How Your Nonprofit Can Build Trust Over Time with Anthony Kennedy Shriver

Summary

Nonprofit Leadership Podcast: Building Trust Over Time with Anthony Kennedy Shriver

Introduction

In the April 21, 2025 episode of the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast, host Dr. Rob Harder engages in a profound conversation with Anthony Kennedy Shriver, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Best Buddies International. This episode delves into the intricacies of building trust within a nonprofit organization, leveraging corporate partnerships, and expanding the organization's global footprint. Through Anthony's extensive experience and passionate insights, listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of effective nonprofit leadership and sustainable growth strategies.

Background and Mission of Best Buddies

Anthony Kennedy Shriver begins by sharing the heartfelt origins of Best Buddies, rooted in his personal experiences and family legacy. Inspired by his aunt, Rosemary Kennedy, who had profound intellectual and developmental disabilities, Anthony emphasizes the importance of one-to-one friendships in enriching lives.

"The early days of Best Buddies when I was a student in college, the concept was really, you know, how powerful the spirit of friendship is, how important it is that human beings make one-to-one connections."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [04:26]

Best Buddies was established with the mission to create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to form meaningful, lasting friendships with their peers. Starting with a small group of 52 pairs from Georgetown University and the Lieutenant Joseph B. Kennedy Institute, the organization has since expanded globally, impacting tens of millions.

Creating Employment Opportunities

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on Best Buddies' innovative approach to employment for individuals with IDD. Anthony outlines the organization's strategy to position these individuals as valuable employees rather than viewing their employment as a charitable act.

"We've always been really focused on positioning people with special abilities with talent and showcasing their talent and not, you know, creating a jobs program that is presented as some charitable activity."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [09:03]

Key milestones include partnerships with high-profile corporations such as Coca-Cola, Jersey Mike's, and TJ Maxx, which have committed thousands of jobs to the program. These collaborations are characterized by long-term commitments, often spanning seven to ten years, ensuring sustainable employment and significant economic impact.

"The retention rates are enormously high in the high 80%, low 90 percentiles. They bring enormous joy, enormous enthusiasm, positive energy to the workplace."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [09:10]

Economic Impact

Anthony provides a compelling analysis of Best Buddies' economic contributions. By facilitating employment for individuals with IDD, the organization not only reduces dependence on federal and state support systems like SSI and Medicaid but also generates substantial tax revenue.

"If we're able to take them off of Medicaid and off of SSI, this is a huge savings for the federal and the state governments."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [18:39]

Furthermore, many participants earn competitive salaries, some reaching up to $77,000 annually, contributing to their financial independence and long-term economic stability. The creation of millionaires within the program highlights the transformative financial potential of inclusive employment.

Ambassadors and Brand Partnerships

Best Buddies' strategy of engaging high-profile ambassadors, such as Tom Brady and Drake May, plays a pivotal role in elevating the organization's visibility and mission. Anthony discusses the careful balance of leveraging celebrity influence while ensuring meaningful engagement with the program's beneficiaries.

"Having the celebrities really well connected to the mission and having them be exposed to the mission is key because that builds continuity and it builds connection to why they are there."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [23:32]

Events like touch football games and cycling events featuring celebrities not only raise funds but also foster deep, personal connections between ambassadors and individuals with IDD, ensuring sustained support and advocacy.

Global Expansion and Future Goals

Looking ahead, Anthony outlines Best Buddies' ambitious five-year plan aimed at expanding the organization's reach to 100 countries by 2030. This expansion involves a franchise-like model where international programs operate independently, ensuring localized leadership and sustainable growth.

"Our goal by 2030 is to be in 100 countries. So we're trying to grow our international presence."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [14:54]

Additionally, new initiatives like Uni's Buddies and Bumble Buddies demonstrate Best Buddies' commitment to supporting not only individuals with IDD but also their families and personal relationships. The introduction of these programs aims to provide comprehensive support from early childhood through adulthood, addressing a wide spectrum of needs.

Sustainability and Financial Strategy

To ensure long-term sustainability, Best Buddies has diversified its revenue streams through for-profit ventures such as co-branded businesses with partners like Jersey Mike's. These ventures generate positive cash flow, reducing reliance on traditional fundraising and providing a financial safety net against economic fluctuations.

"We have a division that's a for-profit division where we partner with for-profit companies and create what we call Best Buddies Ventures."
— Anthony Kennedy Shriver [26:07]

Conclusion

Anthony Kennedy Shriver's leadership exemplifies a blend of personal passion, strategic partnerships, and innovative thinking. Through Best Buddies International, he has created a model of inclusive employment, meaningful friendships, and sustainable growth that serves as an inspiration for nonprofit leaders everywhere. This episode of the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast offers invaluable insights into building trust, fostering community connections, and driving impactful change over time.

For more information about Best Buddies and to get involved, visit bestbuddies.org.

Transcript

[Dr. Rob Harder]

This is Dr. Rob Harder with the Nonprofit Leadership podcast, Making youg World Better. What does it take to be an effective nonprofit leader today? What are the biggest challenges? What are the biggest obstacles? How should nonprofits fundraise in an economy that is constantly changing? All these reasons combined led me to start this show. And it's my hope that through this series, people can learn not only what it takes to be an effective nonprofit organization, but to hear from effective leaders who who are successfully making a positive impact in their communities. We hope you enjoy the show as together we hear how they are making their world better.

[Anthony Kennedy Shriver]

Welcome everybody to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. Thanks so much for tuning in today. Great to have you tuning into this show. I've got a very special guest. In fact, my guest today comes from a family that I think most everybody in America has heard of. And he's actually, in his name, you'll hear two different families that he, in a sense represents. It's Anthony Kennedy Shriver. And he is the founder, chairman and CEO of Best Buddies, a fantastic nonprofit organization that has its impact all over the world now, not just in America. And Anthony's going to share a bunch with us about leadership, how he's grown this organization over 35 years now, and particularly how he's created jobs, meaningful jobs with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. And he's done a really effective job working with corporations. And he's also maximized the star power of people being ambassadors for Best Buddies, people like Tom Brady and others that just bring in a lot of attention to the organization. But I think the biggest thing I took away was just his energy and vision. One of the questions I asked him is tell me about some of the things, the upcoming things you're looking forward to to grow and expand. And he gave me this huge list and you'll hear it in the podcast interview here. There is so much going on that Best Buddies is doing. I think you're to really be inspired by this interview and by the organization itself. So as always, thanks for tuning in. Now onto the show.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

This podcast is sponsored by Donorbox Donor Box, helping you help others with the best donation forms in the business.

[Anthony Kennedy Shriver]

Well, welcome to the Nonprofit Leadership Podcast. So great to have Anthony Kennedy Shriver here with us today. Anthony, thanks for taking time to be on the show today.

Yeah, my pleasure. Glad to be here. Thank you for the attention and interesting.

Absolutely. Well, we're going to dive into a lot of things of what you do. You lead a really exciting nonprofit that has really wide reaching impact. In fact, I mentioned this earlier, before we hit record, I've had the privilege of having two of your brothers on. Tim and Mark have both been on the show, and they, too are in the space of making a difference in the world. And I just love that your family has done a really good job of investing in you and giving that vision to really invest your life into making the world a better place. So thanks for all of that, too.

Yeah, no, I appreciate it. You saved the best for last, thank God.

There you go. Exactly. I will tell him that.

But it's. It's interesting though. You know, I hadn't really known this, but I was been reading, you know, various books and ran across a book on my family the other day and was reading a lot of it and didn't realize. I think most listeners, you know, always point to, you know, JFK and, you know, all this family sense of public service. But, you know, it goes way, way back to, you know, my great great grandparents and, you know, my original Patrick Kennedy came over in 1840 from Ireland, and he even started as a ward boss up in Boston, you know, and then my great grandfather, you know, as a congressman in the House, Joseph P. Kennedy. And, you know, Honey Fitz, before Honey Fitz there was. His father was in the elected office in Boston. So it goes back, you know, a long, long time. You know, the sense of, you know, service and commitment to community, whether it's at the, you know, presidential level or at the congressional level, the Senate level, it's really feel super blessed. I learned something new about various people in the family all the time, and it's. It's a. It's a great family to be part of, and so many of them have done so much and contributed in such meaningful ways and a whole variety of ways, and I really didn't recognize how far back it really went and specifically in Boston. So a lot to be proud of. So I'm lucky to be in it.

