Tammy Day

Connect with Tammy and Daycos at:

• Get Tammy’s book here
• Daycos LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/daycos/
• Tammy’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammycday/
• Daycos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discoverdaycos/
• Daycos Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daycos
• Daycos Website: https://daycos.com/
• Tammy’s Website: https://tammy-day.com/
• Daycos4Good: https://daycos.com/daycos4good/

 

Tammy Day:

We have to remember that each of us is special and can contribute that specialness to the world, and the world grows and becomes better and expands because of our having been a part of it.

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.

Lyn Wineman:

Hey everyone. This is Lyn Wineman, President and Chief Strategist at KidGlov. Welcome to another episode of Agency for Change podcast. Today, we get to explore the incredible potential for positive change. Returning to our podcast is one of my favorite people, Tammy Day. She is the Chief Purpose Officer at Daycos Inc. They’re a transportation revenue solutions company dedicated to using its business as a force for good. Tammy, I am so eager to talk with you today and learn more about what you’re doing and the great impact you are making on the world. Welcome to the podcast.

Tammy Day:

Thank you. Well, Lyn, great to be here.

Lyn Wineman:

It’s so great to have you back, and I really enjoyed the last conversation we had. And just to kick things off today, I’d love to have you tell our listeners a little bit more about your role as the Chief Purpose Officer at Daycos. You don’t hear that title very often, so I want to know what you do and how Daycos is committed to making a positive impact.

Tammy Day:

Yes. Yeah, Chief Purpose Officer, I made up for myself, I’m sure other people use it but-

Lyn Wineman:

I love that.

Tammy Day:

… we’re not great at titles, and I think I had someone ask me for my job title and I was like, “Huh, I don’t know.” But it fits with what I do, because Daycos is a financial services company for transportation companies, mainly trucking companies. So, our day-to-day is focused on billing, auditing, revenue recovery, things like that. But the-

Lyn Wineman:

It’s not an industry, Tammy, that’s naturally associated with purpose, right?

Tammy Day:

… No, no. And I always joke that we’re a B Corp and a Nebraska Benefit Corporation, but we don’t make vegan dog food or…

Lyn Wineman:

Right.

Tammy Day:

We just provide services to other businesses. But the way we do that is actually what makes us unique and what I spend most of my time working on. So in my role, I am trying to pay attention to things like, how do we maintain stakeholder balance in our strategy, in our day-to-day decision-making, in the way we invest in our stakeholders. I spend a lot of time working with employees on leading our efforts around community investments, employee investments, things like that, just trying to figure out what’s next for us in that space. We’re always trying to figure out how to be better, how to do more good. And so, I like to say, I’ve probably the most fun job of anybody, because I just get to dream about how to do cool things and how to get people involved.

Lyn Wineman:

Tammy, I think that’s so inspirational because I think it just proves that any business can lean into purpose. You don’t have to make vegan dog food or be saving the ocean or any of those things, any business can lead into purpose. And you mentioned a bit ago, thinking about what’s next. I know one of the things that’s next for you is you have a book coming out and it’s called Philanthropy For All. It’s set to release in November. Can you tell us a bit about the book and what inspired you to write it?

Tammy Day:

Sure. Yes. Philanthropy For All, coming out very soon. And it’s exciting for me because it’s basically a compilation of my life’s work in this space around how do we do more good, whether that’s in the nonprofit space, if it’s in your business, you as a person or your family. How do we find ways to make things better? And so I, over the last couple of decades have had all these experiences and I found myself talking to groups, speaking to people, sharing that knowledge, trying to help people do similar things. And at some point I thought I should probably write some of this down because you absolutely lose your origin stories after a while and things sort of start to, as you get older, you lose bits of the thing. And I also thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to have something to hand to people when I was working with them, so that once I walk away they’re not like, ‘What did she say?'”

So that’s how my journey started, was a way to capture things. And the more I got into it, I realized, there are not a lot of just practical resources about how to do something good. So for me, it was really important that that information was easy to read and understand, that it was inspirational, that it helped people see themselves in that space. And so, that’s what Philanthropy For All will hopefully do, is provide strategies and ideas and tools for people and help people view themselves as a person who is capable of doing something good.

Lyn Wineman:

I love that. Tammy, I did get a sneak peek at the book, and I’m just going to give you an endorsement. I found it to be incredibly inspiring, and I think sometimes people don’t think about how to break down doing good. There’s that saying that, everything you needed to know, you learned in kindergarten. But that’s not necessarily true, right? Sometimes it’s hard to know how to apply that in business. And sometimes I think there’s even kind of a wave against it. There’s a school of thought that maybe if you’re focused on purpose or you’re focused on doing good, that maybe you’re too soft and you want have that competitive edge. And you at Daycos have not found that to be true at all, have you?

