with light
Welcome bloomers,
Here is your summary of the newsletter this week:
🌱Global women in peacebuilding fellowship
🌱Map of philanthropic generosity reimagined
🌱Asia impact sustainability education grant
with love & light,
Jasmine
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fresh soil
What is your “official” professional role and field?
I’m the Founder and Director of The SMC Group, a boutique Monitoring & Evaluation and DEI consultancy for our sector. I provide bespoke technical support and workshops to build expertise. I specialise in participatory, decolonial, intersectional, and inclusive approaches to our work. The SMC Group is a proudly anti-racist, queer, and feminist-led company.
What is your unofficial role and field?
My work challenges power by mainstreaming RADIQUAL© approaches to social impact; (RADIQUAL© is a manifesto and framework for innovative research I designed back when I started the company).
I support organisations better understand what M&E is and how to do it in ways that best reflect their communities, sociopolitical context, and that showcase their localised expertise. Each project and client is varied since I design everything specifically for them, which keeps me constantly learning and always creative, which I love. For example, so far this year I did the technical M&E for a project, worked on a strategy evaluation, and facilitated an organisation-wide session on decolonising knowledge.
I then branched out into doing DEI for this sector too, through consultancies, workshops, and talks. I noticed that I was helping to build intersectional feminist spaces within the M&E teams, but the organisation didn’t reflect those values. That work led me to We Create Space and I’m proud to be part of their Global Advisory Board and Speaker Collective as well!
Besides that, as a human person I am a big sci-fi fan (waiting to see Dune 2 next week!). I’m being modest when I say I’m a great cook, and I’ve just figured out how to grow things properly on my little balcony garden at home. I’ve got approximately twenty gajillion creative hobbies which give me the peace, clarity, and boundaries I need in work that is so deeply personal and always political.
How did you get to where you are today in your career?
The long way!
I’ve wanted to work in this sector since I was a teenager, and I started out as an activist. I led the world’s largest school community in the Make Poverty History campaign of 2005 - horribly patronising and whitewashing yes, but I learned so much! The work of great journalists inspired me to get involved in important campaigns and I wanted to do that for someone else. So I started a newsletter in high school, then freelanced in university while also waiting tables and working in a B&B to save up. I then worked as an economic journalist in a news wire, and when it closed down I was unemployed for about a year.
I started my first company then, an ethical fashion business called Syra Brownlock. I designed the clothes, patterns, sourced the fabrics, and made everything in a circular economy model that supported women’s cooperatives in India. I closed it during the pandemic sadly, and now I sew just for myself and family.
A chance encounter at an airport helping a stranger with her luggage inspired me to apply for jobs in philanthropy instead of the low-paying roles in Central European NGOs. I worked at Open Society Foundations as a grantmaker and M&E specialist for 5 years. To be diplomatic, it was a toxic environment and I realised philanthropy was not what it wanted to be, so we parted ways and I started The SMC Group in 2018.
Your relationship to “social impact”: has it evolved since you began your career?
Absolutely. I’m still quite idealistic but our sector’s corruption and toxicity really took a lot of that away. I now look at it as circles of influence and control - ‘what can I do within my space to make things better for people I hold power over, and how can I do my part’, rather than ‘how can I change the world’ and all its inherent saviourness!
Rapid fire! Share your favorite...
Podcasts?
🎤No SugarCoat with Pooja Dhingra – a show that looks at understanding the entrepreneurial struggle. Hosted by pastry chef
🎤Fake Doctors Real Friends – aka ‘Scrubs Rewatch Show with Zach & Donald Mm Hmmm’
🎤People Fixing the World – brilliant solutions to the world’s problems.
🎤The Atlas Obscura Podcast – an audio guide to the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places.
🎤The Infinite Monkey Cage – witty, irreverent look at the world through scientists' eyes.
🎤Sidedoor – more than 154 million treasures fill the Smithsonian’s vaults, but where public view ends, Sidedoor begins.
🎤 Overheard at National Geographic – curiously delightful conversations overheard at National Geographic’s headquarters
🎤 On the Contrary by IDR – an award-winning show about listening to people not like us
Accounts I follow:
♻️ The Farm Chennai, a dairy farm just outside my home city where every day you get beautiful posts about what’s grown, cooked, milked, etc in this slice of heaven.
♻️ Okhai, a women-run social enterprise and foundation from Rajasthan, India that works with artisans across the country who make and sell clothing, homewares, and accessories.
