Meet Jon.

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Jon McCoy, CFRE

Founder, visionary + ceo, we are for good
co-host, we are for good podcast

Hi, I’m Jon. I grew up in small town Oklahoma, son of a preacher man (and mama!) who has been designing logos since I was in kindergarten. I’m a hard wired optimist, peace seeker and keeper to a fault (any fellow enneagram 9’s out there?). And like so many in our field, I fell into nonprofit work a bit by accident. Along the way I married my best friend Candice, and we had the greatest surprise and joys of our lives by welcoming our two sets of twins - now ages 6 and 9 - man, I’m getting old!

My journey into fundraising began while my newlywed wife and I raised support to be interns for an international ministry which took us to Thailand to live and serve for a year - one of the best and most formative years of our lives. Once returning from overseas, I returned to Oklahoma, armed with a bachelor of fine arts degree from Oklahoma State University, and had the honor of leading the art direction for my alma mater’s billion dollar Branding Success campaign – the largest and most successful fundraising effort in Oklahoma history.

Following this experience, I started serving a growing client base of nonprofit organizations - now more than 25 - consulting on branding, marketing and fundraising. One particular highlight was our family’s side hustle lifestyle brand was selected and we got to design a national collaboration product line with West Elm. (video here!)

While working alongside nonprofits, I grew a passion for development through serving nearly a decade as Director of Annual Giving for INTEGRIS Foundation in Oklahoma City where Becky and I designed and launched our organization’s first employee giving campaign: YOU&I. This campaign experienced 10x growth - starting with fewer than 310 donors to now more than 3,500 annually and has raised millions of dollars along the way. The campaign’s success led for opportunities to share this unique fundraising approach and framework via online webinars, industry conferences and live events. After meeting so many development leaders across the country, we saw the need for an immersive training for fundraisers who want grow their own culture of giving at their organization. Enter the Employee Giving Campaign Masterclass: an online bootcamp of sorts where Becky and I share a comprehensive framework for creating, launching and scaling a best-in-class employee giving program. We’ve now trained students from healthcare systems across the U.S. and Canada.

After dreaming of a full-fledged company aimed at empowering and equipping this generation of nonprofit leaders - We Are For Good was formed in 2019, and was taken full time in 2020. The first phase of bringing this vision to life is the We Are For Good podcast which debuted in August 2020 as the #1 nonprofit podcast.

Get to Know Jon.

Listen to the interview!

FUN FACTS

  • Married for 15 years to Candice and they have two sets of twins - ages 6 and 9 (in fact, you can catch one of them in the background of the photo above :)) Candice documents our family’s life + travels through stories + photography at @lovewellfolk

  • The We Are For Good Podcast is recorded and filmed in a studio inside Jon & Candice’s 1928 home in Oklahoma - so be ready for squeaks, creaks and power surges (and if you are handy, give me a call - we always have a list of broken things! Looking at you, holes in the plaster walls!)

  • Earned a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design with minors in Marketing + Art History (you bet I can spot the differences between a Monet and Manet!)

  • Led teams for nearly 15 years within the nonprofit sector - including areas of Design & Marketing, Annual Giving, Special Events and Workplace Giving.

  • Jon & Becky pioneered the Employee Giving Masterclass - an immersive training to teach healthcare and higher education organizations how to imagine, organize and execute a best-in-class, successful employee giving program & campaign.

  • Has consulted alongside 25+ nonprofit organizations on branding, campaigns, websites and marketing objectives.

  • Iced Coffee Only (even throughout winter!) + Cold Brew Snob + don’t even think about adding milk or sugar. Ha! Ok, I need to calm down.

  • Love traveling + Experiencing new cultures, people and places.

  • Jon & Candice lived in Chiang Mai, Thailand for one year as newlyweds serving as interns with a faith-based nonprofit org. Sawat-dee kup! (And 10 years later I still try to impress our local Thai restaurant staff by breaking out one of my 12 Thai phrases. Spoiler alert: they’re not so impressed, but are always incredibly kind.)

  • One of our favorite trips has been to take our kiddos back to Thailand to introduce them to the wonderful people and culture (and to visit the most amazing beaches. Favorite? Maya Bay in the Phi Phi Islands :)