Cause & Purpose

CauseMic is a boutique consulting firm cofounded by Matt Scott, CEO, to help nonprofits who want to truly disrupt the social sector. Their work is hyper-focused on implementing rapid growth plans that will see organizations scale their revenue 10x in 3 to 5 years, using technology to build personalized relationships at scale, and driving authentic engagement between organization and audience. Matt joins Cause & Purpose to share his insights, tactical advice, and so much more.

Shannon Farley is the cofounder and executive director of Fast Forward, an accelerator that focuses specifically on tech nonprofits. To date, they’ve graduated seven cohorts, raised more than $275 million on behalf of their members, and impacted the lives of more than 88 million people. Cause & Purpose was beyond excited to host Shannon and discuss how an entrepreneurial mindset has helped her career journey, from mobilizing the largest network of millennial philanthropists ever to funding the next great nonprofit founders obsessed with making a lasting impact on the world. 

Tim Kachuriak is the Founder, Chief Innovation Officer, and Optimization Officer at NextAfter, a fundraising research lab and consultancy. They specialize in work with cause-driven businesses and nonprofit organizations to help them better understand their customers and inspire their donors to give generously. He's also the founder of The Human Coalition, a nonprofit that is committed to the goal of rescuing children and families from abortion. Tim joined us on Cause & Purpose to tell the story of how he was able to take career experiences from the world of advertising marketing and fuse it with the world of social impact. We also got tons of actionable insights for nonprofits to go along with the exciting tale.

Becky Kekula is a social change advocate, dynamic public speaker, and driving force behind the Disability Equality Index (DEI) from Disability:IN. A lifelong advocate for the rights and representation of people living with disabilities, Becky has covered many miles, touched many hearts, and has made a real impact on how people with disabilities are treated in the workplace. Becky joined Cause & Purpose to share her lived experiences, and talk about some of her struggles, successes, and failures from a life advocating for equal treatment for everyone.

Of all the social entrepreneurs we've met, few have had as diverse and unique a career journey as Rama Chakaki. Truly a citizen of the world, Rama spent parts of her youth in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. She's run both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She's pushed boundaries in technology and touched countless lives through uplifting multimedia and purpose-driven e-commerce. Rama joined Cause & Purpose to share stories from her life and career, lessons learned, and discuss her latest ventures, including Ed Seed, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform that gives young refugees the resources they need to succeed in school and giving "their entire family a new chance at life outside of a refugee camp."

As a teenager growing up in New Jersey, Maggie Doyne looked ahead to a future already written - college, career, student loans - and realized there must be more out there. During a gap year spent traveling in Southeast Asia, Maggie came face to face with a reality starkly different than the one she had known growing up - a refugee crisis, children forced into hard labor, and families torn apart by the Nepalese civil war. Struck by a deep affinity for the Nepalese people, Maggie new she had to act. She pooled what little resources she had, and together with her cofounder, a local Nepali man named Top Malla, she founded BlinkNow, a nonprofit organization that runs a school, women's center, and children's home in Surkhet Nepal.

When her best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 26, Zionna Hanson realized that there are serious problems in the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. The minimum screening age is typically 40 (far later than many women develop breast cancer) and long-term mental, physical, and emotional care is virtually nonexistent. Z founded Barbells for Boobs to advocate to redefine the standard of care in breast health and improving quality of life post diagnosis. Z joins Cause & Purpose to talk about her founding story and share insights gleaned from growing her organization from a single fundraising event to the thriving nonprofit organization it is today.

Throughout her career, Becky Straw has seen the affect stable employment can have on families and the communities they live in. A self-described “advocate for the unsexy,” Becky has repeatedly gotten involved with causes that created or supported entrepreneurship and job creation in communities that need them. Turning a surprise setback into an opportunity, Becky launched The Adventure Project in 2010 to give people the tools, education and resources to become social entrepreneurs in their own communities.

Learn more about The Adventure Project.

Chris Bessenecker is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Project Concern International, and a lifelong international development pro. We sat down with Chris in his backyard, and talked about his experiences leading water and sanitation initiatives with the Peace Corps in Honduras, using human-centered design in the field, and creating a culture of innovation at a large and well-established organization. Lots of great takeaways in this one. Enjoy!

Learn more about Project Concern International

Chris Bessenecker | LinkedIn | Twitter

Cause & Purpose is a production of Moonshot.co

Carla Fernandez is a social entrepreneur and cofounder of The Dinner Party, an innovative nonprofit organization on a mission to transform life after loss from an isolating experience into one marked by community support, candid conversation, and forward movement using the age old practice of breaking bread. Carla joins Cause & Purpose to share her founding story and lessons learned from a life spent pursuing positive social impact.

Learn more about The Dinner Party

Carla Fernandez | LinkedIn | Twitter

Cause & Purpose is a production of Moonshot.co