#60 – Ben Martin (USMC) and Leanne Babcock (USAF) – Dauntless Veteran Foundation

“The wine starts the conversation. It brings people in and sets them up for what we’re really trying to do, which is support our community through agriculture.”

This was a beautifully simple explanation by one of our guests describing how a for-profit entity can not only enable a non-profit effort but can also serve as a funnel to drive like-minded individuals towards a common goal.

We have two guests on the podcast this week – Ben Martin and Leanne Babcock – both with the Dauntless Veterans Foundation. Ben was an early guest on the podcast (episode 8) and is the founder and winemaker at Dauntless Wine Co – a veteran-owned and operated winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon whose ultimate mission is to give back to warriors in need by offering them a place to learn about agriculture.

Leanne Babcock grew up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley picking blueberries and plums on her grandfather’s orchard. She enlisted in the US Air Force in 2003 working on emergency vehicles before being commissioned as an officer several years later and began that chapter of her career as a logistician.  She is currently supporting logistics and engineering efforts as an individual mobilized augmentee assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).  

Our conversation picks up with Ben describing what it was like having Leanne first show up to Dauntless Wine Company and making her intentions clear that she wanted to support their efforts help veterans in the Willamette Valley through a non-profit foundation.

Have a listen to this episode to find out this team’s early struggles with starting a non-profit in a post-pandemic world, the interplay between a for-profit entity and the foundation, and the story behind how how Dauntless’s largest donor last year was 9-year old boy!

Enjoy!