LinkedIn's Power for Non-Profits: Chris Lomas' Journey with Hope4

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Michelle J Raymond: Welcome everybody to the LinkedIn for B2B Growth Show. I'm your host Michelle J Raymond, and this week's episode is a special one for me. I've invited one of my friends, not just a expert in his field, but a friend of mine, Chris Lomas from Hope4. Welcome to my show. I'm very happy to have you on.

[00:00:19] Chris Lomas: Thank you so much, Michelle. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be here. Thank you.

[00:00:23] Michelle J Raymond: Now I'm gonna place bets. Which one of us will cry first? Cause every time you and I have a conversation, we end up in tears because we are two parts of one hole. Some days it feels like we were just destined to meet on LinkedIn.

[00:00:36] Michelle J Raymond: I'm so glad out of the 900 million plus people, our paths crossed and what you've achieved since we first crossed paths is mind blowing and how you've been able to leverage LinkedIn has been mind blowing. I wanna share this with people. I'm gonna just dive straight into this one because this is such a big thing for me watching you.

[00:00:56] Michelle J Raymond: I know in your mind it's not, probably that big a deal, but it has just been so inspiring from the other side of the world. So first of all, talk me through how you've been able to leverage LinkedIn to have a bigger impact in your charity work. Tell us what you've been up to in your part of the world.

[00:01:13] Michelle J Raymond: Who is Hope4? What are you guys doing and yeah, how did it all start?

[00:01:18] Chris Lomas: You have me at hello. I started to well up there already. Where do I begin? Do you know I hope I don't say anything wrong when I'm saying all of this, but I'm one of the guilty ones that I've been on LinkedIn forever.

[00:01:31] Chris Lomas: I used it as a place to park my CV. When I did start using it actively back in my sales days when I was running a managed print business. I used it just to sell stuff. This is awful, but it was like, someone wanting sex on the first date, I just posted because I wanted something back and I didn't understand it. That's a really bad analogy, I know.

[00:01:53] Michelle J Raymond: We've all been down the Tinder for LinkedIn path.

[00:01:56] Chris Lomas: Exactly. I'm glad there's a term for it, but that's how I used it. And even when my wife Zoe and I gave up everything to respond to a call a higher call for us to impact the lives of people in Moldova, which is Europe's poorest country. And I'll touch on that in a second. Even then I misused it, I used it as a way of really trying to say, here I am, here's the issue. Support us.

[00:02:24] Chris Lomas: And that was all good. We were doing great stuff. We came over two years and three months ago and counting, to try and impact some lives of orphans. And there's a major orphan problem in Moldova. But again, I was using this community really to try and get something rather than to try and give something.

[00:02:40] Chris Lomas: And I've just been on this most incredible learning curve. But it's one of those, the rest is history. But we had been in Moldova for 12 months and I'm new to the humanitarian space, so I was bringing, 30 years of entrepreneurialism into the humanitarian sector.

[00:02:59] Chris Lomas: And yes, I suffer imposter syndrome because I feel like, who am I. This morning, by the way, I'd love to say Michelle, that I dressed up for this podcast, but honestly I'd prefer to have had this in my red jacket and, all the branding all over the place.

[00:03:15] Chris Lomas: But last night we had a call from the Prime Minister's office. The chief of staff wanted to see us this morning and I was panicking because Do you tell the chief of staff? No, I've got a podcast to do.

[00:03:28] Michelle J Raymond: Yes you do.

[00:03:30] Chris Lomas: But I chose more to say, okay, we'll come, but we've gotta leave by.

[00:03:34] Chris Lomas: And then I was doing the calculations, can I get across the city back to my office and then sit down in front of the beautiful Michelle J Raymond, but that's why I'm dressed. So we had this incredible meeting with the chief of staff and which proceeds a meeting in two weeks with the Prime Minister.

[00:03:53] Chris Lomas: And the reason I mention all of that is It's because of LinkedIn, it's because of this community. And whilst I've still got a huge amount to learn, this community has been transformative. And so what did I talk about with the chief of Staff of Moldova? This guy reports directly into the Prime Minister.

