Leadership and Innovation in Nonprofit Work

We collectively can move the needle on some really challenging problems by working together.

Welcome to Connected Philanthropy. In today’s episode, I’m joined by Lynn Margherio. Lynn is the founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons, a nonprofit organization that provides clothing and other essentials to children in need. In this episode, we talk about leadership, engaging volunteers and donors, and measuring impact. So without further ado, let’s dive right in. Here’s Lynn.

I have not followed a straight path to cradles, to crayons. My journey. My professional journey has been. I started out doing business consulting, and then I worked in the Clinton White House, on policy. And, I started Cradles to Crayons a number of years after I left the administration. And it was really from, a personal experience when I was home helping my niece, who was about to at the time, get dressed and I was noticing as I was pulling, clothes from her drawer to put on, on her that I would take things out that still had tags on them.

But when I put them up against her to see if they would fit. she’d already outgrown them. And then when I was visiting my brother and, his young kids, I saw a similar thing, but with other kinds of items. and it struck me that, you know, kids grow really quickly. And the things, the clothes that they are wearing, the books they’re reading, the things that they need us kids change really frequently.

you know, a top might fit for 3 or 6 months, and then they need a different size or it’s now cold and they need a long sleeve shirt instead of the short sleeve shirt they were wearing three months earlier. So, so they need a lot of stuff just to be kids. And I saw an ever recharging source of supply.

If I could just figure out how to harness those things that were in beautiful or like new condition in homes like my brothers and sisters, and get them into, get those items into the hands of kids and families who could really benefit from them.

I want to compliment you on 22 years now. It sounds like the hypothesis was spot on. And I also want to compliment you on your entrepreneurial mindset. I know it’s easy to just assume, you know, if you identify a problem. Oh, there’s probably another organization, many organizations that are already tackling this. But to identify that need and also identify, oh, there’s a big opportunity to do this.

And now, 22 years later, the Giving Factories. It’s all just so impressive.

Well, Logan, you know, I have to say that, if it hadn’t been for, my family and friends and colleagues at the time giving me encouragement and, helping me out with this, you know, with every small milestone that, that I achieved, I probably would have given up 100 times. And so, you know, that is one one thing that I, that I think is probably pretty true for any entrepreneur is that, you know, while you might have passion and, perhaps be on this mission to try to do something new, there’s also some fear associated with it and a, you know, a need to get that support,

and feel like you’re on the right path. And so, so that, to me, was was how I got through those early years. and, you know, I can’t thank those people enough for being there to help me out in the beginning. And so many of them have stayed on this 20 plus year journey.

That’s great advice. having that rich network of trusted people, along the way, I think that’s critical for any entrepreneurial endeavor. I also view as just an exemplary leader, kind of jumping around here, but I wonder if I could just ask you a little bit about your leadership style, what it means to be a female leader.

a lot of our listeners are nonprofit leaders, and I think, would just love to hear some advice you have, maybe starting with, I guess we could just start, like, what is your favorite part? Maybe in your day to day job in terms of leadership?

What I love the most is hearing insights from, my team members, about what they are learning and the successes, that they have had in, in their work or what excites them about their role. And so I have, you know, this in my role leading the organization, I have the opportunity to speak with, and get to know people from across the organization.

And that is one of my one of my favorite, roles. And I would also say, and it’s related that because of what we do, we are also, We also have lots and lots of volunteers who come in to support our mission every day. And so being able to speak with, volunteer who’s essentially giving up a couple of hours of their day to roll up their sleeves and help us out.

you know that I find that incredibly recharging and, and inspiring and hopeful and the the good that is inherent in people. And then I would say as well, the, the people who we partner with, who are identifying the kids, who need the clothing that we have and who are then taking time from their day to come and pick up an order, and, or in the case of our digital platform, who may not be coming anywhere to pick up the order, but they are ensuring that the order of clothes that they receive from us is getting into the hands of a child who really needs it.

And so, you know, it’s really the it’s wonderful and, such a privilege to be able to work with people who care about helping others and being a part of a community.

I was looking on your website, over 500,000 volunteers, have volunteered. That is quite the milestone and would like to compliment you on that too. I think a lot of nonprofit leaders recognize the feel that they can get from volunteers, but also know that it can be a challenge to, you know, get consistency of people coming in the door.

volunteer communication, I’m sure, is a big lift. is there any other challenges or maybe lessons learned that you might be willing to share about the whole volunteer administrative experience?

Logan, there’s a there’s a lot in, you know, in that question. And, and I would say that our model in that we have very much a production environment so we can engage people and groups of people in our mission every day. And I understand that there are many other, types of nonprofits that don’t necessarily have a warehouse environment that can, you know, accommodate 200 people, or a two hour shift like we can.

But there are things that I think are more maybe universally applicable, in the whole nonprofits, arena, where people can be, deployed and, you know, effectively in supporting our missions. But it it can look different and how it happens or, or each nonprofit. And so I would start by about, I would say is really, starting with figuring out what is the work, what’s the day to day work of the nonprofit, and are there opportunities to either engage someone, on a regular basis to fill in that work or to complete that work, or are there opportunities, maybe not on an ongoing basis, but on a one time basis that

would help you to further your mission. So start with really being clear on what it is you need, and then whether it is a function that is best not by a staff person, or whether it is something that could be met by a volunteer and then make a decision, is that, do I need a regular trained volunteer to do that job?

or could I benefit from a group of people who come in one time and maybe I’ll never see them again? So start with what you need and then define, okay, how could I envision these volunteers and test it out, you know, come up with get some feedback. Are there other organizations that do what you do and that are using volunteers?

Learn from them. reach out to some individuals that you think could be interested to volunteer with you and say, hey, what do you think about this experience? is this something you would be interested to do? And, and start small. So pilot it, give it a try with people who are close to you, who love what you do.

And it’s a kind of low risk situation and and get their feedback. And then from there decide, was this worth our time to do? Did we get a return from it? Did it help further our mission? And is it something we got good feedback about? The answer to that is yes. And figure out what do you need to do to scale that up?

Is there someone you’re going to assign to that, response? You know, give that responsibility to what sort of communications would you need and how would you grow it?

That’s all such great advice, and I know our listeners will appreciate that. Additional contexts and those little nuances. So thank you for that answer. I imagine that donor communication and donor education is a big part of what you do. can you talk a little bit about kind of your, your donor communication and how you go about educating donors about your work and the need?

We’re continuing to evolve as an organization. we have because we have a lot of volunteer opportunities. We, we get people into our space and we’re able to have conversations with those people who have raised their hands to come and volunteer. So if they’re giving their time, what a better thing than to, you know, self-identify or then, you know, interest in the mission, then showing up and, and sharing your most valuable asset, which is your time to be an indicator of someone who might also be inclined to provide financial support to the organization.

and so we have, you know, not just me, but our team. We like to get to know who our volunteers are. We like to develop relationships with the with them and then try to understand, is there an interest and a capacity to write a check, to support this mission? and, and so that’s kind of an that is an initial entry point.

as we are looking to grow our base of major gifts, you know, five, six, 7 to 10 year gifts going forward, we are, looking to have different conversations with people in helping them to understand that clothing and security, you know, a child not having clothes, access to, affordable, adequate, appropriate clothing is a crisis in this country.

And it is they basic need that nobody is talking about that it is a new challenge or, for us, for me and for the, team members at Cradles to Grants who are doing development to try to have a conversation about our mission and what we are seeking to do, that the impact we are seeking to have with children by being, a resource and increasing access, for this unmet basic need.

And so there is very much not only a donor education process, but there’s also internally, for us, it’s a new way of talking about our mission and helping our donors, really connect the dots between what is that, you know, donation to support us buying some coats. I mean, in this bigger picture, clothing insecurity and how it impacts the self-esteem, health, and safe development for a child.

Why do you think it is such a hidden need?

It’s a great question. food insecurity was not on the radar. And then we hear about food insecurity as a basic need. a lot in the in the media and social media. it’s a it’s a topic, that is, I’d say relatively well understood now, but, you know, turn the clock back 30 years and that too was not well understood.

housing insecurity. we’re now having many conversations as a society about the crisis of, you know, the lack of affordable housing, across many cities and not just cities, but suburbs and, you know, communities across the United States. But, but we haven’t always talked about housing insecurity, and it’s in the press right now, and we see it, visibly in the, you know, in the increasing numbers of unhoused people, in, you know, in our communities and so clothing insecurity, is one of those topics when you have the opportunity to sit with someone like we’re doing right now and talk about it, you realize, oh, that’s kind of obvious.

You know, if someone is struggling to pay for, you know, put food on their table, if someone is struggling with rent, those are they’re also not able to afford clothing for their kids. And and so it usually takes just a few minutes in a conversation with someone for that light bulb to go out, you know, to go on.

And, and so we’re, we’re looking to try to get it to a place where it doesn’t need the two minutes, of one on one conversation. But it is a concept that people start to hear about and recognize. And the best news about clothing insecurity is it’s probably the easiest, easiest, and is it is a basic need that is solvable because there’s so much excess clothing out there in the world, and it is about, you know, getting it from where it is not being used, ensuring that it is appropriate and high quality, and just getting it to where it needs to, you know, where, it needs to go.

I think storytelling is also probably a valuable part of the equation. You mentioned. You know, after two minutes, it it’s pretty obvious. that the need is there. but I wanted to ask you, are there any stories that stand out in your mind that you like to tell? maybe it’s just a really fulfilling moment or a specific example, that you like to share with people that really sticks in their head.

So a couple things come to mind, Logan. And, you know, I think about the spirit of giving on the, you know, on the on the one hand, because it’s coming up for us soon, we have, a partnership with this amazing organization called project 351. here in the Boston area. And they are about to do their spring service projects, in partnership with cradles to Crayons.

And these are 350 one eighth grade students who are service ambassadors from each of the cities and towns across the Commonwealth who are dedicating not just their spring service, but they’re dedicating a year to working together to make a difference in their community and, you know, to help out and be service ambassadors. And in what is better than that, there’s there’s really not much that’s better than that.

