Toigo Foundation is Creating Opportunities Through Facebook
Seeking to change what's been called the "best-kept secret" in finance, the Robert Toigo Foundation jumped into the murky waters of social marketing via Facebook to spread the word about opportunities available to students of color as a member of the Toigo community.
"We're trying to reach minority candidates earlier in the process," said Yvonne Hart Director of Student Programming at the Toigo Foundation. "We've been around for 20 years and some people on the street classify us as the best-kept secret because word of mouth is how people usually hear about us. It's even more important as time goes on and as social networking sites become more and more the way people communicate, especially the age group for individuals going to business school - 26-28 year olds."
Toigo began with the commitment to change the face of finance through educating and supporting underrepresented groups about possible careers in finance. Their outreach to students of color, like most things in the 21st Century has gone cyber via their Facebook Community.
Students interested in attaining a Master's in Business Administration or considering a career in the financial sector are urged to take a look at the site where they can join more than 250 others and benefit from updates on the MBA application process, guidance on applying for the Toigo fellowship, an annual $5,000 scholarship for business school, as well as numerous contests, podcasts, prep tools and resources.
"Right now the MBA is pretty challenging for minority students and through the Facebook we're hoping that potential candidates are able to connect with one another and share (different) kinds of ideas among each other and also have access to great online resources," said Hart.
Another key benefit to joining the Toigo community is tips on how to become a Toigo Fellow. Each year over 400 minority applicants apply for around 60 fellowships. Since their inception the foundation has awarded more than 700 fellowships to individuals now working in all sectors of the financial world. Beyond the monetary award of $5,000 annually, the additional benefits are compelling.
"Our true benefit really comes in the network we provide," says Hart. "Its one of the strongest minority networks in the finance industry today. We offer life-long career coaching, leadership development, and we also place each fellow with a mentor in finance."
The Toigo fellowship offers a personal experience that is structured to build real relationships points out Hart.
"Say for instance a fellow comes in and they can be a career switch and want to go into private equity, we will match them with a private equity professional that has been doing private equity for at least 10 years. You can't get that type of matching in other avenues and the mentorship is very structured. It's not a matter of ‘here's the email address of your mentor or mentee you guys go at it.' We're with them every step of the way."
The Robert Toigo Foundation was founded in the late 1980s with a vision to directly address the lack of diversity within the finance industry. Our goal from the start has been to prompt the industry to open its doors to a workforce visibly more proportionate to the talent that exists globally and as diverse as the markets it serves. In order to be a catalyst for change, the Foundation recognized the need to forge strong, life-long relationships with aspiring minority professionals committed to careers in finance and with the finance firms seeking that talent. A relationship with one-and not the other-would not allow Toigo to achieve its mission to change the face of finance.
For more information visit http://www.toigofoundation.org/
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