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.
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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.
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We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits
701. 93% of Funding Gone Overnight: A Case Study in Crisis Leadership - Jennifer Rupp
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At 4am on April 3, 2025, Jennifer Rupp's phone wouldn't stop buzzing. 93% of Michigan Humanities' budget. Gone overnight. What happened next is a story about crisis leadership, radical transparency, and why connection isn't a soft strategy. It's the only strategy. 🙏
In this episode, you'll hear:
- What Jennifer did in the first 24 hours after losing 93% of her budget, and why transparency was her most important tool
- How she decided which programs to cut and which were non-negotiable (and the framework you can use to make those calls)
- Why "when division is the crisis, connection is the strategy" isn't just a philosophy at Michigan Humanities, it's their entire operating model
- Jennifer’s One Good Thing: flip the funding triangle. 85% of your money comes from individuals. Are you spending 85% of your time there?
This one's going to stay with you. 🩵
Episode Highlights:
- Meet Jennifer Rupp (00:48)
- The 4am email that changed everything (09:44)
- How federal humanities funding actually works (10:46)
- The pivot: transparency, triage, and staying mission-aligned (13:55)
- What programs fell and which were non-negotiable (17:09)
- Crisis leadership lessons you can only learn by walking through it (22:28)
- From front porches to back decks: why we've lost the art of gathering (25:15)
- The Great Michigan Gathering: a three-year plan to rebuild community (26:43)
- A powerful story of generosity in Jennifer's life (33:10)
- Jennifer's One Good Thing: flip the funding triangle (35:05)
Episode Show Notes: https://www.weareforgood.com/episode/701
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