Tammy Tibbetts is one of the most active, inspirational Gen Ys I know. I am a board member of her organization, She’s the First, which is a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit that sponsors girls’ education in the developing world.
Tammy generously agreed to answer some questions about how she started her organization and what advice she would give to other Gen Ys who aspire to nonprofit careers.
Q: How did you first have the idea to start She’s the First?
A: My fun motto is “rock the prom, rock the world,” and this is because when I was 23, I decided to start a media campaign and website called She’s the First, inspired by the experience I had creating DonateMyDress.org for Hearst Magazines [in my first fulltime job after graduating from college].
DonateMyDress.org was a directory of prom dress drives nationwide that became successful. So I thought, why not create a directory of school sponsorship programs for girls worldwide and apply the same marketing skills? At the time, I was volunteering for a non-profit that had a sponsorship program in Liberia, so my inspirations mixed and She’s the First was born.
I didn’t intend for it to become an incorporated 501(c)(3) not-for-profit. I thought She’s the First would be just a side media project, like a hobby. It then started to resonate with young women more than I ever dreamed. I think that’s because the She’s the First brand is universal. We can all think of who we are or what we want to be the “first” at. It fuels an intense desire to pay it forward, especially since our website is a storytelling platform about the lives and dreams of girls worldwide.
I realized that in order to achieve the full potential of She’s the First, we’d have to evolve and become an official organization. Until She’s the First receives funding, I still have a day job that I truly love, but my heart is strongly in She’s the First.
Q: So, you’re working fulltime in addition to running a nonprofit. Can you describe how you balance (or not!) your time between all of your activities?
Read the rest of this post in the Experis Career Center..
Photo by Marc Hall. Left-to-right: She’s the First Executive Director Christen Brandt, Arlington Academy of Hope (Uganda partner school) founders John & Joyce Wanda, GIRLS WHO ROCK Co-Founder Cynthia Hellen, She’s the First Founder/President Tammy Tibbetts
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