You Are What You Give
by Avi Zimmerman
You Are What You Give is a weekly conversation about generosity and the transformational ways it shapes who we become. Host Avi Zimmerman sits down with people whose giving changed lives — public figures, community leaders, philanthropists, and everyday heroes — to explore the moments that formed their purpose. Each episode goes beyond biography. These are honest, human conversations about choices, values, faith, leadership, and what it really means to lead a life worth living. Whether you’re looking to deepen your purpose, sharpen your giving approach, or simply connect with stories that matter, this show brings you into the rooms where those conversations happen. New episodes every week. Join a community learning to give more meaningfully, mindfully and measurably.
Episodes
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One Coat, Nine Million Acts of Warmth - Beth Amodio
One woman had a coat she wanted to give away. More than 30 years later, that simple act has grown into a nationwide movement that has helped provide over 9 million coats to people in need. Beth Amodio, President and CEO of One Warm Coat, joins Avi Zimmerman to share how the organization makes...
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Opening Doors: How Access Changes Lives, Youmie Jean Francois
Youmie Jean Francois learned to fly in her 30s. What she discovered along the way inspired something much bigger than her own pilot's license. Through the Flex and Fly Foundation, she's working to give underserved New Yorkers access to opportunities in aviation, wellness, and...
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The Fundraising Advice That Feels Wrong, But Works
What if the fundraising practices that feel most natural are actually the ones holding you back? After more than four decades in fundraising—and helping raise more than $3 billion for important causes—Kevin Gentry has reached a striking conclusion: much of what works best in fundraising is...
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How to Tell a Story People Actually Want to Join
Why do some extraordinary causes struggle to get people to care? It may not be the mission. It may be the story. In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Bridget Cook-Burch, bestselling author, storyteller, and “The Book Whisperer,” to explore why storytelling isn't simply a...
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Why She Gives $100,000 to One Nonprofit Every Year
Why would someone give away $100,000 in professional marketing services to a single nonprofit every year? For Marivi Bryant, the answer is simple: Great organizations deserve great storytelling. After more than 25 years helping mission-driven organizations and national brands communicate their...
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Knowing When to Say Yes - and When to Say No in Giving
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...
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Mission Drift Explained: How Good Organizations Lose Their Way
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…
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A Culminating Conversation With Dr. Bob Woodson: Poverty, Charity & What Actually Changes Lives
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...
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When Charity Fails: What Happens When Trust Is Broken in Nonprofit Organization Giving
What happens when a charity you believe in collapses almost overnight? Not just financially — but in trust. In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Yael Simon to explore what happens when philanthropy goes wrong — and what responsible giving actually requires from both donors...
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You’re Overlooking Your Strongest Supporters: The Power of Nonprofit Alumni
Most nonprofits are focused on finding new supporters. But what if some of the most important people you need to reach… are already part of your story? In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi sits down with Jennifer Cunningham, an expert in alumni engagement, to explore a missed opportunity...
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Born Again Giving: How Victoria Hearst Took Initiative and Built Global Impact
You see a need. Someone who could use help. A situation where something isn’t right. And then comes the moment that defines everything: Do you step forward… or do you move on? In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Victoria Hearst to explore a different kind of giving — one…
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How to Fix Your Volunteer Retention Problem (Why Recruitment Isn’t the Real Issue)
You don’t have a volunteer problem. You have a volunteer experience problem. In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Karen Knight, consultant and strategist focused on helping nonprofits engage volunteers the right way. Because most organizations aren’t struggling to find people...
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He Saw Kids Sleeping on Floors - Then Built 370,000 Beds | Luke Mickelson of Sleep in Heavenly Peace
There’s a problem most of us never see. Children sleeping on floors. No bed. No place to rest. It’s called bedlessness. In this episode of You Are What You Give, Luke Michaelson shares how one small moment turned into a movement that has changed over 370,000 lives. Not by trying to solve...
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How to Do Volunteer Travel Right: Designing Service Trips That Truly Make a Difference
Volunteer travel has become incredibly popular. But not all service trips are created equal. Some experiences unintentionally center the volunteer instead of the community. Others leave participants inspired but unsure whether their efforts truly made a lasting difference. In this episode of You...
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Iran Is Not Its Regime: Zolal Habibi on Freedom, Resistance, and the Iranian People
Iran is not its regime. In this episode, Avi Zimmerman speaks with Iranian-American activist Zolal Habibi about the fight for a free Iran, the difference between the regime and the Iranian people, and why many Iranians insist their future must be shaped by the people, for the people. Recorded...
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Joy Is a Strategy: Sustaining Nonprofits and Leaders Through Service | Heidi Johnson
Most people think nonprofit work runs on urgency: more need, more pressure, more fundraising, more hours. Heidi Johnson has spent 15+ years interviewing nonprofit founders and building organizations in the sector herself, and she argues something different: Joy is not a byproduct. It’s a power...
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Shrinking Hunger: Joseph Gitler, Leket Israel & the Power of Food Rescue - A Purim Special
What does it take to build a national nonprofit from a simple act of awareness? In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Joseph Gitler, founder and chairman of Leket Israel https://www.leket.org/en/, Israel's leading food rescue organization. What began with one person paying...
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What Is Your Second Kidney? A Conversation on Intent, Purposeful Giving
What would make someone voluntarily donate a kidney? Not for publicity. In this episode of You Are What You Give, I sit down with Dr. Zev Gershon - a physician, attorney, a rabbi and generous philanthropist - to explore what it means toi give withoiut losing anything. We discuss: Why he chose two...
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Why the Best Fundraisers Don't Chase Gifts: J. Paul Fridenmaker on Relationships, Posture and Trust
Most people think fundraising is about asking for money. In reality, it’s about something far more personal: Your posture. Your relationship with wealth. And whether you can sit across from a successful person with respect. Not suspicion, insecurity, or resentment. In this episode of You Are What...
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The Human Side of Congress With Congressman Michael Cloud: How Texans Give Episode 4/4
This is the fourth and final episode in our How Texans Give miniseries, and we close it by stepping inside the human side of Congress. In this conversation, Avi Zimmerman sits down with Congressman Michael Cloud to talk about something rarely discussed in public life: how to serve without losing...
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How Philanthropic Foundations Decide What to Fund: How Texans Give (3/4) with Dr. Victoria Sarvadi
Most people assume that philanthropic foundations fund projects. Behind the scenes, they’re often funding people. This is Episode 3 of 4 in our How Texans Give miniseries. In this conversation, Avi Zimmerman sits down with Dr. Victoria Sarvadi, who together with her husband leads the Nathaniel...
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How Texans Give: The Lone Star Ladies on Land, Legacy, and Quiet Generosity
In the first episode of our How Texans Give series, Avi Zimmerman is joined by Revis Daggett and Lashawn Wardlaw McIvor - two Texas ranchers, businesswomen, and community leaders , soon to launch their own podcast titled The Lone Star Ladies. This conversation explores giving as a way of life.…
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Angel Poorman Turned a World War II Army Base Into a Crisis Relief Center: How Texans Give (Ep. 2)
In World War II, U.S. Army soldiers trained in Abilene, Texas before being sent to Europe, including units that would later help liberate Holocaust concentration camps. Decades later, that same land was purchased by Angel Poorman and her husband, Norman, transforming Camp Barkley into an...
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Giving Through Public Service: Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Trust, Leadership, and Grace
In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi Zimmerman speaks with Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represented Eastern Washington for 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, about leadership, trust, and the many forms of giving - including and beyond money. Cathy reflects on what she learned...
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Why Christians REALLY Give to Israel: A Deep Dive With Heather Johnston
Why do Christians REALLY give to Israel? In this episode of You Are What You Give, Avi Zimmerman speaks with Heather Johnston - arguably the most innovative Christian partner to Israel - about calling, purpose, and why giving is often about living out identity before it’s about any specific need....
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Turning Trauma into Light: Tzvi Grinhaim on IDF Soldiers, Hanukkah, and Consistent Giving
Some people break under trauma. Others turn it into light. After conducting dozens of funerals following October 7th, cantor and IDF reservist Tzvi Grinhaim was diagnosed with PTSD. Instead of shutting down, he transformed pain into purpose—bringing strength, joy, and presence to soldiers on the...
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Bruce Pearl: Earn This - Leadership, Legacy, and Living What You Give
Recorded in Jerusalem just weeks before his retirement, Coach Bruce Pearl joins You Are What You Give for a candid conversation about leadership, responsibility, faith, and giving. He shares the story behind publicly naming hostage Edan Alexander during Auburn’s Final Four run, why he believes we...
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Raising a Giving Generation: What Makes Tila Falic Tick
Tila Falic’s public profile is growing, but her real story begins at home, where giving was a family lifestyle long before it became a headline. In this episode, Tila shares how she was raised to give with purpose, how she teaches her six children to turn kindness into action, and how October 7...
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Episode 1: Rob Adams - From Hunger to Heroism: A Thanksgiving Promise Kept
Episode 1: Rob Adams — From Hunger to Heroism: A Thanksgiving Promise Kept In this inaugural episode of 'You Are What You Give', host Avi Zimmerman engages with Rob Adams, founder of Thanksgiving Heroes, to explore the profound impact of generosity and community service. Rob shares his personal...
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Promo: You Are What You Give
Discover You Are What You Give — a weekly conversation exploring generosity, purpose, and the people whose giving reshaped their lives and communities. Hosted by Avi Zimmerman, giving coach and strategist, this show dives into the defining choices that reveal who we are and what we stand for. If...
About this show
You Are What You Give is a weekly conversation about generosity and the transformational ways it shapes who we become. Host Avi Zimmerman sits down with people whose giving changed lives — public figures, community leaders, philanthropists, and everyday heroes — to explore the moments that formed their purpose.
Each episode goes beyond biography. These are honest, human conversations about choices, values, faith, leadership, and what it really means to lead a life worth living.
Whether you’re looking to deepen your purpose, sharpen your giving approach, or simply connect with stories that matter, this show brings you into the rooms where those conversations happen.
New episodes every week.
Join a community learning to give more meaningfully, mindfully and measurably.
Hosted by
Avi Zimmerman