In this powerful episode of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy D, the Nonprofit Sector Connector, sits down with Kavita Mehra, Executive Director of Sakhi for South Asian Survivors of Gender-Based Violence, for an honest, vulnerable, and inspiring conversation about what it means to build a life of service and stand with survivors. From her working-class Jersey roots and 100-hour weeks in her mother’s Hallmark store, to frontline overnight shelter work, to being fired from a fundraising role and coming back stronger, Kavita shares how every step of her journey shaped the leader she is today.

Kavita opens up about being a survivor herself, the loneliness of navigating class and identity as an Indian American woman, and how those lived experiences inform her leadership at Sakhi. She and Tommy dig into the realities of direct service vs. development, the importance of professionalizing the nonprofit sector, and why fundraising is really about storytelling, connection, and aligning passion with resources. Along the way, they talk about the Imagine Awards, sector stress, and why small groups of committed people truly can change the world.

You’ll also hear how Sakhi has grown from a small organization with a modest budget into a $7M+ movement hub with a 50-person team, offering holistic, in-house support for survivors across the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean diaspora: a helpline and text line, safety planning, immigration and family law support, trauma-informed counseling, housing assistance, culturally specific food access, economic empowerment, job coaching, and more. Kavita and Tommy emphasize that survivors are the agents of change in their own lives – Sakhi’s role is to clear barriers so they can safely make their own choices. They close with a call to action to support Sakhi or your local gender-based violence organization, because this work is truly life-and-death and impacts every community.

If you or someone you know may be experiencing gender-based violence and needs support:

Sakhi for South Asian Survivors

🌐 Website: SAKHI.org

📞 Helpline: 212-868-6741

📲 Text: 305-204-1808

A trained team member will respond as quickly as possible to support with safety planning, crisis response, and next steps.

⚠️ If you are in immediate danger, please call 911 or your local emergency number first.

🎙️ Show: Philanthropy in Phocus (with a PH!)

👤 Host: Tommy DiMisa, The Nonprofit Sector Connector

🌐 TalkRadio.NYC – Uplift. Educate. Empower.

👉 Learn more, donate, or get involved: SAKHI.org

👉 Support your local gender-based violence / anti-violence organization – this is one of the most important issues of our time, and everyone is impacted.

#PhilanthropyInPhocus #Sakhi #EndGenderBasedViolence #NonprofitLeadership #SurvivorCentered #SouthAsianCommunity #DomesticViolenceAwareness

In this inspiring episode of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy D – the Nonprofit Sector Connector – sits down with his longtime friend Dr. Joy DeDonato, Executive Director for the Metro New York region of Blood Cancer United (formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society). Joy shares how a lifetime of service began with a simple feeling of wanting to help others, and evolved into more than two decades in the nonprofit sector focused on cancer support, education access, women’s issues, and amplifying the voices of those who are too often unseen or unheard. She reflects on the powerful example set by her parents, who modeled service “before it had a title,” and how that foundation of love, grit, and doing the right thing has shaped her entire journey.

Joy walks listeners through her professional path from Nassau Community College—first as a student, then staff member and later Executive Director of the college’s foundation—to a decade at the American Cancer Society, and on to SUNY Stony Brook working on women’s health and women’s leadership. Throughout, she emphasizes the power of long-term relationships, showing how mentors, colleagues, and friends have stayed connected across roles, institutions, and life milestones. Joy also shares deeply personal stories of losing loved ones to cancer early in her career, and then, 20 years later, watching close family members with blood cancers move from “despair to hope to strength” thanks to advances in treatment—an evolution that called her back into the cancer space and ultimately to Blood Cancer United.

Together, Tommy and Joy highlight the recent rebrand from Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to Blood Cancer United, designed to be more inclusive of all blood cancer patients and families. Joy outlines key initiatives including the Dare to Dream project for safer pediatric treatments, the Student Visionaries of the Year campaign, the emotional Light the Night walks, the Big Climb at Citi Field, and the Visionary of the Year competition that rallies leaders to raise critical funds. She also touches on her wider civic leadership as Vice Chair of Dress for Success Long Island and as a commissioner for both Human Rights and Women’s Leadership in Suffolk County. Through humor, Golden Girls and Fraggle Rock references, and real talk about grit and service, this episode celebrates how one person’s commitment to community, equity, and compassion can ripple out to transform countless lives.

In this episode, Tommy D sits down with Marie Davis and Matthew Epperson from the Georgia Center for Employee Ownership (GACEO) to unpack how business owners can use succession planning to keep companies, jobs, and legacies in their communities. They outline the three major models of broad-based employee ownership—ESOPs (a regulated retirement trust invested in the company), worker cooperatives (direct ownership with patronage profit sharing), and employee ownership trusts (EOTs) (mission-driven trusts that share value broadly)—and explain when each fits. Key clarifications: employees don’t pay to join an ESOP, governance typically remains with a board, and sellers may access tax advantages such as a §1042 capital-gains rollover (for ESOPs and co-ops). The conversation anchors these ideas in the “silver tsunami” of boomer-owned businesses and why proactive planning preserves local economies.

Marie and Matthew share real-world examples: Clegg Auto’s EOT-backed expansion that kept Augusta’s Regency Auto open with the same team and a new profit-sharing purpose trust; the growth of Love Is Love Cooperative Farm from five founders to 20 employees; and Athens-based JOMA Construction, which went 100% ESOP early, aligning a young workforce around long-term wealth building and retention. Beyond the why and how, they highlight practical on-ramps for owners and advisors—GACEO’s Employee Ownership Ambassador Program and Exit Pro 101—and point to a national ecosystem of state centers (via EOX) that can match companies with experienced legal, accounting, valuation, and financing partners.

If you’re a founder, CFO/CPA, exit planner, or community leader exploring alternatives to traditional M&A, this episode shows how to transition ownership to employees, protect culture, and keep profits local. Learn more at GACEO.org and connect with Tommy D to continue the conversation.