[00:04:16] Chris Lomas: I talked about LinkedIn. And that's the thing, Yes people, we were talking before the show about heroes and how the world needs heroes. And I did a post just yesterday about that very subject that people call me a hero, which I get because of the stuff we are doing.

[00:04:37] Chris Lomas: First and foremost, I don't feel like one, but I only get to represent you. I only get to represent this incredible community. But just to try and answer the question, on the morning of the 24th of February now 18 months ago, no 13 months ago, my wife Zoe and I were sat at breakfast. And this is the history bit now.

[00:04:59] Chris Lomas: We sat at breakfast and at 9:00 AM in the morning it sounded like the 4th of July, our windows started to vibrate and we knew intuitively that the war had started, that not some crazy person had, was firing fireworks outside the window. And our life changed forever. And my journey on LinkedIn changed forever because I just went through the most incredible and extraordinary learning curve imaginable.

[00:05:27] Chris Lomas: And the thing is, I was doing it the hands of the most extraordinary people as well. And for those that don't know Lea Turner was, whilst Zoe and I were racing down to Moldova's Capital to the nearest refugee camp that we could find to see how we could help with no resources, Lea Turner was sat in bed figuring out how she could make a difference to the refugee response.

[00:05:54] Chris Lomas: And she now famously had a conversation with Christopher Wright, who we all love and adore, saying, okay, I want to do something by getting a group of LinkedIn leaders, LinkedIn influencers, people at the top of their game to, to raise some money but I don't know anyone on the ground in Moldova.

[00:06:14] Chris Lomas: And Christopher Wright just so happened because of another LinkedIn friend, Odessa Sherreard she responded to one of his posts about cuisine and it just, I saw it, so I just randomly commented about my profound dislike of Moldovan cuisine and I can't stand it.

[00:06:34] Chris Lomas: And so he responded. There was a connection. He began to see our work on LinkedIn and so he said, I know a guy. And so the next call I got was from this woman called Lea Turner. And she said, Hey, I'm gonna raise some money. I've got some brilliant people like Michelle J Raymond and um,

[00:06:55] Michelle J Raymond: Richard van der Blom.

[00:06:56] Chris Lomas: Yeah, that's it. Faces, I'm great with Michelle. Names I'm awful. But all those great guys and we think we may raise a few thousand maybe. And who would've thought, right? And I got to sit in that. And like I've said to you before, I felt like I'd snuck into the wrong room and I was sitting there quietly waiting for someone to look around and say who's that guy?

[00:07:20] Chris Lomas: There's someone back along who used to sneak onto football pitches and have a team photo with the team, and they didn't belong to the team. They were just from the crowd. I felt like that guy, I felt like honestly someone was gonna look to their left and say, who's the guy on the end?

[00:07:34] Chris Lomas: But I was willing to learn. I was willing to listen. And as everyone knows Lea, you and the team have been instrumental in raising more than 300,000 pounds so far. And just give it some context, Zoe and I turned up in Moldova with nothing. We literally left nothing.

[00:07:54] Chris Lomas: Our business had been negatively impacted by Covid. We saw a need, we responded, but we left without a penny and we just had enough money to get some furniture shipped over the 1700 miles from Moldova. We had a house to stay in and back in the day, if you go back to my LinkedIn post back in the day, we'd come across an orphanage that didn't have a washing machine, and so I would do a fundraising campaign to raise 250 pounds for a washing machine. That's how bad it was in those days. We couldn't even afford to buy it unless people participated. And So we raised 37,000 pounds in our first year, our first 12 months. And because of you, because of Lea Turner, because of this incredible community, we finished our second year out on more than 300,000 pounds, which is phenomenal who grows at that rate.

[00:08:43] Chris Lomas: And this year we're expecting a lot more. I'm targeting myself on 3 million, and I believe it's possible because of this community, and more importantly because I've changed from wanting that, forget the drink first stuff, and I've come to understand what this community represents. And I know that we get criticism sometimes people saying, this isn't Facebook, but people haven't understood that things have changed for the better, that this has become a community of incredible people supporting each other's businesses, first and foremost, but then people who are willing to get behind a cause represented by people like them. I'm a businessman. I'm not a humanitarian. I've become a humanitarian.

