News

Full Circle Fund members and grantee partners were tapped by leaders in Washington DC to lend their expertise on a national scale during the recent presidential campaign, and now, in the subsequent Obama Administration. Our 2008 Member of the Year Greg Nelson, formerly Vice Chair of the Environment/Energy Circle is now working full time at the White House as the Associate Director for Energy, Environment, and Technology in the Office of Public Engagement. Founding member of the Environment/Energy Circle Sanjay Wagle is now the Renewable Energy Grants Advisor at the US Department of Energy, helping oversee the $32.7 billion in Recovery Act funding.

Van Jones, founder of the Ella Baker Center (our first Environment/Energy grant partner) and two-time speaker at our Forum event is now the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Additionally, Alec Ross, past speaker at our Forum event and co-founder of Full Circle Fund grantee One Economy is now Senior Adviser on Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The advancement of these individuals to key roles in the Obama Administration not only gives greater voice to the issues Full Circle Fund has been working to address, it also reinforces that our model of cultivating the next generation of leaders is working.

“It’s a pivotal time for our country,” says Full Circle Fund Founder and Board President Josh Becker, “Given the challenges of the economic crisis, it’s time for Full Circle Fund members to pitch in and help the country move forward on a greater scale.” He continued, “To have folks on the caliber of Sanjay, Van, Greg, and Alec, as well as others who have been involved with Full Circle Fund for years now move into government is a huge positive step.”

Other members and partners such as Mike Anders, Deb Levine, and Josh Becker have also been called upon to lend their advice and expertise. Since Full Circle Fund is dedicated to developing and cultivating the next generation of community leaders, it is a testament to the caliber of our members and partners that so many have been called upon to set the tone on the national landscape.

>> Read more about their work:

Greg Nelson, who was formerly the Vice Chair of the Environment/Energy Circle was selected as the Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Liaison for the
Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team in November 2008, and since February has been working at the White House as the Associate Director for Energy, Environment, and Technology in the Office of Public Engagement. Greg will be speaking at our upcoming Joint Impact Circle Meeting, Social Innovation: A White House Perspective with former Google.org Head of Global Development Initiatives, Sonal Shah. Sonal is the new White House Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.

Sanjay Wagle, Full Circle Fund member since 2007 and a founding member of our Environment/Energy Circle, began a critical role at the US Department of Energy in April working for Matt Rogers, Senior Special Advisor to the Secretary of Green Stimulus. As the Renewable Energy Grants Advisor, Sanjay is helping oversee the $32.7 billion in Recovery Act funding for energy, focusing on renewable energy, and ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy).

Van Jones is now the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Van is a Co-Founder and former President of the Ella Baker Center, the first Environment/Energy Circle grantee for Full Circle Fund. Van spoke at our Full Impact Forum in 2004, and helped us launch our Environment/Energy Circle at our Forum with Vice President Al Gore in 2007. Van’s new job is to help shape the administration’s energy and climate policy, so that climate solutions produce jobs and justice for all Americans.

In early 2007 Full Circle Fund Board Member Mike Anders was invited to join the Obama National Finance Committee, a small group of specially selected individuals. Mike’s role entailed acting as a spokesperson and representative for the campaign. The focus was on cultivating new donors to support the campaign, while regularly acting as a liaison between the field and campaign headquarters sharing feedback from the private sector and influencing policy decisions. Mike has made a number of trips to DC since the new administration took office, and perhaps most notably, has reportedly had a beer with Vice President Joe Biden.

Josh Becker was a Co-Founder and National Co-Chair of Clean Tech For Obama. CleanTech for Obama was composed of cleantech and green business professionals from around the country who, acting solely as volunteers, organized to spearhead fundraising and outreach nationwide and identify examples from the cleantech and green business community that highlight the positive economic impact and job creation potential of the New Energy Economy. After the election, those who had been running that effort were asked to prepare reports and recommendations for the Obama Administration’s Transition Team on the Green Stimulus and on Department of Energy-related recommendations. Josh is also a founding member of the Clean Economy Network.

Alec Ross, formerly of Full Circle Fund Grantee One Economy, shared inspiring stories from One Economy Corporation’s successes at our Full Circle Fund 2004 Forum. Alec helped create technology policy during the Obama Campaign and is now the Senior Adviser on Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Alec is now responsible for using technology to help reach diplomatic goals such as health care, poverty, human rights and ethnic conflicts and help us create a new 21st century statecraft. Similar to how Full Circle Fund has made using technology as a vehicle for change a strategic priority instead of viewing it as a standalone issue area, the Obama administration is championing the role of technology in advancing both domestic and global agendas.

