9 Nonprofit Trends That Matter in 2024: Media scales impact.

10:29PM Mar 18, 2024

Speakers:

Becky Endicott

Jonathan McCoy

Carolina García Jayaram

Eva Bloomfield

Keywords:

media

winners

story

work

nonprofit

impact

idea

storytelling

trend

audiences

big

invest

1000s

incredible

good

organization

karolina

reach

philanthropy

solution

Welcome back to the nine nonprofit trends that matter in 2024. Sponsored by our good friends over at Arkady group, we love this value align partner that's helping nonprofits build long term donor relationships through next generation tech data and marketing strategies that are driving omni channel experiences and donations. Learn more at Arkady group.com. Hey, I'm John. And I'm Becky. And this is the We Are For Good podcast, nonprofits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.

We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an Impact Uprising.

So welcome to the good community, where Nonprofit Professionals, philanthropist world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.

So let's get started. What the heck is happening? Three

words, media scales, impact, I like to just sit in that media scales impact. Okay, we added the drama around it, I'm ready to dive in.

Yeah, we've been counting this down because the trend series has been unpacking since we launched the new year. And, you know, this is the time of year that we're saying, These are the trends that we're seeing the most progressive nonprofits pouring into, and they're pro tips that you can really implement into your shop, whether you're small or big. These are disruptive ideas and media skills impact, y'all. Let me just say, we kind of stack the deck on this one. Not only do we have expert guests coming in, but we have a trend that I think really, really matters. And I can't wait to get this content into your hands today.

I mean, such good tone setting right there. And for those of you who are feeling a little trepidatious about it, don't be because we're not talking about you pitching to CNN, like that may be 42 steps down, but we're talking about how do we diversify our story? How do we flex it in a medium that is going to allow it to just scale and ripple and grow and get bigger and get more voices? That is exactly what we think it is. So we really think it's time to invest fuel and activate around this power of media influences currency connection is currency. activation is currency. And if we can embrace the tension, and release control of our message, you're gonna find that media is going to allow that message to ripple and go. And it's really going to start if you can get in a mindset of thinking like a media company, and like step into your power there, your content, your digital assets, your influence, your expert stories, people, all of that converge, to build into a very valuable resource hub, that is like media gold, you layer in influencers, you layer in social media, authenticity. I mean, you have the trappings to have something that's really successful and scalable.

That's so good. I mean, you just said think like a media company. And a few weeks ago, we were saying think like a business and we got called out that it's like, you don't want to be a business. We're not saying go be a media company. We're not saying we watched succession. We know how that ends. Don't do that. But we're saying things like we're talking about channeling entrepreneurial mindsets of like how, how do they get content? And how do they get people to move? We want to like harness some of those principles. Because listen to this Alisa burger from the allegiance and pursuant group came in on Episode 432, after they've done this really massive study about what is moving Gen Z, what are the things that are underneath the surface driving their decisions, and she found almost half of Gen Z is already going to learn about a cause and be influenced about a cause by the influencers that they follow. I mean, flexing media is the great bullhorn or billboard for your mission. It's a powerful tool to amplify your message, but also to allow you to engage with a variety of audiences and ultimately, scale your impact, which is what we're here to talk about. So let me give a little bit of context for listeners of the podcast, you're not going to forget that last year, we talked deeply about marketing is mission, it was a trend that we lifted, because we fundamentally believe that when your mission is aligned to your marketing at a value level, that you're perpetuating, just like this, this value system that is going to attract like minded people, and actually shift the mindsets and shift the narrative that's happening in the world around us where you're showing up. That's marketing is mission. Well, this is 2.0. How do we go ahead and not step away from all that content that we've built? How do we put a megaphone on it? How do we use the power of media to scale those beautiful messages that are already value aligned to our mission? Okay, and I got to give John Gary a share, shout out because she came in at the tail end of last season, and she left us with this flexing the power of media, because the road to awareness and acceptance and activation begins with visibility and understanding in Joan built her career using the power of media at GLAAD to completely shift the national conversation. And I mean, go back and we'll drop the episode in the show notes but you'll see how media skills impact is not a new concept, but it's one that we think is not embedded into most of our playbooks. And so today, we want to change your mind on that. Yeah,

I mean, this this, to me is the untapped potential. And if you're sitting there going, I still don't understand what this means. Don't you worry. We got you. We have put together a playlist of nonprofit organizations of changemakers of social enterprise and lots of influencers in the space, who are actually playing this out in real time. I gotta give a shout out to Eric Ressler. We put in his episode that was so fantastic on how to grow your show social impact, and the attention economy and Eric Ressler and the friends at cosmic they fundamentally get this. Certainly you can look at Scott Harrison, and what they've done deflect charity water into multimedia and beautiful ways. But I also want to give a shout out to Sean couch over at the JW couch Foundation, who was literally taking their grants and funding media, because they understand that that is going to scale maybe much more quickly than just giving cash on the front end. And one of those great examples on the playlist is FarmLink project that was funded by JW couch on their first round. So please go check that out. We'll drop that playlist in the show notes. Let's move into some pro tips, John.

