Episode 33 – Meredith Hale with Carelink

Jordan Smith  

Hey everybody, welcome to iProvmade podcast where we help you build a more profitable practice. I’m very excited today to bring you guys Meredith Hale, the director of development and marketing, for Carelink, she’s going to get into exactly what Carelink does and why they do what they do. Because she’s, she explains it way better than I ever could. But it’s a it’s an organization that we’re very passionate about, that we do a lot of work for. And as I mentioned a couple times in the actual interview, Meredith is a personal friend of mine, and in our companies iProv. We’ve been working with them for a number of years, and very excited about the things that they’re doing here in Central Arkansas. The reason that I wanted to bring Meredith to you guys and her perspective on things is, is I know, we have a lot of listeners out there that are in marketing, or in Biz Dev, where that’s actually working in one of these organizations. And running a nonprofit is really similar to running any other type of organization. And we’re going to talk a little bit about that the importance of vision, you know, how to how to kind of set a solid foundation for the things that you want to build, you know, we’re looking at at metrics and figuring out what the most important metrics are. And one thing that we haven’t really hit on a lot before, which is the importance of being a mentor and mentorship. It’s something that I mentioned. I wish I would have learned earlier on in my career. And we spend a lot of time talking about that. Awesome. So I know you guys are going to be excited. I’m very excited to bring you guys this specific interview. And without further ado, let’s hop into it. Meredith Hale, Director of development and marketing at Carelink. Hey, everybody, welcome to the iProvmade podcast. As I said in the intro, I’m very excited to bring today’s guest a personal friend of mine, a client, somebody that we’ve worked for. And like I said before, just consider a friend as well. Meredith Hale, Director of Development and Marketing with Carelink. Hey, Meredith. 

Meredith Hale  

Jordan, thank you for having me. 

Jordan Smith  

I am upset at myself that it took 30 some odd episodes to even get you on. So I appreciate you being on here.

Meredith Hale  

Well, what the listeners don’t know is all the ways that you tried to cancel on me, just in the past week, I took it personal I thought you just didn’t want me after all,

Jordan Smith  

Well, we did a little bit of inside baseball, we had a vehicle issue, we had a microphone die, and you know, just all the things that normally happen in a recording. Well, like I said, in the intro, you guys are in for a special treat. You know, we talk a lot about how to build successful organizations, and specifically how to build healthy, profitable, meaningful healthcare practices. We’ve heard from a lot of you guys out there, and just from looking at statistics as well, that there’s a large nonprofit audience that comes to the podcast as well. So we’re going to focus on that, again, like I say, all the time you guys speak, we actually listen to you. So I’m excited to bring a kind of Meredith perspective on how she does business development marketing for a nonprofit to all of you guys. So just a reminder, before we kick off. Our framework for building a successful organization always starts with establishing and clearly communicating a vision, then working on the strategies that would help accomplish that vision. From that point, then you can think tactically, to make sure that you guys are focused on executing the right type of stuff that meets the strategy that accomplishes the vision. And then that last piece is alignment, just making sure that everybody on the team is aligned and rowing the boat in the same direction. So with that, Meredith, I know you’ve got a ton of experience in your seat now and helping, helping Carelink and I want to make sure we give the organization a proper introduction as well meet its vision. Because you’re the one kind of setting the strategy for everything that happens outside world. But before we get into that, tell us a little bit about Carelink and give us an introduction on who you guys are for the listeners out there.

Meredith Hale  

Absolutely. I could fill up 40 minutes just telling you about Carelink and who we are but you know we are Central Arkansas Area Agency on Aging. June of 2021 we celebrated 42 years so we have been serving Central Arkansas seniors since 1979. Carelink was 12 when I was born, not to age anyone or anything but thanks to the Older Americans Act in the 60s there were some updates to that plan in the 60s. That helped lay the foundation for Area Agencies on Aging, we serve Faulkner, Lonoke, Monroe, Prairie Pulaski, and Saline counties, we are one of eight triple A’s, as we call them, in the state of Arkansas. And a lot of people do know us for our meals on wheels program. It’s kind of one of those, it’s kind of one of those programs that people are a lot, it’s a lot easier to latch on to and attach to emotionally. But we provide in-home care, telephone and telephone reassurance, information and assistance. Before I hopped on here, I was talking to someone about our assistance that we offer with Medicare enrollment throughout the year at no cost to Medicare recipients. And, you know, we’re going to talk about our vision, but our in establishing that, but our mission is to connect older people and their families with resources to help them meet and to meet the opportunities and challenges of aging. And that’s what we do, that’s what our services are going to be, we try to find ways that adapt. And that’s where the nonprofit side of things come in is that if someone needs something, and there’s not a funding source, or there’s not an organization out there that we can use, we can use some of those programs that have been established through donations, to give that person the help that they need to help them stay in their home and their home could be a family member’s home, it could be a senior living community, ideally, we work to help people stay out of a nursing home, because not everyone needs to be in a nursing home. And sometimes they end up there because of a lack of knowledge of options and, and programs that are available. But then at the same time, there are some people where a nursing home might be the best place for them because of the type of care that they need, and the lack of opportunities to them to not go into a nursing home. And so if that’s the case, you know, we’re gonna help you find the one that’s right for you and your family, and your financial status. So at the end of the day, it’s about helping the aging community and their family members have peace of mind that they are cared for, and cared for well, and so we try to find all the ways to make that possible.

