There are countless nonprofit organizations around the world that strive to do good work. Their success in gaining awareness and effecting change in the communities they serve varies and because of this many of them fade just as quickly as they were created. What gives a nonprofit staying power?  In addition to strong local leadership, the nonprofit supporter and catalyst Rise Up & Care think that it has a lot to do with a high level performance mindset.

The concept of high level performance that pulses through Rise Up & Care is an organizational business model that can be applied to any group no matter their mission or area of expertise. The theory is that a group of people with specific roles and complementary talents and skills are aligned with and committed to a common purpose. The group then is able to consistently show high levels of collaboration and innovative ideas that in the end produce superior results. After they have targeted charity organizations that work in this fashion Rise Up & Care supports them through enhancement grants. In addition, they use film as a medium to promote these charities and tell the stories of the lives that are forever changed by work that they do. Through high quality short and feature length documentaries they share the message of these inspiring leaders and their work.

When asked what he hoped would be the greatest impact with the audiences that Rise Up & Care serves through their work, the organization’s founder  Dr. Kirk Bowman responded, ” We hope to expand the number of young people whose lives are being transformed by our partners.  We also hope to inspire our partners, their communities, and the world through high-quality documentary films.”

When asked how Rise Up & Care came to be, Bowman says, ” I have participated in and witnessed failed charity projects around the world, leaving behind distrust, hurt feelings, and the carcasses of those abandoned or zombie projects.  I am a progressive academic in Atlanta and my best friend is a conservative banker in Southern California.  We had an open conversation for years about ways to improve the international charity model and we believe that we have a model that will multiply the effectiveness of project based international charity projects.  We decided to test our model, and Rise Up & Care is a 501c3 non-profit to implement our ideas.”

Bowman has a unique perspective on global charities through his research in political economy, inequality, comparative politics and interestingly enough – soccer politics. As the most played sport on the planet, Bowman has seen the game’s effect on the world and where it fits well with his other passions.

“I am a late bloomer and did not graduate with my BA until I was 32 and started my PhD at 34.  Academia is my 5th career, and I always seek out those areas of research that reside between traditional disciplines.  Having lived in Honduras, Costa Rica, and Argentina, I witnessed the powerful role of soccer on identity and identity is a major force on politics and society.  I founded and ran a non-profit in Fiji for a number of years, and recently my research and praxis dwells at the intersection of sports, politics, and development.”

While soccer and politics have a powerful ripple effect on our world, Bowman sees the work that his organization does as a different force, “My work does not cause ripples. What Rise Up & Care does is identify existing strong ripples with local leaders in developing communities and we help them amplify their ripples into waves.”

Come hear Bowman when he takes the stage at TEDxPeachtree this November and learn more about Rise Up & Care and what we can learn from the failures of traditional international charity models.

Visit Rise Up & Care’s website at riseup.care and watch Dr. Bowman’s favorite TED talk by Jaime Lerner on innovative urban experiences in Curitiba, Brazil here.

 

M.PinkeltonPhoto

Maria Pinkelton is the Senior Communication Specialist for Cox Media Group – Technology. She lives in Decatur with her husband and son, along with a fine collection of books, craft beers and size 11 shoes.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *