FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #82 Building Local Opportunity In Fredericksburg
Want a clearer path from talent to opportunity in Fredericksburg? We sit down with Marcus Toler, the driving force behind Go Local FXBG, to unpack a simple but powerful blueprint: teach teens real skills, remove cost barriers for small businesses, and connect nonprofits with new audiences so local ideas can take root. Marcus brings lived experience—from hustling DJ to self-taught marketer—to show how practical training and funded support can flip the script for underserved neighbors and first-time founders.
We dig into the upcoming youth internship and career pathways program launching with local high schools, where students build portfolios in digital marketing, media, and entrepreneurship. Instead of abstract lessons, they’ll ship real projects, learn SEO and content strategy, and walk away with tangible proof of work. Marcus also shares how a nonprofit-backed business accelerator will give early-stage founders the marketing muscle they can’t afford, helping them test offers, sharpen brand stories, and reach customers without burning scarce capital. It’s a model built to keep wins local and create a stronger, more resilient small-business ecosystem.
Beyond training and funding, we explore the community entrepreneurship track and a creative “for cause” event series—like weekly trivia at Brock’s—that elevates partner nonprofits in front of fresh audiences. Marcus’s advice for aspiring nonprofit leaders is refreshingly candid: the forms are easy, the real job is building the team, learning the grant landscape, and staying focused on measurable outcomes. If you care about youth mentorship, inclusive entrepreneurship, and smarter ways to grow local business, this conversation lays out a playbook you can put to work today.
If this resonates, subscribe, share with a neighbor who should hear it, and leave a review so more locals can plug into the movement. Then tell us: what skill could you mentor to help the next founder thrive?
Marcus Toler
Go Local FXBG
info@golocalfxbg.com
Falmouth, VA · King George, VA · Spotsylvania, VA · Fredericksburg, VA · Stafford, VA · Downtown Fredericksburg, VA
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. Today, joining me is Marcus Toler, and he is with Go Local FXBG. Marcus, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Well, I am excited to dive into this conversation. I would love to learn more about Go Local FXBG.
Speaker 1:So we're a nonprofit right here in Fredericksburg, focused on empowering the underserved communities, small business owners, and aspiring entrepreneurs. We're trying to create real pathways that economic opportunity and local business success connect the people with the right resources, build a stronger economy here locally.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Amazing. And so give me some uh examples. What are some ways in which you are accomplishing those goals through your nonprofit?
Speaker 1:So I got three programs that we want to roll out. Um, youth internship and career pathways program. You know, we're gonna be working with local high school students starting in January. We're gonna roll that out in beta mode. Um, to gain hands-on experience in digital marketing, media, and entrepreneurship. Um, over COVID, I worked with a lot of interns, college interns, you know, virtually all over the world pretty much. And the number one thing they kept saying were they're not getting the real world experience that they needed to get jobs when they got out of college. Um, you know, and as you can imagine, that's probably pretty frustrating, right? To go to school for four to eight years for your major and then get out and have employers tell you, oh, well, you need experience to work here. So that was a big one. Um, and just in digital media marketing in general, they never know anything that I know, and I've never gone to college. So I just found that very strange that um I've self-taught myself more than what marketing professors are teaching them. So that you know put me on a mission to really help these kids learn more about the opportunities that are out there digitally, especially to be able to create their own way. Um, so that's one. And then we got our local business accelerator that we're gonna start. That name might change because that's a pretty popular name for that kind of program. So um, you know, I want to work with small businesses over the years. Well, my marketing company, I've worked with a lot of small businesses. I really enjoy working with the startup brands or the people that are struggling, but the number one problem there is they don't get any money. So, with a nonprofit, I'll be able to fund and help them with their marketing without asking them for money. Um, so that's a great thing. And then the last piece is the community entrepreneurship program where I want to work with people in underserved communities that might not have access to the resources to become entrepreneurs and get that digital media experience.
Speaker 2:That's amazing. Really big goals there, and I'm really excited to watch this grow and what a huge impact this is gonna make. So, congratulations, it's really exciting.
Speaker 1:Thank you, thank you. It's it's definitely a lot, it's not your typical nonprofit. Um a lot of moving pieces, so we're gonna have to roll it out in pieces, and it's gonna take an army for sure. So yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, I want to learn more about you. Tell me a little bit about your background and how that led you to starting something like this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I grew up in West Virginia and growing up as a kid, I was like always the hustler, shoveling snow, cutting grass, selling baseball cards, like anything I could do to make money, right? Um, always trying to find unique ways. I came here to the Frederick area in about 2000, 2001. I've been here ever since. I love it here. There's always been so much opportunity here. Um, the community is great. Like, I've never been in like a community like this. So started an entertainment company back in the early 2000s, literally just on a on a whim, like, hey, I want to get paid to throw parties and being a DJ, you know, and of course, I've got my big day productions company where we do events, photo booth, event planning, DJ stuff. Um, but also along the way, that turned into a marketing agency because all that was built off of social media. So it just made sense to take that knowledge and dump it into the marketing. Um, you know, small business development. I've developed multiple brands over the years. So that you know really turned into wanting to help others do the same.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that. So clearly you are really busy working on your business and you've worked really hard to build this, you've had multiple businesses in the past. If someone came to you and said, Hey, I want to start a nonprofit, what advice would you give someone?
Speaker 1:Really think about what the mission is, what the goal is. Um, because you know, a big misconception I had about starting a nonprofit was like, oh my God, it's gonna be so hard. The easy part's getting it started, like following the paperwork and all that's nothing. Um, there's so much online resources out there, like with the AI and all the things. It's easy to get it up and running, but building the team and putting the programs in place and getting the right people to help you understand that. Like, you know, I'm working with someone that's very experienced in grant writing, and there's a lot of rules. It's not, it is a business, but it's not a business, you know. So figuring out the ins and the outs and really connecting with the people that already know is always the biggest thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Lots of nuance in a nonprofit world versus the business world, isn't there?
Speaker 1:For sure. It's completely it's different, but not different, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about Go Local FXBG?
Speaker 1:Um well, it's the big thing is like I said, it's just not it's not just another nonprofit, right? We're here to really build a community ecosystem. Like right now, we're doing what we call four calls event series. So I'm taking the experience I've already got and dumping it into the nonprofit. Like on Wednesday nights, we're doing trivia for calls down at Brocks and downtown. Um, and with that, we're connecting with other nonprofits and putting them in front of audiences that they normally are not in front of to build awareness. Um, because there's so many great nonprofits out here that people don't know about. And while it's still competitive in the nonprofit world because everybody's fighting for the same funds, we're all fighting for attention from donors. But you know, I've been really challenging people to find causes that they believe in and go supported.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So tell me how people can get involved. Uh, they can they can come to your trivia nights. Um, what are some other ways in which people listening can can get on board with Go Local FXBG?
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, like you said, definitely can come out to the events and learn about other nonprofits. Um I'm looking for right now, coming up in January, we're rolling out that internship program with the high schools. We're gonna be working with you know, a select few students from every county, um, Frederick, Stafford, Spotsy. And I'm looking for people in the community that are like experts in like marketing, digital media, business growth, development, things like that. Because I can't be the expert in everything. Yeah, um, so I'm looking for people that want to give back to these kids and help me mentor these kids and build this program out and really, you know, we we need to pour into our youth because they're the next, the next big thing, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I'm noticing out in the community, like you know, the Lions Club and the Eagles and all these different organizations is like there's not a lot of young people in these organizations, and they want young people, so it's like we need to get involved with the community and the younger, the younger generation.
Speaker 2:Right, right. I love that. So if the listeners want to get in touch with you, learn more about everything you do, how can they find you?
Speaker 1:So you can go to go localfxbg.org. Um, and there's a contact us page on there, and just shoot me an email, and you can follow us on social, Facebook, Instagram. Um, got a YouTube channel where we post like nonprofit spotlights, been sitting down and interviewing them. So we've been posting them over there. Yeah, all the normal sources.
Speaker 2:Amazing, amazing. Well, Marcus, thank you for all that you are doing for our community. I have really enjoyed having you on the podcast today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG NeighborsPodcast.com.