Yeah, I mean, I think this is so applicable to everybody in the first one, I would say is develop a compelling narrative. This is your concise elevator speech. Not that we're all taking these really long elevator rides anymore, right? But this idea of just not reciting your mission, like how do you actually communicate what your impact is the importance of the cause you're advocating for. And of course, that's your mission. But this compelling story is way more likely to capture the attention of media outlets. Think of just like the one off stories that are the ones that warm our hearts that are documentaries are built around that we remember. So just get clear about what your narrative is. And then let's start to add some fuel to that fire. Oh,

can see the ripples starting to happen? The second one is, there needs to be some evolution and an embrace of multimedia. Why? Because not every human consumes content at the same place in the same platform in the same medium. So understanding that media is best flex, when it's diversified, will really help you cast a wider net. So that means you're gonna have to get good at content syndication, so embrace those photos, embrace video, testimonials, blogs, memes, campaigns, stories, stats, whatever you've got. Every part of that can be a conversation starter, take it flex it multiple, multiple places I guarantee rabid fans will take it and carry it further.

Look, Becky and I can talk to you all day about this topic because we absolutely love it so much. But we actually brought a couple of powerhouses into the place today to really give us the playbook of how this is playing out.

You know them we've had them on in the past are dear friends over at the Elevate Prize Foundation, who are living out media scaling impact in real time, we are joined by Karolina Garcia Jayaram and Eva Bloomfield. They are respectively the CEO and the CMO of the Elevate Prize Foundation. If this is your first time hearing about the Elevate Prize Foundation, go immediately and follow them because you're going to see this play out in real time, because they are this incredible, global purpose driven nonprofit that's really serving to amplify social impact and empower passionate problem solvers. leaders, innovators. changemakers Hello, were talking about all of us. And they are on this mission to make good famous as they're levering leveraging the power of media to do just that. Eva Karolina, we are so excited. You're back in our house. Thanks for joining us again.

Our pleasure. Thank you so much.

Oh, you ladies are so fantastic. And I really think a lot of what we kind of broke down at the top of the hour is a lot of what we've learned watching you sort of living out your own journey. So one of these trends that we're lifting is this idea around media scaling impact. And we want to really dive into this with you like and tap your expertise on this trend. What are you paying attention to right now in the philanthropic and media landscape? And what opportunity do you think organizations have today to really seize this moment in time?

You want me to start even then I'll hand it off? Yeah, go ahead. I'm just faking it even the real. True, I do have a better. But when you know a trend that I think even I would both lift up and I know that you're seeing this with so many of the great guests that you have is around this idea of proximate leadership and this idea that investing in the people who are closest to the issue, who are living the issue, who are you know, enmeshed in the issue in the community of which they're speaking and representing is everything and it doesn't mean they're the only people working on it. They need all of us to come in as allies and partners and supporters, but that they are the center of the decision making and the and the path that we're going to take in philanthropy towards the solution is a trend that I hope number one is here to stay. But But second is, I think everywhere I'm hearing a bit everywhere, I don't feel like it's a new term anymore as it was a few years ago. And so maybe it's maybe it's past the trend at this at this point. But it's certainly one that I think is really strong. And it's connected to a second thing, which I think Eva can speak to better than I can, but around the focus on storytelling, right. So real, authentic storytelling, of course, has to come from the most proximate people to the story itself. So I think using people's firsthand accounted knowledge and experience and the story that they had, and audience's willingness to kind of be touched and affected by that, and then be impacted by the story that they're telling, again, as the pathway toward the solution as the pathway to have greater connection and understanding isn't really important trends. I don't know, either you want to pick up on that or something else. But I feel like that's what we're so much about those two pieces.

I couldn't agree more. I think it's all about human centered storytelling. And I see, I think we're seeing that sort of reverberate across the philanthropy space. But we're also excitingly, I think, starting to see it reverberate across the more traditional media space. So there's this really exciting opportunity for the convergence of both spaces. And that I think is so much of what we're really trying to tap into right, not keeping those worlds isolated from one another. Because, you know, obviously, media entertainment, that's what moves hearts and minds, right. That's what really inspires culture, and so many ideas, and so many perspectives. And I think to have kept the two in isolation from one another isn't doing us any, any any favors. I think we really need to sort of meet audiences where they are understand what compels them, what moves them, what drives them to action. So I think that's really what we're seeing, right, really putting these proximate leaders at the center of storytelling, really informing the stories that we're hearing and seeing and embracing. But we're also seeing this convergence of the two worlds of both philanthropy and media in a really exciting way. You know, and I'd say, in addition to that, really going back to this theme of meeting audiences where they are, we're seeing it both in traditional media right long form content film, but we're also seeing it through the eyes of these less traditional platforms. So social media is a great space where you're seeing a lot of this authentic storytelling, I think people are recognizing the power of those platforms, to really move those hearts and minds and inspire action. So really, at the end of the day, as it always is, it's really about just disrupting that status quo, right and being bold enough to do that. But I think we're seeing audiences really hungry for it, which is really exciting. It's not just an idea that's being put forward, it's audiences really embracing it as well. So we're at a really exciting crossroads.

Gosh, I just love hanging out with you too. Because I mean, you are, I believe on the like leading edge of this. And I agree that I feel like there's a lot more momentum than maybe we first met a few years ago back, but I love that you're kind of cutting through that this is a superpower that is actually baked into our organizations today. And a lot of us listening today don't realize that superpower of authentic storytelling, of human centered proximate leadership that we just need to get the messages out, you know, and I think, with yalls mission that we feel a partner in have make good famous, using the power of culture creators, media, to, you know, drive more engagement around these ideas, where you kind of start breaking it down, because we see you in these giant partnerships, we see you, you know, working with the CNN Heroes, and working with the Streamys. And all these beautiful platforms, talk to us about how you all at Elevate prize are already leveraging media to scale not only what your impact is, but these missions that you highlight through your prize, and through all the ways that you reach out to on media as well. And Time Square. Yeah, Julie's texting is missing even the Time Square activation that jumped in. So

that's a big one. And, and that was our team, our team coming up with this incredible solution that had or idea that had just such a huge impact. First and foremost, I think on the winners themselves feeling like being seen there. Like it was just such a Hollywood moment, you know, is such a big moment for them all and even hearing from other peers in the philanthropy space of how cool they thought it was, you know, it was, it was just a really a really cool thing to put off. But I think just related to what you were just talking about John, and Becky, both of you about the proximate leadership, the human centered storytelling, how wonderful that all is. And that we are at the forefront of that. Thank you for recognizing that because when we started this work, most people thought we were crazy. And now just five years later, so many more people are doing the same things which we're so happy to see. But I think what we want to make sure also to drive home or I think is so important to drive home is that if you are creating the space, to truly listen and to deep We listen and to be prepared for what you're going to hear, you know, and to be able to take action on what you're going to hear. And that's the other side of it, that this isn't going to go anywhere, if we're just telling the stories and then going on business as usual, and the way that money is being delivered, or the way that, you know, impact is being measured are there all the things that I think have held us back in many ways. And one, you know, piece of work that we are really proud of, and very excited about right now at Elevate has very much to do with what we've been hearing because of these stories and putting our winners at the center. And a lot of it is what we're now calling the whole leader. And it's approaching winners in ways that again, other sectors of philanthropy have largely been ignoring around their well being around their mental, physical, emotional, spiritual well being. And that kind of like visibility, very similar to that it's this huge whitespace that's sort of largely been ignored. And what you see as a result of that are things like really terrible transitions, you know, leaders leaving under really bad circumstances. And it's really painful for everyone. I mean, that's just one thing that we keep seeing not just among our winners, but among people in the field. And I think that if you're really listening and you're paying attention, then you have to deal with what you're listening to, and what you're hearing and be ready as a foundation, as a grant giver or as media, you know, listening to these stories and making these stories, then say, Okay, now that I have this information, I've heard the story over and over again, how am I going to shift our way of thinking and making an impact for these winners that we may not have had in our plan two years ago. And so I just want to say like that, I think that's an important sort of end point, when you're talking about proximate leadership and the storytelling is, then you have a responsibility. What am I going to do with the stories I just heard?

Yeah, I could not agree more. I think it's such a valid point. Because at the end of the day, I think it's so critical, we're telling these stories, right? I think it's so essential that we're reaching people authentically, and inspiring others and allowing them to realize that they have the power to make good in the world. And at the same time, we can't just tell the stories, right, there has to be that action behind the scenes, you know, we have to hear the stories, we have to take action, we have to take care of these incredible leaders who are at the forefront, day in and day out, just doing incredible work, because at the end of the day, that recognition that they are human, just like the rest of us, I think, is an essential shift in this space, right? These people have been expected to operate with so few resources, and day in and day out, literally change the world. It's impossible. We're all human beings, even the most extraordinary of those who are out there. So I couldn't agree more, it doesn't end with the storytelling. But just to take a step back, I do want to I mean, John, you brought up the Time Square example. And I do think it's a really important example of what we're trying to do in the space. And what I encourage others to do, which is that the billboard in Times Square, at least in my mind is so iconic, right. And it has historically been reserved for those who we have deemed worthy of occupying this idea of fame. Right. And that has been everything from a movie star to a Broadway show, to a brand. And our hope and taking over this billboard was in a lot of ways to make a statement not just to give these incredible leaders and their work and their issues, that visibility, but also to make this loud declarative statement that they are deserving of occupying the same space as those who have historically sort of been anointed right to sort of sit in the place of fame. So it's very much a yes and right, it's like, let's take up that space. Let's give these incredible leaders and their work and their solution, that visibility that they are so deserving of. And let's make sure to disrupt the philanthropy space too, and take care of these leaders and really acknowledge the humanity and the vulnerability behind this work. So it all goes hand in hand.

I mean, John's giving me the eyes because he's knows that I'm gonna have to emote about this because we need to talk about media skills impact, but I want to create just a pause in the conversation and just speak to you all who are listening right now. Does it not feel so good friends to feel seen in this way to feel like there are individuals who are seeing this 10,000 foot view and including duty of care in it, including psychological safety, including humanity and mental wellness, and this because we've just conducted this mental health survey for the sector and what it has told us is what we feared it would tell us which is how sick this sector truly is. And to know that we can be authentic to know that we have the superpowers that we are worthy to be between the Book of Mormon which you guys are, by the way with your amazing billboard and britbox, it's like to know that our brands are worthy that this is the moment to step into it, the moment to step into this superpower is not only heartening, but friends, I hope it gives you hope, because it sure is what gives me hope right now. And I, I gotta compliment you guys. Because when I wasn't kidding when I said, I'm so proud of you, and we are so proud of you, because every time we see anything that you're doing, it is never about the Elevate Price Foundation, which I think is a key element here. Because we said at the top of the hour is it for you to really embrace media to really scale that impact, you've got to release control, you've got to release your narrative, you've got to let the community interpret that you've got to allow that cognitive diversity to come in. And you all have done that and you have centered the human being in your work. And I just have to tell you, I know we're about to get into this, that when you announced your your latest Prize winners, I went in and I went down a rabbit trail with Sonia PASI. And I hope I'm saying her last name correctly. But the ecosystem she is building for survivors to thrive, I'm not just talking about recover, thrive. I got so into her story because of how you positioned her. And so I think that these stories are not only a great balm to humanity, they are providing solutions, because the people who are experiencing them are on the frontlines giving us the solution. So talk to us about some of these winners talk about how you platform them. Because I only mentioned Sonia, she was just one of your incredible winners, but how has investing in this media transform their impact their reach their credibility? I would love to hear like what happened after you launch and let whatever woman wants to take this first go for it. Yeah,

we'll start we'll start with Sonia. I mean, we just announced our 2024 winners. So early days, right, where we're just getting started. But you know, Sonia was, I think, a tremendous example. Thank you, Becky, you know, we, you know, behind the scenes, were talking to the, you know, incredible team of editors at People Magazine. Because recognizing that it is a just like a cornerstone of cultural conversation, right? I mean, if it's, it reaches millions upon millions of people. And again, so much of what we're trying to do is just reach people where they are, where they're already going to, you know, to read and learn about the world. And it really is this cultural platform. And so we, you know, we're so excited to pitch the editors over there and thrilled that they recognized the value of telling a story like Sonia's but not only telling her storytelling, the story of the organization free from, which is all about supporting survivors of gender based violence, and again, so I love their organization, because not only are they doing this incredible work, but they inherently understand the power of narrative. So they're the perfect example. They understand that, you know, sort of wrapping the story of gender based violence and survivor just in this tragic cloak and not focused on the individual. And the solution actually isn't helping anything. So they themselves are trying to disrupt the narrative, which is great. But getting, you know, Sonia on a platform like people to tell her story firsthand, they spoke to another survivor who was supported by free from, I think being able to give that visibility is not only important in shedding light on the issue, but it is normalized and right, it means that we do not have to look away, right? There's a human being, we all go through things. And the worst thing we can do is to look away from something that feels difficult, the best thing we can do is look them square in the eye and recognize their humanity and say, What can I do to help? And so I think being able to share a story like that on a platform like people is an important first step in normalizing this issue area that many of us may have chosen to look away from in the past.

Yeah, that's such a good point. And I think your earlier point, Eva about Sonia is just one and so that people magazine is a huge thing, and will continue to be getting her more opportunities, I'm sure because she's perfect. She's the perfect kind of winner that that we're we think we can really supercharge the impact she's making. And some earlier winners who won, you know, last year the year before now we're really seeing a lot of the flowers bloom right of the seeds that we planted when they first won. So one winner of ours, Kaushik who, he's an India He's based in India, he started an organization called kT which means the farm and in Hindi. And this is a like a greenhouse in a box concept. So he's this guy spent, you know, five years in going to every kind of small tenant farm, which is the majority of farms in India and most of the developing world, right. These are folks who are farming for their own personal family needs or maybe four A few families are a small village. And that makes up the majority of farming in India. And he was able to develop this greenhouse in a box concept Ever After speaking to 10s of 1000s of these farmers and understanding what their challenges were. And with our support the the investment that we made in him, he was able to take the cost even from $2,000, for one of these greenhouse in a box to $600. You know, so part of it was like the incredible efficiencies that he could create through the unrestricted nature of the investment, which, you know, is another trend that we love. And we also see growing around the unrestricted funding. But more importantly, around the storytelling and the fame piece, is that something like that the impact or the success of a concept, like a greenhouse in a box for farmers who've been doing it the same way for literally 1000s of years, is just as important or more important is how do we shift that mindset. And so part of getting KT better known across India and the world, but especially India was so that he could be impacting so many more 1000s of farms that were losing, you know, tons of crops every year due to, you know, terrible weather events or bugs that were coming in or Peston whatever was happening, that was ruining their crops. So after he won our award, and we're investing a lot around his story and getting him better known across India, he then went on to win the earth shot prize, which is Prince William, and the Royal foundations prize, which only five people a year when it's a huge, huge honor for any climate type of solution. But then we got him stories in the Hindustan Times, which is, you know, the New York Times, you know, the the paper of record for India, and these are the kinds of things that then more and more people are reading about this. And then, you know, the product that could save literally millions of lives is doing better because of the story. So it's like, you go back to that telling of the story and the story becoming People magazine or becoming the billboard or becoming the Hindustan Times, yes, you know, this incredible founder becomes better known, and he's so deserving of it. But really, it's the solution that he came up with, actually, via the story. That is his interesting story is now affecting millions and millions of farmers and probably tons and tons of, of food that can reach millions of more families every year. So that's the kind of thing that you go back, again, is like, how are we not thinking about this in philanthropy for so many years, and yet is such an important driver of the solution?

