Youmie Jean Francois learned to fly in her 30s. What she discovered along the way inspired something much bigger than her own pilot's license.

Through the Flex and Fly Foundation, she's working to give underserved New Yorkers access to opportunities in aviation, wellness, and entrepreneurship—fields that can seem out of reach without the right resources, relationships, or encouragement.

In this conversation with Avi Zimmerman, Youmie explores what separates a meaningful experience from a transformational one, why opportunities should be offered without making people prove their worthiness, and how connecting young people with experienced older adults can change their sense of what's possible.

She also speaks candidly about the sacrifices, financial challenges, and persistence required to build an organization around a mission you believe in.

At the heart of the conversation is a powerful idea: Giving can change more than someone's circumstances. It can change what they believe they're capable of—and what they eventually give to others.

Learn more about the Flex and Fly Foundation: https://theflexnflyfoundation.org/

You Are What You Give is hosted by Avi Zimmerman, with generous support from Victoria Hearst.

What if the fundraising practices that feel most natural are actually the ones holding you back?

After more than four decades in fundraising—and helping raise more than $3 billion for important causes—Kevin Gentry has reached a striking conclusion: much of what works best in fundraising is counterintuitive.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Kevin and I explore what separates transactional fundraising from transformational giving.

Why doesn't simply demonstrating greater need necessarily inspire greater generosity? Why can it sometimes be easier to raise $1 million than $10,000? And what changes when we stop viewing donors primarily as sources of money and begin treating them as genuine partners in solving a problem?

Kevin makes the case for thinking beyond the next gift. That means understanding a donor's values and aspirations, inviting their knowledge and experience into the work, and building relationships that can develop over years rather than around the next ask.

We also discuss why fundraising is a skill that can be learned, the importance of authentic vision, what Kevin wishes he'd understood 40 years ago, and why the best donor conversation may sometimes be the one in which you don't ask for money at all.

Kevin shares free weekly fundraising advice and additional resources at TENXStrategies.com.

Special thanks to Victoria Hearst for her generous support of this season of You Are What You Give.

Why do some extraordinary causes struggle to get people to care?

It may not be the mission.

It may be the story.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Bridget Cook-Burch, bestselling author, storyteller, and “The Book Whisperer,” to explore why storytelling isn't simply a communications skill. It can determine how far a leader - and an organization - is capable of going.

Bridget has worked with thousands of people to uncover and communicate their stories. And she argues that the most important story may not be the one you tell donors.

It's the story you tell yourself.

Together, Avi and Bridget explore why our internal stories can place limits on our ambitions, how a founder's personal journey can become the beginning of a much larger movement, and why great nonprofit storytelling eventually has to make room for other people to become part of the story.

They discuss:

• Why a great mission doesn't sell itself
• The stories leaders tell themselves about what's possible
• How storytelling builds trust
• Why conflict can be an essential part of an authentic story
• How donors and volunteers begin to see themselves inside a mission
• Why founders shouldn't remain their organization's only storytellers
• How writing a book can clarify your own story and strengthen your leadership
• Why organizations need to “inspire the narrative” rather than allow others to define it for them

If you're leading a nonprofit, raising money, building a movement, or simply trying to understand the contribution you're capable of making, this conversation offers a very different way to think about the stories we tell.

Connect with Bridget:
Visit YourInspiredStory.com. Bridget also invited listeners to connect with her on Instagram under her name, Bridget Cook-Burch https://www.instagram.com/bridgetcookburch/, and shared information about her Inspired Writers Retreat for people ready to develop their own books and stories.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make You Are What You Give possible.

Why would someone give away $100,000 in professional marketing services to a single nonprofit every year?

For Marivi Bryant, the answer is simple:

Great organizations deserve great storytelling.

After more than 25 years helping mission-driven organizations and national brands communicate their value, Marivi founded HOME Agency with a bold commitment: each year, the agency donates $100,000 in branding and marketing services to one nonprofit through its Mission Meets Action Award (and yes - you can apply here https://wearehomeagency.com/mission-meets-action-award/).

But this conversation isn't just about one award.

It's about one of the biggest challenges nonprofits face today:

Many organizations are changing lives—but struggling to communicate their impact.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi and Marivi explore:

• Why great missions aren't enough
• The difference between mission and impact
• What every nonprofit website should communicate within the first 15 seconds
• Why marketing and fundraising must work together
• How boards can strengthen nonprofit communications
• Why investing in your story is investing in your mission

If you're a nonprofit leader, fundraiser, board member, consultant, or donor, this conversation offers practical ideas that can immediately strengthen how your organization communicates and grows.

To learn more about HOME Agency, the Mission Based Action Award, or to apply for the annual $100,000 pro bono initiative, visit WeAreHomeAgency.com or connect with Marivi Bryant on LinkedIn.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

What happens when you care so deeply that you want to help everyone?

For Morgan DeNicola, that question isn't theoretical. It's personal.

After a life-changing visit to an orphanage in Africa, Morgan returned home convinced she couldn't simply go back to business as usual. That experience led her family to establish the DeNicola Family Foundation, where she now works to inspire a new generation of philanthropists while confronting one of giving's greatest challenges:

You can't say yes to everything.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi and Morgan explore what it means to build relationships instead of transactions, why transparency matters to younger donors, and how the best philanthropists balance compassion with discernment.

Together they discuss:

• How one encounter changed the course of Morgan's life
• Why younger generations are asking different questions about giving
• Moving beyond writing checks to building relationships
• How to inspire others to become givers
• Why every philanthropist eventually has to say "no"
• How passion sustains long-term generosity without losing sight of purpose

One of Morgan's most memorable observations is simple:

"Be empathetic—not apathetic."

If you'd like to connect with Morgan or learn more about the DeNicola Family Foundation, visit https://www.morgandenicola.com/ or connect through their Instagram and Facebook pages, where Morgan personally responds to many of the messages she receives.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

Most organizations don't fail overnight.

They drift. Not because they stop caring. Not because they lose passion. But because they slowly move away from the very mission they were created to serve.

In this episode of You Are What You Give https://givewithus.com/, Avi sits down with Becca Spradlin, founder of On Mission Advisors, to explore one of the most overlooked risks facing nonprofits, ministries, foundations, and purpose-driven organizations: mission drift.

Together they discuss:

• What mission drift actually is
• Why good organizations are vulnerable to it
• How funding can unintentionally pull organizations off course
• The role boards play in protecting mission
• Why hiring for alignment matters
• How leaders can distinguish healthy change from unhealthy drift
• Why defining failure may be just as important as defining success

One of Becca's most practical insights is deceptively simple:

Don't just define your mission. Define your drift.

Because organizations rarely wake up one morning and decide to abandon their purpose. They simply make a series of small decisions that slowly move them away from it.

If you're a nonprofit leader, donor, board member, founder, or anyone responsible for stewarding a mission, this conversation offers practical tools for staying aligned over the long term.

To learn more about Becca's work, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit OnMissionAdvisors.com, where you'll find resources, her book Lead on Mission, and a free Mission Drift assessment.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

Dr. Bob Woodson spent decades challenging assumptions about poverty, charity, and what creates real change. In light of his recent passing, this conversation - recorded two months to the day before his passing - carries even greater weight — not simply as a discussion about giving, but as a reflection on the ideas and principles that shaped his life’s work.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Dr. Bob Woodson — civil rights leader, founder of the Woodson Center https://woodsoncenter.org/, and longtime advocate for community-led solutions — for a conversation that asks a difficult question:

Can helping people sometimes make things worse?

Dr. Woodson challenges the assumption that money alone solves poverty and explains why understanding the nature of the problem matters just as much as the resources we bring to it.

In this conversation we discuss:

• the four types of poverty
• why some forms of charity unintentionally create dependency
• the difference between relief and transformation
• what Dr. Woodson called “toxic support”
• why local relationships matter more than distant solutions
• and what lasting change actually requires

This isn't a conversation about giving less.

It's a conversation about helping better.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

For additional conversations and insights, visit us at https://givewithus.com/

What happens when a charity you believe in collapses almost overnight? Not just financially — but in trust.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Yael Simon to explore what happens when philanthropy goes wrong — and what responsible giving actually requires from both donors and nonprofit leaders.

Within weeks of stepping into a nonprofit leadership role, Yael found herself at the center of a global fraud crisis involving investigations, broken trust, and enormous institutional fallout. That experience reshaped how she thinks about stewardship, donor responsibility, fundraising, and what it takes to rebuild credibility after failure.

This conversation goes far beyond one organization’s collapse. It’s about:

• how trust is built in philanthropy
• why good intentions are not enough
• what sophisticated donors look for
• and why thoughtful giving requires ongoing responsibility — not just generosity

We also explore:

• fundraising misconceptions nonprofits still struggle with
• the role of young professionals in philanthropy
• philanthropy as a catalyst rather than a solution
• and how organizations can maintain trust over the long term

This is not a cynical conversation about giving. It’s a practical and deeply human conversation about how to give more responsibly — especially when trust is at stake.

To contact Yael Simon, reach out to her at her webiste: https://arakura.co.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.