The Come Near nonprofit has a board of directors and a team of five employees led by Ken Calwell as its CEO. Calwell has previously held positions as CEO of pizza chain Papa Murphy’s and as chief marketing officer of Domino’s and Wendy’s. He most recently served as the CMO of non-profit Compassion International, which focuses on helping children in poverty “in Jesus’s name,” according to the organization’s website.
Come Near doesn’t appear to have a website, but does have a LinkedIn profile.
The change was “necessary” for “He Gets Us” to grow rather than as a response to the negative press the previous affiliation garnered, the spokesman said.
“[He Gets Us] moved a lot faster than I think many people could have envisioned, and so this new momentum, the plans harnessing the increased interest, it really necessitated the need for more structure and a fully dedicated leadership team who would be responsible to take ‘He Gets Us’ into the future,” the spokesman told Ad Age.
While the spokesman said that the Come Near nonprofit doesn’t have ties to the Servant Foundation, he said the nonprofit could accept donations from the Servant Foundation or similar organizations.
“[Come Near] may choose to accept donations from any donor-advised fund, any private individual, anything like that. But the relationship in the past was ‘He Gets Us’ was an initiative of the Servant Foundation. So fundraising had to flow through the Servant Foundation. That is not the same,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman declined to offer specifics on donors for the nonprofit and provided the following statement: “He Gets Us is supported by a growing group of individuals and entities who have a common goal to highlight the relatable life and unconditional love of Jesus. The movement is not funded by or affiliated with any single individual, political position, church, or faith denomination. Many choose to support ‘He Gets Us’ through common third-party charitable vehicles such as donor-advised funds.”
On Feb. 10, the day before the Super Bowl, “He Gets Us,” in partnership with faith-based nonprofit LV Reach, The Salvation Army and Wahlburgers, plans to host an event to provide free groceries to families in an underserved Las Vegas neighborhood.
Check out the OOH on the Las Vegas strip this week.
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