February 27, 2025 • 39 mins
In this powerful episode of the Visual Eyes Podcast, host Chris Baker sits down with Tanya Barett, Executive Director of McDavid Group Charities, to discuss how this nonprofit is making a life-changing impact for the families of fallen law enforcement officers.
About Tanya Barett
Tanya Barrett is an accomplished Executive Director and entrepreneurial leader based in Jupiter, Florida, with over 25 years of professional experience. As the current Executive Director of McDavid Group Charities, she has tripled annual fundraising revenue from $400,000 to $1.6 million in just five years.
Under her leadership, McDavid Group Charities fulfills its vital mission of supporting the educational goals of children and spouses of fallen law enforcement officers. The organization provides crucial financial support and counseling services to help these families survive and thrive, while also raising awareness about the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
This mission holds deep personal significance for Tanya, as she is the surviving spouse of Virginia State Trooper Mark D. Barrett, who had his End of Watch on September 14, 2010. She works tirelessly to create a world where financial barriers to higher education no longer burden these families, offering hands-on support, counseling, and scholarships to help them rebuild their futures.
Episode Highlights
🔹 How a single golf tournament turned into a $1.5 million nonprofit
🔹 The $40,000 scholarships helping families of fallen officers afford education
🔹 The importance of networking and community support in nonprofit success
🔹 How government policies affect benefits for law enforcement families
🔹 The challenges and opportunities in sustaining nonprofit growth
🚀 Learn how YOU can support this mission!
🔗 Visit McDavid Group Charities: https://www.McDavidGroupCharities.org
📧 Contact Tanya Barett: Tanya@McDavidGroupCharities.com
🎧 Listen & Subscribe:
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📷 Instagram: @VisualEyesPod
📘 LinkedIn: Visual Eyes Podcast
🎥 YouTube: @VisualEyesPodcast
🔎 Hashtags for Discoverability:
#Nonprofit #Philanthropy #Leadership #LawEnforcement #Scholarships #FallenHeroes #CommunitySupport #GivingBack #SocialImpact #Podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris Baker (00:08):
Chris Baker, and each week we'll explore
incredible connections betweennonprofits, businesses and the
community.
This is a space where wehighlight inspiring partnerships
, uncover strategies forcreating meaningful impact and
share stories that show howworking together can make all
the difference.
Whether you're a nonprofitleader, a business owner or
(00:28):
someone just passionate aboutbuilding connections, this
podcast is for you.
Welcome back to Visual Eyes.
Today.
I have an amazing guest.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Tanya Barrett from the McDavidGroup Charities Welcome.
Tanya Barrett (00:48):
Thank you, Chris.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm so thankful to even be here.
Thank you.
Chris Baker (00:53):
No, thank you for coming down.
When we first met it was justkind of like I didn't really
know a ton about yourorganization.
But we got on the call and itwas kind of like our energy
started to shift.
I don't know if you noticedthat too when we actually had
our Zoom call.
So for me it was just kind oflike wow, we're having this
connection.
We're talking about nonprofits,we're talking about helping
(01:15):
people.
So I want to have you say, inyour own words, a little bit
more about your journey and howMcDavid Group Charities has
really kind of expanded wherethey're going.
Tanya Barrett (01:27):
I really appreciate that, chris.
Yeah, I felt the energy shifttoo, and I think a lot of that
just comes from my passion forwhat I do.
So I am Tanya Barrett.
I'm the executive director ofthe McDavid Group Charities.
It's a nonprofit that wasstarted by Jim McDavid back in
2016.
He was pulled by.
There was a shooting of theDallas Five police officers that
(01:49):
were brutally executed that dayand he heard something on the
radio sitting in his truck thatthey were talking about raising
money for the families of fallenlaw enforcement.
And it was something small, notsmall, not that $30,000 or
$50,000 is small, but whenyou're talking about the loss of
a life and five officers, thatand typically law enforcement's
(02:12):
not paid a lot of money.
He just felt very motivated,very motivated to give back to
those who serve our communities.
And with that he decided hecould throw a golf tournament.
He could throw a golftournament, he could throw a
golf tournament, he could raisesome money.
And he was just going to justdo what Jim McDavid does just
(02:32):
blow it out of the park.
And you know he reaches for thestars all the time.
So within three months, hedecided in September to throw a
golf tournament, threw the golftournament in December that year
and, I believe, raised $150,000.
Chris Baker (02:49):
And he did it in three months.
Tanya Barrett (02:50):
Three months Wow.
He leaned on his community.
As I mentioned to you before,I've been listening to your
podcast and so much of it has todo with networking and
connections, and Jim McDavid didjust that.
He leaned on his network, heleaned on his connections and he
raised $150,000 in three months, back in 2016.
Chris Baker (03:11):
Yeah, oh, and I think what actually kind of
probably helped him do that isthe story Like he had.
You know, he brought the storyto the community.
He, like you said, leveragedthe community and the network
that he had.
I mean just you talking aboutit.
I mean if he was here I thinkthere would be more passion, but
you still even have a lot ofpassion for it too.
So, yeah, I can definitely hearit.
Tanya Barrett (03:32):
Yeah, so thank you, and I love Jim McDavid, his
heart, his soul, his wife Maria.
They are an amazing powercouple.
They just light up the room,any room they walk into, but
they bring so much to theorganization and just getting
behind our law enforcementofficers.
(03:53):
But since 2016,.
I came to know the organizationin 2018 when I started
volunteering for him.
When I started volunteering forhim, my son and I had moved to
Florida in 2013, which was twoyears after my husband, a
Virginia state trooper, died inthe line of duty.
(04:15):
So we had moved originally toPompano.
I had moved up to Jupiter forhigh school.
I found out about Jim McDavidand this organization he had
started because he was solelygiving.
His organization was solelygiving to another organization
called Concerns of PoliceSurvivors, an organization that
I knew all too well becausemyself and my two children had
been through that organization.
(04:36):
They are kind of like the firsthands-on after an officer dies.
They help provide support, theyhelp give you counseling, they
get you through your firstnational police week, which
typically happens.
It always happens in May everyyear but it's usually within
that first year after an officerdies.
So my kids went into this kidsprogram and they came out and
(05:00):
they were like mom, we met otherkids like us.
My kids were 15 and 6 when myhusband died in the line of duty
.
So when they came out of thisprogram and I still get a little
teary, I mean, I still do theycame out of this feeling
validated and acknowledged,because kids don't really
understand, nobody understandsdeath.
(05:22):
But then you have a lawenforcement officer die in the
line of duty and there's thishuge funeral.
It's on all the news stations.
My kids, my kids, were like whyare they talking about daddy on
?
Chris Baker (05:32):
the news.
Tanya Barrett (05:33):
Like why are they talking about you?
The?
You two went to high schooltogether and I was like it was
just, it was you know, it's justall very strange.
But here they go into thisorganization through concerns of
police survivors and they meetother kids like them.
They meet other kids who havebeen through this massive
funeral very you know on themedia, and so it was just like
(05:55):
it gave me this like sense of ah, this is where we need to be.
So fast forward.
Moved to Florida.
Jim McDavid starts his charity.
So fast forward.
Move to Florida, jim McDavidstarts his charity.
I find out about it after Imoved to Jupiter and I'm like I
need to help this man raise moremoney for cops love it.
I need to help him.
So I started volunteering justmy time, like however I could.
(06:17):
My son was still in high school, so I, like, would just give
back as much as I could.
Fast forward to to 2020,.
Covid and I was just looking toget out of the house.
My son was home all the time.
I was like I need to findsomething to do and I found
Jim's regular job was hiring fora receptionist and I walked in
(06:39):
and I was like, hey, I'm goingto take this job but I want to
run your charity.
And he was like we're not goingto have any paid employees,
we're not going to do this.
I'm like no, no, no.
I know that your charity hasthe potential to grow.
I know what you already do andI know that there is a small
niche in here where you'remissing.
The fallen law enforcementcommunity is missing a piece.
(07:01):
The fallen law enforcementcommunity is missing a piece.
And he was like what's that?
And I said it's college.
And he said well, I don'tunderstand what you mean.
And I said there are so manyopportunities out there and
we're missing the boat.
These spouses that have twosmall children at home that
never thought they'd need to goback to school, these kids
(07:23):
worried about money.
I said my six-year-old came tome and said daddy died.
Do we have enough money to stayin our house?
I said fast forward to rightnow.
He's a freshman in high schooland he's worried about where
he's going to go to college.
He's a smart kid and he'sworried, like how are you going
(07:44):
to afford it?
What are we going to do?
And I had already nine yearsearlier there.
My kids are nine years apart.
Nine years earlier I'd alreadywalked this line with my
daughter like what could weafford, what could we do?
And it's just, even thoughthere's, like all these
organizations that want to helplaw enforcement officers you
(08:06):
know, I know there's ones outthere now that they'll pay off
mortgages and while that's allgrand, nobody thinks about how
does that look on your FAFSA?
Nobody thinks about.
You know, where did you investyour money?
Because I'll be the first oneto tell you spouses of law
enforcement officers usually getsome chunk of change, but
(08:28):
nobody takes into account thatyour husband was making no money
.
And now this is supposed to getyou through the next 10, 15, 20
, 30 years of your life.
Chris Baker (08:38):
And especially if they have children, what does
their children's future looklike, in retrospect of all of
that too?
So I understand what you'resaying.
Tanya Barrett (08:47):
And then if your money's not invested right, or
you, I mean I have friends whothey just put all their money in
a savings account.
And then their child goes tocollege and they have to fill
out a FAFSA and like they get nomoney, there's no scholarships
available because the financialneed it doesn't appear to be
there, when I know for a factthat it really is there Anyway,
(09:11):
2020,.
Walked into Jim McDavid's office, said I'm going to run your
charity and so hence now it's2025.
I've been running the charityfor four years.
Two years ago I finally had thetitle of executive director.
Chris Baker (09:24):
I became the first paid employee.
Tanya Barrett (09:26):
Yes, thank you, and I love that I get to give
back to a community that I knowall too well.
I love that we have now createdthe scholarship fund.
It's called the America'sHeroes Scholarship Fund.
We host it through thecommunity Foundation of Palm
Beach and Martin County and,even though it's hosted through
there, it is nationwide, it'sthird party.
(09:50):
Because I am a spouse, I do notwant to have any biasness
towards any families, because Iend up talking to a lot of them.
I end up talking to a lot ofthe spouses, a lot of the
children, when they're fillingout our application.
This year we had over 52applicants.
We have five spots.
Chris Baker (10:09):
Oh, my goodness.
Tanya Barrett (10:10):
Yeah, yep, so that's so much need and that's
(10:31):
not a lot of ability to help allof them.
I mean, obviously we and you'reaccepted, you become one of
ours, become part of our littlegolfer cop McDavid group
charities family and we don'tlet go of you.
All you have to do is maintainyour GPA and you get that $5,000
a semester guaranteed for fouryears.
So we love that, we love that.
(10:53):
That's what we're able to offer.
I always say that I want to bethe charity that we can just pay
for your college education,rather than even having to worry
about scholarships.
Or, you know, Even there aresome states who offer
state-supported schools, likefree tuition.
But even with that becauseVirginia happens to be one of
(11:21):
those states that even with that, I was still paying out of my
pocket $1,000 a month for bothmy kids and it adds up
Everything.
Yeah, and it adds up Everything.
(11:41):
Yeah, it all adds up.
And granted, I know I'mfortunate, but I also wanted.
I want kids who are bright andwant really good futures and I
want to invest in futures and Idon't want to limit them to a
state supported school.
That's not where their bestefforts could be seen.
You know, if there are these4.0 kids and they want to go to
Stanford or wherever they wantto go, I don't care where they
(12:04):
want to go.
I don't ever want them to think, oh my gosh.
Chris Baker (12:08):
I can't.
Tanya Barrett (12:09):
I can't, my mom can't afford that.
Chris Baker (12:11):
Right, you actually opened up my eyes to a few
things that I didn't even thinkabout, and I want to say it was
2016.
And my dear friend that I wasliving with at the time she was
struggling because her brotherwas shot down as well consult
(12:38):
her and I just like helped herthrough it as best I could, but
you know it wasn't my family, soI didn't actually have the same
connection that she did, andshe actually took his dog.
So that you know, this lovelydog was a part of both of our
lives because she was stayingwith me at the time, and just
the sweetest, sweetest dog, um.
But it was so hard because youknow it's the loss of anyone is
(13:03):
challenging, but when they'retaken in a way that it's not
natural and there's no reasonfor it, that's when I think it's
the hardest.
And it's so complex, and evenfor children, like if you think
you're talking about you knowyour son was six years old.
Yeah, how does that process?
And going through and hearingall these stories on TV and just
(13:26):
like it's a lot to deal with,yeah.
And then looking at the future,because everyone looks and is
like, oh, you know, this policeofficer, this law enforcement
person has lost their life andit is public and everybody hears
about it.
But who is who's looking at thefamilies?
(13:46):
So I'm glad that this charityis here to kind of look at what
else can be done and maybe noteverything, but what else can be
done and I think that's a goodquestion to open up to everybody
.
Tanya Barrett (13:58):
Yeah, and I think it's a great question because I
feel like, yes, these familiesget forgotten about and nobody
realizes.
I know I mentioned it a fewtimes already, but law
enforcement officers, I mean,they're like teachers, they're
not paid for what they do andit's so unfortunate.
Like teachers, they're not paidfor what they do and it's it's
(14:19):
so unfortunate Like they, youknow, I wish we could pay them
better, invest more in them.
You know it's all these publicservants, right?
That, yeah, that we just needto invest in.
But law enforcement officers iswhat I know and you know.
It's how to?
How do we help these familiesthrive?
How do we give them tools andhelp them thrive?
(14:40):
And that's exactly what McDavidGroup Charities does is we make
sure that, either throughconcerns of police survivors,
getting them all the hands-onprogramming and all the support
they need, so that's how westart to set them up for the
higher education and making sureof these scholarships.
One of the things I realizedwith the scholarships was this
(15:02):
past year in virginia, forexample.
I did mention how some statesdo take care of their fallen one
or their first responderfamilies, because it can be any
line of duty death in moststates.
Um, in virginia, for example,they proposed a new budget.
The budget was signed into lawand my son's college education
(15:23):
benefits were stripped away fromhim.
Fourteen years later, here heis.
He's in college.
He's at University of Virginia,like he is at one of the top
three public universities in theUnited States.
He forked his tail off to getthere.
Chris Baker (15:37):
Sure.
Tanya Barrett (15:38):
And he said, mom, what are we going to do?
And I was like dude, I'llfigure it out.
Chris Baker (15:43):
Right.
You know and we got to look forsolutions.
Yeah, I said.
Tanya Barrett (15:46):
I'll find a solution.
And he was like well, I can'tapply for your scholarship.
And I'm like nobody.
Chris Baker (15:50):
You can't conflict of interest.
Tanya Barrett (15:53):
But I was like we'll figure it out.
Like I, you know, I said numberone, I'm gonna fight and it
will start there and just sohappens that it was over like we
had the budget redone.
We know it'll get him throughhis fourth year of college good
but it doesn't help for the kidsunder him.
(16:14):
I went to virginia and I can,and I went to there's local
chapters of concerns of policesurvivors.
I went to the local Virginiachapter 63 children.
We're not even talking a lot,we're talking 63 children of
fallen law enforcement officers,63.
He was one of 63.
He was one of 63.
And I was like how do familiesplan for?
(16:39):
You know this is what we'regoing to do.
My son and I planned it outLike this is how we're going to
do it.
And then all of a sudden, it'sjust gone and I have friends
that you know.
Their kids are seven, eight.
All of a sudden they're noteven planning for college yet,
and this benefits already.
You know it's gone could havebeen ripped away right, correct
(16:59):
as it stands today it's still inplace.
Good, that state statute is inplace.
But what scared me was figuringout because I'm not in politics
, but figuring out that becauseof political wins and just
things shifting and agendasthat's what I ended up finding
(17:22):
out was that it was justpolitical agendas.
Somebody wanted something, sothey were like it was just very
odd and I was like, wow, thiscan happen anywhere and to any,
any state.
Chris Baker (17:34):
Any program, anything, yeah.
Any program.
This can happen anywhere and toany, any state.
Any program, anything, yeah.
Tanya Barrett (17:37):
Any program, any state, anything, and I thought,
if things can be taken away thiseasily, like I want to, and
again I go back to 52 applicantsthis year- and we're offering
five, and I know that we'regoing into our 10th year for an
event and we have grownmassively In the last five years
(18:00):
the organization has gone from.
I think five years ago we tookin $500,000.
This past year we took in $1.5million.
We are growing but we're stillnot even meeting the need of
where these educational benefitsneed to be.
Chris Baker (18:18):
Well, and you brought up a really good point
and the government can changethings on a dime.
Things happen.
They're trying to make apolitical statement and they're
pulling funds here and there thepeople that are still in need.
That's why nonprofits exist andgives the community what they
need in a different way that isnot necessarily always geared by
(18:41):
government.
Like you can find privatedonors that are going to support
your cause because they love or, you know, appreciate what
you're doing for the community,and there's other grants that
can come out there fromfoundations and everywhere else.
So, and I'm so grateful that Igot to learn even more about
nonprofits as I've continued myjourney and changing our
(19:05):
business structure Like now thatwe're focusing primarily on
just helping nonprofits, I getto see it even more, and I I'm
hoping that more people in thecommunity can also see it.
Tanya Barrett (19:18):
So much of what you're doing and visuals by Momo
, like trying to establish theconnections and these networks,
and I shared with you that.
I was listening to some of yourpodcasts on my drive down this
morning and I was just blownaway because I feel like I and
even if I go back to 2016 andJim McDavid and him leaning on
his network it's one of thethings that I have found as the
(19:41):
charity has grown is that ourconnections, our network, so
much of that has to be in play,like it's and it's word of mouth
, it's sharing and nonprofitsYou're right Like in the
community.
That's why nonprofits exist.
You know there's foster care,there's cancer.
There's like there's, you know,sex trafficking.
(20:02):
There's so much and everythingis such a good cause.
But I feel like at the heart ofit all is it's even if I go back
to you saying that energy shiftit's like getting to know
people, like just investing sometime networking, leaning in a
little, you know, because that'show we all grow Like nonprofits
(20:23):
, businesses for profit,businesses.
It's how we all grow.
We all grow by leaning ingetting to know people.
It becomes about people.
Chris Baker (20:32):
It is.
Tanya Barrett (20:33):
Well, the world should be about people.
We should get back to more ofthat.
Yeah, about people.
We should get back to more ofthat.
Chris Baker (20:36):
Yeah, we really do need to get back to more of that
.
Tanya Barrett (20:38):
Yes, but it's really just about people and
it's, you know, sharing thestories and people willing to
listen.
Thank you, chris.
But you know, but it is, it is,it is all of that, it's, it's
all of it.
And if, if we look at that as awhole, like it's how we grow as
a community, it's how we growas a nation, like just investing
in each other and sharing that,I love that.
Chris Baker (21:02):
I really do appreciate that, because it is
it's about the connections thatwe're trying to build.
Jim basically going out intothe community and he already had
these connections.
It was him being able to sharethe story and the way he felt
(21:22):
about what happened.
Yeah, that started a started awhole revolution in building a
whole non-profit from fromscratch from nothing, from
nothing, from nothing.
Tanya Barrett (21:31):
I mean how we went from 150 000 to 1.5 million
in less than 10 years.
Chris Baker (21:37):
That's growth, that's beautiful.
Tanya Barrett (21:38):
It's beautiful, but it wouldn't be there without
those connections.
It wouldn't be, out therewithout the community.
It's not there without thepeople.
Chris Baker (21:47):
So that actually brings us to one of our main
questions for the podcast iscollaboration.
So to get you from that firstevent and obviously you won't
have all the years, but you havea good portion- of them.
What collaborations have youguys established, either with
other nonprofits or for-profits,to help you succeed and get to
(22:11):
the point where you are today?
Tanya Barrett (22:13):
Gosh, I feel like a little bit of everything
right.
Chris Baker (22:15):
Yeah.
Tanya Barrett (22:18):
I think it's really just making those
connections with whatevervendors we use, whether it's the
photographer, videographers,gosh, even on the golf course.
We have cigar rollers.
We have used them since yearone.
They know, every year they'relike we've just established
these personal connections withmost everyone and I will want to
(22:43):
.
I say to jim mcdavid all thetime, one of his biggest he
calls it his achilles heel andthe thing that raises him is his
loyalty to people.
Yeah, and it's one of thethings I've learned to look at
him for is like where are hisloyalties?
Because those are people whohave stood by his side, right.
But also, you know, like thispast year, one of the new
(23:05):
sponsors that I brought on wasIdeal Nutrition, which I don't
know if it's here in Broward ornot, but in Palm Beach it's.
Two West Palm Beach officerscreated this prepackaged meals.
They're $7.50 or $7.99 a meal,but they couldn't go out and eat
healthy for a decent price, sothey created this and so it just
(23:27):
so happened.
I got a connection to them andI brought them on as a sponsor
and now, you know, I like to saythey're like part of our family
too, because now I don't wantto just do business with people.
I want to get to know them.
I want to.
You know, I liked getting toknow that they were West Palm
Beach officers.
Now they're a marketing person.
I know him very well.
(23:49):
You know, first time I met him,like you get a big hug from me
because that's me.
But I think all of that is justso important is, you know,
creating those friendships.
And you know, yes, even inbusiness, I feel like we still
need those friendships.
One of our biggest things is Idon't want to bring on a sponsor
where we're not also trying toelevate them.
(24:09):
You're elevating us.
How can we help elevate you?
So how can I foster either moreconnections, because we're
still a smaller nonprofit, wedon't really have the social
media to like.
We do share it all.
We just don't have thefollowing two.
It's not going to make or breaksomebody, but how can I
(24:33):
introduce you to someone else?
And that's the piece of it thatI feel like carries everyone
far, not only in the non-profitspace but creating those
connections, those, you know, itjust helps.
You know one of our.
I would say he's like a golfentertainer he reached out
(24:54):
yesterday and he was like hey,can you connect me to this
person who did some video of me?
I'm like, yes, I can, and nowthis golf entertainer he's
nationwide, like you know but hewas like no, no, I need the
person who videoed me at yourevent.
I'm like okay, I'll connect you, but it's just those little
things and they go far right.
Chris Baker (25:16):
And they do, and I honestly think that's the most
impactful and the mostbeneficial when we actually
think about collaboration.
Tanya Barrett (25:23):
Collaboration's a great word yeah.
Chris Baker (25:25):
So when we think about collaboration, it's not
always like I'm going to giveyou an apple.
You're going to give me anapple back.
Tanya Barrett (25:32):
Yeah.
Chris Baker (25:32):
It could be you know I'm giving you, I can help
you with this service or I cangive you a discount, but it
could be that next connectionthat you introduced me to that
propels my business forward andjust going, can I introduce them
to somebody?
That one question is huge forme, like if I'm able to help
(25:57):
assist any nonprofit and they'relike you know, what I need to
make this introduction for them.
It could change their life.
That's amazing, and it opens upso many more doors.
So that collaboration aspect isso invaluable that we just
forget about it so much.
Sometimes we just get stuck inour lane.
Tanya Barrett (26:17):
Yeah, it's true.
Chris Baker (26:19):
We just get stuck in our lane and it's like okay.
And we always talk about stopand smell the flowers, yeah.
We always say that statement,but there's a major truth to it.
Like, okay, if you're always inyour lane, do you ever see the
(26:39):
other people that are supportingyou, caring you along the way,
and are we looking at them going?
Oh, what am I doing with them,or what am I?
How am I helping them as well?
Tanya Barrett (26:43):
yeah, it's so true I do want to say I want to
get back on.
Like you asked about othernonprofits too and I do feel
like it's not there are.
I meet a lot of people innonprofits I I tonight I'm
volunteering at anothernonprofit.
I do that a lot.
Chris Baker (27:02):
Yeah.
Tanya Barrett (27:03):
Um, but I don't feel like they're all competent,
like none of them arecompetition.
We're all here to support eachother and if I really, if I can
see like a hole in whatsomething you're doing at an
event or in general, and if Ican help and say, hey, exactly
with the collaboration, right,hey, here's a great person for
that, or here's a great companyto help assist you with that,
(27:27):
it's just huge.
There's another nonprofit,their executive director.
He and I, like we just saw eachother at another nonprofit gala
two weeks ago and he was likewe really need to have coffee
and I know he gives back.
They focus on scholarships aswell, but Palm Beach County kids
, right.
And I just thought, but how isthere a way for us to partner
(27:49):
together?
Like how can we help each other?
And I know he's of that samemindset Like how can we work
together?
Like we're doing something veryparticular, he's doing
something very particular.
But there's always that way tohow can we help each other?
And you know there are so manypeople and I think in society
(28:10):
now where everybody thinks like,oh no, I'm in it for myself and
and it's, and then thenonprofit world, and the for
profit world too.
We need to kind of let that godown and like look at everybody
is, hey, I'm here to help, I'mhere to do, but I do love I do a
lot of the Association forFundraising Professionals and so
(28:31):
that's a lot of nonprofits thatshow up to those meetings and
it's just great to pick somebodyelse's brain.
Chris Baker (28:37):
Oh yeah.
Tanya Barrett (28:38):
Completely different nonprofit.
You know just, they can have acompletely different thing.
And I just want to go well, howdo you do this?
Who do you use for marketing?
You know what photographer areyou using here?
What photographer you know,like you know what photographer
are you using here?
Chris Baker (28:53):
What photographer you know?
Like there's that aspect thatyou can actually learn about
other you know companies thatcan assist and who they're using
.
But there's also this beautifulconnection that I feel like
you're going to look at theirorganization from an outside
viewpoint, through a differentlens.
So if you're struggling withsomething, talk about it,
because, honestly, that oneother person could go hey, did
you.
So if you're struggling withsomething, talk about it Because
, honestly, that one otherperson could go, hey, did you
(29:15):
know.
If you tweak it just here,everything gets solved.
Yeah, and it's just it'sturning that dial, like oh, the
fridge is set at six and I justneed it at four and that, and
like you don't even think aboutit, it's just a small little
turn of the knob and everythingjust kind of like flows into
place.
And I think that when youactually build the solid
(29:35):
relationships, that you couldactually have more full
transparency, because sometimesyou know you're still just
building that relationship,trying to figure out where
people are going to land withyou, but when you have that full
transparency, you'd be likethis is what is really I'm stuck
with what is your organizationdoing, or how is your
organization handling this.
That's when you both grow,because you're being out for
(30:11):
yourself and everybody'scompetition, you're actually
giving more engagement.
So, now, I'm sharing what you'redoing.
You're sharing what I'm doingand by the end of the day, it's
not even just doubled, it's likequadrupled or 10 times, just
because more people are lookingat it in a different way.
Tanya Barrett (30:33):
Yeah, no, it's beautiful and I love that within
my little group that I'vecreated, we all volunteer for
each other's events.
I mean, they all work fordifferent nonprofits, but yet
they'll come and volunteer forme and I volunteer for them and
there's even just the beauty inthat just having someone,
because I feel like sometimesnobody cares as much as you do.
Chris Baker (30:57):
It's true.
Tanya Barrett (30:58):
Nobody cares about the nonprofit that I run.
Nobody cares about it as muchas I do.
I care so much.
I care so much about the peopleand nobody really cares as much
.
But when I make thesefriendships, and especially when
they're also running nonprofits, I feel like when they show up
and help volunteer or help giveadvice or whatever it is, they
(31:18):
care at a level I do.
It may not be about the same,niche.
Yes, but they care at a level Ido.
We all want each other tosucceed, want we all want each
other to succeed and I thinkthat's the important piece of
that with non-profits and youknow, helping each other and
raising each other up too,everybody cares.
Like there's that genuinebelief in all of us that we just
(31:42):
care, we want, we wanteverybody to do well you're all
trying to make the world alittle bit better.
Chris Baker (31:49):
Yes, that's, that's really the truth of it all.
It's like you're trying to makeit a little better and we're
doing the same thing.
So the biggest thing is like Ijust had this conversation
yesterday with someone, but it'sall about and non-profit is
still a business.
Tanya Barrett (32:06):
Yeah, it's just where the money is allocated I
just watched, and I'm probablygonna mess his name up dan
palotta.
Have you heard of him?
He did this.
Ted talk and and I'm not sureif this piece of it came out of
his ted talk and I'm probablymisquoting him, but he was.
It was all about non-profitsand he said you don't want the
(32:27):
epitaph on your headstone toread I saved on overhead.
Chris Baker (32:33):
Oh, I want it I want it to you.
Tanya Barrett (32:36):
Every single one of us in this room wants it to
read I changed the world so andI get it.
I get that nonprofits likethere's this whole like
percentage and this, and I wantpeople not to get so stuck on
that.
Yes, there is a percentage, butyes, we are all trying to make
a living and do better in theworld, and sometimes to do
(32:58):
better in the world, we mighthave to spend a little bit more
money on some things and it allcomes out in the wash, but at
the end of the day, we're allwanting to change the world for
the better.
Chris Baker (33:07):
The biggest thing and I think this is the hardest
part for a lot of people torealize like, oh, you can just
be volunteer-based.
Okay, well, I have to have1,000 volunteers over one year
all doing one hour at a time ortwo, and it's never going to be
consistent.
There's no like it's so hard tolike comprehend, like who's
(33:30):
managing these people?
Tanya Barrett (33:31):
And I just said it, who cares as much as you do?
Chris Baker (33:33):
Right.
Tanya Barrett (33:34):
I mean, yes, there are volunteers that show
up and they do care.
Chris Baker (33:37):
Oh 100%.
Tanya Barrett (33:38):
They do.
Chris Baker (33:39):
But they can only do so much.
Tanya Barrett (33:40):
They can only do so much, right?
You know, and I'm right therewith you.
You know it's easy for me tohave a volunteer step in and me
to hand them a handful of thankyou notes and help me hand write
thank you notes, sure, it'sgreat, it's easy.
But to keep doing that over andover again, and then what
happens?
For example, that volunteer Ijust thought about that helped
(34:00):
me write some thank you notes.
She helped me all of last yearand now she lives in North
Carolina.
So you know it's hard.
It's hard with volunteers.
Yes, you can be strictlyvolunteer-based.
I don't think you're ever goingto grow with a strictly
volunteer-based.
You know If you want yourcharity to never grow, never
move it's.
You know you can dial it in athaving volunteers only.
Chris Baker (34:23):
The problem that comes in, and it's actually the
last question I'm going to askyou is how do you leave a legacy
?
You can't leave a legacy if youdon't treat your non-profit as
a business correct, because now,how does it survive if it only
is run by passion and by you andvolunteers that are helping you
?
There's no growth, there's nosustainability and there's no
(34:46):
legacy.
No, and so that's somethingthat's extremely important, that
I think we all need to consider, because life is too short it
is too short and you know, andthat's I will say.
Tanya Barrett (34:59):
Most people in non-profits are probably a lot
like me, like you, can work 70,80 hours a week, not even think
twice about it, because we'revery passionate about what we do
, like I don't consider meanswering a kid's phone call or
a mom's email about thescholarship at 10, 11 o'clock at
night work.
It's just not.
It's not in me.
(35:21):
For the one other employee Ihave, she's not answering calls
at 1030, 11 o'clock at night.
I'm not, I'm not.
I don't expect her to, but it'syes.
It is leaving that legacy Likehow do we grow?
How do we really put our markon the world?
What do we really want thatepitaph to say?
Like, at the end of the day,you know, I want it to say I
(35:43):
changed the world by doing thisyou know, I want the nonprofit
to grow.
I want it to be, you know, oneof these.
I want the nonprofit to grow.
I want it to be one of thesebigger, more nationally known
ones and I want to get there.
But we're not going to getthere playing small.
Chris Baker (36:03):
I'm glad to hear that you have that mindset,
because that's, honestly, one ofthe biggest things is, you have
to have your mindset changed togo, we need to grow, and this
isn't about me, this isn't justabout me, it's about helping the
world.
Tanya Barrett (36:12):
Yeah.
Chris Baker (36:13):
And so, once you have that new vision and you
have the new clarity, that'swhen you can actually leave that
legacy.
So, as I ask everybody that'sleaving our show, what is the
legacy you personally want toleave in the world for future
generations?
Tanya Barrett (36:36):
generations.
I want every child of a fallenlaw enforcement officer to know
that even if higher educationisn't meant for you, you know.
But I want them all to knowtheir, their mom or dad's never
forgotten.
They are, they're alwaysremembered.
I want you to know howimportant it is to say their
name and I want you to know that, if you ever want higher
education, that we want to bethe charity you come to.
(36:57):
We want to be able to pay foryour college.
We want you to succeed.
We want to inspire your dreams,inspire your hopes.
We want what your mom or dadwanted for you.
Mom or dad wanted for you andwe want to make sure that we can
make that happen without youhaving to think about what
finances or how they even comeinto play.
Chris Baker (37:18):
And it's building the future for generations.
Tanya Barrett (37:20):
It's building the future for generations.
Yeah, I mean, how can we changethe world if we're not
investing in it?
Chris Baker (37:27):
Beautiful line.
Tanya Barrett (37:29):
We need to invest in these futures and if these
kids are too worried about money, there's no hopes and dreams
there.
They're too worried about thefinances.
Let's remove it.
Chris Baker (37:40):
Remove one obstacle at a time.
Tanya Barrett (37:41):
Yep.
Chris Baker (37:41):
And that's what you're doing.
Tanya Barrett (37:42):
One obstacle at a time.
Chris, thank you so much.
Chris Baker (37:45):
No, I was going to thank you, so you beat me to it.
So thank you again for joiningme today here on.
Visual Eyes you so and you beatme to it, so thank you again
for joining me today here onVisual Eyes one last piece how
do people get in contact withyou?
Tanya Barrett (37:57):
so it is um website is the mcdavid group
charitiesorg.
And then my email is tanyat-a-n-y-A at
themcdavidgroupcharitiescom.
Chris Baker (38:13):
Perfect.
Thank you again.
So much.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
I know that was a littlechallenging and I'm glad that
you were able to do so with me.
Tanya Barrett (38:24):
Thank you.
Thank you for hosting this andcreating these networks and
conversations.
I think what you're doing isbeautiful and I'm really
appreciative of being here.
Thank you.
Chris Baker (38:35):
Thank you for joining me on this episode of
Visual Eyes.
We hope that the inspirationand practical insights can help
you foster stronger connectionsand meaningful change.
Don't forget to subscribe,share the episode and leave us a
review.
To learn more about Visuals byMomo and how we support
collaboration and storytelling,visit visualsbymomo.
com.
(38:56):
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.
Until next time, remember,collaboration fuels change and
your connections can inspire theworld.
Chris Baker, and each week we'll explore
incredible connections betweennonprofits, businesses and the
community.
This is a space where wehighlight inspiring partnerships
, uncover strategies forcreating meaningful impact and
share stories that show howworking together can make all
the difference.
Whether you're a nonprofitleader, a business owner or
(00:28):
someone just passionate aboutbuilding connections, this
podcast is for you.
Welcome back to Visual Eyes.
Today.
I have an amazing guest.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Tanya Barrett from the McDavidGroup Charities Welcome.
Tanya Barrett (00:48):
Thank you, Chris.
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm so thankful to even be here.
Thank you.
Chris Baker (00:53):
No, thank you for coming down.
When we first met it was justkind of like I didn't really
know a ton about yourorganization.
But we got on the call and itwas kind of like our energy
started to shift.
I don't know if you noticedthat too when we actually had
our Zoom call.
So for me it was just kind oflike wow, we're having this
connection.
We're talking about nonprofits,we're talking about helping
(01:15):
people.
So I want to have you say, inyour own words, a little bit
more about your journey and howMcDavid Group Charities has
really kind of expanded wherethey're going.
Tanya Barrett (01:27):
I really appreciate that, chris.
Yeah, I felt the energy shifttoo, and I think a lot of that
just comes from my passion forwhat I do.
So I am Tanya Barrett.
I'm the executive director ofthe McDavid Group Charities.
It's a nonprofit that wasstarted by Jim McDavid back in
2016.
He was pulled by.
There was a shooting of theDallas Five police officers that
(01:49):
were brutally executed that dayand he heard something on the
radio sitting in his truck thatthey were talking about raising
money for the families of fallenlaw enforcement.
And it was something small, notsmall, not that $30,000 or
$50,000 is small, but whenyou're talking about the loss of
a life and five officers, thatand typically law enforcement's
(02:12):
not paid a lot of money.
He just felt very motivated,very motivated to give back to
those who serve our communities.
And with that he decided hecould throw a golf tournament.
He could throw a golftournament, he could throw a
golf tournament, he could raisesome money.
And he was just going to justdo what Jim McDavid does just
(02:32):
blow it out of the park.
And you know he reaches for thestars all the time.
So within three months, hedecided in September to throw a
golf tournament, threw the golftournament in December that year
and, I believe, raised $150,000.
Chris Baker (02:49):
And he did it in three months.
Tanya Barrett (02:50):
Three months Wow.
He leaned on his community.
As I mentioned to you before,I've been listening to your
podcast and so much of it has todo with networking and
connections, and Jim McDavid didjust that.
He leaned on his network, heleaned on his connections and he
raised $150,000 in three months, back in 2016.
Chris Baker (03:11):
Yeah, oh, and I think what actually kind of
probably helped him do that isthe story Like he had.
You know, he brought the storyto the community.
He, like you said, leveragedthe community and the network
that he had.
I mean just you talking aboutit.
I mean if he was here I thinkthere would be more passion, but
you still even have a lot ofpassion for it too.
So, yeah, I can definitely hearit.
Tanya Barrett (03:32):
Yeah, so thank you, and I love Jim McDavid, his
heart, his soul, his wife Maria.
They are an amazing powercouple.
They just light up the room,any room they walk into, but
they bring so much to theorganization and just getting
behind our law enforcementofficers.
(03:53):
But since 2016,.
I came to know the organizationin 2018 when I started
volunteering for him.
When I started volunteering forhim, my son and I had moved to
Florida in 2013, which was twoyears after my husband, a
Virginia state trooper, died inthe line of duty.
(04:15):
So we had moved originally toPompano.
I had moved up to Jupiter forhigh school.
I found out about Jim McDavidand this organization he had
started because he was solelygiving.
His organization was solelygiving to another organization
called Concerns of PoliceSurvivors, an organization that
I knew all too well becausemyself and my two children had
been through that organization.
(04:36):
They are kind of like the firsthands-on after an officer dies.
They help provide support, theyhelp give you counseling, they
get you through your firstnational police week, which
typically happens.
It always happens in May everyyear but it's usually within
that first year after an officerdies.
So my kids went into this kidsprogram and they came out and
(05:00):
they were like mom, we met otherkids like us.
My kids were 15 and 6 when myhusband died in the line of duty
.
So when they came out of thisprogram and I still get a little
teary, I mean, I still do theycame out of this feeling
validated and acknowledged,because kids don't really
understand, nobody understandsdeath.
(05:22):
But then you have a lawenforcement officer die in the
line of duty and there's thishuge funeral.
It's on all the news stations.
My kids, my kids, were like whyare they talking about daddy on
?
Chris Baker (05:32):
the news.
Tanya Barrett (05:33):
Like why are they talking about you?
The?
You two went to high schooltogether and I was like it was
just, it was you know, it's justall very strange.
But here they go into thisorganization through concerns of
police survivors and they meetother kids like them.
They meet other kids who havebeen through this massive
funeral very you know on themedia, and so it was just like
(05:55):
it gave me this like sense of ah, this is where we need to be.
So fast forward.
Moved to Florida.
Jim McDavid starts his charity.
So fast forward.
Move to Florida, jim McDavidstarts his charity.
I find out about it after Imoved to Jupiter and I'm like I
need to help this man raise moremoney for cops love it.
I need to help him.
So I started volunteering justmy time, like however I could.
(06:17):
My son was still in high school, so I, like, would just give
back as much as I could.
Fast forward to to 2020,.
Covid and I was just looking toget out of the house.
My son was home all the time.
I was like I need to findsomething to do and I found
Jim's regular job was hiring fora receptionist and I walked in
(06:39):
and I was like, hey, I'm goingto take this job but I want to
run your charity.
And he was like we're not goingto have any paid employees,
we're not going to do this.
I'm like no, no, no.
I know that your charity hasthe potential to grow.
I know what you already do andI know that there is a small
niche in here where you'remissing.
The fallen law enforcementcommunity is missing a piece.
(07:01):
The fallen law enforcementcommunity is missing a piece.
And he was like what's that?
And I said it's college.
And he said well, I don'tunderstand what you mean.
And I said there are so manyopportunities out there and
we're missing the boat.
These spouses that have twosmall children at home that
never thought they'd need to goback to school, these kids
(07:23):
worried about money.
I said my six-year-old came tome and said daddy died.
Do we have enough money to stayin our house?
I said fast forward to rightnow.
He's a freshman in high schooland he's worried about where
he's going to go to college.
He's a smart kid and he'sworried, like how are you going
(07:44):
to afford it?
What are we going to do?
And I had already nine yearsearlier there.
My kids are nine years apart.
Nine years earlier I'd alreadywalked this line with my
daughter like what could weafford, what could we do?
And it's just, even thoughthere's, like all these
organizations that want to helplaw enforcement officers you
(08:06):
know, I know there's ones outthere now that they'll pay off
mortgages and while that's allgrand, nobody thinks about how
does that look on your FAFSA?
Nobody thinks about.
You know, where did you investyour money?
Because I'll be the first oneto tell you spouses of law
enforcement officers usually getsome chunk of change, but
(08:28):
nobody takes into account thatyour husband was making no money
.
And now this is supposed to getyou through the next 10, 15, 20
, 30 years of your life.
Chris Baker (08:38):
And especially if they have children, what does
their children's future looklike, in retrospect of all of
that too?
So I understand what you'resaying.
Tanya Barrett (08:47):
And then if your money's not invested right, or
you, I mean I have friends whothey just put all their money in
a savings account.
And then their child goes tocollege and they have to fill
out a FAFSA and like they get nomoney, there's no scholarships
available because the financialneed it doesn't appear to be
there, when I know for a factthat it really is there Anyway,
(09:11):
2020,.
Walked into Jim McDavid's office, said I'm going to run your
charity and so hence now it's2025.
I've been running the charityfor four years.
Two years ago I finally had thetitle of executive director.
Chris Baker (09:24):
I became the first paid employee.
Tanya Barrett (09:26):
Yes, thank you, and I love that I get to give
back to a community that I knowall too well.
I love that we have now createdthe scholarship fund.
It's called the America'sHeroes Scholarship Fund.
We host it through thecommunity Foundation of Palm
Beach and Martin County and,even though it's hosted through
there, it is nationwide, it'sthird party.
(09:50):
Because I am a spouse, I do notwant to have any biasness
towards any families, because Iend up talking to a lot of them.
I end up talking to a lot ofthe spouses, a lot of the
children, when they're fillingout our application.
This year we had over 52applicants.
We have five spots.
Chris Baker (10:09):
Oh, my goodness.
Tanya Barrett (10:10):
Yeah, yep, so that's so much need and that's
(10:31):
not a lot of ability to help allof them.
I mean, obviously we and you'reaccepted, you become one of
ours, become part of our littlegolfer cop McDavid group
charities family and we don'tlet go of you.
All you have to do is maintainyour GPA and you get that $5,000
a semester guaranteed for fouryears.
So we love that, we love that.
(10:53):
That's what we're able to offer.
I always say that I want to bethe charity that we can just pay
for your college education,rather than even having to worry
about scholarships.
Or, you know, Even there aresome states who offer
state-supported schools, likefree tuition.
But even with that becauseVirginia happens to be one of
(11:21):
those states that even with that, I was still paying out of my
pocket $1,000 a month for bothmy kids and it adds up
Everything.
Yeah, and it adds up Everything.
(11:41):
Yeah, it all adds up.
And granted, I know I'mfortunate, but I also wanted.
I want kids who are bright andwant really good futures and I
want to invest in futures and Idon't want to limit them to a
state supported school.
That's not where their bestefforts could be seen.
You know, if there are these4.0 kids and they want to go to
Stanford or wherever they wantto go, I don't care where they
(12:04):
want to go.
I don't ever want them to think, oh my gosh.
Chris Baker (12:08):
I can't.
Tanya Barrett (12:09):
I can't, my mom can't afford that.
Chris Baker (12:11):
Right, you actually opened up my eyes to a few
things that I didn't even thinkabout, and I want to say it was
2016.
And my dear friend that I wasliving with at the time she was
struggling because her brotherwas shot down as well consult
(12:38):
her and I just like helped herthrough it as best I could, but
you know it wasn't my family, soI didn't actually have the same
connection that she did, andshe actually took his dog.
So that you know, this lovelydog was a part of both of our
lives because she was stayingwith me at the time, and just
the sweetest, sweetest dog, um.
But it was so hard because youknow it's the loss of anyone is
(13:03):
challenging, but when they'retaken in a way that it's not
natural and there's no reasonfor it, that's when I think it's
the hardest.
And it's so complex, and evenfor children, like if you think
you're talking about you knowyour son was six years old.
Yeah, how does that process?
And going through and hearingall these stories on TV and just
(13:26):
like it's a lot to deal with,yeah.
And then looking at the future,because everyone looks and is
like, oh, you know, this policeofficer, this law enforcement
person has lost their life andit is public and everybody hears
about it.
But who is who's looking at thefamilies?
(13:46):
So I'm glad that this charityis here to kind of look at what
else can be done and maybe noteverything, but what else can be
done and I think that's a goodquestion to open up to everybody
.
Tanya Barrett (13:58):
Yeah, and I think it's a great question because I
feel like, yes, these familiesget forgotten about and nobody
realizes.
I know I mentioned it a fewtimes already, but law
enforcement officers, I mean,they're like teachers, they're
not paid for what they do andit's so unfortunate.
Like teachers, they're not paidfor what they do and it's it's
(14:19):
so unfortunate Like they, youknow, I wish we could pay them
better, invest more in them.
You know it's all these publicservants, right?
That, yeah, that we just needto invest in.
But law enforcement officers iswhat I know and you know.
It's how to?
How do we help these familiesthrive?
How do we give them tools andhelp them thrive?
(14:40):
And that's exactly what McDavidGroup Charities does is we make
sure that, either throughconcerns of police survivors,
getting them all the hands-onprogramming and all the support
they need, so that's how westart to set them up for the
higher education and making sureof these scholarships.
One of the things I realizedwith the scholarships was this
(15:02):
past year in virginia, forexample.
I did mention how some statesdo take care of their fallen one
or their first responderfamilies, because it can be any
line of duty death in moststates.
Um, in virginia, for example,they proposed a new budget.
The budget was signed into lawand my son's college education
(15:23):
benefits were stripped away fromhim.
Fourteen years later, here heis.
He's in college.
He's at University of Virginia,like he is at one of the top
three public universities in theUnited States.
He forked his tail off to getthere.
Chris Baker (15:37):
Sure.
Tanya Barrett (15:38):
And he said, mom, what are we going to do?
And I was like dude, I'llfigure it out.
Chris Baker (15:43):
Right.
You know and we got to look forsolutions.
Yeah, I said.
Tanya Barrett (15:46):
I'll find a solution.
And he was like well, I can'tapply for your scholarship.
And I'm like nobody.
Chris Baker (15:50):
You can't conflict of interest.
Tanya Barrett (15:53):
But I was like we'll figure it out.
Like I, you know, I said numberone, I'm gonna fight and it
will start there and just sohappens that it was over like we
had the budget redone.
We know it'll get him throughhis fourth year of college good
but it doesn't help for the kidsunder him.
(16:14):
I went to virginia and I can,and I went to there's local
chapters of concerns of policesurvivors.
I went to the local Virginiachapter 63 children.
We're not even talking a lot,we're talking 63 children of
fallen law enforcement officers,63.
He was one of 63.
He was one of 63.
And I was like how do familiesplan for?
(16:39):
You know this is what we'regoing to do.
My son and I planned it outLike this is how we're going to
do it.
And then all of a sudden, it'sjust gone and I have friends
that you know.
Their kids are seven, eight.
All of a sudden they're noteven planning for college yet,
and this benefits already.
You know it's gone could havebeen ripped away right, correct
(16:59):
as it stands today it's still inplace.
Good, that state statute is inplace.
But what scared me was figuringout because I'm not in politics
, but figuring out that becauseof political wins and just
things shifting and agendasthat's what I ended up finding
(17:22):
out was that it was justpolitical agendas.
Somebody wanted something, sothey were like it was just very
odd and I was like, wow, thiscan happen anywhere and to any,
any state.
Chris Baker (17:34):
Any program, anything, yeah.
Any program.
This can happen anywhere and toany, any state.
Any program, anything, yeah.
Tanya Barrett (17:37):
Any program, any state, anything, and I thought,
if things can be taken away thiseasily, like I want to, and
again I go back to 52 applicantsthis year- and we're offering
five, and I know that we'regoing into our 10th year for an
event and we have grownmassively In the last five years
(18:00):
the organization has gone from.
I think five years ago we tookin $500,000.
This past year we took in $1.5million.
We are growing but we're stillnot even meeting the need of
where these educational benefitsneed to be.
Chris Baker (18:18):
Well, and you brought up a really good point
and the government can changethings on a dime.
Things happen.
They're trying to make apolitical statement and they're
pulling funds here and there thepeople that are still in need.
That's why nonprofits exist andgives the community what they
need in a different way that isnot necessarily always geared by
(18:41):
government.
Like you can find privatedonors that are going to support
your cause because they love or, you know, appreciate what
you're doing for the community,and there's other grants that
can come out there fromfoundations and everywhere else.
So, and I'm so grateful that Igot to learn even more about
nonprofits as I've continued myjourney and changing our
(19:05):
business structure Like now thatwe're focusing primarily on
just helping nonprofits, I getto see it even more, and I I'm
hoping that more people in thecommunity can also see it.
Tanya Barrett (19:18):
So much of what you're doing and visuals by Momo
, like trying to establish theconnections and these networks,
and I shared with you that.
I was listening to some of yourpodcasts on my drive down this
morning and I was just blownaway because I feel like I and
even if I go back to 2016 andJim McDavid and him leaning on
his network it's one of thethings that I have found as the
(19:41):
charity has grown is that ourconnections, our network, so
much of that has to be in play,like it's and it's word of mouth
, it's sharing and nonprofitsYou're right Like in the
community.
That's why nonprofits exist.
You know there's foster care,there's cancer.
