Bye from Singapore!

I ended my internship here in Singapore last Friday. While it's definitely been a crazy and intense summer with a boss who wasn't the easiest to work with, I've gained so much and really learned from this experience in so many ways.

I've loved spending time here in Singapore. It's truly a very unique place. It's this tiny island in SE Asia blossoming with new enterprises but also maintaining a level of stability that you don't see very often in this region.

I've met some great people here - people who I know will end up making a difference in the world. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me!

So this is Catherine signing off - thanks again for reading my summer blog!!

Take care and much love :)

Other Attractions

Sentosa:



National Volunteer and Philanthropy Center:



Highest Summit in Singapore:



Cat on the Beach: Soo cute!



East Coast Beach:

Jurong Bird Park

I went to the Jurong Bird Park yesterday during Singapore National Day - so much fun. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Feeding the birds:





Watching the bird show:



Just enjoying the birds:





This one appears to be giving me the finger haha:



This one seems to like me, so all is good :)

Room to Read Extravaganza

If you've never read John Wood's Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, you need to go to a bookstore right this minute, buy the book, and read it.

It is a truly inspiring story of a person who had a dream and brick by brick turned that dream into a reality.

Background: John Wood is the Founder and CEO of Room to Read, a non-profit organization that builds libraries and schools in the developing world. To date, RtR has constructed 765 schools, built over 7,040 libraries, published 327 new local language children's books representing over 2.8 million books, and sponsored 7000 long-term girls' scholarships.

Media News for Room to Read: http://www.roomtoread.org/media/index.html

John Wood's biography (He's AMAZING): http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com/downloads/John%20J.%20Wood%20Speaker%20Bio.pdf

AND LAST NIGHT, I met and spoke to John at the Room to Read Singapore Launch Party. Words cannot even begin to describe his charisma and energy. His passion for the cause is infectious, and I was very moved at the same time by his humbleness. The most amazing piece of news from the Launch Party is that they raised over $1 MILLION Singdollars in a mere couple of hours!

John and me!



John speaking:



The after party:

Sustainable Urban Farms

This past Sunday, I helped out with an interesting social enterprise here in Singapore called Ground Up Initiative. As a little background -

GUI’s Mission is [From GUI’s website: http://www.groundupinitiative.org/story.html]
1. To foster connection between Man and Earth through sustainable activities.
2. To grow a flourishing community that drives local and global humanitarian, social and environmental initiatives.
3. To nurture members and groom leaders.

One of their initiatives is to create sustainable urban farms in the middle of bustling metropolises. One particular urban farm is currently located in a quaint little park called Bottle Tree Park. This project started in April 2009 and attracts around 15-20 volunteers each week. The goal of this project is to create a bio intensive farm in order to provide enough vegetables and produce for the community volunteers and the needy.

I helped out by creating this trellis:



Here I am in front of the greenhouse:

The Importance of Governance

Last Friday, I attended a talk on Charity Governance. It was very insightful and interesting. Whether you’re talking about the private sector or the public sector, governance is an issue that is absolutely critical to the success of an organization.

Why is Governance Important?

In the public sector, good governance is incredibly important, because a charitable organization is often entrusted with other people’s hard earned money. Donors expect that the organization will keep and use the funds in an efficient and effective manner. Accountability and transparency are essential when maintaining trustworthy relationships with stakeholders. Good governance is a primary way to showcase an organization’s level of accountability and transparency.

What is an Issue with Governance?

Maintaining good governance practices requires money and resources. While large organizations with a substantial amount of funding have the capacity for larger administration costs, smaller charities often do not. The dilemma that then arises is whether that organization should focus their limited funding on good governance or using that money toward its charitable programs. While the answer is murky and not clear cut, the bottom line is that good governance has been shown to improve the effectiveness of organizations and is extremely important for maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders.

Some Observations

One thing that I've noticed here in Singapore is that there are always pick up trucks driving around that carry approx 10-15 men (all dressed in relatively ratty clothing) in the back of the truck. These are mostly men from other SE Asian countries who work in construction. I live in an area where there are many nice luxury apartments being built, and every day, I walk by construction sites and see tin shacks propped right within the construction sites where all these construction workers live. I'm curious to learn more about these people and understand their backgrounds.

High Pressure Work Experience

In the final stages of completing one of the big projects for this summer, I've finally learned what it means to work in a high pressure situation. A portion of the project was due to the client by midnight on a Saturday, and needless to say, I have never worked this hard on a Saturday night.

My Favorite New Fruit

Yes, I am a fruitaholic. These two fruits are delish!



