WEBVTT
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:11.199
Welcome to Doing Good, a podcast about the people, organizations, and companies creating positive change.
00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:28.399
Co-hosted by Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Campbell, Anna Farrier with over twenty years in the nonprofit world of northern New Mexico, and myself, Gabriella Marks, photographer and visual storyteller with a focus on people doing good things.
00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:38.159
In a world where so much is measured by likes, followers, and recognition, what does it mean to give without anyone ever knowing?
00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:44.640
Today's guest has spent years supporting organizations and people without seeking credit or applause.
00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.000
Today we'll explore a simple but profound question.
00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:52.479
Is goodness at its purest when no one knows who did it?
00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:56.000
So, Mr.
00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.479
A, I would like to welcome you here today.
00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.079
We we've all agreed that Mr.
00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:03.439
A will be your uh your gnome de gur for the day.
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:06.640
Gabriella, always a joy to be together with you.
00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:07.920
You do so many wonderful things.
00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:10.159
Well, we are so thrilled to have you here.
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:18.400
And I I want to begin by us these are for the podcast Doing Good, we're having a series of conversations about the art, the act of doing good.
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.480
And I wanted to ask you your sort of doing good origin story.
00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:25.599
Where did your impulse to do good things come from?
00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:32.000
Well, you know, uh the the old expression is to whom uh much is given, much is expected.
00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:38.560
And my family's been uh in the United States since uh 1696 and enjoyed some success.
00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:46.000
And then uh here in the West, my great-grandfather came west in 1869, and the West has been very good to us.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:57.920
I have lived in many different places, had close association with a lot of the West, and seen, uh, as particularly here in New Mexico, uh, an enormous amount of need.
00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:06.640
And uh is here, uh, there are many examples of great agents for doing good in New Mexico.
00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:19.439
Uh I tell every development director, you're not begging for money, you're offering me to fulfill a dream that I have that I haven't either the time or the talent to do through the work of your organization.
00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:25.360
And uh our connection with uh people doing good in New Mexico has been enormously rewarding.
00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:28.080
I I'm gonna I'm gonna push a little bit though.
00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:29.120
Where did that come from, though?
00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:33.520
Was that in is that like that deep um desire to help?
00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:34.800
Did that come from your family?
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.439
Were you a man?
00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:36.960
I am a Western man.
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:38.240
King Good.
00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:46.960
In the West of 1879, when my family arrived in in Washington state, people helped one another.
00:02:47.840 --> 00:03:01.680
And uh my my grandfather organized the poor farm in the community where we lived during the depression, which was uh an exercise in self-sufficiency for people who were wiped out by the depression.
00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:07.599
Um so that that that spirit has always been upon me, not so much.
00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:14.000
Well, my family is a response to being pioneers in the West, and pioneers got to look after one another.
00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.560
Yeah, so this is it's in your blood.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:16.960
Yeah.
00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:17.840
Yeah, yeah.
00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:20.719
Well, we're all rather grateful for that.
00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:22.719
Let's explain what Mr.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:32.000
AA is for anonymous, because we're respecting this guest anonymity, and um you're trying not to flub and and say your actual name.
00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:51.599
So um from my well, let me be clenched from our fists or um I'd I'd love to um uh ask you to describe in in however much granular detail you'd like some of the some of the projects you've been a part of here, some of what is what is your doing good here in New Mexico looked like?
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.879
Well, um my foundation started during the time of COVID.
00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:08.159
And uh one of the other features of being uh a Western man, maybe sexist, but whatever, um, is moving with ferocious velocity.
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.439
And I give you an example, I was thinking of this coming out here.
00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:25.120
During COVID, uh the doctors from uh Shiprock, uh the Indian Health Service Hospital, would come down and stay at my home when they were meeting with the National Guard uh here in Santa Fe.
00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:31.040
And um they were seeing death rates among the Danae that were off the charts.
00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:32.399
I said, well, why is that?
00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:41.120
And so, well, they live in Hogan ranches, and there are often multiple generations, a lot of people living in the sum space, and they don't have water to wash their hands.
00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:52.240
Um, so I made about four phone calls and wrote a few checks, and within 72 hours, we had a water delivery system set up to bring water to the Danae and the Deep Ress.
00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:57.199
And then that was expanded by the people who are running it to include firewood and coal.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.680
Um we like to move with ferocious velocity.
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:14.079
Uh as Anna can tell you, we like to be the first check in the door, not the biggest check, but the one that ignites the capacity of a nonprofit to raise more money.
00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:19.040
Uh Anna had an initiative up in Espanyola, needed a certain amount of money to get it done.
00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.040
I said, okay, we'll give you the first money.
00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:26.480
And from our perspective, I can't write the biggest checks in town, but I can write the first checks.
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:31.920
And I put them in the hands of people like Anna who can go out and raise more money off that base.
00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.000
And uh she, as usual, exceeded our wildest expectations.
00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:40.399
Not only got her program open in Espanola, but raised enough to open in Las Vegas.
00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:41.920
These are really good bets.
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:44.160
I I want to chime in here.
00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:56.639
The fact that we have worked together, not only, and this is a note, a personal note about you, is yes, you all you write the check, but one of the best things I ever got from you was advice.
00:05:57.759 --> 00:05:58.240
Really?
00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:02.160
Like serious and also um moral support.
00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:02.480
Yeah.
00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:07.519
Because I, anyone who's tried to raise money anywhere, it's hard.
00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:13.040
And you put yourself out on the line, and it's not something that I think a lot of people enjoy doing.
00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:21.759
You can you can come to it, but you helped me understand a different way of of approaching fundraising.
00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:23.360
It was we were partners.
00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:30.240
It wasn't a person uh because a lot of nonprofit I think people feel like they're we're needy.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:31.199
We need your help.
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:40.399
We need, you know, that and the idea that uh we are partners addressing this issue together, we're all bringing resources to this.
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:59.600
And um you just really helped me with that and and a personal um non-judgmental uh relationship with a significant donor and and kind of helped me, you know, navigate what that looked like beyond you with others.
00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:01.600
And that was equally important.
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.759
And um, you know, I think those are you you don't just write a check, you bring your whole self.
00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.279
Well, I've been doing this.
00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.319
Uh I was joined my first nonprofit board when I was 16.
00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.079
Oh my gosh, talk about that.
00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:16.240
Don't laugh so hard to make me feel old.
00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:17.519
Wait, I gotta first out.
00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:19.759
Who asked a 16-year-old?
00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.319
Well, that's what I want to know more.
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:27.120
Um, but I don't give advice, I share experience.
00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:27.680
Uh-huh.
00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:34.720
And the the good news and bad news about having been at it this long is I have a lot of experience, most of it bad.
00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:42.560
But the the fundraising model that I described to you, you're not begging for money, you're fulfilling a dream of mine.
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:55.120
And and you know this story, and you may cut this out, but um uh I grew up an only child of older parents in a small town and where we were a lot more prosperous than everybody else.
00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:59.759
And I didn't integrate with the rest of the of the uh my age group.
00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:01.920
So I thought I was never gonna get laid.
00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:13.040
And my my godmother, who uh was a Holocaust survivor and uh graduate of Cotom bleu, taught me to cook when I was 12 years old.
00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:24.240
And later I wrote what was gonna be a pamphlet or an article for Playboy called The Five Recipes Every Young Man Should Know, in order to uh I say get laid, I forgot.
00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:29.279
But food has been an important part of my maturation.
00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:29.759
Yeah.
00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:43.279
Uh and I wouldn't suggest that cooking with kids is teaching young men or young women how to get laid, but um, you know, the learning to cook is adding to the confidence of a young person.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:49.360
And we we did a uh a fundraiser, and you had one of your graduates doing the cooking.
00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.200
And what that kid's 18 years old?
00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.639
Oh, he's well at the time pretty close, yeah, maybe 20.
00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:59.840
And he's moving among adults and working with serious chefs.
00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:06.559
Um you know, we we never give enough credit to young people for how smart they can be.
00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:06.960
Yeah.
00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:12.960
And when we invite them to be smart, they invariably rise above our wildest expectations.
00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:15.440
And boy, we're working on a program now.
00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:16.240
Can I digress?
00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:17.919
You certainly can.
00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:28.159
So Global Santa Fe, um, with Stuart Ashman, uh, who uh was born, I think, in Cuba, sent a bunch of uh New Mexican kids down to Cuba.
00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:34.559
And these were not kids from PrEP and the Academy, these were off the reservation in the Pueblo and all over the place.
00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:41.279
And these young people went to Havana and were engaged without putting a label on it in citizen diplomacy.
00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:53.360
And they came back fired up to the hilt about what they could project and receive in the lives of people in a pretty distressed environment.
00:09:53.600 --> 00:10:06.240
So that inspired us to work with Global Santa Fe to create an undergraduate degree at a university here in New Mexico in diplomacy.
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:18.799
And the idea is that we wanted to feed uh later Harvard School of Government and Johns Hopkins with uh young people from New Mexico who grew up in a multilingual, multicultural environment.
00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:25.840
And the notion was by about 2050 to flood Latin America with New Mexican-born and bred diplomats.
00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:28.960
Um struggles along the way.
00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:30.720
We're we're working on it, we're getting there.
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:36.240
But uh, you know, that's just a response to the enthusiasm of the young people for the opportunity.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:36.799
Yeah.
00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:37.360
Yeah.
00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:46.320
You know, one of the going just circling back to cooking with kids, I mean, one of the things that I really loved was that they created this thing called uh Healthy Futures Society.
00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:46.960
Yeah.
00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:59.200
And, you know, um I I've I've been a proponent of making that, you know, their their basically reason to be because and and you said, you know, what makes me happy giving money to you know a cause.
00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:22.399
I'm I'll I'll invest in healthy futures because because it's not just you know investing in um enough spring you know green beans for the year, but it's it's it's that what you're you know, building building kids and projecting them out into lives and and futures and businesses and and and causes that that are much bigger than the original mission that they came out of.
00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:22.960
Yeah.
00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.440
And it it's it's a legacy.
00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:25.919
Yeah.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:32.320
You know, looking when you talk about the end result of something being in 2050, that's a long game.
00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:48.240
And I think uh it is, particularly in the nonprofit sector, I think we are um uh subject to things like uh short timelines, expectations for change very quickly, and chasing grants.
00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:59.120
Well, yeah, and that you know, and it within a couple of years showing results, showing impact, which of course is important, but for true lasting impact, it takes decades.
00:11:59.279 --> 00:11:59.440
Yeah.
00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:08.159
And for folks to recognize that and um support that, you know, that's a paradigm shift in the nonprofit sector, but we're starting to see more of it.
00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:15.039
And and when folks like you can lead the way, and then you know, we can talk about that.
00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.720
Well, there are people here who are thinking big picture, long-term change.
00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.919
Is that part of your your your your screening process?
00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.639
How you know is this going to be something that is going to be long-lasting?
00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:37.840
Well, so the rigorous screening process um involves zero pages, and I I tend to revolt when people walk in the door with an 18-page proposal because I don't read that much.
00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:44.159
I want to understand your character, and I want to understand the character that's represented within your organization.
00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.360
And I've been doing that side of life since I was 13.
00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:59.759
Um, and then, you know, we to Anna's point, uh, we like to make, we like you to identify a program that needs support for three years.
00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:03.600
And three years is about a reasonable amount of time to get something off the ground.
00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:11.519
We give a three-year commitment, uh, A, so you can raise money off that, and we want to propagate that in the donor community.
00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:17.919
Because as much as I like Anna, the last thing I want to do is have to sit down with her every year and find out what the hell's going on.
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:28.960
Uh, I like it when she tells me, but the other feature, and you know, I was at a conference and and this guy told me about his rigorous application process.
00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:31.360
I said, Well, what's your average grant size?
00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:32.960
He said,$5,000.
00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:34.000
Oh my God.
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:43.840
You know, people had to submit a stool sample, a sperm sample, a blood sample, a saliva sample to get$5,000, and they had to do it every year.
00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.440
I mean, as a philanthropist, that's nuts.
00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:58.159
You know, you want to invest in great people, whether it's it's in production, whether it's in photography, or whether it's philanthropy, and just set them off and go.
00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:07.840
Yeah, and uh what you're uh describing in a way is there's a a trend now that we're seeing more often, which is wonderful.
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:09.840
It's called trust-based philanthropy.
00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.840
And you and you've done that all along.
00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:13.519
Yeah, explain explain that.
00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:24.000
Rather than the onerous uh cycle of writing a grant uh application and then reporting on it, it's more relationship-based.
00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.679
So as a grant maker, kind of like what what Mr.
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:51.679
A just described, is getting to know the organization and uh seeing the work that they do, and then um for yourself seeing what the results are, because uh particularly now with AI, um it's easy to spin a tail in a proposal or a report, but show me what you're doing.
00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:59.039
And then the the donor, the philanthropist, the grant maker is a is an equal partner in the process as well.
00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:06.240
So it's moving away from um that you know, but uh it's it's like writing a book report in high school.
00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:15.279
And and some people are very skilled at it and others aren't, so it excludes organizations or folks who maybe don't have those skills or don't have a grant writer on staff.
00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:25.200
You know, it it's it's it skews the the um the awards towards organizations that are more well resourced or who happen to have staff who know how to do that.
00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:26.720
So a good grant writer.
00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.720
Yeah, yeah, it's a really it's a great trend and um I'm seeing more and more of it.
00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:40.960
But when we have folks who do this, it we can point to and say, look, other people are doing this who really are, you know, um discerning in their philanthropy.
00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:50.639
So well if you if you um being anonymous, you know, uh you you have to be really uh connected to the community that you're in.
00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:59.519
I mean, because you know you you can't you know, people are gonna knock on your door and say, Please can I have money, you have to be able to sort them out and recognize them yourself.
00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:08.399
Well, uh I I think you know, I I I moved here to Santa Fe back during the reign of Tiberius.
00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:17.919
And um I tell all my friends that in Santa Fe, everybody's interested in what you're doing, interested in sharing what they're doing, and interested in lifting one another up.
00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:18.320
Yeah.
00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.919
It's it's a great community for a natural maven.
00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:34.000
And I I think you ask a very good question, but the truth of the matter is that when you when people, I mean, I'm here because I was recognized as a maven and a connector.
00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:46.159
And uh, and hopefully through my voice about how we approach philanthropy, I will influence other philanthropists uh to go and seek out anonymous and and for us to work together.
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:58.960
Um you know, during the time of COVID, things were moving, well, the the harm was was moving so fast that we just went assholes in elbows to try and get people help and a lot of different things.
00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.360
So we did all kinds of cool stuff.
00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:10.640
Um but we had a hell of a time finding other organizations that were motivated to move at the velocity that we were moving.
00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:17.039
And we we reached out to a number of them at the start of COVID and then finally said, fuck it, we'll just keep going.
00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.039
And you know, catch this catch can.
00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:21.200
And it we did a lot of good work.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:26.000
So I'm I'm proud of the fact that uh that our velocity served needs.
00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:28.319
I think it's called doing good, isn't it?
00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:29.680
It is.
00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:41.279
But uh you're you're pointing to also the the when something like that, uh like this acute issue comes up, like you need nimbleness, you need to be able to move quickly.
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.400
And so many of our institutions just don't do that.
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.960
So Well, I I think you make a very good point.
00:17:47.119 --> 00:18:02.960
And you know, since then, um, for example, uh right after the election, we met with all of our grant recipients and said, how much uh money are you getting from the feds?
00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:06.079
And and we got varying responses.
00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:16.559
And I said, Well, do you have the capacity to either reduce programs immediately to make up for those lost funds, or go out to uh get additional funds?
00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.839
And uh, let's see, how much of this story can I tell?
00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:24.960
Um, one of the organizations that we work with, we did a fundraiser for them.
00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:30.880
Uh and they were down a little bit in their budget and they were getting money from the feds, pretty big organization.
00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:40.160
And we did a fundraiser, and I said, You want to put a thumb in Agent Orange's eye, keep something alive that he wants to kill, like small brown children.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.920
And we raised$250,000 for that organization that night.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:44.480
Wow.
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:50.240
And um, you know, we can cry and sivel and whine about you know the funding being cut for a lot of things.
00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:55.200
No, this is the moment when if you believe in something, uh you need to step up.
00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:55.519
Yeah.
00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:10.480
And I remember during the first reign of Agent Orange, um I spoke to a group and I said, look, you know, in this room, a lot of you, every one of you, every one of us is going to get about a$20,000 a year tax cut, more or less.
00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:16.880
I said, if you believe in something, then you have the money now to put behind your belief.
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:17.359
Right.
00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:25.920
If you believe that that uh government can do more than you, well, you you need to step into the place of government.
00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.279
But either way, you have$20,000 to give away, give it away.
00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:30.160
Exactly.
00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:31.599
It's found money.
00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:32.160
Yeah.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:32.400
Yeah.
00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.720
Um in this era, I think, especially in the U.S.
00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:47.599
of a pretty incredible wealth disparity, there are those who seek to sort of mitigate what they might perceive as negative PR by funding a hospital wing or something like that.
00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.119
Why anonymous?
00:19:49.680 --> 00:20:01.519
Well, I think probably a militant desire not to quest for our name on hospital wings.
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:03.039
I've been doing this for a while.
00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:04.240
That's all bullshit.
00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:08.880
I welcome the people who put their name on hospital wings, but we give virtually no money to capital.
00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:15.119
We are the the emergent initial source of money to make something work.
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:23.279
And uh, if you think that the COVID panic is behind us, the Agent Orange panic is is upon us.
00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.599
That was one the other day that emerged.
00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:31.039
And now is the time for philanthropy to move with ferocious velocity.
00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.960
Because without that, programs and things that we care about will perish.
00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:35.680
Sure.
00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:36.079
Sure.
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.319
There's not there's not time to wait until things settle and then come back and help.
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:40.799
Yeah.
00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:50.079
So um this is this goes back to something that Anna said, which is, you know, you not only provided money, but you provided advice.
00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:58.160
Mentorship has to be an important part of this, you know, because money can only go so far without without good guidance and without good advice.
00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.480
Well, it's it's not advice, it's shared experience.
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.440
Shared experience.
00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:10.000
You know, I I've I've fucked up so many things that I I have uh observations about how to uh uh how to avoid pitfalls.
00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:10.559
Yes.
00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:24.240
So um, but yeah, and and the great news is because we have such a high concentration of really smart executive directors in New Mexico, um, that it's it's a joy to spend time with them.
00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.759
And it it's really a nourishment that goes both ways.
00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:38.880
Uh when I'm sitting with with Sean McQueen of Global Santa Fe, uh I may be sharing ideas with her, but that woman has a background in international affairs that is non-parallel.
00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:42.319
She spent a bunch of time in parts of Africa where I was.
00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:54.160
And she has perspectives that add to my uh intelligence in in how I uh approach not only her challenges, but collaterally the challenges of others.
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:57.359
Do you um look at it from an ROI?
00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:58.079
Pardon?
00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.799
Do you look at your investment as An ROI.
00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.720
Oh, I'll I'll tell you a great story.
00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:14.960
Um at the outset of COVID, I gave$5,000 to, I don't know, 10 close friends, and I said, who didn't have a lot of money.
00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:17.599
And I said, now you're a philanthropist.
00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:29.519
And uh one of those split it between uh two sons, and one of the sons went out and bought a potter's wheel with his$2,500.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:36.720
And he and a buddy made uh pots that they sold at the farmer's market for$8,000.
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:46.240
And it wasn't the biggest amount of money I ever seen, but this is a kid who's not yet in college, who was out there doing grassroots philanthropy.
00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:50.319
And so, I mean, that's my highest ROI project.
00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.559
It's a pretty good investment.
00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:53.359
Yeah.
00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.960
Well, and you want to see that.
00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:03.119
I mean, you know, when we made the the ignition grant to uh to Anna, that she was able to expand that footprint in Las Vegas.
00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:05.519
Oh, you want to see that every day.
00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:06.319
Yeah.
00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.599
We we have a Las Vegas and New Mexico, by the way, for those new.
00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:10.559
That's right.
00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:12.240
But it's not it's not going towards Rulas.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.480
There's another Las Vegas.
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:17.279
I think ours is the first, I've been told, but who knows?
00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:17.440
Yeah.
00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.480
Doc Harris is the first Vegas.
00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.000
Should we use this little pause right now to take a break?
00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:24.480
Sure.
00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:25.599
Okay.
00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.599
I'm wearing depends, I should be fine.
00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:30.240
Well, we'll be right back.
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.680
Know someone who's doing good in your community?
00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:37.759
We'd love to hear their story.
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.640
Visit doinggood.fm and tell us about someone who's making a difference.
00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.680
That's doinggood.fm.
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:48.160
And we're back.
00:23:49.119 --> 00:24:00.079
So to turn the tables, I was wondering if you could share a story with us of someone who mentored you or who where did you learn the, you know, to do things the way you do them?
00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:06.480
I had uh I had four great mentors in my life.
00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:18.079
One was my father, uh who was 57 when I was born, and uh led a very colorful life, uh, had a child die when she was 11.
00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:30.160
Uh, he went broke during the depression, uh, left his family kind of bye bye, took up with a very colorful mistress, uh, was in a horrific automobile accident from which he was the only survivor.
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:34.160
And when I was 13, I asked my dad if there was anything about his life he would change.
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:35.759
He said, absolutely nothing.
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.000
It all made me who I am.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:45.519
And that gift to me was to live a life completely free of regret.
00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.200
And Gabriella, you know a few of my follies in life.
00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:54.720
Um so to live a life free of regret and to be genuinely free of regret is amazing.
00:24:55.039 --> 00:25:02.720
And then uh uh my buddy Fred Haley was um was president of the Brown Haley company in uh up in Washington.
00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:04.559
Uh they made almond roca.
00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:19.039
And he came back to the family business, and he he came back after the Second World War, having survived a few near brushes with death, and he said, I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna work, but I want the family to support the philanthropic philanthropic direction that I set.
00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:20.319
And they did.
00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:28.000
And among the things that Fred did was um uh start a college uh up in Washington.
00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:37.039
Uh he was um he and I were in Russia together, and he brought a bag full of Levi Levi's and record albums.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:41.039
And we went to the high school that taught all the cultural diplomacy.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:46.720
We went to the high school that taught all those KGB agents kids, and he just gave me the shit.
00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:49.359
I just kind of subversive.
00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:50.400
Yeah, right.
00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:53.519
I mean, uh, we're on Vladimir Putin's list.
00:25:53.759 --> 00:26:03.119
And then uh Daniel Evans, who was the three-term governor of the state of Washington, um uh was just a very close friend of my family.
00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:15.039
And and Dan memorably, among things, uh, when the uh Southeast Asian diaspora was looking for a place to live, uh, Jerry Brown in California, the governor at that time, said, I don't want him here.
00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.480
And I I weep every time I tell a story.
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:24.079
Dan Evans said, hasn't that son of a bitch read the line at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:31.440
And Washington welcomed the diaspora and the economic growth and and expansion that Southeast Asians contributed.
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:40.160
And the last guy was uh Walter Franke, who was the founder of the Francke Stainless Steel Sink Company in Switzerland, a partner of my family.
00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:46.000
And um and Walter was the most driven executive I've ever seen.
00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:52.160
The guy worked, you know, 30 hours a day, but he was also uh a great patron of the arts.
00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.759
In all of his facilities, there were artworks that he had chosen.
00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:56.880
He knew the artists.
00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:02.640
When you'd go to a party at his house, you'd be there with a whole bunch of artists and rapacious capitalists.
00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:05.920
And um, sounds a little bit like a party at my house.
00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:15.680
But these were these were people of an era, you know, we'll call it the 60s, who uh were pioneers in doing good.
00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:17.039
Dan Evans is a Republican.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:20.960
I refer to myself today as a Dan Evans Republican, which you know frightens people.
00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:24.480
But uh, you know, he was social liberal, fiscal conservative.
00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:25.839
What's wrong with that?
00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:26.880
Yeah.
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:28.400
Let me ask you a question.
00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:38.079
It was gonna sound a little bit off off topic, but you know, you live in Santa Fe now, and you you know a lot of your upbringing in terms of your philanthropic life was in Washington.
00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:46.000
What what do you see the differences between you know operating in in Santa Fe and you know and and in Washington?
00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:52.000
Well, I mean, without putting too fine a point on it, Washington's turned to shit.
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:52.640
Okay.
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.559
Um and well, I don't live there.
00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:57.279
No, I know.
00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:59.920
So I mean, and it turned to shit after I left.
00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:09.200
I go back and I I uh drive down the street in Seattle, and 70% of the storefronts or most vibrant places in my young life are boarded up.
00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:09.519
Yeah.
00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:15.200
Um, office buildings are empty, and and you can't do anything.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:26.720
You know, I'm here in Santa Fe, and you know, there are only there are fewer people live in in all of New Mexico than live in the Puget Sound Basin in Seattle.
00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:28.960
Uh, you can do something here.
00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:39.680
Uh we're working right now to embed the um uh state-paid universal childcare in the state.
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:49.759
And we decided that, yeah, we passed the legislation, but they don't know how it operates in Hobbes and in Las Cruces and in Farmington.
00:28:49.920 --> 00:29:03.440
So we put together teams to go out and introduce uh with legislators, city fathers and mothers, planning commission people, as well as providers, these are the rules for deploying that program.
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.599
Uh, because you'll be stunned to hear this in New Mexico.
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.359
There were planning departments who said, Oh, well, your house isn't zoned for that.
00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:12.240
No, no, no.
00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.960
The legislation took care of the zoning hurdle.
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:20.160
Sit down, shut up, and welcome a childcare facility in your community that's gonna look after your kids.
00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:31.599
We didn't quite put it that bluntly, but but you know, it's um yeah, having done this since I was 16, this is just like my playground.
00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.319
I can get so much done here.
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:39.200
And uh and it doesn't involve putting my name on a museum.
00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:39.519
Right.
00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:40.880
Uh that's not our thing.
00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:41.279
Right.
00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:41.759
Yeah, yeah.
00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:47.119
You know, years ago there was a uh baseball player by the name of Dang Dave Kingman, I think it was his name, his name.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.079
And he was uh home run uh you know leader in in his league at the time.
00:29:52.720 --> 00:30:02.400
And um the the I don't even know who he played for, but the statistic that popped out to me was he was the highest uh home run record, but he also had one of the highest strikeout records.
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:02.960
Yeah.
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:09.359
And it the the lesson I took away from that is unless you swing for the fences, you're you're not you're not gonna get very far.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:13.200
But it's okay to have a a strike uh you know strike out once in a while.
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:16.559
No because that it it it it the the the wins make up for it.
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:21.920
When I sign off on on uh emails to nonprofits, I say do nothing small.
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:23.759
Yeah.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.440
Uh that's a great attitude.
00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:25.839
Yeah.
00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:28.079
And and and and then do something.
00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:28.480
Yeah.
00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:33.039
Don't don't don't equivocate about it, don't talk about it, don't have committee meetings, just do it.
00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:54.160
Yeah, and you know, um in my family and and our business is about 150 years old, we spend far, far more time over dinner talking about our our follies, foibles, and fiascos, which are usually the result of hubris uh versus our triumphs, which are the act of a loving God, and we just say thank you and go spend the money.
00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:59.440
I mean my dad always used to say if you if you can make a mistake but learn from it.
00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:00.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:00.960
Yeah.
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:01.839
Mr.
00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:08.960
A, I would like to circle back to some of the uh things that came up for me when you were talking about your mentors.
00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:16.720
And it seems that many of them, um and you've even alluded to it, th their wisdom uh came through suffering.
00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:18.160
Yes, indeed.
00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:22.000
And um their goodness came through that.
00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:28.400
And it's not anything you ever wish on anybody, but it seems that that seems to be a pattern.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:30.880
Do you can you did you notice that with them?
00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:38.559
Or well, yeah, my my dad is probably, although, you know, Fred had a goddamn near run thing, and Walter certainly did.
00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:42.000
But you know, the um the resilience.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:45.200
I went broke long before it became fashionable.
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:51.200
And uh and I had to put a bunch of people from a factory my family had built in 1903 out on the street.
00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:54.799
And uh local newspaper said, Well, what would your father say?
00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:56.640
And my father would say, What of it?
00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:57.519
Keep going.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:00.960
And uh I think that's a vital part.
00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.920
I I was talking to MBA students at Stanford.
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:07.839
I said, fail early, fail often, fear fearlessly, and fail forward.
00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:09.359
Because you will fail.
00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:10.000
Sure, sure.
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.440
I like fail forward.
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:12.400
Fail forward.
00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:14.799
That was one of Juliana's axioms, actually.
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:15.279
Oh, really?
00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:17.039
Yeah, from a Unity Resources.
00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:17.359
Yeah.
00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:30.319
Yeah, it's um it's something we don't like to talk about, or or or it, it's you know, uh that's that's not a something that people brag about typically.
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:34.240
Well, one one of my mantras is shame is first cousin to a lie.
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:38.079
If I know what you are ashamed of, I can own you.
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.319
But if you project shamelessness, you can't be owned.
00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.000
Nobody will fuck with you.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:48.880
And that is some bulletproofitude that most people don't appreciate.
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:49.359
Yeah.
00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:49.839
Yeah.
00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.880
I mean, see it appears that you are in a wheelchair.
00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:53.519
I am.
00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:56.319
My dad was for quite a while, long story.
00:32:56.559 --> 00:33:04.160
Uh and yeah, there are people who might be uh reserved about a quote disability, unquote.
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.640
Boy, my dad, you couldn't keep him down.
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:07.680
He was going everywhere.
00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:10.960
My my attitude is just it's just a matter of more equipment.
00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:11.599
Yeah.
00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.079
Yeah.
00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:19.440
Or else as uh Heath Legger once said in uh Batman, whatever doesn't kill you just makes you stranger.
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:23.759
I like that.
00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:27.920
Yeah, well, when the weird uh when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:29.359
How do that stops it?
00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:43.279
Well, so with the number of organizations and directors you've worked with, are there any sort of um perennial problems that you see that that um that you would want to speak to?
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:57.279
Just sort of like broad wisdom sharing here for for someone who's thinking of starting their own entity and we we don't apply this universally, but if you've got a board of directors of much more than 10, um you're not a serious organization.
00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:58.400
Period, full stop.
00:33:58.480 --> 00:33:59.839
I don't know what Cooking with Kids has.
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:00.480
Oh, wow.
00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:00.960
Yeah, yeah.
