Susan Finch of Binky Patrol interviews Mara James, founder and CEO of the Extraordinary Lives Foundation (ELF). Listeners will learn about ELF's mission to improve children's mental health and emotional wellness through programs like Piggy Bear and the HUGS School Life Healing Center. Mara shares her personal journey of overcoming mental health challenges and how it inspired her to create tools for children to build emotional awareness and resilience.

The episode highlights the importance of teaching children emotional wellness skills from an early age, reframing mental health challenges in a positive light, and providing holistic healing options. Listeners will discover how Piggy Bear books and plush toys are being used in schools and hospitals to help children cope with difficult emotions. For those working with or caring for children experiencing trauma or emotional challenges, this episode offers valuable insights into innovative, compassionate approaches to supporting young people's mental health and well-being.

Links from this episode:

https://elfempowers.org

https://hugslife.org

https://binkypatrol.org

There are many ways to list your volunteer opportunities. This short episode goes over some of our favorite volunteer and matching fund portals. They include: volunteermatch.org, benevity.com, and joindeed.org.

Tips include:

1. Have a checkbox that they agree to have their photos taken and used for your site and social media accounts
2. Link to a form if you are posting this somewhere like NextDoor or Facebook to get their info into your database
3. Include a checkbox for privacy policies and your promises to them.
4. Be detailed and keep the opportunities simple.
5. Create a short video for the opportunity landing pages and specific landing pages on your site encouraging people to volunteer.

Susan Finch, founder of Binky Patrol, discusses the importance of having a cohesive branding package for nonprofit organizations looking to scale up. She shares insights from her own experience, highlighting the need for consistent messaging, logos, fonts, and phrasing across all chapters and volunteers. Susan also touches on the benefits of streamlining processes, such as providing digital patterns and outsourcing printing, to save time and money. By creating a comprehensive branding guide, nonprofits can ensure that their volunteers have the tools they need to represent the organization effectively and maintain a strong, recognizable brand. Whether you're a small nonprofit just starting out or an established organization looking to grow, this episode offers valuable advice on the power of branding and the steps you can take to create a cohesive brand identity.

Overall takeaways:

1. A cohesive branding package is essential for nonprofits looking to scale up and maintain a strong, recognizable brand identity.
2. Consistency in messaging, logos, fonts, colors, and phrasing across all chapters and volunteers is key to building a successful brand.
3. Streamlining processes, such as providing digital patterns and outsourcing printing, can save time and money while ensuring brand consistency.
4. Maintaining control over chapter branding and online presence is crucial to protecting the organization's reputation and mission.
5. Creating a comprehensive branding guide empowers volunteers to effectively represent the organization and its values.

The Binky Patrol branding guide sample covered in this episode (PDF)