Escaping Exploitation: Connect2Change's Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and this conversation lands right where awareness must lead: action, support, and long-term pathways to stability.

In this episode, I speak with Emily Sanders, founder of Connect2Change—and a survivor herself—whose work is redefining what happens after someone escapes exploitation. Emily’s organization began with crisis support, but it has evolved into something rare and powerful: an empowerment-through-entrepreneurship model designed to help survivor-leaders build sustainable independence.

Emily recently won Sacramento Venture Philanthropy’s Fast Pitch 2025—a major community vote of confidence in a young organization with an innovative approach. We talk about what that moment meant, why mentorship and ecosystem partnerships matter, and how entrepreneurship can interrupt cycles of dependency by rebuilding confidence, capability, and financial stability—one micro-enterprise at a time.

This is a conversation about courage, reinvention, and what it really takes to build “what comes next.”

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Human Trafficking Awareness Month must include survivor-led solutions
• How Connect2Change evolved from crisis intervention to entrepreneurship
• The difference between “services” and sustainable empowerment
• Why strengths-based coaching and mindset work are central—not optional
• The 5-week cohort structure (AI training, assessments, business basics, money, ecosystem tours)
• The role of mentorship and community partnerships in long-term success
• What Emily would build if funding weren’t a limitation—and what she needs most right now

Learn more / Get involved

• Connect2Change: https://www.connect2change.org/
• Contact Emily: emily@connect2change.org 

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

00:00 – Human Trafficking Awareness Month & Why “After” Matters
Why awareness must extend beyond rescue—and why long-term pathways to independence matter for survivors.

04:30 – Fast Pitch Victory & Community Validation
Emily reflects on winning SVP Fast Pitch, what it meant for a young organization, and how belief from others fuels momentum.

11:45 – From Survivor to Founder
Emily shares her personal story of survival and the moment she realized her own journey could become a roadmap for others.

17:30 – Rethinking Support: From Crisis Care to Empowerment
How Connect2Change evolved from emergency services into an entrepreneurship-based empowerment model.

26:00 – Inside the Program: Building Confidence, Skills, and Stability
A practical look at the cohort structure—mindset work, strengths assessments, financial healing, business basics, mentorship, and ecosystem connection.

41:30 – What Comes Next: Funding, Partnerships, and the Call to Action
Emily outlines what the org

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

Emily Sanders: [00:00:00] So in 2019, I was abandoned out on the street by a sex trafficker here in Sacramento County, and that was the beginning of the life I have now, and it's taken almost 40 years of my life to now have the blinders off and see the world so differently than how I used to see things before. And what I'm doing now is I have a program that I've designed.

To help other women do exactly the same.

Jeff Holden: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. Our purpose and passion are simple to highlight the incredible nonprofits that make our communities stronger. Each episode is a chance for these organizations to tell their story. In their words, sharing not just what they do, but why [00:01:00] 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 impact the hearts of donors, partners, and neighbors alike. This work is made possible through the generous support of our incredible partners. CAPTRUST offering fiduciary advice for endowments and foundations.

Western Health Advantage, a local not-for-profit health plan that believes healthcare is more than coverage. It's about caring core executive leadership and comprehensive support services. They work in it so you can work on it. And Five Star Bank, a local trusted advisor to community nonprofits for over 25 years.

January is Human trafficking awareness Month an important reminder that trafficking isn't something that only happens [00:02:00] somewhere else. It happens in communities like ours, right in our backyards in every neighborhood, and far more often than many people realize. And what makes this month especially meaningful is that awareness alone isn't the finish line.

The real question is what does it take for a survivor to rebuild a life that's safe, stable, and truly their own? This episode, you're going to meet someone who answers that question with both courage and a blueprint. Emily Sanders is the founder of Connect to Change, and she's also a survivor. Her organization is rethinking what support can look like after escape after Crisis, after the immediate emergency is over because safety is essential.

So is sustainability. Emily and her team are helping women move from survival to self-determination through entrepreneurship, coaching mindset shifts, and practical skill building, including financial confidence, [00:03:00] strength-based planning, and micro-enterprise development. Not a one size fits all pathway, but an individualized, empowering one, and the community is taking notice.

Emily recently won Sacramento Venture Philanthropies fast pitch, walking away not only with major funding, but with a deeper network of people ready to help her work grow. This conversation is honest, hopeful, and forward-looking. It's also a powerful reminder that real impact isn't just rescuing someone from harm.

It's helping them build what comes next. Emily Sanders, welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast Network. 

Emily Sanders: Thank you, Jeff for having us today. 

