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The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World Hardcover – March 3, 2009
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For the first 5,000 copies of The Blue Sweater purchased, a $15 donation per book will be made to Acumen Fund, a nonprofit that invests in transformative businesses to solve the problems of poverty.
The Blue Sweater is the inspiring story of a woman who left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession—until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That the sweater had made its trek all the way to Rwanda was ample evidence, she thought, of how we are all connected, how our actions—and inaction—touch people every day across the globe, people we may never know or meet.
From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters—women dancing in a Nairobi slum, unwed mothers starting a bakery, courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds.
She shows, in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of philanthropic investing called "patient capital" can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRodale Books
- Publication dateMarch 3, 2009
- Dimensions6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-101594869154
- ISBN-13978-1594869150
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
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“The decency of Jacqueline Novogratz shines through these pages and so does her strength. The stories she shares about the people she has met show the nobility of the human spirit and the breadth of the desire to stop suffering, to feed the hungry, to care for the sick, to empower the poor - in short, to make the world a better place. The Blue Sweater is a book of hope written by a practical idealist who won't take "no" for an answer when it comes to building a better world. Jacqueline breathes new life into the phrase "a life of meaning" and she is living one everyday even as she asks us to join her.” —Senator Bill Bradley
“The Blue Sweater will inspire people around the world by seeing the difference one person can make in taking on challenges with courage, curiosity, drive and a great sense of possibility. It is a story for all of us, regardless of the country in which we were born.” —Mary Robinson, Chair of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative
“Jacqueline's book and her work represent an entirely new way to look at things, a vivid opportunity for change and most of all, an obligation to spread the word about the way the world has evolved. We need to wake up and listen to what she has to say. Hurry!” —Seth Godin, author of Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us and Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
“Jacqueline is a national treasure. Her pioneering work at Acumen Fund is positively influencing a whole generation of donors and recipients.” —Seth Berkley, President and founder of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
“A captivating first-person account of a young woman's quest to close the gap between rich and poor. If one person can change the world, this is your window into how it's done.” —Chee Pearlman, former Editor in Chief, I.D. Magazine
“If you believe in the worth and capacity of individual initiative and in group commitment, or if you believe that our lives can be transformed by the events we live through, then you must read this book.” —Daniel Toole, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
INNOCENT ABROAD
"There is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
--NELSON MANDELA
It all started with the blue sweater, the one my uncle Ed gave me. He was like Santa to me, even in the middle of July.
Of soft blue wool, with stripes on the sleeves and an African motif across the front--two zebras walking in front of a snowcapped mountain--the sweater made me dream of places far away. I hadn't heard of Mount Kilimanjaro, nor did I have any idea that Africa would one day find a prominent place in my heart. Still, I loved that sweater and wore it often and everywhere. I wrote my name on the tag to ensure that it would be mine forever.
In our neighborhood in Virginia in the 1970s, new clothing was a once- or twice-a-year event. We would shop in September for school and at Christmastime and then make do for the year. As the eldest of seven children, at least I didn't have to wear many hand-me-downs, and I liked choosing my own clothes; still, I loved that blue sweater. I wore it for years--right through middle school and into my freshman year in high school- -though it started to fit me differently then, hugging adolescent curves I fought mightily to ignore.
But then my high school nemesis (who would burn down the school in our senior year by throwing a Molotov cocktail into the principal's office) ruined everything. At our school, the cool kids and athletes hung out in "Jock Hall," the area right outside the gym. During football season, the cheerleaders would decorate the hall with crepe paper streamers while the guys strutted around like peacocks in green and gold jerseys. Only a freshman, I was breathless just to be admitted to the scene. One Friday afternoon, the captain of the team had asked me on a date right there in the middle of the hall. The very air seemed to crackle with expectation.
And there was that mean kid, standing right beside me, talking to boys from the junior varsity football team about the first ski trip of the winter. He stared at my sweater, and I gave him the coldest look I could muster. "We don't have to go anywhere to ski," he yelled, pointing at my chest. "We can do it on Mount Novogratz."
The other boys joined him in laughter. I died a thousand deaths.
