Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Pamela Hawley is a seasoned social entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in the social enterprise sector. She is the founder & CEO of UniversalGiving, an award-winning social entrepreneurship organization that helps people give to and volunteer with vetted, quality opportunities all over the world. Unique to UniversalGiving, it takes no cut on donations — 100% of donations go directly to the cause.
Prior to UniversalGiving, Pamela co-founded the Full Circle Fund’s Global Economic Opportunity impact circle. As the current co-chair of the circle, she helps support and strengthen channels for economic opportunity and empowerment, both locally in the Bay Area and internationally.
Pamela also co-founded VolunteerMatch, a nonprofit that has matched more than 4 million volunteers. Soon after in 1999, she launched VolunteerMatch Corporate, a customized version for corporations. Under her management, more than 20 Fortune 500 companies became clients, which contributed to 43% of the organization’s sustainability.
In this insightful interview, Pamela shares with us how she discovered her true calling and offers practical advice on how aspiring social entrepreneurs can do the same. She shares:
- Whether or not you need real-world work experience before starting your own organization.
- How to identify and vet the best, most committed talent to join your team, using 3 key criteria.
- How to get your first clients when you have none, and what you need to do to cultivate your business relationships.
- Ways in which you can start a business that expresses your life purpose, when you have financial commitments and a family to care for.
- Ways you can test financial models as a side-hustle, using a phased approach, with a team.
- How to get started finding venture capital funding.
- How to go about starting a new business – and raising money for it – if your previous venture failed.
- Strategies to approach previous investors for funding on your new business, even if you lost their investment the last venture.
- The powerful inner mindset shifts you need to make in order to truly offer your greatest service in the world.
- What it takes to get into a social enterprise incubator or accelerator, and how to evaluate whether one is a fit for your company.
- And much more!
Mentioned in this Podcast
- Jean Houston
- VolunteerMatch
- Kamal Ravikant
- Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It
- Bill Drayton
- Ashoka
- Jeff Skoll
- Skoll Foundation
- Social Enterprise Alliance
- Echoing Green
- MacArthur Foundation
- Y Combinator
Where to Find UniversalGiving
- Visit Universal Giving Website
- Connect with them on Universal Giving Facebook Page
- Follow Universal Giving on Twitter
- Check out Universal Giving on Google+
- Add us to your network on LinkedIn
Hire Me to Increase Your Online Visibility & Grow Your Tribe
I am available for one on one coaching to help you improve your online visibility and grow your tribe. I also provide “done for you” agency services for changemakers that have the budget to entrust their online marketing to experts.
Ask Me Questions or Share Your Feedback
- Comment in the show notes
- Leave a voicemail message by clicking on the Send a Voicemail Message tab on the right
- Leave a note on the Entrepreneurs for a Change Facebook Page
Please Connect with Us!
Connect with Lorna
Twitter: @lornali
Facebook Page: Lorna Li
Connect with Entrepreneurs for a Change
Twitter: @entrepreneurs4C
Facebook Page: Entrepreneurs for a Change
Please Review this Podcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a 5-star review in iTunes & a 5-star review in Stitcher!
This will help us reach and inspire more people with stories of entrepreneurs who are changing the world.
In Gratitude
Eric Smith of Monster Beach Studio for creating our Entrepreneurs for a Change Theme Song
Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Join the Movement of Changemaking Entrepreneurs
Lorna Li
Working with Lorna has been an excellent experience! The level of detail and information that she has is enormous. As a speaker in the Green Business Entrepreneurs Summit I was amazed at the quality and the amount of information that Lorna has about the green economy and the green social media scene.
Lorna hired me as a blogger to assist in a link building campaign for a top national solar company. Lorna manged the remote team with deft efficiency. I was very impressed to see that within 90 days, the client ranked #1 for a highly competitive solar keyword.
Lorna is adept at creating media that tells the story of social entrepreneurs, in a way that not only promotes the business, but inspires other entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps. Her insightful videos, audio podcasts, and digital products provide detailed, step by step guidance on how to become a profitable, purpose driven business.
