As I’ve had time to reflect on my experience, I’m greatly disturbed by a culture who is quick to rush in to a country after a natural disaster, raise billions in a short period of time, and leave shortly after the last camera stopped filming. What does that say about us?

Charity is not a new work or concept that developed in the American colonies. It’s been around for centuries. In some respects, societies have viewed the poor as gateways to their own self-esteem rather than as equals. That’s not right. The Haitian people deserve better from a country that possess the greatest wealth ever imagined in the history of the world.

Now, let’s get one thing straight. I’m a 100% capitalist. But our economy was built upon the common assumption that people would generally do the greatest good for the greatest number. When we lose our conscience it becomes all about us. Our entire recession came about as a result of our lost conscience. Too many people did what was best for them at the detriment of someone else.

I have a plan for Haiti. My plan is about establishing a new economy, not merely funneling more money to people in need. I want to help these people experience the joy of self-sustainment and the hope that comes as a result of it. However, I’m also committed to provide whatever relief I can until the baton can be passed and their new economy is in full swing.

Have you forgotten Haiti? We haven’t. Join us and give shoes as the first step in a journey to a new life for the Haitian people.

…when JFK was shot.

…when the Twin Towers were destroyed.

…when the 1,000 year (apocalyptic) flood hit Nashville.

But “Wow” isn’t always tragic. It can also be full of wonder, hope, and great expectations. Do you remember when…

…you said “I do”?

…you held your child in your arms for the first time?

…you finally got that big promotion at work?

This is a “Wow” week for me. Specifically…

…Soles4Souls will host it’s first open house at our new world headquarters this week. I can’t believe we need this much space! It’s also exciting to have a receiving/distribution center at the same location. This keeps all of us close to those who have joined us in helping provide shoes to the shoeless.

…Kevin our CFO, has informed me that we’ve achieve a new threshold in our race to give away one pair of shoes every second. We are now giving one pair of shoes away every seven seconds compared to this time last year when we were giving away one pair every nine seconds.

I’m certain we’ll talk about this week for many weeks (and months) to come. I’m so excited to see our hard work paying off in measurable ways. As always, I’m grateful for everyone who has donated, hosted or participated in a shoe distribution event, purchased products from our retail partners, and/or helped us spread the word about Soles4Souls. Thank you!

As a leader of a non-profit organization, I couldn’t overlook the fact that more than $40 million was raised via text messages shortly after the Haiti earthquake. That’s a lot of money. We’ve also had tremendous success offering our donors the option to give via text message.

I do, however, approach this subject with some caution. I want to know who my donors are. I want to know their names and what’s important to them. Anyone who gives over $500 today, receives a call directly from me. Many non-profit leaders only reserve that type of interaction for the largest givers. I believe it’s vitally important that we know who our donors are and respond to their needs and desires.

Text-message giving makes having a personal interaction with your donor virtually impossible. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m grateful for any and all donations that help Soles4Souls accomplish its goal to distribute shoes to every person in need. My only hesitation (not complaint or frustration) is that I no longer have the option of reaching out to them when someone gives via text-message.

Harvard University’s recent study on the mobile giving habits by age group confirmed what I already knew: younger donors tend to be more willing, open, and prefer text-message giving methods. I was, however, surprised to read that 26% of donors in their 20s mailed a donation in the past two years.

My hope is that over time those who choose to give via mobile platforms will naturally move to e-mail, Web, or even mail for donations. These options are worth growing into. They benefit the donor and Soles4Souls. When we know who you are:

1. We can tell you what we did with your donations rather than give you general information.
2. We can make you aware of opportunities to engage with the people directly impacted by your gift.
3. We can offer opportunities to co-create our strategy with us.

None of those options take place if we don’t know who the person is behind the text-message.

I’m in favor of text-message giving and have given to others via this giving option. While I do find myself conflicted at times over my desire to connect with the donor and the safe distance a text-message gives to the giver, I appreciate the gift and hope that it is the beginning of a lasting relationship that develops through more meaning giving channels.

A task is a specific action that produces a time-tested response. We know this because tasks are predictable.

A strategic goal is more of an idea, a new reality. It is much less defined and forces the individual to rely on a combination of knowledge, experience, and intuition.

I think the tragedy of task-driven organizations is much deeper and broader than can be found in hiring practices alone. Organizations that attempt to eliminate risk stop creating and start producing. It’s a subtle shift that takes place over time. Most people within the organization never know anything has changed. Most people outside the organization can spot this change from miles away.

I’ve always lived with a sense that I could do better and achieve more than what I was doing or had achieved at any given time. It is one of the main reasons I believe that created the opportunity to step out of corporate life and start a non-profit organization during the peak of my career.

I have worked hard to build a focus on strategic goals rather than tasks in many different ways. For example, I have banned yellow notes from our offices. (I find contraband every now and then.) Yellow notes do nothing other than cost me money and delay action. I don’t want to be so focused on tasks that I miss creating the reality embodied by a particular strategic goal.

At Soles4Souls:

We don’t use yellow notes. (If something needs to be done, we do it!)
We always stop to talk to or interact with a donor. (They are the reason we are here.)
We never transfer someone to voice mail. (People want to talk to people.)

