Did you know that giving is good for your health?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Yes, the old Biblical Proverb that says, <\/span>\u201cThere is more happiness in giving than in receiving\u201d<\/span><\/i> is 100 percent true.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Studies show that giving can actually boost a person\u2019s physical and mental health. Some of the benefits include:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
• Lower blood pressure.<\/span><\/li>\n
• Increased self-esteem.<\/span><\/li>\n
• Greater happiness and satisfaction.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>Many nonprofit leaders fall in love with the giving side of their business. They start a nonprofit to help others, which is admirable. They know first-hand the massive psychological benefits the giver and receiver will gain. They are passionate about their cause\u2026 but they struggle to get donors to open up their wallets and give.<\/span><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span><\/i>Nonprofit Lowdown<\/span><\/i> host Rhea Wong calls this <\/span>\u201chugging the panda bears\u201d<\/span><\/i>:<\/span><\/h3>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cOn the podcast, I talk about the business side of running a nonprofit. Nonprofit leaders are so passionate, they sometimes forget that it\u2019s actually a business. Nonprofits start their businesses because they\u2019re passionate about a cause and the good it can do.<\/span><\/i> I call that \u2018hugging the panda bears.\u2019 <\/span>What I talk about and help them to see is the less glamorous, business side of running a nonprofit,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Wong said.<\/span><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>Wong started the podcast in 2018, and her core listening audience is comprised of individuals leading nonprofits. They tend to be women in their 30\u2019s and 40\u2019s who reside primarily in New York or the Bay Area.<\/span><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cMy podcast is very tactical. I give tips and tricks on how to succeed. I can speak from experience, because I was an executive director for 12-and-a-half years, and I had to learn the hard way how to successfully run a nonprofit and get donors to give. So, I\u2019m essentially sharing the lessons I learned, so others don\u2019t make the same mistakes. I endeavor to unpack what seems to be really complicated and integrate tools and processes to make their jobs a little bit easier.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe bulk of the job of the executive director is to fundraise. The harsh reality is that executive directors must hire people to \u2018hug the panda bears\u2019 for them; they cannot do it themselves. Their job is to fundraise for the panda bears. It\u2019s important that I pull back the curtain on that for people; otherwise, they\u2019re not going to be effective at their job. They will be frustrated, and they won\u2019t bring in the right resources. So, my whole thing with the podcast is <\/span><\/i>\u2018hashtag real talk.\u2019<\/span> I tell the directors that I love that they hug the panda bears\u2026 but real talk, fundraising is what you actually need to be doing.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u201cI developed a love for helping nonprofits after I had successfully run my own. I was able to raise $250,000 a year when I started, but when I left, I was raising just under $3M a year in private funds. I was successful, but it took me 12-and-a-half years to figure it all out. With my consulting business, I also aim to help people avoid the mistakes I made.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cI enjoy podcasting because I want to elevate the voices of people of color. So often, the podcasting world is dominated by White voices. With such a diversity of people here in New York, I felt that as a person of color, it was important to lift up the voices of other folks of color. It\u2019s a very interesting dynamic when White voices believe they are entitled to be heard, and conversely, folks of color who I want to interview have to be convinced that they have something worthy of being heard. That\u2019s why you\u2019ll see that the people I feature on my podcast are disproportionately folks of color.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cAt the end of the day, I hope nonprofits can get the tools, advice, and confidence to be able to run effective and sustainable nonprofits. Because I feel like so often in the nonprofit sector, we\u2019re in this starvation cycle, and it ends up burning people out. That happened to me. I want to help them run their organizations without the burnout, because we need those panda bear huggers. We need their experience, expertise, and talent to stay in the sector and continue to deliver those much-needed services.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cCOVID has really changed the game for nonprofits. So, we\u2019ve had to become creative in terms of virtual galas and more creative in how the work is done. But there\u2019s been a positive financial upside, as well. Many nonprofits have seen increased donations thanks to the generosity of so many because of the pandemic.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>Wong was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. She is married and has the cutest little dog named Stevie Wonder. She speaks French and understands Spanish because her husband is half Cuban and half Ecuadorian. She loves to do yoga and swims almost every day.<\/span><\/h3>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>She admires Oprah and aspires to be the Asian Oprah of her field. She recently started doing stand-up comedy, and a book that really impacted her is, <\/span>The God of Small Things<\/span><\/i> by Arundhati Roy. \u201c<\/span>She is an activist in India and speaks up for those who often don\u2019t have a voice,\u201d<\/span><\/i> she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

  \u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen I was running a nonprofit, I felt like I was hustling all day. When I stopped, I made a conscious decision to do things that are joyful. I\u2019ve taken responsibility for my life. So, if I\u2019m not having fun, then it\u2019s on me. I am accountable and responsible for my life and happiness. I am the boss of me. I am the boss of my brain. We can\u2019t blame external things. We are responsible for making ourselves happy. Our success is not outside ourselves. We must be the captain of our own ship. We decide what happens and how to manage it. At the end of the day, it\u2019s important to not give your power away. That\u2019s the primary objective of my podcast\u2014I want to help nonprofit leaders captain their own ship and highlight those folks who are doing great work in the sector.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

   <\/p>\n

  May 2021 Issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Did you know that giving is good for your health? \u00a0Yes, the old Biblical Proverb that says, \u201cThere is more happiness in giving than in receiving\u201d is 100 percent true. \u00a0Studies show that giving can actually boost a person\u2019s physical and mental health. Some of the benefits include: Lower blood pressure. Increased self-esteem. Greater happiness and satisfaction. \u00a0Many nonprofit leaders fall in love with the giving side of their business. They start a nonprofit to help others, which is admirable. They know first-hand the massive psychological benefits the giver and receiver will gain. They are passionate about their cause\u2026 but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":10393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[418,424,1123,1124,1125],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n