2016 Fundraising Appeal
2016 Fundraising Appeal
Talented women put their careers on hold to care for children• In a study of biz school grads, 37% of millennial women planned to interrupt their career for family compared with 28% of Generation X women
• The reality is likely to be higher: While 28% of Gen Xers expected to put their career on hold, in reality 43% did
Source: Life and Leadership after HBS, Harvard Business School, May 2015
Women make this choice willingly and unwillingly• 80% of mothers would prefer to
work• Nearly half would like reduced
hours to manage work/life conflict
• When those options don’t exist, some choose to take time off
While many of these women plan to return to work, one study found as many as 30% never do …
Source: Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Harvard Business Review, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps Revisited, June 2010
Why? The penalty women pay for a gap on their resume is high
“At every interview there was this awkward pause when they noticed the gap. They acted like I’d spent the time in jail.”
– a 2015 Return Path returnee who was out of the workforce for a little less than two years caring for her newborn son
Meanwhile…
Gender diversity is a hot topic that gets companies in hot water
• “Dropbox Sees Drop in Women in Latest Diversity Report, Slight Gains For Blacks Hispanics” - International Business Times
• “Inside Pinterest’s Plans To Fix Its Diversity Problem” - Fast Company
• “Twitter Still Has A Major Problem With Employee Diversity” - The Verge
• “Facebook’s New Diversity Numbers Are Still Pathetic” - Wired
• “Intel isn’t Diverse Enough And It Knows” - Wired
Percentage of female technical talent at top tech companies• Twitter: 13%• Amazon: 11%• Google: 18%• Microsoft: 16.9%• Apple: 22%• Facebook: 16%
Note: for many of these companies the % of female engineers is lower
Gender diversity improves business performance
• McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to outperform the companies in the bottom quartile
• “The unequal performance of companies in the same industry and the same country implies that diversity is a competitive differentiator shifting market share toward more diverse companies.”
Getting more women back to work would increase gender diversity and the overall talent pool
• Every percentage point increase in women’s participation in the labor force would add roughly 1.3 million workers to the US economy
Solution: Midcareer Internships• 20-week paid internships for midcareer professionals
who have been out of the workforce for more than two years to accommodate caregiving responsibilities
• Provide an on-ramp back to the workforce • Include onboarding, professional development, feedback
sessions, networking, and off-boarding
The Big Idea• Create a nonprofit to organize groups of companies in
the same geo and train them to run this program• Recruit participants across the network of partners and
offer them back-to-work training during the program• Give both partners and participants access to the
network throughout the program, especially during off-boarding
• The nonprofit becomes self-funding through a fee-for-service model
Network EffectPartners
Participants
Partners
Participants
Sources of funding from partners
• Recruiting budget • Hiring just 2 returnees would cover the cost of the program
compared with traditional recruiting fees• Diversity budget
• Companies pour money into programs that don’t have immediate impact – this program can drive measurable change
• Philanthropy budget• Companies that can’t participate in the program will still be able to
support our efforts
Why do we think this will work?Because we already did it.
Return Path, a data solutions provider, faced the challenges of gender diversity and talent shortages and piloted midcareer internships …
• 2014: 1 woman; mixed experience but clear that there was an idea to be explored
• January 2015: 6 women; 80% were hired• Added structure, HR involvement, building on learning• Result: Positive experience for managers and returnees, high
success rate
And attracted press attention …
This Nonprofit Wants To Put Stay-At-Home Moms Back to Work
A program for getting moms back to work in tech (subscription required)
Silicon Valley To Women Who’ve Left Tech: Please Come Back
For Professionals Returning to Work, There’s Power in the Cohort
Tech Companies Help Women Get Back to Work (subscription required)
Then we expanded it with partnerships
And the program is having a huge impact for partners and participants
Partner Testimonials“Across PayPal, employees are enthusiastic about the Path Forward program and proud to be part of an organization that is taking a leadership role in welcoming moms into the tech workspace. The team at Path Forward has been instrumental in helping us launch our program and make it successful. We are excited to see them grow and bring programs like this to more companies and expand the opportunity for women who want to resume and advance their careers after taking a pause.” – LaFawn Bailey, Global Head of Culture and Diversity, PayPal
“The Path Forward program has been incredibly valuable for our recruitment strategy and our business. The opportunity to partner with other top companies, share knowledge, and build community has been invaluable.” --Courtney Graham, Senior Director of Human Resources, ReadyTalk