Tammy Day:

No. No, they go hand in hand and actually make us a better company.

Lyn Wineman:

I am with you. I’m with you a hundred percent. So, I’d love your thoughts on, who is the book Philanthropy For All for? Who is the book for primarily, and why do you believe it’s needed right now?

Tammy Day:

Yeah, the book primarily, to me, the book is for everyone. It’s for everyday people who are just living their lives and doing their thing, and they care about their community, their kids’ school, their church, their favorite issue. Everyone has things that they’re passionate about and that they care about. And my hope in bringing a practical resource guide, is that people can see that many times we’re already doing philanthropy, but society tells us that if you’re not wealthy, if you can’t write a big check, if you don’t have a lot of money, then that doesn’t apply to you. And I hope to break down that perception, because really money is just one small sliver of the whole picture. Right?

Lyn Wineman:

Right.

Tammy Day:

I talk a lot about how it’s not just about the money, it’s about so much more. And we’re all in our lives doing things, caring for people, helping with the pancake feed, whatever. But oftentimes we don’t see ourselves as philanthropists. Right?

Lyn Wineman:

Right.

Tammy Day:

And I think the problem with that, is that it limits then our ability to think more broadly and bigger, and we probably are missing some opportunities that would fill our bucket and help make the world a little bit better for the next generation. So, hopeful that just, people who think, “Gosh, I’m feeling a little helpless, the world seems overwhelming. We had a pandemic, we have inflation. I don’t know what to do.” And I feel like this is an easy thing to feel connected to what to do, and to realize that what to do can be something very small. But if all of us did those small things, they would add up to something great. And the only way that things really get better, I think, is if everyone chips in some way that makes sense for them.

Lyn Wineman:

So good. I mean, I do think you could get caught up watching the news, scrolling through your social media, and by the end of the day just feel like, “What is happening in the world? And I have no power.”

Tammy Day:

Yes.

Lyn Wineman:

And I think that what you’re doing is really letting us all know that we play a part. As a matter of fact, it seems like it would be a mistake for me to talk to you and not ask you for a practical piece of advice from the book that anyone could apply.

Tammy Day:

Yeah, I think, I hope if people remember one thing, they remember that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, it doesn’t matter what your socioeconomic background is, it doesn’t matter even how you view yourself, everyone can make a difference. And I think just reframing that view is the first step in really unleashing a lot of underutilized potential in our communities, in our companies, in nonprofit organizations. So I hope people take that away and think about what that means to them. What kinds of talents or gifts do you have to share? What kinds of… Do you have time? Are you a person with a little time on your hands that could put that towards something you care about? So I think thinking first, “I can make a difference.” And then second, “What does that mean to me? What do I care about? Where do I want to look into doing a little bit more?”

Lyn Wineman:

Yeah. Great. That’s great, great, great advice. So, now that you’ve piqued our interest about the book, when it comes out, can you tell us where we’ll be able to get a copy of Philanthropy For All?

Tammy Day:

Yeah. So, I think most people will probably look for that on Amazon, it will be available there in paperback and in the Kindle version. And then, it should be available print on demand in any bookstore catalog, going through a distribution service. And then, you can always go to my website tammy-day.com, and there’ll be a link there. If you can’t remember any of those things, but you remember my name, you can go and find it that way. Learn more about the book and the different resources that are available in this, doing more good space.

Lyn Wineman:

Sounds great. And for everybody who’s listening and didn’t have a chance to write those down, we’ll make sure to have those links in the show notes for this episode as well. So, I appreciate you telling us about the book and people who listen know that it’s a goal of mine to write a book someday. I don’t know what it will be about or when it will be, but I always am inspired by authors. So, thank you for doing it, and I look forward to getting my own copy of the book.

Tammy Day:

Yes.

Lyn Wineman:

So Tammy, you were originally on our podcast in 2022, and from that conversation, I know that you and your husband, Brandon, and the team at Daycos are really always focused on using business as a force for good, and you’ve shared some of that today. I’d love to hear more about some of the things you do at Daycos and maybe some things you’ve been up to in addition to the book since we last talked.

Tammy Day:

Sure. Daycos for Good is our umbrella for how we talk about doing business with purpose. And for us, that means a couple of things, that it’s employee-led, that we focus on all stakeholders staying in balance, and that we’re a hundred percent all in. Right? Everything we do is through this frame of, “How do we do more good?” Our purpose that we have up in our office is, “Do good, be good.” We spend a lot of time just working under that umbrella in that frame of mind and then figuring out how do we continue to evolve what we’re doing.

