 Hello and welcome. So glad that you're here. Each and every one of you, whether you're watching this live show or recording, we just want to welcome you here to the non-profit show. Julie and I are honored to have Heath Bloomsdine with us today. Heath is the Regional Director at Oort America and he's going to talk to us about stewarding your donors in particular in different communities. So stay with us, but before we dive into this conversation we of course want to remind our viewers and our listeners who you're looking at or possibly listening to. So hello to Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Non-profit Academy. I'm Jarrett Ransom, your non-profit nerd CEO of the Raven Group and we are honored each and every day to be able to show up to be of service and have conversations with leaders like Heath today thanks to our sponsors. So I'm going to give a verbal shout out thanks so very much to Bloomerang, American Non-profit Academy, fundraising academy at National University, non-profit nerd, your part-time controller, staffing boutique and non-profit thought leader. Hey if you've missed any of our episodes you know where to find us you can get us on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, as well as Vimeo and for those podcast listeners like I am go ahead and queue up the non-profit show wherever you stream your podcast. So we were just sharing in the green room chatter about how you know you can watch this episode with Heath later today or if you wake up in the middle of the night and you're thinking how do I steward my donors? Heath is going to catch you up on all of that as well as any of our previous episodes before. So Heath Blumstein welcome my friend. Thank you very nice to be here thank you both. It's wonderful to have you. You know Oort America I've learned about this organization through you and for those of you watching and listening Heath and I go back several years in the non-profit community and so I've been you know watching your journey you've been watching my journey it's just been a lot of fun but tell us a little bit about your role and a little bit about Oort America. Thank you Jarrett. You know I'm thinking about it I think I know you so long I think you were a junior nerd when I first met you. I think so you're right I wasn't quite at my prime so thank you for acknowledging that. Of course happy to. So Oort is a global education network driven by Jewish values and innovation preparing people and communities for meaningful and self-sufficient futures. So what does that mean? We are a very very large education network we're based in 39 countries around the world. We have 41 schools and two universities. We service over 200,000 beneficiaries each and every year and I can give you numbers but I think I'd rather give you some key words of what Oort believes in which you know spurs a conversation with many many fine wonderful organizations throughout the U.S. and world. We believe in sustainability, integrity, innovation, passion, cooperation, excellence and to keen alum and to keen on and it's repairing the world and repairing our community. So that's that's a little bit of a sense of what we do. It's amazing. That is so powerful and especially in this time of in this point in history where we are failing and flailing civically. I've got to believe that this mission and this voice of your mission really resonates with donors no matter where they are. Oort World Oort of which Oort America is a subsidiary. World Oort was formed in 1880. Just a few years ago. Oort America this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary. So we have chapters throughout the U.S. that still believe in the passion of what we do and we are you know we always strive to bring in newer donors. So our donor base spans the age of you know teenagers who contribute because they speak to the organization or you know people higher up in age. So fascinating. I mean well this is for another day but this multi-generational giving and engaging with different generations. Wow how powerful and how challenging is that really really interesting. I've got to ask you with an organization that is so uh has so many years I was going to say is so old but it has so many years in service. Have you seen your mission change or navigate because of what's going on to it to two different things? You know it's an excellent question and the bottom line is no. Basically our mission has stayed the same since 1880 and certainly for the past 100 years. We have adopted we you know from teaching students to become good citizens we now have adopted the STEM and STEAM educational philosophy and we you know are trying to be leaders in that field. You know we teach in the schools cybersecurity which you know is a new growing field that we try and adapt to the times but relate it back to our mission. It's so important and that's one thing we've talked about here on the show is the advancements of technology and how that has impacted our sector even the way we communicate you know with our stakeholders and constituency bases. I'm just so amazed I mean even though I've heard the story from you Heath but to hear it again you know this just deep rooted organization and what it stood for and continues to stand for going forward it's just it's just amazing to know that it exists and it's still thriving. Tell us a little bit if you would about how you and your team and the rest of the organization has really managed to communicate with your stakeholders to carry out this mission for 100 years and what that looks like for you. So our national office is based in New York City. We have regions in Florida, Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit and so and then it comes to me. So my actual title is Director of Southwest Region but primarily I work with Southern California and I work with different communities west of Kansas City and certainly west of New Orleans, Louisiana all the way up to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. So we're talking about a diverse part of America where you have different time zones, you have different cultures, you have I mean you don't just like jump in the car and drive down the road and meet with a donor so how do you navigate fundraising in a different community that I would say are pretty ding-dang diverse? Well being that my half of my job consists of working in Southern California and I don't live in Southern California, I don't live in California. I have lived there twice in my life and I established a friendship with a gentleman actually we celebrated 30 years of being friends in this year and I've worked in three organizations in California including Orte and he's been on the board in two of those organizations. I'm sorry this is now my fourth organization I'm working with. He's been on the board in two of them he was very active in another and he was the one I went to and said you know I'm with this new organization let me talk to you about it and I asked him to host a house party for Orte which he did. This was in December of 2019 and he had about 25 people at his house and knowing him he