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Business is an unlikely hero: a force for good working to solve society's most pressing challenges, while boosting bottom line. This is social purpose at work. And it's a dynamic journey. Purpose 360 is a masterclass in unlocking the power of social purpose to ignite business and social impact. Host Carol Cone brings decades of social impact expertise and a 360-degree view of integrating social purpose into an organization into unfiltered conversations that illuminate today's big challenges and bigger ideas.
Carol Cone:
I'm Carol Cone and welcome to Purpose 360, the podcast that unlocks the power of purpose to ignite business and social impact.
Today's podcast is something very different. First of all, it's live conversations that I had at the recent Engage for Good conference in Palm Springs. It's also different because I'm wearing a sash and you can't see it—but you should go to our website to see some great pictures. And it says "Purpose Queen" on it.
Now why Purpose Queen? Because Engage for Good was so generous to bestow upon me their Lifetime Achievement Award for all the work I've done over forty years to shape the practice of purpose.
Engage for Good — if you don't know about it — the conference dates back to 2002. It was started by a fellow named David Hessekiel, a wonderful gentleman, who saw the beginning of what I had been seeing for about twenty years already.
So today I'm going to share with you — besides wearing my wonderful sash, which again you can see I'm blushing but you can't — to talk with some of the leaders and, who were at the conference, who are talking about their business initiatives, their partnerships with not-for-profits, their point of view on philanthropy, and how to keep moving forward in these really trying times.
You know, at this event, there's something really incredibly energizing about these conversations. They're happening in real time, surrounded by people who are deeply and passionately committed to making social impact work. In this episode you'll hear from leaders at Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Red Cross, the Trevor Project, Hasbro, and Impact Savvy. Together, these conversations explore resilience, authentic partnerships, employee engagement, mentorship, mental health, and the evolving role brands can play in helping communities thrive.
You're going to love these conversations. So let's get started.
Carol Cone:
So I have another wonderful friend at Engage for Good, and that’s Bryan Klopack. Bryan is from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America — one of my, dare I say I’m not supposed to say this — one of my favorite, favorite not-for-profits, led by an amazing CEO and friend, Artis Stevens.
Bryan Klopack:
You can say it.
Carol Cone:
So Bryan, tell me about the conference. What’s the reception? Big Brothers Big Sisters has won big awards here in the past, and you’re the MC for the gala tonight.
Bryan Klopack:
I am.
Carol Cone:
Yeah, how’d that happen?
Bryan Klopack:
It’s actually a really funny story. But first of all, thank you for having me. I’ve been a big fan — first-time talker, longtime listener — big fan of all your work. So I became the MC last year because the year before I was presenting an award, and I had a few minutes on stage. I said to Muneer, “Listen, this is great, but these talking points are really boring. Would you mind if I told some jokes?”
Carol Cone:
Yeah, how’d that happen?
Bryan Klopack:
And he said, “Oh, it’s so dry. Please have fun.” And I just had fun — I riffed off of some things and we had a good time. I got off the stage and he said, “You need to host next year.” I did it with Michelle Waring as co-host — we thought he was just being polite, but then he invited us last year to do it. We walked off stage and he said, “You have to do it again.” So we’ve reprised the role this year.
Carol Cone:
Oh, that’s excellent.
Bryan Klopack:
But the conference — I think this is my sixth or seventh. And I started back when I was leading corporate partnerships for Special Olympics.
It’s very interesting to see the evolution of content.
Carol Cone:
So explain that. Explain the evolution.
Bryan Klopack:
So the evolution of the enterprise from Cause Marketing Forum to Engage for Good, and David Hessekiel’s handoff to Muneer — it’s all celebrating the same really, really important work through different eyes. Some years it’s more leaning into inspiration — just all the great missions that we work on. And some years it’s more “here are actual business tools you need to do this work better.” And this year I’m feeling a nice mix of that. And what I would say is this year I’m feeling a bit of a resilience. Last year there was this fear — the administration had just changed, a lot was confusing for us. There was so much coming out of the news every day — not that it’s not continuing to come out every day. But there was this kind of cheerleading — let’s be bold, let’s get out there. And then a year of very complicated news, and a challenging space for all of us. But now I’m feeling more of a — there’s this quiet resilience. We’re making impact. We’re doing good work. Sometimes it’s not as loud as it used to be, or it’s louder for employees versus consumers.
