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The Charity Charge Show is a podcast featuring nonprofit and social impact leaders from across the country discussing social good, fundraising, innovating, and much more!
Grayson Harris (00:01.285)
Hello everybody and welcome back to the Charity Charged Show. Today I am joined by Scott B. Richards, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the St. John's Program for Real Change. They're doing incredible work out in California for the unhoused community, really driving impact in the sense of providing a space for the children that are impacted by that situation to kind of flourish and help out both with the moms and the kids themselves.
Scott, thank you so much for taking some time to join. Tell me a little bit more about the work that you're doing over there.
Scott B. Richards (00:35.214)
Yeah, thank you, Grayson. It's great to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about the work in Sacramento. So you shared a great intro to this, but our vision is to end the generational cycle of trauma and homelessness. That's why we have the name program for real change. And so we want to address kind of the cyclical nature of being unhoused in our community. And our mission is really to provide a safe space for women and children to heal and develop the skills necessary to transform their lives.
Grayson Harris (00:52.603)
Hmm.
Scott B. Richards (01:04.974)
The reason that's important for us because the in-generational cycle of homelessness and trauma really takes the entire family unit. St. John's is unique in that this is our 40 years. We've been doing this for 40 years in Sacramento. We started in the basement of a church in 1985. Today we're a fully comprehensive program. We have multiple campuses in Sacramento. We serve about, on average, just over 200 women any given day of the week.
And what our program looks like is that we're the largest program serving women and children in community. Everything is in-house. So we provide shelter, food and childcare for women and children. We have job training, workforce development, continuing education, and then the whole suite of substance use and behavior health services for our current clients. And we have a number of other programs, transitional housing for those that are kind of looking for the next step. And then we have a program that we're serving currently incarcerated women.
who are transitioning back into community and a lot of folks don't know there are if you're a woman leaving prison you're up to five times more likely to be unhoused within a year of your parole. So I see our work real change is not only about addressing current homelessness but helping prevent homelessness and keep people housed. So that's a little bit about who we are and what we do.
Grayson Harris (02:21.061)
Well, that is incredible. And a big part of this is that we're seeing that the demand kind of looks like it's going to be increasing on the horizon. Tell me a little bit more about that. And how are you kind of looking towards that as we're approaching that? There's a lot of uncertainty in terms of funding this year as well. Kind of on both sides, the funding side and then that demand side, what does it kind of look like for your organization? What are those conversations?
Scott B. Richards (02:30.21)
Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (02:40.172)
Yeah. Yep.
Scott B. Richards (02:47.31)
Yeah, it's a great way to tee it up. think that with a lot of changes through HR1 and kind of what has historically for many decades been the safety net for communities across the country, that just means that there will be more people likely in search of or looking for resources to support, you know, whether it's unemployment or unhoused, all the different issues that support our communities. And so in California, we're looking at an estimate of around three, a little over three million more people.
over the next few years, it will likely need services of some kind, whether it's job training, employment, housing, whatever it is. And a lot of times, from what we're hearing from experts in the field, that those are pretty conservative estimates. not only is the demand for services in our community at an all-time high, it's even on the public agenda at an all-time high with our mayor and our legislature. And then at the same time, you have a decrease in funding. And I think those are the changes to, know, Medi-Cal, for example.
Grayson Harris (03:24.715)
Thank you.
Scott B. Richards (03:41.67)
for a lot of folks are doing work around behavioral health or anything in the community, we're feeling that. And so those are all dollars from the federal government to pass through the state, which just means there's less investment in communities through that revenue stream. And so what I would say the insight, and as we're talking in our community, like, what does that mean? We just really want to be 100 % clear on like, what is our value proposition as community? What is the work that we do?
being very clear on like our approach and our model. This is who we are and what we do, differentiation basically, and then really deliver on results. So think this comes down to operational excellence, know, making improvements, making those changes. Like this is not the time to kind of sit on the sidelines and wait, but really lean in and say, okay, you know, we're a 40 year organization Sacramento. We're going to, how do we meet this moment? So that's what I'm talking to my board about. I'm talking to our staff about our community partners of that. I'm not letting,
You know, it can be scary. I mean, that's just the reality. But I'm not letting that kind of constrict how we think about things. Say, all right, this is the moment. As I often say with my staff, this is the work. And so how do we lean in? How do we meet this moment? And I think it's, one, clarifying your program model, being clear on what you do, and then blasting the results and talking about here's what's effective and working so that we keep the momentum and the progress going.
Grayson Harris (05:05.307)
I'd love to hone in on that. So that piece of honing in on what's working and then communicating that clearly. I think that part of that communication piece is what's so important to the donors, in this case, be the government or for a lot of nonprofits, the constituents that you're going to asking for their money. Where are you seeing wins within that communication? Is it?
