This story is part of our January 2025 issue. To subscribe, click here.

This story is part of our January 2025 issue. Click here to subscribe.

Many CEOs like to say that they’re willing to “get their hands dirty.” Few take this as literally as Brad Squires. The former tech entrepreneur somehow splits his time as the CEO of Sacramento Venture Philanthropy (creating an infrastructure for nonprofits), founder and CEO of the Orangevale-Fair Oaks Community Foundation (best known for its food bank that he started, which feeds 35,000 people each year), and the “Chief Farm Officer” at the 12-acre farm he runs with his wife Megan.

This means that he’s sometimes crunching numbers in Excel, sometimes lugging sacks of potatoes and sometimes feeding hay to his cows. These are all wildly different tasks, but they’re all united by the same principle — giving. “I just think the happiest people in the world are the most generous people. If you can find ways in your life to live generously … so it’s kind of selfishly motivated, right? When we give, it’s just a happier place to be.” 

How he stays organized: Uses a tool called Workflowy. “It’s a great tool. Everything I have is digitized.” Workflowy lets him “dump his brain” into the cloud, and then instantly recall his notes and thoughts later. 

Additional claim to fame: In the summer, Brad and Megan organize the annual “U-Pick” flowers event at their Heirloom Acres Farm in Orangevale, which attracts thousands of people to pay just $40 and pick as many sunflowers, lavender and zinnias they can fit into a bucket.

5:30AM – Wakes up. Keeps an iPad next to his bed and checks for anything urgent. 

6:00AM – Spends time with his daughter Abby, who’s still in high school. (He also has a son Jacob at UC Davis.) Knocks out some email. 

7:00AM – Hits the gym for either weightlifting or racquetball with a friend. And then never skips this morning ritual, seven days a week: grabs coffee from Peet’s Coffee.

8:30AM – Except for the ritual of Peet’s, “Literally every day is totally different,” says Squires. “I’ll literally spend my whole day bouncing in between SVP work and foundation work. And I’ll have calls in between all of this.” Some days he works out of his home office but often he’s on the road full time, ping-ponging from conference rooms to the food bank. 

9:00AM – Monthly meeting with the foundation’s 10-person staff, where the team reviews the “six by six.” Every six weeks, each team member has six priorities. They share this openly in a Google sheet. “This has been really helpful to create visibility and clarity among each of our different staff members.” 

9:30AM – These six-by-sixes are often focused on the foundation’s tentpole events each year, such as the Big Food Drive or Big Day of Service, which in 2024 drew 1,500 volunteers to complete 50 to 60 projects. “We’re hoping to grow that by 50 percent.”

10:00AM – Maybe a call for Sacramento Venture Philanthropy, which might involve planning the annual “Fast Pitch” event. SVP now has 52 partners that are part of the fund; they’ve now helped nonprofits raise millions.

11:00AM – A Zoom meeting for SVP. It’s a volunteer-run organization and Squires has 10 different committees that he meets with monthly, such as the Marketing & Social Media Committee or the Community Impact Committee. All committees are guided by the philosophy of being generous with the “Five Ts”: Time, talent, treasure, testimony and ties. “I love helping other people think about their legacy that way, because ultimately, I think it leads to more joy.”

12:00PM – Usually he’ll grab lunch on the road (“something quick and easy”), but every now and then he’ll carve out time for a leisurely two-hour lunch with Megan.

1:00PM – More calls and meetings, such as planning the foundation’s 2025 budget.

2:00PM – Reviews his own six-by-six matrix, which includes buying the community farm property that’s adjacent to the food bank, planning a staff retreat and organizing a donor night at a Kings game. 

4:00PM – Swings by the food bank to make sure they have what they need and to get a pulse of the vibe. “I can get a sense of the culture if there’s minimal chaos and if the people are happy. I often measure success in smiles.” 

5:30PM – Some days works until 9 p.m., but he’ll try to wrap up around 5:30. On the way home he drives to the barn and feeds the cow hay. In the winter he’ll also feed them pumpkins, which the cows adore. “So between hay and pumpkins, they love when I drive up. They can see my truck coming.” 

6:30PM – Brad usually preps dinner. “I love cooking. I pretty much do it all.” In the winter he’s big on chicken dumplings and chicken noodle soup.

8:00PM – Doesn’t watch much TV; maybe a Kings or 49ers game on in the background as he knocks out more work on the laptop.  

9:30PM – Lights out. (5:30 a.m. will be there in a hurry.) 

–

Stay up to date on business in the Capital Region: Subscribe to the Comstock’s newsletter today.