Carol Cone:
Thank you. Right, we like employees.
Bryan Klopack:
And that’s important — the work is still being done, which is really refreshing and kind of fills up my cup.
Carol Cone:
Yes.
Bryan Klopack:
Hearing the great mainstage work, the breakout conversations, the breakout discussions on what’s been done — it’s been very reassuring.
Carol Cone:
The work does continue and there’s a ton of data. Even in just DEI and ESG, that work is being continued. I think ninety-five percent of CEOs said they’re even going to do more. They’re just not talking about it externally because they don’t want to get whacked.
Carol Cone:
And it was such resolve. In my presentation I didn’t get to talk about the segmentation of the leadership, but there’s a large group — maybe the quiet ones — but they’re doing the work. And when we get out of the current situation politically and economically — and economically it’s still not that bad, which is kind of crazy.
Bryan Klopack:
But you know who’s paying attention to that?
Carol Cone:
You’re gonna hear more.
Bryan Klopack:
And you know this better than I do — they’re employees, right?
Carol Cone:
Yes.
Bryan Klopack:
They’re key stakeholders, and they’re proud to see their leadership living their values.
Carol Cone:
Right. And they want them to live their values.
Bryan Klopack:
Yes. Yes.
Carol Cone:
And you know, the Gallup percentage — only twenty-one percent are engaged.
Bryan Klopack:
Absolutely — you said that today and it blew me away.
Carol Cone:
Eight trillion dollars of lost time and commitment and effort?
Bryan Klopack:
I often coach my team on the corporate side to focus on this — we don’t look at ourselves as a charity for the needy. We are a nonprofit business filling a need. And how do we become, for our partners, not a beneficiary of their charitable giving? I want to be their business partner. What business challenges do they need help solving?
Bryan Klopack:
And for us right now, we have a number of massive global corporations who are looking at the future of their workforce. They need to expose more young people — eighteen to twenty-five, our fastest-growing demographic of youth we serve — to different types of employment. So whether it’s with one of the yet-to-be-announced world’s largest hotel brands, or quick service restaurants — the hospitality space is such a great introduction into the employment world. And if college is not for you, that’s okay. But our goal is that every child graduates from high school with a plan for what comes next. Twenty percent of our youth are twenty percent more likely to go to college, and for those who aren’t, we can expose them to other paths.
Carol Cone:
A lot in the skilled trades — there’s a tremendous amount. BlackRock doing it, Lowe’s is doing it. Lowe’s is putting in two hundred and fifty million to educate two hundred and fifty thousand youth in the skilled trades. And we need the skilled trades — the hourly wage they’re going to get: twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy dollars an hour. We need tradespeople.
Bryan Klopack:
Yes, that’s amazing. And that’s just it — they have a need for tradespeople, and our community has a need for social capital and being connected to opportunities.
Carol Cone:
Yes.
Bryan Klopack:
So in June we’ll be announcing a very large partnership with our hotel brand — yet to be announced. Maybe you’ll hear it here first. And that’s very much focused on the intersectionality of their need, our need, and together. And they’ve said, “Yes, this is good for the community. Yes, this is good for the backyards of where our employees live and work. But it’s good for business.”
Carol Cone:
So what are your greatest challenges these days?
Bryan Klopack:
Actually, the biggest opportunity at Big Brothers Big Sisters is —
Carol Cone:
No challenges, they’re all opportunities.
Bryan Klopack:
All opportunities, of course. We enjoy incredible corporate and foundation support, and we have for many, many years. It’s continuing to grow, which is fantastic. We have twenty million alumni —
Carol Cone:
[inaudible]
Bryan Klopack:
In this country right now — Bigs, Little families, champions of this work. And we haven’t asked them to be our army of supporters — whether that’s donating, volunteering again, or engaging their communities. So I’m eight months in, and it’s a big priority for me to continue to grow our corporate work and all of that really important human infrastructure we just talked about. But also to open up a whole new world for us — whether it’s through peer-to-peer or a direct response program — to light a fire underneath this twenty million that can latch on to the hope and the impact that we create as a mission.