Jordan Smith  

Very cool. And a big supporter of mission, personally, as an organization as well. So well, let’s, let’s let’s dig into that. Because I think that is a nice kind of natural transition over to what we always talk about from a vision perspective. And your roles, specifically, you were, you know, kind of the outbound messaging of the organization kind of in and ends with you. So talk a little bit about when kind of creating a vision or at least making sure that it’s properly communicated with you and your team to get the information out there that you want to get out there. kind of talk talk us through in the listeners specifically about what your perception of the importance of having a long term vision in place is?

Meredith Hale  

Well, I think, you know, if you just think about vision, and what that means, I mean, we’ve, we’ve heard people throughout our lifetimes, in some way, shape, or form, talk about how, you know that, you know, their vision just didn’t, you know, just wasn’t in line with, with what they had in mind, or their plan wasn’t the same bit. And that’s it, right? Like a vision is a plan. It’s a goal, you know, something and so I feel like vision makes it very fancy. And, sorry, for all the people who don’t get to see the body movement that I had, you know, the fancy, but, you know, I feel like sometimes that can throw people off and be like, Oh, the vision and creating a vision it can be it can sound very daunting, but really, it’s just, what is your plan? What is your goal? And how are you going to sustain that or achieve that? So you know, our vision is to be a community of people who celebrate living and our aging well. And I feel like everything that I just told you about Carelink, who we are, and what we do, is directly in line with our vision. And you know, and so I think it’s, I did help create a vision again, and when I came to Carelink, again, they were 12 when I was born. So when I came to Carelink, a vision was already established. And so I wasn’t involved in the planning of that, but other aspects of triple A’s within Arkansas, the Arkansas association of Area Agency on Aging, they just went through a rebranding. And part of that was deciding their vision. And so I did get to help work with that and figuring out you know, how is that? What are the goals and the plans for that organization and finding a vision that helps promote that. And so I think you can’t have a vision. If you don’t know exactly what What it is that you want to do, as long as you know what you want to do, what your what your hopes and dreams, are you convinced your vision is already there, it’s just waiting for you to realize that sometimes the first thing that pops into mind isn’t always the worst thing sometimes, you know, it’s right in front of you, and it’s waiting for you to put that fancy vision. spin on it.

Jordan Smith  

I love that. That’s, uh, I want to make sure we emphasize that point, because I haven’t heard it articulated in that way before, but I think it is important for the listeners out there, which is, you know, what do you want to accomplish? Again, vision, you know, and we’re both in marketing. But you’re right vision is just a fancy word for a plan. And even before you get to the plan, think through what is it that you want to accomplish? Like, ideally, what is the goal, and start there, sometimes people make kind of vision planning a more complicated process than it needs to be. So I love that aspect, right. And again, I’m a, I’m going to, not to beat this dead horse. But I want to make sure that everybody heard what Meredith said, which is just setting out and putting down what you want to accomplish is a fantastic first step.

Meredith Hale  

Well, that will probably go into another question that you’re going to have right is, where does your messaging come from? And how do you share that, and that’s when you’re figuring out what your plan is, and how you want to achieve those goals. And a lot of that is right there and look at your vision and your mission statement and stuff as an if then statement. How do you, if you do one thing, if I do this, then I can do this? And it’s just how Carelink identifies, we identify as a community of people who celebrate living and are aging well. Boom, that’s our vision. Plain and simple.

Jordan Smith  

I love that. Well, that brings up a great point that I’m not sure we’ve ever talked about at least in these interviews before but being in the seat that you’re in, right, director, Director of Development and Marketing…

Meredith Hale  

I’m not a defector.

Jordan Smith  

How important, in your opinion, is it to bring in, you know, development teams, marketing teams, you know, into that vision planning process, because I feel like not that they’re ever excluded. But I feel like for the owners or operators out there, that might not be something that they automatically think of, but the way that you just laid out how to not only how to think about a vision, but what yours is specifically and how you’ve helped develop that messaging, I would assume that you had to be in the room for some of those conversations. So that you could figure out how you’re going to hold those conversations out in public. Right?