Jeff Holden: I'm so excited because I have to share. You are the winning recipient of Sacramento Venture Philanthropies Fast Pitch 2025, which is the 10th anniversary, and here you are one of the younger organizations who emerges victorious.

With the most money, the most opportunity to [00:04:00] use that funding to the greatest good of the organization. Tell me a little bit about that experience. 

Emily Sanders: It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I knew we were the underdogs, but I, let me share a secret with you. April or no, August 24th at 6:04 AM I found a note that I had written down, and on that note I had written down, raise 20,000 win SVP.

Both of which I have now achieved 

Jeff Holden: congratulations. 

Emily Sanders: Thank you. 

Jeff Holden: Who says you can't manifest and that you shouldn't write things down when you have goals and objectives, right? 

Emily Sanders: Absolutely. It's the same, the same lessons that I speak to, to the women that we serve, 

Jeff Holden: which we're gonna get to in just a second, because I'm gonna share another thing that I happen to be the beneficiary of onstage as you're holding your winning check.

Was that $15,000? Was it of 'em? Yes. The check itself? Yes. A couple came up and they said, we'd like to give you another check. Yes. And [00:05:00] you got more money from somebody who really believed in you and what you were doing. And they said, do you remember we told you you were going to 

Emily Sanders: win? Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Win. And I was blown away.

Emily Sanders: Me too. Me too. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Emily Sanders: I came in, as you said, a, when I looked at the other organizations, I was like, whoa, whoa. Well, I am so honored to be a part of this. I couldn't believe it when they said, and the winner is Conne. I was like, is that our name? It was an overwhelming feeling of joy. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Our organization most certainly needed it at that time.

We are now fueled forward for 2026 and not only with the winnings. The biggest winning of SVP is all the people that I got [00:06:00] to work with connect with. Now I'm going to be working with in 2026. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: That was the real winning of SVP. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. And we'll touch base on that too in just a second because what I wanna know is how did the organization come to be?

Emily Sanders: So that's, I shared a little piece 

Jeff Holden: Yes. 

Emily Sanders: During the fast pitch. And I'll share a little bit more with you now. So in 2019, March, 2019, I was abandoned out on the street by a sex trafficker here in Sacramento County 2019, not too long ago. 

James Beckwith: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: My son is six now, and that was the beginning of the life I have now.

I'm 42. 42. 

Jeff Holden: Now everybody knows Emily. 

Emily Sanders: That's okay. I'm 42 and it's taken [00:07:00] almost 40 years of my life to now have the blinders off and see the world so differently than how I used to see things before. And what I'm doing now is I have a program that I've designed to help other women do exactly the same.

Jeff Holden: And it's a little bit unique because the stories we might hear normally would be, well, when the women are trafficked and, and they're discovered, we find them, we're able to pull them out of that situation. It's really victims' resources that we're taking care of the, the basic needs, you know, housing and food, but you're beyond that.

This program is a little bit different. That's a part of what happens. With organizations that you work with, and we can talk a little bit about collaboration in a minute, but you do something different with them, and I want to get into that because you did it [00:08:00] yourself first before you realized, if I can do this for me, I can do this for them.

Emily Sanders: Absolutely. It's been a lot. It's been a journey, right? It's a journey. Any entrepreneur will tell you it's a journey. I'm building this plane as I fly it, and that's not just the organization, right? That's myself too. One of the biggest things about entrepreneurship, it's not the business building or the business that you have at the end.

It's the person that you become during the journey of being an entrepreneur, because in order to reach those goals that you've set. In order to get to that place where you see you want to be, change has to happen. You have to learn, you have to grow, you have to become disciplined. But if you can set that why or set that dream, that goal into your mind, and you know that you'll do whatever it takes to [00:09:00] get there.

That's what keeps people motivated. That's what opens women, that's what helps open women up to using all those resources and victim services tools that we were just speaking about. The, the numbers to call, the places to go to all the things that you have to do to start rebuilding your life. They're out there.

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: There's a lot of them. There are a lot of nonprofits. A lot of these women have been so victimized and torn down, and they've been on the system for quite some time. Promises broken. They just, they're just going through the motions. They're showing up if they can, they, they're given the papers and the tools, but they just don't believe that anything's gonna change.

They dream of a better life. They know what they would like. [00:10:00] But they don't see how to get there. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: We come in and I'm like, look, you can get there. I promise you, you can get there. It's gonna take time and it's gonna get work. We'll help you, we'll help you map out those steps. You have to do those steps yourself, but we'll walk 'em with you.

