We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits 590. The Story of Culinary Care + How to Build an Engaged Community Around Your Mission - Courtney Johnson
Meet Courtney. A fierce advocate and changemaker bringing comfort, connection, and care to families fighting cancer. At just 23, she turned her pain into purpose, founding Culinary Care after experiencing firsthand the impact of a meal during her dad’s battle with lung cancer. Fast forward 11 years, and her Chicago-based nonprofit has delivered over 40,000 free meals spreading hope, easing loneliness, and creating a sense of belonging 🍲We’re talking about lessons learned while founding an org, leaning into advocacy, and the power of community — all with actionable tips along the way. Tune in!
💡 Learn
- Overview of Culinary Care
- Lessons learned from founding a nonprofit
- Leaning into advocacy within our organizations
Today’s Guest
Courtney Johnson, Founder, Culinary Care
Episode Highlights
- Courtney’s story + journey to where she is today (3:15)
- Culinary Care's mission + growth (7:55)
- Challenges + lessons learned founding a nonprofit (13:45)
- Finding people who are for the mission (25:15)
- Lessons learned advocating for a mission (30:30)
- A powerful moment of philanthropy in Courtney’s life (35:50)
- Courtney’s One Good Thing: Put one foot in front of the other. (39:00)
- How to support and connect with Culinary Care (41:30)
For more information + episode details visit: weareforgood.com/episode/590.
About our Sponsor Givebutter 💛
Nonprofits use Givebutter to bring together multiple categories of tools, including mobile-friendly donation forms, fundraising campaigns, events, auctions, email marketing, a built-in CRM, and so much more. Head to givebutter.com/weareforgood to sign up for your free account today and get started in minutes.
Thank you to our partners 🩵
Big gratitude to Givebutter, RKD Group, DonorDock, Feathr, Whiteboard and Sowen for their partnership in growing the Impact Uprising. If you’re searching for a new CRM, tech tool, brand partner, direct mail partner, or impact strategist— we’d love for you to start with our trusted recs. We’ve vetted them so you don’t have to. Head to weareforgood.com/recs to learn more.
Become a Member and Get All-Access to Everything We Are For Good!
Experience the Impact Uprising Membership by We Are For Good: an ecosystem to learn, connect + grow in the power of a value-aligned community. Members gather monthly with Jon + Becky at exclusive members-only meetups + get video access to all new podcast episodes in an ad-free experience + so much more! Learn more + join us at weareforgood.com.
Say hi👇
LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter