Omidyar Entities: The Harvard/Bain/Bridgespan Consulting Model (Transform and Help Run — or own — Distressed Assets, LIKE U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOLS), Rebranded, on Steroids, and Gone Global(with WordPress-generated case-sensitive short-link ending “-6lm”)(total length about 13,000 words)

This post has two companion posts I am trying to get out, with this one, ASAP and one right after the other.  This one has a significant new payload relating to some previous goods delivered on the matter referenced in its title, on this FamilyCourtMatters.org.

This was intended to be third, but after two days of working on it, I’m publishing it first.  The post  falls into about two equal sections (after the “Read-More” link below, before which I am mostly demonstrating that the Omidayar Entities are major players in this field) each has its own key information. The end just sort of “stops” because it was taken out of another post; it ends explaining more of the “Bain & Company” model.  Some of my purposes will be come clear as the other two posts, focused on school transformation entities, are published.  We are dealing with a MAJOR section of U.S. public institution assets, U.S. Society (as in, “the next generation”) and I am showing you, sector by sector, WHO wants (and so far, has) a major piece of the action — and some of their organizational characteristics.

Upcoming:  More on “WestEd” (a 1995-formed JPA formed by other JPAs with connections to two other JPAs dating back to the 1960s which in the first sentence describing WHO it is, lies (by about 30 years), and the second one, disarming in its openness, explains who it came from.  Which readers ought to look at, ConnectEd, and the James Irvine Foundation itself (key entity in California) and the current (billionaire) Irving Company sole shareholder, Donald Bren.  It wants to get into school transformation too, of course.

Upcoming, another post:  Three (or Four) Nonprofits who Just Wanna Transform Schools (link and full title below).  Again, this would be the third post, except I just decided to post it first.

If you’re not familiar with the name Omidiyar (unlikely…), probably you’ve heard of “eBay.”  From Bloomberg.com, the Executive Profile won’t fit all on one screenprint, but here’s most of it.  Please do read the rest of this just 49-year old billionaire, philanthropist, board member, and “mover-and-shaker” in general:

Mr. Pierre M. Omidyar co-founded Omidyar Network in 2004 and serves as its Founding Partner and Chairman. As an entrepreneur and innovator, Mr. Omidyar guides Omidyar Network with his strategic vision, values and fresh approach to the field of philanthropy. As an extension of Omidyar Network’s activities in microfinance, in 2005, Mr. Omidyar gave $100 million to Tufts University. …He also founded eBay Inc. as a sole proprietorship on Labor Day in September 1995. Mr. Omidyar served as the President at eBay Inc until August 1996. He served as the Chief Executive Officer at Ebay Inc. until February 1998 and served as its Chief Financial Officer until November 1997. After eBay became a public company in 1998, he co-founded the Omidyar Foundation… [ insert multiple accomplishments and companies he founded, and a few he worked for before founding others…]  He served as the Chairman of eBay Inc. since May 1996 until July 17, 2015 and has been its Director since May 1996. Mr. Omidyar serves as a Director of ePeople, Inc. He serves as a Director of The Ulupono Initiative, LLC. He served as an Independent Director of PayPal Holdings, Inc. since July 2015 until March 20, 2017…He served as a Director of MeetUp Inc. Mr. Omidyar serves on the Board of Trustees of Omidyar-Tufts Microfinance Fund, the Punahou School, Santa Fe Institute and the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. In 2011, he was honored with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for the lasting impact of their work. Mr. Omidyar holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Tufts University.

Ebay, Inc. Executive Profile, viewed 3-29-2017 at Bloomberg.com — note: image doesn’t include the whole profile. See related link!

While writing this, I couldn’t remember exactly whether this man was associated with a sponsor of CalExit, and went looking.  Another entrepreneur (Sherpa Capital) Shervin Pishevar, was.  One thing both and many more tech and internet entrepreneurs do agree upon is shown in a letter they signed in July, 2016, expressing their opinion of our current president, but then, candidate, Donald J. Trump:

“A Gigantic List of Tech Leaders Just Slammed Trump” by Sophie Kleeman (News Editor) in Gizmodo.com (“Gizmodo Media Group”).

