The Business of Giving

Unknown Speaker 0:00
This is a k u and v studios original program. You're listening to special programming sponsored by the cars marketing Chamber of Commerce. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents, the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Unknown Speaker 0:29
What's wrong with the world Maamar people live in live thank God. I think the whole world's addicted to the drama Hello, everyone. And welcome to the business of giving podcast. My name is Guy Dawson and I am the founder and executive director of the cause marketing Chamber of Commerce. And the cause marketing chamber is a 501 C six organization that brings businesses and nonprofit organizations together to create synergistic relationships that benefit the community. With the business of giving podcast, we do just that as a resource for the development and success of both for profit and nonprofit businesses. We like to highlight both of these pillars of the community with this podcast. And we if you want to learn more about what we do at the cause marketing Chamber of Commerce, cause marketing chamber.com. This is a really big year for an extremely prominent nonprofit organization here in Las Vegas, that most of us know about. Opportunity village is famous for a lot of things and their their president and CEO Bob Brown is here and I'll be talking to him in a minute. But I was before we got on air today I was reflecting with Bob about my connection with opportunity village. Many of you, I'm sure have taken your kids or been a kid who's gone to the magical forest event that they do out by the College of Southern Nevada or some of the other events that they host. And when I was thinking about doing this interview today, it made me really reflect on how nonprofit organizations become a part of the fabric of the community and what a great job opportunity village in particular has done by putting on this event that myself and so many of us who've lived in Las Vegas for a while and even the newcomers because it's such a prominent event that people participate in it really is a part of the culture of the city. And it's an extreme pleasure for me today to interview Bob Brown. As I mentioned before, he is the president and CEO of opportunity village. Welcome to the business of giving podcast, Bob. Thanks, Scott. It's great to be here. And what does it feel like to have a nonprofit that it's famous for a lot of things, but as I mentioned before, these events that you guys have been hosting for decades. You know, what does it feel like to the recognition of your organization as a result of these events that you've been hosting? Well, I

Unknown Speaker 3:05
mean, it's just incredibly fortunate, you know, we, I've been here for 10 years now. And you know, prior to that, we had Guthrie and Linda Smith and, and Linda was really the force behind, you know, these events, the the magical forest, the Santa run on Camelot. And you know, honestly, it's, it's, when I first got here, I didn't really understand the the impact. And that and just the depth of the love that people have in the community, for the organization. And it's a beautiful thing. But it's also great for the organization, because these events, you know, bring in money. You know, nobody gets enough money from the state to provide services, if you're a nonprofit, I mean, that's just the way it is. And yet, so you're barely squeaking by. And so that these events have really helped us to be able to care for people with intellectual disabilities to a much higher degree than our cohorts do in other states. And just the ability to have that as is so special. And I think that's reflected in, you know, the people and how they feel about opportunity village, you know, they would they appreciate the fact that we put on the magical forest, they appreciate that, you know, now we've got, you know, as we talked about, we've got second generation, you know, kids that went to the magical forest that are now bringing their kids to the magical forest, which is beautiful to see. But imagine, you know, it's over 30 years of success there. And it all started with I think the original was just a few trees and a wishing well and people just came by and threw money in the wishing well. And it's grown from there and it's you know, million lights and the train and the carousel and just the great food and all the all the wonderful things that they do now with the magical forest and again, it all goes to help a nonprofit that's doing really important work in our community. And

Unknown Speaker 4:57
that's inspirational when you share that Bob For so many people out there who are starting nonprofit organizations or starting small businesses, I think, and I've mentioned this on other podcasts, sometimes we see these well developed institutions or organizations, and you don't realize the origins of that, you know, you see this really successful entity like opportunity village, and, or you see big businesses that are super successful. But there was a time when they didn't look that way. So you mentioning the fact that the first few times that you guys put on the magical forest events, it was nothing like the extravaganza that it's that it's turned into, you just never know how coming from small steps. really humble origins can really grow into something that is so beneficial for lots of people. It's

Unknown Speaker 5:52
like so many things in life, it just starts with an idea. And then you get, you know, you energize people around that idea. And that's how you get things done. I, I think the most most important thing that that I like to think about with opportunity village is just having a beginner's mind really looking at everything. And just asking a lot of questions. Because I think that really helps everybody to think about the processes and the reasons why we do the things we do. You know, we're we're here to serve people, we're not here to do anything other than make sure that an individual with a disability has an incredible day, that they learn something that they you engage in something that they that their days a little better. And that's that's a beautiful thing. And so you don't see that a lot in the world. You know, that's really a fun space to be in. So we want everybody to come in and have fun, respect each other. enjoy each other's company. You know, we talk about connections a lot here. Everything comes down to connections, it's, you know, you're connecting with another human being all the good stuff in life comes out of that. And

Unknown Speaker 6:59
opportunity village is celebrating its 70th anniversary of serving people. Maybe Bob, you could talk more about the mission and the purpose of what opportunity village does, yeah, 70

Unknown Speaker 7:12
years. So we started out, Desi Bailey was our founder. And she got together with seven other families and, and really launched, you know it in her kitchen, down on Main Street. And then we were the small operation and then eventually got a thrift store. And we were had the thrift store down on Main Street. And, you know, it's grown from there. And now, you know, seven years later, we've got, you know, four campuses, the thrift store on Decatur. We've got two micro campuses, and we've got a beautiful residential community Betty's village, and soon we're going to expand this year and create more housing another Betty's village north, along with a new campus and a new thrift store. So a lot, lot lot lot going on in our 17th year.

Unknown Speaker 8:11
Right, and lots of programs that are so beneficial for people within our community, would you like to talk about some of the programs that you offer that are helping disabled adults?

Unknown Speaker 8:22
Absolutely. So we've got a, we've got two day habilitation cohorts one. One is called pride that those are people that are pretty medically fragile, we have a nursing staff. And so that's, that's a very important function because that allows a family member to go you know, to work and as somebody or just get some respite for for a while day that they can, you know, keep going on because it's a lot of work to take care of a kid that severely disabled. And then the other one is our enable program, which are people that are a little more ambulatory and have a little higher level and have the ability to you know, maybe learn some skills and we do the best we can on trying to get them into a job training program. But you know, that's success, you know, for them might be, you know, putting, putting silverware in a table in the proper way or, or packaging something, or identifying colors or things like that. Then we have, you know, some great job training programs. We've got a wonderful work center that has a lot of work that we do back there from a lot of different companies around the valley. Everybody back there is paid minimum wage. So it's it's a great operation. It's a win win. And we're really pleased with the work that we do there. And then we have 64 sites out the community where we have job sites where we you'll see a small cohort of people. There'll be a leader, a staff member and then Four or five individuals, and they're either learning a skill or could be with the school district, we're teaching different job skills at different locations. We're rolling people through different programs so they can audit different types of jobs. And there's just a whole plethora of programs that we do at that level where it's, you know, starts at one level, and then you continually can work your way up to higher levels. A lot of those folks eventually get jobs with the, with the companies that they're working with, because they're able to go in there and show that they can do the job. And, of course, that's, that's the ultimate goal is to get people employed. So we're excited about that.

Unknown Speaker 10:42
I had a unique opportunity a few years ago, Bob to actually work hand in hand with employees over at opportunity village, we started a Toastmaster club called outstanding voices on I think it was the buffalo campus is where we met. And so we, you know, we went through the whole process of starting a Toastmaster club, and what I got out of the experience, specifically with opportunity village, with your sort of unique employment program that you have, it was seeing that people who had disabilities, how, how much they really were benefiting from working, and the self confidence and the self esteem, you really could, you know, I mean, to have them as a member of your your club where you're meeting on a regular basis, I, again, as I mentioned, I was part of the startup of that club. So I had my, a lot of involvement in it, and just the conversations that I had with your employees, it was, it was working well, your program works. And I could tell by the conversations that I had with the people who actually participate in it, they are growing, of course, financially, because they're making some money from it, but it's even a different type of growth. And that is, as people they're growing, would you like to speak to that? Yeah, I

Unknown Speaker 12:05
think all of us can understand that. You know, finding meaning in your life is so important. And for, for people with disabilities, a lot of that a lot of the time that's taken away from them. And what we really like to talk about is the fact that we're looking for meaning. It's not just about the job, it's about, you know, it's about everything about you know, where you live, your transportation, your friends. So, you know, having that quality of life, it changes you, it, you know, you're self actuated, you become, you know, what you're supposed to be you're, you know that that positivity that you feel is palpable, and that's really what you see it a lot of the folks I mean, we, you know, I had people come to me all the time, say we, you know, we've got a couple of opportunity, village graduates, you know, working in, you know, in our business, and, you know, they're always there first thing in the morning, and they get the best attitude, and they never complain. And, you know, yeah, because they're, they're just the self actually, they're very happy. You know, they're, they're doing what they want to do. And that's, you know, most people don't find that in life for a long time. And so, I think that's, that makes the big difference. You know, we've got 750 employees here. dovie. And I think of that, almost 300 Are people with disabilities. So, you know, we're walking the walk. I mean, we're, you know, we're, we're doing what we're supposed to be doing, we're not just, you know, we don't have all these businesses like the shredding business, in the bakery business in the janitorial business. These are all businesses that we have at their businesses that employ people with disabilities. And that's the mission. So you know, we're not just you know, like going out there and start a business to start a business that's going to actually train and employ people and that's, that makes a big difference.

Unknown Speaker 13:48
You are listening to the business of giving podcast with Guy Dawson at K u and v 91.5. FM I have been speaking with Bob Brown. He is the president and CEO of opportunity village, a very prominent nonprofit organization. here in Las Vegas. I want to continue to announce the first annual cause and business cruise and we are getting more and more revved up and excited about this event. It's going to be October the 19th through the 26th 2024. It's an event that's sponsored by the cause marketing Chamber of Commerce, we're going to be cruising through the Hawaiian Islands six days and seven nights of of networking of give back opportunities to hang out with people who are involved in non in the nonprofit space as well as a for profit space. As I had mentioned before, we're going to do some specific service work on the island of Maui. We are doing a layover on that island for about a day and a half. And we really want to do all that we can to support the citizens of Maui, Hawaii, as many of you know they were stricken with some very difficult circumstances in the fall of 2020. Three and there are so many people in Maui who are still displaced, and we just want to contribute to their lives while we're on this cruise. And of course, we're going to have all kinds of fun. Enjoying the cruise itself proceeds from the cabin that you purchase for this cruise will go directly to nonprofit organizations. And again, we'd love for you to come, we've got a deadline of June 18. If you get a chance, cause marketing chamber.com. To learn more about the cars and business cruise, we'd love to bring you along on our journey. And the last show, I also have mentioned an event that's going to be hosted by us vets. This is a wonderful nonprofit organization that supports homeless veterans, their stand down event which I participated in, as I mentioned last week, many years ago, it's an event that supports homeless veterans, it's going to be held on Friday, June the 28th, from 8am to 4pm. At World Market Center, this is an event I think that helps a lot of veterans and you're going to meet a lot of people within the community who are also supporters of this element of our society, US vets helps lots and lots of of homeless veterans, I would highly recommend that you participate in this event if you get a chance. And the website that you would go to is honor.us vets.org/el VVS de two for hope to see you at stand down that is hosted by us vets. As I mentioned before, I've been speaking with Bob Brown, the President and CEO of opportunity village. And so the 70th year anniversary that you're hosting Bob, will you tell the listeners about some of the things that you're going to do be doing specifically, as a part of celebrating that particular milestone, which is a huge one, by the way? Yeah, it

Unknown Speaker 17:01
really is for a nonprofit in the West Coast. That's, it's pretty amazing to be around 70 years, you get it not too many on the West Coast, they're that old. But so pleased to have so many events this year, we've got our course we've got our magical force that we'll be doing. Starting in November, we've got the Halloween event in October. And we've got the Santa Ron, which is the first Saturday in December. And that's that's going to be huge. It's gonna be downtown. Again this year, if you went last year, you know that wow, just that was a, an amazing event it is it gets gets bigger and bigger every year. And then, of course, you know, the goal this year is we're raising money for that new project that we've got new buddies village north, we've raised $37 million in one year, right here in Southern Nevada, which is saying something just proud of the team for that. And we've only got another 20 million to finish that out. And it's going to be a beautiful, beautiful community, it breaks ground this this fall. So we'll have that this year, as well as a groundbreaking. You know, I mean, it doesn't get much better than that. I mean, you got, you know, when you can provide more housing, we've got about 300 people on the housing list, and it keeps growing. And we've got 120 spaces for that, that new development. And then of course, they'll include a campus where we'll have the debilitation in the job training. And we'll have a thrift store up there. And people will be able to go there. And they'll also be a coffee shop where we'll train people. And we'll have coffee and pastry items there. And an art studio. You know, one thing that opportunity village has been known for for years is some of our artists that we've developed here, and we continue to do that. And, you know, it's one of the more amazing things about Ovi that that I love is that you you see people and they come into our programming and they might not be very verbal, but boy, you give them a paintbrush. And they're they speak volumes. I mean, they the it is just fantastic to see the talent and what's inside of people that you never knew was there. So I'm really kind of partial to that art program. Just a joy that that we have that and so that's just one of the many things that we love about OB But yeah, that's it's gonna be a busy busy year. It has been a busy year. Look, it's it's already June. I can't believe it. That's

Unknown Speaker 19:39
amazing. No, that's amazing the way that time flies and one thing is I was listening to you describing the new developments, the new things that you're working on as an organization the first thing that came to my mind was value and and how important that is. I see so many organizations at Businesses that are supporters of opportunity village, you had mentioned how important it is to find multiple streams of income as a nonprofit, I think you guys are exemplary. And again, a great example for other nonprofits in town. But it's its value, right, Bob, I can just see the way that you guys work on providing a lot of value for the people in your programs and the community. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 20:27
I mean, you know, people don't talk about this enough. And you're, you're absolutely right guy. Every day, we have to come in, and we have to, the way I kind of think about it is we take money, and we translate that into love. Because you're really caring and loving on people, and helping people that really need that. And so that's the, that's the magic behind opportunity village, that transaction of being able to afford to hire people that and we don't just hire anybody. I mean, we have to curate, our staff to find people that really care about caring for others, you know, that is not something that's just a natural in a lot of people. So that curation process, finding the right people, and we're always looking, believe me, I'm, you know, every single day, we could I could hire 20 People today, if, if I could find them. But for people that want to have that environment, I think it's the best place in the world to work. Because, you know, you're, you're really doing incredible work with other people. It's so satisfying. I mean, I tell you, I go home at the end of the day, and, you know, I just, I just feel terrific because, you know, we I can I can look and see, in people's eyes, how we've made a difference I can I can talk to people and ask them, how their day was in here about how we made a difference. That's the magic. That's it right there. It's that that's that's a value that you're bringing into the world that wasn't there the day before. So I couldn't agree with you more. I think that's the most important thing that we do.

Unknown Speaker 22:04
Yeah, that's leading with your heart. Right, Bob, I mean, that, that, that commitment to improving people's lives. And that's why the I think the the whole cause marketing sector is really about that. It's, you know, the overlay, obviously, between for profit and nonprofit businesses, but people who have an interest in an organization like opportunity village, you know, businesses in that donate to you, they're donating to, I think, in a lot of ways, as you had mentioned, it's the commitment that you as an organization have made to the improvement of other people's lives. And how important that is.

Unknown Speaker 22:47
Yeah, and of course, it's the incredible staff, I mean, it, I get to work with the best people in the world. We have, we had a staff meeting this morning, and after every staff meeting, I remind them that we work at the best place in the world. And the reason we work at the best place in the world is because they work here, and they're doing everything they can to make it even better. And that's what makes it that way. So always remembering, you know, what the mission is, and always reminding people why we're here. You know, it's, it's an incredible organization, I can't say enough good things about it. And the people, you know, if you if you know, somebody that works at opportunity Village, thank them. You know, I mean, it's, it's not the easiest job in the world, it's, you know, I would never sugarcoat it and say, well, it is easy. It's not, but it's, it's valuable. And it's important, and it's very satisfying.

Unknown Speaker 23:39
Opportunity village was also named the best nonprofit in Las Vegas in the best of Las Vegas contest. And also one goal for the best program for people with disabilities in Las Vegas. And then you won silver for best workplace development program in the city as well. Would you like to speak to that?

