Today we’d like to introduce you to Staci Kirpach.
Staci, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I am passionate about connecting people with causes – for a greater good – whether it’s a nonprofit organization, a conscientious company, a thoughtful talent, or a movement making the world a better place. When we are able to connect meaningful causes to receptive and responsive communities, we are ultimately able to do more good overall.
I realized the power of inviting people into purposeful conversations in college. My freshman year, I had the privilege of mentoring youth and quickly found that they were facing different challenges based on their unique community and culture.
It became apparent that there was a need to change the way we were talking to and teaching these students if we really wanted to be relevant to their lives. As a result, a small group of us ended up cofounding a nonprofit for middle school and high school girls and their mentors to help them navigate those critical years.
I had an opportunity to work with that organization throughout my college career and really learned the impact of “rolling up your sleeves and doing the work”. Eventually, girls and women began sharing stories with us about how we had helped change their lives. A small conversation about how to make more of a difference turned into a cause that positively impacted teen culture in that city.
After college, I entered the “work world” in music marketing. I began my career working at radio stations throughout Texas and ended up working for a record label in Nashville. Radio and music are big megaphones and I discovered the strength of using key tools to help share good news or a good work with an audience. Whether it was through a charity concert, a national awareness campaign, promoting a positive company, or even just supporting a song that truly touched people, we were able to create ways to share meaningful messages with more people. In turn, those people came to care more about those companies and causes.
While working in music, I looked around and found myself in another community that was lacking a strong organization focused on supporting girls and women. We created The SHINE Initiative, a nonprofit organization, as a way to ensure girls and women were safe, healthy, inspired, nurtured and educated. Today, our work has reached thousands and supports service providers through our Rise and SHINE Grant Program which encourages organizations to expand or introduce programs in those five key focus areas.
All of those experiences taught me how much good can come from using the right tools to connect the right people to the right causes at the right time. It drove me to want to focus my time on connecting more causes with the communities around them.
EMIT Strategies was founded as a way to do just that. EMIT is a consulting firm that works with clients to help them craft their unique messages, share them with their community, and give that community a meaningful way to join the conversation. My clients are already doing great things in the world and I have the privilege of helping them expand their reach and make more of a positive impact.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am humbled by some of the successes that have come from out of our work! Hearing that a life has been changed or seeing something be created where there wasn’t anything before is indescribably rewarding. I would be shocked if any entrepreneur, leader, or founder said they hadn’t encountered struggles along the way though!
There are some seasons where everything goes smoothly and others where there are just more setbacks. In seasons of success, when you’re able to achieve something great on behalf a client or all the hard work comes together to make a difference, the difficult moments don’t seem so bad after all.
In hindsight, it is hard to even be critical of some of our setbacks because there was such good stuff to learn through those early struggles. They may not have necessarily been fun in the moment but their lessons stayed with us and helped make our work better overall.
There is a great quote that says, “Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the mood you said it in has left.” When you start a business, an organization, a campaign, anything, there is a lot of excitement and energy in the beginning. It is in the midst of all the hard work, that some of those initial feelings fade. The reward of really accomplishing what you set out to do comes by pushing through the harder times. Perseverance is really valuable business tool if you continue to refine your work through the tougher seasons.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about EMIT Strategies – what should we know?
EMIT Strategies helps corporate and community leaders connect their causes with communities. That can mean many things depending on the company, organization, person, or campaign. We have helped clients protect and promote city districts, raised funds for countless programs, shaped dialogue around disadvantaged populations, introduced people to incredible music and films, and hosted a number of large-scale events to rally around great causes. Some of our work is geared toward changing national conversations, some impacts the way specific cities address their issues, and other parts focus on subsets of certain communities. I feel privileged that we play a part in helping people put more good into the world. Big or small, our clients are trying to make a difference and I am proud to be a part of their work. Hopefully, all of it is contributing to our collective ‘village’ being a little bit better each day.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
How we interact with one another seems to be changing rapidly! Technology and social media have made many things more available than ever before. But they have also changed our levels of commitment. We may be more aware, but we are not always more attached to the true work that goes into supporting a cause or company in meaningful ways.
Adaptability is going to be key for our clients moving forward. I am always amazed at what all can be accomplished from a phone in the palm of a hand and new tools have made much of our work easier to execute. It is really important to remember that that doesn’t always translate into actual engagement though. We still need people who are willing to show up to work, share support, and speak on behalf of the need. Accessibility is important but action is still critical. The challenge organizations will continue to face is how the manage both sides of that conversation and adjust their approaches accordingly.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emitstrategies.com
- Phone: 817-219-3389
- Email: staci@emitstrategies.com
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