And when we're teaching women and we're going over like, this is what I've done. This is what you can do. Here are some old belief systems that I know I even was brought up with. You might have thought this for 30 years, but let me show you a different way of thinking. Have you ever thought of this? This then opens them up to go, oh, you know what?

Maybe I will call that number. Maybe I will use this. Maybe I will meet with my caseworker over here because you know what? I have to do this. So that I can have this. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: So now those tools and the resources that are available, they're using them. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: They're, they want to use them because they [00:11:00] want a better life.

I've had women come into the class, they've had to come with both their kids. I had one woman, she goes, oh, I woke up. This one was sick. The other one couldn't go to school. My babysitter didn't show up, but I was not gonna miss coming to Emily's class. So, here we are. I'm I, I'm sorry. Is it okay if they're here?

Of course they are. That's perfectly okay because they're whatever they have to do, they want a different life and they're willing to do it. 

Jeff Holden: So I'm gonna have you take a little step backwards because I want you to address what you did, the struggle you had to get started when you were trying to reintegrate and figure out what it was you wanted to d do, how you wanted to be an entrepreneur in some way, shape, or form, and how you invested in yourself to get there first.

Knowing that without that, you'd never have the ability otherwise. 

Emily Sanders: Absolutely. That's blood money. Yes. And I say that because I donated blood. 

Jeff Holden: Yep. 

Emily Sanders: A plasma to be [00:12:00] specific, to pay for the business classes that I took when I had initially stepped into the entrepreneurial field, it was in connection with the core program through the Asian Chamber of Commerce, and it was to get into a cannabis industry.

They were offering at that time a hundred thousand dollars, six year free interest loan to put forward towards a cannabis 

Jeff Holden: business. 

Emily Sanders: Business. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Emily Sanders: And I thought, wow, okay. Well this would be a great oppor. I had never even thought of entrepreneurship. Let's just start there. I never e my whole life never thought of it as entrepreneurship as being something for me.

Right. All of a sudden. I thought, wait a second. I am a part of this program now and this is possible for me. I also understood that I didn't know anything about starting up a business, but I knew I could learn. 

Scott Thomas: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: And so I found the Women's Business Center, [00:13:00] they had free mentorship. I signed up immediately for them, started working with a mentor through there.

She had a couple classes, and at first I said, I can't afford that. I was, I think I had $428 coming in every month at that point. And she said, well, I just wanted to offer it to you. You just let me know. Well, one of 'em was $499 that year. We received the COVID stimulus card. Yes. In the mail. I remember when I got that, I could have used that $500.

Absolutely. Could I have used it. But I went to the bank. I put it in my bank. I pulled into a parking spot and I paid for that class, and it's the best money I ever spent. It opened up the doors of opportunity and people. That's how I connected to Startup Sac Community. That's who we partner with now today.

Um, the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy. I graduated as a alum in 2022, 

Jeff Holden: and that's the Carlson Center at Sac State 

Emily Sanders: [00:14:00] and the Carlson Center at sac, SAC State, all of which we are now networking and collaborating with. Mm-hmm. In 2026 for the women. And I just continued to grow as an entrepreneur. But I had to work on myself a great deal.

I no longer everything that was their fault or the government's fault, or it's all my fault. We had to come there and I think we were speaking earlier about Taylor Swift. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Has a good song. I'm the problem. Mm-hmm. Right. I had to learn that I was the problem. And then I had a lot of things I had to learn.

During that time. I became certified as a domestic violence peer counselor, certified as an ICF Master life coach, also a disc practitioner. And I've continued to build my skills and that's what I'm showing the women that they can do too. When you have an idea, you can build [00:15:00] it into whatever you want it to be.

Everything in this world that's a business was an idea at first. Right? And if that's truly what you want, you have to grow as an individual to get it. And that's what we're doing now. And the program I designed is specifically, it's more than just business. It's the coaching aspect and the mindset shifts.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Aspect that's interwoven into our curriculum. 

Jeff Holden: So the program is the extension of your experience now transferred to the women who are going through the same things you've gone through? 

Emily Sanders: Absolutely. And almost translated too. Mm-hmm. So what I learned on my experience and the. Gazillion cohorts of through startup SAC and Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, all the, not to 

Jeff Holden: mention the gallons of blood, 

Emily Sanders: you're right.

But I, I, and I did, and I did for a couple years there, all of that together, I [00:16:00] know what areas I struggled with understanding and what areas really kind of. Kept me stuck. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: I'm able to take that information now and deliver it to the women in a way that they can understand it and they can then absorb it and then take action themselves to use.

