American Red Cross: Alleviating Human Suffering.

I went into this thinking I knew the American Red Cross—fires and floods, they're there. Disasters? Yep. All over it. What I didn't know is what you're going to hear in this episode and that is what happens the rest of the time. This legacy organization has its mark on our communities in ways I never thought. Jacquelyn Clites, who leads the 26-county Gold Country region, opened my eyes to how local and round-the-clock their work is: most days it’s not headline disasters, it’s home fires—meeting immediate needs with shelter, food, medicines, and even disaster mental-health and spiritual care. Beyond that, they supply a huge share of the nation’s blood and train our neighbors in CPR and lifeguarding, while quietly supporting military families through emergency communications and reuniting loved ones separated by crisis.

Here at home, a small team and a lot of volunteers power it all—often alongside partners like Sac Metro Fire and SMUD. The simplest way to help: give blood, volunteer your time, or donate funds. You can learn more from their website HERE.

For more information:

www.facebook.com/ARCGoldCountry 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/arcgoldcountry 

Phone: 916-993-7070_

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

(00:00) The Red Cross
The American Red Cross provides global disaster relief, including mental health and spiritual support, with a focus on the California Gold Country region.

(13:31) Community Collaboration and Partnerships
Community partnerships, media collaborations, and innovative programs enhance resilience and safety in disaster preparedness.

(19:07) Funding and Budgeting for Disaster Relief
Our humanitarian efforts are supported by donors, not government funding. Monetary donations are preferred over material goods. Our team and volunteers are crucial, as well as partnerships with other organizations.

(30:06) Community Engagement for Disaster Relief
Community involvement, volunteering, financial contributions, and strong leadership inspire meaningful contributions to the Red Cross mission.

(36:17) Humanity, Harmony, and Hope
The Red Cross empowers local communities with 90% volunteers and 90 cents per dollar towards mission, while emphasizing self-care and personal dedication.

(44:06) American Red Cross Impact
American Red Cross's critical role in responding to emergencies, collaboration with organizations, and impact on community resilience.

Thank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story! We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/ And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.

Transcript

Jackie Clites: [00:00:00] I think what people probably don't see, it's a little quieter part of our service, whether it's a home fire or a big disaster. We actually have disaster mental healthcare workers. So those people are gonna come in and they're gonna listen and they're gonna talk through and they're gonna be compassionate and they're going to be helping think about next steps.

And then we also have spiritual care. What do people need to feel comforted to know that there's somebody there that kind of knows what they're going through. And it's amazing. Many times when you're talking to our volunteers, you'll hear them say, I came here because I've been helped.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network here. Our purpose and passion are simple to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these [00:01:00] organizations to tell their story in their words, sharing not just what they do, but why it matters. To the people they serve, to their supporters, and to all of us who believe in the power of community.

Through podcasting, we hope to amplify their voices, inspire connection, and give them one more tool to reach the hearts of donors, partners, and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our founding partners. CAPTRUST offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations serving Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom and online@captrust.com and Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage.

It's about caring From supporting the American Heart Association to making arts and wellness accessible for all. Western Health Advantage truly delivers healthcare with heart. Learn more@westernhealth.com. I'm proud to welcome our [00:02:00] newest partner, core executive leadership and comprehensive support services working in it so you can work on it.

Visit cx OR e.com. We're going to explore the legacy and evolving mission of a most iconic organization in this episode. From its roots under Clara Barton to its global presence in over 190 countries, the Red Cross has become a symbol of hope, healing, and rapid response. Fires and floods are just the tip of the iceberg.

And I'll bet they've even done rescues and support there too. And when you hear the stories of depth in our communities, the American Red Cross represents, you'll be amazed. We'll get a behind the scenes look at the organization's far reaching services from disaster relief and blood donations to support for military families and lifesaving education.

You'll hear powerful stories about innovative community programs like CPR in schools and fire safety tools for the deaf. [00:03:00] We also unpack how the Red Cross sustains its mission through individual donors, corporate partners, and the tireless work of volunteers. We know they're there when we need them, but how is it they do what they do?

This episode is a moving reminder of what's possible when compassion meets coordination, and why the American Red Cross continues to be a lifeline in times of crisis. I'm speaking with a former attorney and current CEO of the California Gold Country region for the American Red Cross who is passionate about her role and her work.

Jacqueline Kle, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Jackie Clites: Thank you for having me, Jeff. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah, Jackie. I could ask you one question and that would consume the entire podcast for you to explain what the Red Cross does, given what I've learned recently. 'cause I had no idea of the scope of service, and I'm going to do that.

But I'm gonna ask you [00:04:00] just maybe an annotated version if you could, because I think once you get started and as as we have the conversation. The listener's gonna go, oh my gosh, I know of them. I knew they did, but I didn't know. And so I'm really looking forward to the descriptions of that, so, so go ahead, tell us a little bit about the Red Cross.

Jackie Clites: Yeah, well thank you, Jeff. I mean, I should say 

Jeff Holden: American Red Cross, the 

Jackie Clites: American Red Cross, but I'll touch on the Red Cross movement in general. So thank you. It's an honor to really share more about the Red Cross. If you think back, we're here more than 144 years, and it started with Clara Barton. She was nursing wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and she saw that there was a need and she was inspired by the international movement, and so she came back to the American.

Red Cross and in 1881 we were established really again out of crisis and the need for compassion for others. So we can credit Clara and her gumption and we could do a whole podcast just [00:05:00] on her, but she truly was the leader behind starting the American Red Cross. And every Red Cross is a little bit different, so we focus primarily on disaster, blood services, training services, and then we have service to the armed forces and international services.

