EP #82 Building Local Opportunity In Fredericksburg

Want a clearer path from talent to opportunity in Fredericksburg? We sit down with Marcus Toler, the driving force behind Go Local FXBG, to unpack a simple but powerful blueprint: teach teens real skills, remove cost barriers for small businesses, and connect nonprofits with new audiences so local ideas can take root. Marcus brings lived experience—from hustling DJ to self-taught marketer—to show how practical training and funded support can flip the script for underserved neighbors and first-time founders.

We dig into the upcoming youth internship and career pathways program launching with local high schools, where students build portfolios in digital marketing, media, and entrepreneurship. Instead of abstract lessons, they’ll ship real projects, learn SEO and content strategy, and walk away with tangible proof of work. Marcus also shares how a nonprofit-backed business accelerator will give early-stage founders the marketing muscle they can’t afford, helping them test offers, sharpen brand stories, and reach customers without burning scarce capital. It’s a model built to keep wins local and create a stronger, more resilient small-business ecosystem.

Beyond training and funding, we explore the community entrepreneurship track and a creative “for cause” event series—like weekly trivia at Brock’s—that elevates partner nonprofits in front of fresh audiences. Marcus’s advice for aspiring nonprofit leaders is refreshingly candid: the forms are easy, the real job is building the team, learning the grant landscape, and staying focused on measurable outcomes. If you care about youth mentorship, inclusive entrepreneurship, and smarter ways to grow local business, this conversation lays out a playbook you can put to work today.

If this resonates, subscribe, share with a neighbor who should hear it, and leave a review so more locals can plug into the movement. Then tell us: what skill could you mentor to help the next founder thrive?

Marcus Toler

Go Local FXBG

golocalfxbg.org

[e-mail]

Falmouth, VA · King George, VA · Spotsylvania, VA · Fredericksburg, VA · Stafford, VA · Downtown Fredericksburg, VA

Episode Transcript

Speaker (00:01):
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors
Podcast, the place where localbusinesses and neighbors come
together.
Here's your host, Dori Stewart.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG
Neighbors Podcast, where weshare the stories of our
favorite local brands.
Today, joining me is MarcusToler, and he is with Go Local
FXBG.
Marcus, welcome to the podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, I am excited to dive into this conversation.
I would love to learn moreabout Go Local FXBG.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
So we're a nonprofit right here in Fredericksburg,
focused on empowering theunderserved communities, small
business owners, and aspiringentrepreneurs.
We're trying to create realpathways that economic
opportunity and local businesssuccess connect the people with
the right resources, build astronger economy here locally.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Amazing.
Amazing.
And so give me some uhexamples.
What are some ways in which youare accomplishing those goals
through your nonprofit?

Speaker 1 (01:16):
So I got three programs that we want to roll
out.
Um, youth internship and careerpathways program.
You know, we're gonna beworking with local high school
students starting in January.
We're gonna roll that out inbeta mode.
Um, to gain hands-on experiencein digital marketing, media,
and entrepreneurship.
Um, over COVID, I worked with alot of interns, college

(01:38):
interns, you know, virtually allover the world pretty much.
And the number one thing theykept saying were they're not
getting the real worldexperience that they needed to
get jobs when they got out ofcollege.
Um, you know, and as you canimagine, that's probably pretty
frustrating, right?
To go to school for four toeight years for your major and
then get out and have employerstell you, oh, well, you need

(02:01):
experience to work here.
So that was a big one.
Um, and just in digital mediamarketing in general, they never
know anything that I know, andI've never gone to college.
So I just found that verystrange that um I've self-taught
myself more than what marketingprofessors are teaching them.
So that you know put me on amission to really help these

(02:22):
kids learn more about theopportunities that are out there
digitally, especially to beable to create their own way.
Um, so that's one.
And then we got our localbusiness accelerator that we're
gonna start.
That name might change becausethat's a pretty popular name for
that kind of program.
So um, you know, I want to workwith small businesses over the

(02:45):
years.
Well, my marketing company,I've worked with a lot of small
businesses.
I really enjoy working with thestartup brands or the people
that are struggling, but thenumber one problem there is they
don't get any money.
So, with a nonprofit, I'll beable to fund and help them with
their marketing without askingthem for money.
Um, so that's a great thing.

(03:06):
And then the last piece is thecommunity entrepreneurship
program where I want to workwith people in underserved
communities that might not haveaccess to the resources to
become entrepreneurs and getthat digital media experience.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
That's amazing.
Really big goals there, and I'mreally excited to watch this
grow and what a huge impact thisis gonna make.
So, congratulations, it'sreally exciting.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Thank you, thank you.
It's it's definitely a lot,it's not your typical nonprofit.
Um a lot of moving pieces, sowe're gonna have to roll it out
in pieces, and it's gonna takean army for sure.
So yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Well, I want to learn more about you.
Tell me a little bit about yourbackground and how that led you
to starting something likethis.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Yeah, so I grew up in West Virginia and growing up as
a kid, I was like always thehustler, shoveling snow, cutting
grass, selling baseball cards,like anything I could do to make
money, right?
Um, always trying to findunique ways.
I came here to the Frederickarea in about 2000, 2001.
I've been here ever since.
I love it here.
There's always been so muchopportunity here.

(04:27):
Um, the community is great.
Like, I've never been in like acommunity like this.
So started an entertainmentcompany back in the early 2000s,
literally just on a on a whim,like, hey, I want to get paid to
throw parties and being a DJ,you know, and of course, I've
got my big day productionscompany where we do events,

(04:49):
photo booth, event planning, DJstuff.
Um, but also along the way,that turned into a marketing
agency because all that wasbuilt off of social media.
So it just made sense to takethat knowledge and dump it into
the marketing.
Um, you know, small businessdevelopment.
I've developed multiple brandsover the years.

(05:11):
So that you know really turnedinto wanting to help others do
the same.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
I love that.
I love that.
So clearly you are really busyworking on your business and
you've worked really hard tobuild this, you've had multiple
businesses in the past.
If someone came to you andsaid, Hey, I want to start a
nonprofit, what advice would yougive someone?

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Really think about what the mission is, what the
goal is.
Um, because you know, a bigmisconception I had about
starting a nonprofit was like,oh my God, it's gonna be so
hard.
The easy part's getting itstarted, like following the
paperwork and all that'snothing.
Um, there's so much onlineresources out there, like with
the AI and all the things.

(06:03):
It's easy to get it up andrunning, but building the team
and putting the programs inplace and getting the right
people to help you understandthat.
Like, you know, I'm workingwith someone that's very
experienced in grant writing,and there's a lot of rules.
It's not, it is a business, butit's not a business, you know.
So figuring out the ins and theouts and really connecting with

(06:27):
the people that already know isalways the biggest thing.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, yeah.
Lots of nuance in a nonprofitworld versus the business world,
isn't there?

Speaker 1 (06:36):
For sure.
It's completely it's different,but not different, you know.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
So, what is something that youwish the listeners knew about Go
Local FXBG?

Speaker 1 (06:51):
Um well, it's the big thing is like I said, it's just
not it's not just anothernonprofit, right?
We're here to really build acommunity ecosystem.
Like right now, we're doingwhat we call four calls event
series.
So I'm taking the experienceI've already got and dumping it
into the nonprofit.

(07:12):
Like on Wednesday nights, we'redoing trivia for calls down at
Brocks and downtown.
Um, and with that, we'reconnecting with other nonprofits
and putting them in front ofaudiences that they normally are
not in front of to buildawareness.
Um, because there's so manygreat nonprofits out here that
people don't know about.
And while it's stillcompetitive in the nonprofit

(07:37):
world because everybody'sfighting for the same funds,
we're all fighting for attentionfrom donors.
But you know, I've been reallychallenging people to find
causes that they believe in andgo supported.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Yeah.
So tell me how people can getinvolved.
Uh, they can they can come toyour trivia nights.
Um, what are some other ways inwhich people listening can can
get on board with Go Local FXBG?

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Well, yeah, like you said, definitely can come out to
the events and learn aboutother nonprofits.
Um I'm looking for right now,coming up in January, we're
rolling out that internshipprogram with the high schools.
We're gonna be working with youknow, a select few students
from every county, um,Frederick, Stafford, Spotsy.
And I'm looking for people inthe community that are like

(08:28):
experts in like marketing,digital media, business growth,
development, things like that.
Because I can't be the expertin everything.
Yeah, um, so I'm looking forpeople that want to give back to
these kids and help me mentorthese kids and build this
program out and really, youknow, we we need to pour into
our youth because they're thenext, the next big thing, right?

Speaker 2 (08:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
So I'm noticing out in the community, like you know,
the Lions Club and the Eaglesand all these different
organizations is like there'snot a lot of young people in
these organizations, and theywant young people, so it's like
we need to get involved with thecommunity and the younger, the
younger generation.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Right, right.
I love that.
So if the listeners want to getin touch with you, learn more
about everything you do, how canthey find you?

Speaker 1 (09:20):
So you can go to go localfxbg.org.
Um, and there's a contact uspage on there, and just shoot me
an email, and you can follow uson social, Facebook, Instagram.
Um, got a YouTube channel wherewe post like nonprofit
spotlights, been sitting downand interviewing them.
So we've been posting them overthere.
Yeah, all the normal sources.

Speaker 2 (09:43):
Amazing, amazing.
Well, Marcus, thank you for allthat you are doing for our
community.
I have really enjoyed havingyou on the podcast today.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker (09:56):
Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to FXBGNeighborsPodcast.com.