Hello and Welcome to SCL podcast. The summer is quickly winding down and we wanted to pause this week to remind all of us to make sure we are all enjoying and appreciating these last few weeks of the summer. So here is an encore episode for you with some tips and ideas about how to refresh your gratitude practice.

Would you like to gain confidence in your advocacy skills so you can have more impact on the issues you care about? Are you concerned about the state of public life? Policy and civic engagement and advocacy enable all types of organizations to address the root causes of social problems and to create lasting, systemic change. Advocacy is an important tool in system change. In this third episode of the 3-part series, we delve into the world of civic action.

Would you like to gain confidence in your advocacy skills so you can have more impact on the issues you care about? Are you concerned about the state of public life? Policy and civic engagement and advocacy enables all types of organizations to address the root causes of social problems and to create lasting, systemic change. Advocacy is an important tool in system change.

Would you like to gain confidence in your advocacy skills so you can have more impact on the issues you care about? Are you concerned about the state of public life? Is your voice as a social change leader being heard in the public and civic arena? Are you taking aligned actions to create system change? Advocacy is an important tool in system change.

Do you use your business as a vehicle for social change? Have you clearly defined your target audience(s)? Are you crystal clear on what exactly you are selling and the social impact you are seeking? It can be tempting to create and customize offers so that *everyone* can buy, but this can make your marketing efforts and sales process messy and undefined. In this episode, Stephanie Malon-Rufi, owner of Spark Good, goes solo and walks you through a set of 6 simple and powerful questions to get clarity on your offers.

In this second part of the two-part series, listen to more interviews from the Midtown Global Market, a multicultural food destination in south Minneapolis.  Inspired by national, well-known public markets like Seattle’s Pike’s Place, the Midtown Global Market also serves as a community business incubator. Currently, the Midtown Global Market houses over 40 businesses with over 22 cultures represented.

In this 2- part series, you will hear several interviews highlighting the story and the impact of Midtown Global Market, a multicultural food destination in south Minneapolis. Inspired by national, well-known public markets like Seattle’s Pike Place, Midtown Global Market is similar in concept but is different because the market also serves as a community business incubator. Currently, Midtown Global Market houses over 40 businesses with over 22 cultures represented.

Given the events of the recent weeks, we wanted to replay an episode we both found great encouragement from - about how social change can happen when there does not seem to be shared beliefs or perspectives.

What do empathy and emotional intelligence have to do with social change leadership? As we are finding our way to the other side of the COVID pandemic and are in what many call “The Great Resignation,” we look at how empathy and emotional intelligence can be leaders' greatest tools for creating healthy and sustainable workplaces and communities.

Do you know if your social business is having the impact you want? Is it creating the positive social change you envisioned? Is it serving you as the founder and business owner? Do you know what you need to strengthen? In this episode we answer these questions. Host Stephanie Malon-Rufi, Spark Good, takes her experience and expertise to provide a tangible 6-part framework to narrow in on key areas. The Social Business Check Up will help you identify and work on key areas to strengthen your business. Mid-year is a great time to do this review, but it can really be anytime. Whether you identify as a social entrepreneur, social enterprise owner or social business founder, this episode is for you. And be sure to download the workbook that goes with this episode!

What happens when individuals and families are supported in building asset ownership? What practices might have the biggest impact and normalize wealth building? Can saving for a sunny day help reduce poverty and build generational wealth?

Do you use learning to support your social change efforts? Do you know if those learning activities are effective? Are you cultivating system change through learning? In this episode we explore learning as a leadership tool for system change.

What happens when you engage marginalized communities to ask adolescent girls what they want to see changed? What happens when you work with them and partner with local organizations to begin addressing the social change they want to see? In our conversation today, we talked about just this! We speak with Julia Lynch, Founder of Global Girl Project. Julia identifies as a queer woman of color who believes in the power of girls and women to create the change they want to see in their communities. We talk about the approach of Global Girl Project to work with marginalized adolescent girls specifically in countries in the Global South.

When was the last time you reflected on your role as a leader? Do you know what type of social change leader you are? In this episode, we talk about what makes a leader, the 5 types of social change leaders and give you a chance to reflect on your own leadership. It is important that social change leaders find time to self reflect on a regular basis.

Are you struggling to effectively manage change? Podcast co-host Traci Warnberg-Lemm and Sarah Horst, Change Effectiveness Partner at Hennepin Healthcare shared their thoughts during the 2022 Minnesota Department of Health Learning Days Conference. They discuss the human side of change and how it has impacted our work and personal lives during COVID. Listen as Traci and Sarah share observations, lessons learned, funny stories and suggestions for managing change as individuals, teams, and organizations.

Do you have a strategic plan for your social business? Do you think that strategic plans are only needed for large corporations or nonprofits? In this episode, co-host Stephanie Malon-Rufi explains why EVERYONE needs a strategic plan, plus the benefits of strategic planning and what you need to think about when you do it.

How is your relationship with money? Does even bringing up the subject of money make you a little antsy? In this episode we have an energizing conversation with Natalie Bullen, a wealth and money mindset coach and the CEO of Unapologetic Wealth. Natalie talks about how we need to be more empowered and confident in talking about money and, most importantly, in receiving it. For leaders who are from ‘helping professions’ or who are in the nonprofit world or for many entrepreneurs, there can be a scarcity mindset around money. This shows up as “there isn’t enough money” or “I can’t have any more money.” These are the types of mindset blocks that Natalie helps to break down.

What is hope? What does hope have to do with you as a leader? Inspired by the overlapping of three major faiths celebrating holy seasons simultaneously this year, we see one of the common threads in them is hope. And while hope is not a strategy, it is a key component in leadership.

When was the last time you collaborated to change a system? With the challenges of the pandemic, distrust in leaders and political polarization, system change can often feel out of reach. But think about who you can collaborate with on that path of radical transformation. A critical element of system change is collaboration. In this episode, Traci discusses some tips to change systems through effective collaboration.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed that you feel stuck from moving forward? Do you have a headache thinking of everything you have to do? What are the ways that you help yourself through it? In this episode, Stephanie Malon-Rufi shares her process that she uses for herself and with her clients.