Now & Center: Entrepreneurial Voices from the Margin

We Give a Sh!t with Cora Lee Poole, Founder and Creative Visionary of Undestructable

October 04, 2022 Karen Bartlett Episode 24
Now & Center: Entrepreneurial Voices from the Margin
We Give a Sh!t with Cora Lee Poole, Founder and Creative Visionary of Undestructable
Show Notes Transcript

Episode Description:  

** Q4 2022- Check out the links below for information on their fundraising campaign, We Give a Sh!t

Karen talks with Cora Lee Poole, Founder and Creative Visionary of Undestructable, about running a business focused on the triple bottom line, creating holistic wellness and comprehensive safety, and the entitlement present in the patriarchy.  Cora shares her challenges of starting an organization centered on a taboo issue during the pandemic, with a small social network, and identities that get her labeled as a stereotype.  They discuss agency, combatting a paternalistic system, and leaning into discomfort.

Links:

Schedule an Exploratory Call with Karen: https://calendly.com/karenbartlett/30min

Learn more about Kite + Dart Group:  www.kiteanddartgroup.com

Register for an upcoming event:  https://www.eventbrite.com/o/the-kite-dart-group-16435043586

Learn more about Undestructable:  https://www.undestructable.org/

We Give a Sh!t 2022 Campaign:  https://www.classy.org/campaign/we-give-a-sh-t/c412850

Connect with Carin Huebner at Public Good Media:  publicgood.media

Original music credit goes to DJ Ishe:  https://soundcloud.com/ishe

00:01.90

kitedart

Hello everyone and welcome to today's session of the Now & Center podcast. You are in for a treat today! I know for sure this is a human that I don't know well and yet I feel like there's like this ah sister like connection with my guest today. So I'm very excited myself for the conversation and and where it goes. I am here with Cora Lee Poole. She is the founder of the nonprofit Undestructable. Cora, welcome and so glad to have you here.


00:28.98

Cora Lee Poole

Oh my gosh Karen, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here and just talk. Yeah yeah.


00:35.81

kitedart

Yeah I know we're gonna have so much fun. This is gonna be rich I know because even in you know we've we I guess we've met twice but both times we're at like these um you know these these ah businessy. Ah, networking events and there were just a lot of people and it was very much in passing but it was just like okay love this energy. Love what you're bringing and and then as soon as I learned a little bit more about the work you were up to it was like definitely want to um, want to. Highlight what you're up to and I'm going to call out now because I know we're not going to talk about it till the end but you've got some cool fundraising things coming up if we're we're recording at the end of September Twenty Twenty two and you've got some cool fundraising things happening october of 2022. So ah I want folks to. Stick with us through the conversation and or fast forward to the end so that you can learn how to how to support what core is up to because it's amazing. So yeah, so with that please will you share with us about Undestructable and in the work that you're doing with your organization.


01:32.10

Cora Lee Poole

Okay, love it.


01:43.38

Cora Lee Poole

Oh my gosh? Yes, um, Undestructable is a nonprofit but we are also a social enterprise and in the business world. You would call what we're doing a triple bottom line and the reason you call it a triple bottom line is because we have a social impact and environmental impact. And we generate our own revenue. So that's just like the businessy side of things and I always love to call that out because people aren't really aware of what that means. So um, Undestructable from a nonprofit space. We serve survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. So as we are. Get close to October. We'll be talking a lot around domestic violence awareness month because that is October um, and what we really want to do is be the central post-crisis resource and I say post crisissis with a little bit of emphasis because what we know is that. In the domestic violence space. There are tons and tons and tons of beautiful and amazing resources. But when we look at post crisis. Um, we really have to recognize that the first step in a very long and arduous journey is leaving our harm doers. That's the first step and then there's a lot that has to happen after that and the reality is is post-crisis resources have a shelf life post-crisis. You need to have like all these different things in place in order just to access this one thing and so our goal is to bring it all into one space and so. We want to do that bring it all into one space and really bring comprehensive wellness to the forefront for survivors and allow them access to everything and so what does that look like that looks like a space where survivors can gain immediate paid employment. At at least $5 above minimum wage because our cost of living is ridiculous and our minimum wage is ridiculous and so how do we actually close that gap. Um, so they will be employed with Undestructable for however, long they need whether it's three months six months nine months a year um full- time part-time. Whatever it is that they need in order to to keep taking those steps forward and so while employed with us they will here comes the environmental impact portion of it. Um, they will be trained on how to create sustainable products from post-consumer waste. Um. Something that we know I come from the apparel industry. So ah, the apparel and footwear industry in and of itself is the second leading cause of global pollution next for oil. So and that's massive and this is like pre-consumer stuff right? when we actually start looking at post-consumer every individual on average throws away seventy to eighty pounds of clothing and footwear away like every single year you and I I mean I'm I'm not one of those I'm way below average. Um, but there's no recycling in place for clothing and footwear. Um.


04:50.40

kitedart

Enough.


04:52.87

Cora Lee Poole

Also building materials. The construction industry is a massive culprit in filling up our landfills every year forty three hundred acres at a depth of fifty feet is filled with construction materials excuse me. So how do we actually from a post-consumer standpoint. Actually divert that stop filling up our landfill start creating product from post-consumer waste that is sustainable so they'll be trained from concept to creation. On how to like do this right? like let's think of what what can we do with this substrate. What does that design look like and how do we bring it to life. Um, and then during the employment so that would be like workshop like that's your employment. That's what you're doing for your job and then enter. The post crisis resources the comprehensive wellness so in comprehensive wellness. There are 5 identified areas of comprehensive wellness. There is intellectual or mental physical spiritual social and emotional great 5 areas of comprehensive wellness. We've added in the sixth component of financial because without financial wellness. You're probably not going to access have access to these other 5 areas of comprehensive wellness. You're probably not going to go see your therapist. You're probably not going to have enough money to go do yoga classes or breath work or meditation or just go to a gym right.


06:00.66

kitedart

I.


06:18.32

Cora Lee Poole

Um, and you might be working so much that you actually have no social life. So there's all these things. Um, that come into play so financial wellness is super important so survivors will have one-on-one job coaching where they're going to be building their resumes and their cover letters something that they're very very proud of. So when they do leave Undestructable. They are prepared. Um, we're also going to have yoga classes breathwork classes, meditation classes salary negotiation workshops you name it. They get paid for that too.


06:48.70

kitedart

Add.


06:50.74

Cora Lee Poole

So it's not like oh you need to go see your therapist. You're in need to clock out and go do that then come back clock back in. It's like oh no, we're going to bring that to you. We're going to talk about budgeting. We're going to talk about all of this and we're going to do this in a space where we're building up those 5 recognized areas of comprehensive wellness. We prefer to use comprehensive safety when we talk about it so are we socially safe are we physically safe. Are we emotionally safe and really like getting into those areas. Um and figuring out one on one with each participant where where are you at when you come in.


07:11.17

kitedart

And.


07:28.24

Cora Lee Poole

What What do you need while you're with us and let's really curate this program so that it works the best for you. Um, and identifying those things so that is what we are trying to do so that's where. Yeah, Triple Triple Bottom line comes into place social impact environmental impact and generating our own revenue. So yeah, creating sustainable product from Post-consumer waste.


07:53.88

kitedart

I Love it. Oh There's so many I mean there's There's just so much to it like I I feel so excited for how like comprehensive Holistic Um, how how comprehensively and holistically. You're approaching, um, your mission and what what you're trying to do and and I love how much it sounds like there's so much agency in there for the survivors that you're working with which I think is so great right? because like in our society.


08:22.91

Cora Lee Poole

Um.


08:30.41

kitedart

I mean there there are so many ways that I think survivors are treated so poorly from being you know, being blamed for for what they've gone through ah having it discounted. Um.


08:36.55

Cora Lee Poole

Um.


08:48.58

kitedart

Paternalism where it's like we know what's best for you. We know how to help you like I mean I Just really appreciate like I feel like there's so many ways that you've been very thoughtful and intentional about really helping people get what they need and also. Like you're saying it's not just the impact for each survivor but that you've got this environmental impact. Obviously the social impact and and the money part of it like that's beautiful. Beautiful. Yeah.


09:14.86

Cora Lee Poole

Thank you? Yeah um I get some reactions. Some people are like whoa. You're trying to do too much and I'm like actually it's not because when when I sat so just so you know Undestructable was a dream that I've had for 15 years and we've only been doing this for 2 so so there's that but like when I sat down and thought about it when I think about post-consumer waste. There are so many parallels to the journey of a survivor right? Like we as a society 1 thing that I consistently say is that there is a systemic belief.


09:41.94

kitedart

Annual.


09:49.85

Cora Lee Poole

In our country that all things are disposable and it spans from hard goods to human beings and we have the power to change that and so as a survivor myself which I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit more like I have felt worthless I have felt like I hold no intrinsic value.


09:53.22

kitedart

M.


10:08.74

Cora Lee Poole

I Feel like I am somebody's trash that they have thrown out and so there are parallels with picking up these these items of waste Society's trash and doing something with our hands and like using our hands as an extension of our souls and then vice versa right? like.


10:26.41

kitedart

And I offer.


10:28.10

Cora Lee Poole

We do the work with our hands and then therefore it feeds our soul. So it goes hand in hand and I don't actually see a division between those 2 ideas.


10:36.82

kitedart

Yeah I love that well and and I think that that's beautiful and it it makes me think about too the power of creativity right? like like when we think about like energetic vibration creation as a.


10:53.90

Cora Lee Poole

Normal.


10:54.27

kitedart

High vibration right? And how like that can be healing and empowering and um, fun and I mean it can feed a lot of things and then also when you say people say you're trying to do too much.. It's like how can you separate out any of those things. Right? They're all intricately tied which you laid out beautifully. They're also intricately tied together. How can you be like oh well, we're just gonna only do the financial piece or only the emotional wellness piece are like I get that there's plenty of that. But again, it's like um.


11:25.82

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


11:32.62

kitedart

In addition to our world seeing things as disposable which just I mean when you said that I'm like it just makes me want to cry and I'm also like yeah I got it I've seen it, but it's also this idea that we can separate things out and Like. Compartmentalize and just deal with one facet of something that's complex and it's just like that's just nuts.


11:52.34

Cora Lee Poole

Um.


11:56.37

Cora Lee Poole

Well I mean that even like goes into lay I mean we could go on a ah whole dissertation around like Eastern Medicine versus western medicine right? Like no, you have to you have to you treat the whole right? like by by touching this one part of our life where actually it's all integrated. It's all connected.


12:05.59

kitedart

Yeah, ah yeah.


12:10.90

kitedart

Yeah.


12:14.50

Cora Lee Poole

And so we are connected to the earth the earth is dying. You know we we talk about? um I actually had a beautiful conversation with somebody on Friday who's a healer an indigenous healer and I was like oh my gosh like isn't it wild how we refer to our planet as.


12:32.92

kitedart

Yeah.


12:33.38

Cora Lee Poole

Ah, female and the connection that there is to abusing her the connection to abusing our mother earth and like is it because we've always culturally globally referred to her as a woman and so we have no problem with abusing her because of that identity.


12:37.92

kitedart

Yeah.


12:53.30

Cora Lee Poole

We have we have slapped on this. So yeah, but it's interesting. So it's it's all holistic. It's every bit of it's connected for me.


12:53.68

kitedart

Yeah, ah.


12:59.24

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, that's such an interesting idea and it's funny because I do like the idea of of mother Earth right of the Earth being mother and and the the feminine now. Honestly, the Earth encompasses both masculine and feminine right? And not. I Don't mean that in a gender way. I mean that in an energetic way right? like both pieces are part of it. But yeah that that idea that as referring to our our planet as mother Earth it makes it okay to rap and pillage and all of the things. Yeah.


13:19.61

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


13:29.97

Cora Lee Poole

Well, and additionally yeah I mean and it's been happening happening for centuries right? and like when we look at like the history of the patriarchy right? like it's like no joke. Okay, but additionally like we also have so as.


13:41.55

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, um.


13:47.82

Cora Lee Poole

I'm chickasaw and I'm indigenous. So it's like not only do we have mother earth but we also have father sky so there is you know there is a balance and they do feed one another and they work off of 1 another and what happens to mother earth is also affecting father sky right? We've got plastic coming down in rain.


13:51.25

kitedart

The.


14:02.58

kitedart

Yeah.


14:07.13

Cora Lee Poole

Right? Like all of this kind of stuff. So um, but yeah, it's an interesting. It's all it's an interesting concept.


14:09.28

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I don't I don't know if I've ever really thought about it in that from that perspective per se. So yeah I appreciate that. So.


14:20.29

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah, yes.


14:27.23

kitedart

I'm so I'm like there's so many directions we could go from here unlike I think 1 thing I'd love to ok I'd also love to just acknowledge that you're paying people to do all of this work right? and that it's I mean. That's really powerful right and bringing in this financial wellness to the other more recognized 5 types of wellness right? and that of course they're completely intricately tied together and that they're being compensated for their time doing all of the things that they need to do. To heal and um, move on to whatever's next so maybe could you just share a little bit with us in terms of like you've talked about how people get to determine like what they need and ah like.


15:09.88

Cora Lee Poole

Go ahead.


15:22.25

kitedart

I Like I said I that that idea of agency really came up so could you share a little bit more about you know what? it might look like for different people on their different journeys.


15:31.59

Cora Lee Poole

Absolutely I can even give you some examples from some of our our participants that we've already had um so right now we're teaching classes through a partner agency called roseandom center and we're doing. We're running a fiveweek class. Um, so total of 10 hours that we're working with survivors and we're going through resume. It's like a job readiness self-sufficiency class so resumes and cover letters as well as personal budgeting and so really, what it's about is this idea of resourcing and what resourcing means is first of all. Excuse me I'm not here to save you I am not here to save you. That's not what this is about because I cannot do that Undestructable. Cannot do that we are a resource for you to identify your own path forward. And design what that's going to look like and we are going to support you in that journey. So for example, we had 1 participant that came through that was a self-taught fashion illustrator. She was like amazing just so happens I am from the apparel. Background so it was like oh my gosh this is really symbiotic and we've got like all this stuff that we can do together all she needed was somebody to walk her through how do I build out my portfolio. How do I have interviews and how do I how do I just show up and own that i'm.


16:57.36

Cora Lee Poole

Fucking good at this shit right? Like how do I own that we did that she went for making $0 she is now employed as an animated costume designer with Disney making 6 figures. That's all she needed. That's all she needed and it wasn't me being like well this is what you need to do right? This is how you.


17:07.53

kitedart

Wow.


17:17.30

Cora Lee Poole

How you do these things and what your steps are.. It's like what do you want to do? where do you want to go and how can I support you to get there and so it wasn't like me going and like picking through her portfolio picking through her skill sets anything like that. It was like this is what you've already got this is what you've got. So. That's what that means is like somebody showing up and being like this is what I want for my life. This is what I've wanted for my life for years but because of my situation and my circumstances and the violence that has been inflicted upon me I haven't been able to take that step.


17:52.46

kitedart

Oh and.


17:54.37

Cora Lee Poole

Is it going back to school. Is it starting your own business. What is it and how can we support you along that journey and so that's what it's about. It's not about somebody coming in and being like well this is this is your 1 path forward because there is no one path forward I'm living I'm living proof of that. That fact.


18:06.63

kitedart

Right? yeah.


18:13.53

Cora Lee Poole

There is no one path forward and we can change direction whenever the fuck we want to.


18:15.73

kitedart

Um, yeah I Love it. Good. That's great. It. It has me thinking of a question that I want to ask but I'm going to save it for later because I think it will. Make more sense after we have some conversations if you don't mind I'd love to pivot to kind of the business side of things and then I want to kind of circle back to what you're sharing about that that this isn't this one size fits all way to support folks. So.


18:31.31

Cora Lee Poole

Okay, yeah.


18:44.66

Cora Lee Poole

Um.


18:46.26

kitedart

Um, so to kind of take a couple steps back. Can you share about some of the biggest challenges that you've had in starting this organization.


18:59.22

Cora Lee Poole

Oh my gosh? Well ah so just just for a little background I moved to Denver in August of 2019 to start this organization. Um, and then as we know it the world shut down because the pandemic came so. I think one of the biggest challenges right was starting this during a global fucking pandemic. Um, that has in and of itself has been challenging because I think when you start something network is so incredibly important and for me.


19:31.29

kitedart

And.


19:34.17

Cora Lee Poole

I got here the world shut down. So This building of Network has been very different than I would have thought it was going to be very different from how I naturally would have built it and so learning to Adapt and adjust to the world and build a network. Of like-minded human beings of radical human beings has been super Challenging. So I Just want to acknowledge that and also acknowledge that I'm not alone in that. Um.


20:02.51

kitedart

Yeah.


20:05.98

Cora Lee Poole

Right? Like even through that the the connection and the camaraderie that I have been able to build because I'm not the only 1 experiencing that has been incredibly beautiful and incredibly impactful. Um, now for me personally I come from a corporate space I was a designer. I have been learning as I go right? like I didn't know what a 1023 application was for the Irs I didn't know what bylaws were I didn't know you know what? all of these things meant and so self-educating has been and in.


20:34.48

kitedart

Alice.


20:43.45

Cora Lee Poole

Credible challenge and learning to understand all of these things has been huge. Um, but wow like how fucking cool you know like how cool I'm like oh my god like I actually two years ago like


20:54.40

kitedart

Yeah.


21:01.80

Cora Lee Poole

I wouldn't have thought I'd be here right now and have like this amazing set of knowledge that I'm now carrying with me that I get to share with others. Um, because of the journey that I've had Um, additionally I think challenges um I work in a domestic violence space.


21:02.28

kitedart

Yeah.


21:21.22

Cora Lee Poole

People don't like to talk about domestic violence at all. It is um, people people don't want to talk about it from a cultural perspective in the United States the term domestic violence is something that's whispered about.


21:21.57

kitedart

I.


21:38.18

Cora Lee Poole

Is swept under the rug and in my belief is a term that society has grown numb to and it doesn't fully articulate. What is happening within the home within the relationship and so people don't want to talk about it.


21:44.26

kitedart

There.


21:54.51

Cora Lee Poole

Like they're like na Nope like you reach out and people are like Ohh can't touch that like makes me think yeah like O can't touch this by own I own know. No um like I up not even kidding like I have like so there are moments where I'm like that song comes into my head because I'm like can't touch that ba I No no um but.


22:03.60

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, yes.


22:12.94

Cora Lee Poole

And that's how it feels is people don't want to talk about it and I'm like no this is exactly what we need to be talking about. We need to be talking about the intersectionality of it. We need to be talking about all these things. So for me as a survivor.


22:14.10

kitedart

And I'm gonna.


22:29.64

Cora Lee Poole

But like ready to talk about my own journey share my own journey and all of that like the the part of me that has been traumatized is like hey look at me hear me see me. You know this is very triggering for somebody who lives with complex ptsd every day of their life. When you're not being seen and you're not being heard um and so there's a lot of self-regulating self- checking am I being triggered right now is this is this symptomatic of my own trauma and I'm reliving it because people don't want to talk about it. Is it me.


22:54.18

kitedart

The.


23:08.14

Cora Lee Poole

Or is it actually them and so I think for me Mike my personal struggles have been with that right? like I I am somebody who lives with trauma which means it comes up every day it comes up every day. It's something that we work on every day hence why I'm doing what I'm doing to.


23:10.48

kitedart

Writes.


23:27.33

Cora Lee Poole

Support survivors right? because it's we don't just leave our harm doer and like who we're good. No we live with this for the rest of our lives forever. So I think that's probably been my biggest challenge as an entrepreneur in this particular space.


23:31.59

kitedart

Yeah.


23:42.80

kitedart

Yeah, Well thank you for sharing that so vulnerable and I know that that's part of the work that you do right is that that it sounds like you I don't want to say have to be but that that you. That you choose to share your trauma and but that's also like to your point that that's also hard. That's a lot right? like it's it's I'm sure contribute so much and can be. Helpful in other people's healing but that that's also a lot for you to carry every day So I Really appreciate you sharing that.


24:18.50

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah, thank you I think that one of the things that isn't spoke about enough is the emotional labor emotional labor that comes with and that this is true for I think any entrepreneur right? like any entrepreneur is following a passion.


24:27.15

kitedart

Ah.


24:36.92

Cora Lee Poole

They have a passion for a reason that reason is very you know individual. We don't know always know what that passion is and where it comes from but story is so important story is so important sharing story is so important and what I.


24:49.48

kitedart

Yeah.


24:55.92

Cora Lee Poole

Actually came to realize was that it was more emotional labor for me to hide it than it was for me to share it because it's my truth. It's my truth and I can't keep showing up in the world inauthentically.


25:01.52

kitedart

Ah, yeah.


25:12.83

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, and and I'd offered that it's also how can I say that it can be both and right that it can be liberating to share it right and be be um. Less traumatizing to share it and at the same time that trauma can still continue to show up like you said, right? and so there's there's a healing liberation side and there's a potential for being read traumatized or triggered and.


25:47.20

Cora Lee Poole

Um, yeah.


25:47.81

kitedart

That those aren't exclusive and then I also just really do appreciate and I and I totally agree right? that that ah sharing fully who you are in your story and and helping others right? like I feel like there's a very synergistic relationship between the work. That we do with others and what we need for ourselves right? So like for me part of my journey has really been around belonging and so I'm a business coaching consultant and most people wouldn't think that my big why is belonging but it is.


26:07.95

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


26:15.24

Cora Lee Poole

Um, m.


26:25.61

kitedart

Right? And that it's like in helping business owners stand true you know stand tall and proud in their authenticity in their story in what they're trying to do and who they are that that that I see that as a liberation or a journey of liberation.


26:43.13

Cora Lee Poole

In here.


26:45.41

kitedart

Journey of belonging and it just happens to be through the lens of business right? You're doing a very holistic thing and and I'd argue I am as well like I I don't only talk to my clients about business. We talk about all the things because it's all the it's all the same shit. It's awesome. Yeah.


26:47.87

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


26:59.00

Cora Lee Poole

Ah, we're talking about the same we're talking about all the shit right now. Yeah, yeah, definitely pick up. Um, so I would say and and.


27:03.18

kitedart

It's always all the same shit. So yeah and but I really appreciate that.


27:12.56

Cora Lee Poole

When we own our stories when we own our truths that doesn't mean sharing all of it. We have the power to say like for me one of the things that I stand very strongly in is I will openly share that I am a survivor. None of the details are in anybody's fucking business. Those details are not Anybodyd's and if I choose to share them with someone. That's my choice. Um, and additionally like what I will say like in the space of intimate partner violence I have been greeted.


