In this edition of First Fridays, we introduce you to Chelsea Brownridge, the Co-Director of Ignite Good, a “nonprofit that fosters more interconnected and mutually supportive local communities by uniting service leaders under common values.” Read on for Chelsea’s thoughts on a key difference between intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, the value of diversity in networking, and one of the biggest misconceptions about Millennials.
Tell us a little more about Ignite Good? How did you come up with the idea for it?
We host multi-day, locally-based trainings for Millennial service leaders to build a clear public narrative for change in their own cities. When challenged to find a common narrative, they begin to see greater collective purpose and explore creative ways to collaborate in their hometowns. Ultimately, Ignite Good believes that this ecosystem of unlikely allies is what will create the new solutions we need to solve today’s problems.
The vision for Ignite Good, to unite a generation in service, came from Paul Kaye, President of The Heartfelt Foundation, and Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post. The programming we have built to serve that purpose was inspired by my early co-founders Chris Kempes and Natalie Braga, two people who have a background in service and community organizing, and further refined by my current co-director Todd Schechter and myself. When given a vision as large as creating a generational movement, we knew we needed to find a way to empower young people who can activate and engage their peers and grow the mission exponentially.
If you had to choose one word or phrase to describe Ignite Good, what would it be?
Ignite Good is organizing a generation in service.
How do you define success for Ignite Good?
In the short-term, success for us is reflected in two areas. On the community level success is increased connections and collaboration in local cities among those who serve. On the more individual participant level, success is increased connection to individual purpose and well-being for each service leader.
In the long-term, success is a world where all those who serve know how to tell their story, actively seek a shared narrative with others, and use their story to call others to action. Success is a future where those working for social impact choose collective power.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before you started Ignite Good?
I wish I had been more prepared for the naysayers. My startup experience before Ignite Good came more in the form of intrapreneurialism which always kept me at a safe distance from external criticisms, either hierarchically or emotionally. When you go out on a limb and start your own organization and put your own ideas behind the program content, every criticism feels more personal. I have since learned to be more confident, take it in stride, and keep moving forward.
What is the one thing you never want to hear (or, most want to hear) from someone involved with Ignite Good?
I most enjoy hearing people who go through our Ignition Cities trainings remark on how diverse our community is – diverse in cause area and in sector, in addition to gender expression, race and socioeconomic background. Ignite Good defines “service” broadly to include people in nonprofits, government, philanthropy, social business and community organizations. It is an important component to our trainings and community because these groups are not interacting often enough currently, so ideas are not getting shared and resource matching is not happening.
To this point, one of my favorite comments came from an Ignition Philly participant when he said that he came to the training expecting to see all of the same people that are usually at “these kinds of things.” Instead, he was shocked to recognize very few people and thrilled to be connected to fifty new people doing impact work in his own city that he never even knew existed.
What compan[y]ies and/or organizations (other than your own) are you inspired by, and why?
I have to first mention Ashoka. I worked for the Ashoka Changemakers program for about two years at the beginning of my career and continue to bring their influence into everything I do. Their approach to organizational culture, management and innovation is truly unique and I think Bill Drayton is a visionary for how to build lasting social change.
The Huffington Post is another organization I admire — maybe more specifically, its founder, Arianna Huffington, for her ability to stay ahead of trends and shape new industries and conversations. The Huffington Post has managed to give so many people a platform to tell their story, share their ideas, and have influence.
One final group I will mention is The Leading Change Network. We work closely with them and their trainers in our programs and they have taught us about the power of Public Narrative in community organizing. It is their curriculum that we have built our distinct model of Ignition Cities around.
What do you believe to be the biggest misconceptions about Millennials?
That we are somehow disengaged from the world. We are often described as unmotivated, uninterested and uninvolved. As a Millennial, that is not how I experience my generation. We aren’t sitting around waiting for other people, or other generations more specifically, to solve today’s societal and environmental problems. We are building the new companies and organizations that will tackle them head on. We are the most purpose-driven and charitable generation ever. It is our passion to contribute to the world in a meaningful way that will make us the Hero Generation.
Who are some of the Millennial change makers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs that you’ve worked with that our readers should know about?
This is like being asked to choose a favorite child in some ways, as naturally I think every Igniter that graduates our program is doing amazing things. I will share a few of their stories here:
Christopher Norris, CEO of Techbook Online Corporation: Millennials Mix & Move, Asking: “What’s Your Problem?”
Curt Bowen, Founder of Semilla Nueva: Reflections on What Makes a Social Entrepreneur
Dhairya Pujara, Founder of YCenter: “Who Cares” Generation
Ai Vuong, Executive Director of Friends of Hue Foundation: I Found Truth In Philly
A profile of the women in our first class of Igniters: Think Millennials are Narcissists? You Haven’t Met These Women:
What’s next for Ignite Good?
More Ignition Cities programs! We have held trainings in New York, Philly, and LA, and we are looking to grow our network and take this program to every US city that has a champion for our mission to develop individual purpose and inner awareness, connect service leaders, and democratize movement-building strategies for social impact.
We are also interested in hosting our trainings on University Campuses—Ignition U programs. We think there is a lot of work to be done to foster better relationships between universities and their students and the towns and cities in which they are located. By using the same community organizing and public narrative program we use for Ignition Cities and filling the room with half university students and half local service leaders, we can find new ways for universities to interact with and contribute to their communities.
