 Hello and welcome. Thank you for joining us. Another episode of the nonprofit show. Today we have with us, Kevin Yates. And Kevin is the founder of an organization called Meals in the Meantime. So hello to you, Kevin. And you're gonna talk to us about what it's like to be new to nonprofit and some lessons that you personally have learned along the way. So before we dive into this conversation, we wanna remind our viewers and our listeners who we are. So hello to Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. And to myself, Jarrett Ransom, nonprofit nerd, CEO of the Raven Group. And we are honored to have the continued support day in, day out over the last three years, thanks to our amazing sponsors. So I'm gonna give a verbal shout out because they deserve it. So thank you so very much. To Bloomerang American Nonprofit Academy, fundraising academy at National University, be generous, your part-time controller, staffing boutique, nonprofit thought leader and the nonprofit nerd. These companies have been by our side, right Julia? Like many of them from the very, very beginning. So they allow us to have the conversations like we'll have today with Kevin to talk about nonprofits and the lessons learned. But if you miss any of today's episode or any of our previous 600 plus episodes, you know where to find us. So check us out on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, Vimeo. And if you're a podcast listener like I am, go ahead and queue us up wherever you stream your podcast. So Kevin, we are thrilled to have you with us today. Again, founder and president, meals in the meantime. Welcome to you. Thank you so much. I'm really, really excited to be here today. You know, we're thrilled to talk to somebody in a position like yours, which is really unusual, where we can talk with the founder and they can share with us what it's really like to be involved in this process. And so we're really, I think a lot of people will get information and inspiration about your honest reflections, you know, because it's so easy to have passion and excitement and then the reality hits and it's a hard slog. Before we get going, I wanna mention that you're coming to us from Ireland, right? I am. As we speak, I am in the lovely city of Dublin for the very first time and absolutely loving it. And I'm representing the brand here in Dublin. I love it. Fantastic, yeah. And I love your logo here for those of you watching. I just, that's a really appealing and attractive logo. Tell us a little bit about meals in the meantime, Kevin. Absolutely, absolutely. Again, thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about my experience and to talk about my nonprofit. Meals in the meantime is primarily focused on serving the Chicago Land South Suburban and our mission is filling the food gap with nourishment and dignity. And that's not just the slogan. There is some intention with that idea. And so when we talk about nourishment, we are focused on providing free, fresh, healthy, high quality food. We are also focused on meeting specific and unique needs of those who need help with food. So in other words, there are people who might have dairy allergies. And so we offer plant-based milk as an example. There are people who may not eat, say, things like pork or maybe even beans. And so we offer turkey products. And so when we talk about nourishment, we also are focused on providing fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. And then, again, focusing on nourishment and dignity, I think that one of the things that makes us very unique is how we engage with our pantry visitors. We don't have any preconceived notions or biases against people who need food, right? And so there are many, many reasons for why someone may be experiencing a food deficit or food scarcity. And so our perspective is not having access to food is not a condemnation. We're focused on changing the condition. And so when we have food pantry visitors, we see them, we acknowledge their presence, we say hello, we say good morning, we say we are glad that you're here. And so, again, our mission is filling the food gap with nourishment and dignity. And it's not just a cliche, it's not just a tagline, it's how we operate. And I'm just super excited and so grateful to be able to serve the people who visit us who need help with food. So that's a little bit about who we are at the highest level. I love it, I love it. You know, one of the things that I think Jarrett and I immediately could see, even when we started communicating with you about coming on the show, was that you do have a passion. And that's really important, but I gotta get right into it. How do you start a nonprofit when you don't have a nonprofit background? You have plenty of passion. I do. And some of it comes from personal experience. And just to give you and our audience today perspective, my background in terms of where I have been focused for the past, well, I don't know, 25 years, kind of given my age a little bit the way there. My area of focus expertise and where I have been doing most of my work for the past few years is in training, learning and talent development. I had the inspiration and the idea for meals in the meantime. On March 9th of last year, to be exact. So on March 9th of 2021, I got the idea and the inspiration to help people who need food. And I do believe it was divine inspiration that led me in the direction where we're headed with the nonprofit. On a very personal level, back in 2016, I was rolling right along in life, doing very well in my career and my profession. And the organization where I was working had a restructure, a real work. And as a result, there was redundancy in my role. And I found myself in the situation where I was without a job. I had a wonderful severance package and was able to leave the business with a really solid reputation for the work that I had done. But again, it was a business-based decision and one that I obviously could not take personally. And so fast forward a year later, I didn't have a job. And it was a very different and very uncomfortable place for me because up to that point, I had done very well in my career, was doing quite well financially. And again, just because of circumstances, suddenly found myself in a situation where I did not have a job. And so resources, that money was a little tight. It was a little tricky having to manage that. And so I did have my own personal experience for what it's like when you have a shift in a life condition and a life circumstance and how that kind of changes things for you. And so I do have the perspective for what it's like when you find yourself in a situation that you didn't anticipate. And there are so many who are finding themselves in situation circumstances and conditions where it's difficult just to access food, right? And so for me, food is one of the most basic needs that we have as human beings, right? And so again, on a lot of levels, I have some reference point for that. And so I believe that that's where the passion comes from. So it's not me just doing something that I've heard about. I have a reference point for what it's like when you are at a certain point in life and suddenly you find yourself at a point that you didn't anticipate. And those are points of which resources and access to what you normally have access to shift very suddenly. And so that is why we have the belief that not having access to food is a condition, not a condemnation. There are so many reasons for why people might find themselves in a situation where they are experiencing food insecurity and food scarcity. So again, to go back to your question about the inspiration and the idea, I believe that it was divine, divinely inspired. And it also comes from a very personal place. Thank you for sharing that, Kevin, because I feel nonprofits exist for, there being a problem in the community. And you saw this opportunity slash problem, right? And you brought this to your local community. What are some of the most important things that have come up for you and those lessons that you've learned since starting this organization? Wow, there are so many lessons, but don't know where to start. Again, going back to the idea that nonprofit work is not my background. And so when I entered into nonprofit work, it was every single step of the way was learning. Every single step of the way was growing. I think that maybe one of the biggest lessons that I've learned is that while having the inspiration and the motivation and the desire to help, what sits on the other side of that as it relates to running a nonprofit is the business side. And running and managing and executing and operating a nonprofit is very unique. And so there are dynamics and some uniqueness for running a business that is a nonprofit that isn't parallel to say a nonprofit business. And so I've had to learn about things like nonprofit financial management. I've had to learn about all of the government requirements as it relates to reporting. I've had to learn about partnership management. I've had to learn about promotion. I've had to learn about advertising. I've had to learn about brand management. To your point, thank you so much for your feedback on our logo. That took some time. It took some time to create a logo that I would be proud of and one that accurately reflects what we do. So the other part of nonprofit management as far as I'm concerned is brand management because we have a brand, our brand name is strong and then there's a lot of work that goes into maintaining that brand and promoting that brand. So it's all these nuances and dynamics on the business side that I did not have insight into because of my own background that even one year, almost a year and a half later I am continuing to learn and grow. Yeah. Yeah, and it will continue to shift, right? And I love the financials because so many time I feel that nonprofits have board members that say, oh, we need to have someone in the baking industry. They can be our treasurer. But as you can see, your part-time controller as one of our amazing sponsors they are dedicated to what you just said that nonprofit financial management piece. And that I think has been like the biggest learning curve for a lot. You mentioned brand management. You mentioned so many good lessons learned. I'm sure all of that ties into success. So what has success looked like for you or how do you define success for four meals in the meantime? Yeah, and before I answer that question, I wanna go back to the financial management piece. This is not a plug and we didn't set this up so that your audience knows it. You don't know this, but I brought your part-time controller in about six months ago. I think it is. Ah, yay! Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And it's interesting because I was driving around one day and I never will forget it. I was listening to National Public Radio, NPR, because I love NPR, and heard an advertisement for YPTC, your part-time controller. Yeah, I got it right. I got the acronym right. And I thought to myself, you know, financial management for nonprofits is not an area of expertise. And I'll tell you guys, for me, financial management and fiduciary responsibility is something where I will not compromise. It has to be 100% right. And I say that because we are entrusted by our donors to ensure that we are being responsible with their donations and our financial gifts. And so for me, the idea of bringing in your part-time controller, an organization who has expertise and experience with financial management for nonprofits was the absolute right thing to do. So I just wanted to call that out because it has been a lifesaver. And then there are aspects of financial reporting and management that I just really don't have to worry about. And then the other, the very personal thing I'll share with you is that I am horrible at math, math frightens me. It literally scares me. I love that. Yeah, and so, you know, your part-time controller has definitely been a lifesaver. And we're not a big organization, right? We're very small. We're still lean and mean. And so having an organization like YPTC bring in the expertise that we really needed was just really a lifesaver. And so- We certainly couldn't have plugged that or planned that any better, but I'm thrilled to hear that. Absolutely. And that's probably one of your success measures as well, is that oversight of the financial measurement? What else would you say, Kevin, or some of the successes for your organization? Yeah, one of the ways in which we measure success is the amount of food that we give away, right? And actually, if our watchers and our viewers visit our website today, you can take a look at the quantity and the volume of food that we have given away today. What sticks out in my mind immediately is the fact that today, we have given away over 2,000 pounds of free, fresh, healthy vegetables and fruits. That says a lot. So we quantify the amount of food that we give away as one of the biggest indicators of our success. And then certainly another way in which we measure our success are the stories that Pantry visitors are able to share with us about how we're able to help. And particularly when they look at the freshness, right, of the food that's in our bag, they are often caught by surprise. The other thing I'll share with you that is very unique about us, we don't give away canned goods. We don't give away boxes of food that are at expiration or close to expiration. And I just wanna be clear in saying that there's nothing wrong with canned goods, absolutely. And there's nothing wrong with boxes of food that may be very close to expiration because for someone who is experiencing a hunger, they will happily accept a canned good item or maybe a box of food. That's okay, I'm not dismissing that. But our focus is on fresh and healthy. And so as a way to demonstrate that, the food that we give out on our pantry, we actually pick it up from the grocery store the day of the pantry on that morning. So it is literally fresh from the grocery store to our Pantry visitors. And again, we're focused on things like fresh healthy vegetables, fresh healthy fruits, turkey products, almond milk, wheat bread, right? For example, as opposed to white bread, that matters because wheat bread promotes healthy digestion, for example. So those are some of the ways in which we continue to measure our success. You know, Kevin, I'm so interested in what you're saying on so many levels. And one of my questions, it might seem like it's coming from left field, but because you're not doing the normal canned good kind of mentality, are you finding that you're having to educate not only your donors and your partners, but your clients and constituency as well as to why you've taken this direction? Well, not so much education, right? I think that just in terms of our website, right? And our social media, that is where you can really take a look at our approach and our methodology and why we offer what we offer. So maybe not so much a need for education beyond that, but also as we get foot traffic at our pantries when we have opportunity to have those discussions with the visitors who are actually engaging us. I mean, they're educating us, which is so encouraging and exciting because the education that they're giving to us is, we really appreciate the quality of the food and the kind of food because I suspect obviously that those who are visiting our pantry are looking for other pantries as well. And so ours is just one that complements what they need. And so they're saying to us, we are very grateful for what you offer here because it's very different than what other pantries offer. And again, I'm gonna be very clear. The effort to help people who need food is a collective effort, right? So the kinds of food that other pantries are offering is great. We're part of that effort. They're part of that effort. We're all coming together to