This week I attended a talk on “Citizen Activism” at University of California Berkeley.  Bobby Shriver (pictured above), co-founder with U2’s Bono of Debt Trade AIDS Africa (also known as the ONE Campaign) was the featured speaker.

What is ONE?

ONE is a public advocacy and humanitarian organization that aims to unite all Americans to make poverty history.  ONE raises public awareness about the issues of global poverty, and asks our leaders to do more to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

What Can Social Entrepreneurs Learn From the ONE Campaign?

ONE has been very effective in its efforts to raise awareness of the issue of Poverty, and in its work to raise funds for the cause at a political level.

In his talk, Bobby talked about how ONE got started, challenges faced, and how these challenges were overcome. The following measures serve as helpful strategies and insights to consider when launching social change projects:

1. Follow Your Passion: Don’t Listen To Naysayers: Bobby explained that when he and Bono initially presented the ONE idea to highly respected thought leaders, the initial reaction was that their idea “could never work”.   Even admirable economists like Jeffrey Sachs and investment gurus like Warren Buffet remarked that the idea “will never happen”. Wow: the current success that ONE has achieved truly underscores the importance of pursuing one’s passion and being relentless, even in the face of naysayers.
2. Collaborate & Build Coalitions: Bobby and Bono understood that they needed more than Democratic votes for ONE to be successful.  The sustainability of the ONE Campaign required the support of political conservatives as well.  So, they reached out to evangelicals and ultra-right wing members of the U.S. Congress to get broad support of the ONE Campaign. Together, democrats and republicans, liberals and conservatives, negotiated to find win-win solutions to make ONE Campaign’s success possible.
3. Reach the Masses: Bobby pointed out how important it is to respect everyone - especially those whose views and ideologies differ from your own.  By doing this, Bobby explained that he and Bono received helpful insights and suggestions from people who were formerly “political rivals”.  These ideas helped them tremendously.  One Senator, for example, told Bobby and Bono, “I hear about you in New York, but I don’t hear about you at the pig roast”.  The meaning was clear: Bobby and Bono had the support of urbanites and intellectuals in the nation’s top cities like NYC, but the rest of America was not in the loop.  This had to change: in order for ONE to succeed, middle America also had to know about and be involved in ONE Campaign’s fight to end poverty.
4. Find Brand Ambassadors: Bobby and Bono are not advertisers, so to reach middle-America, they partnered with popular companies like Gap, Apple, and Emporio Armani, among others.  These companies became brand ambassadors of the ONE Campaign, and a win-win partnership was created in which ONE branded merchandise was offered for sale at partner stores.
5. ROI is a “Must-Have” for Win-Win Solutions: The participating companies did not want to earn a profit on the sale of ONE Campaign merchandise (sold under the name of (RED) ).  Profits from an emergency like Poverty seemed too unethical and the companies were concerned that earning a profit on the sales would bring them criticism in the press.  Bobby and Bono explained, however, that given the 5-year commitment to participate with ONE, the companies had to make a profit, in order for the Campaign to be sustainable. This was an interesting point: in order to help your cause - whatever it may be - you have to find a way to sustain it.

Great lessons to keep in mind when launching a project for social change:  Be relentless.  Talk to everyone.  Build coalitions and partners.  And, find ways to make your project financially sustainable.

Have you launched your own project or campaign to address Poverty issues in your community or to raise awareness of Poverty at a global level?  What has worked well?  What are some lessons that did not work well and how would you change your project the next time? How do you feel about companies earning a profit on branded (RED) products, knowing that these profits are needed to keep the ONE Campaign sustainable?

Want to support ONE Campaign’s ongoing efforts to make poverty history? Please add your voice by joining the Campaign here.