Carol Cone:
That’s incredible. And so will the social issue umbrella be mentoring?
Bryan Klopack:
Could be. What we’re leaning into right now is that social capital. Whether you’re an alumnus or not, everyone has someone who helped them along the way. Whether that’s filling out a FAFSA or how to fill out a resume for, you know, your local Church’s Chicken — someone helped them do that. So to give back to the community of the next generation — tapping into that piece — but we’re still working on it.
Carol Cone:
But you have the greatest depth in mentoring. So you might expand the umbrella.
Bryan Klopack:
Precisely.
Carol Cone:
So do you want to tell us — Artis does this great, but I’m gonna challenge you. Do you wanna tell a story of just one great mentoring story?
Bryan Klopack:
Oh, can I give my own mentoring story?
Carol Cone:
Do you have one? Of course, sure, absolutely.
Bryan Klopack:
Yes. So I grew up in a wonderful community on the south side of Chicago. My dad was a Teamster in trucking. And I have three siblings, all with disabilities. My parents were very busy, and my parents barely graduated high school. I’ll tell you, they did it through the skin of their teeth. So I didn’t have a mentor to show me how to fill out that FAFSA, how to go through the steps. But they wanted me to go to college — they just didn’t know how to help me get there. And my mother also worked in janitorial service — I worked with her every Sunday and Wednesday, we went and scrubbed toilets. And at the time I was so embarrassed. And I’m now embarrassed of how I felt about it, because they were sacrificing so much. And in that process, they actively helped me — through local organizations — find a mentor to help me through my college journey. So I got into college and had a local mentor there at my undergraduate university, Drake University, who saw me at the beginning. I didn’t do very well, because I was no longer the janitor’s kid. I was kind of reinventing myself and wasn’t focusing on my studies. And I had a mentor. His name was Bob. He’s in Minneapolis now — he’s a Lutheran pastor. He’s a great guy. And he said, “What are you doing? What do you want out of this experience in college?” He got me on the straight and narrow. I got a 4.0 from there on. I was student body president my senior year and went on to work for the United States Senate to lobby for education support for communities like mine.
Carol Cone:
Yay. Oh nice. That’s great.
Bryan Klopack:
And that’s because of mentors.
Carol Cone:
Wow, that’s a great story.
Bryan Klopack:
And then I committed the rest of my life to working in the nonprofit space to support communities like the one I came from, in ways that can lift them up the way they lifted me up.
Carol Cone:
So when you got the job, how did you feel?
Bryan Klopack:
Oh, it was a very personal moment — because the story I just shared with you, Carol, I haven’t told a lot of people.
Carol Cone:
Ah, you’ve told the audience now.
Bryan Klopack:
I did — now the audience knows. And it was a visceral feeling: that is my truth, and that drives me in this work. And if I can help grow our mission through that truth that drives me — I’m excited to talk about that and open up the door, because there are people like me all over the country. So I was very excited. Day two I was a little overwhelmed. We move so fast as an organization. Artis Stevens, as you mentioned — our CEO — is prolific, he’s a visionary, he opens so many doors, and I need to build the infrastructure of my team so that we don’t slow down. We can move with all those new connections. And that’s hard — that takes some time.
Carol Cone:
That’s exciting.
Bryan Klopack:
It’s very exciting.
Carol Cone:
Any other advice to your colleagues here about the moment?
Bryan Klopack:
Folks who come to Engage for Good — we all have incredible missions. Everybody’s doing really important work here. And again, we are all nonprofit businesses filling a need. So don’t listen to a panel discussion and just chase down every corporate partner that’s there. I’m speaking to the nonprofit folks now — find where you can be a good business partner. Listen for what’s working, what the needs are for that business and their strategy, and how you could —
Carol Cone:
Where’s a value that you can create?
Bryan Klopack:
Precisely. That’s where the magic happens. And frankly, that’s what they’re looking for as well.
Carol Cone:
As we wrote in our Breakthrough not-for-profit branding book some years ago, our favorite thing was: determine your goals, my goals, and shared goals.
Bryan Klopack:
Yes, I love that.
Carol Cone:
And the intersection of the shared goals, and really talking about them and then listening to the good, the bad, and the ugly — that’s where the magic happens.
Bryan Klopack:
It’s magic, exactly. And one more point I want to put on that: the importance of stewardship of these partnerships. They cannot be transactional — those die fast. Make them year-round.
Carol Cone:
Right, they’re short-term.
Bryan Klopack:
And also we’re all people. So getting to know your partner as a person — getting to know their birthdays, what their kids are doing — we’re all people. That makes it so much richer. And it makes the difficult conversations easier to have.
Carol Cone:
That’s great. So thank you, congrats on your new role being at one of my favorite places.
Bryan Klopack:
Thank you so much, I’m so excited.
Carol Cone:
I want to see you in the parade — the Macy’s parade next year.
Bryan Klopack:
I did it this last year.
Carol Cone:
Probably last year.
Bryan Klopack:
It was absolutely fantastic.
Carol Cone:
You did? Did you sing on the float?
Bryan Klopack:
I was a pace walker with Sam DeShippio —
Carol Cone:
You didn’t —
Bryan Klopack:
and our crew of Matches who actually led the parade. So I’m not saying I was the parade master, but I kinda was the parade master.
Carol Cone:
Oh, fun for you.
Bryan Klopack:
Yes, it was a lot of fun. And they’re a wonderful partner of ours.
Carol Cone:
That’s great — they are a fabulous partner of yours. And I can’t wait to see what’s gonna happen next Thanksgiving.
Bryan Klopack:
Yes, we will see.
Carol Cone:
Thanks for joining us on the show, Purpose 360.
Bryan Klopack:
Carol, thank you so much. Thank you for all the work you’ve done for this community.
Carol Cone:
With me is Nathan Measom, and he is Senior Director of Cause Marketing at the American Red Cross. What’s the conference like so far, Nathan?
Nathan Measom:
Hi Carol, thank you so much for having me. The conference has been wonderful. I’ve seen so many familiar faces and had such a great opportunity to connect with so many of our brand partners. I was just saying to a colleague — if we were to travel and visit all of the brand partners we’ve had a chance to meet with today, it would have cost us so much more. The value of this conference has already paid off in dividends.
Carol Cone:
Now, that’s great. So you have been a winner of Halo Awards in the past.
Nathan Measom:
That’s correct.
Carol Cone:
I think you’re a finalist this year.
Nathan Measom:
We’re a finalist this year, yes.
Carol Cone:
What’s the most exciting work that you’ve been doing in the last year or two that you’d like our listeners to hear about?
Nathan Measom:
So we have been doing really great work in the cause space with our cause marketing partners. I’ve got some really exciting things coming up that I wish I could share with you, but I will soon.
Carol Cone:
When is that gonna happen?
Nathan Measom:
It’s a lot of stuff coming up this summer. We’re doing a lot of exciting things around America 250, which is a really unique opportunity for brands to celebrate the birthday of America in a way that makes sense right now.
Carol Cone:
Okay. And what about the conference? Any great new insights? You’ve been doing it a long time, so it’s reinforcing things we should keep doing.
Nathan Measom:
Yeah, well it’s the first day, so I’m really looking forward to diving into some of the sessions. I was really moved by Muneer’s speech today, particularly when he said that America is not a melting pot, it’s a potluck — that we all bring different things to the table and we need to share our recipes. I thought that was really inspirational and a great way to look at things.
Carol Cone:
And the Red Cross — you constantly reinvent yourself.
Nathan Measom:
Yeah, well for an organization that’s been around for as long as we have, we’re still constantly adapting because the world is constantly adapting. And during emergencies is when people need us the most. So what that looks like changes all the time. We respond to sixty-five thousand disasters a year — I want to make sure I got that number right.
Carol Cone:
Oh, so many.
Nathan Measom:
Yes, we’ve seen a rapid increase in the response we’re providing, particularly with people who are affected. We provide direct financial assistance to people affected by disasters, and the amount of money we’ve given out over the last five years has almost doubled. So people are being affected in larger ways and needing more help than ever. That’s what we’re here for.
Carol Cone:
What’s the most important message you want to give to your current partners or potential partners here?
Nathan Measom:
I would say mission over everything. There’s so much that we’re doing, but nowhere in our mission statement does it say anything about benefits. So don’t look at the spreadsheet — look at the work.
Carol Cone:
Right. So don’t look at the spreadsheet, look at the work that you’re doing.
Nathan Measom:
Yeah, absolutely. And there’s so many ways that we can collaborate. I always say I want a partnership to work for both sides — if it doesn’t work for the brand partner, then it doesn’t work for me either. The worst thing that could happen is if a partner says to me at the end of a campaign, this didn’t work — that was a failure on my part. So going into it, making sure you know what the objectives are and really wanting to meet those objectives in a way that makes sense. That doesn’t always have to look like a benefits matrix. How can we create visibility in a way that actually gets people excited?
Carol Cone:
So besides understanding the objectives and goals, what’s another one or two questions that are absolutely key when you’re setting up a partnership?
Nathan Measom:
I think one of the first things — whether you’re setting up a partnership or talking about a new conversation — the objectives and the goals are probably the most important thing. For us, we operate a little bit differently because people know us for our work in disaster response. So when something happens, we have partners coming to us — we’re turning around campaigns very, very quickly, which is not typical. A lot of organizations spend a year or more developing a campaign. But I think just outlining those goals, and where you want something to be renewable — how do we make this a success this year, and then how do we do it again even better next year?
Carol Cone:
Super, well thanks for joining the show.
Nathan Measom:
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Carol Cone:
So with me is Deb Barge, and she is from the Trevor Project, which is really, really important in these times. And we’re at Engage for Good. So Deb, explain what you do with the Trevor Project and explain for our listeners what the Trevor Project does. We’ll start there.
Deborah Barge:
Let’s start there, Carol. Thank you so much. It’s always an honor to sit alongside of you. You are genuinely the shero in the movement.
Carol Cone:
Thank you.
Deborah Barge:
And I so appreciate you. No — you are that mentor, idol, icon that folks like me look up to.
Carol Cone:
Thank you.
Deborah Barge:
I’m gonna give you your flowers for a minute. You help listen in a way other people don’t listen, so that you can help brands and causes like us unlock their magical connection.
Carol Cone:
Great, thank you. Okay, but tell us about you and Trevor.
Deborah Barge:
I am honored to be at the Trevor Project, and the Trevor Project is twenty-eight years old.
Carol Cone:
Congratulations.
Deborah Barge:
And many don’t know — it started because twenty-eight years ago there was a tie at the Oscars in the short film category, just like there was a tie in twenty twenty-six in the short film category, for a film called Trevor. About a young boy, a fictitious story, who was in high school and attempted suicide because he was gay and being bullied and didn’t feel he had support. At the end of the movie, the team put out a call line, realizing maybe we should offer support in case you feel you have someone to call. Remember, this is twenty-eight years ago, so you watched TV for real. It aired one time. It was on HBO. And then that night, for the very first time it aired, over fifteen hundred kids called — wow — and said they needed help. And from then on, the Trevor Project has had a twenty-four-seven crisis line — phone and text now, and of course online — for all LGBTQ-plus kids across the US and Mexico who feel that they may be considering harm to themselves. We operate this line because over 1.8 million kids in the community consider suicide every year.
Carol Cone:
Wow.
Deborah Barge:
So I’m honored to be at the Trevor Project because I have two children that are in the LGBTQ-plus community, and I know firsthand how important it is that we’re showing up both for that moment of crisis, but beforehand.
Carol Cone:
That’s great. So what’s really keeping you awake at night?
