While traveling in Liberia as an undergraduate research student, William Smith played in 7am pickup soccer games. As the captain of the varsity team at the College of William & Mary (‘14), he needed to stay in shape. Little did he know what would happen next. William’s foot skills impressed Sekou “Georgie” Manubah, a former national team player. A few days later, Georgie invited William to play a friendly game at the national stadium. But it was no ordinary game. It was the Liberian Peace and Reconciliation match where JJ Okocha, Samuel Eto’o, Patrick Mboma, and Roger Milla had been invited. The organizer of the event was the legendary George Weah, Africa’s only FIFA World Player of the Year (and Liberia’s soon-to-be-President). 35,000 fans—including President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—came out to watch the game. William was the only non-African player on the field. Though he lost the match that day, William gained an important insight that summer: The potential of football to change Liberia’s failing education system and gender inequality. Liberia’s challenges were staggering. A devastating civil war had killed 250,000 people of its 3.5 million population. The GDP per capita was $455 (compared to $2,300 in Honduras). It was the least electrified country in the world. In 2013, 25,000 high school graduates in Liberia took the university entrance exam and every single one failed. Then Ebola broke out in 2014. In November 2014, William asked himself a simple question: “What about a football academy? What if we use this passion and energy that young people have for football as an incentive for kids to improve in the classroom, to break down gender barriers, and to ultimately prepare students to lead positive change?” He reached out to Georgie and together they wrote out a plan for Monrovia Football Academy. He began raising money in London while pondering their next steps: “What does the concept actually look like? How many students do we start with? What ages? How many boys? How many girls? Where do we do this?” There was no time to waste. 58% of 15-24 year olds in Liberia were not completing primary education. “We jump in when ebola finishes,” they said to each other. It was a tough time to start an NGO. People couldn’t shake hands, hug each other, go to school, or play soccer for an entire year because of ebola. In 2015 when ebola subsided, they opened MFA—the first football academy in Africa with a principle of 50/50 gender equity. William was full of self-doubts. “I had no idea how I was doing any of it,” he said. “You’d be a fool to think you have all the answers.” He tried to convince himself to try and be okay with the prospect of failure while being obsessive about not letting it fail. He woke up early each morning asking himself, what was next? How do we get better? How do we improve? He gave a fundraising pitch at Saracens Rugby Club but that was not enough. He was asked to do a s

57: Monrovia Football Academy is changing lives in Liberia through soccer—with William Smith

During his senior year at the University of Kentucky, Jacob Dietz made it his mission to raise $25,000 for Students Helping Honduras. He and his classmates wanted to build a school in La Lima, Honduras, where 400 children lacked a middle school building. Jacob asked himself: “Do I have the ability and time and self-discipline to do this?” It all seemed daunting. The previous year, they had raised $11,000—less than half of what they hoped to raise this year. He called up his SHH chapter at the university for a meeting. For him, the group was “a team in the utmost sense.” They studied and discussed how other chapters had succeeded in different cities. A few days later, they decided on an event that had been carried out in New York and Maryland. They were going to organize a gala to raise $25,000 in one night. It would be called Brick By Brick, Kentucky. Jessica Schilling, a fellow student at Kentucky, worked alongside Jacob as the co-organizer. The two had gone to school together since kindergarten. But for Jacob, he would have never imagined such a partnership with Jess. In fact, he never talked to her when they were kids. “Jess was always the smartest student in the grade. I failed 4th grade math,” he said. A shared mission turned them into an unstoppable duo. The two of them spent hours handwriting invitation letters. They drove around endlessly, talking to businesses to find sponsors. They faced one rejection after another. They created videos for social media but they kept stumbling over their words in front of the camera. When things felt overwhelming, Jacob closed his eyes and imagined the night of the event where all his friends would be there. His parents who planned on missing work to be there. His brother Josh who had tirelessly helped him that semester. When they paid the down payment to reserve the venue, they knew there was no turning back. One challenge after another awaited Jacob and his team. Guests waited until the last minute to register. They found typos in the posters they had printed at Staples. A video Jacob had spent hours on crashed on the morning of the event. He had to decide, “Do I put the work back in? Or do I scrap it?” Did Jacob and his team prevail? Find out how the night unfolded by listening to this unbelievable podcast episode.

56: How Kentucky students raised $25,000 in one night—with Jacob Dietz

Rich Johnson is the co-founder of Spark Ventures, a nonprofit focused on international community development in Zambia, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Along the way, Spark Ventures began to facilitate engagement trips for the mutual benefit of supporters and partner communities abroad. In this episode, Rich discusses his past challenges, fundraising, creating a separate business venture called Ignite, Board development, trends in impact travel, voluntourism, and more. Rich Johnson Reading List The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create Markets That Change The World by John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan Rich Johnson Show Notes  In 2006 Rich Johnson was hanging out with two friends when they decided to go to Africa They went to Zambia and found a community organization there called HOPE that was helping children affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis Previously, Rich had been doing marketing consulting with Fortune 500 companies Shortly after, Rich returned to Zambia with 16 students at the university where he worked HOPE lacked resources so Spark began to raise funds back in the US “What is it do you need? How can we support you?” they asked HOPE Spark Ventures helped HOPE with strategic planning, leadership development, and capacity building A friend become a major donor They organized a fundraising bar night where 300 friends showed up They raised $25,000 at the event “What systems and process can we put into place?” They started with weekly calls, monthly reports, quarterly visits, annual audits with their community partners In Nicaragua, they spent too much money on buying land that they ran out of money to start the farm project they had intended to start. They struggled because they lacked expertise in agriculture The farm in Nicaragua now has 70,000 plantain trees and 40,000 cacao trees. Disease has been a problem Rich was running Spark Ventures part-time for four years before it became full time In Nicaragua, many children were devastated during the civil war. Las Tias was an organization that helped them in the city of Leon. Las Tias didn’t have just one leader. They used a co-leadership model with 3 leaders. During their ten year anniversary, Rich did an internal asset audit and re-examined trends in the social impact industry Over 500 people had traveled with Spark during its first 10 years Companies and friends wanted to participate in impact travel, adventure, and cultural exchange Rich Johnson created Ignite, a separate business that specializes in impact travel. The separation prevents mission creep and also allowed him to invest more into marketing and sales A portion of the trip fees for Ignite go to support the partner organizations 60% of the trip fees are poured into the local economy Ignite raised money in the beginning to make the initial hires Some nonprofits are better geared for grant fundings. Others are more geared towards corporate funding or government funding. Many grassroots organizations

55: Lessons on impact travel—with Rich Johnson from Spark Ventures

Alex Altman and Zeke Copic are longtime supporters of Students Helping Honduras. They have been organizing a charity gala each year in NYC called Brick By Brick to benefit SHH. In this episode, we discuss what it takes—step-by-step—to organize a gala that can raise $25,000+ for your favorite nonprofit organization. Show Notes  The first thing to do is to understand the audience One of the biggest costs is the event venue They wanted to make sure the cost was as low as possible A friend of Zeke organized a charity casino night but ended up spending way too much for the overhead cost Brick By Brick has gotten the event venue spaces donated Sesame Corporation donated the space in 2016 and 2017 Venues need to be reserved months in ahead They had a leadership council made up of 6 volunteers who had been down to Honduras and were dedicated Alex Altman and Zeke Copic did the first Bricky By Brick without much help It’s hard to hit a broad social network if all the organizers come from the same place The marketing happened mostly via email The invitation email was sent out 30 days before the event. They have done it 60 days in advance in the past They created a Facebook and LinkedIn event Zeke emailed all of his friends directly with a personal note Zeke was obsessed with checking Classy About 90 people showed up to the event Most people waited until the very last week to buy tickets. It was “harrowing” They charged $75 per ticket for presales and $100 at the door Only 3 people bought at the door The event space had a cap of 100 people Almost all of the guests were colleagues from work Many relatives donated auction items Many people have come to the event three years in a row There is a short presentation about the cause during the event It’s important to keep the email lists from each year The first Brick By Brick sold tickets at $50 but people had to pay for drinks They had food and an open bar at the event. The food was donated “Do your silent auctions yourselves.” It’s not a good idea to have a company run the silent auction because they take the vast majority of the profits and will likely have items that won’t sell There was a diverse price range for the silent auction items ($20-$300) They bought 40 cardboard bricks from the internet and sold them. 20 of them had a prize hidden inside. They had come up with the idea just a few days before the event. The bricks sold for $20 each Someone from the leadership committee walked around selling bricks Alex was focused on the logistics during the event, like making sure there was a coat check and making sure the food was changed, video was prepared, etc. Zeke went around spending time with as many people as possible even though it is hard for an introvert like him $7,000 came from ticket sales, $14,000 came from a few large donations, and the rest came from item sales Corporate matching grants were important People don’t realize that the companies they work for may give match gr

54: How to raise $25,000+ with a charity gala, step-by-step

Countless nonprofit organizations are stuck on the treadmill of financial survival. Most of their energy is spent trying to make payroll at the end of each month—which means less time is spent maximizing their impact. Does that sound familiar to you? For five years Kathleen Janus traveled the country to find out how successful organizations like Teach for America, City Year, and Charity: Water broke through their barriers. She conducted studies and interviewed 200 social entrepreneurs.  She documented their secrets to success and wrote down the five patterns that got them there. Soon, a playbook was created. In this episode, Kathleen talks about her new book, Social Startup Success: How the Best Nonprofits Launch, Scale Up and Make a Difference. She is a lawyer, lecturer at Stanford, and founder of Spark.  Kathleen Janus Reading List The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout by Beth Kanter and Aliza Sherman Kathleen Janus Show Notes  Kathleen Janus grew up in Napa, California and began volunteering at a very early age Her parents sat on many nonprofit Boards She noticed early on how nonprofits struggled to survive financially Kathleen in her twenties got together with her college friends and started SPARK to support gender equality They organized a fundraising event in San Francisco and raised $5,000 to help women in Rwanda $5,000 seemed like a lot of money at the time SPARK doubled its revenue every few months Kathleen was a practicing lawyer at the time They were able to hire an executive director when they hit a certain size The organization hit a wall When Kiva went on Oprah, they raised $11 million overnight Of the 300,000 nonprofits in the US, ⅔ of them raise less than $500,000 per year There is a desert of failed pilot nonprofits because they were unable to sustain themselves A nonprofit that raises $2 million per year has likely hit financial sustainability Organizations that scaled quickly first went into a quiet phase where they tested different strategies to get proof of concept “It’s about improving the model as you grow.” “Innovation becomes a part of your organization’s DNA.” Wishbone was started by a school teacher who asked her low-income students to write essays about their passions. She forwarded those essays to family and friends to raise a few thousand dollars to give these kids summer experiences. She updated the donors and decided to scale. Wishbone now allows students to raise money on their online platform “Impact measurement is absolutely critical.” Measuring impact allows an organization to collect data and figure out if a program is working “It’s not just about proving your program is working. It’s about improving the program. 75% of the nonprofits surveyed collected data. But only 6% of them felt they made “good use” of their data. An organization needs to figure out what indicators to measure, such as attendance rates of a scholarship rec

53: How nonprofits can leave the treadmill of financial survival in 5 steps - Kathleen Janus

"Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong," said Steve Sexton. His first major fundraising event as the chapter president of Students Helping Honduras at UMD—a 5K— was a, "disaster that barely broke even." “I wanted to deflect the blame at first," he said, "But I took a long look in the mirror and said it is my fault. I can’t let this happen again.” He dusted off and said to himself, “You can’t let some naysayers put you down. You gotta keep going!” Steve wanted to improve the team's unity and morale. Soon, barbecues, rollerblading nights, and paintball outings were organized.  His biggest focus as the leader was simple: “to look out for my friends in the chapter.” In this episode, Steve deconstructs how they raised $1,500-$2,100 per day selling Krispy Kreme donuts at metro stations and through their campus thrift shop. “Every waking moment I had to do something," he said, "Planning, organizing, talking to somebody.” During the spring semester of 2017, the UMD chapter raised $45,000 to build two schools in Honduras. In this episode, Steve Sexton explains step-by-step how it was done. Steve Sexton Show Notes  Steven Sexton found out about Students Helping Honduras at UMD’s First Look Fair Students Helping Honduras was Steve’s first experience volunteering abroad Steve got many of his friends to join SHH When Steve was elected, he asked himself, “can I do this?” “I have a lot to do,” he said to himself and got to work “We had to plan ahead and be prepared,” he said at the beginning of the year The UMD team created a calendar of events, deadlines for tasks, and small milestones “What would differentiate our table?” he asked for the First Look Fair They gave out juice bags at the First Look Fair When they organized a 5K, “everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong.” They had problems with the t-shirt orders, signups, and delays. “It was a disaster and we barely broke even.” He realized that a lot more planning had to happen Upon returning from Honduras, the UMD team started fundraising immediately Steve spent many hours organizing weekly meetings for the general body and for the exec committee. He also held many one-on-one meetings with his officers. The team organized barbecues, parties, rollerblading nights, and paintball outings to keep the group united and engaged He mixed down-to-business meetings with fun activities The Students Helping Honduras chapter focused on selling Krispy Kreme donuts at metro stations each week. They started with four stops but eventually were selling in ten stops simultaneously A box of 12 donuts cost the chapter $4. They sold each box for $8-$10 The first Krispy Kremes sales day was “chaotic” They bought $1,000 worth of donuts They woke up at 5am to start selling. They need supplies like tape, tables, Square credit card readers, etc. The chapter organized one, large event per month like a thrift shop, gaming tournament, soccer tournament

52: How to fundraise $45,000 on campus for your favorite charity - Steve Sexton

While studying at the College of William & Mary, Sam Pressler learned about the post-traumatic stress disorder war veterans were facing as they reintegrated into civilian life.  So in 2015, he started Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP) to help them re-enter and thrive in their communities. ASAP, based out of Washington DC and Hampton Roads, VA gives veterans a voice by doing something completely unconventional… By offering them free classes and workshops in stand-up comedy, improv, storytelling, and creative writing. But the entrepreneurial journey for Sam Pressler was no joke. He bootstrapped with just two other employees—and during the same week, they both quit. “That was rock bottom for us. I thought we were going to implode,” he said.  “How the heck am I going to do this?” he asked himself. Yet instead of quitting, Sam kept pushing forward. “Time stopped and I immediately went into survival mode." He asked himself one question, "What is the first step to take to get out of this?” and then created an insane schedule for himself—4:30 am workouts at the gym and 6-10 am focused solo time at the desk. “I ruthlessly prioritized my time, segmenting every minute of my day,” he said. Sam's hard work paid off and ASAP was asked to organize a show at the White House. "It was surreal," he said. Since 2015, more than 450 students have taken classes, and there have been over 700 performances in front of an estimated 40,000 audience members. Sam is an Echoing Green Fellow and was recently named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Entrepreneurship. Sam Pressler Reading List  Mastery by Robert Greene Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger  Sam Pressler Show Notes Sam Pressler studied political science at the College of William & Mary Back in high school, Sam lost a close family member to suicide Humor and laughter are universal languages that can connect us Growing up, Sam’s passions were service and comedy Sam read Jerry Seinfeld’s biography Sam’s father went to the same gym as Tina Fey. Tina Fey agreed to have an hour-long lunch with Sam! 20 military veterans commit suicide each day in the US Suicide rates in the US are rising Older veterans are seeing the higher rates of suicides Less than 1% of the population has served in combat, so veterans have very few people who understand them when they return home Veterans can face identity issues when returning to civilian life Identity and purpose are important Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger The military gives soldiers a strong sense of community. When they go home, they are abruptly stripped of this community and social bonds. Social clubs and community groups are on the decline At William & Mary, Sam started a writing group and comedy club for 65 veterans from Williamsburg Sam got help from George Srour and Cosmo Fujiyama (my sister) and received a prestigious Echoing Green grant. For Sam, the very firs

51: Using standup comedy & improv to help war veterans — Sam Pressler

Today’s guest is Noam Angrist, the founder of Young 1ove, an NGO providing sex education to 35,000+ young people in Botswana. Sex-ed is a complicated issue, and over the decades it’s been hard to tell what worked and what didn’t. In Botswana, where 22% of the population has HIV, much of it hadn’t worked. But when Noam used a tool from the scientific community, he could actually tell what interventions worked. Like a scientist, Noam discarded the interventions that didn’t work and focused on the ones that did. Soon, teenage pregnancy dropped by 28% in the communities he worked with, and he had the evidence to prove it. The tool that Noam used was the randomized control trial (RCT). In this episode, Noam talks about his experience carrying out RCTs and discusses their limitations, challenges, and financial costs. He faced countless personal struggles along the way, like using his personal savings to fund the startup years, not having funding as launch day neared, government officials obstructing the program, and having to make 11-hour drives through the dirt roads of Africa. When things got tough, Noam reminded himself to, “stay fiercely optimistic,” and “push through even when things are collapsing around you.” Noam’s goal is to provide sex-ed to a million youth in southern Africa in the coming years. For his work, Noam Angrist has been named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Entrepreneurship. Noam Angrist's Reading List  Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Do Teenagers Respond to HIV Risk Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya By Pascaline Dupas  Noam Angrist Show Notes Noam Angrist studied math and economics at MIT He took a class at MIT with Esther Duflo, one of the founders of The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). The Poverty Action Lab popularized the Randomized Control Trials. Randomized control trials have revealed that most interventions don’t work Noam Angrist was influenced by an article he read in Esther Duflo’s class: Do Teenagers Respond to HIV Risk Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Kenya By Pascaline Dupas Noam worked for the World Bank and J-PAL upon graduation and realized that many research studies produce papers but not programs Noam did a project at the World Bank about Botswana. He went to the University of Botswana to better understand the situation. The university students give free tuition and provides student stipends. But when stipends run out at the end of the month, they become sugar babies. According to the study by Dupas, the unprotected sex with sugar daddies was infecting many young people with HIV, but the research paper was not being turned into a program Noam went out into the field with a team and turned the research into an actual program Doers need plans that are simple, clear, and actionable but research papers are usually complicated and long. The topics of

50: What are RCTs and how will they transform development aid? With Noam Angrist

Katy Ashe is the co-founder of Noora Health, a tech NGO in India. When she visited the hospitals of Bangalore as a graduate student, she saw a sea of people sitting around in the hallways. Who were they? They were family members of the patients—and they were scared, bored, and lacked basic health information. Many slept outside the hospitals, waiting for days. They had nothing to do but wait. The incredible waste of time was tragic. But Katy and her cofounders saw opportunity amidst the tragedy. The cofounders asked themselves, what if these people sitting around in the hallways spent those hours learning about health, physical therapy, and disease prevention? After all, some people didn't even know what a pulse was, and at least 40% of the patients had diabetes. Noora Health began by showing one health video that they filmed in a parking lot. To the surprise of the founders, patients and their families loved the video. They wanted more. But there was a problem: the founders had no money. Yet something inside Katy kept saying, “We need to go all in and become an organization and throw our lives into this.”  For months, Katy lived in garages, attics and tents to make ends meet. She worked part time bartending and babysitting while she built up Noora Health with her professional soulmate, Edith. The founders grew the nonprofit organization and created countless health workshops. Now Noora Health operates in 16 cities in India. They have provided training to 90,000 people and impact studies have shown a 36% reduction in post-surgical complications. Fast Company rated Noora Health as one of the most innovative companies in 2016. They've been recognized by Y-Combinator, Echoing Green, and Ashoka. Katy Ashe was recently named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for social entrepreneurship. Katy Ashe's Reading List  Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh Any book written by Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh  Katy Ashe Show Notes Katy Ashe did an undergraduate thesis project in the Amazon rainforest in Peru She accidentally began studying environmental contamination for mercury in the illegal gold mining industry Noora Health started out as a class project for a at Stanford’s School of Design They utilized the Human Centered Design Practice for their project to find out what was happening in the hospitals of India Katy Ashe discovered that the patients and their family members were not ready to go home after they were treated due to uncertainty In India, many family members accompany a patient to the hospital. They wait and camp out outside the hospital for days Communication between patients, family members, and medical personnel was lacking Medical personnel rarely explain to the patients and family members follow up procedures Katy Ashe and her team decided to train and educate the family members who were waiting around and bored 40% of the patients going to the hospital had been diagnosed with diabetes; ma

49: Providing health training to 90,000 people in the hospitals of India, with Katy Ashe

While volunteering in India as an undergraduate student, Annie Ryu fell in love at first sight. What she saw at the market wasn't tall, dark, and handsome. It was a spiky, green fruit she had never seen. The huge fruit she was looking at was the jackfruit, the largest tree born fruit in the world.  Fascinated, she researched the fruit and ate them. Many of them. So much so that she'd soon be known "The Jackfruit Lady." The jackfruit, which tastes different in its various stages, has many nutritional benefits. It's high in vitamin E, magnesium, fiber, potassium, and manganese. It also tastes great! The jackfruit is incredibly fibrous and has a meaty texture similar to pulled pork. When ripe, Annie describes it as, "a combination of pineapple, banana, and mango." That sounds delicious! The meat industry is the second largest contributor to global warming. The problem is, many meat alternatives don't taste too great. But what if someone could create something that did? Annie Ryu had an epiphany shortly after: by marketing the jackfruit all over the US as a meat-alternative main dish, she could create jobs, fight global warming, and improve human health. When she returned to campus, she said no to a Fulbright scholarship and no to medical school. Instead, Annie created The Jackfruit Company.  She figured out how to start a company in India, though she had zero knowledge of the food industry. She contacted farmers, local providers, and vendors to create a supply chain for the jackfruit. She bootstrapped the operation for years, concocting flavors in her own kitchen. The flavors that Annie now offers includes: Teriyaki, Curry, Tex-Mex, and BBQ. More are on their way. But it hasn't been easy for Annie. "I was working all hours of the day,” she said, describing her early days. "Initially, you're doing everything," she expressed. Her first three shipments were disastrous and had to be dumped. As she hired people, she realized how little experience she had as a manager. “Becoming a good manager was a whole new learning curve,” she said. Yet Annie Ryu kept pushing her limits. “I had the conviction that what I was doing was the right thing to do, even though there was so much more to learn," she said as she thought about all the benefits the jackfruit would bring to the world. The company grew and grew, and they now run a factory in India and is generating jobs for 50+ locals. Annie was recently named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for social entrepreneurship. In this episode, she also talks about her relationship with her Korean father, her aspirations, personal struggles, personality test results, and why she decided to start a social enterprise instead of a traditional nonprofit organization. You can buy The Jackfruit Company's products online or near the tofu and meat-alternative sections in Whole Foods, Wegmans, Safeway, and other supermarkets. This episode is sponsored by Tikker, the death watch that counts down your life (and

48: How Annie "The Jackfruit Lady" Ryu built a health food company in India instead of a nonprofit

When Robbie was 12 and his sister Brittany was 13, they heard the story of a soldier returning from Iraq with a near $8,000 phone bill. They couldn’t believe that a man serving his country was unable to call his family for free. So they decided to do something about it. In 2004 with just $21 and some help from their parents, Cell Phones for Soldiers was born. Today the nonprofit organization provides cost-free communication services and emergency funding to active-duty military members and veterans. They've provided more than 300 million minutes of free talk time and have recycled 15 million cell phones for the cause. Robbie, now age 25, is the recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service and was recently named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List.  Donate your used cell phone to Cell Phones for Soldiers  here.  This episode is sponsored by the Tikker, the death watch that counts down your life (and tells the time). Use the promo code SHIN at the checkout to get a 10% discount on your purchase. Robbie Bergquist's Reading List How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie Robbie Bergquist Show Notes Robbie Bergquist and his sister heard about a soldier who had an $8,000 phone bill he racked up while calling home while deployed. They had two cousins in the armed services and so the issue touched their young hearts Back in 2004-05, Cell Phones for Soldiers raised money to pay off cell phone bills for soldiers. One bill was $15,000! Shortly after, Cell Phones for Soldiers began to raise awareness within the armed forces in Afghanistan about the different cell phone towers and the different costs associated with them When Robbie and Brittany got distracted, their parents encouraged them to keep going Robbie and Brittany missed a lot of school. They missed out on soccer and cheerleading practices because of all their traveling on behalf of Cell Phones for Soldiers They were getting a lot of media coverage and attention and were going on speaking tours at age 12 and 13. By 2006, they had collected tens of thousands of old cell phones and they didn’t know what to do with them They wanted to send the cell phones overseas to the soldiers but after a media appearance announcing the plan, they were asked to cease and desist by the State Department because insurgents could triangulate the calls “The Department of State told us to cease and desist our original plan. We were very discouraged.” Instead, they decided to recycle and sell the cell phones to purchase calling cards that they could send to soldiers Calling from landlines using calling cards is better for security purposes Cell Phones for Soldiers has a facility in Alpharetta, Georgia where they collect and refurbish used cell phones They determine the value of the used phones and resell them Unusable phones will be scrapped for basic materials and recycled properly to reduce the impact on landfills An ex-Verizon executive came on board to work for the charity. Five volunteers

47: Growing a nonprofit since age 12 to help soldiers & veterans in need—Forbes 30U30 Robbie Bergquist

Most foreigners who visit Indonesia end up at the beaches of Bali. But not Adam Miller, a young conservationist from St. Louis. While volunteering at a pet shop at age 10, he came up with the vision of one day working in Indonesia to help the animals there. His vision quickly became an obsession. Many years later, Adam found himself in a remote village in Borneo, Indonesia. It’s a part of southeast Asia facing the fastest rate of deforestation in the world and the second highest number of endangered species in the world. He lived there for six months on a total budget of $1,000 and built up a nonprofit organization called Planet Indonesia. In this podcast episode, Adam discusses the challenges of working in a country with a culture that is vastly different. When he goes running, random fathers in the community might stop to offer their daughters as wives. And you will find out what Adam means when he says that in Indonesia, "host families will love you so much they might kill you in the process." Adam also talks about grant writing, donor relations, using behavioral economics and incentives to promote conversation, and overcoming serious differences in the way people communicate in Indonesia. This episode is sponsored by the Tikker, the death watch that counts down your life (and tells the time). Use the promo code SHIN at the checkout to get a 10% discount on your purchase. Show Links for Adam Miller The Franciscan Sisters of Mary Mulago Foundation  Dan Pallotta’s TED talk: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong Poverty Inc. Documentary Show Summary for Adam Miller Adam was volunteering at a pet shop at age 10 in St. Louis, Missouri He saw a bird from Indonesia that sparked his interest Adam Miller was known as a “bird nerd” growing up Adam Miller’s dream was to become a conservationist researcher He began to feel inadequate just doing research, as just publishing articles didn’t feel like it was making enough of an impact Adam Miller had an early life crisis and so jumped on a plane  to Indonesia He ended up in Indonesia teaching English as a Fulbright Scholar Learning about the culture, language, and the people led to him starting Planet Indonesia Indonesian culture is very difficult to adapt to for a westerner Conversations are much more indirect, longer-winded, and unclear in Indonesia A donor foundation had a very strict reporting requirement and the finance team for Planet Indonesia kept assuring Adam that things were being done properly. Adam later found out that the team wasn’t doing the job as required by the foundation. They were not being honest and direct about their inadequacy The Indonesian government is very unclear about requirements and permits for NGOs When Adam first moved to Indonesia, there were very few foreign NGOs present The Indonesians watch western TV and movies and romanticize the culture The local Indonesians love to follow and take photos of foreigners When Adam goes for jogs, fathers in

46: One conservationist's quest to hep the animals in the jungles of Indonesia—with Adam Miller