“A lengthy list of Silicon Valley’s top players have signed an open letter slamming Donald Trump’s bigotry and policies, arguing that the bloviating, radioactive orange slime puddle “would be a disaster for innovation.”

“The letter, published this morning on Medium, includes the endorsements of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Tumblr CEO David Karp, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, billionaire entrepreneur Pierre Omidyar, venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar, Slack founder Stewart Butterfield, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, and Arielle Zuckerberg, a partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and sister to Facebook CEO Mark.

The letter specifically calls out Trump’s “divisive candidacy,” “poor judgment and ignorance about how technology works,” and attitudes toward women, immigrants, and people of color. It argues that his approach runs counter to “the open exchange of ideas, free movement of people, and productive engagement with the outside world that is critical to our economy.” There’s not much in the way of specific policy callouts, but the letter does criticize Trump’s giant wall and plans for deportations and profiling…

My point here being that in such a long list (click link to “Medium” to see), Pierre Omidyar made the cut for listing the big ones; is simply billionaire entrepreneur” (I’m sure many of the others on the list also fit that category), and there also is Shervin Pishevar who has come out in favor of CalExit.

I’m not following all Omidyar entities –one of them came up in the blogging context for school transformation using technology and in a particular business format which has close resemblance to the Bain/Bridgespan model, from what I can tell.   However, this paragraph from that letter is also interesting:

An open letter from technology sector leaders on Donald Trump’s candidacy for President

from 7-14-2016 “An Open Letter to Trump from the Technology sector”

We are inventors, entrepreneurs, engineers, investors, researchers, and business leaders working in the technology sector. We are proud that American innovation is the envy of the world, a source of widely-shared prosperity, and a hallmark of our global leadership.

We believe in an inclusive country that fosters opportunity, creativity and a level playing field. Donald Trump does not. He campaigns on anger, bigotry, fear of new ideas and new people, and a fundamental belief that America is weak and in decline. We have listened to Donald Trump over the past year and we have concluded: Trump would be a disaster for innovation. His vision stands against the open exchange of ideas, free movement of people, and productive engagement with the outside world that is critical to our economy — and that provide the foundation for innovation and growth.

Great ideas come from all parts of society, and we should champion that broad-based creative potential. We also believe that progressive immigration policies help us attract and retain some of the brightest minds on earth — scientists, entrepreneurs, and creators. In fact, 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children. Donald Trump, meanwhile, traffics in ethnic and racial stereotypes, repeatedly insults women, and is openly hostile to immigration. He has promised a wall, mass deportations, and profiling.

The parts I marked in different font may sound differently after you’ve looked more closely at the business model and (as I did, particularly as to grants and overseas investment policies) the Omidyar Network Fund, Inc. (a philanthropy and a Form 990PF) initial grantees and ongoing “investees.”  Total Gross Assets for the Network Fund, Inc. for YE 2015 was $446M, i.e., pushing ½ billion. It is being funded from another trust in his name; that year, to the tune of $184M (see its “Schedule B” for the list of payments).  No outside donations or funders are even needed, or wanted, apparently.  Control rests in the hands of the Boards of Directors at least for the private foundation.

The Omidyar Group (see in “PayLoad” section) has offices in the US (East-D.C. and West Coast – “Silicon Valley” Northern California), London, Mumbai, and Johannesburg, as well as it Network Fund is the controlling entity of an LLC in Brazil. The investment model seems to include the typical “partial ownership in exchange for our support” and among the investments are in proprietary digital platforms targeting school systems (here, and overseas).

Among the first $8M of grants to from the fund in its first year, $1,000,000 (the largest grant by far) went to America Indian Foundation, and $700,000 to an Institute in London.  Ongoing involvement in buying British government debt and charities seems to be part of its strategy (“program investments”) and so forth. (Tax returns and some more of these screenprints will be shown below). $4M went to Grameen Foundation USA (Both Grameen Foundation and Grameen Bank articles in Wiki were flagged, but I gather this is based on Grameen Bank (Bangladesh), Microcredit financing and the USA foundation was started in DC in 1997; and that last fall, the foundation consolidated operations with “Freedom From Hunger.)

