Season 242 Episode 8214
S1 E17 - Proximate Amplifies Often Unheard Voices - Ben Wrobel and Kevin McClendon
"Demonstrating the Power of Participatory Philanthropy, Investing and Government Budgeting, These Nonprofit Founders Work to Highlight Solutions http://230926.s4g.biz AI Episode Summary Kevin McClendon and Ben Wrobel are co-founders of Proximate, a media platform that amplifies and connects movements for participatory problem-solving. They focus on stories about creative community-driven models that shift power to people with lived experience or those proximate to the problem. Their work extends beyond capital and includes areas such as climate change, medical care, citizen science, and equity in the creative economy. Proximate produces journalism and solutions journalism specifically, conveying information in a compelling way. They hire local journalists to write about solutions in communities, such as locally-led disaster response in Puerto Rico, and cover different sectors like philanthropy, government, and impact investing. Their goal is to be a clearinghouse for participatory problem-solving stories and create collections of stories for specific topics with the help of partner nonprofits. Kevin's superpower is diversity of experience, having been in situations of poverty and also working as an investment analyst for Gutter Capital. Ben's superpower is helping people tell their stories, finding people with big ideas and helping them communicate their work in a universal language. Kevin suggests breaking silos and identifying similarities as a way to increase diversity of perspective, while Ben recommends speaking out loud and recording to overcome writer's block and improve storytelling. To learn more about Proximate, visit their website, subscribe to their newsletters, and connect with them on social media. For Kevin, connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, and for Ben, email him or connect on LinkedIn. They are also looking for content, platform, and funding partners for collaboration. http://superpowers4good.com"
