our global garden of joy Hi 👋 I’m Jasmine, founder of The Bloom. We have a phenomenal selection of social impact resources this week for you to bloom & forward to your friends!
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Welcome bloomers, Here is your summary of the newsletter this week: 🌱 Green jobs mentorship program at Ban Ki-moon Centre 🌱 Worldwide scholarships for STEM students 🌱 Micro grants for Global South climate activists with love & light, Jasmine Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to get your own copy of The Bloom to your inbox with top social impact jobs, uplifting stories, and global resources. Partner with us! We're looking forimpactful organizations to partner with The Bloom to bring connections, resources, and opportunities to our global community.
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fresh soil
What is your “official” professional role and field?
I am the Senior Associate, Strategy and Impact at an international non-profit organization called Humanitarian OpenstreetMap Team (HOT). I am in the international development domain working to create systems, processes and uniformity in the organization so that we can strategize, streamline and create impact dedicated to humanitarian action and community development globally.
I am also the Strategist and Co-Founder of Educhange Foundation, a non-profit based out of my hometown, Kolkata, India. The organization’s mission is to transform learning environments for children’s education and foster holistic learning among them from a young age through a unique ‘curriculum through co-curricular method. This has been my mother’s lifelong dream and I am here to support her in every way to achieve it!
What is your unofficial role and field?
I am a Feminist Strategist and community development is the core motivation behind any and every work I do. I have always known that my strength lies in working with communities, helping them streamline and strategize to build partnerships, processes and systems so that they are able to work constructively and create the impact they envision to create. As a skilled project management professional in the development and non-profit space my passion lies in spearheading high-impact projects and processes for non profits, startups, consulting firms and social enterprises. My core thematic interest areas are gender, education and sustainability. I draw joy from interacting with people, hearing diverse stories of experiences and am always eager to listen, learn and collaborate.
As a brown woman from the Global South, I believe in the power of diverse voices, feminist leadership, and want to keep working with empathy to break barriers and racist practices in international development space.
How did you get to where you are today in your career?
I would like to start off by saying that I come from a privilege of class and caste and hence, my journey has been much easier than many other women of color who were not born with the privilege I was born with.
But as a brown woman from the Global South myself, my career journey till now has been a labor of perseverance. I graduated during the dreaded year of 2020 from my master’s in International Relations from Central European University. My initial plan was to work in an UN organization which was difficult with the hiring freezes for internationals during COVID. I also wanted to start working right away after my master’s hence, I took up the role of Program Associate remotely at an Indian social enterprise while I was still in Budapest. Since then I have worked for an array of organizations as a full-time employee and as a consultant and learnt the different dynamics of research, partnerships, monitoring & evaluation, on-field project management and now strategy within this development and social impact space.
I would like to mention that I firmly believe I am at this juncture of my career at the age of 27 because I never gave up and took up the opportunities which came to me without being too picky about them. I was always willing to experiment, self-learn and ask questions and never said ‘no’ in taking up any responsibility that was given to me. I truly believe that there is no alternative to being proactive and there is nothing more powerful than perseverance. If you hold on, and are willing to learn, anything is possible!
Your relationship to “social impact”: has it evolved since you began your career?
As a student of Political Science and International Relations, I had very different notions of what a ‘social impact career’ would like! I thoroughly enjoyed my studies but I honestly do not think any of my degrees taught me any real life, on-ground and job skills which are required to excel at international development and social impact careers. My studies opened up my mind but did not really prepare me to face the practical realities of the development and social impact sectors.
Now having worked in this sector and having getting to know the different facets of social impact organizations, I believe my relationship has indeed changed and transformed with ‘social impact.’ I have learnt to look at problem-solving practically, I have learnt stakeholder engagement, and I have been learning how to work with diverse communities every day.
I believe my relationship with social impact now is more humane. It has become more adaptable, more forgiving and I have come to understand that this field is an ever-changing space that needs an individual to constantly innovate, learn and be proactive in the work they do. Working with and for diverse communities and within humanitarian action is no easy feat and hence having an open mind and giving one’s ownself grace is very crucial. Lastly, the power of connections and networks is immense, so I would say social impact now, for me, is as much about the beneficiaries as it is about the inspiring people who relentlessly work within it!
Podcasts?
🎤I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi is a brilliant podcast especially for women as we tend to have self-harming mindsets about money and finances and he helps to address them.
🎤The Minimalists Podcast is a great one to develop the mindset of ‘leading meaningful lives by using and having less.’
🎤Weekend a podcast by The Guardian is one which brings some of the best writings from the week together for listeners to hear.
Connect with Nikkon in our social impact community platform. And make sure to RSVP for our upcoming social impact networking event this week on April 3! 💜
water your soul
Inspiring newsletters, documentaries, social media, and much more; we find media to brighten and enlighten your spirit.
🦋 Digital liberation of art stolen in colonialism. 🎶 To listen while you work this week.
branch out
Curated collection of fellowships, grants, awards, competitions – because there are many opportunities to branch out, beyond a traditional 9 – 5 jobs.
📚 Fellowships
Artificial Intelligence and Climate Action Summer School: Designed to foster collaboration and innovation in addressing climate change through the utilization of artificial intelligence. With two distinct programs – a virtual initiative and an in-person intensive – participants will have the opportunity to delve deep into the intersection of AI and climate action, learning from expert researchers and practitioners in the field. Trevor Noah Foundation Education Changemakers Program: Seeking individuals dedicated to revolutionizing the education landscape. If you have firsthand experience and a proven record of impact in education, this is your opportunity to connect with a community of educators, innovators, and leaders who share a common goal: to reshape education for the better. J-PAL’s MENA Scholars Fellowship: For MENA region-based researchers to build skills and experience to design and conduct randomized evaluations of poverty reduction and social development policies and programs. Over a two-year fellowship, selected scholars will build networks, have access to mentorship and training program.
African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program: 12-month program which aims to identify and deploy highly competent tech innovators from the African continent to units and organs within the African Union headquarters.
💸 Grants & Awards
Pulitzer Center Grants: Accepting proposals for grant applications that address the intersection of data transparency, governance, deforestation, & other critical rainforest issues in the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.
Google's Worldwide Scholarships for STEM conferences: A groundbreaking initiative to provide opportunities for students and recent graduates who identify as historically underrepresented in the tech, business, and STEM industries. The program offers full sponsorship to attend selected industry conferences, covering all expenses associated with participation.
Micro-Grants Program – Climate Justice Initiatives in the Global South: Roots, a leading organization dedicated to advancing climate justice, is thrilled to announce the launch of its new Micro-grants Program for USD 10,000. Aimed at supporting youth-led groups, projects, initiatives, research, or campaigns, this initiative seeks to empower voices from the Global South advocating for climate justice through an intersectional lens.
community garden
In our community platform, you can connect directly to a diverse network of extraordinary social & environmental impact leaders and build relationships of reciprocity. Here's a few Asks & Offers in the community this week:
🐝 OFFER SPOTLIGHT
♻️ ASKS SPOTLIGHT 🌱Zöe: Hi everyone! I got the amazing news that I got a job offer this morning, which I am super happy with! However, now starts the negotiation period and I wanted to ask here for advice :) If anyone has any tips to share on how to go about this situation, on salary negotiations in general, on what you think is fair in such a situation, or anything else to share, I would love love to hear!!
🌱Regina: Hi everyone!!! I am looking for people that work with early childhood in this community!! I´d love to connect!! :)
🌱Anabella: I want to pursue the PMI Project Management certification, but I'm finding all the materials very outdated and not really relevant to our work on the social impact landscape. Has anyone taken that certification? Do you have relevant material to share or any recommendations?
Connect directly with bloomers in the "Asks & Offers" section of our social impactcareers platform.
pollination partner
Spotlight on the resources, impact, and programs led by the incredible organizations sponsoring The Bloom's newsletter.
The Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens just launched the Your Future in Green Jobs Mentorship Program! This program aims to empower young people between 14-20 years old interested in pursuing a green career and wanting to contribute to the wellbeing of our planet. Throughout its duration, mentees will participate in tailored workshops, receive one-on-one mentoring from green job experts, and implement their very own SDG Micro-Project. You can apply here until April 8, 2024 💚 *Don't be discouraged by the requirement to complete the Online Course, you can still do this before the kick-off event! However, completion certificate will boost your chances to be selected.
grow new roots
Hand-picked job opportunities and employers we love around the world, selected from a diverse team of social impact leaders behind the scenes at The Bloom who are excited for you to grow new roots in your career.
🤎 Social Impact Employer Spotlight
Youth Climate Justice Fund Supports youth climate justice movements with trust-based funding, resources and youth-to-youth capacity development. The YCJF was publicly launched during New York Climate Week 2023. In September 2023, we also launched our first grantmaking call, receiving more than 1,800 applications from all over the world. In 2023, we supported 40 groups working on climate justice with an initial $500.000.
One Acre Fund Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies 1 million smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. Our 8,000+ team is drawn from diverse backgrounds and professions. With operations across six core countries in Africa, we make farmers more prosperous by providing quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural training to improve harvests. On average, the farmers we serve harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.
Climate Change AI Climate Change AI is a global non-profit that catalyzes impactful work at the intersection of climate change and machine learning. It's an organization composed of volunteers from academia and industry who believe that tackling climate change requires concerted societal action, in which machine learning can play an impactful role.
For more hand-curate job openings, check out the job board of our careers platform!
Social Impact Career Rewards 🥳
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