What a Nonprofit Learns About Building University Partnerships

In Chapter 19 of 20 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Courtney Spence answers "How Has Your Nonprofit Built Relationships With Universities and How is This Changing?" Experience teaches Spence to appreciate every university is different - from students to culture to community. When looking at a college campus partnership opportunity, Spence and her team focus on students first, then administration, then alumni as they scale university relationships. Social entrepreneur and storyteller Courtney Spence founded 501c3 nonprofit Students of the World (SOW) to shine a light on progress and celebrate the world's problem solvers. She is building a movement of next-generation storytellers and creative activists through the SOW program The Creative Activist Network. Spence is a graduate of Duke University.

How to Reduce Stress and Improve Nonprofit Fundraising Success

In Chapter 20 of 20 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Courtney Spence answers "What Steps are You Taking to Make Fundraising a Less Stressful Part of Your Job?" Fundraising for her nonprofit causes Spence a lot of stress and she looks for ways to reduce that stress in her work. She decides hiring a development director who loves to do fundraising will reduce her stress, allow her to focus on other parts of the business, and boost fundraising success. Social entrepreneur and storyteller Courtney Spence founded 501c3 nonprofit Students of the World (SOW) to shine a light on progress and celebrate the world's problem solvers. She is building a movement of next-generation storytellers and creative activists through the SOW program The Creative Activist Network. Spence is a graduate of Duke University.

Audrey French on Making a Business to Teaching Job Transition

In Chapter 17 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?" French shares her experience going from managing an energy efficiency and utility consulting business to teaching choir to a roomful of 6- and 7-year old children. Interacting with kids is something she finds new and, ultimately, exciting and rewarding. Audrey Parker French is an entrepreneur who co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She currently volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and teaches children's choir. She graduated from Wake Forest University and lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.

Audrey French on Creating Impact Doing Meaningful Volunteer Work

In Chapter 18 of 18 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Audrey Parker French answers "How Do You Make the Most of Your Volunteering Experience?" French talks about the social impact she is able to create by volunteering in Travis County, Texas as a court-appointed special advocate for non-profit CASA. There she works for abused and neglected children in the foster care system and helps them navigate the legal system. Audrey Parker French is an entrepreneur who co-founded CLEAResult, an energy management consulting firm she helped grow to #144 on the 2010 Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies and then sell to General Catalyst Partners. She currently volunteers as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and teaches children's choir. She graduated from Wake Forest University and lives with her husband in Austin, Texas.

How Podcast Host Cathy Erway Improves Interviewer Skills

In Chapter 8 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, writer and healthy food advocate Cathy Erway answers "How Have You Learned to Conduct Better On-Air Interviews?"  Erway finds practice and repetition help her get more comfortable in her role as a radio podcast on-air interviewer.  She learns not by formal training but by working with the audio engineers and staying relaxed.  She enjoys the improvisational elements of talking with interesting "Eat Your Words" radio podcast guests in an open and personal way.  

Cathy Erway is a Brooklyn-based author, part-time cook, freelance writer, radio host and teacher focused on healthy food advocacy.  Her first book, "The Art of Eating In" developed from her blog "Not Eating Out in New York".  She earned a BA in creative writing from Emerson College.

Kyung B. Yoon on How Reflecting Back Can Move Your Career Forward

In Chapter 1 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Yoon uses reflection to think about work she enjoys doing and work where she excels.  This process helps Yoon figure out what next steps to take in her career and find ways to eliminate inequalities and inequities and create social impact. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Making Passion for Fighting Poverty Your Career

In Chapter 2 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Did Your Passion for Alleviating Poverty Develop and How Has It Been a Common Thread in Your Career?"  Yoon sees connecting her passion to dealing with poverty issues across her career.  From working in economic development to non-profit filmmaking to broadcast journalism to her current role at KACF, Yoon's focus on poverty and social inequality stays central to her work. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Defining Career Goals in an Asian Immigrant Family

In Chapter 3 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "Where Has Your Family Been Most Supportive in Your Career Development?"  Yoon spotlights a time early in her career when she left a secure job at the World Bank for an entry-level job in broadcast journalism.  She remembers how her Korean immigrant parents tied having a secure profession to happiness and how she had to learn to understand their point of view as it applied to caring for their daughter. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Career Advice for Gen Y Women Professionals

