Nonprofits Aren’t Easy with Danielle Judd of Farmhouse Rescue
Welcome to the latest episode of the Nonprofit Connect podcast, brought to you by Rogue Creatives, made to connect with and learn from people in the nonprofit hemisphere, and hosted by me, Matt Barnes.
Our guest today is Danielle Judd, President and Founder of Farmhouse Rescue, a distinguished nonprofit founded in 2018 after she survived a life-threatening illness that left her with enduring effects, including memory loss. Through her unwavering determination and passion, she sought to heal animals and humans alike.
Together, we get to the heart of why nonprofits aren’t the easiest thing in the world, how a life-threatening experience dramatically altered Danielle’s view on life, the importance of transparency as an organization, and the lessons you learn when starting a nonprofit.
Nonprofits aren’t as easy as they seem
Nonprofits can be a tough venture. Many people who go into the industry think that because they do something good, something that will help others and benefit the world around us, everybody will rally behind them and show support, but the reality can be much more depressing.
As Danielle explains, a lot of people just don’t care. It will get rather depressing, but you have to push through it all and get to the other side. Eventually, you will get there, and you will find others who care and want to help; you just need to be patient. It’s tricky because the capitalist system perpetuates our desire to only care (or at least show that we care) about for-profits and big corporations. It’s hard to get people to be on board with something that matters when there’s no benefit for them.
“Everyone thinks they’re just going to start this nonprofit, and everybody’s going to jump on board and be happy for you,” says Danielle. “I think that was my biggest conception of doing this. When I started it, I thought the support was going to be overwhelming, and no. People don’t care.”
Seriously, it’s not a walk in the park
It’s not easy to start a nonprofit, not just because the support will be scarce, but because there's a serious misconception about it. People think it’s something you do when you retire, an excuse to get away with doing nothing, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In our interview, Danielle tells me, “It sounds so simple to start a nonprofit like, [people will say], ‘Oh, my gosh, yeah, I just started this nonprofit, no big deal.’ Or people email me and say, ‘When I retire, it's exactly what I want to do.’ And I'm like, dude, this is not what you do when you retire, okay? This is a start-up, this is a business. If you want to help or make a difference in the world, help a different nonprofit, someone that’s started it, something that you believe in. And if there's not a market for it, then start it. But look for someone. If it's something that you see that's similar, help that person, because they need your help, I need your help, like we all need your help.”
You might read this and think, "Why the hell would I ever start a nonprofit after everything you and Danielle have just said?" I can answer that easily; when you accomplish your goals and help the people you intend to help, it will bring you a sense of levity you won’t find anywhere else.