This week my guest is Melissa Tatro Harper, Co-Founder and CEO of Good Sports, Inc. Good Sports is a nonprofit organization that lays the foundation for healthy, active lifestyles by providing athletic equipment, footwear and apparel to disadvantaged young people across the United States. Their mission is to give all kids the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity by providing new equipment, apparel and footwear to help them get off the sidelines and into the game. We’ll be talking about how increase awareness on these challenges our kids face and what we can do about them.
https://www.spreaker.com/show/mtp-dave-briglio
As CEO at Good Sports, Inc., Melissa leads the organization’s growth, organizational strategy and partnership development. In the last 11 years, they’ve provided more than $15 million in equipment to 2,000 youth programs across 50 states, impacting millions of kids.
As a thought leader and speaker, she tailors her message to the audience. When she talks to kids, she shares her story – she’s the first generation in her family ever to go to college. She tells them that with hard work and discipline, they can accomplish their goals, no matter what kind of background they come from. She talks to kids about playing to win…not on the field but in life. “If you don’t put all your effort into doing your best at everything you do, you’ll never truly reach your potential”. When she speaks with donors, partners, and supports, her overarching message is that although Good Sports, Inc. is a nonprofit, they run it like a business: strategic, thoughtful, and efficient.
She estimates that there are more than 6 million kids in the top 50 MSAs in the U.S. that need their support. Melissa’s goal is to scale Good Sports, Inc. so they can give all those kids a chance to play within the next 10 years. To get there, they will nearly triple the size of the organization and the number of kids they can reach annually. Melissa says, “There is no limit to what we can accomplish and the impact Good Sports can have on kids who need our support, as long as we always think big and aim high.”
In this episode you’ll hear:
•How a successful non-profit can turn 500 basketballs into $20M in sports equipment
•How the state of Pay-to-Play is affecting our youth
•Why there really is an “I” in “TEAM” – and why it’s a good thing
