 Another great Monday. It's going to be a really busy week, but we're starting off our Monday in our week with a really interesting, as we would like to say a big get in the, for the nonprofit show, we're going to be talking to Stacy Hengsterman, and she is the CEO of Special Olympics of New York. Fascinating discussion on how this organization has really grown and shifted and done all sorts of things during the pandemic. What it looks like to be a champion of nonprofit is something that Jared and I are always interested in. And so this is going to be a robust conversation. Again, we want to thank all of our sponsors without you, we would not be here having this discussion and so we are incredibly, incredibly grateful and proud that we have these folks that have been with us. Again, I'm Julia Patrick CEO of the American nonprofit Academy joined today by my interpret co host, Jared ransom the nonprofit nerd coming to us from the south so we're excited to get her in. Jared, I want to grow up to be you because you're always coming to us from different wonderful places and so this is a cool thing that we have you. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It has its challenges, you know, but it also has it has its uphill up. I don't know like just the uplifting pieces as well but I too have been looking forward to today's conversation with you Stacy. Again, got connected through our Twitter feed so for those of you that may not follow us on Twitter. Make sure you do that but I'm thrilled to have today's conversation with you Stacy. We're going to talk about Special Olympics and in particular your chapter if that's what we refer to it as in the New York area so welcome to you. Thank you so much. It's a thrill to be here you call me a big get I think you guys are a big get. So thank you for having us and thank you your sponsors to it's great that you guys are able to do this. Well, thank you, you know we were talking in the shitty chat chat. You have seven chapters. Seven offices. Seven offices. Yes, in New York. Yeah, Special Olympics. Obviously I think everyone all of your viewers have certainly heard of Special Olympics it's been around for 50 years Eunice Kennedy Shriver started it a little over 50 years she just had her 100th birthday we celebrated. 50 years ago but she really started Special Olympics just to to it's really about inclusion through sports. So just giving an opportunity here sister had an intellectual difference. And she saw the isolation and the difference that she was treated and started this organization to just start including people with intellectual differences through sports so fast forward here Special Olympics New York one of the largest programs. We have, we work with over 60,000 athletes. We have seven offices throughout the state. And again, same thing we just it's authentic sports opportunities for people with intellectual differences competitions trainings, or sports organization but we're really also advocates for inclusion so inclusion in all forms of health, life, health and school and sports and social so that's what we do. And I have so many fond memories of Special Olympics I grew up in a very rural country town in South Carolina, but we did a lot of volunteering and I always say one of the reasons I got into this great work in the social profit sector is thanks to my mom and to our hometown because they actually they are school had us very involved in community service and I remember attending Special Olympics and are they called buddies I mean again it was like decades ago, but I really have such fond memories and this is like one of the first organizations that I ever volunteered with. I love hearing that we hear that all the time I think the Special Olympics movement has really touched people over the years. The things that I like to explain about Special Olympics and I just I'm on my third year, my third anniversary of being president and CEO was always a fan of Special Olympics. I also have a son, my middle son, my middle child, Alex has Down syndrome, and he was not part of the movement before I became president CEO and I think there's a couple reasons for that and Jared I think what you said about are they called buddies are just thinking about those events. I never really thought about Special Olympics all the time is being inclusive I almost just thought of it as charity which is there's nothing wrong with that. But I didn't realize how authentic it is. And it's so that's what I want everyone to know about Special Olympics, it's real authentic sports. So, you know, I cried I think the first competition when I saw our athletes lose I was like let them do it again and they're like that's not how it works. You know, this is sports. I did not get this job because my sports background me that out there. So that and also everyone thinks of the games they asked me when is the Special Olympics and what I want everyone to know is Special Olympics is every single day. My son is now in powerlifting, and he goes to train three times a week so that really for him is, you know, that's what Special Olympics is to him he might not ever make it to the big games, maybe he will. We'll see he has got some practice to do but really it's that it's that every day experience and competitions that are athletes like the most. That's an interesting thing because I have to tell you. I think of your organization as an event based organization