 But I would like to say welcome and thank you for joining us today for another episode of the nonprofit show. During our Chitty Chat Chat, we were just talking with Amy Sutton, the CEO of Crossroads for Hope, and we are excited to talk more with you here soon, Amy. Julia Patrick joins me today. Julia is the CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I'm Jarrett Ransom, CEO of the Raven Group, also known as the non-profit nerd. And we also want to extend our deepest appreciation to our presenting sponsors. What started as a two-week venture has turned into almost a two-year venture thanks to these companies and sponsors for truly investing not only here in us and our shows, but really the sector at large. So they continue to step up and they continue to lean in to help you do more good and to forward your mission and your community. So thank you and please join me in thanking our sponsors that continue these conversations, just like the one we're about to have now as we dive deep in with Amy Sutton. Again, Amy is the CEO and joins us from Crossroads for Hope. Welcome, Amy. Thank you very much. It's exciting to be here. So, Amy, tell us what Crossroads for Hope is. We are an organization that empowers individuals to take control of a health crisis caused by cancer and to move through that crisis to become empowered and activated to take control of their health while being in care. And we do that by providing resources, programs of support, programs of well-being and ultimately hope that help restore an individual's whole being and family. Wow. So that's a heavy lift. That's a big, big concept. And I'm really hopeful that you'll share the story of how this big idea came about because it seems to me that at the time Crossroads for Hope was started, this was somewhat of a unique approach. Talk to us about what that origination story is. So, thinking back to 2001, the women on the screen there, Eunice Jablaki and Brown, Lin-Arnold and Nancy Doud all had professional and personal connections to cancer and saw the need for there to be a place, a safe place that people could turn to access professional, emotional and social support services when they were loved one face to cancer diagnosis. And that vision, I always say, they had the harder job than I do because they were taking a vision, an idea, and through their passion and commitment to that vision and idea, they made it a reality. They convinced the community to mobilize around what they could see possible in terms of access to services in their local community. So they called it Hope Springs, that's how they started, and very early on they were guided to affiliate with a larger organization, which they did, and that organization gave them structure and kind of a foundation of their program. And so fast forward, you know, I'm sitting in this role as a steward of that vision, which really is our promise to the community that access to these types of services will always exist. And that is our chartered mission, and that's our founding belief. And so now my job is to figure out how to take that vision and make it relevant for the times at hand that we're dealing with and the challenges that our members, people with cancer and their family members are going through today and into the future. Now, Amy, you shared with us earlier. You are in New Jersey and where does Crossroads for Hope serve? Where demographic are geographically, really? Where are your boundaries? So interesting, when we ended a 20-year relationship with the national organization, we had had a very limited jurisdiction, Six Counties in New Jersey, and that ended this past year in February. And so we're serving all of New Jersey and beyond. We have found interest in our programs, for example. We run a conference for school professionals called Strengthening Our Schools, which is coming up, and we have representation from almost all 50 states and beyond outside the country. So our work resonates with a lot of people in a lot of places, and our job is to serve the need wherever it is. Yeah, that's fantastic. I feel like over the last couple of years, and Julia knows this, I say there have been pandemics plural. And I think a health pandemic, because I myself have heard of way more people being diagnosed with cancer. And I don't know if the times have changed because of social media, that it's become much more talked about and much more of a conversation piece. But I, one, news travels faster now with our internet and our technology. But I can imagine the individuals, the families, and truly that ripple effect that Crossroads for Hope is able to assist with. So I commend you and your team for all the great work. Yeah, thank you. I mean, when we think back to the 70s, when cancer was not even discussed, we tell somebody you had breast cancer. And now, while there's a lot of advocacy going on, not in every community. There are communities of color, for example, where cancer is not discussed. And there's a burden created because of that. And so there's still work to be done to make sure that people have the ability to talk about what's happening to organizations and individuals that can help. And reduce the barriers to access to health care, which still exists, because people don't want to talk about their cancer. Or go for screening. The pandemic has created huge burdens in terms of screening. People are not going for screenings. Yes. But, you know, diagnoses have, or diagnoses, I don't know, the plural term, have decreased. And the reason for that is because of the decrease of patient visits. But I'm curious if we could, let's talk about what a typical day for Amy and Crossroads for Hope really looks like, because as you just shared, you just opened the floodgates for serving, truly anyone, anywhere. So what does this typical day look like? Well, you know, it's changed since I came here 10 years ago. When I first started, everyone on the staff reported to this position. So I used to joke that I had to care about everything from the light bulb going out to how to scale our organization and our reach. But we've done an amazing job of building an organization that's prepared to do what we are doing right now, which is growing and to meet the needs beyond our geographic borders. And so now I'm focused on really how are we putting in place the infrastructure that's needed to serve and serve well and be there when we're needed most, as well as, you know, systems change. So we're focusing on programs and scaling our programs, as well as, how can we help support health care transformation and the move to person and family-centered care? There's a role for psychosocial support services. And so we're looking at ways to integrate those types of resources in people's lived environment, as well as within clinical workflows so that people have access as early as possible. I often tell people when there's a cancer diagnosis before treatment ever starts, the response is emotional. You are scared. You are fearful for your future. Will I survive? What will happen to my family? And so therefore, you need to ensure that resources are available to help people process that, put that in the right place so that they can engage in treatment decision making and the care that they're going to be engaging in through their course of their cancer treatment. And that's what we do. We help people gain their footing so that they can move through the journey empowered and activated to participate with their health care team. So, you know, what you've just said is really in so many ways gut wrenching because it's such a tough situation. One of my favorite quotes is heavy is the head that wears the crown. Where do you find leadership? Where do you get that reinforcement so that you can be dealing with these heavy, heavy topics day in and day out? First of all, I have an incredibly supportive family and they have allowed me to follow the things that I'm passionate about. And so with that backing, I can go out into the world and do the things that I care about because they care about me and my health and well being and I care about theirs. I also have an amazing staff and board and I look for thought leaders to help continue to encourage me and push my thinking on how to solve problems. So I receive support from a tremendous amount of people and they tell me when I need to kind of step back and am I on course? Or and I think the thing that keeps me grounded most of all is remembering why we're here. This is about serving people and that first and foremost is the most important thing. Everything we do is about that. When we talk about building infrastructure, it's so we can serve more people. When we talk about growing, it's to serve more people and make sure the vision of our founders is realized wherever it's needed. That's so important. And I think, you know, to stay mission focused, mission centric, to know your why, whether it's you personally, you know, I, Amy Sutton, I'm doing this because fill in the blank why, but we crossroads for hope. This is why we exist. This is what we have to keep at the forefront of every conversation so that we continue to make decisions moving towards towards that goal. What about, you know, since the COVID pandemic? Again, plural pandemics, but focused on COVID here. You know, how has some of that changed? Or if we want to bring up that word pivot, you know, but really how have your services, your support? Just talk to us about some of the things that you've had to put into place. Well, I think what's really important is not what happened at the point at which we had to shut our doors because the governor had shut down the state. It was all the work that happened before that. All the discussions we had about what needed to be in place for this organization, things like technology and was a key part of a lot of those discussions. So for us, it really wasn't a pivot. It was a leaning into our strategies. For example, we've been talking about as part of our strategic plan, how we were going to grow. And one of the ways we're going to grow was to address vulnerable populations and health disparities. Well, what did we see in the pandemic? Right. We saw communities that did not have access to care. We saw communities that were concerned about vaccines and clinical trials. Right. This is been going on in the community for years, but we've given a lot of thought and had already started to implement programs that were relevant for the times at hand. And so strategic planning is about a process that never ends. It's constantly looking at today and tomorrow and what's ahead and making sure that you're addressing both. I have often say I have one foot in today and one foot in the future always because that's what you're always building for. So for us, we were had already normalized a lot of discussions about our strategic initiatives with our donors and funders. And so when when the pandemic hit, we actually a lot of the things we were working on were relevant and we were able to access funding. We might not have otherwise been able to access. So in a weird and strange way, a terrible situation became an opportunity to serve in a bigger way because we were able to get funding to do the work at hand. That is so beautiful. And I love, love, love it. Julie and I have heard so many individuals that and I'm sure you have too. Amy, you know, they just they really just panicked. Many pushed the pause button or as I would say, like, you know, took a seat on the bench and they're like, well, we're just going to wait, wait this out and some of them might still be waiting. And what you said, you know, we didn't really pivot. We leaned in and that I think, you know, to see your opportunity, to see this as a greater opportunity of possibility and to lean into those options, that is why Crossroads for Hope is so successful and able to serve in a bigger, greater way. Well, we always start with the needs of the people with cancer and the family members. So in thinking about the pandemic, we knew that they would be disproportionately affected. Yes. And we were right. And so we