♻️ Goya Journal, a food and culture magazine based in Bangalore, India that finally shares proper regional stories and cuisines from across the subcontinent!
♻️ Reteti Elephant Sanctuary from Kenya. No explanation necessary!
♻️ Maroof Culmen, a spectacular heritage storyteller from North India, who takes amazing videos and photos across the country.
♻️ Sam Vox, one of my favourite photographers and storytellers, based in Zanzibar
Books?
📚Anything by Neil Gaiman, except ‘Coraline’ which was weird as hell
📚The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
📚Grishaverse books by Leigh Bardugo. I read the entire collection twice in a year!
📚The Silence of Scheherazade by Defne Suman
📚Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I am evangelical about this book, be warned
📚A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Connect and message Sanjukta directly in our social impact community platform 💜
water your soul
Inspiring newsletters, documentaries, social media, and much more; we find media to brighten and enlighten your spirit.
✊🏾 True philanthropy.
🌿 Ancient wisdom, over modern industry
🤣 Laughing for dayssss.
branch out
Curated collection of Global South/Global North fellowships, grants, awards, competitions – because there are many opportunities to branch out, beyond a traditional 9 – 5 jobs.
🌍 Fellowships
Women PeaceMakers Fellowship at Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice: For collaboration between peacebuilders from conflict-affected regions and international partner organizations. Fellows engage in co-creating research endeavors aimed at shaping the peacebuilding landscape and best practices in peacebuilding design.
Equitable Futures Fellowship for Indo-Pacific residents: Empowers leaders to tackle pressing global challenges, including income disparities, healthcare access, climate change impacts, and societal diversity issues. This program offers participants the opportunity to explore innovative solutions and amplify underrepresented voices. Through a combination of in-person sessions in Hawai‘i and Aotearoa, plus regular virtual meetings, fellows will hear from top experts and engage in activities designed to enhance their knowledge, leadership capacities, and networks.
Global Platform for Action Climate and Sustainability Academy Fellowship: Are you passionate about tackling climate change and sustainability issues, especially within the context of forced displacement? This is a global opportunity for individuals with lived experiences of forced displacement.
📚 Education
Future of work training for African talent by McKinsey: Free, ten-week online learning program offered by McKinsey to equip individuals at different stages of their work life with practical skills to succeed in the future of work. What learners receive: interactive learning journey, Workplace skills you can use immediately.
💸 Grants & Awards
Asia Impact Sustainability Education Grant: Aims to transform the lives of underserved Singaporean and ASEAN youths who have plans to enroll in a tertiary education course with a focus of sustainability and sustainable development. 10 talented youths—from Singapore and wider ASEAN region—who demonstrate both financial need and a dedication to shaping a better, more sustainable world will receive grants.
Competition Policy and Power Research Fund: Aims to promote research that will help combat excessive market power by bridging gaps in current knowledge and supporting practical advances and innovations in the use of competition and anti-trust tools. In this inaugural Call for Proposals, they seek applications from civil society and academic organisations for research grants on competition policy and concentrated corporate power. The proposed projects should show how the research can concretely advance the anti-monopoly agenda.
Barron Prize for Young Heroes Canada/ USA: If you’re between the ages of 8 and 18, residing in the U.S.A. or Canada, and leading an inspiring service project, winners receive a USD 10,000 Award.
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
Come join The Bloom's launch party team IN PERSON at one of the most prestigious social impact gatherings in the world, Skoll World Forum! 🎉 The Bloom's founder will be holding a free and open to public event (right before the Former Prime Minister of New Zealand...Jacinda Ardern 🤯 to reveal an exciting new launch at The Bloom 🌳💜 If you would like join us in Oxford in person email us for an RSVP invitation: team@readtobloom.com.
Get to know the social impact leaders who will join Jasmine at our in person event at Skoll World Forum, their intersections are incredibly diverse, we can't wait for you to meet them IRL 🔥👇🏾
🎤 Dan Barker, President and CEO of Halcyon
Dan is the President and CEO of Halcyon, an incubator and investor in early-stage, impact-driven startups from around the globe. Dan joined Halcyon from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth where he was vice president focused on supporting cutting-edge research on financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. Prior to Mastercard, Dan was vice president for social impact at BlackRock. Dan first connected with Halcyon during his time as a management consultant at Deloitte where he advised corporate, multilateral, and nonprofit clients on social impact strategy. He began his career as a researcher at the Council on Foreign Relations and Earth Institute. He holds a master’s in international finance and economic policy from Columbia University and a BA from NYU. He serves on the advisory boards of Global Kids, Inc. and the Guyana Economic Development Trust and is a judge for the Inclusive Fintech 50.
