00:30 Hey, welcome back to the show. And today I am so stoked because everybody loves a good nonprofit, especially one that's like been around for a while. And today we got one of those. So Paul, will you please tell us who you are and what you do?

00:44 Sure. Thanks for having me. My name is Paul Robinson. I'm the president and CEO of Home of the Innocents. We are a large nonprofit in Louisville, Kentucky. We've been serving the community for about 143 years. And just kind of a quick, quick high level of what we do because we're a pretty complex nonprofit. We are the state's only skilled nursing facility for medically complex children. We are the state's second largest provider of residential treatment and emergency shelter service for children that are in the state's foster care system. And if that was not enough, we also have a very large array of behavioral health services that we provide. Our focus is children and families, and we really just provide everything that they need to help them thrive.

01:33 Fantastic, wow. That is, I mean, it makes sense. The name definitely aligns with what you're doing. So a lot of children-oriented focus and a lot of things driven towards those who are vulnerable and being taken advantage of. Is that right?

01:51 It is. So, you know, the name was created 143 years ago because the most vulnerable children needed our service and our mission has just expanded around that premise. And so today, the centerpiece of all of our programs are children and they typically are the underserved of our community. The children that have been abused, abandoned, neglected, have suffered horrible traumas. And so we have a very special, very fragile population that we take care of.

02:21 I love it. You know, a lot of people think of a nonprofit as a non-business, but in almost every function of a nonprofit is very business oriented. So, I mean, tell us about the business. I mean, you set out to help these kids, and how are you funded? How do you raise the money? What are you doing on the money side of this to help provide the services you're trying to provide to these underserved youth?

02:50 Typically, the children that we serve come to us, their payment source is Medicaid, so they'd be underserved of the community. So we really work with the state of Kentucky. They are really our primary customer. They pay the great majority of our services through state contracts. I'm actually a former business owner. I was a business owner for 21 years. And after I sold my company, I came here. This was a mission fulfillment journey for me. I prayed a lot about what I wanted to do. And so coming here really has allowed me to use the business experience that I had to help this organization negotiate their contracts going forward, diversify our payment sources, and really focus strongly on the financial viability and sustainability of what we do, because people think when you work in a nonprofit that means you're not allowed to make money. It is a tax filing status, we really have a responsibility to the children we serve. We need to have the resource that we need to fulfill our mission.

03:55 100%. And how big is the organization? How many people are helping you fulfill the mission of the nonprofit?

04:03 So if we had every position filled, we would have 600 team members. And I say I'd like that because right now, we have about 80 job openings, the workforce shortages that everyone is struggling with are affecting us as well. So we have about 520 very dedicated team members that help us fulfill our mission on a daily basis.

04:23 That's amazing, that's amazing. And again, to your point, a lot of people think of a nonprofit as a fly-by-night group of volunteers, but 140 years old, I mean 1880, you go all the way back to the 1800s to build this organization out into what has now become an anchor point for the state's ability to help underserved kids. What an amazing mission.

04:51 Well, and you've said that so beautifully. When we started in 1880, we started serving eight children. Today, we serve really upwards of 3,000 children per year. We started with one program. Today, we have 13 programs. What started 143 years ago with two or three people fulfilling our mission now takes 600 team members, thousands of volunteer hours, dedicated board members, committee members. There's so many people. We have so many people on our stakeholders that help fulfill our mission.

05:27 That is a very complex problem you're solving. Like really, really cool. Very, very cool organization. And as you balance between the paid staff and the volunteer staff, I gotta imagine that dynamic is not normal compared to your previous business experience in trying to coordinate between people who are just coming in to be a good helper and part of the community and people who are expected to be there and are they putting out the way they should. That's a tough thing to balance. Can you talk to that point?

06:00 It is, you know, volunteers come here because they really want to help our mission. They have great hearts for what they're here to do. In a lot of ways, honestly, Todd, our team members are sometimes the barrier to our ability to more fully integrate our volunteers because our team members are paid. They are here for a very specific reason. And we try to get them to open up their minds to the possibilities that these volunteers care just as much about our mission, but they care even more in some ways because they're here to not even be paid. So how do we get both sides working well together to help serve the children and family?

06:39 For sure, for sure. And how do you do that? I mean, that's a hefty goal. I mean, as a CEO of this operation, that's gotta be pretty intimidating.

06:50 Well, and COVID has had a decimating effect on our volunteer program. You know, we really sent away all of our volunteers for several years. And now we're really trying to put it back on its feet and trying to re engage our, our volunteers. We have a dedicated outreach department. So we have a director over what we call outreach and she has a team and their sole focus is to engage and support the volunteers that come to do individual and team volunteer projects and there's a lot of details and logistics that have to be managed.

07:27 For sure. Now, obviously as a five one C three, and as you're trying to obviously pass the majority of the benefit that you can to these children and the people you're serving, how hard is that to balance? Because obviously some fundraisers are better than others, some ways of accumulating funds and receiving donations, some of yours are gonna be better than others. How do you balance that portfolio of how much cash do we keep in the bank? How much are we passing through to our kids? How much are these programs costing to run? Tell us a little bit about that because I've always wondered that operational side of having to try to distribute at the same time operate a huge organization like that.

08:14 Well, I'll tell you, I think we operate a lot more like a corporation than when you think nonprofit, because you think small little organization. Our budget this year is upwards of $62 million. And so we, first of all, we start, it is very important that we start with a balanced budget. It is very important that we have the revenue we need to offset the expenses that work when to incur. I feel very strongly that we need to have financial sustainability, that's the foundation of how we grow our mission. So we started there and then you're hinting about the complexity of that. It is very complicated to manage priorities and whatnot. And we don't have the resource that a lot of other large private sector corporations have.In the private sector, because I came from there, you can just raise your prices. You can diversify your product line. You can, you know, you can scale differently, but in a non-profit, you're talking about children, you're talking about families served. And so we have to be more resourceful with what we have. We have to stretch the resource that we have a little bit further. We get really creative about what we do. We try to be innovative about what we do. But I will tell you, I think really at the heart of what helps make our mission possible is that we have a 143 year reputation in the community that our donors really strongly believe in. And so they trust us with their donations, in order to make this mission go.

11:10 Now let's talk about that part because, you know, there are a lot of guests on our podcast that we've talked about who have assumed control of a legacy type business. And I haven't met anyone that started in the 1800s, but I have talked to several people in the early 1900s who have taken on grandpa's business, handed down from generation to generation. And in your case, it's not a familial thing, but it is a community type, you know, thing that people feel like they've been a part of their whole life. And so tell us about that transition of you coming private sector into a, uh, an organization that's been around, you know, well beyond your grandparents and yet try to jump in and initiate change, initiate modernism, initiate trying to, you know, what did you have to do to the organization to make it kind of adopt some newer tech, newer things, newer ways to make it run smoother.

12:07 Guys, that's a big question. That's an excellent question. So I've been here a little over seven years. So the first year that I was here was really a learning journey for me. I had to learn the nuances of a nonprofit. I could bring with me from the private sector a lot about finance and marketing and communications, but I had to really learn the programming side of what we do. I had to learn the differences of how to motivate and incentivize properly a nonprofit team. At the end of that first year, we then really used our strategic plan that we created to help guide our work to help us work on the foundation pieces. We had to make investment in technology. You mentioned that. We had to make investments in training and development. We had to make investments in the compensation and the benefits of our team. There were so many aspects of the organization that really hadn't been thought of because again, our focus was on where we were growing from where we had been to where we were at that moment. Um, so when I got here, it was really about, let's put these pillars of support in place. And then just recently in the last couple of years, as we were emerging from COVID, we're in a very good place. We're in a financially strong place. We've done all of those foundational pieces and now we are able to focus on growth. And so that's really what the future holds for us is we're poise for fairly significant growth.

13:40 That's awesome. How do you do that in terms of, I mean, are you locally in Louisville? Are you all over Kentucky? Like, can you go into other states? I mean, tell us about your plans for growth.

13:53 So our main campus, we have a beautiful 22-acre campus in downtown Louisville, which is where we do most of our mission. Yeah, when you're from here, we say Louisville. Yeah, so, instead of Louisville. But.

14:07 Yeah, I know, I know, I make that mistake.

