697. How Team Rubicon Built a Movement of 200,000 Volunteers - Jeff Byard

"You don't manage volunteers. You have to inspire them."Jeff Byard figured that out after 14 years in Alabama emergency management, six years as a senior leader at FEMA overseeing 185 presidential disaster declarations, and now as Chief Programs Officer at Team Rubicon — the disaster response organization with 200,000 Greyshirts deployed across the country and around the world.In this episode, you'll hear:Why the shift from volunteer management to community building changes everything — and exactly how Team Rubicon made that shift at scaleHow 3,500 volunteer leaders lead a Greyshirt nation of 200,000 — and what that organizational structure teaches every nonprofit leaderJeff's One Good Thing: don't let perfection get in the way of good.Episode Highlights:Jeff's origin story: Marine Corps to FEMA (3:08)Joining Team Rubicon and the "for impact" sector (6:36)You don't manage volunteers — you inspire them (7:48)What Team Rubicon does: 1,000 service projects a year (9:14)Volunteer management vs. community building (12:00)Veterans + "kick ass civilians": the 50/50 dynamic (14:51)Making volunteers your core capacity at scale (16:13)10 simultaneous operations in Hurricane Helene (16:51)The philanthropy moment that made Jeff cry (20:55)One Good Thing: don't let perfection get in the way of good (25:04)Resources Mentioned:Team RubiconTunnels to Towers FoundationJeff Byard on LinkedIn Full Episode Landing Page: https://www.weareforgood.com/episode/697Join us at ImpactUp: Story! Join us online from 12-1:30 CST for a free virtual session including a keynote with storytelling phenom, Afdhel Aziz, and a roundtable convo with 4 amazing nonprofit leaders. Then that evening, in nearly 50 cities around the world are hosting local meetups to keep the conversation going in person.Find a meetup near you or join us virtually! Make the most of Monthly Giving Awareness Week 💛During Monthly Giving Awareness Week (May 11-16), Givebutter is giving back. For every new monthly donor who gives $5 or more, your nonprofit earns a $10 donation. $25,000 in matching funds are available to organizations just like yours! Get all the details and get started today here!  //Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.comSay hi 👋LinkedIn / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter