Transcript
Speaker: to talk a piece
Speaker: What's up and welcome to the To Conquer Peace podcast.
Speaker: I'm your host, D'Angelo.
Speaker: On this podcast, we explore ways for creatives to overcome creative block, imposter syndrome, and fear.
Speaker: This season is dedicated to the gift of information and how that could lead to releasing the stigma of something being too big or unattainable.
Speaker: As you guys know, I always have a special guest.
Speaker: And I mean it every time I say it, but I do genuinely have a special guest in the room.
Speaker: In addition to being a fellow Pepperdine alumni, Jasmine is the founder and president of Greenline Housing Foundation, a nonprofit based in California, which works to fight against years of systematic housing discrimination against people of color, an idea that began as she was studying for her California real estate license exam.
Speaker: um jasmine first of all before we get into anything what's up how you doing hello d'angelo i'm good it's good to be here with you so thanks for having me of course jazz i will say that jazz i always enjoy talking to you because you i don't know one it's just like queen energy but it's like i'm from the east coast and you're a very straightforward communicator and i just really love that because i don't have
Speaker: try to read between the lines.
Speaker: It's like, no, like who you are is who you are.
Speaker: And I love that.
Speaker: I appreciate that you love that because not everybody does.
Speaker: I have the same issue, so it's fine.
Speaker: But yeah, so your organization, your nonprofit organization that you founded and take care of does some amazing work that, you know, when you read it, you're like, wow, that's dope.
Speaker: That sounds really cool.
Speaker: But
Speaker: to people who might not be very familiar with the housing world?
Speaker: And how do you, like, what does that practically look like from a work that you guys do?
Speaker: Yeah, no, that's a good question.
Speaker: A lot of what we do
Speaker: has to be coupled with education about why we do it, right?
Speaker: And so they go together, because to your point, not everybody knows, like, what were the things that happened in housing that led to these huge chasms that we see between access for people of color and white people, you know, or pretty much people of color and, you know,
Speaker: a lot of other races and black people and other races.
Speaker: And so information about why these stats are what they are is a natural segue to like, okay, but here's Green Line and here's our solution and here's what we're proposing to do, you know, as a result of these injustices.
Speaker: And so
Speaker: To that end, it's whenever I speak about Green Line, I always start with like, this is the present day reality, right?
Speaker: These are the home ownership gaps and the racial wealth gap.
Speaker: This is the problem that we are seeing.
Speaker: These are facts, right?
Speaker: Because people can't argue with statistics.
Speaker: I mean, they can, but it's on paper.
Speaker: It's mathematical, right?
Speaker: It's quantifiable.
Speaker: But then it's like when you unpack, okay, but why do these look like this?
Speaker: Why do black people have less than 5% of the wealth of white people?
Speaker: Why is the home ownership gap bigger now than it was in 1900?
Speaker: Why are all of these things the case?
Speaker: And that's when we really go in and unpack the history and the culmination of a lot of policies throughout the past really 200 years.
Speaker: that have all culminated to make these huge disparities that we see today.
Speaker: So that was a very long winded answer to your question, but.
Speaker: No, no, that's perfect.
Speaker: I mean, I think that in one sense, you're saying that a lot of the work is an education of the audience, maybe the funders or whatever.
Speaker: And also I'm curious about like, well, how does that look from a service standpoint?
Speaker: Like, how are you, what are the service you offer to these people who, people like me or you who are people of color who would not have a fair chance at an opportunity for housing because of the history?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And so, like you said, we're trying to reverse the effects of systemic racism in housing, and we do it by giving down payment grants, home maintenance grants, and financial education to qualified people of color to purchase or maintain a home, and specifically to kind of close these gaps and to repair, right?
Speaker: So from that standpoint, the grant actually becomes a form of lost equity intended to repair what centuries of legal housing discrimination have broken.
Speaker: So that's kind of our method.
Speaker: And it's grant making.
Speaker: So it's a grant for the sake of a grant, right?
Speaker: It's not a loan.
Speaker: We're not going to attach some of the equity.
Speaker: We're not going to take some of the equity out of your house.
Speaker: That's completely counterproductive.
Speaker: But we're just going to give away money, D'Angelo.
Speaker: I mean, that's what we're doing.
Speaker: At the end of the day, that's what we're doing.
Speaker: Yeah, I love it.
