Community Updates - What's News!

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Permalink Reply by Yasmina Zaidman on January 19, 2010 at 8:57pm

OK, so I am going to provide the first update on a group I started - http://community.acumenfund.org/group/changingminds. The focus of the group is on how to use marketing and communications to change the way the world tackles poverty, but it has become a bit broader than that, and our first big success has been a discussion of an article on Builders vs. Leaders. The article was posted in the Harvard Business Review and garners some fun debate about what the difference is and what we really need now. The truth is of course more nuanced than a sassy HBR article, but see for yourself. Note, the photo for Changing Minds was taken during a visit to Rajasthan to research people's water transportation and storage practices. These kids were playing near a pond while their moms collected water.

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Permalink Reply by Wei Wei Hsing on January 21, 2010 at 11:25am

I've posted this video on a few of the Blue Sweater groups but also wanted to update the larger community around how the Blue Sweater is being used on campuses. We've seen that the book has become a great tool for educators in all types of settings who are teaching anything from international marketing to intro writing classes.

The University of Michigan's Social Venture Creation class aims to guide students in creating their own social venture to tackle social problems. They read the Blue Sweater as one of the first readings of the semester to understand how Jacqueline became a social entrepreneur, and to help frame their personal approach to leadership.

Take a look at their thoughts here:

http://community.acumenfund.org/video/university-of-michigan-social

Let us know if you're using or thinking of using the Blue Sweater in your classroom or in your book club -
http://community.acumenfund.org/page/blue-sweater-groups

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Permalink Reply by Jo-Ann Tan on January 25, 2010 at 6:43am

Exciting news! Jacqueline will receive the Sandor Teszler Award for Moral Courage and Service to Humankind and an honorary degree from Wofford College on Tuesday, March 2, during a special convocation at the college:

http://www.wofford.edu/newsroom/story.aspx?id=64034

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Permalink Reply by Rob Katz on January 28, 2010 at 2:30pm

Acumen Fund is hiring Summer Associates!

New York associates (4 total - 3 in portfolio and 1 in communications)
India associates (4 total - portfolio)
Pakistan associates (4 total - portfolio)
East Africa associates (3 total - portfolio)

Details at NextBillion and on the Acumen Fund web site.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Lai on January 29, 2010 at 3:26pm

Hey folks,

The SF Chapter is hosting a Blue Sweater talk led by former Acumen Fund fellows on February 23rd. As part of the event, we are promoting and selling the special Book Club edition of The Blue Sweater too all our members, which can also be used as a ticket to the book talk itself. Find out more details about the event here!

http://community.acumenfund.org/xn/detail/3957399:Event:18617

Thanks all,
Jon

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Permalink Reply by Caroline Kim on January 30, 2010 at 6:43pm

Los Angeles for Acumen February Events! If any of you are visiting LA during February please see below for upcoming events, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. For a snapshot of what happened in January, please visit our webpage here.

Event: Acumen Fund Director of Communications Meet and Greet
Date/Time: February 8th, 2010 at 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: Coral Tree Café 11645 San Vicente Blvd, Brentwood, CA 90049
Info: Learn more about Acumen Fund at this evening’s meet and greet. Yasmina Zaidman, Acumen Fund’s Director of Communication, will be on hand to discuss Acumen’s objective, purpose, and goals.
Notes: Dinner/Meal Option www.coraltreecafe.com for menu info.

Event: Creating a World without Poverty with Muhammad Yunus
Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 26th at 4:00 pm
Location: Fred Kavli Theatre (Thousand Oaks Civic Arts), 2100 E. Thousand Oaks, Thousand Oaks, CA 91326
Info: Muhammad Yunus, the world-reknowned banker and economist, will be speaking about his book, Creating a World without Poverty this February. Mr. Yunus, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize was also awarded the Presidential of Freedom for his work in microfinance.
Notes: Tickets are available for approximately $30 at www.ticketmaster.com

MAY 2010 EVENT
Event: Microfinance USA 2010
Date/Time: May 20-21, 2010
Location: The Westin San Francisco and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Info: Tickets are available for approximately $250 at www.microfinanceusa2010.org
Maria Shriver, first lady of California will be the featured speaker. Organizations slated to attend include Confianza, ACCION, Kiva, CFED and many others.

