Starting a Nonprofit Using Storytelling

How did the world of real estate pave the way for a journey into the realm of nonprofit organizations? Will Hedrick is the Executive Director of The Hedrick Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on bettering animal, human, and environmental life globally. In this episode, Will tells us all about his journey of starting a nonprofit, how to pick the right partners to join you on your business, and why you should believe in the power of talking.

🎙️Talking Points:

(1:08) What’s The Hedrick Project about?

(3:45) Making a nonprofit organization sustainable

(7:35) Picking the right partners for your organization

(12:51) Starting a nonprofit organization

(18:32) Building a diverse board of directors

🔗Connect with Will:

• Website: https://www.thehedrickproject.org/ 
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willhedrick/ 
• Instagram: @willhedrick1

🔗Connect with Tom: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomfinnovation/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomfinnovation/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TomFinnovation/ 
• X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/tomfinnovation 
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomfinnovation 
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TomFinnovation/ 
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tomfinnovation 

Tom Finn:

Welcome, welcome to the Talent Empowerment Podcast. We're here to help you love your job. We unpack the tools and tactics of successful humans to guide you towards your own career empowerment. I am your purpose driven host, Tom Finn. And on the show today, we have a mission driven founder, Will Hedrick, Will, welcome to the show.

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Will Hedrick:

Thank you so much for having me, Tom.

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Tom Finn:

It is great to have you on my man. You are definitely driven by purpose and mission and I can't wait to get into all of the great work you are doing. So with that as a backdrop, let me tell you a little bit about Will. He is the founder and executive director of the Hedrick Project. It's a nonprofit on a mission to better animal, human and environmental life globally. Now he does this by using the power of media and storytelling to raise awareness and funds. and he distributes 100% of the public donations to his partners in the field. Will, let's start right there. What is the thought process and the detail behind The Hendrick Project?

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Will Hedrick:

Yes, yeah. So the easiest way to get into it is to start with the three things that we do differently. First, we are an online giving platform, really empowering people to make the charitable difference that they want in the world. That's why our mission is so broad. Animal, human, and environmental life covers about anything that you would want. But our superpower is in first, we allow you to pick and choose where your donations go. If you are really interested in sea turtle conservation, you can donate to that. If you're really interested in solving the homelessness crisis, you can donate to that. If you are like over 95% of our donors, you donate to the collective fund and we distribute those evenly across all of our projects. The second thing that we really do differently is we handle money in a very unique way. We send 100% of donations directly to the field. If you swipe your credit card on our website, we even pay back. credit card processing fees. We have to separately fundraise for things like my salary, rent, any other overhead costs that you could even think of. And then the third thing that I'm really excited and really proud of is that we prove the impact of every single donation. I have always hated the days and the way that nonprofits operate in some places that you only hear from them when you get a receipt at the end of the year and when it's time for you to donate again. So we're really bringing our donors along with this journey, showing what your donation can do and even what these small donations can do. And that's what I really wanted to start this nonprofit for, are the stories that you hear of one partner that we have drilling clean water, drilling wells for clean water in Uganda, $24 gives one person clean water. I would happily set aside that breakfast, a few coffees, whatever it is every month, to give one person clean water. So, bringing people along, really showing off what you can do and empowering people to do that. That's our superpower. And really excited to be working in the nonprofit space and to be doing this and bringing people along the journey with me.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I love the idea of a hundred percent going back to your partners. But it does raise kind of the eyebrow of how do you keep this going? Well, when you, you've got to do that, but then you've got to go out and find money to pay yourself, your team, your technology, your financial partners, pay back those credit card fees, whatever it might be, there's real operating costs to running a business. How do you create sustainability with this thing?