Yeah. Yeah.

Well.

And you're continuing that legacy really well. And. And that's what I want to, you know, obviously focus our time on is the organization you lead as best buddies. Now, my listeners probably have heard of that organization, but in case you haven't, I'd love for you to start to talk just a. About best buddies. How did it get started and what's your primary mission?

Yeah, well, you know, I'm super blessed to be in it. You know, I love best buddies, love what we do. It makes me feel like a million bucks every day to wake up and, you know, want to be involved in this work and to support people with special abilities, as I call them traditionally, you know, be people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or neurodiverse, you know, whatever the term is that you, you work with. And, you know, I really evolved out of my relationship. You know, my mom started Special Olympics for many of the listeners out there may know that organization. And I had, my aunt Rosemary Kennedy, had profound intellectual and developmental disabilities. And, you know, I think really began, you know, the commitment that my family has to this specific population. I personally had a, you know, a great relationship with her. She used to come stay with me for two months every year down here in Miami, Florida. And, you know, really resonated with me from a very young age that despite, you know, her enormous challenges in so many different ways, that she also had blessings from God and different skills. They were unique to her that she brought to the family and that everybody has something to contribute that you don't have to be President United States to contribute. You can do it in your own special way. And she, because of her, you know, really changed the world for literally tens of millions of people with intellectual disabilities because she were not alive. And God didn't put her in this particular situation. None of these programs, Special Olympics or Best buddies and so many of the other things that my family's been involved in would never exist. So, you know, I had a great relationship, great friendship with her. And, you know, the early days of Best Buddies when I was a student in college, the concept was really, you know, how powerful the spirit of friendship is, how important it is that human beings make one to one connections and relationships is, at the end of the day, that's what we're all desperately looking for, you know, a love connection and a connection with another person. And that's such an enormous void that people with special abilities have had in their lives historically. How could best buddies play a small role in bringing people together from different backgrounds and something beautiful would happen as a result. So, you know, the original impetus of the program was, you know, we recruited 52 kids from Georgetown University, got paired up in one to one friendships with 52 kids from the local Lieutenant Joseph B. Kennedy Institute there in Washington, D.C. and sort of the rest is history. And that's kind of where it began with a really simple basic concept that powerful things would happen when you brought people and connected them together. And, you know, so many ancillary benefits obviously come from, you know, the social relationships which I could talk more about, but that was sort of the beginning of it. And, you know, I just have a love for the population and have really deep understanding that they really can achieve enormous goals. And, you know, how can we support them, Realize their dreams and their potential fully? And it started with the friendship program. Now we run a whole slew of different programs for people with intellectual disabilities. But the basic concept is that, you know, everybody has a gift, everybody has an opportunity. Let's get a seat at the table for them and see how they can flourish. And, you know, I saw that with my aunt because she could swim better than any member of the Kennedy family, which was kind of shocking and amazing, but she had that great gift. And it really resonated with me when I see her in the swimming pool. And she could tread water longer than any person I'd ever met in my whole life. And as a young kid, it kind of taught me in a way where, wow, you know, despite, you know, her being non ambulatory and having 24 hour day care, wow, she was really great in the pool. And, you know, wow. We sort of discredit so many people out there when we see them or we meet them. We don't really give them the time to showcase their talent or the form to showcase their talent or the stage to showcase their talent. And everybody's got it. So the pool was hers. So that, again, really resonated. And I just know every person, no matter how disabled they are, they have something. They have their own swimming pool out there. We just got to find out what it is and then try to be supportive and encouraging. And when you find it and they flourish, you know, it's an amazing feeling that, you know, you play a small role in that journey for them.

