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CEO and Co-founder
Civic Champs
Somewhere amid eager entrepreneurialism and idealistic benevolence, Civic Champs was born. Geng Wang’s third startup, Civic Champs provides volunteer management software to nonprofits. In short, the software helps nonprofits recruit, manage and schedule volunteers while saving time. Launched in 2019, the company now serves more than 200 nonprofits in the United States and Canada and has drawn recognition from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Civic Champs also has won a Gold Award from MassChallenge, been selected as a TechCrunch Startup Battlefield company and been named a Nasdaq Milestone Maker. One additional benefit: Through Civic Champs, Wang became involved with Westminster Neighborhood Services Inc., which uses the software. What started as volunteerism at its food pantry is now a seat on the board, where he has guided fundraising initiatives and strengthened services. “With Civic Champs, I get the added benefit of working on a product that I genuinely believe makes the world a better place,” he said. “By supporting nonprofits in helping them grow their volunteer programs, we are able to have an impact in bringing our communities together while helping these nonprofits make a greater impact.”
Getting here: Wang co-founded and sold two startups, Rent Jungle and Community Elf, and worked as an analyst at McKinsey & Co. In 2019, he wanted to scratch that entrepreneurial itch again. “At the time, I was enamored with how volunteering could bring people together across different backgrounds and beliefs,” he said. “I thought if we could build something that could support the growth of volunteerism, that perhaps we could help heal some of the political and social divides our country faces.”
First job: delivered newspapers
Givebacks: He is a board member of United Way of Monroe County, The Dimension Mill and Westminster Neighborhood Services. He also is a volunteer coach for the West Clay Elementary Chess Club, a club he asked the school to launch. There is now a wait list to get into the club.
Meaningful moment: He calls the four years he spent in management consulting at McKinsey & Co. a “trajectory-altering experience.” His role was to help Fortune 500 companies tackle their big strategic problems. He gives kudos to his wife for encouraging and preparing him to interview for the job, and he said he met a handful of “great” mentors there.•
Check out more Forty Under 40 honorees.
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