Short Insert Section on Grameen Bank & Grameen Foundation USA (half of first Omidyar Network, Inc. grants to other organization went to this one, so I looked into it….)  This adds about 2,000 words to the post size. Looking more closely at this situation, I saw why it might be attractive to the Omidyar business model in general.  

Grameen Bank (“Bank for the Poor”) Founder Muhammad Yunus:

Muhammad Yunus was born on 28 June, 1940 in the village of Bathua, in Hathazari, Chittagong, the business centre of what was then Eastern Bengal. He was the third of 14 children, of whom five died in infancy. His father was a successful goldsmith who always encouraged his sons to seek higher education. But his biggest influence was his mother, Sufia Khatun, who always helped any poor person or relative who knocked on their door. This inspired him to commit himself to eradication of poverty. His early childhood years were spent in the village. In 1947, his family moved to the city of Chittagong, where his father had the jewelery business. …. (realizing the problem was interest rates and middle men for poor women with a trade):

Against the advice of banks and government, Yunus carried on giving out ‘micro-loans’, and in 1983 formed the Grameen Bank, meaning ‘village bank’ founded on principles of trust and solidarity. In Bangladesh by 2015, Grameen has 2,568 branches, with 21,751 staff serving 8.81 million borrowers in 81,392 villages. On any working day Grameen collects an average of $1.5 million in weekly installments. Of the borrowers, 97% are women and over 97% of the loans are paid back, a recovery rate higher than any other banking system. Grameen methods are applied in projects in 58 countries, including the US, Canada, France, The Netherlands and Norway.

And a message from the founder:

Beloved owners and honoured members of Grameen Bank:

Thirty-five years ago, I did not know that I would start a bank, and that I would lend to poor people, especially to poor rural women. Like many other teachers, I was busy teaching in the classroom, far from the realities on the ground. But Jobra village took my future into a completely different direction. I saw, first hand, how the loan sharks enslaved the villagers; I thought that if I were to lend money to the poor, then the villagers could be free from the grasp of the loan sharks. That is what I did. I never imagined that this would become my calling in life. I learned a lot sitting and talking with the women of Jobra; I came to know about things which I had never imagined. I longed to do whatever I could to help them. With my students, I was able to help the women in a small way. Acting as the guarantor, I was able to arrange loans from the bank for the poor people of the village. Alongside the loans, I added a savings program. At that time, women in the village did not have the capacity to save. The savings program started with 25 paisa in savings per week. Today the total amount of savings by the borrowers stands at 6 billion Taka!

Our members, when we started, did not know how to read or write. We started to teach them to write their name, with sticks in the dirt. I then created the Grameen Bank Project.   (etc.)

Among the “16 Decisions” are those relating to cultural decisions (not taking dowry, keeping family size small) as well as commitment to living clean, and no dilapidated housing, and “16.0 We shall take part in all social activities collectively.” (The model was designed for the villages it was intended for)….See also its “FAQs” (For example: Why focus on women:  “Women in Bangladesh are neglected by society. Through the opportunity of self-employment and the access to money, Grameen Bank helps to empower those women. In addition, studies have shown that the overall output of development is greater when loans are given to women instead of men, as women are more likely to use their earnings to improve their living situations and to educate their children.”). Or, under “Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Poverty“ — the poor do not have collateral. Instead, Grameen Bank depends on: “the voluntary formation of small groups of five people to provide mutual, morally binding group guarantees…” accompanied by “Intensive discipline, supervision, and servicing characterize the operations of the Grameen Bank, which are carried out by “Bicycle bankers” in branch units with considerable delegated authority. The rigorous selection of borrowers and their projects by these bank workers, the powerful peer pressure exerted on these individuals by the groups, and the repayment scheme based on 50 weekly installments, contribute to operational viability to the rural banking system designed for the poor…”

Grameen Foundation in Washington, D.C.

That was the bank; this is the foundation, which as it says, is focused on other nations, women, in particularly and (well read their main page):

The Grameen Foundation (“About” page)

Mission

Enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without hunger and poverty.

About

Grameen Foundation is a global nonprofit organization that brings innovative and sustainable solutions to the fight against poverty and hunger. Together with local partners, we equip families, women, and smallholder farmers with resources and services that expand financial inclusion, strengthen resilience, enhance health and improve livelihoods.

Our approach combines the power of partnerships, digital technology, and self-help solutions.

• To achieve lasting change, we collaborate with local partners: companies, non-governmental organizations, government agencies and others that share a common interest in developing, delivering and sustaining innovative solutions to poverty and hunger.
• We strive to harness the unprecedented opportunities offered by technology, especially digital technology, to accelerate progress across our programs.
• Our solutions always promote self-help, and because children are most vulnerable to the ravages of poverty and malnutrition, we focus on women—their primary caretakers. We equip women to succeed at the very thing they are already determined to do—feed their children, improve their family’s health, and create positive change in their communities

Where We Work

Grameen Foundation works in developing nations where poverty and chronic hunger are suffered by a large portion of a country’s population, and in countries where wide disparities of wealth leave large populations marginalized.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we are a 501(c)(3) organization with offices in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We work in the Middle East and North Africa through Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Limited, a joint venture, and in India through Grameen Foundation India, a wholly-owned subsidiary, and through Freedom from Hunger India Trust, an independent affiliate.

Total results: 3. Search Again.

For year “2015” (which is Fiscal 2014) above, declaration of authority over financial  accounts in the following countries (by 2-letter abbreviations):

At any time during the calendar year, did the organization have an interest in, or a signature or other authority over, a financial account in a foreign country (such as a bank account, securities account, or other financial account)?…………………….

If”Yes,”enter the name of the foreign country CO-GH,CO,UG,HK,RP,KE,ID,IN
See instructions for filing requirements for FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBA R)

I managed by tweaking the URL (and figuring out a different Fiscal Year End (Dec, not March) to locate this foundation’s FY2004 return, pretty early in its development.  For Omidyar Networks Fund to have given it $4,000,000 out of a total $10.9M (non-government) received that year was a significant boost. In the same return (two images shown) Schedule A of prior years, we can see it basically helped double their revenue.  At this time no officer was paid over $100K (and few over $50K) and few program investments.  Now, many are paid well over $100K, and program investments (are around $3.6M):

Grameen Foundation USA Yr 2004 (Pg 1 top)

Grameen Foundation USA Yr 2004, Sched A of Support (Prior years)

Financials are posted (Annual Report, Audited Statement, Form 990) on organization site, unfortunately the one labeled “FY2016 if clicked turns out to be “FY2015 (Their Fiscal Year is April 1 – March 31 of next year):

https://grameenfoundation.app.box.com/v/FY2016-Form990 (EIN# 73-15027977, shows a new address within Washington, D.C.)

Tax Return Part VIIB, Independent Subcontractors paid over $100K for that year (only 5) shows  (with a name that includes “Mauritius”) only one in the USA, and 4 out of 5 are “Software Development Services;” the next image shows where Program Related Investments are held:

In other words, there is a significant involvement globally, but when it comes to the US, schools transformation seems a focus. Speaking of the investment in schools, this is also what the Tech Leaders, in the letter re: Trump, had to say last July:

Finally, we believe that government plays an important role in the technology economy by investing in infrastructure, education and scientific research. Donald Trump articulates few policies beyond erratic and contradictory pronouncements. His reckless disregard for our legal and political institutions threatens to upend what attracts companies to start and scale in America. He risks distorting markets, reducing exports, and slowing job creation.

We stand against Donald Trump’s divisive candidacy and want a candidate who embraces the ideals that built America’s technology industry: freedom of expression, openness to newcomers, equality of opportunity , public investments in research and infrastructure, and respect for the rule of law. We embrace an optimistic vision for a more inclusive country, where American innovation continues to fuel opportunity, prosperity and leadership.

