Basic Information
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Company
ShareBuilt -
Mobile phone
615-426-7081 -
Email
Steve.Kuhn@sharebuilt.org -
Describe How You Would Like To Be Introduced Via Email
WARM EMAIL INTRODUCTION:
SUBJECT: Introductions: Steve Kuhn / NIA and ShareBuilt
I want to introduce you to Steve Kuhn, the Founder and Executive Director of ShareBuilt, a unique nonprofit that serves small to medium sized nonprofits by guiding them through the design and construction process for their building projects. ShareBuilt has quickly grown since its founding in 2022 to serve nonprofits throughout Middle TN as well as clients as far away as Jacksonville FL. Steve is working to broaden the base of financial support for the great work ShareBuilt is doing and is seeking relationships in the business community that value supporting a wide variety of nonprofits and their missions.
I believe you could benefit form learning more about ShareBuilt and the impact they are making through their work supporting so may nonprofit organizations.
I’ll let the two of you take it from here!
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PRE-INTRODUCTION MESSAGE:
SUBJECT: A Unique Nonprofit Serving Nonprofits
I’d like to introduce you to Steve Kuhn, Founder and Executive Director of ShareBuilt, a unique nonprofit in the building design and construction space. I would encourage you to check out ShareBuilt at www.sharebuilt.org
What makes Steve and ShareBuilt Unique?
• They serve a wide variety of nonprofits at no cost to guide them through building design and construction by providing project leadership.
• They are passionate about collaboration and helping nonprofits tell their story to the design and construction community they need to accomplish their project.
• They believe so many businesses could benefit from having their support for nonprofits better known in the community. ShareBuilt is committed to promoting the great work so many businesses are doing for the nonprofit community.
• ShareBuilt is an outstanding volunteer option for design and construction professionals to apply their skills to so many needy nonprofits
There’s so much more to share! If you want to meet Steve and learn more about ShareBuilt, I’d love to make an introduction for you. Steven is deeply committed to collaboration between the nonprofit and business community and helping all accomplish more projects with purpose.
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INVITATION TO VISIT MESSAGE
SUBJECT: Attend the ShareBuilt Bridge Breakfast: a Unique quarterly community collaboration event.
I wanted to introduce Steve Kuhn—he is the Founder & Executive Director of ShareBuilt, a unique nonprofit serving the design and construction needs of the nonprofit community. You should connect with him and ShareBuilt.
The quarterly Bridge Breakfasts bring together the nonprofit and business communities in highly collaborative environment to explore how the process of designing and building for nonprofits can be best accomplished.
If you’re interested, the registration link for the next Bridge Breakfast is always available on the ShareBuilt website at https://sharebuilt.org/events/ .
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What is your "why"? Why do you do what you do?
I am passionate about construction project planning and budgeting and the process known as ”Preconstruction” which seeks to align the building owner’s needs and budget constraints with the design creativity of an architect and the market realities known by the contractor. Too often nonprofit owners show the “pretty picture” too soon and declare what it will cost without professional input, and this is detrimental to their capital project fundraising objectives when the realities turn out to be quite different. It was stunning to me when I discovered in 2022, after a nationwide search, that there was not a single nonprofit organization in the US serving the needs of nonprofits at no cost to them to help them plan and execute their projects. This was especially surprising knowing how universally supportive of nonprofits the entire Architecture, Engineering, and Construction community (AEC) is. The need for a collaborative organization to be the facilitator and matchmaker between the needs of nonprofits and the capabilities and desires of the AEC community is abundantly clear. -
Qualifying Questions: What are three questions we can ask clients to help pave the way for a referral? List them here.
IF YOU HEAR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ABOUT FROM BUSINESS LEADERS , THEY WOULD BE A GOOD REFERRAL:
1) “We are seeking opportunities for our staff to give back through local service projects”
2) "We are seeking worthy nonprofits who are doing unique and impactful work to support with our company, private foundation or family office."
3) "I am looking for an opportunity to support the nonprofit sector in a broader way and not just through one particular “cause”
4) "It seems that so many non-profits duplicate what others are doing and it is hard to differentiate them or decide which one to support. I would love to find a nonprofit truly meeting an unmet need making a broad impact”
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Unique Selling Proposition
We can help businesses of all types position themselves to better serve the nonprofit community and raise their community profile of service to nonprofits. Businesses that are an essential part of the building design & construction process like engineers, architects, construction managers, trade contractors, and materials suppliers can be introduced to clients seeking their services. In addition, every nonprofit facing a building project has needs in banking, insurance, marketing, furnishings, etc. By supporting ShareBuilt, companies like these can “help us help many” -
About me
After a 40 year career in commercial construction planning and building K-12 schools, university campuses and hospitals and co-founded a company (www.sevan.com) that serves multi-site national brands like McDonalds’ Starbucks, Walmart, Walgreens, and IKEA, to name a few. In 2022 I sought an opportunity to combine my passion for preconstruction services with serving the nonprofit sector by helping nonprofits effectively plan and execute their projects. I also missed the mission driven personal engagement I experience with the users of buildings like schools and hospitals. Following a 2-month nationwide search for an organization serving nonprofits in this way and finding none, I launched ShareBuilt in 2022. Well, it is safe to say my theory of the need for ShareBuilt has been strongly validated. The last time we intentionally sought out new clients was in early 2023. The rest has been all referrals and word of mouth, and we have spoken to over 60 nonprofits and engaged with over 25 as of spring 2025.
Once we hear the stories of these nonprofits and see the need we HATE saying “no” and have rarely done so to this point. All that to say, finding clients in need is certainly not the Challenge. Building a broad-based financial support model is our primary focus so we can continue to meet the strong nonprofit demand for help.
We seek financial support from three primary sources;
1) private giving though individual gifts,
2) business community support,
3) grants from private foundations, family offices, and selected municipal sources.,
On the personal side, I was born in the Cleveland OH, area. My dad was a carpenter. Along with my best friend I got accepted to the University of Cincinnati as an aerospace engineer major, (yep, “rocket scientist”) and despite graduating at the top of my high school class I discovered that without calculus before college (My HS did not offer it) engineering was, let's just say, “not fun”. Fortunately, I found construction management as my alternative career path. I met my wife Dede in a Christian campus ministry meeting my freshman year and we married before my senior year. She has since retired from a career in nursing at multiple levels including being a Belmont Nursing instructor for more than 10 years. I am blessed to have three grown and married sons in their 30s all living here in middle Tennessee and 4 grandchildren ages 6-12 as of 2025.
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Profession
Nonprofit Founder and Leader – Career Construction Professional -
Title
Founder & Executive Director -
Hobbies and interest
Home improvement, Woodworking, fall walks in the woods, traveling (especially driving to new small towns), Professional Football (Cleveland Browns) -
Website
https://sharebuilt.org
Contact Information
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City / Town
Franklin -
State
Tennessee -
Zip
37064 -
Country
United States -
Special offers to the group
Attending our quarterly Bridge Breakfast networking event at no cost. 90-minutes on a Friday morning. https://sharebuilt.org/events/ -
Google Business Review URL
https://g.co/kgs/T1VjULE -
Facebook Business Page URL
https://www.facebook.com/ShareBuilt -
LinkedIn Profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenkuhn/
Education
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College / University
University of Cincinnati -
Graduation Year
1986