Oh, my gosh, I mean, I have a lot that I need to catch up on since I last talked on this. Because the way that y'all are evolving, and the way that you are just kind of meeting the moment meeting the needs of these people. And I think it's beautiful, because you're recognizing their humanity. And that's how you're serving, but you're getting a bigger and bigger microphone, and just this snowball that is just growing around your movement and around these mission just gets me so grateful, I mean, for you this vision and for how you've just shown up, because we see how y'all have worked on such beautiful behalf of all these winners. So I want to talk about starting to get practical for those listening. Today. Like I mean, obviously we you just made a brilliant case for the power of not thinking so small with our strategy thinking a lot bigger about how can we change a national conversation? How can we get platforms opened up that maybe have historically not been opened? How can organizations start to think in themselves think through the lens of a media company to be like, how do I get my story out better? How do I get my message into the world? How are y'all coaching and counseling your winners? Obviously, you're providing this beautiful support to the whole leader to which I just love so much, but kind of guide us of what it looks like on the back end of what you're saying, Hey, do this not that kind of thing. Yeah,

I can dive in. I mean, listen, in a world where content just continues to be a driving force in shaping our cultural values and beliefs. I don't think it's going anywhere. There's just no ignoring it. Right. And I at least on my end, I think there needs to be a profound mind shift in the sector, we're seeing it's percolating, we really need to see the whole realization of it, which is that this is a vertical storytelling, media branding communications that needs to be invested in it is essential, right, I think that's the mind shift, we need to see, um, it's a big change in the sector. So change takes time. But like I said, I think we are seeing some added momentum it is picking up. But I think there's an important recognition that it isn't one and done right. It's not like well, we told the story of an individual grantee, we're done. This is a long tail investment. You know, so it is I mean, certainly I think there is power in brands being known but really the weight of that storytelling power should be behind these individuals, their organizations, their solutions. So that that is my you know, biggest piece of advice is invest right? This is a critical part of your budget. It is not enough just to put money into the programmatic work, which is obviously essential and should in no way be diminished. But there is important weight behind getting these stories out there, helping people understand the significance, the impact the relatability of these individuals and their work. And if we don't invest, this work will only go so far, I really believe that at the foundation, we really believe that you know, it cannot be done in a vacuum, right? Real impact, real lasting, meaningful change has to be seen, you have to reach people, people have to understand it, there needs to be a groundswell of demand for it, hearts and minds need to be moved. So like I said, I'll end there, which is that this is a critical piece of the puzzle. And that I think, is the most essential shift, that we're right on the cusp of making, and really just need to see it all the way through and understand that it can never fall by the wayside, it always needs to be seen as an essential piece of the puzzle. Our

marketing hearts are cheering, so loudly, Karolina, do you want to jump in and add anything to this,

I would just say as he was talking, but she's gonna hate me for saying this, or our team was gonna hate me for saying this, it's that I'm thinking back to my many years in the art world, and there was an organization a very, they're still around very important called Americans for the Arts. And their main function was really to release reports and, and, and like sort of look at constantly be an analyzing the trends that were happening in the art world, but they also generated tons of data that arts organizations use for grants all the time about what was that, you know, the the power of the dollar in a in a town where there were theaters and the multiplier effect of that kind of thing, so that we could make the economic argument of why the arts were so important that they weren't just kind of nice to have, right. So we have a similar problem and impact that the marketing is seen as this nice to have, and storytelling is this nice to have. But we know that it's as evil just so beautifully said, the center of everything, you know, and like how do we make that argument and like I know is going to kind of fall on us and hope and maybe a group of funders that we can bring together and maybe partners like you all, to release some big data, some real stories, and not stories, some real studies about how this is such an important vital piece of the puzzle, a puzzle that cannot be ignored, and that we're all responsible for it all the funders are responsible for it. And we can't just be left to a few of us kind of niche foundations to approach it. So anyway, that would just be the only thing I have to add is that an invitation to your listeners out there anybody who wants to join us on this, because we have just started to get really incredible qualitative data, looking at the first two cohorts that we've invested in. And what a difference this investment around storytelling and marketing and branding and social media and public speaking and PR, which is all the places that we invest so heavily, what a difference it's made. And we need to make that case. Much more, you know, this much bigger and louder for all of the philanthropy to hear. And not just philanthropy, individual donors, family offices, impact investing, all of them need to hear this and really change their, their mind around that this is not a nice to have.

