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Tishler: Tell us about your internship and what sparked your interest. Why this project?
Merryman: The mission of Acumen is to maximize the social impact of its philanthropy by seeking out high-potential projects that address critical problems in the developing world and investing in organizations led by dynamic mission-driven entrepreneurs, and establishing rigorous milestones to hold the organizations accountable.
Similar to a venture capital firm, Acumen is structured around portfolios. The first focuses on health technology in the developing world. So far, it has invested in projects ranging from the launch of a telemedicine network in India to the use of PalmPilots for health workers conducting field surveys in Uganda. The second portfolio, which will be launched early this fall, will focus on civil society in the Muslim world. It will invest in organizations that improve economic and political empowerment in predominantly Muslim countries.
Unlike venture capital [companies], as a "venture philanthropy" organization, Acumen does not receive any financial return—it seeks to maximize the social return on its investments. It is different from a traditional foundation in that we do not have any endowment to draw upon. The individual partners who contribute to Acumen all share in the vision that Acumen's approach can improve upon the traditional model of international philanthropy, thereby creating a greater social impact for each dollar contributed.
My specific role for the summer is to assist Acumen in developing and implementing performance metrics for its portfolio organizations. The challenge is to translate measures of success that are commonly used in the for-profit world to the not-for-profit world.
After coming to HBS, I became interested in the philanthropic sector because it seemed like the ideal place for me to apply both my academia-oriented side with my action-oriented side…I am very attracted by the role that foundations can play as catalysts for social change, not just in a single organization or for a few people, but across many organizations and thousands or millions of people at once.
Q: What's a typical day like? Who do you work with?
A: Since it is such a small organization—only eight full-time staff—everyone winds up pitching in to do some of everything. Although it sounds clichéd, there really is no typical day. (Which is what I love about it!)
During the first half of the summer, much of my time was spent working with the McKinsey team that was helping us design the performance metrics system. I also conducted due diligence on potential projects for the health technology portfolio.
Now that the consulting team has completed their work, the majority of my time is spent implementing the performance metrics throughout the organization. On a macro level, this requires that everyone internally believes in the system and understands it. On a micro level it requires making sure the metrics are relevant to our overall strategy, that they are not overly burdensome or complicated for our donors or grantees to understand, and that our language is consistent across all of our different communications. To that end, I am currently working on incorporating the metrics into the Web site and our marketing materials. I also am working with the portfolio management staff to help implement the metrics into their relationship with our grantees. This has to happen from the very beginning stages of the relationship, even before we write a check, so that grantee organizations understand what we are about and know that they are not getting "free money"—we are really going to press them to achieve the milestones and hold them accountable.
| I am very attracted by the role that foundations can play as catalysts for social change, not just in a single organization or for a few people, but across many organizations and thousands or millions of people at once. |
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— Amanda Merryman, intern, Acumen Fund |
Q: Did your HBS class work impact your experience?
A: I've found myself drawing on nearly every class in some way over the course of the summer.
When we're conducting due diligence on potential projects we do extensive analysis of their business model and financial statements before presenting proposals to our advisory panel and board for review. For example, I had to research and write a proposal for one project we are considering to manufacture bed nets in Tanzania that are made of plastic fibers treated with an insecticide that is slowly released over five years. The technology was invented by a Japanese company, and is highly promising in the prevention of malaria, but currently no one is making or distributing the nets even though it is the only technology of its kind to be approved by the World Health Organization. I had to review the factory's ramp-up plan, their financial projections and the anticipated demand, which required skills I had acquired in FIN, FRC, and TOM. I also had to take into consideration strategic partnerships and geopolitical concerns, which drew upon broader STRAT and BGIE issues. In applying all of these tools at once, I kind of surprised myself by how much I had learned over the past year. I was doing things I couldn't have imagined just a year ago.
By far the skills that have been most useful are those we learned in LEAD. That wasn't just a class, it was a consciousness-raising experience! And I find myself drawing upon the lessons from that course in virtually every interaction I have at work.
The class I was most surprised to find myself using was Marketing, because I never thought of myself as a marketing person, and never thought it would have much relevance to my career plans in the non-profit sector. I was completely wrong! Not a day goes by when we don't discuss who our target audience is, and how best to communicate our mission to them. At this stage in the organization's development, marketing is really central to everything that we do. My marketing professor would be very happy to hear me confess this, as I was so resistant to anything having to do with marketing in his course!
Q: What business lessons, or personal lessons, did you take away from this internship?
A: There are three things I was hoping to get out of my summer experience. First, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the philanthropic sector and whether it was a good match for me. Second, I wanted an opportunity to contribute to a project that was central to the organization's future, where I could see the results of my work in the organization's development. Third, I was seeking an opportunity to cultivate mentors who could offer me guidance and advice in my future career. So far, I am extremely satisfied with my summer experience with respect to each of these factors.