Future of Impact Jessica Merrell

Season 1 is over! We learned a lot since we started our venture into live shows and podcasting.

We made some mistakes. We did some things right but we had great fun on the way.

This episode will be dedicated to all of our learnings, experiences, relationships built and mistakes made during the process of starting the Future Of Impact Show!

In the meantime, why don't you share with us on social media YOUR highlights of our podcast? We'd love to know!

Connect with me:

On my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-merrell/
On my  company:   https://onedegreeimpact.com/category/uncategorized/

Fundraising feels like the biggest priority when running your non-profit, but the most important thing is the impact you create.

That's why we all need to hear from someone who has been able to consistently do both for 15 years- Chad Bernstein.

Ever since its inception, Chad's organization, Guitars Over Guns, has revolutionized the way non-profits are run across the country while also raising over $3.5 million to expand their operations over the years.

With over 7,000 students positively impacted by their initiative, Chad is still at the very beginning of his journey to help many young people as possible.

For Chad, balancing expectations from funders, while making sure impact is actually being made, has been difficult. But it IS possible.

If you want to learn:

- What strategies to use to better manage your organization
- Ways balance your lifestyle as a non-profit founder
- How to maximize your impact through effective team building and mission

Then this episode of the Future of Impact is for you!

Chad Bernstein is a husband and father of four amazing kids, the co-founder of Guitars Over Guns, and a professional musician who has been instrumental in the evolution of the "Latin Funk" sound of Miami. Through the universal language of music, Chad galvanized the artist community to use music as a bridge to reach and empower Miami and Chicago’s most disenfranchised youth.

Chad received a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami in 2012, turning the focus of his academic studies to Guitars Over Guns in his dissertation, "The Effectiveness of Music Mentoring for At-Risk Youth Through the GOGO Program" (published in 2012). This paved the way for Guitars Over Guns' research-based methodology and set the stage for Chad and his father, Bob, a Chicago investment professional, to collaborate on the organization’s creation in 2008.

Chad took on Guitars Over Guns as a full-time career upon graduating (while continuing a rigorous performance schedule) and was named CEO in 2012. Today, Guitars Over Guns has a $3,000,000+ budget with 80 musicians serving more than 1,000 students a year in 30 sites across Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In April of 2015, Chad was honored as a CNN Hero for his work and has since been featured on the Steve Harvey Show and in People Magazine. More recently, Chad received the globally recognized Elevate Prize and the Ruth Shack Leadership Award, an honor held in Miami’s highest regard.

Chad remains as one of South Florida’s premier Latin, jazz, and funk artists. He performs most prominently with the Latin Grammy-nominated Spam Allstars, with whom he has toured throughout Europe and the US, and the highly popular Miami-based Latin-funk band, ¡Suénalo!, the inspiration for Guitars Over Guns. He has also worked with Pitbull, Shakira, will.i.am, Natalie Cole, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Chaka Kahn, John Legend, Phil Ramone, and many more. Chad is currently serving his third term as a Governor on the board of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs).

Connect with Chad!

On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-bernstein-79200043/

Connect with me:

On my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-merrell/
On my  company:   https://onedegreeimpact.com/category/uncategorized/

🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/FutureofImpact

Steve Lantham is the Co-Founder and CEO of DonateStock. A company focused on revolutionizing charity through stock giving.

You might be wondering how stocks, (you know the ones that are a symbol of profit and capitalism) can contribute to a NON-profit cause but you'd be surprised!

Here's what we'll cover in the episode:

- Why it took so long for a solution like DonateStock to exist?

- The future of Impact according to Steve.

- The complexities and contradictions in the non-profit sector.

- Why the non-profit sector is lacking innovation.

Ready to get your minds blown and refilled with knowledge? Tune in for the interview! Steve CRUSHED it.

Connect with Steve!