27:32.58

kitedart

Yeah.


27:51.15

Cora Lee Poole

Use that term really lightly. Um, mostly by white middle aged men that ask me to share more give us more. We need to understand more and it is baffling to me like baffling to me that I can sit and share space with another woman.


27:59.45

kitedart

Um, ah.


28:10.45

Cora Lee Poole

And she's going to look at me and say yeah I know that was probably really hard. Thank you for sharing with me I am never going to be asked. Can you tell me tell me what like what kind of abuse what kind of abuse. What was it like and so there's also something there and like a correlation right of the patriarchy.


28:19.92

kitedart

Yeah.


28:29.35

Cora Lee Poole

And why is it that white men feel that they deserve the story right? like is there is there a perversiveness I don't know I could go on a whole whole rant about that. But.


28:39.56

kitedart

Yeah, Well I think it's back to the same entitlement of that you talked about when you're talking about mother Earth right? that that the entitlement right that they're entitled to your story that they're entitled to the grim details that they're ah. Again, It's just back to. They're entitled to whatever from women.


28:59.70

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah, whatever they want. It's ours we own it? Yeah no, no, no, you don't but.


29:05.49

kitedart

This come on keep giving it to me. Yeah, yeah, that's that's really interesting. It's not at all surprising to me whatsoever. But it is really interesting to to think about and um.


29:19.76

Cora Lee Poole

Um, yeah, okay.


29:21.20

kitedart

And I think that that's true, right? That's true for women I think that's true for um, by Pac folks I mean I think that there's a lot of different identities where um, that entitlement to any and all things is just it exists. You know it's yeah.


29:36.68

Cora Lee Poole

Ah.


29:39.63

kitedart

Um, yeah, So with that can I can I take this a little deeper and have you share whatever you'd like about right? So you've already. You've already shared about. Challenges as a business owner some of those have to do with your experience and your identities anything you'd like to take it deeper in terms of other identities you have that have made being a business owner challenging or just starting this.


30:14.90

Cora Lee Poole

Um, sure I mean I think first of all I do identify as a survivor so like even my business cards I have it always cracks me up my business cards say founder feminist survivor on them. Um, because I am all of those things and for me my journey actually starts I I experienced early childhood sexual abuse. So I have been a survivor damn near my entire life right? So that is a very big part of my identity.


30:42.13

kitedart

Um, and.


30:46.21

Cora Lee Poole

I'm also an indigenous woman. So My family is chickasaw on my mother's side and I have grown up in a space where I got my biological father's Green Eyes Um, who I never knew right? So I grew up in a space where I didn't trust my own identity. I Didn't believe in my own identity. It was never because of what was outwardly like cast upon me like my culture. My people have always welcomed me. There's never been any question. There. It's looking in the mirror and questioning my own identity my own place in this life.


31:05.69

kitedart

Um.


31:24.85

Cora Lee Poole

And like how like I tell people I'm indigenous and they're like really okay, you know and I'm like but you know and that's not indigenous folks. That's not indigenous folks. That's that's white folks that are like oh oh I was an Indian princess too. You know like now no not that what.


31:31.66

kitedart

Um, ah.


31:43.20

Cora Lee Poole

No yeah, yeah, my great grandmother was an Indian princess. Oh the no, that's not a thing. Um but but it's it's It's an interesting thing to be a survivor.


31:44.40

kitedart

The thing some people say and I'm not going to say I've never done that myself but like what like. But.


31:53.78

kitedart

Oh my gosh.


32:03.20

Cora Lee Poole

To be indigenous, um and to step into a space where we have to recognize that domestic and intimate partner violence is affecting black and indigenous women of color at higher rates than any other group indigenous women. We experience. Domestic or intimate partner violence at a rate of 55.5 of our population black women 45.1 like that's that's more than Cis white women. We have to recognize that and that is part of my identity and.


32:22.96

kitedart

Wow.


32:36.87

Cora Lee Poole

Part of my identity is also autonomy like when we talk about core values right? like autonomy is so important to me and I am a part of that 55.5 of indigenous women that will experience domestic or intimate partner violence in their lifetime fuck. I really wish that number was way less I'm not going to ever sit here and say it's ever going to be eradicated from culture because it's not not at least not in our lifetimes but like I am a part of that statistic I am a number also um, and. That on my journey I either get welcomed or like pushed away. It's like oh you're going to be a loud indian you're going to be loud. You're you know you're going to be the Xy and z stereotypes that are associated with that right? um.


33:26.43

kitedart

Ah.


33:32.31

Cora Lee Poole

You're aggressive like have you ever been labeled aggressive Karen like as a woman right? like I can't tell you how many times in my life standing in my truth somebody has looked at me and been like you need to stop being so aggressive and it's like yo if I were a man.


33:34.64

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, yeah.


33:50.18

kitedart

Um, yeah.


33:50.99

Cora Lee Poole

You'd actually call me assertive like so like that those are challenges that come up all the time as well and unfortunately it also comes up within spaces that are only women as well and that competition amongst women.


34:05.31

kitedart

Ah.


34:08.59

Cora Lee Poole

I Hope to see get smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller. Ah, but it still exists and what we really need to be doing is supporting one another and being like okay like that's not aggressiveness. That's passion that's assertiveness and like why ask questions right? like question like.


34:25.56

kitedart

Now.


34:28.42

Cora Lee Poole

Why why? the need to be so loud right? like I have a schema that I call a bear my bear that lives inside of me and when I get triggered bear comes out now. This bear is like is there to protect the child version of me right. And so my bear comes out and wants to protect me and so that's when I get loud. That's when I get way boisterous and that's when I get labeled aggressive and so that's been a challenge as well and that is directly connected to all of my identities.


34:57.40

kitedart

Um, yeah.


35:06.77

kitedart

Yeah, Thank you for sharing that it's so Insightful. It's really funny that you said that too I literally this morning. Um I've been listening to this book called Burnout Um I can't tell you the author offhand but I was listening to this book and ah the part that I literally listened to this morning. Um, the author is talking about what she calls. It's It's very much about Burnout Um, and the connection between um, people who identify as female or femmes and like what she calls the human Giver syndrome. And anyway so she was talking about. What what? it sounds like your bear is she's calling the mad woman and that we all have this mad woman in us right? and it's you know like we know that like externally ah the patriarchy. There's lots and lots of things that we get called um but it's and and she was talking about how even it it. That mad woman right? that very often that mad woman is there to hold that inner child. You know who's gone through all of the conditioning and certain experiences and that kind of thing. So like that like.


36:10.51

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


36:12.84

kitedart

1 I think so insightful and I think it's hilarious that that's literally you know correlates to what I was listening to this morning and it's so true like I was I was listening and I was like what's my mad woman and I was really thinking about it. So mine's not named yet. But.


36:17.72

Cora Lee Poole

Ah.


36:25.37

Cora Lee Poole

Um, well well yeah, mine. Um, you know mine was something that I like I came up with in therapy right? like it's like let's let's identify it like I remember when my therapist asked me like tell me about this like is it a man is it a woman I was like it's an animal.


36:33.83

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah.


36:43.71

Cora Lee Poole

You know like it's an animal and it's a bear. It's a big fucking bear that like literally a drop of a hat flip of a switch. It's there when I am triggered or I am pushed to a certain space and I love my bear. My bear is.


36:43.87

kitedart

Um, yeah, ah.


36:59.62

kitedart

Um, yeah.


37:03.42

Cora Lee Poole

So useful. So useful, it's it's gotten in the way. Not even going to like say that it hasn't created more problems for me throughout my life because there have been times where it has but this is before I knew what it was.


37:04.83

kitedart

Um, yeah.