Meredith Hale  

Yeah, I think a lot of it and you can say this for profits as well. I think a lot of it has to do with how an organization is started. You know, I’m the Director of Development. And I’m also the Director of Marketing. But there are other nonprofits, not just in our region and our state, but there are other nonprofits where communications and development are not in the same, like they’re two completely separate. And but if I’m going to go out into the community and raise awareness about our services, and about us being a nonprofit, I need a direct line of communication, or at least a really positive working relationship with the communications department because it needs to be consistent messaging, right? And, you know, there are a lot of times when business will get started when you have three people or two people or one person and they’re taking on all of those roles, right? So they might not always have a development and the communications person or someone else. And not every nonprofit needs a fundraising side, some nonprofits are providing services that are going to be 100% funded by federal and state grants. You know, not every nonprofit has a big fundraising side. Carelink fundraising is a key part of us because we provide donor funded programs. And so we have to have donations for those but then we also have other programs that regardless of donations are going to happen because we have stable federal and state funding that helps those now if we want to take a big step. Anyways, I’m getting soccer. But you know, when it comes to that, if you’re able to have those, those different roles in that conversation, great. If you don’t, once those people are a part of your team, it’s important to get them involved to say nobody keeps the same logo. Look at the Razorback. For example, I went to Arkansas State as a red wolf. So you know, they’ve had the same red wolf the whole time that I’ve been one, but look at the Razorback logo, you’ve got the logo from the 60s, you’ve got the logo from the 30s, from 1994. Everybody loves the 1994 slobbering hog, right? Like nobody, nobody really keeps the same logo or they adapt it here and there based on the times. And if I’ve learned anything being at Carelink. And, just seeing how Carelink works with baby boomers, because you got some boomers who are in their 70s summer in their mid to late 50s, they do not want or need the same thing. So you always have to be able to adapt, and especially if COVID has taught us anything, that’s how you survive at times. But if you don’t have a development person, if you don’t have a communications person, if you don’t have a creative type in those conversations in the beginning, it’s important to bring them in when you can, and when you do get them because then they’re a fresh set of eyes, not to change what you’ve done, but to reinforce it to make sure that foundation doesn’t have cracks. And if it does, finding out who to call to come and repair it so that we’ve had 42 years, let’s have 42 more, you know what I mean? Does that answer your question?

Jordan Smith  

I love that. No, I think that’s perfect. Because that, you know, just having those outside sets of eyes, you know, it’s the, it’s the, it’s that old adage of what do you guys do it like this? I don’t know, that’s just always the way we’ve done it. That’s not an acceptable answer for an organization that needs to continue to grow, that needs to continue to, to find different ways to serve the communities that they serve, like you guys do. Having just an inquisitive person in those conversations, just to ask, why until you can’t ask why anymore. Just that alone. there’s value in. So I love that concept. So talking about kind of the vision of how you guys are a fairly sizable organization, what are your thoughts on and if you guys do this kind of tell us how do you make sure that that vision that kind of comes down from the mountaintop that you’ve also helped build and foster? How do you make sure that gets communicated internally with your staff? Is that something that you guys do a lot of curling?

Meredith Hale  

Well, it’s something that again, like everything, oh, sorry, for that for my emails, the only way to make them silent is to mute. And that doesn’t work. Um, but um, you know, it’s, it’s to always look at, at your, at your methods of communication and figuring out, you know, this, how often, and in what ways I mean, I found out the other day that the best time to send an email appeal before a day of giving or anything, that it’s like, Wednesdays at 11am are the best time for a nonprofit to send out email. So I was like, Oh, I started to think about all the days that I did not send out an email on Wednesday that I was like, man, um, but you know, you just got to, you’ve got to look at that. And when you do have an organization of our size, so we have right now I think the last time we had about 340 caregivers. And then we have the building where I’m in the administrative building. I think we have 70 in some way, shape, or form 70 people in this building, and then our Fourth Street building, and we’ve also got our Mills, our Mills on walls, community kitchen. So total, I mean, we have, we have five to 600 staff. Wow. given day. And so yes, we are a pretty sizable organization, especially when it comes to the nonprofit side. And so, you know, it really depends. It’s very important to have good relationships with your colleagues, because for our caregivers, our you know, our Director of homecare, and for the managers and supervisors within the home care department, they always have the updated emails and contact information for the caregivers. And for the other members of the homecare staff, I don’t always have that I’m constantly gonna have to ask them for it. Right. So if I have something I want to share with them outside of making sure that they’re sharing that information on their own with onboarding and things like that, then I communicate with them and say, Hey, will you get this to your team? And same with our drivers over in pike Avenue who are doing our non emergency medical transportation and our meals on wheels delivery, while we don’t have our full volunteers back, you know, reaching out to the director of transportation and saying, Hey, can you share this with your team? If someone is like, why can’t you just email them? Well, fun fact, we’re a nonprofit. And just in case that wasn’t made clear, and it costs money to have an email through Microsoft or whoever you know, and so to have a company email address, cost money, and so there Certain people who have those and then others direct line of communication with their, with their supervisor. So making sure they have that letting them know how to access our website, how to follow us on social media, making sure that the messaging that we’re putting externally, we’re putting internally, I’ve played around with doing some newsletters and stuff of sorts, and I haven’t really figured out an equation. That’s the word I was trying to find when we met the other day, and I landed on an algorithm equation, I haven’t, I haven’t found the right equation that is best for the team. And so I’m still trying to figure that out. But two years ago, we took a look at our style guide, and took it and made it more of a style and messaging guide. So yes, what the font family is that we use in our colors and our logo, and when to use one over the other. And you might see this one, but it’s, you know, it’s only used for the finance department on envelopes, you know, like letting them know that information, but also saying, This is our history, vision and values. This is our mission. This is the messaging that we put together. This is who Carelink is, what we do, where we go, how we help and make sure that and guess what the board member handbook that we updated for our board members has the exact same information. So it’s making sure that every member of the team of the organization that we all have the same information in the same format, the delivery system is just a little different.

