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Acumen Solutions Gives Back to the Community by Launching Initiative to Place Executives on Non-Profit Boards
(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) VIENNA, VA, May 12 / MARKET WIRE/ --
Acumen Solutions, a leading business and
technology consulting firm, announced that it has launched a Board
Leadership Initiative for its executives as a part of the corporation's
on-going Social Responsibility program. The company will train and gain
placement for their managers on
non-profit boards in Washington, D.C. to address what some are terming 'a
crisis in leadership' within the
non-profit community. Fourteen members of management have successfully
passed a board leadership training course and seven executives are
currently serving on at least one non-profit board. The goal of the firm is
to grow the board memberships to over 20 by the end of 2008.
According to one report by The Bridespan Group, by 2016 the non-profit
sector will need 80,000 new senior managers each year, 40 percent more each
year than what is currently required.(1) In 2006, the Meyer Foundation, in
partnership with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, released a report showing
that three out of four executive directors planned to leave their jobs
within the next five years. These leaders cited retirement, a lack of
adequate compensation, burnout, and overwhelming fundraising
responsibilities as reasons for their departure.(2) According to a Sept.
2007 follow-on study, "Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak
Out,"(3) non-profit leaders are acutely aware of these challenges.
"There is a very serious leadership crisis within the non-profit sector.
Far too many executive directors are burning out and heading for personal
greener pastures in the private sector and government where they can find
higher pay and more benefits," says Carol Thompson Cole, President & CEO of
Venture Philanthropy
Partners, Washington, D.C. "Innovative programs such as Acumen
Solutions' Board Leadership Initiative offer creative ways to address this
leadership crisis by building a cadre of business leaders who understand
non-profit organizations and can provide their expertise and support to
non-profit Boards and executive directors in a truly effective and
meaningful way. I hope others will emulate this exciting effort."
Acumen Solutions is doing its part to fill in this gap by placing employees
on local non-profit boards of their choice, including the following
organizations in the Washington, D.C. area:
-- Child & Family Network Centers
-- Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena,
Inc.
-- Heads Up D.C.
-- Hope Rising
-- George Mason University School of
Management
-- The Greater Washington Sports
Alliance
-- The Make-A-Wish Foundation of
the Mid-Atlantic, Inc.
-- Wooly Mammoth Theatre
Company
"I heartily congratulate all of our employees who participate in this
program and I am especially pleased that we could immediately make a
difference in non-profit organizations in the D.C. area. From our
beginnings in 1999, we wanted to create a firm that was based upon core
values with a passion for Social Responsibility," said David Joubran, CEO
of Acumen Solutions.
"The diversity of the organizations impacted by this program is a nice
match with the diverse interests of our own management team, enabling us to
impact the community in many ways. By creating and implementing this
program we see this as a way to attract and retain top talent, to further
the personal growth of our management team and to have a very direct and
meaningful impact on our community."
Acumen Solutions has developed flexible ways to facilitate their employees'
support of non-profits. These include providing a community service day
during the work week, utilizing consultants for skills-based projects, and
providing support funds for employee participation in fundraising events
such as road races or walk-a-thons. Through the Board Leadership program,
the company has also created a fund to support their executives in their
community efforts.
The Board Leadership Training program is the latest addition to a host of
other social responsibility programs at Acumen Solutions.
The Acumen Solutions Jingle All the Way 10K has raised more than $76,000
over the past three years to fund scholarships to help Washington, D.C.
SEED School students attend college. Since inception of the company, Acumen
Solutions has donated over $1,000,000 to various charitable organizations.
About VPP
Venture Philanthropy Partners is a philanthropic investment organization
that concentrates investments of money, expertise, and personal contacts to
improve the lives and boost the opportunities of children and youth of
low-income families in the National Capital Region. VPP does so by helping
effective leaders build strong
non-profit institutions and by cultivating an engaged donor community to
generate funding and influence in support of these institutions and of
social change.
About Acumen Solutions, Inc.
Acumen Solutions, Inc., established in 1999, is a proven business and
technology consulting firm with offices across the U.S. and in Europe. Our
unwavering commitment to unmatched quality and service is supported by our
track record with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and other
emergent industry leaders in: Communications and Media; Financial Services;
Public Sector and Consumer and Commercial Products. Our experience and
approach allows us to deliver truly superior solutions in these key areas:
Customer Relationship Management, Data Center Solutions, Performance
Management and Systems Integration. www.acumensolutions.com
(1) The Nonprofit Sector's Leadership Deficit, The Bridgespan Group,
2006
(2) Daring to Lead 2006: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive
Leadership, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services & Meyer Foundation.
(3) Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out, Produced in
Partnership by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, The Annie E. Casey
Foundation, the Meyer Foundation and Idealist.org, September, 2007.
For further information contact:
Donita Prakash
Acumen Solutions
703-600-4054Email Contact
Copyright ? 2008 Marketwire
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