The Acumen Fellowship is a one-year leadership development program which aims at building a worldwide network of leaders who wish to change the world, by erasing poverty and injustice. The Acumen Fellows have only one objective in mind: to help those in need. Jacqueline Novogratz is the CEO and Founder of Acumen.
Their vision is to ensure that each and every person has an access to equal opportunities everywhere. Over billion individuals around the globe are unable to meet even their most basic needs. The gap between the rich and the poor only widens every year. Equal rights and access to opportunities are only available to the fortunate, while others live in deprivation. The Acumen fellows are working to ensure equal access to good schools, universities, electricity, clean water, and basic necessities.
Reach And Vision Of The Acumen Fellowship
Acumen works across five geographical areas, namely South Asia, Latin America, USA, East Africa and West Africa. The Acumen fellowship program aims at building tomorrow’s leaders and change-makers. It seeks to contribute towards diminishing the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
The network seeks to enable all human beings around the globe to lead lives of dignity, with equal access to opportunities which will allow them to participate in the economy. Acumen helps fight poverty and deprivation, which is significant for a country like India, where over 25% of the populace lives below the poverty line.
So far, the organization has contributed over 126 million dollars across 14 nations. They have a tie-up with 126 organizations. The fundamental point of the organization is to serve low income groups. Within the organization, there is a total of 540 colleagues who have affected over 263 million lives, which is an immense accomplishment. The organization essentially supports companies and individuals who have the potential to bring about significant changes in people’s lives, working towards fighting poverty and empowering the poor.
The organization aims to remove poverty from India, as far as possible. They tie up with organizations which aims to bring about positive changes in society. Some other organizations who work with similar objectives in mind are the IKEA Foundation, Unilever, American Express and so on. In 2015, Acumen was named one of the 10 most imaginative organizations.
Impact
We can understand Acumen’s work and impact through three things:
1. Acumen impact on the fellows: The Acumen fellowship programme has its grounding in a moral thought and outlook. The Acumen fellows work to build communities where people live in dignity. In practice, the program sharpens the skills of the fellows to face upcoming challenges in the world. The fellows also manage the organization’s funding and look for networks.
2. Fellows’ impact on communities: There are a total of 546 fellows and they have impacted many lives across various fields like education, agriculture, technology, etc. Their hard work has helped many children gain education and provided employment to many people.
3. Amplification of content: Fellows also share their content with their employees and communities. They go to remote and small areas to work and realize their vision of an equal world.
Partners
Acumen partners up with genuine change creators. They supply funds even when there is a lot of risk involved in the projects. The partners provide the monetary and human capital which permits Acumen to work even in the midst of difficulties. Transparency is always maintained in its relationship with the partners. Acumen shares detailed reports on its portfolio, innovation and leadership work, and maintains a consistent relationship with those partners who share a genuine interest in its work. Some of its major partners include Unilever, the IKEA Foundation, Barclays, American Express, Hershey, and Pfizer among others.
Response To Covid-19
During the present crisis, there are numerous COVID-19 financial measures conceived by the organization:
- Acumen Global Emergency Facility: Spread universally across more than 18 nations, it seeks to help communities deal with the long-term impact of COVID-19. It will raise funds amounting to 5 million dollars for people who are in troublesome situations. It seeks to promote entrepreneurs and companies who are shifting towards business models which respond to the current crisis, such as manufacturing masks, helping the transition to virtual learning, distributing meals for free.
- Acumen America Emergency Fund: This aims to support nearly 25 million Americans belonging to low-income groups by raising funds of up to 2 million dollars. Acumen extends its support towards fighting America’s greatest health challenge. Funds will go towards making provision for food, healthcare, childcare, housing, financial management and job training.
- Covid-19 Energy Access Relief Response: This is coordinated by the Energy Access Action Network, which is a group of companies and industry investors. It seeks to make energy services accessible to people, in the wake of the pandemic which will make it harder for customers to afford it.
- COVID Response Alliance For Social Entrepreneurs: This seeks to coordinate over 50 global organizations, in order to provide the necessary support to social entrepreneurs working to battle the current Covid-19 crisis. It helps pool resources, funds, knowledge and experience, to yield effective responses.
To conclude, Acumen is an organization which stands out among others for its groundbreaking role in reducing poverty and providing equal opportunities to people all over the globe. Worldwide, there are very few organizations of the kind. The Acumen Fellowship offers individuals a chance to be a part of something truly revolutionary. It gives you the chance to materially change people’s lives and reach out to those in need.