Jordan Smith  

I love that, you know, there’s a process for making sure that that, just like logos and fonts and colors, that messaging is also included in there, too. I think that’s a great tip. You know, I would challenge all the listeners out there, if you are a nonprofit, or even an organization that has a board. I love this concept of a board member handbook. I would you know, I know there’s people out there that as soon as you said that little light bulb went off in their head and said, that’s a that’s a great idea. Because we always talk about making sure that everybody’s rowing in the same direction. Well, you can have the best vision in the world and the best plan to accomplish that vision. But if it’s not communicated effectively across all levels of the organization, making that happen, you know?

Meredith Hale  

Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, one of the things is to also look at what, what is the plan that you have in place of getting from point A to point B, right, like, if you have this great communications plan that you want to share internally? Well, how do you get it out? And it’s not just we created? And then we send it out? It’s like, what is your What is your roadmap? What is marker one, what is Mile Marker two, how many stops you’re going to have to take to get from Little Rock to North Little Rock, you know, what, you know, what detours Are there going to be? And you know, what do you do when you say, Okay, this is great, this is how we’re going to get it out. To How do you learn from if it doesn’t go as successful as you think, or as smooth as you think it should be? We did a direct mail or not a direct mail, but we did an internal appeal file via the United States Postal Service the other day, kudos to them for working hard throughout the entire pandemic, they’ve gotten a lot of flack, but nobody, you know, you can’t you can’t plan for the last 15 months of our lives. And, you know, things got lost, but they’ve tried to make it right and the ways that they can, so kudos to them. But I was like, You know what, cost savings, let’s do this in house, let’s do the bulk mail in house, all the processing, while I learned we’re not going to do that anymore, because the cost savings, they weren’t there. And so it’s because of the amount of staff that it took to do it, the amount of time that it took for them to do it. And everything that went into it. We could have outsourced that and we could have supported the local business to help us get to help us get that out to our constituents and the members of our community. And so it’s also about and someone might be listening and saying, well, a bulk mailing to people in Little Rock is not the same as communicating within your organization. It can be if there are some people I work with who I will never see because of the nature of their job because there’s someone who works out in the field in Monroe County. And you know, I’m either in my office or I’m meeting with donors and potential donors and people who want to help support programs. I might not ever see that person. And so I’ve got to figure out, well, this plan of action didn’t work. So what am I going to do moving forward?

Jordan Smith  

I love that and you guys I can tell that Meredith is a pro at this, because she transitioned us right into the next sections, which is, which is developing a strategy, you know, plan. But you know, what are you going to love about what you said? What are you going to do starting tomorrow to work towards that plan? And I know from working with you that, that, that a lot of the strategy, you know, is created there within your office as far as what that looks like. So this is a really broad and open ended question, but it’s meant to be tell us your concepts or, or tips or tricks that you use in order to kind of develop a strategy because because you know, the the best laid, that’s where the best laid visions go to die, right, is either poorly executed strategy, or not being able to pivot when you need to pivot as much as I hate that word. But tell us a little bit about how you develop strategies and what your thought process is, whenever you do get an initiative that you want to push out there. How did Meredith Hale develop things from a strategic perspective? Because you’ve got a lot of different plates in there all the time?