There's like there's, you know,sex trafficking.
(20:02):
There's so much and everythingis such a good cause.
But I feel like at the heart ofit all is it's even if I go back
to you saying that energy shiftit's like getting to know
people, like just investing sometime networking, leaning in a
little, you know, because that'show we all grow Like nonprofits
(20:23):
, businesses for profit,businesses.
It's how we all grow.
We all grow by leaning ingetting to know people.
It becomes about people.
Chris Baker (20:32):
It is.
Tanya Barrett (20:33):
Well, the world should be about people.
We should get back to more ofthat.
Yeah, about people.
We should get back to more ofthat.
Chris Baker (20:36):
Yeah, we really do need to get back to more of that
.
Tanya Barrett (20:38):
Yes, but it's really just about people and
it's, you know, sharing thestories and people willing to
listen.
Thank you, chris.
But you know, but it is, it is,it is all of that, it's, it's
all of it.
And if, if we look at that as awhole, like it's how we grow as
a community, it's how we growas a nation, like just investing
in each other and sharing that,I love that.
Chris Baker (21:02):
I really do appreciate that, because it is
it's about the connections thatwe're trying to build.
Jim basically going out intothe community and he already had
these connections.
It was him being able to sharethe story and the way he felt
(21:22):
about what happened.
Yeah, that started a started awhole revolution in building a
whole non-profit from fromscratch from nothing, from
nothing, from nothing.
Tanya Barrett (21:31):
I mean how we went from 150 000 to 1.5 million
in less than 10 years.
Chris Baker (21:37):
That's growth, that's beautiful.
Tanya Barrett (21:38):
It's beautiful, but it wouldn't be there without
those connections.
It wouldn't be, out therewithout the community.
It's not there without thepeople.
Chris Baker (21:47):
So that actually brings us to one of our main
questions for the podcast iscollaboration.
So to get you from that firstevent and obviously you won't
have all the years, but you havea good portion- of them.
What collaborations have youguys established, either with
other nonprofits or for-profits,to help you succeed and get to
(22:11):
the point where you are today?
Tanya Barrett (22:13):
Gosh, I feel like a little bit of everything
right.
Chris Baker (22:15):
Yeah.
Tanya Barrett (22:18):
I think it's really just making those
connections with whatevervendors we use, whether it's the
photographer, videographers,gosh, even on the golf course.
We have cigar rollers.
We have used them since yearone.
They know, every year they'relike we've just established
these personal connections withmost everyone and I will want to
(22:43):
.
I say to jim mcdavid all thetime, one of his biggest he
calls it his achilles heel andthe thing that raises him is his
loyalty to people.
Yeah, and it's one of thethings I've learned to look at
him for is like where are hisloyalties?
Because those are people whohave stood by his side, right.
But also, you know, like thispast year, one of the new
(23:05):
sponsors that I brought on wasIdeal Nutrition, which I don't
know if it's here in Broward ornot, but in Palm Beach it's.
Two West Palm Beach officerscreated this prepackaged meals.
They're $7.50 or $7.99 a meal,but they couldn't go out and eat
healthy for a decent price, sothey created this and so it just
(23:27):
so happened.
I got a connection to them andI brought them on as a sponsor
and now, you know, I like to saythey're like part of our family
too, because now I don't wantto just do business with people.
I want to get to know them.
I want to.
You know, I liked getting toknow that they were West Palm
Beach officers.
Now they're a marketing person.
I know him very well.
(23:49):
You know, first time I met him,like you get a big hug from me
because that's me.
But I think all of that is justso important is, you know,
creating those friendships.
And you know, yes, even inbusiness, I feel like we still
need those friendships.
One of our biggest things is Idon't want to bring on a sponsor
where we're not also trying toelevate them.
(24:09):
You're elevating us.
How can we help elevate you?
So how can I foster either moreconnections, because we're
still a smaller nonprofit, wedon't really have the social
media to like.
We do share it all.
We just don't have thefollowing two.
It's not going to make or breaksomebody, but how can I
(24:33):
introduce you to someone else?
And that's the piece of it thatI feel like carries everyone
far, not only in the non-profitspace but creating those
connections, those, you know, itjust helps.
You know one of our.
I would say he's like a golfentertainer he reached out
(24:54):
yesterday and he was like hey,can you connect me to this
person who did some video of me?
I'm like, yes, I can, and nowthis golf entertainer he's
nationwide, like you know but hewas like no, no, I need the
person who videoed me at yourevent.
I'm like okay, I'll connect you, but it's just those little
things and they go far right.
Chris Baker (25:16):
And they do, and I honestly think that's the most
impactful and the mostbeneficial when we actually
think about collaboration.
Tanya Barrett (25:23):
Collaboration's a great word yeah.
Chris Baker (25:25):
So when we think about collaboration, it's not
always like I'm going to giveyou an apple.
You're going to give me anapple back.
Tanya Barrett (25:32):
Yeah.
Chris Baker (25:32):
It could be you know I'm giving you, I can help
you with this service or I cangive you a discount, but it
could be that next connectionthat you introduced me to that
propels my business forward andjust going, can I introduce them
to somebody?
That one question is huge forme, like if I'm able to help
(25:57):
assist any nonprofit and they'relike you know, what I need to
make this introduction for them.
It could change their life.
That's amazing, and it opens upso many more doors.
So that collaboration aspect isso invaluable that we just
forget about it so much.
Sometimes we just get stuck inour lane.
Tanya Barrett (26:17):
Yeah, it's true.
Chris Baker (26:19):
We just get stuck in our lane and it's like okay.
And we always talk about stopand smell the flowers, yeah.
We always say that statement,but there's a major truth to it.
Like, okay, if you're always inyour lane, do you ever see the
(26:39):
other people that are supportingyou, caring you along the way,
and are we looking at them going?
Oh, what am I doing with them,or what am I?
How am I helping them as well?
Tanya Barrett (26:43):
yeah, it's so true I do want to say I want to
get back on.
Like you asked about othernonprofits too and I do feel
like it's not there are.
I meet a lot of people innonprofits I I tonight I'm
volunteering at anothernonprofit.
I do that a lot.
Chris Baker (27:02):
Yeah.
Tanya Barrett (27:03):
Um, but I don't feel like they're all competent,
like none of them arecompetition.
We're all here to support eachother and if I really, if I can
see like a hole in whatsomething you're doing at an
event or in general, and if Ican help and say, hey, exactly
with the collaboration, right,hey, here's a great person for
that, or here's a great companyto help assist you with that,
(27:27):
it's just huge.
There's another nonprofit,their executive director.
He and I, like we just saw eachother at another nonprofit gala
two weeks ago and he was likewe really need to have coffee
and I know he gives back.
They focus on scholarships aswell, but Palm Beach County kids
, right.
And I just thought, but how isthere a way for us to partner
(27:49):
together?
Like how can we help each other?
And I know he's of that samemindset Like how can we work
together?
Like we're doing something veryparticular, he's doing
something very particular.
But there's always that way tohow can we help each other?
And you know there are so manypeople and I think in society
(28:10):
now where everybody thinks like,oh no, I'm in it for myself and
and it's, and then thenonprofit world, and the for
profit world too.
We need to kind of let that godown and like look at everybody
is, hey, I'm here to help, I'mhere to do, but I do love I do a
lot of the Association forFundraising Professionals and so
(28:31):
that's a lot of nonprofits thatshow up to those meetings and
it's just great to pick somebodyelse's brain.
Chris Baker (28:37):
Oh yeah.
Tanya Barrett (28:38):
Completely different nonprofit.
You know just, they can have acompletely different thing.
And I just want to go well, howdo you do this?
Who do you use for marketing?
You know what photographer areyou using here?
What photographer you know,like you know what photographer
are you using here?
Chris Baker (28:53):
What photographer you know?
Like there's that aspect thatyou can actually learn about
other you know companies thatcan assist and who they're using
.
But there's also this beautifulconnection that I feel like
you're going to look at theirorganization from an outside
viewpoint, through a differentlens.
So if you're struggling withsomething, talk about it,
because, honestly, that oneother person could go hey, did
you.
So if you're struggling withsomething, talk about it Because
, honestly, that one otherperson could go, hey, did you
(29:15):
know.
If you tweak it just here,everything gets solved.
Yeah, and it's just it'sturning that dial, like oh, the
fridge is set at six and I justneed it at four and that, and
like you don't even think aboutit, it's just a small little
turn of the knob and everythingjust kind of like flows into
place.
