Through the Noise

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#110 Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group - Pamela Davis Oct 11, 2015

Show notes

Today we sit down with Pamela Davis of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group and she helps dispels the notion that nonprofits don't need insurance. The reasons for having insurance for nonprofits are extremely varied and she recognized a need and solved it by forming nonprofits that insure other nonprofits and have a greater understanding of their needs. NIAC member organizations provide insurance for 15,000 nonprofits in 33 states and despite a somewhat dry sounding topic, Pamela Davis makes insurance and the reasons for it come to life. So, if you are responsible for a nonprofit, like a lot of our listeners, you won't want to miss this episode packed with invaluable insights.

Pamela Davis has been transforming nonprofits and the insurance industry for nearly three decades. She is the founding president and CEO of liability insurance cooperative for tax-exempt nonprofit organizations. She was a subject of the PBS documentary series, Visionaries, selected from a field of 3,000 to illustrate the extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary people.She has lobbied Congress and had federal tax law changed so charitable risk pools to obtain 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

The Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group is comprised of 3 cooperative insurance companies and an administrator, all of which are 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organizations. They provide liability insurance coverage for 15,000 other 501(c)(3) nonprofits in 31 states and DC and are growing by about 1,000 member-insureds a year. Pamela Davis is their founder, president, and CEO. She posed the idea for this Group in her graduate thesis at UC Berkeley, School of Public Poilcy, in the mid-1980s and launched the first company in California in 1989 with a $1 million loan.

#109 International Development Division at Land O'Lakes - Jennifer Hyman Oct 06, 2015

Show notes

It may surprise some to learn that Land O'Lakes, a massive company widely known for producing butter, is not only a farmer-owned cooperative, but also has an international division that works in developing countries to help create sustainable farming practices among people who have extremely limited resources for making a living. We talk with Jennifer Hyman today who travels around the world meeting and assisting farmers to find out what they need to survive and thrive and through contracts with USAID, provides it. How is international development tied to corporate growth? What exactly is yak butter? Grab a cup of coffee and join us today to find out these answers and more.

As the Director of Communications for Land O'Lakes International Development, Jennifer Hymanleads internal and external communications for the organization's international agriculture and enterprise development programs, is in charge of related advocacy efforts, and manages the group's office in Washington, DC. She has more than 20 years of experience focused on humanitarian and international development communications, is a prolific published journalist, and has worked and traveled in more than 45 countries.

#108 Exponent Partners - Colleen McCarthy Oct 03, 2015

Show notes

Organizations of every size, focus, and type need supporters, members, customers, or donors to advance their cause or grow their business. If you can't understand the level of commitment or engagement a particular individual has with your organization, how can you approach them in the future? Today we talk with Colleen McCarthy about the necessity of functional databases to accurately maintain records about those who support your goal. Her work with Exponent Partners is different than many firms because -- like nonprofits -- they are a mission-driven business. They help their clients, grow their own business, with a watchful eye towards sustainability and social responsibility.

Currently leading marketing for Exponent Partners, Colleen's experience includes roles in both for profit and nonprofit organizations, including Capital One, Intuit, and Net Impact. She volunteers extensively in her community and serves on the board of a local nonprofit organization, The Shanti Project.

Exponent Partners is a mission-based technology consulting firm (and Benefit Corporation) that works exclusively with nonprofits to deliver Salesforce solutions for managing donors, fundraising, client cases, student data, and organizational outcomes.

#107 American College of Preventive Medicine - Michael Barry Oct 01, 2015

Show notes

Today Michael Barry schools us on the difference between preventive medicine and preventative. Representing one of the smallest specializations of the medical industry, the American College of Preventive Medicine boasts a membership making up about 50% of all physicians working in the field of preventive medicine. Unlike the traditional doctor you'd visit to treat an illness, the doctors working in preventive medicine work in a variety of sectors such as public health and policy and use their expertise to better the health of the general population. Tune in to learn more and hear about some of the lesser-known but wide-reaching implications of the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Barry is the executive director of the American College of Preventive Medicine, the leading U.S.-based physician organization dedicated to prevention. He has nearly 30 years' experience in health-related, non-profit organizations, including ten years as chief staff executive at ACPM, where he oversees ACPM's operations, finances, governance, business development, and the broad array of educational and other programs and activities carried out by the College.

ACPM supports efforts to improve the health of individuals and populations through evidence-based health promotion, disease prevention, lifestyle modification, and systems-based approaches to improving health and health care.

#106 Association of Latino Professionals for America of Washington DC - Edgar Jimenez Sep 29, 2015

Show notes

Today we sit down with Edgar Jimenez to continue our conversation about empowering individuals from communities that are underepresented in academia and various professions. Edgar Jimenez is the president of ALPHA, an all-volunteer organization that helps mentor and provide educational guidance to middle and high school kids as well as veterans and women, all while helping young professionals develop public speaking skills. While only 3% of television shows have a Latino character, the 400-500 members of ALPHA act as role-models of success for Latino children throughout the Washington area.

Edgar Jimenez a technology professional working for an accounting Firm for almost 19 years supporting a financial services teams. I have also chaired the DC\VA Latino network to help increase Latino visibility, community service participation and recruitment into the Firm

Our mission is to empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation in every sector of the global economy.