🎤Pinar Ozcan, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Saïd Business School, Oxford University
Pinar works as a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Saïd Business School, Oxford University. She also leads the Oxford Entrepreneurship Centre and the Oxford Future of Finance and Technology (Fintech) Initiative. Her research focuses on strategy, entrepreneurship, and technology markets, and current research projects include AI and business models in fintech, open banking, digital disruption, and the rise of big tech platforms. Pinar serves in advisory roles to the Bank of England and the OECD.
🎤Princess Agina, Founder at BusinessU & Community Executive at The Laidlaw Foundation
With over 12 years of diverse professional experience, from advertising for corporate giants like Walmart to consulting microentrepreneurs in Costa Rica with the Peace Corps, Princess as cultivated a unique blend of global program management and environmental sustainability skills. At the heart of her career is a commitment to meaningful impact, like engaging 150+ youth in entrepreneurial skills through her social enterprise, BusinessU Ventures. Passionate about creating sustainable change, she bring a dynamic approach to strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and operational efficiency, aiming to foster growth and innovation in every endeavour.
🎤Mafalda Rebordão, Young Advisor to the President of Portugal, Board Member Center for Responsible AI, +5 years at Google
From 9am to 6pm Mafalda is a woman in tech energised by the opportunity to bring AI to people (+5 years at Google, most recently as a Strategic Partnerships Manager in London). From 6pm onwards, she is a podcaster (co-founder and host of a TOP10% most shared podcast on Spotify), published author, Invited Professor, President of an NGO, the C-level Mentorship Academy (to support women close the leadership ambition gap), Board member of the Center for Responsible AI and Young Advisor to the President of Portugal. Passionate about education and technology, Mafalda is an economist by degree and entrepreneur at heart that has been claiming a seat at the table for more women and young people to make sure she might be the first but not last. Mafalda has lived in 5 different countries and studied at TOP business schools being invited to teach at Nova School of Business and Economics (TOP11 FT worldwide), and to join the Executive Board and advise the Dean. She was the first Portuguese awarded by the Financial Times and the first selected as a promising future leader by the St. Gallen Symposium. Mafalda was also recognised by Forbes as a young leader.
Come meet these phenomenal social impact leaders at The Bloom's in person event at Skoll World Forum, send us an email to RSVP for our launch party!!! 🌞
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
Publish What You Pay
To prevent catastrophic climate change the world needs to wean itself off fossil fuels and onto cleaner energy, fast. But an energy transition that overlooks the needs and voices of people in countries dependent on the extraction of oil, gas and minerals will undermine already fragile economies and impede effective climate action. Building on two decades of work on extractive industries transparency, the Publish What You Pay network of over a thousand organisations from more than 50 countries is campaigning for a just transition to a fairer, cleaner energy future.
Email team@readtobloom.com to feature your organization and job openings to 40,000 diverse and talented bloomers around the world. Warning: spicy sidenote comments might appear when we want to *extra* express how much we love these job openings 🌶️
LATIN AMERICA + CARIBBEAN
Regional coordinator Latin America & Caribbean – Publish What You Pay
Coordinador agrícola especialista en caña – PanameriCaña
Técnico agrícola especialista en caña – PanameriCaña
🇸🇻
Consultoría "técnico de logística y convocatorias – FUNDEMAS
🇲🇽
x3 personas consultoras junior – COMETA
Operations officer – Namati
Senior performance, learning and impact advisor – IPPF
🇬🇹
Consultor para coordinación local de programa Guatemala – Labor Mobility Partnerships
EUROPE
Internal comms officer – E3G
🇬🇧
Program manager, Legacies of Enslavement Project – The Guardian
ASIA + OCEANIA
🇮🇳
Analyst, centre for sustainable finance – Climate Policy Initiative
AFRICA
🇰🇪
Executive director – Flying Kites
Event coordinator – Survivor Alliance
🇸🇳
Program manager – Niyel
NORTH AMERICA
🇺🇸
Associate, community (influencer) – Her Campus Media
Strategic comms officer – Ford Foundation
Senior coordinator – JASS
REMOTE
🌍
Quantitative researcher – The Equality Institute
Participatory grant manager – Youth Climate Justice Fund
Governance administrator – Oxfam
Youth mobilizers to end violence against children – Restless Development
For more hand-curate job openings, check out the job board of our careers platform!
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