← We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
697. How Team Rubicon Built a Movement of 200,000 Volunteers - Jeff Byard
00:29:10
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- [00:03]
A
You don't manage volunteers. You have to inspire. You have to have a strong mission and great leadership. We've got really good leaders on the full time side, but I'm specifically talking about our volunteer leaders, those that are on the ground that are building the teams that do the actual work. So, you know, mission is a motivator and I believe we have one of the best missions that you can have in our business.
- [00:25]
B
Hey, I'm John.
- [00:26]
C
And I'm Becky.
- [00:27]
B
And this is the We Here for Good podcast.
- [00:29]
C
Let's get started.
- [00:33]
B
Hey Becky, has it been five years we've waited for this?
- [00:36]
C
It's been a long time. I. We haven't. I don't know that we talk about it very often, but we have an ungettable get list that we publish publicly of individuals and organizations that we want to talk to. And Cinderella has just stepped in to the podcast. Share. We are talking to Team Rubicon today. Jeff Byard is here. He is the Chief Programs Officer at Team Rubicon. If this is your first time here hearing about Team Rubicon, settle in to your chair because this is going to be a gift. We've been talking this year about our shifts and the shifts we want to see in 2026 and volunteers as core capacity is one of those shifts. And oh my gosh, does Team Rubicon live volunteer as core capacity? So we're going to be talking about disaster response on the ground, purpose through service and then we're going to talk about how Team Rubicon built a movement with their volunteers that they labeled gray shirts, which our incredible guest is wearing right now. And John, we're marketers disguised as fundraisers. We love a good name wrapped around a cause or a mission. So let me give you some background on Jeff because he has had an extraordinary career and I can just feel that we are so lucky to have him in the change maker space. But he spent his career at the intersection of crisis and community. He was a Marine and a senior leader at FEMA overseeing. Ready for this, John? 185 Presidential disaster declarations and now he's
- [02:04]
B
comprehend that we gotta give a pause
- [02:06]
C
around that number like the scale. When you start thinking about things like Hurricane Harvey or what happened in North Carolina, I just think about the level of scale. So Jeff is. No, he's literally a veteran. He is perfect in every way for this role, but he really knows what it takes to mobilize people toward a mission at scale scale. So Team Rubicon, if you're not familiar, they deploy veterans and volunteers that we mentioned are called the gray shirts into the hardest disaster zones to help rebuild after hurricanes, wildfires, floods. And they do it by tapping into something every non profit leader is chasing. A community of people who feel so connected to the mission that service becomes a part of who they are. It becomes identity. So we can't wait to hear all about it. I'm sure you've got the stories, Jeff. Welcome to the We Are for Good podcast. We are a little excited you're here.
- [03:03]
A
Hey, I'm glad to be here. What an introduction. I hope I don't disappoint you.
- [03:08]
C
You won't. You won't. Because we've. We've pointed to team Rubicon in several past episodes for the way that you're disrupting for good in this beautiful way. And so before we get into just this movement that's been created, and it hasn't even been that long, you're celebrating. You just finished your 15th year. But we need to know about Jeff. We gotta go back. Take us back to little Jeff. Like, where was his heart? And. And how did your life kind of lead you into this path where you are right now?
- [03:37]
A
Yeah, that's a great question. I guess it starts early. I probably around seventh or eighth grade, really wanted to join the military and specifically the Marine Corps. And so I enlisted in the Marine Corps my summer between my junior and senior year and graduated my senior year on a Friday and was in Parris Island, South Carolina, on that Monday. By Tuesday morning, I realized, oh, man, what. How do I get back home? Real but, you know, went through the Marine Corps and really learned how to operate, really in small units, how small movements make big, you know, big actions, and how everybody really has a role. You know, it teaches you, not just the Marine Corps, a lot of other opportunities. Teach you the value of teamwork, the value of knowing that you cannot do it by yourself. It takes others around you and then purpose to mission. The Marines are really, really good at purpose to mission. They know what they're there to do, and they know and they do it really, really well. So got out of the marine Corps in 1994. I'm an older Marine. I tell. I jokingly tell my staff I was a 1900s Marine, so, you know, different era. And they look at me like I was in Vietnam. I have to remind them, not that quite 1900, but, you know, got out of the core and didn't really know what I wanted to do and went to school at Troy University in Alabama and spent six years at Troy. I really, really enjoyed it for My four year degree, but I had to have a couple years of what I call social re acclimation. So I took advantage of that and actually graduated with a business degree and was doing human resources. Really respect that field. Glad I don't do that field, but really respect that field. And nine, 11, you know, change changed our trajectory as a country, as a people. And it kind of reinvigorated the service gene back into me. So I got interested in disasters. There was at this time, you know, we did not have formal education in emergency management or disaster response. It was kind of, you know, tradecraft type and. But joined the state of Alabama in 2002 and really fell in love. It sounds crazy, but, you know, fell in love with the craft that I do, the service piece of that. And I spent many years on the government side, worked for Alabama for about 14 years and then did some time up in D.C. which was really, really eye opening. You know, big, big job there, big responsibilities. But my main role there was, you know, to make the team succeed. And if we didn't, I had my resignation letter ready. But it was all about the team disaster response. Disaster recovery is definitely a team sport, but that's kind of the professional side. On the personal side, I have four daughters and I joke and say, you know, I don't work for a paycheck. I got to have insurance. Insurance is key in my world.
- [06:33]
C
We understand. John has three daughters, I have two.
- [06:36]
A
So we are, you know, early on I would tell folks, you know, a hurricane is. Is what it is. If you really want to see a disaster, come to dinner at my house. And there's every range of emotion. I mean, one would be laughing, one's crying, one's my, you know, it's just, it's. Well, y' all know, I mean, you know that we do fun environment. And then in 2020, had a meeting with David Burke, one of the full time staff at Team Rubicon. And we really hit it off. And you know, I knew about Team Rubicon, but it's very hard to deploy when you're actually working on the government side of it. So not, not a lot of interaction, you know, as a gray shirt. But the mission resonated with me, the military aspect, the veteran aspect, which I, you know, I always had. But it came back and it came back in a very pos way, getting around others that have served and just the camaraderie that that brings. And it allowed me to do the thing that I really love doing, which is, is trying to help people in disaster, trying to figure out processes and ways we can do that better and just being there for folks that, that have had a really bad day. So I chose that route. I've never worked in the, the nonprofit space and I call it for impact. Not. Not, you know, not for profit. It's.
- [07:46]
C
We don't like it either. Not.
- [07:49]
A
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of nonprofit. I'm a big fan of, you know, we provide a lot of impact. You know, we're a four impact organization and you know, this has been a journey. I've been with the team about six years, a little over six years now. And learning a different side of the business, which is important and how the donor dollar works and the value of the donor dollar and also learning what volunteerism is about and what continued service is about. And quickly learned that you don't manage volunteers, you have to inspire volunteers. Volunteers can manage themselves, they volunteers, but you have to have a strong mission and in great leadership. We've got really good leaders on the full time side. But I'm specifically talking about our volunteer leaders, those that are on the ground that are building the teams that do the actual work. So mission is a motivator and I believe we have one of the best missions that you can have in our business.
- [08:43]
B
Well, dang, I'm so glad you followed this journey and ended up in the four impact sector. We're really glad that you're here. Um, I want to talk about the volunteer piece. Like, I think it's cool. Just also tracking your use of the word team. Like how it's so grounding to not only your story, but obviously how y' all show up as an organization. Heck, it's in your name. I would love for you to kind of ground like what does the organization do for those new to Team Rubicon? Like how do you all show up? Paint a picture of what the mission and impact look like right now.
- [09:14]
A
A lot of folks, you know, they see us on disaster, John. You know, they see us with a chainsaw or heavy equipment or doing a lot of different things. That work is 24, 7, 365. We are always preparing, we're always training. I tell folks that we bring a professional, skilled volunteer force. It really starts with at the community level. And what I like to say is you got to get them on the Kool Aid early.
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C
And you know, I really relate to that as a Gen Xer.
- [09:41]
A
So yeah, get them on the Kool Aid early. And we do probably upwards of about a thousand what we call service or project service. Projects each year. And these are really locally driven.
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B
Wow.
- [09:54]
A
They could be things like, you know, a school cleanup. They, you know, we do a lot of ramp builds for veterans, that type stuff. We have a couple partnerships, tunnels to towers. I don't know if y' all are familiar with that great organization. They DO First Responder Post 9, 11, First Responder and Veterans that have disabilities. They provide smart homes so that they can live a better life. And they're designed for that, which is great. And what we do in, in a lot of cases is we'll do the labor, we'll help the. The individ, we'll get the furniture set up after a ton of. So, you know, it's looking at partnerships like that. But, you know, we want to get folks in at every level and that's that. I call that the dentist chair cup, the little Kool Aid. You know, we'll get them on that. And what they see is, you know, a sense of community and camaraderie. And then from there, you know, hey, are you interested in training or deployment? So, you know, you kind of go from there. It's very important. And people that aren't in our business, you know, volunteerism is actually a privilege. I look at it as a privilege. And what I mean by that is you have to have the means to do that. You know, I see and talk to a lot of people that say, hey, I love team Rubicon, or I'm a gray shirt. I just haven't. And they'll apologize. I haven't been able to get out in three years or whatever it is. And I say, hey, don't apologize. You got life. You know, I understand that, but there'll be a time and we want you to get out. So it really starts. John, back to your question. At building those local teams, we have metro level teams and state level teams, but I think the key message to that always comes back to that individual gray shirt. When she puts on that shirt and decides to go out, says, hey, I'm going to give a week to a community that I don't live in with a group of folks that I've never met. And they walk away from there for the most part. Part of a community. I always tell people, one of the things about being a gray shirt is you never have to walk alone again. There's always a gray shirt that you can talk to and always a gray shirt that will be willing to help you in whatever you have. And that's reciprocal. You know, you want to be helpful to your fellow gray shirt. Fellow man.