If you look around the news, you'll see that there's more than 190 Red Cross societies throughout the world, and we're all part of a global movement, and everybody has a little. Different mission, but we're all guided by the same seven fundamental principles. And those are, I always have to look at 'em, it's okay.

But humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. And those are really the principles that all of us rely on when we're making decisions day to day. So in the California gold country region here in Sacramento, we're involving those same principles each and every day.

Jeff Holden: That actually parlays beautifully. 'cause you said in the [00:06:00] California gold country region. What is that region? 'cause if I'm not mistaken, you have quite a bit of territory that you cover. 

Jackie Clites: We do. And fact, it's on my pin today because I like to point it out to people. We actually have 26 counties in Northern California.

Wow. So we started up along the Oregon border and we go all the way down through Lake County, Sacramento, and we end up down in Tami Amador, that area. So it is a significant geographical area and we serve nearly 4 million people. 

Jeff Holden: Brief summarization of that alleviating human suffering is one of the lines that we see on the website.

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: And that could come from any number of things. And certainly in Northern California we experience quite a few of them from flood to fire, to storm to heat. 

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. More and more. 

Jeff Holden: And you know, in this areas could be cold. We recently, as we record this. Had a tsunami [00:07:00] warning, which takes you to Crescent City, which is part of your territory.

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: So tell us a little bit about what that actually means and how you engage that alleviating human suffering in the community. 

Jackie Clites: It's a great question because it is part of our mission statement that we prevent and alleviate human suffering, and we do that with the power of our volunteers and the generosity of our donors.

And so when people think about the Red Cross, they often think about disasters like the tsunami warning. That's at least the second we've had since I've been the regional CEO. And so I'll start with disaster, but this is one of those questions I'll probably take a little bit. More time on just to tell a little a few of those stories on alleviating suffering.

So again, first disasters, right? People think of those big disasters that you see on the news. But for the Red Cross, in our region, we're responding to home fires nearly every day. So for someone who's lost their home, that's just as impactful as someone who's [00:08:00] evacuated and waiting to hear about their home, whether it's a hurricane or fire.

And so for us, alleviating human suffering, our number one goal is what are those immediate needs that people really, truly need? Right now, they've just been displaced from the place that is so comfortable to them. And we're talking shelter. They need a place to stay. They need food. They need water.

Depending on how much time they had. Did they leave medicine behind? Did they leave their glasses behind? What are they looking for? So we take care of those immediate needs. Thank goodness we have a ton of volunteers who are willing to step up 24 7 and answer that call. We'll get to call to that number of 

Jeff Holden: volunteers too in just a second.

We'll, 

Jackie Clites: we'll, yes. So that's the immediate. But I think what people probably don't see, it's a little quieter part of our service, whether it's a home fire or a big disaster, we actually have disaster mental healthcare workers. So those people are gonna come in and they're gonna listen and they're gonna talk through and they're gonna be compassionate and they're going to be [00:09:00] helping think about next steps and, and then we also have spiritual care, which again, it's not necessarily about religion, but it's, you know, what do people need to feel comforted?

Mm-hmm. To feel hope. To know that there's somebody there that kind of knows what they're going through, and it's amazing. Many times when you're talking to our volunteers, you'll hear them say, I came here because I've been helped, or I had this experience. Right? So they have lived that experience and they can certainly walk through that with the client that we have in a shelter, or who maybe just lost their home from a home fire.

And of course we wanna offer financial assistance whenever we can as well, just so people have that independence to kind of decide what that next step is. So that's sort of our alleviating human suffering when it comes to disaster. And you'll often hear me say, we give out help, hope and hugs, and certainly when you're sitting down with someone in a shelter.

That's the last place you really [00:10:00] wanna be. So the people who come to shelters, we are the only place they have to go. Most people, if they evacuate, they have a friend or a family member. Mm-hmm. So really to be able to go in and hear their stories and maybe that we get to keep their pet with them. Or like I said, they get a meal and they don't have to worry about it, or they can go get that next set of clothes.

'cause they left really quickly from their home. So when you go in and you hear their stories and you get their hugs, it's just heartwarming. So that's the first part really, when it comes to disaster. Also we have biomedical services or blood collection. You probably see Red Cross a drives lot of places.

Yes. As a matter of 

Jeff Holden: fact, on the website right now there's, there's a type O blood shortage. You're 

Jackie Clites: right. 

Jeff Holden: Which is pretty common. The O is the pretty common one, if I'm not mistaken. Yes. It's most universal, so it's 

Jackie Clites: definitely needed. Exactly. And across the country we supply nearly 40% of the nation's blood.

So Wow. During summer. We have people going on vacations, [00:11:00] we have students who are away from their school, but we also have maybe more accidents that people are in. They're out, you know, participating in things outdoors or on vacations. And so the need for blood is constant. But there are definitely times of the year where we're putting out those appeals to say, we really need you right now, and if you can't give blood, which you know.

50% of the people probably can give blood. Only about 3% of people do. Would want a small percentage. I would, yeah, I would inspire. I like to inspire people to at least try once. Some people go, oh, that wasn't for me. But you can certainly host a blood drive too, because the blood and, and what we're collecting is going not just for trauma patients.