14:11 We serve children from all across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. So even though our main location is in downtown Louisville, we are seeing kids from all 120 counties across our state. And then for some of our services, we actually do take children from outside of the state. So we have children here in our skilled nursing facility from other states. So our growth is really how do we have more utilization of the programs that we have But more importantly, in the nonprofit world, growth comes from filling unmet needs. And so what we have identified is a huge need that is not being met by anyone. We feel passionately about filling it, and I'm happy to talk a little bit more about that if you'd like, but that's where our growth is going to come from. We are gonna open a whole new facility that is gonna be tailored specifically to an unmet need in a specific population.

15:07 Gotcha. And so is it going to be, continue to be a Kentucky type thing because that's one of your primary clients, as you mentioned earlier, the state of Kentucky? Or is it something that is kind of like another type of healthcare service for the same audience, meaning another thing to help the youth?

15:28 Well, what we're hinting about here, let me mention that and then I'll answer your question. We are a skilled nursing facility for medically complex children. So they're here with us from birth to 21. And when they turn 21, they will discharge from our care and they'll go to a geriatric facility that is really designed for 80, 90 year olds. And so what we are going to do is we're gonna build a skilled nursing facility for young adults. It is for 21 to 35 year olds. So to answer your question, we are the only pediatric facility in Kentucky and we will be one of just a few young adult facilities across the country. So when we open this, not only will we serve the young adults needs of Kentucky, the door will be open for placements that can come from other neighboring states.

16:21 What a smart way to grow. I love that.

16: 25 Well, our board has wrestled with this moral issue about how do we help our children. A very sobering statistic, Todd, is within 18 months of discharging from our facility, 40 percent of our residents pass away. And it's because the care that they receive and other geriatric type long term care facilities is just not the same as our pediatric facility. And we just feel very strongly that we want their care to continue in a way that we know that we're capable of doing it, but also we want their lives to thrive. And so it just feels right to us that we are gonna build a companion facility where our children will transition. They'll literally go on the other side of our campus and they'll continue to receive the same compassion and nursing care that they're getting today.

17:15 Awesome, awesome. So you will keep it generally on the same campus.

17:21 That is our hope. We're working on site selection right now. So if you ask me that question in about three or four more weeks, I know the answer.

17:29 Well, by the time this thing airs, hopefully you got it figured out and we can put it in the show notes. That's cool. Now that's very awesome. Well, you know, listen, this is so fascinating for me because a lot of us who are in the for-profit organizations, we always want to find value-based places where we can contribute profitability to and really kind of add value to our communities and the things going on around us. What do you see as one of your biggest challenges as a nonprofit operating a nonprofit and your relationships with for-profit companies looking to participate and engage with you?

18:11 Well, I believe in the culture of philanthropy, which means that we want someone to support our mission because they believe in our mission. They wanna make an investment in our mission. So we feel it's very important that it's relational. So when we meet with corporations and large companies, we wanna draw them in, take a tour of our facility, let them see the children that we serve. And when they believe in that, investment in our mission naturally comes from that. We really try to avoid transactional fundraising, which feels like, give me this for this reason. We really just want people to believe in our mission. And I think our reputation and the length of time that we've been in the community, I think speaks to that. And I think when people trust management and they trust in the leaders of our organization, I think that also helps us. So we really just do our very best and it takes a lot of intentional effort to just spend time with our investors so that they know. So it's like an example, I'll give them multiple tours today to individuals that is intentional to help draw them in, to learn more about our mission and find ways that they can engage with our mission.

19:28 Interesting. And go ahead, take you one step back to our other conversation about your leadership role. You know, obviously in 140 years, you've had a series of different manager CEOs of the organization. How has that, you know, was it difficult to come in under the, you know, how long had the previous CEO been operating the company? And how hard was that transition to kind of get the team to support and rally around what you were doing?