On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevelatham/
On his Company: DonatestockCharitable.org

Connect with me:

On my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-merrell/
On my  company:   https://onedegreeimpact.com/category/uncategorized/

🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/FutureofImpact

For the vast majority of people, finance is dull, tedious, way too science-y for their liking, and just a necessary evil for you to thrive in this world.

This episode's guest begs to differ.

Brian Haney is the Founder and CEO of The Haney Company. A firm based in the greater Washington Area that aims to ease the process of insurance and employee benefits - the process that so many companies dread.

Brian's career has been an illustrious rollercoaster of many apprenticeships that shaped him into the confident financier he is today.

However, this is ODI so we wanted to "spice" things up a little. Besides covering Brian's path to financial wellness and mastery, we will also cover:

- How financial literacy can generate a tremendous amount of impact in society if done correctly.

- How to find the synergy between the for-profit and non-profit sectors. And why we should.

- Thinking bigger: How improving the  micro level of finance (that of one person) helps the macro (our economy)

You won't want to miss this episode!

Connect with Brian!

On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-haney-thehaneycompanyfinancialguy/

Connect with me:

On my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-merrell/
On my  company:   https://onedegreeimpact.com/category/uncategorized/

🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/FutureofImpact

It’s time to change the way you go about designing solutions- WITH the community- for a bigger impact.

Organizations are accustomed to funders and government agencies coming in and dictating what they need to do without any input or participation from the community.

It’s easier said than done to find the right leadership within the community. It takes dedication to show up, listen and take action- and do you really have the right solution the community needs?

In reality, no one knows the problem better than those affected by it. If we can get those folks to lead the change, the greatest impact is made.

That's why we need to study the methods that have worked to enable and enlist community members to actively lead the change for themselves.

Patrick McNamara, president & CEO of Palm Health Foundation, seems to have figured it out.

Having spent most of his professional career in cross-sector work to improve communities, Pat has dedicated his career to designing and implementing initiatives in behavioral health, housing, family services, health, and non-profit leadership.

In this episode of Future of Impact, Pat McNamara, President & CEO of Palm Health Foundation, and host Jess Merrell discussed about:

- How to inspire and fund better solutions for health through community collaboration.
- From grassroots to grass top, what a thriving ecosystem look like- and how will we know when we get there?
- From a funder's perspective, practical takeaways any organization needs to know.

Don't miss this episode!

Connect with Pat!

On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-mcnamara-1a090a10/

Connect with me:

On my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-merrell/
On my  company:   https://onedegreeimpact.com/category/uncategorized/

🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/FutureofImpact

There's a new frontier on the horizon.

The space race is here. An era that will span a new renaissance of science, technology, and culture, forever changing the fabric of our lives and the ones that come after.

But, although there's no lack of curiosity about the great vastness that comes after we leave our atmosphere, education at scale is lacking.

The world has yet to prepare its workforce for the space economy- which is why the work of people like Dr. Mark Wagner matters.

Mark Wagner has a Ph.D. in Educational Technology and a master's degree in Cross-Cultural Education. He is the author of More Now: A Message from The Future for The Educators of Today (2018) and Space Education: Preparing Students for Humanity’s Multi-Planet Future (2022), which explores both the current reality on Earth and the possibilities for teaching students on the Moon, on Mars, and in deep space habitats.

He is also the founder of ARES Learning, which provides a vision for schools that prepare students with the skill sets and mindsets they’ll need to be successful in the growing space economy - and in humanity’s rapidly approaching multi-planet future.

On this Future of Impact episode- we, alongside Mark, are going to discuss:

- What ARES' unique funding model entails and why the company is winning.
- Why Mark decided to become an impact leader in the Space Education industry.
- How to make an impact to the moon, without necessarily stepping there.

You won't want to miss this “stellar” episode!

Connect with Dr.  Wagner!

On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdouglaswagner/

Connect with me:

On my LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-merrell/
On my  company:   https://onedegreeimpact.com/category/uncategorized/

🚨 Register for the show here: https://tinyurl.com/FutureofImpact