April 5, 2022
Anne Hindery
Anne Hindery:
You gotta go to work every day, find something that you can contribute and be passionate about.
Announcer:
Welcome to Agency for Change, a podcast from KidGlov that brings you the stories of changemakers who are actively working to improve our communities. In every episode, we’ll meet with people who are making a lasting impact in the places we call home.
Kelley Peterson:
Hi everyone. This is Kelley Peterson, vice president, nonprofit creative director of KidGlov. Welcome to Agency for Change.
Kelley Peterson:
We talk to a lot of nonprofit leaders on this show, but it’s not often we get to talk to someone who leads an organization that works to help other nonprofits. How does it work? Stick with us to find out as we’re joined by Anne Hindery, CEO of Nonprofit Association of the Midlands which works to strengthen the voice, leadership and capacity of nonprofit organizations to enrich the quality of community life throughout Nebraska and western Iowa. And I’m eager to talk with you today and learn more about the great impact you and the nonprofit association of the Midlands are making on the world.
Anne Hindery:
Thanks, Kelley. Thank you for having me today. Always happy to talk about nonprofits.
Kelley Peterson:
And for our listeners who aren’t familiar with the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, can you help them understand what the organization does and how it helps nonprofits and the communities they serve?
Anne Hindery:
You bet. So the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands or NAM, as we call it, we’re a membership organization for nonprofits of all sizes and missions. So whether you’re an arts, education, healthcare, youth services, direct service provider 501(c)(3), there are members. There’s 40 some odd groups like NAM across the country, we’re part of the National Council of Nonprofits, which is the largest network of nonprofits in the country.
Anne Hindery:
And so what we do, I like to say our job is to make our members’ jobs easier. So we do that in a variety of different ways, through training, technical assistance, some shared services, some benefits of group purchasing, those types of things. And we really help people understand more about running their nonprofit business. They can focus on the programs and the passion, and we’ll help them understand how the organization should work like a business. Because we are a business, we just have a different type of bottom line.
Kelley Peterson:
I was just doing another podcast recently that said exactly that. We were talking about, are nonprofits businesses? And absolutely, they are. And I like how you describe that as, nope, we just have a different bottom line.
Anne Hindery:
Sure.
Kelley Peterson:
So ever since, I’m going to ask you a different kind of question, because you said NAM. So since you came to the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, has it always been to refer to as NAM or how did that come to play?
Anne Hindery:
Yes, it’s always been referred to as NAM. It predates me, I’m the second executive director of the organization. We started in 2002 and I joined in 2008. We did a brand refresh a few years ago and we actually had some focus groups and talked about, do we want to change our name to like Nonprofits Nebraska? But the decision was made to keep NAM. That’s how we’re known.
Kelley Peterson:
Well, it just has a power to it. Doesn’t it? Like NAM, bam, wham. I love it. There’s power behind that
Anne Hindery:
For sure.
Kelley Peterson:
Looking at your career, you’ve worked in community-oriented roles for the last 20 or so years. Tell me about your career path and how each of those roles helped to prepare you for your current one.
Anne Hindery:
Well, my bad joke is, I grew up in the seventies and I wanted to change the world. So I initially started my career, I worked in local and federal government. And really enjoyed it, I worked for several mayors at the City of Omaha, and then I was a law enforcement coordinator at the US Attorney’s Office. And really enjoyed the work.
Anne Hindery:
But one thing that I learned is, since I moved to nonprofits, my sustainability rate has really gotten a lot better. It’s easier to make true lasting change, I think, when you’re not working in a political position that may change every four years. So then when I left the US Attorney’s Office, I was approached by the Omaha Community Foundation to come work for them. To which I was like, “Do you know what I do? Like I write grants and get cops and community groups to work and play well together.”
