Immerse
A transformative approach to philanthropy
For almost 25 years, Acumen has leveraged high-risk, innovative philanthropy to invest in bold ideas and accompany social entrepreneurs with the skills of moral leadership to drive change for those living in poverty with
“Immerse has helped transform our family philanthropy in just one year. The program attracts like-minded principals who believe deeply in Acumen’s mission and values, and are committed to action. Learning from Acumen’s global team, innovative entrepreneurs, and others in the cohort has been deeply rewarding – I’m very excited for year two!”
Sarah Wigglesworth, Acumen Immerse Partner
About Immerse
As someone committed to achieving lasting social impact, Immerse is your unique opportunity to be immersed in Acumen and its values-led community, to build a world based on dignity and accelerate towards the change you want to see in the world.
Through an initial values workshop, Acumen crafts a customized learning journey with curated opportunities to gain insights into Acumen’s work, to accompany you as you drive the change you’re most passionate about.
Learn alongside values-aligned peers who are committed to catalyzing impact with their giving, and connect with Acumen’s global ecosystem of experts and visionary leaders.
1:1 check-ins from Acumen’s senior leaders to explore how our leadership frameworks that have enabled entrepreneurs to unlock impact at scale can strengthen your philanthropic purpose and personal narrative.
“Through Acumen’s Immerse community, I’m connecting with values-aligned peers to refine how to incorporate my family’s values into our investment and grant-making criteria, and develop a clear set of investment principles by the end of 2026.”
Cornelia Tremann, Acumen Immerse Partner
Immerse Learning Arc
Your self-paced learning journey will take place over three years with a blend of individual and cohort engagements
Year 1: Immersion
Identify your unique areas for growth to maximize impact within your values-based philanthropic strategy, learn about Acumen’s moral leadership and impact frameworks, and build meaningful connections with a community of like-minded philanthropists.
Year 2: Experimentation
Apply Acumen’s leadership and impact frameworks to your own philanthropic goals while engaging with ambitious peers and Acumen’s ecosystem of experts.
Year 3: Integration
Continue your personalized learning journey and envision how you can continue to contribute to the solutions you’re most passionate about.
“Immerse has connected us with an intimate community of compassionate, capable and impact-minded people. Our discussions are lively, our sessions with Acumen staff and entrepreneurs are thought-provoking, and traveling together has taken us to places and people inaccessible by any other way! Instruction, reflection and companionship – Immerse is an accelerator for philanthropically-minded people!”
Steve Ross and Shelley Scherer, Acumen Immerse Partners
What your donation empowers
Flexible philanthropy fuels everything we do – from bold ideas to real-world-impact. Fuel Acumen’s engine of innovation and growth with a commitment of $500k+ over 3 years.* By 2030, Acumen aims to impact 1 billion people, and your support will be used flexibly to help us meet our greatest strategic needs toward that goal.
*Not including trip-related costs
You’ll equip social innovators with tools, capital, and community – helping Acumen Fellows who’ve already reached 71M lives and unlock $43M in follow-on funding.
You’ll scale companies by
funding essential support – from accounting tools to legal help – with $185M capital already invested in 201 companies.
You’ll fuel bold ideas, like the Medicaid Innovation Collaborative, that provides 192M people with improved access to healthcare.
We continue to scale the impact investing sector. Our insights and storytelling equip funders and entrepreneurs to build business models for a world based on dignity.
Ready for bold change?
Ready to tackle the complex problems of poverty? Join our next cohort