Star Fruit



Dragon Fruit

Venture Philanthropy

Last week, a project at work involved researching the best practices of venture philanthropy. I really had no idea what this topic entailed besides the fact that “it had something to do with venture capital.” Even knowing that meant very little, because my knowledge on venture capital is quite limited to begin with. After two days of research, I’ve discovered that venture philanthropy is an emerging field that has the potential to make a lasting impact in our quest to solve the world’s problems.

Although there has been no official definition for venture philanthropy, the core concept of venture philanthropy involves treating funding as an investment rather than a charitable donation. By implementing the practices of venture capital firms, venture philanthropy hopes to help the social sector by infusing techniques that will result in high impact. Venture philanthropy is often characterized by innovative approaches, a focus on measurable results, and long term impact. This field was first introduced in a 1997 Harvard Business Review article called “Virtuous Capital: What Foundations Can Learn from Venture Capitalists.”

Check out the Acumen Fund – an awesome example of venture philanthropy at its best.

The Trials and Tribulations of Text Messaging

I'm a little behind on blogging this week, so bear with me :)

Last Thursday, I met my boss for the first time, and needless to say, she is probably one of the most driven, passionate, and talented individuals you will ever meet. Her list of credentials range from Goldman to Huntsman to Stanford to Doctors Without Borders.

We decided to touch base briefly on Thursday between her meetings in the area. We agreed to meet at 11:45 at the Regent Hotel. Upon arriving, I received a text from her:

"Meeting places have been switched. Sorry about the inconvenience. Could we meet at the Hyatt?"

Knowing how crazy a packed schedule can be, I was perfectly fine with taking a cab to the Hyatt Hotel. So I text messaged back:

"Sure thing. What's the address?"

I probably shouldn't have asked, because I simply just got in a cab and told the cab driver to take me to the Hyatt. I arrive at the Hyatt, wait around for a few minutes, and just as I was about to let her know I arrived, I receive another text message:

"Don't worry about it then. I came back to the Regent Hotel. Meet me in 5."

GAH. !@#$@#$#$&*#$#$&#*$&#*$)#(&@($.

I finally dial her number and we talk in real time. Being the nice intern that I am, I offer to go back to the Regent Hotel.

Oi. Why must these things always happen to me?

Minor Lifestyle Changes

Now that I've spent a couple of days here, I've discovered some minor lifestyle changes I've made.

1) I take multiple showers per day. One in the morning. One after I work out. One at night if I happen to go out. I guess I could limit it to two showers, but alas, I am simply too lazy to get up and work out in the morning.

2) I now look right left right instead of left right left when crossing the street, since Singaporeans are old school and drive on the other side of the street.

3) I eat at Hawker centers (great massive outdoors food courts). They exist on every corner. I'll post some pics soon.

4) I live for samosas. They are delicious.

Tootles for now!

Measuring Social Impact

I've been working on a report this past week about how to measure impact in the social sector. Here's my intro:

At the most fundamental level, charities or non-profit organizations exist to better society in some form or another. Despite the good intentions, non-profits often face a variety of different obstacles and problems. These issues involve funding disparities to an inefficient use of resources. With hundreds of thousands of charities around the world vying for limited funding and resources, maximizing a nonprofit’s impact to society is absolutely essential. Having an effective tool to quantify societal impact results in more effective planning by the non-profit, an increased understanding of the charity’s work, and a greater understanding of the social value created by the charity.

If you're interested in reading the full report, e-mail me. (Later because I haven't quite finished it yet :P)

Also, check out the book The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz, the founder of the Acumen Fund (www.acumenfund.org). No one explains more eloquently than Jackie N. how powerful the intersection of business and philanthropy can be.

Customs Fun

I arrived in Singapore at 3:20 am this morning. The 24 + hours of traveling definitely took its toll. My dad picked me up at the airport, and I finally saw our Singapore home for the first time. It's nice. My first impressions here -- 1) this city-state is so tiny and awesome 2) people are really strict.

Well at least my customs official was. Leave it up to me to be lectured by a customs official. In all my years of traveling, putting a general area or street name on the immigration form has been enough. But not this time. The official insisted I write my exact address and detailed contact information, and when I told her I only knew my street name, she launched into a full scale lecture.

Customs Official: How will we find you in an emergency if you have no address? How can you travel without knowing your contact information?
Me: I don't know.
Customs Official: Write down a phone number.
Me: I don't have one.
Customs Official: This is a serious matter. We take things very seriously here. We need to know how we can find you.
Me: Uh... ok...Will e-mail do?
Customs Official: Piercing glare and hands back my form so I can write down my e-mail.

Thank god it was 3 am. She probably didn't want to deal with me. Mental note for future: Don't forget to write down exact address. Or just get in a different line at the airport and avoid the mean looking customs officials.

Anywho, I start work next next week. I'll take this week to explore and make some exciting plans for the summer. Stay tuned!