37:15.49

kitedart

Yeah.


37:17.42

Cora Lee Poole

Right before I understood and could actually have conversations with this part of myself to be like thank you for protecting me. Thank you for looking out for me and showing up right and like actually be in in conversation with. My bear and move forward together. Yeah mad woman we fuck we all we we all have a fucking mad woman inside of us like as Well. We should as well we should. We've got lots of reasons to but.


37:35.42

kitedart

Yeah I Love that bad woman bear. Yeah yeah. Yeah, yeah, but I'm in it I'm in to sit with this idea and I'm going to think I'm going to get my named I definitely have been in plenty of conversation with her. So It's you know that's there. But um I but I love this too and I feel like too. Um,, there's so much about how the internal. Um, dialogue emotions These things is also reflective of the external right? So when you're talking about the competition between women. Um right? like so some people um, are not willing to embrace their inner mad woman or their bear or whatever they call it right? like they're. Gonna judge it and criticize it and you know have shame around it or whatever. Um, and I and I think that that's just sort of reflective of what we do externally right to each other ah as opposed to that having the gratitude and getting curious around.


38:37.37

Cora Lee Poole

And.


38:45.61

kitedart

What's going on here and you know why? why did bear show up today like and being thankful and grateful for that and ah and and doing that externally right with other other women other people in general but other women specifically in this case that we're talking about. Um so I think that's really.


39:03.85

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah, and like any any woman listening to this podcast like this is what I will say like if it gets uncomfortable. Oh my God step into it.


39:04.16

kitedart

Really interesting.


39:17.43

kitedart

Um, yeah.


39:17.63

Cora Lee Poole

Fucking step into that discomfort because within that discomfort we have the greatest opportunity to evolve and grow and be better people right? like when we avoid that discomfort. We remain stagnant We don't grow and it's within discomfort that.


39:26.17

kitedart

Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah.


39:36.67

Cora Lee Poole

The most beautiful growth happens and we can do that together right? like I love looking at all of my friends and being like I don't know about this like kind of makes me uncomfortable like can you share more you know would you mind sharing more with me because I don't know.


39:50.22

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah, yeah I love that well and and ah used said becoming better people and and like I'd even take that deeper to.


39:55.65

Cora Lee Poole

I Don't know.


40:07.92

kitedart

More authentic people more liberated people more like open vulnerable true right? Like kind of back to what we were talking about earlier right? when you're sharing your story. It's vulnerable.


40:12.52

Cora Lee Poole

Um, who.


40:24.34

kitedart

But it's also empowering and it's allowing you to be more authentic and and even though there's a discomfort in that you said Also it's like less traumatizing right? And so I think there's this liberation journey um around. Leaning into the discomfort stepping into that getting curious about it playing you know like but we're hanging out in the sandbox like what are we building here. I don't know like what are we uncovering, but that it's like to me it really is about that liberation journey and. And and maybe maybe I'm projecting like me that's been my experience and as I've leaned into what I'm committed to creating in this world and then standing firm and tall and proud in my story and in my authenticity and you know. In all of those things has been very uncomfortable but it's it's allowed me to become more fully me along the way you know? yeah.


41:25.29

Cora Lee Poole

Um, yeah, and I think that yeah as I've stepped into my own discomfort with ah, many many things I have also become more liberated I've also become more the person that I think that I was always built.


41:39.31

kitedart

Yeah.


41:40.23

Cora Lee Poole

To be built to be and I love that person like I I love who I'm going to meet tomorrow I Love who I'm going to meet after our conversation is done right? Like how fucking cool is that like.


41:44.81

kitedart

Yeah.


41:54.36

kitedart

Yeah.


41:56.75

Cora Lee Poole

You know the Cliche knowledge is power kind of thing. It's actually true right? like the more that we step into to the discomfort the more we learn within that space The more powerful we become right? and we also become a bigger threat. To the people who don't want to step into that discomfort and I think that's where that competitiveness comes from that's where it comes from is us stepping into that and then people that haven't haven't done that yet may never do that I don't know.


42:19.45

kitedart

Yes.


42:32.29

Cora Lee Poole

But it becomes a threat because all of a sudden we come bigger. We become become more powerful and we become more authentically ourselves.


42:32.36

kitedart

Yeah.


42:38.77

kitedart

Yeah I think that's so true I think you totally nailed that I was I literally was having a conversation with one of my kiddos about that exact concept yesterday and it's like you know so I think it's so true. So true and and and it's part of. Larger system of oppression right? The more that we can try to keep people in the boxes in the comfort zone so to speak right? Then they're following the rules and doing what they're supposed to do and it's easier for the people with the power to keep the power right? and.


43:16.50

Cora Lee Poole

Yep.


43:17.50

kitedart

And it's it's you know we've internalized so much of that oppression and it is uncomfortable stepping out of that and it's fucking awesome and super fun and I'm happy to have people like you along the way it makes it the best.


43:29.75

Cora Lee Poole

Um, ah like like oh my God this entrepreneurial journey like I have.


43:33.99

kitedart

Yeah.


43:36.45

Cora Lee Poole

I Have consistently told people. It's the scariest motherfucking shit that I have ever done in my entire life. It's also the most liberating the most soul feeding and like the most exciting right? like because I am creating something that's never been done before.


43:40.28

kitedart

Math.


43:46.73

kitedart

Yeah.


43:52.91

kitedart

Yes.


43:55.63

Cora Lee Poole

I am doing something I am drawing outside those lines like a fucking mad woman right? like my mad woman is like let's fucking draw everywhere. Let's color this shit up. You know? So yeah.


44:00.74

kitedart

Um, yes, yes yes I Love that it's the best. It is the best and I and and that's what it is so great like I Love that. That you're so fully embracing that I am creating something that has never been created before because that's that is power like that is fucking badass scary as shit power. But it's fun and terrified and exciting and all of the things.


44:21.73

Cora Lee Poole

Who.


44:34.88

kitedart

At the same time but it's ah it's the best. Yeah yeah, so cool. Yes, you are hell yeah yes, yes.


44:38.91

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah, agreed agreed I'm going to change the fucking world Karen like I'm I I point I I plan to change the world I plan to change. Ah the United States talks about domestic and intimate partner violence as a matter of fact, like. I would much prefer that we actually call it intimate partner terrorism because that's what's happening right? like people who are experiencing. This are actually being terrorized. It is terrorism.


44:57.75

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah and I I love the reframe too because ah.


45:14.50

kitedart

Know what it is about abuse I think what it is about abuse is that I guess you were saying violence but it's like so much of it is framed as abuse and I think that there is this whole thing in our society around blaming the person who's being abused. And if they were stronger if they were something better or more right and that it's like that's not what's happening but when you so frame it as terrorism who blames the person being terrorized or the country being terrorized right? Like. So I think that that's a really powerful reframe and I will get on board with that. So.


45:56.95

Cora Lee Poole

It it? No I think that you just you just totally nailed it right there because when we say abuse right? when we say victim? um I think there are so many other vibes connected like language matters.


46:07.94

kitedart

Um, yeah.


46:10.44

kitedart

Um, yes, yeah.


46:13.95

Cora Lee Poole

Language matters so much and when we use these terms that are so old that are so you know normal they don't they don't carry the weight. Um and also within the like the domestic and intimate partner violence.


46:22.91

kitedart

Um, yeah.


46:29.57

Cora Lee Poole

Base I mean I'm a fucking Rebel First of all like I got all sorts of unpopular ideas around what we should be doing and what we could be doing better. Um, and I love that I'm standing in that space because it needed to be standed in years ago. Um, but taking the onus off of the victim.


46:39.16

kitedart

Yeah.


46:46.36

kitedart

Yes.