How did Rachel Sumekh (founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger) respond when she was told "you're just too nice to be a leader"? In this episode, Rachel Sumekh talks openly about her inner doubts, challenges as a Persian-American social entrepreneur, how she responded to opposition from campus administrators. Swipe Out Hunger is a nonprofit organization that is working to end hunger by activating college students to donate their unused meal points. Since Swipe Out Hunger began in 2009 as a college pet project, the NGO has served 1.3 million meals. Rachel Sumekh was recently awarded Champion of Change by The White House and named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Entrepreneurship. This episode is sponsored by the Tikker, the death watch that counts down your life (and tells the time). Use the promo code SHIN at the checkout to get a 10% discount on your purchase. Memorable Quotes: “When you have opposition, you grow stronger.” “Every college student is insecure. We believe that food shouldn’t be one of the things they are insecure about.” “I didn’t go on a single date in a year. In L.A..” “How do I progress this conversation or better understand the other person?” “Have people who will keep you accountable for a BIG vision.” Rachel Sumekh Reading List The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky Rachel Sumekh Show Notes Students were accumulating hundreds of dollars of meal credits by the end of each semester and they were expiring Instead of letting the meal dollars expire, Rachel convinced her classmates to buy food to-go at the end of the semester using the leftover meal credits and gave them out to the hungry in the city Before Swipeout Hunger, students were using the extra dollars to buy a bunch of water bottles they didn’t need “When you have opposition, you grow stronger.” The administration didn’t like the initiative at first, due to liability issues and losing control Instead of giving up, Swipe Out Hunger got the SGA and key faculty members involved Swipe Out Hunger provides food closets for students who are hungry and are at risk of dropping out Many students that Swipe Out Hunger serves are homeless Swipe Out Hunger gives out dining vouchers to students and also supplies food pantries on 400 campuses Swipe Out Hunger is operating chapters in 26 universities Sometimes they work with the universities to get them to buy and donate food to a local homeless shelter or food bank. Universities get bulk prices Swipe Out Hunger relies on the honor code, given the fact that students can abuse the system and take more food than they need “Every college student is insecure. We believe that food shouldn’t be one of the things they are insecure about.” 14% of students in community colleges are homeless

45: How Swipe Out Hunger served 1.3 million meals using leftover meal swipes on campus—with Rachel Sumekh, Forbes 30 Under 30

Every morning for nearly a decade, CNN Hero Razia Jan drank a cup of water from her school's well to make sure it hadn’t been poisoned overnight by the Taliban.         She works in a part of Afghanistan where girls face unimaginable obstacles just to attend school. They must face the threat of getting acid thrown onto their faces, risk buying snacks with grenades hidden inside them, and make sure nobody has sprayed poisoned gas into their classrooms.   Razia Jan worked as a tailor and dry cleaner before starting Razia's Ray of Hope Foundation in 2008, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and children in Afghanistan through education. She operates the  Zabuli Education Center, a school that she founded in rural Afghanistan that provides a free education to 625 girls.  Please leave a review of the episode on iTunes and/or Stitcher. Show Notes for Razia Jan  Razia was a single mother when she started her own tailoring and dry cleaning shop Even as a tailor, Razia was involved in community volunteering Razia was the only Afghani in her entire town during 9/11 After 9/11, Razia sent blankets and quilts to the Ground Zero rescue mission Razia sent care packages and 30,000 shoes to the US Army during the war in Afghanistan Razia returned to Afghanistan after 9/11, 38 years after she had moved to the US. During that visit, she could not find her old home as everything had been destroyed When Razia opened the Zabuli Education Center, they started with just 100 girls The students at the Zabuli Education Center learn both Arabic and English When Razia Jan joined the local Rotary Club, she was the only woman, and the only Muslim She simply tried to blend in at the Rotary Club and eventually became the President “Service Above Self” -Rotary International Razia has been a part of Rotary International for 20 years “You can’t do things on your own.” All the houses in the village are mud houses and the roads are unpaved. There are no trees in the village Drought has affected Razia’s village where many families depend on their grape orchards to make a living Razia Jan lived in Afghanistan for eight years (2007-2015) so she could be present 24/7 at the project In 1920, the king of Afghanistan had built a boy’s school that was later destroyed. It was on that land that Razia Jan began building the Zabuli Education Center for girls The land, by then a garbage dump, was given to Razia by the Ministry of Education The community wanted a boys school at first, and not a girls school The community members said that the boys were the backbone of Afghanistan and they needed to improve their future. Razia answered: “The girls are the eyes of Afghanistan. And unfortunately, you all are blind.” The community members did not like Razia’s vision at first, but ten years later, they finally understand the importance of girls education “If you educate a boy, you educate a boy. If you educate a girl, you educate the whol

44: One woman's quest to run a girls school in war-torn Afghanistan—with CNN Hero Razia Jan

As an investment banker, Andy Stein never imagined that a visit to an orphanage in Chile would change his life, and the life of thousands of others. In 2001, after 25 years on Wall Street, Andy Stein left everything behind to start the Orphaned Starfish Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with orphaned, trafficked, and at-risk youth around the world. The NGO has built 50 vocational centers and computer labs in 25 countries. I first read about Andy Stein on  The CNN Freedom Project, a TV show highlighting projects around the world that are fighting modern-day slavery. I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to interview Andy to learn about his work, travels, and why he loves to do magic tricks during his spare time. Reading List Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace - One School At A Time by Greg Mortenson  Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way by  Jon Krakauer  Show Notes for Andy Stein Andy was an investment banker and is now a “recovering banker” He flew around so much that he was the #1 flyer for Continental Airlines in New Jersey He was only home for one month out of the year and flew 400,000 miles Andy learned how to make balloon animals, so he could share a skill with the kids Despite his busy business schedule, he spent 2 hours at an orphanage in every country that he visited He began to spend more and more of his time helping children, instead of in investment banking Soon, Andy made it a full-time endeavor His children were very supportive of his career change Andy went through a divorce but is remarried now. His new wife travels with him 80% of the time Andy was very used to money and living a large lifestyle “I knew this was what I was put on the planet to do.” “The environment I was in was one that was only based on who had more.” “Money is overrated.” Andy was inspired by the starfish parable and named his nonprofit organization the Orphaned Starfish The Orphaned Starfish has now helped 10,000 children “Do it for yourself. Don’t do it for others.” Orphaned Starfish funds itself almost exclusively from an annual gala Many girls who had to leave these orphanages at age 18 faced a grim future Andy Stein raised $40,000 during his first fundraiser Now Orphaned Starfish raises $1.3 million per year Too many galas are about the show and not about the cause, the bottomline Andy Stein sent a shipment of computers to an orphanage in Chile but the shipment got stuck at customs in Chile and was never released! Orphaned Starfish now buy their computers in-country “Shit happens in life.” In the business world, you face so many obstacles and learn to problem solve, instead of dwelling on them In 2016 Andy Stein was on the road all but 39 days of the year! “I call my apartment a storage facility with a bed.” The process of fundraising and administration is the “grind” for Andy Stein He is able to do most of his administrative work online, w