literally shut our doors, our physical doors on March 16th, 2020. And we were live virtually a complete operational shift. And we did not have a break in service. And we have continued to work throughout. And and so so for me, I guess my advice to folks is, don't wait until the disaster, right? Use this opportunity to say, what did we learn from this? And how do we take this forward in our plan? You know, I'm good. I'm so curious. And this might seem like a super bizarre, kind of like metaphysical question. But, you know, I wonder because you're dealing with cancer, because it's a moving target. We have so many unknowns, so many changes, so many different types of cancers that just as an overall approach or mindset, you have been more flexible in leaning in. So versus, let's say you're the CEO of the same size budget, but maybe a cultural organization or something that deals with non-medical related issues. I wonder, is it you that has has the team that had this idea? Or do you think it's because the ecosystem with which you live has kind of forced you to always be, as you said, so beautifully one foot in the future? Yeah, so I think it's a combination of things. I have a I happen to have a background in emergency management. I also have a background in human resources, organizational development and change management. And I've worked in industries such as hospice and I've worked down in cancer and again, you know, disaster response with the Red Cross. And so I'm used to being in situations where we're providing I'm in an organization providing services to people in crisis. To be able to do that, you have to be pretty grounded, right? And understanding what value you add. You know, we're led by social work. Social work is about social justice. It's about advocacy. It's about helping people navigate and connect to resources. It's providing support. All things you need when you're facing a crisis, right? So I think it's a lot of different things that that. But but having said all that I learn, you know, I have sitting here with me books that that thought leaders that I work with give me and help me think through things before I'm in that situation. So I read, I talk to thought leaders. I get advice. I draw my own experiences and I look to the needs of the people that we serve and all of those things inform our work and can inform other people's work. We've all just been through what cancer patients admit, right? A pandemic is like cancer. You get this diagnosis and there's a lot of uncertainty and there's worry for the future and there's isolation and there's anxiety. And we've all experienced that over the last two years. And so we need to take these experiences and say, what do we do with this personally and professionally? And that's what I encourage people to do, take this experience that we've been through and and build it into the DNA of your organization for the future. Yeah. OK, I'm just going to witness to you when the floods come, I want to be in your boat. I got a big boat. I got a big boat. People are big, but I really think that I love it. I love what you said. It's really super interesting, super interesting. I mean, Jared and I are so fortunate. We speak to so many different leaders, so many different folks around the world daily as we were sharing before we got going in the Chitty Chat Chat. And to me, it's so fascinating to see kind of like what that background stewardship approaches and mindset of the leaders. I mean, that's how you go forward or not. Yeah, I just I really encourage people. I mean, I think that we started as a very small organization, grassroots, and we did this, not me. We did it as a community, as an organization. And I just have to believe that if we can do the things we're doing today, others can do that. Anything is possible. I have on my I don't know if you can say it says possibilities because I believe that you have to surround yourself with the right people that encourage you and support you in that thinking to help you realize your goals. And I think what you've done or what I gathered from much of what you shared already, Amy, is that you have been a total sponge to absorb others' information. And so it doesn't sound like you're a reactive person. You're a very proactive. What can I gain and how might I be able to use this in the future? So having that groundedness in your position as well as in the the organization in which you serve has really proven for your leadership and guidance with the organization in a very sound way, because, Julia, I'm thinking back now to so many of our previous, you know, guest. You are very grounded, Amy, and we I mean, we've had leaders in tears essentially because they didn't have that baseline or that fundamental knowledge, that core knowledge that you, I'm guessing, naturally have gained and absorbed over your years. Julie and I are lifelong learners as well. And we're constantly reading and pulling from other pieces, you know, in other sectors, you know, so it's not just nonprofit leaders. It's all all individuals in all different sectors. So I think that has really positioned you to be where you are in this very sound manner. But yes, you need a big boat. Yeah, I'm fast, you know, I think that we've seen such amazing things as we all have. But Jared and I, because we do this every day and when the rubber hits the road, it's that leadership thing that I have really become fascinated by, because, you know, you can look at all of these amazing organizations across our country doing amazing things. And you can become very much, I will admit to this, a philanthropic snob, where I somehow have these prejudices that are like, well, that's more important than that. You know, and yet you can see organizations that have amazing results because of leadership when maybe they really aren't an organization that we need right now, but they have the leadership. And so this kind of goes into our final question for you. And it's somewhat of a big thing. But we ask this question a lot to folks. And that is we'd love to know how COVID has impacted your fundraising. You mentioned this earlier that it actually provided you some new pathways. Where is that going in the future? Yeah. Well, I feel that, you know, when the pandemic first hit, we had to make some really important decisions. And were we going to rush our fundraising strategy? You know, what we're going to accelerate some things? What would be the impact on our fundraising? And when I told the board that I felt that this was going to be a long term situation, we had to lean into it and give it all we had really, in a sense. It meant that we needed to take a bit of a step back and make sure, number one, we checked in with our donors to make sure they were OK. We were checking with members to make sure they were OK. And we started the dialogue. We weren't asking necessarily for money right off the bat, but we were creating a dialogue about our approach and what we were doing to keep people informed of the work that was going on. But first and foremost, we care about the people that support this work. So we needed to make sure everybody was OK. We also had to reenvision. You know, we don't do a lot of events anymore, but we had a couple. And we had to reenvision that and we and my board had to be OK if they didn't perform at the levels that they were. But we looked at a very diverse strategy and approach, starting with checking with people that care about this mission and making sure that they're OK. And that's what it means when you enter into a relationship with donors and funders, right? You have a shared interest and a shared commitment to one another. And I think that paid off for us because it really helped establish even stronger the relationship we had. So then that opened the door for conversations around funding. I think it's a it's a it's a really interesting time because we did apply for a PPP loan. We received two of them along the way. And it did what it intended to do. It kept us going so that we could continue to operate when there was gaps in our fundraising coming out of that. I think everybody's thinking about what will come next. But I am encouraged for the future. I I know that there's people still suffering and who are not employed or underemployed. And and I know there's people suffering due to the pandemic. But there's still opportunity to get your message out there to people who care. And I really encourage people. The best thing you could do is talk about the work that you're doing, the impact that you're having in whatever type of charitable work that you're doing and value the relationships. Those relationships are what carry you through crisis. You've heard so much about that. And it is those leaders that truly invest in the value of relationships and not focus on the transaction. And I have seen that through and through individuals that focus on the transactions versus the human relationship night and day stories, night and day. It makes all the difference. Yeah. Wow. Well, I would say, Amy, you are a saintly woman. I just have really, really enjoyed this. And, you know, there are days when we don't get to see the best of what is out there. And you are one of these people that has really shed a light on how a leader can be in an incredible time of duress with a topic that has an incredible amount of duress. Really interesting perspective that you shared with us. And, yeah, Jarrett and I are going to be in your boat for sure. Here's Amy's information. Really an interesting organization. Check them out. Like so many nonprofits that are grassroots. They have an origination story that's very personal. And then they've navigated two decades moving forward. It's super, super interesting. And then you just lop this like little thing called the pandemic on top of it. What a recipe. What a recipe. Crossroadsforhope.org, Amy, it's been such a pleasure. Really, really interesting conversation today. Jarrett, don't you think it's really interesting when we get to have leadership discussions? Oh, it's fascinating. And this is this is a discussion is, you know, as I was saying, cancer is so prevalent right now. And so to have this as a resource beyond your certain geographic, you know, area so that this is allowed for so many other families and individuals, you know, navigating these uncharted territory, you know, sometimes for the first time leadership is everything and it means so much. So I know I have several people to share your information with as well as the episode. So thanks for what you do and you and your team. And I cannot wait to see, you know, how you close up this year and begin next year. I know there's so much on the horizon. So thank you for all you do. Thank you both very much. And I want to commend all the other charities and their leadership for the hard work they're doing each and every day in communities across the country. Yeah, it's an amazing thing. It really is. Well, I'm Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I've been joined by the nonprofit nurse herself, Jarrett Ransom, CEO of the Raven Group. I always like to call Jarrett Ransom the nonprofit nerd, but really, she's my nonprofit nerd. So right in your pocket. And just, you know, it's funny. I was on a conversation yesterday talking about you, Jarrett. And I said, well, you know, my nonprofit nerd. And I was like, oh, no, it's the nonprofit nerd. I call her my nonprofit nerd. But anyway, hey, as part of the nonprofit nerd's ecosystem, our our amazing sponsors that we have that are with us each and every day and as Jarrett witnessed in the very beginning, a lot of these folks were with us in the very, very beginning. And they have stayed with us this entire time, which is pretty profound and amazing. Hey, before we log off, this is really cool. We got somebody that wrote in no questions. Just want to say thank you. Yeah. Thank you. I love that. Thank you very much. Hey, everybody, we like to end every episode with our mantra. And that is to stay well so you can do well. We'll see you back here tomorrow, everyone. Thanks, Amy. Have a great day.