You see a need.

Someone who could use help.
A situation where something isn’t right.

And then comes the moment that defines everything:

Do you step forward… or do you move on?

In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Victoria Hearst to explore a different kind of giving — one that doesn’t wait for a campaign, a request, or a clear path forward.

Victoria’s approach is simple, but not easy: She steps in.

She identifies real needs, builds relationships with trusted partners, and commits to supporting what matters most — often focusing on life-and-death issues where action can’t be delayed.

This conversation isn’t about generosity as a concept.

It’s about what it actually takes to move from intention to action, and how giving becomes meaningful when it’s driven by initiative, not circumstance.

Along the way, we explore:

• How many people hesitate when they could help
• How to recognize your role in a given situation
• The importance of trusted partnerships in philanthropy
• Why consistency matters more than scale
• How giving evolves when it becomes part of who you are

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst for her partnership and support in making this podcast possible.

If you’ve ever felt the pull to give but didn’t know how to take that first step, this conversation is for you.

You don’t have a volunteer problem.

You have a volunteer experience problem.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Karen Knight, consultant and strategist focused on helping nonprofits engage volunteers the right way.

Because most organizations aren’t struggling to find people who care. They’re struggling to keep them.

Karen has seen the same patterns across organizations of every size:

• Broken onboarding
• Unclear expectations
• Rigid systems
• Treating volunteers like free labor instead of mission partners
  

And the result?

People show up once… and don’t come back.

This conversation is a wake-up call for nonprofit leaders, volunteer coordinators, and anyone building a mission-driven organization.

Because if volunteers are part of your mission,
their experience isn’t secondary. It is the mission.

• Why recruitment isn’t your real problem
• What causes volunteers to disengage (and leave quietly)
• How to rethink onboarding and expectations
• The difference between “help” and true partnership
• Simple ways to improve volunteer retention immediately

The 15-Minute Volunteer Audit

In the next 7 days, do one:

• Call one volunteer and ask: “What has your experience really been like?”
• Go through your own onboarding process — step by step
• Identify one meaningful task someone can do in 15 minutes

No strategy deck.
No committee.

Just one real action.

To connect with Karen Knight, visit karenknight.ca for resources and contact details, connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-knight-consulting/), or email her at karen@karenknight.ca.

Special thanks to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

There’s a problem most of us never see.

Children sleeping on floors.
No bed. No place to rest.

It’s called bedlessness.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Luke Michaelson shares how one small moment turned into a movement that has changed over 370,000 lives.

Not by trying to solve everything, but by focusing on one clear, tangible need.

Build beds.

This conversation is about more than beds.
It’s about how real giving works:

Focus over scale.
Action over intention.
Doing one thing exceptionally well.

If you’re a nonprofit leader, donor, volunteer or simply someone who wants to give more thoughtfully, this episode offers a powerful reframing of what it means to make a difference.

To learn more about Luke Mickelson and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, go to https://shpbeds.org/.

Build a Bed.

Find one real need.
One real person.
One real situation.

And take one concrete step.

Because giving doesn’t grow by doing more -
it grows by doing what matters.

Special thanks to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

For giving stories, episodes, insights and more, check out You Are What You Give at https://givewithus.com/.