What is Bring It Up?

We’re a grassroots organization focused on raising awareness of and trust in vaccines and medications to the point that COVID is no longer a threat to our communities.

Our key players are Northeast Indiana residents and ex-pats with expertise in marketing, education, and multimedia. We’re operating as a project of Start Fort Wayne, a local non-profit focused on entrepreneurship.

It’s a great fit because we see ourselves as entrepreneurs with a public health goal rather than a profit-driven one, testing and iterating just like any startup.

The best public health message is always the one coming from a trusted friend

Bring It Up is based on the following:

1. People actually do change their minds about getting vaccinated.

The number of people saying they “likely will never get vaccinated” has dropped from 24% in March to only 13% in November 2021, according to a series of Monmouth Polls.

2. The most effective way to make that happen is through conversations with family or friends.

Among those who changed their minds about getting vaccinated, the largest percentage (36%) say talking with someone they know is what persuaded them. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation Vaccine Monitor)

How is this different from other efforts?

Nearly all the public messaging about the Covid vaccines has been directed at the unvaccinated and coming from government leaders, public health officials, and celebrities – all people they do not know personally.

Meanwhile, many of them have been getting misinformation in conversations with and through social media posts from family and friends they know and trust.

Our approach is new.

Rather than focus on the unvaccinated, we’re targeting the nearly 300,000 vaccinated people in Northeast Indiana in an effort to encourage, empower, and equip them to have the one-on-one conversations about getting vaccinated that we know often work.

Even with limited resources in our start-up phase, we’ve already begun reaching those people on social media, via traditional outlets (print, TV, radio) and through traditional word-of-mouth. And of course we’re working on new ideas to expand that outreach every week.

Meet our director

Nathan Gotsch spent the early years of his professional career working in entertainment, developing a TV series for FX and creating digital content for companies like Yahoo! and Funny or Die.

In 2014, he returned to his Indiana hometown to teach high school classes at his alma mater. He also spent time as a communications consultant for a health-based non-profit foundation.

Advisory board

Mayor Tom Henry

City of Fort Wayne
Michael Mirro, M.D.

SVP, Parkview Health System
Olivia Lusher, Ed.D.

Executive Director, American Red Cross (NE Indiana Chapter)
Patti Hays

CEO, AWS Foundation
Austin Knox

Wayne Township Trustee
Tony GiaQuinta, M.D.

Pediatrician
Kathryn Marwitz, Pharm.D., M.P.H.

Public Health Researcher
Ramadan Abdul-Azeez

President, Fort Wayne Black Chamber of Commerce
Zach Klein

Entrepreneur and Investor