That afternoon, I marched home and announced to my mother that the vile sweater had to go. How could she have let me walk out of the house looking so mortifyingly bad? Despite my high drama, she drove me to the Goodwill in our Ford station wagon with the wood panels on the sides. Ceremoniously, we disposed of the sweater; I was glad never to have to see it again and tried hard to forget it.
FAST-FORWARD TO EARLY 1987: Twenty-five years old, I was jogging up and down the hilly streets of Kigali, Rwanda. I'd come to the country to help establish a microfinance institution for poor women. With my Walkman playing Joe Cocker singing "With a Little Help from My Friends," I felt as if I were in a music video. On the road, women walked with bunches of yellow bananas on their heads, their hips swaying in time with the song's rhythm. Even the tall cypress trees at the roadsides seemed to shimmy. I was in a dream on a sunny, big-sky Kigali afternoon, far away from home.
From out of nowhere, a young boy walked toward me, wearing the sweater--my sweater, the beloved but abandoned blue one. He was perhaps 10 years old, skinny, with a shaved head and huge eyes, not more than 4 feet tall. The sweater hung so low it hid his shorts, covering toothpick legs and knobby knees. Only his fingertips poked out of baggy sleeves. Still, there was no doubt: This was my sweater.
Excitedly, I ran over to the child, who looked up at me, obviously terrified. I didn't speak a word of Kinyarwanda, nor did he speak French, the language on which I relied in Rwanda. As the boy stood frozen, I kept pointing to the sweater, trying not to become too agitated. I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned down the collar: Sure enough, my name was written on the tag of my sweater that had traveled thousands of miles for more than a decade.
The blue sweater had made a complex journey, from Alexandria, Virginia, to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. It may have gone first to a little girl in the United States, then back to the Goodwill once more before traveling across the ocean, most likely to Mombasa, on the coast of Kenya, one of Africa's most active ports. It would have arrived after being fumigated and packed into 100-£d bales along with other pieces of cast-off clothing, everything from T-shirts sold at bars at the Jersey shore to overcoats to evening gowns. The bales would have been sold to secondhand clothing distributors, who would allow retailers to discard the useless pieces and buy what they thought they could sell. Over time, many of those secondhand clothing traders would move into the middle class.
The story of the blue sweater has always reminded me of how we are all connected. Our actions--and inaction--touch people we may never know and never meet across the globe. The story of the blue sweater is also my personal story: Seeing my sweater on that child renewed my sense of purpose in Africa. At that point in my own journey, my world-view was shifting. I'd begun my career as an international banker, discovering the power of capital, of markets, and of politics, as well as how the poor are so often excluded from all three. I wanted to understand better what stands between poverty and wealth.
It had been a long and winding road getting to Rwanda in the first place-- an unimagined outcome of choices made, sometimes with a sense of purpose, at times with reason, and sometimes simply by choosing the less traveled paths.
WHEN I WAS 5, our family lived in Detroit. It was the mid-1960s and the city was plagued by race riots and protests against the Vietnam War. My dashing father, a lieutenant in the army, had the unenviable job of helping the mothers of dead soldiers bury their sons. I remember hearing my father's strained voice as he told my mother about the injustice of so many young soldiers being economically disadvantaged. My mother, young and beautiful, would hug me close when I'd ask so many questions about why people weren't all treated the same way.
The next year, my father was serving his second of three tours in Vietnam and Korea, and we'd moved to a town outside of West Point, New York. I would walk to school early to meet my first-grade teacher, Sister Mary Theophane, and help her clean the sacristy. She was a jolly woman with round, wire-rimmed glasses that matched her apple face, and I adored being near her. I'd run past little mom-and-pop shops on the quiet streets, dressed in the dark green pleated skirt and pressed white cotton blouse I would have laid out the night before to ensure I wouldn't be late.
Sacred Heart was an old school, right next door to the church, with little wooden desks for the students and a concrete playground outside. Sister was known as one of the kindest of the nuns, though she had high expectations for content--and handwriting. If we earned a perfect test score, she'd hand us a card with a summary of the life of a saint printed on it, and I studied diligently to collect as many cards as I could. I found their lives an inspiration, even if some of them did end up in vats of boiling oil.
A poster of two hands holding a rice bowl hung on the classroom wall, making me think about faraway places, trying to imagine the lives of children in China, wanting to see it for myself. When I told Sister Theophane I wanted to be a nun, she enfolded me in her thick black robes and told me I was just a child, but it was a lovely idea.