Meredith Hale  

So I’m a Hey, can you do this? Yes, boom, zero to 16.2 miles. So it is something like for me that I have to take a step back and say, Okay, well, how do I actually do this? And there are a few ways sometimes one is the first step over the other. Google is one of my development officers and has 20 years of nonprofit and fundraising experience, I go to her a lot. And I am a member of the Arkansas chapter Association of Fundraising Professionals, I reach out to my mentors within that program, I also reach out to other peers, because somebody might give a presentation or say that they did something in a webinar, and then I reach out to them and ask them a question. Or I just go to other people who work here and find out how something was done before not to do it the exact same way. But to just kind of find out what those steps are. I’m very much a person, I think this is also just our generation, right? Like, I’m very much a person that if you ask me to do something, and I don’t know how to do it, I’m not necessarily going to tell you that I don’t know how to do it, I’m gonna go Google it. I’m gonna see if there’s an example somewhere on the server. And if not, I’m gonna Google it. And I’m gonna see if I can figure out how to do it. Before I went on with Carelink, I worked for a PR agency. And I was given a task. I was like, I’ve never heard this before my degrees in journalism. I was like, I have never heard of this before. So I googled it. And I did what the internet told me, which was the right way to do it turned out what I was asked to do is not really what they wanted me to do. But they’re like, Hey, you know what, this is fine. Um, and it had something to do with building a website, that I can’t. Oh, God, I wish I could remember what it was called. It had something to do with building a website. And it was like a storyboard. But it was called something and I can’t remember and I had no idea what it was. And, and I googled it, and I did the best that I could. And I didn’t even know that I googled it, because I’m really good at instructions. I don’t know. My husband would say otherwise, when it comes to me following a menu, but that’s neither here nor there. Um, for a recipe, I mean, but um, but that’s what I do first, I, I, if there’s any knowledge that I have, I start with that. But if there’s no knowledge, then I go to the people who have it. And I’m like, Okay, what do we want to do here? And there are some times we’re all looking at members of my team. I’ll be like, I hear what you’re saying. But I just want to do it this way, because I want to test it. Let’s see if it works. Let’s and if it doesn’t work, let’s find out why it doesn’t work. Whenever I get constructive criticism or feedback. I have to tell people in advance I’m not being argumentative. I’m not trying to fight you on it. And be disrespectful. I’m just gonna keep asking why? Because I want you to tell me where in my process, I went wrong. Yep. What was the mix up so that I can go back to this is where I made my mistake? Is everything that I did after that good? Is that still okay? Was it just this part was I in the you know, and so that’s, that’s kind of how I we get, I wing, my strategizing. But I use, you know, I use Google because and in the calculator that’s on my phone that’s in my pocket that my teacher told me that I would never that I would never have all the teachers who told me that I would have to write in cursive and eat for the rest of my life that I never use. And, yeah, I just, it’s the same way that I write, I’m a free rider. So I just like to dive into it. But that’s why I’m so thankful for my team of development officers for my, my colleagues, my mentors, my supervisors, that the senior leadership team at Carelink, our CEO, or CFO and our CEO, to be able to go to them and to know that I can go to them and just say, Hey, what do we do here? Or this didn’t work? And I want to know how to make it better. Or, hey, we’re going with this, and this is the direction do you have any? Because I don’t think it’s possible. It’s kind of like calculus. I took calculus in high school, don’t ask why I think I barely passed trig. Grade geometry and algebra, barely passed trig. So why I thought I could do calculus, I don’t know. But the calculus teacher was one of my favorite teachers. And I think she gave me a C because it was her first semester teaching calculus, and she felt bad for me. Um, but it’s kind of like with geometry, and algebra, there is an algorithm right? There is an equation and a process for every single type of problem that you’re going to have. If it’s, if it looks like this, then you’re going to do it this way, right? That’s where those “if, then” statements come back. And with calculus, here is an example of this problem. Okay, now try to solve this. Oh, by the way, you can only solve this previous problem with that process, you cannot apply it to any other problem ever, ever. So that’s when I was like, I don’t know why I’m here. And I just turned on my little iPod Mini. Um, but uh, but you know, I think that’s how I look at things . It’s not going to be the same process for strategizing for every single thing, because it’s not a one size fits all. Everything is different every time you do something that you’ve done before. It’s a different time period, there’s a new type of tech, there’s a new generation that is popping up. And it’s like, we’re trying to figure out how best to steward our donors, how to thank them, how to communicate with them, how to keep first time donors and turn them in to a monthly donor. And I’m a millennial. I’m 30. I don’t care if you put Mrs. Ryan Hale on my letter, my name is Meredith, I’m the one making the gift, you know, but also like, you can just send me a text or an email that says, hey, thanks for your gift. And that’s it. Like, I don’t need anything else. But Boomers and older, that’s not the case. Right? Like they’re going to mail in their donations. They want Mr. Jordan Smith, they want that tax statement. They want all of these things, but it’s like, okay, but we have five generations in the workforce, we have five generations of donors to thank, and it’s hard in the way that we strategize. 5, 10, 15 years ago, we can’t do it today. We couldn’t do it yesterday. Especially not since COVID. So I’ve been Googling a lot the last few days. Why?