Anne Hindery:
And actually that was a really good fit because I helped with their discretionary giving. So it was the other side of the grant world. And getting nonprofits and neighborhood groups to talk and play well together. And it was a great experience and really helped me see a side of Omaha that I really wasn’t that familiar with. I like to think Omaha’s a town with big hearts and deep pockets. I mean, it’s such a very giving community, very helpful. I was surprised when I worked in the philanthropic side, how so many of the funders really wanted to be anonymous. They just wanted to make a difference. So I thought that was exciting. And then I was briefly at, was then Allegion Health, when they dipped their toe in philanthropy and I helped run their community benefit trust.
Anne Hindery:
And then, when I came to NAM, I actually started, I was on the board. I joke I was on the board for about 10 minutes. I actually had attended one board meeting and then we had an unanticipated transition with my predecessor, and they were looking for somebody to be the interim. So I stepped up and said, “Yeah, this could be fun.” Really thought I would only be interim. But the longer I was at NAM, I really saw that the work that we do, that we can be a conduit between nonprofits and philanthropy.
Anne Hindery:
Because it’s not a question of the work nonprofits do, it’s how they do it. And through so much of our programming, we help our members and nonprofits really understand their legal obligations, their financial obligations, that they do have to pay taxes, all those types of things. Here’s how to organize your business. And so it just really felt like a good fit. And I’ve been there since 2008. And it’s not the same organization, it’s changing all the time, I’m not bored. And it’s really a lot of fun. I’m very fortunate, I do love my job.
Kelley Peterson:
I love to hear that. I do love my job. I love my job, too. And a piece of my job, I get to meet and talk with great changemakers, like you. So-
Anne Hindery:
Thanks.
Kelley Peterson:
You talked about coming to NAM, but you were a board member first. What drew you to the organization back in 2008?
Anne Hindery:
Well, I think I really liked the model that they’re really kind of the clearing house for nonprofits, of all different types, all sizes and missions. And that they can work with a variety of different nonprofits in so many different areas. So in many ways, even though we’re not a direct service organization, I feel like I get to help make a difference every single day. When that transition opened up at NAM, I resigned from the board to serve as interim, and then applied for the job a few months later. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Kelley Peterson:
And what a great history it has been. So NAM offers quite an array of learning opportunities to members, everything from strategic planning, to working with volunteers, from finances and grant management, to taking board minutes. Can you tell us about some of these offerings?
Anne Hindery:
Our signature program is called, Guidelines and Principles. And most of the other groups like NAM across the country have some variation on a best practice type program like we do. But it’s basically, we cover 12 areas of running your nonprofit business. So a lot of what you said, board governance, fundraising, financial management, working with volunteers, human resources, strategic planning, IT, all those different areas. And what we’ve done is we’ve created an online assessment tool. And so any 501(c)(3) can go to our website, nonprofitAM.org, search for Guidelines and Principles. And whether they’re a member or not yet a member, they can take this online assessment tool for free.
Anne Hindery:
It’s really helpful because it’s in each of those 12 areas. And then it sends you a report in each area and it’s divided really in three ways. Are you legally compliant? Because if you’re not, you want to take care of that first, do not pass go, do not collect $200, get your house in order. And then we also have, what are some recommended best practices. Highly recommended and recommended. So for example, in the state of Nebraska, you must have three board members, that’s state law. So if you only have two, let’s get another one. We like boards to be a little bit bigger, but not too much bigger than that.
Anne Hindery:
What’s strongly recommended, don’t pay your board members. It’s pretty hard to look for grant funds if you’re paying your board members. Because I think most funders would say, then you don’t need my money. And that’s different from mini corporate board structures. And then what’s recommended, have term limits. On our board, you can serve up to three, two-year terms. So after six years, is the most you can serve at one time. And then we rotate off. We think that’s really important, so you get fresh ideas.
