What does it take to walk away from a broken system and build something better?
In this episode, I talk to Toni Finnimore, founder of The Social Society, about her journey from “climbing a mountain of treacle” in the charity sector to creating a platform that actually helps people give back in more human, meaningful ways. We talk about founder life, compassion fatigue, and how to actually make a difference when you don’t know where to start.
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Chapters:
(0:00) Intro
(01:22) What Is The Social Society?
(04:14) Toni’s Background
(08:33) Leaving the Sector vs. Building Something New
(11:07) The Reality of Starting From Scratch
(13:29) Volunteering That Actually Works: Skills, Not Guilt
(17:01) Micro-Volunteering and Making It Frictionless
(20:22) Founder Burnout and Setting Boundaries
(23:10) Gender Bias in the Founder Journey
(26:05) Growing Slow, Staying Rooted
(30:41) Balancing Strategy with Intuition
(35:18) Rebuilding Local Connection in a Remote World
(38:50) Holding Space Without Absorbing Everything
(41:55) Starting Small to Beat Overwhelm
(45:30) Why Good Events Aren’t About Glitter and Hay Bales
(48:00) Finding Purpose in the Chaos
(49:38) Final Thoughts and Book Recommendations