Speaker: Okay, cool.
Speaker: Yeah, I really wanted people to understand just before we get into your journey a little bit about the work that you guys do and what that practically looks like just from an information access standpoint.
Speaker: But what I'm curious about, and I minored in nonprofit management at Pepperdine.
Speaker: My biggest takeaway from that was like, wow, having a nonprofit is really hard.
Speaker: You're not wrong.
Speaker: You're not wrong.
Speaker: So I'm curious now that you are, you know,
Speaker: fully in it and have owned it and are pretty furthering your journey.
Speaker: What would you say is the mindset someone needs to be able to accomplish creating your own nonprofit?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I mean, that's such a great question, D'Angelo, because...
Speaker: You know, I studied business in college.
Speaker: And so fundamentally, I knew some of the things that go into like having a business and running a business.
Speaker: But what I think is unique to nonprofit founders specifically is that they are passionate enough about a subject area or a service or whatever, passionate enough to start something, right?
Speaker: Which means that the problem is burdensome enough where they felt compelled to act.
Speaker: And so I think one of the things that I underestimated was just the weight, you know, and how heavy it would be being face to face with the ills of systemic injustice, like all day, every day.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so to that end, it can sometimes look like this big Goliath that we're trying to fight.
Speaker: But honestly, for me,
Speaker: when I kind of get stuck in those moments, a couple of things help.
Speaker: One is just being reminded of the impact that we're making in the lives of people, hopefully for generations to come, right?
Speaker: And so I'll like go and look at a testimonial video and kind of like pump myself up a little bit, right?
Speaker: Or I'll like,
Speaker: you know, God has been gracious.
Speaker: Like somebody will send an email that it's like, your work is so important and I can't, you know, things that'll kind of reignite and light that fire one.
Speaker: And then two is honestly just realizing that all of this is bigger than us.
Speaker: But the only thing that we can do is what we have with who we are and where we're at.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And then, so from that standpoint, it narrows it down from this like huge abstract
Speaker: concept like, oh my gosh, I'm dismantling systemic injustice.
Speaker: No, no, no.
Speaker: I just gave a grant to Andrew and Euthygein.
Speaker: You kind of break it down to this is me and this is what I have and this is where I'm at.
Speaker: recognizing that it's like for us one home at a time.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Like, and that it's, it's helpful to, to, to kind of bring it back to the present from that standpoint.
Speaker: And honestly, just the power of God.
Speaker: Cause like Goliath, David, God says a lot about David and Goliath.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And like, so when I feel like it's a Goliath, I'm kind of reminded that I have a God who is very familiar with fighting giants.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: You spoke to something that I think is really interesting, especially in the nonprofit world, right?
Speaker: If you are a founder, there is a deep passion that you probably have to want to change the thing that you see is wrong.
Speaker: But then you get into it, especially when it's something systematic that has existed for years and years, and you realize, oh,
Speaker: you know, I might not be, it might not be me that will be able to will this thing that existed for a hundred years to change it, which is frustrating, but, but you're, you, it seems like you found ways to encourage yourself through the process so that you still have that engine and still have that light.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I mean, because you have to self care is a really big part of it.
Speaker: Like you have to be mentally
Speaker: you can't pour from an empty cup, right?
Speaker: And that's another thing that I noticed.
Speaker: Like, look, I'm a mom.
Speaker: These kids have me out here in these streets.
Speaker: I'm busy and stuff.
Speaker: And so I know, I understand the concept of like, yep, needing rest, needing to fill yourself up.
Speaker: I didn't fully understand it from the context of like resting from the heaviness of this work so that I could continue to serve.
Speaker: And so giving myself permission, that's a really big thing.
Speaker: Nonprofit founders and business owners, we have to give ourselves permission
Speaker: to fill up in the ways that we need to fill up to restore our mind, bodies, and souls so that we can continue on this work.
Speaker: And for me, a long time, it was about me giving myself self-permission.
Speaker: I was the obstacle.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: And so now that I've kind of like come to realize that that level of self-care is inextricable from like me being effective in my work and really leaning into that.
Speaker: And again, being okay with it is a really, really big one.
Speaker: So how do you, I love that, but not, but, and I can see this challenge in it because there's an aspect of letting go that has to exist, which I think comes in clash with not just non-profit culture, but like work American culture.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: A hundred percent.
Speaker: So how do you, because you are the leader in your organization, how do you, what are some practical things you've done to institute that culture?
Speaker: So one, and again, I don't wanna over spiritualize it or anything like that, but God has been very gracious to me in demonstrating over and over again that he is working when I am not.
Speaker: And so to that end, how that's looked practically is that some of the biggest milestones that my organization has reached or some of the biggest funding opportunities that we've had have come when I have either been on vacation or I have been... Legit, I would check an email and all of a sudden somebody wants to send us a whole bunch of money, but I'm chilling.
Speaker: It's not necessarily something like, yes,
Speaker: It's conversations that I've seeded and things like that.
Speaker: But like the fruit of it oftentimes has come while I am at rest.
Speaker: And that is God explicitly telling me that I am working when you are not so that you can trust that it's going to be taken care of.
Speaker: So that's from kind of like the metaphysical, right?
Speaker: Like practically...
Speaker: Delegation is huge.
Speaker: You have to delegate, you have to set up your team in such a way.
Speaker: Because right now I'm the only full-time employee of Greenline, that's about to change, we're making a full-time hire.
Speaker: But I have a team that is very committed
Speaker: And I have to empower them.
Speaker: So the job of a leader, of a nonprofit leader, in order for the organization to be effective, in order to get the rest and restoration that is needed, you have to be able to delegate, but you have to be able to empower and equip your team and have confidence in them to know that they can do the work even when you're gone.
Speaker: And so a big part of it is the way that you kind of set things up, right?
Speaker: It's like,
Speaker: you know, and anticipating like, okay, I'm going to be gone.
Speaker: So this is what we've got going on.
Speaker: Or, you know, we've got this on the docket.
Speaker: And feeling, letting them feel empowered is really, really big.
Speaker: Cause there's a difference between like them being capable and competent to them feeling empowered to do things in my absence.
Speaker: And that's a really, really big one.
Speaker: So you said some like really good things there.
Speaker: And it's, and I think that some of what I hear you saying is, you know, it's about being organized.
Speaker: Like you got to see a couple of steps ahead,
Speaker: in your journey, but then also as a leader, trusting the people that you brought in and empowering them to be self-autonomous and be invested.
Speaker: And it sounds like you've been blessed to have that, which can be a hard thing to find.
Speaker: No, the team is great.
Speaker: Honestly, I don't always do a great job setting them up well.
Speaker: And I'm going to be honest because sometimes my mind is like a thousand steps ahead and then I'm like, oh shoot, I didn't circle back with the team or I didn't do that.
Speaker: I am guilty of that for sure.
Speaker: But it's, yeah, it's about
Speaker: And the commitment.
Speaker: The commitment is really, really huge.
Speaker: The commitment of the team.
Speaker: I h ad a conversation with the CEO of a billion dollar company.
Speaker: And I asked him, I had like five minutes, and I asked him, what advice would you give me as a nonprofit founder, starting out as a fellow entrepreneur, what would you tell me?
Speaker: And what he said kind of surprised me at the time.
Speaker: He said,
Speaker: surround yourself with good people.
Speaker: He said, you are only one person and your organization can only go as far as the commitment of the people that you have working with you.
Speaker: And that really struck me because I thought he was going to give some like, you know, earth shattering advice or something about, but what he said had everything to do with other people.
Speaker: And that was profound to me.
Speaker: And I've kind of taken that to heart in terms of, you know, who I've surrounded myself with.
Speaker: And the commitment, because at the end of the day, if the people around you are committed to the mission, it's not about me, right?
Speaker: If they're committed to the mission and the vision of this organization, then they are going to do things to further that mission, sometimes because of me and how I've prepared them, but sometimes in spite of me, right?
Speaker: And the things that may be in the gaps or the deficits that I have, if that makes sense.
Speaker: That's good.
Speaker: Yeah, I hear a lot of humility in your leadership style, which is dope.
Speaker: Okay, so let's go...
Speaker: to the past of your journey?
Speaker: Because I would love people to know the ins and outs a little bit of like, well, I started a nonprofit.
Speaker: Well, what the heck does that mean?
Speaker: Like, you know what I mean?
Speaker: So what I've gathered is that you were, you know, you have, I know you have a real estate license, you're studying for that.
Speaker: And maybe that is the beginning of your exposure or a deeper exposure to some of the issues that were happening.