- [12:00]
C
The thing that's bubbling up for me the most, Jeff, right now is that you have absolutely figured out how to move from volunteer management to community building. And that, to me, is the 2.0 of what volunteers can do. When you look at them as something to manage, you are missing the opportunity of empowerment and engagement and connectivity. And so I want to talk about, like, how do you think about the difference between managing volunteers and actually building community with them? Give us just the 10,000 foot view. On your thought on that.
- [12:38]
A
I kind of go back to what I said in the opening. You know, I learned really quick that, you know, people give their time for their cause and their purpose, and it could be a number of things. When you think about natural disasters, right, they're indiscriminate. They don't care where you live, they don't care how you live. They're going to go in there and they impact every community, you know, across our country and globally. And we're international organization as well. So it's not a matter of if something's going to happen in your community, it's when. So, you know, you can get those folks that want to serve and want to get out and do some really impactful work. They know what's coming. So you build around that. Like, you know, Becky, we are looked at as a national organization. I tell people all the time, we're actually really, really local. And if you spread that out, it makes us look national. We delegate a lot of responsibility down to the volunteer leader level, down to the community level. So when you give that kind of ownership and it's almost like a natural build when we show up and there's 30 gray shirts and, you know, somebody's always like, hey, what. What are the. What are these folks all about? You know, they're kind of over in their own little world. We hear laughter and then we hear chainsaws and we hear, you know, you know what? How do we get involved in that? It's all about the inspiration, the mission, and then staying true to that. This is what we do. Right. If you want to do something else, there's probably other opportunities for that. But this is what Team Rubicon does, and this is how we do it, you know?
- [14:11]
B
Yeah. I mean, and I'll say, over the last few years, we've met people adjacent to your mission that talk about it like that. Like, they feel like that's part of their identity. And I think that's when you know that it's working, that people view that as a core, connected to their values and like how they want to show up in the world. I wanted to ask you specifically about the veteran angle, Jeff, and I heard this come through your story too, that it really kind of like reconnected your own journey as a veteran. It feels like almost like a second mission underneath which I'll do of creating purpose and belonging. And this connectivity between veterans, how does that deeper. Why really change the way that you see people show up?
- [14:51]
A
What I've seen is the real curiosity on our, on our civilian side. So we, we call our civilians kick ass civilians. So we got veterans and kick ass civilians. We have about probably 50, 50 now, veterans to civilian ratio. And so when you, when you get out on an operation, it's impactful to the civilians because it's a way for them to connect with the veteran cause. Right. And it's a way for the veterans to connect into civilian world and we do it all with a shared purpose. So it's not about, you know, what do you want to do? What, what are you here for? Everybody knows what they're there to do. They're there to help the disaster survivor. But it's the campfire afterwards when you hear some of the stories around, you know, the campfire about what we experienced that day and, and you know what, what Learn from that day. How did that make you feel helping a homeowner? But you know, it really goes back to we provide an opportunity to continue to serve. We provide an identity that understands what veterans have been through and understands the unique leadership skills that they have and that allows us to put a lot of trust when we send teams out. Right. I tell folks, John, we don't need to be a 3,000 mile screwdriver. Our job is to get gray shirts to the need. They'll figure out what needs to be done. You know, let them figure out what needs to be done and let's get them the resources to do the work.
- [16:13]
C
So what a comfort when you can let go of your mission. Yeah. And give it to these people who are so confident and passionate and competent at doing this. And I just have to tell you, Jeff, that I think about a disaster, I think about Hurricane Sandy or LA wildfires and you're literally coordinating thousands of volunteers in this chaotic, fast moving disaster zone. Like what does it take to actually make volunteers? Your core capacity. What can a leader learn from what you are doing at Team Rubicon?
