The Nonprofit Podcast

Send us a textIt’s not easy for impoverished Americans to access resources and services . Even more difficult than accessing services is the initial discovery of the ‘right ‘services and resources at the ‘right’ time. Many people are not aware of helpful privately provided resources and government provided resources that are just a few blocks away. This is a big problem in need of solving.That's where Rey Faustino comes in. At age eight, Rey left the Philippines with his parents and arrived in Los Angeles. As newly arrived immigrants, the Faustino family struggled to make ends meet as they became naturalized American citizens. Rey often acted as a translator for his parents to help them navigate government systems and American life. A major difficulty for Rey while growing up, was finding and accessing government provided services and nonprofit provided resources that would help his family.25 years later, Rey created an organization called One Degree that streamlines the discovery and accessing of services and resources for low income families and individuals in California. In this episode, you will meet Rey and hear his story.In This Episode, You Will LearnHow Rey was inspired to help low income communities in California from his experience as a child immigrating from the Philippines to Los Angeles with his parents. The most common pain-points of low income families and individuals in California How fundraising is different in the nonprofit sector from the private sector: the importance of building relationships with investors before you’re fully “ready.”Rey’s experience and lessons learned from Ycombinator and FastForward.How Rey approaches the ratio of doing (i.e. being on the dance floor) vs. the ratio of thinking / reflection (i.e. being on the balcony). Why the traditional startup growth playbooks for companies like Yelp, Uber, etc. (i.e. a colonial approach of value extraction from the community) doesn’t work for a community driven nonprofit like One Degree. Rey’s recommended marketing channels for reaching underserved communities in California. How the entire question of “measuring impact” and lives changed is very complicated for nonprofits and how Rey approaches measuring impact at One Degree.How Rey approaches running a nonprofit organization as a technology organization with a focus on hypothesis driven product innovation, customer development (i.e. “getting out of the building”) problem solving and design thinking. Rey's advice to startup founders and nonprofit founders to invest in relationships instead of burning bridges. Links and ResourcesOne DegreeDonate: https://www.1degree.org/donate Add information: https://www.1degree.org/organizationsBooks by Ronald Heifetz: The Practice of Adaptive LeadershipLeadership Without Easy AnswersLeadership on the LineYcombinatorFastforward2 Dope QueensSupport the show

Send us a textOn the surface, it seems that housing would solve homelessness. However, it’s not that simple. A village on the outskirts of Austin, Texas was founded with the belief that community will solve homelessness. This ‘Community First Village’ currently houses 200 paying tenants who are no longer chronically homeless; they will house 1,000 formerly homeless tenants in the next 10 years, which would reduce the Austin homeless population by half. Their community approach is working, but how is this possible... In this episode, we’ll learn from Amber Fogerty, the Chief Goodness Officer at Mobile Loaves and Fishes, about the philosophy behind this unique village that serves the homeless.In This Episode, You Will LearnHow Amber defines goodness What to do when you encounter homeless people on the street. A common cause for homelessness: the catastrophic loss of familyHousing alone will never solve homelessness, community will.What holds people back from sharing their talent.How to encourage people to serve others  The fundraising philosophy of: heart over pocketAmber believes that human beings have two inherent needs / desires:  Desire to be fully knownDesire to be fully lovedThe importance of listening to your communityThe cons of scattered site housingHow MLF dealt with opposition from the Not In My Backyard Movements (NIMBY) The role of fear in the bias against community housingThe value that CommunityFirst Village provides to the neighborhood next door. “Empower communities into a lifestyle of service” for the homelessThe role that grace and mercy plays in conflict resolution at Mobile Loaves and FishesThe MLF.org ten year plan to mitigate homelessness in AustinLinks and Resources Learn more at mlf.orgAttend the Symposium for Goodness’ SakeCheck out the book about the presence that we’re all born with: The Second CircleDonorbox - fundraise online for your nonprofit or causeAbout the Author / Show HostJared Polivka’s mission is to serve others while living a light-hearted, present, empathetic and responsible life. Jared serves nonprofits at Donorbox.org, teaches at organizations through The Joy of Improv and advises various startup founders and organizations. Stay in touch with Jared on Instagram, Twitter and Medium.Support the show

Send us a textYes, you didn’t misread—that’s its name. Audience, meet: The Important Podcast. In this podcast, you will hear stories of people changing the world by helping others.From a village that houses the formerly homeless to a woman teaching Shakespeare to prison inmates… I can’t wait for you to hear these inspiring stories!In this Episode, You Will: learn why the show is called 'The Important Podcast'meet your host Jared Polivkahear about the types of stories you will hear on the showThe First Two EpisodesA Community for the Homeless - Amber FogartyYou will meet Amber Fogarty, Chief Goodness Officer at Mobile Loaves and Fishes (MLF) and hear about MLF’s unique approaches to helping the Austin homeless population. You will also learn about the Community First! Village, an innovative community designed specifically for men and women transitioning from chronic homelessness. One Degree Away from Help - Rey FaustinoYou will meet Rey Faustino and hear the story of his journey to the United States from the Philippines and how he would go on to help low income families find and access vital resources.  Our Mission & The Sacred Feedback Loop The mission of this podcast is to tell the stories of people doing important work for humankind. This isn’t a highlight reel of their lives; it’s a vulnerable story of their failures and successes. We hope you find The Important Podcast entertaining, informative and heartfelt. We define success as a positive experience for you (our audience) and we hope that these episodes inspire you to think, feel or do something that you might not normally.However, we will never know if we’re succeeding if you don’t check in with us. We need you to chime with your thoughts and experience to complete the feedback loop. Three ways to get involved: 1.) Listen to the episodes2.) Leave a review on iTunes and/or Spotify.3.) Send your thoughts and feedback via this Typeform or email us here.I will read all reviews and feedback. Thank you listeners.Preview of What Comes NextUpcoming episodes include: Shakespeare in Prisons - Suraya KeatingFrom Prisoner to Pro Actor  - Dameion BrownGames You Can Play, Pt. 1 - Behind the scenes with Suraya and DameionWant to Submit a Story?Have an inspiring story in mind? Want Jared to interview someone you know who is doing work to improve our world? Submit their information here. About the AuthorJared Polivka’s mission is to serve others while living a light-hearted, present, empathetic and responsible life. Jared serves non-profits at Donorbox.org, teaches at The Joy of Improv and advises various startup founders and organizations. Stay in touch with Jared on Instagram, Twitter, Medium and LinkedIn.Support the show