Deb Levine, Executive Director of Full Circle Fund’s nonprofit Technology Circle partner ISIS was invited to attend a meeting at the White House with President Obama and Vice President Biden in January. It was the announcement of the middle class task force, and Deb was selected because of her role as a female small business owner of a non-profit employing 10 staff and contractors. Other people there represented work-life balance, green jobs, and the labor unions. Deb is also involved with the White House Council on Women and Girls, chaired by Valerie Jarrett with Tina Tchen as the Executive Director. The mission of the Council is to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families.

Posted in Barack Obama, Sanjay Wagle, Van Jones, Mike Anders, Sonal Shah, Alec Ross, Deb Levine, Al Gore, SexInfo, grantees, One Economy, Josh Becker, Greg Nelson, Ella Baker Center, member leaders

Full Circle Fund’s spring 2009 programming provided a number of opportunities for our emergent leaders to engage up close with inspiring role models. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris spoke at March’s Joint Impact Circle Meeting, advising our social innovators to be bold, courageous, and creative. A few days later, the Education Circle’s Alternative Teacher Compensation (Alt Comp) Project Team co-hosted two statewide conferences that brought together thought leaders from across the country, including California’s Senator Gloria Romero.

Global Economic Opportunity Circle Members deepened their grant-making knowledge by hearing best practices from philanthropist Esther Hewlett, Co-Founder of Global Citizens. Meanwhile, the Environment/Energy Circle welcomed California State Assembly Majority Whip Fiona Ma, and Dan Jacobson, Legislative Director of Environment California, to their April meeting.

In May, nearly 100 enthusiastic members gathered for a weekend in Monterey at the Annual Retreat to refresh, regroup, and collectively build strategies for the coming year. Speakers Ahmed Rahim, CEO of NUMI Tea and Bidyut Bose, Executive Director of Niroga Institute provided inspiration and rejuvenation. Finally, California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer spoke to members and guests at the Stride Center Opportunity Partner Program Launch co-hosted by Full Circle Fund’s Technology Circle.

Exposing our members to such a diverse selection of leaders is not only inspirational and educational but a key ingredient in Full Circle Fund’s model of cultivating the next generation of community leaders through outstanding programming.

>> If you would like to attend an upcoming Circle Meeting or Full Circle Fund Event, visit our calendar. You can also find other events of interest on our Community Calendar.

Posted in Kamala Harris, Bill Lockyer, Ahmed Rahim, Esther Hewlett, Fiona Ma, Stride Center, Hewlett Foundation, speaker, environment, impact, Niroga, Global Economic Opportunity, education

In March, Full Circle Fund’s Education Circle partnered with UC Berkeley’s PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education) on two groundbreaking conferences that added momentum to a statewide dialogue about a very controversial subject: alternative teacher compensation. The Alt Comp Dialogue project, spearheaded by emerging leader Stephen Dodson, aims to increase the dialogue about compensation systems for teachers to ensure that the money spent on schools supports excellent teaching for all of our students.

“Stephen is a young business leader who came to Full Circle Fund in 2005 with a desire to learn and a passion to improve the lives of others, especially in the area of education.” said CEO Amy Lesnick, “It is truly remarkable how, in his time with us, Stephen has developed into a seasoned advocate in education policy.”

When asked what motivates him, Stephen (who is both a Member and Board Member at Full Circle Fund) reflected, “I see education as one of the most important ways to improve the human experience. I was inspired to get involved with the Education Circle and education policy because of my personal experience going through the San Francisco public school system. It was there that I got a firsthand look at how underfunded and generally difficult the school system was. I had a relatively good experience at one of the best schools in the district, a rigorous high school with good teachers. But the resources there were still poor and it was even worse at other schools in the Bay Area. San Francisco schools were generally dilapidated; the buildings were in poor condition, and there weren’t even enough books for each person. I remember we’d spend first half of the class reading and then switching with another student because we couldn’t take them home. Now, it seems absurd!”

Stephen continued, “I didn’t fully realize until I got to college and heard about the resources that my peers from other public school and private schools had, how much mine had lacked. Experiencing a school district that (at that time) was grossly underfunded and generally mismanaged inspired me to want to make a positive different in education. With such a slow bureaucracy, it’s harder to get resources into the classrooms and to the students and teachers that desperately that need them, especially in large urban areas.”

Citing Full Circle Fund as a driving force in helping him grow as a leader, Stephen reflected, “At Full Circle Fund, I’ve had the chance to learn from other leaders. As the President of Parnassus Investments, I was coming from a small company, I worked with a small group of people who had styles I was familiar with, but at Full Circle Fund I’ve worked with people from law firms, venture capitalists, folks from startups, nonprofits, and financial services companies. It put me in the room with folks like Jeff Camp [Education Circle Chair], who was a very successful executive at Microsoft.” In addition, Stephen has developed as a team leader and project manager, “I’ve learned organizational skills, public speaking skills, presentation skills, how to take an intangible task and break it down to discrete steps. I’ve learned to partner successfully with other motivated people with very different styles.”

With all Stephen has gained from Full Circle Fund, the people stand out. “One of the most rewarding parts of Full Circle Fund for me has been the caliber of the people. To be with highly competent, highly motivated people working on something that makes a difference is extremely rewarding.”

The challenges Stephen sees ahead for the Education Circle and with Alt Comp are that the team’s goals are getting more ambitious. “Earlier in this project, the goals were smaller, the deliverables easier to meet,” he observed, “Now, after the successes we’ve had, our goals are larger and will be harder to meet.” Stephen and the Alt Comp team have added much to Full Circle Fund. We look forward to seeing how Stephen and the team tackle the challenges ahead.

Posted in Stephen Dodson, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), Alt Comp Dialogue, Alternative Funding, jeff camp, education

On June 4, Full Circle Fund CEO Amy Lesnick was among more than 100 of the “Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in Business” honored at a gala hosted by the San Francisco Business Times. The evening began with a private reception for the honorees where Deloitte Vice Chairman and Regional Managing Partner Mark Edmunds spoke of Deloitte’s long-term commitment to the cultivation of women leaders.

Given the tough times, there was a general theme of gratitude throughout the evening and it was a true celebration of leadership. Honored along with Amy were dynamic leaders such as Bank of America’s Janet Lamkin, Alexandria Albers of Morgan Stanley, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes White, and PG&E’s Nancy McFadden. Honorees were asked to share ten words on leadership, their guiding principles, and/or advice to their daughters. Amy’s guiding principles were “Dream big. Be relentless. Leverage your own unique talents to make a difference.” Barbara Adachi, Deloitte’s National Managing Principal, Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women, an honoree herself, addressed the gala crowd, inspiring everyone in the room to be role models and mentors to other women.

Many of Full Circle Fund’s corporate supporters and investors gathered to celebrate Amy’s achievement including long-term supporter Tom Perkins of the JaMel and Tom Perkins Foundation and investors Sarah Wigglesworth and Asiff Hirji. We were proud to have key sponsors Bob Garrett, Union Bank, Andrea Ronzani, Wells Fargo, Chuck Hornbrook, PG&E, and Gary Bauer, Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation at Full Circle Fund’s table. Leaders within Full Circle Fund came to support Amy and celebrate together how far we have come as an organization including our founder and board chair, Josh Becker, New Cycle Capital; board members Mike Anders, Morgan Stanley, and Robin Joy, Intuit, Inc.; and members Annette Brinton, Brinton Financial, Lucy Johns, Dodge & Cox, Braden Penhoet, Morrison & Foerster, Eric Thurber, Citi Smith Barney, Scott Bryan, Royal Bank of Canada, Pamela Hawley, Universal Giving, Victoria Lavi, Axway, and Jillian Misrack, Full Circle Fund Director.

Our thanks to Mary Huss, Felicia Brown, Tom Van Ess and everyone else at the San Francisco Business Times for their recognition of Amy’s leadership.

Click here to view more photos from the event.

Posted in San Francisco Business Times, Amy Lesnick, event, special announcement

A dozen Full Circle Fund members including Beth Trask, Marc Payne, Shuja Keen, Josh Becker, Trina Martynowicz, Jonathan Axelrad and more joined GRID Alternatives for their “Plug In to GRID!” fundraiser on May 31 where guests were able to learn about and test-drive plug-in vehicles. Members Josh Becker, Nadine Weil and Shuja Keen also served on the host committee. GRID Alternatives is one of Full Circle Fund’s Environment/Energy Circle grantees and the organization’s primary focus is empowering communities in need through renewable energy and energy efficiency by installing solar panels on the homes of low-income families throughout California. Project Team Leader Marc Payne and the entire GRIDs team are commended for their great work helping coordinate this event as well as the upcoming Solar Panel Installation on Sunday June 7 where Members will install solar panels on a home in Bayview-Hunters Point.

At the event, various leaders from the venture capital and electric vehicle worlds lent their expertise to talk about the future of electric transportation, including Josh Becker from New Cycle Capital, Plug In America, Virgin Green Fund, GM Advanced Technology Silicon Valley, and PG&E’s Clean Air Transportation Program. Several dozen electric vehicles were on display, giving Full Circle Fund members the opportunity to drive electric vehicles, such as high-end sports cars like the Tesla Roadster, futuristic prototypes displayed by Stanford and PG&E, plug-in hybrid conversions, motorcycles, scooters, and neighborhood electric vehicles.

The event, which netted $12,850 and drew 200 attendees, was held under Google’s solar-powered carport at their campus in Mountain View, which allows employees to charge their electric vehicles while at work.

> Learn more about GRID Alternatives by watching their video.

> If you’re interested in getting involved , contact Caroline Thompson by email to talk about becoming a member and joining one of the Environment Circle’s project teams.

Posted in GRID Alternatives, Google, event, environment, Josh Becker, grantees

After just eight short months of partnership with Full Circle Fund, our Environment/Energy Grant Partner Imagine H20 has grown from a founding team and vision, to a funded, high-functioning organization that has consistently out-performed its goals and begun to make a recognized impact. Dedicated to solving the world’s water crisis through innovation, competition, and incubation, Imagine H20’s mission is to inspire and empower people to solve water problems. Among other successes, in early May Imagine H2O’s website went live, they produced a video, launched officially with a press release, were featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, and hosted their first workshop for water entrepreneurs (with attendance at capacity). Chairman and Executive Director Tamin Pechet recently shared:

“It occurred to us as we reflected on the successes our organization has enjoyed over the past few months that Full Circle Fund members have been directly behind many of them. We feel like we’re on a roll, and wanted to share some of the impact that Full Circle Fund’s team has made. We’re looking forward to more successes to come.”

Those highlights included:

• Full Circle Fund Members Scott Bryan and Tom Van Dyck helped secure a three year founding sponsorship from Royal Bank of Canada which provided Imagine H20 with the base funding needed to run its program, and let other stakeholders know that Imagine H2O has staying power.
• Member Peter Werner secured a core partnership with law firm Cooley Godward Kronish. Cooley not only provides the organization with legal support, but also serves as the cornerstone of its incubator program for entrepreneurs, including hosting functions and providing up to $20,000 in legal services as part of the Imagine H20 prize.
• Project Co-Leads Meera Balakumar, Johanna Johannessen, and the rest of the Project Team recruited almost 40 volunteers, and restructured the organization into circles to increase volunteer engagement.
• Member Marco Sgroi created a cluster of Imagine H2O volunteers and partners at UC Berkeley, resulting in the first Imagine H2O workshop for water entrepreneurs, held on May 6.
• Several members made introductions to the Governor’s staff and the Mayor’s staff, resulting in ongoing collaboration with the State, and public endorsement from and partnership with the Mayor’s Office.

>Watch Imagine H20’s new video (produced by TurnHere)

>If you’re interested in getting involved , contact Caroline Thompson by email to talk about becoming a member and joining one of the Environment Circle’s project teams.

Posted in Imagine H2O, Tamin Pechet, Cooley Godward Kronish, members, environment, results, grantees

Over the past year, Full Circle Fund has gained a number of new partners whose work and values are aligned with our mission. We are excited to announce that we are now partnering with NUMI Organic Tea and Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation. We also gained strategic communication support through a partnership with Dan Cohen of Full Court Press Communications in the early part of 2009. To help Full Circle Fund’s women members build their leadership skills, Full Circle Fund became a co-sponsor (along with RAL & Associates, PG&E, Charles Schwab, Deloitte, and IBM) of the “When She Speaks” monthly women’s leadership series.

Mfinity Wines has contributed wine consistently to Full Circle Fund’s events for nearly a year, helping us save costs and promote a partner business at the same time.

“Mfinity is committed to giving back to the community by donating 25% of members’ purchases back to Full Circle Fund,” says co-owner Margaret Baggerly, “In today’s challenging economic environment, it’s our small way of helping amazing organizations like Full Circle Fund continue their great work within the local and global communities. We look forward to an amazing and rewarding partnership throughout 2009.”

