You don’t have to choose between doing good and doing well
It often seems like two mutually-exclusive choices: work for a nonprofit and do good in the world, or work for a for-profit and set your values aside. At Lever, we think there’s a third option. We’re a startup, but we also pride ourselves on being a mission-driven organization. As we go through hyper-growth, it’s been important for us to have thoughtful discussions about what kind of company we want to grow up to be and to engage in different ways of getting involved in broader issues, like diversity in tech.
In thinking about the role we want to play in making the world a better place, both as a company and as individuals, we invited Grace Garey, cofounder of Watsi to give a talk around how she and her team have seen incredible results through radical transparency, donor engagement strategies, and technologies new to traditional nonprofits.
Watsi is best summarized as “Kiva for healthcare” — it’s a crowdfunding platform that provides life-changing treatments, by connecting donors like you to patients all over the world (and also a happy customer using Lever to grow their team!). Watsi was the first nonprofit to be accepted into Y Combinator, and since 2012, has funded healthcare for 4,500 patients worldwide through $4.5 million in donations. 100% of Watsi donations go to the patients directly; the team fundraises separately for its operations.
Grace was inspired to start a new movement in humanitarianism when she became disillusioned with the dysfunctional world of nonprofits and saw how technology and business principles could help. The rampant bureaucracies and inefficiencies were causing impact to constantly fall short of helping those truly in need.
In her talk to Leveroos, Grace shared her insights in how lines between “for-profit” and “nonprofit” are becoming blurred; there are increasing number of mission-driven organizations that provide solutions that people need *and* that enjoy financial success. And as individuals, having to choose between doing well and doing good is a false choice — it is absolutely possible to do both a job you love and find meaning in your work without making substantive financial sacrifices. Connect with like-minded people and find something worthwhile to work on and stay true to your team’s values to contribute to a broader mission.
“You don’t have to be working full-time for a nonprofit to be making a difference — you’re building the product that supports organizations like Watsi. And by donating as individuals and together as a team you’re making a huge difference in people’s lives.” — Grace Garey
Grace’s visit to Lever sparked discussions and ideas that are incredibly important to Leveroos, but aren’t necessarily top-of-mind every day. We have friends who don’t like their jobs but stay for the paychecks, and friends who love what they do but struggle to make ends meet with pitifully low salaries. Working for a place like Lever and other mission-driven organizations means you can do good and do well — love your work without compromising your values or your own well-being.
Lever sponsored a gift card for each team member to try out the Watsi platform and start giving what they can.We strongly encourage you to donate too — sign up to be a Universal Fund donor!
Is your hiring story next? See open roles: lever.co/jobs
To learn more about this topic, check out this talk from Watsi cofounder Chase Adam.
The Inside.Lever blog aims to showcase Lever’s culture and commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where Leveroos are equipped to build innovative recruiting software. We’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions, contact us at inside@lever.co.
