Dale Jones brings his leadership and management expertise from both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to his concurrent positions as CEO of PlayPumps International and Executive Vice President of Leadership Development for Revolution, LLC. Dale's multi-sector background made him an ideal choice to head PlayPumps International's blended model of social entrepreneurship, one focused on improving the lives of millions in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing clean water through innovative technology.

What is your approach to doing good? How do you see PlayPumps International and its blended model as being unique?
Wanting to live an integrated life in both business and service has been a consistent theme in my life. I started my career in banking, and then I went to work for a nonprofit for several years, and then I went back into business. And now I'm here -- doing both business and nonprofit.

I think that integrated approach is what attracted me to PlayPumps International. I take great pleasure in connecting the dots of my relationships in business and philanthropy with what we're doing with PlayPumps in Africa. We've built a broad-based coalition through our Global Advisory Council over the last several months. We've got 25 business and civic leaders involved in the council, bound by a shared vision and mission. I think that's been our point of differentiation, and it's what we're banking the future on -- that these 25 will recruit more and get more people involved and excited about what we're doing.

Are there specific lessons you've learned from the for-profit world?
I think the for-profit model helps us create some efficiencies for how to do business -- how to deliver a product and a solution. It gives us a bias for action. And that's helped us in our work with delivering PlayPump water systems on a timely basis and hopefully faster.

But also, if a business does well, it provides financial security for its employees. So in the case of PlayPumps International and our partners, locals from the townships are being employed in pump-making factories. So we're not only impacting a business, but the lives of people who work in that business. And they become stronger, and as a result of their becoming stronger, they help others. We hope with our blended model that the business that manufactures the pumps will do well, but it will also do good and expand the work in South Africa and other countries.

And while I'm a huge proponent of the blended model, we have to make sure that we hold each other accountable on both the nonprofit and for-profit end to do what we said we would do and to measure the outcome. Africa is desperate for businesses, training, and employment, and this blended business model allows us to do that, as opposed to just providing a gift of a PlayPump system.

What has been PlayPumps International's greatest success to date?
There are more than 1,000 PlayPump systems in the ground in five countries -- South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zambia. It's been a real success for PlayPumps International to take an idea and a technology and create scalability where it can be leveraged to have a greater impact quickly.

I think part of my accomplishment is in expanding the coalition of people through our Global Advisory Council who will come alongside and join us in what we're doing. I've also taken a step back to say that we need Africans leading us in this initiative. The PlayPump system is an African idea and an African technology. I'm asking other African leaders to play a greater leadership role in what we're doing. I want to give more of what we're doing away to the people in Africa so that it doesn't become a traditional American-Eurocentric model for doing good.

What has stood in the way of achieving the goals of PlayPumps International?
Resources can stand in the way. We need greater resources financially and in-kind to do what we do. Geopolitical challenges can sometimes get in the way of getting more pumps in the ground faster. Our own bureaucracy -- we have to work harder and be more efficient and operationally savvy to strengthen the impact.

We also want to create strong, sustainable partnerships to have a greater impact. And we've got to break down the silo mentality with other organizations and within our own organization for partnering so that there's no "us vs. them," but rather we're all working together for a greater good and don't care who gets the credit at the end of the day.

Do you see the landscape of philanthropy changing? How so?
I think donors are looking for a greater sense of outcome, as opposed to outputs. It's one thing for us to talk about 1,000 pumps as an output, but I think donors want to know how clean water in the rural village of a particular country has impacted the people there.

I think we have to share with the donor that it's not just about the numbers of pumps in the ground, but the impact of a single pump -- what has been achieved in terms of the reduction of mortality rates for young children, the fact that girls can now go to school and get an education as opposed to be out looking for water, or the reduction of violent deaths because girls and women are no longer on the road looking for water.

I think donors want to see a greater return on their investment, because they have multiple options from which to seed and to do good. And I think they want to know that their gift is being stewarded properly and that there's a greater impact. I think the best returns on investment today are in Third World continents like Africa, where a little goes a long way.

What about technology? I know that broadly it's having a greater impact on charities and the way that people raise money and get the word out. How has PlayPumps International embraced that?
Technology has played a huge role in our ability to communicate the story -- whether it's through our website or Facebook or other cause-related mediums. We get calls all the time from people around the world because of what they're seeing through the digital world.

If nothing else, the interest level is heightened. It's also brought the continent of Africa and the plight of water in Africa closer to people who live thousands of miles away. And it's allowed us to create a path for people to give in multiple currencies. It's allowed people to ask questions, to visit villages, or to offer ideas and suggestions. Technology has put us in the global village, where we can be up close and involved and have a greater impact.

What about social networking in particular?
When we look at social networking tools like Razoo and others, it's been huge in terms of awareness. It's been huge because we've created a vehicle in which people can give easily online. It's also been a vehicle for the movement to grow. Even if some people never give, they are far more astute and aware of the looming global crisis around water today and its impact on the world.

The social networking movement has been particularly crucial with Millennials, who oftentimes are driven by the moral cause to have a greater impact. I don't think our movement would be as strong as it is today without social networking. It's been that impactful.

How about incentivized programs and initiatives?
We've got to find ways to be creative -- to connect with donors who are looking for different ways to be involved and to give, whether it's a local school or a Girl Scout troop or a local church or synagogue. And oftentimes the ideas are coming from the donor, not from us.

We had a young man named Josh Dozoretz from the D.C. area who gave all the proceeds from his Bar Mitzvah to PlayPumps International. He raised $28,000 for our organization because he chose to make it about a bigger cause than himself. There's also a high schooler named River Bennett who's been raising money in New England for PlayPumps and has already funded one PlayPump system through his efforts. He had a swimming marathon as a metaphor for raising money for water.

I have no idea where these young people came up with these ideas and creative approaches, but we create a platform for that to happen and come alongside and resource it. It's almost the principal of the tipping point -- that if you have a pipeline of people involved, it starts to spread like wildfire. And before you know it, people are thinking about solutions to help improve the issue of water today.

And what about the role of the individual in philanthropy? As technology is moving forward, how do you see individuals getting more involved?
What we're finding is that an individual's involvement has a multiplier effect. When I go to a school to speak to children, I find that if the story of what we're doing grips their heart, they'll tell somebody else about it.

It almost has this evangelistic impact -- they tell someone else, like a parent, guardian, or teacher, that they've heard a story that's so compelling that they want to do something about it. And a child's mom or dad may work for a company that is involved in philanthropic causes, or their church, synagogue, or mosque may be involved. So, we don't want to lose the grassroots donor who wants to have an impact, because we never know where that may lead.

It's back to River Bennett who wants to make a difference and is all of sudden talking to hundreds of high school students, and the local news media is covering his story, and someone else hears his story and wants to join in River's desire to change the world. I don't think we want to underestimate the power of the individual.

Bio
Prior to joining PlayPumps International and Revolution, Dale was Managing Partner of the CEO and Board Practice for Heidrick & Struggles, where he continues to serve in an advisory capacity.

Dale currently serves as a corporate director on the board of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and Kohl's Corporation, and previously served as a corporate director for Hughes Supply. He is also a member of several nonprofit boards, including the National Advisory Board of The Salvation Army and the Advisory Board for the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. Additionally, he is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) and the CEO Forum.

An active public speaker and trusted source on leadership issues, Dale has been a regular contributor to national and regional media coverage. His viewpoints on leadership and human capital have appeared in Fortune, BusinessWeek, Financial Times, and The New York Times.