"Regardless of what you become," she said, "remember always that to whom much is given, much is expected. God gave you many gifts and it is important that you use them for others as best you can."
Though we moved again and again throughout the United States until I was 10 years old, my mother and father masterfully created a sense of home, making us feel safe and rooted no matter where we lived. By the time I entered high school, our brood was living in a four-bedroom house in suburban Virginia: It was the place all the neighborhood kids wanted to be. Dreams of the convent had long passed, and I thought much more about boys and parties, though I still expected to change the world.
In summertime, my uncle Ed who gave me the sweater would throw big parties for our extended family, which meant my grandmother and her five sisters, their children, and their children's children. We were a tribe of hundreds made larger by close friends who came to feel like they shared the same blood in their veins. We called my grandmother and her sisters, all from good peasant stock in Austria, the Six Tons of Fun. They worked hard, but they knew how to enjoy themselves, dancing with full glasses of beer balanced on their heads and laughing as they whispered stories to one another. Meanwhile, their offspring would play competitive games and drink and dance till the wee hours of the morning. If there was a family ethic, it was to work hard, go to church, be good to your family, and live out loud. We learned from our elders to be tough, to not complain, and to always show up for one another. I didn't understand then how much about tribe and community I learned from this American family.
The strained finances at home meant that my siblings and I had no choice but to be scrappy and enterprising. At 10, I babysat and sold Christmas ornaments door-to-door. By 12, I was shoveling snow in the winter and mowing grass in the summer. At 14, I spent the summer working the midnight shift behind the ice cream counter at Howard Johnson's until a toppled bucket of boiling water sent me to the hospital with third-degree burns. Not long after, I was bartending, earning $300 in tips on a good night.
These jobs--plus a series of student loans--allowed me to finance my education at the University of Virginia. As I was about to graduate, I remember feeling a deep sense of pride in knowing that I would forever have the tools to support myself, no matter what happened in life. But I wanted a break and hoped to take some time off to tend bar and ski and then figure out how I would change the world. My parents agreed to the plan, provided that I promise to go through the interview process--"just for practice."
At the University Career Center, I dutifully dropped my resume in all of the boxes labeled for job seekers in international relations or economics, and I was surprised when the center called to tell me I had an interview with Chase Manhattan Bank. I walked into the first interview of my life, dressed in a drab gray, masculine wool suit that made me feel like an imposter, and met a young man with sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes who didn't look much older than me.
"Tell me why you want to be a banker," he suggested after introducing himself.
I looked at him for a moment, not knowing what to say. Being a terrible liar, I told him the truth.
"I don't want to be a banker," I said. "I want to change the world. I'm hoping to take next year off, but my parents asked me to go through the interview process. I'm so sorry."
"Well," he said with a grin, shaking his head, "that's too bad. Because if you got this job, you would be traveling to 40 countries in the next 3 years and learning a lot not only about banking, but the entire world."
I gulped. "Is that really true?" I asked, my face completely red. "You know, part of my dream is to travel and learn about the world."
"It is really true," he sighed.
"Then do you think we might start this interview all over again?" I asked.
"Why not?" he shrugged, raising his eyebrows and smiling.
I walked out the door and closed it, counted to 10, walked back in, and introduced myself with a big handshake.
"So, Miss Novogratz," he smiled. "Tell me, why do you want to be a banker?"
"Well, ever since I was 6 years old, it has been my dream ... ," I started.
And it went from there.
Miraculously, I got the job, and thus began 3 of the best years of my life. I moved to New York City and, after completing the credit training program, joined a group called Credit Audit, a division of 60 young bankers, most just out of university, who would fly first-class around the world and review the quality of the bank's loans, especially in troubled economies. The first time I ever left the United States, I landed in Singapore; the second, Argentina. Life had become a dream.
In Chile, we would spend the day reviewing loans made to copper mines and industrial concerns. In Peru, I came to understand the danger capital flight presented to already unstable economies. In Hong Kong, we studied the great trading houses such as Jardine Matheson and saw firsthand how Asia was rapidly changing. It was a stunning, privileged education. I began to see myself as a wanderer and a wonderer, a true citizen of the world. But no place changed my life like Brazil.