So I'm taking a lot of the learning curves that I had and translating it in so they don't have to go through that. Mm-hmm. Right. And I know what areas really need to be worked on, like money. Week four for us is gonna be a solid week of money. But it's more than just, here's a budget. You need a budget and this is a spreadsheet and this is what you're gonna do.

And then here's a business cash flow account. They'll see all that stuff's too much. First we have to start with healing the relationships with money. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: These women coming from trafficking and ex exploitation, it. Their distorted views on money have come from years of [00:17:00] financial abuse, money being taken from them, never having enough, being told that it's the root of all evil.

These, this, how do we expect them to be successful with any of the tools, workforce, entrepreneurship, if they can't clearly understand money and heal the, the fragmented and brokenness that they have with it, they need to heal that. So that they can understand and then go, oh my goodness, maybe I should be doing this when I was in the shelter, because I was in a maternity home.

Mm-hmm. When I was abandoned out on the street, one of the things they had in there was they gave us all a, a budget form and I thought, oh my goodness, I get $428 a month. Really? You guys, you just wanna bark off on a page that I've done a budgeting sheet for you. Now, if somebody had come in and said, look.

Look, I know many of you are not making a lot here. You probably get just a [00:18:00] few hundred dollars a month, but I'm gonna tell you this. What if I told you that if you start to look at a budget sheet and work that $400 on that sheet today, that in the next six months, 12 months, you will start to see that grow, start to learn how to budget small so that way you could budget when it becomes larger.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Maybe I would've said. Okay, maybe I'll listen to a little bit more. I mean, okay, 

Jeff Holden: show me, 

Emily Sanders: show me, 

Jeff Holden: show me. 

Emily Sanders: And that's what we're bringing to the women, right? And I think that's one component that's missing to a lot of them. There's no one shoe fits all. We need to help them understand and have pictures that they can do it to, and we need to help them absorb the materials that we're giving them.

Jeff Holden: In the grand scheme of it all. We're not talking about the next Microsoft or [00:19:00] Lululemon or whatever. We're, we're talking about micro enterprises here. Yes. We're talking about just to, just to get you started. Not to say that that may not happen, which would be wonderful, but at this point, it's just to give them the sense of self-worth and confidence and understanding that yes, you can take these steps and so the programs.

Are what, what would some of the programs be by, by definition, let's say you, you have a financial responsibility element to it. What do they engage with in terms of the coursework that you're giving them? 

Emily Sanders: Okay, so week one. Is really the overview, but then AI training hands-on is number one, because as entrepreneurs, as you guys know, every, every event we go to, there's a breakout room for ai, right?

We have it everywhere. They don't. But it is a tool that they need to know. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: So we start week one, [00:20:00] hands-on, and then that's a tool that I use throughout the program. I also use a method called, UH, 1 3 1 Method, which is something I learned at a philanthropy summit. That was Summit Breakouts. Yep. One of the breakouts.

Jeff Holden: Yep. 

Emily Sanders: And this is. Also week one, because we want the women to start getting into the mindset of not dependent and victim, but independent and capable. 

Scott Thomas: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: So the 1, 3, 1 method. First you tell us what your concern is or what your problem is that you want to resolve. You come up with three viable solutions, you're gonna pick one.

Why you wanna move forward with that? So when women come and have questions, I go, did you chat GPT that or did you 1 3 1 at first? 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Because we want them to start thinking about how can they start finding out answers on their own right. Week two. That's my week. That's the the coaching week. That's our assessments week.

Gallup strengths finder, disc assessments. Mm-hmm. Right. So that we make sure that [00:21:00] they are, they know what their talents are, they know what their strengths are, and they're aligning their business ideas and their approaches to that, not just a dollar amount. Because what happens is people hear, oh, that sounds good.

I'll do that. I can make money. But if it doesn't align with who you are. You're gonna wake up every day miserable. You're gonna be drained at the end of the day. You're not gonna wanna get up and do it. But when you align yourself with what you're good at, what you like doing, what you already know how to do, the days that you wake up and you don't feel that good, you're gonna push yourself to get there because you like what you do.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: You're good at it. So that's what we do in week two, week three. That's gonna be the business, right? 

Jeff Holden: Your concept, what it is, what's the idea, what's the big idea, where do you see it going? 

Emily Sanders: That, but more we're gonna, that's more week two goal setting too. Got it. So we do assessments, goal setting. What is your idea?

What are you looking at? We're practicing pitches. One minute or under pitch. [00:22:00] Now, week three, we're really going into the entities, right? What is, how to form a business? What, what entities can you pick from with the women in micro businesses? We, we share all the entities, all the things that you could form, but we really wanna focus on sole proprietorship, right?

Mm-hmm. Because that for micro business is where they are, but we share all the information with them. Business model, canvas, marketing, legal, all, all those things. Structure, setting it 

Jeff Holden: up. Yeah, all the things 

Emily Sanders: you to be aware of. All that stuff. That's all there. Week five. Once they've, oh, I'm sorry. And then week four, four is gonna be money.

That's where we go over all money. Have somebody come in. We have a couple people who are already slated for those positions, but we're gonna have a bank team come in and they're gonna speak about bank lending and how women can connect to their bank directly. 

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: We have somebody coming in from accounting to talk about, you know, personal budgeting and getting going and starting something simple that day.

And once we've gotten through all that informational stuff. Week five is gonna be fun. Week five is where we [00:23:00] take a tour into the local ecosystem. Here we're looking at maybe Carlson Center, maybe another local business in town where with a female owner, where the women could come in and start to network with the ecosystem, right?

Get out of the victim services and into the community where they're gonna be making their futures happen, right? It's another, another step of coming out of dependent on services and victim crisis and coming into I am capable. I am an entrepreneur, I am now in the ecosystem myself. Mm-hmm. Right? And so.

That is what our structure is looking with right now. And then following those five weeks, we're gonna have mentorship. So the women will get three one hour mentorships with a business professional and that's where they're going to really, alright, so here's my business model canvas that we did in class.

How do I now, what are my next steps? Mm-hmm. What do I need to do? And so those three [00:24:00] sessions, they are really gonna go over that with their mentor. And then after that we have weekly sessions where we meet, they come in, we all work together. What is everybody working with? Do you need help on your project?

What do we need to do over here? What is your need over here? And we discuss that, come together as a group and we help one another get for move forward. 

Jeff Holden: How many. Women do you think will be in each of the classes going forward? 

Emily Sanders: So we're looking at around 20 per class. 

Jeff Holden: Okay. 

Emily Sanders: So about 80 by the end of 2026.

Okay. 

Jeff Holden: So four sessions for these full curriculums. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Over the course of the year. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. Now it's good to note also is that every course that is taking place is going to be taking place directly following women's empowerment, graduation. So one of the places that I partner with and go with every quarter, women's empowerment.

Mm-hmm. Workforce development program that they have, and I give a workshop on becoming the brand new you and what steps they can take. I would say that out of [00:25:00] that classroom alone, they usually have 15 to 20 participants in their program. And last one we had, there was 14 and all 14 signed up for our next class.

Jeff Holden: Awesome. Awesome. 

Emily Sanders: So there's no problem finding the interest. The women are interested. Mm-hmm. They want to do this. And what one of the women just told me today, she goes, it's because you believe in me. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Nobody else has believed in my ideas. 

Jeff Holden: Which is everything. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And it gives them hope then that they can continue and build that confidence.

And as they demonstrate the ability to do it, they just learn and grow and learn and grow into. What they're choosing to be. 

Emily Sanders: Yes, yes. And like you said, it's, it's micro businesses, right? So it's, we have one woman who's working on candles right now, and we have another one who's working on thrifting and reselling.

And, and in the meantime, not only was she doing that, she's also. Now she found local bakeries [00:26:00] and coffee shops in the city of Sacramento and she goes, what do you guys do with your end of the day bakery goods? And they said, a couple places said we throw 'em away. So she's now been going to these places, picking up the items, and then she goes around the community and delivers 'em to homeless.

And she's, these women are just amazing with what they're doing in the short period of time that we've been working together. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: In fact, one of 'em in my car right now, I have candles. That she has made and I'm going to be delivering them, uh, for the 

Jeff Holden: holidays. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Wonderful. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: So you mentioned a couple of things early on, which I was really, really thrilled to hear.

They were more integrative than they were collaborative. 'cause you, we were building around it, but you're building around the same people that you are now collaborating with. A startup sac, which that organization's gonna help the entrepreneurs that you've got, you know, a Carlson Center, are gonna help the entrepreneurs that you've got, for those who choose to go down that [00:27:00] path.

You now have a, an awareness in the nonprofit ecosystem of working with trafficked women. Who are some of the organizations that you find yourself? In alignment with, 

Emily Sanders: I would say women's empowerment in the table right now are my two biggest, are my leading ones. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Because we really have. As soon as the women graduate from there, then we start the program at the table, which is like a block away.

And 

Jeff Holden: the table for the benefit of those, that's three strands global. 

