KnowledgeBase's "Reach - Then Teach" Leadership Cohort - Kickstarter Lessons Learned / Next Steps

By Derrick Brown (follow on Twitter @dbrowndbrown)

 Visit Archived Kickstarter Project Site

Thanks for your continued interest in our work!

We did not reach our Kickstarter fundraising goal, but learned some valuable lessons, and accomplished the following ...

1. Developed and launched a coordinated marketing effort via MailChimp, Facebook, LinkedIn, and SpeakerMatch. This effort will help us to recruit new cohort members, identify new problems to solve, and share our catalog of short films, gameshows, and classroom lesson plans with a larger audience.
2. Launched a smaller fundraising campaign through crowdfunding site Kiva Zip - to finance our marketing effort.  

Over the next few months, we will produce and debut the following two projects ...

1. The "Now You Know History Quiz Bowl" - a one-hour "Jeopardy"-styled gameshow with episodes that share the stories of 26 ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary feats.
2. "Bag Of Life" - a small-group relationship building activity that uses randomly drawn cards containing fill-in-the-blank sentences, questions, and words that encourage transparent self-expression.

Derrick Brown
Email: derrick.s.brown at att.net
Phone: 678-467-1256 
Blog: http://reachthenteach.com
Facebook: Reach - Then Teach
Twitter: @dbrowndbrown


Press Release (January 20, 2015)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (1/20/2015):

KnowledgeBase Launches Leadership Development Kickstarter Project – Will It Change the Way Service Organizations Operate?

KnowledgeBase hopes its “Reach – Then Teach” Leadership Cohort can establish a new sustainability model to help people who help people.

Marietta, Georgia – January 20, 2015 – The 2015 KnowledgeBase “Reach – Then Teach” Leadership Cohort launches its Kickstarter campaign today to raise $31,000 by February 17, 2015.

The year-long cohort is a diverse group of 12 professionals who become a team by executing mentoring, conflict resolution, and problem solving projects.

The 2015 cohort will be chosen through a competitive application and interview process.

KnowledgeBase Principal Consultant Derrick Brown (a publisher, filmmaker, executive coach & registered mediator with engineering degrees from Clemson and Georgia Tech) leads the cohort.

“Our previous 2 cohorts have teamed high school & college students with experienced professionals in creative, unconventional ways,” said Brown.

“For example, each member is a mentor and mentee – depending on our project. When we helped a local school keep iPhones off the school’s network, our younger members led that effort.”

“The older members led when we supported a homeowner association’s outreach effort by mapping its surrounding communities online.”

“Members are pleasantly surprised to learn that they are paid for their solutions. My mission is to coach each cohort to victory in ways that help our project partners reach their goals.”

“I love to engage innovators who like to solve problems and help people. I am the product of mentoring relationships, peacemaking, and problem solving. I am simply teaching what I have been taught, while continuing to learn from my students.”

In addition to the external projects, Brown also teaches and trains members by conducting workshops on diverse topics like creative problem solving, data analysis & visualization, conflict resolution, game design, and filmmaking.

“These workshops develop and sharpen our mental, physical, and strategic tools. This teaching, coupled with nurturing and guidance, produces personal growth and great fruit. The fruit is then used to feed and replant.”

Brown hopes his leadership cohorts can demonstrate and catalyze a more sustainable operating model for service organizations.

“I have led and / or advised student organizations, churches, schools, and other nonprofit organizations for over 20 years. I have seen $50,000 of effort result in $1,000 of funding. This imbalance leads to burnout, turnover, and stunted growth. I believe that crowdfunding (which matches missions with supporters) and crowdsourcing (which matches problems with solution providers) together offer a better path to sustainability.”

Contact: Derrick Brown (Principal Consultant, KnowledgeBase)
Email: derrick.s.brown at att.net
Phone: 678-467-1256
Blog: http://reachthenteach.com
Kickstarter Project: http://bit.ly/rtt_2015

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About Derrick Brown (Principal Consultant)

 

I am Keisha's husband, and Hannah's father.

My *other* passion is empowering people via methods that balance skill & will, analysis & synthesis, ideas & execution, and activity & achievement.

I solve problems.

Copyright © 2015 Derrick  Brown. All Rights Reserved.