The Give Back Model

Tree of Hope Creations with Owner Meg Stevens

Christine Petrella — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0500

In today’s very special episode of the Give Back Model podcast, Christine speaks with Meg Stevens, the founder of Tree of Hope Creations, a company dedicated to creating motherhood keepsake and memorial pieces. During their conversation, Meg shares some of her background, how she came to be involved in her current work, and the boundaries she has developed for herself as she creates pieces for her customers using ashes, hair, burial dirt, clothing and more. She also shares her emotional connection to each and every precious shipment she receives, and her experience going viral on TikTok for her compassion and vulnerability. Please note that this episode does contain some sensitive conversation around loss of a child and miscarriages.

Meg explains how her business began as a way to help others through their grief and motherhood journeys, and then goes on to address the importance of building a platform, particularly in the context of running a business. Her experiences with using social media to promote her work are recounted, including dealing with negative comments and criticism and the importance of just diving in and starting to use social media, even if it is intimidating or scary. Meg also describes her experience with breastfeeding, and highlights the incredible support she receives from her husband, including a particularly meaningful plaque he has created for her. Listen in today to learn more about Meg's remarkable story, the beautiful, meaningful pieces she creates for her customers, and the emotional weight that accompanies this important work.

For more information and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com.

Episode Highlights:

Meg’s work with Tree of Hope Creations and how it began
Meg’s emotional connections to each and every shipment she receives
Her TikTok experience
Meg’s personal and professional history
Her experience with breastfeeding and her husband’s amazing support
The emotional weight of handling such precious cargo
Creating something so personal and meaningful for her customers
Dealing with negativity online
Being vulnerable and showing real feelings and passion in her work

Quotes:

"Hundreds of customers trust Meg and her team to create these gifts from their loved ones’ ashes, hair, burial dirt, clothing, and so much more."

"I feel like I got lucky. I got very lucky in the growth and being able to be part of so many different people's journeys and even helping people through their grief and through motherhood"

"He wanted to make me something that would mean the world, that would say, ‘Thank you for taking care of our kids. Thank you for nursing our kids.’"

"He was amazing and supportive, and I honestly couldn't ask for better."

"I'm so afraid I'm going to screw it up. I'm so afraid that I'm going to mess up and not touch someone's loved one."

"I remember getting the package and just holding my breath because I had someone's daughter in my hands."

"I was making something that she would be able to hold of her actual child."

"I get a whole lot of crap on social media, whether it be people like making fun of us for breast milk because they don't understand, or just that emotional side of it.”

"If you're scared, just do it. It can change your life."

"Those ten people that are liking your post, that's ten people that love you."

"It's worth it, it's worth it. I would do it a million times over."

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Tree of Hope Creations

Mama Hen Media with Founder and CEO Samantha Weckesser

Christine Petrella — Tue, 20 Dec 2022 04:00:00 -0500

Welcome to the podcast! Today's guest is Samantha Weckesser, the founder and CEO of Mama Hen Media, a boutique agency that helps women-owned businesses achieve their marketing goals through Pinterest blogging and Plan Ahead content distribution. Samantha also runs a giveback program through the sponsorship of Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization that helps girls strengthen their confidence, minds, and bodies through a positive youth development program centered around running.

In this episode, Christine and Samantha discuss the story behind Mama Hen Media, the importance of mental health and self-care, and how Mama Hen Media's giveback program helps inspire and empower women and girls.

For more information and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com.

Episode Highlights:

-The story behind Mama Hen Media

-Importance of mental health and self-care

-Mama Hen Media's giveback program

-Inspiring and empowering women and girls

-Girls on the Run program

-Importance of positive role models and mentors

-The power of running and exercise for mental health

-Combining personal and professional passions

-The value of community involvement and giving back

-The future of Mama Hen Media and its mission

Quotes:

"I started as a virtual assistant and was working under the business name Just Ask For Sam. Kind of fell into it organically through people that I met online and started working, helping business owners and just sort of grew and grew and grew."

"I loved it because I could work the hours that I wanted to and be home with my family. I have four children, ten and under, so being available for them was really important to me."

"As my business grew and my client base grew, I needed to bring on more team members and decided that the name Just Ask For Sam makes it sound like it's just me, when in fact I have now a team to support me."

"I really believe in the power of mental health and self-care and the importance of it. And so I really wanted to make sure that we were incorporating that into our business model."

"I really believe in the power of running and exercise for mental health and just the overall well-being of a person."

"So I wanted to combine my personal passion with my professional passion and be able to give back to a cause that I really believe in."

"I think it's really important for businesses to be involved in their community and give back in some way."

"I just love the fact that we are able to inspire and empower women and girls through our giveback program and through the work that we do."

"I'm really excited about the future of Mama Hen Media and just continuing to grow and make an impact in the world and help as many women-owned businesses as possible achieve their goals."

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Mama Hen Media

Girls On The Run

GroupGreeting with Founder Anthony Doctolero

Christine Petrella — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Filling the Gratitude Gap with Group Greeting Founder Anthony Doctolero

Today’s guest on The Give Back Model is Anthony Doctolero, founder of GroupGreeting, an online digital card provider used by over ten thousand workplaces, including 80% of the Fortune 500 list. Anthony wanted his company to stand for making a difference, so a portion of each GroupGreeting card sent is put toward planting trees in areas hit hard by deforestation and wildfires. Anthony opens the episode by sharing the inspiration for GroupGreeting—a photo album sent all over the country and filled by many friends before being presented as a birthday gift. While it was an awesome idea, Anthony wondered if there was a more efficient way to do it digitally, which led to the creation of GroupGreeting. However, between starting a family and needing a steady income, it took nine years for Anthony to start running the site full-time, growing it month over month until the COVID pandemic hit, at which point the business really took off

GroupGreeting’s year-over-year percentage growth in 2020 was 4,000%, which Anthony credits to the desire for remote workers to maintain their work relationships and still celebrate events together. He discusses the importance of expressing gratitude and appreciation in corporate environments and the challenge of maintaining that as remote working became the norm, with his company helping huge corporations fill the gratitude gap and maintain social connections within their teams. Anthony then talks about GroupGreeting’s give-back partnership with One Tree Planted, why he wanted to give back to the environment, and the success of the model so far, with over 125,000 trees planted and counting. And he finishes the episode by sharing his biggest challenges and most fulfilling achievements over the thirteen years he’s been cultivating GroupGreeting, including the satisfaction of facilitating one-on-one moments of appreciation and gratitude between people.

For more information and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about companies you’ve found that give back, and check out The Give Back Model merchandise, where $5 for every sale goes to non-profit organizations. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

Anthony’s journey to going all-in on GroupGreeting
The impact of remote working on work relationships
GroupGreeting’s give-back partnership with One Tree Planted
Anthony’s plans for growth and his biggest challenge
Anthony’s most fulfilling achievements

Quotes:

“I was one of those kids that would buy candy at a discount at Costco and sell it on the playground, or in high school, we would do fundraisers and car washes, but I kind of treated it like a business. And there was always this thing in me that, like, had this business entrepreneurial aspect.”

“All those people were at home, not connected to the people they’re seeing every day. And at the same time, there’s birthdays, there’s things that were going on, and work anniversaries, so they still wanted to celebrate. So they searched out on the search engines and found us, and we were only one of only maybe three or four people who are offering it. And it just kind of took off from there.”

“We thought, as business owners, this really is our chance to make a company whatever we want. And we wanted to stand for making a difference, not only in the lives of the companies and the customers we work with but also the environment. So we were like, let’s just do it, who cares whether we succeed or we don’t succeed, at least we tried, and we tried to help the environment.”

“It’s kind of like planting a tree, you know, you put the seed in the ground, you give it water, and you give it the right sun and soil and etc. But it doesn’t grow the next day, right? But what it’s doing, if you’re consistent, and you’re watering and whatnot, it’s growing its root system, and that’s going to propel it to grow one day. And I think that’s what, if I had to talk to someone who’s starting out, I would just say patience and focus.”

“Each card has anywhere from one message to, I think the most is we’ve had 2,500 people sign one card. So we’ve sent over 65 million messages through these cards. And I think having that impact—and you know that 99.9% of those were all positive, encouraging, well-wishes—feeling that is very gratifying.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Use Code: THEGIVEBACKMODEL (for 50% off your first card)

www.groupgreeting.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonydoctolero/

Influencer, Entrepreneur, and 'My Unorthodox Life' star on Netflix, Miriam Haart

Christine Petrella — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 05:45:00 -0500

Challenging Norms and Finding Your Own Path with Miriam Haart

Joining Christine on today’s episode is entrepreneur, engineer, and designer Miriam Haart. Miriam’s a content creator who continues to empower women to be their true selves while learning new skills and using their voices. She’s also one of the stars of the Netflix series My Unorthodox Life, and she opens the episode by discussing becoming a public figure, the positive feedback that motivates her, and the impact of having an audience. She also shares her journey from a childhood spent in a fundamentalist Orthodox Jewish community to the transformative moment of questioning her religion to leaving the community, studying at Stanford, and getting into the tech world.

Next, Christine asks Miriam for advice on how to get into crypto as a woman, for whom the industry can often be intimidating. Miriam speaks to the inequality in the tech space and the importance of encouraging women and other minorities to get involved, so they’re not excluded from the technology that shapes the world. She also has some advice on how to get started with crypto and points out that the technology isn’t just good for making money but also has the potential to do real good in the world. For example, Miriam points out her own NFT, which donates 100% of its profits—almost a million dollars—to reproductive rights organizations. She also shares how learning to code when she was a teenager empowered her and can do the same for women by giving them a way to build the world they want to be part of. And Miriam closes the show by discussing some of her next projects, including her new podcast, and sharing her message to the world—to throw off societal pressures and find your own path to happiness.

Episode Highlights:

Becoming a public figure with 'My Unorthodox Life' on Netflix
Miriam’s journey through religion and toward Stanford
The importance of creating equitable tech
How women can be empowered by the tech industry
Miriam’s next projects, including new podcast 'Faking It'

Quotes:

“Getting to Stanford from that background and that lack of knowledge of Math, Science, English, critical reading, critical writing, was really hard. It was really, really hard. I studied three hours every day for two years to get to Stanford, to build my score because I needed at least a thirty-one on the ACT’s because that was their minimum.”

“I think it’s so important for women to get involved in the space because if we’re not involved, we will be excluded from these very deep, underlying technologies that will change the way of how we interact with each other over the next hundred years.”

“A lot of the time, we think that tech just grows, and it’s like the innovation just happens. But really, there’s people who are creating these innovations. And there’s a lot of systems in which the thought happens that excludes a lot of people or promotes others. And so we have to find a way to create equitable technology.”

“For women, who oftentimes don’t feel like they can just be loud and be outspoken, technology’s a way to do that and to create products and things that you wish existed for yourself. And so also, that’s one thing that I think is so beautiful about women getting into technology, it’s kind of that they get to create things that they wish existed, they get to feel empowered by being able to actually build the world they want to be a part of.”

“I just encourage people to try to find a way to follow their own path, be brave, take those steps. Because at the end of the day, they won’t just make themselves feel better, be happier, but they’ll inspire people around them to do the same. And then it’ll just become the norm to do you.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Miriam’s website

Miriam on Instagram @miriamhaart

Faking It on Instagram @thisisfakingit

Chris and Filly Functional Medicine with Co-Founder Filipa Bellette, PhD

Christine Petrella — Tue, 03 May 2022 05:00:00 -0500

On this episode of Give Back Model, Christine Petrella welcomes Filly Bellette to the podcast. As a cofounder of Chris and Filly Functional Medicine, a mother, and giver, she begins this week’s episode by talking about the farm she was raised on in Tasmania. She notes that her family heavily valued giving back, and this led her to volunteer to teach English alone in Kenya. While she was there, she quickly came to the realization that she was vastly ignorant of her privilege, and likewise, how she could use that privilege for good.

She decided to get her PhD in Human Rights and was granted her degree the day she gave birth to her first child, an experience that would transform the rest of her life. After going through a rather traumatic birth, Filly suffered months of poor gut and mental health. It was this journey that led her to start Chris and Filly Functional Medicine, an organization that helps parents improve their own and their children’s health. Her company partners with Free to Shine, an organization based in Cambodia that educates and prevents young Cambodian girls from entering the sex trafficking ring. Through her work with Free to Shine, Filly has not only learned that you don’t need a lot of money to give back, but she also learned the importance of self worth. She draws this episode to a rather fitting close by coming to proper terms with her self worth - no longer does she believe that her worth is dependent upon her work. Filly knows now that she is enough.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

Filly grew up on a farm in Tasmania with a family who valued giving back.
She volunteered in Kenya alone and came face to face with her own ignorance.
Filly got her PhD in Human Rights after realizing that she didn’t have the right tools to help others.
Her experience on antibiotics after giving birth introduced her to common problems with gut health.
When Filly started functional medicine, she felt like she’d finally found her calling helping high strung parents find their footing again.
She and her family participate in a child protection organization, Free To Shine, that supports Cambodian girls to educate and save them from human sex trafficking.
Through her work with Free To Shine, Filly learned that you don’t need a lot of money to give back.
Filly recalls feeling like her self worth depended on her productivity before realizing that she was enough.

Quotes:

“Their goal is to help high achieving parents with energy, mood and gut issues to end their body burnout for good.”

“Our family culture was very much about giving back to others, and service and showing compassion for other people without really expecting anything in return. So I kind of feel like that was built into our family values.”

“So for the next four months after I had Poppy, I had no sensation to pee. So I was using a catheter to urinate. Because I was prone to getting UTI infections, because I had this internal catheter in 2007, I was on loads of antibiotics, in and out of hospital, catching all the infections still and then going on more antibiotics. So my gut health was kind of ripped raw.”

“I called myself the ‘dragon mom’, I was just screaming all the time, like, the anxiety for me showed up in screaming and losing the plot.”

“Our big mission is to work with high achieving parents to end their body burnout.”

“I thought they wanted something straightforward for us to provide like university tuition fees, but they didn't want anything for themselves. Instead, they wanted for no other girl to go through the horrors that they had been through.”

“I don't have a lot of extra to give; you don't have to give a lot to be able to make a difference.”

‘I was overdoing and overachieving because I felt like my worth [depended upon] what I put out…”

“The Free to Shine organization has enrolled over 750 Girls, they've built 21 houses, they've had over 4000 social work intervention wins, and over 32,000 safety visits conducted, which is a mind blowing number.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Chris and Filly Homepage

Free to Shine Homepage

Lemonade Insurance with Social Impact Lead Nina Rauch

Christine Petrella — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Nina Rauch is Social Impact Lead at insurance company Lemonade, a certified B Corporation available in the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. Lemonade aims to change the way people think about insurance by focusing on strong values and charitable contributions instead of profit. Nina joins Christine today to talk about Lemonade’s groundbreaking business model, her journey to becoming Social Impact Lead, and the impressive amount of money the company has donated since 2017.

Nina explains the Lemonade Giveback, the charitable core of the company, which means Lemonade annually donates its leftover dollars to a range of nonprofit partners. She discusses how this process was built into Lemonade from the beginning and describes the huge impact the program has had on organizations working with such causes as climate issues, racial justice, support for veterans, and LGBTQ+ issues. Nina goes on to describe her journey from fundraising in high school to working for Lemonade and discusses a few of the organizations that have stuck with her over the years, as well as the challenges and inspirations she’s experienced along the way. To finish up, Nina shares what’s coming up for Lemonade, including their new venture into car insurance and how to balance its environmental impact, and her plans to increase the strength of Lemonade’s voice in the climate space and ensure the company stays transparent and authentic as it continues to grow.

Episode Highlights:

· Nina Rauch is Social Impact Lead at Lemonade.

· Lemonade is an insurance company that tries to connect its policyholders with nonprofits as a means of making charitable contributions rather than profit.

· Nina was featured in Forbes magazine this year, something that’s always been a goal of hers.

· Lemonade is trying to reshape how people think about insurance, primarily through an element of their product called the Lemonade GiveBack.

· Traditional insurance works through pooling small amounts of money by taking premiums from a large number of people to pay for those who need to make claims. This generally leaves money left over at the end of the year (because the amount needed can’t be predicted, so people are asked to pay higher premiums than what winds up being needed), which the insurer keeps as profit.

· Lemonade wanted to differentiate itself from this model, so it created the Lemonade Giveback, which means that, once a year, the company donates its leftover dollars to its nonprofit partners.

· The first Giveback in 2017 donated $53,000 to 14 different charities; in 2021, over $2.3 million went to 65 different organizations.

· The best way to use Lemonade is through their app (though you can use their website as well!).

· From the beginning, you choose the cause you want to Giveback to, and that cause will stay with you unless you want to make a change (which is really easy to facilitate).

· The Giveback was built into Lemonade’s product from the very beginning—without it, the product couldn’t exist. It was a B Corp before its first policy was sold.

· Lemonade wants to make the process of claiming insurance as simple and supportive as possible, from minimizing paperwork to making sure you can talk to a real person or get on their Slack channel when you need help.

· Lemonade works with a wide range of nonprofit organizations, and Nina ensures that their values align with those of Lemonade by considering what their employees and policyholders hold dear, from climate issues, to LGBTQ+ support, to standing up for racial justice.

· Only 3% of overall funding in the US goes to environmental concerns, whereas Lemonade donates 12%; similarly, only 3.4% of overall funding in the US goes to LGBTQ+ causes, while Lemonade donates 10%.

· Nina’s also in charge of regulatory matters, ensuring that all Lemonade’s nonprofits are transparent with their finances so their policyholders can trust their money is going to organizations that will genuinely use it for good causes.

· Many of Lemonade’s policyholders reach out to Nina to suggest causes they might want to support, which, for example, led to them adding Objective Zero (an organization that supports veterans with PTSD) to their partners.

· Nina had the opportunity to see first-hand what a difference Lemonade can make when she attended a dinner held by MEET (Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow), a Lemonade partner since 2017, supporting young Palestinian and Israeli entrepreneurs.

· When she was 16, Nina founded a breast cancer awareness organization called Pink Week in memory of her activist mother, who passed away from the disease. Pink Week started with Nina and her friends raising small amounts of money before she spent time at university spreading the cause to other campuses before it was adopted by a much larger breast cancer charity.

· This sparked Nina’s passion for giving back and the nonprofit world, so the first thing she did when she graduated was to go and work for a nonprofit before moving to Tel Aviv and finding Lemonade.

· Some of the organizations that have stuck with Nina include: 350.org, a grassroots movement aimed at solving the climate crisis, which has received over $100,000 in donations since partnering with Lemonade; and the ACLU Criminal Justice Project, which has received around $200,000 over the past two years.

· Nina also highlights New Story, a charity that supports families outside the US who don’t have sufficient funding. During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Story decided to shift their focus closer to home to sponsor rent for those who lost their jobs because of COVID. Lemonade donated around $300,000 to sponsor three months of rent for 100-plus families.

· Nina’s biggest challenge at Lemonade has been working against the downward trends nonprofits have suffered through 2021. Over 40% experienced a double-digit drop in fundraising revenue, and overall giving sank by around 1.7%. So Lemonade increased its scope, with donations 104% higher than 2020 and around 4,000% higher than 2017.

· Nina is inspired by the people surrounding her, from her fellow employees at Lemonade to the people working at their nonprofit partners.

· Recently Lemonade introduced a platform called Deed, a fundraising platform for employees, to unite their employees who are working from home.

· Lemonade recently introduced car insurance, which presented a dilemma—how do you cover something that’s bad for the environment when your values are pro-environment? Lemonade’s answer was to try to build the most environmentally friendly car insurance around by partnering with nonprofit One Tree Planted and offsetting their drive as a mission.

· Nina’s focus right now is on establishing Lemonade as a voice in the climate space by pushing forward its climate-positive message. She’s also looking into creating a climate-positive workforce by offsetting the emissions of Lemonade’s employees.

· What keeps Nina up at night is thinking about how Lemonade can stay transparent and authentic as the company grows.

Quotes:

“When you hear insurance, you think, ‘Hey, what is lemonade doing differently?’ But more likely, you’re thinking, ‘Insurance, I hate my insurance company.’”

“We want it to be transparent. We want it to be likable. We want you to not dread opening your Lemonade app.”

“We’ve really created a new relationship. We have our policyholder, we have us as the insurance company, and we have the nonprofit, and we’re managing to connect them through this really exciting and kind of new relationship that doesn’t exist in any other insurance company.”

“I think too often we see companies saying, ‘Okay, now I’ve grown, and I’m substantial. Here’s the time to give back.’ But what we try to do is really build it in from the very start.”

“I like to think of the Giveback as if you could look at Lemonade and see our inner value system, that’s what the Giveback would be. It’s our spine, so it’s everything we stand for.”

“I think the Giveback really represented for me something that was missing, which was that perfect fusion of the for-profit world and the nonprofit world in a way that wasn’t fake and was actually really authentic.”

“Anyone who comes to work for the product is aware of the Giveback and has an impact-focused mind.”

“We support Women in Need, which is a homelessness charity based out of New York City and supports women who have recently lost their jobs. And this year, I sent them an email announcing their Giveback amount. And I said, ‘You’ve received $112,000’, and the CEO replied, ‘Do you mean $112?’ For me, that was just one of the best emails to receive.”

“We’re building something new. How can we make sure that impact remains at the core? How can we make sure that Giveback is not something that just happens once a year?”

“In the climate space, we were the first insurance company to divest from fossil fuels, which is a little-known fact about us. We’re very cool.”

“Check us out, check out our Giveback, and stay posted for Giveback 2022. I’m already thinking about it. We’re already carving out how it should look and the nonprofits that we hope to support.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Lemonade

ShoppingGives with Head of Social Impact Molly Trerotola

Christine Petrella — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Molly Trerotola is the Head of Social Impact at ShoppingGives, a certified B Corporation and an award-winning technology startup focused on building an economy of giving by creating a positive impact through everyday purchases. Today, Molly joins Christine to discuss giving back involving small businesses, shoppers, and nonprofits highlighting the potential roadblocks that may arise and how ShoppingGives can help overcome them.

Molly begins by discussing her passion for philanthropy work and fundraising, and the journey she has taken that has ignited this passion. She goes on to offer extensive details about the work that ShoppingGives does, how they do it, and the hugely beneficial impact is has, as well as her experiences working with Give Lively, a free fundraising platform for nonprofits. Molly concludes by sharing her wish to see more brand values front and center and actions taken by the companies to fulfill their commitments to nonprofits that their customers care about.

For more information and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com. That's where you can also let Christine know about companies you've found that give back, and check out The Give Back Model merchandise, where $5 for every sale goes to charity. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

· Molly Trerotola is the Head of Social Impact at ShoppingGives.

· ShoppingGives is an e-commerce platform that powers brands to give donations to nonprofits.

· She has always been passionate about philanthropy work, fundraising, and giving.

· She started at a global public health nonprofit in Peru, where she worked in the communications department helping to develop digital stories around their initiatives to generate more fundraising support.

· Molly has committed wholeheartedly to social impact work, and when she moved to New York, she had the opportunity to dive headfirst into corporate social responsibility.

· ShoppingGives helps a small business accomplish corporate social responsibility of giving philanthropy fundraising by basically providing a tech solution for brands to scale their philanthropy efforts and embed social impact within their e-commerce journey

· It allows companies to give back to causes they're passionate about and lets customers choose a cause they're passionate about as part of their purchase.

· A critical core component of the platform is compliance and regulation. ShoppingGives covers brands from a compliance standpoint, and gives them access to a database of 1.8 million nonprofits.

· Brands donate to the ShoppingGives Foundation, a US-registered nonprofit, under section 501(c)(3), and then the foundation grants those funds to the organizations that the brands pledged the funds to.

· Nonprofit organizations have challenges where they get requests, and they want to be able to support them, but they need to focus on their programmatic work. Technology like ShoppingGives, or any other innovative third-party fundraising platforms that can alleviate some of those challenges, and streamline fundraising efforts for nonprofits, is necessary.

· ShoppingGives also plays a matchmaker role between brands and nonprofits.

· This is Molly's third social impact tech organization that provides technology to nonprofits at no cost.

· ShoppingGives is a certified B Corporation. These companies go through a rigorous assessment process to prove their positive impact in their external and external communities.

· ShoppingGives contributes to or answers recurring fundraising, subscription-based giving.

· Give Lively is an organization Molly worked with in the past where she helped launch the platform into the nonprofit space and worked for nonprofits to build out more technology that they could disperse to benefit from the rest of the nonprofit community.

· She has also worked with the Malala Fund, an organization whose mission is to empower girls worldwide with education and elevate the voices of young women around the world.

· Molly's most fulfilling part has been one-on-one conversations with nonprofits, hearing about their fundraising activities and initiatives, and providing a solution that will make their lives a little easier.

· Molly hopes for more brand values and companies’ actions to fulfill their commitments to nonprofits that their customers care about.

Quotes

"I love the intersection of technology and cross-sector partnerships, and leveraging resources innovatively to help nonprofits power their mission-critical work and coming up with unique and creative ways to do that either through online fundraising, partnerships, in-kind donations."

"Brands can integrate this innovative tech directly onto their websites and into their e-commerce journey to bring their values front and center and involve their customers in their giving back process."

"Social impact is a necessary part of a business's bottom line now."

"It's a beautiful thing to see companies stepping up and engaging with new initiatives and technology to power these efforts."

"We're democratizing philanthropy, giving small brands and nonprofits access to corporate dollars that they might not have otherwise had, and allowing brands to fundraise on a dime in a very turnkey fashion for nonprofits of all size regardless of their capacity."

"There are so many tech disparities within the nonprofit and profit sector, but then also within the nonprofit sector.”

"In terms of the technology solutions, nonprofits are looking for more features and products to help power the corporate partnerships and the individual fundraising."

"It's more evident that diversification of fundraising is super important to nonprofit success… they can't just fundraise with event tickets because events disappeared last year."

"Social impact tech is super fulfilling because every day I know that the hard work and the grinding we're doing is, in the end, raising more money for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes."

"My favorite part about this line of work is just being able to talk to nonprofits and provide a solution that will make their lives a little easier."

"I'd love for nonprofits to have access to the high tech in innovative and burgeoning fields of technology because there's always a delay in the nonprofit sector."

"The whole experience of giving needs to be quick and easy. We want to have in this day and age everything at our fingertips, we want to be able to click a button, and everything works in the background."

"Philanthropy is as natural as rising in the morning."

“There is no good time or no perfect time to integrate social impact and address corporate social responsibility. The best time is now, and brands of all sizes can do it."

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

ShoppingGives

Give Lively

Mental Health Meeting Center with Founder JD Dilks

Christine Petrella — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0500

JD Dilks is a writer, podcaster, and founder of a non-profit mental health meeting center in Bloomsburg, PA. Today he joins Christine to discuss his experience with mental health and addiction issues, and they begin their conversation with a trigger warning for anyone who may not be prepared to hear stories of suicide, child abuse, and addiction. JD talks about experimenting with drugs and alcohol at the age of 11, then spiralling into alcoholism after a traumatic life event at age 12. He opens up about the shame that often comes with addiction, finding closure after the death of his fiancée, and supporting others who are on the path to sobriety.

JD tells Christine about creating a community of support for LGBTQ+ youth in particular and leaving toxic masculinity behind as a culture, then shares a powerful story about sex trafficking that was featured on his podcast. You’ll also hear why the 12-Step program is so crucial to recovery, which step was the most challenging for JD, why people need to realize they want help on their own, and what you can do if you know someone who’s facing addiction. Today’s conversation highlights the importance of educating ourselves about mental illness and addiction, recognizing the warning signs, and spreading more love through the world as we hold a supportive and welcoming space for those who may be struggling. You can learn more about MJs Progress Not Perfection here.

For more information, and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about companies you’ve found that give back, and check out The Give Back Model merchandise, where $5 for every sale goes to charity. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

JD Dilks is a writer, podcaster and founder of a non-profit mental health meeting center
He shares his experience with mental health and addiction issues, as well as his recovery
Stigma around mental illness and addiction
JD and his wife opened their mental health facility in May 2021
They host AA meetings, NA meetings, trauma meetings, LGBTQ+, medical marijuana meetings, tarot meetings and much more
Importance of meeting in person when going through recovery
JD began experimenting with drugs and alcohol at age 11 and spiralled into alcoholism after a traumatic event at age 12
Pressure on men and boys to push down their feelings and not show their emotions
How his center is building a community of support, especially for young people
Being open about the shame that often comes with addiction
JD’s important dates along his journey to sobriety
Finding closure after losing his fiancée
Supporting others through sobriety and accepting that he cannot save everyone
Time management
Nicole’s story of sex trafficking as shared on JD’s podcast
Socially acceptable stereotype of moms drinking wine after a hard day needs to change
Everyone’s speed bumps are different, but rock bottom is always getting to the point where you know you need to change
Why the 12-Step program is so crucial to recovery and how it can apply to any issue that makes your life unmanageable
Step 3 (turning over to a higher power) was the most challenging for JD
JD’s comedy career
According to drugabusestatistics.org, 19.4% of people have used illicit drugs at least once
You can check out JD’s podcasts and support MJs Progress Not Perfection here
If someone you know and love is struggling with addiction, Al-Anon or NAR-Anon meetings are incredibly helpful
People are not ready to get help until they truly want it for themselves - you usually cannot force it
JD compares addiction to being in an abusive relationship

Quotes:

“I'm like a walking stigma when it comes to my addiction and my recovery and with mental health.”

