About a year and a half ago Erica Dhawan called James Wu and Molly Alexander at Acumen Fund looking for an opportunity to volunteer. Not even two years later, a group of young professionals have helped to raise over $25,000 for Acumen Fund through their efforts. And what makes it even more amazing, is that this group is completely volunteer. That’s right. Wu said that 95% of the work needed for putting on events, finding sponsors, and building networks is completely owned by these young individuals who are committed to serving the poor and doing it well.
The Dilemma of the Volunteer
I feel like I have had this conversation several times with non-profit poverty fighting organizations. Though they realize that there is a vast market of young professionals to be reached, the resources, including time, are just not available. Often times, these groups are largely event-focused and can be taxing on staff and the organization as a whole. So what do you do with the young professional who wants to help, but doesn’t quite have the funds to qualify as a mid-sized donor? Volunteers Erica Dhawan and partner Farat Uhmar came up with the solution.
“We used to get calls like this all of the time.” Wu said,”Offers from young people in the private sector, working on Wall Street wanting to do something to fight global poverty. We just didn’t have an outlet.” Wu went on to describe how difficult it was to turn these young people away. But the day Wu got the call from Dhawan, all of that changed. She offered to strategically find a way to bring all of these young people together to affect change. After extensive surveys, building a core team, and a presentation to a hesitant organization, the Acumen Fund Young Professionals Group held its first leadership meeting.
The Power of Awareness
This group of volunteers, with little help from the Acumen staff, according to Wu, organized their first free event in the Fall of 2008 in effort to raise awareness on behalf of the organization, hosted at Saks Fifth Avenue. The event set the groundwork for future events and planning. For example, in May 2009, Acumen Fund CEO and author, Jacqueline Novogratz came and read portions of her latest book, The Blue Sweater, allowing for this group of 150 young people to get a taste of the heart behind Acumen and a vision of how their involvement would benefit those in need. This kind of turn out was a first for Acumen, in terms of volunteer events. And it continued to grow.
From the time of that Fall event to March 2009, Dhawan and a team of four others, along with Acumen Fund representatives came together to cast the vision for this group. Once they had formed a sense of direction and identity, the organization, they relaunched with yet another awareness event. “We have seen how important it is for people to know what they are supporting, especially in this new wave of professionals,” Wu said. “They want to know why it is important to invest their time.”
From May through July, the group held three events, including their major fundraiser, an auction in partnership with the Nuru Project, an organization that finds talented world class photographers to donate prints to aid organizations in their efforts. The late July evening was themed “Dignity”, reflecting Acumen’s approach to serving the poor. Nuru curated the exhibition, which included 30 photographs donated to the event. By the end of the evening, all of the pieces had been sold. Over 40 people volunteered outside of Acumen Fund staff, finding sponsors, selling tickets (priced at $50) and spreading the word. The event also opened Acumen Fund to a brand new audience- the artists. “By using such a powerful mode such as photography, we were able to share our story with people of different passions and backgrounds”, Wu said. The night far exceeded its goal, raising over $24,000 in donations for Acumen Fund. “It was a truly historic night,” said Wu.
Community Development
Seth Nemeroff, one of the members of the leadership team in the New York chapter has found community within this dynamic group of people. When asked why he chose Acumen and why he is involved he answered,
“We believe that Acumen Fund offers a fresh, unique approach to solving the intractable problems of global poverty. The focus on transformational businesses highlighting vital sectors (health, water, housing and energy) offers an alternative to a lot of the traditional thinking about development. I personally have been inspired by both the staff of Acumen as well as the stories of the different businesses that have received investment from Acumen Fund.”
Acumen Fund provides three staff members to serve as advisors to the leadership team, acting as a liaison between the organization and their volunteers. They meet monthly to discuss progress and future goals. Acumen is now beginning plans to expand to San Francisco and are looking for dedicated volunteers and leaders to help in this process.
The Bottom Line
As we are beginning to see, a new energy of young socially and globally-minded professionals are surfacing in the community development world. Though they don’t have the checking account of Bill Gates, they have a passion and drive to identify social injustice and be a part of the solution. The model that the Young Professionals group of Acumen Fund meets the needs of this group, preparing them and cultivating their sense of participation within the fight against global poverty.
Young people love community and more importantly, they love community that engages them in a part of a powerful purpose. May this be an encouragement to you to seek ways to engage and empower this group. These individuals will be the next major donors to your organization. Interacting with them now is a long term commitment to their growth as people and philanthropists. Don’t miss the boat.
(photo by Michael E. Lee)
Contributor Profile: Amy
As a 2010 Master's candidate, Amy is involved with several projects including Opportunity International and the zyOzy Foundation.
Twitter: @amycarolwolff
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