From the UN to 100WEEKS, meet Nadine Spalburg: 'I want to see the impact'

100WEEKS is adding to the ranks. Over the past few months several new hires joined our team. Nadine Spalburg is one of them. She joins 100WEEKS as head of private fundraising after working for the United Nations in Bangkok.

Nadine began her career in consultancy and spent several years working for Deloitte in London and Singapore, specializing in strategic communications and change management. 2020 proved to be a watershed year in her career. "I'd had enough of the corporate environment. I wanted to do something more meaningful and purpose driven", Nadine recalls. After a year studying international development she joined the UN in Bangkok as a communications advisor, where she contributed to women's access to justice in Asia and the Pacific. Nadine's duties included communicating achievements in the region to the general public and institutional donors, including governments.

Nadine felt she was moving in the right direction, but wanted more. "I switched careers because I wanted to contribute to meaningful impact", Nadine says. "When you're with a large organization like the UN your work can feel abstract at times. Projects typically last for years and focus mainly on policy change. At 100WEEKS my work is more rooted in and directly connected with the daily reality for people in the program."

Nadine chose 100WEEKS as a new employer because she believes in the program. For one she feels that by making smart use of technology, like mobile money, direct giving can be scalable and has the potential to go mainstream. "But I also like that 100WEEKS offers a clear journey with a beginning and an end." The focus on women's entrepreneurship that the program fosters is something Nadine sympathizes with. "We're not refashioning the cliched tale of helping poor women in Africa, we're facilitating women in breaking away from poverty on their own terms. These women have the ambition and often the plans to match. What they need is cash."

In the coming months Nadine will revamp the donor experience, something all 100WEEKS-supporters will be sure to notice. "I want to enrich the connection between the people who give and the women they support", Nadine says. "Storytelling is a powerful tool to foster a sense of connection. What I love about 100WEEKS is that we support this with data at every step of the journey. This makes it very tangible, as a donor you get to learn and understand the true meaning of your gift for the specific group of women that is supported with your contribution." Nadine sees connecting people as her personal mission at 100WEEKS and hopes that her work will turn donors into advocates for the cause. "Understanding the meaning, not just the value of your gift, is what is truly compelling about direct giving. When donors truly believe in what we are doing they will spread the word about our work."

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