Speaker: What made the, oh, wow, that's wrong, go to
Speaker: I need to do something about this.
Speaker: I'm going to tell you.
Speaker: And we're going to take it back a little bit.
Speaker: So I was born, this will be the abbreviated version, but I was born on the South side of Chicago into a house that my paternal grandmother owned.
Speaker: And when she, you know, that she was able to purchase as a black woman in the sixties, which was no small feat.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: So she had this house on the South side of Chicago.
Speaker: When she died, she left it to my dad.
Speaker: And so that was like that, you know, that was an asset, a foundational asset, because the sale of that house fueled all the future purchases for my family that led to things like access to quality education and adequate health care and so many other like determinants that are tied to place.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And it wasn't until I was older that I came to realize that she was actually the exception and not the rule.
Speaker: in terms of being able to do that.
Speaker: Not only that, but buying on the South side, the fact that she was able to buy was huge, but she had to buy on the South side because there was a lot of restrictions about where
Speaker: Black people could live in the Chicago area at the time, right?
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So she, you know, so we have this house, you know, growing up, I've always loved real estate.
Speaker: I used to ride my bike to open houses in the neighborhood just for fun, just to like walk through a house and be like, oh, this is, you know, this is so dope.
Speaker: So I've always had this like sense of really loving real estate.
Speaker: And then I went to Pepperdine, studied business, a lot of finance, a lot of like understanding wealth accumulation, right?
Speaker: And like money and how it happens and learned that obviously the majority of it, or not the majority, but a large portion of it comes from property ownership, like owning some kind of property, right?
Speaker: And so...
Speaker: Those seeds kind of started to come together.
Speaker: And then when I graduated from college, I worked as a corporate credit risk underwriter.
Speaker: And so we were analyzing large home builders and developers and Fortune 500 companies.
Speaker: And so, again, got to use the analysis for credit decision making and seeing all these home builders and developers and nobody ever looked like me.
Speaker: And meanwhile, these balance sheets reflected significant amounts of wealth.
Speaker: And so all of those are seeding.
Speaker: And then fast forward, I took my real estate license, learned that it wasn't until 1968 that it became illegal everywhere.
Speaker: And I was like, but hold on.
Speaker: So in 1967, somebody could say no because I was Black.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Just really understanding the implications of that.
Speaker: And the fact that 1968 wasn't that long ago,
Speaker: you know, that it became illegal.
Speaker: And so it's like, what, you know, all of the things that happened prior to 1968 and what does that mean?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And then I started working after my, my oldest daughter was born, uh, after my youngest daughter was born, I, um, started working at a church just part-time working at my church, but this church was like really, really,
Speaker: kind of focused on racial reconciliation and having conversations around justice and was really a trailblazer at its time because not a lot of churches were having these conversations, right?
Speaker: And so it was there that I learned about the gospel imperative to pursue justice.
Speaker: And as a believer, I have to care.
Speaker: Not only, you know, I'm a black person, so obviously I do, but as a believer, I have to care about this because Jesus cared about it, right?
Speaker: And so, so those were all the seeds, right, that are, that had been planted and were germinated.
Speaker: But then in 2020, with the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, where kind of the eyes of our collective consciousness were open and I just was so heavy.
Speaker: I was so grieved.
Speaker: by just like what the experience of Black people is in our country.
Speaker: And I was praying and journaling and I just was so heavy and I was like, Lord, I just feel like I need to do something, but I'm only one person and what am I going to do?
Speaker: And so he led me to a passage in Psalms and then it said like, uphold the cause of the oppressed.
Speaker: And so that was the moment where I was like, all right, well,
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So I need to do something, right?
Speaker: It was clear.
Speaker: It became clear.
Speaker: And then I'm like, well, what am I going to do?
Speaker: And then he spoke very clearly and was like, well, use what you have and who you are and where you're at, right?
Speaker: So then I just started to draw on all of these seemingly unrelated experiences, right?
Speaker: And then that's how Green Line was born.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I hear it's almost like your entire journey was walking you to these moments.
Speaker: But then I also hear...
Speaker: that you already studied business, there were some inherited knowledge that you had on what that would look like.
Speaker: What would your recommendation be for people who don't have a business background but do have a deep aspiration?
Speaker: What would be the first step in walking towards starting their nonprofit?
Speaker: That's a good question.