Jordan Smith  

Well, the process that you just you just step through, you know, you said you’re winging it? Well, it’s a it’s a very educated way of, of winging it, you know, and, and, even in, in senior positions, a lot of you mentioned a couple of different things, which I one, I think is important, which is, you know, the value of having mentors or people who were they’ve been in your position or similar position. But I love the fact that you’re open and vulnerable enough to kind of go out there and, and ask people who have, even if they haven’t done that exact thing, or they haven’t solved that exact problem, because like you said, Every issues a little bit different on how you, at least on how you solve it, even if it’s not different, in which the way you approach the issue. But but just taking a step outside yourself and asking for help and going to those individuals, you know, I always say if there was one thing that I learned, I wish I would have learned sooner, it is seek out like mentor seek out people who have been in your position or have had similar positions or, or maybe they’re completely different worlds, but they still you guys talk the same language.

Meredith Hale  

I heard recently as well that the mentor doesn’t have to be older than me. They don’t have to be more experienced than you. A mentor can be your age, but they’re still someone that that you can go to somebody who understands your struggles and can look at something from another from another angle and I would be I’d be remiss if I made it this far without you know, that I made it this far without saying all of these things that I have done and that I am doing, I’m not doing them by myself. I have two development officers who are phenomenal who are killing it. One is 24 and the way that she has taken our database and completely turned it upside down for the better and is making it so much better every single day and is setting up for success down the road. And then my other development officer who has been in my position before, but who said, You know what, I’m a Boomer, I want to I want a supporting role, I don’t want to be leading while she’s a resident Boomer, she can open PDFs on her own, we’ve celebrated it, we’re proud of her. I would say this, if she was sitting right beside me, she laughs cuz she knows it’s true, because she says it about herself. She gives a great and unique perspective. And I consider her admin, a mentor. And there are times that I talked to her and I’m like, I’m going to take off my director hat. And I’m just coming to you as a person who has less experience, because I want your I want your feedback. And so a mentor can be anyone, but they’re also part of my strategy. And they’re also the ones who are doing a lot of the heavy lifting. You guys, I probably do a lot of the heavy lifting for me, as well in other ways. And so I definitely am not going to let this thing in without saying that. I’m not doing it alone. And I’m not strategizing alone. And I got some emails the other day of my team googling an example of something and an email earlier today saying, Hey, I reached out to so and so about this specific thing. And this is what they told me. So your strategy is also making sure that you’ve got a good support system that’s going to help facilitate but also be able to delegate some of those tasks.

Jordan Smith  

Yeah, I love that concept. And you also mentioned something in there too, which is, you know, if you’re, if something that you do doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean you throw out that entire strategy or even kill your tactic, but break it apart and figure out kind of where the thing went wrong and why. So speaking to that a little bit, I know, we always talk about tracking progress, and something that you’re specifically, really, really good at through our private and business conversations, too. So for the audience out there, are there any, maybe there’s somebody that’s listening to this that’s sitting in your seat with another type of organization? What are some key performance indicators that you typically look out for to know if something that you’ve implemented is on the right track or are on the wrong track? 

Meredith Hale  

Are you asking me or you? 

Jordan Smith  

Yeah, there’s somebody else here that is saying, Listen, I’m on board with everything that Meredith is saying, like, what are the KPIs I should look forward to know if something?

Meredith Hale  

Oh, man, I also just, I need everyone to know that I’ve got to make fun of myself. Um, as I was laughing a second ago I just spilled all over myself. Um, but, uh, no, um, well, you know, I was talking to someone the other day, and they were talking about tracking the advertising. And I said, you know, what, I’ve learned that, you know, at least with our system, I can’t really track the impact of a radio interview or a TV interview, because a lot of the people that our Information and Assistance Department talks to a lot of the phone calls that they get are from family members, or friends of someone who needs our services. So, you know, say you have, do you have any siblings? I don’t know this about you. Do you have any siblings? 

Jordan Smith  

Yes, I do. I’ve got one younger brother.

