We’re excited to announce the launch of a new online campaign: Chuck’s Challenge. This campaign is built on the notion that we ALL can do something to spark social change. At the end of it all, together, we will raise the funds to support a 2008 Echoing Green Fellow.

We are pleased to provide a transparent window to our esteemed donor, Chuck Harris, the sponsor of this challenge. You can see Chuck’s bio below, but we thought it would be more informative to ask him a few questions on the power of leverage, why he backed this campaign, and who he is.

You [times] Two [times] Forty-Four

Your contribution of any amount will be matched 100 percent by Chuck Harris, who will make a $25,000 contribution – provided the Fund-A-Fellowship campaign raises an equal amount. But your gift will also be subject to what we call the Echo Effect. Echoing Green Fellows have raised an average of forty-four times our initial investment. It’s a powerful combination of philanthropic leverage and seed funding to the best and brightest rising social entrepreneurs.

Echoing Green values your donations to support our efforts to find and fund the most innovative ideas for social change. If you would like to support our efforts, consider making a contribution today. An investment in Echoing Green is a tremendous way to make an impact.

We look forward to funding this fellowship with many thanks to you and to Chuck!

Q: What is the advantage of initiating a Fund-A-Fellowship match challenge versus providing general funding to Echoing Green?
I believe that other donors will, like me, be motivated by the idea of directly sponsoring a fellow, and having the opportunity to get to know him/her personally. I’ve seen this play out in a number of other organizations, ranging from Teach For America to the endowed financial aid funds at private schools and universities.

Q: What kinds of social entrepreneurship organizations do you find particularly compelling—and why?
My own attraction to a particular social enterprise usually flows from finding its leadership inspirational combined with the appeal of the particular approach to the particular problem. I focus personally on education and youth development because of the impact educational opportunity has had on my own experiences, and because of a firm belief in the connection between education and poverty reduction.

Q: Read any interesting books about social change lately? Or heard any compelling speakers in the field?
I’m reading Randy Ottinger’s Beyond Success: Building a Personal, Financial and Philanthropic Legacy, to learn more about donor motivation, and Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant’s Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits to learn more about what’s working. I recently heard Steve Barr of Green Dot Schools speak and found him outstanding.