Speaker: And honestly, there is so much content and information out there that if somebody doesn't have a business degree, they can do a Google search or you can get a book.
Speaker: Like there's just, there's a lot of avenues.
Speaker: I don't want people to be discouraged.
Speaker: Like, oh, I don't have, you know, a business background or I don't have that.
Speaker: There's plenty of people doing amazing work that have started things that have zero business background.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so I would encourage them to not use that as an obstacle, but rather as like, okay, just let me identify what do I need to know?
Speaker: and pursue those resources because there's so many available.
Speaker: There's certificate programs.
Speaker: There's, again, no money has to be spent at all.
Speaker: I know someone didn't have a business background.
Speaker: She
Speaker: read books, you know, those for dummy books or whatever.
Speaker: She read a grip of those and then launched this, like this, this seed idea that she had is, and it's now a multimillion dollar business.
Speaker: Like, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: And like, it doesn't, it doesn't have to be, um, sometimes we get too caught up on these like designations or, or qualifications.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And, um,
Speaker: When really at the end of the day, the qualifying things are passion and a desire and a willingness to act.
Speaker: Like those are the qualifying elements.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Everything else can be filled in.
Speaker: What's up, guys?
Speaker: I hope you're enjoying the podcast.
Speaker: Thank you for listening thus far.
Speaker: I want to give us a little bit of a mental break.
Speaker: We're halfway through the episode.
Speaker: Just a couple of thoughts real quick, and then I'm going to give you about 15 seconds to get your mind right.
Speaker: If you have any questions, any thoughts, anything that you would love to hear, please jump on YouTube.
Speaker: This is also a video podcast.
Speaker: I would love that to be our space for Discord.
Speaker: I'll be on there responding, replying to comments, anything like that.
Speaker: I would love to have that as a space for community for all of us.
Speaker: But in the meantime, take a second, take a breath, and we'll be right back.
Speaker: My belief is that we all have
Speaker: these passions and gifts and purpose that the Lord wants us to impact the world with, but we can be pigeonholed by the fear of being inadequate, not being good enough, everything, right?
Speaker: And it sounds like to me, you're saying some of the ways to overcome that is just stepping out and getting that information on what you don't know.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: That's a bit, yeah.
Speaker: I mean, yes, I would say that a hundred percent.
Speaker: And two is right.
Speaker: We disqualify ourselves.
Speaker: Sometimes we're our own obstacle.
Speaker: We are our biggest obstacle.
Speaker: And so I would say, yes, figure out the information, get the information.
Speaker: There's plenty of access for it or access to it.
Speaker: But I would also say,
Speaker: structure things as opportunities and not, you know, opportunities for growth, right?
Speaker: There is a steep, steep learning curve.
Speaker: Honestly, I look back at some of the things that I was doing when I first started this organization, I was like, I didn't have a freaking clue, but I was doing it right.
Speaker: And so people have to allow themselves the process to learn and to grow and to fail forward.
Speaker: I think sometimes it's like, if I don't get it, then I won't get it.
Speaker: No, no, no.
Speaker: You just haven't got it yet.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: And that's okay.
Speaker: So like allow the journey, allow that process because there are things to be gleaned throughout that process that you need in order to take you from here to there.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so I would say it's a, it's a reframing of sorts and, and how, um,
Speaker: blind spots or gaps or things that you just don't know or are looked at.
Speaker: You know, it's, it's, it's, no, it's an opportunity.
Speaker: If I would have stopped when I made my first mistake or second mistake or even 10th mistake, we wouldn't be here.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: And so it's, again, just allow the opportunity, allow the process to take its course, be okay with the learning curve and fail forward, you know?
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: So what I hear almost is there's for you,
Speaker: I'm not to say that you're doing this perfectly, but there's an ability for you to look at your failures and not handling things the right way and use it as an opportunity to grow as opposed to maybe jumping to shame and feeling like you're not good enough and stopping.
Speaker: Is that something that was innate to you or has that been you just learned as you go?
Speaker: What was the journey with that?
Speaker: Definitely not innate.
Speaker: I am, again, I am my own biggest critic, as most of us are, right?
Speaker: And the temperament of a lot of founders or entrepreneurs is like this one of like perfection, like wanting to be perfect, you know, wanted it to be perfect, wanted it to be great out the gate, you know?
Speaker: But no, so no, that is definitely not innate to me.
