Spark MicroGrants' Executive Director Sasha Fisher Selected for Inaugural Obama Foundation Fellowship Class

NEW YORK, April 25, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Recognizing a pioneering approach to community development, the Obama Foundation this week selected Spark MicroGrants' Executive Director and co-founder Sasha Fisher to join the inaugural 2018 Fellows class. Sasha will join 20 Fellows selected from more than 20,000 applicants from 191 countries to participate in a two-year program that brings together leaders from around the world focused on creating transformational change in response to the world’s most pressing problems. The Obama Foundation selected Sasha Fisher to continue Spark MicroGrants' work on using community organizing and catalyst grants to foster democratic and economic development in rural Africa and beyond.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the first Obama Foundation Fellows class and join a diverse group of community-minded civic innovators,” said Sasha Fisher. “We need civic imagination at this moment and the Obama Foundation is catalyzing this movement forward. With the Obama Foundation, we will bolster our work in strengthening community-led systems and redefining global development at the grassroots.”

“The 2018 Obama Foundation Fellows come from diverse backgrounds but share a common desire to make positive change and create the world as it should be,” said David Simas, CEO of the Obama Foundation. “By bringing these individuals together, we hope to help amplify the work of our Fellows so it has a widespread impact. On behalf of President and Mrs. Obama and the Obama Foundation family, I congratulate our new Fellows and look forward to working with them.”

About the Obama Foundation Fellowship: www.obama.org/fellowship.

Spark MicroGrants

Spark MicroGrants supports communities facing poverty to design and launch their own collective projects across Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and beyond. Spark has developed a unique village action process paired with a seed grant that equips poor communities to launch social enterprises of their own choosing, such as an income-generating goat-rearing project, a produce business or school. Through the process, communities develop their own leadership and continue to self-organize and launch new businesses over time. Spark’s approach is inclusive, enabling women and men, young and old, across ethnic and social divides to unite around a common purpose. With its track record of success, Spark has received requests from governments, companies and NGOs throughout Africa, Central America and in the United States to scale the Spark approach, enabling communities to take control of their future.

About Spark MicroGrants: http://www.sparkmicrogrants.org/.

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Shai Fogelson
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Source: Spark MicroGrants