In the social impact sector, we talk a lot about systems. Structural barriers. Root causes. Power structures. But I've watched systems-focused thinking become its own kind of trap: top-down, abstract, and alienating the very people it aims to serve.

Because systems aren't just structures and policies. They're people. And you can't change a system by imposing solutions from above. You have to build with the people living inside it.

My guest today calls herself a practical radical. After her father died when she was eleven, basketball saved her. For eight years, she coached high school girls in West Philadelphia, taking a program from 0-18 in her first season to state champions in her last.

But she noticed something: for some kids, sports is a hobby. For others, it's a lifeline. We celebrate the ones who make it out but rarely ask why so many need a lifeline in the first place.

Beulah Osueke is the Executive Director of New Voices for Reproductive Justice and the founder of PILR, a new initiative transforming youth sports into spaces of wellness, equity, and growth.

Episode Highlights

[00:00] Introduction

[02:11] How basketball saved her after losing her father

[03:05] Why do we require resilience instead of building better systems?

[05:34] Sports as hobby vs. sports as lifeline

[08:47] From faith-based organizing to reproductive justice

[09:55] Releasing toxic theology

[13:30] "I don't have the answers. People have the answers."

[16:44] The three pillars of reproductive justice

[18:30] The People's Portal: Making social justice accessible

[24:38] Making the movement irresistible

[26:06] PILR: Transforming youth sports

[29:30] Testing assumptions through co-creation

[34:44] Why the most effective leaders are servant leaders

[38:27] Discipline and learning to see rejection as data

[42:47] "What's destined for you is far greater than what you desire"

Notable Quotes

"Why do we require resilience of individual people as opposed to making tenacious structures and systems that look out for the good of people?" — Beulah Osueke [03:05]

"There are some people that get to play sports as a hobby, and there are some people that are playing sports as a lifeline." — Beulah Osueke [05:34]

"I believe in being a practical radical — showing people what's possible through the lens of what already exists and just improving what already exists." — Beulah Osueke [08:00]

"We have to be very careful to build power with our people, otherwise we're going to replicate the very same power structures that we're now critiquing." — Beulah Osueke [25:26]

"You cannot say something is co-created if you're not willing to make shifts once people show up and give you free wisdom." — Beulah Osueke [32:08]

"What's destined for you is far greater than what you desire. This is why surrender is essential." — Beulah Osueke [42:47]

P.S. — Struggling to make your message accessible without watering it down? Cosmic helps social impact leaders build trust through story-rich brands, compelling campa

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at podcast@designbycosmic.com

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

After months away, Jonathan Hicken returns to Designing Tomorrow — and this time, we're recording from the brand new Seymour Studios at the Seymour Center in Santa Cruz.

In this episode, Eric and Jonathan take a real look back at 2025: a year that felt like a grind but delivered surprising wins across the sector. They dig into what the data actually says about giving (spoiler: it's not all doom), why the story you tell yourself shapes your reality, what it means to actually invest in storytelling instead of just talking about it, and the personal lessons they're carrying into 2026.

If you're ready to shed 2025 and enter the new year with big moves and big ideas, this one's for you.

Notable Quotes

"Those beliefs drive your actions, they drive your perception, they drive how you show up in real life, how you show up in your work." — Eric [28:51]
"We just kept banging that drum. We kept banging that drum as long as things were working and we were moving in the same direction." — Jonathan [25:31]
"Everyone says they want to do storytelling. You just don't see it in their investments. You don't see it in their energy. You don't see it in the dollars." — Eric [20:07]
"Vulnerability and radical honesty — it's been a superpower. And it's something I want to carry into 2026." — Jonathan [31:16]
"In my work, I'm seeing these huge wins from these growing nonprofit organizations, and it just gave me a lot of hope and kept me going." — Eric [10:00]