Anne Hindery:
Also along with our Guidelines and Principles, we’ve developed a companion Wikipedia. So as people are going through and they have a question, they can go like right to the source, they can go to the Nebraska Department of Revenue and figure out what do we need to pay taxes on? Because there’s a myth that nonprofits don’t pay taxes. While we don’t pay corporate income tax in the state of Nebraska, the majority of us pay sales tax, I pay payroll tax. Pretty sure the landlord has property tax figured into my rent. So, we help them kind of understand and have guidance. And I really think the report that you get, it’s like a roadmap. Your organization is at one point, but as you grow and change, you need to be aware of different regulations and laws that may impact it. Or just things that you want to do as best practice for running your business.
Kelley Peterson:
So is the assessment platform, was that a coming down from national? Or that was something that NAM did itself?
Anne Hindery:
We partnered with our other organizations like us across the country that had done it before. It actually came out as a result of Sarbanes–Oxley, all those years ago. And that was when the Senate Finance Committee really was looking at it, and our friend across the river, Senator Grassley, was chairing Senate Finance Committee at the time. And he looks at nonprofits the same way of my nine employees in the same light as he would like a Heartland Family Service that has thousands of employees. And so this was a way just for us to help our members be transparent and accountable. So people could really understand the work that we do. So we were the 17th state to implement these best practices, that we call guidelines and principles.
Kelley Peterson:
That an amazing tool to be able to have. And like you were saying, for all sizes of nonprofits, an amazing tool to get the results back and say, “Oh, I have a hot list of those things that I need to do.” And that’s just remarkable.
Anne Hindery:
It really is. Because nonprofits are unique in that the majority of the time, they’re started out of the passion. An area of interest that someone’s passionate about. Which is great, but you also need to have a business plan. I mean, you wouldn’t buy a Dairy Queen because you liked ice cream. But a lot of times people will start a nonprofit because they’re passionate about something. So this is just a way to help them do it the right way and make sure that they’re getting their business set up so they can focus on their mission.
Kelley Peterson:
I love that analogy. That was the best. I’m going to have to put that one in my cap and use it.
Anne Hindery:
You bet, you bet.
Kelley Peterson:
It’s a good one. So how are you helping your members navigate issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion, in regard to who they serve, staffing, board membership?
Anne Hindery:
This is something I think everybody has been … we were working on it before the pandemic and everything that was unearthed as a result of that, with the economic issues and the social issues that emerged. And so, what NAM has done the last few years, well, even before this, we made a concerted effort to try and diversify our board. And so what we use as a board matrix, which is a tool a lot of nonprofits use, which lists traditional skillsets, lawyer, accountant, marketing, those types of things. And then we added some demographic questions that you can look … GuideStar, which is kind of the one stop shop, GuideStar.org for all things nonprofit.
Anne Hindery:
A few years ago, they put in questions on demographic diversity. So we can find out from our board members, like what age range are they in? What’s their race and ethnicity? Do they have any disabilities? Where are they located geographically? What’s their gender and gender identification? And that coupled with looking at the skills like finance or marketing, that really helps us frame it better, so we can make sure that our board is as diverse as the members we serve. So, I feel like we’ve made really good progress on that. We still have lots of ways to go, though. I mean, it’s constantly a work in progress.
Anne Hindery:
We have partnered with Inclusive Communities, another local nonprofit that does a lot of work in this area on diversity, equity and inclusion. Last year … yes. Isn’t it funny since the pandemic, it’s like, did it happen in 2020 or was it 2021? But in 2021, and this was part of our strategic plan, was to help build leadership and to help work with nonprofits that maybe we’ve had a hard time getting into. So what we did is we currently had two round tables, an HR group for human resource professionals and a CEO round table. And they meet monthly. And in 2021, we went out and we actually worked with the facilitator to help us with this. And we started a BIPOC group for nonprofit leaders. And we don’t define leadership, they could be an employee of a nonprofit, they could be a board member.
