While at !deation Conference, I had a chance to catch up with my friend, Jeff Shinabarger.  He also spoke and I attended one of his breakouts.   Jeff is an amazing guy who launches creative ideas like I go to the bathroom (frequently and with ease).

He spoke about one of his projects, Gift Card Giver, which is currently in the running for a $25k Pepsi Refresh Grant (go VOTE NOW).

Ok, now that you are back from voting, here is a bit of what he shared regarding Gift Card Giver.

$8b of giftcards go unused.  Nearly 60% of bday gifts are gift cards. Home depot makes $450m a year on unused gift cards.  So he and his wife collect as many unused gift cards as they can, sort them and distribute them to non profits who can use them to advance their mission.  A simple, tangible and reproducible way to save the world.  Genius.

He also spoke about his project Plywood People.  Its essentially an online magazine about the restoration of the broken.  Plywood does just that as do many of the organizations that we work with.  Its a great illustration of what so many of you do.  They tell stories of great organizations and let folks know how they can connect everyday, as well as have a small social enterprise store that sells products whose profits, in part, benefit various causes.

Lastly, he spoke about how to launch new ideas.  This of course is what we were REALLY excited to hear. We constantly strive to learn from the best so that we can help more.

He spoke of the need to have a sounding board.  You need people around you to tell your ideas to.  Realists are necessary.  You need someone who can ask, “how do you do this after the next project?”  Will you be able to maintain and sustain this? Strategically he said he prefers to localize, then replicate nationally.

A vital and often overlooked point he touched on was how to retain GREAT volunteers.  Volunteers need a framework for success.  They need to walk away with a feeling that what they do matters.

He ended with a common refrain around here.  Leaders need courage.  Try things. The possibility of failure is a prerequisite to success.  Give something new a try.

Tagged as: Leadership, Marketing, Non Profit, non profits, Non-profit organization, On the Web, Online Communities, social enterprise, social justice