Cause & Purpose

In this powerful episode, Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO of Alight, shares her 25-year journey transforming humanitarian aid through human-centered design. From her early days recognizing the disconnect between DC-based decisions and on-the-ground needs in Bolivia, to co-founding IDEO.org and now leading a $90 million organization serving 4 million displaced people annually, Jocelyn reveals what it really means to center refugees as customers, not beneficiaries.Discover how Alight maintains operations in Sudan through three different countries despite ongoing conflict, why "choosing optimism" is a strategic imperative when serving those in crisis, and how pop-up nail salons became the breakthrough for adolescent reproductive health programs in Africa. Jocelyn discusses navigating massive foreign aid cuts, the critical role of grassroots donors giving $20 at a time, and why proximity to problems leads to better solutions.With 25 million people requiring humanitarian assistance in Sudan alone, this conversation challenges fundamental assumptions about how aid should work in the 21st century. Learn why treating refugees with dignity isn't just morally right—it's more effective.Key Topics: Human-centered design in humanitarian work, refugee crisis response, Sudan emergency operations, funding challenges in foreign aid, innovation in displacement services, local leadership empowermentLearn more at: wearealight.org | causeandpurpose.org

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, host Mike Spear sits down with Jim Carter III, a technologist and philanthropist who has spent over a decade bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and social impact. Jim shares compelling stories from his journey, including how he helped Pencils of Promise receive a $1 million Bitcoin donation from the anonymous Pineapple Fund, and his current work building AI-powered digital clones that allow organizations to engage thousands of supporters simultaneously. The conversation provides practical guidance for nonprofits hesitant about AI adoption, featuring Jim's three-question framework for identifying AI opportunities: what takes too long, what costs too much, and what good work could you do more of?Throughout the discussion, Jim and Mike challenge the social sector's resistance to innovation, arguing that adaptation to AI isn't optional but rather a moral imperative for organizations serious about their missions. Jim demonstrates how AI serves as a "thinking partner" rather than a replacement for human judgment, sharing examples from his own work including building an autonomous podcast network with 100,000+ downloads and creating a DocuSign alternative in hours. Mike reveals how Altruous leverages sophisticated AI to generate 25-page program evaluations in seconds, combining automation with human expertise to help funders find high-impact opportunities they'd never discover otherwise. The episode concludes with Jim's perspective on preparing the next generation for an AI-integrated future and his belief that AI will ultimately create more opportunities than it eliminates.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we sit down with the COO of Elemental Excelerator, Avra van der Zee.Avra's dedication to combatting climate change has spanned her entire career. From e-bikes, to sustainable pre-fabricated construction materials, to the 150+ startups in Elemental Excelerator's portfolio, Avra has worked, across her career, to help build and scale the innovative climate solutions that will help shape our environment for generations to come. A litigation attorney turned social entrepreneur, Avra has tons of great insights to share about everything from working with government programs, to storytelling, to climate justice issues, to storytelling, and building performance measurement and evaluation frameworks that empower organizations to maximize their impact.Join us as we learn a bit about Avra's background, and the way she, and Elemental Excelerator, are tackling global climate change at a massive scale.

Introduction two Season 3 of Cause & Purpose.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we hear from Jared Walker, the founder and CEO of Dollar For. Dollar For is a nonprofit organization that helps tackle the issue of medical debt in the United States by advocating for patients and using patient data to drive policy change. Inspired by personal experience, Jared shares how Dollar For began as Dollar for Portland, crowdfunding money to support people with unexpected medical expenses. Now, they help eligible patients take advantage of charity care, a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires nonprofit hospitals to waive fees for low-income patients. With medical debt being a significant cause of bankruptcies in the U.S., Dollar For is making a massive impact and aims to eliminate as much medical debt as possible. Tune in to learn more about Jared's journey and the work of Dollar For."Being able to buy the repair for the wheelchair accessible van, or buy the medical equipment that they can't afford, or pay the hospital bill that's gone to collections, is a pretty freaking big deal for people."Topics covered:[00:04:35] Healthcare system frustrations.[00:07:53] Inspiration for action.[00:14:48] Community response to launch.][00:22:09] Discovering Charity Care.[00:23:52] Frustration with the healthcare system.[00:32:06] Pursuing forgiveness of medical fees.[00:35:27] Childbirth as ineligible elective procedure.[00:41:14] Key metrics for impact.[00:44:14] Opportunities from the program.[00:56:08] Mental health organizations.Links mentioned:https://dollarfor.org/https://altruous.orgGuest links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-walker-b6865397/

