 Good morning everybody. Welcome to another episode of the nonprofit show. We're really interested about our guest today, Mary Fisher Naseeb, co-founder of SoGoodNow. And we're going to be talking some about cultivating next-gen philanthropists and the concept of philanthropy, but we're throwing in a twist because we're going to be adding sports. And so I can't wait to have this conversation. So, Mary, welcome. Before we get going, we have a little bit of housekeeping. Again, I'm Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I can't believe that my co-host, Jared Ransom, is not here today because sports transformed her life. She played collegiate level soccer and then women's soccer all throughout her life in a travel team. And she's going to be so bummed that she was not able, Mary, to have this conversation. We miss you, Jared. Oh man, we really do. And truth be told, she's having like an old soccer injury taken care of this week. So she had to have some foot surgery. Gailed better. Yeah, I don't know if I was supposed to say that, but it's true. It kind of fits with our whole conversation today. And also fitting with us today are our wonderful sponsors, Bloomerang, American Nonprofit Academy, your part-time controller, Be Generous, Fundraising Academy at National University, Staffing Boutique, Nonprofit Thought Leader, and the Nonprofit Nerd. If you want to share this episode or go back to any of our almost 700 episodes, you can find us on Roku, YouTube, Vimeo, and Amazon Fire TV. And you can also download or queue up our podcast because the non-profit show also comes to you in podcast form. Okay, Mary Fisher Naseeb, co-founder of Now, So Good Now. How did you get into this journey of starting or co-founding a non-profit? Thanks, Julia, for the question. So it's a bit of an interesting story, really. I was a high school athlete and a college athlete, and I have a degree in economics from Villanova, where I played as a middle hitter on their volleyball team. And I was one of the first Title IX athletes there to get a scholarship. So yeah, very exciting, right? Super cool. And I think that was the beginning of how I understood how you could make an impact through sports and help pave the way for others. If you think back, I graduated from high school in 1980. And it was just very early in the years of Title IX. And you heard about these scholarships, but you didn't know if they were real. And one of the girls on my team, she had moved here from Argentine, and she was a very good player. So of course, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reached out to my coach, and she said, Oh, could you have a Mercedes visit with us? And I'm the sixth of 12 kids. So I knew there was no way my parents were going to have a chance to drive me anywhere. So I begged them to go and let me watch her try out. And I did. So I knew it was real, right? So sometimes they say in life, if you can see it, you can believe it. I mean, you know, if you see it, you can be it. So I carry that forward with me. And also, I understand how sports is a good platform for creating the will to win, right? The competitive nature and the teamwork and the diversity and roles that team, that team sports foster. It's always been a big part of how I raised my kids and how I live my life. But I always had this nagging feeling of a calling. And I got out of college and I had a company car and a paycheck. And I thought to myself, was this it? This is what I'm here for? Did you ever feel that way? Yeah, I did. Yeah, preaching to the choir. Yeah. So I think a lot of people have that unanswered call in them. And to be honest with you, I was a bit embarrassed to even call it a calling. But then I thought, well, what the heck? It is a calling. I'm called to do something, right? You feel pulled in that direction. And as I started raising my kids, I thought, well, maybe this is the way I'm going to impact the future. I have five kids, three boys, two girls. And I said, well, I can kind of create a bigger imprint through them and trying to foster community mindedness and helpfulness and generosity as I raise them. But they are all very heavily involved in athletics too. So four of my five children, well, five out of five played high school sports. They probably played three sports a year. So that's 15 sports in my household. Yeah, it was crazy, right? All of the schedules. But I got to understand the world of sports and youth sports really well. And in my corporate speak, it would be, I consider myself a subject matter expert when it comes to youth sports and parents and coaches and schedules, etc. And especially in regard to the players mentality. So if I think back to when I first experienced philanthropy, I was on the track team in high school. And it was a new program for girls. They had had it for boys, but they just invited the girls team. So there weren't really many experienced girls runner, girl runners. And I was a sprinter. And I had, in those days, you had one pair of sneakers, and it went for all sports, volleyball, basketball, right? You didn't have, you didn't have more than one. And I got into the blocks and it was kind of slipping in the gravel. And I was just accustomed to making do with what I had. And I think that's a very important theme is that in some communities, underserved communities, they get accustomed to making do with what they have and not understanding that there are even tools out there that they can get to another level. But one of the older boys tapped me on the shoulder and he said, Hey, Mary, I grew out of these spikes. Would you want them? I think they'll fit you. And I went on to capture the 100-yard record at the school. So that's kind of philanthropy and action, right? So those teenagers helping, it's very common in sports to want to uplift your teammates. And that's a very, very good characteristic for philanthropy, right? That's the heart and soul of philanthropy. And then another example of that, these are still high school. My