The minute I landed in Rio, I felt I'd arrived in a magical place that somehow already lived inside me. We walked off the plane and across the tarmac in a light summer rainstorm while just beyond us there was not a cloud in the bright blue sky. Though our job at the bank was to write off millions of dollars in debt that would never be collected, the Brazilians there were friendly and warm, never taking themselves, or us, too seriously. I worked till late during the week, always to the dismay of my Brazilian colleagues, who tried hard to explain that "Americans live to work while we work to live." I used the weekends to explore.
Product details
- Publisher : Rodale Books; First Edition (March 3, 2009)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1594869154
- ISBN-13 : 978-1594869150
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #204,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #67 in Macroeconomics (Books)
- #6,093 in Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Until May 26th, your purchase of Manifesto for a Moral Revolution will give you free access to Jaqueline's class "The Path of Moral Leadership." Visit acumenacademy.org to redeem and learn important practices from leaders who have broken boundaries and improved how the poor, the vulnerable, and the earth are treated.
Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder and CEO of Acumen. She has been named one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy, one of the 25 Smartest People of the Decade by the Daily Beast, and one of the world’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds by Forbes, which also honored her with the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
More information at www.acumen.org/moralrevolution. All proceeds from the book sales go to Acumen to fight poverty and support moral leaders.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book inspiring and empowering. They describe it as an engaging read with compelling prose and realistic content. The story is described as entertaining and full of adventures, with action, murder, intrigue, politics, villains, and heroes. Readers appreciate the author's compassion and empathy for the poor. They praise her honesty about her mistakes, frustrations, and lack of knowledge.
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Customers find the book inspiring and empowering. They appreciate the author's interesting experiences in Africa and the great examples of growth mindset. The background story provides a better understanding of her motivation behind her work. Readers learn about Jacqueline's life and what she has done to make an impact in countries. The book's basic idea is great, but it seems to have many different tangents.
"...conquered over those challenges with new perspective, gave us a valuable insight into a life and experiences of a social entrepreneur...." Read more
"...I loved the book though; it pushed me to think deeper and care more...." Read more
"...her hope and belief in human nature to create a new, vibrant and influential fund that changes the landscape of philanthropic giving in Africa and..." Read more
"...Her account is certainly one of the most inspiring stories I've heard, and it was even more touching because I was able to relate to her passion in..." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read with compelling prose and realistic insights. They appreciate the extensive reading list and vivid descriptions that transport them to different settings. The author's motivational writing style is described as heartfelt and inspiring.
"...Interesting points and Take-aways from this amazing book - ' How we all are connected?..." Read more
"...status quo and her hope and belief in human nature to create a new, vibrant and influential fund that changes the landscape of philanthropic giving..." Read more
"...It is a good read for those wishing to gain practical knowledge about working in development, in the developing world." Read more
"...With vivid descriptions that put you right in a hut in Kigali or a field in India, she explores the human side of poverty, commerce, creativity,..." Read more
Customers find the story engaging and entertaining. They appreciate the detailed background information and the good premise. The book is described as an amazing tale of one woman's dedication to the greater good. It features action, murder, intrigue, politics, villains, and heroes. Readers mention it's an amazing journey with life-changing lessons.
"...true to the title, and Jacqueline was, in my opinion, the best person to make that journey...." Read more
"...a field in India, she explores the human side of poverty, commerce, creativity, tragedy and joy...." Read more
"Jacqueline Novogratz's as an author is neat or imaginative, and her stories are potent...." Read more
"...Some very interesting and helpful information that goes along with this book is that the Acumen Fund recommends using a teaching guide...." Read more
Customers find the book compassionate and heartfelt. It explores the human side of poverty, commerce, creativity, tragedy, and inspires them to help the poor effectively. The author treats the poor as people with dignity and worth. The book is well-written and passionate, combining a memoir with a social analysis of international aid.
"...It is through treating the poor as people, as peers and giving them the respect and tools they need to shape their own destiny to own their own..." Read more
"...I now realize that the poor are my brothers and sisters and truly helping them is not about charity...." Read more
"Well written. Passionate. Smart, experienced, valuable female point-of-view. Blueprint ideology for service." Read more
"...A cross between a memoire and a social analysis of international aid." Read more
Customers appreciate the author's honesty. They find her compassion, bravery, conviction, and good humor. They say she provides an honest account of her mistakes, lacks, joys, and successes.
