 Welcome back, we're so glad you're here. If you're a returning viewer, a listener to the nonprofit show, and if this is your first episode, welcome. We're so glad that you found us. Today we are thrilled to have with us today in conversation, Lotus Kaplan. And she's here as Chief Development Officer of Family Promise to talk to us about a very interesting concept. And I've heard more and more about this Lotus, so I'm excited to learn from you. But this process is community-based program models. And Lotus has a lot of experience and an insight to share with us when it comes to this community-based model. But before we hear from Lotus, we want to remind all of you, again, those of you that have joined us before or perhaps this is your first time, today you also have the two of us. So hello to you, Julia Patrick. Julia serves as the CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I am her fortunate sidekick in March of 2020. She reached out and said, I have this kooky idea, are you up for it? She said, let's do it. I don't know what I'm signed up for, but we have together produced nearly 900 episodes. I'm Jarrett Ransom, your nonprofit nerd and CEO of the Raven Group. And we wouldn't be here today if it weren't for our amazing presenting sponsors. So thank you to our friends over at Bloomerang, American Nonprofit Academy, fundraising academy at National University, nonprofit thought leader, your part-time controller, staffing boutique, nonprofit nerd, as well as nonprofit tech talk. Many of these companies, if not all of them, have been with us on this journey for the last four years, marching towards that 900th episode. I keep mentioning that and every time I mentioned it, Julia, including the two of us, our jaws drop, our hair like catches on fire. So yes, every single day you can find us every weekday, you can find us here for the nonprofit show. And if you happen to miss us and it doesn't quite fit into your schedule, that's okay, we've got you. 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Again, our viewers and listeners, today we have with us Lotus Kaplan and as the Chief Development Officer at Family Promise here in Arizona and that is FamilyPromiseAZ.org. Welcome to you. Hi, welcome, welcome. How are you both? We're good, we're glad to have you. And if you would tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit about the mission of Family Promise. Okay, well, I'm actually fairly new to Family Promise. I started here in August or in April, I'm sorry, in April of this year and I was really moved by what the mission was here, which is helping families that are without shelter, find sustainable housing. So we end the cycle of generational homelessness. So it drew me here and it actually is, I didn't know this when I joined. I assumed that I was joining a Arizona local non-profit and come to find out it's actually a national non-profit with national offices in New Jersey. And we are actually the largest shelter for families in the United States. That's fantastic. And I shared in the Green Room Chatter, maybe even before we went to the Green Room Chatter, my own mother, Lotus, is a volunteer for Family Promise and she lives within the Columbia, South Carolina area. And so I've heard about Family Promise. So very aware that it's a national organization and you use this community-based program and I'm curious and I'm kind of putting you on the line here, were you familiar about community-based programs before you joined in April? Good question. I actually volunteered prior to joining. So that's what got me really interested. I had come and done some of their events. Like you had said, your mother had also done like a gala. I had gone to a couple of the galas and the fundraising events. And then I joined in volunteering at one of our community-based partners, a church who houses our families because that's how our model works is that we don't fully shelter in our facilities. We utilize the community to help house and feed our families which puts them back in the community actually and we'll talk more about that, but it really gives these families like a sense of belonging and hope as opposed to like staying in a traditional shelter. So that's how I became really passionate about it. I'm like, oh, I'll just come spend the night. Oh, you guys need food, I'd love to. And then as I got more involved, I was like, wow, this is an amazing organization. And an opportunity became available. So I said, I'm jumping on board. I love it. Thank you, Jarrett, for asking that question because I think sometimes for me, Lotus, some of the most inspirational pieces of our visits and chats with our guests is what compelled them to do this work. And the organization and their journey because it takes a special type of person to navigate the very tough topics that we navigate. And the first thing I think that we wanna start with is like, what is the strategy of a community-based program? And maybe like, why? Like, what is the formation of it? Because I think we hear this and we think, oh, we know what that means, but maybe we don't. So let's start there and have you help us understand it. Okay, well, community-based really truly means that we really involve the community. And there's this, not just a sense of like, oh, I volunteered, but there's an engagement and ownership that happens within a community-based programming model where there's communication and collaboration with our partners throughout like whatever, whether it be organizations, volunteers or the actual like organizations or churches that house our families. There's a strong emphasis on like ownership of this is a community problem. It is not something that's gonna be solved. Like from the 10,000 feet view of homelessness, it's kind of like overwhelming, daunting, it's us versus them. But then when we bring in the community and recognize like we're as strong as our weakest link within our community and help to raise them up, it just makes us and our whole environment much stronger and happier. So that's really what's important about the community-based model. That's why we're super passionate about it. It was difficult during COVID because as things shut down, like the partnerships kind of went, whoa, we're not allowed to house like what do we do? So even two and a half years later, I think this is two and a half years later, it's building back the partnerships and kind of restructuring them with some flexibility as to how this can now work in our sort of post COVID era. But it's so fascinating and homelessness is certainly a national issue. If not a global issue. And so really looking at this from the community standpoint, it's so very clear and I've had the great privilege as well, Lotus, to work in the space of homelessness and have even more awareness of like what's in my backyard and it's so prevalent. And especially during the heightened days of COVID, there was like very limited resources and so many of us felt helpless. Can you talk to us about meeting the specific communities? You know, like there's so much within this. I love that Family Promises National because this really does, I believe what I'm hearing and feeling is it takes this community based program across the nation, right? Completely across the nation. So can you talk to us about meeting the needs of these specific communities? Right, well, you know, in terms of meeting the needs of our clients, we know what our need is, right? As our organization, we know that we need to help these families into self-sustainability. What we look for is partnerships that align with that need, right? So that involves like having an assessment, needs assessment. When an organization or a church comes to us, we can say things like, okay, well, does your mission align with our mission? So thinking more across the board in terms of nonprofit, it's finding community partners that align with your mission. In addition to that, do their resources complement the resources that we have? Because it's one thing to have the passion and then alignment. But like for example, if a church really wants to be a partner with us to house families, if the church is really small and cannot give private quarters to the number of families that we have available or that we're servicing at that time, maybe that partnership has to be changed a little bit. Okay, well, you can't house. Let's think of different ways in which we can have a partnership. So having that kind of like asset mapping of what resources you are able to provide, what resources we need or we're able to provide for you. Seeking organizations that intersect, maybe not exactly like for us, it's really easy to say like, oh, well, a church, their mission is to help people in need, right? But looking for other organizations that can intersect somehow, like, I don't know, a sports team, right? That has really nothing to do with what we do. However, our local, maybe sports team will say, you know what, you serve as families. We would love to have a partnership where we maybe offer a basketball clinic or a football clinic or something that brings some normalcy to our family's lives. And the same can be said in other nonprofit sectors, like finding intersections. Yeah, so, you know, I'm fascinated by this because nonprofits don't always play well together. And, you know, we can have, especially founder-oriented, newer nonprofits or nonprofits that might have a very specific mission-based approach or faith-based approach or philosophically-based approach. How do you navigate the voices in the room to play well together? Well, we were talking a little bit about this in the green room. Like, we, as a nonprofit, you know who you are. You make your identification, you know, clearly known. And if there is that intersection, you were saying as well, like sometimes there's just not a fit. Yeah. But it's funny because in this particular realm of nonprofit, what's interesting is that it's such a prevalent problem that I feel like from my limited experience, you know, being here is that all the nonprofits having to do with homelessness, we are a support system. Like we create, you know, we've been able to create this community because when a problem is so big and great, recognizing the need that it will not take one, not two, not, you know, it will take the entirety of our efforts in order to solve something. Well, that's profound. And when other nonprofits understand that, then, you know, that's where the partnerships can be. And then understanding there's enough for everybody. There's enough of this problem for literally everyone to help with, you know? So it's that capacity building. And many of us can't keep up, right? Like it's so prevalent. And I don't feel like we're even making a difference. I know we are to the individuals that are, you know, seeking shelter and receiving some of these benefits and the need is so great, right? Like it just continues to expand. I love that you brought up the intersection of, you know, maybe a sports team and things like that. I grew up in a very athletic family and, you know, all I can think about is sports teams, right? Like there's showers, there's multiple showers, there's large areas to congregate, whether it's, you know, congregate meals that this, you know, company or sports team can provide. And really saying like, okay, community members, you wanna play a part in this, what assets, what resources, what availability do you have? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and it takes that leadership too, like having the buy-in. So education and some training about like, well, no, you, you know, I don't service pets. Let's just say you're a nonprofit, it's all about pets. Well, no, I don't serve, I don't really care about pets, but you do care about the people that own the pets. So, or, you know, like thinking outside of that box a little bit and not staying completely in your lane because all of those, like we said, intersections, that all comes together within a community. It's all woven into one. So being mindful of all of those pieces and the role that you can play in them is positive, powerful. One of the things we said earlier was, you know, oftentimes we catch ourselves wanting to be all things to all people. We need to talk to us about that because I do love the partnerships and, you know, ownership and engagement. So how do we, I'm gonna say, and I don't even love this term, but how do we stay in our own lane, right? And create this like symbiotic, you know, relationship with other community members? I love that you mentioned animals because while an organization might not be animal welfare of the individual they're serving, the family they're serving, the community they're serving comes with a pet. So can you talk to us about this? Okay, let me think on that one. Can you repeat the question? I think what we're looking to talk about is this community ownership and like how do we understand, and to Jarrett's point, honor somebody else's work and their commitment, what might not be ours, but then we let everybody have a piece of it and engage, because to me, Jarrett, and you and I, I mean, you and I are perfect to have this discussion because we see it every day. There's a lot of ego involved and there's a lot of righteous behavior involved. Like this is my mission. This is what I know to be true. This is what I think is right. And if you don't follow me, you know, then you're out, right? So how do we kind of come back in in this community-based model and say, okay, community, there's ownership here in your lane, as Jarrett said. Yeah, well, I, you know, for me, one of the big things I always have to remind myself regardless is like communication and collaboration are like the cornerstones of everything when you're working with people, right? The ability to communicate your needs, share what you need from other people, give your strengths, and then also being able to collaborate. It's a give and take process. No matter, you know, regardless of what field you're in, I try to be mindful of it's a give and take process. There is no one right. There is no one wrong. There is not one right way. And we can figure out a way to collaborate and work together. And that helps build some trust. I mean, and that's a thing that takes time, right? Building a trusting relationship with other organizations that may or like, that you say like righteous or really or just this is how it should be, that takes time to build trust that we're not stepping on you. You're not stepping on us. We are all working together towards a better, brighter community. But at the end of the day, we're humans. I don't know. I just feel like this is such a hard mountain to climb. And I don't know. I mean, do things have to just get so bad and so overwhelming that the nonprofits work together and embrace this community-based model? I don't know. I mean, Jared, what is your opinion about this when you look at the landscape as well? Like what do you see? Yeah, you know, I do see a lot of collaboration and I love Lotus that you brought that to the forefront, collaboration, communication. Like that needs to be the cornerstone of moving forward where I see a lot of ego and even, you know, this is what I do kind of that ownership, Julia, is more around the financial support. I feel like in the 1.8 million nonprofits registered in U.S., we feel that there is not an infinite amount of financial resources, right? And so that's where I see where it's the road is what if they get the big grant and we don't get the big grant or what if they get the majority of it and that leaves us with smaller piece of the pie, you know? But we're seeing a lot of organized funders, I should say funders, looking at this collaborative funding model, you know, from this community-based program, you know, we have this in our local community where, you know, there's some funders that say you can only submit if you have three partners, you know, looking at that model to say, we want to help you. We want you to help you and others. How do we build this collaboration? And I do think that brings us to our next point, Lotus, about flexibility. And I'm really curious in this community-based program and the model that you speak of with Family Promise, where and how flexibility and modifications play a role. Yeah. Well, in working with the population we work with, flexibility is kind of like our middle name, right? Because every need is different from family to family and from partnership to partnership. So it's a constant like feedback loop with our partners, you know, having like we have, for example, for our model, we have like a coordinator who takes on the ownership within the partnership from the other, you know, from the church and constantly having communications with them to be like, okay, well, this worked for you. Okay, well, this didn't work for you. I mean, obviously we stay very aligned to our mission and being aware of cultural sensitivities and things of that nature, but outside of that, we really allow our partners to have a voice in what the model looks like, how it's shaped currently and how it can improve for the future. So there's a lot of like pilot testing, you know, pilot, test it, examine it, let's take another iteration of it. And that's done in collaboration with our partners because what maybe worked a year ago or pre-COVID or, you know, for this particular organization that we work with, they might not have the space or similar resources. So it's a constant like being modifying, just being mindful, like always being mindful of the mission, we're willing and able to make modifications. One of the things that we do do with our partners is that we have like a covenant or a contract of some sort. So it really outlines the basis of what we do, what they do, so we have like guardrails as we walk along the road together, right? I mean, we may like swerve a little to the left, we may swerve a little to the right and they may as well, and that's okay because we have a covenant or a contract with them that kind of keeps the guardrails in place. So we still are walking in the same direction towards the same goal. Every time I hear a guardrail, I can't help but think of my own bowling game which is really horrible, but you have the bumpers, you know, and it's like, okay, we might go a little bit this way, a little bit this way, but we're still moving the same forward direction. Lotus, I'm curious with Family Promise, being a national organization, one thing Julie and I have witnessed over the last four years of doing these episodes is geographically the needs are different, right? So I'm curious if you can speak to the, you know, overarching national kind of family promise, communication, collaboration, because every, you know, every community in our nation is ever so slightly different. The need might be there, but how it's met is different. How does national provide perhaps guardrails or resources to really guide, if you will, the local communities as they're spread out so far? Well, it's interesting. We're in an interesting time period right now because as we were talking about earlier, COVID kind of really threw this huge monkey wrench and tried to freeze our, you know, ability to help. And one of the things that's coming out of this sort of post COVID era is the change a little bit to how the model works. And so in some instances, knowing, you know, Family Promise National Setting, listen, our goal, our mission is to provide self-sustainability, right? To families to end generational homelessness. What that may look like in your neck of the woods might be different in that, you know what, you are in a small community and you don't have the number of partnerships needed to sustain like a congregational network like we have, but you have space and land. So perhaps it might be something like, well, you can build like we have now some static sites that have that are working into affordable housing because part of the homeless problem is finding sustainable housing. Like once we're able to stabilize them, we're finding like they can't afford housing because the housing prices have gone up. So we've kind of had some different iterations that are being piloted and tested nationally. And then we meet regionally within Family Promise. So if your nonprofit has like partners or a regional or, you know, other locations, it's important to get together and have summits or conferences where you discuss these things, what worked for one, what didn't work for another, the pros and cons. I think what's important too is people are resistant to change sometimes, right? So sometimes- I've heard that, I've heard that about some people. Some people, right? It's a little difficult for them to adapt. So I think it's important when you are working with others is to celebrate when an adaptive change happened and it was successful, right? Taking time to celebrate these successes and knowing like, oh my gosh, somehow we made it through together. Like somehow we did this, we made this adaptation and we are better for it. And then also recognizing that one didn't work. What can we do better next time, right? It's okay. It's okay that something didn't work and we will improve. We just keep on moving towards improvement. Yeah, I'm a huge proponent, right? Like if it doesn't work, celebrate that too because try it, right? And you can learn from absolutely every single opportunity. There are so many amazing CEOs that have been celebrated for their failures. And for me, I'm just, I'm a huge proponent for that. That might be a little bit of the disruption in me where it's like, hey, let's go against the grain. Let's do something a little different. Lotus, thank you. This has been fascinating. Again, for those of you watching and listening, Family Promise is national. So we are so grateful to have Lotus Kaplan join us today. She's the chief development officer for Family Promise in Arizona. And you can find the website, familypromiseaz.org. And again, if you are a community member, which we all are and you have joined us from another part of the region, please look into Family Promise in your community. You might be able to be a wonderful collaborator and contributor to the national crisis of homelessness and the needs that families have. So Lotus, it's been so enjoyable. Thank you for your time and your expertise on the community-based program model. Thank you. Have a wonderful day, ladies. Appreciate your time. It's been great. I think this has been an amazing conversation, Jarrett, because you and I meet so many amazing people every day on the nonprofit show, but a lot of times I spend time off-camera trying to connect to those folks, right? Because they're doing their just amazing work here, but they really need to be knowing these people over here and moving together the parts to make a better whole. And so, Lotus, that was just a fabulous way for us to be reminded of this piece of it. Everybody, again, if you needed to be reminded who we are, I don't know if you need to be reminded, but I'm Julia Patres, the American Nonprofit Academy. Jared R. Ransom, the nonprofit nerd herself, the CEO of the Raven Group is my trusty sidekick. And again, we're here because we have amazing partners. I would say, Jarrett, in our own community piece, right? 100%. Yes. Yeah, I mean, in the community that we serve and that we really have dedicated our lives to our community-based partners include Bloomerang, American Nonprofit Academy, your part-time controller, Nonprofit Thought Leader, Fundraising Academy at National University, Staffing Boutique, Nonprofit Nerd, and Nonprofit Tech Talk. These are the folks that really make up our community and they can be a part of your community as well. Lotus, we're gonna invite you to listen and take into your heart our sign-off because it goes like this. We invite everyone to remember to stay well so you can do well. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Thank you, ladies. This has been really wonderful. Thank you.