summer before my senior year, we lost a lot of good players on the volleyball team. So one of my teammates, and I was very good in the front row, but week in the back row, we lost those players. And she said, Mary, how about we go and we practice your passing and my passing against the wall at Florida Atlantic University? We're in South Florida, and we must have passed in the hot Florida sun thousands upon thousands of balls. But that player uplifted me enough where I was eligible, like I had an all around game without her help. I never, well, we won the state championship that year. So we celebrated that together. But I went on to capture that scholarship at Villanova. And I wouldn't have been able to do that without the support of my teammates. So that piece of my life, what I've experienced, I know other athletes are experiencing today, they've experienced yesterday, and they'll experience tomorrow. And if we build on that a coach's job is to get their players to the next level. So coaches make great philanthropists, too. We always talk about uplifting. So me, personally, those were my first two experiences with philanthropy. And I, as I raised my kids, I kept thinking, gosh, when are they going to stop playing sports? Because I want to get to this calling of mine. It was just like, you know, bleacher after bleacher and Jim after Jim and field after field. So eventually, my, my second son, my middle son, Carl, was getting an award at Penn State. And he's a Penn State football player. And we flew out to Houston. And we went with the Rotary Club. They were going to announce the recipient of the Lombardi Award, which he actually was named the winner. Wow, that's huge. Yeah, it was good. And really embodies what a philanthropist should be to, right? Integrity, perseverance, community. But where it was a bit of an aha moment for me is I walked into this children's hospital with three football players. And we were in Texas and the football players were not even, they were Pennsylvania and Ohio and somewhere else. And I thought, gosh, why is everybody responding to them? The families, they're in very dark places with their sick children. They just, they were happy. They got up and they responded and they smoothed their hair and they smiled and they were engaged. And I kind of walked to the side and I thought, this is a gift. This is the voice that I should uplift. This is the platform that I should use to inspire others to start giving and to start giving sooner. So the name of the organization is SO, S-O-W, good now, right? And a lot of times they either say, yeah, they don't, they don't spell it, they'll do S-O, or they'll say sow, like, you know, okay. So, and that's, I think that's a cow, but so sowing is sowing seeds, but and good now, start now. And that's kind of the birth of the organization I studied. I became a charter advisor in philanthropy. I worked on a private banks philanthropic team, and I watched how money was distributed through grants and sat on distribution committees and all of that. And then here we are today. It was founded in 2018. Amazing. Yeah, I get to be on shows with you, Julia. Well, you know, not only have you had a fascinating trajectory, but it seems to me like you've set the course within your own family, because correct me if I'm wrong, but you have a child who, is he still playing in the NFL or is he retired? Yeah, I have two sons that went to the NFL. My oldest son played with the Giants and then the Jaguars. And my second son, Carl, went on from Penn State to play with the Browns, the Raiders, and the Buccaneers. So he's currently playing now. And he and like the rest of my children, they all do their part. So where they sit and where they have influence, they try to use what they have to bring others up with them. You know, I'm fascinated by this because so often we talk about, you know, children in sports and what it imbues. Certainly girls in sports. My one of my favorite people of all time is Ann Myer Drysdale, who was such a pivotal woman and continues to be a pivotal woman, woman in sports and the philanthropic connection, you know, here in the West. I think it's really interesting because you've thought about this from the economics, you know, as a parent, as I love that you speak to that light that has, you know, emanated from you and called you. You've come up with something really interesting that I want to learn more about. And that's the SGN give back model. How are you taking this nexus between these kids in sports and then connecting them to the give back? That's a great question. Thanks for asking me. So I'm a coach, right? And part of your job as a coach is to build teams. And you've got to figure out what you need and what position and how to make it work and then kind of continue to get people get the players stronger in their roles. So there's a big disconnect in the nonprofit space or in the philanthropic space between funders, wealth managers, and nonprofit professionals. They all speak different languages. And the give back model is a model that's built. It's layered on the infrastructure of organized sports. So there's 45 million kids in the United States annually that practice organized sports. You can barely stop at a red light and not see a pool of kids somewhere. That like blows my mind. Yeah. So, so given, you know, everybody talks about what's your distribution model? What's your distribution model? And one thing I learned in the financial services world where I had a quote of $32 million a month to bring in new assets, a lot of a lot of money, a lot of conversations to bring in. And the magic behind it is that you meet them where they are, right? You understand where they are. So if you think about my expertise in the 15 teams a year and being an athlete and being a coach, how does this how does this help me be a specialist in building this now with now with philanthropic training and education and study? I already know the sports world. So the give back model is three