Friday, July 17, 2009

spread the FFF love from NY to CA!

Very cool to spread the Fast Forward love with inspiring friends new & old at FFF's 1st NYC meet-up! And it was amazing to hear Lily Lui from Public Stuff & Jessica Rauch from The Generation Project talk about the impact of participating in FFF's youth-to-youth Investor Pitch session (spring '09). They both emphasized the depth and quality of questions posed by their peers. The FFF student portfolio directors were able to probe issues and pose questions that prompted entrepreneurs to reach further in their thinking.... QUESTION For all those social adventurers out there: when you've embarked on a new endeavor, what questions have you found most provocative? trenchant? annoying?

So far, July has featured FFF's 1st Leadership Summit, FFF as keynote speaker at NYWSE's Incubator Project celebration, and our 1st young professional meet-up. What a great month...with two more weeks to go! This weekend, I'm off to California to introduce FFF to new partners & colleagues, find & deepen collaborative opportunities, and celebrate social investment with friends & family. Looking forward to the FFF picnic at the Ravenswood Winery, and to the first event for HubSF about mobilizing change!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

How would you Fast Forward Change?

Calling all world changers: if you could accelerate social change, what would you fast forward first? Think about it and send me your top 3 fast forward priorities! The best response will get featured and interviewed on next FFF e-newsletter.

And if you're in NYC, come to Fast Forward meet-up tonight: http://bit.ly/IJCLL , SideBAR, 6-9pm, 118 E.15th St., NYC. See you there!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

FFF Leaders Enabling Growth

Well, tomorrow we gather Fast Forward Fund (FFF) leaders-- founding Board members, our pilot portfolio student directors, summer team professional staff, advisors & friends, for our 1st Annual FFF Leadership Summit. I already feel simultaneously exhausted & energized, in anticipation of the day-long retreat. One thing I know, the participants coming tomorrow, and all our amazing partners, are truly leading the path of youth-to-youth social investment.

Our theme is "Envisioning & Enabling FFF Growth." The day is structured around building our action plan in three respects: Intention, Integrity, Impact. I believe effective action requires all three qualities, as distinguished from mere activity. Intention is about envisioning, dreaming, seeing where we want to go. Integrity is about how we get there, making it happen, making it real. Impact is the significance, the outcomes, the results of our efforts.

Here's to a fruitful day!