Wayne Elsey - Founder

Wayne Elsey

Founder

About Wayne

Transforming Business Through Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurship

Wayne Elsey has spent his career proving business can do more than make a profit—it can change lives. As founder and CEO of Elsey Enterprises, he leads companies like Funds2Orgs and Sneakers4Good that give shoes and sneakers a second life and communities a chance to thrive.

His journey started after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Seeing people in need, Wayne acted quickly to collect shoes. That simple response grew into a movement. Today, his companies have helped redistribute over 37 million pairs of shoes, keep them out of landfills, support micro-entrepreneurs in 24 countries, and create jobs across the U.S.

Wayne works with an execution-first philosophy: act boldly, measure results and build teams that get things done. This approach has been featured on NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, the Today Show and Fox News.

He’s also a Forbes Business Development Council member, a contributor to Brainz Magazine and the author of books including Tied Together: A Pathway to Hope, the Not Your Father’s Charity series, and

Almost Isn’t Good Enough. Through coaching and speaking, Wayne encourages entrepreneurs and leaders to see they already have the tools to make impact—they just need to take the first step.

At the end of the day, Wayne believes sustainability is about people as much as the planet. Every reused pair of sneakers tells a story of dignity, opportunity and a better future.

Wayne's latest articles

The Meaning and Value of the Dash – Your Life

This past weekend I had to bury my wonderful sister, Jan. Her death was sudden. Jan was the heart of our family, and after a year of incredible loss, including my father, I’m

7 Grip and Rip Principles for Your Life

We weren’t placed on this earth to be miserable. Look around you. There’s so much misery and sadness. There’s a lot of resignation that life is supposed to be long, difficult and not

Nonprofits and Paying a Living Wage

Recently, I saw an active discussion on LinkedIn about nonprofit salaries. I’ve written about this in the past myself. You can find those articles here and here. When I wrote about CEO pay

What Malala Yousafzai Can Teach Us About Leadership

The world is a much better place with Malala Yousafzai in it. As I begin to reflect on my next book about leadership, Malala has been coming to my mind. We all know

Why Your Nonprofit Is Failing: Quit Making Excuses

Here’s the potential situation in your nonprofit. You have tensions at the board level. As the CEO, you are blaming internal factions. Or, you have high turnover of staff. You blame a lack

Elements to Preparing for a Major Gift Ask

One of the questions I hear from smaller organizations that are just beginning working with major donors is “When is someone ready to give a gift?” My reply, “It depends.” Assuming you are doing your

Nonprofits Need to Be Established to Close Their Doors Permanently

Recently, I have been giving speeches and keynote addresses to nonprofit groups in support of my most recent book. I’ve also been having many discussions and exchanges with individuals inside and outside of

Go Big With The Vision

In my book, The Rise and Fail of Charities In the 21st Century: How The Nonprofit World Is Changing And What You Can Do To Be Ready, I write about the concept of

Nonprofits Look At Risk Every Day

I am an entrepreneur and I believe in taking calculated risks. I have written often about the nonprofit sector and how, often, it is risk averse. I do believe that sometimes nonprofit CEOs

If Opportunity Doesn’t Knock, Build A Door

The title I used for this article can be originally attributed to Milton Berle. It’s as accurate today as it was when he first said it. In 2012, a young boy named Kelvin Doe

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