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We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
The We Are For Good Podcast brings nonprofit professionals + everyday changemakers into conversations with the most innovative, heartwired leaders in social impact. Hosted by Jon McCoy + Becky Endicott, each episode unpacks fresh mindsets, practical skills + inspiring stories designed to help you work smarter, build healthier cultures + accelerate our collective impact.
Join our value-aligned community—it’s free—at weareforgoodcommunity.com.
About We Are For Good
We Are For Good is a storytelling, learning + activating community built for nonprofit professionals + everyday changemakers. Through our podcasts + media, purpose-driven activations + global gatherings, we equip for-good leaders with the connection, skills + inspiration to grow their impact. Because we believe community is everything—and together, we can create an Impact Uprising.
Learn more at weareforgood.com.
We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
691. The Volunteer Strategy Gap (And How to Close It) - Nicole R. Smith, CVA
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In today's episode, Jon and Becky sit down with Nicole R. Smith, CVA, Executive Director of AL!VE (Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement), to talk about what it really looks like to treat volunteers as a strategic powerhouse, not an afterthought.
Nicole has spent her career championing the people who champion volunteers, and she's here to close the gap between organizations that say volunteers are vital and the ones that actually build systems to prove it. 💪
In this episode, you'll hear:
- Why volunteer engagement is a leadership issue, not just a logistics one
- What structural elements every org needs to make volunteers a core capacity
- The metrics most organizations are leaving on the table
- How investing in your volunteer engagement professional changes everything
If volunteers have ever felt like an untapped superpower in your org, Nicole will help you see exactly what's possible—and where to start today. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
- Faith, Dance & Falling into Volunteer Engagement (02:29)
- The Volunteer Strategy Gap: Vital but Under-Resourced (07:14)
- Top-Down Support for Volunteer Managers (11:32)
- Key Infrastructure: Training, Tech & Culture (15:59)
- Hidden ROI: Capacity, Community & 3-6x Returns (24:35)
- Nicole’s One Good Thing: Random Act of Kindness (Even for the "Undeserving") (36:45)
Episode Shownotes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/691
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