- Approach //
- Our Work //
- Donate //
- Corporate Volunteers //
- About Us //
- Publications //
- Search //
- Contact
This issue of Common Connection is dedicated to the generous individuals, foundations, and companies in Boston and across the country who make our work possible by donating to Common Impact. Every contribution helps us strengthen our community by connecting the business skills of corporate volunteers with the energy and know-how of effective nonprofit organizations.
If you contributed to Common Impact this year, thank you very much for your support. If you are still considering which organizations to contribute to, we hope that you will include Common Impact in your philanthropy. For every dollar you contribute, Common Impact will return seven dollars to the community, and, in the process, your gift will touch hundreds of nonprofits doing critical work in education, homelessness, and health care. Our goal is to help these organizations meet their missions by helping more people in need.
To donate, please visit our website at http://www.commonimpact.org/go/donate or contact Weston Smith at 617-868-0150.
Common Impact is on track to close the fiscal year (in June) with a compound annual growth rate of 60 percent over the past 6 years. Our budget for this fiscal year is $1.2 million. Common Impact depends on the support of 150 generous individual donors, 18 foundations, and 14 corporate donors. More than 60 percent of our revenue comes from these philanthropic sources, which is why your support is so critical to our mission.
Q&A with Chris Letts
In January, Common Impact will welcome two new Board members, one of whom will assume the honor of having the longest title on the board. At an amazing 164 characters, Christine Letts is the Associate Dean for Executive Education and the Rita E. Hauser Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is an expert on high engagement philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, and has been a supporter of Common Impact since 2002. Theresa M. Ellis, CEO, recently asked her everything our readers want to know:
Theresa: You are an expert on venture philanthropy; could you say a little bit about what that is?
Chris: Venture philanthropy has become a catch-all concept that has many meanings. I use the term high engagement philanthropy. The best models that I've examined are exchange relationships between funders and nonprofits that include accountability for results and support for capacity-building. The relationships are built on trust and mutual influence. The best ones are longer than three years and involve enough grant money to make the relationship worthwhile to the nonprofit.
Theresa: Do you think that the way donors give is changing? If so, in what ways?
Chris: There is more talk about impact and results, but I don't yet see very many funders changing their grantmaking practices to support the results that they are asking for.
Theresa: Why did you become a Common Impact donor, and what prompted you to join our Board of Directors this year?
Chris: I have known you for years, and consider you one of the most disciplined yet innovative of the social entrepreneurs in Boston. I love the model of Common Impact's service, and I think that you have built a solid foundation for growth by continuing to refine the model and collect impact data. I was part of the corporate world for many years, so I'm very interested in how we continue to build value for our corporate partners as well as the nonprofits.
Theresa: What is the biggest challenge that you foresee our donors helping us to address in the next year?
Chris: Once an organization makes the commitment to grow, there are many changes inside the organization and many adjustments to the growth plan itself. I would love for our donors to be as adaptive in the type and size of their gifts to us as we will have to be in accomplishing our goals.
Theresa: Around here, we all love ice cream. Do you have a favorite flavor? If you had to pick a flavor that represents Common Impact, what would you choose and why?
Chris: I'm a sucker for anything chocolate and cherry, so Cherry Garcia would have to be it, if I had to pick one! And any of those wild combinations that Ben & Jerry's has put together would represent Common Impact. They combine pretty unlikely things, add a few ingredients that "bind" the big idea flavors together to make a result that no one expects, but works really well.
Theresa: Thanks, Chris. Now we know what to take along to the next Board meeting!
First Annual Event 
More than 200 business, philanthropic, and social sector leaders joined Common Impact on November 16 for A Special Evening with Jeff Immelt. Mr. Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, offered remarks on the necessity of creating a culture of exceptional performance in leading companies and Common Impact’s role in expanding that culture of exceptional performance to the broader community. We are grateful to the Anne and Paul Marcus Family Foundation and Davis Marcus Partners, Bow Street Flowers, Flagship Ventures, Goodwin Procter, and State Street Corporation for sponsoring the event.
Executive Coaches
Common Impact is partnering with the Society for Information Management (SIM) to offer a new service: Executive Coaches! The Executive Coaches program matches senior executives in the private sector to nonprofit organizations seeking occasional strategic guidance on an ongoing basis. We look forward to expanding the program in 2007. Thank you, SIM coaches!
Marketing Engagements Underway
In other news, we are pleased to report that Common Impact’s fall Marketing engagements have begun! The Cambridge Arts Council, Summerbridge Cambridge, and Tutoring Plus will be working with Karen Horwitz, Common Impact Marketing Consultant, and teams of corporate volunteers to get their names out in the community and let people know about all of the great work they are doing.
Human Resources Engagements Starting Soon
We are also launching new Human Resources engagements! Starting this spring, we will link up the HR know-how of our corporate partners with Boston-area nonprofits, just as we do in technology and marketing. Corporate volunteers will help our nonprofit clients support, retain, and attract great teams.
Applications Out Soon
We will be releasing the next application for information technology (IT), marketing, and human resources services in January. Please contact Lauren Plate at lplate@commonimpact.org or 617-868-2034 if you would like to be notified when the application goes out. If your organization has worked with us in IT, remember that you can reapply for a marketing or HR engagement, too!
Common Impact in Catalogue For Philanthropy
Common Impact has been featured in the 10th Anniversary Issue of the Massachusetts Catalogue For Philanthropy. The Catalogue has pioneered new thinking and action in philanthropy through initiatives like their State Giving Days (see http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/natl/giving_day/index.html). In 2002, the Catalogue recognized Common Impact as a fellow pioneer by creating a new category of nonprofits in their publication just for us: Promoting Philanthropy. We are delighted to be honored again in 2006.
Governors's Points of Light Award
Governor Mitt Romney and the Massachusetts Service Alliance have honored Common Impact with the Governor’s Points of Light Nancy Korman Innovation In Service Award for 2006. Theresa accepted the award for the team at a State House banquet on November 14. Check out Governor Romney congratulating Theresa at http://www.commonimpact.org/news.asp?news=20061106.
The Corporation for National and Community Service
reports that volunteering in the US has hit a 30-year high. With
volunteerism up across age groups, the future of volunteer work
looks bright. From the press release: “’We are encouraged
that emerging studies consistently show increased volunteering by
young Americans. If supported properly, we may be on the cusp of
a new civic generation,’ said Robert T. Grimm, Jr., Director
of Research and Policy Development at the Corporation.”
View the full press release at
http://www.nationalservice.org/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=534.
Common Impact is delighted to welcome Christine Letts and R. Stephen Cheheyl to our Board of Directors. Chris Letts, interviewed above, has held management positions in the private, public, and social sectors, and is the author of High Performance Nonprofit Organizations: Managing Upstream for Greater Impact. At Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Chris manages the Executive Education department and teaches courses to both degree and Executive Education students in nonprofit leadership and philanthropy.
Steve Cheheyl is a private investor and consultant with 25 years of experience in technology companies. His experience ranges from start-up companies to multinationals. In his most recent executive role, Steve was Executive Vice President of Business Operations at Bay Networks, a $2 billion data networking company formed through the merger of Wellfleet Communications and Synoptics Communications.
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