Cuban-American Hemley Gonzalez, a former real estate broker, was always heavily involved in philanthropic work. But after becoming disenchanted by the flawed processes for delivering aid, he began his own non-profit in 2009.
He worked for four years to secure funding, and in 2013 started delivering aid to impoverished families in India.
Gonzalez is now a full-time humanitarian philanthropist working to improve education, access to birth control, and self-employment in India. His non-profit, Responsible Charity, assists low-income families by connecting them with resources. With over 400 beneficiaries, 40 active scholarships, and two community centers (one in Kolkata and one in Pune), the non-profit is working to provide kids with scholarships, mentorship, and after-school programs.
Gonzalez is a firm believer that education is not enough to overcome poverty, so he developed a specific module to provide ongoing support that helps children and their families break out of the poverty cycle. Responsible Charity was created in response to Gonzalez’s discomfort with the lack of transparency at other organizations he volunteered with, so he has made conspicuous reporting a pillar of the organization’s process.