All right, well welcome back to the All Access Podcast. I'm really excited to have my, uh, dear friend and all access member Tom dos with us. Tom is the co-founder and principal at Dos Marshall Real Estate, DMRE. They're, uh, a market leader in land brokerage services for multi-family, residential and industrial lands. And he's also a, a founding member of a hundred X harvest. A giving community and a sponsor of all access.
So a hundred X Harvest helps make all access possible and our fund free and available to anyone who makes to make the most impact they can with their giving. Tom, thanks for, uh, thanks for being all Access member and thanks for taking the time to, to jump on this podcast.
Yeah, lane. Thanks for having me on.
Yeah, this'll be fun. Uh, I've been looking forward to this. Um, you know, we, we were talking about this, you know, before we. Started the recording, but you know, our hope at all access is just to, uh, to accelerate this mission of the Great Commission, great commitment by helping donors make the most impact they can from right where they are.
And, um, Tom, I really want people to hear not only your perspective on how to give well, but also what you're doing, uh, which I found super fascinating. And, uh, I think more people should hear about, um, what you're doing and, and how you're doing it. So I'd love to hear that. First, remind me, Tom, where, where you grew up.
Yeah, so I kind of grew up all over because my dad with an oil and gas, so I'll tell people I moved, it was eight or nine times before the end of high school, so it was like every, every couple years we would move. Uh, he would get transferred. It was all in the states, but I lived in Montana for. About seven years. So that was a pretty formative time for me. I'm in the mountains right now. We're doing this podcast.
I'm in Colorado, so I've, I get to the mountains as often as I can now that I live in Texas. I think Montana was a big part of that, but I've, I've lived in Texas most of my life, so outside of Montana, Houston for a number of years. And then, uh, went to school at Texas a and m, so called Station for several years. And then my family now is in the Dallas area, so I'd say I'm a Texan, but I get to the mountains as often as I can.
Yeah. Well, so does, so do most Texans. I feel like Colorado is, you know, yeah. It's Texas and
it's not a bad drive and I've got five little kids, so it's like we're looking at places where we can pile in the Suburban and we can just hit the road and do it in one day. So
yeah.
that's why Colorado's a great, great option for us.
Yeah. Okay. First, before we get into the giving, what's your tactic on driving with. Young kids, are you a, are you one of the over the night guys?
I am not, no, I'm just get up early, try to be pretty packed up the night before and then, you know, if it's a, if it's a 12 hour drive, my kids are like warriors. So we leave the house probably around six or seven and we're trying to like beat that Google time. So if it says 12 hours, like even with the stops, we're pretty consistent. So the other day we, we beat the Google time, even with like
Wow.
or four stops, but we were, we're packing sandwiches, you know, like we're. we're saving and very economical on the time, as much as possible, and
Yeah. That, that's pretty impressive. Uh, that's crazy. All right, so you went to a and m. How did you, uh, why a and m?
So I, a big part of that was probably just, uh, my older siblings, so I'm one of seven. I. And so they, my older siblings had gone to a and m. It was a good school conservative. I've been visiting them, sorry, Lang
You're good.
there for a second. Uh, I've been visiting them, you know, at school for a number of years and really, uh, really enjoyed Texas a and m. And so, you know, just ended, ended up there, met my wife there, so very fortunate for my time there.
Nice. Nice. And then, um, yeah, tell us about after that I wanna hear kind of your professional career and then we'll get into to the, the giving side. But after a and m, what's the store line between then and now?
So after a and m, I started investment banking, so I was the finance major at a and m. Did that for only about a year and a half, and really did not enjoy it. Didn't feel like I was gifted in those areas, wasn't passionate about the work, and then got into real estate. My older brother. was doing land brokerage at the time, and so got into real estate in 2012 with him and his business partner, and we've been doing that ever since.
We started our own company about eight years ago, and we've expanded across the state.
Nice. Really cool. Awesome. Uh, all right.
here, so I'm just gonna flip around so that,
You're good.
that the, the lighting's a little better.