help people who need food. We're just doing it in a different kind of way. So again, do we need to educate? It's interesting that quite often it's the reverse is true because our pantry visitors are educating us on the uniqueness of what we offer. Does that answer your question? It doesn't make sense. You know, it isn't what I would say to you that this is part of that horrible thing that we call Founder Syndrome. A lot of times founders are not listening to what their constituency base is. They have an idea and they're more forecasting that and pushing that onto the community. And so I would say for you, it bodes very well for your future that you are listening and it sounds to me like, you know, that factors into some of your decision-making. So good job. Good, good job. I mean, Jared, I can see you smiling. I know, that doesn't happen. It doesn't. That doesn't happen. And for you, Kevin, you know, as we started, you know, not, you have the passion probably, you know, tenfold, but maybe not the nonprofit experience looking at the success for this. I love that you're really paying attention to your community and what the community, you know, says and what the community is asking for. That to me is just fantastic. Did you think two, three years ago that you would be a nonprofit founder? You know, this is so far removed from what I saw, from what I thought, for what I envisioned for my life. And I think that that is what gives me such a great deal of excitement, right? Because at this particular point in my life, for where I am in my journey professionally, for where I thought I would be landing in my life, I'm not there, but it's a good thing because this is work that resonates with me very personally, very personally. And certainly in my professional career, I have found joy and fulfillment and excitement, right? But the type of joy and fulfillment and excitement that I get from this work is very different. So no, I had zero idea. I didn't do anything to prepare for this, you know, I did everything that I needed to do to prepare for my vocation and my quote unquote day job. I did everything to prepare for that. I did nothing to prepare for this. I am learning along the way. And I think that that is the joy and excitement as well to be entering into work that is new. Everything is new right now. Everything is new. And to me, that's exciting and it's fresh and it's fun and it's helping people. I mean, it is helping people. That's a fantastic attitude, Kevin. And if you didn't see yourself two, five years ago as the founder, you know, president of Meals in the meantime, let's look ahead, right? Where do you see yourself and where do you see your organization? What is that vision for the next three to five years? I absolutely see myself continuing this work and doing it in such a bigger way, right? And I'll just give you some examples of where I see our growth and where I see us headed. And so right now, we are providing quarterly pantries, right? My vision for 2023 is that we are providing pantries every other month, right? And then my vision for 2024 is that we are doing pantries monthly. And then beyond that, we are doing pantries as much as funding will allow. So that's one example of where I see our future. Another area where I see an opportunity, our future, is building up our infrastructure, right? So here's the example. As I share, on the day of our pantry, we go to the grocery store and we pick up the items. So it's kind of like direct from our pantry visitors to, you know, from the store to the pantry visitors. And we have food transport now via either trucks that we rent or in-kind donations that we receive for trucking services from our partner. Shout out to Alamy Brothers Transportation, who also provides transportation for us. My vision, guys, is that I don't know when, but my vision is that at some point, we have our own truck, right? So that we can rely on our own transportation methodology to pick up food. So, you know, those are some examples. The other vision that I have for our future is that, you know, as I shared right now, we pick up food on the day of. My vision is that maybe as soon as next year or the year after, we have our own storage facility for cold goods and for dry goods as well. So for me, the future looks like more pantries. It looks like having our own transportation and having our own facility for where we can store and for where we can keep food. So that's what the immediate future looks like for me. I have to commend you, Kevin, because I've talked to so many founders and they want all of it right now. And what you just expressed was such a sustainable scalability of this is where I see ourself going from quarterly to every other month, from every other month to monthly. That to me speaks volumes with a business plan and what's realistic. Because again, and I'm just as guilty, right? Like we're an instant gratification community, but say we wanna provide this fresh nourishing food every single day, but you're seeing the realistic side of that. And I just, I do, I have to commend you for that because that's really refreshing to hear. Although I'm sure it's not always easy. Yeah, you know, because I guess on some levels, how would I call it? There is non-profit envy. That's what I mean by that. You know, I do see other non-profits who are doing amazing work and they're doing great work and they're doing more than we are. But I have to go back to the idea that, you know, they're further along in their nonprofit journey. You know, again, we're still new. We were just founded last year, 2021. You know, again, March 9th, 2021 is when I had the vision. And so I am encouraged and believe that slow and steady went to the race, right? Because what we always want to be focused on is the quality of the food that we provide, how we are providing food. And to do it that way means we just can't do it fast. It means that we have to be very strategic, very intentional and very purposeful. And you can't be strategic, intentional and purposeful fast. That requires time. So I'm totally okay with the journey being what it is, but always staying focused on our mission, right? And again, our mission is filling the food gap with nourishment and dignity. And we're gonna take time to make sure that we stay on that path to do just that. So it's gonna continue to grow. We're gonna continue to do more work and I can be patient. Well, we don't have much time, but I have to ask, I feel like this is the elephant in the room. How has your board supported you with this vision? And also, you know, supporting you since it started, like, do they help, you know, keep everything kind of methodical in timing or talk to us a little bit in this brief amount of time about that board relationship? Yeah, I have an amazing board. And what makes that board amazing is their diversity. And they are very supportive of my vision and the dreams that I have for the work that we're doing. And so, you know, I'm very cognizant and conscious to say to my board, I'm very grateful for your support of me and my vision. But even more than that, I'm grateful for your support of the work that we are doing. And again, it's a diverse board, different backgrounds. We're small, but mighty board. We have just recently increased the number. Well, including myself, we were a board of five. And then we very recently brought on two new board members. And I can share with you that one of the opportunities that I saw for bringing on these two new board members, they are young, they are eager, they are talented, they are bright, they have ideas that just because of by virtue of their age, they have innovation, they have just open minds. And so the entire board works very well together, just in terms of demographics, in terms of background. And I could not have been blessed with a better board, absolutely. Love it. I think this is great. I'm so appreciative that you would spend time with us today, Kevin, especially given that you are on the other side of the world. And again, that's just been really exciting. I think the passion of work is something that helps us get going. But the reality of the journey is what can really be challenging. And so to hear you, as Jarrett mentioned, be so strategic and really thoughtful and thought forward is really great. So I'm excited to see how this journey takes you. I think Jarrett and I are gonna really want to push you to come back on and you know- I'd love to. I'd love to. Thank you for that. And report kind of like what you're seeing and what other lessons that you've learned because I'm sure every day is different. Every day is different, you're absolutely right. And I'm gonna do a shameless plug here, if I may. We are 100% funded by donations and grants. So to our listeners and those of you who are watching today, I wanna invite and encourage you to go to mealsinthemeantime.org and donate as your heart direction to give. It will go to good use. The bulk of our funding is toward food acquisition. So if you go to mealsinthemeantime.org, you can select the donate button right there on the homepage and you can leave your financial bill. I love it. And you know what? I think that that's a hallmark of a strong leader. They're not afraid to ask, so- Absolutely not. And I'll share one more thing. That is something I had to grow into because historically I have not always felt comfortable asking people for money. But the thing is I'm not asking for me. I'm asking on behalf of people who help for food, which food rather, right? So again, I beg and implore you to go to our website and please leave your donation. Oh my gosh, I love it. Hey everybody, this has been a real pleasure. Again, I'm Julia Patrick, CEO of the American Nonprofit Academy. Been joined today by the nonprofit nurse herself, Jared Ransom, CEO of the Raven Group. Again, we wanna thank all of our presenting sponsors who are with us day in and day out and have afforded us this great opportunity to talk to this new nonprofit leader, Kevin Yates. We wanna thank Blumerang, American Nonprofit Academy, your part-time controller, be generous. Fundraising Academy at National University, staffing boutique, nonprofit thought leader, and the nonprofit nerd. If you saw this, or if you've been watching this recording, you'll see that Kevin gave the big thumbs up when we announced one of our partnering sponsors, your part-time controller, and I just love that. So thank you for witnessing to us. Hey, as we end every episode, we wanna remind ourselves, our viewers, our listeners, and our guests to stay well so you can do well. Thank you, everybody. We'll see you back here tomorrow.