[00:09:29] Chris Lomas: And yes, I save lives for a living and I fight poverty and human trafficking, support tens of thousands of refugees each month and now supply humanitarian aid to Turkey in the wake of the earthquake. And I just want to express, because this personifies my point. We were invited to go to Turkey by the Turkish ambassador in Krishna because he was aware of our work.

[00:09:53] Chris Lomas: So Ivan and I flew over six weeks after the quake and because we were going at the request of the Turkish ambassador, we had unrestricted access. And I've shared some of the footage. It was heartbreaking. We were seeing things that you just aren't prepared to see and all the people in Turkey aren't prepared to see.

[00:10:14] Chris Lomas: People are living with this. It's the same with Ukraine. And we were given this unrestricted access to field hospitals, to operating theatres, to the worst sites imaginable. And it was a 4D experience, it just assaulted all of your senses. You could smell, quite literally, without being too graphic, you could smell death in the air.

[00:10:36] Chris Lomas: And we had a meeting with the leader of AFAD who are the designated national NGO on the ground, and there's me, there's Ivan, and we'd invited a doctor from the US to accompany us who wants to do some work in Turkey as well. And the guy rightfully looked at us and said, who are you?

[00:10:57] Chris Lomas: He knew who we were. He knew because we were there at the request of the Turkish ambassador, but he said, look, what can you two do? And this is where, for me, it was my epiphany. It was the light bulb moment. And I'll share more of that later on. But he was right, it was just me and Ivan, what could we do when, just in the city of Hirtialo which is where we were. Just in this one city alone, 400,000 people have been displaced. Because if your building hadn't fallen down, it was uninhabitable, and it is just shocking.

[00:11:30] Chris Lomas: And I said, but it's not just me. It's not just me. I represent 900 million people who are poised to help you. That's what I represent, and something clicked, and I'll tell you more about it later, but something clicked because this is what we are creating. This is the opportunity, and this is why now LinkedIn has become singularly the most important community in my world.

[00:11:58] Michelle J Raymond: Wow, it's crazy. So I'm gonna rewind the clock to about just over 12 months, I think it was when you and I first met. So Lea's at home, she has this, I've gotta go and do something. She'd watched the news like many of us had and was moved to actually do something that would make an impact to the people of Ukraine or around those areas.

[00:12:18] Michelle J Raymond: And I remember it was like Saturday night, my time, and I saw a post, I'm gonna do this, who wants to help? And I was like, I didn't even really know Lea, to be honest at that stage. Of course I knew who she was, but we weren't close or friends or anything like that. And I said, you know what? If you want someone to talk about company pages, I'll volunteer my time. No problems.

[00:12:37] Michelle J Raymond: Didn't expect to hear anything, but of course, she reached out straight away and she's like, I'd love that. Now what people don't know is in the background, cause it's often, people see what happens in our posts and things like that. But we were having conversations going wouldn't it be amazing, if we raised a thousand pounds and then it was, imagine if we got to 2000 and there's no way I can absolutely hand on heart say that either of us ever expected that this thing would grow so many legs and end up at the numbers you are talking about 300,000, 3 million, which I am absolutely confident you will reach and achieve that.

[00:13:15] Michelle J Raymond: And it was just one of those ways that. It was moving for me because I got to see the impact of creating a community on LinkedIn. That's what that was for me, about everybody coming together with a common cause for things that don't impact me locally, directly.

[00:13:32] Michelle J Raymond: I didn't even know where Moldova was until I met you. I didn't even know it was a country. I had to Google it. That's how far removed it was from my world. And I'm not lying about that, to see everybody come together was just so moving and so inspiring and I think that changed me just as much from that effect.

[00:13:52] Michelle J Raymond: Now there's been so many things, but what is, if you had to pick one thing in amongst all the crazy last 12 months that you've had on LinkedIn, what do you think has been the most surprising thing that's happened to you because of LinkedIn?

[00:14:07] Chris Lomas: It is such an easy one to answer honestly. Before Lea Turner and then you guys stepped up, who was Chris Lomas? Honestly and we talked about imposter syndrome and Sarah Farmer's helping me through that particular journey as well.

[00:14:23] Chris Lomas: We talk a lot about personal brand on LinkedIn. Hope4 is an incredible brand. It's an incredible, you know, our logo, everything, really represents something that is greater than me alone. But I've had this awkward journey and realisation about the value of personal brand as well, and I'm the one that least believes in that stuff.

[00:14:46] Chris Lomas: It's been an awkward journey, but I've understood that this is a community that, dare I say, demands, trust and relies on trust. And trust is built through personality. Trust is built through people. You can have brand departments that will create brand trust, but it can be paper thin in terms of, is that empathy extending to the boardroom? And does this make sense?

[00:15:12] Chris Lomas: So for me I've had to understand that, I'm the face of Hope4 and what sets me apart from perhaps CEOs who run other charities, this isn't a job to me, it's a way of life. I know we're gonna talk about this a little bit later, but when someone invests in Hope4 they're investing in something more than numbers and more than titles and more than anything else.

[00:15:38] Chris Lomas: I addressed a charity event in London, which actually Lea Turner and a few guys and Christopher Wright supported me in. And I addressed this it was a charity launch for some incredible guys out of California. And I had to give a, I think it was about 10 minute speech, and I did one of the videos in the background, Chris Lomas here from Hope4.

[00:15:57] Chris Lomas: And I'd been prompted that there was about 20 Ukrainian refugees in the audience. And this was right in the thick of things. And there was a guy called Neil, a friend of ours who's come over a few times and he was sat with Lea. And I asked them all to stand up in what was an intensely emotional moment.

[00:16:15] Chris Lomas: The lights were down. There was this hush across the room and I said to them, my name is Chris Lomas from Hope4, and I will die for you. And so it is funny cause Neil jumped up and said he will cause Neil had been across the border with us when we are delivering humanitarian aid across, behind enemy lines, a great risk, bombs going off, drones being shot out the air.

[00:16:36] Chris Lomas: And this is the difference. This is the difference. And I get passionate because this is not a job to me. I don't even earn a salary. Zoe and I refuse to take any money because we want to take what you give us and deploy it straight away. And we've become something. And it's programs like this that help me to communicate that because sometimes people just scroll and scroll and think, oh, Lomas is after money again. And just scroll again.

[00:17:03] Chris Lomas: But what is unique is that we connect people directly with their own impact. You give me it in this hand. I'm deploying it in that hand. And so the surprise has been, the people like me.

[00:17:16] Chris Lomas: That's a surprise to me anyway. But the surprise has been, okay, people care people, and this is the thing, this community, yeah, there's some bizarre people, but mainly this community is made up of philanthropic people who care about something but they require a champion as much as the people we serve.

[00:17:34] Chris Lomas: And this is occurring to me right now. The world needs a champion. And I'm an unlikely hero. I don't even call myself a hero, but the world needs a champion. And honestly if the world distrust big corporate charities, if the world has lost faith in CEOs who just consume more than they deploy, then I'll be your champion. I'll be the guy who will lay his life down.

[00:17:57] Chris Lomas: I've given up everything anyway. My children are back in the uk. They're in university. We miss them. I miss them. They miss me, but I will, and they know this, I will lay my life down for the very people that you've charged me to serve and support.

[00:18:13] Chris Lomas: But we do it together. Together, we are Hope4.

[00:18:17] Michelle J Raymond: You absolutely are, and you are our hero, my friend, like I'm crying. I knew I would. I couldn't have a conversation with you because I wish you could see yourself through our eyes. As a community, who you are for all of us and who you are for those people that you serve.

[00:18:33] Michelle J Raymond: It is inspiring. You give me an outlet in a way that I can help people that I don't even know exist. And just living through your photos, your videos, like they have an impact and I just love that it is genuine, it's authentic. There's nothing manufactured. All of those kind of words that we use on LinkedIn to describe personal brands, like it's not something you build, you just are.

[00:18:55] Michelle J Raymond: And I think you've been able to build something that has just been incredible and I've watched you grow over time. And I will one day stamp out this imposter out of you, if it's the last thing that I do. I will do it from this side of the world. I will find a way. Don't you worry.

[00:19:12] Michelle J Raymond: But it's just been mind blowing to see that, whether it's the cost of a coffee, and I'm gonna keep putting up the donation link. And I hope anyone that takes value out of this podcast episode, whether you're watching live today, appreciate that, or whether you're listening to the podcast later on. The cost of a coffee in a country like Moldova makes a huge difference.

