Learning About We Are Mobilise
Niamh O'Higgins
Content Specialist
Posted: 27 May 2024
You might not be aware of it, but there’s a good chance that you’re already familiar with Mobilise!
If you used social media in 2022, then you might have seen a post or two (or hundred) about Nedd Brockmann, an ambitious runner with an even more ambitious goal. A NSW native, Nedd decided to set himself a challenge - to run almost 4,000 kilometres across Australia. After an impressive 80+ kilometres a day for 47 days, and a lot of social media hype, Nedd raised over $2 million for Mobilise.
Optimising is proud to team up with Mobilise as one of our select group of pro-bono clients. These are companies that we work with, using our skills to help them amplify their messages organically, so that they can reach more people online.
CMO Anthony Alsop has been with the organisation since 2022, and is keen to see what the future brings. He spoke to us about the upcoming October 2024 event, and how the team plans to use the funds to further their development in supporting and assisting those experiencing homelessness across Australia.
Mobilise has only been around since 2016, but has already achieved a lot! How did it start out, and were there long-term intentions from the beginning?
Mobilise started out with the CEO and Founder Noah, who went into Melbourne's CBD and found an unsettling sight - the street was filled with homeless people. This was something that didn't sit well with him, so he decided he wanted to do something about it.
Along with a friend, he went business-to-business at his local shopping centre, and the only company that would donate something was Bakers Delight, which offered loaves of bread. They packed the loaves into bags, and then hit the town to chat to our friends on the street. What they found though, was that people didn't want the bread, but valued the time and the conversation from the encounter. The human connection was something they missed, and something Noah and his friend could offer.
This is what founded our model of outreach, which lasted for the next six years, as a grassroots charity. That was until 2022, when our friend Nedd Brockmann ran across Australia and changed the trajectory of our organisation.
There was always an aspiration to be a charity that was in it for the long haul, and Nedd's amazing achievement has enabled the team to bring that to life.
Have the team’s goals and approaches to the project shifted at all since the beginning, and what led them to change?
The charity has changed significantly since 2016, and especially since 2022. Now, we have eight paid staff, and are in every major city across the eastern seaboard of Australia. We directly help people facing homelessness by offering them a job, housing, or matched funding via grants. Nedd raised over $2 million for We Are Mobilie and has done even more since then, which has enabled us to directly enter the homelessness sector with funds, and make life-changing investments into people who need it.
2022 was a real turning point in the publics’ awareness of Mobilise; how did you get connected with Nedd, and were you prepared for how much attention the challenge would attract?
Nedd's involvement was a combination of a right-time/right-place scenario, and some hard work done previously. He had previously run 50 marathons in 50 days to raise funds for another charity, and Noah had been commenting on his social media as @wearemobilise, encouraging him to keep going. When Nedd decided he wanted to do his next run, he was looking for a charity to donate to, knowing he wanted to make an impact this time. To him, that meant a charity where his funds would make a tangible difference, not just go into a larger pool of money. A mutual connection linked them up, and Nedd called Noah to ask if he wanted to go on a crazy journey with him and raise $1 million for charity.
Well, in classic Nedd fashion, he more than doubled that.
We had no idea the wild ride we would go on. From the amazing scenes in Bondi, where 10,000 people greeted Nedd as he crossed the finish line of his run, to launching his autobiography and milk brand, which both donate to us, it’s been unbelievable. He's an incredible person, incredible partner, and we can't wait to continue our journey via Nedd's Uncomfortable Challenge in October this year.
That’s an amazing story with another exciting chapter ahead, what were the team reactions to Nedd’s latest fundraising challenge announcement?
Knowing Nedd, nobody was surprised he was doing another epic challenge. This time, he's trying to become the fastest person to run 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), but now he wants Australia to come along on the journey with him.
After he completes his run, it will be the people of Australia's turn to do something that makes them uncomfortable, which naturally got the office squirming! We have some fit people within the Mobilise office, so a few will likely take up a running challenge, but we love to be imaginative, so we're trying to get creative with our tasks.
Along with the challenge, Mobilise has an ongoing goal - Project 10,000. What exactly is it, and what’s your approach to achieving something so ambitious?
We want to positively impact the lives of 10,000 Australians by 2030. It's a long way away, and a big number, so a lot of things will have to go right for us to get there. However, we believe that with programs that make a genuine impact, and amazing partners like Nedd and others, we can get there. Ultimately, our goal is to end homelessness in Australia.
Our approach to achieving this really comes down to our programs and the participants. So far, we have launched three programs; Mobilise Matched, Mobilise Kickstarter, and Mobilise Pay. All have unique elements, and as we continue to grow, we want to develop more programs that deliver further impact to people. We’ll learn from our pilot programs, tweak things where necessary, and go back to our charity partners to find more participants. We believe collaboration is key in everything we do.
What would you say is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about homelessness in Australia since joining Mobilise?
The biggest thing I've learned through my time with Mobilise is that a little goes a long way with our friends on the street - both for them and for us. I went on an outreach two years ago, and found the conversations I had to be so impactful. A little bit of time, conversation, and compassion made a big difference to me, and hopefully positively impacted them, too. I think we can all share a little bit more kindness in our everyday lives.
How can people reading this get involved and support Mobilise, whether that’s in-person, online, or on a running track?
We love when people ask this question! You can donate or volunteer via the big buttons at the top of our website, or if your business would like to get involved, email us at info@wearemobilise.com. We love hearing creative concepts from businesses on how they can get involved, and we've had so many fantastic corporate volunteering experiences already with our great partners and friends.
For an organisation that has already been so successful in garnering online attention, how does Optimising’s work benefit Mobilise?
"We know how important web search traffic is for us, and with a prominent social figure like Nedd Brockmann in our corner and the attention he brings, we need to be at the top of our game in our digital presence to take advantage of all that interest. Optimising helps us do that."-Anthony Alsop, CMO at We Are Mobilise
Niamh O'Higgins
Content Specialist
From Dublin to Melbourne, Niamh has taken her content journey international. After gaining her degree in Linguistics and dabbling in some other European languages, she decided English was where she could use her words best. Completing a Diploma in Marketing, Advertising, and E-Commerce, and adding a splash of Project Management on the side, Niamh dove into the world of content writing, and hasn’t looked back since.
When she isn’t in the Optimising office having coffee and a treat, she can often be found in South Yarra, having coffee and a treat. She’s also partial to some pilates, a gym class, or an evening stroll (if the Melbourne weather permits).
Learning About We Are Mobilise
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