Emily Sanders: Three strands global. Yes. The table downtown, which opened up about a year ago. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: So it's a, a block away from women's empowerment. So we bridge services then, right. For the women graduating to the table. Mm-hmm. And then they also have the opportunity with us in the entrepreneurship.

So we are collaborating not only the. The three of us as organizations, but also the women are, it's, it's a win-win for everybody. It's a win-win for everybody. [00:28:00] How we are working this, the unique part about it is, like you said, for the last three years I had been, you know, everybody says network, network.

You gotta have your network and I'm trying to build this network so we could get the shelter, we could get the support. Mm-hmm. Not realizing the network I have already startup Sac Carlson Center. Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, evolution Accelerator, like all these startup, the startup ecosystem.

That's me. And so now I'm able to bridge women from the crisis and victim to the startup and entrepreneurship. And it's all through my experience and where I found hiccups around the way, along the way, I'm able to even that out for the women now that we serve. Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Not to mention, because of your association with each of those organizations, it now gives them a sense of confidence again.

Comfort. Well, Emily's been there. I've got a soft lead in. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: I can ask questions if I'm [00:29:00] anxious about it. I can ask the questions before I just walk in. You already did the heavy lifting for heavy lifting for them. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. And that's, I think it's, it's huge too, is because women can see these are the steps that you walked.

I could walk them too. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: And that is huge for women who are coming out of this, I'm telling you, a lot of giving up. Or they feel that, well, this is all I'm gonna get, this is all I'm, you know, and they use, they go to this one organization for this month for that because they, they know next month they could go get something from the other one.

And it becomes a cycle. This vicious cycle 

Jeff Holden: of dependency. 

Emily Sanders: Yes. In fact, I think it's, I forget what it, 43%, I think it's 43% of women who are survivors of human trafficking that come out. Make less than 25,000 a year, even years after being escaping, 60% go return back to county services within 12 to 18 [00:30:00] months.

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Right. So the typical escape. Job, shelter isn't working. Mm-hmm. It's, it's just not working for everyone. And we, and there's 

Jeff Holden: nothing sustainable. 

Emily Sanders: It's not sustainable. The, the jobs. And one of the reasons why is we're talking about women who come out and my educational wise, 13 or maybe eighth grade level, what kind of job are they gonna get?

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Whatever the minimum wage is paying and the livable wage in California and Sacramento is I think about $30 for a livable wage. So if they get out, they get a job. They're barely on minimum wage. They have children. It's a job that's not aligned with who they are. So they're going to work every day becoming drained.

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: And then they end up, it falls through and now they're stuck. I don't know how many women either stay stuck on the system or go back out on the streets because they just don't see a way to make it for themselves. 

Jeff Holden: We'll hear more from [00:31:00] Emily Sanders of Connect to Change right after a few words from those who make this program possible.

James Beckwith: I'm James Beckwith, president and CEO of Five Star Bank. We're dedicated to supporting nonprofit organizations who advocate for the strength, resilience, and vitality of those they serve. When nonprofit organizations thrive, our community does too. By supporting the nonprofit podcast network, five Star Bank is amplifying the voices and meaningful impact of our nonprofit community.

We're Five Star Bank, a trusted nonprofit partner. How can we help you? 

Darrell Teat: We are really excited to be part of the family and contribute to the work that you all are doing. Core provides fractional and interim executive services along with comprehensive back office solutions that go into our client sites and do the work to give them the capacity they need in order to move through transitions, whether that's planned or unplanned, or [00:32:00] companies also work with our accounting and finance.

Back Office solutions, human resources, technology and administration. The reason why our back office solutions add value is because we save them time and money anywhere from 20 to 30% of what they would spend on that back office solution. We work in it so they can actually work on it. CXOR e.com and contact me directly at DTE a t@cxoe.com.

Jeff Holden: If you're interested in learning more about how CORE may help your organization, visit CXO r.com. 

Scott Thomas: Hello, this is Scott Thomas with CAPTRUST in our Sacramento office. I specialize in working with local nonprofits and associations annually. We 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 hear concerns about proper board governance, mission aligned [00:33:00] 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. 

Jeff Holden: At Western Health Advantage. 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 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, [00:34:00] healthcare with Heart designed for those who give back. Let's talk a little bit about how you're funded. Nice. To win awards 

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And events. And I suspect I'm gonna see you win a few more based on absolutely.

The, the presentation itself. But how, how are you funding the organization? How do you see that going forward? 

Emily Sanders: So. We are right now. Actually, I just submitted a grant yesterday, so yeah, we're gonna be applying for a couple grants this year. We also have a lot of private donors who have been very, very gracious and mm-hmm.

Very supportive with what we're doing, and that is pretty much what we're looking for funding this year is a lot of systems in place, making sure that we get the data very consistent and very detailed so that we can share that with all our funders. Raise more funds. Mm-hmm. Going into 2027. 

Jeff Holden: And you are a small organization, you're a young organization.

So for people to understand, I'm going to say, you're [00:35:00] gonna be a, an organization to watch because of what you're doing and the novelty that you've got and the connectivity to different places that are appropriate for what you're trying to accomplish. Not only on the. Victim services side, or on the victim side specifically, but also into entrepreneurship, ecosystem of the community.

Yes. I mean, how beautiful is that? I, I see this is going to happen. I'm telling you it's going to happen. It's happen, but you're gonna have a woman who's gonna come through this program who has been a trafficked woman, who sees and has a vision of something that's appropriate, that somebody's gonna grab onto and say, we need to fund this.

It may, it may be more, but I see this happening, and that's gonna be the huge success story that will give everybody else the hope that maybe they won't get to that threshold of success, but they'll get to a threshold of success that breaks that cycle. Let's dream for a [00:36:00] second. If somebody comes and says, Emily, boy, I really like what you're doing.

Give me a good enough reason. To give you a blank check to make this thing work better differently, what would it look like? What would you say? How would you build it? Okay. If money wasn't an object, 

Emily Sanders: if you build it, he will come. I don't know if you've ever watched Field of Dreams. 

Jeff Holden: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. 

Emily Sanders: It's been kind of my motto over the last few years.

Now, I was thinking of this the last couple days and I, I wanted to say, you know, I will refer back to my SVP pitch, right? And I asked for 120,000, 120,000 to coach and train a hundred women in business. Now with 120,000. We can fuel all the programs, the cohorts of 2026 through, we definitely could get through there.

Now, my fundraising goal for the year though is 300 because that will empower us through. Right. And that's what we are [00:37:00] empowerment through entrepreneurship. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: There's one thing we say in survivor groups, right? Or in survivors classrooms, hurt people, hurt people. Well, I have something else to say.

Empowered people. Empower people. 

James Beckwith: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: When you empower an organization, not to just, just get by, right? But empower them with the tools, the operational needs that they need to have taken care of. Staffing higher success rate for the women or the populations that they're serving. Right? Empowered people.

Empowered people, empowered organizations. Empower people. Now with 300,000, we would be empowered. You're gonna help the organization get all the operational overhead, taken care of marketing, so that we can market for more funding, right? Not only can we power through all the cohorts, we can invest back into the women, [00:38:00] really help them get going.

So that's what I would say there, because if you gave me a blank check, here's the thing, let's keep it real. No organization goes from just beginnings to big endings in one day. And when we're talking about, I think back to Lisa Cope and women's empowerment, and in fact, the woman that I'm working with now who's doing the candles, she said she remembers.

When Lisa Culp was at Loaves and Fishes as a, I forget what they call it, a a hat person, but basically somebody directing people where to go, right? Mm-hmm. And she said she would see Lisa out there talking to the one, what is it that you need? What, what would help you right now? And she said, then Lisa at Loaves and Fishes just had, just had an office that she was working out of.

And she would go in there and [00:39:00] Lord, she goes, oh, there'd be so much crazy stuff going on outside, Emily, but Lisa would go, just light this candle just like this. Don't look anywhere else. Just focus here on this candle and, and we're just gonna set our intention for the day. Now, she said she didn't make it through that time with Lisa.

She remembers that. She remembers where she started. And I share that story because it relates to where we are, right? We're starting. We're over at the table, we're in their office, right? We're collaborating with them to use that space. Just like Lisa, right? What is it that you need? How can we help you? How do we get you to the next step?

So with that being said, it's kind of unrealistic to say a blank check, and we would end up in the exactly where I want to be. Mm-hmm. But where we are today, 120,000, that'll get us our cohorts for 2026. 300 will empower us through and get us to where we need to get going. 

Jeff Holden: And what I really [00:40:00] like about that is for anybody that's listening, saying This is reasonable, this is reasonable, that's reasonable progress.

Let's consider an opportunity for them. And to your point of, let's say you have these women with these ideas, there will be. Opportunity. I think some point down the line, as the organization grows and the funding is there, and there's some reserve to say, we use this piece of the organization, this reserve is really for our little venture capital piece to help the women's ideas come to fruition.

Emily Sanders: Yes. 

