Screenshot 2025-11-24 at 12.27.59 PM.png

Making Service Careers Sustainable

We support nonprofit and civic workers in creating sustainable careers focused on service to others, because mission-driven organizations thrive when their people are supported.

learn more

Programs get funded. People don't.

Nonprofits and civic organizations are essential to a healthy society, but the people who power them are often underpaid, overworked, and overlooked. Young professionals who want to dedicate their careers to service often can't afford to — especially in high-cost cities like New York.

The result? High turnover, understaffed organizations, and talented people who never enter the field at all.

The Challenge

We imagine a future where service work is a viable, respected career path — where helping others isn’t a financial sacrifice.

Our Vision

Otigo Foundation is building a people-first funding model to close the gap between program funding and the people who make those programs possible. We're developing:

  • Loan relief & debt payoff gifts

  • Career sustainability fellowships

  • Organizational partnerships for retention

Year One Focus (2025-2026): Right now, we're in strategic development, including conducting research, building partnerships, and making early investments in mission-aligned organizations. Our formal programs launch in 2026.

Our Purpose

In Their Words

  • "It’s frustrating that after putting in so much time and energy into earning my degree and completing hundreds of hours of unpaid internships, I still cannot pay off my debt. I work in a public school system that I was raised within, and I am beyond happy that I get to pursue my dream career giving back, I just wish others understood that to make that happen it often comes at the financial burden of myself."

    Social Worker in the Public School System

  • “I wish that foundations and the general public understood that I choose to do this work because I am passionate about it, but that sometimes the practical and financial realities make it impossible to pursue long-term. The daily barrage of secondary trauma from client work, coupled with low wages, make this work feel untenable at times.”

    Attorney at a Legal Service Nonprofit

  • “I've seen that organizations often skimp out a lot while discussing salary hikes and bonuses during the end of the financial year. I wish people understood how mentally taxing it is to work in [the] social sector and compensate employees accordingly.”

    Nonprofit employee

Interested in partnering, advising, or staying informed?

Get in touch

Early Investments

While we develop our full programs, we're already directing resources to New York–based organizations strengthening the social fabric through mutual aid, and community health.

Our Story

“After more than a decade in nonprofit work, I saw talented colleagues leaving service-focused roles—not because they wanted to, but because they couldn’t afford to stay. The Otigo Foundation exists to support the people powering our social fabric, so they can build sustainable lives in the work they love.”
— Anna Feldman, Founder of the Otigo Foundation

Otigo Foundation began with a simple question: What would it take for people who serve others to build sustainable lives themselves?

In response, we’re building a funding model that supports the humans behind the missions — investing in stability, growth, and long-term impact. Because when people can afford to stay in the work that keeps society running, everyone benefits.

A note from our founder: