Creative Futures
Challenge
We found that through offering social impact experiences for our clients employees to share with people from underserved communities, the company was getting the most value, being engaged employees with positive sentiment towards their employer. We wanted to create a longer lasting and tangible impact for the people from these underserved communities in which we’re doing the experiences.
Actions
“We believe that someone’s current circumstance shouldn’t dictate their future.”
Through our Creative Futures program we’re partnering with local non profits then training, mentoring and paying people from underserved communities to work on our experiences. We’re then taking our fellows through a 12 week program, providing each fellow with a guaranteed paid “Futureship” at an innovative company and helping them find long term career opportunities in the creative industries.
Our theory of change is to help break cycles of systemic equality through opportunity, support and a network not traditionally available to people from underserved communities. We have partnered with a number of non profits, working with at risk and homeless youth, formerly incarcerated men and women, veterans, LGBTQ community and people with disabilities to unearth the next generation of creative industry leaders.
We then partner with companies that believe a diverse and inclusive workforce is better for business, their employees, customers and community. These companies are excited about passionate, hungry and diverse talent that wouldn’t normally be considered for roles because they weren’t born into the right neighborhoods, have the right family connections or went to the right schools.
Essentially we’re facilitating connections between both sides – the companies and the diverse talent.
Outcomes
Since launching the program we’ve had our Creative Futures fellows work with companies such as WeWork, KPMG, UpWork and Uber.
Our first graduate a formerly incarcerated Woman named Michel’ei who had a passion for cooking, got a job as a full time chef after going through our program and has rebuilt her credit, got an apartment and is paying it forward by doing social justice advocacy work in her community.
Another graduate, Rayshawn, a homeless full stack software engineer and yoga enthusiast, got a job working at a 5 star resort in Ecuador, alongside a Michelin star chef and building software projects for them – all from an Ecuadorian beachside villa.
Upcoming opportunities for our fellows include starts at LA Lakers, Spotify and music management company, MDDN owned by Benji and Joel Madden.
Quote
We believe that someone’s current circumstance shouldn’t dictate their future. As a mixed race child to an Indonesian father and Australian mother, I did not grow up with family connections or wealth, didn’t go to university or college but was able to start a record label at 16 and sell it to EMI before my 24th birthday. So our goal with Creative Futures is to unearth the next generation of leaders from diverse backgrounds and empower them to change the world.