“We are thrilled to support Path Forward. It offers a tremendous opportunity to support people who are rejoining the workforce after an extended absence for caregiving. Through our involvement in the program, we have learned firsthand about the benefits of adding diverse perspectives and skill sets to our team. We look forward to continuing to work with Path Forward as our team grows in 2016 and beyond.” --Maureen Schilling, Human Resources, SpotX
“Our participation with Path Forward leveraged a new way of tapping into a diverse talent pool. As it relates to our diversity and inclusion initiative, it is an evolving growth strategy that specifically targets community and culture. We love the program and can't wait to bring on another cohort!” --Margho Dunnahoo-Kirsch, Corporate Recruiter, SendGrid
Participant Testimonials“I feel so honored to be part of this amazing program. It has given me the confidence to know that I’m not alone in this transition and that I can provide a valuable contribution in today’s workforce. You can do this!” — Janelle Pelletier, Client Service, Return Path
“The Path Forward program has allowed me to re-engage with a career I assumed had been lost to earlier choices. Thank you for making it possible for me to test the intellectual waters again.” — Lisa Souza, QA Engineer, Moz
“Participating in the Path Forward program gave me the opportunity to begin a new career. It has allowed me to reinvent myself and bring value right away to the company. Feeling appreciated for my experience is a wonderful way to re-enter the workforce.”— Kim, Content Marketing, Return Path
“The Path Forward program was an amazing opportunity to re-start my career after a long parenting hiatus. It introduced me to progressive companies on the forefront of people-first cultures and work/life balance. I now feel confident about my chances for renewed success in technology sales.” — John Bortscheller, Sales, ReadyTalk
Organization Revenue Model Key Clients PF differentiation
iRelaunch: Coaching for women returning to work
Coaching fees from clients, event sponsorship, consulting fees
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley
Revenue is driven by businesses, not the women seeking help; nonprofit
GapJumpers: Hosts blind auditions to eliminate bias
$750 for an assessment that uncovers bias, designs challenges; annual subscription fee for the platform
Google, Wieden + Kennedy, Chegg, Adobe and BBC Digital
GapJumpers is a complement to what we are doing
OnRamp Fellowship: Gets female attorneys back to work in one-year fellowships
Pricing structure is a yearlong subscription fee per fellow, includes an assessment framework to identify most successful candidates
4 law firms with 32 fellows
Our program is sector and role agnostic – it can work for any company hiring into almost any role
Power to Fly: Place technical women in on-demand, work-from-home jobs..
85% of the placements are subcontracted so that they are the employer; 15% is placement fees
BuzzFeed, Hearst, Time Inc., The Washington Post
Nonprofit, network, programming
MomCorps: A staffing firm that focuses on professional moms who want nontraditional jobs -- part-time, flex-time, WFH
Placement fees; also offers contract employees who they pay directly.
Doesn’t list them, but claims Fortune 500 clients
Nonprofit, network, programming
recruitHER: staffing firm focused on women in tech
Placement fees Pandora, GitHub and EA
Nonprofit, network, programming
Board of Directors• Matt Blumberg, Co-Chair (Chairman & CEO, Return Path)• Joanne Wilson, Co-Chair (Angel Investor, Founder of the Women’s
Entrepreneur Festival)• Cathie Black (Former President, Hearst Magazine)• Brad Feld (Founder, Foundry Group, Chairman of the Board of the
National Center for Women & Information Technology)• Cathy Hawley (VP People, Return Path)• Raj Vinnakota (EVP Youth & Engagement Division, Aspen Institute,
Founder of SEED Academy)
Income Statement and Impact2016 2017 2018
Program Revenue 575,000 3,900,000 6,600,000Fundraising Revenue 500,000 0 0Expenses 1,000,000 2,800,000 4,200,000Net Income 75,000 1,100,000 2,400,000Number of companies in the program 40 240 360Number of participants 200 1,900 2,970
Use of proceeds• Staffing primarily aimed at recruiting new partners and participants,
marketing push, build out of program and supporting technology• Technology to enable the creation of an online network of partners
and participants • Marketing in the form of sponsorships, advertising, branding and PR
Staffing2016 2017 2018
Executive Director 1 1 1Business Development: Solicits partners to join the consortium 2 5 6Program Management: Runs the program in market 3 5 5Curriculum Development: Develops & delivers training content 0 1 2Coordinators: Admin and event support 0 1 2Marketing: Support for biz dev and participant recruiting 1 1 2Product & Technology: Design & implementation of tech 0 4 5Operations: Back office 0 2 3Total 7 20 26
The Ask• A first round of $500,000 to fund start-up costs• Be self-funding by 2017
Commitment to early supporters• Listed as a founding donor• Open invitation to end-of-program celebration events with returners• Quarterly updates on the progress of the organization, including
“participant spotlights”• Can designate someone to serve on our Advisory Board