Evan Feinberg
Executive Director of Stand Together Foundation
Prior to joining Stand Together Foundation, Evan served as president of Generation Opportunity and as a program manager at the Charles Koch Institute. In 2012, Evan became one of the first millennials to run for the U.S. Congress in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earlier in his career, Evan served as a senior aide to U.S. Senators Rand Paul and Tom Coburn and as a researcher at the Heritage Foundation.
Is there such a thing as an “average person”?
This may be the single most important question for nonprofit leaders—and I’ve found we’re largely giving the wrong answer. Virtually everything the social sector does is based on the belief that “average people” exist and require an approach that makes the biggest “average difference.” It isn’t working.
This week, Evan published an important article on Forbes that considers why homelessness is rising fast, educational outcomes falling hard, and addiction rates are accelerating. Essentially, we’re trying to help people who don’t exist. Instead of focusing on the average person, let’s focus on the actual person in front of us. In other words, let’s abandon average for individuals.