that is like, you know, a one time thing. And, and so I really appreciate you kind of drawing that line through what it takes to get going and then the actual arc that someone might fall. We're not the only one and there's nothing I mean it is our games are so exciting and going from this past year, where we couldn't have our big games, I'm so I daydream about having fall games in October, our opening ceremonies and seeing it. And that's probably about 1200 athletes that will make it to the fall games, but you know we have 60,000 across the state so really is a small percentage, but such an important part because that's the culminating competition. You know, of all of their hard work and that's the gold medalists will come and compete regionally against others, you know across the state so I love them, I love everything about the games but I really love the day to day movement mission the most. That's fascinating. Well, I want to ask you another question because of the, the big Olympics. You know, that is such an omnipresent discussion this time of the year. During the summer, and you know the every four years we've had a lot of tumult because of the pandemic and we last week, we've had even more changes and information coming out. And you are not part of the Olympics. And so could you talk about how some of this pressure comes down on you is it a good thing is the bad thing, what is what is that external pressure look like. Yeah, I mean we, I certainly watch I feel for all those athletes because obviously we work with our athletes and how hard they work in their sport and I just I feel for them right now how isolating is now for them everyone is just all done with the pandemic but it can't be done because it's not over so you know we're watching next year is our USA is our world games which was postponed a little bit so we have that. And then we have our USA games so I'm almost grateful that it's not this year that we can you know watch but I do feel for all of the Olympic athletes out there that are competing without fans and doesn't seem like a big deal but it really is a big deal and not being able to have that full experience but their athletes and just like ours, they know what they have to do and I can't wait to cheer them on all summer and I hope everybody else does too. And there's no relation to these different are to these Olympics right they're very different. Now I am curious if the international Olympic impacts, maybe the special Olympics fundraising goals because I would wonder that, you know, as a bystander are really just having that thought it's like, Oh, you know, I would like to make a donation or I've been meaning to make a donation when the special events in our community is being held. Have you seen that or do you tend to see that when the Olympics, the USA Olympics tend to come in. Yeah, you are a nonprofit nerd. You got me. I think that's a great point. I do think that spirit of the Olympics, that fear of sports. Those fans certainly does benefit special Olympics I mean we are the only ones that are really allowed to use Olympics in our name. So, I mean, we're not connected in that way but we're connected in the same way as the movement and, you know, the, the, the love of competition. So that's it we know the mission is the same. Yeah, so I think it does benefit us just because you catch the whole spirit of the gold medals and you know I we have a fundraiser this week is the night of champion so it's all about champions. We want for special Olympics, kind of the world to do what they do for the Olympics, follow those athletes. So when we announce our athletes for USA games, you know it's really fun to just watch them train and get ready and follow them, just like we all have our favorite Olympic athletes, how great and ESPN helps us without bringing that to the living rooms to so everyone can have their favorite special Olympics athlete to. Wow, that's amazing. Now, talk to us a little bit about how your overall competitive sites, your programming and everything was impacted by coven I mean, New York was just the epicenter it got hit so hard so quickly, and they think the rest of us across the country, watched in horror but you also set the stage for how we were all going to have to adapt and change and I'm wondering what that looked like with all of your athletes and all of your programming. Yeah, it was, I mean just say it was hard isn't, you know, isn't enough right it just like you kind of forget how hard it was we were one of the we were the first organization to shut down I remember that phone conversation. And I remember thinking especially they're kind of crazy I was like it's, we're shutting down everything every practice everything all across the state, you know, even though Buffalo is so far away from New York, you know, all of that but it was just shut down, I think because of the people that we work with our athletes, they are a higher risk because of some health problems, and where they live and residential facilities and things like that we just had to be extra careful but it's shut down really overnight. And just like everybody else but you know we didn't know what we were really doing, you know we're people that like to see each other on the fields and the courts and the tracks and the pools. We didn't even do a thing by video not one thing I don't think we even had a board meeting that way so we had to get ourselves up and