Scott B. Richards (05:17.368)
Yes. Yeah.
Grayson Harris (05:32.471)
know, bringing them boots on the ground, seeing the change, is how are you communicating with these groups?
Scott B. Richards (05:35.724)
Yep. Yeah. Yeah, I think a couple of things come to mind on that. I think you touched on a couple of things that I can kind of expound. I think one just we have to be really, really polished and sophisticated in our storytelling. I think the way we talk about is marketing and communications. But, you know, we have to tell a story of what we do. And I don't think that's just to really tell that story effectively. It's not just like, here's all the programs we run. It's actually saying
Here's the moment of unhoused and homelessness in our community. This is what it looks like. Here's who's impacted. And then this is what we're doing about it. Then the stories you tell is like, meet Adriana, meet Juliana, meet all the kids. So that you're telling a story that's aligned to the reality that people see. It's like, yeah, right. I see that. wow, I can make the connection of what you're doing or really clarifying, like, we're able to address these issues, but not these issues.
And the best way to do social media, I'm gonna start with social media. I think that really being present and visible and just storytelling, right? Like a lot of people in our community, they don't wanna get the nuts and bolts of like, what's that pass through funding? What's that grant from the government? And that's all the stuff we think about. And I get it, maybe in the closed door, that's what we talk about. But in our community, it's like the story, who we are, what we're about, what we believe in. And that's a bit of advocacy, right? Like saying, hey,
not only does what we do, these are the results, but this is what we think works. And so I just think that's what our donors, government agencies, really that's what they're looking for. was just with the mayor of Sacramento last week talking about this, like what's gonna work, right? And so I think we have to have an answer for that. And then as much as you can, getting people on the ground, I invite people for tours at our facility every time I meet them. First time as I come down and visit, you can come any day of the week, we're open seven days a week.
24 hours a day, can literally come whenever and I'll meet you here. You can meet clients, you can visit our kitchen, you can see the childcare. And it is inevitable that when we do that, people are like, wow, this is amazing. They connect, it pulls, you got to pull the heartstrings, right? Like, you know, and there's some donors I know that are out there like, all right, I've done that. Now show me the numbers, show me the finances, show me, you know, I get that we do have to be ready for that. I think that's what goes like, we do have to have the operational excellence.
Grayson Harris (07:41.787)
Stay connected.
Scott B. Richards (07:58.584)
but we have to tell the story and we not only, maybe I should say not only tell it, we have to show it, really show it, right? People have to hear it and see it. So we do a lot of events in the community where our clients are front and center. They're telling the story, they're running the event, they are front and center so that people really see that the direct immediate impact. And it's not just our clients, so the client, know, well, they are clients, women, it's also the kids.
Grayson Harris (08:10.49)
Hmm.
Scott B. Richards (08:24.622)
Like we're not starting to tell stories where kids are talking about how their family is different because of their mom going through this process or even their grandma. You know, it's like my whole family's different because my mom took the courage to do this. It's generational. And that's a, you know, kind of talking points like that's something it's our 40 year anniversary. So I'm really trying to, you know, 40 years, people are like, what's happening? And so I'm telling the story about generational impact that now we have kids, grandkids that are like,
Grayson Harris (08:34.519)
And that's that generational side. Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (08:51.874)
thank God for St. John's because of what my family looks like today. We're successful, we're housed, we have a job. But more than that, we're thriving and contributing in the Sacramento community.
Grayson Harris (09:02.907)
That's incredible. you mentioned results, and your results do speak volumes. You have over 35,000 women that have gone through the program. I'd love to dive in and give me an example of a story that really speaks to your heart from this time as CEO.
Scott B. Richards (09:16.013)
Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (09:23.17)
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's, quite a few, think of Monica, her and I have talked about her story quite a bit. And I think it actually is good because it kind of typifies what, what we see day in day out. But, know, she came to us, she had just, just given birth when she came to St. John's, but was not able to stay with her child. So she came into St. John's in a respite room, which you can only stay for seven days. She separated from all of her kids in a respite room. There's some ongoing court issues.
She enrolled in our vocational learning program, which is up to 12 months. It's a comprehensive program. Within two months, she's reunified with her kids. Her kids can live on campus with her. you can't, any mom out there, any family knows that like having your kids with you is part of your recovery and part of, you know, turning your life around. She had her kids back together. She's in our vocational learning program and she got a job at, well,
Grayson Harris (09:57.403)
Mm-hmm.
Grayson Harris (10:11.823)
motivation, I'm sure.
Scott B. Richards (10:19.81)
maybe some of your peers won't know that, but Mulvaney's restaurant, is a Michelin star rated restaurant, she's working in the kitchen, getting experience and ultimately got a job with our arena here in the kitchen and serving food. And part of our vocational learning is in food service. We have two social enterprises, so we have a catering and a bakery. So all of that was going to prepare her for her future. And if you fast forward today, now she's working as an apprentice chef in a restaurant.
She has a home, her kids are with her, she has stable employment, and she's still plugged in in St. John's community. She's here, you know, part of our alumni work and our alumni network of women and children have gone through this program and is able to like be a role model and kind of that mirror, right? Like, hey, this is what this life can look like. You can see yourself literally in this person. All of that is like...
Grayson Harris (11:05.648)
Love that.
Scott B. Richards (11:12.364)
the full package. That's what we do. And I could tell that story. That's a food service. We have partnership with UC Davis, our medical facility. It's the same story. It's just kind of different lyrics, right? Like, know, Juliana came in, she went through job training, she got an entry level job at UC Davis. But because of our partnership, she's now a director of a department. She's on the upward track. She's got a home, her kids are with her. Like, it's the same story, but
And it really comes down to like, yes, the work we do. And I think what I'm getting at, it's also our partnerships in the community. We couldn't do it without the restaurants, hospitals, and other employers.
Grayson Harris (11:50.523)
I'm excited to dive into those partnerships. I want to quickly highlight transition is incredibly common within a nonprofit space. And you've came in and stepped into this role, I think early last year. How has that been? How has that transition been coming into a new organization that's been around at that time for 39 years? How was that learning process and adapting to the team and them adapting to you?
Scott B. Richards (11:58.681)
Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (12:03.672)
That's right.
Scott B. Richards (12:10.05)
Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (12:17.678)
Yeah, it's been a learning curve. think anybody listening will know what it's like to drink from a fire hose. So it has felt that way. At the same time, some of our staff have been here for 10, 12, 15 years, right? So I think a lot of my transition was listening to them. And we have a lot of staff that are former clients. So people running our programs today or running different departments are former clients of our program. And so I think...
just listening to them, like tell me about St. John's, tell me about what worked for you. Like that's hands-on experience, right? Like that's not theoretical. That's like, hey, I came here, this is what happened. So I think the staff community has been very welcoming to me, very warm. They've been very appreciative of, you know, what I could come in and offer the organization. But I would say that first year to your question has been a lot of just listening and learning. I've gone to a lot of partners in our community.
and just said, you know, other providers, other nonprofits like St. John's said, hey, let's sit down and talk. Tell me about Homelessness in Sacramento. Tell me about how this works, what doesn't work. And that not only educated me, you know, on the kind of the landscape, but it also helped me build relationships. Like a lot of people were like, oh, wow, like usually nonprofit leaders aren't always doing this all the time. And I know we want to, it's a matter of having the time and all of that, but that's what I took advantage of is like, all right, I've got a year.
Grayson Harris (13:38.544)
Amazing.
Scott B. Richards (13:40.077)
I definitely, there's low hanging fruit. Like I got to address some of the financial things just to get that in order, address issues over here. But really the sweet spot for me was like, we are well resourced. We have an incredible donor base. We're a beloved organization in this community. Like I could not say enough about just the business community support for our organization. So I said, all right, I've got an opportunity. Learn as much as I can about what it is that we do, why it matters for Sacramento, build relationships.
Then I can start to turn the page like, right, here's the next chapter of this organization, which I probably won't get to honestly for another few months. But I feel really well positioned to do that now because of what I've learned, what people have shared, and who's been part of the journey.
Grayson Harris (14:23.323)
is incredible. And the part that I want to jump into on that is that relationship piece, right? And the collaboration is such an integral part of the nonprofit space and world. And tell me a little bit more about these collaborations. What were the learnings that you had within this year? And how are you looking to expand that in the future?
Scott B. Richards (14:27.906)
Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (14:43.714)
Yeah, I think collaboration, I do think for lot of folks listening, that's kind of like a buzzword in the nonprofit space, like how we working together. And I think that what I do like about Sacramento is that we do have kind of our version of the continuum of care. We know who all the players are. We have the spaces to connect and meet and talk. And I think we're right for an opportunity for like even emerging new leaders in this space say, hey,
what direction can we go? And I would say I have made myself available to like, I'll visit your site. Let me meet your team. Let me come your way. Not everybody has to come here. And just foundational relationships. A lot of it just comes down to trust, reliability. Honestly, maybe not as shiny, but just following through on what I say. If I say I'm gonna come to something, I'm gonna show up. If I'm gonna be a part of this event, I'm gonna come to that event.
you know, because I'm new, I'm new in this role, new in this space, but building trust and reliability fosters that collaboration and relationship building. I forgot kind of part of your question. I think one other thing I will say is that I think one of the things that's really been an accelerant for our work is that of the organization Sacramento, we've been around, I don't want to say longer than a lot of these, but probably towards that end of the spectrum. And so I've tried to figure out
how to leverage that kind of reputation or that brand in our community. And so, and I'm rebranding it. I'm like, hey, I'm here to partner. I'm here to connect. I'm here to build relationships. I'm not here to say we got the secret sauce and nobody else knows how to do this. Which I think really attracts from collaboration.
