- Approach //
- Our Work //
- Donate //
- Corporate Volunteers //
- About Us //
- Publications //
- Search //
- Contact
This issue of Common Connection is dedicated to Common Impact's corporate volunteers:
"[Volunteering with Common Impact] was a wonderful and satisfying experience because you know your (market) research is helping and you see how it's being utilized. I could see exactly how my work was going to be valuable for the organization."
--Bhavani Tirupati-Common Impact Volunteer from State Street Corporation
By committing just an hour or two a week of their time, our volunteers have been busy building databases, creating marketing collateral and designing websites - making a tremendous impact on the nonprofits they serve and the community at large. Kudos, volunteers!
Matching Gifts: Did you know that many companies offer a matching gifts program for either dollars, hours or both as part of their employee benefits package? Double your gift to support Common Impact! For inquiries, contact Sameen Saeed at ssaeed@commonimpact.org or 617-868-0150.
Volunteering is more popular than ever! According to the 2007 Report on Volunteering in America issued by the Corporation for National and Community Service, national volunteer rates in the first decade of the 21st century are at a historic high with 61.2 million adults volunteering in the United States. Massachusetts is ranked 34 on this list with a volunteer rate of 27.8 percent. We are certain that our volunteers are working hard to move up our ranking on the national level.
We have been out
visiting our corporate volunteers lately, where we had the good
fortune to bump into some of our volunteers.
Karen Horwitz, Common Impact
Marketing Consultant, asked Laura
Walsh of State Street Corporation to tell us a little about
why she volunteered with us. Here is what she had to say about her
experience, her interests, and the hustle and bustle of daily life:
Karen: Hi Laura, what drew you to the idea of volunteering your professional skills through Common Impact?
Laura: Because I have family and friends in the non-profit sector, I already had an understanding of some of the challenges community service organizations face today, especially fiscal constraints. For many, it seems hiring a marketing consultant is simply cost-prohibitive. Often, the bulk of an organization's limited resources need to go towards programming. It's a bit of a Catch-22 though, because the lack of fresh and relevant messaging can put a non-profit at a disadvantage. I loved the idea that I could contribute my professional skills to help a non-profit, hone its marketing-communications efforts and, in turn, its ability to attract resources--donations, in-kind donations, and volunteer time, etc.
Karen: Please tell our readers a little about the project and what it was like to work with Generations Incorporated?
Laura: Because the project took place over several weeks, I learned a great deal about what Generations Incorporated does and how much its work benefits the Boston community. I worked on two consecutive phases of the project: Peer Analysis and Collateral Analysis. During the Peer Analysis phase, we reviewed and assessed the attributes and positioning of Generations Incorporated against several similar non-profits in the Boston area and nationally. We did this to identify what precisely makes them unique. Those differentiators were then used to craft a more compelling brand/position statement for the organization. During the second phase, the Collateral Analysis, we evaluated the effectiveness of specific pieces of marketing collateral--both Generations Incorporated collateral and that of its peers. This helped Generations Incorporated identify specific ways to tailor its messaging to different audiences, tighten copy and improve the layout and design of its collateral.
Karen: Were you surprised by anything you learned through Generations Incorporated about working in the nonprofit sector?
Laura: I have an even better appreciation of the unique challenge non-profits face today in having to meet a double bottom line. Organizations like Generations Incorporated not only have to meet a dollar bottom line with limited resources but they have to do so while helping to solve some of our community's most complex social and educational challenges. I have tremendous respect for the individuals who devote themselves to it full time.
Karen: What was your motivation to stay involved with Generations Incorporated after your project ended? Can you talk about the nature of your involvement?
Laura: The folks at Generations Incorporated are wonderful and very dedicated to the mission of the organization. They were all so genuinely enthused and appreciative of the work we were doing that I wanted to contribute more, knowing that there was more to be done. I'm currently helping to make their website more user-friendly and appealing to various audiences--donors, volunteers, partnering schools etc.
Karen: What was the most rewarding aspect of the experience?