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, yeah. Well, the first, we'll just get that out of the way. It's not easy. We definitely, it's not the easiest model to operate, but I knew that it was something that we had to do because again, it's our partners. And the reason I started this is that I am so amazed at the extraordinary work that people are doing out in the nonprofit world. I have no business in running a sea turtle hospital, but my gosh. Do they need some extra money, some extra awareness, and some stories being told about their work? So the need is clearly there. How we operate and how we do this is that we really show off what an operational donation can do when we're having these private conversations behind closed doors. The rule of thumb, and what we really aim for, is to keep a one-third operating cost to at least two-thirds going to the field. When you factor in all money coming in, we're really blowing that out of the water and keeping it a lot lower than that. So when you donate $100 to keep it simple, I mean, you're empowering $200 in donations the other way. The other key aspect to keep this sustainable is that we're having multi-year conversations. I would rather, Tom, if you were to give us $100,000 right now, cut it into two, cut it into three, cut it into five so that we can think long-term because that's where success really comes into this.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I like that idea. Try to find long-term partners. What is the largest gift that you've received that you are redistributing to your partner organizations?

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah. So on the philanthropic side, we are in talks of a lot larger donations and grants coming up. We are our bread and butter right now is the $5,000 mark. That has really been what has been easy to talk to people, really quantify and get out the door, but we're excited to be having a lot more heftier conversations for lack of better words, but knock on wood, I won't, I won't put anything out there yet that hasn't come true, but I'll be excited for. We've got an exciting six months ahead is what I'll say is what I'll say.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, that's fair. I think when I go to your website, I can pretty quickly just support on a monthly basis with even $10 or $20 or $40, right, if that's helpful. Do you tend to find that even that low amount of money can provide some value to folks?

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Will Hedrick:

Oh my gosh, yes. And that's really what we are trying to do is engage the general public in giving. I think that our secondary mission really is to make the world a more charitable place. And so what's amazing is when you really get into the numbers, I mean, the example I always give is the 32 million or the $32 billion Netflix made in revenue last year from a $7 subscription all the way up to 20. When we can really... get into a larger amount of numbers of people. I mean, that $7 a month is, I mean, people wouldn't even bat an eye at that. That's not even something that you think about coming up on your credit card statement. So even if it seems like a small amount of money, when you partner that with 10 people, 100 people, 1,000 people, I mean, some very serious progress can be made in whatever you are interested in supporting.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, beautiful. So how do you find these partners that get the money from you? Because you're sort of a, I'm visualizing you as almost like a holding company that helps a bunch of different brands get their story told and becomes one place where we can donate money and then you distribute it for us as the consumer you're helping me out. So how do you pick your partners? How many do you have? Help us understand that.

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, yeah. So right now we have 12 partners, again, rapidly expanding by the end of the year. My assumption will be around 30 to 40 partners. How we choose our partners is based off of the causes and the missions that we want to focus on. What I'm excited about is we are really engaging our donors and our audience right now for this next wave of partners, getting them engaged in what they want to see. And then we, our team, go out, we connect with the executive leadership after we do a little bit of research, choose. a list, you can easily find some nonprofits. But then we go through really dive through, see at a high level what their financials look like, see what their executive leadership look looks like, how long they've been together. We'll even do some field visits, connect with them in person, really go through and again, when we talk about handling money differently, giving our donors the confidence of knowing this is a stamp of approval for us, we know that what they're doing is worth donating towards investing your hard earned money into. to solve this problem that people are interested in really tackling.

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Tom Finn:

So one of the things that is a challenge that I feel, as I'm listening to you, is that while you're taking in and giving out 100% of whatever you receive in gift, the 12 partners, the 30, the 50, the 100, when you get to that point, right, you're not managing how much they're using for operating expenses. So for example, let's just say, well, I give you $100, okay? I know that Will is gonna give that $100 to, either if I choose, company A or B, or if I choose, Will will spread it out across the partners, right? So let's just say I give the 100 bucks to you and you give it, I pick one. There's one I fall in love with and I pick one, right? The challenge that I have mentally is, I don't know how much they're using to pay their CEO's salary or operating costs, right? I don't know what the rule of thumb is. Is it about a third? Is that typically in a nonprofit setting, what goes to admin, for example?

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Will Hedrick:

That's typically the rule of thumb somewhere around there, but most people, if to a high quality, for lack of better words, nonprofit tries to keep that as low as they can.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, so a third is 33 bucks, okay? And that makes sense, right? Like you have to pay people to do the things that they're doing to help others so that they can survive. So out of my 100 bucks, realistically, you guys aren't taking anything, but 66 bucks is getting to the actual folks that I wanna get it to, and then we've gotta operate whatever the business is that's being passed along, right? So how do I think about that as a consumer? Should I be cool with that, or should I be challenging it?

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Will Hedrick:

Of course, and you should be challenging. And so that is what, again, a little bit of our transparency and superpower here is we're a grant-making organization. So when we distribute this money, we aren't just quickly writing a check and blindly passing it off. We're really making our partner organizations tell us, itemize what you are going to be spending this money on, where it is going, who it is going to, and that really makes a big difference. on what they're spending things on. And 95% of the time, it will be an itemized list of supplies that they need, hourly rates for, we'll use a sea turtle conservation example, hourly rates for veterinarian to be sending this turtle back out into the ocean, and any other of those related costs. It really slims down. And that again is a superpower of we go through and we talk and really vet all of these partner organizations. And the other big superpower of ours is right now with our 12 partners and our projects, we're going to be expanding with each individual project. So sea turtle conservation again, which is used as the example. We will be expanding and have multiple sea turtle hospitals, multiple rehabilitation projects globally that we can pick and choose and distribute from. So it's not a direct, our donors don't necessarily have a direct connection to seeing. which organization they're donating towards, because there is an ebb and flow of money. Sometimes organizations can take on $100,000 in a week and spend it. And then there's other grassroots organizations that have no way to spend that much money. There's no time in the world that they would be able to do all of that productivity. So the power again is in our grants and the way that we spend money. We have to monitor and we have to hold our partners to a very high standard.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, that's a wonderful way to look at the business. You become a little bit of the fundraising arm, but you're also a little bit of the security and police force making sure that it gets well spent, right?

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Will Hedrick:

Exactly, exactly.

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Tom Finn:

In all of our best interests. So how did you get into this? Because this is kind of a, it's a niche, right? Certainly nonprofit is a niche, and then you've got even more niche and gone, hey, I wanna be a, really a holding company that's gonna help a bunch of other nonprofits and be the marketing arm. So how did you think this up?

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, my background, I had come from the real estate world and what I really enjoyed there was media, media production, telling stories. And I noticed the power of it really quickly. There were agents that stood out and agents that did not. And so media was obviously a huge part of that. And so I wanted to, once I had decided I was gonna leave the real estate world, I wanted to put my energy into something that mattered and put it into something that for lack of better words, would create an impact and have purpose. So when I started thinking of ways that I could do that, helping other nonprofits and helping our donors make wise donating decisions, it's a win, win. Our donors feel very comfortable with what they're donating towards. They see the proof. They know that 100% is going to the field. We get to tell these amazing stories. We get to support both ends of the spectrum. And then the nonprofits in the field, our partners in the field, get more donations. They get more publicity, they get to show off their work. So when I really was able to sit down and think further about this idea, as soon as I had gotten my head wrapped around how the operations would work, it never left. And as soon as I had settled on the idea, I was going for a hard, hard run ahead and was very excited about it.

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Tom Finn:

It's great, man. I'm super happy for you that you found what you want to do in the world. I think that's so important for all of us to figure out what we want to do, when we want to pull that trigger, how it'll enhance our lives and make us better contributors to society. Let me ask you this. It's not easy to leave a job, because at some point you had a job and then you created this company. What was that day like where you decided, you know what, I'm ready. to just move on and I'm ready to go all in on the Hedrick project.

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, it was a difficult decision, but I think that I was used to it. When I was 17, brother and I started our first company, went right into real estate, started a real estate firm. So the entrepreneurial bug had been in me for a while. So it wasn't a huge jump that I know you have plenty of conversations about for those first time entrepreneurs and people really getting into it for the first time, but it still was a scary time. This was a new business model, a very difficult business model to get down and improve. But I think that the analogy that I've had to live by for a while, and I'm sure that you know, is it's like driving a car at night. Your headlights can only see so far, and then the rest is darkness. But you have to just know that no matter where you go, which way you turn, unless something crazy happens, there's going to be some road. There's going to be road at the end of that. that light and you're not worried about what's going to be ahead. You have to just take these small steps and incrementally increase your progress. It takes time. There are ups and downs and lefts and rights and I wish that it was an easy process but I think that is what makes it fulfilling just as much as it makes it scary.

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Tom Finn:

Was there somebody that trained and influenced you to go down this path? Have you had a mentor or somebody that kind of taught you how to think this way?

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Will Hedrick:

Too many to count. And I think that is what I, again, some of the best advice that I could ever give people is to just talk. I think that there are so many conversations to be had and so many lessons to be learned from anyone. I mean, there are so many professors I had in college, so many teachers I had in high school that I still stay connected with, so many amazing just nonprofit leaders that I had looked up to for a while. And then even just people's stories that I haven't met personally. I know the book sitting right behind me, high on the bookshelf is thirst by Scott Harrison running one of my favorite nonprofits in the entire world, charity water. His story is amazing. Um, I mean, even just being able to absorb that and take that in no matter what any, any conversation and any story I think has, has been a helpful one, there's a lesson to learn in anything and from anyone.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well said. I think that's part of the gift of life, is if you can continually educate, listen, keep your ears open, try to understand what others have done, where they failed, where they've been successful, what their journeys were like. You can speed up the time of education. You can actually speed up your own path to success, which is, I mean, what a gift, right?

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Will Hedrick:

Of course, of course. Well, and I think the best part, and again with what you're doing here, and then turn around and give it back to other people. Be that mentor to someone else and help them along the journey, stick your hand out, and really make a difference. It is, I think, one of the most fulfilling things that you can do.

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Tom Finn:

So you've got a mission-driven company. You've got a lot of projects that you're working on. And you built a early stage board of directors for your organization. As a founder, talk to me about how you did that. But I would love to know why you pick certain personality types or what you were looking for when you were trying to build a board around you.

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah. So our board of directors is very specific. And I did this for a reason of I wanted to have different people that think in different ways to be able to coach me on different things. That was, that was a lot of different right there, but there are seven amazing, extraordinary people sitting on our board of directors that have each and every single one of them, a different background. And when we sit down at a board meeting, I know each of them are going to handle and think about problems that we're facing and having differently. So we've got seasoned executives sitting in the corporate world, start-up and founders and entrepreneurs. We've got attorneys, finance professionals, media professionals, fundraising professionals. So when I was really sitting down, I wanted to think if, I mean, even a C-suite example of your CEO, COO, CFO, and so on right there, I mean, it's a diverse group. of problem solvers. And so that was really what I was looking for. I knew that this was going to be a chaotic and hectic journey full of problems that needed to be solved. And I wanted to make sure that I can pick up the phone and have the right people right there to help me out along the way.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I think that's probably the biggest part of being a startup founder is having other people you can talk to that you trust and admire, that you respect their opinion, that they have your best interest at heart. That's also critical when you're building a business because you do it on your own. There's so many lonely moments where you are by yourself trying to think through how am I gonna do this? How am I gonna pull this off? And having a board like that that's well structured. and can give you advice is a gift in and of itself.

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Will Hedrick:

Exactly, exactly. And I think you hit the nail on the head because honestly what I have called them and talked to them more are the emotional rollercoasters going up and down on this. I mean, our legal chair, for example, is I think that he is such an extraordinary and amazing attorney. But man, I just talked to him about issues that I'm facing personally and problems that need to be solved. And not necessarily, I mean, it's probably a 90% to 10% split of actual legal conversation. Um, because I don't want to say you can find quality like him everywhere, but you can find attorneys, but you can't find people to coach you along this, this mental game that man is, it is difficult at times. That is for sure.

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Tom Finn:

What's been the one thing that you are most proud of?

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Will Hedrick:

I would say I think starting the Hedrick project because the difference in the person that I was three years ago working in real estate and the person that I am today, I wouldn't even, well, I guess not even necessarily the person, the difference in happiness and the difference in purpose and what I'm doing is night and day. I mean, the real estate world that I was in was commission checks and... making as much money as you can and you and me. And that was about the only focus. And now it is really, what impact can I make and how many lives can I change and how many lives can we change and how many donors can we really bring along on this journey to show how amazing giving back and helping other people is. So I think that I'm really excited to see where it goes. And My imagination is full of wonderful ideas as to where this is going. Um, and I think we'll achieve a lot, but I think that starting it and taking the courage to put something bigger than me first was, was a big step that I'm, I'd say I'm quite proud of.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well, kudos to you, man. I think that's hitting the nail on the head, finding your purpose, being mission driven, and then having the guts to actually do it is where most people stop. They can think it. Most people think through, oh, I wanna do this. I wanna be successful. I wanna start my own company. But there is a disconnect between the brain and the old hands. And most people don't have the hands that actually go do the work.

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Will Hedrick:

And it's difficult to do. I mean, again, it's that car analogy. You really have to go into this blindly, and you have to know that you can only see so far ahead, and then other steps and other things are gonna pop up. But I also think that the biggest power that some of the best entrepreneurs that I've ever met have, have this, I'll have to paraphrase here, the screw it, I'll figure it out mentality of I don't necessarily need to know. We'll figure it out when the time comes and not worry about it right now. Because that's the hardest part is to really set worry aside and know that it will work out. And I wish I had some good advice on that because man, I'm still figuring out how to do that. It's a hard, hard thing to do to put all of the worry, all the anxiety aside, but it definitely, I mean, things I would say work out and if you're willing to keep going no matter what, it will work out. Right.

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Tom Finn:

My favorite saying when it comes to this topic is don't solve problems you don't have. That's it, don't solve problems you don't have. If you don't have that problem, don't sit up all night trying to solve it because it hasn't arrived yet, right? Well, what do I do if X, Y, or Z happens? Don't solve that problem. Unless the problem is sitting on your desk, it is not yours to solve today.

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Will Hedrick:

And I haven't heard that. That's a powerful way to look at it. And you're exactly right. Because the, I mean, it is the amount of time that you hear just the intense anxiety for problems that people are expecting to come. And then by the time that you've spent two weeks worrying about it, not moving, not making any progress, it's gone. And it's hard to do. It is hard to do. But if you can figure out whatever works for you, getting away from it, stepping away, exercising, getting outside, whatever it is. when you can develop and know what works for you, then you're heading in the right direction.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I agree. So what do you do outside of your day job here at the Hedrick Project? What do you do outside of this to kind of cool off, keep your head level? What is that part of your routine look like?

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, I try and be as active as possible and spend as much time outside as possible, especially away from screens. The eight to 10 hours on a computer takes it out of me for sure. So being able to get away, whether it's running, working out, that was a new experience that I had about three months ago. I tore my Achilles and could not, well, four months ago, tore my Achilles, couldn't walk for three months. So that definitely took me on a spiral, Getting away, being as active as possible is a big key. And I think that that's the best way to get away, for me at least, and then trying to re-energize with friends and family when I can. That is also difficult for me because just like, I'm sure that is what your day-to-day is filled of, I talk to people all day, every day. So getting away and recharging a little bit with friends and family, having some more relaxed conversation. That is a very fulfilling experience for me, at least.

Tom Finn:

Yeah, so how's the Achilles feeling now?