Jeff Holden: And all of a sudden now you are self-fulfilling. Greatest need today. Just today, as you're looking at, you just finished a grant for the City of Sacramento. Mm-hmm. We're looking at the beginning of a new year. What is the greatest need? 

Emily Sanders: I have a couple, actually. I have a couple. So we obviously, I could tell you right now that our cohorts are gonna be about 40,000 each.

We have four of 'em in a year. Mm-hmm. [00:41:00] So you guys could do the math there. 

Jeff Holden: Yep. 

Emily Sanders: And then, but what we need is how do we get through them? I need the mentors. I need the volunteers to jump in. Those who would like to fill in and take over. What do the marketing class, right? There are still a couple openings that I need to fill, but I need people to get involved.

And maybe you're not the person who's gonna write that 120,000 check, but maybe, maybe you're that person who knows where I need to go to get that. Let's collaborate, work with me, and in fact send me an email. Definitely email me right now is the best time to email me. You'll be able to set some time on my calendar.

We will get together. Let's sit down, let's talk, let's collaborate. Let's figure out how we can work together to make this happen for the women that we serve. 

Jeff Holden: I'll put your email in the show notes, but do you wanna give it just for the benefit 

Emily Sanders: of the listener? Absolutely, I do. It's emily@connecttochange.org.

That is with the number two in the middle. So Emily, at Connect to [00:42:00] change.org, 

Jeff Holden: I ask all our executive directors leadership, ceo, o president, whatever they might be titled, how they Relax. Because you absorb so much of the organization, it becomes you. It, it, it's a part of you, it's a passion project that you are deeply involved with.

What does Emily do to step back 

Emily Sanders: plans ahead? 

Jeff Holden: Please help me. Can you help me on that? 

Emily Sanders: So since I stepped off the stage, November 17th. I have been going nonstop of 

Jeff Holden: 20 20, 25. 

Emily Sanders: Of 2025. Yes, I have been going nonstop, so I decided to take off some time going into the new year, make time to reflect and recharge and to set those meaningful intentions for the new year.

Darrell Teat: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: Making sure that I set time aside for me to do nothing [00:43:00] sometimes, just so I give my time, myself. Time to process. Absorb everything that's come into my line of sight and however much time, but it's taking that time off to spend with my little boy 

Jeff Holden: who is six 

Emily Sanders: years old. Six now Uhhuh. Yes, because I still need to be a present mother for him.

Jeff Holden: Yep. 

Emily Sanders: And enjoying those moments. 

Jeff Holden: What's the best way to learn more about the organization? And you mentioned these volunteer roles that you're looking for, these positions that you need filled to donate to understand when the classes are all that's happening. I. 

Emily Sanders: I would say go to our website. Mm-hmm. If you go to our website, you will see there's a lot of information on our program design, how that works, what dates are coming up for our next cohorts.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: And contact information, definitely contact me. And when we're talking about volunteers, I'd like to. Note, often [00:44:00] people think, well, geez, I, I don't know if I have any skills. That would be helpful if you can pick up a phone and call around to see who might be interested in supporting our mission.

You, if you can make a phone call, you can volunteer for us. 

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: We need any and all the help available to help us fuel these women for the next year forward. 

Jeff Holden: This episode releases, and I'm going to do something I say we don't try to do, but it's important. As we start the new year in January, it's human trafficking awareness month, month, and it's a category that so many people don't realize how pervasive and prevalent it is, and that sacramento's one of the highest in the country because of our confluence of freeways and systems to get people out of here.

Sadly. Because of the integration of just bad operators that we have who come here because it is known as an easy access point to take people [00:45:00] and what you are doing for those victims who are able to be found, who are able to be brought back into the system to help them function, to reintegrate, to actually build a life the way that you're doing it for them.

Nothing short of remarkable. It's a different approach. It's one thing to bring them, yes, they have to be taken care of. Yes, they need their basic needs. Yes, they need victim services and all those pieces and whatever other programs that they have to lean on until they can step out on their own. But you're giving 'em that opportunity for the first step.

And I can only imagine the sense of pride and confidence and. Exuberance at, I'm doing something on my own because somebody believed in me. They gave me hope, and here I am. And [00:46:00] that's what Connect To Change is doing. 

Emily Sanders: Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: So thank you for that. 

Emily Sanders: I'm here today because people believed in me before I believed in myself.

Jeff Holden: Mm-hmm. 

Emily Sanders: And now I'm in turn doing the same for the women that we serve. 

Jeff Holden: Empowered people. 

Emily Sanders: Empowered people. 

Jeff Holden: Thank you. 

Emily Sanders: Thank you. 

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