Uh,
There we go.
now, so yeah, let's get into the, the giving side. I wanna hear more about, um, a hundred x harvest and what you're doing there. But before all of that, like y what, what led you to, to have the, uh, such unique perspective on giving and I would say a really redemptive perspective on giving. Um, what, what was the origin story there?
Yeah. You know, it was interesting. I got married really young, right outta college and uh, Jackie and I, we didn't have any money. We were saving as much as we could. We had a lot of student debt between really the two of us. Um, and so we weren't thinking a lot about giving initially. And then my brother, my older brother challenged me and said, you know, even though you guys have debt, like you shouldn't just be saving to pay off your debt.
You should also be giving and trusting the Lord that that's something we're called to do as believers. So we started to do that in just a small way. You know, we started tithing and we saw God provide like right away. And then that really just led to. Us wanting to do more and more things that were eternal.
So probably the biggest change from going from tithing to trying to be even more generous was going in overseas and actually experiencing the global church and seeing like what God was doing in Africa and seeing what he was doing in the Middle East. And we just started meeting Christians that we were just a mentored by, encouraged by, uh, impacted by in incredible ways, and they encouraged us to just want to be more generous.
And think we saw for probably the first time generosity is less about kind of guilt or something that we're supposed to do as Christians and more, it was exciting, it was really fun to see how it was impacting the lives of these people that we were with and how they were using it and how God was using it. And we got to be a part of that. And so I think that was probably happened over a couple years, just getting to go and see.
And it was before we had kids and so we had more opportunities to do that. Um, and that led us to just thinking more and more about. That's more important to us than buying a house. So for a long time we just, you know, rented an apartment and tried to keep our life, uh, you know, always below, below our means so that we could do more things like that and support more people.
And you interact with people that don't have anything, but they're so joyful because they have the Lord and the relationship with him, it really changes your perspective on back here in the States and just everything that we have and, uh, the abundance, especially living in a place like Houston or a place like Dallas and being in real estate where. Um, you know, we're around these large developments where there are, it's always nicer and nicer and nicer every time.
And you're targeting, you know, the best office clientele, the best apartment clientele. And so it's really eye-opening to us. And, um, you know, we were just, we were really blessed. We had a lot of mentors that came around us and just encouraged us missionaries, but also, you know, just friends and other, other people in the, in the, in the business world too.
Nice. How did you guys like practically protect your giving or incorporate it in as a part of your financial strategy? I mean, what was the, uh. The evolution of it and, uh, 'cause I know it's a lot of people, uh, we advise, you know, we, we want to help 'em give well, uh, but in our advising we start to realize, uh, man, maybe they struggle to have even a financial strategy that allows them to give. Well, uh, what was helpful for you guys? What's some like practical tips you got?
You know, what was really helpful for us, that was, I guess more, not formulaic, but um, like more just something that we were able to walk through together was the master's program. And so that was like a Christian leadership program that I did in my mid twenties. And there's a whole, it's, it's 12 sessions over three years, and it's like you're. It is basically like getting a strong foundation on your life, every part of your life.
So your, your physical fitness, your relational fitness, your spiritual fitness. But also there's a whole session on finances and finances from a kingdom, kingdom mindset. so I think that was really probably the first time that we'd really thought about giving to things that we're passionate about really being very specific with our giving. And so now when, when we think about giving and we have our nonprofit, we try to encourage others and.
Create a community of givers, we really try to focus on what has God uniquely made you passionate about? 'cause we all have different backgrounds and there's just different things that he draws our hearts to. And you see that with ministries like the people running ministries, they normally have some kind of a background in that, you know, whatever that is, that cause.
And so, um, that's something that for Jackie and I, we we're fortunate, we're very aligned on, you know, evangelism's really important to us and discipleship and overseas missions is really important to us. And so. Um, those are, those are areas that we focused and then we, you know, created goals around, um, different ministries that we wanna support making, like multiple year commitments.
And that evolved from us doing that, you know, just, just the two of us to doing that in more of like a group setting with the nonprofit that we started a hundred times Harvest.