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Will Hedrick:

It's good. It's good. We attempted, I was at physical therapy just before this. So we are hoping to be able to try a run in the next few weeks or a jog. So we're making progress. I, my, my one thing that is still bothering me, I can't go downstairs quite yet because that really stretches it out. But making progress, I've never had a serious injury before other than this. So it's a, it's a new experience that knock on wood doesn't happen again but it's been honestly the physical therapy aspect has been really interesting and a lot of a lot of fun to be working on and seeing the progress come back.

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Tom Finn:

So let me just highlight something that you just said. You have an Achilles injury that obviously hurts, has some requirements in terms of rehab. You've been off your feet for three months. And you said it was kind of fun and a learning experience. Look, I love the mindset. This is how everybody should be living. It's not something that happened to you. It's something that you took in a completely different direction and said, I can learn from this, I can grow from this, I can dive into physical therapy and try to understand what my body does more than I've ever done before. That is such a critical way of thinking for high performing people.

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Will Hedrick:

Well, and I'm going to try and flip your quote back on you of not worrying about problems that you don't have, but also not worrying about things that you can't control. I think that it is very difficult to control. Well, you can't, it's not very difficult, you can't do it. The fact that I was out on a random run on a Sunday morning and it just randomly tore on me, that is not. something that was within my wheelhouse, but being able to turn around and, I mean, just failure in general and things that happen. I mean, so much of life is out of our control and you just have to, unfortunately, take a deep breath. And honestly, once I have gotten to that stage of realizing how much is out of my control, it is almost laughable at some things. And it's almost, I mean, the Achilles injury was an enjoyable experience at this point. Just because it is almost funny how things work out how things happen how we're building this brand new Organization and that I'm gonna be seated for three months when I need to be out in the field and doing a lot of work And and really putting as much energy at full steam forward his head. It's it's I see the humor there It's kind of funny. So it is when you can flip it a little bit and see that you're playing the game of life and let go a little bit. I think it is, it adds a little spice to life and it helps me stay a little mentally, a little more mentally stable, I guess.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, fair enough. It's hard to keep your head on straight when you have a startup that is growing and you're trying to build partnerships. All of those things take a lot of time, a lot of energy, and a lot of effort. What have you learned along the way? Like, what's been the thing that you've gone, gosh, I didn't see that coming.

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, I think that especially being in the nonprofit world, the amount of conversations that I've had with people that are like, I have never donated to a nonprofit before, but I have always wanted to make an impact in some way, somehow. There is this very sickening is not the right word, but I'm going to use it sickening experience that tends to happen middle school and high school. You go out and you're forced to volunteer with your school. every semester, every month, something like that. And everyone hates it. No matter what, if you're a middle schooler or a high schooler, you hate it either way because you're forced to do it. But especially when you're being forced to do something that you're not interested in. And it puts a sour taste of the nonprofit world into people's mouths. Then you open up the news. Nonprofits are laundering money. They're spending money to fly their executive director on private jets around the world. There is a sickening taste that used to happen a lot more in the nonprofit world, it's really changed. Um, and now I think that people are really getting excited and that's the conversation that has really stuck out, um, which I've taken the gamble on. So I'm glad that that's the conversations that we're hearing and having, but people are really excited to make an impact and make a difference. And I am hoping, and I know that we're creating a wonderful tool for them to be able to make that impact and do that.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well said. I think there's been some levels of corruption in nonprofits. And the problem is it's not all nonprofits. It's not even most nonprofits. It's a very, very small percentage of bad actors that have done the wrong thing and used money in the wrong way that people might not be illegal, but it's not ethical, that's for sure. And so that's where I think people get a little bit of that, as you said, sour taste in their mouth. Um, but. Nonprofits, for the most part, do a pretty darn good job of filling a global need of support for people around the world, for the environment, for animals, whatever it is that is your cause that you love and lean into.

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Will Hedrick:

they're doing an extraordinary job. And the people leading these organizations are some of the smartest people that I've ever met. I mean, we are talking about people that are barely making over six figures a year that could be running their own for-profit startup, having tens of millions of dollars in equity easily with what they've done and what they've built over the years. And they're just building amazing things. And so that is what, unfortunately, I mean, that's the stories you hear. are the bad ones. And those are what stick out. That is how, unfortunately, we're wired, and that's how we work. But that is what I really wanna get across. I mean, we walk around with a big flag saying 100%, and we screen these people, we know what they're doing, we write grants, we're really trying to ease that pain, so the question doesn't even come up anymore. But I really think that there are so many extraordinary people. and so many extraordinary organizations out there that I get really excited and really confident because I think that we can make a huge difference in a lot of the world's problems. And that is where the true fire within really starts to build.

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Tom Finn:

So help me and help the audience with a story about one of your partners that you love and admire the work that they're doing. And let's leave us on a high note in talking about the great work that is being done around the world. So help us understand one of your partner organizations and what they're up to.

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah. So I will talk about one of our biggest partners that we've partnered with this year, Eden Reforestation Projects, because what they're doing on the surface could sound really mundane and boring. Reforestation, everyone knows it's the opposite of deforestation, just replanting forest. So there are a ton, ton of organizations that reforest. You can go take a helicopter, fly over a field, throw out some seeds, never hear from them again. What Eden Reforestation Projects does that is so extraordinary is that the communities that they work in are intertwined with the people there. So they hire locals. I'll give an example of a village in Madagascar and we'll talk a little bit further about that. They hire locals, support and pay them, and then they plant trees and they make sure that these trees. and the forest actually come to fruition. So there is a amazing lady, Mamani Kambina, based out in Madagascar. She's a tree planner for Eden Reforestation projects. Before Eden Reforestation was there, she was unemployed, had six kids, and had no way to feed, had no home, no way to take care of her family. When they came, they were able to really hire her, first off, be able to support her family, everything there. And then she started hiring locals around her and really started to build up the power of community and show off we want to re beautify this place. It had been wiped out. I don't remember the exact story as to what had happened as to why there was such destruction in the area. But she had gathered her entire community. Now so many people there are hired to have jobs. They're planting trees and they're all working together to a beautify this amazing village that they're working on. They're now hired, they're making money where they previously weren't, and it's a win-win. And then Eden Reforestation Projects flies in, flies out with some of the best scientists in the world to make sure that these forests are growing properly and really showing off all of the work that they're doing. So we're really excited to be working with them. Over this year, we've planted just under 25,000 trees. We've funded 375 of those workdays for those people working and are just... continuously growing. Our donors love that project. We love that project. We love the story and we love the people that our lives are changing.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well said, Will. I love it, man. I'm inspired. I'm sure the listeners are inspired. For those of you that wanna be inspired, head over to thehedrickproject.org. We'll put it in the show notes. It's H-E-D-R-I-C-K, thehedrickproject.org. Check it out. You can donate one time. You can donate monthly. But if you want to get a hold of the man himself, Will, how would they go about doing that and getting in touch with you directly?

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Will Hedrick:

Yeah, go into LinkedIn, LinkedIn.com slash will headric h-e-d-r-i-c-k. About as easy as it can be. Send me a connection request. I'd love to connect with you all. Talk, learn more, and just share purpose. Talk further, connect, and do anything I can do to help.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, wonderful. Well, I think you are doing a lot to help, Will. I love the mission. I love the value statement. I love how you're trying to help in new and different ways, source money for really important causes around the world. So kudos to you, brother, for figuring out this game.

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Will Hedrick:

Of course. Thank you so much, Tom.

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Tom Finn:

Hey man, thank you. Thank you for joining and thank you for listening to the Talent Empowerment Podcast. We hope you've unpacked a few tips and tricks to love your job and also find a humanitarian portion of your heart. Get ready to dive back into all things career and happiness on the next episode. We'll see you then, my friends.