Acumen Solutions Gives Back to the Community by Launching Initiative to Place Executives on Non-Profit Boards

Market Wire, May, 2008

Acumen Solutions, a leading business and technology consulting firm, announced that it has launched a Board Leadership Initiative for its executives as a part of the corporation's on-going Social Responsibility program. The company will train and gain placement for their managers on non-profit boards in Washington, D.C. to address what some are terming 'a crisis in leadership' within the non-profit community. Fourteen members of management have successfully passed a board leadership training course and seven executives are currently serving on at least one non-profit board. The goal of the firm is to grow the board memberships to over 20 by the end of 2008.

According to one report by The Bridespan Group, by 2016 the non-profit sector will need 80,000 new senior managers each year, 40 percent more each year than what is currently required.(1) In 2006, the Meyer Foundation, in partnership with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, released a report showing that three out of four executive directors planned to leave their jobs within the next five years. These leaders cited retirement, a lack of adequate compensation, burnout, and overwhelming fundraising responsibilities as reasons for their departure.(2) According to a Sept. 2007 follow-on study, "Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out,"(3) non-profit leaders are acutely aware of these challenges.

"There is a very serious leadership crisis within the non-profit sector. Far too many executive directors are burning out and heading for personal greener pastures in the private sector and government where they can find higher pay and more benefits," says Carol Thompson Cole, President & CEO of Venture Philanthropy Partners , Washington, D.C. "Innovative programs such as Acumen Solutions' Board Leadership Initiative offer creative ways to address this leadership crisis by building a cadre of business leaders who understand non-profit organizations and can provide their expertise and support to non-profit Boards and executive directors in a truly effective and meaningful way. I hope others will emulate this exciting effort."

Acumen Solutions is doing its part to fill in this gap by placing employees on local non-profit boards of their choice, including the following organizations in the Washington, D.C. area:

-- Child & Family Network Centers

-- Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena, Inc.

-- Heads Up D.C.

-- Hope Rising

-- George Mason University School of Management

-- The Greater Washington Sports Alliance

-- The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc.

-- Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company

"I heartily congratulate all of our employees who participate in this program and I am especially pleased that we could immediately make a difference in non-profit organizations in the D.C. area. From our beginnings in 1999, we wanted to create a firm that was based upon core values with a passion for Social Responsibility," said David Joubran, CEO of Acumen Solutions.

"The diversity of the organizations impacted by this program is a nice match with the diverse interests of our own management team, enabling us to impact the community in many ways. By creating and implementing this program we see this as a way to attract and retain top talent, to further the personal growth of our management team and to have a very direct and meaningful impact on our community."

Acumen Solutions has developed flexible ways to facilitate their employees' support of non-profits. These include providing a community service day during the work week, utilizing consultants for skills-based projects, and providing support funds for employee participation in fundraising events such as road races or walk-a-thons. Through the Board Leadership program, the company has also created a fund to support their executives in their community efforts.

The Board Leadership Training program is the latest addition to a host of other social responsibility programs at Acumen Solutions. The Acumen Solutions Jingle All the Way 10K has raised more than $76,000 over the past three years to fund scholarships to help Washington, D.C. SEED School students attend college. Since inception of the company, Acumen Solutions has donated over $1,000,000 to various charitable organizations.

About VPP

Venture Philanthropy Partners is a philanthropic investment organization that concentrates investments of money, expertise, and personal contacts to improve the lives and boost the opportunities of children and youth of low-income families in the National Capital Region. VPP does so by helping effective leaders build strong non-profit institutions and by cultivating an engaged donor community to generate funding and influence in support of these institutions and of social change.

About Acumen Solutions, Inc.

Acumen Solutions, Inc., established in 1999, is a proven business and technology consulting firm with offices across the U.S. and in Europe. Our unwavering commitment to unmatched quality and service is supported by our track record with Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and other emergent industry leaders in: Communications and Media; Financial Services; Public Sector and Consumer and Commercial Products. Our experience and approach allows us to deliver truly superior solutions in these key areas: Customer Relationship Management, Data Center Solutions, Performance Management and Systems Integration. www.acumensolutions.com