Philanthropy with Elsa Marie Collins

What is the true meaning of philanthropy? This week, Eva is joined by good friend, humanitarian, and Poderista co-founder Elsa Marie Collins, to talk about their connection to philanthropy - and why it's about so much more than money. The two discuss how and why they give back, and dissect why it's especially meaningful for them as members of the Latinx community.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi, everybody, Welcome back. I'm so excited about today's episode
because we are talking about connecting to philanthropy and giving back,
and this has been my life's work. So I really
have a lot of people in my life that I
connect with about this particular topic because I meet so
many amazing people who just really care about humanity and

(00:23):
about giving back, and so I was really interested in
the idea of what makes people care, what gives them
a connection. Most of the time, it's like how they
were raised. It's something that happened to them in their childhood,
maybe some trauma, maybe disappointment, and it really inspires them
to connect philanthropically to an issue or a cause. So

(00:47):
today I'm so excited to talk with my friend Elsa
Marie Collins. Elsa has co founded and led companies and
organizations like the Idea Tour. I am a voter. This
is about humanity both that East does so much more.
She's a social impact leader who has turned a passion
for social justice and philanthropy not only to a career,
but to an incredible mission else and I connect on

(01:11):
so many levels. We are workout buddies. We connect to
being protectors of democracy. We connect on being interested in
border policies. We connect as mexicanas we connect as Romanez
and so I'm so excited to have you on the show, Elsa.
Oh my god, thank you for having me. I'm so excited.

(01:34):
I was like, how do we narrow down what we
can talk about? Right? We connect on so many things,
and there was a million subjects that you and I
could have talked about. Yeah, but I'm excited about this
one specifically because philanthropy just the words sometimes people feel
disconnected to, you know, like can I really be philanthropic?
Do I have to have a lot of money to

(01:55):
be philanthropic? Is it only certain types of people that
can be philanthropic? And to me, the sort of core
of a philanthropy is really empathy. It comes from, at
least for me specifically, believing that empathy is like a
muscle that we have to exercise and we have to
practice and we have to teach and we have to

(02:15):
use frequently. I've always felt that way, based a lot
on how I was raised, and I continue to try
to instill that in my own kids. Yeah. You know,
people always say like, what do you want to teach? Santi,
And I think that you can't really teach children as
much as show them, and so I hope that by
being an example of a philanthropist or as somebody who

(02:38):
gives back, that he sees, oh, okay, that's important, just
like my mom did. Like all I am doing is
emulating what my mom did growing up. And I think
you and I have a very similar story. But before
we get into that, I just want to start it.
You know, you do so many things and you really
care deeply about all of them. You've co founded and
led companies and organizations, and you are one of the

(03:01):
people in my life that always shows up. You are
a social impact leader that really really shows up. And
I think the big myth is that you have to
be rich and famous to be a philanthropist or to
give back, and it's just not true. I looked up
the word and the etymology of philanthropy, because you're right,
that word is like really big and it's very intimidating

(03:22):
to people like you think philanthropists. You think Rockefeller, right,
You're like, okay, I'm not Rockefeller. But the Greek word
is philanthropia or philanthropos, which is loving people. And the
definition in websters the desire to promote the welfare of others,
goodwill to fellow humans. So all it is is giving back,

(03:44):
That's all it is. Like your definition too, it's like
you just put yourself in somebody else's shoes, right, It's
not that hard two connect to something that is greater
than yourself. Maybe it is hard. I don't know, what
do you think? Maybe that is hard for some people.
I mean, I think when you think about being somebody
who gives back in real life, right, and there's a

(04:06):
very famous saying you can give time, talent, or treasure,
pick one, pick all three if you have them. But
really you can do so many things. And even for
people who are listening who say, like, gosh, I'm so busy,
I'm a mom, I work, I have a job. You know,
your philanthropic give that can be how you raise your children,
How do you talk to them about that issues that matter?
How do you engage with them and have them think

(04:28):
about what are small ways that they could be giving back.
Could they be making holiday cards for kids, could they
be collecting a little food drive. I think it's really
as simple as what is happening in your everyday life
that you can give back. It doesn't mean you have
to go co found an organization because lord, you and
I know that takes a lot of time and a
lot of bandwidth and it's amazing, but it's also really

(04:50):
time consuming and not everybody has that kind of bandwidth.
But in one thing, I always know people who are like,
I want to start a cheerity and like, somebody's already
doing it, baby, just jump on that organization because it's
hard to start one, so don't reinvent the wheel. I
also think about philanthropy is not only connection to something
greater than yourself, but connecting the dots. A lot of
times it's as easy of an act as making a

(05:11):
phone call and you go, oh my god, Elsa, you're
going to the border. I just met a toymaker who
wants to donate toys. Why don't I connect you too.
I didn't do anything. I didn't buy the toys, I
didn't make the toys. But I connected the dots. And
I think that's is a big part of philanthropy. Asking
for money, asking for items, I mean just connecting the

(05:33):
dots of people in our lives that you really interact
with on a daily basis. Well, if you think about,
like how maybe we'll just go really really micro here.
But how like Latinos traditionally are raised and are raising
their own kids, we're huge on giving back, you know,
we're holding it down for our family. We're helping family
members maybe with wadging, with money, with babysitting, with whatever

(05:57):
things are family needs. And it's the same no matter
what socio economic status you are, we are givers. I
think it's in our d n a truly and so truly,
so I genuinely think that that is like a core
what philanthropy is you just said, it's the love of humankind.
It's the love of our family, it's the love of
our children. And so when that's not maybe let's just say,

(06:18):
part of your everyday experience, it doesn't mean that you
can't start to think about ways to incorporate that in
your life and the issues that you care about. Like
you said, you don't have to go and start a
philanthropy or an organization yourself. Just think about what are
the issues that you care about in your life. And
that's how I approach when I think about being philanthropic,
I think about, like everything that I'm engaged in is connected,

(06:40):
nothing is alone. Being involved civically or immigration or LGBTQ
issues with you know, my brother in law is gay.
Like I want to be in these issues, but they're
all related because I just want this world to be better.
And so you can have an array of interests that
you sort of decide, like this is gonna be you
what I'm going to be engaged with, and what I'm

(07:02):
going to talk about with my friends and my family,
what I'm going to advocate for. I'm going to kind
of go into a little bit of a deeper dive.
So I definitely think that there's a lane for everybody,
and you don't have to be scared to decide to
get involved. Yeah, because it is intimidating. I know so
many people say, I don't have the time. Oh my gosh,
how am I going to solve world hunger? You don't

(07:22):
have to solve world hunger, baby, Why don't you go
to your local community food bank and figure that out?
You know what I mean? Like the issues seem so
big and daunting sometimes, and I think what you're talking
about is, what is your connection to anything really right?
What is your connection to the school your child goes to.
What's your connection with your immediate family, what's your connection
with your community. What I love about philanthropy and giving

(07:46):
back is this idea of being connected to people you
don't know like that to me is really powerful and
I think it really transforms you as a person, because
we're all human. And I think if COVID taught us anything,
it is that we live in a global community. We
are all connected really tightly. One tiny, little invisible virus

(08:10):
shut down the world, and now we're coming out of it,
and we have to get vaccinated for people that you
don't even know, for the safety of people you don't know.
And I actually like that idea that you actually can
have an effect on people, women, children that you've never
even met. Yeah, and we came out of this pandemic

(08:31):
not only knowing that, but also knowing how many different
communities were affected by COVID. It didn't matter are you
on this side of the border, on that side of
the border, in this country, in that country. You were
struggling and had a lot of commonalities with everyone around
the world. And so I think, to your point, this connection,
this idea that I can't affect somebody else or they

(08:53):
can't affect me, is no longer. We're all touch points
in this world, and I think we all should think
about ways that we can give back, small or big.
Maybe your philanthropy is in act of kindness, you know.
I think that we want to assign these big like
well you've got to give a certain amount, or why
don't you do this big thing? It's like, no, why
don't you just think of somebody else one day and

(09:16):
just think like how can I be helpful? And I
think that's like again, when I think about empathy as
a muscle, that's how you have to build into it.
If you've never been involved in philanthropy, it might seem
crazy to all of a sudden just jump into the
deep end and try to do something so massive, and
then maybe you're like, that wasn't for me. It's like,
just start with something smaller, Start with just the simple
act of pay it forward by someone coffee, even making

(09:39):
a list of issues that you care about to start
off with. And if you've never had an experience where
you did something for somebody else, it can feel a
little scary, but you feel so good. There's no feeling
in the world like after I've done something, whether it's
like a donation drive or a drive through distribution in

(10:00):
or whether I'm spending time with families or children. It's like,
that is a high that is unparalleled, and I would
love for everyone to have that feeling walking out of
doing something where you can give back and you'd be like,
I really need a difference, And you don't have to
change someone's life, but you can create a better memory
for somebody. And how amazing is that. Yeah, it's so
funny you mentioned that, because I've mentioned that many times.

(10:22):
It's actually unfair how great I feel after doing something
for someone else. So, whether it's like giving a gift
and you see their reaction, or whether it's showing up
for somebody's birthday dinner or going to the border and
handing out diapers, you come back with this insanely filled heart, right,
your heart is so full of love and this positive energy.

(10:43):
And so there was actually many studies. There's so many
studies John Hopkins University, University of Tennessee. They all proved
that there is a connection and a link between selflessness
and living longer. Like it literally has a physical benefit,
and of course it has a mental health benefit because
people feel like you have a purpose and you're making

(11:04):
a positive impact on the world. But physically it reduces stress,
it reduces symptoms of depression, it reduces symptoms of feeling lonely.
And so I thought that was fascinating that they actually
proved people who give back live on. And also I
think it gives you, like just this unique perspective on
what's really important where you can also then remove yourself

(11:25):
from being so in the middle of things and being
able to just not have to think about yourself. What
do you think your connection is with giving back? Like
you grew up here, but across the border every day
to go to school, and your mom has an interesting story,

(11:48):
But like, why do you care so much? You're in
so many causes and you're like, we've got to register,
be a bit about we've got to save the world.
We've got latinos to aggregate. Like what makes you connect
on such a deep level that your commitment is unparalleled?
I mean, well two things. First of all, my mother,
as you mentioned, I'm the youngest of five. She pretty

(12:11):
much raised us. My dad died when I was young.
She raised us on her own. I mean, I have
so many memories of being at different charity events tired,
and she'd be like don't go to sleep. She'd be like,
here we are, Like, okay, maybe she pinched me. It
was not that hard, but I mean, um no, But
it was that she felt this responsibility to give back,

(12:34):
and so by osmosis, all five of us were always
kind of involved in giving back. But after I started
to have kids, and I thought about what kind of
world are my children going to grow up in and
going to live in and hopefully be the future leaders
and change makers, and so I just felt like, that's

(12:56):
why I have to show up. And so I have
to show up every day because I want the world
to be better for them. And the issues that I'm
particularly invested in are the issues that affect them, you know,
racial equality, immigration issues, civic engagement, all those things are
like I see everything that I do as one stepping

(13:17):
stone to them. Because when your parents, it's kind of
you know, their studies around voting that the most likely
predictor of someone being a voter is whether their parents voted.
And I think it's kind of the same with philanthropy.
If you're engaged, your kids are going to be engaged.
Just like you said, it's not what you say, it's
actually what you do. And so I am so grateful
that I'm involved in these different causes because I know

(13:39):
that my kids now know about these causes and that
they know what the world is like, they know, unfortunately,
what some of the injustices are, and I think in
an age appropriate way, we can all have conversations with
our kids about these really difficult issues. But there's no
hiding away from it because by the way it affects them,
whether I wanted to or not, it's going too And

(14:01):
so I don't have the luxury of being like, you're fine,
You're fine, everything will be fine, and we have to
confront the issues that are going to face my children
head on. And so hopefully all three of my kids
are going to be change makers too, and that would
be the biggest lessing in the whole wide world. Yeah. Yeah,
I talk a lot about my why, Like my why
in the world is my son. I mean, it just is.

(14:21):
My philanthropy and my charitable work got way more intense
once he was born. I was like, oh my god,
we have so much to fix before he grows up.
I was like, like, I gotta fix the environment, we
gotta fix social justice. We've got a fixed gender equality,
we have so much to do, and I do feel
like this intense pressure to get it right so that
he grows up in a world that is fair and

(14:42):
beautiful and on earth that is taken care of. And
so yeah, I get that, because the why is really important.
And you and I grew up the same way. You know,
my mom introduced us to volunteerism very early. My My
earliest memory is Special Olympics. Literally, like, when I think
about my childhood, it's Special Olympics. Boys and Girls club,

(15:02):
soup kitchens we used to go because my oldest sister's
special needs, and my mom would take her to the
Boys and Girls Club to join karate and they're like,
we can't take her because we don't have the capacity
to My mom would go, well, her three sisters are volunteering,
so if you take her, you can get these three volunteers.
And they're like great. So literally we were currency, and

(15:26):
that's how what it so at all like started. I
remember Michelle Obama talking about volunteerism a lot when she
was First Lady, and she was saying, it's a basic
expression of human relationships. It's our need to participate in society.
And I felt like, oh my god, that's so beautiful
because it sounds like I gotta go volunteer, I gotta

(15:47):
go register people to vote, and it's not. It's actually
an extension of human relationships. How do we connect with
each other in society? And we have that need as
a human being to participate in society, so why not
use it to connect with everybody around us? Yeah, And
I think the one thing that I want to say

(16:07):
is you being someone who's so prominent in our community, who,
by the way, like I'm out there, but like, guess
who else is you? So like I just want to
say for everyone who doesn't know that Eva is out there.
I've seen her at every election, every early where you go, Yes,

(16:29):
at the border, in the local community, with her own foundation.
By the way, she didn't follow her own advice. She
started her own foundation for you. I didn't follow my
own yeah, exactly as as as a doer, it never does.
But I think that that's like so important because especially
in this day and age, for people to see themselves

(16:49):
in this type of arena like philanthropy where you mentioned
like the Rockefellers, the Carnegies or whatever older family established
meant you know, it's important for people in our community
to know that we are out there, that we are,
you know, having our own organizations that were out there
helping however bigger or small, in our community, within our

(17:13):
family beyond. So for anybody who doesn't know, Eva's pretty
much pretty much out there involved in all the same things.
I only go where else it tells me, because then
I know it's a good cause. You know what. I
also tell people, there's such a great connection obviously to

(17:37):
humanity whenever you are involved. But the ethos of charity
and philanthropy and volunteerism is really infused with these beautiful
values like solidarity and reciprocation and empowerment. And I think
that's what we talk about and we go, oh my god,
I feel so good after doing it because you're getting

(17:58):
these insane values re enforced within you, which contributes significantly
to a quality of life that is worth living now,
you know. Yeah, And I think what you mentioned is
this kind of intangible. It's a feeling you can't get
from anything or anywhere else, which is the reciprocal gratitude
of being able to give and someone being able to receive,

(18:19):
and then seeing each other and these people whatever cause
or event that you're in or activation that you're doing
where you see people and they see you, and that's
like such a rare thing in this world behind screens
and phones and technology, where you can really feel connected

(18:41):
to to another human being in a way that is
almost lost in this day and age. We need to
have more human connections so that we don't feel so
far away from something that's affecting someone else. Again, coming
out of COVID, it seems like there's so many issues
like how can we even how confront Yeah, and then

(19:02):
we get paralyzed. And then I was like, well, I
guess I can't do anything, and it's like we don't
need to do you know. I think someone said someone
can't do everything, but everybody can do something. That's the
kind of approach I think that we just need to
get started with. When you're just thinking about how do
I even like dip my toe into this idea and
this concept of giving back. And then again for those

(19:26):
parents out there, you don't even know what kind of
gift you're giving your child of a life long skill
and appreciation for other people. I want to talk about
the Latino community because you and I do so much
work with the Latino community, and we co founded with
many other sisters of ours Bodadistas during the pandemic, with

(19:47):
the goal of aggregating Latinas. And I think you've already
touched on it, but like Latinas in general always give back.
I think that's what we wanted to address, was like, hey,
self care, Hey give back to yourself sometimes because we're
always giving to everybody else our family, usually our moms.
We're taking care of an older person in our household.

(20:08):
We are homeschooling now because of COVID, we are still
working that job or two jobs. You know, we're putting
food on the table. I mean, so we really wanted
to create this online community. But what do you think
is the biggest goal, not even just for Boadistas, but
like for the Latino community and how we connect with
philanthropy and giving back. Yeah, I mean, I think the

(20:29):
best thing that I am thinking about right now is
how really we should be positioning being engaged civically as
philanthropy and as giving back. That is an act of
showing up for your community when you use your voice
and you address the issues that directly impact our community.
So when we talked about Boadistas, we were thinking about

(20:51):
investing in our community every day of the year, not
just every four years or every two years, but like
we're here for the Latina community every single day. And
so that to me has been so important because for
so long we seem to have a cyclical life in
the narrative of this world, and in this way, I

(21:14):
felt like we are able to connect with our community
every day. And so the best thing about Bladisa so
far to me has been the ability to see how
many Latinas feel seen and how many Latinas are like engaged.
And so I think Bladistas is such an amazing vehicle

(21:35):
that I hope continues to grow and continues to show
Latinas that you matter, that we're invested, and that we
genuinely want to be able to provide you with all
the tools that you need to feel empowered and impactful
and ways to keep this thing going. Yeah. Yeah, oh

(21:56):
my gosh, it was so well said. Yeah, I just
joined because it's a big party, but that is a
much better reason to join. You Know, what I love
about Bodadistas too, is that what you said it informs
and inspires. Sometimes it's hard to navigate what you should
be caring about, especially in this cancel culture, and so
sometimes it's hard to navigate these issues and which side
you should be on, especially when you live in these

(22:17):
bubbles of like liberal conservative, and then you're just getting
echoed back whatever your own community wants to hear. I know,
we keep saying it's so easy, it's so easy, but
there is a little footwork, right, there's a little footwork
and giving back. It's not as easy as just doing this,
but that footwork and effort is totally worth it. I guess,
is is our point? Really? Yes? Yes? And I think

(22:39):
two super important points of information from what you just said.
A is being really mindful about where you get your
information really important, really important right now, so that you
know where you want to stand on certain issues and
what you want to get engaged in. And then I
think secondly, being curious and being willing to learn and

(23:03):
to read. I think about my mother, who just became
a citizen two years ago, the best moment of my
whole life. But I think about how she grew up
and and how much she has evolved. I mean, genuinely,
my husband's he's black, he's African American. She had never
even seen a black person before like her mid twenties,

(23:25):
do you know what I mean? And just all these
different notions of the generation that she grew up in
and the world that we live in now, and just
how beautiful it is to see how she's been able
to evolve and to really be engaged in the issues
that she knows affect her grandchildren, her family, her kids,
and I genuinely would love for everyone to feel like

(23:48):
they can also evolve and they can also learn about
different issues that might Since Sherry, and if you're like
of an older generation, don't be afraid to ask younger
people when have different versations. If everyone in your circle
looks like you, like, we should try to think about
diversifying that circle so you can just hear different people's experiences. Yeah,

(24:11):
I know, I read somewhere they said in your circle
of friends, you should have an older person, a significantly
older person, a person from another country or speaks another language,
a person who has another religion, and and that it
like fills out your circle in a way that reflects
the world that we live in. I think it's, like
you said, just looking beyond your echo chamber to figure

(24:32):
out what you do connect to what is gonna inspire
you enough to put a little bit of effort into
connecting with the rest of humanity. Yeah, and I think
that that even when I co founded This Is About Humanity,
the goal was to bring people closer to an issue
that they felt disconnected from, so that they would just
feel comfortable being able to talk about it. Because when

(24:53):
you think about like, oh, separated families, like gosh, that's scary.
Just saying those words seem scary. I can't believe whatever happened.
But also giving people the ability to engage in a
conversation about it and learn more about it and then
perhaps have conversations with other people about it. And so
I think that the genesis was really just to say, like,

(25:14):
you can be closer to an issue and get engaged
and talk about it and it doesn't have to be
so intimidating and seeing so far away, you know. Yeah,
That's why I love the name of your charity, This
is about Humanity, because it is at the end of
the day, this is about humanity, whatever issue it is.
It's like, we are all one species, one species living

(25:35):
on this earth, and so I look up to you,
I admire you, and I'm inspired by you, and I'm
so appreciative that you had this conversation with me. One
question I asked everybody before I let them go as
a book everybody must read, I love The Likability Trap
by Alicia Menendez. So I took. It's an amazing book
and it really goes into this thing that she calls

(25:59):
the like aality trap, which is where women try to
be likable and sort of the pitfalls and and all
the things that you have to think about that we
do think about that kind of consume us. I'm sure
that you can relate to that. And that book was
just really great because I genuinely felt like a It
named something that I knew was happening but I wasn't

(26:20):
really conscious of, and then be it made me really
think about why do I do the things that I
do and making sure that I'm doing the things that
I do because they're genuine to me and not out
of a desire to please others, because I think that
is a trap. And I will say, when it comes
to philanthropy and when it comes to giving back, I
think finding the issue or issues that you connect with

(26:44):
the most, giving back will never feel like work. Giving
back always feel like that amazing feeling we just talked about.
But if it's something that's not really genuine to you,
it is going to feel a little bit like work,
Like you'll still give back, you'll still feel great. But
look for that thing that really speaks to your heart,
because then you'll always be willing to wake up, no
matter how early, no matter how far you have to go,
no matter what you have to do, when you're gonna

(27:05):
do it and you're gonna be stoked about it. Yeah,
I agree. That's such a good point because if it's
not genuine, you dread it. You're gonna dread it and
you're gonna be like, oh, why did I sign up
for this volunteering at six am instead of you know,
every time. One of my other charities in Texas is
Eva's Heroes, which was inspired by my sister. So it's

(27:27):
the special needs community, the intellectually disabled community, and we
have so many events and never have I gone. Why
do I have to go to the Valentine's Day dance
to see these kids? Like I'm like, I can't wait
to go see their faces, I can't wait to see
what they wore. I can't wait to hug them like
their hugs are the best hugs in the world. Like,
but that's I have a strong connection to that community

(27:49):
because of my sister, and so you're right. I think
that's a great piece of advice, um, and a great
way to wrap up this episode, because it's about connecting
to something genuinely and not doing it because you're like, Look,
I'm philanthropic, I'm giving back, but you can also write
the check. We'll take the check to write. Checks are
an amazing form of love. And also if you don't

(28:10):
want to write a check, showing up is just as good,
even better. Maybe. Yeah, thank you, Ela Collin and so much.
Thank you so much for listening. I'm happy to be
connected with you. Connections with Evil Lagoria is a production
of Unbelievable entertainment in partnership with I Hearts Michael burha

(28:32):
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