Deborah Barge:
Hmm, that’s a great question. I have a joyful role, Carol. I get to be the Chief Advancement Officer, which in our world is relatively new. We’re development and marketing. So I get to think up at night about the brand — how is the brand staying vibrant for our community? How do kids know how to find us? And how do supporters know what we do enough to want to invest? It’s a different conversation than just owning development or fundraising. And then on the other side, what keeps me up at night is that last June we lost $25 million a year — from the federal cuts to 988, which we were receiving. It’s gone every year now.
Carol Cone:
Right.
Deborah Barge:
So now we need to replenish it. How do we find people to lean in and help us serve more kids?
Carol Cone:
And how’s it going?
Deborah Barge:
It’s going okay. We had an emergency lifeline campaign — like when there’s a hurricane — and folks stepped up to help us make it through year one. And now we’re building the foundation for what sustainability looks like.
Carol Cone:
Right. And the issue that you support is not in favor right now. So how are you operating in that environment? It’s important what you do, it’s critical, but your brands don’t want to get their heads knocked off.
Deborah Barge:
It’s really tricky in this time. So I’m really proud of the brands that are still boldly standing alongside us publicly, not just quietly.
Carol Cone:
Will you name names?
Deborah Barge:
There's a few brands that are quietly saying, don’t put our name right now, we’re scared. But there are brands like Abercrombie & Fitch — sixteen years they’ve been our partner.
Carol Cone:
Sixteen years.
Deborah Barge:
Sixteen years? They are still selling product in store that supports the Trevor Project.
Carol Cone:
That’s fantastic.
Deborah Barge:
They are marching in pride parades with us. They are leaning in in every way.
Carol Cone:
Right.
Deborah Barge:
MAC.
Carol Cone:
Yeah, love MAC. I’m a MAC girl.
Deborah Barge:
Well, you need to buy your Viva Glam, because your Viva Glam supports the Trevor Project.
Carol Cone:
Of course, yes — absolutely, a hundred percent. That’s great.
Deborah Barge:
And they gave a new million dollar gift because of what happened in June.
Carol Cone:
Wow, good.
Deborah Barge:
And they did it publicly.
Carol Cone:
Great.
Deborah Barge:
We got to do media around it. They’re all in.
Carol Cone:
Yeah, that’s great.
Deborah Barge:
All in from employee to customer.
Carol Cone:
Great. Okay, anybody else you want to mention?
Deborah Barge:
Lululemon.
Carol Cone:
Lululemon — oh, I’m a Lululemon girl too.
Deborah Barge:
I mean, aren’t we all?
Carol Cone:
Yeah.
Deborah Barge:
And really proudly — and I like this one because I think people don’t realize — the NFL.
Carol Cone:
Really? And I know there was a player that came out.
Deborah Barge:
Yes.
Carol Cone:
Yes. And right.
Deborah Barge:
Carl Nassib. The NFL has been a partner since Carl came out publicly as the first openly gay NFL player five years ago. The NFL gives every year. And just this year at the Super Bowl, the NFL’s diversity leader and our CEO took to the AdWeek stage and told our story.
Carol Cone:
That’s fantastic.
Deborah Barge:
They continue to engage their employees, use our training so that they are supportive in their community. And that’s probably not one you’d normally think of being with the Trevor Project.
Carol Cone:
No, not at all. I mean, you think NFL, you think beef, giant guys. So what’s been the response here in terms of meeting with either current prospects or maybe partners?
Deborah Barge:
The interesting part that folks are really leaning into is their employees. Everyone knows they have employees that are in the LGBTQ-plus community.
They have employees whose kids are in the community. And they want their employees to know they stand alongside them. So while they might not be using their media, not using their brand externally, they need their workforce to know they stand alongside them.
Carol Cone:
Exactly.
Deborah Barge:
So they’re leaning into those employee engagement moments we bring.
Carol Cone:
That’s great. And any special programs that you want to talk about that are working internally?
Deborah Barge:
Yes. A couple of things we do really well and people really love. We do care and ally training. So we’ll come into your workforce and we’ll talk about why it’s important to be a good ally and what that means.
Carol Cone:
Right.