'cause I think that's what people think about most of the time is, oh, somebody's going into surgery or somebody was in an accident and they need that blood. We have people who are getting cancer treatments, right? And so many of us know someone who's been impacted by cancer and we have people who [00:12:00] have chronic diseases like sickle cell disease that requires blood transfusions.

Mm-hmm. Quite often it's very painful and you'll hear their stories will list, they'll say, I was just confined in my bed and then I got that blood transfusion and you know, I was able to go out and be active again. So it really is the more people that we have. Blood. We're finding that sure there's blood type A, B, ab B and O, but there's other things within that blood that the better match we get, the better it is for the patient.

So again, I just would encourage everybody to think about it and look for a blood drive near them. 

Jeff Holden: And again, we, we started with the scope of service. You are a legacy organization. At 144 years, you've got incredible stature and tenure and familiarity. But I never thought that. As the Red Cross, I would see you show up at a home in my neighborhood.

How would you know? 

Jackie Clites: Well, and I wanna talk about that a little bit more later. Okay. Because I think that's one [00:13:00] of those things that when we dream big, we want everybody to know. Right. Really thinking about the alleviating human suffering. I don't wanna leave off our service to the armed forces. Oh, please.

And also make sure I cover training services. So like I said, this is gonna be a little bit of a longer answer, but for our service to the Armed forces, people don't realize that we're actually helping active duty military every day. So if there's a service member out there, there's probably a red crosser with them, which is really fantastic.

Again, we started on the battlefield. Mm-hmm. It makes sense. We, so we send care packages. We're in VA hospitals. We try to really serve families, veterans, and active duty, but people don't know that we're actually mandated by Congress to be the emergency communication between the command and if there's an emergency at home.

So if somebody has a loved one who's been in an accident, the Red Cross will verify that, get that message to command, and then they can make a decision. So I can be out and about and people go, red Cross got me home for X. We're [00:14:00] so grateful we could be back. And I think that just goes to us being a really trusted organization.

But we are the only ones that do those emergency communications. And we also have a program, it's called Restoring Family Links, which almost. Nobody knows about. So think about people don't know. We respond to home fires. People don't know about restoring family links and with when you have families who maybe have been displaced by crises, war migration.

They're oftentimes in different places, in different countries, and they can go to the Red Cross in that country and and register. And then we have this global network that can bring them together. And those are some of my favorite stories to hear because people may have been separated for years, and so that's really heartwarming.

Jeff Holden: Again, who knew? Right, right, 

Jackie Clites: right. And and the name of that 

Jeff Holden: program again? 

Jackie Clites: Restoring Family Links. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Jackie Clites: Yeah, so think about. Human suffering and being away from your family. Right. Not knowing if someone's dead or [00:15:00] alive, and then they're able to reconnect them, which is outstanding. 

Jeff Holden: Or maybe even not. Even Not even knowing.

Right. The family is there. Right, because you've been separated for so long. 

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. I mean, we have stories of decades of reunification, 

Jeff Holden: generational. 

Jackie Clites: I don't know if generational, but definitely, you know, decades 

Jeff Holden: duration, right? 

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Parents separated from children. Sure. Siblings separated from each other.

Yeah. Amazing. It is. It is. And then the last one, when we talk about alleviating human suffering is obviously training services, which. Think about first aid CPRI started with babysitter training way back when. That was my first introduction to the Red Cross. And of course we te teach a ton of lifeguards, so it's just so interesting when I talk to people sometimes they think, oh, you just do good work.

I know you do good work, but they don't necessarily know how they've been touched by the mission. I would challenge pretty much everybody to think, do you know someone who's either been impacted by a disaster, needed blood, [00:16:00] you know, had a military member in their family, or your nurses, your doctors might be Red Cross trained.

Right. So I just love the, the connection and the, and how we can really probably relate to everybody, even if you don't know that the Red Cross is out there helping you. 

Jeff Holden: And when you said training for, you know, like lifeguards or, mm-hmm. I'm visualizing the beach. There's a red cross on the lifeguard tower in many cases.

Yes. Or on, you know, the, the life rings. 

Jackie Clites: Yep. It's the medical symbol. Right. 

Jeff Holden: We, we just recognize that it's, it becomes ubiquitous because it's more than a brand to many of us. Mm-hmm. It's just an icon. Mm-hmm. But in fact, it is a brand of a mission. And it's just that incorporated into our day-to-day lives.

Jackie Clites: It truly is. Yeah. Which makes, sometimes that means you can accidentally ignore it. Right. Right. Well, and take it for granted. Right. Exactly. And I love when I have volunteers come in and they go, I still have my swim card in my wallet. I mean, there's just that long standing [00:17:00] tradition of the Red Cross has been a part of your life, which is fantastic.

You 

Jeff Holden: know, again, back to the website. Yes. I happen to notice that you had CPR training 

Jackie Clites: Yep. 

Jeff Holden: Amongst a variety of other. Trainings for, you know, medical issues. Mm-hmm. Whatever they might be. And those are taking place in the communities that you serve. What a broad scope, just an incredibly broad scope. And we'll get back to that government issue as well.

Yep. In, in a couple of questions. So, personally, I can think of a million ways that you collaborate, especially in a disaster by necessity, whomever is there, you have to work with. Who are some of the people that you might work with in the community on a day-to-day basis? Non-disaster. 

Jackie Clites: I'm so glad you asked, because we do not do this mission alone by any means, and to actually pick out a few to talk about today was a really difficult challenge for me, and I'm excited to share part 

Jeff Holden: of our conversation too.

Right. I imagine for you it's even tougher. 

Jackie Clites: [00:18:00] Yes. Yes. Our list is growing every day and we, we truly do want it to grow every day because resilience in a community is making sure the community's involved. So you're right. We absolutely partner with government agencies, whether that's state or local, so that happens.

But non-disaster. Don't always know. We do preparedness education in schools, right? So we have schools, elementary schools, who are inviting us in to teach preparedness and it's prepared with Pedro and it's a really cool class. And what's wonderful about that is children are taking that preparedness information and taking it back.

So we have countless of schools throughout our region that are supporting us in that way. SUD hosts blood drives. For us, which is fantastic, but they've also sponsored our sound the alarm event, and that was one of the things we discussed. People don't know that throughout different communities. We actually go in sometimes with the fire department like Zach Metro, another amazing partner, and we install free smoke alarms for people.

In addition to, you know, installing those alarms, we're teaching them about [00:19:00] preparedness. Usually it's about getting out of your home and we have actually have them draw a plan so that they're thinking about in a fire, this is what I would do. You usually have less than two minutes to get out of your home if it's on fire.

So we want people to practice that and be prepared. You probably wouldn't be surprised at the number of people who say, my alarm worked, but it worked too well. I took the battery out. Yes. Right. And so when we can go in with partners like the fire department, they can change those alarms so fast and then we can be doing that training and then of course if they have flood or wildfires or any other risk, we try to double up on that training as well.

Habitat for Humanity. We've also, when they've had new neighborhoods that they're premiering, then we're going in and we're installing alarms there. And then, thanks to you, one of our newest partners is Chat Sacramento. 

Jeff Holden: And explain that because I, I, I was chomping at the bit here and say, okay, I can't wait to share this.

Just from a conversation that we had, as you were explaining what you did, I thought this. This is perfect. For one of her prior episodes. Alicia Green at [00:20:00] Chat and Chat is for hearing impaired children. Mm-hmm. Deaf and hearing impaired children. And our conversation went something like. 

Jackie Clites: Did you know we actually installed bed shaker alarms for deaf and hard of hearing, uh, of folks, and we actually have a special group that goes in and does that.

As you can imagine, it's a more specialized alarm. It's hooked up to the regular smoke alarms, but it actually will shake the bed. There'll be a strobe light. It actually has a little alarm clock and it'll say, fire. And so if you can't hear an alarm, what good is that for you? And so I was actually to go able to go in and meet some of the kids, and we're going to be promoting that we have this available to their alumni and their current students, so that hopefully we can connect them with someone if they want those alarms installed.

In addition to doing the alarms, we're also going to be doing preparedness training. Wonderful. And we have a water safety training for children that we've just revamped, and it's whales tails. And they're looking at how they can do that in the spring because anyone can teach that. We have all the information available on the website.

And [00:21:00] their teachers are so creative, they're gonna take whales tails and run with it in the spring. So I can see more times that we're gonna be able to collaborate. So thank you for that introduction. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and, and so many more. We could probably just keep going down the list mm-hmm. Of ways that you could collaborate with these various organizations because of the breadth of what you cover mm-hmm.

In so many different ways. I mean, it, I, yeah. I could keep introducing and introducing and then you have no time for anything else that you need to do. Yeah. 

Jackie Clites: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: But that was such a unique situation and how cool. So you have the introduction, but for the kids to now experience and the parents to know, this isn't something we have to really panic about.

We we're covered. The smoke alarm will cover everybody. 

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. You wanna feel safe in your home, right? Yes. And you said earlier too, that it's so important for us to tell our story and have people know what we do. And we do that because we have partners like you and we also partner with KCRA and they've been wonderful.

They do [00:22:00] telethons for us. Mm-hmm. And I would say this region shows up. Better than some. And when we've had some of the best telethons across the country, but they also support us. So we call that in big disaster times. That's our gray sky. But in Blue Sky, they show up and we host Operation Care Package every year, and we partner with the Blue Star moms.

Mm-hmm. And that goes towards our service to the armed forces, and we're actually having the community members come in. Bring us the items those service members need, and then the blue star moms pack them up with a lovely note and then they get shipped overseas. Right? So I, again, we could do a whole podcast on our partners to highlight 'em, but I do think that's one of the values of our mission is that there's probably somewhere that we have a fit and we could collaborate and uplift each other.

Jeff Holden: As I'm listening to you, all I can think about is all this activity requires all these people, requires all this money. How does that happen? So let's talk a little bit about the funding and to [00:23:00] better clarify, you mentioned the government. 

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Has a hand in your service, but you are not a government funded entity.

Jackie Clites: We are not. So we have some congressional mandates and that's to respond to disaster and to do those emergency communications I talked about. But we are not a government agency. We're a humanitarian nonprofit. We rely on the generosity of our individual donors, corporates and foundation as well. The, the fundraising that we do there.

So we do get a little bit of government funding, like many nonprofits, but it is a very, very small percentage of what we do. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. And then you really have a multi-tiered budget because you have a disaster budget. You would have an operating budget for local activities. Tell us a little bit how that works when you're fundraising for a particular situation versus just your day-to-day activities in the community.

Jackie Clites: Another great question because we can't [00:24:00] respond to those big disasters, those gray sky disasters, uhhuh if we don't do the blue sky work. And so truly we budget and, and we budget as a national organization, which is outstanding because there are some regions that are never gonna fundraise enough to cover their need.

So we're backed by that larger scope of the organization to say, okay, this region. Their expense budget may be X, but they can only make Y. But that doesn't mean we're gonna do less in their community. We wanna make sure that we have the same service delivery across the country. So for us, we have our expense budget that we all have to manage, of course.