“[At 12] somebody my age was hit by a car. He died. I didn't know how to take it. I didn't know how to deal with it. And at the time, this was ‘96-’97, so you're told to just push it down, be a man. You can't have feelings as a man. So I pushed things down. And I was like, You know what? I know what will fix this. I'll drink.”

“By the time I was a senior in high school, we were drinking almost every single night.”

“Now it's my turn to make sure that my seven-year-old knows it's okay to show his emotions.”

“The biggest successes that we've been seeing are the youth group that have been coming in.”

“For the first time in a decade, I was willing to go to rehab.”

“In addiction, I was open to an extent. I would tell certain people everything, and then certain people nothing.”

“When someone actually does reach out to me like, Hey, I don't want to use (relapse), I know I have a 90% chance of talking them out of a relapse because they've already done the biggest thing and that was reaching out.”

“This is what happens in recovery, is we can't save everybody. And the minute we think we can is the minute your own sobriety is at risk.”

“There's such a stigma with moms and how it's acceptable to drink wine as long as it’s after 5 o’clock. As long as you had a hard day.”

“Doing anything in excess is not okay most of the time.”

“The first step is, I had a problem with alcohol and my life was unmanageable. But you can take that word alcohol, and put food, you can put an ex's name in there - whatever makes your life unmanageable.”

“Most importantly, you have to figure out all the resentments you have against yourself, and all the things you don't like about yourself.”

“I'm kind of waiting for recreational cannabis to be passed. Because I am not going to have alcohol served in the comedy club, but I'm going to allow consumption.”

“You have to remember when you're talking to that person that is an addict, they love that drug like you would love somebody in a bad relationship, where you're afraid to leave that relationship and start a new one with somebody else because that's the safe relationship for you.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Support MJs Progress Not Perfection here

Follow MJs Progress Not Perfection on Instagram @mjsprogressnotperfectionmca

Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation with Executive Director Robin Peters

Christine Petrella — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 06:00:00 -0500

On today’s episode, Christine welcomes Robin Peters, the Executive Director of Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. In 2005, the Firehouse Sub founders established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. The charity provides lifesaving equipment, prevention, education, scholarships, and continued education and disaster relief for first responders and public safety organizations, as well as support for members of the military. Since its inception, Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has awarded more than $62.5 million dollars to Hometown Heroes in 49 states, Puerto Rico, and now in Canada.

Today, Robin discusses her personal journey into the giving space, and about how the two brothers, Chris and Robin Sorensen, came together in 1994 to start Firehouse Subs and subsequently Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation. She also talks about the foundation’s locations and its expansion, and shares ways you can support the nonprofit and save lives, which includes buying from the food chain and providing equipment to fire departments through the Book of Giving program. She goes on to discuss the expensive cost of equipment, the impact of COVID, and the challenges she faces in her position. Robin concludes with the stories that have been brought to her from first responders and the most fulfilling aspect of being a part of this foundation.

Episode Highlights:

· Robin Peters is the executive director of Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.

· She started out in the nonprofit sector when she started in advertising.

· When she moved to Jacksonville, she started working for social service agencies, and that led her to Firehouse Subs because they were one of the companies that was so philanthropic and so supportive of anything any Jacksonville nonprofit was doing.

· Firehouse Subs was started as a restaurant company in 1994 by two brothers, Chris and Robin Sorenson, who were former firefighters.

· The inspiration to start Firehouse Subs Public Safety was born from the two founders being former firefighters, who had already given back to the community and were supporting whatever local activities that were going on.

· The founders became involved in service during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 through providing food and other volunteer services to survivors and first responders, which focused them on how they could impact communities across the country, especially as the restaurant brand was growing, therefore establishing Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation as a nonprofit.

· Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation is a separate 501 (c)(3) which provides the ability to do a lot of giving back with Firehouse Subs as a corporate donor.

· Firehouse Subs and Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation are located in 49 states and its expansion to Canada.

· They deal with different governments and rules in Canada, as well as great opportunities, raising funds, and impacting first responders on both sides of the border.

· Peopke can support the Foundation through purchasing from the food chain, donations, and the Book of Giving program.

· Rounding up your purchase to the nearest dollar to donate to Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation is another wayt o wupport it.

· Fundraising campaigns are valuable to the foundation.

· The Book of Giving program provides fire departments the equipment that they need in emergencies such as vehicle extrication tools, automated external defibrillators (AED), Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), etc.

· There are arising needs, such as the protocol after COVID to have second sets of gear because you have to clean that first set of gear.

· The cost of equipment today is high making every little donation valuable.

· COVID has had an impact on Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, such as restaurants shutting down.

· More than 70% of the foundation’s donations come through the restaurant with just guests donating, so when restaurant dining rooms were closed, that ability to have engagement with the guests to be able to donate had an impact on funds that were coming in.

· Online fundraisers and the donations from the website during COVID have been beneficial.

· The most challenging part is the quarterly grant award process where many really good grant requests are not approved due to a lack of funds.

· There are many great lifesaving stories, for example one where a father used an AED donated by the Book of Giving program to save his son going through a cardiac arrest in basketball practice.

· Robin’s most fulfilling part of being a part of this foundation is giving back and providing solutions in an ever changing environment.

Quotes:

“What we want to see is that guests get that information, they understand where their money's going, and learn about the foundation.”

“Many fire departments don't always have the equipment that they need in emergencies.”

“Time in an emergency can mean the difference between a positive or very unfortunate outcome.”

“If you're in that vehicle and you're trapped, you don't want to be waiting around for the right tools to show up. That just shouldn't happen in any community.”

“Firehouse Subs, it makes it so much easier for just the average Joe to go and get a sandwich and round up or open their pockets and get that pickle bucket, or really just pay attention to the Book of Giving in all of the fundraising events that you are having.”

“Even though a lot of departments might have funding from the municipality, it's not necessarily enough. Everyone's got budgets, and there are still tough decisions. And even more important, there are many, many amazing volunteer departments that don't have access to that money.”

“It's a calling to be a first responder, going into the emergency instead of running away from them.”

“But any one of us at any time might be in need of that lifesaving equipment.”

“What's really fulfilling is to be able to provide lifesaving equipment and know that the right tools are going to be in the right hands, but also to be able to look at what's happening and move with the times, adapt with the times and really help these departments that have to make these changes.”

“It doesn't have to be a big donation. I think sometimes very caring donors maybe can only donate $1.50. That's fine. Everything adds up.”

“I'm also actually really excited to see the younger generation because it's a passionate generation, really trying to make change, looking at everything. And here is something that can have a great impact on so many lives. And I really believe the younger generation ask all the right questions, and we can give them all the right answers.’

“It's all about donating. Because the more money we have available in our funds, the more money is able to go right back out into communities.”

“Giving comes from the heart.”

“I think, at the end of the day, we all really do care about one another and want to help in any way we can.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation

B1G1 Business for Good with Founder Masami Sato

Christine Petrella — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 06:30:00 -0500

On today’s episode, host Christine Petrella welcomes Masami Sato, the founder of B1G1: Business for Good. B1G1 is a global giving initiative that’s quickly grown into a global movement. B1G1 helps businesses embed giving right into the heart of their everyday activities. B1G1 makes business giving easy, effective and meaningful. It focuses on connecting small-to-medium-size businesses with more than 500 carefully selected, high-impact giving projects. Since 2007, B1G1 has come together with more than 3,000 businesses from all industries around the world, creating over 250 million giving impacts, just by doing what they normally do.

Today Masami joins the show from Singapore to discuss the goal and mission behind B1G1, her story of founding the company 14 years ago, and how her team decides which worthy causes to work with. Masami explains how even the tiniest donation can make an impact with B1G1. She also expands on the spirit of giving that drives the B1G1 initiative, describes their annual “study tours” to projects they support, and shares her inspiring thoughts on seeing people come together to transform the world, one small step at a time. To learn more about B1G1 and their focus on creating a world that’s full of giving, visit B1G1.com.

For more information, and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back,

please visit TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about

companies you’ve found that give back, and check out The Give Back Model merchandise, where

$5 for every sale goes to charity. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

● Masami Sato is the founder and CEO of B1G1: Business for Good

● She is a 2-time TedX speaker, an AMAZON best-selling author, and winner of the Sustainable Business Award
● The goal of B1G1 is simply to create a world that’s full of giving by turning everyday activities, like getting a cup of coffee or reading an inspiring book, into something that can create a positive impact

● They have worked with thousands of businesses who have embedded giving in what they do, and together created just over 250 million giving impacts around the world

● B1G1 began in 2007

● The idea behind B1G1 started while Masami was running a previous business that focused on access to healthy eating and nutrition for families in her community
● She began by giving a small percentage for every frozen meal sold to help a child in need
● B1G1 was borne out of a desire to help other small businesses do the same
● How her team fully vets which “worthy causes” to work with
● Part of their criteria is finding companies that can break down their activities into small units of impact

● Their goal is to make it easy for even small businesses to give back

● With B1G1, the tiniest of donations still make an impact
● For each guest booked and each podcast episode released, Christine is donating toward
access to a safe house for children saved from sexual abuse in Nepal, and shelter
provided for a night for homeless children through B1G1
● There are many unique ways that business owners can give back, and a variety of
different causes they can give toward, depending on what they are most passionate about
● How Global Goals has impacted the B1G1 model
● If we all give just a little bit, together we can make a massive difference
● Having common goals helps bring us together as well
● Before the pandemic, B1G1 held annual “study” group tours so that people could actually visit the projects they were supporting
● Encouraging this compassion and “giving spirit” is one important step to transforming the world
● Impact milestones that the B1G1 team celebrates
● Numbers are a good indicator of their impact, but the stories are what illustrate the true spirit of giving
● If we can come together united, we can transform the world in a much more powerful way
● B1G1 has a goal to reach 1 million businesses by 2030 so they can create an even bigger impact

Quotes:
“So the goal of B1G1 is to simply create a world that's full of giving.”
“Imagine a world where, for example, every time you have a cup of coffee, a child receives access
to life-saving water, or every time you read an inspiring book, a tree gets planted. Or every time
you go to see your physician, then somebody else receives access to health care.”
“We find businesses that want to make an impact in the world, and help them embed effective
giving in what they do.”
“Our aim is not to just bring as many charities as we could. But to make this model work, we
need to be able to find organizations that are also able to identify and break down their activities into small, micro units of impact.”
“The aim is to make it really easy for businesses, even small businesses, to think about what they could be doing today, rather than trying to do something huge and set up a foundation.”
“If many businesses are getting together, even though [one business] cannot fund the entire thing, together we could actually come up with a more significant amount of funds to enable these organizations to do more of this work.”
“I just love, again, how you make it so easy and how we can see the impact, and we can share that impact with our audience.”

“If we did a little bit of help, we all gave a little bit of help to a global community through

effective giving, by supporting your causes that are actually doing important work, then we can

make a massive difference.”

“Encouraging this giving spirit, and this feeling of sharing and compassion, but also in a mutual

way, rather than in a one-sided way, is very central to how we want to drive this initiative... It's

the real giving spirit that businesses can embrace and embody that's really going to transform

the world, because then they will start making different decisions every day.”

“We believe that the numbers are a good indication, but at the same time, stories are key to the

actual spirit of giving.”

“I love seeing people coming together, and feeling connected, the feeling of giving and being

generous and caring for each other. So this matters to me a lot. And I think we have the ability to

do this. When we can remove the judgement, that’s when we can realize that our differences are

not the dividing factors. Our differences are unique elements that make us special together.”

“If the world can start to move in that direction of unity, and diversity, that will be something

that I would love to see.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

B1G1: Business for Good website B1G1.com

AMARUMAYU with Chief Sustainability Officer Jorge Lopez-Doriga

Christine Petrella — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Today’s guest is Jorge Lopez-Doriga, Chief Sustainability Officer for AMARUMAYU, a movement born at the heart of the Amazon Jungle to protect its precious forest and empower its guardians through the commercialization of Amazonian superfruit juices. Jorge joins Christine from Lima, Peru to discuss his passion for protecting the earth, redirecting his life’s work and focus from marketing to sustainability in 2014, and the undeniable connection between our bodies and the universe - by protecting one, you are protecting the other.

Jorge explains the origins of the AMARUMAYU movement, the meaning behind its name, and the goals of the company. He details the four intricate symbols in their powerful logo, and how they come together to represent living in harmony with our environment. You’ll also hear about the extraordinary nutritional value of Amazonian superfruits, such as the Buriti and Camu Camu, the “ Natural Revolution,” which aims to transform people into more conscious consumers, and Jorge’s advice to help younger generations become more aware of how to protect Mother Nature. Christine asks Jorge about the important role women play as leaders in the Amazon community, how the evolution of technology is affecting its local workers, his biggest challenges coming from the Zen community and moving those values over to his mission with AMARUMAYU, as well as his most fulfilling moments on this journey.

If we could all bottle up just a speckle of Jorge's energy and dedication towards such an important cause, we would all be in a better place by putting our Mother Nature's needs first. To learn more about AMARUMAYU’s mission to protect biodiversity, empower Indigenous people, and restore equilibrium to our planet, visit AMARUMAYU.com.

Episode Highlights:

Jorge has always been passionate about protecting the earth
He also has a background in marketing; he redirected his life and focus on sustainability in 2014
AMARUMAYU is the real name of the Amazon - it means the “river serpent,” and the serpent represents life and wisdom
The logo includes an Indigeneous person (the true guardian of the Amazon), the fruits of the Amazon, a snake (again, life and wisdom), and a heart (the spirit of harmony and collaboration)
Their product is a nonalcoholic superfruit beverage
Superfruits have a much higher concentration of vitamins and minerals than other fruits like oranges
The new Natural Revolution aims to shift the way people consume, and transform them into more conscious users
The three questions conscious users ask themselves are: Is it good for me and my health? Is it good for the environment? Is it good for society?
In the Industrial Revolution, companies were only concerned with whether they were satisfying the needs of their customers
With the new Natural Revolution, companies also need to satisfy the needs of Mother Earth
AMARUMAYU superfruit juices are good for the earth and good for you - no sugar or artificial colors
They buy directly from Indigeneous communities who harvest these superfruits in the middle of the Amazon
It’s not agriculture, it’s wild harvesting
It’s important for younger generations to know that the actions of one single person can have an impact
Use your purchasing power to give back and contribute
Women have always been leaders in the Amazon community, and they are typically more connected to nature than men
The market economy has arrived in the Amazon, and the workers there want to embrace technology and generate income, but still protect their precious natural resources
It takes a great deal of time and care to build relationships with the Indigeneous communities
It is also very fulfilling to be able to work with them, help bring a fair trade to the community, and provide a stable source of income
AMARUMAYU is supported through the British government
They make sure to only be involved with efforts that do not cut down trees, as the superfruit palm tree is the tree of life
What we can expect to come from AMARUMAYU
Remember that we can all have an impact, and to connect with nature on a daily basis

Quotes:

“I’ve been fascinated by nature since I was a kid. I mean, it's always been my mission to protect this beautiful earth.”