I just think this is so much more than a conversation we're having it's a rallying cry. And it's an I thank you for hitting it on the nose Eva like that we have to put money in the budget to talk about these things, because they cannot scale on their own. And I also I feel like John, we're gonna drop every 2024 trend in this conversation. But when you think back to Trend number two, which is activate the one in this is how you start a movement by activating the one, y'all we're in a modern era where media doesn't have to be these traditional media channels. If you have a movement that is so bright and vibrant, your people, they can be your mouthpiece, the social media is as much a form of media as any of these mainstream options. And I just think this is the moment to lean in. We need your hope. We need your joy. We need your critical stories of things that hold us back. We need your stories of inequity because we need to know how to fix them. And so I really value this, this sort of please come with us sort of call to action because I think it's going to take all of us locking arms to start getting into more mainstream and I'm using air quotes a little in New York in Times Square, and I think it can be anyone's Time Square, whatever that looks like in your community. So I want to talk about these different mediums because we feel this sense from the community, especially those who are sort of slow to market with this. We got to have our digital marketing and our digital storytelling game that's very strong. Talk to us about how you and your teams engage across all of these different media channels because you want to max As the engagement you want to maximize reach, but where are you meeting your audiences? And how are you doing it in a way, that's not overwhelming, that's approachable for someone who maybe that's listening, that could be a small nonprofit, talk about how you're doing that maybe where they could start. I'm glad

you asked about this, because even for us, and because this is such a big part of our work, we have to also focus you know, there's so many social media plays, there's so many outlets now for communication and storytelling, the place we've probably put the most emphasis in the last few years has been in Instagram as a foundation. And we've had a huge amount of success there. In particular, with a completely crowd sourced community driven prize that we call get loud. And this little monthly prize we give out every month, the issue area changes every month, we open it up to nominations only for a couple of days, a very short time and usually receive many 1000s of nominations from around the world for every issue, from literacy to period, poverty, you know, everything you can imagine, the community has really come out and it's always 1000s of shares, 1000s of repos. You know, it's it's really a beloved program, that we are just as we said, at the top of the show, listening to the community and what it is they care most about. And in the comments, seeing these communities of people across the world who rally around a similar issue. Instagram has been so fruitful for us in terms of this, this one really important prize that's grown and grown and groan every month or so our team is really invested there. And that prize is focused on grass more, you know, sort of community based smaller organizations under a million dollar budget. So we're happy to be supporting those organizations because they many times have not quite reached the level of impact or growth that we need to see for the Elevate prize itself. But I think Becky, there's two answers, because that's kind of the foundation's focus, even though we are on Tik Tok, and we're on YouTube and elsewhere, and we and we're growing those channels as well. Instagram has been the most fruitful. So I think it's important what you say you have to see, where are you really getting that traction. And for our some of our winners, it's different places we meet them where they are. And for a lot of our winners, they need to build their LinkedIn like LinkedIn is the place where they need to build their thought leadership, they need to reach other people in their sector, and they're not maybe as interested in Tik Tok, you know, but tick tock may be perfect or other certain winners. So that's a big part of the kind of work we're doing. And we brought in actually a new staff person this year, who is basically like a nominal fractional cmo that's going to be part of every winners teams to understand, like, really get under the hood and really understand, like an answer to that question, what is the social? Where should you really make these investments in terms of marketing, because there's so many places to go? And we want to be really mindful? Because we know that hiring somebody or bringing in an agency or whatever else, is a huge investment for any organization?

Oh, my gosh, you want to get in there on this one? Are you? Sure?

No, no, I certainly can't I mean, yes, yes. Plus one to two all of that. I would say though, you know, interesting thing. I mean, first, with any with any platform, when you're getting into this work, obviously, you have to get back to basics, you really have to identify your objective, you have to understand what audiences you're trying to reach. The one sort of thought I would offer there is and this is for nonprofits everywhere, for foundations everywhere. And it goes back to this whole thread of what we've been talking about, which is that, you know, so often, if you ask an organization, nonprofit, what is your objective where you're trying to reach? They say, we're trying to we're trying to raise money, right, we're trying to reach funders, completely valid answer, the thought I would offer is that there is so much power that will ultimately lead to supporting that objective, right? If you're reaching wide audiences, it's a longer tail investment, right? It's not an overnight success story. But in reaching wide audiences, and in demonstrating, you have a following in demonstrating that you are reaching and impacting many people that can ultimately lead and probably in multi fold, right, really maximize that outcome, it can lead to, to fundraising to creating that reverberating impact you're looking for so that's the one bit I would add is don't discount those wider audiences really recognize the power in reaching a lot of people and connecting with them authentically across whatever platform you're investing in.

I have to point out one thing that Eva said that I think is so important back to the truth telling to our sector, is the long tail like that is where we fail as philanthropy we do not invest in the long tail. And that's why so you need to see results of this grant at the end of this 12 month cycle. So how can you invest in something that's going to take, you know, years audience development leading to something that's going to take years so I just really want to pull that out is something so important And to not think about those immediate results. It's very hard for organizations. So I think it's up to funders to give that time and space for that to happen. Oh,

my gosh, y'all are so brilliant. Most of us just,

there's our second value. Our second value of our company play the long game right there. Yeah.

