LiveStrong Foundation President Doug Ulman on Authenticity

LiveStrong Foundation President Doug Ulman was brave enough to keep his appointment to address the Cause Marketing Forum just one day after the news broke that Nike would pull its corporate sponsorship. Doug is a three time cancer survivor himself, so he’s faced tougher news. And he told the crowd of 500 professionals working in corporate social responsibility to remember that when one door closes, another opens, and that this high profile sponsorship loss led many other brands who’d been waiting for an opening to reach out.

Doug also shared an important reminder about how the Foundation is surviving and learning to stand on its own since its founder turned out to be a liar and a cheater: keep true to the mission. The LiveStrong  Foundation provides free services to help anyone affected by cancer. Keeping true to the mission and serving the community is what’s known as “authenticity” –  and you can’t fake that, at least not for too long. It’s that authenticity drives loyalty and strengthens the community so that the LiveStrong Foundation has good reason to keep optimistic for its next chapter.

christengraham

About christengraham

President of Giving Strong, Inc. Christen advises businesses, foundations and families for how to make a greater social impact.