Women are not just participating in the Iranian resistance.
They are leading it.

At first glance, that might seem surprising.

After all, the Iranian regime has spent decades trying to control and silence women, policing how they dress, restricting their freedoms, and punishing those who challenge authority.

But according to Zolal, that pressure has had an unintended consequence.

It has created a generation of women who refuse to accept submission, and who have stepped into leadership roles inside the resistance movement.

She described it with a powerful metaphor:

Women are like a spring. The more pressure you put on it, the stronger the force when it is released.

In other words, the very oppression designed to silence women has helped produce some of the movement’s strongest leaders.

For years, women inside the resistance have organized networks, sustained the movement through periods of extreme repression, and taken on responsibilities that require extraordinary courage.

And the logic behind this leadership structure is simple:

Those who experience the greatest injustice often become the most determined advocates for change.

It’s a reminder that leadership is rarely born in comfort.

More often, it emerges from people who have endured the most and refuse to accept that things must remain the same.

Watch the full conversation from the weekly You Are What You Give podcast here

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Far from a typical political interview, this conversation wasn’t about scoring points on policy or rhetoric. What stood out was Cloud’s reflections on service, responsibility, and character, themes that resonate deeply with nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and anyone committed to long-term impact.

Here are three insights from the conversation that land especially hard for leaders focused on mission and stewardship:

1. Serving is an Orientation, Not a Sound Bite

Cloud’s work didn’t begin in Washington, DC. It began in community, church, and grassroots volunteerism. Before Congress, he chaired a local GOP chapter and worked in media communications for a church.

That early service shaped his view of leadership:
Leadership isn’t what you say — it’s what you do consistently.

2. Tough Environments Reveal True Commitment

In Washington, he serves on the House Appropriations Committee, a place defined by pressure, competing interests, and slow-moving wheels.

Cloud emphasized something subtle but powerful:
Pressure tests your character, not your resume.

For anyone leading a nonprofit, especially in tough seasons, that’s a reminder that resilience and integrity matter as much as strategy.

3. Trust Is the Currency That Doesn’t Depreciate

Whether you’re engaging a donor, a volunteer, or a community partner, trust is the thing that sustains relationships long after the campaign ends.

Cloud’s stories - of town halls, constituent engagement, and even disagreement - all came back to trust.

For leaders asking how to build real connection (beyond transactions), this feels like the core lesson of the episode.

If you haven’t yet watched or listened, catch the full conversation here:

The wording.
The timing.
The number.

But in this week’s conversation with J. Paul Fridenmaker, he flips that assumption.

“The ask is coachable,” he says.

What’s harder to coach?
Your posture.

How you sit across from wealth.
Whether you carry suspicion.
Insecurity.
Resentment.
Or quiet confidence.

Fundraising is deeply relational work. And if you haven’t done your internal work, your view of money, success, generosity, it leaks into the room.

That’s why burnout isn’t just about quotas.
It’s often about unresolved tension with wealth itself.

In this clip, J. Paul reflects on:

• Why networking and connecting are the real DNA test for fundraisers

• What happened when he “gave a donor away” in 2001

• Why long-term trust beats short-term wins

🎥 Watch the full episode here:

Because growth doesn’t begin with tactics.
It begins with posture.

— Avi

Some resources are not ours to use. They are entrusted to us for others.

When money or resources are designated for giving, such as a tithe, they are meant to move outward. Using them for personal needs, even well-intentioned ones, is off-mark. It actually puts us in debt, because we’ve taken something that was entrusted for a different purpose.

This reframes giving entirely.

Giving isn’t only about generosity. It’s about responsibility.

The question isn’t: “Can I justify this use?” It’s:“Who was this meant for?”

When resources meant for others are redirected inward, the loss isn’t just financial. It’s a breach of trust, not only with the people we were meant to help, but between us and the values that guide us to give.

Good giving starts with recognizing that not everything we hold is ours to spend.
Some things are held on behalf of others, and honoring that is part of what makes giving rewarding.

Watch or listen to the full episode here:

We were talking about land.

For ranchers, land isn’t an asset to be optimized or flipped.
It’s something inherited, stewarded, protected, and eventually passed on.

That idea carries a deeply biblical echo. The notion that we are not owners, but caretakers. The land precedes us, outlives us, and quietly demands responsibility rather than control.

Revis described how ranching culture in Texas is rooted in this understanding:
You work the land, you respect it, and you make decisions not just for today, but for generations you may never meet.

That posture shapes how giving works.

Giving, in this context, isn’t transactional.
It’s not about extracting value or maximizing return.
It’s about sustaining something larger than yourself.

You hear it in how they talk about:

• Family legacy

• Community responsibility

• Teaching the next generation to carry weight, not entitlement

• Showing up when neighbors need help, without waiting for permission

This is giving as stewardship.

In a world that treats resources as disposable and relationships as optional, the Lone Star Ladies remind us of something older and steadier:

We don’t give because we have excess.
We give because it’s our responsibility.

And in that sense, giving isn’t something you do.
It’s something you live.

If you haven’t watched or listened yet, the full episode is now live:

• YouTube

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

But before goals, before plans, before resolutions, Cathy McMorris Rodgers offers a more basic starting point:

Trust.

After twenty years in the U.S. Congress, Cathy did not name power, policy wins, or seniority as her most valuable asset. She named trust - being trusted, and choosing to trust others - as the key to success.

That insight feels especially relevant at the beginning of 2026.

Trust as a Foundation, Not a Reward

Cathy reflected on running ten successful campaigns, serving in leadership roles, and navigating deep disagreement. What consistently made progress possible wasn’t consensus - it was credibility.

People believed she would be honest with them.
They believed she would show up.
They believed she would keep her word.

Trust didn’t mean everyone agreed with her. It meant people were willing to work together anyway.

Why Trust Matters Now

The start of a year often brings both optimism and hesitation. Cynicism is easy. Suspicion feels protective. Yet Cathy’s experience suggests that progress rarely begins by being guarded.

When we lead with trust, whether in leadership, philanthropy, relationships, or civic life, we create space for cooperation, responsibility, and shared purpose.

Giving the Benefit of the Doubt

Cathy’s lesson is not about choosing our reality.

As this year begins, perhaps one of the most meaningful gifts we can offer to colleagues, partners, institutions, and one another is the benefit of the doubt.

And maybe the work of the year doesn’t start with asking what we want to achieve, but by deciding how we choose to show up.

This was a conversation about responding not to a need but to a calling.

Here are some giving insights that stayed with me.

1. Giving Begins With Identity, Not With Need

Heather does not describe her support for Israel as a response to a fundraising pitch, a geopolitical calculation, or even a humanitarian crisis. She describes it as alignment with a role she believes she is meant to play in history.

When giving is rooted in identity, it doesn’t fluctuate with headlines. It doesn’t depend on public approval. And it doesn’t collapse when the work becomes difficult or controversial.

This kind of giving answers a critical question:
Who am I called to be?

2. Service, Not Replacement

Much of the historical tension between Jewish and Christian communities has revolved around ideas of replacement: who inherits covenant or legitimacy.

What emerged in this conversation was fundamentally different.

Heather’s framework is not about replacing the Jewish people, directing them, or redefining their story. It is about serving- standing alongside rather than stepping in front.

Giving, in this model, is humble, honest and selfless. It focuses on the opportunity to fill a role and to assume responsibility.

3. Long-Term Giving Requires Staying Power

One of the key dimensions of generosity is endurance.

Heather’s involvement in Israel did not begin in response to a crisis, and it has not ended when conditions became harder, whether politically, socially, or personally.

Enduring giving is rarely glamorous. But it is often the kind of giving that can become consequential instead of seasonal.

4. Giving Is About Alignment

Sometimes giving is not about fixing something within reach, rather aligning ourselves with something larger than us.

Heather gives because life carries meaning beyond comfort, beyond consensus, and beyond convenience.

Purpose can and should drive our relationship with everything from people to the divine. And when we see beyond ourselves we are motivated to give.

Questions to Sit With

Who are we as people who give?

Are we giving to influence or to serve?

What challenges can our giving sustain?

Are we giving to fix or to fill a specific role?

Give yourself some time to think about your giving. This is great prep for this week’s Giving Challenge.

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1. “Earn This”

When Bruce says “earn this,” he’s speaking of a value that defines his life. He wants to earn the right to matter to his family.

It’s an emotional commitment, a daily decision to be worthy of someone’s trust, love, and belief. In Bruce’s world, giving begins with that kind of intimate responsibility: showing up in a way that honors the people closest to you.

2. Coach Them as Hard as You Love Them

You can’t lead someone to growth if you don’t know them. Coach Pearl starts with relationships, through thick and thin. Wins, losses, celebrations and camaraderie. Direct interpersonal giving becomes most impactful when it’s rooted in relationships.

3. The Absence Test: What if a Nonprofit Disappeared?

Bruce shared a straightforward filter he uses when deciding where to direct his time, voice, and influence:

If the organization disappeared, what would the world look like?

When you strip away the external layers of the conversation, what remains is the cause and the impact that’s generated. If you believe that the world needs this work to persist, then this organization is worth your support.

Bruce’s Giving Contributions

Leadership, at its core, is a form of giving.
These three takeaways offer a lens for thinking about our own roles:

• giving as emotional commitment,

• giving through relationship,

• giving guided by clarity and purpose.

Whether on the court or far from it, Bruce’s giving insights have a lot to offer.

When describing how and why she gives, Tila used this story to articulate a call to purpose: You are what you give, because in the end, what we give is the only part of us that continues beyond us.

As Tila illustrated, purposeful giving is a way of life that begins at home.

It begins in the way we speak to our children. Our community activism. Our values driven conversations that intentionally lead beyond “how was your day”. And a commitment to give when we receive, even if it’s a stack of birthday gifts.

Tila also reminded us that giving should be dynamic and shift to adapt to the most pressing needs. After October 7, there was a surge in needs, and Tila has been focusing and refocusing her giving ever since. Better giving means constantly refining what you support, based on a personal blend between the needs at hand, your capacity to meet them and your passion to commit yourself.

Today’s note is simple:
Start at home. Feed your values driven passion. And remember that what we give will outlive us.

— Avi

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When Rob Adams saw a stocked fridge for the first time as a child, he saw more than food. He saw opportunity. He wasn’t thinking about himself. He was envisioning how to bring benefit to the lives of others.

As he explains in our first episode of You Are What You Give, the work that Thanksgiving Heroes does each year isn’t only about the families receiving meals. And it isn’t limited to the volunteers delivering them.
It’s about the space created between them, the human moment when two people step into a shared experience of dignity, commitment, and appreciation.

That space is where giving grows above and beyond greeting cards and holiday wishes. It’s relationship. It’s the exchange of presence and purpose between people who realize they matter to one another.

Giving is about looking beyond ourselves, beyond our place, and beyond our time.
It’s about creating a world that will continue to matter long after we’re gone.

So as Thanksgiving begins, here’s a question to carry with you:

Who helped shape the person you are today, and how might your gratitude become something you give forward?

Because gratitude that stays inside us is the first step to a life worth giving.

Wishing you and those you love a meaningful Thanksgiving.

Avi