Kyle Zimmer

Kyle Zimmer, President and Co-Founder of First Book.

"First Book is one of the most celebrated organizations in the social sector. In 2003, Forbes Magazine named First Book one of ten “Gold Star” Charities and, for the past five consecutive years, Fast Company and Monitor Group have named First Book a winner of the Social Capitalist Award for using entrepreneurial genius to solve global issues. In 2007, First Book received the Golden Halo Award -- the highest award for cause marketing in the United States from the Cause Marketing Forum for its innovative cause-based marketing campaigns. In 2005, First Book received the largest grant ever given by the Oprah’s Angel Network Book Club Award to support First Book’s efforts in the Delta region. That same year, the First Book Marketplace was awarded the Grand Prize in the Yale School of Management/ Goldman Sachs Nonprofit Business Plan Competition. Most recently, First Book was named the Signature Charity of the Quill Awards.

"Kyle’s commitment to innovation and integration across sectors has earned her a reputation as a social sector leader. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Ashoka which works to ensure that social entrepreneurs and their innovations continue to inspire a new generation of local changemakers to create positive social change. Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world’s citizens to think and act as changemakers. She was also named 2007 Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year in the United States by the Geneva-based Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. In July of 2008, Kyle was named the first ever American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketer of the Year."