On May 4 at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the 7^th annual Digital Leap Conference took place – my 6^th as a member of the Stephen Thomas team, co-host and conference organizer. (You can see all the amazing social activity from the conference here, #DigitalLeap!)

For the past 7 years, we’ve focused on providing leading content on digital marketing and fundraising for the non-profit sector. Why? Well, 7 years ago digital was just becoming something to take notice of. Now, it’s something that can’t be ignored and must be part of everything we do regardless of objective.

For the second year, I had the privilege of taking the stage but I wanted to present a different talk than I’m typically known for. Instead of the practical tips, tricks and tools that the digital sector is most well known for, I asked the audience to take a journey with me.

The purpose of the talk was simple: inspire. And remind everyone in that room whether they worked for or with charities why they did what they did.

For me, bravery and charity are the same. To take on the often thankless and heavily scrutinized job of working in the charitable sector is brave. To decide to not work for the fame or fortune is brave. To give your heart and soul and all the passion you have to offer to a worthy cause is brave.

Bravery exists with action as much as it does with inaction – so I ask you, in the face of all the reasons not to, will you be brave anyways?

In the face of all the reasons to not invest, not try, not fight, will you be brave anyways?

I think you already know the answer – what comes next is the hard part. It’s the doing.

If you want to join me, there are 5 simple things you can do right now:

1. Get up in the morning – keep doing what you’re doing
2. Say ‘no’ – when it’s the right thing but not the easy thing
3. Say ‘yes’ – because if saying ‘no’ does anything it opens up the opportunity for you to say ‘yes’ and try something new
4. Ask ‘what the ROI is’ – we are nothing if not thoughtful and measured in this sector
5. Understand you might not always like the answer – but you can decide to do it anyways

And what I saw when I asked everyone to embrace their digital warrior – an overwhelming response to be part of something bigger. To be honest, they already were!

I want to thank everyone for their positive feedback and encouragement.

It’s because of this that our team is working on something special for Fundraising day on June 9 – something that will explore further what it means to Be Brave.

So if you’re attending Fundraising Day in Toronto, watch out for information.

You can reach out to me here simrend@stephenthomas.ca or follow @SimrenDeogun on Twitter.

Simren Deogun is a marketing professional whose depth of experience comes from working both client- and agency-side planning, implementing and overseeing the execution of marketing initiatives. From email marketing and website design to social media and advertising campaigns, Simren provides expert guidance from concept to implementation. For more information, email her, follow her @SimrenDeogun,or www.stephenthomas.ca