Yeah, no, thanks for sharing that. And interesting to get the history of the organization itself. You know, I was thinking about this when I was thinking about best buddies and many of the nonprofit leaders I have on the show. Nonprofits really serve so many critical roles in our society. You know, so important to have the nonprofit industry, if you will, a part of our society. One of the ways is by contributing meaningful jobs for people in our country and with your organization, I think it's a special part of what you do. You've truly been a trailblazer, I would say, when it comes to providing employment opportunities for special individuals, as you mentioned. Tell us more about what's been some of the key milestones as you've partnered with corporate sector, you've created more employment opportunities for individuals with idd. What has been your special sauce, so to speak, of why that's been such a good and effective program? That you've done and helping people find jobs?

Yeah, well, I mean, I think, you know, first and foremost, I. We've always been really focused in on positioning people with special abilities with talent and, you know, showcasing your talent and not, you know, creating a jobs program that is presented as some charitable activity for a CEO of a big company, that we really have talented people that can contribute in meaningful way. You need employees and you need people that can all can do a whole variety of different tasks. And we've got a client pool based on who the corporate partner is that we think we can fill jobs for you that you got to get filled. And the people that we bring to the table who fill those jobs, their retention rates are enormously high in the high 80%, low 90 percentiles. They bring enormous joy, enormous enthusiasm, positive energy to the workplace, which all leaders are trying to look for. They help build a really culture of caring, a culture of love, and a culture of commitment and loyalty, discipline and reliability, which every CEO is looking for in their employee base. So we really, I think, tried to, you know, position our population in a way where they are looked upon as people that are respected and admired and are the right person for the job and that you're not job carving or asking for a handout or a charitable gift. That's not sort of our motivation. And I think when we find the right employer and we find the right job and then we write, find the right participant within the Best Buddies program that we've been able to train and the ones that we're able to get in our transition to work programs from, you know, middle school, almost high school, where they get in these training programs and we begin to develop their social skills. Social skills are huge part, which is why the Best Buddies program in schools is so important. But then we train and we get them internships, then when those people actually get placed in a competitive job, they're generally super successful and have a higher success rate than people that don't go through the training. So I think training is a huge element of it. Preparing them socially for the job place, giving them support once the job is secured, and that they're placed in a job place is super important. And then companies that really share the same values that we share, values that where they recognize they want diversity in the workforce, they want people with unique talent and they recognize that they're more successful and that they'll make more money and their other employees will be happier. When you put, often when you put people from our jobs program in place because they Bring a lot of joy and excitement and energy and gratitude to the workplace. And you know, to find people like that's just brutal. So I think, you know, we've always tried to, you know, market our program as, you know, bringing people, you know, who are talented and capable and that are smart choices for CEOs and then we've been able to get, you know, connected with really great CEOs who see the value in this and who are willing to make these commitments and in some cases go out on a limb and make big commitments. And we've had company, you know, with some of the most famous, most well respected companies in the world step up. Whether it's Coca Cola stepped up hiring, whether it's Jersey Mike's and their commitment of 3,000 jobs across the Jersey Mike's family of franchisees, whether it's TJ Maxx with their commitment of 500 jobs across their family, whether it's home goods or whether it's TJX or all the other brands that they have under their umbrella. So we've gotten some that have made big long term commitments where we work together for five, seven years. The Jersey might seem is going to be a seven to 10 year process that goes to find 3,000 people that fit in. That type of work is going to be a real lift for us and challenging. Take time. But I'm a long term player. I've been at this over 35 years. I'm not looking for a quick, short hit, you know, I think to anything that's great. It's funny, I was on the riding around with the guy that owns Jersey Mike's and he recently sold the business in the end of last year for $8 billion to Blackstone. I was talking to him about his journey and he started when it was a loan after he graduated from high school to buy his first. It was called Mike Subs originally, not Jersey Mike's. He got a loan from this football coach who was friends with the banker to buy the first one. And he said to me, you know, everybody thinks, oh my God, I've made all this money and I'm so rich, blah, blah, blah, he says. But they don't realize it's. I'm a, I'm an overnight success in 50 years, right?

Exactly.

So literally this year, this March will be his 50th anniversary working at Jersey Mike. So, you know, people recognize like best place has gotten, you know, pretty large and you know, we raise a lot of money. But you know, I've been at this thing for over 35 years. And, you know, a lot of these things, you know, take a lot of time, a lot of discipline, a lot of commitment. And as the Jersey Mike's guy said, you know, it really wasn't until I was in this for 35, 38, 40 years that we really found our stride and really started growing in a substantial way. So it's the same thing with, you know, these relationships. I mean, they make a commitment of 3,000 jobs. It's going to take seven to 10 years to get those jobs secured. But, you know, it's seven to 10 years, and then you wake up and, you know, 10 years from now they go, wow, how'd you get 3,000 jobs in Jersey Mike's? Well, it took seven to 10 years of grinding and staying at it and hustling and traveling and raising money and, you know, staying on the. On the game. So, you know, these things are, as you know, from being in the nonprofit sector. You know, I run them 100% like a regular business. There's nothing nonprofit about it from my perspective. I just, you know, at the end of the year, I don't buy a Rolls Royce. The money goes, and we support Best Buddies or build a network of financial security for ourselves long term. But, you know, you got to run it like a business, and you got to run it efficiently, and it takes a lot of. To make these things happen.

Well, yeah, maybe you can speak to that briefly, you know, for my listeners who don't know the scope of Best Buddies, what is really the scope and reach of the international program and initiatives. Maybe you could speak to that.

Yeah, real quick. I mean, the United states now about 500 people work for Best Buddies International, which is their organization in the United States. This year we raised 20, 25. We'll raise about 65, 68 million dollars in the United States, and then we'll raise about another 25 to 30 million dollars outside the United States. We operate in all 50 states. We have staff on the ground in about 42 states. And then some of the other ones are managed regionally. We operate in 48 countries around the world. Some of them are small, some are African programs, like Ghana is small. Some of them are in partnerships with other NGOs in those markets. Some of them are vibrant standalone NGOs. Canada's got a big program. I don't know, their budget's probably three or four million dollars. Mexico's got a big program. Colombia's got a big program. You know, Macau and China. Thailand's got a big program. So some of the program, you know, Middle east, we're very strong. Qatar, we've been strong for about 20 years. So, you know, it depends on the country and, you know, the network and the ability for us to be able to, you know, build a good, strong board, you know, have good leadership at the staff level, be able to grow the organization similar to the way we grow in the United States. You know, slow, steady, we've got systems that we've got, you know, in place that, you know, if we continue to invest in those things and grow those, they'll grow in time and, you know, they'll generate real money. They're proven success stories. Or we try to train our country programs, you know, to kind of follow the quote, franchise model. The money that we raise outside the United States stays in those countries and supports the programs in those countries that we don't take it back to the United States. So, you know, help them kind of grow. And we have an international team that implements a whole formula and we have different stages of development for each country program, you know, from its sort of incubator stage all the way through our program being independent and very mature and having a whole full fledged operation there and actually paying a small fee back to best buddies International. So it's the dam that, you know, our goal by 2030 is to be in 100 countries. So we're trying to grow our international presence. You know, a lot of need there, a lot of opportunity for us. You know, it's a grind. It's the travel is a grind, as I'm sure you know, and the schlepping. And when we go overseas, especially when you go to Asia, you know, those flights are long and you know, they're a real workout. So yeah, we're doing our best on that front, but you got a lot of things to be proud of there. But it's definitely a heavy lift outside the United States for sure.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

We'll be right back.

[Anthony Kennedy Shriver]

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[Dr. Rob Harder]

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[Anthony Kennedy Shriver]

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[Anthony Kennedy Shriver]

Well, thanks for sharing a bit about that. And I think you've already kind of touched on this a little bit. But going back to the nonprofit sector and how there can be such an economic impact based on what the nonprofits are doing in their various community settings. And you not only impact, you know, through just what you're doing with your mission, but then by creating jobs and helping connect people in corporations with people that will be perfect fits for their company. Have you quantified the economic impact that you've done so far? And if so, tell us a little bit more about how do you quantify that and what has it been so far since you've been there?

Yeah, well, you know, the biggest success story is, you know, over the course of a life of a person with intellectual development disabilities, if they get SSI and they get Medicaid, say, let's just say we kind of base it on a 30 year career or 30 year lifespan as it relates to the work environment. It costs the federal government and state governments to those entities over a million dollars to support that person. So if we're able to take them off of, you know, Medicaid and off of ssi, this huge savings for the federal and the state governments. A lot of the federal money obviously, you know, funnels down through Medicaid at the state level. So it's a 50, 50 partnership for Medicaid. So that's an enormous savings to the federal government. But more important than that, we've got a lot of our people now. Many of them are making 60, $70,000 a year in some of our better jobs. The highest paid person we have is about $77,000 a year. But they're paying taxes and they're contributing your 401ks and they're, you know, we have some people that have been in the Best ways program for a number of years participate in 401ks and they have a million dollars in their 401k. Now we have a few people that have already been able to save that amount of money that work at some of these financial service companies and some of these law firms because they've had the job for 30 plus years, they pay in every single year like everybody else. So it's shocking. My mother would be, you know, amazed that we've got millionaires that have participated in Best Buddies and I think more of them to come. That is incredible, you know, to change depending on the savings and then also the contribution, millions of dollars that we're contributing back in taxes every year through the thousands of people that are working for Best Buddies is really phenomenal. And so, you know, they're Tax paying citizens. They're getting off of SSI and Medicaid. Not in all cases. You know, some of them are working part time, so we're transitioning them. So some of them still are able to receive benefits. So it's not, you know, it's not definitely not a hundred percent, but it's where we're going.

Well done on that. Now the other thing I think is pretty interesting is you've got some very well known ambassadors for Best Buddies. I think every nonprofit would love to have one or two ambassadors that really can help elevate their nonprofit. You've got several. Maybe you could talk a bit and it'd be fun maybe for my listeners again to just share a bit of the, a few of the notable ambassadors supporting Best Buddy's mission. But how has it furthered their mission too? I wanted to find out like practically how's it really benefited the organization at the end of the day?

Yeah, well, I mean, we've been really blessed. I mean, although, you know, people see it, you know, when the celebrities come and everybody wants to be around and it's exciting, but you know, they're a real, they're a real workout, honestly. I mean, you know, it takes a lot of energy and time and requires a lot of patience. You know, celebrities are celebrities and you know, they're used to getting their way, they're used to getting everything they want and they're used to everybody kind of cow tying. So it's not easy, honestly, dealing with, you know, celebrities and ensuring that, you know, they have a really successful experience can be challenging on a positive front. I mean, you know, the ones we've had have been great. You know, they all come with challenges for sure. But you know, Tom Brady's been one of our big ones in long term commitments. He's, he ran, led our event up in Boston for 25 years as a chair of a big cycling event we do up there. And then we incorporated in that touch football game with Tom Brady as the permanent quarterback. So I think in his case, just to give one example, you know, we were able to develop an event that capitalized on his skills because he obviously was an NFL quarterback. So we created a football game that he could play in and people could participate and actually be involved in something that he was well known for. So gave individuals an opportunity to be up close and personal with him and actually playing on a football field with him, which is a great way to get people connected. We charged people to be able to have the opportunity to play a quarter one of the four quarters in a game with Tom. So we were able to raise money off that. He obviously brought a lot of excitement, energy in the community there. From a media perspective, people wanted to cover it, People wanted to interview him, People wanted to see him throwing a ball and connecting. You know, we always ensured that the buddies were in the game. So we always had buddies on both all the teams. So the buddies were catching the footballs and scoring touchdowns. And so people really are always connected to the mission. I think having the celebrities really well connected to the mission and having them be exposed to the mission is key because that builds continuity and it builds connection to why are they there and they understand and then they don't feel like they're just getting used for their celebrity, that they see actually what the money's going to. And they very often, since, you know, many of our participants are so captivating and charming and engaging from a personality perspective, the celebrity really develops a relationship with them and they want to stay involved because, you know, they really like the person that they've met that benefits from, you know, them participating in the event. So one way street, people get tired of that real quick and they move on.

That's a really good insight of making the most you can to make it a two way street, you know, to really a win win for everybody who's both benefiting you, your organization, but also you're benefiting them. I love that approach, actually. Good job on that. I think that probably why you've been so successful at it.

Thank you.

Yeah, that's impressive, actually. Yeah. Because I think it is easy for a nonprofit just to say, well, what can you do for us? How can you benefit us? Right. And so to flip that around, I think is an excellent idea.

And you know, a lot of these celebrities, you know, they. They just get asked so often too, so you got to give them some kind of a unique experience. So, you know, Tom can get asked non stop to, you know, go to an event, show up, get your picture taken in front of a step and repeat, or stand on the red carpet and just feel like you're getting used or sign autographs. But, you know, trying to put him in his element where he actually has a good time running around on a football field and throwing passes and making money on companies that he meets with best buddies, you know, that's, you know, these guys are working for me. These guys are helping me. I'm helping these guys. You know, it's a good deal. They get me in and out quick. The schedule's tight. We're organized, really crazy. So if I tell them, you know, hey, I need you for 60 minutes, or I need you for 90 minutes, 100%, he's out in 60 minutes. I never let it go over really clear on the schedule and run it tight so that they, you know, build confidence that when we tell them we're going to do something in the way we're going to do it, it works. The most recent guy we got, you know, Drake May, who's the third pick in the NFL draft, you know, he just stepped in for where Tom was up in Boston. So he's a new guy and, you know, he's bringing a lot of celebrity to us and helping us. And so, you know, constantly trying to bring in new blood and keep the, the people that have been around a long time still engaged is obviously, you know, key to the overall success of the organization. But it's hard. I don't want to underestimate. I mean, it's super hard to get them and super hard to keep them. And especially in today's day and age where the celebrities are getting paid, you know, $500,000 to do a post on Instagram to get them to throw up at an event and you know, take the time or get on an airplane, fly to an event and you know, second to a hotel. It's a, it's a big ask and it's, it's a real workout.

Yeah, no kidding. Well, again, I love that full picture view of how difficult it is, how intentional you are and to make it a win win. That's a great combination. Well, as you look into the future, you've grown this organization and it actually has quite a now global outreach and, and impact. How do you see the organization expanding its impact globally, you know, the next few years and then what strategies has Best Buddies implemented to ensure that long term sustainability and continued growth?

Yeah, well, you know, we have a five year plan. So our plan runs in 2030 right now, you know, the goal, as I mentioned internationally is 100 countries. From a fiscal perspective, the goal is $100 million of revenue by the end of 2029. So we're at about this year we'll do about 65 million. So we need to grow, you know, another $35 million. So that's, that's, you know, important to us. We launched a fifth pillar called family support, which is a new entity. I want to grow that. We have very specific goals on that. One of the visions of that is called Uni's Buddies in honor of my mother Eunice Kenny Shriver, where we create mentors for expectant mothers when they get a diagnose. She said, they have a child with intellectual disabilities, sort of create a mentor who's been down that road before. They can help support them as they have that baby and up until the age of 8 years of age. And then that kid can support, I mean, can transition into one of our other programs. So Uni's Buddies is a big thing. We're trying to expand out to try to engage more siblings of people with intellectual disabilities and developing a whole sibling program because they go through their own challenging journey. Being a sibling of a person with intellectual and developmental disabilities has its own challenges, which is pretty significant the more you get into that. We're launching a dating site in partnership with Bumblebee, which we hope to. We haven't decided on the name yet, but we're shooting towards Bumble Buddies. Big thing that's been in that with our population is, you know, where can you find a love connection as they've developed and matured and gotten out there. I mean, as we all know, you know, falling in love is the greatest gift that God gives all of us. And to be have that as a void in your life is to me, a real tragedy. There's nothing better than being in love. So we want to give that opportunity to people with intellectual disabilities and really hard for them to develop relationships like that and connect with other people with special needs and to actually go on dates. We do have some that, you know, do fall in love and have gotten married and do have, you know, dating, but it's been really challenging for them to do that and really challenging for that to happen. So there's been a big, neat push from parents and participants for really almost 20 years and having best buddies develop something like that. So we're developing that now, and I think it's going to be important, have real impact and really transform people's lives. So we have a real goal and emphasis too on adding three new Best Buddies living sites every single year. We're in about 12 living locations now. Unified, collective, integrated, inclusive living connected to our college programs. It was super important. And we're doing that in different markets around the United States, and we're growing that every single year. So I want to grow, you know, that program in a big, big way. You know, my real goal over the next five years on that is to add at least 100 living centers around the United States that are fully integrated and, you know, the first class five star, you know, the ones We've got now have pools and gyms and community spaces and they're really great and we find them jobs as well as living in the apartment. So I think housing is huge. So as I always say, if you got a job and you have a great place to live, the great network of friends and you fall in love, you're crushing it and you got most of what you need. So I hope Best Buddies can be a vehicle that can really support a baby from the womb to the tomb. And so I think, you know, we're working hard at that and I'm really proud of the progress we've made with Uni's Buddies. We're now in five cities with Uni's Buddies around the United States and going to continue to grow that program as well. So, yeah, we got a lot of, I don't want to keep boring. Everybody got a lot of different things we're trying to add and new things we're trying to do. And, and also with our, we have a division that's a for profit division where we, you know, partner with for profit companies and creating what we call best buddies ventures where we actually create positive cash flow and a couple of different businesses that we're co branding with Jersey Mike's, we're co branding with some bakery, we've got, you know, an ice cream store we're also opening as well. You know, and all those businesses create, you know, really good positive revenue for us where we have, you know, sustainable cash flow there that we're not asking for raising in a traditional way, which I think is super important. You gotta keep thinking creatively on how you generate money. You just can't keep going back to the well and keep asking the same people and doing the same things year after year. So that's created a lot of excitement for us and allowed us to have some of our most successful years in history and, you know, end up with a net at the end of the year which we can sock away. Where we have a, you know, good security blanket is something where to go the wrong direction. Because the economy is always unpredictable. We have to be prepared for, you know, a bad storm.

You're exactly right. Well, there's so much going on. So for my listeners who want to find out a little bit more about you and your work and then of course, Best Buddies, where would you send them?

Bestbuddies.org okay, we got a lot of info on there and you know, they can come out. We run close to 70 walks around the United States and we have a Bunch of, you know, galas. We have about 65 galas we do in local markets around the country. We do a lot of big cycling events. We have 100 mile cycling rides where people can join in, whether they ride 100 miles or 20 miles, or they do the walk or the run, lots of different things like that. There's about $15 million off of cycling every year. So there's a lot of different ways that actively be involved. We do camps in different markets. We do one in Aspen, we do one in Malibu. We do one in Palo Alto, California. So, you know, whether you like walking or you like riding or you like whatever you really want, or you're a company out there and you want to create some diversity in the workforce and get some great employees you want to hire can work with Best Buddies or you want your kid to get involved in something like this. It's the greatest gift I think a parent can give a child is to give them the sense of service and a spirit of giving back. So if you're a parent listening and you want your kid who's 15 or 10 to get involved and participate in community action, you know, you can come to Best Buddies and we can hook you up and connect you, which would be fantastic if you're always looking for more people to get involved that are committed and passionate. So there's something for everybody, I think.

At Best Buddies seems like, I mean, just as you list out all the things you're involved with, it's impressive. I mean, there's a lot going on there. So for my listeners, definitely encourage you to check it out. And again, as always, I know you're busy, so thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to be on the show.

Thank you. It's great. I appreciate the time.

[Dr. Rob Harder]

Hey, friends. Well, I wanted you to know that this podcast can be found on itunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google podcasts, and wherever you listen to other podcasts. I also want to encourage you to, like, subscribe and share this podcast with others. This will actually help us get this great content out to more nonprofit leaders just like you. You can also join the nonprofit leadership podcast community, find other resources and interviews of past guests, all on my website, nonprofit leadershippodcast.org. well, thanks again for listening and until next time, keep making your world better. This podcast is sponsored by Donorbox, helping you help others with the best donation.

[Anthony Kennedy Shriver]

Forms in the business.