Aug 5, 2026 · 54 min · 13 segments
How do you modernize digital fundraising at one of America’s largest and most recognized nonprofits while staying true to a mission that’s endured for more than 160 years? In this episode, **Rupert…
Rupert SchutzGuestPuya PorackHostYeah, and you've been there for just under a decade, but the organization has been around for over 160 years.
And, you know, so much has happened over many lifetimes for me in the nonprofit sector.
What do you think has allowed BGC to evolve without losing its core mission throughout the evolution of just the digital fundraising world, just digital landscape in general?
I think our mission is timeless that we believe all young people deserve a great future.
And we do that by providing safe spaces, mentorship, life enhancing programming that's the mission is timeless how we do it as i said with mentorship with safe spaces evolves with time that a clubhouse today doesn't look like a clubhouse 50 years ago the type of programming we're teaching is not like we were teaching 10 years ago even that the core pillars can change with time but the mission stays the same and then on the digital operations side it is We are moving quicker than ever on the digital side and AI has just enhanced that.
It's even quicker that I think it's always just trying to be curious and trying to keep up with things that as the landscape changes, as things happen, that's really trying to be curious and test things and always try to find avenues with a small budget, with limited staff that you can kind of move the needle.
And you're sitting at the BGC of America, which is over, I don't want to say overseeing, but really at the strategic level of the over 5,000 clubs across the United States.
Can you tell us a little bit about just what does that even look like in this kind of federated nonprofit model? How do you work with all of these different clubs and how do you support each other?
Yeah, so the power of Boys and Girls Club and the movement is really the federated model and all the local clubs.
There are over a thousand local organizations that really are the glue that keeps everything together.
We are in metro communities, rural community, native lands, partnership with the military, public housing.
That's the local staff on the ground that understand the community really are what makes BGCA so special.
And I think Working from the internal communications where I started at BGCA, there is just getting the core communications out there, letting people know what the strategic priorities are.
There is a focus with our new strategic vision that's building stronger organization is core to growing it, that the thousand organizations need to be as strong as possible.
There is a digital transformation component of it that as we grow, as we scale, we need strong organization, the right people to help it grow, the right digital tools.
Yeah, and you've been there for just under a decade, but the organization has been around for over 160 years.
And, you know, so much has happened over many lifetimes for me in the nonprofit sector.
What do you think has allowed BGC to evolve without losing its core mission throughout the evolution of just the digital fundraising world, just digital landscape in general?
I think our mission is timeless that we believe all young people deserve a great future.
And we do that by providing safe spaces, mentorship, life enhancing programming that's the mission is timeless how we do it as i said with mentorship with safe spaces evolves with time that a clubhouse today doesn't look like a clubhouse 50 years ago the type of programming we're teaching is not like we were teaching 10 years ago even that the core pillars can change with time but the mission stays the same and then on the digital operations side it is We are moving quicker than ever on the digital side and AI has just enhanced that.
It's even quicker that I think it's always just trying to be curious and trying to keep up with things that as the landscape changes, as things happen, that's really trying to be curious and test things and always try to find avenues with a small budget, with limited staff that you can kind of move the needle.
And you're sitting at the BGC of America, which is over, I don't want to say overseeing, but really at the strategic level of the over 5,000 clubs across the United States.
Can you tell us a little bit about just what does that even look like in this kind of federated nonprofit model? How do you work with all of these different clubs and how do you support each other?
Yeah, so the power of Boys and Girls Club and the movement is really the federated model and all the local clubs.
There are over a thousand local organizations that really are the glue that keeps everything together.
We are in metro communities, rural community, native lands, partnership with the military, public housing.
That's the local staff on the ground that understand the community really are what makes BGCA so special.
And I think Working from the internal communications where I started at BGCA, there is just getting the core communications out there, letting people know what the strategic priorities are.
There is a focus with our new strategic vision that's building stronger organization is core to growing it, that the thousand organizations need to be as strong as possible.
There is a digital transformation component of it that as we grow, as we scale, we need strong organization, the right people to help it grow, the right digital tools.
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