Deborah Barge:
Why do pronouns matter and why do we use them? How is the data showing that when you use my gender-preferred pronouns, I’m less likely to have mental health challenges — which then for an employer means I’m more likely to show up to work on time or maybe have fewer sick days — and then
Carol Cone:
And fewer insurance claims.
Deborah Barge:
I also might treat your customers with that same respect and they’ll have more loyalty. So those trainings are so simple, but they really do make an impact on the bottom line for the customer and for the brand.
Carol Cone:
That’s great. Absolutely. The value creation.
Deborah Barge:
That’s right.
Carol Cone:
Yeah. That’s really, really great. Anything else that you want to talk about in terms of how you’re developing new programming for internal?
Deborah Barge:
Absolutely. The other thing that a lot of employees are wanting in all these brands — especially those that may have a retail workforce or a remote workforce — is a reason to gather in person. What do we do together? We allow them to do what everybody wants to do. They want to stuff a kit. They want to create something, right?
Kitting’s the favorite thing to do. We let them stuff a kit for the person answering that crisis line. We have thousands of volunteers that actually staff the crisis line.
Carol Cone:
Oh, answering the crisis line. What’s in the kit?
Deborah Barge:
The kits are wellness things for the crisis counselor — whether that is a well-being journal so that they can take care of themselves, positive affirmation resources, stickers, stress balls, other things that might help them, even in the sensory space, restore themselves so they can answer the next call or text with their full self and support the person on the other line.
Carol Cone:
That’s great.
Deborah Barge:
It’s powerful. The other thing we’ve been doing a lot of — and this has been coming alive at gatherings like this, conferences in person — is you want to write a positive note to that kid calling. And so we’ve been doing a lot of that, where it can be from an anonymous person. And the reason is we know that forty percent of the young people who have one positive adult in their life — or that feeling of one positive adult — will not attempt suicide. So that little note can literally save a life.
Carol Cone:
That means a lot.
Deborah Barge:
These little things help employees have a physical way to touch a mission that may not feel like something you can touch.
Carol Cone:
And how did you — these are like little beautiful gems. How did you find them?
Deborah Barge:
Oh, we listened.
Carol Cone:
We’re going to add “listen” to “authentic.” We’re going to add my next favorite word.
Deborah Barge:
I love the authentic part. I think that’s the part, Carol, that through the whole thing, those partners that are with us are authentic partners. It’s deep — it’s deep in the soul of their workforce, it’s deep in the soul of their customers. When we bring these activations, we listen to our crisis counselors telling us this is what we need and this is what we’re hearing. So then we take that and we go to the workforce and say, what do you need? What are you hearing from both the HR side and the CSR side? And then what does the leadership want to see for the brand?
Carol Cone:
That’s great. I’m gonna ask you a really hard question.
Deborah Barge:
Please.
Carol Cone:
So — look, you just got this invitation to go to the White House to talk to the president. What would you say to President Trump?
Deborah Barge:
Wow, that’s a really bold question.
Carol Cone:
I knew it’s a tough question because —
Deborah Barge:
I love it though, because here’s the reality: we are a purple cause. All we want to do is be there for every young person, because our mission — LGBTQ-plus humans are humans. This is a human issue and we are dealing with a health crisis. The Surgeon General has told us — we’re in a loneliness and mental health crisis in this nation, and it’s suicide as an epidemic.
Carol Cone:
Mental health — yes, I think it’s a very important thing.
Deborah Barge:
We’re here to help solve that. We’re actually part of the public health system, if you think about it. When you operate a twenty-four-seven public health line, we’re just like your emergency response team. And we’re helping not only that person on the other line — we’re helping society provide a vital service. So I hope that the president and our representatives and anyone else will simply see this as a human mission that’s supporting our nation and our people.
Carol Cone:
That’s beautiful. Well, Deb, they are very fortunate to have you. You’ve been at many incredible, storied organizations, but this might be the one that really touches most deeply in your soul.
Deborah Barge:
I think you are spot on. We all do this work because we love it — none of us would be in this industry if we didn’t. And as we grow and evolve, I started at March of Dimes when I was pregnant. And now I get to be in a mission that’s aligned to my children today. We all get to give our heart in a meaningful way, and thanks to your leadership, we also know we can bring our brilliance too.
