Common Impact | Publications

Back to the Press Release

General Information

What are the missions of Harbinger Partners and the Corporate Volunteer Network (CVN)?

The mission of Harbinger Partners is to provide skills-based volunteering services that create enduring, mutual benefits for the nonprofit and private sectors. By matching skilled corporate professionals with nonprofits in need of technology assistance, Harbinger Partners helps nonprofits become more effective, structures skills-based volunteering opportunities for company employees, and fosters relationships between both organizations.

The mission of the Corporate Volunteer Network is to maximize the value that corporate volunteers provide to the community and increase the supply of pro bono professional services available to nonprofit organizations in Greater Boston.

Why are Harbinger Partners and CVN joining forces?

Harbinger Partners and CVN share the same vision: a world where companies encourage their employees to use their skills to better society. For more than five years, Harbinger Partners has worked to realize this vision by matching skilled information technology (IT) professionals to community-based nonprofits with IT needs. Although a younger organization, CVN has built a strong track-record of connecting skilled marketing, HR, and finance professionals to community-based nonprofits with needs in these areas. This combination will make us a more compelling partner for companies and, as a result, to provide more comprehensive services to community-based nonprofits.

In addition, Harbinger Partners and CVN are pleased to serve as an example of how the combination of two organizations can strengthen both organizations and the community.

What are the benefits of Harbinger Partners and CVN becoming one entity?

As a combined entity, Common Impact will be better positioned to:

Offer leading companies a full range of skills-based volunteering services for their employees through one point of entry. By making more opportunities available for companies and simplifying the manner in which a company engages with us, we strengthen our value proposition.
Leverage each other's resources, eliminating the need to build the same systems and resources twice. CVN's experience in functional areas beyond IT (marketing, HR, finance, and operations) will enrich the robust consulting and evaluation processes that Harbinger Partners developed over the past five years.
Realize greater efficiencies by collapsing two organizations into one. The merger allows us to eliminate duplication of effort and to consolidate infrastructure-all savings that can be redeployed to strengthen our community.

How will the organizations be structured after the merger?

Harbinger Partners will be the "surviving" entity, with all of the assets of CVN being folded into Harbinger Partners. The new organization will operate as Common Impact.

Who will lead Common Impact?

Theresa Ellis, the Founder and CEO of Harbinger Partners, will continue to lead the new organization. Zach Goldstein, the current Vice President of Consulting at Harbinger Partners, will continue in this capacity. CVN's staff will become part of the team at Common Impact. Ms. Ellis, Mr. Goldstein, and Lesley Edwards, Vice President of Partnerships at Harbinger Partners, will form the management team at Common Impact, with more than 30 years of professional experience among them.

Ms. Ellis will continue to report to the Common Impact Board of Directors, which is comprised of senior leaders from Boston's business and nonprofit communities. (CVN does have a Board of Directors because it is not a full-fledged corporation.) Brief biographies of the Common Impact staff and Board of Directors are available on the Common Impact website: http://www.commonimpact.org/about/leadership/.

What services will Common Impact provide after the merger?

The new organization, operating as Common Impact, will be able to offer skills-based volunteering opportunities to company employees in IT, marketing, and human resources (HR).

Which companies do you work with?

Common Impact has relationships with BEA Systems, Cisco Systems, Fidelity Investments and State Street Corporation.

What nonprofit organizations do Harbinger Partners and CVN serve?

The majority of nonprofits served by Harbinger Partners and CVN have been community-based organizations, and groups that are providing services at the local level. Most of these organizations provide services and/or advocate for support to the members of our community who are most in need. Typically, these organizations are working in the following areas: education & youth, housing & homelessness, and health & human services.

By the end of 2005, Harbinger Partners and CVN had served nearly 80 nonprofits in Greater Boston. Some of these organizations include:

MYTOWN
Generations Incorporated
Mass Mentoring Partnership
Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts
Peace Games
Father Bill's Place

Will the kinds of nonprofits that Common Impact serves change after the merger?

Common Impact will maintain its commitment to serving community-based nonprofit organizations in Greater Boston. Our specific eligibility requirements

Are there other organizations that provide these services?

While there are numerous, very talented consultants in Greater Boston, we have not found an organization that works directly with the corporate sector to deliver skills-based volunteer consulting engagements to nonprofits.

Information for Companies

Why do companies get involved with Common Impact?

Over the course of the past five years, companies have consistently articulated a set of benefits of partnering with Harbinger Partners and CVN. Specifically, companies say that skills-based volunteering engagements help them to:

Use their employees' skills to make a profound impact in the community
Provide professional development opportunities in an applied environment that is not business-critical
Build teamwork and communication channels across departments
Enhance their public image and brand by putting their company's core competencies on display in the community
Recruit and retain talented employees
Meet regulatory requirements

How will the merging of the two organizations help Common Impact serve companies more effectively?

By combining forces, Harbinger Partners and CVN believe that we strengthen our value proposition to companies interested in skills-based volunteerism in two significant ways:

First, we provide our corporate partners with access to a full range of skills-based volunteering opportunities through one point of entry.
Second, we leverage each other's strengths, giving companies access to new services and resources without duplicating work. For example, Common Impact will leverage the work that CVN has done to report back to companies, creating a more robust system for reporting on the impact that employees are having in the community.

Are you looking for new corporate partners?

Yes! We are actively recruiting new corporate partners.

How can companies get involved?

Companies who are interested in building a relationship with Common Impact should contact Lesley Edwards, VP of Partnerships, by email at or by phone at 617-492-3105. Companies can learn more about our services by visiting the Common Impact website at http://www.commonimpact.org/companies/.

Information for Nonprofits

Will there be any changes to how Harbinger Partners and CVN are serving their respective clients this year?

No, nonprofit clients who are already working with Harbinger Partners and CVN will experience no change.

How will this merger help Common Impact serve nonprofits more effectively?

This merger results in two distinct benefits for nonprofits:

First, by giving companies access to a full range of skills-based volunteering opportunities, Common Impact will be able to provide nonprofits with teams of skilled volunteers who can complete projects in a range of areas. Ultimately, Common Impact will become a better resource for nonprofits interested in strengthening their organizational capacity.
Second, by creating access to this full range of support, Common Impact can build the best team possible for a nonprofit. For example, when a nonprofit needs a website, we will be able to draw on marketing professionals to develop the messages and technology professionals to build the site.

I know a nonprofit organization that could use help from Common Impact. How do they tap into your services?

Common Impact has just announced the start of a new application cycle. Interested nonprofits should go to: http://www.commonimpact.org/go/np/apply/

Back to the Press Release