May 15, 2008 - Eight organizations run by Ashoka Fellows today announced their partnership with social media website JustMeans as founding members to promote social reforms in their designated fields.

Ashoka is an international fellowship that gives grants and recognition to unique social entrepreneurs. The eight Ashoka fellow led organizations will use JustMeans to communicate their socially responsible agendas and will use the online community to reach out to individuals, companies and organizations that have a stake in social change. The eight Ashoka affiliated organizations are: Family Justice, Institute for OneWorld Health, Upwardly Global, Central American Women’s Fund, C.E.O. Women, Stand for Children, Global Deaf Connection, and Sisterhood Agenda.

Ashoka fellows are expected to be "drivers" of systemic change. According to Bill Drayton, Founder and CEO of Ashoka, "There is nothing more powerful than a new idea in the hands of a social entrepreneur." To which Kevin Long, COO of JustMeans and Ashoka Fellow adds, "There is nothing more powerful than a new idea in the hands of eight social entrepreneurs."

All eight fellows have established company profiles and plan to use the site as a forum for digital outreach to new and existing audiences.

• Jane Leu, Executive Director of Upwardly Global; Ashokafellow: "Our profile on JustMeans will be a great way to help us dive into Social Media and to leverage a powerful network to connect our refugee, asylee and immigrant jobseekers with progressive employers who benefit greatly from accessing this hidden pool of professional talent."
• Carol Shapiro, Founder and President of Family Justice; Ashoka fellow: "Participating on JustMeans.com is natural for Family Justice. Our successful approach to keeping people out of jail and prison while improving family well-being depends on partnering with innovative colleagues around the world. Because we are a learning organization, we are always hungry for bold ideas that inform our work with families, communities, and citizen-sector and government agencies."

About JustMeans

JustMeans is a social media website promoting social responsibility in a platform that combines elements of Craigslist and Facebook. The six month old company was founded by Martin Smith, former CEO of Startingbloc, and Kevin Long, former CEO of Global Deaf Connection. On JustMeans, companies post online profiles about their socially responsible activities through media such as videos and blogs, along with job openings. Individual users of JustMeans link themselves to company profiles to receive updates and become a "stakeholder" of that company.

Besides the eight Ashoka Fellow organizations, JustMeans' other founding members include:

Absolute Return for Kids, ACCION International, AccountAbility, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, Dharmafly, Do Something, Equal Exchange, Heller CD, Hip Investor, Jumpstart, KLD Research & Analytics, National Deaf Children's Society, New Philanthropy Capital, Seventh Generation, Social Enterprise Coalition, Social Venture Network, Student Hubs, Timberland, UnLtd, World Endeavors, and WorldBlu.

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JustMeans

Our vision is a world where every individual has the opportunity to create positive change through their work.

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