43: One man's quest to end child trafficking around the world—Andy Stein, Founder of Orphaned Starfish Foundation

WARNING: If you are involved or will be involved in the medical field, this episode may alter your future aspirations... CNN Hero Dr. Ben LaBrot began working on fishing boats in California at age 11 and always knew that he was destined to live at sea. In 2009, he began refurbishing a 76-foot-long fishing boat and named it The Southern Wind. A year later, Dr. Ben and his penniless team left EVERYTHING behind and set sail to Haiti to cure the poor. “My high school counselor never told me that these kinds of jobs and solutions existed,” he said. So he created a nonprofit organization and called it the Floating Doctors.  “I pushed all my chips in the center of the table. I was all in,” he said. Upon arrival, Dr. Ben LaBrot said to himself, “I’m about to find out if this works or if I just wasted a whole lot of everyone’s time, money, and resources.” For years, they endured endless delays, storms, 18-hour workdays, not being able to afford the light bills, and living in poverty (eating baked bread was the highlight of their week) as they provided free healthcare for people in remote coastal regions. “I never envisioned that I’d be this poor for this long," he said. Yet for Dr. Ben, “if you do what you love and you have enough to eat and a roof over your head, you’ll be happy even if you’re poor. I’ve since tested that for the last ten years and found it to be true.” Dr. Benjamin LaBrot is a physician, social entrepreneur, and true inspiration. He is a man who is living out his dream and destiny, each and every day of his life. When reflecting back on the experience, he says, “When you’re choosing your work, don’t think about what you’re going to get paid for it. Think about what you’re going to become because of it. And choose accordingly. Because remember, we only get one lifetime. Make it count.” The Floating Doctors have treated more than 60,000 patients in Haiti and Central America.  Best quotes: “Sometimes I lie awake at night wondering about challenges and future. But I never worry about the big questions. I’ve never woken up to wonder if I’m just wasting my time. I’ve never had to ask myself, should I be doing something more meaningful? Should I follow my dream and get out of this cubicle instead?” “Our lights are going to be turned off tomorrow because we don’t have any money.” “It was a continual emergency. Day after day after day.” “There is something to be said for doing your watch from 2-4am when it’s just you and a sleeping boat… and hopefully a calm ocean.” “You have to maintain a culture aboard your ship of IF ONE OF US GOES DOWN, WE ALL GO DOWN.” “The ocean doesn’t care what you WANT or INTENDED to do. The only thing the ocean respects is what you DID do.” “I could be a plastic surgeon or be making more money doing general practice. But my commute even on a bad day is still better than sitting in traffic.” “When was the last time you wen

#42: One doctor's quest to cure the poor, while living on a fishing boat—with Doctor Ben LaBrot, CNN Hero

Social entrepreneur Henry May is the founder of CoSchool, a B-Corp* that's worked with 5,000 youth in Bogota, Colombia. CoSchool works to build emotional, social, and leadership skills through extracurricular programs. In this episode, Henry May speaks about his journey of self discovery, hardest moments, greatest lessons, and why he decided to make CoSchool a B-Corp instead of a nonprofit organization. Henry May is a young teacher from England and a huge soccer fanatic. His work has been recognized by Ashoka, the world’s leading social entrepreneurship agency and by Unreasonable Institute. He is also the founder of The Huracan Foundation, a global soccer movement. Top quotes: “The self-doubt never goes away, it’s part of being human.” "I saved up by eating rice and lentils every day and as I watched my friends go out on weekends." “Without that driving force, you’ll just step aside when the hardship comes.” “When I’m not having difficult conversations, problems start to appear.” “If it’s going to be successful, it’s going to take a long time. 10, 20, 50 years. Let’s not try and run too fast because this is a marathon.” *B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today, there is a growing community of more than 1,600 Certified B Corps from 42 countries and over 120 industries working together toward 1 unifying goal: to redefine success in business. Reading List from Henry May Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why by Paul Tough  Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by  Paul Tough  Show Notes for Henry May Henry May visited Colombia as a backpacker in 2009 He returned to live there in 2012 and has been living there since Henry did Teach First in London, UK He then worked for  Teach for Colombia through the Teach for All network, then worked for Proctor and Gamble, and then worked for a private school in Colombia Starting an organization is like “being born” because when you’re a baby, you don’t know what is going on around you and need help from everyone around you. “The self-doubt never goes away, but it’s part of being human.” To find time and money to start CoSchool, Henry cut back on on rent by moving back in with his parents. He worked part-time and worked on the weekends to save up for his big idea. During the early years, Henry ate rice and lentils every day and watched friends go out on the weekends as he counted pennies. He started to think the decision was a big mistake The co-founder’s mother loaned $1,200 to keep CoSchool going As a social entrepreneur, you have to be convinced that your work matters One of his former, at-risk students in the UK who was into philosophy was convicted of murder. Events like that give Henry the convictio