Unknown Speaker 23:59
I just, you know, we're very grateful. I think the community has always just been so caring and giving and wonderful week, we couldn't be who we are, if we didn't live in such a generous community where, you know, people cared enough to give. I mean, that's, listen, that's goes without saying, so when you win awards, I mean, it's, it's great. But honestly, I mean, there's so many good nonprofits, I feel kind of bad, because, you know, there are our I know, you know, we have a CEO Change Group, and I know all the other leaders of the larger nonprofits in town, and they all do wonderful work, and they all deserve that they all deserve rewards every day, and they deserve all the accolades that we can give them because this is these are tough jobs. But you know, it's really it's the safety net that keeps the community you know, going and it's not it's not government that does that. And, you know, it's, it's really the people doing the work are our nonprofits. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 25:00
when it comes to the nonprofit space, Bobby really is about we the people on so many levels. And we had the opportunity to feature opportunity Village at a recent cause marketing chamber mixer event, which was wonderful it was we had for profit businesses, of course, and nonprofits that we're all there for our, our quarterly mixer event. But what really stood out for me, and I'd like you to touch on this a bit, because we're almost out of town, out of time for this particular interview. But hearing about the successes of an organization like opportunity village, from the point of view of being a mentor and a leader in the community, and how much that affects the smaller nonprofits, we work with a lot of smaller nonprofit organizations that are looking for inspiration. Do you ever consider that as an organization providing that example for others want to do good work like you're doing, but don't necessarily know how you can set an example for them? Oh,

Unknown Speaker 26:03
one 100%? You know, we're very good at reaching out to organizations or when they reach out to us and have questions, we answer them? Well, we, we've had a lot of people talk to us about our housing, how that works. We've shared that information with a bunch of nonprofits, that are looking at doing housing for their populations. And so, you know, our culture has to be that open, inclusive culture, because that's the people that we serve. And so you know, we that's just a big part of, you know, who we are, and we're here to help. I mean, that's, that's, that's our natural stance and our natural thought process. How can we help? What can we do to help another organization, we collaborate with all the other organizations in our space? You know, right now, you know, Miracle league Special Olympics. These are all great organizations do great work for the population that we serve. So yeah, we're here. We're here to help. Well,

Unknown Speaker 27:00
I know the cause marketing chamber, our members have braved the cold and done volunteerism at many of the magical forest events. And I made this not for if you don't like cold weather, that might not be the volunteer opportunity for you.

Unknown Speaker 27:17
We always say dress for it's so

Unknown Speaker 27:19
much fun, and there's lots of hot chocolate, that's for sure. And a lot of fun, too. But, Bob, if how can the community get involved with the things I know, obviously, they can attend events, such as magical forest and some of the other community oriented events that you offer, but as volunteers, how can they become a part of what you're doing their

Unknown Speaker 27:40
time, talent, treasure? Yeah, we've got a read on our website, we've got, I think, one of the best volunteer departments in the valley, so we can sign you up to volunteer, we can sign you up, you know, if you want to donate money, that's, that's on our website, too. But mostly, you know, I just, I just want people to, you know, support us in any way that they feel comfortable with. Knowing that, you know, the majority, I think it's I think, right now, our administrative cost is around 14%. So, I mean, that's amazing. For an organization, we're $40 million organization. And with a 14% overhead, that means that what 86% of that money that you give us goes right into programs and helping people so you know, the values there. I think it's, it's a, it's something where I asked everybody that the other thing is, if you know somebody who wants a job, I mean, we're, again, we're looking for people that you really want to step in and make a difference in other people's lives that That, to me is probably the most important thing I can be asking you right now. Because that's the hardest thing for us right now is finding those people. Bob

Unknown Speaker 28:49
Brown is the president and CEO of opportunity village, a wonderful nonprofit that is helping a lot of people in our community. And thank you so much for stopping by the show, Bob and keep up the great work over there. And I wish you nothing but continued success. We know that you're affecting a lot of

Unknown Speaker 29:07
lives. Thanks, guy right back. atcha. You too. All right. Well,

Unknown Speaker 29:11
I always want to remind you all that you can listen to the business of giving podcast on Spotify, Apple, podcast, Amazon, and more. If you want to tune in on the streaming sites, the business of giving transistor dot F m and we are loving, greatly appreciating the positive reviews that we are receiving from the community about the show. We also welcome you to check out our social media sites. And as I close out this show as all others, I want to encourage you all to give and do business for good. Take care of yourselves and see you next week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai