Episode 382: From Shoe Drive to Global Movement (Andrew Lovedale)

Episode Summary

Too many nonprofit founders assume that the people who love them will automatically support the mission they've built, and few learn how costly that assumption is until donors who cheer from the sidelines never actually give. Andrew Lovedale, Founder and Executive Director of Access to Success (A2S), learned that lesson firsthand after a shoe drive he started as a Davidson College basketball player, whose run to the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight alongside teammate Steph Curry helped raise the first 10,000 pairs, grew into a nonprofit now serving thousands of children and families across Nigeria. He walks through how A2S evolved from handing out shoes to building a longitudinal, community-designed model that spans an after-school academy, university scholarships, and entrepreneurship programs; how he rebuilt his donor base from scratch once his own athletic platform faded; and why he now asks donors to treat their giving like a long-term investment rather than a quick transaction. Listeners will walk away with a sharper way to build donor relationships around shared passion rather than personal affection, and a reminder that sustainable impact takes years, not headlines.

About Andrew

Andrew Lovedale is the Founder and Executive Director of Access to Success (A2S), a Davidson, NC-based nonprofit that provides sustainable, holistic programs for Nigerian children and their communities, from an after-school academy and university scholarships to workforce development and entrepreneurship initiatives that now reach roughly 10,000 people a year. Born and raised in Nigeria, he earned a basketball scholarship to Davidson College, where he and teammate Steph Curry led the Wildcats to the 2008 NCAA Elite Eight before he moved on to a brief professional basketball career. What began as a personal shoe drive for friends back home, sparked by a moment in the Davidson equipment room, grew over more than 15 years into A2S's current ecosystem model, which has produced results ranging from students turned software engineers to a former A2S scholar who became a medical doctor in her twenties. Lovedale now leads A2S's two boards, one in the U.S. and one in Nigeria, as the organization pursues a dual sustainability strategy aimed at generating 25 percent of its revenue from Nigeria by 2035, and he still travels there each quarter to host A2S Community Talks, the sessions where the people A2S serves help shape what the organization does next.

Resources

• Andrew's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-lovedale-81b40833/
• Access to Success (A2S): https://a2sfoundation.org
• A2S Community Talk (ACT): the quarterly town hall sessions Andrew holds in Nigeria to gather direct feedback from staff, scholars, and community members, now also held for U.S. donors
• Book recommendation: When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
• Join the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy! www.institutepl.org
• Follow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership, and please leave a review!
• Learn more about the leadership resources at Armstrong McGuire: ArmstrongMcGuire.com