- [16:52]
A
Yeah. So I always tell folks, Becky, and this, this, this is going to be probably a long winded answer that, you know, we see the big Disasters, right. You know, we see the LA fires, you know, we had 10 operations up, up and running at one time in Helene over five states. So for, for, you know, probably two months, we had over 300 gray shirts on the ground, five different states doing really good work. So, you know, big logistics, big movement, big that. And when you get into those type situations, we're flying volunteers from all over the country. We're flying flight waves all over the country. So there's a lot of coordination, a lot of tactics and logistics that goes into that. The beauty of I can speak specifically for Team Rubicon is we don't see a shortage of volunteers. Everybody wants to get into that, they can get into that. An example when the horrific flooding on the 4th of July last year in the hill country of Texas, it was tough. I actually went and deployed to that, that operation and we didn't need a lot of folks on that one. I mean it was a different type of operation. You know, every disaster is different. But we had over a thousand grayshirts sign up within the, within hours of us deploying to that, that operation. So. And when they see disasters that, that are really impacting people in big and small, you know, they're ready to serve. And again, that's goes back to that. They don't just have interactions with Team Rubicons. When it Team Rubicon. When a disaster hits, there's always local events, right. It's always about keeping the team motivated, building the team, growing the team at that local level because then you can piece those together. Right. You know, we need different teams, different here. But Becky, I think the sweet spot that we also look for are the disasters we're seeing in and the cameras aren't right. You know, where's the, what we call low attention disasters? They are where there's limited resources. There's probably not going to be the government assistance from a monetary standpoint that may be there on a declaration. So the needs really go up. So you know, I always tell our folks, look, if, if your house is destroyed, it's your Katrina. Don't ever compare does that, you know, and that's more internal, right? Don't say, oh man, this isn't as bad as X. Well, right to that homeowner is pretty damn bad. You know what I mean? I mean they're.
- [19:15]
C
Disaster is relative, right.
- [19:18]
A
So but I think the key to why our gray shirts show up is the continual interaction and opportunities. Again, if you have a weekend, that's great. We've got a service project. You know, if you've got a week. That's great. We're probably going to have a disaster. We've got teams down in Hawaii now dealing with the flooding. We've got, you know, always got something going on. I think last year, every two days we had an opportunity for Grayshirt to, to search. Oh, gosh.
- [19:45]
C
Wow.
- [19:45]
A
So, you know, it's, it's a lot of work and it takes a really dedicated team of both full time staff. But we have about 3,500 what we call volunteer leaders across the country. And these really are the backbone of Team Rubicon. They put in 40 to 40 plus hours a week doing, you know, a lot of different things from training to administrative tasks to just helping Team Rubicon be Team Rubicon. And I always tip my hat to our volunteer leaders that do that because they are the backbone. They are the reason that we are where we are today.
- [20:20]
B
Yeah, what a story. And the story of just like community, stepping into what we can do, what we have control of. I think there's so much agency here and empowerment. I want to ask you about philanthropy. We're geeks about storytelling around here. We've been asking this question for almost 700 episodes about a moment of philanthropy that has really stuck with you and you've been adjacent to some really crazy things in your life. I wonder if you would call us back to a moment when you saw philanthropy and it really just stuck with you.
- [20:55]
A
You know, I go back to my time when I was with the state Emergency Management Agency at Alabama and voad Volunteer organizations active in disasters. Alabama's, you know, not ranked in a lot of things, but we have a lot of natural disasters. But we would have monthly meetings of our, of our VOAD organizations and you would have, you know, a lot of the nonprofits. This is kind of somewhat, in a lot of instances predates Team Rubicon's origins. But I realized really quick that the power of a dollar that these organizations have, they can do so much more than I can do. Right. They can go on private property. I couldn't as, you know, unless it was truly life saving, but I couldn't go on and help you fix your house. I couldn't do these things as a government agency. So I called that group. They were my special forces. They could do things that I couldn't do. But I didn't realize kind of the power behind that. And so that's where I realized really quick that it takes a village. It's not, you know, government's not going to help you. Government's going to help you, but they're not going to make you whole, they're not going to solve your problems. And then personally, where I guess it intersected with volunteerism for me was in Hurricane Laura in 2021, I believe it hit southwest Louisiana. Pretty big storm. I was, you know, on a roof, tarping the roof, John, just doing a tarpon roof and, and it dawned on me. It hit me like a ton of bricks. And when I was at the state of Alabama, I probably ordered over the course of hurricanes, tornadoes and you name it. And it's just, you know, figure number here, you know, a million blue tarps. When I was at FEMA, you know, I just. 500,000, you know, we'll just say a ton of blue tarps, right? You know, but this is, you know, over years. When I was in FEMA in 2017, well, I think we bought every blue tarp you could buy. And that was Harvey, Irma, Maria, you know, tons of blue tarps. But you know, I had never put a blue tarp on a roof. I had ordered them from FEMA at the state, like, hey, we need all these blue tarps. When I was at fema, I know the state's neat, we got to buy all these blue tarps. But I had never done that last mile of help and started crying. You know, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The power of philanthropy and the power of volunteerism are really the secret sauce to what we need today in our country.