46:48.46

Cora Lee Poole

Off of the person who has experienced the terrorism because it doesn't always show up as physical like psychological terrorism from somebody that you love that is.


46:54.72

kitedart

Yeah.


47:04.37

Cora Lee Poole

That is so impactful and again, it's something that we live with for the rest of our lives and it it doesn't go away. It doesn't go away. We just we learn how to manage it we we gather the tools and learn how to use those tools.


47:13.55

kitedart

Um, yeah.


47:21.90

Cora Lee Poole

So that we can continue to function and move forward but like the reality is there are actually studies out there that talk about survivors and how they make not only the best employees but the best entrepreneurs because of their resourcefulness because of their courage because of all of the things that.


47:37.90

kitedart

Are ah.


47:41.77

Cora Lee Poole

That they actually the skills that they actually gained from that experience. Not to say that we weren't resourceful or courageous prior but those skills actually got honed much much more in the violent relationship.


47:46.87

kitedart

Wow right.


47:58.41

kitedart

Yeah, that's interesting and it's also like I don't want anybody to have to go through that to get there either. You know, like that's sad. But and yeah makes perfect sense makes perfect sense. So I'm gonna I'm gonna.


48:05.57

Cora Lee Poole

No No and. For.


48:17.75

kitedart

Go back to something you said and I'm going to kind of like ah lump some things together but I want to move into a coaching conversation and I want you to frame it like what kind of what you're grappling with now. But before I let you do that I wanted to. Call in this idea of how you're talking about. You know the work that you do with with survivors and how it's a matter of supporting each individual with what they need and and I love and appreciate that very much I think that our system is overly focused on.


48:43.28

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


48:50.95

kitedart

Magic bullets as if they exist and it's just a simple answer instead of understanding the complexity around humans and then also the agency piece I think so much of why folks? um, may focus on. 1 aspect or 1 program or 1 thing is this. It's easier right? It's easier for the person ah doing you know, offering? whatever they're offering and and I mean I'm a business coach right? and and how many business coaches are like use my magic system and you're going to 10 times you're in come in sixty days and do and it's like oh.


49:28.36

Cora Lee Poole

Ah, ah, but ah Karen if I get 1 more fucking Linkedin message from somebody trying to sell me that exact I then a barf but.


49:35.81

kitedart

I Know it's freaking. It's fucking and it's fucking crazy. So you know like that's that's where I'm always calling that out like no, that's a bunch of bullshit. It's not true. It's not real. It's a big fat lie and every unique individual right? Every one of my clients has a different answer than the other right because.


49:45.23

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah, yeah.


49:54.34

kitedart

So that same thing. So what I'm what I want to throw into the conversation as we go into your coaching conversation is like this ideal of scalability right? because as an organization who is looking at every individual.


50:05.85

Cora Lee Poole

Um, yeah.


50:11.49

kitedart

And what they're grappling with what they're going through and the support that they need individual it individually and like in a custom way that can be hard to Scale. So I think that. And again I Think what you're doing is the right way to go about it because it is terribly complex and not everybody is the same.. There isn't a one size fits all but it it has it when you were talking about that earlier. It had me immediately because I think about business all the time go to the space of like scalability. How do you get scalability when every single it.


50:32.68

Cora Lee Poole

The hair.


50:40.49

Cora Lee Poole

Um, yeah.


50:46.69

kitedart

Person is an individual case. Um, and we don't have to talk about that at all. But it's just a question I'm throwing out there and with that I'll let you preface our coaching conversation how you want to because you've got different things you were bringing.


51:01.70

Cora Lee Poole

Well no I think that that is actually a really phenomenal fucking question Karen like how do you scale that like ah Quora how are you going to manage all of this. So here's the deal like as of to date we have had.


51:12.85

kitedart

Yes, are are right.


51:17.93

Cora Lee Poole

Participants that we have had have a ton of different backgrounds. Um somebody might not need help learning how to create a personal budget. They might not actually need that cool if you don't need that and you're good with Budgeting. We're going to trust that you know what's best for you right. Cool. So We're having a budgeting Workshop. You don't have to participate in that you can like you can keep doing your thing on the workshop floor creating product and then somebody else might be like listen I have my own like meditation practice that I do at home I don't want to participate in a group Activity Rad. You don't have to. We're going to continue to offer all of these things and meet every person where they're at and trust that they know what is best for them because I don't know what's best for you like shit sometimes I question. What's best for myself, right? like is that best for me right now I don't Know. Ah.


52:04.20

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah.


52:15.30

Cora Lee Poole

Sometimes I have to have that hard conversation with self right? but like from a scaling perspective. It's making sure that we have the right partners other organizations on board and consistently showing up to allow our participants.


52:23.62

kitedart

Yes.


52:32.84

Cora Lee Poole

To know and access what they what they need as an individual right? Like we're not going to run like every day have a self-defense class right? like that's that's not feasible, but like if we're going to have a biweekly self-defense class but somebody is like listen I'm still too triggered by that they don't have to go like we're We're not gonna.


52:41.51

kitedart

Right? right.


52:48.69

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah.


52:52.36

Cora Lee Poole

Ah, make you go to this class if you don't feel like it's right for you and sore we're going to scale that by just simply listening listening to our constituents and like what's more is not just listening but hearing them.


53:01.14

kitedart

Um, yeah.


53:07.58

kitedart

Ah.


53:07.77

Cora Lee Poole

And if we end up with like a broad base that's like yo this workshop was kind of Shitty Guess what we're not going to fucking offer that workshop again like we maybe we'll revisit it and be like okay so why was it shitty but like we we have to practice hearing hearing and taking action against what we are hearing.


53:12.93

kitedart

Um, right.


53:21.81

kitedart

Yeah.


53:27.55

Cora Lee Poole

To Adapt and be better right? and I think that goes for all businesses and when we talk about constituents. It's not just our customers or our participants. It's our employees. It is everybody within the organization because they are all our constituents.


53:30.96

kitedart

Yeah.


53:43.95

kitedart

Yeah I love that. That's beautiful. That's beautiful and and so what I'm really hearing and and it makes perfect sense and in is is lovely is that there's so many there's all these different things that you're offering right? and they're they're identified needs. Um, not necessarily for everybody but there's they're they're kind of fitting into those 6 buckets that you talked about that you know, um, are part of comprehensive wellness and you're making those offerings people get to choose. They've got that agency. They get to self select. They know what they need better than.


54:04.40

Cora Lee Poole

Over.


54:21.30

kitedart

Anybody else. So thank you Goodbye you know, patriarchy there and that patronizing model. But then also it sounds like in the conversations too. It's like if somebody if there's if somebody identifies something that they need. You're like okay who can I go to where are my partners.


54:22.48

Cora Lee Poole

Moho.


54:39.93

kitedart

Where can I access what you need because it's not already being offered so it's it's kind of going with the both and right of this. There's certain programming and then we're going to use our resources and do whatever we can to find you what you need if it's not already there. Love it. Love it. Cool cool.


54:44.57

Cora Lee Poole

Yep.


54:54.80

Cora Lee Poole

Yep, Absolutely absolutely.


54:59.72

kitedart

Thanks for sharing and I and I appreciate that and and I think that there's probably that there may always be like I think it's just gonna be something that you're you're going to and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's been easy to do that. But it feels like the kind of thing where there's always gonna be a certain amount of just. Effort energy. Um and intentionality around staying true to that being able to meet people where they are and not getting caught up in the making it easier to just offer what you offer you know what? I'm saying you know? yeah.


55:31.87

Cora Lee Poole

Oh my God None of this shit's easy none and none of this shit's easy and like if we acknowledge that and like and I always like I have this like thing for like for me again about like paying right? like.


55:37.70

kitedart

Yeah, yeah.


55:45.91

Cora Lee Poole

We just had equal payday for black women right? and like knowing all right black women are making ¢58 on the dollar to a white man um stuff like that and like I also look at the nonprofit industry and I'm like yo you guys are not paying. You're not paying your people and there's such a high burnout and turnover rate within the.


55:58.64

kitedart

Yeah.


56:05.72

Cora Lee Poole

Base here's the deal. We can pay people. Everybody can pay people Amazon you motherfuckers you can pay people more than $15 an hour right? if I can figure it out as a 2 year old nonprofit. You can figure it out.


56:15.40

kitedart

Hell yes I know to fuck. Um, yeah, um.


56:23.31

Cora Lee Poole

I have access to way less funding and I can still figure it out right? like we can figure it out So like I just that oh that just gets me so like it's like yes, like pay your people like treat them equitably equitably fairly justly like.


56:29.39

kitedart

Yeah, yes.


56:40.21

kitedart

Yeah, and.


56:42.42

Cora Lee Poole

Make sure that they're taken care of because if we don't take care of our people. We don't exist. We don't exist.


56:48.45

kitedart

Um, yeah, so true. Yeah, so true I Love that. Okay, so with that how about you dive into what you wanted the coaching conversation to be around. Thank you for entertaining my question but ah.


56:59.70

Cora Lee Poole

Oh my gosh. Yeah yeah, Karen like I think for me right again, we're still coming out of a pandemic and when people ask me hey how long have you been in Denver I'm like well I've lived here for 3 years but really like six months you know because.


57:06.94

kitedart

Um, yeah.


57:19.32

kitedart

Um, yeah.


57:19.52

Cora Lee Poole

The world's just now starting to open back up. Um, and all of that and so I would love to brainstorm around how like a small nonprofit can get in front of people that want to do good and donate space help us find like. Find and sign a lease somewhere so that we can expand our offering because right now we can only offer classes out of partner agencies because we don't have our own workshop space and as soon as you say nonprofit to somebody. They're like but they turn and they're like Nope don't want to talk to you.


57:46.00

kitedart

Um, yeah, right? Yeah yeah, well and it's so funny because ah I mean.


57:54.53

Cora Lee Poole

It's like come on man. Yeah.


58:00.54

kitedart

As you were as you started talking about that like 1 of my first things is like thinking about partnerships like I always think partnerships especially when you're talking about like you're relatively new in Denver which social capital matters right? and.


58:13.25

Cora Lee Poole

Powers right? and.


58:16.20

kitedart

There's a lot of power that comes from Social capital. So I think that creating those partnerships is highly valuable and I also hear that you're like no, we want our own space and we deserve our own space right? and and that um partnerships are great, but that's not that's not enough. So um.


58:24.64

Cora Lee Poole

Urban spaces or Parkland space right? And and.


58:35.58

kitedart

I also want to offer that I know that you had a thinking and maybe this is just a good platform to put your thoughts out there on the subject and who knows who will hear this and maybe they know someone who knows someone who knows someone and we can like tap into some nice social capital in terms of even your idea because I think your idea around this is. Is stellar um and seems like why why can't we do these things so 1 sure right.


59:02.61

Cora Lee Poole

Well why can't Why can't we all link arms right? Like why can't we all get together and make positive impact right? and like and I think for me like when I think about positive impact. We all have a different role to play in making positive impact.


59:11.56

kitedart

Um, yeah, yeah.


59:21.64

Cora Lee Poole

Right? Like I might be on the front lines doing direct service but the person who's supporting me is also a part of that impact right? like the person who is like hey whether it's a partner organization or so my idea is you.


59:30.12

kitedart

Yeah.


59:39.85

Cora Lee Poole

You drive around Denver and covid brought a stark reality to the forefront of everything and that physical retail is a dying space. There are so many vacant. Commercial spaces in the Denver metro area like you cannot drive around without seeing for lease for lease for leas as soon as you reach out to them. Well as soon as I reach out to them and say hey I am a nonprofit and we need a space radio silence doesn't mean.


59:57.27

kitedart

Um, yeah.


01:00:11.44

Cora Lee Poole

Don't want to pay like here's the deal like I'm I'm down to pay but also I shouldn't say but and also you as a commercial like space owner you actually can get yourself a tax right? off by donating part of the value of that space right? Let's say it's a two Thousand Square Foot space which would be ideal for us. Um, because and we need Karen just so you know we need our own space because we work with wood. We make a mess right? This is a dirty process. We're using reclaimed lumber from homes from the area to create product rather than it going to a landfill and so.


01:00:36.64

kitedart

Um, yeah.


01:00:48.78

Cora Lee Poole

It's a dirty process. We need a dirty workshop. We also need a space that can house computers and sewing machines and a space to roll out yoga mats right? So the type of space that we need is pretty specific. Um, but like why can't you donate. Half of the value of that and allow us to pay the other half. Let's do it for a year let's see how it goes right? Let's try it for six months donate it to us for three months my god like that is an amazing impact and you are directly impacting your community.


01:01:11.39

kitedart

Right.


01:01:25.40

Cora Lee Poole

This is a community impact right? We are looking at marginalized communities in the intersectionality of marginalized communities and by donating that space to make positive impact to an organization fuck you just made a huge impact you as a property owner.


01:01:39.00

kitedart

Right? yeah.


01:01:43.95

Cora Lee Poole

As as a commercial broker. Whatever it is by negotiating that for us right? And so I think for me, that's where what it comes down to is like linking arms like you're sitting on vacant space Man you're definitely not making any money off of that. Yeah.


01:01:57.55

kitedart

Seriously I know that I mean that's the thing That's just crazy is like yeah getting half of the money. But it's that it's that greed right in that competitiveness right? So I Love this idea of linking arms and like so I'm just going to say it like folks who are listening who do you know. Right? Who who has a space or you know like like how do we? How do we make this happen I think it's a fabulous I mean I think there's so many possibilities we've had it. We've had a very um strong shift.


01:02:17.23

Cora Lee Poole

Yes, please.


01:02:34.87

kitedart

In the way our society is organized and it's been. It's been hard and there's been a lot of loss and there's an opportunity as well. How can we? How can we link arms and make this happen. So.


01:02:49.36

Cora Lee Poole

Yes, they like they thank you for that because it's it. Yeah and I think that another thing that I do want to note that you said it's like there are different types of capital. Not only are there different types of capital. There is also different types of philanthropy.


01:02:52.99

kitedart

Yes.


01:03:05.70

kitedart

Awesome! yeah.


01:03:07.39

Cora Lee Poole

Right? Like people think oh you just need me to donate Yes I Want you to fucking donate? Yes, absolutely.. However, if you don't have funds. There's Time. There's talent. There's goods and there is space. Those are also things that are incredibly impactful for any nonprofit organization and incredibly necessary and needed. So. That's my call to action right? is like yo like you don't have to go to my website and click the donate button and become a monthly donor. Like yo I've got hey I've got computers hey I've got you know I've got all this shit. That's just sitting around what can you do with it. Yo Let's have a conversation and especially let's have a conversation if you know someone that's got some space but like the reality is is. We're gonna generate our own revenue which means. We're not always going to have to rely on this monetary side of things and asking people to give we just have to do that now because we're still so new.


01:04:02.19

kitedart

Right? Yeah, which I love by the way because I've had conversations with others about this right that that the nonprofit sector can sometimes be so overly focused on donors and grants and that kind of thing and that. That can come with a lot of strings and it's still very much part of a patriarchal model and that we nonprofits can generate their own income and to your point there's a there's a startup factor right? and you know it takes time to build it. So.