Among some of the more progressive school transformation nonprofits I’ve been seeing, and their wealthy sponsors, “respect for the rule of law” has NOT been at an all-time high (referring to the James Irvine Foundation / Connected:  The Center for College and Career relationship, nothing particularly re: Omidyar entities so far).  While I have plenty of concerns about our current president, I know too much about prior administrations to take proclamations of loyalty to this country at face value.  Certainly it’s been good for the tech giants and those who have invested in their stock, and it’s very, very good for those who figure out “which way the wind is blowing” (before acquiring enough leverage to Do the blowing themselves, or with each other) before any field has been fully co-opted by others.

Right now, as I am continuing to document, the “school transformation through proprietary digital platforms” field is already crowded, the application of the Bain & Company turnaround (LBO, nonprofit-style) to nonprofits field is GETTING crowded, and the concept of reducing manpower by standardizing operations according to digital analytics in the social science and family services field has long been on that course, as you can see (and I have been blogging since I learned of it) by groups such as NCCD (National Council on Crime and Delinquency) and their various trademarked data analytics which you can view on their website:  NCCDglobal.org last I looked.

….

All they really needed to get it going for good is contributions from INTERNATIONAL governments and all across the USA (as a nonprofit no one would particularly pay much mind to), shifting their HQ to the West Coast (NY to Oakland, CA), and lawyers or a nonprofit firm run by lawyers in New York (Children’s Rights, Inc. self-appointed national watchdog for abused and neglected children)  to, in sequence, systematically sue entire state child welfare agencies, WIN settlements, and demand restructuring to use the NCCD software.  Someone has to be trained in its usage, and “voila” — NCCD gets more business.

NCCD provides training and technical assistance related to juvenile justice, child welfare, adult protective services, economic support, and education. These activities focus on the needs of our clients and partners, and include training in the SDM system, family and client engagement, gender responsiveness, addressing disproportionate incarceration by race, worker and supervisor coaching, data monitoring, and process evaluation and consultation to improve services.

For more information, please contact us.

Children’s Rights, Inc. in NYC. NCCD was a subcontractor one year, I noticed it on the tax return because it was on the opposite coast, which in the context seemed odd. Sho ’nuff, NCCD was taking grants from many Commonwealth of Nations government, provinces (Canada and others) as well as many specific states in the USA as well as some metropolitan areas within this country. It functions nonprofit too, of course.

You can search this blog for some of those terms and look at the uploaded images or IRS filings; I have reported on this, but may not remember all details exactly of course.

Why I’m in the mood to talk..

After days of annotating images and moving links into place, reformatting with each annotation, move and linkage, I’m in a mood for a conversational “Preamble” about this situation.

Below that, you can see the pictures, charts, exhibits and more visually interesting documentation which has begun to populate this blog since I learned how to do it, about a half year ago.

Actually, both sections now have images as I decided to also post something I’ve been holding onto for a long time, as in all it’s a major (detailed, over 150pp) write-up covering several fields of professional practice, and some well-known entities.  BUT, I did it looking at the nonprofit filings.

This writeup was completed over a year ago.  I am posting several images and a link to 7 pages of summary information specific to original entities starting the Family Justice Center and its Camp Hope in Southern California. It shows just how far off-the-chart insane the setup is — and that it IS indeed a “set-up.”

I am about to talk about “Selling Hope,” and as it turns out key to the Family Justice Center model (originally) was its “Camp Hope seeking to just help some kids ages 6-15 especially, get out and play (with or without their parents), particularly traumatized and vulnerable kids. Now there’s a Camp Hope Oregon being advertised.

I would’ve thought that “Selling Hope” would be a sarcastic title, and that “hope” should NOT be for sale in the form of words Or goods, but apparently there’s now a “science of Hope” and a “Pocketful of Hope®” nonprofit which University of Oklahoma just “had” to do a preliminary evaluation on (run by the person who’s running the trademarked program). Just shows how far people will go in search of a sale….Among the quoted authors is Mr. Gwinn of the original San Diego FJC.  So, in this “Preamble” section, I will also have “Show and Tell.”

For those who just don’t have the patience or time for both sections, I’ll mark them “Preamble” ….  then  “PayLoad”… If you must pick one, pick section “PayLoad”

“PREAMBLE”

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