A Business Course on Alleviating Poverty

Ed. Note: We’re pleased to have FLiP Contributor Ingrid Velmonte share perspectives on a recent microfinance course she completed.  Congrats, Ingrid, and thanks for sharing your experience with us!

By Ingrid Velmonte

On crisp Monday evenings this autumn, the NYU Microfinance Initiative and NYU Stern Social Enterprise Association hosted a course on microfinance that was simulcast via internet by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. NYU was one of more than 30 campuses around the country to host the simulcast, which was open to the public. “Introduction to Microfinance” began in October and was taught by Professor Sean Foote, who is a member of Haas’ Professional Faculty, a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, and a philanthropist involved in microfinance and education. The course offered an overview of basic theories, history and trends in the microfinance sector.

During seven classes, Mr. Foote engaged his students with lecture, discussion and readings, but the highlight of the course was the opportunity to hear directly from leaders in the microfinance sector who served as guest speakers at each class. They came from varying groups, from successful microfinance institutions around the world to technology startups targeting the industry. My personal favorite was the class featuring the president of Kiva, Premal Shah, and the founder of MicroPlace, Tracey Pettingill Turner. Sitting side by side, Premal and Tracey openly spoke about their passion for their work, facing the challenges of getting a start up off the ground, and deciding whether to go the nonprofit or for-profit route. Listening to these pioneers, one was witnessing a real-time discussion of microfinance as both an important tool for global development and as the connection between the small-business owner in a developing nation and the person donating money via their laptop.

Michael Flatley, who works in finance here in New York, explains why he attended the simulcast at NYU: “The idea that such small-sized loans can alleviate poverty is what drew me to microfinance. A small loan can make a world of difference.” Indeed the course focused on infusing regular business practices with a sense of positive social impact, and classes often explored the tension between financial and social profit. Mr. Foote emphasized that there was no right or wrong answer to this issue, and that he wanted students, the future business leaders and entrepreneurs, to establish their individual positions based on what works morally and intellectually for them, whether or not they pursue careers in this sector - sound advice for anyone working toward a compassionate goal.

Young Leaders Council's Red Carpet Soirée Turns Two

Ed. Note: FLiP Friend Jamalia Brashears, Young Leaders Council Co-chair for United Way of New York City, writes today about an exciting upcoming event. 

The United Way of New York City's Young Leaders Council is having our 2nd Annual Red Carpet Soirée on December 12th at the New York Renaissance Hotel hosted by Katherine Creag of Fox 5 News. Members of the Young Leaders Council represent over 1000 young professionals who volunteer, advocate, and fundraise to support at-risk high school students in United Way's Focus Forward program.

As co-chair of the executive committee for the Young Leaders Council, I'm thrilled to recognize philanthropist Beverly Bond at the 2nd Annual Red Carpet Soirée. Beverly Bond started her foundation, Black Girls Rock, over five years ago in an effort to mitigate the negative images of young women in the media and create a platform for programs and workshops focused on self esteem and confidence building. Her foundation is making great strides on a national level to impact change and raise the standard of how young women are represented in media.

Not unlike other nonprofits with young professional affinity groups, United Way is recognizing the need to cultivate and nurture the next wave of donors in New York City. The old guard of giving based on legacy relationships with C-suite executives of retirement age is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Having worked in foundations for the better part of my career, the new guard of donors are relatively younger and more savvy with an understanding of how to navigate the social entrepreneurial terrain. One of the more novel ways the Young Leaders Council is reaching young professionals, leveraging advocacy efforts, and encouraging the viral spread of philanthropy is through our "Give 10 Tell 10" campaign. 

With the New York City Department of Education announcing over $400 million in budget cuts for 2010, it is imperative programs such as Focus Forward exist as a safety net for at-risk students that fall through the cracks. Please join the Young Leaders Council on December 12th at the Red Carpet Soirée to raise money for future young leaders in our community. You will have the opportunity to celebrate the success of a young New York philanthropist and be part of a movement to advance the spirit of giving among young professionals in New York City. This will be a night of fun and philanthropy!

FLiP Gives Thanks

Hi, FLiPs.  With Thanksgiving upon us, I wanted to share two (of the many) things I'm thankful for. 

One, I'm thankful for you, our phenomenal readers.  I continue to be inspired by your smart, thoughtful work in this sector -- and your willingness to share your successes with all of us.  The FLiP generation is a collaborative and creative one – we’re not afraid to take risks, and we seek to work together to advance our careers and our field.  Thank you for using FLiP as a forum to teach, learn, and connect.  If you have an idea for a post, I’d love to hear from you – eanderson@changingourworld.com.

Two, I say thank you for the innovation that continues to take philanthropy to the next level.  Case in point: Philanthropedia.  The folks at this new social venture imagined the impact on the sector that would result from donors being able to access the knowledge of hundreds of experts and give to an entire social cause rather than just one nonprofit.  Their appropriately-named Foundation for Everyone helps all donors access the type of knowledge usually reserved for the largest foundations.  Experts in various social causes identify top nonprofits and pool them into nonprofit “mutual funds” for donors to fund.  It’s a new model, and it’s one to watch.  If you are interested in signing up, visit the site; you can also purchase Philanthropedia gift cards to say Happy Holidays to all your forward-thinking FLiP friends. 

Enjoy your turkey, FLiPs, and we’ll see you next week.

FLiP Has It Covered: "From dot.com to dot.org" Event at NYU

Ed. Note: FLiP contributor Jordan Walker brings you coverage from the event we posted about on Tuesday.  Read on for all the details!

By Jordan Walker

Yesterday FLiP attended “From dot-com to dot-org: Three activists speak out,” a Lunchtime Conversation presented by the NYU Heyman Center for Philanthropy & Fundraising.  The event was moderated by Michael Evers, Adjunct Professor in Fundraising; and panelists included Laurie Lock, VH1 Save the Music Foundation; Phil Suarez, NYC Medics; and Obaid Kadwani, eyeBLINK.org.

In sharing their personal paths to their current endeavors, the panelists made one thing clear: there is not just one way to forge a career in the nonprofit world.  See below for some key insights from the panelists, which can apply in a variety of ways no matter what your goals and direction.

“You can’t avoid what you’re meant to do.” – Laurie Lock
Trained as a violinist and developing a career on Broadway at the time, Laurie Lock made the life-changing decision to pursue a career with VH1 Save the Music Foundation when she fortuitously saw the Foundation’s first PSA while at the gym.   Lock characterizes her involvement in the nonprofit world as one that was inevitable, explaining that both of her parents were involved in nonprofit work and she had felt a social obligation since age ten, when she first created a recycling program for her neighborhood.  Ten years into her career at Save the Music, with an Executive MBA to her name, Lock has translated her love of musical performance to a passion for bringing music education back into public schools.

“When it comes to gut versus head, go with your gut…but don’t forget your head.” – Michael Evers
When asked how his role in the NGO he founded, NYC Medics, mirrors his profession as a paramedic, Phil Suarez summed it up neatly: “When you receive a 911 call, you get the call, and you drive there.”  Suarez created NYC Medics in response to the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.  The organization fills a gap by supplying paramedics in the immediate aftermath of a disaster before larger NGOs can step in.  At the time of the organization’s founding, however, Suarez acted on impulse, making phone calls, mobilizing friends, and gathering supplies wherever available.  NYC Medics works because it fills a specific need and doesn’t overlap with the offerings of more established NGOs.  More importantly, it enables Suarez and fellow volunteer paramedics to utilize their unique skills in a meaningful way, and this personal motivator is the driving force behind the NGO’s success.

“It’s less about the ‘path not taken’ and more about adding additional paths.” – Michael Evers
Obaid Kadwani has his hands full, and with the success of “Pizza for the Hungry,” he has become even busier.  Kadwani has an active entertainment career, hosting Namaste America and Doc-Day on the Sundance Channel, as well as running eyeBLINK, a nonprofit organization dedicated to challenging social and cultural stereotypes in the arts.  When Kadwani read about a pizza party thrown in a homeless shelter, he immediately sought to replicate the idea through eyeBLINK, adding live music as an artistic component.  This concept, which partners musicians with local homeless shelters, provides benefits at the individual and community levels, and as such has grown exponentially over the last three years.  In 2009, Pizza for the Hungry operated out of 25 states and remained entirely volunteer-driven.  Like Lock and Suarez, Kadwani drew upon his own personal skills and interests as well as passion for a cause to make a significant difference.

Change the world; change yourself.
All the panelists agreed that their impact was evident on so many levels, touching the volunteers who helped the organization,the actual recipients of services, and the communities and other nonprofits involved in the cause.  Additionally, all panelists discussed the personal growth and challenges their activism has produced in their own lives.  In dedicating so much of themselves to these passions, each cause has become an even more integral part of each panelist’s identity.  The panelists urged participants to draw on their own skills and strengths (and add to these through continuing education and volunteerism!) to make a difference in the world.  It’s up to each of us in our own lives to figure out what we want to achieve and how to make it happen for ourselves.

For more information about the NYU Heyman Center and the nonprofit organizations mentioned in this post, check out the following websites:
NYU Heyman Center
VH1 Save the Music Foundation
NYC Medics
eyeBLINK.org

Event at NYU to explore shifting to careers in nonprofit sector

From Dot-com to Dot-org: Timely NYU Event on Switching Careers to Non-Profit Sector

Wednesday, Nov 18 @ 12:00 p.m.

WHAT: From Dot-com to Dot-org: Young Activists Speak Out, a lunchtime panel discussion featuring three young professionals who made the successful jump to nonprofit careers, hosted by NYUs Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising.

WHO: Former music teacher Laurie Lock who founded VH1-Save the Music (www.vh1savethemusic.com), which raises money for instruments for schoolchildren in underfunded public schools

TV host, producer, and entrepreneur Obaid Kadwani (www.obaidkadwani.com), who founded Pizza for the Hungry, which helps feed the New Yorks homeless.

EMS worker Paul Suarez, who helped found NYC Medics (www.nycmedics.com), a group of emergency services workers travel to crisis zones across the world to help the wounded and less fortunate.

NYU Heyman Center adjunct instructor Michael Evers, president of the fundraising consulting firm Drumlish Corporation, will moderate the conversation.

WHERE: NYU Midtown Center, 11 West 42nd Street, room 1027

WHEN: Wednesday, November 18, 12-1:30 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public. As space is limited, reservations are required. Please RSVP to scps.giving@nyu.edu or 212 998-6770.

The Social Impact Exchange Launches

Collaboration is the name of the game these days, right FLiPs?  Check out this new one -- it's a first-of-its-kind collaboration of philanthropic funders, practitioners, researchers and others designed to make it easier for top-performing social programs to expand widely to communities that need them.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Growth Philanthropy Network and Duke University recently announced The Social Impact Exchange (“The Exchange”) -- a cross-sector, member-driven group that will act as a focal point for studying, funding and implementing large expansions of proven social purpose organizations -- will also hold a yearly competition to identify programs with the highest impact and readiness to grow, and support them with financial and consulting awards, the strategic partners said.

Check out The Exchange's website to learn more!

Reminder- buildOn event next Wednesday, Nov. 11th

FLiPs,

Just a quick reminder-- our friends at buildOn NY are having a gathering next week to help kids around the world and at home. Check them out!

New COF Report on Leadership

Listen up, future leaders.  We've got a must-read for you about a topic none other than philanthropic leadership.  The Council on Foundations recently released their Career Pathways to Philanthropic Leadership 2009 Baseline Report, which examines the characteristics of foundation and grantmaking executives appointed during a five-year period (2004-2008).  The report looks at how the philanthropic sector chooses its leaders and what leaders themselves say about the process.  The report is part of the Council's broader initiative, Career Pathways to Philanthropic Leadership, which focuses on inclusive practices in philanthropic leadership, talent acquisition, and management.

Microsoft Launches "7 Ways to Change the World"

Today at the Business for Social Responsibility Conference in San Francisco, Pamela Passman, corporate vice president of Microsoft Global Corporate Affairs, announced “7 Ways to Change the World,” a new online competition to celebrate the general availability of Windows 7 tomorrow, and the power of technology to help change the world.

The competition challenges people to share their idea about how a new PC could help a nonprofit, school or non-governmental organization (NGO) to make an even greater impact in the world. People can submit a short video explaining or illustrating their suggestion at www.7waystochangetheworld.com. The 7 people with the best submissions, as chosen by the judges, will each win a new PC running Windows 7. Each winner's chosen community organization will receive a $7,000 grant from Microsoft.

Winners will be announced beginning Nov 16. More information is available by:
• Visiting the competition website: http://www.7waystochangetheworld.com
• Following the latest news on the competition via Twitter and Facebook

Also, Microsoft is announcing a special opportunity for non-profit organizations and NGOs to request donations of Windows 7 upgrades at http://www.techsoup.org/go/windows7.

The competition and the program with TechSoup are two of many initiatives Microsoft has to provide NGOs with access to software, knowledge, and best practices. For more information on how Microsoft believes technology can transform the ability for NGOs to advance social and economic opportunity, please see the recently published whitepaper: Technology to Advance Social and Economic Development.

buildOn New York

Perhaps you've seen coverage on NBC's Today Show about the remarkable work of buildOn, a national organization that empowers American students, primarily in urban areas, not only to volunteer in their communities but also to help eradicate illiteracy and poverty internationally by building schools. Learn more about buildOn here.

On November 11th, the leadership committee of the New York chapter is hosting its first annual fundraiser in support of this effort.

Clearly, we're a fan. It's an open invite to all FLiPs. We hope you can join in!