Mm-hmm. And that's the blue side. And there is some disaster built into that. We know there's gonna be a certain number of home fires. We know there's going to be a multifamily fire, you know, multifamily unit. Yes. A multifamily unit fire. And we're gonna have to set up a shelter or there's gonna be a flood.

But when those big disasters happen, those gray sky disasters, at that point, we don't budget for those. We can't budget for those. Right. And the scope and scale of [00:25:00] our response goes skyrocketing. And so do the costs. Of course. Yep. And so at that point, we'll often open up a designation so that donors can give specifically to a disaster.

So the more we can do in Blue sky to give to disaster relief. Where it's needed most is our unrestricted fund to a line of service that allows us to train up, have the resources we need, vehicle stuff, people, you name it, and we'll have that available. But then when we need to, we'll do that extra call out to our donors to say, could you give more?

Could you make an extra gift? And that's when we do our telethons 

Jeff Holden: and to be, you know, clear on this. Too many times people will think, okay, they need clothing, they need stuff. No you don't. 'cause that's, you're not in the distribution service. You really would fund that underneath as a result of getting the money.

The funds are what are most important to you. 

Jackie Clites: Yeah, I think there's a two tier sort of response to that. One is. We are [00:26:00] really good at sheltering and doing all those things. I just, we do not collect stuff day to day. Or if we do collect things, it's because they're going right out to whoever needs it. Yeah.

Like cases 

Jeff Holden: of water and Exactly. Truckloads of water, I should say. 

Jackie Clites: Exactly. Large quantities of things. So there are certain. In kind gifts that we can receive, but those, you know, somebody bringing their clothes, there's a lot of organizations who do that day-to-day and they're gonna do that a lot better than we would ever do at trying to stand it up.

Now there are sometimes with large scales, disasters, we will step in and help with that, but for us it's that financial support gives us the ability to provide the clients who are displaced or impacted with what they need. But also we wanna. Send that financial assistance onto them as well. I've heard time and time meeting with donors and other folks when we're, they get a card from us with some money on it and they get to go buy the thing that they need and it empowers them in their own recovery versus if I gave [00:27:00] them a pair of socks that they didn't pick out.

Right. And we're also gonna try to infuse and boost the local economy. So there's just a variety of layers there. Why that financial, for us, for the Red Cross, there's a lot of organizations who will be willing to take other things, and that's where the partnerships come in. Mm-hmm. We wanna have those relationships ahead of time so that we can partner during the disaster, but.

It's, it's multifaceted for sure, but the finance, for us, the financial assistance is key. 

Jeff Holden: And you're doing all of this coordination and logistics and activity and information and communication with a team of 35 people for 26 counties? 

Jackie Clites: That's correct, yes. 35 people. The largest department is our disaster department, and then we have more than 1900 volunteers, which is really exciting.

Of course, that number fluctuates every day, but it includes our youth clubs who are in high school all the way up to retirees. 

Jeff Holden: Wonderful. 1900. 

Jackie Clites: 1900. Last time I looked at the [00:28:00] dashboard. Yes. And so they are 1900 

Jeff Holden: more people you have to deal with on top of your 35, right? Than I 

Jackie Clites: get to deal with. Yes, that's right.

The privilege. Yes, the privilege because. Honestly, they are more trained in specific functions than I will ever be. You know, you think about building a town in a couple of hours and the resources that people need. There's a lot of training that goes into that, and we have the experts in that. So it's truly, you know, outstanding that we have that many people who are willing to.

Answer the call anytime 

Jeff Holden: and knowing that you've got those relationships with some of the other organizations, like you say, building a Town Habitat steps in. Mm-hmm. And any of the other organizations that are housing oriented where they understand the nature of that beast. Mm-hmm. Which is really, really neat.

We'll be back with more from Jackie and the American Red Cross story right after we hear from those who make this program possible. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We [00:29:00] survey private and public nonprofit organizations across the country to better understand challenges they see in today's environment.

In our more recent survey, we heard concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned investment, and how to implement alternative investments. If you would like a copy of the survey or do discuss your organization, look me up, scottThomas@captrust.com. At Western Health Advantage. 

Jeff Holden: Healthcare isn't just a service, it's a shared value.

As a nonprofit leader, you need a health plan that understands the important of mission-driven work. Western Health Advantage is a local not-for-profit health plan that supports organizations like yours with affordable, flexible coverage options for your team. What truly sets them apart is their commitment to community supporting nonprofits like the American Heart Association, Sacramento Ballet, and the Crocker Art Museums Pay what you wish Sundays with access to top tier providers and dedicated [00:30:00] local support.

Western Health advantages more than a health plan. It's a partner in your purpose. Explore your options today@westernhealth.com. Western Health Advantage, healthcare with Heart designed for those who give back. So let's sidestep for a second, and you're national. You're a national, international organization, so it's a little bit different when you think of it in the big scheme.

But if you take the American Red Cross just to our 26 counties and what you've seen so far, if money were no object, what would it look like? What would be different if you had. An unlimited amount of money to help alleviate that human suffering. 

Jackie Clites: That is the hardest question I think I have ever been asked.

So kudos to you and I've really, my, I've been thinking about this and my answer has been changing, I think in part because when you've been in a nonprofit world for so long, it's never that you have enough, right? [00:31:00] You're always asking for more. Yes. So to think about that, if I go. Really simply, you know, think about we have a cost to so many different things, training services, you're paying for something and you know, biomed, we maybe don't have a site because we don't have the money to do it.