00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:04.880
I serve on a board of 10, so I will float that.
00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.480
Why is that?
00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:07.039
Why is that?
00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:15.199
Well, um, I was the leader of an organization that took that made a major capital expenditure.
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:17.679
And we had a board of about 25.
00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:26.480
And the executive director and I said, the only way we're gonna make this work is if we have a tight committee controlling the project.
00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:32.079
Because if we ask everybody's opinion, we're gonna be there for a long damn time and it's not gonna generate any any results.
00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:41.599
Instead, we would come to the board of 20 and report their great success and shower them with glory for being associated with us and tell them to sit down and shut the fuck up.
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:43.360
Um, and most of them got it.
00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:46.159
I mean, you know, they they understood because they were experienced.
00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:56.559
Um, the other one, which I've seen a couple of failures in Santa Fe, and and Anna, your organization would not be among them, is two things.
00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:01.599
One is they don't prepare for a transition leadership.
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:14.079
And there was an organization in town that will go nameless who had a very, very powerful executive director, big footprint in the state, and they didn't prepare for this executive director's departure.
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:22.159
I remember I sat down with one of the board members and they were presenting a new strategic plan that they'd come up with without having hired the executive director.
00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:30.320
You know, I mean, I I I look for people who, you know, can't find their ass with both hands and a powerful flashlight and they qualified.
00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:32.639
Then why hire somebody if you've already solved it?
00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:33.360
Yeah.
00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:48.159
But uh you get people and you ensure that the that the expansion of the organization, not the continuity, but that they're going to honor where you're at and leverage off that into the next big thing.
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:49.679
Now you've got to win all around.
00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:50.239
Yeah.
00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:57.280
I want to just put a little uh note in here for folks who are maybe listening who don't really understand the structure of nonprofits.
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:08.320
It is it's a funky structure, and this is mandated by the IRS, but um all nonprofits are are ultimately governed by a board of directors who are all volunteers.
00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:12.639
The um and the their sole employee is the executive director.
00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:20.320
And so um it's a funky, it's a and people, you know, good, good people serve on boards.
00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:22.559
Um it's a volunteer gig.
00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:28.000
Yeah, one of the things, and and Anna, I think you and I have shared this, um, I serve on no boards.
00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:30.480
I I did that, been there, done that.
00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:41.119
But for the executive directors that work with our foundation, I'm the guy that they can come to and talk about things they can't talk with their board about because they are employed by the board.
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:48.559
No, no, I'm not employing them, but I have experience with a lot of the kind of challenges they're facing, and I think that's been productive over time.
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:49.599
Super helpful.
00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:59.119
And it's certainly nourishing for me because it keeps me current and contemporary on what the challenges that an executive director in a field that's precious to me are is facing.
00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:08.719
I mean, when in in my experience of advertising, the um the best work that we did was when we had maybe one or two people who were responsible for approving it.
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:09.199
Yeah.
00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:19.360
And there was an old um adage by uh an old uh advertising guy by the name of David Ogilvy, his agency still uh is in business.
00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:25.280
But uh it goes in all the towns and all the cities, there are no statues, two committees.
00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:33.039
I don't have any tattoos, Michael, but I may I may add that to the non-collection.
00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:34.960
And that's the way it is.
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:48.559
I mean, even even when um you know our little uh nonprofit docufilms, when we work with uh you know an another nonprofit, I always say we'll only report to two people, the ED, executive director, and their assistant.
00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:48.880
Yeah.
00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:49.519
And that's it.
00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:56.000
And it's not because I'm trying to cut people out, but you have to you have to have you have to talk to people who are empowered to make decisions.
00:37:56.239 --> 00:37:56.800
Yeah.
00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:10.320
Well, and and what we did when we were doing the Big Capital project, we showered all the board members with glory for something that their greatest contribution to was staying the hell out of the way.
00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:11.039
Yeah.
00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:12.400
That worked.
00:38:12.480 --> 00:38:12.639
Yeah.
00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:13.760
Everybody was happy.
00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:14.239
Yeah.
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:28.400
So um to to totally pivot into a different aspect of the doing good that you do, um, I'm curious uh what is the North Star or the constellation that sort of you set your moral compass by?
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:31.519
For some people it's myth, for some people it's spirituality.
00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:36.159
Where does your where is your north star rise?
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:42.800
Uh a guiding principle uh in my life and my company and my philanthropy is have fun, make money, and do right.
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:45.440
Everything we do must meet all three criteria.
00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:47.440
And the last one's the most important.
00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:54.960
And by have by make money, um, there are a lot of nonprofits that say, oh, well, you know, we're getting by on a shoestring.
00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:59.280
And I talked to a lot of people about are you providing health care for your employees?
00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:01.760
You know, are you paying a fair wage?
00:39:01.920 --> 00:39:08.239
Um, in order to do those basic things that other people would cry and snivel and white about, you got to have the money.
00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:10.880
And I think I've I've instigated fundraising.
00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:12.800
I don't know whether you're guilty about this or not.
00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:21.039
I've instigated fundraising for nonprofits to go out and ask for money not to, you know, take care of program, but to pay people fairly.
00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:27.599
Um, so you as a nonprofit, you must be fiscally responsible and fiscally solvent.
00:39:27.760 --> 00:39:28.880
And then have fun.
00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:30.800
What's more fun than making food?
00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:33.760
What's more fun than seeing, you know, kids?
00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:50.639
Uh, we we gave to um to uh communities at schools, and we did a fundraiser in one of their uh a young man came to uh the fundraiser who was 17 years old, he was a new father, and um he wanted to be a presence in the life of his family, which was an audible thing.
00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:54.159
And he said, Communities and schools taught me how to buy diapers.
00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:57.920
Well, you know, that's kind of a fun story.
00:39:58.239 --> 00:39:58.880
That's awesome.
00:39:59.039 --> 00:40:03.280
And then do right is is I think there's somebody talking about doing good here.
00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:10.639
You know, what what we do, you know, doesn't harm anything, and and you we want to get the maximum leverage in the doing of good.
00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:11.119
Yeah.
00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:24.000
Let me ask you, um you're you're you're pretty much a one one person organization with a I know you have some some help there, but do you have a continuity uh in uh in your mind in your mind?
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:27.119
I mean, let's see, how much of a story do I want to tell?
00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:32.000
First, um we have a fantastic executive director who must go nameless.
00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:32.320
Yeah.
00:40:32.639 --> 00:40:45.679
Um graduated from prep, uh went on to get a degree in anthropology from the Churchill School in uh London, and came back to Santa Fe.
00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:49.199
Like, what do I do with a degree in sociology or whatever the hell it is?
00:40:49.360 --> 00:40:50.800
Anthropology in Santa Fe.
00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:52.559
And I said, well, come to work for us.
00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:56.960
And um this young woman is just going like a house of fire.
00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:02.719
I uh you know, I'm I'm working myself out of jobs, and you do that by giving great people responsibility.
00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:05.679
Uh another year, she's gonna be able to do everything.
00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:10.880
Yeah, I I've I've I think I've met her, and um I she's a she's a dynamo.
00:41:11.199 --> 00:41:22.800
She's a dynamo, and um and in terms of continuity, uh when I die, uh the foundation will receive the bulk of my uh estate.
00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:28.239
Um the trustee for that is also CEO of my company.
00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:30.000
Uh he gets it.
00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:37.039
But uh lessons I've learned, my father tried to run the business from his grave, and and that's pretty stupid.
00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:40.880
What what the uh what the foundation does when I'm gone, I don't care.
00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:50.639
I know that that if I've done my job, they're instilled with shared values, and I understand that they are, but you know, people die, people get hit by trucks.
00:41:50.800 --> 00:41:58.320
Um CEO of my company called me one day about three years ago and said, I got hit by a truck on a bicycle trip in eastern Washington.
00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:00.000
Oh, okay, that's fine.
00:42:00.320 --> 00:42:01.920
But you're talking about it.
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:03.360
Well, yeah.
00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:09.360
I mean, uh one of my great one of my great mentors said, good news can wait, bad news has to be delivered immediately.
00:42:09.679 --> 00:42:10.079
Yeah.
00:42:10.480 --> 00:42:14.159
My grandfather used to say that cemeteries are filled with people who are irreplaceable.
00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:14.719
Yeah.
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:23.280
Well, and you know, in the course of being involved since really age 13 at a high level in a 150-year-old company, I've replaced lots of irreplaceable people.
00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:23.840
Yeah.
00:42:24.079 --> 00:42:28.000
And more times than not, it's gone well, sometimes it's gone badly.
00:42:28.159 --> 00:42:29.440
But you know, you keep going.
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:32.960
This has gone way, way, way too quickly.
00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:40.880
Well, it's it's been a joy, if nothing else, to contribute to the ethos of those who you are engaging in doing good.
00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:41.599
Thank you.
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:42.320
Thank you so much.
00:42:42.559 --> 00:42:43.519
And thank you for being part of that.
00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:44.000
Thank you.
00:42:44.639 --> 00:42:46.480
Thank you for thank you for being here today.
00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:50.639
This is a a really uh this is a unique and lively conversation.
00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:52.079
It was, it was.
00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:52.960
That only Mr.
00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:53.920
A can bring.
00:42:55.280 --> 00:42:57.199
Don't send us letters, send him.
00:42:58.639 --> 00:42:59.679
But you can't find him.
00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:00.559
Thank you.
00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:01.360
Thank you, everybody.
00:43:01.599 --> 00:43:02.400
Thank you.
00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:16.800
Interested in learning more or to join in the conversation or to share a story about someone you know who is doing good, visit us online at doinggood.fm.
00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:19.199
That's doinggood.fm.
00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:33.360
This episode of Doing Good is a production of Docky Films, a three time Emmy Award winning production company based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, dedicated to the power of documentary film as a force for change.
00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:11.199
Welcome to Doing Good, a podcast about the people, organizations, and companies creating positive change.
00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:28.399
Co-hosted by Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Campbell, Anna Farrier with over twenty years in the nonprofit world of northern New Mexico, and myself, Gabriella Marks, photographer and visual storyteller with a focus on people doing good things.
00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:38.159
In a world where so much is measured by likes, followers, and recognition, what does it mean to give without anyone ever knowing?
00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:44.640
Today's guest has spent years supporting organizations and people without seeking credit or applause.
