Newsletters

Common Connection

Volume 5, Number 1: July 15, 2010

"Girls' LEAP has benefited enormously from Common Impact. The database which has been built will create efficiencies within our organization and ultimately allow us to focus on serving even more girls in Greater Boston. Without Common Impact, we would not have had the capacity to complete such a project."

-- Tracey Westgate, Program Director at Girls' LEAP, Common Impact technology client


This issue of Common Connection is dedicated to our nonprofit clients. From youth outdoor and sports programs, to artistic performances that strengthen communities, to personal development for at-risk individuals, our nonprofit clients work tirelessly towards their causes. We applaud their continued commitment to meet their missions!

In This Issue:

  • Telling Totals

  • Q&A with Linda Noonan of MBAE

  • New and Newsworthy

  • New Positions and Fresh Faces

  • Applications for Nonprofit Engagements

  • Viewpoints

  • Contribute and Connect Online



    • Telling Totals


    Milestones are on our minds these days, as Common Impact is celebrating its 10-Year Anniversary! We've generated some impressive numbers over the past decade, such as 250: the number of nonprofit engagements we've done. Or 13,000: the estimated hours of time given by skilled volunteers to our high-potential nonprofit organizations.

    Then there's $0.5 million to 54 million: the varied budget sizes of nonprofit organizations that we've worked with. Also, seven million: the equivalent amount of dollars that we have generated in new resources for the social sector. On the smaller side, we have two instances of four that we're proud of: our four different geographic regions that we operate in -- Boston, New York, Richmond, and Raleigh-Durham -- and four issue areas that we focus on -- Education & Youth, Environment, Housing & Homelessness, and Health & Human Services. And finally: 7 to 1: the social return on investment for every dollar put into our projects. We are proud of what we've been able achieve, and look forward to each new milestone we'll achieve in the next 10 years and beyond!


    Local Heroes!


    image
    Linda Noonan is Executive Director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, a Boston-based nonprofit that brings together business and education leaders to promote a high quality public education system. Here, Director of Development Sameen Saeed asks Linda to share with our readers the work of MBAE and her experience with Common Impact.

    Q&A with Linda Noonan of Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education

    Sameen: Hi Linda! Could you tell us about the mission and programs of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education?

    Linda: MBAE has been an advocate for education reform since we led the effort to develop and enact the Education Reform Act of 1993. We are committed to a high quality public education system that will prepare all students to engage successfully in a global economy and society. We bring together business and education leaders to promote education policies and practices based on measurable standards of achievement, accountability for performance, and equitable educational opportunities for all students.

    Sameen: What brought you to Common Impact initially?

    Linda: With a strong reputation built over two decades, MBAE needed to leverage our track record to make sure our current work is recognized and relevant. Common Impact helped us develop a coherent and effective way of speaking about our education reform work so our constituents will have a clear understanding of our goals and accomplishments.

    Sameen: You've been involved in various ways with Common Impact -- can you tell our readers about the different engagements you've done?

    Linda: Our primary engagement was a Marketing project that enabled us to develop our positioning framework (a concise way of conveying MBAE's work), and key messages (bullet points that highlight specific messages to use when speaking about our organization). It also included a volunteer team to execute one of the recommendations, so we chose a newly designed website. We also received some volunteer advice on technology and are about to embark on a Technology Mentor arrangement. In the future, we will be applicants for Financial and Operations assistance.

    Sameen: Your first engagement was about two years ago; have you seen the effects of that project contribute to your organization over time?

    Linda: Absolutely! As a small non-profit with limited resources, we rarely step back from our daily demands to think about what we do, whether external perception of our work matches our own vision, and how we communicate with the people we serve and with those who support us. Common Impact's proven process for analyzing our marketing needs and developing a brand platform has had a tremendous impact on our communication and our fundraising. One of our Board members arranged for training so every member could develop their "elevator speech" and more effectively represent the organization.

    Sameen: How has your experience been working with our corporate volunteer teams?

    Linda: Excellent. The members of the employee team that conducted research for our marketing project were superb communicators who quickly grasped the essence of our organization and our objectives to prepare every child for college and career success. The team designing our new website brought a similarly high level of professionalism and expertise to the project. Throughout our work with them, both the employee team members and Common Impact's consultants conveyed their own strong commitment to the mission of non-profits to improve their communities.

    Sameen: Were there any surprises or unexpected benefits during the process of each engagement?

    Linda: There were too many unexpected benefits to mention! We learned a lot about ourselves and how much our message influences every other aspect of the work we do. MBAE has revised its mission and vision statements to be more precise and explicit about our work. Common Impact's assistance in identifying our organizational competencies has informed our strategic planning process - influencing our activities and the tools we use to measure our own success - as well as our internal goals for raising MBAE's visibility.

    Sameen: This year marks our tenth anniversary -- if you were to throw Common Impact a birthday party, which theme would you choose and why? Your options are: 1) Beach Bash 2) Tie-Dye Party 3) Costume Masquerade.

    Linda: I wouldn't choose any of these themes -- I would have a very contemporary, future-oriented party -- perhaps a "2020" theme -- to highlight the way that Common Impact helps non-profits prepare for growth and success in their future.



    New and Newsworthy


    image
    Second Research Report on Nonprofit Capacity Published

    Common Impact teamed up with Capital One to produce this second report in a series of three, titled "Redefining the Solution: Doing More with Less". This report identifies common capacity constraints in the nonprofit sector, assesses trends in capacity investment, and explores the relationship between nonprofit capacity building and greater effectiveness.

    Mass Nonprofit Network Selects Common Impact as Finalist, Twice!

    Common Impact was recently recognized as the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN) held its second annual MNN Nonprofit Awareness Day and Excellence Awards Ceremony on June 14 at the Massachusetts State House.

    Out of a nomination pool of 100 plus organizations, Common Impact was selected as a finalist in two categories: Capacity Building and Nonprofit Innovation. image

    Several of Common Impact's nonprofit partners were also nominated. We would like to congratulate Project HEALTH, winner of the Nonprofit Innovation Award, as well as Centro Latino, Tutoring Plus, Mass Mentoring Partnership, and Victory Programs for their nominations!

    MNN was founded in 2005 as a statewide association of nonprofit organizations. MNN seeks to promote public awareness of the nonprofit sector, inform public policy through advocacy, and offer capacity-building services to all nonprofits in the Commonwealth.

    National Conference on Volunteering and Service

    Members of our leadership team joined more than 5,000 members of the nonprofit, corporate, and government sectors at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City June 28-30. The annual conference was hosted by the Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National & Community Service.

  • Common Impact Manager of Employee Engagement Danielle Holly provided insights into "Skills-Based and Pro Bono Volunteering: How to Do It?," a training session for corporate and nonprofit executives.

  • Northeast Regional Director Karen Horwitz sat on the panel discussion "Making the Business Case for Skills-Based Volunteering," along with experts from Bank of America and other leading corporate and nonprofit organizations.

  • Founder and Co-CEO Theresa Ellis helped to lead a panel discussion on "Billion + Change: A Call for the Next Generation of Skills Based Volunteering!"

    • image
    From left: Megan Kashner, Taproot Foundation; Esther Lardent, Pro Bono Institute; Stan Soloway, Professional Services Council; Theresa Ellis, Common Impact; Kim Frawley, Pfizer; Matt Hines, Capital One.






    New Positions and Fresh Faces



    The demand for our work has steadily increased over the past ten years, fostering Common Impact's expansion into new geographies, partnerships, and projects, such as our three-year study of nonprofit capacity building. To ensure that we can continue to deliver stellar programs as we grow, we have made changes to our management structure by adding two new positions and creating a shared CEO role.

    The co-CEO arrangement will be shared by two people with deep domain expertise. As founder and current managing director, Theresa Ellis has been at Common Impact's helm since its inception, in both the founder and CEO roles. Steve Neff brings experience as CIO emeritus of Fidelity Investment Management Technology and as a Common Impact Board member who has played an active role in our day-to-day operations over the past year.

    Our new structure includes regional directorships, which will help Common Impact foster partnerships and deliver even stronger programs in the Northeast and Southeast. As a result of the new positions, we've promoted two members of the management team:

    Congratulations, Karen - Regional Director, Northeast: Vice President of Thought Leadership Karen Horwitz has been promoted to northeast regional director. Karenwill focus on the Greater Boston and New York regions, and work closely with Theresa and Steve to develop and support our corporate and nonprofit partnerships.

    Congratulations Jenne - Regional Director, Southeast: Based in Richmond, Va., Jenne Griffin will step into the southeast regional director role, having served Common Impact in a consultant capacity since July 2009. In her new role, Jenne will expand her reach, forging new relationships and managing volunteering engagements in the Richmond, Va., and Raleigh-Durham areas.

    Welcome David - Consulting Intern: A junior at Duke University, David Koppel is currently earning his undergraduate degree in public policy, with a minor in markets and management studies. He is working closely with Common Impact's consulting and marketing teams, and is excited about the possibility of a consulting career in the non-profit sector. David will support several areas this summer, including non-profit sourcing and selection, program management and market research.

    Welcome Jocelyn - Development and Strategic Communications Intern: Jocelyn Krauss joins us from Dartmouth College, where she is majoring in geography with a minor in international studies. As a 2010 StartingBloc Fellow, she cultivated a passion for cross-sector partnerships and is excited to be creating social change through better business practices. Jocelyn is assisting with marketing communications, managing grant and award opportunities and working to promote Common Impact as a thought leader through national conferences and publications.


    Now Accepting Applications for Nonprofit Engagements!


    Amplify your organization's impact by leveraging pro bono expertise from the world's most successful companies. Common Impact will take your nonprofit through strategic planning and implementation of your customized engagement, within our practice areas of technology, marketing, HR, financial management and business process.

    Boston nonprofits - Apply for an engagement: The deadline for the next cycle of Boston-based programs is July 23rd, so apply today!

    New York/New Jersey nonprofits - Apply for an engagement in IT or Finance: The deadline for applications is July 30th. Application materials are posted on our website: http://www.commonimpact.org/nonprofits/apply/

    For inquiries, contact David Koppel at .


    Viewpoints


    2010 Deloitte Volunteer Impact Survey:
    Deloitte recently released the findings from their annual survey, which show that "corporate America is giving workplace volunteerism a strong vote of confidence as a means to make a significant, long-term difference in their communities."

    The Art of Demystifying a Millenial Volunteer:
    Social Citizens is a nontraditional discussion paper from the Case Foundation, focusing on how Millennials are influencing civic engagement. This post comes from its blog outlet, and explores the attitudes and aspirations of the younger generation just entering the workforce.


    Make a Secure Online Contribution


    Donate today! In doing so, you will return seven dollars to the community for every dollar you invest.
    Donate Now Through Network for Good

    Find us on Facebook
    Facebook

    Connect with us on LinkedIn
    LinkedIn

    The Small Print

    Thank you for reading the quarterly newsletter of Common Impact! We welcome your comments and contributions. Please send all inquiries to:

    Common Impact
    The Athenaeum Building
    215 First Street, Suite 25
    Cambridge, MA 02142-1236
    Phone: (617) 492-3105
    E-Mail: info@commonimpact.org