And I think an example that that Becky and I felt when we were in the nonprofit space that we get in these like stodgy hotel, like conference centers, and they're teaching us the donor pyramid. And it's like, this is where you need to spend your effort. And just this idea of like flipping that script completely, and building an actual base that isn't transacting money today, but their hearts changing, or they're having a conversation at the dinner table. We're leaving all that on the table if we don't come in at with this mindset that y'all are ushering in. And I just am so here for the work that y'all do. So as we kind of like round out this conversation. I mean, in your opinion, what key elements make your media campaign successful, not just in driving engagement, but also bringing along the support for nonprofits? I

mean, listen, I if you had to sort of break it down into a multi step process, which it's never an exact science, first and foremost, but I'd say a few core elements is that when you're thinking about a campaign of rolling out a campaign, it has to be timely, right? It has to sort of connect with the now this moment in time, it has to be authentic. I know we hear that word a lot. And it's becoming a bit trite, but it's very true. It has to come from a credible voice that is genuinely tied to the issue. Right? First and foremost, there has to be a degree of sparking excitement, right? Again, it has to feel new, it has to feel it just has to be wrapped in that excitement, it has to inspire. You have to, I'd say you have to be clear about the call to action and the potential outcome, right? Like you have to be direct with your audiences. What are you asking them to do? And why? What are you trying to build towards? That's so often a core component that's left out? And the last one I would add, and it's coming from, you know, a personal philosophical place, but do not be afraid to experiment and to fail? Yes, your campaigns? Yes. And that goes back to this not being an exact science, you have to take risks and risks don't always pay off, but you learn from it. Right? So I'd say those previous components, but be experimental take risks, know that I always say to fail is not failure, right? You get right back up, you learn from it, you try again. But yes, the example I would certainly point to is one of our recent winners and 2024 Sungai. Watch, please follow them on social media you will have, the inspiration will just erupt everywhere. But what they've done so brilliantly, they've amassed this incredible following on social, not just incredible falling, but incredible engagement, which is you know, the other piece of that puzzle, people are really watching their content, they're engaging, they want more, they want to understand how they can be a part of the solution. Sungai watch is they're based in Indonesia, they're focused on cleaning up the rivers, and they do so in such a magnificent way, please go learn more about their work. But what they've really cracked the code on is showing the work, right, being really transparent about it. I think, you know, again, that goes back to being clear about the potential outcome, right, really saying, if you are investing in this work, this is where we started. And this is where we end, they show. They show the cleanups happening in real time. So you can really understand the range of impact happening on the ground. The other thing they do so brilliantly, it goes back to this idea of that authentic voice and being transparent. It was founded our winters, Sam, but it was founded by him and his brother and his sister, it is a family organization, which is just incredible. And particularly, he and his brother also have a strong social media presence. So you really see the human behind the work. And that gets back to that idea of authentic voice. And again, they're very direct about expressing vulnerability, expressing how things are a process expressing how they've tried something and failed and how they've gotten themselves back up. And they've improved upon it. So I think a tremendous example of what you can do on social media, to both show the impact of the work the potential solution and the hardship and show the human beings behind the work.

Okay, John, you're not going to be surprised, but I have a Sungai watch story. And I didn't even know I had it. But I literally Okay, I have to like take this 2.0 Because they use these incredible time lapse videos, which of course is an amazing feature for storytelling. And I have a newly 10 year old daughter and both my girls big environmentalist, and we watched one of these on Reddit and it's like very ASMR Do you guys know what that is? I had to educate myself like, and my daughter calls this oddly satisfying. And it's like you see the very, very dirty river and you watch all of these people pouring into it. And it's getting cleaner. And they have like these buoys on it. And we literally, were watching this. And all of a sudden, what became an oddly satisfying video with my daughter was like, Oh, wait, where is this at? Oh, they have kids, she noticed there are kids that are helping out in some of these areas. And she's like, I can do that. Think about how media educates us. That's just wild that I just saw that video. And I'm like, I remember watching that video. But that's the point. When we flex media in this way, when we put it in places for people to digest and interesting ways that we're digesting content. It does so much more than fundraise. It creates awareness, it creates empathy, it creates story, it creates longevity, it creates, it creates, it creates, there I go with the excetera. That is a fantastic example. Bravo, bravo.

That's such an important point, because you're not going out of your way to teach your daughter, it's not this teachable moment you are watching a fun read it like this was supposed to be like, a junk food moment, right? Like, just for all it's funny. And then it was like, Oh, this is like, amazing. You know, like, that's exactly what it should show up. And I would just add one thing, that story of Sam, which I think is also so important, and Eva said this earlier, it's that once you've invested in which they have for many years, in the creation of this large audience, they also have a lot more options, right, they have a lot more choices of what they can do, they don't have to just now depend on these really traditional places to look for funding or for support. So now after years of doing this cleanup, which is over 6000 pounds of garbage collected daily from those rivers, over 6000 pounds. And so now after years, they've gotten really into the idea of what can we do with plastic, you know, how can we recycle upcycle this plastic, so they started a design firm, a for profit design firm. And this is going back to the trends, okay, that we started this way. This is a trend that I'm so behind right now and that I want to just so like, like, you know, put skates on and make it go somewhat faster, which is this idea of nonprofits figuring out a nother kind of business entity that can spin off of the nonprofit in order to start attracting investment that cannot typically go into nonprofit investment, ie impact investing, which is a whole huge nut, I am on a mission to crack because I'm bringing those dollars over the nonprofit