- [23:24]
C
I agree. Showing up, being a neighbor, being kind, give what you can, like that kind of energy. Honestly, when I think about my grandparents and the way they grew up, like it was that kind of energy all the time. You knew your neighbors, you were helping out. I just think this has been done at scale so beautifully. When you have 3,500 rabid fans of which it's not lost on me. You said like for the wildfires, you had a thousand of them raise. You had like a third almost of your volunteers raise their hand. I just think Team Rubicon is such a beautiful example of not just an incredible mission and non profit, but it is an incredible story of a movement that gave agency to all of its volunteers and let them change the world. I mean it is, it is a beautiful thing. And we're wrapping up and I want to ask you about a one good thing that you might leave with our audience. It could be a quote or a pro tip and I'm going to add one on at the end that you've already said that I want to relive for Everybody. But I'd like to hear yours first.
- [24:33]
A
Yeah, I think a couple of things, Becky, on the 3,500 volunteer leaders, you know, I think that it's important to know that they help us lead 200,000 Grayshurst. So, you know, it's.
- [24:45]
C
Oh, my.
- [24:45]
A
Those are the leaders. Those are. That's a 40 hour a week. Those are the, what we call our volunteer leader ranks. They do leadership roles for the team. But, you know, our Gray Shirt Nation is. Is sitting right around 200,000 right now.
- [25:00]
B
So it's the scale that is hard to even wrap your head.
- [25:05]
A
Wow. So it's a. You know, that's why we're a local organization. We just happen to be national, but we're a local organization. But, you know, I think there's a lot in that question. But what I would say, you know, pro tip for good is don't let perfection get in the way of good. Don't let it get. You're not ever going to be perfect. But, you know, being good is the goal. Right? We can grow from good. We can do that. And the reason I say that is if you try to be perfect in the business I'm in, you're never going to deploy a gracia because there is no perfect scenario. There is no perfect logistics system. It's, you know, we want to get to good and let the individuals do what they do best, which is overcome, adapt, and improvise.
- [25:49]
C
Jeff, we just think you're freaking awesome. You are in the exact right place at the exact right time, and I am in awe of your 200,000 plus volunteers. That's crazy. Crazy.
- [26:01]
A
Well, Becky, thank you. And again, it is a great day to be a gray shirt. It is a great day to be a gray shirt. And, you know, I have an awesome responsibility, but it's really about the team. It's about those individual volunteers, those individual gray shirts that, you know, give up their time to help others. I mean, how cool is that? I don't know this person. I'm going to give up my time. I'm going to go get sweaty. I'm going to sleep in a gym with 30 people. I don't know, half of them are snoring. I'm like, you know, this is real, but I'm going to do it and then I'm going to go back again the next opportunity. So it's, you know, it's. How do you. How does that not make you smile?
- [26:38]
B
It's. It's an incredible story. I mean, so much to take here. I want folks listening to be able to connect with you. And with this awesome mission, what are the best ways to do that? Where do you hang out?
- [26:49]
A
Online?
- [26:49]
B
Where's the best place for to connect with Team Rubicon? All the things, you know, we've got
- [26:53]
A
all the socials out there. I am, you know, a 1900s Marine, so I have LinkedIn, but, you know, LinkedIn's great. Yeah. Our website, Team RubiconUSA.org is the best way you can find all the information about us. You can join our ranks. It's very easy to be a gray shirt. It's a couple of steps in there, and we'll try to figure out how to get you the small cup of Kool Aid, get you drinking.
- [27:16]
C
Let's get you a drink of the water.
- [27:17]
B
I know it's coming this time.
- [27:18]
C
Yes.
- [27:19]
A
What an honor.
- [27:20]
C
I just want to thank you for your service as a Marine, but for continuing to just serve over and over and lead and shepherd this mighty movement. We are rooting for you in every sense of the word and cannot wait to keep cheering you on as you go into the hardest places and make hard things better. Thank you.
- [27:39]
A
Well, thank you both. I really enjoyed it.
- [27:42]
B
Thank you, Jeff.