Adam Braun, with the know-how he learned at Bain & Company and with the firm's ongoing support, has built Pencils of Promise (PoP), an organization that has built 13 schools for children in Laos and Nicaragua since it began in 2008.
Consulting: What is Pencils of Promise?
Braun: Pencils of Promise is a non-profit organization that partners with local communities to build schools and increase educational opportunities in the developing world. We focus on early education, high potential females and the empowerment of youth worldwide to create profound good. I founded PoP in October 2008 with $25 in the hopes of building one school. Over 95 percent of individual donations have been in amounts of less than $100, and we've built a community of 75,000 supporters and completed 13 schools in Laos and Nicaragua.
Consulting: Where did the idea come from?
Braun: While backpacking through the developing world in college, I asked a small boy begging on the streets of India: "What do you want most in the world?" His response: "a pencil." The sharing of that first pencil led to the idea that small acts could radically change the lives of others through education and self-empowerment. I went to Bain & Company specifically to learn the skills to eventually operate a successful education-related nonprofit. I had the idea to found PoP and try to build one school during my nine-month externship, which was facilitated by the firm. Upon my return to Bain, it became immediately clear that I couldn't sustain both jobs.
Consulting: What was Bain's reaction?
Braun: Before making any decision I sat down with 12 managers and partners in the New York office to ask for their mentorship and guidance. Each of them told me that they
saw PoP as something truly special and that if I needed to step away from Bain that they would be highly supportive. We currently have a Bain Inspire team working with us as a pro bono consulting resource, a six-month Bain extern is just started with us, and a Bain Practice Area Manager is on our Board of Directors. I'm so appreciative of Bain's support from our earliest baby steps all the way through to today.
Consulting: How did you attract celebrities, such as Justin Bieber, to your cause?
Braun: The same way we attract everybody—by sharing this unique vision. In the case of Justin Bieber, my older brother [Bieber's now-manager Scooter Braun] is the one who discovered him on Youtube, and he's been like a little brother to me.
Consulting: What's next for Pencils of Promise?
Braun: We're about to break ground on 10 new schools, and launch our holiday "1000 Promises Campaign" for those who want to join the PoP movement.
—J.S.
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