“Marketing is very important for sustainability. Because if sustainability doesn't come with financial incentive behind it, then it is not sustainable. Everything needs to be economically reliable in order to be sustainable.”

“A very important thing you realize is that the whole universe is your body.”

“It is the goal of this company, it is to do what is in our hands to preserve this precious place on Earth.”

“In the Amazon, everything is about the spirit of collaboration. You have a community that is an Indigenous community, but the community extends to all plants and fish and all animals.”

“In the Amazon we have to convince the world that the green gold has much more value than the yellow gold or the black gold.”

“That's why it's called a superfruit, because we got everything in one single fruit.”

“The new natural revolution has a new type of relation to what people consume, and they become conscious users.”

“There are three questions: Is it good for me? Is it good for my health? Is it natural? Number two, is it good for the environment? And number three, is it good for society?”

“During the Industrial Revolution, the company's role was to satisfy the needs of the consumer. That was it. And in the Natural Revolution, it has to be to satisfy the needs of Mother Earth.”

“Our final stockholder is Mother Earth.”

“It is not agriculture, it is wild harvesting.”

“We are hooked to the artificial intelligence. And our source of information is artificial intelligence. But if the Indigenous community wants to know something about something, they ask the plants… They are hooked to natural intelligence.”

“It's a beautiful project because it has many challenges in all areas, in the supply and demand. And then also trying to tell the world about this new Natural Revolution, and try to change the habits of people about the way they consume things, and...their relationship with Mother Earth.”

“The most fulfilling part is to be able to contribute, to see how these communities are now having a fair trade, receiving this income in a continuous manner, improving the lifestyle.”

“It is also beautiful because it's not only the harvesting of the fruits - it is the transport of these fruits, and turning these into pulp. And all of this is done locally. And therefore you can see how all these communities are developed, they are becoming entrepreneurs of protecting the jungle.”

“Your impact is going to be big. Don't think your impact is small. Whatever you do is going to contribute. And be a conscious user and not a consumer.

“Try in your daily life, to connect to the natural intelligence, instead of the all the time in the artificial intelligence. Try to connect with yourself. Try to take three big breaths and look within.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

AMARUMAYU website AMARUMAYU.com

Do Good Points with Andy Choi

Christine Petrella — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 06:30:00 -0500

Andy Choi is the founder and CEO of Do Good Points, a digital platform that's working to bridge the gap between nonprofits and individuals seeking to make a difference in the world. Andy never imagined starting a business in the social impact space, but starting Do Good Points felt like answering a calling to give back. Do Good Points is a loyalty program that allows members to earn points through small actions, like sharing information on social media, which then convert to monetary donations toward causes that align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This helps to drive nonprofit growth while making it fun and easy for people to discover organizations and donate.

Today Andy joins the show to discuss what inspired him to start a business in the nonprofit world, his intention to break down barriers between intention and action when it comes to doing good, and how we can support nonprofit organizations that are struggling due to the pandemic. Andy reflects on how micro actions and one-on-one conversations add up to create a collective impact, and using technology to help charities appeal to younger donors, as well as thrive in a bigger ecosystem together, rather than competing for limited grants and resources. You’ll hear about the ROG (Return on Giving) philosophy at Do Good Points, changing the narrative around doing good as a business, why mental health is a cause so near and dear to Andy’s heart, and his uplifting insights on redefining ourselves for the better as we re-enter the world following the pandemic. You can learn more about Do Good Points, and how they can help you give with the most impact, at DoGoodPoints.com.

Episode Highlights:

Andy Choi was initially working in digital marketing at a big tech company
Do Good Points started as a side hustle, and felt like answering a calling to give back
He noticed big companies incorporated giving back during the holidays, and started to wonder why they couldn’t do this on a regular basis
One of the main goals of Do Good Points is to break down the barriers between intention and action when it comes to doing good
Everyone wants to do good, but tend to put it off until they have the time or money - Do Good Points removes those barriers and encourages people to give from what they have today
Members earn “Good Points” through micro actions like learning or sharing on social media - once they earn enough Good Points, this converts into an actual cash donation toward causes that align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
This allows you to make a charitable donation without spending a single dollar
COVID presented many challenges to the nonprofit space, including Do Good Points and the causes they support
Now that we are finally easing out of “Survival Mode,” we can start to focus elsewhere and help those who are really in need
We can all take small steps to help solve problems in the world - micro actions add up to something bigger
Andy believes in effective altruism - How can we use our resources to make the most impact?
Scarcity mindset in the nonprofit world - organizations are competing for grants and a finite number of resources
Andy believes the market is big enough so everyone can thrive rather than compete against each other
Do Good Points uses technology to their advantage in helping to address this problem
Also helps to appeal to younger population of donors
“Return on Giving” is similar to the idea of “Return on Investment” - through Do Good Points, you can feel good knowing your donation is going to make the most impact
Changing the narrative around doing good as a business - it’s necessary to spend money on marketing and other administrative costs so that charities can attract more donations and make a bigger impact
Big change and social impact starts with one-to-one conversations
This helps change the narrative around philanthropy
Mental health and mental illness is a cause that is near and dear to Andy’s heart
It’s important to check in with loved ones and ask how they’re really doing behind closed doors
Don’t wait to have these conversations as you never know what someone’s going through, and it makes all the difference to show you care and support them
As we re-enter the world following the pandemic, we can use this as an opportunity to redefine ourselves for the better and leave behind old patterns

Quotes:

“Honestly, Do Good Points wasn't a business that I pursued. It was more kind of a calling.”

“I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit.”

“I was like, Why do we...only do this during the holidays? Why can’t we support nonprofits regularly? And I had those resources. I had those connections.”

“The idea honestly was like, What can I do today? Why do I have to wait until the next holiday season? ...There was an opportunity here - I can do some good.”

“Nothing happens if nothing happens.”

“One of the central missions of Do Good Points is to really break down the barriers between intention and action. I inherently believe that everyone wants to do good, but it's just, When I have more time, or, When I have more money. But honest reality - there's never enough time and there's never enough money. How can we give from what we have today?”

“We're not defined by our intentions. We're defined by the choices and the actions that we take.”

“We want to be the starting place to doing good… Whether you want to connect to a social cause or organization, we want to be the largest database and marketplace where you can do that.”

“As you take actions, micro actions, like learning, sharing on social media, you earn what's called Good Points. Once you earn enough Good Points, the only thing you can do with it is convert them into an actual cash donation.”

“We’re the first platform where you don't have to spend a single dollar in order to make a charitable contribution. Just by engaging, just by learning and sharing, and helping spread the knowledge and doing good, you're able to participate in philanthropy, participate in social impact, or whatever else it might be that really speaks to your soul.”

“Our goal is not to just be another nonprofit or social enterprise, but really empower and serve the greater industry.”

“We're coming out of the pandemic. We're still fighting through it, but things are opening up. And now we’re looking into, How do we participate in the recovery? How do we serve the most vulnerable?”

“We don't need to wait for the holiday season, we don't need to wait for another social justice movement in order to get fired up. There are people that are in need on a daily basis.”

“All of us always assume that there needs to be this big act. But it's the small things mostly in life that add up to something bigger.”

“That's our approach - How do we create an ecosystem in an economy that really thrives, rather than compete against each other? Competition to some degree is always healthy, and it's great, but not when it's coming at the expense of doing good.”

“Over 50% of nonprofits do not have a marketing or a communication plan, meaning websites, Facebook pages, whatever. There is no system to manage that."

“It's kind of our secret sauce. But it's not a secret. It's Return on Giving, just like Return on Investment. How do we really change the narrative in regards to the business of doing good, because it is absolutely a business… I think the narrative behind money and nonprofits is just hugely out of context. People are like, Oh, they shouldn't spend money on marketing. It's absolutely necessary that you do that. It's just part of business - you invest money into growing more money or more market shares. It's just the objective is different. Instead of selling a product, like a t-shirt or whatever it is, it's social impact.”

“Return on Giving is literally investing into the future growth, and having compounded Return on Investment for nonprofit and social impact, rather than just the business model of, Spend everything and then just raise more money again.”

“What keeps me up at night is just there's just so much work to be done. There's so much work to be done. And I think conversations like this, I look forward to, because I believe in the one-to-one conversation. I believe that small movements and changing narratives - it starts with us having a simple sit-down conversation.”

“I think this next generation - there's a huge opportunity to really change the narrative in regards to philanthropy, in regards to social impact and how we give, and how we can make that a part of consumer behavior...and utilize technology and all of these resources that we have for good.”

“Mental illness is a silent killer. It's the one that we don't talk about.”

“I think we can just start by asking people how they're really doing. Like, how are you really doing, behind closed doors? I'm part of this small group at my church… We have what's called a Small Group Check-In, and we ask each other, How goes it with your soul? It's not like, Hey, how you doing? It's like, Hey, how's your soul doing?”

“It's okay to have those conversations, especially with the people we love. Don't wait to have those conversations. Be proactive. Because we never know what someone's going through. We do know what it feels like to know that someone else cares. We're always longing for that.”

“I see what it took, the sacrifices that [my parents have] made. And it's kind of come full circle for me being in this industry.”

“Let’s participate together.”

“With the pandemic, as things open up, there's a window of opportunity to really define ourselves differently. The constant thing that I'm hearing is that people are like, Let's go back to what was normal. It’s like, let’s not. Let’s look forward to what’s next. Let’s change what we can change. Let’s be better. Let’s do good. Let’s be better, whatever that is for you. But to really challenge yourself to not go back to old ways or old patterns, but really define yourself and be excited for what lies ahead.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Do Good Points website DoGoodPoints.com

Fuel Collective with Sammi Jaeger

Christine Petrella — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Sammi Jaeger is a creator, entrepreneur, and freelance integrator. She is the founder of Fuel Collective, which empowers couples to create thriving relationships, and co-host of the Date Forever podcast. She is borderline obsessed with the way the quality of our relationships impacts the quality of our lives, and she uses her unique blend of knowledge about business, relationships, and contribution to work, towards creating a better world. Sammy is a huge advocate of the UN Global Goals, and knows that the key to making true global progress starts with the quality of our relationships.

Today Sammi joins Christine to discuss her passion for giving couples the proactive tools and resources they need to keep their relationships fueled and prevent them from breaking down, rather than taking a reactive approach once your relationship is already experiencing difficulties. She talks about the stigma of seeking relationship guidance for married couples, the pressure to uphold the illusion of a perfect union on social media, and the marketing challenge of appealing to an audience who may not realize they have a problem yet. She details the experience of launching Fuel Collective with her husband, Nathan, starting their podcast to learn as much as possible from relationship experts and psychologists, and what it’s been like to live in lockdown and run a business together through the pandemic. Sammi encourages entrepreneurs who are working with their spouses to define their roles from the start. She also tells Christine about giving 20% of their profits to pre-vetted education projects through the B1G1 (Buy One, Give One) organization, as well as their involvement with The Global Goals initiative. Finally, Sammi reflects on how building better relationships can build a better world, and tells listeners about Fuel Collective’s exciting courses and products to come. To learn more about Fuel Collective’s movement toward better relationships, visit FuelCollective.com.au or listen to the Date Forever podcast.

Episode Highlights:

● Sammi flips the model of Relationship Coaching from reactive to proactive
● Sammi and her husband noticed many of their close friends were already going through
breakups and divorces by their mid- to late-20s
● They noticed that these couples did not have models or tools for how to have a healthy
relationship
● They found plenty of resources for how to find a partner and mend your relationship
after it’s already hit a rough patch, but they noticed a lack of information for couples who wanted to keep their relationship fueled and prevent it from breaking down in the first place
● There is still a stigma around seeking relationship guidance for married couples
● People still believe that you meet ‘the one’ and love is all you need

● Couples try to uphold the illusion that they have a perfect relationship and do not admit to hardship or seek support
● Sammi’s metaphor about calling the fire brigade - you call them as soon as the fire starts, not after it’s already engulfed half your house in flames
● Marketing challenge of appealing to an audience who may not realize there is an issue in their relationship yet
● The Date Forever podcast is all about making time to date yourself and your chosen person forever, through all of life’s big events and commitments
● John and Julie Gottman of the Gottman Institute emphasize the importance of quality time with your partner, and creating new and exciting experiences together
● The idea for Fuel Collective came first
● They launched the podcast so they could speak to experts in the field and learn as much
as they could, as their professional backgrounds are not in psychology or relationship
counseling
● They have a membership model community full of people who are actively living the
methodology of refueling their relationships with intention
● Their business offers guidance for all different facets of relationships that do not
necessarily fall under ‘Relationship Coaching,’ including having difficult conversations,
creating a household budget together, and navigating relationships with in-laws
● They launched their business just before the pandemic and have also been living in
lockdown together through this entire experience
● It allowed them to acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses as individuals, which has
had a beautiful impact on their relationship
● Her advice to entrepreneurs who may be working with their spouse - make sure you
define the roles and responsibilities based on your individual strengths from the start
● Sammi and Nathan are also open to delegating and have a small team of 5 to help
● They have built giving back into their business model from Day One
● B1G1 (Buy One, Give One) is their preferred giving platform
● B1G1 helps small- and medium-sized businesses achieve more social impact by
embedding giving activities into everyday business operations
● Business pay a membership fee which covers administrative costs, then 100% of their
contributions go toward a pre-vetted charitable project
● Fuel Collective donates 20% of their profits to support education projects, as they believe
access to education is a basic human right
● According to ConcernUSA.org, barriers to education include lack of toilets, harvest and
market days, child marriage, conflict and war, climate change and unpaid teachers
● It’s a very complex global issue
● Fuel Collective is also involved with The Global Goals, which highlights 17 worldwide
issues
● Having better relationships means we can focus our energy out and dedicate more time
to helping these 17 global issues

Quotes:

“My husband and I were in our mid- to late-20s, and we already had friends who had been through some pretty horrific breakups, and in some cases, divorce.”

