PoP was founded in October of 2008, with the simple ambition of finding a way to build just a single school. That was it. I was about to turn 25 years old, so I put $25 into a new PoP bank account and we were off. The goal was to throw two small fundraisers with my closest friends in NYC, and turn that multitude of small donations into a school for a community of tremendous need. So one year later, where do we stand?

-Our first school is completed in Pha Theung, Laos providing electricity, running water and preschool education for a village that previously lacked each of these for their school children

-We have nearly completed construction on our 2^nd and 3^rd schools in Phayong, Laos

-Our dedicated team has grown to over 100 volunteers across the country

-The NYC Summer Associate program hired students from Harvard, UPenn, Northwestern and NYU

-The PoP Fellowship has placed our first fellow in Nepal with partner organization Seto Guruns

-We have received more than 3,000 unique donations totaling approximately $125,000+

How did this happen? It has happened through dedicated young people seeking fulfillment, and finding it through their involvement in Pencils of Promise. I am one of those people, as is our entire team. This organization has always belonged to every single one of its contributors, and those that take active ownership have now accomplished much more than we ever expected possible in just one year. We profoundly believe in this mission, this approach, and our shared ability to empower education for others. I am so proud of what we’ve done together in this first year, but I’m even more excited about the prospect of what is to come.

-AB

It was exciting, although not entirely surprising, for us to hear that Muhammad Yunus, one of the most respected leaders in anti-poverty efforts today, will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama at an award ceremony on Wednesday, August 12. He will join the list of individuals such as Tony Blair and Muhammad Ali, who have made especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

Dr. Yunus is one of the 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Dr. Yunus,  a Bangladeshi economist by training, is the recipiant of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Grameen Bank, for their efforts to “create economic and social development from below”. The Grameen Bank is a microfinance organization and community development bank that makes small loans, or microcredit, to the impoverished without requiring collateral.

As of October 2007, the total borrowers of the bank number 7.34 million, and 97% of those are women. The Bank has a staff of over 24,703 employees and 2,468 branches covering 80,257 villages. Since its inception, the bank has distributed Tk 347.75 billion (USD 6.55 billion) in loans. The fundamental philosophy behind microloans, is that they empower people to support themselves through entrepreneur activities, and ultimately transform their lives, their village, and their greater economy. Organizations such as Microcredit Foundation of India, and websites such as Kiva are working to change lives of millions of people everyday, one small loan at a time.

Read Grameen Foundation’s news release here. Congratulations again, Dr. Yunnus!

But nonprofits, according to Michael Seltzer from PhilanTopic, are “survivors“. Nonprofits have traditionally faced much more capital constraints and their for-profit counterparts, and therefore can better adopt themselves to budget cuts. There is also the silverlining. A difficult environment brings forth creative approaches, such as new ways to fundraise, new incentive to improve capital efficiency, new opportunities to recruit senior leaders, etc.

Dawn Jordan, a former operations vice president at Bank of America, is embarking on a journey to found her own non-profit after being laid off in 2008. According to her there has never been a better time: people are more willing to volunteer , especially professionals who have been temporarily laid off; the recent financial crisis has also left ppeople more aware of social responsibly and sustainable business practices.

Historically, tough economic environment has drive innovation, as demonstrated by creative fundraising solutions during the economic downturn of the 1980s and White House’s new Social Innovation Fund.

It may be a tough time, however with sevearl succesful fundraising events, two schools and expanding partnerships, PoP is having the best time ever. We are optimistic about future – a donation to PoP is an investment in a better future.

Nicknamed the ‘Go Giver’, this ambitious group has a stronger commitment to philanthropy than older generations and feels more responsibility to support charities and causes. More than their older counterparts, they believe that giving will become more incumbent on the wealthy because governments are overburdened with debt. They are also increasingly interested in supporting global causes – 59 per cent of 18-34 year olds stated more interest in global charitable causes, compared to 24 per cent of 35-44 year olds and a fifth of 44-45 year olds.

“Philanthropy is being used as a tool in family dynamics, it’s a way in which one can connect to one’s children over something that isn’t about who’s going to get the spoils. It’s something where you can try and inculcate your values into the younger generation.”  Said Doug Balfour, CEO of philanthropic advisers Geneva Global.

Whether it’s due to family education, social networks, or as Melissa Richer of Ayllu has suggested, simply survival, this young, ambitious and global minded generation – which we proudly consider ourselves part of – will certainly change the philanthropy landscape, and consequentially the world. Building 30+ schools across the world and giving 3,000 children education all before we turn 30?  Join us and make it happen.

That’s the fate half of Indian women face, but one 16-year old girl is part of a bigger group that’s trying to change their domestic destiny.

Krishna Chaudhry, a typical village girl in rural India, is one of the 1,000 girls who attend the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society, where girls spend half of their days studying, and the other half working hard to earn an income for the family, so they are allowed to stay in school. Although she lives in Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s poorest states, Krishna looks toward women world leaders like US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for inspiration.

It is a sobering fact that women and girls are disproportionately affected by poverty. There are 101 million primary-school age children who are denied education, and girls account for a much higher percentage of that population. According to The World Bank, worldwide for every 100 boys out-of-school, there are 122 girls. This gap is even wider in certain countries – in Yemen there are 270 girls, in Iraq 316 girls, in India 426 girls.