Speaker: One of the, I guess two of the big things that have helped me in those moments is one, just supportive people around you that remind you who you are.
Speaker: Like that's, I can't, I can't overstate that.
Speaker: That is one of the biggest, biggest ones for me personally is those words of affirmation, those voices, like I said, reminding me who I am and whose I am.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And then just like, and then praying, like I have a very, very deep sense that this organization does not belong to me.
Speaker: It was a seed that was given to me by the Holy spirit.
Speaker: And so it's not, it's not kind of, it's not mine.
Speaker: to have, I'm to steward it.
Speaker: And so from that standpoint, it's like, okay, Lord, I don't know what is happening.
Speaker: And I made this mistake and I don't know why you picked me, but you did.
Speaker: And ultimately this is yours.
Speaker: So I'm going to just move forward because I am certain that this is from you.
Speaker: Do you see what I'm saying?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So that has been really, those two things have been hugely helpful to me in those moments of self-doubt.
Speaker: you know, and self-shame and, and, and, and wondering if, if I'm equipped or if I can do this.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Community is so important.
Speaker: It is so important.
Speaker: The amount of times I'm like crying and my husband's like, it's okay, baby, you can do this.
Speaker: You are, you are a bad, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Like a lot of that.
Speaker: It's a lot of that.
Speaker: My friends being like, yes, this is necessary.
Speaker: You know, it's, yeah, it's huge.
Speaker: It's huge.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So it would be as a journalist, just bad journalism.
Speaker: If I don't talk to you about fundraising, because what's nonprofit without fundraising?
Speaker: I'm curious about, especially as you're launching, you're starting what it was that journey like, and how have you maneuvered asking people for money to get your business to keep going?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: You got to be comfortable with rejection.
Speaker: That's one.
Speaker: And that is a muscle that most people don't have already worked out.
Speaker: That has to be developed, right?
Speaker: Like that muscle flexes a lot.
Speaker: And so it's going to get stronger and stronger to kind of bounce off that rejection.
Speaker: But what I will say, and one of the things that has been really helpful in our fundraising journey is
Speaker: It's like I mentioned earlier, we just paint the picture of why we exist, right?
Speaker: Of why we're necessary.
Speaker: And look, it's not going to resonate with everybody.
Speaker: And I think that that's one big thing about fundraising that people need to understand.
Speaker: It doesn't mean that your mission is any less profound, right?
Speaker: It just means like some things resonate with some people.
Speaker: Some people are going to give...
Speaker: money to Africa all day long because they are deeply, deeply impacted by that.
Speaker: Some people are going to give money to the humane society all day long because, you know, pet, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: And so it's like, not everybody is going to, it doesn't mean that it's bad.
Speaker: Not everybody is going to resonate with it, but you just have to find those people, right?
Speaker: And that's big in terms of how outreach is done, in terms of how marketing is done.
Speaker: Identify your audience.
Speaker: That's a really, really big one.
Speaker: Who are you trying to reach?
Speaker: Who do I want to invite to participate in this mission with me?
Speaker: One of the biggest gifts for us as we started is that we were kind of launched by a church that I used to work at and attend.
Speaker: you know, that recognize the value and the need for what I'm doing from a justice standpoint, and then launched me from their platform from a standpoint of, you know, here's this organization and they're doing amazing things and they have a very big reach.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so that helped to raise awareness from a very early stage for what we're doing.
Speaker: And that was, that was a huge, huge gift.
Speaker: I don't know that that's everybody's story, you know, to be able to be launched like that.
Speaker: But for us, that really helped.
Speaker: And we were able to build off kind of the momentum that that started.
Speaker: Yeah, from a fundraising standpoint.
Speaker: That was huge.
Speaker: And, you know, they committed a, like a seed gift to help, you know, with the early, with the early expenses.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And that was also huge.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: That was also huge.
Speaker: No, it makes sense.
Speaker: It's relationship based, right?
Speaker: Like that's just how it goes.
Speaker: To your point, it is, it is relationships.
Speaker: One thing that I would encourage a nonprofit founder, because fundraising can be super discouraging, right?
Speaker: It can be, you know, you get told no a lot or whatever, and then you second guess, like you said, or like I said, but it's,
Speaker: One of the things that I've seen that has been so cool is like fruit come from these like conversations that I've seeded maybe even years before.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And then like, you know, it's, it's germinated and germinated and germinated.