In this episode, the founders of startup Karya.In discuss their mission to create pathways out of poverty for people in low-income communities. Drawing from their personal experiences growing up in India, they share the challenges they faced and the emotional drive behind their entrepreneurial journey. The conversation explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and impact, emphasizing the importance of the smartphone application that connects rural Indian workers to tech companies, allowing them to earn income. The conversation also touches on the challenges and solutions in India's nonprofit sector, the importance of measuring impact and worker satisfaction, and the economic value of Indian languages. “I think both the desire to create a nonprofit and the desire to tackle poverty comes from my childhood. For me personally, it's such an intense desire that I feel like . . . working on anything else always felt like a waste of time because it was almost existential.”Topics covered:(00:07:47) Growing up in poverty(00:15:09) Entrepreneurial Journey and Impact(00:22:28) The Impact of Travel(00:29:55) Karya: Empowering Rural Indians(00:36:37) Challenges and Solutions in India's Nonprofit Sector(00:43:18) Working with Gates Foundation and Microsoft(00:50:36) Measuring Impact and Worker Satisfaction(00:56:59) Amplifying Existing Human Forces(01:03:33) The Economic Value of Indian Languages(01:11:20) The Importance of CompassionLinks mentioned:https://karya.in/https://altruous.orgGuest links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuchopra42/https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivek-seshadri-07127511/

In this episode, Clara Rowe, CEO of Restor, delves into the intersection of nature and social impact. She shares her personal experiences in sustainable development and conservation, emphasizing the need to address privilege and the legacy of colonialism in natural resource management. The unequal contributions to climate change and the importance of transforming how we value nature are explored, alongside the role of philanthropy and non-monetary relationships. The challenges of navigating palm oil supply chains, reforestation efforts, and the work of Restor are also discussed. “I think it has to be a combination of, ‘are the right people using it to do the right thing, which is to get us toward that longer impact?’ and, ‘do we have clear cases of how this is making shifts not only for individuals, but for larger systems in social impact work?’”Topics covered:00:06:20) Challenges in Climate Change Response(00:13:14) Navigating Palm Oil Supply Chains(00:19:26) Lessons from Conflict Areas(00:25:42) The Power of Reforestation(00:32:09) Tracking Impact and Building a Global Reforestation Community(00:39:08) Measuring Impact and Building a Story(00:45:38) The Future of Restor(00:52:01) Ways to be part of the restoration movement Links mentioned:https://restor.ecoMinistry for the Future bookhttps://altruous.orgGuest links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-rowe-5713b879/

In this episode, Mike Spear and Eric Barela discuss the launch of their new project, Altruous, and share pieces of their personal backstories of how they got into this work. They highlight the significance of Altruous in addressing social challenges and amplifying unheard voices. The conversation explores the intersection of social justice and personal background, emphasizing the need to recognize and value diverse perspectives. They discuss expected value calculations, the debate between quantitative and qualitative evaluation, the role of human evaluators in an AI-driven world, and the importance of comprehensive evaluation methods. “If we're going to pat ourselves on the back for doing good things, then we should actually be doing good things.”Topics covered:(00:07:55) The Intersection of Social Justice and Personal Background(00:15:06) High EV Calculation(00:21:48) Quantitative vs Qualitative Evaluation(00:29:11) The Importance of Qualitative and Quantitative Data(00:38:01) The Role of Human Evaluators in an AI-Driven World(00:45:47) Shared Passion for Impact Measurement(00:53:32) Burning Man's Impact and Integrity(01:00:25) Measuring Impact and Avoiding Harm(01:07:30) Marks of Success for Altruist(01:14:48) Democratizing Monitoring and EvaluationLinks mentioned:https://altruous.orgGuest links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbarela/

In this episode, Jake Wood discusses his journey from being a Marine to co-founding Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization that provides disaster relief and humanitarian aid. The episode explores the humble beginnings of Team Rubicon after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and how they gained traction through viral donations. The conversation also delves into the role of technology in their success, particularly their partnership with Palantir, a big data intelligence platform. The episode highlights the evolution of culture and leadership within Team Rubicon, as well as the importance of measuring impact and prioritizing vulnerable communities.

Welcome back to Season 2 of the show!

Jason Shim is the Director of Digital Strategy and Transformation at Pathways to Education Canada. With over 15 years of experience spanning the nonprofit and academic sectors both as an employee and a consultant, he has consistently helped organizations stay ahead of the technology curve. He loves to help organizations explore the question “How can we harness technology to make a difference in the world?” In 2013, he led Pathways to Education to become the first Canadian charity to issue tax receipts for Bitcoin donations, providing access and awareness to a brand new tech-savvy audience.

Caroline Spears is the Executive Director at Climate Cabinet, which began as a volunteer-based team in 2018, when a Texas state legislature candidate asked for climate talking points and policy solutions that were relevant to her district. They realized that this need was not unique: many candidates want to run on strong climate platforms but don’t have the time to simultaneously run a full-time campaign and do cutting-edge policy analysis. Thus, Climate Cabinet Action was born. Climate Cabinet Action has supported candidates and pushed climate on the campaign trail in four campaign cycles, including 2018 state legislature races, 2019 presidential primaries, 2020 state and congressional races, and 2021 Virginia House of Delegates elections. In 2020, they worked with 100 campaigns.