Meredith Hale  

Okay. So say, you know, one of your parents or grandparents or aunts and uncles is experiencing something and you think Carelink can be great. And you call your little brother and you say, hey, call Carelink and ask them about this, I think that they can really be helped. It could be because you know, you, you do work with us, you, you know us and you’re a part of it. Well, your brother’s gonna call us. And when we ask how you heard about Carelink, they’re gonna say, oh, a family member told me it’s on me because of the radio or the TV or any of the outreach or anything that we’ve done. Now, I think our generations are going to be more likely to call for ourselves. And so I will be able to say, Well, I did work with so and so where I saw this commercial or I heard this radio commercial, you know, be able to say those things. So they’re right there. I had to give myself some grace and let myself off the hook of not being able to report back on how that advertising is working. For us, you know, my background in PR, I could do the PR value. I could multiply the you know, how many people time the average household of the dollar value times advertiser, I could do all that. But if the reach was 1,000,200 people showed up to an event like what does that really what does that really matter. And so, you know, just because there might be a KPI that’s important to me, doesn’t mean that it’s important to someone else. For us we care about phone calls, right, because of the information and assistance department, and how that is a program that has a nonprofit that we offer to fulfill our mission. Um, you know, not everybody has that. So not everyone’s going to care about it. So I think, I think really to answer your question in a way that is meaningful and valuable for anyone listening, that was wondering, that is figuring out what is important to your organization. So the number of calls that are converted, whether it’s through our, you know, our Google placement, or a Facebook ad, or something where somebody clicked and called us to be able to look at that, especially if our call to action is to give us a call, because then we can say, Okay, yeah, that person called, we might not ever know who that person was, because they’re not going to say that’s how they heard about care, right. And so you never know, we know that a touch point for print is seven, radio and TV. What, like three to five, TV is going to be the least out of all of them, because you hear it and you see it. So you know, someone who might have seen it on TV might have really seen it from a print ad first. So you see engagement on social media? Well, a lot of the people calling are boomers. And so if our engagement is not that generation, then it’s like, okay, that’s not bad, because that’s good for our future, right like that sustaining us for the future. So really, it’s just, you know, you helped me the other day, right with blogs, I had been sending blogs out, I’ve been sending them out that way for five years, five years, my entire time working in PR and outreach and fundraising and stuff. That’s how I had to. I was not, for those listening, I was not segmenting my email list. I was segmenting them in the sense of, I’m sending this to sending this to all media or to media that focuses on this, but oh, you signed up for our newsletter and your volunteer, boom, you’re getting all of it. And I wasn’t even for donors, like I wasn’t even segmenting those emails. So someone’s listening is like, Oh, my God, they probably just the founder of fundraising probably is rolling in the grave. Um, but, you know, it’s, I got and reached out to you and said, Hey, our numbers are not great. And this is the way that I’ve always been doing it. And then you looked at it, and it was so simple for you to point it out. And so now I have a plan in place to get my open rate higher for newsletters, but then at the same time, like, what does that really matter? You know, so there are all these things that we’re doing. And I think if anything, it just shows that the awareness is there, but the messaging is getting out there. For Carelink it’s gonna be water, our home care numbers, how many hours of care were we able to provide? How many hours? Were we able to staff? How is our recruitment with caregiving? We’re about to take a look at the way that we’ve been advertising for caregivers. And so then we’ll see, do we get an influx, and we know that with Facebook, we get an influx in applications as opposed to what comes through our website. So long story short, 14 times, I think it’s, again, it’s not a one size fits all, it’s really going to be what matters to you, call volume matters for us, and might not matter for someone else.

Jordan Smith  

It sounded so simple. But I mean, more often than not, the simplest solution is the right one, which is to start with the most important metric that you look at for success, and work backwards to figure out what contributes to that metric. It’s that, you know, what you just read, or what I just heard now, hope the listeners heard too, which is, you know, picking out the most important metrics, and then controlling what you can control, you know, and those processes and structures are set up as far as they could be.

Meredith Hale  

And I think if you are someone who is in my position, and also if you’re listening, and you’ve been in my position before you know, or you want to share an idea, please I’m I’m all for learning and growing so that I can better serve my team and this organization to ultimately better serve the people in our community, which I that’s our vision, right? Um, but, you know, if there’s somebody who wants me to report on a certain metric like with Jordan and the iProv team, and I said, Listen, I know that you’re going to run down everything on this report, I don’t need you to. These don’t matter to me. This is what I want to look out for you. I want to know what your wins are, what you’re excited about, what you thought could have been better and what your plan is to improve it in the future. That’s the stuff that I’m going to take back. And so you know, when we have some of our monthly meetings, and someone will say, Well, what is this and then sometimes I’ll chime in and say well, because these are all the Factors that change that. And here’s what makes it really not that big of a deal. It’s not that big of a deal that this number was low, right? Like, we had one of the newsletters one month and it lost like 500 people, but the number was still the same. And it’s like, yeah, cuz it gained 500 people. So you lost 500. But you brought 500 in like, that’s what you need to be looking at, not the fact that your number just stayed the same, or that Oh, God, we lost 500. Yeah, but how many did you bring in? And so find out what’s important to you, and why you think it’s important for your organization to make your vision a reality, and not just the plan, find that out, get that messaging, and then when somebody wants to know something else, or they tell you that they don’t care about what you’re saying, then that’s when you say, yes, but you assigned me a job. And based on that, and what you want me to achieve, this is what we need to look at. And maybe it’s my age, that gives me that boldness, or maybe it’s me being on a podcast that gives me that boldness, I don’t know, but but I’ve done that I’ve done that I’ve had I’ve had those conversations, not necessarily verbatim, but I’ve had those conversations and saying, This is what I want to highlight and why and this is why these numbers don’t matter, or why you shouldn’t get so upset or so excited about it, you know, our information and assistance, there might be a couple months where they have less than, you know, less than 1200 calls a month, that doesn’t mean that they’re not doing something right. So then it’s like, and then the months when they have an increase in calls, it’s you want to celebrate them because that extra work went into what happens after they hang up that phone. But it’s also looking at are so many other things that go into that and finding out did our calls increase in our you know, how many calls weren’t answered, looking at that and figuring out so have you know, somebody entrusted you with the task and with the responsibility, take it back to them and say, This is why I’m telling you this, and this is why I’m not telling you the others and, you know, save the heartburn for another day. 

