One hundred top industry leaders, in a variety of sectors from across the world, have made a public commitment (The Palindrome Pledge) to change the way they give back to the nonprofit sector. The Palindrome Pledge grants that advisors will take a more prominent role in the Board management or operations of a nonprofit, pushing the traditional role beyond fundraising and volunteering to address the pressing business and management needs of many nonprofits. The announcement of this group of “Founding Advisors” was made by Palindrome Advisors’ Founder and Chairman, Zaw Thet.
“This is just the start of how Palindrome Advisors will disrupt the nonprofit sector and create new, innovative ways for business leaders to contribute,” said Zaw Thet. “Before Palindrome Advisors, there was no easy path for nonprofits to find experienced leaders to help them at a board management level. A board role is not just about fundraising, but includes developing growth plans, operational efficiency, cause marketing, customer relationship management, event planning and much more. Nonprofits need help in these areas, and that is precisely why we created Palindrome.”
Palindrome Advisors was initially founded in May 2010 as a nonprofit serving other nonprofits by providing free consulting services for social and mobile media, cause marketing and other critical issues most nonprofits were unable to tackle. While impactful, Thet realized that the model was limited in its ability to impact nonprofits on a larger scale. The true potential of a group of experienced and talented for profit leaders, with a willingness to help, was not being fully realized.
After almost a full year of working on re-defining the giving back model, Palindrome Advisors launches with its group of one hundred Founding Advisors. These Founding Advisors have taken the “Palindrome Pledge” – a commitment to serve on the board of a nonprofit for at least one full year and to attend monthly “salons” hosted around the world. The idea for the Palindrome Pledge was inspired by Thet’s current entrepreneurial venture as CEO of 4INFO, his experience as a Soros Fellow at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, and by the Giving Pledge.
In order to maximize results, Palindrome carefully matches Advisors to nonprofits based on their skills, interests and a nonprofit’s needs. The salons serve as a platform for Advisors where they can compare notes on board experiences and identify common pain points in the nonprofit sector. Palindrome also hosts an annual summit: a forum for Advisors to evaluate the group’s impact on nonprofits, discuss best practices and add additional philanthropic or community programs that Advisors can participate in.
The group of Founding Advisors includes a diverse set of leaders in different industry sectors and locations. They come from companies like Google, the San Francisco 49ers, Twitter, Playdom, 4INFO, and Facebook and from locations like London, New Zealand, Pakistan, San Francisco, Toronto, Los Angeles and Miami.
Additional information can be found on the Palindrome Advisors website.
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