Full Circle Fund gratefully acknowledges the support of these companies as well as our returning partners M. Woodward Catering, Thomas Minczeski Photography, Keith Lewis Photography and Imaging, Eventbrite, and Stanford Social Innovation Review.

>>To purchase wine and have a percentage of your purchase be donated back to our organization, use the coupon code FCF when purchasing wine on Mfinity Wine’s website.

>>If you would like to be among the valued companies that support Full Circle Fund, contact Wendy Wittmann.

Posted in corporate supporter

Join Full Circle Fund nonprofit partner GRID Alternatives for Plug In to GRID! - an exclusive afternoon party on Sunday, May 31 at Google’s solar-powered carport at their Mountain View Campus. In addition to several of our members serving on the host committee, Full Circle Fund’s project team has been helping organize this event, which is an opportunity to learn about plug-in vehicles while raising money to bring renewable energy to low-income families. Says Project Team Member Beth Trask,

Plug-in to GRID is a fantastic way for Full Circle Fund members to support one of our high-impact grantees. It’s guaranteed to be a fun networking party. Most importantly, this event will raise funds needed to bring renewable energy to low-income families.

GRID will have dozens of electric vehicles on hand to check out and in some cases test ride or test drive - high-end sportscars like the Tesla Roadster, futuristic prototypes displayed by Stanford and PG&E, plug-in hybrid conversions, motorcycles, scooters, neighborhood electric vehicles and much more. Also featured will be leaders from the venture capital and EV worlds on hand to talk about the future of electric transportation, including Full Circle Fund Co-Founder and Board President Josh Becker from New Cycle Capital; Sherry Boschert from Plug In America; Anup Jacob from Virgin Green Fund; John Suh from GM Advanced Technology Silicon Valley; and Saul Zambrano from PG&E’s Clean Air Transportation Program.

The event also includes drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. Tickets must be purchased in advance - space is limited and this event will sell out. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit GRID’s website. All proceeds support GRID Alternatives’ work bringing renewable energy to low-income communities throughout California.

>Want to join a team of dedicated individuals working with innovative grantees like GRID Alternatives? Read more about membership here….

Posted in Google, Beth Trask, GRID Alternatives, event, Josh Becker, environment, grantees

Life was moving pretty fast on Thursday, May 14 at the annual BizWorld Foundation Grand Prix IX where twelve teams of drivers, including Full Circle Fund’s Michael Millman and Braden Penhoet (making up team “Full Throttle”) took to the track at GoKart Racer in Burlingame. This fund-raising event consistently draws the who’s who of venture capital, banking and high-tech industries and Full Circle Fund was proud to be an event sponsor once again. Guests “started their engines” during a spirited reception and program, which welcomed revelers and showcased highlights from BizWorld’s nationwide impact. BizWorld Founder Tim Draper and CEO/Executive Director Catherine Hutton Markwell kicked off the main event, and the race was on. The drivers also hit the track to “Race the Pro,” matching their skills against that of J.R. Hildebrand, professional Firestone Indy driver from the Andretti Green Team. After thirty minutes of fast-paced hairpin turns, the cheering crowd, including Alice 97.3 Radio’s Hooman Khalili, Full Circle Fund’s Amy Lesnick, Wendy Wittmann, and Ruthanne Feinberg, welcomed back all drivers for the awards ceremony.

Adding fun to the function was Tesla Motors, providing two stunning electric sports cars for the crowd to admire. All in all, it was a fast-paced night of philanthropy for a great cause: to raise money for the BizWorld Foundation, a national non-profit organization that engages children grades 3 through 8 in experiential learning programs that teach the basics of business, entrepreneurship, and money management and promote teamwork and leadership in the classroom. Full Circle Fund can’t wait to do it again in 2010!

Check out all the event photos on our photostream.

Posted in Michael Millman, Braden Penhoet, BizWorld Foundation, Amy Lesnick, event

In addition to being a featured speaker at the May 15, 2009, Stride Center Opportunity Partner Program Launch event, Full Circle Fund CEO Amy Lesnick was also interviewed during a live interactive webcast by Arabella Santiago of BusinessBoomer. Amy answered questions in real time from viewers online, discussed how Full Circle Fund operates, her personal story about getting inspired to make a difference, and how the current economy has actually made Full Circle Fund even stronger. Other interviews from the event include California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer, and Barrie Hathaway, Executive Director of the Stride Center. Thank you to member Ryan Turner and BusinessBoomer for providing a live webcast for the event.

Posted in Bill Lockyer, Barrie Hathaway, Stride Center, video, Amy Lesnick, event