Data scientist, impact strategist, and entrepreneur, Andrew Means joins Mike Spear to reveal why many nonprofits are "flying blind" without basic data infrastructure, offering practical frameworks like the "data hierarchy of needs" while speaking plainly about charity evaluators that measure overhead instead of actual impact. The conversation explores how data democratization—not expensive consultants—can transform organizations, and why Andrew joined Altruous as an advisor to help build transparent, evidence-based philanthropy that focuses on the only question that matters: are beneficiaries actually better off?

Technologist and philanthropist Jim Carter III joins Mike Spear to demystify AI for the social impact sector, sharing practical strategies including his three-question framework for identifying AI opportunities and revealing how he helped facilitate $10 million in cryptocurrency donations to nonprofits. The conversation challenges the nonprofit sector's technology resistance, with both hosts arguing that AI adoption is now an imperative for organizations serious about their missions, while demonstrating through real examples—from digital clones to Altruous's AI-powered evaluation system—how artificial intelligence amplifies rather than replaces human judgment in philanthropy.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we sit down with the CEO of Native Forward, Angelique Albert. Angelique shares insights from her life growing up on tribal lands in Montana, talks about some of the historical context that shapes the way Native Americans relate to Education, and shares insights from scaling Native Forward to serve more Native American scholars.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we sit down with the COO of Elemental Excelerator, Avra van der Zee. Avra's dedication to combatting climate change has spanned her entire career. From e-bikes, to sustainable pre-fabricated construction materials, to the 150+ startups in Elemental Excelerator's portfolio, Avra has worked to help build and scale innovative climate solutions that will help shape our environment for generations to come.

The right to privacy is one of the most important provisions of the U S constitution, and fundamental to everyone’s ability to live freely and follow their dreams. However, with social media and cloud-based storage becoming ever more and more prevalent in our culture, issues of online privacy trust, and safety have emerged as one of the key challenges of our day. What seemed simple a generation ago, is now a highly nuanced and complex issue that includes technology, common sense, law enforcement, and personal responsibility. Under Sarah’s leadership, the Heat Initiative has launched a multi-channel campaign to pressure Apple, and eventually other technology providers as well, to do the right thing - to implement policies and technologies to help eliminate harmful sexual abuse material from their platforms and to bring the perpetrators of this type of sex trafficking to justice.

In this episode, we welcome Heidi Kershaw, the CEO of Multiple, a nonprofit organization focused on funding and incubating transformative tech solutions for people with autism. Rather than focusing on cure research or direct service to families, Multiple operates as a technology incubator, supporting scalable for-profit solutions. The conversation explores Heidi's personal journey as a mother of a neurodivergent child and how that led her to her work at Multiple. The episode highlights the importance of connectivity and acceptance for individuals with autism and how technology can play a role in enhancing their lives. Tune in to learn more about Multiple's innovative approach to addressing the challenges faced by the autism community.

In this episode of Cause & Purpose, we hear from Jared Walker, the founder and CEO of Dollar For. Dollar For is a nonprofit organization that helps tackle the issue of medical debt in the United States by advocating for patients and using patient data to drive policy change. Inspired by personal experience, Jared shares how Dollar For began as Dollar for Portland, crowdfunding money to support people with unexpected medical expenses. Now, they help eligible patients take advantage of charity care, a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires nonprofit hospitals to waive fees for low-income patients. With medical debt being a significant cause of bankruptcies in the U.S., Dollar For is making a massive impact and aims to eliminate as much medical debt as possible. Tune in to learn more about Jared's journey and the work of Dollar For.

In this episode, we are joined by Rob Scheer, founder and CEO of Comfort Cases, an organization that supports kids in the foster care system. Rob, who grew up in foster care himself, shares his personal story and sheds light on how the foster care system functions. He emphasizes that empathy is not innate but taught, and discusses the need for dignity and basic necessities for kids in the system. Rob challenges the notion that the system is broken and instead highlights the importance of understanding and supporting children in foster care. Tune in to hear more about Rob's inspiring journey and the work of Comfort Cases.

In this episode, the founders of startup Karya.In discuss their mission to create pathways out of poverty for people in low-income communities. Drawing from their personal experiences growing up in India, they share the challenges they faced and the emotional drive behind their entrepreneurial journey. The conversation explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and impact, emphasizing the importance of the smartphone application that connects rural Indian workers to tech companies, allowing them to earn income. The conversation also touches on the challenges and solutions in India's nonprofit sector, the importance of measuring impact and worker satisfaction, and the economic value of Indian languages.