A Book For Those Who Forget One Person Can Make a Difference

For anyone who watches the news every day (especially if you watch MSNBC or Fox), it can be easy to forget that one person can make a massive, humongous, undeniable impact on the world. I’ve had my many cynical moments—we all have. Which is why it’s nice to be reminded from time to time that there are muses out there we can look to for some pointers. Today, here’s someone to think about: Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of Acumen Fund and first-time author.

Yesterday, Novogratz launched her first book, a memoir called The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World. It chronicles her life’s work, from early microfinance operations, to investing in and supporting entrepreneurs building critical, scalable businesses in the developing world. We haven’t read the book yet (we just got our copy), but if the exerpt she read at her launch last night is any indication, it’s safe to say the book should be required reading for anyone interested in the social-entrepreneur space.

Acumen (which was one of GOOD’s nonprofit partners) has always done interesting things in the business world, and their recent effort, Pulse, which helps investors measure the social and financial impact of their philanthropic investments, is no exception. (You can read a little bit about it here.)

And to learn more about the woman who started it all, skip her Wikipedia page and read the book.