[00:19:33] Michelle J Raymond: Do not think that $5 here or there is not gonna be something that Chris Lomas can turn into magic and make a difference to people's lives. I've watched him do it over and over and, obviously Zoe and the whole team of Hope4 the work just, it's just mind blowing.

[00:19:51] Michelle J Raymond: And so I don't wanna talk about me. I do want to keep talking about you because I think the journey's just been so powerful. I think we've seen it start off, as you share. We've all been down that path where we get it wrong in the beginning and we're desperate and we want stuff, but I've watched you change over the 12 months.

[00:20:09] Michelle J Raymond: But for anyone out there that's in a position where maybe it's fundraising, not for profit, charity a cause that's important to them. It's a pretty broad spectrum. What do you wish you knew in the beginning that you know now?

[00:20:23] Chris Lomas: Storytelling. Honestly, we've all grown up watching charities do what they do and in the main, it's incredible.

[00:20:30] Chris Lomas: I have an issue where charities are consuming 80% and only deploying 20%. That exists. That's a reality. And we are destroying that business model that, that, that concept. But, Because I'd grown up watching, you'd have your dinner and you'd see some precious child that hasn't eaten for weeks that it's stomach is distended and you are just about to eat your dinner and they're asking for money.

[00:20:55] Chris Lomas: What I've realised, and this has been as a result of incredible people around us as well is that stuff appeals to people's sense of guilt. It doesn't appeal to people's loyalty, it doesn't appeal to people's love.

[00:21:08] Chris Lomas: And there was a precious girl in Dubai and my sister in America did the same thing. They were saying, stop making us feel guilty because people will support you because they love you. People will support because they believe in you. People are not gonna support you. You may get a few dollars out of people, but people are not gonna support you because you make them feel guilty.

[00:21:29] Chris Lomas: But I'm not being critical of myself because that's what we've all grown up with. That's what these big charities who, who spend literally tens, hundreds of millions pounds on fundraising do. But those days are gone and I had to learn very, very quickly. You know, I talk about LinkedIn all the time.

[00:21:46] Chris Lomas: I'm going into Transnistria next week to deliver a talk to a room full of female entrepreneurs. And I'm gonna be talking about LinkedIn. I'm gonna be talking about, how if you're not a part of this incredible community then you are hindering your growth. And so I just had to learn that, you wouldn't go into a meeting and walk around the room and make everyone feel guilty and then leave because they'll be glad you left.

[00:22:13] Chris Lomas: I've had to understand that you go in and you just start to take an interest in them and you start to learn about their life and what inspires them and then inevitably they're gonna ask you, About your life and about what inspires you and about what you do for a living. And when you create that relationship, which isn't done on the first date, you know, may be achieved on the second, third, fourth time, but you create this trust and this empathy and I've had to learn that, and I've had to learn that community is what will drive our growth, and which means that together we are impacting more lives than they could ever imagine.

[00:22:48] Michelle J Raymond: Yeah I've watched you change over that time. As I said, I always watch your content and whether I am near or far in your mind, I'm always watching, keeping an eye on what's going on. But it's been interesting that if I was to reflect on your content back at the beginning, let's be clear, there was a war that I don't think anyone ever thought would still be going, but you know, your content was heavily around what's going on in the war, but then over time I saw that compassion and empathy and all of your superhero powers that come out.

[00:23:19] Michelle J Raymond: Yeah, Clark Kent to Superman. The focus shifted to the human stories because you could then see what you give directly impacts a family that's just like you, me, people that are listening. It's their stories, their families. We just happen to win the lottery and get born in the right place in the world. And, happen to be, living in some amazing countries.

[00:23:40] Michelle J Raymond: So it's been really interesting to watch how you've used the power of video. I think that's just been really powerful to see the reality of the situation. This isn't something that you are making up as an ad. And I think that is something that also resonates. It is just unfiltered. Here's how it is, this is what I'm trying to do, please help me. And I think that's why there's been such an outpouring of love and support for you ongoing, like you said, because we do it because we wanna be a part of something that makes a difference.

[00:24:10] Michelle J Raymond: And it's just been super, super cool to watch this. Now let's flip it to the other side because I have lots of B2B marketers that listen to the show business owners and LinkedIn enthusiast in general, but I wanna flip this to the other side. If you were talking to corporates out there, what's the benefits for them on LinkedIn or just in general, teaming up for not-for-profits like yourself. How does that come together and what have you seen? Maybe you've got an example of a partnership that has benefited both sides, because, let's be clear, the way that the world works, if it doesn't work for corporate life, it's hard to get that ongoing traction, but, I know you and Bidfood, that's probably one that stands out.

[00:24:53] Michelle J Raymond: A brand that yeah has become top of my mind since all of the work that they have, helped support you. But yeah. What would you say to corporates out there that are listening that might be looking for a way to spend their, charity budgets? Hello Chris Lomas, Hope4. Send it there.

[00:25:09] Michelle J Raymond: What would you say to them?

[00:25:10] Chris Lomas: Do you know what community is everything. I just want to pause for a second and just talk about my team, because behind Chris Lomas is the most extraordinary people. And this leads on to to everything else. My beautiful wife Zoe the most incredible human being in the world, forgive me, she is just extraordinary.

[00:25:29] Chris Lomas: She's precious. But then Ivan, Ivan is my right hand man. And Ivan feels awkward when I'm praising him so much. It's because we live in a culture where people want to pick out the bad things all the time and he just, he's a giant in Hope4, and I always say he runs it. I just do this stuff. And Natalia Postolachi our programs manager. We have a great team, but then it's everyone else that just starts to, to add the sparkle.

[00:25:59] Chris Lomas: So to answer your question, I have to talk about two, Bidfood and Oakland International. This has just been the most extraordinary partnership imaginable.

[00:26:11] Chris Lomas: Oakland International Pay for our Warehouse. There is a deeper strategy that we are working on because Oakland International are a 30 million pound privately owned food distribution business in the UK who have the most incredible philanthropic attitude imaginable without anything to gain.

[00:26:32] Chris Lomas: Their CEO flew over and, and, and we just formed a relationship. Like everyone else, he was watching what we were doing. But he was watching with a particular understanding and a particular strategy in play. And so he flew over and we took him to see a brand new state of the art warehouse.

[00:26:52] Chris Lomas: And it was just bizarre. It felt like some kid getting his first car or something and my dad's there and he's looking at the car and says, what do you think, son? That's exactly how it happened. We had this giant of a man who had set up Oakland Foundation in which to, execute their philanthropy.

[00:27:10] Chris Lomas: And he said, what do you think, Chris? I went, it's pretty nice. And he said, it's yours. And I'm thinking it's for 12 months. And the guys showing us around said how long do you want it for? And he said, five years. And so we have this incredible facility for five years because of a business in the UK and I'm gonna come onto Bidfood. So that was a massive. A massive show of support, not just for Hope4, but for the people of Ukraine and for the people of Moldova and the plan is, it's enabled us now to bring an unprecedented amount of humanitarian aid into the warehouse.

[00:27:46] Chris Lomas: But what Oakland International are doing, uh, Dean Atwell is the, CEO is, Dean is setting up an operation with UK retailers to list Ukrainian products. So the plan is we'll bring humanitarian aid in and then work with Ukrainian food producers across the southeast region, which is most accessible to Moldova, to bring Ukrainian products into the warehouse to take them back to retailers who want to stock the products.

[00:28:15] Chris Lomas: That serves two purposes, it helps in stimulating the economic recovery of Ukraine by providing subsidised roots into the UK. But also can you imagine if you're displaced in the UK, some 18, 1900 miles from home and suddenly you find a taste of home on the shelves. So this is gonna have a massive impact on the wellbeing of Ukrainian refugees.

[00:28:40] Chris Lomas: And so we are forever in debt to Dean Atwell, Sally Atwell, his wife, and the incredible team at Oakland International. But that's only one part.

[00:28:48] Chris Lomas: Then you have Bidfood. Now recently back in February the logistics director, a board member of Bidfood flew in to spend a few days with us.

[00:28:58] Chris Lomas: We even took him behind enemy lines. My goodness. His company couldn't even insure him for this. So we took him behind enemy lines to show him how their extraordinary support is impacting lives. And so I, I can't talk about one without the other because they have formed such a strategic partnership.