“What we noticed in this pattern was that a lot of the people in these relationships had either come from family homes where they hadn't seen a healthy, happy, thriving relationship, or their parents were in some sort of relationship, but it wasn't necessarily what they were trying to model.”

“They'd gone about trying to make a relationship and a life together without the tools that they really needed to do that.”

“I kind of think of it the same way that you go to the gym to prevent a lot of health issues. We're thinking about Fuel Collective in that same way - What can couples do, day in day out, to keep their relationship fueled up so it doesn't break down?”

“We need love. [But we also] need aligned values. And we need a commitment to go in the same direction, all of those things. But these couples are trying to hold up the fairytale version or their social media presentation of their relationship. So they don't ask for help. And then when they do ask for help, they've already been in pain for a really long time.”

“This is the marketing challenge of trying to talk to an audience who maybe don't realize that they have a problem yet, or they've got an absence of conversations, which is hiding the problem.”

“The concept of the show, Date Forever - it's about dating yourself and your chosen person forever and ever. And it being an active and proactive intention to make room in your life, for your romantic partner, for the person that you've chosen to do life with, and actually making time for them.”

“John and Julie Gottman from the Gottman Institute have done so much research on relationships. And it's one of their fundamental bases of advice: Regular quality time... The idea of dating forever, and creating experiences and new experiences with your partner, and in turn, receiving new experiences from your partner is such a gift.”

“[Husband Nathan and I] started talking about this idea of being proactive. And, you know, you drive your car - and you can't expect to keep driving it and driving it and driving it and driving it without stopping to put fuel in. And the same for your body. It needs fuel to keep going. I thought that’s such a perfect analogy for our relationship.”

“To any couples who are looking at doing that, I think one of the best things I've learned from business and leading teams is that if everybody's accountable, nobody is accountable.”

“We thought, We're providing education, let's give to education .We know that that is one of the fastest ways we can get people up and above that poverty line. It has such an incredible return

on investment, for the money that goes in and the outcomes that you get when you spend it on education.”

“We want to see a world where nobody is without education - nobody is without the means to better themselves, and better their families, and their communities, and their networks. And when we start educating our citizens, incredible ripple effects happen.”

“One of the gifts of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals is that it provides an incredible framework for identifying the problems that we need to solve.”

“The [Global] Goals, I really feel, are a great way to rally people around a shared vision and a shared framework... There's something in that framework, in those 17 goals, for everyone to contribute to. We all have a responsibility to get behind these goals.”

“If you can solve those [problems related to unhappy relationships], you can direct your energy out. Having better relationships - it impacts workplaces, it impacts economies, impacts countries, and in turn the world. If we're busy solving problems in our home and our relationship, we can't dedicate energy to those 17 goals.”

“You can move through this course together, set some really big goals, understand each other's communication frameworks, figure out what teamwork looks like for the two of you, figure out the best way for the two of you to resolve conflict, identify what your big values are, which ones you share, and how you can just really design your life intentionally together.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel Sammi Jaeger website SammiJaeger.com

Fuel Collective website FuelCollective.com.au

The Date Forever Podcast FuelCollective.com.au/podcast

In Blue Handmade with Mary Lynn Schroeder

Christine Petrella — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 06:50:00 -0500

Today’s guest is Mary Lynn Schroder, the founder of In Blue Handmade, a leather and waxed canvas goods business out of Asheville, NC. In Blue Handmade has sold over 90,000 items and has a partnership with Feeding America, where they’re able to donate 50 meals for each bag sold. Mary Lynn chats with Christine about leaving her job in the music industry and finding her passion for sewing, which then evolved into working with leather. They talk about surpassing her earliest vision for In Blue Handmade, having her father as a mentor, the experience of growing her operation, and finding suppliers who share her value system.

Mary Lynn tells Christine how she came to partner with Feeding America in 2019, and decided to give back on a bigger scale once the pandemic began. She details her experience working with their philanthropic department to develop a give back model that incorporated every item sold, and how this endeavor has inspired her amazing team more than ever. They discuss the important work that Feeding America is doing to address food disparity in this country, how customers can harness their purchasing power to support small businesses who also give back, and Mary Lynn’s undeniable passion for designing and creating.

Mary Lynn encourages new entrepreneurs to build a business plan that is unique to their strengths, recognize where they need help, and delegate accordingly. You’ll also hear about relating to customers on a personal level, Mary Lynn’s work with Trauma Textiles to help Indigeneous female artisans in Central America to receive a fair wage, and what’s next for In Blue Handmade. To learn more about Mary Lynn’s inspiring story of giving back while doing what she loves, visit InBlueHandmade.com.

Episode Highlights:

● In Blue Handmade is a leather and waxed canvas goods business in Asheville, NC
● They have sold over 90,000 items
● They have a partnership with Feeding America where they donate 50 meals for each bag
sold
● Business was launched in 2008 after Mary Lynn moved from Chicago and left her job in
the music industry
● She began sewing and making her own curtains - this evolved into working with leather
● She is self-taught
● She now has a 6500 square foot warehouse and 10 full-time employees
● In 2011, Mary Lynn’s goal was to sell 5,000 items on Etsy within the next 10 years - they
have sold 90,000
● Her father works for the University of Illinois and is Mary Lynn’s business mentor
● Initially Mary Lynn only used recycled materials, but made the leap to creating
consistent relationships with suppliers who shared the same values

● It’s a building process as you go, and knowing your trade inside out is hugely beneficial
● In Blue Handmade partnered with Feeding America in 2019
● COVID motivated Mary Lynn to kick up their contribution
● They worked with Feeding America’s philanthropic department to create a give back
model that incorporated every item sold
● One in seven people face hunger, and one in six children face hunger
● Having a culture of giving back is very motivating for Mary Lynn’s team
● COVID has inspired Mary Lynn to design new items with a more utilitarian purpose
● They’re donating at least 50 meals for every item sold
● Feeding America story about Lamont, who became visually impaired after a devastating
accident at his job and was unable to work - he went to Feeding America for support, and
later volunteered there to reciprocate the help he had received
● Mary Lynn is able to do what she loves and also give back through her business
● Feeding America is helping address food disparity in this country
● Mary Lynn is helping raise awareness, and provide education and resources to help this
cause
● Customers who choose to use their purchasing power to support small businesses who
also give back make a huge difference
● Mary Lynn loves being on the production floor more than anything else, and has an
undeniable passion for designing and making things
● Her advice for entrepreneurs who are just getting started
● Your business plan needs to be unique to you and what your strengths are
● It’s hard to let go, but it’s okay to admit you need help and delegate where necessary
● Remember to be patient when you’re supporting small businesses - they are not
machines who can pump products out overnight
● Relating to customers on a personal level
● The pandemic has inspired people to have more patience and has taught the value of
communication
● In Blue Handmade’s new lines and exciting events to come
● They have also partnered with Trauma Textiles, a Women’s Weaving Cooperative in the
Guatemala Highlands
Quotes:
“In Blue Handmade is a handmade manufacturing project that I started in 2008. We specialize in leather goods and waxed canvas goods.”
“I just started doing it! I was sewing recycled fabrics, corduroy patchwork bags, all very collegetown, hippie dippie. I was very young. That kind of morphed and transformed over time into leather.”
“Now we have a 6500 square foot warehouse. We have 10 full-time living wage certified employees. And it's just turned into this career that I had no idea was coming.”

“I said I'd really love it to make 5000 sales on Etsy, in the next five to ten years. And it's been ten years and we've done 90,000 sales on Etsy.”

“As we built up consistent relationships with suppliers, as I was able to learn more actually about the raw materials I was using, that was a whole different ball game. We were able to sit down, take meetings with CEOs and negotiate and say, Hey, I want this made for me.”

“It's definitely a building process as you go, and it takes just knowing your trade inside and out.”

“I felt like with the employment crisis, that one of the main things that we could contribute to was food.”

“[Feeding America] has a whole philanthropic department. And so they worked with us on creating that business model, and creating the language around it, and making sure that we could enter into a contract that made sense for us.”

“It's a real motivator for my team. They're the best and kindest group of people in the world. I really just can't believe how lucky I am to be surrounded by these people. And they really want to give and I believe that it's motivating for everybody.”

“I think that we have more excitement and more drive in the room this year than we ever had before. And I think that a lot of that has to do with this philanthropic partnership.”

“My concept of just life in general has changed so much [since COVID]. I think that we've been able to create more durable and more useful items.”

“Of course, anytime we can give more, we will.”

“[Lamont] said the food pantry gave him a handup not a handout.”

“I'm not the only one on my team who has needed help in that way, too. And the fact that we're able to do this and give back feels really good. And that's just good karma.”

“Huge kudos to people who are comfortable and are able to harness that purchasing power towards buying from small businesses that support employees in the community. And were able to give back. That symbiotic relationship is really special, too.”

“To spend your hard earned money to make sure that you're also including your community, that you're supporting small businesses - you really are making a difference as you do that.”

“One of the main things I've learned is that you can't just follow what you think people expect you to do. You need to make rational smart choices, but your business plan has to be unique to you and what your strengths are.”

“You have to learn to let go and trust a little bit. And again, just hire people who are better than you at that job.”

“That's part of the reason that people want to buy from you, is that they're supporting a small business. They're supporting a human being. And they're not talking to a robot that's answering questions based on keywords that are generated on a website. You're talking to a person who's probably drinking their coffee, and there's a baby crying, and there's a lot of stuff going on. People will relate, and they will be kind and they will be patient.”

“We're also partnered with a weaving collective of 400 women in the Guatemalan Highlands called Trauma Textiles. We really love working with them.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel In Blue Handmade website InBlueHandmade.com

Feeding America website FeedingAmerica.org

Trauma Textiles website TramaTextiles.org

A Wellness Medspa that Gives Back with Doctor Lonny Green

Christine Petrella — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 06:55:00 -0500

Dr. Lonny Green is the Medical Director at Rejuvenate MD Wellness Medspa in Richmond, VA. Dr. Green has been a practicing surgeon in Richmond for over 20 years, with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Stanford University, and a Medical Degree from the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Green has a passion for health and wellness, and today he joins Christine to talk about his medical journey, and the dedication that he and his all-star team have for giving back to their community.

Dr. Green tells Christine about his background working in Urology, Hormone Replacement Therapy, supervised weight loss, and Botox injections, as well as opening his own practice in July 2015. He credits his success to surrounding himself with strong, intelligent women, both personally and professionally, and explains how his incredible team worked together to overcome the challenges they faced due to COVID. Dr. Green explains how he got the nickname “Ninja Injector,” why he recently decided to focus solely on facial aesthetics, and his mission to help people become, not a different version of themselves, but their best selves naturally. He breaks down how his practice hosts parties and raffles to raise funds and awareness for several causes, including intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. And he offers his advice to business owners who want to give back, but may not be able to due to financial strains during the pandemic.

When entrepreneurs find their true path, there comes a time when they need to decide whether to dive right in or walk away from the pool as a whole. Today Dr. Green shares his story of taking that leap, persevering through setbacks to build a thriving business, and using his platform to do good and give back to his community. To learn more about Dr. Green, his amazing team, and all the great work they do, visit Rejuvenate-MD.com.

Episode Highlights:

● Dr. Green’s medical journey and background in Female Urology
● His work in Hormone Replacement Therapy for menopausal women
● Early backlash against Premarin and Provera - studies on these hormone replacements
were stopped because of concerns that they caused breast cancer and stroke
● But these drugs were not derived from human compounds
● Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy replicates your own natural hormone level
● European studies that looked at this method found no increased risk of breast cancer or
stroke
● There was a huge demand for this life-changing therapy, but American College of
OBGYN did not yet approve of it

● Dr. Green went ahead and opened his own practice to help women and men with Hormone Replacement Therapy
● Started Rejuvenate in July 2015, but only began practicing there full-time one year ago
● His amazing team helped him deal with the challenges of COVID
● Recently shifted his practice to working solely on facial aesthetics (Botox injections,
fillers, microneedling, etc.)
● His passion for helping people become the best version of themselves and keep it natural
● Everyone has the right to decide what will make them feel happy inside, including facial
procedures like what Dr. Green offers
● Rejuvenate was in the red for 4 years before turning a profit, but Dr. Green always
included giving back as part of their mission
● Their goal is simply to help others
● They don’t sell Botox or fillers - they sell confidence
● His support for the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation, local homeless shelters, and Safe
Harbor Shelter
● They use their annual Christmas party to hold raffles, and raise funds and awareness for victims of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking
● Every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted
● 1 out of 10 of those rape victims is a male
● Dr. Green offers advice for businesses who may not be able to give back due to financial
strain of COVID - shut down for a morning and volunteer at an organization or raise
awareness through social media
● The giving spirit has continued through COVID, even though they could not physically
host their annual Christmas fundraiser
Quotes:
“I'm a really big believer in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. I think that Western medicine is great. But I also think that Eastern medicine and non-traditional medicine have a role.”
“The whole issue of helping women with menopause was thrown out. But the stuff they were using (Premarin and Provera) was terrible stuff.”
“So in the European study [with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy], there was no increased risk of breast cancer, there was no increased risk of stroke. And in fact, it was cardioprotective - less heart attacks.”
“I was interested in trying to help these women because it was life changing. Same thing, I also got into helping men because I suffered from low [testosterone] myself, and I saw amazing change.”
“It's really come a long way. And of course, we started out and then we went through COVID. So it was challenging. But we got through. I have a great team. And that's what makes us successful.”

“That's the only reason I'm here. My team is everything.”

“The secret to my success is to surround yourself with really strong, intelligent women and just get the hell out of the way. My personal life and my professional life - that is pretty much how I roll.”

“Basically, I'm a very hands-on medical director and I just could not manage everything. I felt like things were slipping through the cracks. I wanted it to be excellent. And if it's not 100% excellent, it's not going to be at Rejuvenate.”

“From the Renaissance artists on, from the Greeks and the Romans on...everyone was trying to figure out beauty. And there is a mathematical basis. So that means that we can use that to make people, not a different version of themselves, but the best version of themselves and keep it natural.”

“I have four words for what you described - the trolls and the haters and everything: It's not about you.”

“We don't sell Botox, and we don't sell fillers, and we don't sell laser services. We don't even sell CoolSculpting - we sell confidence.”