Episode Highlights

0:00 — Jonathan's Back: Welcome to Seymour Studios
2:06 — Looking Back on 2025: What Went Well
3:43 — The $350K House Party and Santa Cruz Generosity
5:00 — Why Jonathan's Been Missing from the Show
6:12 — The Interviews That Kept Us Going
6:30 — Major Donor Giving Is Up (What the Data Says)
7:46 — Should We Worry About Fewer Donors?
9:00 — Client Wins: $13M, $14M, and More
11:00 — How Cosmic Celebrates Client Success
12:43 — Eating Our Own Dog Food: The Case for Support
15:00 — The Questions That Forced Hard Conversations
17:00 — What Even Is a Case for Support?
19:00 — Building a Storytelling Engine (Content Brokerage)
20:07 — Why Most Orgs Talk Storytelling But Don't Invest
22:00 — What Charity Water Knows About Storytelling
23:26 — Getting the Whole Team Aligned
25:27 — Growth Isn't Linear, It's Cyclical
27:00 — Big Moves Aren't Knee-Jerk (They're Secretly Researched)
28:00 — "What If It's Not All Falling Apart?"
30:00 — Turning 40 and the Midlife Recalibration
30:44 — Jonathan on Vulnerability and Radical Honesty
32:00 — Thank You, Listeners — and What's Next

Referenced Episodes & Resources

Fewer Donors, Bigger Checks: Interpreting the Latest Giving Data
https://designbycosmic.com/podcast/nonprofit-donor-trends-2025/

Growth Isn't Linear. It's Cyclical.
https://designbycosmic.com/podcast/growth-isnt-linear.-its-cyclical.

How to Build a Strong Case for Support
https://designbycosmic.com/podcast/how-to-build-a-strong-case-for-support/

Seymour Center Case for Support Example
ht

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at podcast@designbycosmic.com

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

What if the biggest barrier to your mission isn't funding, or talent, or market conditions — but the people sitting in your boardroom?

Not because they're bad people. But because they don't have clear expectations about their role. They weren't trained on the very real skills required for governance. And they're shoved into systems that don't allow them to bring their best strengths to the table.

In this episode, I sit down with Rob Acton, founder of Cause Strategy Partners, to explore what separates boards that multiply impact from boards that drain resources. After serving as a nonprofit CEO for 11 years and watching boards either accelerate or anchor organizations, Rob has spent the last decade placing over 3,000 board members across 1,500 organizations — and he's figured out exactly what makes the difference.

It's not about finding wealthy donors or well-connected people. It's about design. Because most nonprofit boards aren't built — they just happen. A friend of a friend. Someone who can write a check. A warm body to fill a seat. That's governance by accident. And governance by accident creates dysfunction by design.

In our conversation, we explore:

• The invisible hand problem: when boards feel like barriers instead of assets [01:59]
• The three foundations of effective boards: expectations, design, and culture [04:43]
• Why you shouldn't apologize for setting high expectations [06:33]
• Building strategic diversity beyond demographics [07:42]
• Getting outside your existing network to find the right candidates [09:46]
• Where to draw the line between board and staff work [10:15]
• The collaboration model: why boards can't set strategy alone (but CEOs can't either) [12:27]
• What fiduciary oversight actually means in practice [13:54]
• The B minus problem: why boards get mediocre grades from their CEOs [14:48]
• Why less than 5% of board members ever receive governance training [17:28]
• Where the buck stops: who's responsible for board training [18:32]
• What crisis reveals about board quality [42:38]
• Why high-capacity people lean in when things get hard [43:36]

Notable Quotes

"I can't think of anything worse than a nonprofit organization — we don't operate around the edges of society, we're taking care of homelessness, kids, the sick, the environment — to have a board that's actually draining resources instead of contributing." — Rob Acton [04:03]

"I've seen people apologize for the roles and responsibilities and expectations. That makes me sad. There's no apology. You're stepping into a role where you'll be one of 10, 12, 15 people shepherding this important work." — Rob Acton [04:43]

"Don't just ask 'who do we know?' Really be thoughtful around what is the right mix of backgrounds, experiences, skill sets, industries that we need represented in these strategic conversations." — Rob Acton [05:11]

"When a board has delegated everything else to the CEO and said 'okay, we'll just raise money,' they've really lost track of their core responsibilities." — Rob Acton [09:18]

Listeners, now you can text us your comments or questions by clicking this link.

*** If you liked this episode, please help spread the word. Share with your friends or co-workers, post it to social media, “follow” or “subscribe” in your podcast app, or write a review on Apple Podcasts. We could not do this without you!

We love hearing feedback from our community, so please email us with your questions or comments — including topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes — at podcast@designbycosmic.com

Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.