Jordan Smith  

You know, there’s only so many things that you can focus on to So, you know, focus on the most important metrics and focus on the ones that you can actually affect and make move in the direction that you want it to move. Okay, last question. Yes, this, we’ve been talking a lot about the business a lot about your philosophy around certain things. I go back to what I said earlier, which was if there was one magic reset button in my career, it would be seeking out more more help more people, I’m going to flip the question to you if there was one thing that you could do at your time at Carelink, that either you could hit a reset button, or maybe it’s a process or even we’ve even had people say, certain software systems or a certain hire, that if they could kind of go back in time and do earlier than they did, they would absolutely do. So in your position. If there’s one thing that you said, Man, I should have done this years before we actually implemented it. What would that be? And why?

Meredith Hale  

I think the best way for me to answer that question is to think about what I would do to prepare myself for the role that I have now. August of 2021, you know, someone might be listening to this seven years from now, hopefully. But um, August of 2021, will be three years for me at Carelink. I just had one year as director of marketing and outreach, I had a year and a half, or I guess, two years almost as marketing and outreach manager. I think for me, some of the professional development that I do now, even though it’s Fundraising Professionals, it’s it is more specific to working in a nonprofit and working for a nonprofit, that I if I could go back because there are a lot of things that got me to where I am today, career changes and things that I would not be here if it wasn’t for that, and I really love here. I really love where here is. And so I think for me, I wish I would have started professional development and networking that was nonprofit related. Before I got into the director position. I did a lot of you know, professional development before currently for PR and marketing and, and all of those things. But since I have been here like I wish I would have started some of that nonprofit professional development earlier.

Jordan Smith  

Oh, that’s such great advice that that’s, that’s my answer to is, you know, very rarely is anybody doing it. For the first time, find somebody who’s, who’s done it before? Well, Meredith, this has been great, you’ve added a ton of value for this. I hope our listeners took some notes. If they do have questions, or they want to find out both more about Carelink, or maybe even engage with you, what would be the best way for them to do that?

Meredith Hale  

Yeah, so um, Carelink.org is our website. Um, go there, check it out. If you want to learn more about Carelink I feel like it is a broader view of who we are and what we do. So for this 9 million minute interview, for my two questions, answers, if that didn’t give you enough, please give me a call. My phone number is 501-688-7475. Or you can send me an email at mhale(h-a-l-e)@Carelink.org. If you are someone in the nonprofit realm, in the fundraising realm, or have been at some point in time, and you have some tips or tricks, or maybe you’re doing some consulting, or some freelance and you’re looking for some things here or there, please reach out to me, there are a lot of ways that you can maybe benefit that you can maybe benefit us or that you could share resources that can help us fulfill our vision better. And I would, I would love the opportunity to talk to you and if you or someone you know, could benefit from us from an aging well standpoint, you know, give us a call at 501-372-5300 and Information and Assistance, we’d love to talk to you.

Jordan Smith  

I love that. The same way that Meredith talks about being passionate about actively seeking out professional development mentors, I know just from knowing yet this amount of time that you’re also passionate about giving it back to. So I mean, very rarely do people give out their personal phone numbers. If you’re listening to this, and you’ve got questions, or you just want to network with, with somebody who’s doing great things in Central Arkansas, any, any best of the best, or any top of list you look at, chances are Meredith Hale’s name is going to be at the top of it. 

Meredith Hale  

You spoil me.

Jordan Smith  

I want to tell you, thank you. This has been great. We could do an entire series about this stuff. And maybe we do so listeners out there. If you have questions for Meredith, please reach out, go check out purelink they’re doing some really fantastic things for the community. Meredith’a in charge of doing a lot of innovative stuff that I’m always excited to see and always excited to have conversations about Meredith. Most importantly, thanks for being a buddy about this conversation more than you know. Thank you. 

Meredith Hale  

Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. 

Jordan Smith  

All right. I told you a big treat. I want to thank Meredith. I want to thank everybody that’s that’s listening to this podcast, all of our supporters. We love you guys. We do this for you. I’m very excited and interesting to bring more operators, whether it’s it’s marketing folks or biz dev people, CEOs, CEOs, more people that are in kind of the day to day building and maintaining an operation of organizations. So anyway, shoot us like if you listen this you haven’t subscribed, hit that subscribe button. We’d love to bring you guys this type of content. And if you have any questions, you know anybody that you’d like to hear their perspective of or you think would be a good guest, always interested in hearing from you guys. So until next time, I’m Jordan Smith with iProvmade. Peace peeps.