Tessa Zimmerman & Abhinav Khanal

Tessa Zimmerman and Abhinav are Program Officers for the Little Big Fund, which, in addition to grants, offers a 40-hour course for social impact leaders to gain practical fundraising and grant writing skills, network connections, and micro-grants to launch their ventures. To date, LBF has provided more than 40K in micro-grants to 26 social impact leaders from around the world, from supporting the prototyping of a sustainable clothing brand, to supporting an entrepreneur to supporting the construction of bricks by using recycled materials. Tessa is responsible for finding and bringing together the financial and university partners. As the CCO, Tessa joins Abhinav in delivering the course on college campuses. Tessa earned her Bachelors of Science in Social Entrepreneurship from the Watson Institute at Lynn University and serves as the Executive Director for ASSET Education, a nonprofit organization that trains and equips teachers with the tools to help their students reduce stress and build resilience. Tessa has been recognized by Forbes as “a wildly successful millennial with an untraditional education narrative.” Her first book, I Am Tessa, was published in 2017 by One Idea Press. She lives in Denver, CO. Abhinav Khanal: Abhinav is responsible for program design and evaluation the success of the curriculum and the funds allocated by the LBF. As the CTO, Abhinav co-leads each course. Abhinav earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Earlham College and is the Executive Director for Bean Voyage, a non-profit social enterprise that collaborates with smallholder women coffee producers in Costa Rica by providing training and market access. He is a Cordes Fellow, Resolution Fellow, Trust Scholar, Watson Scholar, and a One Young World Ambassador. Prior to the Little Big Fund and Bean Voyage, he dedicated his time supporting organizations working on early childhood education, sustainable food systems, and youth empowerment. He lives in San Jose, Costa Rica.