Dr. Bob Woodson spent decades challenging assumptions about poverty, charity, and what creates real change. In light of his recent passing, this conversation - recorded two months to the day before his passing - carries even greater weight — not simply as a discussion about giving, but as a reflection on the ideas and principles that shaped his life’s work.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Dr. Bob Woodson — civil rights leader, founder of the Woodson Center https://woodsoncenter.org/, and longtime advocate for community-led solutions — for a conversation that asks a difficult question:

Can helping people sometimes make things worse?

Dr. Woodson challenges the assumption that money alone solves poverty and explains why understanding the nature of the problem matters just as much as the resources we bring to it.

In this conversation we discuss:

• the four types of poverty
• why some forms of charity unintentionally create dependency
• the difference between relief and transformation
• what Dr. Woodson called “toxic support”
• why local relationships matter more than distant solutions
• and what lasting change actually requires

This isn't a conversation about giving less.

It's a conversation about helping better.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

For additional conversations and insights, visit us at https://givewithus.com/

What happens when a charity you believe in collapses almost overnight? Not just financially — but in trust.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Yael Simon to explore what happens when philanthropy goes wrong — and what responsible giving actually requires from both donors and nonprofit leaders.

Within weeks of stepping into a nonprofit leadership role, Yael found herself at the center of a global fraud crisis involving investigations, broken trust, and enormous institutional fallout. That experience reshaped how she thinks about stewardship, donor responsibility, fundraising, and what it takes to rebuild credibility after failure.

This conversation goes far beyond one organization’s collapse. It’s about:

• how trust is built in philanthropy
• why good intentions are not enough
• what sophisticated donors look for
• and why thoughtful giving requires ongoing responsibility — not just generosity

We also explore:

• fundraising misconceptions nonprofits still struggle with
• the role of young professionals in philanthropy
• philanthropy as a catalyst rather than a solution
• and how organizations can maintain trust over the long term

This is not a cynical conversation about giving. It’s a practical and deeply human conversation about how to give more responsibly — especially when trust is at stake.

To contact Yael Simon, reach out to her at her webiste: https://arakura.co.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

Most nonprofits are focused on finding new supporters.

But what if some of the most important people you need to reach…
are already part of your story?

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Jennifer Cunningham, an expert in alumni engagement, to explore a missed opportunity across the nonprofit world.

Because “alumni” isn’t just a university concept.

It includes former volunteers.
Past board members.
Program participants whose lives were shaped by your work.

People who already know your mission —
and may be your most natural advocates moving forward.

So why do so many organizations lose touch with them?

And what would it look like to re-engage them — not as a one-time outreach,
but as a long-term strategy for growth, leadership, and connection?

This conversation breaks it down in practical terms:

• What “alumni” really means in a nonprofit context
• Why organizations overlook these relationships
• How to re-engage people without turning it into a fundraising ask
• And how alumni can become champions, not just contacts

This isn’t about nostalgia.

It’s about recognizing the people who already walked part of the journey with you —
and inviting them to walk the next mile.

To contact Jennifer Cunningham, visit her website: https://engagejc.com/

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose giving helps make these conversations possible.

You see a need.

Someone who could use help.
A situation where something isn’t right.

And then comes the moment that defines everything:

Do you step forward… or do you move on?

In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Victoria Hearst to explore a different kind of giving — one that doesn’t wait for a campaign, a request, or a clear path forward.

Victoria’s approach is simple, but not easy: She steps in.

She identifies real needs, builds relationships with trusted partners, and commits to supporting what matters most — often focusing on life-and-death issues where action can’t be delayed.

This conversation isn’t about generosity as a concept.

It’s about what it actually takes to move from intention to action, and how giving becomes meaningful when it’s driven by initiative, not circumstance.

Along the way, we explore:

• How many people hesitate when they could help
• How to recognize your role in a given situation
• The importance of trusted partnerships in philanthropy
• Why consistency matters more than scale
• How giving evolves when it becomes part of who you are

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst for her partnership and support in making this podcast possible.

If you’ve ever felt the pull to give but didn’t know how to take that first step, this conversation is for you.

You don’t have a volunteer problem.

You have a volunteer experience problem.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Karen Knight, consultant and strategist focused on helping nonprofits engage volunteers the right way.

Because most organizations aren’t struggling to find people who care. They’re struggling to keep them.