Anne Hindery:
And that’s working, it’s been around just about a year. And we’re trying to figure out, what’s next? What makes sense? What do our nonprofit leaders of color need that NAM maybe able to help them with? But we want to be mindful that whatever we set up, we do it in a way that we can sustain it ongoing. So that’s something that my board is helping me with right now.
Anne Hindery:
And then this year, we took over the logistics and handling of the Racial Equity Institute. The Racial Equity Institute is an offered … there’s been thousands of folks in nonprofit, government, private sector, corporations that have gone through this training. It’s a really intensive two-day training. And so, NAM took that over this year, and we scheduled four of these, they’re all already sold out. So, we’re looking to get another one on the calendar. And that’s something we’re going to continue to do. Because really, it’s about understanding and getting a better sense of what’s the history of our communities that maybe I’m not aware of, and we all need to be. So those are some of the things we’re doing now.
Anne Hindery:
And then, also just looking at Rosie on our team, that you mentioned. She’s setting up working with Outlook Nebraska to set up some trainings on how do you make sure that your website is accessible to maybe those that are vision impaired? So just working on all the different types of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Kelley Peterson:
Wonderful. I had a recent podcast guest that was Paulette Monthei from Outlook, Nebraska, amazing show, as well. And so for our listeners out there, go back and listen to that one, too, because there’s some great information about inclusion of people who have vision impairment on that episode, as well. So thanks for that great transition. And I was able to promote Paulette, as well. She’ll appreciate that.
Kelley Peterson:
It’s just really wonderful to see all of the great work being done all across our nation in regards to diversity, equity, inclusion. And just as you said, we have a long way to go, but wow, did you just tell me some amazing things and steps forward that NAM is taking to embrace that. So, hats off to you.
Anne Hindery:
Thank you.
Kelley Peterson:
I see you added a COVID-19 tab, and I know that just, I might be tired of saying that word, just like everyone else. But you have a tab on your website and I’m sure like many organizations, you were impacted by the pandemic. What resources and assistance have your members been looking for during this time? And how have you been able to help them?
Anne Hindery:
So it’s really been interesting to see how this has evolved over the last couple of years. Much like everyone else in March of 2020, we thought this was going to be a couple of weeks and things would change. And that went on and on. Actually, our office just moved into our new space down at the Mastercraft building a week before everything shut down. But at least we got in, the move was done, the capital campaign was done.
Anne Hindery:
And then in talking with our members, we changed a lot of our trainings from some of the ones that I talked to you about to what we call just in time trainings. So for example, the budget that you had in January of 2020 was probably not the same budget that you had in July of that year. And so how do you strategically pivot to be able to meet your clients’ needs better? And it’s different for different nonprofits. I mean, we were fortunate, our business model still worked. If you were an arts organization, that was really challenging in the early days, for example. And I think they’ve been so creative in how they opened up their doors and their offerings. And now that our numbers are finally going down, we’ll be getting back and more and more things in person.
Anne Hindery:
So we’ve also did a series of what we called pulse polls of nonprofits. So just to kind of say, “What are the issues that you’re dealing with?” I know in April of last year when we surveyed, and it was just a couple hundred nonprofits that provided the information, but just the amount of fundraising dollars that were not going to be met. Over $52 million just from a small group because fundraisers in 2020, like nobody wanted to go to big dinners and galas at that time and that’s a big source of income for so many nonprofits.
Anne Hindery:
We also worked with our partners with the National Council of Nonprofits and across the country to do information. Whether it’s on all the relief and rescue bills that were coming, the CARES act, how get a paycheck protection program loan. What should you think about? We’ve been very engaged in all the ARPA, the American Rescue Plan Act fund. Lots of bills on how to spend the billions that are coming into the state of Nebraska.
Anne Hindery:
We were able to then again, with our partners across the country, we first looked to our partners in Washington state because they got hit with all this about three weeks in advance. And they were very generous in sharing their webinars. And that’s something that we’ve seen grow. Counterpart Montana has a great finance webinar. We’ll use it and then in turn, we’ll share some of our information with others, as well. So we continue to just monitor things as they’re impacted. We’re really optimistic and are hopeful that nonprofits will benefit a lot from the American Rescue Plan Act that the industry is talking about, as we speak here, it’s a lot for the short session.