Please note, per my conversations with some of the members, want to clarify two of the listed events are microfinance-related and as you may know, Acumen is a non-profit social venture fund. For more info about Acumen, please visit here for more info.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me: caroline.h.kim@gmail.com

All the best,
Caroline Kim

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Joel Sherman on February 4, 2010 at 12:20am

Hi everyone, I'm looking to start up an Acumen volunteer chapter in North Carolina. If you are from NC, do join this group http://community.acumenfund.org/group/northcarolinaacumen and drop me a message so that we can connect

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Parcell on February 5, 2010 at 4:36am

One Bike per Person (1BpP)

Albert Hartman of Rollergen and High Tide Associates has come through for us as promised with a very portable, high power generator that's powered by pedaling a bike:

The Shakti

Rollergen is also competing in the Greener Gadgets design competition with their excellent bike-powered system for mobile gadgets and you can vote for them there.

Kanan Ajmera has stepped forward to volunteer her architectural acumen to 1BpP, and I'll be meeting with her in Pune this April to get her help on my People Power Stations (PPS) design, and this week I've begun a blog about 1BpP and PPS that will tell our story in more detail.

PPS is just one strategy for getting bikes to those that need them most. K.Kathieresan sent me a pic this week of a trike for the disabled

used at the Akshaya Rehabilitation Trust, and I added that this week to our page along with several links to a variety of bike-related resources, including Zambikes!, bringing bikes to the BoP in Zambia.

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Permalink Reply by James Wu on February 5, 2010 at 6:47am

I manage the Mad Men for Acumen group which is made up of mostly individuals in advertising, design, marketing and communications, and are devout fans of the hit AMC television show Mad Men!

As a member of the Communications team at Acumen Fund, I look to this group for ideas, inspiration, and most importantly honest and candid feedback to questions of the moment which help inform my team's work.

I recently posed the questions, "What first attracted you to Acumen Fund?" and "What is Acumen Fund's personality?" to the group, and have started to receive some really interesting responses. These responses are helping us get a better sense of who we are and a deeper understanding of the common DNA that we share with all of you.

On a completely unrelated note, if there are any alums out there from TJHSST in Alexandria, VA, please check out our group! It's amazing how I keep meeting TJ alums through work who've been inspired to get involved with Acumen.

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Permalink Reply by Jo-Ann Tan on February 5, 2010 at 8:21am

Congratulations to VisionSpring for winning the (CASE) Award for Enterprising Social Innovation (ESI).
http://visionspring.org/newscenter/news-detail.php?id=854

VisionSpring brings affordable reading glasses to the poor. Poor eyesight in many cases means the difference between earning a livelihood and not, and is critical for quality of life and continued productivity, especially for tailors, weavers, or anybody reading or doing detailed work. Read more about VisionSpring at http://www.acumenfund.org/investment/visionspring.html

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Permalink Reply by Theos Stamoulis on February 5, 2010 at 1:08pm

The NYfA community is excited about the paperback launch of The Blue Sweater on February 16. Some of our volunteers will be assisting members of the Acumen Fund team with the packing and distribution of The Blue Sweater.

In addition, our team is in the middle of planning our 2010 events calendar. For all NYfA community members, please stay tuned to the NYfA group page for more information about upcoming activities in NYC.

Lastly, Acumen Fund founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz will be speaking on February 17 at the New School. This is an incredible opportunity to learn more about Jacqueline, the history of Acumen Fund, and social enterprise. Admission is free, but space is limited. To RSVP, please click the link below:
http://www.newschool.edu/milano/events.aspx?id=44697

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Permalink Reply by Pearl McElheran on February 8, 2010 at 12:53am

Fantastic! I hope a video of Jacqueline's getting the award will be posted on the Acumen website.

Jo-Ann Tan said:

Exciting news! Jacqueline will receive the Sandor Teszler Award for Moral Courage and Service to Humankind and an honorary degree from Wofford College on Tuesday, March 2, during a special convocation at the college:

http://www.wofford.edu/newsroom/story.aspx?id=64034

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