Hi Amy and Scott, first of all, it is such a pleasure to meet you both and find out about all the philanthropic work you have been contributing to the world. As the Co-Founders, tell us how it all began for you both with Trueheart:
Amy:
I started the Trueheart cause agency 24 years ago. After overcoming tragedy and trauma in my life, I discovered that my purpose was to use my pain as a powerful way to help others. Living a life in service to humanity helped me realize that I wasn’t alone and that everyone has endured some type of hardship. When I focused on how I could help others alleviate their suffering and find joy, my heart was so full. One of my greatest gifts is rallying people around important social causes. I’m incredibly tenacious and I never give up, which has served me well throughout my career in philanthropy where you are a crusader for the causes you believe in.
Scott become my business partner eleven years ago and it is an amazing journey building two social impact companies together. We’re both passionate about doing a little bit of good every day and leaving the world better than we found it.
You have managed to bring together some of the biggest names in the world to support causes like Foster care, LGBTQ rights, Human Trafficking, Homelessness and so much more. In the beginning of starting your agency Trueheart, were there a lot of barriers?
Amy:
The work we do with the Trueheart cause agency is at the intersection of Hollywood and philanthropy. We specialize in bringing celebrities and purpose-driven brands together to help raise millions of dollars for deserving causes. Over two decades ago, when I was starting out, cause marketing wasn’t what it is today. I had to convince people I worked with in entertainment, that if we were going to get hundreds to thousands of people together for an event, that the party should have a purpose. With our celebrity guests talking to press on the red carpet, we could shine a massive spotlight on a worthy cause and help raise critical funds. Thankfully, other heart-centered people in the industry agreed with me and soon our parties for the GRAMMYs, Oscars, EMMYs, MTV Video Music Awards and more became opportunities for people to make an impact. Today, it is so wonderful to see how almost every major company has corporate social responsibility baked into their mission.
Did you find that when you got a couple of names involved to support such important issues, a lot more people became involved?
Scott:
Absolutely! Celebrities and athletes have platforms and when they speak or post on social media, people listen. Being able to harness that star power for good and empower fans to take up a cause can help non-profits raise considerably more funds and awareness for their mission. Amy and I feel strongly that if you’re blessed to have a platform, then you have a responsibility to use it to make a positive impact.
How much do you feel your company has grown over the last couple of years and also how was everything during the pandemic?
Scott:
The global pandemic forced all of our non-profit clients to cancel their in-person fundraising events, which was incredibly hard because these benefits drive a large portion of their annual donations. We were blessed to have many celebrity friends answer the call for help and generously host digital fundraisers, which enabled our favorite non-profits on the frontlines to deliver critical aid where it was needed most. We partnered with digital platforms Ascend Fundraising Solutions, Omaze and Prizeo on these campaigns to offer priceless experiences, a custom vehicle and cash prizes all for a great cause.
Oscar Nunez, Kate Flannery, Melora Hardin and Creed Bratton from “The Office” hosted a virtual coffee date which raised funds for Variety Boys & Girls Club’s meal program during the pandemic. Bachelor Nation’s Ashley Iaconetti Haibon and Jared Haibon offered up a double date at the Bachelor Mansion and Michael Rosenbaum, Tom Welling and Kristin Kreuk hosted a “Smallville” virtual reunion. Both campaigns supported the Meals Of Love program at Ronald McDonald House Los Angeles.
Lana Parrilla, Colin O’Donoghue, Emilie de Ravin, Dania Ramirez, Sean Maguire, Rebecca Mader, Raphael Sbarge, Andrew J. West and Jared Gilmore from ABC’s “Once Upon A Time” hosted a virtual reunion which raised funds for Children’s Hospital Orange County’s Emergency Management Response Vehicle, which provides free COVID-19 testing and medical care to people in Southern California.
We teamed up with Ludacris, Brian Austin Green, Jason George, J.B. Smoove, Ashley Iaconetti Haibon, Jared Haibon and Clinton Sparks for the #DriveHope4Kids campaign. Our friends at Galpin Ford donated a brand new 2021 Ford Bronco and their team at Galpin Auto Sports, along with artist Blue The Great, are customizing the vehicle for our winner. Plus, the winner took home $50,000. The best part is we supported Variety Boys & Girls Club, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon and other local Clubs across the country, where we funded meal programs, a film production class, a STEM camp and provided educational supplies in communities of high need.
Bachelor Nation’s Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo teamed up with Trueheart for a campaign to raise funds and awareness for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. We are so grateful to the amazing actors, TV personalities and musicians who donated their time and talent to help us shine a huge spotlight on deserving causes during the pandemic.
During the pandemic, we were forced to be creative and come up with new ways to help our favorite non-profits. Amy and I spent countless hours discussing how we can use the power of tech for good to maximize our impact, which led us to create our Trueheart social impact search engine.
What has been one of the biggest highlights for you both so far as a team, while continuing to soar with your company?
Amy:
Getting to work with my wonderful husband and make an impact every day, makes my heart so happy. One of my proudest accomplishments for our Trueheart team was creating, producing and directing the Women’s Choice Award Show in 2017. The awards were hosted by Meredith Viera and we honored fierce trailblazing women from all walks of life who are making an impact in communities across the globe. It was a beautiful night celebrating Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis, astronaut and physician Dr. Yvonne Cagle, Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Alicia Garza and media expert Jennifer Pozner.
We raised funds and awareness for I Am That Girl and hosted two hundred girls from local middle schools, high schools and colleges who were fired up and inspired by women who are breaking the glass ceiling. Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman was a presenter at our show, which was a few months before the #MeToo movement took off and Aly and her teammates exposed the USA Gymnastics sexual assault coverup. I feel so grateful that Aly helped us honor other bad-ass women before we even knew the extent of how strong and powerful she is. I’m passionate about female empowerment, closing the gender pay gap and working toward true equality once and for all, and so this project meant the world to me.
You teamed up with Global Green as well for some amazing work, including your social impact search engine Trueheart.com to raise money for the Amazon Rainforest. What an incredible idea and gift. Tell us about that:
Scott:
“One of the most urgent environmental issues is saving the Amazon Rainforest not just because it is Earth’s most biodiverse region, but also because it is one of our most important natural assets to fight climate change. The Amazon absorbs 2 billion tons of CO2 per year. Last year, we produced the #Fight4TheAmazon campaign which was co-hosted by Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox who were incredible ambassadors for the planet. From our efforts, Global Green and the Asháninka indigenous people planted 150,000 healthy saplings in the Amazon Rainforest. But, that was only the beginning. We’ve renewed our commitment to help Global Green with their goal of planting 900 million trees to replace the trees that have been lost.”
Amy:
“We’ve come up with a free and easy way for people all over the world to help us plant millions of trees in the Amazon & protect our planet. After spending the last two decades teaming up celebrities and purpose-driven brands to raise money for charity, Scott and I wanted to help democratize philanthropy and make it more inclusive. So, we created a platform that allows people all over the world to help transform their local communities without having to donate any money. Anyone with access to a mobile phone, tablet or computer can join our movement. With the Trueheart social impact search engine, you’ll get the same great search experience as you do on other search engines, but the one major difference is Trueheart is donating 80% of its’ net profits to six best in class charities who are changing the world. We’re using the power of tech for good and providing people with an easy and FREE way for their searches to power donations that will create a positive measurable impact. According to a recent study by Saatchi NY, 79% of Gen Z would engage with a brand that could help them make a difference. We built our social impact search engine so we can give people the tools to be the heroes of their own stories and solve humanity’s most pressing problems like saving the Amazon Rainforest, ending global hunger and providing life-saving cleft surgeries to kids in need.”, said Amy Malin, Co-Founder of Trueheart.
William Bridge, CEO of Global Green:
“Global Green’s mission is to address some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Right now, saving the Amazon Rainforest is of paramount importance for our survival. There is still time to heal and rebuild this precious eco-system, which is vital in our fight against climate change. Our friends Amy and Scott Malin at Trueheart are harnessing the power of technology for good and giving people a free and easy way to join our movement. By using Trueheart’s social impact search engine , you’ll help Global Green and the Asháninka indigenous people plant healthy saplings in the Amazon Rainforest. It’s so simple and a genius way to meet people where they already are online. The environment is the #1 cause young people care about, but most don’t have disposable income to donate to charity. Now, you can take your activism online with a simple switch to the Trueheart search engine. Our goal is to repopulate the Amazon Rainforest with over 900 million trees that were lost due to the devastating wildfires and we need your help. So start searching at Trueheart.com today!”
What else is coming up for Trueheart? Anything else you would like to share?
Scott:
We just launched a fun incentive program with our Trueheart social impact search engine. Now, when you refer family and friends to start searching with Trueheart, you’re eligible to win cash prizes. The three Trueheart community members at the top of our leaderboard on October 31st will win a $500, $250, and $100 Visa gift card respectively. Each month we’ll announce exciting new prizes!
Amy:
We also recently launched our Trueheart podcast where we chat with celebrities, mavericks, thought leaders, authors, visionary philanthropists and unsung heroes to find out what sets their soul on fire and the impact they are making in the world. You can find our show wherever podcasts are found, or grab some popcorn and tune in on YouTube to get the full experience. We have an incredible lineup of guests this season and we hope you enjoy the podcast.