running pretty quick for our athletes that people with intellectual differences are so much more isolated than their neurotypical peers. And so we were worried about them and wanted to let them know we were here so we started doing workouts and we started doing, you know, fun Fridays and social things but then we were able to get their coaches to get training clubs online so by the end we were having trainings. We were having seasons at home, gave them activities that they could start practicing and then get better and better submit their scores and then division them off and then compete again so we were doing full seasons. So we'd never stopped, you know, obviously through furloughs, you know furloughs and watching our own operating budgets and making sure we were conserving as much as we could for this time right now. When we're back together, we want to be able to say yes to everything so we pay for everything for athletes. They don't pay for anything so I'm very, very proud of the organization and what they're able to do and I think, you know, our sponsors are partners, I think they really took notice on how hard we tried. We certainly did not get to everybody but we certainly did try. Stacy, one of the questions we like to ask our guest is what did you do during the pandemic in particular the global virus pandemic that has worked so well that you will keep and continue as a standard operating practice. Yeah, that's a great question we just had a staff meeting this morning and I had visitors, one of our sponsors came and surprised one of our athletes because he's going to be a coach for the USA games and those were start we're keeping those things like we are statewide so to connect that way by video. I think we will all I think we didn't really think about where athletes came from before they came to the fields in the courts. And I think seeing how many lived in residential facilities community group homes. And they struggled so much to have they couldn't do even what other athletes could do so we always want to have those seasons at home at school now so even if they can't get there for some reason there's always something virtual so I really see us. Keeping this virtual programming in addition to our we call it now on the field and off the field. So it's really a whole new thing for us, but knowing that we can't reach everybody in person ever. We're going to keep it up. I love that I think that's great and you mentioned that your board had never done virtual meetings. You moved your board meetings I'm assuming in your, your key staff meetings. How's that going and are you going to be moving that forward as well. We are, we're going to in October we're going back in person, I think we will probably, you know, certainly allow more video but as much as we got used to the video we're all a little sick of the video too. So, I think, you know, having seven offices obviously as an organization that didn't use any of them, especially in New York City you know with the high rents, it was do we need to have seven offices but I think for us we do. We are. That's the way we do our work so we do call everyone back to the offices in June. We're more flexible I think we're always flexible for our work, but I think we work best when we're together and I think we'll probably go back to mostly in person for board and staff this fall. Amazing. Amazing. Okay, I'm really interested now in the meat and potatoes because, you know, without money, we can't do our missions. So, talk to us about some of the robust changes that you had to make what worked what didn't as Jared asked what's moving forward. You know, because I hear you sound like a group that didn't just hit the pause button. Yeah, we didn't but we had to with fun, you know, we were very, very event driven and so it's some ways that works for us but it, you know, we, we, in some ways that was a struggle because we couldn't have event we just couldn't have events so gala and things like that. And the events that so we caught our operating cost drastically when this happened and I think that I'm glad that we did, we managed to kind of get every all the staff came back. Everyone's made whole but we didn't really know what was going to happen so we did that from the beginning. We learned a lot, I think, are I look at your backdrop of your sponsors and I just want to just shout out again to like our partners or what got us through. They stuck with us those having those larger partners that that appreciate your mission. You know, because we don't charge anything to our athletes or anything we start every January at zero. We don't have any recurring, you know, memberships or anything like that so, you know, we have a few grants and things that, you know, but nothing that can stay so it's all events for us, some larger grants some government funding but not very much. And we found that peer to peer, still, you know, when we could do our polar plunges we did some virtually, we did find that when we could venture out more people wanted to go do something and get out there. So, you know, our golf, our polar plunges which is jumping into cold water which I said I would never do and I did it three times during the pandemic because I just, you know, as a leader you got to jump in there and I actually had a fall. So, I have apologized for our development team constantly saying I'm sorry I kind of food this, but that's. And so we changed more of our kind of Gallup type fundraisers to golfing cycling, you know, getting out outside it was more safe for us and really relied on some of our bigger partners that helped us with those operating costs through the year. Wow. And you did those throughout the state you didn't just keep to one part of the state being you have so many offices, you had to kind of spread the, you know, the environment. Yeah, we all those offices they all do their fundraisers so New York City was obviously the one that you know we were just now kind of getting back to fundraising there. But no, we, you know, it was like George and Long Island I jumped in the ocean and it's, you know, it was, it was all over and that really, I think, you know, I kind of safer Special Olympics, it's, it comes in, it's $10 million it was before the pandemic now. We dropped down to about eight but we're climbing back up there again. I like to say it's in fives and 10s. It really is I think our mission really draws at the heartstrings of people, you know, you know, like Jared that have that nice feeling about it so when someone asked them to do it might be $2550 $100 we have, you know, thousands and thousands of those. But I think those mean a lot to us and I think getting the corporations in and giving them a, we call it a unified experience so we'll do bachi. And we'll play with the athletes on a unified team so not just having them volunteer but really making it meaningful for athletes to and we do have those so we're building a lot of those and I think. I think people really get us and they, I think now more than ever because I think the pandemic really isolated people and when they realize that there's still populations out there that are still isolated and we always have to reach out. I, people really want to help. And that social aspect is so so important. I was an athlete growing up as well and I actually remember. It was a special Olympics like it wasn't a normal game and nor I shouldn't say normal but it wasn't like a standard kind of like rostered game it was like the gold Olympics you know like it was the pinnacle. That's probably what you did yeah you probably did but being an athlete I know that there's so much more work, dedication mindset. You know that goes into preparing for that and I can imagine during the pandemic was really hard, but to see your community rally as so many of us have, but in particular for your community here Stacy throughout New York. How like heartwarming is that you know it's just so extremely heartwarming to see so many individuals come together during a really, really difficult time. It's, I mean it's everything it's beyond heartwarming it's just, it just makes you. I think everything is going to be okay and I think I, I'm so grateful for this job and for this mission because it touches so many people and I think once people get involved with special Olympics and they really know, you know, get what it's about like I think what I admire I even aspire to if that even makes sense because I know I'm the president and the CEO but I the volunteers, the coaches that they have that volunteer opportunity that they can really identify with in their life it's not just a day or or thing they are special Olympics coach, they are special Olympics health director clinical director, and I wish that I had that same kind of volunteer relationship that they have it really is unbelievable and like I talk about my son Alex is power lifting three times a week. I don't know if we should be that was the chibi chat child I just really wanted to say chibi chat chat too. It's always a fun word to say we always like to pepper it into so good job. You know, they're, you know, they're coaches, they're power lifter they're big muscle guys and girls at this, you know, muscle gym that I wouldn't even have like confidence to even walk in but think about that volunteer experience that those coaches get to do those are they're, you know, that's their team it's just, it's just tremendous. It's unforgettable. So, talk to us a little bit we don't have much time left but talk to us about the trajectory of what it means to go from being an athlete and athlete and training in the competitive process because I would imagine a lot of people think that you are fundraising for your like big event. Your Olympics but really it's a trajectory that follows the journey and all the costs associated with each athlete right. Yeah, so we are yes the big events are the most you know we have three. We have fall summer and winter games that we certainly fundraise for those are big biggest expenses. We have our USA games that we get together with all the programs across the United States. That's in Orlando next year it's so exciting. We're sending about 100 athletes down there so we have to fundraise for that we pay for everything and then the coaches and all that but we also pay for you know just the training space the gym space for the uniforms the equipment. Oh, all the PPE that we need so everything the transportation the hotels, you know all of that that's everything that we pay for and you know I think also it's just the. I think you all know from not for profits that people do like to pay for basketball and things like that but it's also just the operating expenses, you know the light bill. So, and the staff it's people person I could get 100 inquiries in a week through emails and it's hard if you have one person trying to match me. An example just because you have a disability doesn't mean I can just put you into any sport or you want to find a team that works for you that's in your age and your division and, you know with my son coming in. You know there might have been a track team in our town but he's you know he's not going to run track right or swimming so we really had to find it just takes a while so we need the staff to be able to provide that coordination with families and community agencies to find the right fit for these athletes so that's our biggest expenses people in it but it's our, it's our most important expense. Sure, sure. Well, I'm just been so honored to meet you and to thank you for this journey I just think that you know when Mrs Kennedy driver started this to think that this would get to where it is I'm sure she could never have seen this and to have, you know, professional leadership like you what an incredible journey that this, you know, 50 years and is not a very long time to create a global movement. No, it really is if you just, you know personally and professionally I look at it and even when I was in school which 30, you know, God, 30 some years ago. I really didn't I say that the first person I really knew I gave birth to and it just kind of, we just grew up different this is a different generation now it's a unified generation. We have, you know, unified sports and schools for half the kids have disability half the kids don't. So she really, it's, you know they call an inclusion revolution but that's really what she did just through the power of sports. I'm personally so grateful to her, but professionally I just think there's so much more to come when maybe there isn't even a need for special Olympics anymore because everybody is included into sports and I see it. I really do see the change from, you know, from when I was growing up to when my kids are growing up and it's pretty awesome. The foresight of that and to see the inclusion revolution. I love that terminology I'm sure it's not new to you but for us are for me want to speak for you Julia. I love that and we hear so many amazing nuggets throughout the years and you're right Julia a 50 year, you know really isn't that long when you look at that. I've seen you know special Olympics change because that was in the 90s that I was referencing, you know, like really being involved, and to see how the business model of the organization the growth across the nation has really changed it's just been phenomenal to watch and we are so grateful to have you on have your voice on as a representative of special Olympics of New York so thank you so much Stacy. Thank you, I knew it would be fun and it was thank you for helping us get our message out and thank you for all that you're doing. It's amazing here Stacy's information, their websites really great incredibly robust. When you look at all the things that this organization is doing you realize that it is not just a two week period of you know, fun and it is like grinding grinding work. And fascinating to see and I love that you introduced us to the concepts of how your organization really functions, you know, behind the curtain so to speak, because all of our viewers in the nonprofit sector know that you know we oftentimes are one thing, but it's really this trajectory that we have to, you know, battle through in order to get to that end point and so you shared with us some really amazing things. Check out special Olympics and why.org to see what they're doing and how they're impacting our communities. Hey, I'm Julia Patrick CEO of the American nonprofit Academy. I've been joined today by my nonprofit nerd, your nonprofit nerd, the nonprofit nerd, Jared Ransom, coming to us from the south. I've got it down after you know. Well, you know, you know you've arrived when you have a moniker. That's great. That is right. Thank you. That's like pretty damn impressive if I do say so myself. But anyway, we want to thank our presenting sponsors again without you we would not be here having amazing guests like we do. We're so so fortunate we have a big lineup of guests this week so you won't want to miss any of our episodes. And if you want to catch pieces from our archives or you want to research something you know we have now close to 350 episodes you can find us on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Daily Motion, Vimeo, YouTube, we're kind of everywhere it's it's a little amazing but you can find us and we want to find you. We've launched a new show fundraising events dot TV just specifically about the business of fundraising events and all the things that go on. We always say from golf to you know gallows from ballrooms to barns we got you covered. So check out fundraising events TV with Jason champion. Wow. Okay, Jared. Great, great, great way to start off the week. I love it every week we have such amazing guests and I really like it when we start off with such a robust conversation like we did today on a Monday, or I like to say Monday because I think we should have just as much excitement. And as we start a week as we end a week so it is so important for all of us to continue doing the great work that we do so. Yes, thanks again to our amazing sponsors and to our amazing guests Stacy did for joining us today. We hope that you'll all come back again tomorrow to join us and until then, stay well so you can do well. Thanks everyone.