Laura: Attending the board meeting and presenting the final results of the project was a gratifying experience--both for the opportunity to get to know the people at Generations Incorporated better, but also to see that our work yielded actionable results for them.
Karen: What would you advise to colleagues who are considering volunteering their skills?
Laura: I'd advise them to consider the benefits they'll reap from such an experience: the pleasure of meeting interesting, dedicated people in a sector outside of their own, the satisfaction that comes from applying your skills towards an organization that makes our community a better place to live and work, and the opportunity for professional development.
Karen: So, Laura what do you do with your free time besides making nonprofits' dreams come true?
Laura: Well, I love a good story, so I'm an avid reader, writer and photographer in my free time.
Common Impact Staff Retreat
At the end of June, Common Impact staff retreated (literally!) to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge located in the heart of the White Mountains. We reflected on the past year and learned from our collective efforts, discussed our plans for the coming year, and in between many games of Cranium, UNO and Trivial Pursuit, took in lots of fresh mountain air!
Happenings Around Town
Common Impact may be appearing soon at a conference near you.
The conference, offering 18 different workshops, will show you what's new and what works in areas like nonprofit fundraising, leadership development, marketing and communications, community organizing and team building with a special focus on "The Ways We Lead."
Our
Workshop Topic: Stakeholder Engagement, Collaboration and Market Research
--> Overview: This highly interactive workshop for seasoned practitioners
will provide the opportunity to delve into core dynamics and dimensions of
effective stakeholder engagement that facilitate authentic and powerful
collaboration. Participants will gain exposure (and practice) to stakeholder
identification, communication tools and assessment.
--> Session
Presenters: Diane Johnson (President, Mmapeu Consulting) and Karen Horwitz
(Common Impact)
--> Friday, November 9th at the Omni Parker House
--> Register now:
http://www.tsne.org/workout/register/
--> Learn more:
http://www.tsne.org/conference/
Common
Impact is helping to organize the first Massachusetts Civic Summit!
--> Overview: The
purpose of the Civic Summit is to raise awareness about the importance of civic
involvement and finding effective ways for folks to work together to support
their community. Participants will include community leaders of civic and
neighborhood organizations, educators, business leaders, local government
officials, youth leaders, public policy leaders, non-profit executives,
corporate social responsibility officers and elected officials.
--> Featured Speaker: Governor Deval Patrick
--> Friday,
November 16th from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the DCU Center
--> Visit
the Massachusetts Civic Summit website for more information on how you can participate!
We enjoyed attending events sponsored by some of our close friends and sponsors. We hope some of you made it to these events as well!
Boston Cares' fantastic summer celebration and auction extraordinaire! (Thursday, August 23rd at Fenway Park)
A gorgeous day for this fun yearly event! (Wednesday, September 19th at the Cyprian Keyes Golf Club)
Welcome Amy, Danielle, Katie and Naomi!
We are thrilled to welcome these enthusiastic and accomplished additions to Common Impact's growing team! We‘ll save the rest for when you have the pleasure of meeting them in person.
Amy Koo--IT Consultant
Danielle Holly--Associate Consultant
Katie Neff--Marketing Intern
Naomi Dreyer--Special Assistant to the CEO
Good Luck, Alissa!
We miss your quick wit and the good cheer that you brought the team, not to mention your technology brilliance. Best of luck in sunny California!
Good Luck, Shabduli!
Many thanks for your fantastic market research. Come visit us soon and good luck with your final year at Tuck!
The 2007 Volunteer IMPACT survey of 18-26 year-olds conducted by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP has revealed that nearly 62 percent prefer to work for companies that give them opportunities to contribute their talents to nonprofit organizations, leading to significant recruiting advantages for companies.
According to a Volunteer Match research study entitled: Great Expectations: Boomers and the Future of Volunteering, the coming wave of 77 million baby boomers approaching retirement age, are a huge resource for skilled, talented volunteers with great potential for reshaping the landscape of civil society.
View the full article: http://www.volunteermatch.org/nonprofits/resources/greatexpectations/
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