Yeah. So tell us more about, uh, about that. I'm, I mean, that's. Really cool. Uh, I know a lot of people want to do something like that. Dunno how to pull the trigger. Tell us more about what it was like setting that up and, and how you guys operate that.
Well, I'm really fortunate. You know, one thing that's been critical for me in my business life has been having good partners. And so I have, you know, initially two partners, my brother Tim. Who I mentioned earlier, and then David Marshall, and now we have other partners in our business. And all three of us weren't just business partners. We were doing a lot of giving together as well.
And so different ministries would come to the office and we would meet with them and we would hear about, you know, just different work being done. And we'd get really excited about that. And, uh, we'd kind of realized we were all supporting a lot of the same things. And so we thought, why don't we do something more, uh, you know, formal, we could start an organization. Yeah, my dad had just retired from oil and gas after 35 years and, uh, volunteered to manage it for us.
And so we said, why don't we start this organization where we can bring these really exciting projects that these ministries are bringing to us, to a lot larger network, and then we can accomplish more together, we can create more accountability. 'cause we had, we had, we had had incredible things happen with ministries, but we'd also, you know, kind of been burned a couple times where.
We had given money, um, even to people that we felt like had been pretty vetted or were parts of, you know, vetted organizations. And then the money had just gone to, to things that, you know, we hadn't given to. Um, and so we really wanna come up with a better way of pooling our resources together, trying to invite more believers that maybe didn't have the time to go to Africa, or that never would've been on their radar.
Maybe it would be someday, but we could bring these really exciting opportunities to, that are, you know. A step beyond just, you know, having the plate passed at church and giving to that, but then not really having any kind of connection or taking any ownership through that giving. And so, um, we started that and initially we would just, you know, send out emails, invite people to different lunch and learns.
And it, it really grew over time and we've had, you know, several large donors come and be a part of a hundred times harvest. And then we've had a lot of just, you know, donors give small amounts or give amounts to specif specific projects. You know, we'll do like a done several, um, recordings with faith comes by hearing on new languages around the world.
And so we have some members that they love to give to that, you know, but then maybe they're not gonna give to a different project, you know, just 'cause they're not as passionate about the cause and that's fine. Like we just wanna bring these really good opportunities to both, you know, our families, but also to just a larger network the marketplace.
And. Um, that's been a lot of fun because I think one thing I was told early on is it's not just how much money I could give personally, but it's how much money you can raise by getting others around you.
And so when I met you, that's what got me really excited was just someone else that was so passionate about resources for the kingdom and, you know, getting, especially millennials, just getting this younger generation to, to come up and whether it's a small amount of money or a large amount of money, pooling that together for, for the impact.
Yeah, I mean I, that's, uh, I remember that that first lunch we had at Gloria's, I guess January of last year. But, uh, yeah, super impressed with what you guys are doing. Love the giving collaborative spirit. I mean, it makes a lot of sense and it's a lot of fun. I mean, we've experienced it. I mean, we're getting a bunch of all access members here in Dallas to play pickleball with one of our partners from South Asia in a couple weeks. And, uh.
It is fun just getting a lot of people in the same room who are giving together and you're able to make more impact than you could on your own. I mean, I think giving collaboratives, I hope they're gonna be popular in the future, but you guys have, have already kind of muled that out and um, that's awesome, man. I love it. And what's kind of been, I mean, you mentioned being burned. Um, I think anyone who tries to give well gets burned at some point. But I mean, what have been.
Some of those, um, instances, and you don't have to, definitely don't name organizations, but I mean, what I'd love for hear you to just go in more de detail about those experiences and ways that we can help avoid it or, or lessons learned from those
Yeah, fortunately there haven't been very many, so
good.
for that. Um, you know, I think it's hard to know or to just generally say how to avoid them. You know, there's things we try to do. For one thing, you know, we've learned to vet more on the front end and a lot of that is through, through even just vetting like relationally. What are some other like references they would have? People that maybe we would know. Uh, we've learned not to give, you know, directly to anyone anymore. Like for example, just, you know, someone in Africa.
But to give through a vetted organization so that there's not that direct link. 'cause as you know, every time you go overseas, you create these incredible bonds, but then you just start getting. It bombarded
Yeah.
because there's so many needs. And so it's really hard and you feel really bad and kind of guilty not to give. 'cause it could even just be like, you know, gimme $20 a month or something really, really minimal. But unfortunately, I think that's where a lot of the problems happen, is when there's just the direct giving.
And so, um, what we had that happen in Africa where we had given and, and the, the guy was running kind of a lot of different exciting projects and he just decided, even though we very specifically said we wanted to go to this project. was kind of running a for-profit project that he was trying to use to fund the rest of his ministry, and he just kinda decided he was gonna move the money over there.
Hmm.
um, you know, that, that was really concerning for us because for one thing, we, we didn't really see the viability of what he was trying to do, which is why we weren't giving to that. But then also it just created that lack of trust that in the future he wouldn't do the exact same thing. Um, and so fast forward, met a really good friend from Tanzania on a, a trip to Africa. And really believed in the work he was doing. He was moving back from the South Africa area to Tanzania to start a church.
Uh, but found a ministry that we could give to through, you know, that would then be able to support him and he could become a part of what they were doing versus just giving directly to him. And so that's been one way that we found that, um, you know, has, has worked for us in those instances. And then one that that happened that was different was like a stateside ministry where. know, we're giving a lot of times larger amounts of money with a hundred times harvest.
And so that comes more accountability where you can ask more questions and where they just, there's more time that these ministries are willing to spend and more that they're willing to kind of show and turn over. And we had a, um, we had a really surprising situation happen where a guy kind of was ministry hopping and we didn't know. And so we, we gave a pretty significant amount of money based off of a lot of information that.
Could have been accurate, but we didn't know that he was leaving that organization
Mm.
was planning to take a lot of those resources with him to his new organization. And so fortunately the, the leadership that stepped in after that, after he left, you know, kind of made everything right. But some of these situations are, are difficult and tough. And so a lot of times, you know, we try to start with smaller gifts and kind of build up the trust and um, and not just go, you know, straight into these larger gifts because.
there's, I mean, there's so many ministries doing good work, uh, but then there's also, you know, ministries that aren't doing very good work or that tend to take advantage of people too.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's hard. I was talking to, uh, some wealth. Wealth advisors a few days ago, and I don't know how off I was on this comparison, but it, it reminds me of investing in stocks, you know, 50, 60 years ago or whenever it, it seemed crazy to invest money in a company you don't personally know. Um, and, uh, now it's a pretty, I mean, it's a normal thing. Millions, hundreds of millions of people do it every day. And, uh, but in the giving space, we don't have any tools.
And things like that to help people do it, even if there's some of the most effective and highest ROI ministries, they're just, um, wasn't somebody, not only to find them, but also to manage it, to monitor it for groups. That's one of the reasons we started, but you're right. I mean, it's, it's, it's hard to do it. To give Well, is is definitely not easy or quick. Um, but on the flip side of that, I mean, what, what are some things you guys have, have given to you that was incredible? It just.
It was really exciting for you guys.
Yeah. You know, we su we've supported a lot of organizations like, you know, faith comes by hearing that you'd be familiar with,
Yeah.
our passion a lot of times is supporting smaller organizations that. Almost kinda like a venture capitalist. Not that they're startups, but that some of them are smaller and they just don't have the network or the donor base.
And we, we like to come alongside organizations and kind of ask the, what if, like what if you had $50,000 or a hundred thousand dollars to go do something, to do a breakthrough project, uh, that you just, you know, you don't even really think that big because you know, you're just trying to get by with what you're currently doing. And so, um, one of my favorites to talk about is one that just.