This is a perfect example of an organization that is keeping their nonprofit intact, very healthy, growing, winning big awards from foundations like ours. And then no no, because now we have millions of people paying attention, we're not going to spin off this gorgeous super high design outdoor chair that was created from the plastics that we got in this river in Bali. And now we have this whole opportunity to not just generate a whole new area of revenue for the nonprofit but to grow like Becky said the solution itself and to bring greater awareness into the mainstream. So I go to my friends who run design Miami which is one of the biggest design fairs in the world. And I say hey look look at this story that we help them place Thank you Aaron who's on the phone with Fast Company earlier this or last month about this chair and say here design Miami look at this amazing chair that our winner can you put this in the next design fair in December here in Miami and they're super interested you know, so again, it's like connecting all these dots the story the media, the you know the building the audience, the what it can lead to the long tail. It's it's just so beautiful. And I mean, this guy just won and so he had this audience but this is somebody we can really work with, you know, to take this to the next level. I

mean, man, my heart is grown. Yeah, y'all are y'all are epic and the way you think I just am so excited that we can be torchbearers of this movement that y'all are building that we can spread

you help a lot. This helps a lot we're so grateful. Come back

saying yes ever I mean I've been thinking John about like heyland Dennison that was spilled the tea cafe that we had on who was a GET LOUD winner and we had followed their journey ever and they're in our classroom now learning and it's just like the way that we can uplift each other in different ways and keep the story going. is just beautiful. And I cannot mention spilled the tea without saying hi Maddie. So hope everything's going great in Hawaii. Yes with our friends.

Okay, so we can't have you on the line and not ask you for your one good thing you know, it's a piece of advice. Maybe it's your mantra What is something that you want to live with our community today Karolina and then we'll go to Eva.

I mean, for me, I go back to the GET LOUD award because it's the place where we are building a community of people who were listening to. And it's our greatest way to collect the voices and interest. And it's why we found the spill the tea, you know, we're finding these incredible leaders and organizations. So for me, the good thing is to hopefully join our community because we get smarter. John, is you pointing out like we keep evolving, we're evolving, because we're growing our fan base. This was always the idea of building this global fan base for good wasn't to make ourselves feel good, even though it feels great. But it's so that we have many more voices that are informing the decisions, the investments, the partnerships, all of it. That's our good thing. My good thing.

I mean, I'll just add to I'll just plus one, get loud, always. But I think my good thing is just what get loud was really intended to represent, right, which is that to do good in this world, does not mean you have to be perfect, right? It just means that you have to show up. That was the whole intention behind the GET LOUD award. And that's why we opened the nominations to the public because we interest in the public to point us in the right direction. And I think it comes back to the power of storytelling, right, which is this idea of bringing stories of authenticity and vulnerability and imperfection and good to the forefront and entwined in our day to day lives. That's the whole idea, right? It goes back to the Sungai design, which is that this work shouldn't live off in the shadows. We shouldn't be watching these videos on Reddit, we should be buying these chairs that live in our backyard, you know, social good deserves to be entwined in the fabric of our day to day. And similarly we deserve to have stories of people who are doing good in the world and thereby are inspired to do the same.

I just want to thank you all for how good your souls are. You have such good souls, like I am so heartened that you are in this work and that you make it generative. Every time you show up. It's never about you. It's about the collective and that is so much felting your brand. And I gotta say follow these friends is Instagram if you want to watch this playing out in real time, please come check out the Elevate Prize Foundation. I would even wager to say I think your LinkedIn game is extremely strong and Karolina and Eva both have incredible thought leadership. So go find them. Any other places that anybody can connect with you learn any more any other links, you want to drop, we want to give you that space.

We have a great newsletter, I have to say, you know, I really love our newsletter. And it's a great place especially for the nonprofit's that follow you to just learn more about opportunities or things that we're doing. We have a lot of big stuff coming out in the coming year we are launching in November, a whole new initiative called the cities it's we don't have a full name for it. But it's right now entitled cities. And we're going to be going to cities around the world these week long impact campaigns. It's a big, big initiative. We're launching it in Miami this fall. And that's you know, it's not social media, but it's something to follow. And so I think the newsletter or websites Excellent. These are all very old school things, but I we put so much into them and they're so beautifully designed. And we're on all social media, so I know you know we're on Tik Tok and YouTube and all of it Yeah, you

can find us anywhere at Elevate prize. We're on all the socials. But yeah, no shame and going to a website elevate prize.org You can always find us there and please sign up for our newsletter. Yeah, that was a great call to action.

Those nominations are you know, they are open to the public. We love getting nominations from friends and organizations, many wonderful ones I'm sure listening to this show who might have great future prize winners ready to nominee voice

matters. So come check it out. And we will have a rich show notes page with all kinds of tips and tricks. But we will have the newsletter linked up we will link up to all of these things we mentioned comm come be a part of this amazing community. We need you we need every one of you, Eva Karolina keep going you guys are doing an amazing work. Thank

you. Thank you both.

Thanks so much for being here friends, and you probably hear it in our voices. But we love connecting you with the most innovative people to help you achieve more for your mission than ever before. We'd

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