Task-driven organizations are about building to spec. Strategic goal-driven organizations are about creating something new, unique, and custom. Guess which one makes a lasting impression (and a measurable difference)?

Are you leading an organization that values tasks or strategic goals?

1. Tell stories.
2. Lose the jargon.
3. There is no such thing as the general public.

Marketing is a vital aspect of organizational sustainability. I’d like to expand on these three ideas and add one more.

1. Tell better stories about “them.” The biggest mistake a nonprofit can make is to talk about themselves. It’s not about you, never has been, and never will be. I want Soles4Souls to be thought of as an organization that helped someone else change the world. The other side of this coin is that we need to keep the focus not only on the donor but on the people who are most likely to receive the greatest benefit from our work. Stories connect us as humans. Pain and suffering are not bound by language or geography. Stories, then, become the fuel that keeps the sense of urgency ever present and offers donors are chance to spread such urgency through conversation with others.

2. Lose the internal jargon. Starbucks, In-N-Out, and Waffle House are great examples of organizations that have their own language. It was created in-house and intended to be used in-house. If you want to communicate in their house, then you’ll have to learn their language. While this may work for a select few businesses, it fails miserably when practiced in the nonprofit context. If I tell a great story that inspires someone to get involved, it’s my job to make it easy and comfortable for them to do so. That means using language and habits that are commonly understood and offering ways to respond that are easy to navigate.

3. There is no such thing as the general public, and there is no such thing as “every person is a prospect.” It’s important for us to understand who is most likely to identify with our work, get involved, and help us increase our capacity through regular, consistent funding. Too many nonprofits believe everyone is a prospect. I don’t. It’s not practical or realistic. Know your audience and communicate in ways and with messages that are comfortable for them. While I want to see everyone get off the couch and do something to make the world a better place, I know that doesn’t mean everyone is going to get involved with our organization.

4. Do something worth talking about. We’ve distributed more than 10 million pairs of shoes to people in need. We are giving away one pair or shoes every nine seconds and are committed to achieving one pair of shoes given away every second. These are measurable goals that are worth talking about. There has to be substance to the work a nonprofit does. People are skeptical, and there is a great deal of competing organizations and causes. Doing something that’s measurable becomes the source of stories that compel others to action, ensures jargon doesn’t cast a shadow over the need to connect with people who may not be familiar with our organization or work, and defines those who will join us or simply give us a nod of approval and move on to something else.

Marketing is a science, but it’s not rocket science. The key is to remember that marketing only works if there is truly a cause or organization worth talking about. All the money and marketing expertise in the world can’t sustain an organization that has created more of an illusion than achieved a measurable impact.

What have you learned about nonprofit marketing? What has been your biggest surprise or success?

We’ve had countless opportunities to host headline events at Soles4Souls. I’m skeptical each time someone tells me we can build awareness through this or that because I know it’s probably going to cost me a lot of money with little to show for it in the end. There is a blind trust that if we just focused on building awareness, then “everything else” will take care of itself. I just don’t buy it.

Awareness doesn’t generate contributions.
Awareness doesn’t inspire social change.
Awareness doesn’t motivate people to action.

Seth Godin talks about this in Fans, participants, and spectators. He says, “If all you’re doing is increasing the number of digital spectators, you’re unlikely to earn the conversion rate you deserve.” Seth is absolutely right!

Instead of awareness, I look for engagement. I want people to do more than interact with our work at Soles4Souls from a distance. I want people to know more about us than we sponsored a special event or a concert. At the end of the day, I gain very little from achieving awareness. Where we see the greatest results is when people participate in our service trips, host shoe drives, and purchase from like-minded businesses in the footwear industry.

Awareness creates more spectators, and spectators rarely get in the game or even stay plugged in for very long. Engagement represents a sense of ownership and commitment on behalf of an individual that becomes the fabric of a lasting relationship and long-term results.

Which one do you think is of greater value: awareness or engagement?

Just this week:

1. Convio announced some important upgrades for its non-profit software. The new functionality helps organizations measure donor engagement and social impact.

“As donors and other constituents engage with nonprofits through more channels, optimizing their experience and meeting their expectations for choice, usability and sharing is becoming critical to on-going engagement,” said Gene Austin, CEO of Convio. “At the same time nonprofits are managing more relationships and data than ever before, so the quality of that data is critical to their success.”

2. John Jantsch who blogs at Duct Tape Marketing posted Mobile Payments as Marketing Strategy where he discusses some interesting ways he is taking advantage of the mobile platform in his own work.

While mobile payments may seem like just another way to accept money, much like checks and credit cards, I think you’ll start to see integration that other forms of payment don’t offer. It’s tough to integrate with someone’s checking account, but on a mobile device loaded with a database, GPS and compass, well, you’ve got the makings of a location aware loyalty program with the ability to offer loyalty specials and club and membership perks through an electronic wallet kind of approach.

