An Army of Normal Folks - How Service Became Someone Else’s Job

Episode Date: April 17, 2026

Service didn’t disappear—it got outsourced. In this Shop Talk, we unpack the trend of nonprofits shifting from relying on volunteers to paid staff members, how it’s weakening our communities—and why reclaiming responsibility starts with normal folks like you choosing to show up.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody is Bill Courtney with an Army of Normal folks. Welcome to the shop. Alex. Big day. What's up? Big day. How are you? Shop Talk 100.

That's a, that's a, that's crazy. You're still dealing with me. I know. God, 100 shop talks. Shop talks didn't even exist when we started an Army and Normal folks. So I don't even know what's going on. So, uh, let's see. Benjamin Franklin

What about a $100 bill? He's on a $100 bill Yeah, I got one I didn't know anything about that But you do Oh yeah, you got $100 So what else is $100? Any other hundreds?

Actually, you know what's funny about that? A couple weeks ago, I did that bed bill in Oxford And this guy came up to me and gave me $300 bills as a donation You know, there, which we weren't raising money But just people were convicted by it But I find it really funny Like the type of people who carry around $100 bills

Yeah Most people don't, but there are Like my uncle was like this too. We'd always have $100 bills. Yeah. You're probably one of those people, aren't you? Of course. I have to have a $100 bill.

I mean, you might need $100. So you carry one. Get over. Yeah. That's it. Somebody just walked up and gave you $300 and said, there's some money for some money for some time. I love that.

That's awesome. And I forgot to mention it back then. An elderly lady who was 95 years old was at the bed build. Really? Working with her five-year-old grandson. We had three generations of a family there together. That is so cool. Yeah, that really is.

And she gave a $200 check. That's $90. She was $95. We should have brought her up and shopped on number 95, but it was inverted. Hey, year 100, though, Bill. They think the Gospel of John was written around then. Paper began to be used by the general populace in China, and the wheelbarrow made its first appearance in China in year 100.

The wheelbarrow in year 100? Yeah. I can't believe human beings to come up with that before. A bunch of dopes. Okay. Here we go. House service became someone else's job. ShopTock number 100.

House service became someone else's job. Holy smokes, if that doesn't ring all kinds of bells for the Army and normal folks. So we'll dive into this right after these brief messages from our gender sponsors. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about and they are experts at everything. Here, the Nick Dick and Poll show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director. Who do you think he is?

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Mom, could you please try to be a little bit positive about this? From Kenya Barris, the visionary creator of Blackish, comes Big Age, an audible original about finding your way in life's next chapter. This audio comedy series follows a retired couple's reluctant relocation to Sunset Gardens, a Floridian senior community that is anything but relaxing. Starring Comedy Legends, Jennifer Lillian. Louis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Niecy Nashvettes. Through its blend of outrageous comedy, key party anyone, and touching revelations,

Big Age explores what it means to grow older without growing old at heart. Go to audible.com slash big age series to start listening today. Okay, everybody, shop talk 100. All right, there, good, did that. How service became someone else's job. All right, let's talk about it. Today, I think, is quietly changing our country, something today that I think is quietly changed our country.

Most people don't even realize that's happening to kind of back up this dissertation. Let's start with some numbers, some data. Today in America, there are about 12.8 million people working for nonprofits. That's one out of every 10 private sector jobs. Just consider that. 10% of our private sector jobs, 12.8 million people, are working for non-profits. Is that crazy? That's nuts.

At the same time, though, volunteer participation has dropped. So not long ago, about 30% of Americans volunteered. Now is closer to 23. That's one of the sharpest declines I've ever seen. So let's just stop for a second. Think about that. More people are getting paid to serve others, and fewer people are volunteer.

to do it. That's screwed up as a soup sandwich. So let's layer on top of that about two-thirds of nonprofits say demand for their services are going up. And nearly half of nonprofit leaders say recruiting volunteers is a major problem. So we're paying more people to do nonprofit work. There's fewer people volunteering. Two-thirds of nonprofits say demand for their services are rising

and they're having a hard time meeting that demand because they don't have volunteers to help them. More need, fewer volunteers, more paid staff. That is not an opinion. That is the direction of the data. Now here's where it gets even more interesting. There was a major report from points of light that asked a simple question. How important are volunteers to nonprofit work? 72% of nonprofits said volunteers are essential.

But when they ask funders, the people writing the checks, only 25% said the same thing. And then you see the number that just blows your mind out of nearly $1 trillion in foundation giving, only 0.19%, about a quarter of a point. okay, out of nearly one trillion in foundation giving, only a little bit less than a quarter of a percent goes towards supporting volunteer engagement. Nonprofits say volunteers are essential, but we fund them like an afterthought at less than a quarter of a percent.

So here's where we come to. When you don't invest in something, you don't get more of it. So what's happening? Nonprofits still have to meet need. They still have to serve people. They still have to deliver results. So they do what in any organization do. They hire people to do it.

Not because they want to replace volunteers, but because the system makes it easier to hire someone than to mobilize them. And over time, that changes everything. We move from a cultural participation to a system of delegation, from we take care of each other to there's an organization that pays, people for that. And when that happens, we don't just lose volunteers. We lose ownership. We lose the sense that this is my community. And I have a role in making it better by giving to it. There's even research showing that in places with more large professional nonprofits, people

actually volunteer less and give less. Think about that. There's research showing that in places with larger professional nonprofits, people simply volunteer less and give less. Why? Because when something becomes someone else's job, we stop seeing it as ours. We start saying they have got it handled. That's what nonprofits are for.

I'm not really needed. And without realizing it, we've outsourced responsibility. We've outsourced compassion. Now, here's the part that I think that matters most. When you remove people from service, you don't just lose help, you lose the transformation. You lose the moment where someone sees a struggle up close,

connects with the human being, and feels responsible for something bigger than themselves. You know, the things that builds community, not programs, not budgets, people. And I don't believe people have stopped caring. I think they've been pushed the sidelines by systems that are more efficient, but less participatory, by organizations that without meaning to say,

we've got this, but we don't. Because the problems are getting bigger, not smaller, and no number of paid staff, no matter how talented, can replace a culture where people actually show up for each other. That's where the Army and Normal folks comes in, because we're not trying to build another nonprofit. We're trying to build something we've lost,

a culture where people believe it's my responsibility. Where you don't wait for permission, you don't wait for credentials, you don't wait for someone to organize you, you just show up, because here's the truth. Most of what our communities need

do not require professionals. It requires people, people who are willing to give a little time, pay attention, care enough to act. And here's the part that nobody talks enough about. when you serve, you don't just change someone else's life. It changes you. It makes you more aware, more grateful, more connected. And if we lose that, if we turn service into something only professionals do, we don't just weaken our communities. We weaken ourselves. So here's the challenge.

The next time you see a need, don't ask who's handling that. Ask, why can't I handle that? Why not me? Even if it's small. Even if your efforts are important, perfect. It doesn't really matter because that's how communities are built, not by a handful of professionals doing everything or the ultra-rich paying for it or the really smart people on CNN and Fox talking about it, but just by an army of normal folks doing something about it. That is how service has become someone else's responsibility and the dangers of allowing that to happen. And if you ask 99% of the guests we've had on an army and normal folks, they will all tell you that the payoff pitch to the entire processes, each of them got infinitely more out of it for themselves than they put into it. And that's the beauty of the whole thing of an army and normal folks is it grows community.

It helps people need. but it makes those who serve more fulfilled and better people. And if you can grow a community around that, you can change the world. But you don't change it by paying people to serve. That's it, Alex. It's a whole thing in a nutshell, isn't it? Yeah, those are some scary trends, huh?

It is scary trends. It's frightening because, well, and it goes back to the other shop talk we did, which is it also polarizes us because when we don't engage, our children ended up marrying people that are like them and having children that are like them. And by not engaging and letting somebody else do something and not understanding the marketplace of need,

we also start getting polarized by the nature of those we interact with every day, which further degrades society. It's funny while you're talking or is reminding this email from the person in D.C. exploring the service club. So she wrote reaching out to have a call about it. And I asked her, how did you come across the Army? I always asked people that. And she said, I came across the Army by searching Google for nonprofits that build community across social divisions. That's amazing.

That she Googled that and got us. Well, there we are. Aren't we nice people? Yeah. I don't know if we're so nice, but... We've got more edge to us than the normal nice person. That's awesome. So, bottom line, guys, is the challenge is...

It's not somebody else's job. Don't... We do not need to outsource to paid professionals service. And all of the data says that the vast majority of Americans want to serve. They just don't know how. So... I'll tell you, some recent... experiences with the service clubs.

I reached out to so many nonprofits and often they're not getting back to me. And some of it's they're genuinely busy. Like I am right. We all miss things. I'm sure you miss emails too. I do. So some of it's that. But some of it, I think, is this problem of paid staff too. If you feel like it's your 9 to 5,

you don't have the same level of commitment is one of our volunteers who's like doing this on nights and weekends and really making it a mission. Like to the degree to which Lydia and a lot of our other service club leaders are going to the mat to make this thing a success or even my team with sleeping heavenly peace that we're building at oxford the amount of time a lot of these people are investing for free it's not the same mindset where the worker who's clocking in from nine to five it's absolutely true makes a lot of sense so and it makes you better um yeah it's that's it's it so

shop talk number hundred number 100 house service became someone else's job how we got to reverse that And the anecdote to that issue is, in fact, an Army of Normal Folks being inspired by our guests and getting involved in our service clubs and fixing so much of what's gotten broken. So easy. Just get involved. Don't let service become someone else's job. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends on our social. Rate and review it. Join the Army at NormalFolks.

us join the service club what else Alex that's it all right that's it um how service came someone else's job and what we got to do to reverse that that is shop talk number 100 think about it we'll see you next week this is amy rovock alongside t j holmes from the amy and tj podcast and there is so much news information commentary coming at you all day and from all over the place what's fact what's fake and sometimes what the eff So let's cut the crap, okay? Follow the Amy and T.J. Podcast, a one-stop news and pop culture shop to get you caught up and on with your day.

And listen to Amy and T.J. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. On paper, the three hosts of the Nick Dick & Poll show are geniuses. We can explain how AI works, data centers, but there are certain things that we don't necessarily understand. Better version of Play Stupid Game. is when stupid prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift who said that for the first time.

I actually, I thought it was. I got that wrong. But hey, no one's perfect. We're pretty close, though. Listen to the Nick, Dick, and Paul show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know the famous author, Roald Doll.

He thought up Willie Wonka and the BFG. But did you know he was a spy? Neither did I. You can hear all about his wildlife story in the podcast, The Secret World of Roll Doll, All episodes are out now. Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been.

What? Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Binge all 10 episodes of The Secret World of Roll Dahl. Now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now everybody over here? Oh, it's one of my other favorite places.

The Twilight Gazebo. Sunset Gardens. Twilight Gazebo. What's next? Dead Man's Grove? Mom, could you close? Please try to be a little bit positive about this. From Kenya Barris, the visionary creator of Blackish, comes Big Age,

an audible original about finding your way in life's next chapter. This audio comedy series follows a retired couple's reluctant relocation to Sunset Gardens, a Floridian senior community that is anything but relaxing, starring Comedy Legends Jennifer Lewis, Cedric the Entertainer, and Nisi Nashvettes. Through its blend of outrageous comedy, key party anyone? And touching revelations, big age explores what it means to grow older without growing old at heart. Go to audible.com slash big age series to start listening today.