Carol Cone:
Oh, that’s a great way to put it. So thanks for coming on the show and keep up the fantastic work.
Deborah Barge:
Thank you. And congratulations to you on being recognized here. We are so grateful to have you.
Carol Cone:
Thank you so much.
Sarah Knott:
I’m Sarah Knott. I’m with Hasbro. I’ve been there ten years. I’m the director of Philanthropy and Social Impact. And this is, I think, my fifth conference.
Carol Cone:
And what do you think of the conference so far?
Sarah Knott:
It’s really nice to be with like-minded people who are experiencing the same things that you’re experiencing, meeting nonprofits that are trying to do good work. And this field in corporate can feel sometimes like you’re on an island because your team is small — no one in the company is doing what you’re doing — and being with people who are experiencing the same thing, there’s something so valuable about that.
Carol Cone:
That’s terrific. And has anything stood out for you so far? We’ve had morning sessions — the first full day.
Sarah Knott:
Yes, I think there’s a lot of amazing solutions in tech for helping scale programs in ways that we can’t do alone.
Carol Cone:
Great, great. And anything really big or special that Hasbro’s doing that you’d like to highlight?
Sarah Knott:
Well, next weekend — I don’t know if you’ve heard — but Daddy Pig of the Peppa Pig family is running the London Marathon and raising money for the National Deaf Children’s Society in the UK, because his son — they just found out he’s moderately deaf. And so we’ve been working with the National Deaf Children’s Society to spread awareness about that, and we’re really excited.
Carol Cone:
And he’s got kind of short legs.
Sarah Knott:
He does.
Carol Cone:
Gosh, that’s a lot of strides for that marathon.
Sarah Knott:
A lot of strides. He has celebrity trainer Joe Wicks helping him.
Carol Cone:
There you go, super. Well thanks for joining us.
Sarah Knott:
Thank you.
Carol Cone:
Thank you.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
Hi, this is Kari Hayden Pendoley. I run Impact Savvy — it’s a strategy and social impact firm. And I’m here because I have been attending this conference since it was the Cause Marketing Forum.
Carol Cone:
Forum, right? With David.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
When I was a graduate school intern, I helped check people in in New York City — one of the very first gatherings of the Cause Marketing Forum, I think in two thousand five.
Carol Cone:
And I must have keynoted it.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
Yeah, a hundred percent. There was like forty-five of us in a ballroom in the Marriott with no windows.
Carol Cone:
Exactly.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
So I’ve just been such a huge fan of the evolution of this work — what it means for companies to demonstrate purpose and do that through strong partnerships with nonprofits.
Carol Cone:
I love that. What are one or two of your secrets for the most profound partnerships?
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
Oh goodness. I’m a little biased because I spent time at DonorsChoose.org.
Carol Cone:
Love DonorsChoose.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
And DonorsChoose.org, as a multi-time Halo Award winner for several of their partnerships and the campaigns that they did — with Crate & Barrel, to really innovate giving cards and gift cards — really kind of changed that landscape alongside Kiva with what it meant to give philanthropic dollars in the hands of the consumer at five and ten dollars, and then convert them into longtime supporters. So that is one of my favorite examples of a collaborative campaign that’s still going on today.
Carol Cone:
Yeah, it is. That’s great. Any other insights into making the relationship work really hard?
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
I said this earlier to this group — this is the SISM group, the corporate social impact members group, who are members of Engage for Good and they meet quarterly as corporates to discuss challenges. My advice this week has been to get the board members of both the corporate board and the nonprofit board connected.
Carol Cone:
There we go, good idea.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
There’s so much turnover on nonprofit staff and on the corporate side, but those boards do not turn over. And so if you can get alignment on a multi-year partnership, a multi-year agreement, you can stay that North Star despite any other sea change that might be happening. That has worked really well for myself and my clients.
Carol Cone:
Great recipe for success.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
Love it.
Carol Cone:
Thank you.
Kari Hayden Pendoley:
Thanks, Carol.