It came out of these trips we were doing to the Middle East and, uh, some books that we were reading that had just were really changing our lives. It was, um, some books that were just stories of Muslims becoming Christians and just the story, the, the story, the stories were so powerful of dreams and visions and miracles and what God was doing, and they were, these were true stories. Things happening over the last decade or so.
and reading a lot about just these movements happening across the world like never before of just huge groups of Muslims coming to Chris Christianity. And so, um, we were talking with the authors of one of these books and we had traveled with him and we're really impacted and we were like, we have to take this to more of like a media platform. I mean, the books are awesome, we love the books, but what if we could film these people, like film these real stories?
Um, and so this was probably around the time, a 100x Harvest was starting. So this was like our first project. And, uh, it was really fun because it was just an idea. I remember being at Whole Foods, uh, and just like having coffee and talking about like, what if we could do this?
And we were looking at things like I'm second and what they had done with stories of like athletes and, uh, we just, you know, we're like, even if we could just get these stories out, I'm sure people will listen to 'em. We will see. And so fast forward, we, we got the first stories out probably around, I think it was 2019 or so. And, uh, and now this channel, it's called, I Found The Truth, has like 3.5M subscribers,
Wow.
is incredible. And most of the subscribers are overseas it's, there's a ton of content now, tons of stories of, again, just former, former Muslims getting on and telling their story of conversion and how they come to Christ. And so. mean, they're, and we're not taking credit for, for what they, what they've done. I mean, the stories are what's incredible. God's work is what's incredible. And the ministry, they, you know, really good friend of mine, Josh runs that now and, uh, took that on.
Uh, and so it's just fun though to be a part of that. Like, to know that because we were kind of there and available and thinking that way, and, you know, God allowed us to be a part of that. I think that's what's fun generosity is being a part of it. It's not a, not guilt. And, and I, I, I say that a lot because like I grew up in a Christian home. My parents are awesome, but it was pretty rules based. And so I knew tithing was important, but it was always kinda like right or wrong.
And the focus was more in my mind and, and not to say my parents were doing this, this is how I interpreted it, but the focus was more on like, I just need to give this much money, this percentage of money. And it wasn't, wasn't really about like the heart behind what God was doing with them with it, and how incredible it is and how much more fulfilling that is and being a part of that. Then going and buying something else or something for myself.
And so, it's, it's just every time I watch those videos, it just reminds me of how exciting it's to get to be a part of that. And then that's just, you know, one of the, the different projects we've gotten to do.
Yeah, man, that's, that's why I wanted people to hear your, your perspective and, and what you're doing, Tom. 'cause you're, you're right. I feel like a lot of us, uh, have that perspective on giving is like, I do it to feel less guilty about. The way of my, I live, live my life. Or maybe we just think the Bible tells us, Hey, this is what we have to do.
Um, you know, I, I wrote my thesis paper in grad school on the tithe, but, um, uh, I love what you're doing and I, I love the perspective you have, and that's what we're trying to encourage people to do is, I mean, we're, the Christian life is, we're being redeemed by Jesus and joining Jesus and redeeming the world, being a part of what he's doing, and our giving is a. Is, uh, an asset to be used in, in doing that. It's, uh, a helpful tool to help us do that. And, uh, I love it, man.
Love what you guys are doing. It's uh, it's pretty cool.
Thanks. Well, I mean, it's been awesome to get to know you, I think Steve Caliper, so I can. And
Yeah.
us. He's introduced me to some great people, but really appreciate him a hundred times Harvest to you and all access, and it's been really fun to get to know you and become a member. Uh, I mean, we see it as a great resource and the work you do is hard. Um, but it's definitely needed and it's, it's incredible to see just how you're stewarding so many, you know, so many people's resources for the kingdom.
Yeah, I appreciate the time. I mean, it's a partnership and um, it's a lot of fun. I mean, I'm humbled every time I go to the field and. We have a long way to go, a long way to go, but, uh, I'm mean super encouraged by guys like you who are, who are on this mission, you know, already kind of doing it themselves, and we just get to come alongside and do it with you guys. So, um, it's cool. I mean, what, what excites you the most? What's next, uh, for you guys? Uh, what, what gets you fired up?
Gosh, it's, we live in such an incredible time. I mean, I, I know around the Christian world, everyone talks about like fulfilling the great commission and you know, having actual, actual, you know, bibles in every language for the first time, like having scripture. So it's hard not to get excited about just the work being done to reach unreached people groups.
And like I said, just, you know, statistically, at least, at least what I'm reading and, and kind of believing that these statistics are true, that you're seeing people come to Christ like never before, you know, since the church. So, um, I think that gets us really excited. I mean, the ministries that we meet, I just met with the ministry a couple weeks ago, uh, in McKinney that's doing incredible work.
Uh, and so, you know, just getting to meet new ministries, hear their hearts, um, getting to hear the stories. It's, you know, I think for me, a lot of times I'm ready to just kinda like drop what I'm doing and, and, and want to go and be a full-time over, over there with them doing what they're doing.
And you know, what I've learned is God has a, a purpose for me where I am and I'm getting to you know, help in ways that it would be really different if I was, you know, over somewhere in Africa, which would be great. But, you know, I've been mentored by, you know, people I really respect to say like, hey. until you're Sure. God calls you to that. Like make sure you're doing what he's calling you to now, which is, you know, really helping impact people in, in different ways.
So, um, you know, I, I'm excited for when my kids are a little bit older. I probably shouldn't say that 'cause I, we're supposed to enjoy the, the, the phase we're in. But, 'cause I'm really excited to take them overseas and to do, do more of that together. So, uh, my older brother's doing that now with his kids 'cause they're five or so years ahead in age than mine. And it's just really been transformational in their lives.
Going down to Columbia and working, you know, down there in, in really difficult situations, but just being really impacted by what God's doing. So that's something that'll be just on a personal note, like exciting when I get to, you know, take my kids to see some of the things that Jack and I have gotten to see and, and just meet, you know, some of these people that are so incredible around the world that have so little, but their joy is.
It's just like so much more than anything you experience here because they're so fulfilled in Christ.
Yeah, man, I'm, I'm looking forward to that day as well, when we can take our kids and, um, yeah, I, I, I love it. It's, um. It is a wild journey, but it's a, I love seeing people get their families involved and, you know, some of the places we work aren't the most safest in the world, but some of them we, we can. And, um, I'm trying to get more, more members over to the field and see it. 'cause you're right, I mean, once you see it, it's hard not to be a part of, of it.
I mean, just the need is so great and you're, you're, you're right. We are accelerating this mission. There's some exciting things happening. I, I a hundred percent believe extreme spiritual and physical poverty can in our lifetime if we want it to. Uh, I mean the data's there, the resources are there. Uh, it won't be easy, but I do think it's possible. And so we're gonna keep trucking along on that mission and see what we can do.
I'd love to get over there with you. I know I told you that
Yeah, let's go.
your trip. You just, you just took, I, uh, I would've loved to, have gone. It didn't work out, but yeah, we, we need to try to. to make that happen 'cause I'd love to go over there with you.
Yeah, let's do it next time. I'll, I'll, uh, give you more of a heads up, but, um, well, cool, Tom, well, I appreciate you, man. Uh, this has been a lot of fun doing this with you. Thanks for your perspective and your heart. I mean, um, you know, you remind me of, um. Suffering to be honest of a lot of people when they think about suffering, they think about, oh, it's the person who goes to Africa and, and lives over there and, um, is on the front lines of this mission.
But what they often forget about are those who are here in the states who really want to be over there. I mean, I would love to be back in Haiti, um, but if the most effective thing we can do is be here. And grind it out in the day to day, live below our means when all of our friends are, are living above, above our own means, so that we can help be a part of what God's doing over there. Um, if that's the most loving thing we can do to help those people, then um, that's what we should do.
And so you're doing that, Tom. Um, love what you're doing. Thanks for being a part of all access and, uh, appreciate you taking the time to, to jump on this call.
Thanks, lane. Thanks for having me on.
All right, ma'am. I'll see you when you get back in Dallas.
Okay.
Thanks, Tom.