In Chapter 7 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?"  As a Wellesley student, Yoon remembers wanting to have it all.  Experience teaches her you can have it all but not have it all at the same time.  She advises young Gen Y female professionals to invest in careers early to gain educational credentials and work experience to provide negotiating and bargaining leverage later in life and career. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on How to Perform Under Pressure and Meet Goals

In Chapter 8 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?"  In her work raising funds in a challenging economic climate, Yoon learns to manage pressure by sharing responsibilities across her teams.  By creating team-oriented goals and supportive inspiration and motivation, Yoon is able to better achieve short-term and long-term goals. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on How to Inspire and Motivate Non-Profit Teams

In Chapter 9 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage and Motivate Teams?"  Yoon notes that creating social impact normally takes priority with both non-profit employees and volunteers.  She learns to motivate staff not with financial compensation but rather with achieving a social mission by working toward common goals. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on How Peer Advice Decreases Feelings of Isolation

In Chapter 10 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "At This Moment in Your Life, Where Are You Seeking Advice and Coaching?"  Yoon talks about feeling isolated and how reaching out to peers - in her case other non-profit directors - has helped her overcome that feeling.  The resulting conversations help her feel less alone and provide useful instruction on improving her non-profit management skills. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Building Capacity to Manage Non-Profit Growth

In Chapter 11 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Has Organizational Growth Changed How Your Non-Profit Raises and Distributes Funds?"  Yoon shares how her organization, KACF, has grown from an all-volunteer program that started by raising $60,000 to distribute to 5 community organizations.  As the non-profit has grown to $2 million in donations, Yoon has learned to build capacity by hiring full-time staff and investing in infrastructure to fortify resources that support grantee partners.  This helps KACF be a better steward for the community. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on How to Craft a Communication and Publicity Strategy

In Chapter 12 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "Having Worked as a Journalist, What Advice Do You Have for Organizations on Generating Publicity?"  Yoon notes publicity strategies rooted in press releases will come up short.  Strong communication strategy starts with building relationships with journalists and understanding their beat.  Journalists need sources to do their jobs well and want to have these relationships too. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on How to Make Your Work More Lasting

In Chapter 13 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "How Are You Learning to Make Your Work More Lasting?"  When she started the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) 10 years ago, she saw the potential of bringing together the next generation of Korean Americans - both the Korean born American "1.5 generation" and children of immigrants - by providing them a foundation in which to participate and contribute. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Kyung B. Yoon on Improving Job Skills to Be a Better Non-Profit Leader

In Chapter 14 of 17 in her 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Kyung B. Yoon answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?"  First, Yoon makes it a point to learn how to be a better community funder and how to better invest the funds she raises in the community.  Second, she continues to look at ways to raise funds beyond special events.  Third, as she works with Korean immigrants regularly, Yoon also focuses on improving her reading and writing to better connect with the Korean speaking immigrants she serves. 

Kyung B. Yoon is the executive director of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City.  An award-winning journalist and documentary film producer, Yoon earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a BA in History and Political Science at Wellesley College.

Adam Carter on Living a Happier and More Purpose-Driven Life

In Chapter 1 of 13 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, micro-philanthropist Adam Carter answers "When Are You at Your Best?"  Carter finds his personal bests when he is mindful of living in the moment.  He finds people, places and purpose to be the principles that motivate him and drive him toward a happier life. 

Adam Carter is a micro-philanthropist currently living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He is the founder of the Cause and Affect Foundation which raises small amounts of financing to provide direct-to-source project funding for individuals and communities in need across the globe.  To date, Carter has traveled to over 80 countries.  He earned an MA in International Development from George Washington University and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: When are you at your best?

Adam Carter: I would say I’m at my best when I’m mindful of who I am and what I want to do and who I want to be, so I’m very conscious about—for example, living in the moment. I mean, I see all kinds of self-help books, and I see a lot of people reading self-help books, and the say, “Oh, yeah, got to live for the moment. That’s right,” and then they put the book down and they start yelling at the guy in front of them in traffic, and they start stressing out, over, you know, the most minute details, so, I’m really—I feel like as long as I can really be mindful of that, and be mindful of some of the principles that drive me, that I will be happy and successful in whatever I’m doing. So much of what I do has to do with everything that I’m thankful for and realizing just how much I have—I’ve had in my life, and so as long as I keep that in mind, it helps me kind of focus on the other goals that follow from that which would be, in this case, all the philanthropy work that I’m doing to help those that aren’t quite as fortunate, so as long as I don’t lose sight of that, and I’m living in the moment and I’m mindful, then I find that the rest of my life is a lot more rewarding and a lot more at peace, and happy.

Erik Michielsen: What are the principles that drive you?

Adam Carter:  Years ago, I realized there was three things that I needed to keep myself happy and to keep a rewarding life and they were people, places and purpose. So, first of all; surrounding myself with good people, with people that I trust, people that I like, people that have something to offer, people that share some of my vision, or even just share in my pension for life. Second, would be places. I discovered years ago that in my travels there were certain places that I really felt comfortable and that I really felt that I mixed well with, places that I could maybe call home or that I would enjoy living in or staying in, whatever. And third would be purpose. And this is—even if you’re in a good place and with good people, if you don’t have a good purpose in your life, if you’re not doing something rewarding, it’s gonna feel empty. So I found that with those three, it’s hard to take one out and really maintain that wholeness of life.

Adam Carter on Deciding Not to Grow a Nonprofit

In Chapter 8 of 13 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, micro-philanthropist Adam Carter answers "What Made You Decide Not to Expand the Scope of Your Micro-Philanthropy Efforts?"  As Carter gains experience, he finds it is not in his best interest to scale his non-profit in the funds it raises and the number of projects it completes.  Carter notes his struggle to do more good while staying true to his hands-on founding goals. 

Adam Carter is a micro-philanthropist currently living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  He is the founder of the Cause and Affect Foundation, which raises small amounts of financing to provide direct-to-source project funding for individuals and communities in need across the globe.  To date, Carter has traveled to over 80 countries.  He earned an MA in International Development from George Washington University and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What made you decide not to expand the scope of your micro-philanthropy efforts?

Adam Carter: I think a lot of start-ups whether it’s a nonprofit or a business, they’re immediately thinking, okay, how big can I get? I think that’s kind of the instinct there. So when I started Cause & Affect, I was really excited to really create a model that could be ramped up in time. And so as I started the process, as I started to raise money, and then I started to distribute the funds to these projects around the world, I got to the point where I realized that there was a problem and that was that as I scaled up Cause & Affect, it would change the whole structure of what I had envisioned. You know, I created this so that I would be able to be out in the field personally overseeing all of these projects. I mean, Cause & Affect is based on the fact that I’m able to see exactly how every dollar is spent, and that I’m not just simply sending it over to organizations that look like they have a good website, or someone goes and visits and says, “Oh, it’s a good project. Okay, here’s a few thousand dollars.” That’s not how it works.

So what I realized is that for me to really scale this up, first of all it would require a lot more time. I mean, as it is I’m putting in a lot of my own time and money for traveling, and I’m content with that. That’s fine, but in order for me to do this really full time, you know, to that extent, I would have to get some income, and so then you just kind of work backwards. Well, what’s the minimum amount of income I would need to live my life and plan for a future, whatever? So, I mean, even if it was just, let’s say $50,000, from $50,000—If I’m gonna raise $50,000, that’s gonna go towards me, we have to be sure that’s only maybe 10% of what we’re raising. So then you’re looking at $500,000 that we’d have to bring in every year in order to justify a $50,000 salary for myself. And that’s obviously quite a challenge these days, and also once you—in order to bring in $500,000 a year, you might have to hire someone to help you with your marketing or your fundraising, and then you’ve got another salary to deal with, so that’s more money you need to bring in just to break even, and I felt like this was just setting up a lot of pressure for me personally, whereas what I’m really good at, I wasn’t born to be a CEO and to micro-manage four or five people working for me, and if I wanted to do that I probably would have set up a business or an NGO 15 years ago.

What I’m good at is the interpersonal relationships in the field and assessing each of these projects and finding the best way to help them, and finding out how to be the most effective with this small amount of money. Now, obviously, it would be wonderful to be able to distribute more money, and hopefully, down the road, we will find a way to do that, to ramp up these contributions in that there is still a way within this model to give a lot more money. I mean each of these projects that I’m assisting with, $1,000 or $2,000. I could easily add a zero to that if some other donors come on board that really share the vision, but I kind of realized that I needed to focus on the task at hand which was making sure that every dollar distributed goes directly to the people in need, instead of worrying about how big of a structure I could create and, instead of getting my ego in it of like, how big of an organization I could create.