AGLN Blog

By Johnny McNulty.

This year, the 10th annual John P. McNulty Prize will be awarded, recognizing the best in impact and leadership from Aspen Global Leadership Network Fellows and their ventures. If you are thinking about applying, here are 5 things you should know:

1. You don’t have to quit your day job.
All Fellows of the Aspen Global Leadership Network make a commitment to move from thought to action, and “from success to significance”—in large part through your leadership venture. For your venture to be successful, however, you need not quit your job and move to the Transvaal or the Himalayas (but kudos to you if you do). Many McNulty Laureates seize the opportunity to leverage their professional platform to make a significant contribution to the common good. They recognize how to create impact because of their full time job, not despite it.
 
Another Laureate who continues in her career while also leveraging it to make an impact is Gisela Sánchez, Director of Corporate Affairs at Florida Ice & Farm Co (FIFCo), a food & beverage company based in Costa Rica. Gisela founded a social business, Nutrivida (a joint effort between herself, her employer and Muhammad Yunus), to combat malnutrition in Central America. Drawing on her expertise as an industrial engineer, and her networks and corporate sustainability experience at FIFCo, Gisela is well-placed to make an impact.

2. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel.
The most recent McNulty Prize Winner, CenteringPregnancy South Carolina, dramatically reduced preterm birth rates (where South Carolina ranked below many developing nations) and virtually eliminated the racial gap in birth outcomes. Helping mothers carry children to a full term has massive lifetime benefits for individuals and society at large.
 
3. You don’t have to change the entire world (all at once).
Real estate developer KC Hardin created an organization that is serving as a model throughout his region but operates locally. KC has worked to revitalize the Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City for years. In order to succeed, this meant dismantling the persistent gang culture. His venture, Esperanza, engages gangs as a whole, rather than trying to pick off members one by one. The gangs served a social purpose, as violent as they could be, giving respect and agency to disenfranchised locals left out of the formal economy. By offering a path to integration, job training and support, entire gangs have begun disbanding, with rivals eager to follow suit now that the benefits are clear.
 
4. It’s not just about the money.
While the Prize’s $100,000 in unrestricted funds makes a big difference for many ventures, the non-monetary benefits can have an even bigger multiplier effect.

The McNulty Foundation believes strongly in the power of storytelling, as a way to communicate what is possible. The Prize has a tradition of creating short films, showcasing the impact of laureates and inspiring other fellows to take action (see the foundation's short documentary series featuring the 2016 Laureates). In addition, a series of case studies have been developed to share lessons in leadership for fellows seeking to make an impact with their ventures.
 
An invaluable benefit of the Prize is the opportunity to reach individuals and groups with the commitment and resources to support your cause. For Patrick Awuah’s Ashesi University, the Prize has helped Ashesi find new donors to support its amazing success in revolutionizing liberal arts education and ethical leadership in Africa.

5. Winning is just the beginning.
Laureates join a lifelong community, which the McNulty Foundation continually supports and encourages. Whether it is scholarships to the Resnick Aspen Action Forum or other leadership development opportunities, or special moderated seminars where Laureates build community and share learnings, challenges and best practices, becoming a Laureate opens doors to learn more, teach others, and leverage networks and expertise. Now in its 10th year, the community has grown into a truly impressive group of transformative leaders.

The inaugural Prize winner, Jordan Kassalow, has been an enthusiastic member of the community from the beginning. When Jordan won the Prize, he had delivered 200,000 eyeglasses through VisionSpring—now, that number is over 3.5 million. Since that time, with the help of Secretary Albright, chair of the McNulty Prize jury, and others in the AGLN network, Jordan has gone on to found the EYElliance, a multi-sector coalition to address the world’s unmet needs for glasses. Jordan has also been an enthusiastic advocate for the Prize, always willing to share his insights with Laureates who have come after.

Just as Jordan pushed the goals of VisionSpring even further to found EYElliance, the Prize hopes to encourage all Fellows to constantly expand their vision and reach. You don’t have to start big, but if you keep following your own path, you may be shocked at what you achieve.