What happens when you care so deeply that you want to help everyone?

For Morgan DeNicola, that question isn't theoretical. It's personal.

After a life-changing visit to an orphanage in Africa, Morgan returned home convinced she couldn't simply go back to business as usual. That experience led her family to establish the DeNicola Family Foundation, where she now works to inspire a new generation of philanthropists while confronting one of giving's greatest challenges:

You can't say yes to everything.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi and Morgan explore what it means to build relationships instead of transactions, why transparency matters to younger donors, and how the best philanthropists balance compassion with discernment.

Together they discuss:

• How one encounter changed the course of Morgan's life
• Why younger generations are asking different questions about giving
• Moving beyond writing checks to building relationships
• How to inspire others to become givers
• Why every philanthropist eventually has to say "no"
• How passion sustains long-term generosity without losing sight of purpose

One of Morgan's most memorable observations is simple:

"Be empathetic—not apathetic."

If you'd like to connect with Morgan or learn more about the DeNicola Family Foundation, visit https://www.morgandenicola.com/ or connect through their Instagram and Facebook pages, where Morgan personally responds to many of the messages she receives.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

Most organizations don't fail overnight.

They drift. Not because they stop caring. Not because they lose passion. But because they slowly move away from the very mission they were created to serve.

In this episode of You Are What You Give https://givewithus.com/, Avi sits down with Becca Spradlin, founder of On Mission Advisors, to explore one of the most overlooked risks facing nonprofits, ministries, foundations, and purpose-driven organizations: mission drift.

Together they discuss:

• What mission drift actually is
• Why good organizations are vulnerable to it
• How funding can unintentionally pull organizations off course
• The role boards play in protecting mission
• Why hiring for alignment matters
• How leaders can distinguish healthy change from unhealthy drift
• Why defining failure may be just as important as defining success

One of Becca's most practical insights is deceptively simple:

Don't just define your mission. Define your drift.

Because organizations rarely wake up one morning and decide to abandon their purpose. They simply make a series of small decisions that slowly move them away from it.

If you're a nonprofit leader, donor, board member, founder, or anyone responsible for stewarding a mission, this conversation offers practical tools for staying aligned over the long term.

To learn more about Becca's work, connect with her on LinkedIn or visit OnMissionAdvisors.com, where you'll find resources, her book Lead on Mission, and a free Mission Drift assessment.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

Dr. Bob Woodson spent decades challenging assumptions about poverty, charity, and what creates real change. In light of his recent passing, this conversation - recorded two months to the day before his passing - carries even greater weight — not simply as a discussion about giving, but as a reflection on the ideas and principles that shaped his life’s work.

In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Dr. Bob Woodson — civil rights leader, founder of the Woodson Center https://woodsoncenter.org/, and longtime advocate for community-led solutions — for a conversation that asks a difficult question:

Can helping people sometimes make things worse?

Dr. Woodson challenges the assumption that money alone solves poverty and explains why understanding the nature of the problem matters just as much as the resources we bring to it.

In this conversation we discuss:

• the four types of poverty
• why some forms of charity unintentionally create dependency
• the difference between relief and transformation
• what Dr. Woodson called “toxic support”
• why local relationships matter more than distant solutions
• and what lasting change actually requires

This isn't a conversation about giving less.

It's a conversation about helping better.

And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make these conversations possible.

For additional conversations and insights, visit us at https://givewithus.com/