So in my mind, our mission just would be everywhere and available more. But if you wanna dig deeper than that, because obviously it all goes back to those community partnerships, so. We have actually had a community adaptation program. We're part of a pilot where we were actually able to do some grant funding and infusing into the partner.

So we know that when people are faced with crisis and if they're on the edge of a health issue, a hunger issue, or a housing issue, that disaster happens. And now it might tip them over, right? So we're in a time right now where a lot of organizations are uncertain. So for me, if money were no object, and we have the Red Cross and we have all these people and [00:32:00] resources, because we do get to innovate a lot, which is fantastic, but if we had unlimited resources, we would be mm-hmm.

Really directly funding because if that food bank had. An extra freezer, more food. Then when the disaster hit, they would be able to come alongside and respond in a different way. Because I think when a disaster hits, we're all just trying to do the best we can with what we have. Mm-hmm. But the communities would really be built up ahead of time.

So when the disaster hits, it wouldn't be these longer recoveries. 'cause that's what we're seeing. More disasters, larger disasters, and we are sheltering people longer than we ever have because they don't know that next step. They don't have a place to go. And so if we were to, if we could help fix some of that or at least fix it a little bit, I think that's where we could have a huge impact.

Because again, we're a national organization, but we're local. It's your neighbor. And it's different when you wanna show up and help. It's neighbors helping neighbors, right. So, so I, again, I think the easy [00:33:00] answer is really like, oh, we'd just be able to do all of our stuff without having to worry about it.

But underlying deeper is that we're changing communities and how we think about working with each other. 

Jeff Holden: Wonderful answer. 

Jackie Clites: Oh, well thank you. And 

Jeff Holden: a difficult one because of the scope of service. Again, you know, most people are very linear and niche oriented when you're talking about a small. Community that you deal with and service and support, pretty easy to say, okay, we can fix that and eradicate that issue maybe.

But when you're talking about every issue and everything and any kind of a disaster, and not to mention the mental health and the spiritual aspect of it and all those pieces, it's like changing the world. 

Jackie Clites: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: You know, it would be. Just panacea to the universe if in fact that check was big enough.

Right? 

Jackie Clites: Yeah. I always, you know, hopeful, this is the inverse of what I always say to people is imagine a world without the Red Cross 

Jeff Holden: right 

Jackie Clites: now I've explained all the things that we do and all the [00:34:00] people that it takes. So when I said we had 35 staff members and 1900 volunteers across the country, on average, 90% of our workforce is volunteers.

Sure. So imagine a world without all of that. What would we do? And so I love this question of, gosh, if you could dream big, 'cause you know, we're always worried about the opposite. Yeah. And, and right now, again, costs are rising. Everything, we're all dealing with that. And so it's kind of fun to dream. Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: I, I love the question.

I, I can't claim it. You know, one of our listeners said, I would like to know, and I thought that's a wonderful question. Yeah, and it does give people pause, but it also gives a potential donor the ability to hear that executive director say, what would it look like if you, and, and it gives them the, the donor, the confidence to say, okay, he or she gets it.

I'm in line with that. I love that vision. So. [00:35:00] 

Jackie Clites: I'm fortunate in that it is our vision. It's just not our vision with an unlimited budget right now. Right, right. So we're doing the best we can with, with what we have and yeah. 

Jeff Holden: Let's pump it up. 

Jackie Clites: Exactly, exactly. 

Jeff Holden: Coming back to reality, what is the greatest need for the American Red Cross in our region here?

Jackie Clites: So we talk a lot about time, talent, treasure. Treasure, of course, but also those community partnerships. So we are always looking for volunteers again. You can be the person who responds in your neighborhood, or you can be the person who wants to deploy across the country. You can sign up to be a welcome, a blood donor ambassador.

Mm-hmm. So when somebody comes to give blood, you can volunteer and service the armed forces. What I love about the Red Cross is you can come to us to do something you know a lot about and you wanna give your skill or maybe you're at a time and a place in your life where you wanna learn to do something new.

So I just encourage folks, if you're interested and you wanna give back. Then come to us. We have a conversation with [00:36:00] everybody who's coming in and we try to find the right fit. Of course, we are disaster heavy. We're a disaster prone region, like you said. Mm-hmm. Now we have tsunamis and wildfires, but we have people who don't deploy.

We have people who. Ask other people for money. There are development volunteers, right? Sure. You could serve on the board. So we're always looking for ways that we can get deeper into our communities and really, again, reflect those communities that we ser serve. So I don't think we can have too many volunteers.

And then also, again, financial donations. I talked about the blue sky and the gray sky, and we know, again, people wanna support esp. We saw this for the LA wildfires. We know what it's like to go through wildfires and so. Northern California showed up mm-hmm. For our, our friends and families in la. But day to day, we wouldn't have been there to respond if it weren't for the people who really believed and understood all it takes to do in between those disasters.

Jeff Holden: Sure. We've, we've seen it where entire cities got wiped out. I mean, communities not [00:37:00] unlike, you know, Palisades. Mm-hmm. So I, I guess in some way the Northern California experience was beneficial, but. Again, you need an American Red Cross on there to help navigate for all the people who are in those situations and to deal with the crisis and disaster and the activity and the, and just the logistics and all these things are mind boggling to me when I think about it, which is I'm terrible at that.

You know? It's like, Hey, Siri, here's the address. But just to think every single piece that needs to come into play. 

Jackie Clites: You're absolutely right. The logistics and the planning that go into this. We had so many people that deploy every year. In fact, we're proud in goal country that we actually train up a lot of people in disaster who want to deploy.

We aren't the largest region by any means, especially means, excuse me, we aren't the largest population by any means, but we are disaster prone. Our people understand it. They wanna go out and help [00:38:00] people. And so oftentimes, I'm so proud I get the list, there's a big disaster and we have X number of people deployed and we'll be right up there with San Francisco and Los Angeles, but we know our population is a third.

Mm-hmm. Of what they have. But it really does take everybody learning together. And I'll just say too. Some of these positions require a lot of training and that can feel overwhelming to people. But one of the things that we're doing as well is there's a big disaster. We're finding a place for event-based volunteers, so we know people wanna come out and help.

We've got a job they can do. So we are incorporating that more so that people really feel a sense that they can come to the Red Cross and give back exactly what we wanna have happen. We want people to come to us. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and that gives me a sense of pride in our community too, because I do. Feel that we step up a lot and when I was running the radio stations, we would partner with KCRA quite often in these fundraising events, and Sacramento, nationally would [00:39:00] have a disproportionate presence in terms of the gift that we were able to raise collectively from the community, which you just kinda scratch your head.

Why is that? When we're such a, you know, a smaller community than some of these big cities that. We're not as generous, but we see that, and maybe it's partly because we have so many nonprofits in the state capitol, so everybody's familiar with this activity. But nonetheless, it's, it's a sense of pride to hear that we outperform in some of these situations with volunteers from the bigger cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and good for us.

Mm-hmm. 

Jackie Clites: I think you have the people that have had the lived experiences or they've seen. Or know someone who's been impacted and they wanna give back, and we give them that place to do it, which makes me proud. 

Jeff Holden: Another great segue. 

Jackie Clites: Oh, good. 

Jeff Holden: A lot of times when people are making a decision on how to or where to give their gift, you know, they may have a cause that they're passionate about, [00:40:00] but many, many times it comes down to that leadership and if they can sense.

That person really is engaged in the cause and the purpose of the mission understands it, and they know that their money's gonna be used wisely. It's a business after all. Um, you know, it's more likely that they will make that contribution. What is it that has captivated you with the American Red Cross?

'cause you moved up here from San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, now for a much bigger territory. Mm-hmm. Why? 

Jackie Clites: So I joined the Red Cross after practicing law for a number of years, and I was helping people of course, but when the job opened up, I thought there's a way for me to give back and help. And so I thought, well, they do good work.

I'll give it a shot. And then I come in and I see the mission. It's a very strong, a very bold mission statement. I mean, to alleviate human suffering. Mm-hmm. Is a big job. And I've been here [00:41:00] now 14 years, and like you said, a variety of places and the mission is everywhere. I can go pretty much anywhere across the world and look for a Red Cross somewhere.

I always say I have Red Cross family wherever I go, and I think the mission just brings all the people together. So I always say I'm here for, I came for the mission and I stayed for the people, stayed for the mission as well, but I'm so proud of what we do. 90% of our workforce is volunteers. 90 cents on average of every dollar goes towards our mission.

But I know there's a lot of rumors out there that it's the reverse of that. Mm-hmm. But no, truly 90 cents of every dollar goes right back into our mission. We are local. It hurts my heart a little when I hear people say, oh, you're a national organization again. No, we have all the same disasters here and.

People live here and they're volunteering their time and we want them to feel supported and proud. So I just love, I learn something new every day about the Red Cross. And then again, for [00:42:00] 140 4-year-old organization, we've gone through a lot of change. And I think our leadership at the national level has really empowered us at a more local level to look in our communities and say, what do you need?

Where can you have the impact? And that's a different Red Cross than we were 15 years ago. Mm-hmm. You know, it used to be the Red Cross would swoop in and we'd do our thing and out we would go. And that's not the model anymore. Our model is really the community's in the center and we're there to support and we'll answer the call.

We just have a huge network that's trusted backing when we need to answer that call. So I love our mission and I'm probably a lifer with the Red Cross. 

Jeff Holden: Isn't that great to hear? 

Jackie Clites: Yeah, I'm, I'm very proud of it. 

Jeff Holden: For anybody who's considering the Red Cross as some of their contribution to know. The person I'm speaking with is somebody who understands what to do with my investment.

So that's very good. Wonderful answer. 

Jackie Clites: Well, thank you. 

Jeff Holden: Now as we're [00:43:00] wrapping up a little bit, you have this burden of alleviating, you know, human suffering. That's heavy and certainly in disastrous situations. The visuals are heavy, the stories are heavy, the family situations are heavy. How do you deal with that?

How, how do you chill when, when the time comes? 

Jackie Clites: You know, I. I'm trying to do more as I, I'm trying to do that more and more. I always tell people to make sure they're taking care of themselves, but I am not always the best person to take care of myself first because I wanna make sure that folks are taken care of.

Because you're right, a lot of it is really heavy. We have so many wonderful things going on. But there you are going into a crisis at some point. Mm-hmm. But for me, it starts with my dog, Harper Gray. She's gonna be 10 in December. She's a very energetic wine rider and so she hops on so many teams calls and I swear every time I go out on a visitor somewhere, it [00:44:00] is Harper with you.

So she's kind of my little mascot in my buddy. And then of course friends, family, I've only been up here for about a year and a half, so I love to travel and explore new things, get out for hikes, and then I'm really. Focusing on, am I going for a run? Am I doing some yoga and building that into my day? I, I think the phrase used to be work life balance, which doesn't seem like you'll ever get balanced, right?

So I try to think of it as harmony. There are gonna be times where it's just gonna be. Disaster season or there's some crisis happening that I am not gonna have that. But my goal is to get back to having that harmony and we really do for our workforce, try to make them take some time off. So again, it's a focus, but it's not always easy 'cause some people don't wanna take that day off.

True. You wanna keep helping. So I find myself going to shelters on a Saturday and doing different things, but I think, you know. Friends, family, activities, Harper, they all ground me. And then when I really need that quiet time, it's usually a book or a podcast. So 

Jeff Holden: good. 

Jackie Clites: Yeah. [00:45:00] 

Jeff Holden: Well thank you for that. 

Jackie Clites: Yeah. 

Jeff Holden: I don't have this in the cadence of questions 'cause we were about to wrap, but I, I want to ask, 'cause you probably do, is there a story, a particular story, a particular situation that really stuck with you in terms of service?

Jackie Clites: You know, it's one of, it's funny because I say now I don't cry that often. Like I, well, I saw it right as soon as I asked you the 

Jeff Holden: question, so obviously it's there. Yeah. 

Jackie Clites: You know, after 14 years you hear a lot of different stories, but one of the first donors I met in San Diego told me her story. A wildfire was coming through in the early two thousands, and she said.

She had a carport on her car and she was, gosh, in her eighties, I think by the time I met her, she was in her nineties, but she was in her eighties and she was living by herself in the middle of nowhere. And she said she had her car parked and she looked over the hill and she saw the fire coming and she went [00:46:00] to grab something and by the time she turned around.

It was coming down the hill so fast. She said if she would've had to open her garage door, she would've never made it out alive. So she got, luckily it was a carport, she got in her car and the fire is literally chasing her down the road. She's in her mid, I think she was in her mid eighties, 'cause I met her in her nineties and she.

Then said she went and one of the first things she remembers is getting that card from the Red Cross with some financial support. And she said, I remember going to the store and buying this and buying that. And she goes, it just made me so proud. So then she tells the story of, then I was sitting at this restaurant and these Red Cross volunteers came in with their vests in and she said, I wanna help them.

But I just think, you know what it must feel like. To literally being chased by fire, knowing that if you had 10 seconds less to, to wait for a garage road. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And [00:47:00] that at the end of all of that, she credits the Red Cross for her being able to take those next steps. And so anyway, she just sticks with me, always has, and uh.

Unfortunately, she's gone now, but she continued to support the Red Cross and it was just my honor to go out and meet her. And again, I, I hear those time and time again. And then also, I just think the folks who are willing to deploy at a moment notice. Mm-hmm. And I see that I just am so grateful and fortunate and inspired by them.

I might sit behind a desk, but we all make it happen. 

Jeff Holden: Right. What's the best way to learn more about the organization? 

Jackie Clites: Very easy. Go to Red cross.org. It's gonna be our big website that will take you where you need to go and it'll tell you about all our lines of service. If there's anything I talked about today, you can find out more about being a volunteer, making financial donations.

We have our local. Gold Country, red Cross, so you can find that as [00:48:00] well. Follow us on social media. We love, we, we put all of our updates there. If we have shelters open, if we have things happening around the community, we like to keep those updated and then anyone can just call us as well. So we're happy to have that conversation.

And if there are organizations out there who are listening and thinking like we could partner, please feel free to reach out to me directly and, and we'll have a chat and see what we can. 

Jeff Holden: And I'll encourage that too, for all the nonprofit leadership that listens to the program. Please, if you think there's a likely alliance with your organization and the American Red Cross to do reach out.

They can reach out to me, they can reach out to you. However they are moved to do so. I would love to connect you guys. 'cause I think there's so many, so many things that we just, we just don't know. We don't know what we don't know until we do. And it's worth the ask to say, what about. Could this be? And in so many cases the answer is yes.

Especially today as we're looking at ways to collaborate so much more because of the challenges with funding 

Jackie Clites: [00:49:00] can only do it together. Absolutely. And 

Jeff Holden: so it's Red cross.org. Mm-hmm. Simply enough. I'll put that in our show notes and make sure that's easily accessible. That's, well, you can gimme a number when we're through here.

Perfect. So floods, fires, weather incidents, local issues that impact the quality of one's mere existence. And you can find a familiar image or logo. It's that red cross and it, it means so much to so many. You shared a glimpse of the enormity of your engagement in the region. The impact that you make both on and with other organizations beyond scope of what I expected.

I, I had no idea until we had our first conversations. So Jackie, thank you for helping us better us understand the American Red Cross, the depth of service, the scope of service, and what you bring to our greater 26 counties that you serve. You know, we sincerely appreciate all that you and that team of 35 plus [00:50:00] 1900 volunteers do.

Jackie Clites: Thank you so much, Jeff. Pleasure to be here, and thank you for letting us tell our story. 

Jeff Holden: Oh, pleasure's ours. Thank you for listening to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. We hope today's episode inspired you and gave you a deeper look into the work of our local nonprofits. If you believe in our mission to amplify their voices, please take a moment to leave us a positive review and share this episode with a friend.

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The nonprofit podcast network is recorded and produced at Hear Me Now Studio with generous support from our founding partners, captrust, fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations serving Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom, and [00:51:00] online@captrust.com. And Western Health Advantage, local care community impact.

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