The popularity of podcasts has soared in recent years, but high-quality examples devoted to nonprofits are still relatively rare.
Two retired Home Depot executives have set out to change that.
In 2015 Brad Shaw and Frank Blake started Crazy Good Turns, a podcast series that tells nonprofits’ back stories and highlights their missions in a compelling, narrative format.
“Most nonprofits are great at what they do but not always great at telling their own stories, especially the smaller groups,” says Mr. Shaw. “So from a marketing standpoint, we see ourselves as a way to help them do that.”
The results could be described as “This American Life” for charities.
Among the podcasts is one about the Global Soap Project and its fashion-conscious co-founder Derreck Kayongo, an irrepressible Ugandan-American who was shocked the first time he stayed in a U.S. hotel and learned how much soap was thrown out after only one or two uses. Another highlights how Team Rubicon, a disaster-relief charity that helps military veterans find purpose after returning to civilian life, came about through co-founder Jake Wood’s experiences reintegrating and that of a close friend who committed suicide.
Long Road
The idea for the series didn’t happen overnight. When Mr. Shaw retired as Home Depot’s vice president and head of communications (he also led the company’s foundation), he knew he wanted to do something for the good of society, but he wasn’t sure what.
For a while he volunteered with a local Atlanta charity. Then he did some consulting. Nothing stuck until one day a conversation with his friend Mr. Blake, Home Depot’s chief executive from 2007 to 2014, turned into a brainstorming session.
Over coffee the two men started talking about creating something fulfilling. Devoted music fans, they briefly toyed with the idea of opening a space to showcase local Atlanta bands. But when they talked about what brought them joy during their time at Home Depot, they realized it was their love of telling the company’s story to varied audiences and working with the nonprofits the foundation supported.
That is when they hit on the idea of starting a podcast series that would combine their zeal for storytelling and music to help attract attention to charities and other groups that help people in need.
Now in its second season, Crazy Good Turns’ collection of podcasts is growing thanks to Mr. Shaw’s penchant for wearing many hats.
The series is funded primarily with grant money from Mr. Blake’s family foundation, and Mr. Shaw develops, writes, and hosts each podcast. (He employs a small part-time team to help with production.) Music of all types plays a part setting the mood for each story. And as word about the series has gotten out, he has been spending a lot of time working his way through an ever-growing pile of submissions from nonprofits, musicians, and others. (The series occasionally highlights for-profits with a social-good mission.)
Mr. Shaw says he rejects more submissions than he accepts. What gets his attention?
“We look for nonprofits that have a really good, emotional founding story,” says Mr. Shaw. “We want to be compelling to our listeners, and we want to expose people to nonprofits they might not have heard of otherwise.”
Anyone interested in suggesting a nonprofit or music to feature can submit suggestions and pitches through the Crazy Good Turns website.
While there is no shortage of choices today, the two men started by creating podcasts about charities they learned about through Home Depot’s foundation — Team Rubicon and KaBoom were early ones — and as word got out, they started receiving more and more suggestions.
Top Priority
Now Mr. Shaw is working to attract advertising dollars so that he and Mr. Blake can eventually start giving that money to the groups they feature in the podcasts.
In the meantime, they have just enough money to give away one grant a year through Mr. Blake’s foundation. Last year they awarded a $25,000 grant to Team Rubicon, and Mr. Shaw says they will be able to give away $50,000 at the end of this year.
While listeners can weigh in on whom they think should get the money, ultimately the groups that are the most creative in getting the word out about their episode will get priority for a grant.
That’s all part of the plan, says Mr. Shaw: “We feel it’s a great vehicle for bringing light to nonprofits.”