Democratizing philanthropy with influencers

Episode 5 of the Influencer Marketing Lab podcast where I speak with Stephen Ready of Inspired about democratizing philanthropy

In our interview we cover:

For a full breakdown of discussion points turn to the episode's chapter markers.

• How Inspired is democratising philanthropy by creating everyday philanthropy
• Hits and misses of celebrity endorsements
• The importance of authentic brand/influencer relationships which resonate with the target audience
• Elevating the alpha consumer to become creator
• How Inspire identifies people with nascent influence, activates the influence and builds it into a repeatable behaviour that can help move the needle on social causes, and help brands build loyalty and trust.
• How to make data actionable.
• How brands can surprise and delight you a couple of times a day when you're making an everyday purchase
• Why brands should invest in purpose and purchase intelligence

Stephen Ready background

In his role as Inspired’s CEO Stephen leads the team on its mission to democratize philanthropy, while helping brands shift marketing dollars to social good initiatives - delivering maximum Return-On-Donation (ROD) in the process.  

Prior to what has become Inspired in 2020, Stephen created Inspired Card, the first proxy card that is capable of rolling up all the cards in your wallet, and unlocking sponsored donations, paid for by Inspired and its brand partners, with every purchase.

Before founding Inspired, Stephen created Privileged Media, a marketing agency and media platform that connects luxury brands with affluent consumers.

Previously Stephen founded VCT, which started as the first social commerce network connecting consumers and brands through group buying opportunities that benefited charity. VCT eventually became a leading provider of industry-specific CRM and email marketing tools for distinguished membership organizations, including the top country clubs, golf clubs and city clubs in the United States.  

A graduate of Lehigh University, Stephen lives in Los Angeles with his wife Maria and three sons, Noah, Lucas and Bobby.

More about Inspired

Inspired is a new type of cause marketing platform that focuses on the everyday consumer as the ultimate influencer - and leverages purchase intelligence to help brands sponsor their target consumers' social impact.

The company was created to help enable and ensure social impact with every consumer purchase.  Inspired combines consumer-driven philanthropy with influencer marketing to engage customers in real-time at the point-of sale, and empower them to become brand-sponsored philanthropists through user-generated content (UGC).

The community is created through two unique concepts and supporting technologies:

1. an in-store card-linked marketing platform and 
2. an intuitive online donation-with-purchase checkout.  

Together these offerings enable brands to donate a portion of each purchase to a nonprofit that the customer and the brand share a passion for - building loyalty and trust in the process.