Caring — from downtown to Jasper Ridge

As director of major gifts for the School of Engineering, Matthew Bahls plays a critical role in fortifying support for research and education at Stanford. It’s a job he loves, but he also carves out personal time to serve on nonprofit boards and volunteer as a docent.

When you give back, you get back too 

“Volunteering is one of the best bangs for the buck that you can get from a mental health standpoint. When you work with a relatively small organization, you can take on new projects and easily see the difference that you're making. I bring skills I’ve honed at Stanford to volunteer work, but it’s different from what I do in my day job. It feels like I’m drawing on energy from a different bucket,” said Bahls.

Serving as a board member, Bahls has helped several Bay Area nonprofits succeed and grow, most recently as vice chair of the board at Downtown Street Teams, where people experiencing homelessness can get help finding housing and employment, and connect with resources they need to rebuild their lives. “I was lucky to be along for a ride that saw the growth of the organization from a fledgling one in Palo Alto to now having 16 sites in Northern California,” Bahls said. Previously, at InnVision the Way Home, Bahls supported the group’s merger with another local non-profit to form the combined organization LifeMoves, now a “super-sized,” four-star organization on Charity Navigator. 

Bahls was initially drawn to volunteer work addressing homelessness because the visibility and severity of the problem stunned him when he moved to the Bay Area from Maine in the early 2000s. “In part because it's so cold and the population is much smaller, you don’t see very many homeless people in Maine. But here, going downtown to the train station or going to Palo Alto, homelessness is extremely visible. It feels like a sign that something is wrong in the community.”

Demystifying board work

Most nonprofit organizations are governed by a board of directors. Leadership runs the organization, and staff do the footwork, while the board provides vital checks and balances and fiduciary oversight. “We also act as a sounding board for overall strategy,” Bahls explained. “Ideally, a board is a sort of ‘Noah's Ark’ of experts, where you have, for example, two lawyers, two fundraisers, two accountants, etc., and it’s essential to have diverse opinions. The most important thing that a board does is to ensure that the organization is fiscally sound and organized in such a way that it can sustain itself or grow if that is their ambition.”

There is a common misconception that board membership is by invitation only, but Bahls stressed that you can put yourself forward proactively for board positions. His advice? “You just need to be realistic about what expertise you have and the type of organization you approach. I recommend starting with smaller organizations that are involved with the causes you care about, to build up your comfort with board work.” Bahls also advises checking into the financial stability of the organization before you take on board membership to make sure you’re not surprised by fiscal challenges.

Helping train citizen scientists 

Outside of work and the boardroom, you might find Bahls roaming around with a magnifying glass at Stanford’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, where he volunteers as a docent and trains citizen scientists to carry on the work of the longest continuous fine-scale study of its kind. The subject of the study is Argentine ants, an invasive species at Jasper Ridge, where the invaders compete with native ants for water, food, and space. This work, in which Bahls has been involved for almost two decades, scratches an intellectual itch while also putting him in contact with nature — and with some fascinating human characters as well. “I once had the pleasure of giving E.O. Wilson a ride in my car,” said Bahls, recalling his encounter with the renowned scientist and author. At the time, he was on the board of another non-profit, Canopy, which had invited Wilson to speak at a fundraising event. “Because of my affiliation with the ant study, I got to be the driver and chat with him.” 

Has Bahls’ story inspired you to volunteer? Visit Cardinal at Work to learn about Cardinal at Work Cares, Stanford’s employee volunteer program. While you’re there, be sure to explore the Cardinal at Work Cares Volunteer Platform, a tool that makes it easy to find and connect with all kinds of groups that greatly need your help. You can also use the platform to recruit volunteers for organizations you are already engaged with. Watch for an announcement this spring about the local Thrive OnBoard 2025 event in Redwood City where you can meet face-to-face with non-profits looking for new board members. 

As Bahls says, “You don't need to be a board member to contribute in a meaningful way and make a difference. There are so many organizations and so much need for volunteers. Just pick the things that you care about. If it's people, go do that. If it's animals or trees, go do that.”