We’re heading into year two of Big Kansas City, and looking forward to sharing your stories and those of our speakers over the next few weeks. All of this wouldn’t be possible without our content partner, Pinsight Media+. They are a pioneer in mobile media with deep entrepreneurial roots. Their team brings leadership, experience and global awareness to Kansas City’s booming startup community. To learn more or talk with our friends at Pinsight, email Serge Bushman, sbushman@pinsightmedia.com.
In November 2013, Marissa Sackler decided to take a widely-used concept implemented by the tech industry and apply it to the nonprofit sector.
She launched Beespace, an incubator for early stage nonprofits.
Beespace hosts organizations that work to solve a wide variety of issues throughout the world from organ donation to education in low-income areas. Each get a two-year residency.
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One of the first five incubees is The Malala Fund, with a mission to help girls go to school and raise their voices for the right to education. The organization is led by Malala Yousafzai, who many know as the outspoken girl who was targeted by the Taliban and shot in the head while riding a school bus in Pakistan.
Sackler’s incubator provides all it can to ensure its nonprofits have the best chance of succeeding on their own. In addition to the co-working space in the heart of Manhattan, incubees receive assistance in fundraising, design, public relations and marketing as well a connection to a community of individuals with a wealth of entrepreneurial and nonprofit knowledge including past and present Big Kansas City speakers Scott Harrison and Neil Blumenthal.
It seems that Marissa Sackler was destined to do good in the world. She’s the daughter of Sir Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler — some of the world’s greatest philanthropists. Earlier in life her mother was an educator and father an entrepreneur who made his money in pharmaceuticals. Today you can find the Sackler name at Oxford University, The Met, the Royal Botanical Gardens and Kings College London as a result of their extraordinary giving.
Sackler cites her parents as the spark of her passion for nonprofits. In addition to founding Beespace, she has been a part of some of the world’s most admired and well-known organizations. She is a founding sponsor of charity: water and currently sits on the board of Invisible Children, the Dia Art Foundation and the Mortimer D. Sackler Foundation.
In October, Marissa Sackler will bring her story to the Midwest to share with attendees at Big Kansas 2014. Help us welcome her on Twitter @MarissaSackler.
Credits: Photo courtesy of W Magazine
