With all respect to jobs that are good on paper—ones that impress at a glance and whose success falls into very clear parameters—Margaret Richardson makes a case for careers that are built not solely on a linear path. Her course initiated with a motivation to join AmeriCorps, then to help people understand and find justice within the U.S. criminal legal system. This would eventually lead her to her roles in government as Chief of Staff and Counselor to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., to Apple as its Director of Trust and Safety, and her current role at GoFundMe as its Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.
GoFundMe's mission is to “help people help each other”; it’s a community-based fundraising platform that benefits causes ranging from a family’s personal medical expenses to a major city’s relief efforts following a natural disaster. As the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Richardson leads a team of 54, and it is this team that ensures fundraising stories are told on as large a scale as possible in her role—widening the potential to seek and receive help—and she also works with government entities and nonprofits, especially in times of need.
In this month’s Office Hours discussion, Richardson shares more about her circuitous path and the experiences that have prepared her to help others in her role at GoFundMe. Read on for more.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A CHIEF CORPORATE AFFAIRS OFFICER AT GOFUNDME?
“At our company, it includes communications, policy, community engagement, philanthropy, and marketing. The idea is to bring the full potential of GoFundMe to everyone who might be interested as customers, partners, or beneficiaries, and help to explain how we can solve problems. And to be a part of solutions to complex problems.
“One of the things that we're working on and that we're really proud of is our partnerships with governments where we can help respond to crises, such as natural disasters, or other community priorities. We can get money out the door quickly through GoFundMe and via grants from GoFundMe.org, the independent public charity arm of GoFundMe, and we can also partner with more long-term organizations, nonprofits, and government agencies. This year when wildfires devastated Maui, GoFundMe.org was able to begin delivering cash grants to people within 30 hours. To date, more than 4,200 grants have been sent to people directly impacted.”
IN WHAT WAYS DOES GOFUNDME WORK WITH THE GOVERNMENT?
“We complement the government and nonprofit sector, and we can then help people to understand the challenges in their communities and how community priorities come to life. For example, there's a young man, DeJuan Strickland, outside of St. Louis, Missouri who was distressed by the kids not being able to eat at school because they owed money for lunch. He started a GoFundMeand raised money to pay off the lunch debt for his entire school and then for his entire school district, so every student in the district could start the school year without debt and everyone could have lunch.
“I'm just so delighted GoFundMe could support his efforts. What we do is share his story more broadly and help to make others understand that they can take action in their communities if there are problems or opportunities to make other people's lives better. We also recognized him as a GoFundMe Hero, a program that spotlights the stories of everyday people using GoFundMe to make a difference in their communities. We have had him speak to our team and share what motivates him, so that we are constantly learning from the leaders in our community.”
WHAT’S MOTIVATED YOU TO WORK IN THIS SPACE?
“Part of it is my personal experience. In 2007, I was inspired to join the Obama campaign when it was a very long shot campaign. The issue that I was most focused on was criminal justice reform. When he won the election, I joined his administration in the office of U.S. Attorney General Holder, where I stayed until 2015. I had the opportunity to work with people across the entire federal government to better support formerly incarcerated people and their families. Being able to influence change at that scale—and realizing everyone wants to make the world a better place, even if what that means to them may differ—it's remarkable how much people can find to have in common.
“Because of my own experience, I believe that if you're bringing solutions and great ideas—whether it's government, private, or nonprofit sector—there's so much we can do. When our team at GoFundMe is thinking about how to help communities strengthen themselves or help individuals and families respond to a specific need, it brings that most human desire to help each other into focus. You can see the power and that, when people are given the opportunity to do something on behalf of others, they take it. I think that's something the world needs to be reminded of, especially when it feels like people are retreating to different corners or fear is so much of the conversation.”
HOW HAVE YOUR PAST WORK EXPERIENCES TAUGHT YOU THE SKILLS THAT YOU UTILIZE IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE?
“Attorney General Holder is probably the most important mentor of my career. I didn't know him when I joined his team [in 2009]. He took a chance on me and helped me to become a better lawyer, a better strategist, and a better leader. I learned so much from his example. He often would tell people that their jobs were not to win cases, get convictions, or make arrests. Their jobs were to do justice.
“He really believed in the mission and he helped people. The analogy for any leader is this: It’s never any specific task that defined us, it was the reason we were doing whatever we were doing. There's a story that I love to reference of President John F. Kennedy Jr. going to NASA right after he had given the moonshot speech, and he asked someone who was mopping the floor, ‘What do you do here?’ The man said, ‘Mr. President, we're putting a man on the moon.’ Even though his day-to-day responsibility was keeping the floors clean, he understood he was a part of the moonshot. And I want that to be the way I lead.”
“...when people are given the opportunity to do something on behalf of others, they take it. I think that's something the world needs to be reminded of, especially when it feels like people are retreating to different corners or fear is so much of the conversation.”
NOW, 35 YEARS INTO THIS ORGANIZATION, WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU SEE WOMEN CURRENTLY FACING AT WORK TODAY?
“The interesting part of all of this is that women, as successful and competent and capable as they are, suffer from imposter syndrome—men never do. Hewlett Packard did a study, where they advertised a position in the company and what the qualifications were, and then analyzed the applicants. Women only applied if they had all of the qualifications, men applied if they had 60% of the qualifications. We carry a lot of self-doubt that is really misplaced. I mean, the president of the United States has self-doubt, but he or she moves on with the task at hand. We all do. At some point, to feel that you are less than or not capable is a bad prescription for success.”
HOW DO WE BEST ADDRESS THAT SO THAT WOMEN CAN MOVE FORWARD AND TOWARD MORE EQUAL FOOTING IN THE
“I think women really learn the most from stories, by coming together, and talking with each other. It's best done in a setting they see as a safe place. They're inspired by what they learned and become more confident to say, ‘So-and-so has the same concerns I do, and look what she's been able to do.’”
GETTING INTO THE CONFERENCE ITSELF THIS YEAR, WHO IS THE PBWC CONFERENCE FOR? WHAT CAN AN ATTENDEE EXPECT, THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR?
“There's a sense of uncertainty in the economy and layoffs that have taken place. What we will instill is a sense that you've got all it takes to be successful. One of the thrills for all of us who have been putting on these conferences all these years is to have women come up to us during the conference and say things like, ‘This conference has changed my life.’ That's pretty powerful! We've had people who've attended the conference and then go on to great success and come back and speak at the conference. One example is one of our 2023 keynote speakers, Cynt Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks.”
SEEING AS WE’RE IN A MAJOR ELECTION YEAR, WHY IS IT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR WOMEN TO GATHER TOGETHER? ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY MAY FEEL SOME DREAD, FEAR, AND ANGER HEADING INTO NOVEMBER.
“You've got to take that anger and turn it into action. ‘We don't agonize, we organize.’ That's a line that Speaker Nancy Pelosi always used, and it's a very important one. What happened in the Dobbs decision is repugnant. The Supreme Court has never taken away the rights of Americans, and yet they did. Since then, women, in particular, and men who support them, have risen up. And so I'm hopeful that will continue through this election cycle. But there's so much at stake.
“Everything is political. And I think the importance of PBWC is that it shows women the power they already have that they may not be using, whether it's professionally or electorally.”
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