#41: One teacher's quest to create an education movement in Colombia—with Henry May

Today’s guest is social entrepreneur Doug Bunch, a full-time attorney from DC and the co-founder of Global Playground. It’s a nonprofit organization providing educational opportunities around the world. They’ve built schools, computer labs, and libraries in eight different countries (Uganda, Cambodia, Thailand, Honduras, Vietnam, Myanmar, Philippines, Kenya). In 2010, they partnered with us here at the Villa Soleada Bilingual School in Honduras to fund the technology lab in the school. Thanks to Doug Bunch and his team, our kids now have access to a computer lab full of laptops.  You can now work for Global Playground as a GP Fellow in one of their project sites. Expenses are paid for in these fellowships! They are also accepting applications for a position where you'll get to travel to ALL of their project sites around the world in a span of two years.  http://globalplayground.org/get-involved/ Show Links for Doug Bunch Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World by Tracy Kidder    The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by  Anne Fadiman  Show Notes for Doug Bunch In 2006 Doug founded Global Playground with his friend, Edward Branagan Global Playground’s first project was in Uganda Doug recruited Board Members who had specific skills, like graphic designers The initial Board Members were personal friends At one point, Board Members strongly disagreed on the pace of growth of Global Playground Ultimately, Doug Bunch decided to aim for a moderate, controlled growth rate to prevent burnout Doug had a “moment” while visiting a project site in Thailand. He found himself on the phone dealing with a court case back at home, stressed out. He looked around in the village, the sunrise, the people growing tea, and thought about the meaning of his life. Creating balance in life is important for Doug Bunch. He is intentional about it. Doug is now a Board Member for the College of William & Mary Many volunteers, supporters, and volunteers for Global Playground were from the College of William & Mary network Global Playground organizes an annual gala in DC called An Evening Under the Stars where they raise around $25,000 They get many in-kind donations for the event, such as drinks, food, and staff to minimize costs and maximize profit They maximize the “fun” parts of the event and have cut back on the boring parts, not bombarding them with information about the organization. They keep the speech part to 10-15 minutes total. Such events should be a celebration, time to thank donors Doug Bunch learned that you don’t have to be overly formal or litigious with small nonprofit organizations An SHH Board Member found out about Global Playground while interning at the mail office for Doug’s law firm Global Playground was worried that Students Helping Honduras was too unfocused during its early years Through Globa

#40: One lawyer's quest to build schools around the world—with Doug Bunch of Global Playground

Today's episode is the opposite of what I usually do. I’m actually crossposting a podcast episode where I’m the guest answering questions. So the tables have turned. In this episode, I’m on the show,  Failures From the Field with Jordan Levy of the Ubuntu Education Fund, and I talk about my biggest failures while working in Honduras. Definitely subscribe to their show on iTunes if you get the chance.   It was surreal to be on the show with the Ubuntu guys, as they’ve been a source of inspiration for me for many years. Their founder, Jacob Lief, was actually guest number 11 on my show. He cursed more than anyone else I’ve had on the show, so you know the episode was a good one. Lastly, check out the book about their work in South Africa, I Am, Because You Are.   Links:   Ubuntu Education Fund: http://www.ubuntufund.org/   Failures from the Field podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/failures-from-the-field/id1152595267?mt=2   I Am Because You Are: How the Spirit of Ubuntu Inspired an Unlikely Friendship and Transformed a Community http://amzn.to/2kmYI4r  

#39: Shin Fujiyama's biggest failure moments in Honduras

Social Entrepreneur Seth Maxwell has the goal of providing clean water to every single community in Swaziland. And at age 28, he is on his way of doing it. A few years ago, Seth founded Thirst Project with his friends from college. Together, they set out to end the number one global killer of children: the world’s water crisis. Since raising $1,700 at their very first fundraising event, Thirst Project has worked with students from over 400 schools to raise 8 million dollars. They've provided 300,000 people with safe drinking water around the world. Seth Maxwell is the recipient of VH1’s Do Something Award and was recently named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Entrepreneurship. Text THIRST to 97779 to get connected to a staff person from Thirst Project.   Show Links for Seth Maxwell Gary V Patrick Lencioni The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty by Patrick Lencioni The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In by Jim Collins   Show Notes for Seth Maxwell While living in Los Angeles, Seth Maxwell learned about the global water crisis at age 19. According to Seth Maxwell, 1.1 billion people lacked access to safe drinking water at the time Women and children will spend hours each day to find water, which adds up to thousands of hours per year Animals defecate into the same water source, causing water-borne illnesses Drinking contaminated water kills more children under the age of five than AIDS and malaria combined “Clean water impacts everything.” Without safe water, other development aid initiatives loses effectiveness Seth started a club with seven friends on campus to raise awareness about the global water crisis around LA. Seth and his friends spent $70 to buy bottles of water. They gave out the bottled water on Hollywood Boulevard so they could talk about the crisis. People began to ask them to speak about the crisis at their schools Within one month, they fundraised $12,000, which sparked Seth to create the Thirst Project They started off by sending their funding to partner organizations Soon, they started to implement the water projects themselves after forming a technical team made up of water experts Swaziland is small, with 1.4 million people and is known as the country with the highest AIDS density in the world For people with AIDS, drinking contaminated water is a serious issue due to their weakened immune system In order to provide running water to the entire country of Swaziland (100% national coverage), Thirst Project needs to raise $40 million As a youth, Seth Maxwell was passionate about theater and telling stories on stage Seth admits that he was arguably the most selfish, introspectively-focused human b

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