Jennifer Q. Chen
Why did you start Givology – what was your inspiration?
My inspiration stems from the experience I had abroad in China when I visit Ningxia Province in Northwest China, the poorest region of the nation. I was researching the quality of education in the villages, interviewing students about their aspirations. When I returned and presented my thesis, I felt an emptiness and sense of powerlessness because I didn't have a ton of savings and didn't have an easy way to improve the lives of the children from thousands of miles away. There needed to be a remote yet direction solution for anyone who has ever felt an urge to help support a child's education, whether through a $5 donation, a $10,000 donation, or writing a letter of encouragement. With the advent of technology and the ability to build a social community online, I felt that Givology could be a community devoted to giving towards education in developing countries, where a dollar goes a long way towards changing someone's life.
How do you measure your impact?
We measure impact across many metrics. As examples: number of students helped, number of projects completed, number of partners in network, number of countries served, number of volunteers, total dollars collected vs. disbursed, total dollars requested. Our methodology is half programmatic and half bottoms-up. Our website does meticulous tracking, while we also collect data from partners themselves and translate letters to verify their numbers.
What makes Givology different from other organizations in the space?
Givology is currently 100% volunteer run, yet able to raise ~$100,000 / year. We've prided ourselves on upholding donor-recipient transparency, allowing them to donate directly to students and getting direct feedback back on students' progress. We are democratizing the way education funding works by leveraging the powerful of online communities, regardless of demographic and geographic boundaries.
In starting Givology, what was the best advice that you received or lesson that you learned along the way?
The best lesson I've learned is how to balance working full-time and working on Givology. It was a mental shift that I had to make in order to define what "prioritization" meant to me. I know that having a successful career was critical for me to be able to work on Givology, and thus, it was necessary that I try my hardest at my job. It was the only way I could fund myself. Working on Givology was a priority for staying true to my passions and self-identity. Every person has finite resources and energy, and I had to make sure neither my salaried work nor Givology work burned me out insofar as negatively affecting my overall productivity.
What’s the greatest challenge that Givology faces today?
Talent acquisition and management. Managing over 50 volunteers worldwide is difficult when we are unable to provide financial incentive. We want to ensure a quality experience for each individual involved, which requires personalized planning for what each volunteer's skill sets and roles match up to do. Finding additional people who are willing to sacrifice their time to Givology and potentially step up to lead is doubly challenging!
Five years from now, where do you envision Givology? What legacy do you want to leave?
I envision Givology to be the social giving platform for education. Period. I want people to associate it with any desire to help students worldwide. The legacy I want to leave is for every child to believe they will be able to find resources or give resources to further education. Change happens from a young age, and it will happen on Givology's platform.
Tell us a story about a memorable impact you’ve made.
My story is around creating a NYC Chapter in a city where people are eating with one hand and on the phone with another, while power-walking down Park Ave. After showing them what Givology does and painting a picture of how their talents could reshape our young but powerful organization, many of the NYC volunteers joined a new chapter. They are able to use their talents developed in their workforce and build something philanthropic in their spare time. Even after a few hours each week, their work and impact have been so momentous that many have told me that though they may move to another city, move on to a new job, they see Givology having a continual role in their lives going forward.
How can one person make a difference in the world?
Anyone can dare to dream an idea. And in our society, the Internet allows you to take that idea farther. I say that understanding how to leverage technology and the resources it offers is the key to making an individual impact that is widespread.
What advice do you give to other potential social entrepreneurs?
I would say that it is okay to be scared about an uncertain future, as all entrepreneurs should be. More importantly, what makes you different is your worldview - it is about viewing your life as one with a goal to empowers and conceptualizing your happiness as something that stems from that of others.
On a personal level, what does giving mean to you?
Very simply: Giving means to share something valuable to you with someone else. It means for an overall net increase of happiness between donor and recipient combined.