I started Cause & Purpose in late 2019 for three reasons, none of which were "thought leadership."

First, I missed telling stories. I'd spent a decade building revenue and partnerships, and coaching nonprofits on fundraising and impact strategies  at Classy, but before that I was a journalist and documentary filmmaker. The podcast was a way to dust off those skills and start telling stories again, and sit with interesting people and explore what makes them tick.

Second, I wanted to learn. Impact is a team sport, and it takes myriad strategies, objectives, and ways of doing things to maximize our collective impact, and we can all get better. I wanted to learn more about the reality of impact work in the trenches and surface insights and best practices that would help myself and others get better at doing this type of work. I didn’t want dogma, I wanted authentic conversations with people I could view as peers and mentors — leaders grappling with the same tensions between mission and sustainability, scale and authenticity, urgency and patience.

Third, I wanted to build community. The important work of creating impact can be lonely! It can be filled with things that drain us - bureaucracy, budgetary stresses, politics, unexpected setbacks, and funders who may or may not be in it for the right reasons. Community and human connection are crucially important to me, and I know, to those in the impact sector striving to fix inequities, injustice, solve big challenges. Whether you actively connect with our guests, or just take comfort in knowing there are amazing people struggling with the same issues you are, I hope you’ll feel a sense of unity, belonging, and optimism for the future.

My hope is that there’s something in each episode for everyone, whether their impact leaders or not. That said, we’re not dumbing things down basic explainers - we assume listeners have a certain baseline of knowledge or are resourceful enough to research and fill in the gaps on their own. We strive to build connections between guests with each other and with our audience. We hope that even just by extension, the stories help each of us feel a little less alone - catharsis, Connection, and a reminder that the people they admire are also figuring it out as they go.

If you're deep in cause-related work and want honest conversation from the front lines, this is for you. You can find us on your favorite podcast platform, and read the show notes for each episode at causeandpurpose.org.