“We still got thousands of dollars for Safe Harbor at our Christmas party. We had a Christmas raffle. And even though we had nobody come into the lobby, people phoned in, we did it online, and we sold thousands of dollars of raffle tickets during a time when we didn't even have the party.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel Rejuvenate MD Wellness Medspa website Rejuvenate-MD.com

Newman's Own Foundation with CEO Miriam Nelson

Christine Petrella — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Miriam Nelson is the president and CEO of the Newman’s Own Foundation. She has held leadership roles at academic institutions, contributed to public policy initiatives, is a best-selling author, and is regularly featured in the press. Today she joins Christine to talk about the origins of the Newman’s Own Foundation, how it pioneered the cause-driven Give Back Model, and donates 100% of their profits to charities worldwide. Actor, philanthropist, race car driver, and advocate, Paul Newman, created his salad dressing with a friend in 1982, and agreed to sell it on the condition that he would never compromise the quality of his product, and he would give away all his profits. Newman’s Own has remained true to this mission since day one, and has given away over $570 million to great causes all over the world.

Miriam shares her academic background, her work around nutrition and women’s health, and how she got involved with the Newman’s Own Foundation. She talks about the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, which was founded by Paul Newman in 1988, and gives seriously ill children the opportunity to experience summer camp together. Christine asks Miriam how she decides which organizations Newman’s Own will work with, what makes their corporate culture unique, and why it’s important for Miriam to be heavily involved in the day-to-day operations as a leader.

Miriam shares which organization she is most inspired by, her advice for girls and women who want to give back as an entrepreneur, and how to get our younger generation involved in giving back. Finally, Miriam discusses the important work that lies ahead in addressing food insecurity for children, and helping those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic, and she encourages listeners to spread the word that Newman’s Own gives away 100% of their profits. To learn more about this incredible organization and support their mission to “give it all away,” visit NewmansOwn.com.

Episode Highlights:

Newman's Own pioneered the Give Back Model
They have given away over $570 million to great causes all over the world
Miriam shares the history of this extraordinary organization
Paul Newman, the actor, philanthropist, racecar driver and advocate created this salad dressing with his best friend in 1982
Loved ones encouraged him to sell it, and he agreed on the condition that he would never compromise the quality of his product, and he would give away all the profits
They have given away 100% of their profits since day one
Founder Paul Newman was passionate about using the power of a company to do good in the world
Miriam shares her academic background, work around nutrition, and how she got involved with Newman’s Own
She began as a recipient of their funding during her time at Tufts University
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp gives children who are seriously ill the chance to experience summer camp together
SeriousFun Children’s Network also delivers unforgettable camp experiences that have a life-changing impact for sick children
Newman’s Own works with thousands of organizations, but is beginning to narrow their focus on working with children who are facing adversity - specifically children who are ill or experiencing food insecurity
Their core value is to take their work seriously, but not themselves
Miriam is heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of the organization
She is deeply passionate about using the full power and resources of the foundation to have the greatest impact possible
Miriam is inspired by Soul Fire Farm and Leah Penniman’s work around food sovereignty for Black and Indigenous farmers
Her simple, but powerful advice for women and girls who want to give back as an entrepreneur: Show up!
It’s important to model giving back for younger generations
Running a food company during the pandemic has shown her the importance of providing good quality, reasonably priced, shelf-stable food
Newman’s Own plans to do a better job of sharing their story through marketing, and making sure consumers are aware that 100% of profits are given away
Miriam discusses their important work ahead in addressing food security for children and helping those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic
She encourages listeners to get the word out that Newman’s Own gives away 100% of their profits

Quotes:

“Newman's Own is really an extraordinary organization. And it truly was the very first cause-driven give back organization.”

“Back in 1982, [founder Paul Newman] made the decision that all profits, 100% of the profits, would be given away to great causes. And that has happened since day one. And we've given over $570 million away to great causes all over the world, great individuals, social entrepreneurs.”

“The reason that we have this organization is to give it all away. We've remained true to that since the very, very beginning.”

“I'm the luckiest person in the world… My background is in public health and cause-based work, but starting as a grantee, and then as a board member, and then as the president and CEO, there's been a really interesting trajectory. So that was my sort of on-ramp into becoming the president and CEO of the foundation.

“We're beginning to narrow our focus and really...focus on children, really fighting for children, especially those who are facing adversity.”

“We're very careful about vetting and making sure they're very upstanding organizations, but it's really around betting on great people.”

“We take our work seriously, but not ourselves.”

“I think that really started with Paul Newman. He was very irreverent in the most wonderful way. He really showed up and he advocated for others. So you can have fun, enjoy each other's company, and be engaged and care about each other, and still have some fun, and raise a little hell, and be irreverent.”

“So that little dose of irreverence in the most respectful way is a good thing.”

“In my my life and my work through the last three and a half decades, I've always found that when you truly listen and understand the people that are at the front line, that are running the the local organizations and the other mid-sized organizations, if you know them, and you listen to them, you get the wisdom from them. And that informs the work.”

“I care deeply that we are using our full power and all of our resources wisely, and to the best use, and that we have the greatest impact possible.”

“How can we use the full power of the foundation to create the change in the world that we're working towards?”

“When there's an organization that's in need, or there's something in your community that needs some attention or a friend, you know, show up for them.”

“Show up! Literally show up.”

“Your whole life doesn't have to be about service. For some it is, but there are many ways to think about giving back.”

“Running a food company during the pandemic has been really, really an extraordinary time. But also, we felt the importance - there was a collective feeling of the importance of shelf-stable, reasonably priced, high quality food, and getting it out there.”

“I just know that we will continue to put out great quality food, great tasting food - and listen to our consumers and have the consumers help us decide also where to go. And making sure we give 100% of our profits away to great causes.”

“We will do even better with telling our story so that when you see that salad dressing, you know exactly, Oh my God, that's a brand that gives it all away! And that will make a bigger difference.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Newman’s Own Foundation website NewmansOwn.com

The Home T with Ryan Shell

Christine Petrella — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Ryan Shell is the founder of The Home T, a super soft and comfy t-shirt company with wildly creative styles and images. The cause at the heart of The Home T is what keeps pushing this entrepreneur to give back. Here today to talk about his journey, is entrepreneur and board member for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Ryan Shell. From starting at a street fair in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to founding a hugely successful t-shirt business, Ryan never lost the core cause of giving back to MS research, a cause that is very near and dear to his heart. Today he joins Christine to discuss how his Give Back Model works at The Home T, the importance of pushing through setbacks, and never losing focus of your cause.

Ryan begins by sharing the inspiration behind The Home T, and explains how a bout of homesickness led him to develop the simple design of a state with the word “Home” written on it. He talks about his humble beginnings with a simple table at a street fair, his company’s quick success and celebrity exposure, and his commitment to donating 10% of their profits to MS research from Day One. Ryan opens up about not being able to give back to every cause he would like to, and struggling with the feeling that he could always be doing more. He tells Christine about learning by trial and fire on his journey to entrepreneurship, his experience appearing on ‘Shark Tank,’ the personal reason behind his Give Back Model, and other charitable causes he is hoping to raise awareness for. Today’s episode is an important reminder to stay focused and keep going no matter what setbacks you might incur, because you never want to look back and wish you had taken that leap to follow your passion. To support The Home T and learn more about their mission to help fund MS research, visit www.TheHomeT.com.

Episode Highlights:

Idea for “Home T” started from the simple idea of being homesick for his home state
Came up with the design of a state with the word “Home” written on it
Donated 10% of profits to Multiple Sclerosis research from Day One
Ryan began with a table at a street fair in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Sales took off instantly, and celebrities like Hilary Duff were photographed wearing his shirts
Impact of what they have been able to donate as a small company - over half a million dollars
New t-shirt designs and expanding their catalogue
Not being able to give back to every cause he would like to and feeling like he could always do more
How his professional background in Marketing helped him prepare to launch his own business, but learning along the way by trial and fire as well
Ryan appeared on ‘Shark Tank,’ but due to network commitment to promote another charity that month, his repeated mentions of MS research were edited out
Raising awareness for other foundations as well (Alzheimers and breast cancer)
The constant chase of being an entrepreneur, always wanting to do more
The personal reason for his Give Back, and also donating his time
Ryan’s advice for entrepreneurs who want to give back as part of their business - stay focused and keep going

Quotes:

“We really put this very simple design together, which just had the shape of a state and the word Home on it. And it's one of those ideas, you're like, yeah, this is kind of cutesy - it's never going to become a thing.”

“From Day One, we donated 10% of profits to Multiple Sclerosis research. It's a cause that's near and dear to a number of friends that I have, and family members.”

“I think the hardest thing about giving back is not being able to give back to everything you want to give. To me, that is very hard.”

“I always, every day, think, I'm not doing enough. How can I do more? And I think companies like yours have recognized, you know, Well, we're going to help you do something. It might not be the greatest impact in the world. But it's going to have an impact.

“I just learned really trial by fire, which is what I've kind of done, I think, with everything in my life.”

“Thankfully we got on the show. Fast forward - we got three offers. I turned them all down. It is a challenging life experience because it took me almost - from audition to air was one year. And so even after you tape, you don't know if you're going to air, so you're just constantly like, Is this going to happen?”

“I kept plugging that 10% of profits is donated to Multiple Sclerosis research. And there's a point where one of the judges is like, Can you stop saying that? And I'm like, No, that's our thing. I'm not going to stop saying that.”

“Maybe that's what makes us entrepreneurs now is that you're always chasing something, or you're never satisfied with what is right there. But also kind of an interesting way to live life, because at some point, you need to be satisfied about something, right. But it's this constant chase.”

“You meet a person in life. And it's like, you find out that they have this thing that you can't fix, you can't throw money at it, a band aid, whatever. And you do have this moment of like, Holy hell, how do I help you? What can I do? And giving back was that one little thing that we could do.

“Stay focused and keep going.”

“You got to leap because I think the worst thing, and I would leave people with this, is the freaking unknown. That's what's going to drive you crazy. Just keep going.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

The Home T website TheHomeT.com

Ryan Shell website www.RyanShell.com

Ryan Shell on Facebook

Follow Ryan Shell on Twitter @ryanshell

Corporate Culture of Giving Back with Kevin Wilson

Christine Petrella — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Corporate Culture of Giving Back with Kevin Wilson of Dominion Payroll

Show Notes:

Today Christine chats with Kevin Wilson, Director of Community Engagement at Dominion Payroll, about the impact a company can have just by including a specialized position focused solely on giving back. Founder and CEO of Dominion Payroll, David Gallagher, always included community involvement in his entrepreneurial vision, but Kevin explains how his role provided the lens to focus that work and make it part of the company’s corporate culture.

Kevin discusses the strategies he has used to encourage employees to make an impact in their communities without impacting their paychecks. He also shares the challenges he has faced in his charitable work during the pandemic, his optimism moving forward, and the professional benefits a position like his can bring in terms of long-term client and employee satisfaction. Kevin shares the most touching story of someone he has helped through his role at Dominion Payroll, and tells Christine which charitable causes he’ll be working with next.

For more information, and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit www.TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about companies you’ve found that give back. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

Kevin’s role at Dominion Payroll and the decision to create a position focused solely on giving back

His strategies for encouraging employees to get involved with their communities as much as possible

Sixteen hours of community Paid Time Off (PTO)

Half-day of volunteer engagement every quarter, as well as a volunteer collection drive

Incorporating community involvement into the corporate culture of Dominion Payroll

Working with the Gallagher Foundation to reduce the stigma of teenage mental health issues

Consistently supporting other nonprofit organizations through annual races and events

The challenges he has faced during the pandemic – continuing to support charities while keeping employees safe

Professional benefits of giving back in terms of client and employee satisfaction

What’s next for Kevin and Dominion Payroll

Quotes:

“In that middle market, there are not a lot of companies that invest in this, so I think that it's a unique space that I feel pretty privileged to occupy.”

“As we were growing, there was a real need to sort of fill the space, because it is core to who we are culturally, and we think that that we can make a pretty compelling business case for it.”

“We don't want to do it in a way that comes off as green washing or lip service to this type of work. We really do want to have an impact.”

“One of the first things that I did when I joined the company - I wanted to remove as much friction between employees and being able to give back as possible. So the first thing that I implemented was that all of our full-time employees get sixteen hours of community PTO (Paid Time Off).

“That is really important because I want people to feel comfortable making an impact, but I don't want to impact their paycheck.”

“I think that the real success is that, like I said, we don't define it on an individual event basis. It's like, How can we build this culture, how do we incorporate this into the fabric of who we are and what we're doing?”

“The benefit of sending our dollars, and our visibility, and that consistent support, is so critical.”

“The pandemic was disproportionately affecting lower wage earners, people of color. And there are families that, frankly, they had empty cupboards - and that is an image that is immediately accessible to everybody… So at that time, it was like, that's number one. Let's just make sure that our community is fed and then we can go from there.”

“The biggest challenge over the course of the last year is the fact that I would proactively reach out to some non-profits, and they’d say, Thanks so much. Keep us in mind. Maybe in six months, maybe a year, we can do a volunteer thing, but right now we can't run the risk of having in-person stuff. That's a bitter pill to swallow when you have a really active culture that is used to giving back on a regular basis.”

“As we look ahead, I really feel like the sky’s the limit. There's so much eagerness to get out there and to, as you said, give back.”

“There is a huge benefit to this sort of work that I think should really be highlighted when you're talking to the more accountant-minded executives and saying, Yeah, you should have a C. S. R. person, you should have a community person, because the benefits are so huge in terms of attracting clients. People want to work with good companies. Clients stick around longer. And the same thing goes for employees. Folks want to work in places where they can bring their whole self, and they feel like their values align with the place that they work.”

“I can feel your excitement. I'm absolutely rooting on everything you're going to be doing - the planting of trees, the running teams, all of the organizations that you've mentioned… Dominion Payroll is so lucky to have you. As you guys grow, and become more successful, and take on more, it just means that you can do that much more for the community and you can give that much more back.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website www.TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Dominion Payroll website www.DominionPayroll.com

Perfect Granola with Michele Liddle

Christine Petrella — Tue, 25 May 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Show Notes:

Michele Liddle, owner of Perfect Granola, is an entrepreneur who has a mission to end hunger and give people opportunities to get out of the cycle of poverty. Every year, her company is able to donate 5% of profits, and thousands of pounds of granola, to homeless shelters, outreach centers, and food banks nationwide. Today Michele speaks with Christine about her past volunteer experience, where she noticed a lack of healthy food pantry options, as well as allergy-free options, and how that inspired her to launch her company in 2016. Michele talks about using her own kitchen to develop recipes with her family, how she found nationwide distribution for her products, and her current top seller.

