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This archived newsletter is from Harbinger Partners, before it joined forces with the Corporate Volunteer Network to become Common Impact. |
I am just ecstatic about the volunteer project...We love the database. You saw the pile of papers we used to have; now we have volunteers entering the data into one central system that will allow us to process the data immediately. We're thrilled, absolutely thrilled with the whole process.
-- Ayele Shakur, Executive Director of the Boston Learning Center
Happy Fall! This issue of Views from the Bridge is dedicated to our nonprofit participants. Since the newsletter is going out on Halloween, we want to thank you all for working so hard to make the world a less scary place for so many people in Boston and around the world.
Who are our nonprofit participants? Well, here is a brief statistical portrait of them, painted in percentages.
One of the great pleasures of our work at Harbinger Partners is getting to meet so many incredible nonprofit organizations. Our partners make a huge difference in the lives of so many people in and around Boston, and they do it with humor, wit, and integrity. It is inspiring to see, and a daily pleasure to do our part to help.
To check in with one of our nonprofit partners, Program Manager Alissa Fencsik called Ron Bersani, Executive Director of the Talking Information Center (TIC), a nonprofit reading service broadcasting newspapers, magazines, books, and special consumer information to visually-impaired listeners. One year ago, TIC completed the Technology Pioneers Program with Harbinger Partners. Volunteers from BEA Systems redesigned the TIC website to make it more accessible, simpler for TIC staff to update, and easier for the visually-impaired to use.
Alissa: What was the best part of working with the BEA volunteers on this project?
Ron: I would have to say their enthusiasm. They were so open and fun to be with. They were outgoing and friendly and they really cared about what it is we do. That was really important to us.Alissa: What did you learn from your experience working with technology volunteers?
Ron: I guess it would be that there is so much incredible talent and knowledge out there. There is almost no question to ask or problem you can come up with that someone out there can't help you with.Alissa: What would you tell other nonprofit organizations about working with technology volunteers?
Ron: They should understand that the people will work with them from their point of knowledge and with their vocabulary to really understand what [the nonprofit's] needs are.Alissa: Have there been any unexpected benefits to having the new website?
Ron: We've felt that the best benefit is for the listeners, but we've gotten a lot of volunteer help from the website. They've seen the website and called us and become volunteers. I wasn't expecting that.Alissa: One year later, how would you summarize your experience with Harbinger Partners and the technology volunteers from BEA?
Ron: It was a very rewarding experience, and a comfortable experience. We met terrific people, and Zach was wonderful. What they promised us was what they delivered in the end.
For a list of our current Nonprofit Participants, go to http://www.harbingerpartners.org/go/np/profiles/.
New Technology Pioneers!
A big welcome to our newest Technology Pioneers. They are:
¿Oiste? The Massachusetts Latino Civic Education Initiative
http://www.oiste.net/
¿Oiste? The Massachusetts Latino Civic Education Initiative seeks to promote the principles and practice of democracy and advance the political, social and economic standing of Latinos and Latinas in the state by impacting public policy through public education, voter mobilization, legislative lobbying, and electoral training.Cambridge Senior Volunteer Clearinghouse
Cambridge Senior Volunteer Clearinghouse matches volunteers of all ages - but primarily seniors - with nonprofit agencies that can utilize their skills and talents.Community Dispute Settlement Center
http://www.communitydispute.org/
Community Dispute Settlement Center provides and promotes effective, cost-efficient, and participatory approaches for resolving conflict, making them accessible to all members of the community.Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
http://www.icic.org/
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City works to build healthy economies in America's inner cities that create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents by transforming thinking, providing cities with a new vision of economic development, and engaging the resources of the private sector to accelerate inner-city business growth.JFYNetWorks
http://www.jfynetworks.org/
JFYNetWorks helps youth and adults develop the skills needed to become productive, independent participants in the new economy. Their programs include GED preparation, MCAS preparation, computer training, and industry-based job skills training.
Welcome Aboard, Alissa and Lauren!
We are thrilled to announce
that we've found two new additions to our program team this summer. Alissa Fencsik
is our newest Program Manager, and she joins the team after eight years at the
Borders Group, where she worked as a liaison between bookstore employees and
the corporate IT department as new systems were developed and implemented. Lauren
Plate recently graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, and she joins the team
as our very first Program Associate. Their names aren't the easiest to pronounce
("Uh-lee-suh Fen-Chick" and "Lauren Platt"), but we know
you'll enjoy working with them once you meet them!
Farewell, Leslie...
Over the course of the last year, a lot of people have had the fortune to interact
with Program Manager, Leslie Koplow. Leslie bid us adieu in July as she moved
on to become the assistant to the executive director at the Jericho Road Project,
a nonprofit in Concord that matches skilled volunteers to deserving nonprofits
in Lowell. We wish her the best as she begins her new position!
Congratulations, Ullas!
We send a heartfelt congratulations to Ullas Naik, our Board member who recently
relocated out to the Palo Alto office of Globespan Capital Partners. Ullas will
stay on the Board at Harbinger Partners through June 2006. While we will miss
having him in Boston, we couldn't be more pleased for Ullas and his family.
All the best on the west coast, Ullas!
Navigating Nonprofit Technology? Use the MAP!
Harbinger Partners has begun building the new Metrics Assessing Performance
(MAP) data system to provide the public with data about the use of technology
in the nonprofit sector. Harbinger Partners has been collecting this information
in the course of its work for the last five years.
Users will be able to cross-filter data to find the statistics they need. For example, MAP will allow users to see what percentage of nonprofits in Dorchester have high speed internet access, or how much time the average nonprofit with a budget under $1 million spends troubleshooting. (To protect the privacy of the nonprofits served by Harbinger Partners, only aggregate data will be available to the public.)
The system will also place organizations within a framework of technology capacity development, ranging from basic use to technological innovation, so nonprofits will be able to see how their technology capacity compares to that of similar organizations. Stay tuned for more news as the system is built!
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