 Well, I want to go ahead and get us started. I know that we've got still quite a few people joining us live. So thank you so much. Go ahead and come on in, get situated. We like to start every episode by extending our sincerest gratitude to our presenting sponsors. You can see all of them in front of you on the screen. Many of them have been with us for a full year of the nonprofit show even before when they were called the Corona Chronicles. So thank you for your support. But what I like to say is these sponsors, they're not just here for us. They like Julia and they like me, but they love the work that you do. They love your missions, your causes, and they are right there to support you. So I also like to ask every one of you to go find them online, their social media channels, give them a like, a thumbs up, some love, and just tell them thank you because they are here in your corner to lift you up and support your missions. Julia Patrick had this wonderful idea a year ago, and here we are celebrating well within our 240, maybe 50th episode. So our 300th episode will be coming up in May. Really excited for that. Julia Patrick is the CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy, and I am so happy each and every morning to serve alongside Julia as her co-host. I am Jarrett Ransom, also known as the Nonprofit Nerd and CEO of the Raven Group. This morning, I'm really excited to share and welcome Sharon Goodson, Vice President of Philanthropy and Organizational Development with Leech Tag Foundation. Welcome, Sharon, and thank you so much for joining us for today's episode. Great, thank you so much. I really appreciate the invitation and I'm happy to be with you guys this morning. It's great, you know, I absolutely, when you came on, I was like, this is my gal. You have a picture of your founders right behind you. That's right. I love that. And so talk to us about your founders and the foundation. You know, first of all, I've got a witness to you. This is a big deal for us to get somebody from the inside of a foundation to talk to us. Not all foundations are the same, but we have found in doing this for a year. You know, there's not, there are not a lot of foundations that are willing to come forward and really kind of talk about what they're doing and what their vision is. A lot of times they'll say, oh, talk to the folks that we fund or, oh, you know, they're just not as comfortable and not that they're trying to hide anything. It's just kind of an unusual voice to hear from. So talk to us about Leigh and Tony. Great. So the Leech Tag Foundation were located. We consider ourselves having two locations. We have a site where I am now in Encinitas, California. So that's North San Diego County and have staff on the ground in Jerusalem, Israel. This area in North County was where Leigh and Tony Leech Tag lived and worked for many years and the area was very important to them as Israel was. You know, it's funny that the Leech Tags are very present in our work every day. We have all sorts of stories that we tell about them and it really informs our work. So the Leech Tag Foundation started in 1991 as a family foundation. And then the plan over that time was for their daughter, Leigh and Tony's daughter, Jolie Ann, to take over the foundation when they had kind of had enough. And very tragically, she passed away of lung cancer in 2007. And basically it put sort of a question into the minds of the Leech Tags of who would be running this foundation going forward. So more tragic, Leigh Leech Tag or dad then passed away from a single car accident just a few months later. And at that point, her mom, Tony was already in her 90s and had really given so much of her time and energy to the nonprofit community. And basically overnight, you know, had said, I think I'm ready to turn this into a private foundation, not a family foundation anymore. So their longtime attorney, Jim Farley, who is our president CEO was named in the trust to run the foundation. And he, you know, basically didn't, you know, he had a lot of experience being on nonprofit boards and being an attorney, but not necessarily running a foundation. So over time, you know, we were brought in to help develop the guidelines, the bylaws, well, they had the bylaws, but to, you know, sort of make it, you know, more of a private foundation in terms of broad community work. So we joke that the, you know, when anybody would ask Leigh Leech Tag where his strategic plan was, he would tap his head, you know, it's just up here, you know, and when they would say, well, where's your budget? He would tap his back pocket where his wallet was. So this wasn't a foundation, they had done some really great work in San Diego, but it wasn't a foundation that had sort of, you know, strategies, guidelines in terms of what you might find in another foundation. So came in and did a bunch of research and white papers around the key areas of interest that the Leech Tags had, that was our, you know, edict from the board. And what came out of that has now transitioned, you know, I guess these last 14 or so years to be a focus on building Jewish life in San Diego's North County. And by that we really work on programs that are very welcoming and have very few barriers to participation. So we find in California at least and much of going up and down the West Coast that many Jews are journeying through life with a partner who's not Jewish. And, you know, many were not resonating with some of those traditional institutions that they had in the past. So we did a lot of research in focus groups. We do that a lot. So we've had sort of series of those, you know, probably four or five times over these past years and by talking to folks that they really wanted a place to be, they really felt like they were the only Jew in their town. And of course we know that that's not true. So after a few years of being in, working out of an office, an opportunity came available for us to purchase a 67 acre agricultural property here in Encinitas, which again is this sort of amazing opportunity. It's in a terrific location right in between, we have the YMCA, we have an older adults, a Jewish older adults home, Botanic Gardens, we're in this terrific cluster of organizations. And the intent was to make this the platform for our work. And so we have providing, so a lot of our building Jewish life in North County happens right here on our property through cultural, social, educational programming. So I'm so interested because you, it seems like you had the founder's vision and they were moving through tragically and through time things changed. It seems to me, and this is also the stuff I'm leaning from your website, that things really changed when you've got this physical campus. I mean, is that fair to say? Because what a revolutionary thing to go from, you know, Mr. Leach Tag's mind and wall it into a physical site. Absolutely. I mean, that really turned us, you're completely right from being a grand tour who mostly wrote checks, although as I'll share too that, you know, that's never been our strategy. We try to do a lot more with tools other than just the funds that we distribute. We invest in young talent, we host events here on our property, we do a lot of capacity building. But we really needed a place to do that. So it was very interesting. So we're not a operating foundation per se in terms of like the IRS, but we do emerge. So we do some grant making still and do a lot of place-based work. That is a handful. And I love the story, you know, where he's like, clearly it was passion. So much passion, so much purpose, but really driven into that. Now, you said one of my favorite, I'm gonna say buzzwords, right, in our sector, but that capacity building. And I would love for you to go a little bit deeper into that, Sharon, based on, you know, how does the Leach Tag Foundation provide support in that space of capacity building? Sure. Yeah, I love this part of our work. I mean, it is just- It's so important. So important and so stimulating. And so, you know, as I said, we still do some grant making around help, and we have since we began in providing some, you know, grants for organizations to pursue training and development, strategic planning, et cetera. But we also use our team here. We have a terrific team that is very accomplished and provides a lot of the training that we offer. We have a theory here, too, or a philosophy, I should say, of not positioning a nonprofit for a grant with our board for approval unless they were really positioned ready to go. You know, we, and we did, we've always done a lot of technical assistance to be sure that their, you know, proposal was great, that they did have a plan, that there was sustainability on the other side. We also don't go into projects as the only funder. And that's really a sustainability piece. You know, something happens to us. We don't want the work not to continue. So we do a lot here on the property when we were all on the property. We're still, you know, we're hoping to be able to come back soon. But we have a number of workshops and, you know, these days, webinars on a whole bunch of nonprofit, you know, building topics. You were part of, you're an instructor, an adjunct instructor of the fundraising academy. I should get my fingers right. Yeah, right, yeah, right. So that's interesting, which we didn't know that. Not until this morning. Yeah, that was funny, yeah. Right, well, we'd like to really leverage the work that we do, you know. So we, you know, our big guess and other philosophy is really building, you know, philanthropy throughout the region and beyond. And so if, you know, however we can best reach people to do that, to build the capacity of nonprofits and also to educate philanthropists, you know, to let people know through our training and helping facilitate things like giving circles and community education work that anybody can be a philanthropist and really wanting to look at the equitable aspect of that. Really, I guess the way to say is democratize giving. Wow, you know, let's switch topics just a little bit because I'm so intrigued by the vision of your founders. I can see how it's grown and morphed over time. And one of the big impacts that we've all had obviously in the nonprofit sector is COVID. And I'm wondering if you could kind of share how your organization has been impacted and then second to that, how do you think you're gonna move forward? Like what are some of, as Jared always says, the silver linings and some of the lessons that are gonna actually, I think maybe perhaps, improve your organization. Absolutely, I'm so glad for you to ask that because we talk about it all the time. You know, we saw ourselves very early on in COVID wanting to pursue our grant making but wanting to do that leveraged with other foundations, other givers. So very quickly we became involved with two funding consortiums. One here in San Diego's North County with two of our community foundations, the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation and the Coastal Community Foundation. And we launched the North County COVID-19 Response Fund which the foundations have brought resources in really focusing on basic needs of vulnerable populations in North County. And that has been a very robust fund. We have, and we've done a fair amount of fundraising through that also. So our foundations all contributed resources but then we went out to other groups and individuals as well and brought in probably close to $800,000 and it granted out very quickly. So I think this was not kind of building a fund for a later time. We did a similar piece in the Jewish community here by pulling together with the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation. Also all contributed resources, also fundraising and did some grant making but we also did some interesting loan programs to organizations before they had gotten the PPP loans. We've done funds to rabbi's discretionary funds because often that might be the person somebody feels comfortable going to and we've been grants to organizations. So it's been very interesting and creative. I love that. You know, we've had a couple of comments, one of, I have to read this. It says, this is a testimonial. Sharon and the Leash Tag Foundation offer tremendous capacity building opportunities and are a terrific partner of the Fundraising Academy. I'm a big fan and that comes from Tony Beale. Oh, my friend, Paul. That's cool, huh? That's really, really sweet. Yeah, that's awesome. Well, you know, talk to us about the Hive because this is another interesting piece that you have and again, it seems to me like this is something that was born of your maturation and your journey that the Leash Tags probably would have never conceived of. And before you do that, Julia, pull up that slide because that logo of the Hive, I just, it's so great. So we're gonna get that on the screen here so you can see as Sharon talks about the Hive, which is an initiative of the foundation. Right, absolutely. The Hive is an amazing place and the idea that being a be Hive really, we attribute to a colleague of ours who passed away, Naomi Radkin, who was our first director of all programs here on the property. She conceived of the idea of the Hive and it is, again, when it's sort of in full form, a buzzing co-working space of over 35 nonprofit and a couple for-profit organizations that are mission aligned. So Jewish or environmentally focused foods, systems, kind of connecting into some of our work. So it's a great sort of hub of activity and then adding our capacity work onto that, there is always something happening at the Hive. There is always a professional development program of some kind going up. There's a lot of wisdom. You have these 35, 40 organizations and there's a lot of information to share and it's very social. There are coffee hours and a couple of some happy hours. The idea behind it is really that if you, it's kind of intuitive, but if you put organizations all together that good things are gonna happen and collaborations are gonna happen. And that I think is a huge silver lining that we've had with COVID is that we have had partnerships and seen partnerships that you might say you partner, but it really changed how we have all worked these past, this past year. I'll mention real quickly, we started this fundraising Fridays group as a project of the Hive for fundraisers last June, thinking that people needed, wanted, and we made it an opportunity every Friday morning, like a weekly opportunity to just talk and see what was going on and what questions had come up, especially as everybody was navigating virtual programming and what are we gonna do? Our Gala isn't happening this year and this whole move to technology. And it's been super successful. I think if I say so myself, we again partnered, we didn't try to go it alone. So we partnered with the North County Philanthropy Council, which is here in North County, one of our professional associations for the nonprofits. And we've also partnered with the association for fundraising professionals in San Diego. So the three organizations kind of were like the think group of what were we going to do and how would we attract people? We all then also were able to share the invitations with our collective elists and we've averaged probably about 40 or so folks every week. And people have had new collaborations. They found out about new funding opportunities. They have come up with new ways to engage donors. And we did a survey last week and I'm really glad to say that I think we had, like in the high 90 percentile people so that they would continue attending, fundraising Fridays, even after we could be back in person. So. And another silver lining, there's been so much that all of us have had to pivot. That has been the word of last year, 2020. But you've proven Sharon with collaboration, which is another one of my favorite words, capacity building, collaboration. So much good comes out and for the community when this happens. So thank you for sharing that wonderful story. It's really interesting. And we don't have a lot of time left. And before we go, I want to delve into another piece of this. And that is you shared the very beginning that the Lee Chag said, interest in following their journey of philanthropy and mission change too into Jerusalem. And so I'm wondering what that has looked like, especially in a growing part of the country in Southern California. Yeah, you have so much need that you've identified there. How have you managed and built support and done that piece so far away? Well, I have to say a lot of this, all of it really, is due to the brilliance of our executive vice president, Charlene Seidel, who is really the architect of so much of our work, but of our Israel piece as an example, of really seeing so much potential in Jerusalem in particular. Jerusalem is sort of a place of trends in Israel. Things happen first there, that it also is a city that has clear demarcation with very religious Jews, Arab communities, and secular, non-religious people. And there's so much opportunity and promise. And Charlene, we were learning that people were leaving Jerusalem young adults after they finished going to a university. And so this started probably about 10 or so years ago. Of again, back to this capacity work, really building the capacity of young social leaders, social entrepreneurs, advocates, who could really help to be forward thinking and build relationships. And it's been amazing. So in COVID, though I'll say very quickly, Israel was locked down before we were and has been locked down several times, of course, since. So a lot of the grant making and the work focused on these micro communities because people really, and they were locked down, like they could only go down the block or to the grocery store. So they really focusing on Palestinian communities that didn't have access to food or older adult areas that were really isolated now. And so we did a bunch of these micro grants. We have a staff there who's a brilliant on the ground staff and they were able to very quickly mobilize and get that work going. Wow, amazing. I love it. Now, as we finish up, what do you think the like shacks would think? You know, we get that question a lot. Yeah. And, you know, I think, gosh, I would hope that they would really be proud of the work. There's no way we could, you know, obviously be doing this without their tremendous legacy. You know, they left 98% of their wealth to the community. They really felt that they were products of the American dream. You know, they, you know, born of the depression from very humble backgrounds and, you know, felt very strongly of, you know, really making this world a better place. And I like to think that they would be pleased with how we've done that. Yeah. It's an amazing story. And I, one of the things that Jared, I was really fascinated with is Sharon said we want to teach people how to be philanthropists as well. Wasn't that cool? Very cool. As you know, that is one of my favorite things. And going back to, you know, the definition, the very basic definition of philanthropy and what it is to be a philanthropist. And it does not mean that there are several zeros at the end of a number, right? It means any gift, any size, any, any way of being of service. And that is definitely one of my platforms. That's right. It's true. I mean, you take the root of the word, you know, it's a love of humankind. Yes. You know, I feel like what we do here, we're so lucky. You know, these are just jobs that we fill. This isn't our money. You know, we absolutely, you know, we look to the experts who, you know, know what, really know what needs to happen. And we're really lucky to be able to help in tangible ways. I love it. Well, you have been just a wonderful, wonderful guest. Again, we don't often get to see or hear this side of the story. And so it's been really amazing for us to have you on Sharon. I'm going to throw up Sharon's information here. You need to check out their website and their story. It's really an interesting journey of innovation and understanding the marketplace and how things have changed. And a lot of times we don't think of foundations as being terribly nimble, but it seems to me like your group really has embraced in a fearless way how you could be more of a service and grow according to the cause that are needed to be met. So really, really interesting information. Again, Sharon Goodson, Vice President of Philanthropy and Organizational Development of the Leach Tag Foundation, located there in Northern San Diego County. I'm thinking, Jared, that you and I need to do a road show. Yes. I think so. Yes, it was great. Oh yeah, you could film here at the hive. It would be terrific. And if we could do that, let's say August, September when it's really horrible here. Yeah. I love it. I love that idea. And we're only a few miles from the beach. So we are in a great location. Very nice. I have to think about that. I'm going to check my calendar right now. I know. Oh my gosh, I can see the promotion now. Well, hey, it's really been great. And it excites me, and I know it excites Jared, that when we get to see the vision of people that were blessed with a lot of largesse who could turn that back out into their communities and to see this amazing work, it's really inspirational. Again, I'm Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. I've been joined today by the non-profit nerd, my non-profit nerd, your non-profit nerd, Jared Ransom. And again, we are so grateful to all of you who've been with us. We want to make sure that you also know, and this is just one of those random crazy things, but we have partnered with the Fundraising Academy, and they're doing a series of really bold lessons. And it's all about cause marketing and how your organization can work with folks that want to build a relationship with you and move forward on some sort of mission-based work. And it's been really exciting. Tony will be back with us again next Tuesday. And so we just want to give you some ideas on that. Again, thank you to our intrepid sponsors without you. We would not be here having this discussion. A year this week, we launched this program and all the programming that's come since then and is going into the future. We would not be here without these people. And so we are incredibly blessed and fortunate to have that. Wow, Jared, another great episode of The Non-Profit Show. I love it. You know, again, every morning I start my day with an environmental scan in the sector. Sharon, you were phenomenal to talk to. Thanks for all that you do and for sharing the insights of the Leach Tag Foundation with us. So thank you for joining us. Thank you. It was a great opportunity. Great way to start my day, too. Good. Well, hey, everybody, it's been another really exciting time to share with you. And as we end our day every day, we like to remind everyone, stay well so you can do well. We'll see you back here tomorrow, everyone.