Michele discusses the high poverty rates in Rochester, NY, and her mission to create systemic change in the fight against hunger. She tells Christine about her partnerships with the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection in Rochester, as well as House of Mercy, Food Link, and Pepsico’s ‘Food For Good’ Initiative. She explains the importance of school nutrition, and shares the most touching story of someone she has helped. Michele encourages entrepreneurs to stay the course with their Give Back mission, and tells Christine what’s next for Perfect Granola as they continue to grow and raise awareness for food insecurity. To learn more about Perfect Granola and the important work they are doing, please visit them on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PerfectGranola.

Episode Highlights:

Michele’s volunteer experience and her mission to provide healthier, allergy-free options to food pantries
Choosing granola as the first product to launch into the market
Using her home kitchen to develop recipes, and being able to accommodate soy-free and gluten-free requirements
Making recipes as a family and having her kids as taste testers
Top seller is currently Maple Pecan Date
Distribution as the largest hurdle in starting her business
Finding retailers first to gauge interest before developing the product
Rochester’s poverty rate of 32% (double the national average) and low graduation rates
Michele’s work with the Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection to encourage at-risk youth to graduate high school
Partnerships with House of Mercy and Food Link in Rochester
Mission to create systemic change in the fight against poverty and hunger
How to raise awareness, stay informed, and get involved
Working with Pepsico ‘Food For Good’ Initiative to make sure children and families have access to food throughout the year
Protocols to keep recipes completely allergen-free
Her plans to continue growing Perfect Granola and giving back to homeless shelters, outreach centers, and food banks
The importance of school nutrition
Her advice for entrepreneurs whose heart is with the cause - never let your mission take a back seat

Quotes:

“We really wanted to make sure that healthy products were getting on the shelf of the food pantries. Because I was volunteering at our local food pantry, I noticed that there was a lack of healthy food and also a lack of allergy-friendly foods.”

“[Granola] was our first product to launch into the market with the whole expectation that this would become a staple on the food pantry shelf, and then we could hire the people walking into the food pantries, and give them a living wage, job, and medical benefits, so then they didn't have to continue going to the pantry. They would actually get a paycheck and be able to go shopping.”

“We do make it all in my home kitchen first. It’s my test kitchen with my two young daughters. And they're all made with food that you would find in a normal kitchen, so when we create recipes, they’re things that I cook with, like coconut oil, and avocado oil, and flax meal, and things that are very nutrient dense.”

“We're making the recipes first as a family, and making sure they're healthy.”

“Having my kids be my taste testers, I know that it's a good product because my kids are brutally honest with me and what they like and what their friends like.”

“Our biggest hurdle was distribution and how we were actually going to get the product to the stores.”

“In the city of Rochester, about half the kids are not graduating high school. But the graduation rate of the kids that go through Hillside is about 98 to 99%.”

“We launched in 2016, so to be able to start making that kind of impact right away [12,000 pounds of food donated], it was huge for our company and those numbers have just consistently grown throughout the years.”

“Our whole mission is not to put a bandaid on hunger. We do donations and we help out monetarily, but we actually want to create systematic change, and give people opportunities to get off the system and create better lifestyles for themselves.”

“It's really difficult for children that are out of school, whether due to the pandemic or even summer vacation...where they don't have access to healthy food. So we want to make sure that in these food deserts, children and families have access to food continuously throughout the year.”

“Nothing ever touches an allergen. We create new recipes with new equipment that's never been touched by any nuts or soy or anything, and we keep it completely sterile in that facility, and make sure that no allergens enter that room.”

“As we grow, we’re able to grow our mission. This truly is a company that was built by the community, for the community. And the more support we have, the more support we can give.”

“Never let your mission take a back seat.”

“I truly believe that if entrepreneurs have a cause in mind and a mission in mind, just continue to work that focus, no matter how small your give is or when it happens, stay the course, stay focused on your mission.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website www.TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Sous Casa with Anj and Mike

Christine Petrella — Tue, 18 May 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Join Christine today as she talks with Mike and Anj, two of the three partners that make up Sous Casa, a delicious frozen food company that donates at least one meal per order to their nonprofit partners. Mike shares his long-standing passion for how bad frozen food tastes, how he developed the business idea with cofounder, Jim Hamilton, over tennis, and how the pandemic inspired them to actually launch their company. Anj talks about her background working with nonprofit organizations, and her experience serving as the initial conduit from kitchen to hungry families before being brought on to the Sous Casa team. Mike and Anj also discuss the food pantries they are currently partnering with, how their Give Back Model has evolved over the past year, and the collaborative process behind their gourmet recipes. They explain the need for more nutritious, quality food drive donations, and share their thoughts on the larger issues at hand, poverty and food insecurity. To order from their tasty menu, donate, or learn more about their mission to get well balanced, convenient, and nourishing food into everyone’s freezer, visit EatSousCasa.com.

Episode Highlights:

The idea for frozen, yet very tasty delivery food

Anj’s experience working with local nonprofits, and serving as the initial conduit to get food where it was needed most, before being brought on to the team

One-Year Anniversary and launching a business at the beginning of the pandemic

Evolution of their Give Back Model from Buy One, Donate One, to donating one meal per order instead in order to maintain the quality of their food

Organizations that Anj is currently working with

Christmas and Thanksgiving donation drives

Stories of how they have been able to help their community

Jim’s creative chef skills and the team effort to come up with new menu items regularly

The need for better quality donations at food pantries and the larger issue of poverty

Their mission to spread the word about food insecurity

Quotes:

“Our first iteration, our first test kitchen, included a one-to-one donation for anyone who would buy our frozen burritos. We just needed to get people to try them and figure out recipes, and see if it was worth doing it on a bigger scale.”

“I have been talking about how bad frozen burritos are for over a decade now.”

“Most nonprofits serving people living in poverty, especially people in public housing, were pivoting really quickly to get food to the door of the families they served.”

“Jim, as a touring musician with rock bands, was quickly not very busy [because of COVID]… My job involves travel as well, so I was grounded for a bit. We said, You know what? If we don’t do it now, we’re probably never going to do it, so let’s see what it looks like.”

“We’ve trimmed it down a bit, because the Buy One, Donate One is very unstainable with the quality of the food that we’re providing… We tried to figure out what would be a reasonable, viable donation ratio that we could keep up with. We commit to one per order - we donate a lot more than one per order.”

“If you want to go above and beyond, you can buy a burrito pretty much at cost, and we’ll find someone that needs it in town.”

“One thing that has certainly become very evident in all of this is, the need far outweighs the supply that we have.”

“It’s a team effort from a creativity standpoint.”

“Sometimes I think Jim’s favorite days in the kitchen are the days he gets to create a new recipe from what he has left over. And that’s the time I think he’s the most inspired.”

“At that time, they were so isolated, so they were so excited to see us, and talk to us, and also to know that they were going to get a really exciting meal that night.”

“They were amazed that someone was thinking about them. Like it was such a personal touch that they don’t get… Just that in itself was so powerful.”

“Again, it’s not enough. We have a lot of food insecure people in the Richmond area, and it’s kind of a bandaid at this point - food pantries. We’re not really fixing the problem of poverty.”

“We’re not solving any problem. The nonprofits are the ones that are doing the hard work, for sure. We really have the easy job.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website www.TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Sous Casa website EatSousCasa.com

Light and Be with Ashley Janson

Christine Petrella — Tue, 11 May 2021 06:30:00 -0500

Ashley Janson is the owner of Light & Be, a bracelet company that donates $5 for every piece sold to help fight human trafficking around the world. Today she talks with Christine about her artistic background and passion for creating, the decision to start her own jewelry company during the pandemic, and the devastating statistics that led her to chose human trafficking as her cause. Ashley explains how her social media community has influenced the design of her bracelets, how she has adapted to her growing popularity, and her plans for new products and events moving forward. She also shares the significance behind her company name, Light & Be, and encourages us all to be a light in this world.

Human trafficking is a $150 billion industry, and the United States leads all other nations in consumption. There is an estimated 40 million people trapped by human trafficking today. If you are a human trafficking victim, or have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733. You can learn more about Ashley’s mission to raise donations and spread awareness for this important cause at ShopLightBe.com.

Episode Highlights:

What led Ashley to start her entrepreneurial journey and spread awareness about human trafficking
Her creative background and interest in creating jewelry
Deciding to take the leap and launch her company during the pandemic
The logistics of getting her business up and running, and how quickly it took off
Using her Instagram page as a platform to facilitate conversations with customers and generate feedback for future designs
Her growing popularity and Give Back Model of $5 per bracelet sold
Why Ashley chose human trafficking as her charitable cause
The heartbreaking statistics of human trafficking and how to raise awareness
Victims can be of any age, race, gender, nationality, or socioeconomic status
New products and designs to come
Including flyers at in-person events that will include information and statistics about the cause
The importance of talking about human trafficking, educationg ourselves, and spreading awareness
Operation Underground Railroad Rescue started in 2013 and has since rescued over 4,000 victims of human trafficking (www.ourrescue.org)
The inspiration behind the name “Light & Be,” and Ashley’s mission for us all to spread light and do good in this world

Quotes:

“In a world where you can be anything, be a light.”

“In 2020, during the pandemic, me and my husband were talking about it, and doing some more research, getting statistics, watching videos. We were like, We need to do something. Something needs to be done. And I’ve always wanted to create something... I didn’t know what it was going to be.”

“There was a lot of trial and error. I was ordering samples and seeing the quality of everything, and then as far as shipping, I had issues with shipping delays due to COVID… There were some setbacks.”

“In the beginning, when I put out my first collection of bracelets, it was very diverse. I feel like it wasn’t very cohesive. And so I really wanted to hear from the listeners what they liked.”

“We give back $5 for every single bracelet that is sold - [it] goes to Operation Underground Railroad. In the beginning, I knew that I wanted it to be a significant amount per bracelet, so we could make a bigger difference.”

“We have, as of today, raised over $1000 for our rescue, which I’m very excited about!”

“Currently there is an estimated over 40 million people who are in human trafficking today… 1 in 4 of those is a child. And 70% of that 40 million are women and girls.”

“Human trafficking actually generates an estimated $150 billion annually.”

“We’re selling people. We’re selling human beings for profit. It’s the third most profitable business for organized crime behind drugs and arms.”

“Another reason why I chose human trafficking is because people think about this topic and they think about how sickening and evil it is, and so they don’t want to talk about it… But if we do not talk about these things, then nothing changes.”

“I think that it’s important for everyone to know that there’s not a certain box that is put around people who are involved in human trafficking or predators. It’s happening right here in the United States of America.”

“The United States leads all other nations in consumption.”

“As parents, I think it’s important for us to be educated on that as well, to protect our children from being victims of human trafficking.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website www.TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Shop Light & Be website www.shoplightbe.com

National Human Trafficking Resource Centre website

Phone number 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP to 233733

Operation Underground Railroad website www.OurRescue.org

Headbands of Hope with Jess Ekstrom

Christine Petrella — Thu, 06 May 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Show Notes:

Christine is thrilled to welcome her dream guest and one of the reasons she started this podcast, Jess Ekstrom. Jess is the founder and CEO of Headbands of Hope, where for every item sold, her company donates a headband to a child with an illness. She is a rockstar entrepreneur, an inspirational public speaker, and she has her own Mic Drop Workshop that helps bring more female speakers into the industry. To hear her incredible story and the journey of how she started this Give Back company, pick up her book, Chasing the Bright Side, where she dives deep into her journey and gives you a look of what it takes to grab hold of your passion and just do good.

Jess tells Christine about her experience working with Disney and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and what inspired her to launch Headbands of Hope. She speaks about the importance of believing in yourself and your idea wholeheartedly, being motivated by other people’s entrepreneurial journeys without comparing yourself to them, and overcoming Imposter Syndrome. Jess explains why she loves the term, “It’s just business,” and encourages entrepreneurs to remove their ego and self-worth from what they’re creating so they can focus on solutions objectively. She shares how a gut wrenching setback early on actually drove her to become more resourceful, resilient, and optimistic. And you’ll hear about the many fun products, partnerships, and fundraisers Jess has underway to help children with illnesses feel confident and beautiful during such a difficult time. You can learn more about Jess, purchase some fantastic headbands, and get involved with her important cause by visiting HeadBandsOfHope.com or JessEkstrom.com.

Episode Highlights:

Jess’s Airstream adventures and her passion for traveling
Christine’s moving experience of hearing one of Jess’s speeches for the first time
Jess’s background with Disney and Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the inspiration behind Headbands of Hope
Her revelation that your career can be more than just clocking in and out - it can build up to something bigger than us
The importance of believing in yourself and your idea wholeheartedly
Asking for help and opinions, and using the promise of free food as compensation
Being inspired by other people’s journey rather than comparing yourself to them
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Removing your ego and self-worth from the thing you’re creating
Embracing the expression, “It’s just business”
Jess’s gut wrenching setback with a manufacturer early on, and how it led her down the path of optimism and resilience rather than giving up
Learning from mistakes and doing better in the future
The idea for Headbands of Hope, and giving headbands to children who have lost their hair due to cancer
The company’s fun products and website
Jess’s idea for the Worst Fundraiser Ever, a no-money fundraiser that raises gifts of kindness in place of dollars
Current collaborations with Under Armor and Sharpie, and personally supporting women business owners
Jess’s touching story of helping a little girl gain the confidence to go back to Kindergarten after losing her hair

Quotes:

“From the moment you started talking, honestly, until the end - I could probably give that speech. I mean, I have just soaked it up. I laughed. You took us through experiences. You took us through your journey. And I cried. You got me hard. I’ve really enjoyed your transparency of your journey, and just being so open and honest.”

“I worked in the Magic Kingdom at Hollywood Studios, and I was a PhotoPass photographer. So I got to take pictures of people from all over the world. And I got to learn a lot about business and parks. But my favorite thing that I got to do, was I got to take pictures of kids that were there on their Wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”

“I realized all the things that I was doing, no matter how small or tedious they were, it made sense to making a wish come true.”

“That’s why it’s so important to believe in your idea in this really rooted way, because you’ll never work that hard if you don’t believe in it.”

“It’s when you’re just like, absolutely, This is going to make the world better. People need this. There is no problem too big to stand in your way.”

“I used food as so many forms of compensation, especially in the beginning!”

“Everyone has their own path. Everyone has their own timeline. And you really just have to be inspired by people without comparing yourself to them.”

“Everyone has these rocky stories and no one really knows what they’re doing. They’re just not posting about it. We see all the highlights, but we don’t see what’s really happening behind the scenes.”

“The other part of it is removing your ego and your self-worth from the thing that you’re creating.”

“If you can separate your worth as a person from the things that you’re creating, you can become kind of obsessed with the problem that you’re trying to solve instead of riding this emotional rollercoaster, which is natural in starting a business. There’s going to be so many ups and downs. You don’t want to be strapped to that roller coaster all the time, or else it will break you down.”

“That kind of set the tone for my resilience. It happened so early on in the business - it showed me that if I can get past this, there’s nothing too big that’s going to stand in my way.”

“Optimism is really like the gasoline to your grit.”

“I think that we make mistakes in our life in one way, that prevents us from making those mistakes in a bigger way as our life progresses.”

“Failures in your life are really just research to do better in your future.”

“For every headband sold, we donate one to a child with an illness. And we’ve reached every children’s hospital in America… We are really, really close to donating one million headbands.”

“[The Worst Fundraiser Ever] is a really great way to reinvent what giving really is, and think about, What do I have to offer?”

“To have something like that story or those moments that really anchor you - it’s just so important when it comes to your grit and just being able to push through it.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website www.TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Headbands of Hope website www.HeadBandsOfHope.com

Jess Ekstrom’s website www.JessEkstrom.com

Perfectly Frank with Tarah Morris

Christine Petrella — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Tarah Morris of Perfectly Frank Restaurant

Show Notes:

Today on the podcast is Tarah Morris, the owner of Perfectly Frank in Norfolk, Virginia. Perfectly Frank is a “one size fits all” restaurant, making not only delicious hot dogs, but also a mouthwatering menu of grilled chicken, homemade chili, melts, burgers, and milkshakes. But the food is not the only thing attracting customers far and wide. Tarah’s huge heart and everything she has overcome this past year is the focus of this beautiful story.

Tarah began her career in the restaurant industry at 14. She waited tables before purchasing a business of her own, and began the process of franchising. Tarah tells Christine why she ultimately decided to scale back in favor of the small, hometown feel she enjoyed by having only one location, and how the pandemic made her realize that this was truly the right decision for her. Even though her world had crashed because of COVID-19, Tarah shares how she used this as an opportunity to do good and give back to her community. Tarah’s story is a testament to what a fearless leader she is. By opening her heart and her kitchen, she has inspired an entire community to come together through fundraising, push forward, and provide delicious food for those in need – no questions asked. You can learn more about Tarah’s incredible journey (and menu!) at Perfectly-Frank.com.

Episode Highlights:

Tarah’s background in the restaurant industry and how she started her own business
Her informal business approach
Perfectly Frank’s extensive menu
Tarah’s experience as the pandemic hit and how it affected Perfectly Frank
Turning COVID-19 into an opportunity to give back and feed her community
Tarah’s decision not to franchise and how the pandemic made her realize it was ultimately the best thing she could have done
Perfectly Frank’s’ fundraising community
Tarah’s advice for entrepreneurs who doubt whether they can succeed

Quotes:

“We expanded a little bit. We started franchising and opened a couple more store fronts, but I hated it because it took the personal element out of it. I didn't want to bounce back and forth between all these locations - I wanted to get to know my customers.

“At Perfectly Frank, it's just so full of personality and the customers are a huge part of what makes us the way we are.”

“I've always run my business with my heart and the way it felt, and it’s kind of scary because I don't know a lot about the numbers and why things are the way they are in the paperwork, but I just keep moving and it works out.”

“We fall into this group where we don't have backing behind us like McDonald's or Chick-fil-A or Wendy’s. We're not a big franchise… We're kind of in this weird niche where our prices are pretty cheap. You can come eat there for seven to ten dollars, but we don't get a lot of the perks that these big chains get. So yeah, I was nervous. And I felt comfort that we weren't alone, but it was like, I don't have anybody behind me holding me up.”

“I worked eighty hours a week. I was there all day, every day. I was cooking, doing curbside, you know, whatever it took to stay open.”

“The board that you posted outside says, ‘If you're broke and hungry, we got you. One free meal per customer per day, no questions asked.’”

“Honestly, we don't even know, when we're cooking, if they are paying a customer or not. It doesn't matter. They're treated just like anybody else.”

“We've also put out there, the meal doesn't even have to be for you. It could be for your neighbor. Maybe your neighbor is sitting on his porch, disabled, and you just bring him a hot meal.”

“What's wild is that you start this business, you're in the industry, you're waiting tables, you take on this business. It morphs, it grows. Then total catastrophe hits. This awful, awful, horrible thing hits, and you don't know what to do, you don't know where to go, you don't know where you can get help from. And then you turn it all around and you start thinking, Okay, well I'm going to give out to the community. I'm going to do good. I'm going to give back because I can, and that's what I want to do.”

“This catastrophe, this pandemic, as many bad things as it is it has brought out, it helped me realize that I made the right decision by following my heart, because right now, what's happening, is exactly why I wanted it to not be this big franchise thing. This is what I love about it.”

“I think that if you are a hard worker, and you have good intentions, and you have everyone's best interest in mind, and you’re fair, I think that no matter what you try to do…you'll succeed.”

Links:

Follow The Give Back Model Podcast on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Perfectly Frank website Perfectly-Frank.com

Rebel Entrepreneur with Alan Donegan

Christine Petrella — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Alan Donegan of PopUp Business School and Rebel Entrepreneur

Show Notes:

Alan Donegan is the co-founder of PopUp Business School and a legend in the Petrella household. He started PopUp Business School with Simon Paine in 2012 to help others start their own business without debt or formal business plans. Today Alan speaks with Christine about the misconception that making money and doing good are opposites, his frustrating experience seeking support while starting his own business, and how this led him to look for a better way. He talks about his mission to change the way entrepreneurship is taught around the world, and to help people create their own sustainable income. He also explains how his company is able to give courses away for free using corporate sponsorship programs, and how entrepreneurs are adapting their businesses during the pandemic. Alan shares some great advice on finding your passion and turning it into a business, and encourages listeners to get outside their comfort zone to find success.

Alan’s Rebel Entrepreneur podcast covers a range of fantastic topics, including when to quit your day job and dealing with overwhelm. He also offers a free 10-week personal finance course called the Rebel Finance School, where students learn how to live a financially abundant life. You can learn more about these and other incredible free opportunities and resources that Alan and his team are offering at AlanDonegan.com.

Episode Highlights:

· Starting a business while giving back and not going into debt

· Origins of PopUp Business School and Alan’s journey to entrepreneurship

· His experience growing up in a household with great debt

· His mission to change the way entrepreneurship is taught around the world

· Every business makes the world a better place

· Robin Hood Business Model and using sponsors to offer free courses

· Example of couple who started an escape room business using PopUp principles

· How businesses are adapting during the pandemic

· Finding your passion and turning it into a business

· Risking time, energy and rejection in entrepreneurship rather than money

· Free Rebel Finance School offered on Zoom

Quotes:

“The biggest misconception for me is people think that making money and doing good are the opposites. And if I want to do good, I need to take a job with a charity and not make any money. And if I want to build a business, I need to be sleazy, corporate.”

“I just think entrepreneurship is taught backwards all around the world… Everywhere you go, it’s taught backwards. I’m on a mission to change that, Christine. I’m going to change that around the world, and help people make money, do something they love, and have a bit more fun.”

“The way to get wealthy in life is to help other people.”

“I believe that every business, I don’t care what you do, helps other people.”

“Of the 380 people that came along, we started 122 businesses, and of those 122 businesses, 75% were still trading five years later.”

“We have a far higher success rate, without using debt, than people who are lending money to help people start businesses. I think that says a huge amount.”

“I think entrepreneurs quite often don’t know enough about the numbers. They’re passionate about the flowers, the product, the thing. But they forget to look at how much it costs.”

“The message I would have for everyone here is problems are going to happen. Problems are a sign you are alive. There is only one group of people who don’t have any problems, and they’re in the morgue.”

“It’s not that you won’t have problems or crises, it’s how you respond to them and it’s how you react.”

“You won’t know what you’re passionate about until you try stuff. So get out there and try things, test things. Every time you test something and you don’t like it, that’s knocking one off the list and you are making further forward progress.”

“The only moment you get the real truth is when you ask for the money, because up until that point, people will be nice to you. So with a business idea, the mini experiment is ask a bunch of people to buy.”

“It doesn’t matter if it fails if you haven’t gone into debt.”

“We all have many passions. We don’t have to hone in on one. We can use that together.”

“We have focused for a long time on learning how to create a financially abundant life, and we want to give that away.”

“Everything you want in life is outside your comfort zone. Otherwise you’d already have it… So my closing message is please go out there and get a little uncomfortable.”

Links:

Follow The Give Back Model Podcast on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Alan Donegan’s website www.AlanDonegan.com

GivePet with Chris Dennis

Christine Petrella — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Chris Dennis of GivePet

Show Notes:

Today’s guest is Chris Dennis, the founder and owner of GivePet, a premium dog treat company based in Overland Park, Kansas, that gives back to local animal rescues and shelters with every purchase. Chris started his career in the pet industry in 2000, and launched his own company in May 2016. For every bag of treats purchased, GivePet donates enough treats for at least 10 shelter dogs. Chris focuses on growing distribution and retail accounts, along with daily operations of business. Christine chats with Chris about his passion for dogs, his origins in the pet industry, how he made the leap to becoming an entrepreneur, and the details of GivePet’s Give Back Model.

By working with a highly regarded marketing team, and having the support of his family, Chris is leading the mission to help every dog feel special while in a shelter. Chris details the unique process of how GivePet works with distributors to make that happen, and the decision to make their branding and packaging so transparent. Chris explains what sets GivePet treats apart from the rest, why the need for healthy treats in shelters is so important, and shares his advice for new entrepreneurs. To support GivePet and purchase premium, natural treats that give back to animal shelters, visit GivePet.com.

Episode Highlights:

Chris’s first dog and his family’s passion for rescuing dogs
Beginnings in the pet industry
Chris’s idea to make his company work and also give back
His quick turnaround from employment to launching his own business
GivePet’s mission and how Chris selects which partners and shelters to work with
Transparent branding and packaging
What makes GivePet treats premium - no salt or sugar
Biggest hurdle Chris has had to overcome
Need for healthy treats in rescue shelters especially
Advice for new entrepreneurs - passion and setting weekly goals

Quotes:

“I was kind of entrepreneurial from an early age. My dad owned his own business… It’s kind of in my DNA.”

“My business plan was to run a lean business...not waste a lot of money, and I could give back.”

“People to this day ask me how I can afford to give back, and it’s real simple - we don’t spend marketing dollars on commercials and newspaper ads… We choose to give back and that’s our marketing plan.”

“I worked on setting the business up for about a year and a half.”

“I was really active in the entrepreneurial community.”

“Every dog deserves to feel special.”

“You are very transparent about where that is going, and what their money is doing to give back.”

“Whenever I find out that there’s a business that’s giving back, I’m pretty much going towards them every single time.”

“We use a lot of superfoods, and the ingredients are just clean and legible, and there’s nothing in there that you would wonder what it is, or if it’s healthy for your dog. Everything is all-natural, human grade.”

“I usually seek out a partner that has that same philosophy in mind first, and then we work together to tweak it into the formula that I would like to present to the consumer.”

“We took less margin to offer a better product.”

“The biggest hurdle is to gain distribution.”

“Then when you get in with one...you have to educate their sales people, form relationships with them, make sure you get a good launch, and you maintain that business that you have in the stores.”

“Do something you’re passionate about and find a way to make a living at it.”

“One piece of advice that I like to give people is to set a weekly goal, and no matter how small or big that goal is, accomplish something every week.”

“There’s no perfect time to start a business.”

Links:

Follow The Give Back Model Podcast on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Two Blind Brothers with Brad and Bryan

Christine Petrella — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 07:00:00 -0500

Brad and Bryan Manning of Two Blind Brothers

Show Notes:

Brad and Bryan Manning are two blind brothers on a mission to cure blindness. At a young age, they were both diagnosed with Stargardt Disease, a degenerative eye disease that causes blindness over time. To fight back, they left their former careers to start Two Blind Brothers, a small charitable clothing company that donates 100% of its profits to drive life-changing research for a cure for blindness. Their condition has inspired a special vigilance for details, a passion that carries over into the construction of their clothing line. Two Blind Brothers focuses on quality, comfort, and sense of touch. Today Christine talks with these two incredible entrepreneurs about how a shopping experience sparked the idea to create their own clothing line, their mission to help fight blindness, and how a viral video catapulted their brand to the next level of success very quickly.

By using their sense of touch, Brad and Bryan realized they could embark on a mission to make super soft clothes and donate 100% of the profits to the Foundation Fighting Blindness. This episode will highlight the importance of having passion for your project, having a support system in place on your entrepreneurial journey, and how reaching out and making a human connection can have both personal and professional benefits. Brad and Bryan show us how your greatest challenge can actually be your greatest gift. To learn more about Two Blind Brothers and check out their Shop Blind experience, visit twoblindbrothers.com. It’s more than a clothing line - it’s a movement.

Episode Highlights:

Brad and Bryan’s background and diagnoses as young children
The inspiration behind Two Blind Brothers and their commitment to fighting blindness
Their viral video and the power in telling their story
“Shop Blind” experience as the cornerstone of their business
Brad and Bryan’s most touching stories of people they have helped
Current status in the fight to cure blindness
Paying it forward and their support for other Give Back Model companies
Plans to expand and continue engaging with community

Quotes:

“You have proved time and time again that obstacles in life are merely a stepping stone to help create a massive impact in this world.”

“Your greatest challenge is your greatest gift.”

“The reason that we did this was for fun and to help the Foundation Fighting Blindness.”

“It’s really a team effort.”

“In the course of a month, we had been seen by 14 million people. We thought at that time, no one gets this kind of opportunity, no one gets to have this much fortune early.”

“They’re shopping for your mission. They’re shopping for your cause.”

“When you’re blind or visually impaired, one of the things you learn is just little bits of trust in people.”

“When you’re little, those unscalable actions are your best weapon against big organizations. They have the budget to spend on advertising, but they aren’t getting on the phone.”

“Our goals are just to meet more people, surprise and delight as much as we can.”

“It’s more than a clothing brand, it’s a movement.”

Links:

Follow The Give Back Model Podcast on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Give Her Courage with Amy Klein

Christine Petrella — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:00:00 -0500

As a former online TV host, Amy will make you laugh until you cry and find a way to make every #momlife moment humorous - even on the days when adulting seems way too hard. Amy has an award-winning sales and leadership background in coaching and managing very dynamic teams. As a coach, Amy has built her career on bringing out the best in everyone around her and helping each person she touches perform at their best, and believe in themselves. As a coFounder of Give Her Courage, Amy has committed her life's work to help women know their worth and break the paradigm that comes with age.

Amy’s website https://givehercourage.com/

Give Back to the Show: https://thegivebackmodel.com/give-back