[00:29:18] Chris Lomas: Bidfood are now we're working on mobilising support from right across the food industry in the UK. So the brands of which they supplied food from there is century who are responsible for the Highland brand, for example, are sending us a container of water. Bidfood are sending more food.

[00:29:38] Chris Lomas: Bidfood have sent us around 400,000 pounds worth of food, to date. That represents some, like seven or eight truckloads of food, which we have then immediately deployed into the Ukrainian population, but also to Moldova.

[00:29:52] Chris Lomas: Moldova suffers 80% poverty, but throughout the winter it suffered 32% inflation. The UK complains rightfully that's seven, 8% or even 12%, but 32% inflation. Fuel increased by 600%. So throughout winter people had a choice. Do we feed ourselves or do we freeze? And that's the only choice. And typically they would freeze. And so what Bidfood with the incredible support of Oakland have been able to do is to ensure that we can feed desperate families.

[00:30:26] Chris Lomas: The average salary, monthly salary, I'm not sure if I mentioned this at the beginning, is 250 pounds. People are struggling. Can you, Imagine? I can't imagine. We went to a family that lives on $80 a month when Lea Turner came over as well. But my point is, both of them have said, look, you've gotta stop saying thank you. And the reason they say that is because there is a benefit to their organisation. And this directly answers your question.

[00:30:52] Chris Lomas: This isn't simply CSR. I think there's a misunderstanding that CSR or philanthropy is, okay, we'll do it if we can afford it. No guys, you cannot afford not to do it. Because the world now is looking at businesses right across the world at their CSR, their corporate social responsibility and saying, okay, do you care?

[00:31:16] Chris Lomas: And so employees and customers, everyone is looking to businesses who have again, we're back to the CEOs and the boardrooms. Not this paper thing attitude. Yeah. This box ticking exercise. Okay. We have to do something.

[00:31:31] Chris Lomas: No, No. People like Oakland International, people like Bidfood, people like Lea Turner, for goodness sakes, I get passionate about this stuff. Who are saying, okay, this isn't because I've gotta tick some box. This is because I care, this represents my business. Yes, there is a cost, but actually there is a return on my investment because customers, everyone responds to this and they're saying, okay, if that's how you treat, People you don't even know then my business belongs to you and Lea's told me this before, she said Chris, honestly, there's this incredible byproduct because people look at organisations that are standing with something that they believe in and saying, okay, this is something I can't do without.

[00:32:13] Chris Lomas: In fact, Bidfood now, are looking at how they can increase their support. They wanna send us, as a start, they wanna send us a million pounds worth of food a year. And that's the starting place. And they've done other things behind the scenes. We survive on the generosity of others and Lea started it. She's personified it.

[00:32:33] Chris Lomas: Oakland came along, Bidfood came along. We're doing this crazy climb, which we may talk about in January. And there's someone within that group that has said, I'll do your PR.

[00:32:43] Chris Lomas: Look guys, you are not funding a lifestyle. You're not funding my lifestyle. I don't even pay myself. We are changing nations. It's no longer actually about Moldova. It's Moldova, Ukraine, Turkey.

[00:32:55] Chris Lomas: Honestly, I get messages and emails and letters from all over the world saying, We need your help. We need your help. Guess what? I want to help them. And I don't say no. I say wait. Because as soon as this community starts to mobilize behind something that connects them directly with their own impact, we can change the world. We can change the world.

[00:33:17] Michelle J Raymond: We absolutely can. And I left a last question I was gonna ask you, like some of the good things that have happened, but I think we've more than truly covered this. I'm lost for words in how, I guess, a sense of pride in what you've achieved, like on your behalf.

[00:33:33] Michelle J Raymond: If you can't see it for yourself, I can absolutely see it for you. Oh, and anybody that's listening to this, please drop some comments in and let Chris, know what you think of him, if you've crossed paths, because I know it's not just you, Chris, and I know that there's a full team behind you. And of course, shout out to Zoe, who, I don't know how she keeps you on the ground and keeps you going, but she is your angel.

[00:33:54] Michelle J Raymond: And I know Hope4 wouldn't exist if it wasn't for her and everything that you guys do together, but I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge you for the superhuman that I think that you are, that I want you to know that you are and how proud all of us are.

[00:34:09] Michelle J Raymond: I'm privileged to know you and everything that you've achieved and yeah. As I said, this is genuine. These are the tears they always happen when I talk to you because what you've been able to do, I hope one day I can do a 10th of what you've achieved because it's been inspiring. It restores the faith in humanity that there are good people out there.

[00:34:29] Michelle J Raymond: And I'm out here to do good business with good people, and you are one of them. And I appreciate you and the rest of my community as well. And see, these are, it was bound to happen. We knew it was gonna happen. I saved it to the end. But I just wanted to say thank you for sharing everything.

[00:34:45] Michelle J Raymond: If people have not, Taken away from the last 40 minutes that we've been talking, the power of community, the power of building an amazing community of good people on LinkedIn.

[00:34:57] Michelle J Raymond: If you don't have this, I quit like I give up because everything that you've shared. All the different ways that you can communicate, build community, leverage people you have never even met in the world. If you can't see that from this half an hour I'm gonna quit. Because, we've showed you so many different ways that you can do it.

[00:35:16] Michelle J Raymond: Chris, one final question that I have for you, which I ask everybody that comes on the show every week. If you had one actionable tip for somebody that's out there potentially running a not-for-profit or something similar to what you are doing, what's your tip for them? What's the thing that you would say to get them moving, get them inspired.

[00:35:38] Chris Lomas: Okay, join my gang. This is the thing, every penny we've raised is a direct consequence of LinkedIn. We've not had any grant money, actually, we've just been awarded a small grant by the Royal Warrant courtesy of Bidfood, who doubled it, but outside of that, It's all LinkedIn.

[00:35:58] Chris Lomas: I work with a, I won't mention 'em on this call, but I work with a major charity, 9 million pound charity that operates on all four continents. And I ask them recently, what's your LinkedIn strategy? And they didn't have one. And for me now LinkedIn is my primary,

[00:36:18] Chris Lomas:  It might as well be my only cause I haven't even talked about Hope4 Hub, which will formalize what has happened organically. What has happened naturally. So look out for Hope4 Hub because Hope4 Hub will create the world's first charity ecosystem where, businesses right across the world become part of this incredible solution.

[00:36:40] Chris Lomas: And here's the teaser. LinkedIn, I will become your biggest customer. Your biggest paying customer as a result of Hope4 Hub. That's all I'm gonna say for right now. And it works. It will be incredible. So to all the nonprofits out there, seriously, if you haven't got a LinkedIn strategy, I know someone that can talk to you it's gonna be Michelle J. Raymond. Do you know what you've said? Michelle. 900 million people on LinkedIn. Only about 68 million company pages. There's more than 68 million companies on LinkedIn. Why haven't they got pages? Why aren't they communicating with their customers? And if that's you, speak to this person here because she will show you how the value of having a company page on LinkedIn.

[00:37:29] Michelle J Raymond: The thing that brings this together for me is LinkedIn is 65%, roughly 25 to 34 year olds, the Gen Z ,millennials, at that end of town they're the majority of the platform and they work for businesses that align with their purposes and their values, and so there's a vested interest, there is an upside for businesses to do this. Both sides.

[00:37:50] Michelle J Raymond: And I think, if you are sitting there listening and going, I'd love to take an action. I'd love to help out. I don't know what to do, which is very common, then it's easy. Just go to the website for Hope4 make a donation, big, small. Chris honestly will turn it into things that you have no idea the difference that it will make for people that are out there, just living lives that we can't even fathom in most countries in this world.

[00:38:14] Michelle J Raymond: Chris. I love you. I appreciate you and thank you for taking time out of saving the world to come on the show. I yeah, I'm just grateful that we were able to have this chat.

[00:38:25] Chris Lomas: Me too. Thank you so much Michelle. And on that note, I'm gonna round up the show.

[00:38:29] Michelle J Raymond: Thank you everybody for listening.

[00:38:31] Michelle J Raymond: The details for donating to Hopeful will be in the show notes. They'll be everywhere. Please do me a favor, if you enjoy this podcast, I would love nothing more that if you could make that donation and really help Chris and the team out. Cheers everyone.