Final Thoughts From Newman’s Own Foundation Fellow Abbisola Oxley
The best part of wrapping up an experience is reflecting on your growth, and the milestones that you have achieved. As I reflect on my year as a Newman’s Own Foundation Public Policy Fellow at reSET, I am reminded of the experiences that shaped my year. However, before diving into takeaways, I want to answer the question that many people have asked throughout my placement: What is a Newman’s Own Foundation Fellow?
The Newman’s Own Foundation is a philanthropic, private foundation that is entirely funded through the profits and royalties of Newman’s Own products. The foundation was formed in 2005 by the late Paul Newman to sustain his legacy and commitment to donating 100% of his brand’s profits to charity. Fast forward to 2015, the Newman’s Own Foundation Fellowship program was created to emphasize the importance of mentoring and training emerging young leaders through opportunities in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Selected for our demonstrated leadership skills, as well as commitment to social issues and community development, my cohort was the second group of fellows to graduate from the program. 13 of us were placed with host organizations- grantees of the Newman’s Own Foundation- across the East Coast, with one fellow in Italy.
Throughout my position as a Public Policy Fellow, I have supported reSET in numerous capacities. At the start of my fellowship, I pulled together policy and legal resources on social enterprise, benefit corporations, and benefit llcs. I worked alongside our programs team to kick off and run a nationally recognized accelerator program, and created a strategy to effectively communicate with our participating businesses to gather feedback that measures the success of our programming. I also helped direct an Impact Accelerator Internship program, and redesigned the program to include professional development workshops in business modeling and development, as well as more interactive activities to foster a group dynamic. As I approach my final weeks at reSET, I am challenging myself by to write a paper on metrics for early-stage startups.
Although these are just a handful of initiatives that I worked on, much more happened outside of the incubator. For example, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bob Forrester, President and CEO of the Newman’s Own Foundation. During our interview, Bob shared his thoughts on the difference between social enterprise and philanthropy, his legacy, and some of the obstacles he has faced along the way. More specifically, Bob gave me the inside scoop on a new bill (House version and Senate version) that would codify the structure of organizations like Newman’s Own that give 100% of their profit away to social and environmental causes. “American Law never contemplated somebody like Paul Newman coming along and saying I want to create a business with a single purpose of giving all of its money away and doing good,” explained Bob. The Philanthropic Enterprise Act includes specific provisions concerning the exclusive ownership rights by the private foundation, an “All Profits to Charity” distribution requirement, and an independent operation requirement. If you are interested in hearing more about our conversation, please click here to watch some video highlights.
In addition to experiences like my interview, this past year transformed my life. As part of the fellowship, I had the opportunity to attend the Net Impact Conference in Philadelphia, where I connected with major players such as impact investors Antony Bugg-Levine and Rehana Nathoo, as well as the co-founder of B Lab, Jay Coen Gilbert. Most recently, I am celebrating my recognition as a recipient of the “30 Under 30 Caribbean American Emerging Leaders and Changemakers Award,” an honor bestowed by the Institute of Caribbean Studies.
I want to thank the Newman’s Own Foundation for selecting me, and reSET for hosting me. After my fellowship, I intend to pursue a career in investment management, specifically venture capital and impact investing. Although I do not know exactly where that will take me, I feel confident in my future, and I want to thank all of you for supporting me along the way.
Cheers!
Abbisola A. Oxley