And I think that when youactually build the solid
(29:35):
relationships, that you couldactually have more full
transparency, because sometimesyou know you're still just
building that relationship,trying to figure out where
people are going to land withyou, but when you have that full
transparency, you'd be likethis is what is really I'm stuck
with what is your organizationdoing, or how is your
organization handling this.
That's when you both grow,because you're being out for
(30:11):
yourself and everybody'scompetition, you're actually
giving more engagement.
So, now, I'm sharing what you'redoing.
You're sharing what I'm doingand by the end of the day, it's
not even just doubled, it's likequadrupled or 10 times, just
because more people are lookingat it in a different way.
Tanya Barrett (30:33):
Yeah, no, it's beautiful and I love that within
my little group that I'vecreated, we all volunteer for
each other's events.
I mean, they all work fordifferent nonprofits, but yet
they'll come and volunteer forme and I volunteer for them and
there's even just the beauty inthat just having someone,
because I feel like sometimesnobody cares as much as you do.
Chris Baker (30:57):
It's true.
Tanya Barrett (30:58):
Nobody cares about the nonprofit that I run.
Nobody cares about it as muchas I do.
I care so much.
I care so much about the peopleand nobody really cares as much
.
But when I make thesefriendships, and especially when
they're also running nonprofits, I feel like when they show up
and help volunteer or help giveadvice or whatever it is, they
(31:18):
care at a level I do.
It may not be about the same,niche.
Yes, but they care at a level Ido.
We all want each other tosucceed, want we all want each
other to succeed and I thinkthat's the important piece of
that with non-profits and youknow, helping each other and
raising each other up too,everybody cares.
Like there's that genuinebelief in all of us that we just
(31:42):
care, we want, we wanteverybody to do well you're all
trying to make the world alittle bit better.
Chris Baker (31:49):
Yes, that's, that's really the truth of it all.
It's like you're trying to makeit a little better and we're
doing the same thing.
So the biggest thing is like Ijust had this conversation
yesterday with someone, but it'sall about and non-profit is
still a business.
Tanya Barrett (32:06):
Yeah, it's just where the money is allocated I
just watched, and I'm probablygonna mess his name up dan
palotta.
Have you heard of him?
He did this.
Ted talk and and I'm not sureif this piece of it came out of
his ted talk and I'm probablymisquoting him, but he was.
It was all about non-profitsand he said you don't want the
(32:27):
epitaph on your headstone toread I saved on overhead.
Chris Baker (32:33):
Oh, I want it I want it to you.
Tanya Barrett (32:36):
Every single one of us in this room wants it to
read I changed the world so andI get it.
I get that nonprofits likethere's this whole like
percentage and this, and I wantpeople not to get so stuck on
that.
Yes, there is a percentage, butyes, we are all trying to make
a living and do better in theworld, and sometimes to do
(32:58):
better in the world, we mighthave to spend a little bit more
money on some things and it allcomes out in the wash, but at
the end of the day, we're allwanting to change the world for
the better.
Chris Baker (33:07):
The biggest thing and I think this is the hardest
part for a lot of people torealize like, oh, you can just
be volunteer-based.
Okay, well, I have to have1,000 volunteers over one year
all doing one hour at a time ortwo, and it's never going to be
consistent.
There's no like it's so hard tolike comprehend, like who's
(33:30):
managing these people?
Tanya Barrett (33:31):
And I just said it, who cares as much as you do?
Chris Baker (33:33):
Right.
Tanya Barrett (33:34):
I mean, yes, there are volunteers that show
up and they do care.
Chris Baker (33:37):
Oh 100%.
Tanya Barrett (33:38):
They do.
Chris Baker (33:39):
But they can only do so much.
Tanya Barrett (33:40):
They can only do so much, right?
You know, and I'm right therewith you.
You know it's easy for me tohave a volunteer step in and me
to hand them a handful of thankyou notes and help me hand write
thank you notes, sure, it'sgreat, it's easy.
But to keep doing that over andover again, and then what
happens?
For example, that volunteer Ijust thought about that helped
(34:00):
me write some thank you notes.
She helped me all of last yearand now she lives in North
Carolina.
So you know it's hard.
It's hard with volunteers.
Yes, you can be strictlyvolunteer-based.
I don't think you're ever goingto grow with a strictly
volunteer-based.
You know If you want yourcharity to never grow, never
move it's.
You know you can dial it in athaving volunteers only.
Chris Baker (34:23):
The problem that comes in, and it's actually the
last question I'm going to askyou is how do you leave a legacy
?
You can't leave a legacy if youdon't treat your non-profit as
a business correct, because now,how does it survive if it only
is run by passion and by you andvolunteers that are helping you
?
There's no growth, there's nosustainability and there's no
(34:46):
legacy.
No, and so that's somethingthat's extremely important, that
I think we all need to consider, because life is too short it
is too short and you know, andthat's I will say.
Tanya Barrett (34:59):
Most people in non-profits are probably a lot
like me, like you, can work 70,80 hours a week, not even think
twice about it, because we'revery passionate about what we do
, like I don't consider meanswering a kid's phone call or
a mom's email about thescholarship at 10, 11 o'clock at
night work.
It's just not.
It's not in me.
(35:21):
For the one other employee Ihave, she's not answering calls
at 1030, 11 o'clock at night.
I'm not, I'm not.
I don't expect her to, but it'syes.
It is leaving that legacy Likehow do we grow?
How do we really put our markon the world?
What do we really want thatepitaph to say?
Like, at the end of the day,you know, I want it to say I
(35:43):
changed the world by doing thisyou know, I want the nonprofit
to grow.
I want it to be, you know, oneof these.
I want the nonprofit to grow.
I want it to be one of thesebigger, more nationally known
ones and I want to get there.
But we're not going to getthere playing small.
Chris Baker (36:03):
I'm glad to hear that you have that mindset,
because that's, honestly, one ofthe biggest things is, you have
to have your mindset changed togo, we need to grow, and this
isn't about me, this isn't justabout me, it's about helping the
world.
Tanya Barrett (36:12):
Yeah.
Chris Baker (36:13):
And so, once you have that new vision and you
have the new clarity, that'swhen you can actually leave that
legacy.
So, as I ask everybody that'sleaving our show, what is the
legacy you personally want toleave in the world for future
generations?
Tanya Barrett (36:36):
generations.
I want every child of a fallenlaw enforcement officer to know
that even if higher educationisn't meant for you, you know.
But I want them all to knowtheir, their mom or dad's never
forgotten.
They are, they're alwaysremembered.
I want you to know howimportant it is to say their
name and I want you to know that, if you ever want higher
education, that we want to bethe charity you come to.
(36:57):
We want to be able to pay foryour college.
We want you to succeed.
We want to inspire your dreams,inspire your hopes.
We want what your mom or dadwanted for you.
Mom or dad wanted for you andwe want to make sure that we can
make that happen without youhaving to think about what
finances or how they even comeinto play.
Chris Baker (37:18):
And it's building the future for generations.
Tanya Barrett (37:20):
It's building the future for generations.
Yeah, I mean, how can we changethe world if we're not
investing in it?
Chris Baker (37:27):
Beautiful line.
Tanya Barrett (37:29):
We need to invest in these futures and if these
kids are too worried about money, there's no hopes and dreams
there.
They're too worried about thefinances.
Let's remove it.
Chris Baker (37:40):
Remove one obstacle at a time.
Tanya Barrett (37:41):
Yep.
Chris Baker (37:41):
And that's what you're doing.
Tanya Barrett (37:42):
One obstacle at a time.
Chris, thank you so much.
Chris Baker (37:45):
No, I was going to thank you, so you beat me to it.
So thank you again for joiningme today here on.
Visual Eyes you so and you beatme to it, so thank you again
for joining me today here onVisual Eyes one last piece how
do people get in contact withyou?
Tanya Barrett (37:57):
so it is um website is the mcdavid group
charitiesorg.
And then my email is tanyat-a-n-y-A at
themcdavidgroupcharitiescom.
Chris Baker (38:13):
Perfect.
Thank you again.
So much.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
I know that was a littlechallenging and I'm glad that
you were able to do so with me.
Tanya Barrett (38:24):
Thank you.
Thank you for hosting this andcreating these networks and
conversations.
I think what you're doing isbeautiful and I'm really
appreciative of being here.
Thank you.
Chris Baker (38:35):
Thank you for joining me on this episode of
Visual Eyes.
We hope that the inspirationand practical insights can help
you foster stronger connectionsand meaningful change.
Don't forget to subscribe,share the episode and leave us a
review.
To learn more about Visuals byMomo and how we support
collaboration and storytelling,visit visualsbymomo.
com.
(38:56):
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.
Until next time, remember,collaboration fuels change and
your connections can inspire theworld.
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