Jeremy Vallerand and a few friends turned a Mount Rainier climb into a fundraiser: $1 for every vertical foot, $14,410 total. It was supposed to be a one-off. It wasn't.

Today, Atlas Free is a global network of 160+ organizations in 67 countries fighting sex trafficking, still fueled by the community hikes and climbs that started it all. 🩵

In this Possible in Practice episode, you'll hear:

How one climb became hundreds of community-led hikes and climbs every year, and the simple idea that made it spread: do what you love to fight what you hate
Why Atlas Free stopped sending Americans overseas and started backing the local leaders already doing the work
Why donors can tell when you only want their money, and why community has to come before the ask
What a $1 million gift and an $18.37 piggy bank taught Jeremy about stewarding every act of generosity

You'll walk away with a blueprint for inviting your community into the mission, not just the fundraising. 🩵

Episode Highlights:

(3:09) Refugees in the spare bedroom and the trip to India that changed everything
(6:52) Climb for Captives: turning a Mount Rainier climb into a $14,410 fundraiser
(9:00) "Do what we love to fight what we hate": how one climb became hundreds
(10:48) From one climb to 160+ organizations in 67 countries
(14:00) Ethical storytelling: what you choose not to say
(17:52) Monthly giving: why community comes before the ask
(20:51) A $1 million gift and an $18.37 piggy bank
(23:39) The one good thing: who you're with matters more than what you're doing

Episode Show Notes: www.weareforgood.com/episode/747

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747. How One $14,410 Fundraiser Became a Global Movement - Jeremy Vallerand, Atlas Free

We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

747. How One $14,410 Fundraiser Became a Global Movement - Jeremy Vallerand, Atlas Free