Kelley Peterson:
Absolutely. And it is a lot for the short session. And you just don’t know. I loved your phrases, just in time trainings and the pulse polls, really, truly to just get this pulse. I mean, no one knew that there would need to be a training around ARPA or the CARES Act. And there you were, right on the front lines of being able to help other nonprofits with those critical things at a critical time. So just great work.
Kelley Peterson:
So you are already mentioned fundraising because it’s so often top of mind for many nonprofits. How does NAM help your members cope with the competitiveness of it all? And step into the future of new fundraising, what’s out there?
Anne Hindery:
Boy, it’s so interesting to see how things are changing. We do a lot of training on different types of fundraising and we partner with other groups that offer it. This summer, we’ll have … oh, it’s probably at least our 10th year. We used to call it Grant Writing Palooza, I think we changed the name to Fundraising Palooza. Where we get local experts to come in and help demystify the grant writing process. It’s a scary term that I think of grants, they’re a term paper with a budget, let’s not overthink about it. Let’s think about what type of fundraising events may make sense for your organization. And is it going to take up too much time? Is the juice worth the squeeze, so to speak? And so looking at that.
Anne Hindery:
Just by the nature of the work that nonprofits do, there is some competition. And we try to just make sure that everyone is aware of who else is working in their world. Whether it’s youth services or arts or what have you. One, because then they can learn how to partner. And that’s an easy way that they can kind of share the wealth. We saw that a lot in the early days of the pandemic, there was a group of youth serving agencies that had a weekly Friday call with all of them on talking about, here’s what we need. And then dividing up, like who was going to go look for thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer. And who was going to do this? And just really, it’s lovely to see the collaboration.
Anne Hindery:
One area that we’re monitoring that came as a part of the CARES Act is there was a non-itemized, charitable giving deduction. Even if I don’t itemize my taxes and I donate, I can take $300 off my taxes with that charitable deduction. We hope that sticks around, that’s made permanence. We actually hope it increases somewhat because that’s the easiest way to help nonprofits. The tax designation, really, it’s a way for donors to give to nonprofits and be able to have that benefit on their taxes. And then we’re just going to see what else is on the horizon and how can we let our members know about what’s coming up. And how can we let our members know what’s happening in terms of fundraising trends and what’s new.
Kelley Peterson:
You mentioned earlier, Anne, of you’re there, so you can do things. What are the trends? What are the best practices? So they can focus on helping those that their missions and their program and the direct service. And that’s so important because they’re already wearing a million hats. And to do all of this and to stay on top of all of what’s coming next is definitely a challenge and hard to do. You remember organizations do a lot of good for communities in Nebraska and western Iowa. What would you say that nonprofits need the most help with right now?
Anne Hindery:
Two things come to mind. As we just talked about, fundraising. Funding, that’s a part of our business model, as we always rely on the donations of our community and corporations that really help us do our work. The other thing that we’re seeing just like the rest of the economy is staffing shortages. There’s a lot of competition out there for staff and while nonprofits can ne competitive to a degree, it’s a challenge right now.
Anne Hindery:
I always say, if we’re going to attract smart people to the nonprofit sector, we better pay them enough to pay off their student loans and give them benefits and flexibility. And so we do that in different ways. We’ve started a group retirement plan that our members can join in, so they can offer very affordable retirement benefits to their employees. We did something similar with an employee assistance program. We just really want to help our members understand, what are the staffing challenges right now? And is this a new way? Have we turned a page and this is the way it’s going to be? Or is it a one-time thing? We do an annual salary and benefit report that we’ll be getting in the field later this month. And hopefully that’ll tell us a lot what our members are seeing.
