The Civil Engineer That Has Raised $4M in Grant Funding for Companies
Ufuoma's dislike for hard labor motivated her to make a career out of her creativity. She tells us about her time in Bayelsa, leading social impact fundraising, and her first impression of Casava.
Tell us about your school experience
I studied civil engineering at the University of Benin (Uniben). My brother told me about the course and it seemed quite interesting.
I was meant to go to the university that year and I knew that my chances of getting in would be a lot better if I chose that course so I did.
By the time I graduated five years later, I knew I wasn’t going to practice.
Oh… Why?
During my time in school, I became more involved in content development, writing, marketing, and other creative things.
The more I did these things, it made me more certain that this was what I was supposed to do.
NYSC solidified everything for me. I served in Bayelsa with the military. They were constructing a barrack so I was helping with that.
I enjoyed working on the theory aspect of things for that project but one time, I was onsite and under the sun, I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do long-term.
That’s understandable. So what did you do after Bayelsa?
I got a job at Redot Digital - a digital marketing agency - as a Content Specialist. I developed content for brands like Morning Fresh and Premiere Cool. It was great.
I worked there for a while until I got another job a Koolboks, a manufacturing company based in France. They were producing solar energy refrigerators.
I was responsible for content and fundraising at Koolboks. That was my introduction to the world of social impact fundraising for brands.
Exciting! How much have you raised for brands so far?
A little over $4 million since 2020.
Star girl 🚀 How did you discover Casava?
So the first time I heard about Casava was during the COVID lockdown. The company was promoting its job loss insurance product called Income Protection.
I thought that the product was a very cool and interesting solution that the job market needed.
Four years later, Casava is hiring for a Social Impact Manager and an ex-colleague refers me. I went through all the hiring stages and here we are today.
What do you consider to be the most difficult part of being a social impact fundraiser for brands?
I would say it's managing the expectations of C-suite executives. Social impact fundraising cycles last as long as 3 months, 6 months, and even, a year.
It's dependent on the organization you are working with, the stakeholders involved, and the timeline of their assessment. Ultimately, a lot of patience is required.
That's something many C-suite executives struggle to come to terms with at first but once they do, it's smooth sailing from there on.
Awesome. What’s your job like at Casava?
I’m the Social Impact Manager at Casava and what that entails is spotlighting the impactful things that the organization does for people and the environment.
This makes the company a worthy candidate for impact partnerships and funding for projects.
It’s not a walk in the park but I’m very passionate about what I do and I’m reliable so I’m sure I’ll do great things here at Casava.
Do you have any advice for those who want to join the barn?
Oh, yes. Casava is a great place. You’ll learn a lot and build capacity. So just visit the Career page on Casava’s website and you’ll see everything you need to know - from benefits to open roles. It’s all there.
Simple as ABC. Thank you Ufuoma
Thank you too. Bye!
You can join the barn too!
We are looking for exceptional and interesting people to join us in achieving some of the exciting and transformational things we do at Casava.
If that sounds like something you'd like to participate in, you can click here.