Charity

charity: water is the foremost fundraising venture for building wells and supplying clean water to impoverished people all over the world. It is one of Shervin’s most cherished charities, and as a devoted champion of the organization, he has travelled to Africa and seen with his own eyes how devastating it is to live without clean water. On his 38th birthday, Shervin asked people not to give him gifts, but donate money to the charity to help develop more freshwater projects in Ethiopia and other countries. Through his tireless birthday campaign, he was able to raise $43,000 — more than $5000 more than he asked for.

Invisible Children is a global organization that protects children in war-torn countries. The primary goal of the charity was to end the long, devastating war in Africa, an ongoing conflict run by Joseph Kony and his infamous Lord’s Resistance army. Since its inception, the organization’s goals have broadened, and the mission is now to keep children and families safe and secure in countries throughout Africa. As part of Invisible Children’s mission, Shervin travelled to Libya, went to Egypt with Sean Penn, and served as a leading voice in Silicon Valley supporting justice for the young. He held a popular talk during The Fourth Estate, an Invisible Children conference.

As part of his devotion to global good, Shervin launched 1% of Nothing, an innovative project that encouraged entrepreneurs to donate 1% of their equity to charities. Flipping the idea that startups and businesses should care for themselves before they care for the needy, Shervin partnered with Matt Galligan to promote the practice, with Galligan himself donating 1% of Socialthing, his company, to the Community Foundation of Boulder. The thought process for 1% was that a small amount of equity could lead to vast, global change.

The Pars Equality Center (PEC) is an organization that raises funds for Iranian-focused local community projects and charities. As part of his partnership with the PEC, Shervin helped raise $500,000 in a single annual event in 2014. During the Nowruz Gala, which celebrated Persian New Year, Shervin took center stage, awarding his $100,000 genius grant, coined the “Cyrus Prize”, to the co-founder of Dropbox, Arash Ferdowsi. With a theme of celebrating Iranian culture and Iranian entrepreneurship, the nonprofit helps Iranians integrate into the United States. It provides financial and social support for immigrants, refugees and other people.