00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.000
Today we'll explore a simple but profound question.
00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:52.479
Is goodness at its purest when no one knows who did it?
00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:56.000
So, Mr.
00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.479
A, I would like to welcome you here today.
00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.079
We we've all agreed that Mr.
00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:03.439
A will be your uh your gnome de gur for the day.
00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:06.640
Gabriella, always a joy to be together with you.
00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:07.920
You do so many wonderful things.
00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:10.159
Well, we are so thrilled to have you here.
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:18.400
And I I want to begin by us these are for the podcast Doing Good, we're having a series of conversations about the art, the act of doing good.
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:22.480
And I wanted to ask you your sort of doing good origin story.
00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:25.599
Where did your impulse to do good things come from?
00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:32.000
Well, you know, uh the the old expression is to whom uh much is given, much is expected.
00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:38.560
And my family's been uh in the United States since uh 1696 and enjoyed some success.
00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:46.000
And then uh here in the West, my great-grandfather came west in 1869, and the West has been very good to us.
00:01:46.159 --> 00:01:57.920
I have lived in many different places, had close association with a lot of the West, and seen, uh, as particularly here in New Mexico, uh, an enormous amount of need.
00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:06.640
And uh is here, uh, there are many examples of great agents for doing good in New Mexico.
00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:19.439
Uh I tell every development director, you're not begging for money, you're offering me to fulfill a dream that I have that I haven't either the time or the talent to do through the work of your organization.
00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:25.360
And uh our connection with uh people doing good in New Mexico has been enormously rewarding.
00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:28.080
I I'm gonna I'm gonna push a little bit though.
00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:29.120
Where did that come from, though?
00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:33.520
Was that in is that like that deep um desire to help?
00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:34.800
Did that come from your family?
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.439
Were you a man?
00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:36.960
I am a Western man.
00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:38.240
King Good.
00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:46.960
In the West of 1879, when my family arrived in in Washington state, people helped one another.
00:02:47.840 --> 00:03:01.680
And uh my my grandfather organized the poor farm in the community where we lived during the depression, which was uh an exercise in self-sufficiency for people who were wiped out by the depression.
00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:07.599
Um so that that that spirit has always been upon me, not so much.
00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:14.000
Well, my family is a response to being pioneers in the West, and pioneers got to look after one another.
00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.560
Yeah, so this is it's in your blood.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:16.960
Yeah.
00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:17.840
Yeah, yeah.
00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:20.719
Well, we're all rather grateful for that.
00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:22.719
Let's explain what Mr.
00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:32.000
AA is for anonymous, because we're respecting this guest anonymity, and um you're trying not to flub and and say your actual name.
00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:51.599
So um from my well, let me be clenched from our fists or um I'd I'd love to um uh ask you to describe in in however much granular detail you'd like some of the some of the projects you've been a part of here, some of what is what is your doing good here in New Mexico looked like?
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.879
Well, um my foundation started during the time of COVID.
00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:08.159
And uh one of the other features of being uh a Western man, maybe sexist, but whatever, um, is moving with ferocious velocity.
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.439
And I give you an example, I was thinking of this coming out here.
00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:25.120
During COVID, uh the doctors from uh Shiprock, uh the Indian Health Service Hospital, would come down and stay at my home when they were meeting with the National Guard uh here in Santa Fe.
00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:31.040
And um they were seeing death rates among the Danae that were off the charts.
00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:32.399
I said, well, why is that?
00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:41.120
And so, well, they live in Hogan ranches, and there are often multiple generations, a lot of people living in the sum space, and they don't have water to wash their hands.
00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:52.240
Um, so I made about four phone calls and wrote a few checks, and within 72 hours, we had a water delivery system set up to bring water to the Danae and the Deep Ress.
00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:57.199
And then that was expanded by the people who are running it to include firewood and coal.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:01.680
Um we like to move with ferocious velocity.
00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:14.079
Uh as Anna can tell you, we like to be the first check in the door, not the biggest check, but the one that ignites the capacity of a nonprofit to raise more money.
00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:19.040
Uh Anna had an initiative up in Espanyola, needed a certain amount of money to get it done.
00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.040
I said, okay, we'll give you the first money.
00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:26.480
And from our perspective, I can't write the biggest checks in town, but I can write the first checks.
00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:31.920
And I put them in the hands of people like Anna who can go out and raise more money off that base.
00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:36.000
And uh she, as usual, exceeded our wildest expectations.
00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:40.399
Not only got her program open in Espanola, but raised enough to open in Las Vegas.
00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:41.920
These are really good bets.
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:44.160
I I want to chime in here.
00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:56.639
The fact that we have worked together, not only, and this is a note, a personal note about you, is yes, you all you write the check, but one of the best things I ever got from you was advice.
00:05:57.759 --> 00:05:58.240
Really?
00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:02.160
Like serious and also um moral support.
00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:02.480
Yeah.
00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:07.519
Because I, anyone who's tried to raise money anywhere, it's hard.
00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:13.040
And you put yourself out on the line, and it's not something that I think a lot of people enjoy doing.
00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:21.759
You can you can come to it, but you helped me understand a different way of of approaching fundraising.
00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:23.360
It was we were partners.
00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:30.240
It wasn't a person uh because a lot of nonprofit I think people feel like they're we're needy.
00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:31.199
We need your help.
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:40.399
We need, you know, that and the idea that uh we are partners addressing this issue together, we're all bringing resources to this.
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:59.600
And um you just really helped me with that and and a personal um non-judgmental uh relationship with a significant donor and and kind of helped me, you know, navigate what that looked like beyond you with others.
00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:01.600
And that was equally important.
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.759
And um, you know, I think those are you you don't just write a check, you bring your whole self.
00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.279
Well, I've been doing this.
00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.319
Uh I was joined my first nonprofit board when I was 16.
00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.079
Oh my gosh, talk about that.
00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:16.240
Don't laugh so hard to make me feel old.
00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:17.519
Wait, I gotta first out.
00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:19.759
Who asked a 16-year-old?
00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.319
Well, that's what I want to know more.
00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:27.120
Um, but I don't give advice, I share experience.
00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:27.680
Uh-huh.
00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:34.720
And the the good news and bad news about having been at it this long is I have a lot of experience, most of it bad.
00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:42.560
But the the fundraising model that I described to you, you're not begging for money, you're fulfilling a dream of mine.
00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:55.120
And and you know this story, and you may cut this out, but um uh I grew up an only child of older parents in a small town and where we were a lot more prosperous than everybody else.
00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:59.759
And I didn't integrate with the rest of the of the uh my age group.
00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:01.920
So I thought I was never gonna get laid.
00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:13.040
And my my godmother, who uh was a Holocaust survivor and uh graduate of Cotom bleu, taught me to cook when I was 12 years old.
00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:24.240
And later I wrote what was gonna be a pamphlet or an article for Playboy called The Five Recipes Every Young Man Should Know, in order to uh I say get laid, I forgot.
00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:29.279
But food has been an important part of my maturation.
00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:29.759
Yeah.
00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:43.279
Uh and I wouldn't suggest that cooking with kids is teaching young men or young women how to get laid, but um, you know, the learning to cook is adding to the confidence of a young person.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:49.360
And we we did a uh a fundraiser, and you had one of your graduates doing the cooking.
00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:51.200
And what that kid's 18 years old?
00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.639
Oh, he's well at the time pretty close, yeah, maybe 20.
00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:59.840
And he's moving among adults and working with serious chefs.
00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:06.559
Um you know, we we never give enough credit to young people for how smart they can be.
00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:06.960
Yeah.
00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:12.960
And when we invite them to be smart, they invariably rise above our wildest expectations.
00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:15.440
And boy, we're working on a program now.
00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:16.240
Can I digress?
00:09:16.559 --> 00:09:17.919
You certainly can.
00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:28.159
So Global Santa Fe, um, with Stuart Ashman, uh, who uh was born, I think, in Cuba, sent a bunch of uh New Mexican kids down to Cuba.
00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:34.559
And these were not kids from PrEP and the Academy, these were off the reservation in the Pueblo and all over the place.
00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:41.279
And these young people went to Havana and were engaged without putting a label on it in citizen diplomacy.
00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:53.360
And they came back fired up to the hilt about what they could project and receive in the lives of people in a pretty distressed environment.
00:09:53.600 --> 00:10:06.240
So that inspired us to work with Global Santa Fe to create an undergraduate degree at a university here in New Mexico in diplomacy.
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:18.799
And the idea is that we wanted to feed uh later Harvard School of Government and Johns Hopkins with uh young people from New Mexico who grew up in a multilingual, multicultural environment.
00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:25.840
And the notion was by about 2050 to flood Latin America with New Mexican-born and bred diplomats.
00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:28.960
Um struggles along the way.
00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:30.720
We're we're working on it, we're getting there.
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:36.240
But uh, you know, that's just a response to the enthusiasm of the young people for the opportunity.
00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:36.799
Yeah.
00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:37.360
Yeah.
00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:46.320
You know, one of the going just circling back to cooking with kids, I mean, one of the things that I really loved was that they created this thing called uh Healthy Futures Society.
00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:46.960
Yeah.
00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:59.200
And, you know, um I I've I've been a proponent of making that, you know, their their basically reason to be because and and you said, you know, what makes me happy giving money to you know a cause.
00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:22.399
I'm I'll I'll invest in healthy futures because because it's not just you know investing in um enough spring you know green beans for the year, but it's it's it's that what you're you know, building building kids and projecting them out into lives and and futures and businesses and and and causes that that are much bigger than the original mission that they came out of.
00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:22.960
Yeah.
00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.440
And it it's it's a legacy.
00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:25.919
Yeah.
00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:32.320
You know, looking when you talk about the end result of something being in 2050, that's a long game.
00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:48.240
And I think uh it is, particularly in the nonprofit sector, I think we are um uh subject to things like uh short timelines, expectations for change very quickly, and chasing grants.
00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:59.120
Well, yeah, and that you know, and it within a couple of years showing results, showing impact, which of course is important, but for true lasting impact, it takes decades.
00:11:59.279 --> 00:11:59.440
Yeah.
00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:08.159
And for folks to recognize that and um support that, you know, that's a paradigm shift in the nonprofit sector, but we're starting to see more of it.
00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:15.039
And and when folks like you can lead the way, and then you know, we can talk about that.
00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.720
Well, there are people here who are thinking big picture, long-term change.
00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.919
Is that part of your your your your screening process?
00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.639
How you know is this going to be something that is going to be long-lasting?
00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:37.840
Well, so the rigorous screening process um involves zero pages, and I I tend to revolt when people walk in the door with an 18-page proposal because I don't read that much.
00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:44.159
I want to understand your character, and I want to understand the character that's represented within your organization.
00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:47.360
And I've been doing that side of life since I was 13.
00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:59.759
Um, and then, you know, we to Anna's point, uh, we like to make, we like you to identify a program that needs support for three years.
00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:03.600
And three years is about a reasonable amount of time to get something off the ground.
00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:11.519
We give a three-year commitment, uh, A, so you can raise money off that, and we want to propagate that in the donor community.
00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:17.919
Because as much as I like Anna, the last thing I want to do is have to sit down with her every year and find out what the hell's going on.
00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:28.960
Uh, I like it when she tells me, but the other feature, and you know, I was at a conference and and this guy told me about his rigorous application process.
00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:31.360
I said, Well, what's your average grant size?
00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:32.960
He said,$5,000.
00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:34.000
Oh my God.
00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:43.840
You know, people had to submit a stool sample, a sperm sample, a blood sample, a saliva sample to get$5,000, and they had to do it every year.
00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.440
I mean, as a philanthropist, that's nuts.
00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:58.159
You know, you want to invest in great people, whether it's it's in production, whether it's in photography, or whether it's philanthropy, and just set them off and go.
00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:07.840
Yeah, and uh what you're uh describing in a way is there's a a trend now that we're seeing more often, which is wonderful.
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:09.840
It's called trust-based philanthropy.
00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:11.840
And you and you've done that all along.
00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:13.519
Yeah, explain explain that.
00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:24.000
Rather than the onerous uh cycle of writing a grant uh application and then reporting on it, it's more relationship-based.
00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.679
So as a grant maker, kind of like what what Mr.
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:51.679
A just described, is getting to know the organization and uh seeing the work that they do, and then um for yourself seeing what the results are, because uh particularly now with AI, um it's easy to spin a tail in a proposal or a report, but show me what you're doing.
00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:59.039
And then the the donor, the philanthropist, the grant maker is a is an equal partner in the process as well.
00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:06.240
So it's moving away from um that you know, but uh it's it's like writing a book report in high school.
00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:15.279
And and some people are very skilled at it and others aren't, so it excludes organizations or folks who maybe don't have those skills or don't have a grant writer on staff.
00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:25.200
You know, it it's it's it skews the the um the awards towards organizations that are more well resourced or who happen to have staff who know how to do that.
00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:26.720
So a good grant writer.
00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.720
Yeah, yeah, it's a really it's a great trend and um I'm seeing more and more of it.
00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:40.960
But when we have folks who do this, it we can point to and say, look, other people are doing this who really are, you know, um discerning in their philanthropy.
00:15:41.039 --> 00:15:50.639
So well if you if you um being anonymous, you know, uh you you have to be really uh connected to the community that you're in.
00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:59.519
I mean, because you know you you can't you know, people are gonna knock on your door and say, Please can I have money, you have to be able to sort them out and recognize them yourself.
00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:08.399
Well, uh I I think you know, I I I moved here to Santa Fe back during the reign of Tiberius.
00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:17.919
And um I tell all my friends that in Santa Fe, everybody's interested in what you're doing, interested in sharing what they're doing, and interested in lifting one another up.
00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:18.320
Yeah.
00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.919
It's it's a great community for a natural maven.
00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:34.000
And I I think you ask a very good question, but the truth of the matter is that when you when people, I mean, I'm here because I was recognized as a maven and a connector.
00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:46.159
And uh, and hopefully through my voice about how we approach philanthropy, I will influence other philanthropists uh to go and seek out anonymous and and for us to work together.
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:58.960
Um you know, during the time of COVID, things were moving, well, the the harm was was moving so fast that we just went assholes in elbows to try and get people help and a lot of different things.
00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:01.360
So we did all kinds of cool stuff.
00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:10.640
Um but we had a hell of a time finding other organizations that were motivated to move at the velocity that we were moving.
00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:17.039
And we we reached out to a number of them at the start of COVID and then finally said, fuck it, we'll just keep going.
00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:19.039
And you know, catch this catch can.
00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:21.200
And it we did a lot of good work.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:26.000
So I'm I'm proud of the fact that uh that our velocity served needs.
00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:28.319
I think it's called doing good, isn't it?
00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:29.680
It is.
00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:41.279
But uh you're you're pointing to also the the when something like that, uh like this acute issue comes up, like you need nimbleness, you need to be able to move quickly.
00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.400
And so many of our institutions just don't do that.
00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.960
So Well, I I think you make a very good point.
00:17:47.119 --> 00:18:02.960
And you know, since then, um, for example, uh right after the election, we met with all of our grant recipients and said, how much uh money are you getting from the feds?
00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:06.079
And and we got varying responses.
00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:16.559
And I said, Well, do you have the capacity to either reduce programs immediately to make up for those lost funds, or go out to uh get additional funds?
00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.839
And uh, let's see, how much of this story can I tell?
00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:24.960
Um, one of the organizations that we work with, we did a fundraiser for them.
00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:30.880
Uh and they were down a little bit in their budget and they were getting money from the feds, pretty big organization.
00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:40.160
And we did a fundraiser, and I said, You want to put a thumb in Agent Orange's eye, keep something alive that he wants to kill, like small brown children.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.920
And we raised$250,000 for that organization that night.
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:44.480
Wow.
00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:50.240
And um, you know, we can cry and sivel and whine about you know the funding being cut for a lot of things.
00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:55.200
No, this is the moment when if you believe in something, uh you need to step up.
00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:55.519
Yeah.
00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:10.480
And I remember during the first reign of Agent Orange, um I spoke to a group and I said, look, you know, in this room, a lot of you, every one of you, every one of us is going to get about a$20,000 a year tax cut, more or less.
00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:16.880
I said, if you believe in something, then you have the money now to put behind your belief.
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:17.359
Right.
00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:25.920
If you believe that that uh government can do more than you, well, you you need to step into the place of government.
00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:29.279
But either way, you have$20,000 to give away, give it away.
00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:30.160
Exactly.
00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:31.599
It's found money.
00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:32.160
Yeah.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:32.400
Yeah.
00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:36.720
Um in this era, I think, especially in the U.S.
00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:47.599
of a pretty incredible wealth disparity, there are those who seek to sort of mitigate what they might perceive as negative PR by funding a hospital wing or something like that.
00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.119
Why anonymous?
00:19:49.680 --> 00:20:01.519
Well, I think probably a militant desire not to quest for our name on hospital wings.
00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:03.039
I've been doing this for a while.
00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:04.240
That's all bullshit.
00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:08.880
I welcome the people who put their name on hospital wings, but we give virtually no money to capital.
00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:15.119
We are the the emergent initial source of money to make something work.
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:23.279
And uh, if you think that the COVID panic is behind us, the Agent Orange panic is is upon us.
00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.599
That was one the other day that emerged.
00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:31.039
And now is the time for philanthropy to move with ferocious velocity.
00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:34.960
Because without that, programs and things that we care about will perish.
00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:35.680
Sure.
00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:36.079
Sure.
00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.319
There's not there's not time to wait until things settle and then come back and help.
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:40.799
Yeah.
00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:50.079
So um this is this goes back to something that Anna said, which is, you know, you not only provided money, but you provided advice.
00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:58.160
Mentorship has to be an important part of this, you know, because money can only go so far without without good guidance and without good advice.
00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.480
Well, it's it's not advice, it's shared experience.
00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.440
Shared experience.
00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:10.000
You know, I I've I've fucked up so many things that I I have uh observations about how to uh uh how to avoid pitfalls.
00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:10.559
Yes.
00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:24.240
So um, but yeah, and and the great news is because we have such a high concentration of really smart executive directors in New Mexico, um, that it's it's a joy to spend time with them.
00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.759
And it it's really a nourishment that goes both ways.
00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:38.880
Uh when I'm sitting with with Sean McQueen of Global Santa Fe, uh I may be sharing ideas with her, but that woman has a background in international affairs that is non-parallel.
00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:42.319
She spent a bunch of time in parts of Africa where I was.
00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:54.160
And she has perspectives that add to my uh intelligence in in how I uh approach not only her challenges, but collaterally the challenges of others.
00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:57.359
Do you um look at it from an ROI?
00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:58.079
Pardon?
00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.799
Do you look at your investment as An ROI.
00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:02.720
Oh, I'll I'll tell you a great story.
00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:14.960
Um at the outset of COVID, I gave$5,000 to, I don't know, 10 close friends, and I said, who didn't have a lot of money.
00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:17.599
And I said, now you're a philanthropist.
00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:29.519
And uh one of those split it between uh two sons, and one of the sons went out and bought a potter's wheel with his$2,500.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:36.720
And he and a buddy made uh pots that they sold at the farmer's market for$8,000.
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:46.240
And it wasn't the biggest amount of money I ever seen, but this is a kid who's not yet in college, who was out there doing grassroots philanthropy.
00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:50.319
And so, I mean, that's my highest ROI project.
00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.559
It's a pretty good investment.
00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:53.359
Yeah.
00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.960
Well, and you want to see that.
00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:03.119
I mean, you know, when we made the the ignition grant to uh to Anna, that she was able to expand that footprint in Las Vegas.
00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:05.519
Oh, you want to see that every day.
00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:06.319
Yeah.
00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:09.599
We we have a Las Vegas and New Mexico, by the way, for those new.
00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:10.559
That's right.
00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:12.240
But it's not it's not going towards Rulas.
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.480
There's another Las Vegas.
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:17.279
I think ours is the first, I've been told, but who knows?
00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:17.440
Yeah.
00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.480
Doc Harris is the first Vegas.
00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:24.000
Should we use this little pause right now to take a break?
00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:24.480
Sure.
00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:25.599
Okay.
00:23:25.759 --> 00:23:27.599
I'm wearing depends, I should be fine.
00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:30.240
Well, we'll be right back.
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.680
Know someone who's doing good in your community?
00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:37.759
We'd love to hear their story.
00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.640
Visit doinggood.fm and tell us about someone who's making a difference.
