How GO Campaign Is Empowering Local Heroes To Change Children’s Lives Around The World
GO Campaign has grown from helping 20 children in Tanzania to more than 420,000 children in 40 countries | GO Campaign
When Scott Fifer founded GO Campaign in 2006, it wasn’t part of a carefully mapped plan. His path had already taken him from practicing law in New York to writing films and television in Los Angeles. Each career seemed like a sharp turn at the time — yet both would prove essential in ways he never could have predicted.
As a young lawyer, Fifer had spent countless hours volunteering: offering pro bono work, granting wishes for sick children, or visiting local nursing homes. But when he transitioned into Hollywood screenwriting, those opportunities quietly fell away. After ten years in LA, he realized something was missing.
Around the same time, watching the film Hotel Rwanda stirred in him a deep awareness of global crises he hadn’t engaged with enough. The combination of personal reflection and global perspective led him to search for a way to reconnect with service. That search took him to Tanzania, where he spent a month volunteering at an orphanage for street children near Mount Kilimanjaro.
Scott Fifer, Founder & CEO
“It was the best month of my life,” Fifer said simply. “Everyone should go do a service trip for a month. It was just the most incredible, meaningful experience.”
From One Orphanage To A Global Movement
Fifer’s daily emails from Tanzania began to circulate among friends back home. Many wanted to support the children he was helping but also wanted their donations to be tax-deductible. With his legal background, Fifer quickly set up a small nonprofit to channel resources to that single orphanage.
What began as a stopgap soon grew. Friends introduced him to other grassroots leaders—what he came to call “Local Heroes”—from Peru to Cambodia. He realized he had stumbled onto a unique model: find extraordinary local leaders already transforming children’s lives in their communities, then empower them with funding, credibility, and support.
“Every time I met one of these people I’d ask: tell me about what you’re doing. What are your dreams? What are the problems with kids in your community? And how could we help you if we could?” said Fifer. Listening and deferring to their expertise, rather than imposing outside agendas, became the cornerstone of GO Campaign.
Since then, GO Campaign has grown from helping 20 children in Tanzania to more than 420,000 children in 40 countries. The organization has granted over $14.4 million since 2006, with an average of just $35 needed to change a child’s life.
Spotlight On Local Heroes
The power of GO Campaign is best understood through the stories of its Local Heroes.
In Tanzania, occupational therapist Brenda Shuma saw how children with disabilities were hidden away, sometimes for years, because of stigma and fear. “She was really forward-thinking—nobody else in East Africa was thinking the way she was,” Fifer explained. With GO Campaign’s early support, Shuma grew her project into the Gabriella Centre, now a pioneering campus that trains families, educates religious and community leaders, and rehabilitates children who had once been discarded.
One boy had been hidden under a bed until he was 16; another was confined to a goat shed for 12 years. Today, thanks to Shuma’s work, children like them are thriving—learning skills, earning income, and even supporting their families. “Brenda quickly became a model for us,” said Fifer. “She wasn’t just thinking about the 30 kids in her care. She was thinking about the tens of thousands hidden in East Africa.”
Another Local Hero is Favio Chávez in Paraguay. In a community built on a landfill, where trash was the only abundant resource, Chávez helped children form an orchestra using instruments fashioned from discarded materials. Documented in the acclaimed film Landfill Harmonic, the orchestra has since performed with Metallica and Jack Johnson and inspired communities worldwide.
Closer to home, GO Campaign has backed Jennifer Maddox, a Chicago police officer who started Future Ties, a safe after-school haven for children in her housing project. It’s one example of how the organization has expanded to the U.S., supporting youth in underserved communities from Harlem to Watts.
The Role Of Storytelling—And Celebrities
GO Campaign’s Local Hero model attracted the attention of Hollywood almost by accident. Early on, Fifer was introduced to actor Ewan McGregor while passing through London. McGregor went on to host the organization’s first gala. Later, Robert Pattinson attended and became a long-time ambassador, bringing friends like Lily Collins into the fold.
Celebrity involvement has translated into real impact. During the Twilight era, a set visit auction raised $80,000—funding a school and housing for girls in Cambodia. More recently, supporters like Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have partnered with GO Campaign to spotlight youth empowerment through sports.
A Model That Resonates
GO Campaign runs lean, granting nearly everything it raises. Operating at around $2 million annually, the organization could, Fifer believes, easily grow to $5 million or more without adding significant overhead. That increase would directly fund life-changing projects around the world.
The challenge? Awareness. “You should know about us, but you don’t,” Fifer admitted. “And neither do the rest of the world. We’ve been busy doing the work. But after 18 years, I think it’s time more people know about us.”
Why GO Matters
At its core, GO Campaign stands for “Giving Opportunity.” Whether in a Tanzanian village or an underserved Los Angeles neighborhood, the mission is the same: to empower local leaders and create lasting change for children and youth up to age 25.
Its criteria are simple but strict: grassroots organizations with budgets under $500,000, offering direct services, led by local heroes with vision and commitment. This ensures support reaches those most overlooked by traditional philanthropy.
Looking Ahead
Fifer’s dream is clear: to connect the abundance of people willing to give with the abundance of projects that desperately need support. “There are so many wealthy people out there in the world, so many giving people, so many people that want to help—but they don’t know how,” he said. “And I’m sure that if they knew about these projects, they would want to help.”
The disconnect between donors and doers is the gap GO Campaign is determined to close. With nearly two decades of proof that small investments can ripple outward to transform entire communities, the organization is ready to scale its impact.
In the end, the story of GO Campaign is the story of possibility. It reminds us that one person’s decision to act—to “GO”—can reverberate across continents and generations. From Brenda Shuma’s classrooms in Tanzania to Favio Chávez’s orchestra in Paraguay, the proof is already here.
At Conspiracy of Love, we help changemakers tell their most powerful stories — stories that inspire action, build movements, and create lasting impact.
Find out more about our Values-Driven Storytelling and GPS to Purpose workshops, and how we can help you scale your impact.