So, a couple of the things we’ve done as a result of those Daycos for good efforts, we have developed an employee development program where we basically ask every person at Daycos, “What would you like to do? What’s a dream you have? What’s something that you haven’t had the time, the resources or the capacity to tackle?” And then we come alongside our employees with financial support, time during the workday if that’s what they need, coaching, and helping people to realize those goals. We just had a gentleman, a young man who’s in our… He’s a software engineer. And he is working on getting his pilot’s license. Now we don’t fly planes at Daycos, but we don’t care because that’s his dream. And so, he actually did his own solo flight from Sioux City to Norfolk where our company is located, and we all stood in the parking lot and watched he flew by.

So not only is he getting to tackle something that was really a dream of his, our employees who aren’t him, are also participating in that process, being inspired by him, learning that it is okay to push the envelope and do something scary and big. So that’s been one area that we’ve really fully developed. We’ve hired someone to lead that effort. And so that’s underway. And I think that was in the works when we talked, but probably not fully fleshed out.

Lyn Wineman:

Yeah. I love that initiative. I’ve got to imagine, most people who are listening have probably been asked the question, “What would you like to do related to your job,” and felt supported that way. But what would you like to do as a human? And while I’m sure that that doesn’t on paper look like it has direct impact to your business, I’m guessing it has so much direct impact and loyalty, enthusiasm, lessons learned. We all learn so many lessons stretching ourselves, whether it’s work-related things or not. So kudos to you for doing that.

Tammy Day:

No, we talk about growing is growing no matter what the focus of it is. And for us, again, making investments in our stakeholders, one of which is our employees, is where it’s all at. Right? And so, whatever that looks like, that helps people’s lives get better, their person get better, we’re happy to do that. The other one I wanted to mention, because I think it’s top of mind for a lot of people, is we’ve been working in Norfolk to help solve some of our childcare capacity issues.

Lyn Wineman:

Oh, yeah. Such a big one.

Tammy Day:

Yeah. Our employee investment committee tried to tackle that, and it really became apparent that that was a bigger beast than maybe their committee had the resources for. So, we took a look as a company, initially thinking how could we put a facility in our building. And then realizing that the real game changer would be to create a model that could be replicated across our community and across other communities of our size. Mid-size communities really struggle, like Norfolk, to figure out how to reduce that. So in Norfolk, we have 600, our capacity gap is 600, which means 600 children under the age of six do not have access to quality early childhood care and learning. So the long story, but where we got to is led the charge to develop a model that is a 501-C3 childcare cooperative.

Lyn Wineman:

Wow.

Tammy Day:

And so, it’s a nonprofit that functions like a cooperative in that there’s collective decision making, there’s shared ownership. The members of this cooperative are businesses in our community. So we actually have eight companies that are actively building out this childcare model, and then they will be able to offer guaranteed childcare to their employees. The businesses guarantee the operational funding because there’s a math problem in early childhood care.

Lyn Wineman:

Yeah. There is a math problem, right. Yes.

Tammy Day:

And it creates additional capacity in the community. So, we’re hopeful that it’s a win-win for everybody, and we’re excited. We just filed our articles of incorporation this week.

Lyn Wineman:

Amazing.

Tammy Day:

So, we’re actually moving toward having a pilot model, hopefully in the next nine months that we’ll have kids there.

Lyn Wineman:

That’s amazing. Tammy, there is the topic for your second book, such a problem across the country. At KidGlov, we have a lot of young employees who are having their first kids, and that is a constant problem. Even people who have signed up for childcare and think they have a spot, and then for whatever reason, the spot goes away and then you’re scrambling and it’s such a stressful factor for people and employers. So, kudos to you for doing that. All good work. So, when I first reached out to you, and the reason I met you is because Daycos is a certified B Corp. You’re one of the first in Nebraska, I know, if not-

Tammy Day:

Yeah, I think we’re the third.

Lyn Wineman:

… The third. I mean, at a time when I think not very many people were talking about being a certified B Corp and KidGlov became a certified B Corp, so I just wanted to meet all the other businesses. So, still there’s only eight Nebraska based certified B Corps, including both of our companies. And I’m curious, what would you say to somebody who’s thinking about going through this process?

Tammy Day:

Yeah, I think the first step, obviously for someone considering it is usually, how do we do more? And sometimes you don’t even know what more means.

Lyn Wineman:

Right.

Tammy Day:

I think when we started, more just meant give more money. And then again, it takes us a minute, but we got to the point where, “Okay, that’s great. But what if we had 65 people participating in giving back?”, whatever that meant, money, time, talent, all the things. And so, I would say figuring out your why is important. And then for us, the B Corp process was a really good way to solidify our commitment to this work long term and to demonstrate this wasn’t just a passing program or a phase or a thing we do for marketing, it’s really truly who we are. Because the B Corp process is rigorous.

Lyn Wineman:

Yes.