00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.680
That's doinggood.fm.
00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:48.160
And we're back.
00:23:49.119 --> 00:24:00.079
So to turn the tables, I was wondering if you could share a story with us of someone who mentored you or who where did you learn the, you know, to do things the way you do them?
00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:06.480
I had uh I had four great mentors in my life.
00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:18.079
One was my father, uh who was 57 when I was born, and uh led a very colorful life, uh, had a child die when she was 11.
00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:30.160
Uh, he went broke during the depression, uh, left his family kind of bye bye, took up with a very colorful mistress, uh, was in a horrific automobile accident from which he was the only survivor.
00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:34.160
And when I was 13, I asked my dad if there was anything about his life he would change.
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:35.759
He said, absolutely nothing.
00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.000
It all made me who I am.
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:45.519
And that gift to me was to live a life completely free of regret.
00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:49.200
And Gabriella, you know a few of my follies in life.
00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:54.720
Um so to live a life free of regret and to be genuinely free of regret is amazing.
00:24:55.039 --> 00:25:02.720
And then uh uh my buddy Fred Haley was um was president of the Brown Haley company in uh up in Washington.
00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:04.559
Uh they made almond roca.
00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:19.039
And he came back to the family business, and he he came back after the Second World War, having survived a few near brushes with death, and he said, I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna work, but I want the family to support the philanthropic philanthropic direction that I set.
00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:20.319
And they did.
00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:28.000
And among the things that Fred did was um uh start a college uh up in Washington.
00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:37.039
Uh he was um he and I were in Russia together, and he brought a bag full of Levi Levi's and record albums.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:41.039
And we went to the high school that taught all the cultural diplomacy.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:46.720
We went to the high school that taught all those KGB agents kids, and he just gave me the shit.
00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:49.359
I just kind of subversive.
00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:50.400
Yeah, right.
00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:53.519
I mean, uh, we're on Vladimir Putin's list.
00:25:53.759 --> 00:26:03.119
And then uh Daniel Evans, who was the three-term governor of the state of Washington, um uh was just a very close friend of my family.
00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:15.039
And and Dan memorably, among things, uh, when the uh Southeast Asian diaspora was looking for a place to live, uh, Jerry Brown in California, the governor at that time, said, I don't want him here.
00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.480
And I I weep every time I tell a story.
00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:24.079
Dan Evans said, hasn't that son of a bitch read the line at the base of the Statue of Liberty?
00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:31.440
And Washington welcomed the diaspora and the economic growth and and expansion that Southeast Asians contributed.
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:40.160
And the last guy was uh Walter Franke, who was the founder of the Francke Stainless Steel Sink Company in Switzerland, a partner of my family.
00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:46.000
And um and Walter was the most driven executive I've ever seen.
00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:52.160
The guy worked, you know, 30 hours a day, but he was also uh a great patron of the arts.
00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:55.759
In all of his facilities, there were artworks that he had chosen.
00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:56.880
He knew the artists.
00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:02.640
When you'd go to a party at his house, you'd be there with a whole bunch of artists and rapacious capitalists.
00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:05.920
And um, sounds a little bit like a party at my house.
00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:15.680
But these were these were people of an era, you know, we'll call it the 60s, who uh were pioneers in doing good.
00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:17.039
Dan Evans is a Republican.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:20.960
I refer to myself today as a Dan Evans Republican, which you know frightens people.
00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:24.480
But uh, you know, he was social liberal, fiscal conservative.
00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:25.839
What's wrong with that?
00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:26.880
Yeah.
00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:28.400
Let me ask you a question.
00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:38.079
It was gonna sound a little bit off off topic, but you know, you live in Santa Fe now, and you you know a lot of your upbringing in terms of your philanthropic life was in Washington.
00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:46.000
What what do you see the differences between you know operating in in Santa Fe and you know and and in Washington?
00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:52.000
Well, I mean, without putting too fine a point on it, Washington's turned to shit.
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:52.640
Okay.
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.559
Um and well, I don't live there.
00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:57.279
No, I know.
00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:59.920
So I mean, and it turned to shit after I left.
00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:09.200
I go back and I I uh drive down the street in Seattle, and 70% of the storefronts or most vibrant places in my young life are boarded up.
00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:09.519
Yeah.
00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:15.200
Um, office buildings are empty, and and you can't do anything.
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:26.720
You know, I'm here in Santa Fe, and you know, there are only there are fewer people live in in all of New Mexico than live in the Puget Sound Basin in Seattle.
00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:28.960
Uh, you can do something here.
00:28:29.359 --> 00:28:39.680
Uh we're working right now to embed the um uh state-paid universal childcare in the state.
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:49.759
And we decided that, yeah, we passed the legislation, but they don't know how it operates in Hobbes and in Las Cruces and in Farmington.
00:28:49.920 --> 00:29:03.440
So we put together teams to go out and introduce uh with legislators, city fathers and mothers, planning commission people, as well as providers, these are the rules for deploying that program.
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.599
Uh, because you'll be stunned to hear this in New Mexico.
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.359
There were planning departments who said, Oh, well, your house isn't zoned for that.
00:29:11.519 --> 00:29:12.240
No, no, no.
00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:14.960
The legislation took care of the zoning hurdle.
00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:20.160
Sit down, shut up, and welcome a childcare facility in your community that's gonna look after your kids.
00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:31.599
We didn't quite put it that bluntly, but but you know, it's um yeah, having done this since I was 16, this is just like my playground.
00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:34.319
I can get so much done here.
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:39.200
And uh and it doesn't involve putting my name on a museum.
00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:39.519
Right.
00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:40.880
Uh that's not our thing.
00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:41.279
Right.
00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:41.759
Yeah, yeah.
00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:47.119
You know, years ago there was a uh baseball player by the name of Dang Dave Kingman, I think it was his name, his name.
00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:52.079
And he was uh home run uh you know leader in in his league at the time.
00:29:52.720 --> 00:30:02.400
And um the the I don't even know who he played for, but the statistic that popped out to me was he was the highest uh home run record, but he also had one of the highest strikeout records.
00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:02.960
Yeah.
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:09.359
And it the the lesson I took away from that is unless you swing for the fences, you're you're not you're not gonna get very far.
00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:13.200
But it's okay to have a a strike uh you know strike out once in a while.
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:16.559
No because that it it it it the the the wins make up for it.
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:21.920
When I sign off on on uh emails to nonprofits, I say do nothing small.
00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:23.759
Yeah.
00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.440
Uh that's a great attitude.
00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:25.839
Yeah.
00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:28.079
And and and and then do something.
00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:28.480
Yeah.
00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:33.039
Don't don't don't equivocate about it, don't talk about it, don't have committee meetings, just do it.
00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:54.160
Yeah, and you know, um in my family and and our business is about 150 years old, we spend far, far more time over dinner talking about our our follies, foibles, and fiascos, which are usually the result of hubris uh versus our triumphs, which are the act of a loving God, and we just say thank you and go spend the money.
00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:59.440
I mean my dad always used to say if you if you can make a mistake but learn from it.
00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:00.480
Yeah, yeah.
00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:00.960
Yeah.
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:01.839
Mr.
00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:08.960
A, I would like to circle back to some of the uh things that came up for me when you were talking about your mentors.
00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:16.720
And it seems that many of them, um and you've even alluded to it, th their wisdom uh came through suffering.
00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:18.160
Yes, indeed.
00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:22.000
And um their goodness came through that.
00:31:22.160 --> 00:31:28.400
And it's not anything you ever wish on anybody, but it seems that that seems to be a pattern.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:30.880
Do you can you did you notice that with them?
00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:38.559
Or well, yeah, my my dad is probably, although, you know, Fred had a goddamn near run thing, and Walter certainly did.
00:31:38.720 --> 00:31:42.000
But you know, the um the resilience.
00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:45.200
I went broke long before it became fashionable.
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:51.200
And uh and I had to put a bunch of people from a factory my family had built in 1903 out on the street.
00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:54.799
And uh local newspaper said, Well, what would your father say?
00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:56.640
And my father would say, What of it?
00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:57.519
Keep going.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:00.960
And uh I think that's a vital part.
00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.920
I I was talking to MBA students at Stanford.
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:07.839
I said, fail early, fail often, fear fearlessly, and fail forward.
00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:09.359
Because you will fail.
00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:10.000
Sure, sure.
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.440
I like fail forward.
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:12.400
Fail forward.
00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:14.799
That was one of Juliana's axioms, actually.
00:32:15.039 --> 00:32:15.279
Oh, really?
00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:17.039
Yeah, from a Unity Resources.
00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:17.359
Yeah.
00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:30.319
Yeah, it's um it's something we don't like to talk about, or or or it, it's you know, uh that's that's not a something that people brag about typically.
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:34.240
Well, one one of my mantras is shame is first cousin to a lie.
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:38.079
If I know what you are ashamed of, I can own you.
00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:42.319
But if you project shamelessness, you can't be owned.
00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.000
Nobody will fuck with you.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:48.880
And that is some bulletproofitude that most people don't appreciate.
00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:49.359
Yeah.
00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:49.839
Yeah.
00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:52.880
I mean, see it appears that you are in a wheelchair.
00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:53.519
I am.
00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:56.319
My dad was for quite a while, long story.
00:32:56.559 --> 00:33:04.160
Uh and yeah, there are people who might be uh reserved about a quote disability, unquote.
00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:06.640
Boy, my dad, you couldn't keep him down.
00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:07.680
He was going everywhere.
00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:10.960
My my attitude is just it's just a matter of more equipment.
00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:11.599
Yeah.
00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.079
Yeah.
00:33:14.160 --> 00:33:19.440
Or else as uh Heath Legger once said in uh Batman, whatever doesn't kill you just makes you stranger.
00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:23.759
I like that.
00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:27.920
Yeah, well, when the weird uh when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:29.359
How do that stops it?
00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:43.279
Well, so with the number of organizations and directors you've worked with, are there any sort of um perennial problems that you see that that um that you would want to speak to?
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:57.279
Just sort of like broad wisdom sharing here for for someone who's thinking of starting their own entity and we we don't apply this universally, but if you've got a board of directors of much more than 10, um you're not a serious organization.
00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:58.400
Period, full stop.
00:33:58.480 --> 00:33:59.839
I don't know what Cooking with Kids has.
00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:00.480
Oh, wow.
00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:00.960
Yeah, yeah.
00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:04.880
I serve on a board of 10, so I will float that.
00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:06.480
Why is that?
00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:07.039
Why is that?
00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:15.199
Well, um, I was the leader of an organization that took that made a major capital expenditure.
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:17.679
And we had a board of about 25.
00:34:17.840 --> 00:34:26.480
And the executive director and I said, the only way we're gonna make this work is if we have a tight committee controlling the project.
00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:32.079
Because if we ask everybody's opinion, we're gonna be there for a long damn time and it's not gonna generate any any results.
00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:41.599
Instead, we would come to the board of 20 and report their great success and shower them with glory for being associated with us and tell them to sit down and shut the fuck up.
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:43.360
Um, and most of them got it.
00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:46.159
I mean, you know, they they understood because they were experienced.
00:34:46.800 --> 00:34:56.559
Um, the other one, which I've seen a couple of failures in Santa Fe, and and Anna, your organization would not be among them, is two things.
00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:01.599
One is they don't prepare for a transition leadership.
00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:14.079
And there was an organization in town that will go nameless who had a very, very powerful executive director, big footprint in the state, and they didn't prepare for this executive director's departure.
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:22.159
I remember I sat down with one of the board members and they were presenting a new strategic plan that they'd come up with without having hired the executive director.
00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:30.320
You know, I mean, I I I look for people who, you know, can't find their ass with both hands and a powerful flashlight and they qualified.
00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:32.639
Then why hire somebody if you've already solved it?
00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:33.360
Yeah.
00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:48.159
But uh you get people and you ensure that the that the expansion of the organization, not the continuity, but that they're going to honor where you're at and leverage off that into the next big thing.
00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:49.679
Now you've got to win all around.
00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:50.239
Yeah.
00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:57.280
I want to just put a little uh note in here for folks who are maybe listening who don't really understand the structure of nonprofits.
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:08.320
It is it's a funky structure, and this is mandated by the IRS, but um all nonprofits are are ultimately governed by a board of directors who are all volunteers.
00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:12.639
The um and the their sole employee is the executive director.
00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:20.320
And so um it's a funky, it's a and people, you know, good, good people serve on boards.
00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:22.559
Um it's a volunteer gig.
00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:28.000
Yeah, one of the things, and and Anna, I think you and I have shared this, um, I serve on no boards.
00:36:28.480 --> 00:36:30.480
I I did that, been there, done that.
00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:41.119
But for the executive directors that work with our foundation, I'm the guy that they can come to and talk about things they can't talk with their board about because they are employed by the board.
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:48.559
No, no, I'm not employing them, but I have experience with a lot of the kind of challenges they're facing, and I think that's been productive over time.
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:49.599
Super helpful.
00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:59.119
And it's certainly nourishing for me because it keeps me current and contemporary on what the challenges that an executive director in a field that's precious to me are is facing.
00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:08.719
I mean, when in in my experience of advertising, the um the best work that we did was when we had maybe one or two people who were responsible for approving it.
00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:09.199
Yeah.
00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:19.360
And there was an old um adage by uh an old uh advertising guy by the name of David Ogilvy, his agency still uh is in business.
00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:25.280
But uh it goes in all the towns and all the cities, there are no statues, two committees.
00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:33.039
I don't have any tattoos, Michael, but I may I may add that to the non-collection.
00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:34.960
And that's the way it is.
00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:48.559
I mean, even even when um you know our little uh nonprofit docufilms, when we work with uh you know an another nonprofit, I always say we'll only report to two people, the ED, executive director, and their assistant.
00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:48.880
Yeah.
00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:49.519
And that's it.
00:37:49.599 --> 00:37:56.000
And it's not because I'm trying to cut people out, but you have to you have to have you have to talk to people who are empowered to make decisions.
00:37:56.239 --> 00:37:56.800
Yeah.
00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:10.320
Well, and and what we did when we were doing the Big Capital project, we showered all the board members with glory for something that their greatest contribution to was staying the hell out of the way.
00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:11.039
Yeah.
00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:12.400
That worked.
00:38:12.480 --> 00:38:12.639
Yeah.
00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:13.760
Everybody was happy.
00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:14.239
Yeah.
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:28.400
So um to to totally pivot into a different aspect of the doing good that you do, um, I'm curious uh what is the North Star or the constellation that sort of you set your moral compass by?
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:31.519
For some people it's myth, for some people it's spirituality.
00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:36.159
Where does your where is your north star rise?
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:42.800
Uh a guiding principle uh in my life and my company and my philanthropy is have fun, make money, and do right.
00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:45.440
Everything we do must meet all three criteria.
00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:47.440
And the last one's the most important.
00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:54.960
And by have by make money, um, there are a lot of nonprofits that say, oh, well, you know, we're getting by on a shoestring.
00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:59.280
And I talked to a lot of people about are you providing health care for your employees?
00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:01.760
You know, are you paying a fair wage?
00:39:01.920 --> 00:39:08.239
Um, in order to do those basic things that other people would cry and snivel and white about, you got to have the money.
00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:10.880
And I think I've I've instigated fundraising.
00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:12.800
I don't know whether you're guilty about this or not.
00:39:12.960 --> 00:39:21.039
I've instigated fundraising for nonprofits to go out and ask for money not to, you know, take care of program, but to pay people fairly.
00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:27.599
Um, so you as a nonprofit, you must be fiscally responsible and fiscally solvent.
00:39:27.760 --> 00:39:28.880
And then have fun.
00:39:29.039 --> 00:39:30.800
What's more fun than making food?
00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:33.760
What's more fun than seeing, you know, kids?
00:39:33.840 --> 00:39:50.639
Uh, we we gave to um to uh communities at schools, and we did a fundraiser in one of their uh a young man came to uh the fundraiser who was 17 years old, he was a new father, and um he wanted to be a presence in the life of his family, which was an audible thing.
00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:54.159
And he said, Communities and schools taught me how to buy diapers.
00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:57.920
Well, you know, that's kind of a fun story.
00:39:58.239 --> 00:39:58.880
That's awesome.
00:39:59.039 --> 00:40:03.280
And then do right is is I think there's somebody talking about doing good here.
00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:10.639
You know, what what we do, you know, doesn't harm anything, and and you we want to get the maximum leverage in the doing of good.
00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:11.119
Yeah.
00:40:11.440 --> 00:40:24.000
Let me ask you, um you're you're you're pretty much a one one person organization with a I know you have some some help there, but do you have a continuity uh in uh in your mind in your mind?
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:27.119
I mean, let's see, how much of a story do I want to tell?
00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:32.000
First, um we have a fantastic executive director who must go nameless.
00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:32.320
Yeah.
00:40:32.639 --> 00:40:45.679
Um graduated from prep, uh went on to get a degree in anthropology from the Churchill School in uh London, and came back to Santa Fe.
00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:49.199
Like, what do I do with a degree in sociology or whatever the hell it is?
00:40:49.360 --> 00:40:50.800
Anthropology in Santa Fe.
00:40:50.960 --> 00:40:52.559
And I said, well, come to work for us.
00:40:52.719 --> 00:40:56.960
And um this young woman is just going like a house of fire.
00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:02.719
I uh you know, I'm I'm working myself out of jobs, and you do that by giving great people responsibility.
00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:05.679
Uh another year, she's gonna be able to do everything.
00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:10.880
Yeah, I I've I've I think I've met her, and um I she's a she's a dynamo.
00:41:11.199 --> 00:41:22.800
She's a dynamo, and um and in terms of continuity, uh when I die, uh the foundation will receive the bulk of my uh estate.
00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:28.239
Um the trustee for that is also CEO of my company.
00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:30.000
Uh he gets it.
00:41:30.320 --> 00:41:37.039
But uh lessons I've learned, my father tried to run the business from his grave, and and that's pretty stupid.
00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:40.880
What what the uh what the foundation does when I'm gone, I don't care.
00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:50.639
I know that that if I've done my job, they're instilled with shared values, and I understand that they are, but you know, people die, people get hit by trucks.
00:41:50.800 --> 00:41:58.320
Um CEO of my company called me one day about three years ago and said, I got hit by a truck on a bicycle trip in eastern Washington.
00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:00.000
Oh, okay, that's fine.
00:42:00.320 --> 00:42:01.920
But you're talking about it.
00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:03.360
Well, yeah.
00:42:03.519 --> 00:42:09.360
I mean, uh one of my great one of my great mentors said, good news can wait, bad news has to be delivered immediately.
00:42:09.679 --> 00:42:10.079
Yeah.
00:42:10.480 --> 00:42:14.159
My grandfather used to say that cemeteries are filled with people who are irreplaceable.
00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:14.719
Yeah.
00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:23.280
Well, and you know, in the course of being involved since really age 13 at a high level in a 150-year-old company, I've replaced lots of irreplaceable people.
00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:23.840
Yeah.
00:42:24.079 --> 00:42:28.000
And more times than not, it's gone well, sometimes it's gone badly.
00:42:28.159 --> 00:42:29.440
But you know, you keep going.
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:32.960
This has gone way, way, way too quickly.
00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:40.880
Well, it's it's been a joy, if nothing else, to contribute to the ethos of those who you are engaging in doing good.
00:42:41.280 --> 00:42:41.599
Thank you.
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:42.320
Thank you so much.
00:42:42.559 --> 00:42:43.519
And thank you for being part of that.
00:42:43.840 --> 00:42:44.000
Thank you.
00:42:44.639 --> 00:42:46.480
Thank you for thank you for being here today.
00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:50.639
This is a a really uh this is a unique and lively conversation.
00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:52.079
It was, it was.
00:42:52.400 --> 00:42:52.960
That only Mr.
00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:53.920
A can bring.
00:42:55.280 --> 00:42:57.199
Don't send us letters, send him.
00:42:58.639 --> 00:42:59.679
But you can't find him.
00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:00.559
Thank you.
00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:01.360
Thank you, everybody.
00:43:01.599 --> 00:43:02.400
Thank you.
00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:16.800
Interested in learning more or to join in the conversation or to share a story about someone you know who is doing good, visit us online at doinggood.fm.
00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:19.199
That's doinggood.fm.
00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:33.360
This episode of Doing Good is a production of Docky Films, a three time Emmy Award winning production company based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, dedicated to the power of documentary film as a force for change.