"...And in fact, I did get that at first. Novogratz herself provides an honest account of an admittedly naive young woman who, having left a lucrative..." Read more
"...Novogratz is honest about her frustrations and other's frustrations with her...." Read more
"...I found the honesty most refreshing and also found it challenging at the same time...." Read more
"She is so honest about her mistakes and lacks as well as the joys and successes...." Read more
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2011Brief Description
Blue Sweater is story of Jacqueline's journey on the road of change. What challenges & hardships she felt and how she conquered over those challenges with new perspective, gave us a valuable insight into a life and experiences of a social entrepreneur. Jacqueline left a high paying wall street to work in developing and poor nations of Africa. Though she was having noble intentions and raging passion to change the world for good but world had a whole lot different colors and spices in store for her. She went from country to country, started a women microfinance organization in Rwanda, worked with African governments, led teams at Rockefeller foundations and went on to build one of the most successful social entrepreneurial company called `Acumen Fund'.
Interesting points and Take-aways from this amazing book -
' How we all are connected?
Sometimes we can't even imagine how our daily actions and activities are affecting others in the world. We saw one example of blue sweater that traveled across continents. This was a tangible example. But the way we consume light, water and energy and how that in turn affect our less fortunate brothers and sisters, is definitely something to think about. We're not an insolated system but a part of a global one. Her Blue sweater's journey across the world tells the same.
'Importance of building trust and relationships
With instances of food poisoning, fear of being under a voodoo spell and getting mugged, Jacqueline faced many great roadblocks in the road of doing well. Though her intentions were noble, but she learned over a period how she has to build trust in order to get her intentions across to people. After few years, some women in the community were impressed by the persistence and gave her a platform to execute her vision. It hits home the point of establishing trust first and then executing noble plans.
'Listening and Adapting
Good intellect, noble intention and passion were needed to solve the untouched problems. But to make sure that right problems are solved and solution designed are truly what needed, listening becomes the most important skill. Author explained in couple of instances like bakery paint instance and being told that growth should be at Rwanda's pace and not at her own though her intentions were pure. Those things really suggest that people trying to change the world change need to themselves first and then they can make a real difference. They listen and they adapt the process though ultimate goal is still the same. It was a change of from her vision to Rwanda's vision.
'Breaking the norms
Social taboos are high in less educated communities and they can indeed break the momentum of progress in any nation. Those are one of the main speed breakers on the road to change. But understanding that those norms are deep rooted into the very thread of the society and thus can't be easily changed without taking some resistance from the masses, played an important role into her personal and professional life.
'Institutions Matters
Where governments, universal organizations such as Red Cross, UNICEF were failing, Duterimbere and such organizations were the answers. Understanding that people in these countries know how to solve their problem and don't need charity but just need an opportunity. Big flows of aid create corruption and mismanagement. And scattered efforts don't make big impact but collective efforts with an established accountability structure in form of organizations and microenterprises are the answers to some of biggest national and community problems.
'Social Entrepreneurship is not about just numbers
"Duterimbere" has done well in areas that are beyond numbers. Just not providing financial support to women, it brought a social change and had a much bigger impact on the society that its financial sheets may not show. Women opening their bank accounts without husband's signature, running banks and holding major positions in business, all these are also sign of much greater impact that this institution had in the mindset of its people. Aware youth who talks about international politics and discusses current technology, all are indirect benefits of this bank.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015This book had so much to explore. It stayed true to the title, and Jacqueline was, in my opinion, the best person to make that journey. Her eyes were open to her surroundings in a way no one else could be. Her wits also got her places no one would go, but she accepted it. I couldn't find one thing wrong with this book, other then my comprehension of it. I would read over a paragraph 5 times, trying to find the deep meaning the author wanted me to see, but my reading level was most definitely insufficient to comprehend it. I loved the book though; it pushed me to think deeper and care more. My emotions throughout changed so much it was like a roller coaster, but that might've just been hormones. Lol! But pick this book up if you have the chance. It's definitely worth it!
- Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2011Jacqueline Novogratz and her book The Blue Sweater are both amazing! In the The Blue Sweater, Novogratz reveals the intricacies of traveling to foreign lands loaded with idealism and in search of ways to change the world. A great read into the subtle differences of culture and rifts in perception are challenged during her journeys abroad. Novogratz's ability to adapt in foreign territory and overall make an impact prevailed. She takes us through her initial naïve approaches to mid-course adjustments to her ultimate success in empowering Rwandan women to open bank accounts, take and repay loans and grow their businesses to support themselves and their communities. Though the road to success was not smooth, the shared goals she created with a dynamic group of co-founders were tangibly realized in the microfinance bank turned credit union called "Duterimbere." Twenty years later it serves 50,000 clients and is making a difference in the lives of women and families.
A persistent and growing sense of frustration with traditional charity in Africa, the US and elsewhere caused the author to investigate the failures of philanthropy. Many resources were misapplied and leading struggling people down the wrong path towards dependency and not self sufficiency. It was honest conversations about what did not work that helped guide Novogratz's new efforts - to create a dynamic in philanthropic giving that did not follow the norm and that included buy in, support and participation from both sides of the coin.
That "all human beings are created equal" is a significant guiding principle reiterated in the book - a moral concept and economic imperative underscored by the devastating Rwandan genocide. This includes opportunities for basic services for rich and the poor alike. Access to services for the poor in addition to Novogratz's frustration with traditional philanthropy led her to explore a new paradigm. Traditional charity, she argued, created passive "givers" and "takers," but did not build accountability and did not strengthen institutions to keep providing tools for change. Rather, handing out grants essentially became the source of income rather than the catalyst for a healthy, sustained, market-driven organization. It created a cycle of dependence and corruption rather than reinforcing the moral compass of those doing the work or supporting the innovative drive of nonprofits and governments. Ultimately, philanthropy was doing a disservice to the people it was suppose to help. After years of this frustration, she embarked on a social change venture that was a significant risk to herself and her partners. She put together like-minded people with ideas, drive and access to capital - large amounts of it - and created her own fund. Acumen Fund formed a new relationship between "investors" and inventive institutions with the potential to deliver dividends quantified in terms of the "change" they could make in serving poor communities, whether through clean water access, alternative energy creation, healthcare and more.
Today, Rwanda has more women in parliament than any nation and stands as a model to the world. Many of the opportunities for women that the author sought to create at the beginning of the book have become real. She took her lessons learned, her frustration with the status quo and her hope and belief in human nature to create a new, vibrant and influential fund that changes the landscape of philanthropic giving in Africa and around the world.
Top reviews from other countries
- Client KindleReviewed in Canada on July 13, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Favorite
My favorite book! Can’t count how many time I read it or talked about it.
- ShreyansReviewed in India on September 5, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I’ve read
Must read and so relevant for today’s world. Deeply engaging and insightful for anyone who needs a source of inspiration to take action and start contributing to make a positive social impact
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Maria LuzReviewed in Italy on December 7, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Per cambiare il mondo, fatti ispirare da lei!
Che ispirazione! Per cambiare il mondo bisogna esporsi in prima linea e collaborare. Jacqueline é l’eroina del XXI secolo che ha cambiato il mondo
- Cliente AmazonReviewed in Spain on December 6, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars The Blue Sweater
A must for anyone living in 2016. A pity it is not translated in Spanish and French for more people to enjoy, learn and find true inspiration.
- Ben NottinghamReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2014
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most inspiring books I have read
This is one of the most inspiring books I have read. Jacqueline Novogratz gives an incredibly honest and humble insight into her experiences of working with people living in some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. From her work in Africa setting up organisations to provide the means to empower local women, to her role in founding Acumen Fund which supports social enterprises and leaders in developing countries across the world, Jacqueline rights as someone who has witnessed the best and worst of human nature. Through the book, Jacqueline gives a detailed and eye-opening account of her work with communities in developing countries including the many mistakes and lessons she's learnt along the way.
I recommend this book to any one who is interested in social impact and international development. I also believe this should be mandatory reading for any course on Leadership, as Jacqueline Novogratz puts forward a compelling case for why values such as humility, vulnerability, empathy and dignity are the pillars of true leadership.
A great read!