I can’t help but think that devices like smartphones and iPads offer nonprofits a window into new, deeper levels of ongoing support and interaction with donors and supporters. Organizations like Soles4Souls are no longer bound by special events or countless other expensive platforms to carry our message forward and invite other people to join us.

We are already making investments in technology to account for this seismic shift. I’m not going to be left behind because my inhibitions or preferences keep me focused on mediums and platforms that feel like a more natural fit. Whatever I have to do, whatever I have to learn, I’m willing to do it. That’s how important I believe this shift is to the future sustainability and acceleration of Soles4Souls.

How is your organization adapting to new technology?

Too often, I talk with leaders of other nonprofits who scratch their heads wondering why they are extremely busy but don’t seem to be making any progress. When I look at their calendar, it’s full of meetings. Only these meetings are with internal employees and existing leadership. The question I always ask is: If everyone is meeting with everyone else inside the organization, who is spreading the word, doing the work donors have funded, and blazing new ground for even greater impact? Their silence says it all.

When I hire someone to work for me, I expect three things:

1. Tell me what you need to get the job done. I hire people because they have demonstrated the ability to accomplish some part of our goal, mission, and strategy. I expect them to own their area of responsibility and take charge. We measure results, so that keeps everyone on the lookout for how to create the intended result, not follow a predefined playbook.

2. Don’t wait on someone else to fix what you know is broken. If I can’t trust someone to do the work – even if they are qualified – I won’t hire them. It’s not my job to babysit anybody. It is my job to make sure the organization fulfills the promise we made to our donors and supporters. No matter what, we are going to put shoes on peoples’ feet. That’s who we are and what we do. I can’t afford not to have all the energy focused on creating forward momentum.

3. Bring me a plan of action (preferably tested) along with your ideas. My time is limited. We all share the same 24-hour day. If we are going to be the organization we want to be and keep pushing ourselves to the goal of giving away one pair of shoes every second, then we must focus on action plans instead of mulling over theories and speculation. I love it when someone comes to me with an idea that has already been tested, implemented, and is working.

These expectations set the tone and pace of my organization. I know they can and will change the dynamics of yours. I don’t always hire the right person, even though I admit I’m pretty good at determining whether someone is a good fit for our culture. Even if I do hire the wrong person, it’s evident within just a few months whether the new hire will “sink or swim” in an environment that practices learning how to swim AFTER you jump in the water.

What expectations do you have for the people who work for you?

At the core of Soles4Souls is our associates on the team. We invest in the best people that get it and carry the Soles4Souls torch. Every day I shake my head in disbelief at the amazing talent that I have surrounded myself with here at the charity. Candidly, they get it and apply themselves to the cause, ‘Changing the World One Pair at a Time.’ In addition to our associates, we have thousands of volunteers every year that roll up their sleeves, pack and unpack shoes and get on their knees to put a pair of shoes on a persons’ feet. Over 55% of our distributions are right here in America where there are hurting people in our own backyard. I say this a lot, “ there is a natural disaster in people’s lives every day without a Hurricane or act of God. Stuff happens that destroys people, a pair of shoes brings HOPE to the hurting and allows them to look forward to a brighter day, a better day and a great day. HOPE is the word, a four letter word, just like SHOE.

For the new year beginning July 1, our charity will continue to focus on the people in need both here and abroad – offering them HOPE with the gifts of shoes and now clothes with our hard launch of Clothes4Souls. This new division is up and running full steam ahead with manufacturers and retailers donating excess inventory for distribution and individuals participating in our massive blue jean and coat drives starting this ‘back to school’ season. So keep an eye on what we have going on in your local markets or nationwide as we continue to rapidly expand our strategy.

Every year, I get to cast the vision for the organization and will be doing so this week with our team. We will be focused on what I am calling the 5 “E’s.” 2011 the year to EVOLVE… To detail:

Engagement – Get people plugged in to do Something. This is a real hot button for me as a lot of charities focus on “awareness” events and we take the awareness and turn it into ENGAGEMENT. ( how can an event get you plugged in – this is part of our strategy )

Experiment – If it is new, different, innovative and outside of the box, try it. (What is fun, let alone affective, about doing the same ole thing?)

Experiences – Compelling, energizing and engaging trips that burn a lasting impression. ( Whether it be a trip to Haiti or Chicago, the experience will change your life. Our goal is to have experiences that will further your engagement )

Enhance – Whatever we do, we will do it at 110%. (we will maximize the 5 E’s in whatever we do)

Enjoyment – Have fun doing it ALL. (pretty easy, huh?)

When you call or visit our office, every associate will be able to explain this to you and how it applies to their specific responsibility.

As we forge forward in our new year we have many exciting new programs and events that will help our goal of getting our OUTREACH to every 7 seconds. Right now we are distributing a pair of shoes every 9 seconds. So everything we do will help us work towards making this happen.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our cause. It is a cool deal to make a difference in people’s lives, try it, you will like it.

I am back from my second trip to Haiti and even more angry with the inhumane conditions people are living in. Last week, I was on Strategy Room with FOX which enabled me to share the reality to the world. See the letter below that I wrote to the Footwear Industry about Haiti -

Dear Friends,

Founder and CEO