was disappointed it wasn't you know 50 but he believes thank goodness he believes in me he believes in the program that I shared with him and you know as a as a nonprofit professional especially development professional I think you look for three types of people you look for people who can give money you look for people who are workers and you look for people who are connectors and he is a connector and he has helped me tremendously navigate a city I don't live in anymore through his connections of setting me up with people. So I'm kind of surprised because that's not the answer that I thought you would give us but I really think it speaks to the power of that word you use the connectivity and finding those people that are going to help shepherd that part of your work your journey and the mission it's very interesting that you give so much honor and credence to that part of it. Look I was very fortunate enough Orte sent me on a conference with staff and lay leaders from the Jewish federations of North America in August of 2019 and we went to Uruguay and to Argentina and I saw the list and I saw my Jewish federations that I work with on that list and I worked the room I met people you know introduced myself gave out business cards yes that's still a thing and really made so many connections that because of the pandemic you know speaking to them on phone email zoom I was able to visit a number of those communities that I don't work in for example I had one trip where I went from Phoenix to El Paso I met with a Jewish day school in El Paso I met with the head of the Federation in El Paso the next morning I flew to Houston I had a meeting that night the next meeting the next day I addressed the Federation board then I flew to Dallas and I had four meetings in Dallas before coming home two days later so it's these people that I met along the way that I established relationships with and that's an entree into the city that I don't let go that's amazing I speak to I love what you said you know those those three pillars really for development professionals and you're carrying that out through connections and other communities tell us a little bit about your upcoming trip that you have and how that is stewarding donors in a different community so on that trip to Argentina and Uruguay I met a wonderful young individual who was the president of his Federation at the time and we struck up a friendship and he told me he had one year left and then he was done with the Federation and he was also chairing his school capital campaign drive and he was really impressed with the work and the the work that work does around the world so he was going to Israel through the University of Tennessee on a mission and I had him meet our staff in Israel they were impressed with him he was impressed with them I set him up with our new CEO he became on the board of World America and he is a Southern gentleman from Chattanooga when the Museum of the Jewish Southern Experience opened he contacted Orton said you know this would be a great trip for us to make and I happen to say to the CEO that I have led these type of trips before in the United States so she said great you're in charge so we now are going September 11 through the 13th we have a group of 10 who are registered to go we have people from Chattanooga from New York City from Detroit from Atlanta and it's a it's a wonderful group great leadership and also some new people to the organization and it's 48 hours on the ground showcasing the Southern Jewish experience and of course you know Orton involvement in it through the years so it's a great opportunity you know it's it's going to be fascinating to find out so much of what your lessons are because I would imagine some of these folks they haven't traveled for nearly three years and so what is that going to look like and then that whole boots on the ground how do you engage folks with something through travel and through an experience that's going to be super magical and it'll be really interesting to to find out about that as part of this fundraising in different communities are you finding that you have more success when you can bring people into these other communities and in really dare I say getting them to go to a different city or meeting you in a different city like what does that look like it is a juggling act I really have to be honest with you you know when I go into LA I meet with some of our donors every year sometimes I feel that they get tired of me heck I get tired of me next week I actually have the opportunity we have our head of education in Israel flying to the United States and he's bringing a student who just graduated high school who's in a year before he goes into the army and he credits the robotics program with Ort sponsors as turning his life around so when this trip was announced I jumped on it immediately and I said I would love him to come to Los Angeles so we are going to be in Los Angeles for just about 24 hours we have five meetings set out because people are dying to hear something new something different and hopefully they'll get inspired by it like I was inspired when I first met him so it's a it's a wonderful opportunity and you know I was chatting with him this morning and he said you know the hopefully the jet lag won't be an issue and I said no no we're gonna hit the ground running you'll be fine you'll be like yeah give a beat yeah I love that well these personal interactions you've spoken of that throughout this entire conversation he you know really going to the gentleman in Southern California how he's helped to connect with other organizations do you find that you know with an organization that serves so many individuals in so many different communities that it really is dependent on these power of personal connections like I believe that in any organization I've worked for you know personally I cannot work for an organization I don't believe in the mission and what I when I speak what I tell people is I do what I do because my son had such an incredible Jewish day school experience from when he was six weeks old until he graduated Arizona State every step along the way was somehow involved in being Jewish and leading a wonderful Jewish life that led him to where he is now at 23 years old working for an Arizona State Senator who the reason he went to work for him is because he saw a big Israeli flag in his office so I dedicate myself for his career to help other students around the world have some semblance of a wonderful Jewish education experience and so when you witness that and when you are talking with your donors that might be in such vastly different communities is that something that they can grab on to and understand or do you find that those donors can then relate maybe something that's happened that way within their own communities that you that you wouldn't necessarily know about because they're in a different part of the country you know many people have different philosophies on fundraising and it's true you know I will say that I am not a fundraiser I was never trained to be a fundraiser I'm actually an MSW but my philosophy in fundraising is to have a conversation have a conversation with someone how we can better our community how we can better the community around us how we can better the world so judging based on the conversation if somebody has children if somebody has grandchildren if they went through a Jewish day school setting it's obviously a natural to bring that up but it's really you know it's talking about our schools we have six schools in in in Ukraine that had a close you know but we also have schools in Soviet Union we have schools in Argentina we have a tremendous day school in Mexico City so it's finding out where they're from what their passion is and then steering the conversation that way amazing there's so much to offer you know for this organization can you talk to us a little more you know specifically like when COVID hit if we can think that you know far back like how did you manage relationships and how did you continue these relationships in these communities because no one was traveling right we you know so many people were fearful we're still fearful how did you manage the conversation at that point you know what I did and I can't speak for everyone but what I did was I called up donors and I'm saying look I'm just calling to check on you yeah I'm not asking you for anything I just want to make sure you're okay and do you need anything because we do have some resources so again it's you know it's trying to be genuine it's being honest it's checking on their welfare making sure that they're okay my gosh I had this one woman in Los Angeles that told me she thanked me and she started to cry because she said you know I'm the first person that is called to check on her outside of her family and friends wow and you know sometimes we have to put fundraising aside for the greater good and I think that time was the greater good to check on people we care about from professional to donor relationship and to make sure that they're okay yeah it's that has been Julia the one key piece of advice that I I know so many genuine fundraisers like yourself you know Heath even though you don't consider yourself a fundraiser but me being a person that really values relationships and the value of conversation really just ties in with that and I think Julia we've heard it and that it just it still speaks to my heart I love it it does and you know what's interesting about that Jared is it wasn't like this came out of fundraising 101 this seemed to be something that was kind of like an organic natural thing for people that were in if you will the relationship business I mean that they genuinely just started calling and and the first time I heard it I was like wow you're pretty smart and then I realized as we started hearing this that this was just part of the human condition but these fundraisers had that somehow in their personal ecosystem to to actually be drawn to that so it's fascinating Heath to hear you say that yeah well when you care about people it's a it's a natural thing to do yeah and you want to make sure that they're okay yeah yeah absolutely you could also falls back to your MSW that masters of social work it's just right there in you absolutely hey tell us a little bit we don't have too much time but you did kind of drop this really big comment that you're celebrating 100 years as an organization so what does that look like it looks like we are trying to get many generations involved in letting them know that it's the hundredth year celebration of work America we are preparing for a big gala in New York City in November we different areas have done different things to promote the hundredth year anniversary and of course we have our trip to New Orleans that is you know part of the hundredth year so we're doing different things you know it was it would be much bigger had we not been handcuffed for the past couple of years but we are very happy to to have this and and look forward to the next 100 you know milestone marketing what and a blessing I mean there's so few organizations in our country profit or non-profit they can can say they've done a hundred of anything right I mean it's really an awesome awesome part of this and it's been a lot of fun to hear about you Heath, Heath Loomsteen director Southwest Region of Oort America has been joining us today check out oortamerica.org it is a vast website there are tremendous resources and it really tells the story of how this organization works throughout the globe with a lot of integrity and insight into some very structured principles and I think I have to say Heath when when I was going through that website I was like wow I know your work but I don't know you it was really an interesting thing I'm like oh yeah I know where you where you've been working and how you do things and so that was really cool to see this journey having marched forward so we are honored that you would come and share with us today for those of you in the green room one of the best stories I heard was that Heath was probably one of the first five people that Jared shared that when she was expecting her son so pretty cool absolutely yeah we had a great working relationship and you know as Heath shared one of my very first clients so he knew me when I was just a junior nerd as he said so thank you and thanks for joining us I've loved learning about this organization love learning about how you're taking your passion and your personal purpose forward in the world to do so much good and drink some sweet tea for me would you while you're in New Orleans I would appreciate it thank you both very much it was a wonderful experience I appreciate you having me on oh my gosh it's been fun again if you don't know who we are we'll tell you one more time I'm Julia Patrick CEO of the American nonprofit been joined today by the nonprofit nerd herself Jared Ransom CEO of the Raven group I like to call her my nonprofit nerd because she really is again we want to thank all of our presenting sponsors who make these conversations happen day in and day out many of them since the very beginning of the nonprofit show blue meringue American nonprofit academy your part-time controller nonprofit nerd fundraising academy at national university staffing boutique and nonprofit thought leader but wait Jared what's on the screen behind you I know cannot wait we're going to have someone from be generous with us soon very soon so you'll learn a lot more about them each and every month right along with our other sponsors so thank you and welcome welcome to be generous it's going to be really fun part of this new movement of fintech you know really seeping into the nonprofit sector and so it'll really be a lot of fun to learn about what they do and in their philosophy on fundraising and that financial technology piece so we're really looking forward to them hey as we like to end every episode of the nonprofit show we want to remind everybody ourselves I'm going to throw in Heath and Jared and even Kevin Pace our executive producer who's with us day in and day out to remember to stay well so you can do well we'll see you back here tomorrow everyone