components. It's a donor or sponsor, someone who wants to elevate their communities and enjoys either sports, watching sports, playing sports, has some kind of a connection to that and involves a high school or a college team. By high school and college, the teams are very diverse. They the groups of athletes in those on those teams from different areas, from different backgrounds, but they're all there because they want to be and they all understand what it means to work toward a common goal. And then the third component is a youth group from a geographically adjacent, but socio economically and racially diverse. And so those are the three components. And you know, you say, well, when you get to the top, you turn around, lend a hand to the person behind you. And the athletes, the high school and college athletes, they do near peer mentoring with the youth. And if you go back to my high school years where my teammates helped me, right? It wasn't the coach. The coach often doesn't have that same level of trust that a peer or a near peer mentor has, or a parent may not have that. So working working with these high school and college athletes is really the key ingredient to the give back model. And then we take them and we guide them, coach them, educate them in areas of how to be a good volunteer, what is philanthropy, what are your unique gifts? How can we collectively address these issues? What causes are important to you? What drives you to want to give back? And we pour that into the community through these give back models. You know, it's just fascinating because I would say, I mean, I work with a lot of sports groups that have charitable arms, right? And it's fascinating because I never really came up with the nexus until you said something so powerful. And that is the coach to the player. I do see players stepping up, whether they're, you know, donating cash or resources, old equipment, you know, some of their swag. I mean, it comes from this level. And so I'm so interested in this connection between sports and philanthropy, because in my mind, it is it only has been successful or can occur with that professional player. But what I hear you saying is don't think of it that way. I mean, it's the high school track boy that gave you his cleats. It's such an interesting thing to think we can go down further. And I guess start younger if you will. Yes, I agree. So if you do start younger, so think about, well, we did a golf give back on Saturday with the Westchester University golf teams, men's and women's, and with a youth group from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, from the Bridge Academy. And, you know, their opportunity to influence those kids in that area, we talk about proximity. Those high school and college players are such huge role models, but they're also very close to where we want to serve. Now, 98% of NCAA athletes, right? NCAA athletes, they do not go professionally. Sure. They do not go professionally. And who's training the, who's training the professionals early on in philanthropy, right? So there's a gap there. So even if they do go on and they go through a so good now program, they're going to be more advanced in using their platform to give back. But a college quarterback yields such influence in their community. And it doesn't start the day they get to college. It starts in high school and all the people that follow them. And what I say is if people follow them like you follow the World Series, give them something good to follow. And that's what we do. We give them something good to follow. Oh my God. I love that line. Give them something good to follow. Mary, I'm going to totally rip that off. That's an awesome, awesome thing. You know, I could talk to you for hours because I'm so intrigued by this. I mean, if you came into my office, I have the Title IX stamps that I use, you know, those beautiful stamps, they go out on everything. So I've been able to kind of sense this, but I've never been able to have someone like you articulate this and draw the nexus between all this, especially outside of that super rarefied professional sports world. And, you know, I watch college sports and I see those ads from the NCAA that remind us continuously less than 2% go on to be professional athletes. They go on, you know, these athletes go on to be in the workforce and leaders because of their sports. So I've got to kind of ask this question, what is the status of youth and philanthropic engagement? Are you seeing good things? Are you seeing good things to follow, as you said? I mean, where is this going? So the status of, I think you say youth and use the word engagement, I use the word empowerment, right? We want to empower them. We want to not give them a task, but for them to look inward and draw on what their strengths are. This is not about anyone but you as the giver, all philanthropy is personal. And as you know, from being part of the non-profit world, when you hit that place where you want to give back and you want to work in a non-profit, all they do is tell you, you have to define your mission. You cannot, you have to really narrow it down. You have to have a laser focus. But where's the room for people to try on, these kids to try on the different sports before they get to that? We have all these corporate social responsibilities and things and initiatives at the career level. But where's the minor leagues for these employees? And that's where we sit, right? And so 96% of C-suite females are former high school or college athletes. So why wouldn't we make them proficient in philanthropy? So currently, if you think about it, there are only about 525 youth philanthropy organizations in the United States. It's very, very small number. And you contrast that with 45 million in organized sports. And research shows, especially out of the Silverman Center in the Boston area, they say, youth philanthropy is good for youth. Yes, great. Obviously, it's good for communities. Absolutely gets them engaged or volunteering. They're connecting. But here's where I get excited. And Julie, here's where I would love to talk more about you. It is good for the philanthropic sector. Historically, many people are told that philanthropy begins at the age of retirement. And if you're an athlete, you don't play that way. You see the play before it unfolds. You start anticipating, you prepare, you practice if you want to excel. So if you think about how do we put people who are inclined to be philanthropic, how do we put them in the position to excel to become that professional giver? How do we do that? You know how we do it? We make it super fun and inclusive and multi-generational and surround it with a sport that everybody loves already. And we just break down all those barriers. And we start introducing these different concepts and different tools and get them in a so good now give back. And from there, you know, they start to be empowered themselves. At the end of every give back, always an athlete will come to me, stop me in kind of a shy way and say, I want to do more. I plan to do this now. Thank you for including me. Obviously, the youth from the underserved areas, we're changing their lives today. But most importantly, we're changing the future of tomorrow by cultivating these community leaders. Wow, I am so crazy inspired by all these things that you said. I really am. I'm so intrigued because my head is like spinning a million miles a minute. All right, shoot. What questions do you have? Well, I'm like fascinated by the mentality of the athlete and how you're driven and how you're, you know, everything from your biology to the process and how this connects into philanthropy is something that really needs to be studied and looked at because, you know, organized sports, I mean, you could add the word organized philanthropy, right? And we see organized philanthropy achieving and sometimes frankly, their missions aren't great. But if they're organized and they have that team mentality and that playbook, they achieve great things. And then you look at these other nonprofits and you think, Oh my God, they're doing the work of the angels, but they just can't get it. They can't be as successful as other organizations. And for the first time, I'm seeing how important this athletic mind, if you will, you know, could could change some of these things. It's really a light bulb moment for me, Mary. It's fascinating. Well, thank you. And I also want you to think about this, right? So one of if you read about how to start a youth philanthropy program, the first two steps are get a diverse group and have them meet regularly. So that part is already done. But currently, and this is real, high school and college athletes, they don't have any time, times the biggest barrier. So they are already excluded from engaging in a lot of the activities on campus that the teams do a great job of getting them here and there, and kind of making the facility in a big, tada, kind of a moment here, we were doing this one and that one. There are some schools that do a really good job. And that's essential and so important, but we can do more. We can create more space by meeting the athletes where they are. And that's why our model is so important, because we don't do big events. We keep them one on one. They're intimate. And it's about education. And it's about transforming yourself and understanding so that you're not my age, driving down the highways. And I think I'm called to do something. So yeah, that's pretty good. I love it. I think this has been riveting. I, you know, you're kind. No, no, it's been riveting. You and I are the same age. You know, so all of these things that you've talked about, I could see myself in that phase of life. It's very interesting. Check out so good now.org. They have a beautiful website, really interesting information. And you can learn more and more about their process and what they do. You know, Mary, we need to get you back on and talk more about this at some point, because I'm fascinated by these links that you're creating and how incredibly powerful it is coming at philanthropy in a different way. I have just so enjoyed this conversation. And I'm just sick that Jared Ransom, the nonprofit nerd, was not with us today because she played sports throughout her entire life. And so it's been really, really interesting to have this conversation. Like I said, we'll get you back on, because I think we have so much more to talk about. Again, if we hadn't met before, I'm Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. Jared Ransom, the nonprofit nerd and my trusty co-host will be back with us later in the week. Again, we want to thank all of our sponsors who allow us to have amazing conversations day in and day out. You know, we're marching towards our seventh hundred episode. And again, thanks to those folks from Blumerang American Nonprofit Academy, your part time controller, Be Generous, Fundraising Academy at National University, Staffing Boutique, Nonprofit Thought Leader and the Nonprofit Nerd. They are the ones that march with us down the field to use a sports metaphor so that we can reach our own goals and score big in the nonprofit world. Mary, super cool work. I'm so excited. I've got to witness to everybody. Jack Alotto from Fundraising Academy at National University. And Jack introduced us and he said, there's a super cool woman. You have to meet her. She has this really interesting program. And so I am delighted that he connected us to you and that we could feature you today. Thank you, Julia. And thank you, Jack, for connecting us. Yeah, it's been great. I'm happy to support the show too. You're doing great work, Julia. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you. You know, it's been a lot of fun and it is just amazing. Hey everybody, as we like to end every episode of the nonprofit show, we want to remind ourselves, our viewers, our listeners, our guests to stay well so you can do well. We'll see you back here tomorrow, everyone.