01:04:33.72

Cora Lee Poole

Well, yeah, yeah, so I'm like I'm gonna lay this out real quick. So from a revenue perspective we are in 1 retail location on Tennyson Fernham bloom it's a floriss shop where we actually have our reclaimed. Lumber Plant propagation stations. We sold out in one month if I had 12 retail locations, physical retail locations that were essentially buying our product selling our product and they sold the same amount we would have enough money to pay our lease for an entire year.


01:04:53.82

kitedart

Wow.


01:05:08.99

kitedart

Wow.


01:05:10.65

Cora Lee Poole

We wouldn't have to rely on Grants. We wouldn't have to rely on and individual contributions to pay our rent. We would be generating the revenue to do that. Um. Which what is why this this work is so fucking cool right? Like we're not. We don't have to be like we we need the more money can somebody please help us. It's gonna be like no, we're taking the power back when we're doing it ourselves we're doing it ourselves. Um, and so wrapping those 2 things in together and yeah.


01:05:24.13

kitedart

Yeah.


01:05:32.60

kitedart

I Love it.


01:05:39.59

Cora Lee Poole

Generating our own revenue. So we don't have to rely on folks because we all get stressed financially like that's that's a reality We can't always give financially.


01:05:40.80

kitedart

I Love it.


01:05:47.52

kitedart

Yeah, yeah, right, right? No I love that I think it's I think it's fantastic. So everybody listening there's there's call number one I would love to give you space to to also talk about right? your fundraisers you've got coming up October Twenty Twenty two um you've got some super cool things happening please share what you've got going on how people can get involved in addition to to the initial in in addition to the initial ask.


01:06:06.20

Cora Lee Poole

Um.


01:06:15.15

Cora Lee Poole

Oh yeah, so we talked about language already right and changing how we talk about this particular subject. Um, so I'm really really like staunch in how we talk about this and very like firm. So. We have a fundraising campaign that we do every single year. It's called a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and what it's really about is like amplifying our own networks so you and I we probably have some of the same people that we follow and are following us on Instagram right? But we also have. Probably hundreds that are different and so how do we tap into our networks to bring them all together and get involved and so our annual fundraising campaign is called. We give a shit listen. The reason it's called we give a shit and I tell I am so every time I say this I get goosebumps. But the reason it's called we give a shit is because if somebody had looked at me when I was 22 years old and said I really give a shit about what it is that you're going through and I'm here to support you. It may have changed my life so when we are asking for help.


01:07:21.19

kitedart

Ah.


01:07:25.46

Cora Lee Poole

When we are as a nonprofit serving survivors asking for help. We are asking people to give a shit give a shit about all of this and so that is launching on October First we are running it for an entire fourth quarter with a goal of raising $60000 so that's a huge number. So we're doing something a little bit different this year as well and we are pairing up with 4 local women- owned breweries 2 of which are black female owned one of which is queer female owned because we want to talk about the intersectionality of domestic and intimate partner violence. We really want to talk about that because it's not talked about enough. And the reality is is we we serve survivors 80% of the people we have served so far are women of color 50% of them identify as queer or within the lg b two q I plus two spirit communities um 60% are mothers 60% are living.


01:08:10.25

kitedart

And.


01:08:23.79

Cora Lee Poole

At or below the federal poverty line and so intersectionality and language matters and conversations around that matter so October first we are doing our kickoff at novel strand which is a black female owned brewery. Um, and we are launching a week of a shit beer.


01:08:39.77

kitedart

Fast.


01:08:40.89

Cora Lee Poole

So all proceeds will go back to Undestructable throughout the month of October at these four breweries. So it's novel strand which is black female owned someplace else. Wog juan is also black female owned and lady justice which is queer female owned and so all of them will be. Porn goodness for Undestructable in the month of October we will be at each of these locations throughout the month so you can totally hit up our Instagram our website. Whatever to see those dates if you want me to tell them Karen I can um and come have a pint. Come learn more about domestic and intimate partner violence and the intersectionality and what it is that we as an organization are trying to do to flip the script turntables upside down and say we've got to do this different if we plan to see change happen.


01:09:34.40

kitedart

Um I love that I love that I um will you will you share your your website link or or your Instagram just so share that so people can go I'll put it all in the show notes. But.


01:09:35.30

Cora Lee Poole

Yeah.


01:09:41.72

Cora Lee Poole

Will have.


01:09:46.73

kitedart

If you and maybe do just share the dates just because I know so many folks listen to podcasts and don't look so give us the dates. You said this the breweries and then your links would be great So folks can go find you and check it out.


01:09:47.82

Cora Lee Poole

Okay, okay.


01:09:59.39

Cora Lee Poole

Lep I'm pulling up. Um my dates on my calendar because I don't want to end up getting them wrong I I know like dates dates and time dates and time. So.


01:10:03.16

kitedart

I Would That's so a thing I would do probably like in brain.


01:10:11.91

Cora Lee Poole

This won't happen before the novel strand event on October first but we'll be at novel strand on October First from 6 to 8 pm we will be at someplace else brewery on October Eighth from 3 to 5 pm. We will be at wog one on October Fifteenth ah 3 to 5 pm and then we'll be wrapping it up at lady justice on October Twenty ninth from 1 to three p m these are all Saturday dates. So we we purposely did this because we didn't want it to like I know some people work on Saturdays I work on Saturdays but. Um, to make sure that it was accessible right? We want to be as accessible to everybody as possible. Um, and so those are the dates our website now listen we have to talk people are going to write this in wrong and if there's closed captionings. Um.


01:10:50.65

kitedart

Um, yeah.


01:11:06.90

Cora Lee Poole

Undestructable is not a real word and so and like yeah yeah, so our website is www.dotundeststruct


01:11:09.50

kitedart

Ah, right I will make sure in the transcript that we get this right? yes.


01:11:21.59

Cora Lee Poole

A bull.org so the way you spell Undestructable is undestructable. We we intentionally misspelled the word. Um, it's intentional. It's not supposed to be Undestructable. Um, and it's also a really rad Punk Rock song by Ukrainian Band called Gogo Bordello so check out that song if you get a chance but um, so that's our website and then our Instagram is we dot r dot Undestructable. So. So we are Undestructable or you could just type in Undestructable and we'll pop up. Yeah.


01:11:59.49

kitedart

Fantastic I Love it I love it. So I encourage we're gonna I'm working with my producer we are gonna get this as a quick turnaround we did our very best but you know life happens and.


01:12:08.59

Cora Lee Poole

Totally yeah.


01:12:12.12

kitedart

And so we'll we'll I will even push for maybe getting it out as a bonus session before October first but either way it will be very early in October so go have a pint y'all and connect with Quora and connect with Undestructable I have 1 last quick question to wrap up Quora will you share what. Does entrepreneurial activism mean to you.


01:12:36.70

Cora Lee Poole

Entrepreneurial Activism to me. Um I can't remember how I phrased this before entrepreneurial activism to me is going against the grain is doing something that's never fucking been done before asking hard. Questions and leaning into that discomfort like we don't need the same shit. That's already been done We. We've got enough of it. So if you're gonna do something if you were going to step into that entrepreneur entrepreneurial space fucking get dirty roll your sLeeves up. And ask hard questions and go against the grain slay the patriarchy along the way.


01:13:14.29

kitedart

I Love that hallelujah yes that exactly core. Thank you so much for being here. It was wonderful to be in conversation with you I Love what you're doing so much and I wish you the best of luck in this.


01:13:18.83

Cora Lee Poole

Ah, yeah.


01:13:32.85

kitedart

In this fundraiser as you finish out the year


01:13:33.70

Cora Lee Poole

Awesome! Thank you so much for having me Karen it's been a blast.