Speaker: And then all of a sudden one day there, you know, somebody is ready to give where maybe they weren't before, you know, so don't, don't, it's a long game.
Speaker: Fundraising is a long game.
Speaker: It's a relationship based thing.
Speaker: And it is a, it is a long game.
Speaker: from the standpoint of making these initial connections, you know, cultivating relationships, being, being targeted in your ask.
Speaker: Like sometimes you just got to ask, right?
Speaker: You can't skate around it.
Speaker: You got to be specific and bold and your ask, that's a really, really big one.
Speaker: And then wait for the fruit to come.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And, and, and that's a process.
Speaker: Yeah, I love that.
Speaker: It is a process.
Speaker: And so to that point with fundraising, it being processed, not everyone is going to get, you know, a chunk of money in the beginning.
Speaker: When did you know that, okay, like it's time to do this.
Speaker: This needs to have more of my attention.
Speaker: This needs to be a full-time thing.
Speaker: Cause you spoke to being the only full-time employee.
Speaker: Like what are some of the things you would need to see from your nonprofit to know?
Speaker: I would say,
Speaker: Be mindful of people reaching out.
Speaker: Like once the word gets out and people were coming to me like, hey, I heard about what you're doing.
Speaker: How can I be involved?
Speaker: Not even necessarily from a monetary standpoint, but just like, how can I participate?
Speaker: How can I help?
Speaker: That is evidence that you have a vision that is resonating with people, right?
Speaker: And so when that type of stuff starts to happen, when people are telling people who are coming back to you and being like, what is this?
Speaker: Tell me more.
Speaker: or giving anecdotal, you know, kind of evidence is like, this organization is so needed because my cousin, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Like when they're able to like relate to it, that's when there's opportunity there that needs to be cultivated.
Speaker: And honestly, for us, we probably waited a little, well, I don't know, maybe a little too long for that because that was happening.
Speaker: And I feel like there were opportunities that we could have missed out on because we didn't do that cultivating work, you know, earlier.
Speaker: But I think that's one telltale sign is like when people start coming to you, right?
Speaker: One thing that I would say in terms of structure of how things are done, proof of concept is really big for people who are thinking about giving.
Speaker: You have to demonstrate that you have something that works, right?
Speaker: And so from that standpoint, I would say, and people have different thoughts philosophically on this.
Speaker: And so this is by no means gospel.
Speaker: This is just my opinion.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: Try to keep your overhead as low as possible.
Speaker: You know, get volunteers, do that so that you can spend those early resources in demonstrating that this works, whatever that looks like, right?
Speaker: And for us, it was making a grant so somebody could get a house so that we could tell a story.
Speaker: Like that was our...
Speaker: you know, kind of initial investment for others, you know, depending on what the nonprofit is or what the service that's offered, try to deploy early resources into getting like testimonials or stories or proof of concept.
Speaker: Cause then you can use that to take to funders and be like, this works.
Speaker: See, I need you to participate so that we can create more stories like this or more impact like this or whatever, if that makes sense.
Speaker: No, that makes sense.
Speaker: Just so people know too, overhead, when you say overhead, what do you mean?
Speaker: Oh, that's, yeah, that's great.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Overhead is kind of like the expenses that don't go to the actual thing that the nonprofit is doing.
Speaker: So like, you know, staffing and office supplies and, you know, things like that are overhead, like leasing a building or leasing office space or something, all of those comprise overhead expenses.
Speaker: And this is not to say that those aren't necessary because they are incredibly necessary.
Speaker: But just for me, I'm like, I just need to be able to tell people that this works.
Speaker: So we need to spend those early resources on that.
Speaker: And then we'll have the momentum to start building and operationally.
Speaker: No, that makes sense.
Speaker: Yeah, thanks for sharing that wisdom too.
Speaker: I think that, well, so here's what I'm curious about.
Speaker: Because not everyone, again, is going to get the gift of, the blessing that you got.
Speaker: How would you recommend, because you've already spoken to, hey, educate yourself in the process and the business aspect because that will make you feel more equipped.
Speaker: Okay, you've educated yourself and you understand how to get your nonprofit going and all that type of stuff.
Speaker: What would be the first step in pursuing fundraisers for your idea?
Speaker: Start with people close to you.
