The Fourth Annual Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund

07 NOV 2019


Sponsored by the Partnership Committee and the Office of Corporate Engagement, the Goldman Sachs Gives Analyst Impact Fund is a global competition that builds on our longstanding culture of teamwork and service. Each year, analysts from across the firm collaborate with their peers for a chance to win grants from Goldman Sachs Gives to support nonprofits of their choice. 

The fourth annual Analyst Impact Fund attracted hundreds of compelling proposal submissions from a record-breaking 975 junior employees, all aimed at addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Ultimately, six finalist teams representing seven Goldman Sachs locations advanced to the finals. The teams represented a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, from a financial education platform helping underserved teens access a college education to an organization alleviating energy poverty through a simple tech solution.

Teams were judged by David Solomon and the Partnership Committee on the following criteria: the impact, scalability and uniqueness of the proposed project; the team’s analysis of the project goals and financials; and the strength of the organization’s leadership and partnerships.

The first-place prize–a $250,000 grant–was awarded to a London-based analyst team representing Days for Girls, which aims to increase access to menstrual care and education for girls in developing countries. To date, Days for Girls has distributed sustainable, reusable feminine hygiene kits to more than 1.5 million girls in over 100 countries. With these kits, girls can continue to work and attend school during menstruation when previously they had to stay home.

“The pitches we heard today really show the best of Goldman Sachs,” remarked CEO and Chairman David Solomon at the awards ceremony. “They reflect our extraordinary culture of teamwork, innovation and commitment to service that makes our firm better and a very rewarding place to work.”

While the Partnership Committee’s votes were tallied, audience members who watched the competition live were able to vote for their “fan favorite,” which would receive an additional $25,000 grant. And, for the first time ever, the competition resulted in a tie for second place, with both teams receiving $100,000 grants for their nonprofit organizations.

Awards were presented to the following organizations:
 

$250,000 Grant
First Place

Days for Girls
London

Days for Girls increases access to menstrual care and education by developing global partnerships, cultivating social enterprises, mobilizing volunteers, and innovating sustainable solutions that shatter stigmas and limitations for women and girls.

 

$125,000 Grant
Second Place (Tie) and Fan Favorite

MoneyThink
New York

MoneyThink (MT) empowers under-resourced high school students to pursue college education by leveraging a scalable, personalized technology platform for financial education and coaching. Built to be accessible to students, MT aims to benefit +1mm students by 2027, leading to +$15bn in debt savings.

 

$100,000 Grant
Second Place (Tie) 

SolarBuddy
Auckland and Sydney

SolarBuddy is an Australian charity that provides safe and innovative solar energy solutions to communities around the world who suffer from energy poverty. School and corporate programs aim to connect communities across the globe, combining learning and education with assistance and aid.

 


$25,000 Grant
HelpMeSee

Bengaluru

HelpMeSee’s mission is to eliminate cataract blindness worldwide by delivering access to safe, effective and low cost surgeries to adults and children in communities living in the most austere economic and social conditions through delivery of innumerable manual small incision cataract surgeries (MSICS).

 

 

$25,000 Grant
Limbitless Solutions

Dallas and New York

Limbitless is dedicated to empowering confidence in individuals with accessibility limitations, creating personalized and expressive 3D printed prosthetics for children with limb differences using electromyography (EMG) technology. Their goal is to make the world a more inclusive and accessible place.

 

$25,000 Grant
Nexleaf Analytics

Hong Kong

Nexleaf fights for global health and environment challenges by designing sensor technologies, generating data analytics, and advocating for data-driven solutions. Nexleaf has seen and believes that access to meaningful real-time data enables responsive interventions and results in verifiable impact.

 

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