And so they are launching drives in schools, with their sports teams, with their neighbors. they’re doing, fundraisers and they’re collecting, clothing that we’re going to be able to use and distribute over the next several months to kids. And, you know, across the Commonwealth who need those, who need the clothes. And when you see these young people in action, it is so inspiring because the energy they bring to it, the smiles, teamwork, is amazing.

And they’re not doing it for credit. They’re not doing it because they’re going to get a trophy or, you know, they’re they’re doing it because they care. And then these same eighth graders will be eighth graders next year who are supporting the incoming class, of eighth grade, you know, of these ambassadors. So now they’ve got this whole group up to college students and graduates who’ve been doing this, and it’s this fantastic community.

And to me, it’s just this beautiful example of service and why it’s important and why you don’t. You’re never too young to start. And how much we can learn from, from youth in being just better human beings. and, you know, and engaging. And so that is, you know, that is a story. And it’s something I’m really excited about.

That’s, that’s, that’s happening this coming month on the the side of why do we do this work and why is this mission so important? I carry in my head this, you know, this story of a young girl and in first grade who was sitting in her class, and she was fidgeting, really clearly uncomfortable, and, and her teacher asked if she needed to, you know, be excused.

And she, she took this this young girl, to use the restroom and the the girl when she, you know, the girl asked for help, snapping her pants, and she said, bye, mom. she said, my mom does this every day. Has to do this every day, because. And she this little girl had to just suck in her breath because the pants were so tight.

They couldn’t they she couldn’t snap them herself. And this teacher realized just in that moment why. And this little girl was so fidgety in the classroom. It wasn’t because she was distraught. I mean, it wasn’t because she, wasn’t interested. It wasn’t because she wanted to be disrupted. It was disruptive. This because she was so uncomfortable with what she had on and it was easy to solve.

She, the teacher, placed an order with us. We got this young girl close that stood her and not, you know, and not. As soon as she was able to put those on, she was so engaged and happy to be in that classroom. And so, you know, some of these that’s another example of this being a hidden crisis. It wasn’t clear to the teacher in that classroom that this girl just needed clothes that fit her, and that could make all the difference in how she showed up in the classroom.

Yeah, I can even empathize. I think everyone can empathize when you’re wearing something uncomfortable, how much it can take away your focus and really ruin your day. So yeah, what I what a great story. Could you tell me a little bit more about your your value quality equals dignity? I thought that was so cool. But I’d love for you to expand on that a little bit.

Quality Equals Dignity is about ensuring that every item that makes it through our process and gets into the hands of a child is an item that that child would feel good to have and to own and to wear. It’s also a value that we use when thinking about our volunteer visits and the interaction that we have with our volunteers.

About, you’re taking your time, you’re giving us your time, and we want to respect you by providing a a quality experience. And it’s also about how we think about our employees and the team environment that, that we that we, you know, strive to, deliver every day.

I want to shift to measuring impact. I know that this can be a struggle for nonprofits. Sometimes it’s hard to put metrics behind all the work you do. I mentioned, I mean, there are some just really impressive numbers over 20 years in operation. over 500,000 volunteers, over 300 or 3 million children served. other than those I just mentioned, are there, metrics or indicators that Cradles to Crayons really leans on it?

That’s that’s a great question, Logan. And it’s one where, you know, we continue to seek ways to tie what we provide to impact on a child’s, well-being. And sometimes those things can be tricky to, to make that direct correlation with. We’ve done, pilots with school partners where we have given, predictable, you know, we’ve been there three times a year with clothing, shoes, coats, backpacks and school supplies for their students.

They identified as being in low income situations and with the hypothesis that if we are, they’re on a predictable, basis, that some of the adverse consequences that, show up when a child is, when we are just being reacting or when a child doesn’t have those items, you know, can we can we show that it does make a difference, that clothing does make a difference to to kids?

And what we were able to see in partnership with another, nonprofit agency is that when you’re planful and when you are delivering these supports in conjunction with other supports that these students are getting, you know, in the way of perhaps counseling or in the way of extra, you know, tutoring or other supports that they need, then it does make a difference in their self-esteem.

It can also impact their attendance. One. you know, one thing we do know is that in a place like Boston, where it does get cold, it may not snow anymore, but it does get cold. Here, you need a winter coat. You don’t have a winter coat. You can’t wait for that school bus. and so we do see that attendance suffers for kids who do not have warm clothing and winter coats in the winter.

And so we were able to see with this cohort that their attendance improved, especially around winter. and so that’s an area that will be of continued focus for us, is to try to share more examples of how, in partnership with other nonprofit agencies, together we are able to, positively impact that child.

Well, I want to thank you for all the work that you do and all the impact you’ve had up to this point. are there any closing thoughts you have or anything else you’d like to highlight about Cradles to Crayons?

Logan I think we’ve we’ve touched on, a lot of, you know, a lot of different aspects. And, you know, I’m thinking about, the nonprofit leaders and, and individuals who might be listening to this podcast and, what I’d really like to say is, thank you know, thank you for your work. And, you know, we collectively can move the needle on some really challenging problems by working together.

Well said. Well, Lynn, thank you so much.

Thank you. Logan, this has been a lot of fun I appreciate it.