Tammy Day:

And you’re being asked to commit at a high level in lots of different categories. And so, I think it gave us that long-term accountability, and it also gave us access to a great community of other businesses to learn from. And then, the resources that that community provides to help you, again, we’re not stagnant, everyone’s continuing on that journey. So, having connection to those resources, it also helped us figure out what else we could do. And so, we have different areas that we’re even in the future going to be considering just to kind of move the needle. So for companies, considering that, I think it’s a great framework. There are other frameworks, obviously a person could access 1% for the planet, conscious capitalism, lots of different things like that. So finding the one that fits for you. But I do think being a part of the B Corp community has a lot of benefits, and it’s worth the rigor and the process to do that.

Lyn Wineman:

Yeah, thank you for that. I am on record at saying, it is a rigorous process, more rigorous than I anticipated when I went into it. But for KidGlov, we will all say, it made us a better company. It made us a better company because it helped us solidify some of the things that we were kind of doing in a soft way, but it made them really part of our process, so I was very thankful for that. And that B Corp community is really a fun, energizing community to be able to network with other businesses with similar values.

Tammy Day:

Yes, absolutely.

Lyn Wineman:

So Tammy, kind of to bring this full circle. So given your experiences in both business and philanthropy, what advice would you offer maybe a young professional or an entrepreneur looking to make a positive impact in their careers or communities regardless of their industry?

Tammy Day:

Yeah, I think young people, and really anyone has the opportunity to decide where they spend their time. So, I would encourage people to look around and consider what companies are doing in the do good space, what companies are considering social responsibility. How do I be a good community partner? How do I provide a great workplace? And then I always tell people, vote with your feet. If you’re somewhere that does not align with your values and who you are and who you want to be, then I mean, the nice part about a tight labor market is, you can pretty much go anywhere you want right now.

Lyn Wineman:

That’s a really good point. It’s a really good point. You don’t have to sit by and watch-

Tammy Day:

No. So find the place that fits for you and then figure out ways to use your voice and try to make some of those connections, whether it’s in your company. And for some people, that’s where they want to do those things. For some people, they just want to go to work and go home. And so, where in your community can you start to show up, learn about things, get connected, be willing to introduce yourself and seek out opportunities. I think anywhere you go, you can find ways, either through your work or through your personal life to have those connections. But it’s really up to the person to ask for those things and to look.

Lyn Wineman:

That’s fantastic. All right, Tammy, I’m going to ask you my favorite question next. And you’ve answered this question once before when you were on the podcast. But I’m really inspired by motivational quotes and I love that on this podcast, I get to talk to so many inspiring people. So, I would love a Tammy Day original quote to inspire our listeners.

Tammy Day:

Yeah, I wish I had looked to see what I said last time, because I might say it again. No, I already talked about everyone can make a difference. That’s one I usually lean on a lot. And I guess maybe just to tease that out a little bit more, I think we have to remember that each of us is special and can contribute that specialness to the world, and the world grows and becomes better and expands because of having been a part of it. I know it’s a little bit on the same line, but I really think a lot of good would happen if we just all took a minute to rethink how we view ourselves through that lens.

Lyn Wineman:

So good, Tammy, I love that. Thank you for adding that to our collection. So for our listeners who would like to learn more about you, your work, how to support you, how to get the book, how can they find out more?

Tammy Day:

Yeah. Daycos.com obviously is my work home. And there’s a Daycos for Good tab on there if you want to check out any of the resources we have or the way we are doing things.

Lyn Wineman:

I love that you share those resources with others too. So good.

Tammy Day:

Yeah. Oh, please. Yeah. We’re not holding on tightly to anything. Then we also, I’m on LinkedIn and Daycos has a LinkedIn page. Not that Daycos and I are totally intertwined, but I think you’ll see a lot of the things that are the result of the work that I’m doing and that people in our company are doing. And then, as I said before, tammy-day.com is my website and it has obviously information about the book, how to connect with me. If you want to have a conversation, work with me, have me come and talk to your PTO at your school. Whatever it is. I mean, you can tell, I like to talk about these kinds of things and I’m happy to share and ask a lot of questions and help people in whatever way I can.

Lyn Wineman:

That’s great. Tammy, so as we wrap up this great conversation today, I would love it if, what should we leave people with? What is the most important thing you would like our listeners to remember about the work that you’re doing?

Tammy Day:

I mean, I think I just go back to, everyone can make a difference.

Lyn Wineman:

Yeah.

Tammy Day:

If you remember that, I think it changes the way we view the world. Right? The helplessness goes away a little bit because some of that responsibility falls on us. And whatever you can do in your own little lane, your own little space, you think, “Well, that doesn’t really matter.” It does matter. Every bit of it matters. And again, if every single person did one thing, the world would be a very different place.

Lyn Wineman:

Tammy, what a great place to leave us. And I have to say, I fully believe the world needs more people like you, more companies like Daycos, more books like Philanthropy For All, and I really appreciate you taking time to share today.

Tammy Day:

Thanks, it was fun.

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.