Grayson Harris (16:12.571)
position that brand. Yeah.
Grayson Harris (16:29.947)
Rising tides, right? Yeah, I love that. I love that. And you know, that famous saying, rising tides, you know, all ships. So incredibly important, especially in the nonprofit space with the challenges that we're facing. You know, on that note, you know, to our audience of nonprofit leaders, right? What's a, if you had one thing that you could, you know, share with them, be it a new nonprofit leader in the space or one that's looking to grow and expand in their organization's mission, what would that be?
Scott B. Richards (16:37.378)
Yeah. Yes.
Scott B. Richards (16:43.949)
Yeah.
Scott B. Richards (16:59.918)
Oh, so many good things I would say. I'll put it this way, I'm reminded of a quote, and since we're talking about collaboration, and I don't know who it's attributed to, but it says that, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And I think that the nature of what we're doing, this is I say to somebody, like the nature of what we're doing in nonprofits is that we want to go far. I think the change that we envision, if I could use it as a metaphor, you know,
It's kind of beyond the current constructs or systems that we have. think, man, we're filling a gap. We're addressing these issues and the change we want is oftentimes it's so much bigger than what we're trying to do through an individual program. The criticism we get is we're trying to boil the ocean all the time. And I get that. But I would say we want to go far. to go far, you have to link arms. You have to find coalitions. You have to find those folks. Don't go it alone.
And you can go fast, right? You can get a lot more things done. But I think the result of that for a lot of communities, and I I've worked in different communities over the last 30 years, is that you find communities that are program rich, but systems poor. We haven't really developed the systems that facilitate truly caring for unhoused in our community. You have one-off things. And I hope that I'm not throwing shade on Sacramento. I think we'd all recognize it, you know, but it's like...
We end up with that instead of like a comprehensive system that we all know like, hey, I can do this. I can't do that. I can do this part. And then I can say, hey, why don't you step in and do this? Like there's so, I was just exploring a new partnership this week with one of our corporate partners and talking about job force and workforce training. There's a lot that I can just link arms with somebody. I don't have to recreate the wheel. I don't have to recreate a program. just say, hey, you've been doing this. Yeah, you've been doing this 40 years.
Grayson Harris (18:32.847)
Yep.
Grayson Harris (18:50.139)
filling a gap.
Scott B. Richards (18:53.92)
All you need are people. I've got people and I don't want to spend the next year building a workforce development program. Another one. Let's partner. Right. So that's why I think like all of us go farther. Right. We all go farther if we go together. I think we just end up with a less rich environment to work in when we're all just trying to move fast and go around.
Grayson Harris (19:00.059)
I love that,
Grayson Harris (19:14.651)
That was incredible. Well, I'd like to end, you know, what y'all have coming on. Do you have your 40th anniversary this year? Is there a big event coming up that you're excited for? You know, share a little bit about that.
Scott B. Richards (19:17.688)
Sure.
Yeah, we are. Yeah, this is our 40 years. Every year we throw one of Sacramento's biggest parties. We call it Party for Change. We have about 600 people that attend. Our generous partners at the airport, Modern Aviation, offer a hanger and a space for us to get together. It's incredible evening. There's a live auction, lots of great food, lots of good drinks. More than that, like it is really just highlighting.
not only St. John's, obviously it's our gala, but also just the community. That's what I was talking about. I get in a room like that, I'm like, we are doing this because of you all. And I think it's just a time to not only celebrate our clients and our alum, but our community, our donors, corporations, foundations, and say, hey, we're making it happen here. anybody who's listening can come. October 11th, Party for Change, Modern Aviation. gonna be the party of year.
Grayson Harris (19:58.043)
percent.
Grayson Harris (20:14.427)
Incredible, Scott, thank you for coming on and telling us a little more about the St. John's program for real change. The thing that stood out to me, Rising Tides, raise all ships and you're doing incredible work for your community out there in Sacramento and supporting the women and their children that are dealing with one of the hardest challenges that we can face. And it takes a community effort, as you said, and just thank you for coming on and sharing more about your background and your work.
Scott B. Richards (20:16.92)
Thank you.
Scott B. Richards (20:25.101)
Yes.
Scott B. Richards (20:43.478)
Absolutely. Thank you for the opportunity. I love it.