Olympic Heart of Gold

How do you convince someone to contribute to your cause – whether in time or money? This is the eternal question for most nonprofit organizations. Another big question is how to get your cause in front of millions of potential donors.

Canadian organization Right to Play seems to have done something right. They are “an athlete-driven international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play as a tool for the development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.”

After winning the Olympic gold medal in speedskating, American Joey Cheek announced that he would be donating the entire $25,000 that he would receive from the US Olympic Committee to Right to Play to support their programs for refugee children from Darfur who are now in camps in Chad. After placing second in Saturday’s race, he pledged the $15,000 he would receive for his silver medal. Even more impressive is the fact that, as a speedskater, he is not rolling in corporate endorsement deals — $40,000 is a substantial proportion of his income for the year.

In the traditional post-competition news conference, gold medalists generally describe the thrill of victory and the agony of previous defeats. But Cheek would not address that lighter side until he had made his announcement, well aware that the world might never again pay attention to him.

“I can take the time to gush about how wonderful I feel,” he said, “or I can use it for something productive.”

Cheek challenged his corporate sponsors and other Olympic advertisers to match his donations. Since his gold medal win, over $250,000 of pledges have come in from ten corporate sponsors and other donors via Right to Play’s website. Their website received about 100,000 hits in just two days after his announcement.

How has Right to Play succeeded in bringing all of this attention to itself? First, the president and CEO of the organization, Johann Koss, is an Olympic speedskater himself, who donated the proceedings from his own gold medal to RtP’s precursor organization. He has assembled an international roster of hundreds of athletes who serve as ambassadors and supporters for the organization’s message. As a role model, he is able to motivate his peers to join him through his credibility and understanding of what other athletes need in order to participate.

Second, the organization is promoting itself in a venue that is logically tied to the program’s mission and target audience. Having a presence at the Olympics is an obvious piece of the strategy. They have a “hub” in the Athlete’s Village in Torino where the athletes can learn more about Right To Play and pledge their intentions to be a Right To Play Athlete Supporter. They are sponsoring a photo exhibition in downtown Torino that highlights the work RtP is doing around the world. Athlete-signed merchandise is being auctioned off on eBay, and they also have their own branded sweatshirts and other items on sale in Torino.

Finally, they provide compelling programs that channel athletes and sports fans into a way of helping less fortunate children and communities that utilizes their existing skills and interests. The focus of their SportWorks program is child and community development, while their SportHealth programs “leverage the convening and influencing power of sport to provide health education and encourage healthy lifestyle behaviours. Specifically, SportHealth teaches the importance of vaccinations, HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria prevention.” What athlete wouldn’t want to do what they do best while also helping save lives? Right to Play capitalizes on the appeal of their program methodology, not just their outcomes.

For a look at other programs communicating about health through sport, take a look at the Communication Initiative’s latest issue of the Drum Beat.

UPDATE:
Nancy Schwartz at the Getting Attention blog has posted an analysis from the other side of the coin — what did Joey Cheek do right to bring attention to both the cause and himself?