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This issue of Common Connection is dedicated to our nonprofit clients. From Close to Home, working to prevent domestic violence in Dorchester, to WriteBoston, bringing schools, families, and communities together to improve writing competency among high school students, the amazing nonprofits that we have the honor to support are building solutions to Boston's most pressing challenges.
Common Impact has worked with 91 nonprofit clients in and around Boston. Ninety-six percent of our nonprofit clients say their Common Impact corporate volunteer team provided great services that will help them serve the people of Greater Boston even better!
Q&A with Meg Coward of Community Farms Outreach
Imagine the surprise of this author when colleagues started coming back to the office with dirt on their shoes and scrumptious looking vegetables in their hands. I cornered Alissa Fencsik, Common Impact Consultant Extraordinaire, and unearthed the provenance of her produce: she had been out to see Meg Coward, the Executive Director of Community Farms Outreach in Waltham. (That's her on the right in the picture; Amanda Cather, on the left, is the farm manager. They have a cool tractor, rear.) I, like you, wanted to know more, so Alissa contacted our favorite farmer to bring you this Q&A:
Meg: We are guided by the vision of universal access to the food and beauty of local farms.We're doing our part largely by running a grassroots model of a community farm - the Waltham Fields Community Farm. The programs at Waltham Fields focus on farm preservation, farmer training, hunger relief, education and service learning. Waltham Fields is the last operating farm in the city of Waltham, and we are committed to preserving it as an important community asset. Each year on the farm, we train young farmers in the skills needed to manageother farms in the area. We also provide over $30,000 worth of fresh produce to emergency food programs a year,offer educational programs for children and adults, and work with over 1,500 volunteers a year.
Meg: Food is universal.We all
need to eat.I lovewhat's possible when people from totally different
backgrounds get to know each other through spendingtime on the farm
together, and bycooking and eating together!
Alissa: So, why does a farm need computers?
Meg: Ah! Good
question.Well,every farm needs computers just like any other business
would need computers - for accounting, communications, etc. As a
nonprofit farm operation, our need for technology is that much greater.
It's critical that we keep track ofand are able to communicate with our
volunteers, members, donors, customers, and partners. I suppose it's a
sign of the times that we find that well over 50 percent of our remote
(not on the farm) communication with our stakeholders happens through
e-mail.
Alissa: What has happened so far in your Common Impact
engagement?
Meg: Two of the Common Impact staff, you and Lauren,interviewed our staff last fall - it was a really easy process, very unobtrusive. Our seasonal farm staff insisted that they wouldn't have much to say, but you were able to guide the conversation and help them realize that they actually had a lot to say about technology at CFO! Early in the year, we received your Strategic Technology Plan, and it's amazing! I can't believe that so much extremely helpful information and suggestions came out of such an easy (for us) process.
Alissa: How will the volunteers affect your organization and the people you serve?
Meg: Oh my goodness, where to
start. Our database is a critical component of our operation, yet it is
extremely limited right now. Staff don't like using it, and it doesn't
serve the functions we need it to. Working with the volunteers to create
a better database will allowus to keep track of, and stay in much
better touch with, our stakeholders, which willallow them to access our
programs and opportunities much more easily.
Alissa: And we always have a hard question: if Common Impact were
a vegetable that you grow, what would we be, and how would you prepare
us for dinner?
Meg: It would have to be something that grows really easily, almost without any necessary attention, and is very hearty. Hmmm....Well, given that we're in New England, I think I'd have to go with beets! To prepare "you" for dinner, I'd roast you with lots of other root vegetables in olive oil and rosemary. Yum.
Alissa: That sounds hard to beet. Thanks, Meg. We'll see you around the farm!
Applications Out Now
Applications for marketing and human resources services are due by March 15. If your organization has worked with us in IT, remember that you can re-apply for a marketing or HR engagement, too! All your questions answered at http://www.commonimpact.org/go/np/apply.
Common Impact is Hiring!
Do you know someone who wants work for the common good by bridging the for-profit and nonprofit worlds? Is it...you? Let us know! We are hiring an Office Manager and an Associate Consultant. Check out the job descriptions at http://www.commonimpact.org/go/jobs and get your application in by March 31 for full consideration. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Event Sponsors
Thanks again to the fantastic companies that supported our event with Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, back in November. Our top tier sponsors were: Anne and Paul Marcus Family Foundation / Davis Marcus Partners and Flagship Ventures.
Join Common Impact and many other women-lead organizations at The Women's Congress, "an incomparable conference and exhibition where women get together to grow their businesses and enrich their careers," on March 29-30. We are looking forward to a great two days. Details are at http://www.thewomenscongress.com/.
Why would you want to be the McDonalds of nonprofits? Well, even if burgers aren't your mission, having a distinctive brand can help you raise money. An article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review explains why so many nonprofit brands don't catch the attention of donors, and how you can make yours stand out. See the article at http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_power_of_brands/ (subscription required--but the site is full of good stuff).
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