PODCAST: How the CEO of Ubuntu Is Redefining Philanthropy

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Jacob Lief was only 21-years-old when he first visited the townships of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It was 1998 and the country was transitioning out of apartheid. With a college degree in his back pocket, Jacob cultivated a team of other inspired individuals and together they founded Ubuntu Education Fund with the hope of giving Port Elizabeth’s youth a more promising future.

Jacob’s founding story is one of grit, perseverance, and personal development. His journey of growing Ubuntu into a world-renowned leader in education is marked with many monumental challenges and milestones—including a pivot that completely changed the organization’s funding model, seven years into its operations.

Today, Jacob is a celebrated thought leader with a contagious vision for a better philanthropic sector—one that allows nonprofits to dream big and execute beyond the traditional walls of restricted funding and antiquated benchmarks of success.

In this episode, Jacob shares:

• What it was like to turn down seven-figure funding from USAID
• Key facets of the Ubuntu internal culture and how that culture has kept his core executive team together for 13 years
• His personal growth as a CEO
• Why he thinks culture is the most dangerous word in English dictionary
• The mentor who pushed him to take care of himself first

Resources Jacob mentioned in the episode:

• The Ubuntu model
• The Classy Awards
• The evolution and importance of social entrepreneurship
• The prestigious event that Jacob was asked to speak at before he switched the Ubuntu model: Davos
• Jacob’s life hack: the 15-minute buffer in between meetings
• Jacob’s most recent book, I Am Because You Are