Girls can do just as much as boys, but are often denied a chance of receiving education due to poverty and adverse cultural practices. Among all the initiatives that are seeking to keep girls in school, one has been particularlymemorable - The Girl Effect. According to their website, an extra year of primary education boosts a girl’s future income by 15-20%, and when a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children.

Founder of Pardada Educational Society, Sam Singh, believes that empowering girls like Krishna is the only way to effectively change rural India. True transformation only comes from within, and the best way to inspire that transformation is by giving children and young adults knowledge, education and a sense of hope. By investing in their future, we are giving them not pity, but support that will create an impact greater than what we can perhaps imagine.

According to a White House Press Release, President Obama, in his FY2010 budget, will ask Congress for $50 million for the Social Innovation Fund to identify the most promising, results-oriented non-profit programs and expand their reach throughout the country.

“The idea is simple: to find the most effective programs out there and then provide the capital needed to replicate their success in communities around the country that are facing similar challenges,” First Lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday at the Time 100 Most Influential People Awards in New York City.

Social innovation has become an extremely popular subject in the past few years. For students, Kairos Summit and Dell Social Innovation are examples of initiatives that showcase and support the most promising and innovative student enterprises. For investors, Acumen Fund and Venture Philanthropy Partners are organizations that are leading and transforming the social impact landscape to deliver value to the Bottom of the Pyramid.

The nonprofit sphere is clustered, and simply throwing money at a problem would not solve it. Only approaches that are strategic and disciplined will be able to create the most impact, and the White House has taken the first step to identify these organizations. We sure hope this move will encourage young social entrepreneurs and nonprofits to continue their great work, and develop new, effective ways to tackle old problems. Sure, it takes time – but it won’t be long before organizations such as PoP leave their footprints in areas in need of change, whether it’s the mountains of Laos, or right here in the US.

However, the number of people capable of making a substantial gift is growing in many part s of the world, said Deborah Miller, an assistant vice president at Wake Forest University.

According to the World Wealth Report 2009, by 2013 the number of millionaires in Asia and the total value of their wealth will exceed that of millionaires in the United States. They would be next generations of donors, who will also diversity the donor portfolio of organizations, said Deborah.

Not only are individuals abroad able to make significant donations, there are many organizations that are consciously pooling their resources to bring global social change. Grantmakers Without Boarders is an example of such organizations, connecting a network of trustees, public and private foundations to provide funding for international causes, as well as to improve the practice of international grantmaking.

Pollution, poverty, water access, diseases and countless other pressing issues know no boarder or nationality. If the world is already flat, if people are already connected to each other, it is only plausible to look beyond home, beyond our own neighborhoods, to channel our resources to the places what will effectively utilize them and reap the most benefit.

Universal education isn’t exactly universal. India, while enjoying one of the best performing economies in recent years, has extremely literacy rate. More than 35 per cent of Indians are illiterate, and more than 50 per cent of its female population cannot read. The problems begin in childhood. Half of Indian children do not go to school, and more than half of those who do drop out at the age of 11 or 12.

That’s why the new Indian parliament bill, which demands universal, free and compulsory education for all children aged between six and 14, has been hailed as a landmark law. 60 years after its independence, India is finally able to uphold education as a fundamental right, and to give children a better future, says Kapil Sibal, Ministry of Human Resource Development.

According to The World Bank, providing primary education to every child is a high priority for developing country governments and the donor community alike as education is the foundation of democratic societies and globally competitive economies.  To quote a scientific study by Appleton and Song, the estimated effect of an extra year of primary schooling on household income varies between 1–5% .

Ultimately, education is the most sustainable way of reducing poverty, increasing productivity, and strengthening the economy. To put it in Ben Franklin’s words, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest”. A landmark bill and a wise investment indeed.

One of the issues he addressed was that there is not enough option for philanthropists when considering charity for rural parts of the country. He wanted new ideas and innovative solutions – such as environmental initiatives that could help encourage job growth in rural states (think investment in solar power). Another key point Clinton stressed was the lack of hope people often experience in rural areas, because “they’re stuck in a rut they can’t get out of.”

Organizations such as Teach for America and FRED (Foundation for Rural Education and Development) have done a tremendous job reaching out and improving education conditions in underprivileged areas in the US. However the facts are still sobering. A report by the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that in 2004, college enrollment rates for both 18- to 24-year olds and 25- to 29-year olds were generally lower in rural areas than in all other locales in 2004.

However, it is nice to hear that the White House has recently announced a nationwide tour of rural communities, participants of which will include Joe Biden, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. They will make multiple stops into September of this year to visit rural areas and understand people’s concerns. What will come out of this extended field trip? We’ll be watching.

Everyone is interlinked in this “human web” today – that’s the idea SixDegrees.org was founded upon. SixDegrees, a nonprofit founded by Kevin Bacon, is “social networking with a social conscience”. The website allows any Internet users to support a registered charity by donating or creating fundraising badges for a charity of their choice. These badges can be displayed on blogs, websites social networking pages to encourage friends to donate to a specific cause. In addition, SixDegrees also serves as a social site by providing updates on causes people are supporting, including celebrities.

What does that mean? To put things into perspective, if a New Yorker makes a donation to PoP, he or she is only six or fewer steps away from the child who will be sitting in one of our classrooms in Laos. Six degrees of separation = connection within six steps or fewer. We are more closely linked to them than what we perhaps think. Actually, we might even say that there is no them – they are part of us. Wouldn’t you join us?