#105 GuideStar - Jacob Harold Sep 25, 2015

Show notes

Today's guest is Jacob Harold of GuideStar, the organization some consider to be the "Bloomberg of Nonprofits." The nonprofit sector makes up fully 6% of the U.S economy and GuideStar has information on two million different nonprofits. Potential donors want to know if they are giving to an effective organization, but for too long donors and nonprofits have focused on overhead costs to analyze an organization's efficacy, while the real measure ought to be the results they produce. We are so inundated with data that it's exceptionally difficult to parse through and find the information that is relevant to make informed decisions and GuideStar is working to make that easier. Join us today for a great conversation with GuideStar's CEO Jacob Harold for a unique perspective and get some ideas to incorporate into your own business or nonprofit.

Jacob Harold is President & CEO of GuideStar. He's worked as a grantmaker at the Hewlett and Packard foundations and a climate change campaigner at Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network. He is from Winston-Salem, NC and was educated at Duke and Stanford.

GuideStar is the world's largest source of information about nonprofit organizations.

#104 The Pilot Waves - Alex Vidales Sep 23, 2015

Show notes

Today's Through the Noise is timely as we're joined by Alex Vidales of the Pilot Waves podcast to talk the benefits of podcasting, different techniques, and important upcoming events for the burgeoning podcasting community in the DC area. Hosting podcasts is an excellent way to grow and promote your business and meet people in your field. Similarly, networking with fellow podcasters is becoming more common and essential. In the Washington, DC area, there are two great upcoming opportunities to have a good time, meet other podcasters, learn new skills, and generate ideas. Don't miss the DC Podcast Shakedown on September 30 on International Podcast Day, or the first DC Podfest in November. Listen up for a great conversation and details.

The Pilot Waves originated from Alex and Jason's commitment to providing local organizations with impactful and fulfilling value creation. We accomplish this through building and strengthening your ties to local communities, industries, artists and collectives. We can help you get your non-profits and local businesses started.

#103 Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia - Juan Sempertegui Sep 20, 2015

Show notes

Latino lawyers make up just 3% of the national average and the Hispanic Bar Association of DC is working to increase that number by providing mentoring and networking between law students, lawyers, and judges throughout Washington, DC. The HBADC is an entirely volunteer-powered organization and many of it's members were the first in their families to graduate high school, college, and to become lawyers. They are driven to help provide opportunities to others in the community and devote a significant amout of time to pro bono with individauls and organizations, particularly around the issues of undocumented children. Join them for their next networking event with Salsa lessons at Cafe Citron on September 24.

Juan Sempertegui grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and currently works with the State of Maryland's Division of Financial Regulation. He has been involved with various attorney associations and currently serves as President of the Hispanic Bar Association of DC

The Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia ("HBA-DC"), founded in 1977, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the professional development of its membership, and to supporting the Hispanic community in the greater Washington, D.C. area.

#102 DC Central Kitchen - Michael Curtin Sep 17, 2015

Show notes

Should charities have the ultimate goal of putting themselves out of business? We broach this subject with many of our guests and as we sit down today with Michael Curtin of DC Central Kitchen, we get an unusual response. DC Central Kitchen does so much more than providing 11,000 meals a day to people and organizations around Washington, DC and it operates under the premise that any waste is bad -- whether food waste, the waste of human resources and unused minds, or empty underused kitchens. With an extensive training program that provides opportunities and possibillies to many disenfranchised people, including a large number of formerly incarcerated people, The Kitchen is helping end the cycle of poverty with a number of creative approaches. Tune in for some enligthtening and inspiring stories as we chat with Michael Curtin.

Mike Curtin joined DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) in 2004 as the COO and has been the CEO since 2007. Under his leadership DCCK has experience dramatic growth with their social enterprise program's budget going from less than $500,000 in 2005 to over $7 million in 2014. As a result DCCK is able to offer a number of programs to the DC community including large meal delivery contracts, a school food program that provides 6000 locally-sourced, scratch-cooked meals at ten DC schools and a wholesale program that delivers fresh produce and healthy snacks to corner stores in Washington, DC food desserts. This growth has also allowed DCCK to employ 150 people, including 60 graduates of the Kitchen's Culinary Job Training Program which trains formerly incarcerated, addicted, homeless or chronically unemployed individuals.

DC Central Kitchen is a nonprofit organization working to fight poverty, hunger, and poor health through a number of innovative programs, including meal distribution and job training. DCCK mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities.

#101 National Corporate Research - Ron Barrett Sep 14, 2015

Show notes

Soliciting donations from supporters is one of the main ways that charities and other nonprofits are able to accomplish their goals and today we speak with Ron Barrett who helps us navigate the complicated registration requirements so organizations can stay on the right side of the law. Keeping up with different registration laws across the U.S. can be a major barrier to entry for small orgnaizations or those just getting off the ground and today's conversation includes some extremely helpful resources you won't want to miss.

Ron Barrett is the Vice President of Nonprofit Services at National Corporate Research, Ltd., ("NCR"), a professional registered agent company that provides nationwide corporate, secured transaction, business license, and nonprofit services. His responsibilities at NCR have included management of client service specialists and operational staff working with various state and federal agencies as well as product development. He joined NCR in 2008 when Capitol District Information, a provider of legal research, document retrieval and library services in Washington, D.C., was acquired by NCR.

Established in 1980, National Corporate Research, Ltd.(NCR) is a professional registered agent company that provides nationwide corporate, secured transactions, business license, real property, court, agency and library services. We are qualified to act as registered agent in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and provide statutory representation services for tens of thousands of companies across the country. We also can act as registered agent in many other countries throughout the world.

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