Speaker: I mean, that's, and not to say that everybody close to you has a whole grip of money or anything like that, but I think that there's value in like even crowdfunding.
Speaker: Like if you had four people who give $100, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker: Like just start with your community, with the people that know you and trust you.
Speaker: I would say, you know, kind of start there.
Speaker: Two, there are a lot of grants available for early stage.
Speaker: Well, maybe not a lot, but there are grants available for early stage nonprofits, right?
Speaker: That you don't have to have everything locked up, everything figured out.
Speaker: Excuse me.
Speaker: They give resources to help you figure that out, to help you build that.
Speaker: I would say pursue those, those kind of early stage available resources for nonprofits.
Speaker: I would say that's a, that's a really, really big one.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And look at stakeholders in your particular vision and also go to them.
Speaker: And what I mean by that is like for us, for example, housing, ours isn't housing.
Speaker: We do housing.
Speaker: And so we're talking to real estate agents and real estate brokers and banks and seeding the vision with them and inviting them to participate as well.
Speaker: And so look at, look at the, the, the stakeholders that surround your, your vision or your idea or your sector.
Speaker: Um, and then I think this will be my last question, but again, it's also more technical, but you spoke to that.
Speaker: There are, there are ways, or you've seen ways where people didn't even have to like, cause that was surprising to me.
Speaker: You didn't have to pay to get their nonprofit kind of going.
Speaker: Like how would one pursue wisdom and things like that?
Speaker: There is a,
Speaker: There are expenses associated with even just like, you know, registering and becoming and incorporating all of that and getting the federal 501c3.
Speaker: I'm guessing that's unavoidable.
Speaker: That's unavoidable.
Speaker: Yes, you can't.
Speaker: Yeah, you can't get out of paying that.
Speaker: But again, sometimes.
Speaker: You know, inviting people to help, like, you know, it's going to cost six hundred dollars to do this, you know, asking.
Speaker: you know, six people for a hundred bucks or 12 people for 50 bucks, you know, just to kind of like, and painting a picture of it and having a clear plan, right?
Speaker: So we're first going to do this and then we're going to do this.
Speaker: That's, that's huge when you're inviting people to, to participate.
Speaker: One thing that I will say, even as far as the, the getting all of that technical paperwork and incorporate it with the state and the 501c3 and all of that, we, we incorporated
Speaker: We got tax exempt in the state of California first because we kind of started during the pandemic and the IRS was backlogged by like an obscene number of months and we didn't want to be hindered.
Speaker: And so we were like, OK, well, let me just get the tax exemption in the state of California first so that at least we can start there and communicate to people that we are a tax exempt organization in the state of California type of thing.
Speaker: while you're waiting on the federal 501c3 tax determination letter, which typically takes, you know, at least six months.
Speaker: So that's one thing that I would say.
Speaker: The big one is the IRS.
Speaker: That one is like, yeah, that could be like $600, but.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: That's good.
Speaker: Well,
Speaker: Jasmine, thank you so much for taking some time and kind of sharing a little bit about your journey.
Speaker: And I really enjoyed hearing the tools you've learned to work through some of the frustrations of your work.
Speaker: I mean, obviously your work sounds great, but there's the mental work behind the work that you're looking to do.
Speaker: So thank you for bringing us into that.
Speaker: Yeah, no problem.
Speaker: Thank you for having me.
Speaker: This is great.
Speaker: I hope that what I shared helps at least one person keep moving forward in their journey.
Speaker: Of course, and of course, if you guys want to support Jasmine in any way, whether that's just throwing some money or you have a question, it's Green Line Housing Foundation.
Speaker: If you Google search that, you'll see the website.
Speaker: Is there other ways that are more helpful to get in contact with you or is the website the best way?
Speaker: The website is great.
Speaker: If people have a question, they can email me.
Speaker: I can give you my email.
Speaker: It's just Jasmine, J-A-S-M-I-N, at GreenlineHousing.org.
Speaker: And I'm happy to answer any questions or give me any support.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So thank you guys for joining us.
Speaker: I hope you enjoyed this episode.
Speaker: If you have any questions, thoughts, please throw them in the comments.
Speaker: Hit me up on Instagram at D'Angelo.
Speaker: Thank you for joining us and I'll see you guys next week.
Speaker: Peace.
Speaker: Peace.
Speaker: Peace.
