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This post was written by Sara Colvin, internal communications at NerdWallet.
This March, NerdWallet celebrated its 10th anniversary with a charity auction. The event brought together over 200 Nerds for a chance to reflect on the past 10 years, bid on unique items, and raise money for a cause close to our hearts: financial education.
The auction raised over $22,750 for Able Works, a nonprofit based in nearby East Palo Alto. Able Works’ mission is to equip individuals with financial education, life skills and assets that enable them to live free from oppression and poverty. Their programs include FutureProfits and LiveAble. FutureProfits targets high school students at risk of being caught in generational cycles of poverty, teaching fundamental financial paradigms and life and job skills to combat myths about money that can be detrimental to their futures. LiveAble works to bring economic self-sufficiency to female heads of households between 18 and 30. You can learn more at their website or in this video.
We solicited auction items from Nerds, and their generosity made it possible for us to raise so much money in support of Able Works. The auction included both a live and a silent portion, each with a mix of unique items — many of which were experiences that gave Nerds the chance to have fun together outside of the workplace. For instance, some hot-ticket items included dinner with our founder and CEO, Tim Chen; a woodworking lesson with our general counsel, Robert Lattuga; and a brunch for eight at the home of our CFO, Laura Onopchenk. In fact, Laura’s brunch was so popular that she expanded the number of allowed guests and raised $1,800.
The auction was preceded by a happy hour featuring NerdWallet favorites like dim sum and sliders. Plus, every Nerd received a special new 10th-anniversary T-shirt, and Tim shared a reflection on NerdWallet’s journey over the past decade.
Tim founded NerdWallet when his sister asked him for advice on which credit card to get. When he was researching different options, he discovered that many financial products were shrouded in opacity and jargon, making it difficult for the average consumer to choose between different options and find the right one for them. He saw an opportunity to help consumers take control of their financial lives by offering unbiased, accessible guidance. After starting with credit cards, NerdWallet has expanded over the last 10 years to offer this guidance across numerous other financial products, as well as to provide a membership experience with more personalized financial guidance.
The auction proved successful both in terms of the amount of money we raised and in terms of giving Nerds a chance to celebrate our work — and look ahead to our next 10 years. We have big plans and are always looking for new people to join us in our mission to provide clarity for all of life’s financial decisions. If that sounds exciting to you, check out our open positions here.
