone struggling and choosing to speak up. It is putting your hand out when somebody needs to be lifted. It is saying yes to something that may be a bit of a stretch for you, but you have no idea how when you make that human connection, it's gonna change you for the better. It's gonna solidify your relationship with someone that could be a stranger now, but they could be your person in lots of different ways. And I think the choosing to do something small and reimagining that everybody is a frickin philanthropist and if you don't have anything to give, we are in such hard show up with your time, with your voice. Share story Connect someone. That's what I think it's taught me. So where do we go from here?

[A]

Let's go back to the top and say something seismic is coming and I feel like we need to preface that there's a deep amount of trust among this us, you know, and so for anything that's gonna be seismic about something that you can clearly hear, we care so deeply about and we know so many people that care so deeply about this, that, that this. We're not taking this lightly. Like this has been something that's changing everything but in the best of ways.

[B]

I really feel like this episode was The we are for good 1.0 story. But when you tune back in on Wednesday, you're about to get we are for good 2.0 and it will unlock. We're going to start to look underneath that iceberg because there is something that is about to happen to this community that is going to be beautiful. And I know you have been waiting and looking around at the world saying, where is good? And I am telling you that something is about to happen that is gonna unlock so much good, not only for we are for good, not only for the nonprofit world, but for the everyday change maker who wants to make a difference. So we're teasing it here. We are so frickin excited and we are so in alignment. I want to make sure we say that. And so trusting of what's coming next. And we hope that we can take you along with us. And please bring your friends and your mother and her knitting club and whoever.

[A]

It is, because my girls have a knitting club now. I love that I can say this. I think your kids are literally going to knitting club.

[B]

I love this. So we'll end, I think, with the one good thing and gratitude. So want to go around real quick?

[A]

I think we should. I mean, one good thing. We've done this 600 times, but we normally do get to ask the guests, so we'll.

[B]

That's our most scared question. Let's be honest.

[C]

A lot of pressure.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Jay, let's start with you.

[C]

Mine is based off of a Bible verse I like, but it's a universal sentiment. It's joy comes in the morning.

[B]

And I just.

[C]

Times are hard right now. And that's just been something that I've said to myself for years and years and years. A bad day is not a bad life. Like, joy will come in the morning. You have another go at it to do something good. So joy comes in the morning. So if you're listening to this, keep going. And we need you. We knew what you're doing.

[B]

What about yours, John?

[A]

I mean, I was gonna say inbox zero or something really practical, you know, but I feel like instead, like, I have to bookend this.

[B]

Please check your kerning. That's what I thought you were gonna say. Please check your kerning. Please do not use Comic Sans.

[A]

Yes, Got it. But I think, think to me, what's lifting is belief. Like, if you don't feel like you know where to start. We were there. If you don't feel like you belong where you're at, like, I've been there. Look around you. There's somebody. There's somebody that believes in you. And if you don't have that person, this community believes in you. So come engage in this community. But from that, everything else flows. Like, you have to be in community with people that believe in you, that are pulling for you. And it's. It unlocks everything. And so this next chapter is belief 2.02, too. When you find others that believe in you and how that can change everything. What about you? Be I've got my hands up.

[B]

Let's do it.

[A]

Bring in the children's choir. Like, in circles.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

Totally. What have you got?

[B]

I think I just want to say you are enough. Whatever is happening in your life, whatever is happening in this moment, whatever is happening in your role in your family, in your finances, in your brain, I want you to know you are enough. And that person is someone we need in this movement. We need your heart. We need your integrity. We need your ability to pull people in. We need your ability to show up. And whatever that is within you, you don't need to cultivate and tease it out. It's enough. Show up as you are. Everyone matters.

[A]

Everyone matters. You're quoting our values. Of course we should end with our core value of everyone matters, but we've teased it. Friends, thank you by nature of just hanging with us for this long conversation. Like means the world by listening. You are the story. Like, I hope you see yourself in this story because we have been changed by the people listening and tuning in and getting to meet in real life. So thanks for being part of this.

[B]

And come back Wednesday.

[A]

Let's do this. Hold.

[B]

I'm going to use John's favorite movie.

[A]

Quote, Samuel L. Jackson.

[B]

Samuel L. Jackson, Jurassic Park. Hold on to your butts, because this is going to be a big announcement and I want to be clear that this is for you. You that this announcement is for you on Wednesday. Thanks for joining us.