Vanessa Kirsch
Encyclopedia
Vanessa Kirsch is an American social entrepreneur widely recognized for her work in public and civic service. Kirsch is currently the President and Founder of New Profit Inc.
, a venture philanthropy
fund based in Boston, Massachusetts. She also founded and formerly led Public Allies
, a national youth service organization, and the Women’s Information Network, an organization that provides support, training, and political access to young women.
. However, her tenacity and drive, which she described in a letter to the admissions office, was enough to gain her admittance to the University, where she served as a Tufts Community Union Senator and student member of the Board of Trustees.
Kirsch is the wife of Alan Khazei
, founder of City Year
and Be the Change and former candidate in the Massachusetts 2009 special election to fill the Class 1 seat in the United States Senate made vacant by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Currently, Kirsch serves on the Board of Advocates to Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, and on the Boards of College Summit and Stand for Children
.
Kirsch founded the Women’s Information Network (WIN) in 1989 to provide support, training, and political access to young women in Washington, D.C. Today WIN is governed by an advisory council made up of more than 60 of Washington D.C.’s prominent, political women.
Public Allies
In 1992, Kirsch and Katrina Browne founded Public Allies
, a program that links youth volunteers with nonprofit organizations in their communities. While under Kirsch’s leadership, the organization grew to six cities, including Chicago. The organization was named by the Bush Administration as one of eight model national service programs in America. The Clinton Administration also recognized Public Allies as an official AmeriCorps national service model. Today Public Allies has locations in 18 communities and cities across the nation.
New Profit Inc.
After starting and growing two nonprofits—Public Allies and the Women’s Information Network—Kirsch took a year to travel the world, interviewing social entrepreneurs and citizens across 22 countries and cultures. Through this experience, she came to understand that the nonprofit sector lacked sufficient access to second-stage growth capital
, locking social entrepreneurs and their funders into a start-up phase mentality. She determined that in order for social entrepreneurs to have the greatest possible impact, they needed access to financial capital that could allow them to sustain and grow successful, tested program models.
In 1996, she began laying the groundwork for a venture philanthropy fund that would serve social entrepreneurs and their organizations by providing them with funding and valuable strategic consulting services. After over a year of research and development with a team of social entrepreneurs, academics, and philanthropists, Kirsch and a partner founded New Profit in 1998. With support from Monitor Group
and under Kirsch’s continued leadership, New Profit has worked with 27 nonprofit organizations to date.
Other
In 1988, Kirsch worked on Michael Dukakis
's presidential campaign as a convention manager and field coordinator. Later, Kirsch worked briefly with Peter Hart of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, a polling firm, where she led several projects including a study on young people's civic attitudes.
New Profit Inc.
New Profit Inc. is a venture philanthropy fund based in Boston, Massachusetts. With the support of individual donors, and its partner, Monitor Group, New Profit provides multi-year financial and strategic support to a portfolio of social entrepreneurs working in education, youth development, public...
, a venture philanthropy
Venture philanthropy
Venture philanthropy, also known as philanthrocapitalism, takes concepts and techniques from venture capital finance and high technology business management and applies them to achieving philanthropic goals.Venture philanthropy is characterized by:...
fund based in Boston, Massachusetts. She also founded and formerly led Public Allies
Public Allies
Public Allies is an American non-profit, largely taxpayer-funded organization, dedicated to youth leadership development. Founded in 1992 by Vanessa Kirsch and Katrina Browne in Washington D.C., other sites soon followed, including Milwaukee, Chicago, Arizona, Central Florida, Cincinnati,...
, a national youth service organization, and the Women’s Information Network, an organization that provides support, training, and political access to young women.
Background
Kirsch grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her mother, a painter, and her father, an inventor and MIT professor. Because of dyslexia, Kirsch struggled through school and was told she was not a candidate for her first-choice college, Tufts UniversityTufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
. However, her tenacity and drive, which she described in a letter to the admissions office, was enough to gain her admittance to the University, where she served as a Tufts Community Union Senator and student member of the Board of Trustees.
Kirsch is the wife of Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...
, founder of City Year
City Year
City Year is an education-focused nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention keeping students in school and on track to graduate...
and Be the Change and former candidate in the Massachusetts 2009 special election to fill the Class 1 seat in the United States Senate made vacant by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Currently, Kirsch serves on the Board of Advocates to Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, and on the Boards of College Summit and Stand for Children
Stand for Children
Stand for Children is an American organization that is an independent and non-partisan advocate for American children's education. Founded in 1996 following the largest rally for children in American history, the non-profit helps organize and mobilize citizen activists who care about children to...
.
Work
Women’s Information NetworkKirsch founded the Women’s Information Network (WIN) in 1989 to provide support, training, and political access to young women in Washington, D.C. Today WIN is governed by an advisory council made up of more than 60 of Washington D.C.’s prominent, political women.
Public Allies
In 1992, Kirsch and Katrina Browne founded Public Allies
Public Allies
Public Allies is an American non-profit, largely taxpayer-funded organization, dedicated to youth leadership development. Founded in 1992 by Vanessa Kirsch and Katrina Browne in Washington D.C., other sites soon followed, including Milwaukee, Chicago, Arizona, Central Florida, Cincinnati,...
, a program that links youth volunteers with nonprofit organizations in their communities. While under Kirsch’s leadership, the organization grew to six cities, including Chicago. The organization was named by the Bush Administration as one of eight model national service programs in America. The Clinton Administration also recognized Public Allies as an official AmeriCorps national service model. Today Public Allies has locations in 18 communities and cities across the nation.
New Profit Inc.
After starting and growing two nonprofits—Public Allies and the Women’s Information Network—Kirsch took a year to travel the world, interviewing social entrepreneurs and citizens across 22 countries and cultures. Through this experience, she came to understand that the nonprofit sector lacked sufficient access to second-stage growth capital
Growth capital
Growth capital is a type of private equity investment, most often a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new markets or finance a significant acquisition without a change of control of the business.Companies...
, locking social entrepreneurs and their funders into a start-up phase mentality. She determined that in order for social entrepreneurs to have the greatest possible impact, they needed access to financial capital that could allow them to sustain and grow successful, tested program models.
In 1996, she began laying the groundwork for a venture philanthropy fund that would serve social entrepreneurs and their organizations by providing them with funding and valuable strategic consulting services. After over a year of research and development with a team of social entrepreneurs, academics, and philanthropists, Kirsch and a partner founded New Profit in 1998. With support from Monitor Group
Monitor Group
Monitor Group is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and with 27 offices in 26 major cities around the world. It provides strategy consultation services to the senior management of organizations and governments...
and under Kirsch’s continued leadership, New Profit has worked with 27 nonprofit organizations to date.
Other
In 1988, Kirsch worked on Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
's presidential campaign as a convention manager and field coordinator. Later, Kirsch worked briefly with Peter Hart of Peter D. Hart Research Associates, a polling firm, where she led several projects including a study on young people's civic attitudes.
Awards and Recognition
Kirsch has received numerous public service awards and other recognition for her work.- Duke University's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship recognized Kirsch with the 2010 Leadership in Social Entrepreneurship Award
- Ernst & Young named Kirsch 2005 "Entrepreneur of the Year" in the category of Social Entrepreneurship
- Forbes recognized Kirsch as one of 15 innovators who will reinvent the future
- Fast Company named Kirsch as a member of "Who's Fast 2000"
- Boston Business Journal recognized Kirsch as a member of the "40 Under 40" most promising leaders in Boston