Donna Blanchard on Hawaii Public Radio for AD UP Hawaii

Whatever a nonprofit does, it usually has to confront this idea: you’re a nonprofit and not a business. As any non-profit knows though, it still has to make money for the cause and for operations, and marketing is key. Next weekend, some of Hawaii’s top advertising professionals will gather for AD UP Hawaii, an 8 hour competition to come up with campaigns benefiting several local nonprofits, including Kumu Kahua Theatre. Managing director Donna Blanchard joined the show to discuss the event and marketing challenges for non-profits.

Evan Leong on MidWeek for AD UP Hawaii

This article was originally published by MidWeek.

Evan Leong

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Jaimie Kim

MW-OF-091714-Evan-Leong-NW

Two things are certain about Evan Leong: He likes business and he likes to give back.

After he and wife Kari quickly achieved success with the launch of Bubble Tea Supply in 2001, Leong, who appeared on MidWeek‘s June 1, 2007, cover, began looking for a way to marry business savvy with community involvement. It was in 2005 that he established Greater Good Radio, which eventually led to Greater Good TV and a book released in 2007. The popular shows featured interviews with successful business leaders, who shared their experiences in the field and the importance of community service.

“All of that was designed basically to encourage businesspeople to start giving back to the community and getting involved in leadership positions,” he says.

His newest project, Kokua.org, is an extension of Greater Good Inc., and seeks to unite individuals from various professions.
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The Strength of Weak Ties

There are a number of reasons why we focus on curating a diverse group from all industry sectors, age groups and gender at Kokua.org. One of the reasons is in the strength of network intelligence and the strength of weak ties. Without rambling on too much I thought it would be better to share an article from Adam Grant and the study done by Mark Granovetter that’s referenced thousands of times in articles and books like Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point”
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The Three Ways to Introduce Two People Over Email

Reid Hoffman, the founder of Linkedin.com and and Oxford University graduate is a very clear thinker and I thought his book, “The Startup of You” is worth reading. In this article that’s posted on Reid’s website (http://www.thestartupofyou.com/the-three-ways-to-introduce-two-people-over-email/) it clearly lays out a simple framework and examples for how to introduce two people to each other over email. You can easily take the framework and execute it as a Kokua.org member.
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Leadership Hawaiian Style

This is a great interview done by Hawaii Business Magazine with Nainoa Thompson. There are so many lessons in what Nainoa shares…from turning a vision into reality and then success and overcoming adversity.

http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/Hawaii-Business/July-2014/Nainoa-Thompson-and-Harry-Kim-on-What-it-Takes-to-be-a-Successful-Leader/
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Wharton’s Adam Grant on the key to professional success

This article and video was sent over by kokua.org member Glenn Boulware. If you follow our blog, you already know that Adam Grant is a influential person in our philosophy. This is worth the time to consume and integrate into our daily lives.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/whartons_adam_grant_on_the_key_to_professional_success?cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck-oth-1406
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Simple Acts of Kindness – Give it a try

I found this video after being introduced via email by Lachmin Singh who founded this interesting meetup group http://www.meetup.com/kawahoa/ before she had to leave to California in early 2014. I watched the video and picked out all the spots on Oahu where it was shot and then I noticed how many views it had…over 1.5 million! Wow, what a great way to portray Hawaii.