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How can we ever thank you enough? This issue of Common Connection is dedicated to the generous individuals, foundations and companies whose giving makes our mission possible. Every contribution made to Common Impact helps us to connect more skilled volunteers from America's leading companies to high-potential nonprofits who target the core issues of poverty--education, housing, and community health care. The result? Our nonprofit clients are able to reach more people in need.
In your philanthropy this year, please consider making a gift to Common Impact to support our rapid growth. This year, Common Impact served its 115th nonprofit client and expanded to New York City and Richmond, VA. The need in the nonprofit sector is tremendous and we still have to turn away many worthy nonprofit applicants. Your investment in Common Impact will ensure that more exceptional nonprofit organizations can overcome critical capacity challenges and amplify their impact.
"We expect the database to both save us approximately 150 staff hours a year while also providing a more accurate reflection of our work."
-- Beth Leventhal, The Network/La Red
"Common Impact has done a tremendous job in facilitating the relationship between Fidelity and us. Their support through this process has been much welcomed."
-- Tom Hamel, Generations, Inc.
"Common Impact is terrific, both in the way they managed the project interpersonally and their technical expertise which they easily translated into plain English."
-- Betsy Rueda Gynn, The City School
Common Impact returns seven dollars to the community for every dollar invested in its work. Every one of our projects results in $20,000-$40,000 in immediate value to our nonprofit clients, and also build long-term self-sufficiency. This represents ten times the value of equivalent time spent on traditional volunteering, and 4-8 times the value of an average corporate cash donation.
We recently had
the pleasure of catching up with Pamela Paton
, a long time
friend, supporter and Board Member of Common Impact. Sameen
Saeed, Director of External Relations, recently
asked her about how she relates to the mission of Common Impact.
Sameen: What drew you to the mission of Common Impact, and what prompted you to become a supporter?
Pamela: The uniqueness of the Common Impact mission. Providing opportunities for employers to allow their staff to volunteer but at the same time gain and enhance the employee’s knowledge. This is so different than other organizations and is a true win-win situation.
Sameen: What do you think motivates a donor to give to a capacity builder like Common Impact, as opposed to an organization that provides direct service?
Pamela: I believe it is the fact that both the nonprofit and the volunteer benefit and not just in a ‘feel good’ way but in a very tangible way. For example, the nonprofit might have a website built and the volunteer gets to use a new skill set.
Sameen: Do you think the way donors give is changing? If so, in what ways?
Pamela: I think that donors want to better understand the organizations they give to – what is the mission, the sustainability of the organization, etc.
Sameen: In your view what are the biggest challenges facing the nonprofit sector today?
Pamela: The current economy is not helping as people are struggling with their own economic issues, so raising funds will be more of an issue.
Sameen: We are a curious bunch here at Common Impact. Could you share with us some of the holiday traditions in your house?
Pamela: My father died when I was seven, and I am an only child, so my uncles would come over on Christmas Eve and help my Mom and I celebrate. I looked so forward to that night. Even today, I try to make the night before Christmas special for my husband and me.
Sameen: What is the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
Pamela: I like car racing.
Sameen: Wow. We would never have guessed! We’ll race you to the New Year…
2008 Social Innovation Forum Achievement AwardOn December 6th, 2007, The Social Innovation Forum honored Common Impact and our CEO, Theresa M. Ellis, with the 2008 Social Innovation Forum Achievement award for our achievements in strengthening high-potential nonprofit organizations. Sponsored by the Margaret Stewart Lindsay Foundation, the Social Innovation Forum Annual Achievement Award recognizes organizations and leaders who espouse the values of the Social Innovation Forum by addressing the root causes of social issues in the greater Boston community.
Common Impact is proud to be featured in the Boston Business Journal's 2008 Philanthropy Almanac--a publication showcasing nonprofit organizations in the Greater Boston community. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the State Street Foundation for making this possible.
Many thanks for being a super star intern and for your fantastic market research. Come visit us with your new puppy soon!
Common Impact is on the prowl for a Grant Writer Intern. Come and learn about the inner-workings of fundraising and development in a nonprofit context! For details visit our website: http://www.commonimpact.org/go/jobs/
Corporate entities and online social networks are creating new avenues for donors to get involved with causes of their choice, provoking innovative thinking about the future of philanthropy.
According to a recent New York Times article: A Big Salary With a Big Stipulation: Share It, Bear Stearns requires senior managing directors to give four percent of their salary and bonus to nonprofit organizations every year, with many directors sharing their causes via memos, thereby creating a marketplace of philanthropic of ideas with many director's supporting each other's causes.
View the full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/giving/12BONUS.html
Facebook and MySpace are encouraging their users--especially teenagers--to discover causes they care about and inspiring them to raise money for those causes.
From the Wall Street Journal article entitled: A New Generation Reinvents Philanthropy: "Young donors and volunteers, snubbing traditional appeals such as direct mail and phone calls, are satisfying their philanthropic urges on the Internet. They're sending Web-based fund-raising pitches to their friends and families, encouraging them, in turn, to forward the appeals to their own contacts."
View the full article: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118765256378003494.html
The Common Impact team offers its sincere appreciation to the following individuals, foundations and companies whose philanthropic contributions have enabled us to advance our mission.
Annual Fund ($1-$2,499)
Brendan
Doherty and Robyn Altman
Michael Jorda & Rumi
Bhattacharyya
Jon and Diana Carson
Dot and Bill Gerber, Jr.
Susanne Goldstein
Gareth Jones
Alison Goldberg and Jonathan Lewis
Darcy Wheeles and Chris McCaslin
Campbell McKellar
Peter Mucchetti
Steve and Mary Neff
Elise O'Connell
Curt and Sherri Oberg
Leon and Tracy Palandjian
Sam Plimpton and Wendy Shattuck
Mark Dibble and Anne Stetson
Robert Lussky and Melissa Wafer
Mark Winters
Gordon Russell
Anonymous (1)
Major ($2,500-$4,999)
Robert
and Carol Henderson
Pamela Paton
Stephen and Gerry Ricci
Theresa M. Ellis and Adam Steinmetz
Anonymous (1)
Leadership ($5,000-$9,999)
Christine W. Letts
Principal ($10,000 and above)
R.
Stephen Cheheyl
LARS Foundation
Liz and Thom Fries
Ed and Ann Kania
Jim and Julie Matheson
John Goodhue and Anne Smith
Anonymous (1)
Foundations
484 Phi
Alpha Foundation
Anne and Paul Marcus Family Foundation
Baupost Foundation
Cambridge Community Foundation
Charles H. Pearson Trust, Bank of America Trustee
State Street Foundation, Inc.
Surdna Foundation
The Boston
Foundation
Anonymous (1)
Corporate and In-kind Supporters
CA
Cisco
CRMfusion Inc.
Bow Street Flowers
Davis Marcus Partners
Eaton Vance Management
Fidelity Investments
Flagship Ventures
Goodwin Procter LLP
Guarino Design
IBM
Litho-Craft
Microsoft Giving Campaign
Project R.I.G.H.T.
Quabbin Capital
Salesforce.com
Society for Information Management
Willy Wong Graphic Design
* Please note that the above donor roll reflects gifts received by Common Impact between January 1, 2007 and November 30, 2007.
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