Karen has seen the same patterns across organizations of every size:

• Broken onboarding
• Unclear expectations
• Rigid systems
• Treating volunteers like free labor instead of mission partners
  

And the result?

People show up once… and don’t come back.

This conversation is a wake-up call for nonprofit leaders, volunteer coordinators, and anyone building a mission-driven organization.

Because if volunteers are part of your mission,
their experience isn’t secondary. It is the mission.

• Why recruitment isn’t your real problem
• What causes volunteers to disengage (and leave quietly)
• How to rethink onboarding and expectations
• The difference between “help” and true partnership
• Simple ways to improve volunteer retention immediately

The 15-Minute Volunteer Audit

In the next 7 days, do one:

• Call one volunteer and ask: “What has your experience really been like?”
• Go through your own onboarding process — step by step
• Identify one meaningful task someone can do in 15 minutes

No strategy deck.
No committee.

Just one real action.

To connect with Karen Knight, visit karenknight.ca for resources and contact details, connect on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-knight-consulting/), or email her at karen@karenknight.ca.

Special thanks to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

There’s a problem most of us never see.

Children sleeping on floors.
No bed. No place to rest.

It’s called bedlessness.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Luke Michaelson shares how one small moment turned into a movement that has changed over 370,000 lives.

Not by trying to solve everything, but by focusing on one clear, tangible need.

Build beds.

This conversation is about more than beds.
It’s about how real giving works:

Focus over scale.
Action over intention.
Doing one thing exceptionally well.

If you’re a nonprofit leader, donor, volunteer or simply someone who wants to give more thoughtfully, this episode offers a powerful reframing of what it means to make a difference.

To learn more about Luke Mickelson and Sleep in Heavenly Peace, go to https://shpbeds.org/.

Build a Bed.

Find one real need.
One real person.
One real situation.

And take one concrete step.

Because giving doesn’t grow by doing more -
it grows by doing what matters.

Special thanks to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

For giving stories, episodes, insights and more, check out You Are What You Give at https://givewithus.com/.

Volunteer travel has become incredibly popular. But not all service trips are created equal.

Some experiences unintentionally center the volunteer instead of the community. Others leave participants inspired but unsure whether their efforts truly made a lasting difference.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi Zimmerman speaks with Erin Hempen, founder of With Change in Mind https://www.withchangeinmind.org/, about how volunteer travel can be designed in a way that genuinely benefits the communities being served, while also transforming the people who participate.

Erin shares what she has learned from years of designing service experiences that emphasize relationships, cultural humility, sustainable impact, and meaningful human connection.

Together they explore:

• What separates meaningful service from “voluntourism”
• How nonprofits can design volunteer trips that respect and strengthen local communities
• How service travel can reshape how volunteers and donors think about giving

For nonprofit leaders, volunteers, and philanthropists alike, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at how service experiences can deepen our understanding of generosity and responsibility.

Special thanks to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity and belief in this project help make You Are What You Give possible.

Iran is not its regime.

In this episode, Avi Zimmerman speaks with Iranian-American activist Zolal Habibi about the fight for a free Iran, the difference between the regime and the Iranian people, and why many Iranians insist their future must be shaped by the people, for the people.

Recorded during an active regional conflict - from Israel, where the interview was briefly interrupted by an air-raid siren - this conversation explores the history of Iran’s resistance movement and the personal story behind Zolal’s lifelong activism.

Her father was executed by the Iranian regime during the mass killings of political prisoners in 1988 — a defining moment that shaped her commitment to the fight for freedom in Iran.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why many Iranians reject both war and appeasement
• The long struggle of resistance movements inside Iran
• The role of women in the fight for democracy
• The vision for a secular democratic republic in Iran
• What people outside Iran can do to support the Iranian people

At its core, this episode asks a deeper question:

What does it mean to stand on the right side of history?

Learn More

National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI): https://www.ncr-iran.org/

Maryam Rajavi: https://maryamrajavi4change.com/ https://maryam-rajavi.com

Iran Freedom: https://iranfreedom.org/

Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC): https://oiac.org/

Social Media

FB: https://www.facebook.com/IranNCR/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashrafi4ever/

X (Twitter): https://x.com/ashrafi4ever

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zolalhabibi

And special thanks to Victoria Hearst for supporting thoughtful conversations like this one and helping bring these voices to a wider audience.

Join the You Are What You Give community by subscroibing to https://givewithus.com/.