20:01 Well, my predecessor was here for a total of 25 years, I think 21 of the 25 in the wall as president and CEO. And I think in our 143 year journey, we've had dozens of leaders here. But you know, I think the wonderful thing about nonprofits is that the board of directors, who is the governing body, they identify and select a leader that they think is appropriate for that period of time. So my predecessor actually raised $65 million over 20 years to help build the campus that we're on right now today. So he has an incredible legacy of his contribution at that time. And then the need changed. And at the time that he left, the board had to select me and the need was different. They needed somebody not to raise money to build the campus, that had been done they needed somebody to focus on sustainability and poising the organization, preparing it to get ready for the growth of this large program. So the time is gonna come, Todd, when I will have fulfilled the part of this journey that I'm contributing to and I trust in the process. The board will select somebody that'll come in that will provide for the mission in a way that I wasn't able to provide. Yeah.

21:21 The next initiative. Yeah, yeah. No, that is so cool. What a strange way to think about it, but it's an amazing continuity plan. You know, as I think about, we talk a lot about on the show exit strategy and what do you do as you're preparing to exit your company and you just kind of laid it out there. You know, you're there for a very specific purpose to do a very specific thing for the organization. And when it's your time to pass the baton, you're ready to do it. That's awesome.

21:51 I tell my team all the time, I kind of feel like Mary Poppins. You know, when her job was done, she put her umbrella up and she left. And I think I'll just know when our work is done here and that my work is completed. And when that's done, it'll be time for me to step aside and let someone else come in. That's not happening anytime soon. I've got a full plate. We've got to raise $50 million to build this new facility. We've got to hire 300 new team members to man the new facility and we've got to build it. So I think I've got plenty to keep me busy for the next couple of years.

22:26 Well, very cool stuff. Listen, Paul, I love the conversation. I think this has been super insightful because I do think that there's a lot of mystery that goes into the inner workings of a complex nonprofit like you've been talking about. I mean, this is a big, long-lasting, tradition-based, value-based organization. And what a great blessing it's been for you to be there. I honestly, I think it's really, really cool. So thanks for sharing some insights for this today.

22:56 Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about our mission.

23:01 You bet. Now, before we leave, I do love to get the shout out. Who is it that's kind of inspired you to do this? Because this is not an everyday move for someone that spent 20 years, 21 years in private sector, operating a different type of business.

23:17 Well, can I share too? Is that all right? Well, so my business partner for the 21 years that I was in business as an owner was my father. And so he really gave me a lot of skills and knowledge and expertise that he shared about how to treat people, how to run a business, and how to protect margin, which was so important. And then when the time came for us to sell the company and for me to consider coming here I leaned on several people that were around me in the nonprofit space. I really relied on their expertise. And then as it turned out, several of them wrote letters of recommendation encouraged me to make this leap from the private sector to the nonprofit space. And I'm very grateful in particular Judy Burns who was the executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Northwest Florida where I was. If she hadn't really pushed and encouraged me, I don't know that I would have done it. So I have to give her credit.

24:17 That's cool, very cool. Well, those are great shout outs. Everyone loves the dad shout out. I think it's awesome. And thank you for the other woman who's helped influence you and impact you jumping into the nonprofit space. What, you know, just in closing, I'd love to know, you know, as this grows and expands, what do you say to other people who are kind of looking in at nonprofits and saying, Hey, what do you say to that?

24:49 I think everything we're getting ready to do is made possible by a strong mission, a strong culture that I think we've been very intentional to try to build and foster and cultivate. And I think also making sure that all the stakeholders, whether they're lawmakers, volunteers, donors, board members, everyone has a very important role in our success and we have to make sure they're engaged, they feel supported, and they feel aligned to our mission everything comes back to the mission. And I think we're very fortunate that we have a really strong mission.

25:25 Well, and for those listening, nonprofit or not, if you are not mission driven, you should be. If your organization is starting to get going and your business is starting to get to that growth and scaling mode, you've got to take a step back and make sure that your entire group is aligned on a mission as is Paul's organization. Because when you are aligned on a mission, you really do feel that unity, that alignment, and people feel like, hey man, this is exactly where we're headed. I'm in. And if you don't have that, buy-in is really, really hard to get. Paul, thanks for sharing that with us. I love that thought, and that's a great one to close on. For those of you listening, check out his nonprofit. Go see if there's a way you can help. And if you can't, see if there's something local to you that you can be a part of and volunteer your time and resources and help them do the good works that they're set out to do. Paul, thank you so much.

26:20 Thank you for having me.