Kelley Peterson:
Wow, that’s going to be a report to see, for sure. I currently sit on a nonprofit board and they’re no different than anyone else with those staffing shortages. And it’s just hard as a community member, board member, anyone involved to see that. Because you know what is on the other end of it, people who really need services not getting them. And it’s just hard to swallow. So I’m hoping too, that tide turns. And I know we have a lot of smart people in order to figure it out if it doesn’t, as well.
Kelley Peterson:
Anne, if you hopped into a time machine right now, what do the next five to 10 years look like? Does NAM have any new initiatives or programs launching soon that you would like to talk about?
Anne Hindery:
We don’t have any new ones launching soon. We’re really just building the capacity, the ones that we have. So I mentioned the retirement plan. Right now, we’re doing a … it’s been around 10 years, we’re doing a deep dive and review it, to make sure that it’s working the way it should, and that it’s working for our members. We started a few years ago, we have a financial management services program, which means we’ve basically hired the accounting talent that our members may not be able to afford. And then it’s a fee for service, so we can help them with those back-office types of situations. We really try to listen to our members to see what they need. Boy, five to 10 years, I wish I had a crystal ball.
Kelley Peterson:
You and me both.
Anne Hindery:
Yeah. Yeah. It would be interesting because we didn’t even see … these last three years so much has changed. I do think, while nonprofits historically have been pretty collaborative in nature, I think we’ll see more and more of that. Instead of starting up an arts program within an existing program, they might reach out to our arts organization to bring that program in for their clients.
Anne Hindery:
I think we’ll probably see some consolidation. As we see mergers and acquisitions in the private sector, we’re going to see it in our world, as well. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as long as the clients still get served and you can get some efficiencies of scale. I think it’s just going to be very interesting to see long-term, a lot of the local funding change during the pandemic to really focus on direct service. Whether that’s food banks or homeless shelters, social service agencies, and there’s still such a huge need for that. Is that going to be a permanent change? And how is that going to impact other nonprofits and the work that they do?
Kelley Peterson:
So I know that before the pandemic, the growth of nonprofits was just through the roof. Has the pandemic also affected those that are startup nonprofits?
Anne Hindery:
It has to some degree. There’s around 13,000 501(c)(3) in the state of Nebraska. And that translates to 1 in 11 people in Nebraska work for a nonprofit. So we do an economic impact report every few years, and so we now have the data to show, not only does every Nebraska benefit from a nonprofit every single day, whether they realize it or not. But again, that 1 and 11 people are employed.
Anne Hindery:
I think it’s been a challenge for some, especially the really small groups trying to get off the ground. Because it takes a while … to get your 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, you fill out form 1023 from the IRS. Which is the longest form the IRS has. And they’re a little backlogged right now with all the different things that have gone on, getting funds out the door for lots of different things these last few years, with all the funds that have come in. So I just think it’s going to be really interesting to see how people figure out how they can work together and serve clients.
Kelley Peterson:
So I just am encouraged by when I think about numbers, I’m like, “Oh, 1 out of 11 people are my kind of people.” I get excited about that. That’s a lot of people out there changing the world and helping others. That’s great.
Kelley Peterson:
So I’ve written down a couple comments that you’ve made because I am inspired by words, I’m inspired by motivational quotes and you’ve already said so many great things. But I love that a grant is a term paper with a budget, loving that comment. And then, is the juice worth the squeeze. But I bet you have some other words of wisdom to share with our listeners. What do you think, Anne?
Anne Hindery:
Well, I mean, one thing that I tell my kids is, find something that you love to do. You’ve got to go to work every day, find something that you can contribute and be passionate about. That makes such a huge difference.
Anne Hindery:
And then one thing that I think we’re all doing as we work with the different issues that our city, our county, our state, our country’s dealing with. Sometimes you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You have to be willing to have honest and challenging conversations, especially as you’re working with so many … it’s been interesting. It feels in some ways like such a mixed recovery, a lot of the direct service nonprofits, their doors are full and they have been this whole time. I mean, it was a challenge for food and housing before the pandemic and that has just made things worse. And we’ve been very fortunate through some of the federal money, as well as city, county and then local foundations money for rent, utility assistance. But that need is still huge in our community. And I don’t see that going away anytime soon. So we need to get comfortable having uncomfortable conversations.
Kelley Peterson:
So true. For our listeners who would like to learn more about your work and how to support you, how can they find out more about Nonprofit Association of the Midlands?
Anne Hindery:
Well, they can go to our website, nonprofitAM.org. And there’s a training calendar on there, so if they’re looking for training opportunities. They can find out about some of our conferences that we’re doing. We’re going to be in Kearney in April for a conference, in Grand Island in May, fundraising school is going to be offering there. Our big conference is in November. You can also sign up for our email newsletters. We get our information out that way through email blast, through constant contact. We’re a small staff of nine, so we try to automate that as much as possible. And you can join and be a member. We’re always looking for business partners that want to work with our nonprofits, with individuals that maybe are consultants, we can connect them. There’s a lot, a lot, a lot of stuff on our website. So log in, look around, and see how we can help your community.
Kelley Peterson:
So Anne, as we wrap up our time together today, what is the most important thing you would like our listeners to remember about the work you’re doing?
Anne Hindery:
I think the work that nonprofits do … in a perfect world, we’d put ourselves out of business. I mean, wouldn’t it be lovely if we didn’t have to have an organization that dealt with hunger and homelessness and those types of things? But until that happens, every great social innovation really, I think, is started by a nonprofit. You really see that entrepreneurial spirit. I always like to paraphrase Peter Drucker, the business guru, who did say that every great social innovation in the past century was started by a nonprofit. And if you think about it, it’s true.
Anne Hindery:
All the way from Jane Adams started the first settlement house for the poor over a hundred years ago in Chicago. We have a social settlement house in Omaha that’s still operating. It’s called, Kids Can Community Center. When you look at one of my favorites, there was a grant from the Commonwealth fund in the 1940s that funded the pap smear. How many hundreds, thousands of lives have been saved by that? All the way up to the work that the Coleman Foundation, the Children’s Television Workshop. My daughter’s expecting her second child any day, I’m very grateful for Sesame Street. So there are so many different ways that nonprofits help communities. And it’s really, we depend upon our communities to support us in return.
Kelley Peterson:
I’m a big Sesame Street fan. So if you had to pick a character, which one would be your favorite?
Anne Hindery:
Oh, tough call. I’ve always been kind of an Oscar fan.
Kelley Peterson:
Oh, I love Oscar. I don’t know. I suppose if I was asked that question, I might change every single day of which one my favorite is. But I’m a pretty big Snuffaluffagus fan-
Anne Hindery:
Yeah.
Kelley Peterson:
And you just don’t see him much anymore. And it’s not just because he’s not imaginary, but such great, good things that they teach children and adults, as well. Especially, talking about Sesame Street, this week is Dr. Seuss Week. So influential words and things that have to do with children and growth as a lot of nonprofits do, too.
Kelley Peterson:
So Anne, I fully believe that the world needs more change makers, like you. Thank you for taking the time to share with us today.
Anne Hindery:
Thank you for having me. And I just think it’s so important for people to understand the work that nonprofits do and how vital they are to everything that we do every single day. So thanks again for having us.
Kelley Peterson:
100% agree. Thank you so much.
Anne Hindery:
Take care.
Announcer:
We hope you enjoyed today’s Agency for Change podcast. To hear all our interviews with those who are making a positive change in our communities, or to nominate a changemaker you’d love to hear from, visit KidGlov.com at K-I-D-G-L-O-V.com to get in touch. As always, if you like what you’ve heard today, be sure to rate, review, subscribe, and share. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.