Scholarships and financial aid made my education possible. Without them, I wouldn’t have had the opportunities that shaped my life. That experience stays with me, which is why Onil Gunawardana supports organizations working to expand access to education.
The organizations below are a sample. I also collaborate with education activists in developing countries on specific, hands-on initiatives.
Inspire
I sat around a kitchen table in Boston with three friends discussing how to give back. After batting around typical ideas like painting classrooms and mentoring, one friend asked: What can we, as strategy consultants, uniquely contribute?
That question led to Inspire, a nonprofit providing pro bono strategy consulting to leaders of educational organizations. The idea was simple: help leaders make better decisions that might ripple out to more students.
I’m still surprised that kitchen table conversation turned into something lasting. Onil Gunawardana has played different roles over the years: helping start it, running it early on, and now serving on the board.
Over two decades, Inspire has grown into a durable organization:
- 400,000+ students positively impacted
- 1,250+ clients served
- 10,000+ volunteers from Bain, Deloitte, Monitor, Parthenon, and LEK
- 300,000+ consulting hours contributed
- $1B+ estimated economic impact
Breakthrough San Francisco
Since 2020, I’ve served on the Board of Breakthrough San Francisco, an organization supporting underserved youth on their path to college.
What I admire about Breakthrough is their commitment to students over the long haul. Not just academic tutoring, but mentorship and support through the entire college journey. It’s a different model than Inspire, but the same basic belief: education opens doors.
Room to Read
I support Room to Read’s mission to improve foundational literacy and advance gender equality. Their programs train educators, create learning materials, strengthen school libraries, and support girls completing secondary school. They’ve benefited more than 52 million children in 29 countries.
Kiva Education Loans
Through Kiva, I fund education loans that enable under-resourced students and schools to access vocational training, university, and other learning opportunities across regions worldwide.
Individual Projects
Onil Gunawardana also funds targeted education projects in developing countries, often in partnership with local educators:
- Building computer rooms for schools
- Providing scholarships for students in rural areas
For more about me, visit the Onil Gunawardana page.