Making Waves: Executive of the Year

Welcome to NonProfit PRO's 2016 Nonprofit Professionals of the Year Awards. This entry is for Executive of the Year. To view all of this year's award winners, click here.

Rebecca Bond
Co-Founder
Evolve USA

The gun debate in America is a contentious one. For the most part, the pro and anti crowds are locked in a stalemate, neither side willing to concede ground to the other. Compromise is rare.

Rebecca Bond wants to change all that. She believes there’s a middle ground. No one can agree on guns, her thinking goes, but everyone can agree on basic gun safety and responsibility, right?

It was with that mission that Bond co-founded Evolve USA in 2013. And the advocacy organization got off to a fast start. Bond conducted thorough research and spoke to both sides of the gun issue. She enlisted experts to implement high-impact campaigns, branded content and a massive social media presence, positioning Evolve USA as a distinctive, edgy and assertive voice. (Its mission statement: “Help solve America’s dumbest problem.”)

The organization’s most effective tool has been its slick gun-safety PSAs, which rely on humor and boast high production values. Evolve USA’s PSA-viewership has soared under Bond’s leadership—one video reached 6 million impressions—earning the organization praise from 
liberal and conservative media outlets alike.

Most impressively, Evolve USA’s PSA success has come with zero 
media dollars behind the initiative—a testament to Bond’s innovative 
engagement strategy and tireless efforts.