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Letter from the CEO: A Momentous Month for Social Change
October 08, 2008
Last month, a series of events unfolded in our sector that have brought about an enormous infusion of public policy leadership, media attention, funding, energy, and hope.
So what made September so special? In truly historic terms, ServiceNation launched a national and groundbreaking campaign, elevating the conversation about citizen service to a new level. For those who are unfamiliar, ServiceNation is a coalition of organizations dedicated to strengthening our democracy and solving problems through civic engagement and service, of which Commongood Careers is a proud member.
Kicking off the campaign on September 11th in New York City, Senators Obama and McCain set aside partisanship to speak together at a Presidential Forum about the importance of service and their views on how to expand its impact. The following day, the ServiceNation Summit brought together hundreds of leaders – nonprofit and for-profit CEO’s, elected and appointed government officials, army generals and celebrities – to discuss and embrace the future of citizen service. But the rubber really hit the road on September 27th’s “Day of Action,” during which more than 2,700 service events were organized across all 50 states to showcase the power and potential of service.
The month also brought some of the most powerful legislation in decades to expand and improve service opportunities when, on September 12th, Senators Kennedy and Hatch introduced “The Serve America Act” with co-sponsorship from Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain. When many policy efforts grind to a halt during an election cycle, waiting to see what the election will bring, it is tremendously encouraging to know that the next President of the United States has already endorsed this sweeping and important reform.
These developments are likely to have a profound impact on the workforce of the nonprofit sector, as more and more people are introduced to service and earn marketable experiences working to those ends. Particularly in response to conversations about the sector’s impending leadership crisis, there may be few more effective strategies for increasing the talent supply than to expand national service programs like City Year, Public Allies, Civic Ventures and Teach For America.
Finally, it is also worth noting that this work represents some of the absolute best tenants of social entrepreneurship – innovating new approaches to addressing social problems, pursuing audacious goals, measuring impacts, and building powerful cross-sector coalitions. As is often the case with successful examples of social entrepreneurship, and as was certainly the case during ServiceNation events, I found myself thinking daily about Margaret Mead’s often quoted observation: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
As a citizen of the world and on behalf of all of us…. thank you ServiceNation!
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In the News, Social Entrepreneurism, Talent Issues
October 02, 2008 The following is a guest blog submitted by our friends at the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
On October 8th, the Stanford Social Innovation Review will host a conference called Online Giving Marketplaces: Changing the Face of Philanthropy. I’m thrilled to see these platforms finally getting the attention they deserve. I’m also delighted to be moderating one of the panel discussions. Over the years I’ve paid a lot of attention to online giving sites—GlobalGiving, Kiva, NetworkForGood, GiveIndia, HelpArgentina, DonorsChoose, GiveMeaning, and GreaterGood South Africa, among many others (check out socialactions for a mashup of more than 30 platforms).
Why do these sites matter? Because they represent giving that’s faster, more global, and boasts multi-media interactivity? Or is there something else, something more transformative, going on here? Why are these sites proliferating, and what differentiates them from each other?
These platforms are important beyond just their speed and glitz factors in several ways. They enable small gifts to be aggregated—by the donors—and they let donors manage portfolios of their giving. This is a baseline for ultimately getting to more strategic giving. Second, online giving platforms provide a potential source of data about giving trends and patterns, in something approximating real time. Third, they could provide a common backbone for donation transactions. Fourth, they are positioned to gather real feedback and input from people within funded institutions, as well as the people who benefit from them (see GreatNonprofits for more on this possibility). Fifth, they might serve as early warning signals about issues or giving patterns. Sixth, there are already emerging connections between “online giving platforms,” “social investors,” and “social stock exchanges”—so it only makes sense that new metrics systems, reporting tools, and portfolio assessment tools will come next. Seventh, these sites are specifically set up as marketplaces with buyers and sellers connected by interests; this framework is distinct from the way nonprofits and donors usually talk about themselves, and one that has both advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we have not yet seen real interconnectivity between online giving platforms and “offline” donor services. Is this next, and what might the results of such partnerships look like?
The speakers at the Online Giving Marketplaces conference, who include the founding executives and board members of several of the sites named above, will surely add their ideas to this list.
Updates: The conference has been moved to a larger venue; the original site sold out. (You can find information on logistics here.) If you can’t attend, but have key questions you’d like to ask, send them to me, at and I’ll do my best to get them asked. I’ll report answers via a blog post.
Comments (0) Events & Career Fairs, Social Entrepreneurism
October 01, 2008 KIPP co-founder Dave Levin took KIPP’s message to the Colbert Nation Wednesday night as a guest on Comedy Central’s irreverent, faux-pundit show The Colbert Report. (See the interview here)
Levin emphasized the importance of bringing education to America’s students now, noting that KIPP does everything it can to make learning and teaching both fun and productive. “One of the things we want to do is make sure that every kid has a chance to work toward their own future,” he said.
“We can think of education like steroids for our kids’ futures,” he said. And while the analogy garnered some laughs, KIPP’s record shows that it really is improving kids’ futures astronomically. It isn’t steroids, but commitment, dedication and hard work on the part of students, teachers, and families that give KIPP’s kids the boost they need.
Only one question remains: When will the “Colbert Bump” kick in for KIPP?
Comments (0) In the News, Social Entrepreneurism
October 01, 2008 Attention American Express cardholders! Cast your vote in Members Project ‘08, and help a nonprofit project dedicated to creating positive change receive up to $1.5 million in funding. Winning projects will share $2.5 million in funding from American Express and will be announced Oct. 14.
This year, over 1,000 projects were submitted, which has since been narrowed down to five projects. We are thrilled to see that two Commongood Careers clients—DonorsChoose.org and Kiva—are amongst the top five nominees!
If you are an AMEX cardholder, you can cast your vote at: http://www.membersproject.com/
If you are not a cardholder, AMEX invites you to show your support by sounding off about your favorite nominated projects at: http://community.membersproject.com/category/Discussion-Board/3
Comments (0) In the News, Sites We Like, Social Entrepreneurism
September 30, 2008 Recently City Year announced that it has teamed up with Arnold Worldwide and Comcast to create and broadcast several public service announcements spreading the word about City Year’s work. (See one of the PSAs here)
The PSAs feature City Year corps members in meaningful moments that convey the impact they have as young people engaged in citizen service: tutoring in schools, mentoring students, cleaning up neighborhoods, and ultimately working together for a common purpose.
“The more you learn about City Year, the more you are inspired by the energy, passion and optimism that shine through everything they do,” said Brian Hayes, creative director, Arnold. “We hope that these new ads convey this feeling and motivate more young people to get involved in the program.”
The PSAs will be shown almost 2,500 times as part of Comcast’s three-year commitment of $27 million to City Year.
Comments (0) In the News, Social Entrepreneurism
September 30, 2008 The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has announced the 2008 recipients of its National Leadership in Action Award, recognizing excellent work by nonprofit organizations and philanthropic institutions in communities of color.
The award recognizes organizations with a wide range of missions and visions, but all of those awarded are making significant change in their communities. Winners this year include ACCESS, “for its commitment to provide economic and social services to Arab immigrants, Arab Americans, and non-Arabs alike, while breaking down the barriers of linguistic and cultural differences;” Native Americans in Philanthropy, “for its work to promote, facilitate, and celebrate philanthropic giving to Native communities, while providing professional development opportunities and support for Native Americans working in the field of philanthropy;” and The Twenty-First Century Foundation “for its efforts to facilitate strategic giving for black community change, working with donors to invest in institutions and leaders that address challenges within black communities across the country.”
The National Leadership in Action Award Program promotes high-level performance of philanthropic institutions and nonprofit organizations and the award honors innovative approaches to connecting resources of time, money and expertise to the philanthropic work of communities of color.
For a full list of recipients or to learn more about the award, click here.
Comments (0) Social Entrepreneurism, Workplace Diversity
September 03, 2008 In the 8/31/08 edition of the Los Angeles Times, national education entrepreneurs, including our partner Ted Mitchell of NewSchools Venture Fund, laid out the imperative for the next president to support the work of education entrepreneurs in transforming the lives of low-income children. The piece argues for a major expansion of innovation funding and an entrepreneurial mindset in federal education policy. Such expanded efforts—in charter schools, human capital, and tools that improve education—will speed the pace of positive change for systems, for schools, and for children.
Among the calls to action for our next administration are:
1. Expand innovation incentives and free them from the earmarks and conditions that have blunted past initiatives. Adequate incentives, coupled with rigorous accountability, would remedy this.
2. Use influence over state and local policy to sweep away regulations that hamper innovative thinking, such as caps on the number of public charter schools allowed and excessive restrictions on how teachers are trained and credentialed.
3. Continue the strong push of two efforts already underway. One is the move toward a common set of standards for what students should be expected to know and be able to do. Then, to make shared standards work, a national data infrastructure must be built to assess educational progress.
This op-ed also featured the outstanding work of other Commongood Careers partners such as KIPP, Teach for America, and New Leaders for New Schools.
Comments (0) In the News, Innovations in Education, Social Entrepreneurism
September 02, 2008 So, what do you do when you have flown in staff from around the country for an annual retreat, only to find out at the last minute that your off-site location has fallen through? Well… if you’re lucky, you can call-up two amazing partner organizations and host your retreat at their places!
Last week, Team Commongood Careers enjoyed the good fortune of being able to hold our annual retreat in beautiful new boardrooms and training spaces within the offices of City Year and Citizen Schools.
They say everything happens for a reason. In this case, not only were City Year and Citizen Schools able to provide some great space to meet our logistical needs, but it was also a tremendous inspiration to be discussing sector-wide impact in the national headquarters of these two outstandingly successful and entrepreneurial organizations.
And if you don’t already know all about these two leaders in their fields, please check them out and help us return the favor by doing all you can to support their efforts.
City Year unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service, giving them the skills and opportunities to change the world. As tutors, mentors, and role models, these young leaders make a difference in the lives of children and transform schools and neighborhoods across the United States and in South Africa. More than 1,500 corps members serve in 19 City Year sites across the United States and one site in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Citizen Schools has built a creative and effective learning model that addresses community needs while building student skills through hands-on experiential learning activities. Citizen Schools operates a National Network of apprenticeship programs for youth that connects middle school students with adult volunteers in hands-on learning. At Citizen Schools, students develop the academic and leadership skills they need to excel in school, build self confidence, get into college, and become leaders in their communities. Citizen Schools currently enroll 2,000 middle-school students and engage 1,500 volunteers at 30 school campus sites nationwide.
Comments (0) Social Entrepreneurism
August 22, 2008 Tennis anyone?
Tenacity will be honored by the USTA during Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the US Open this year as the featured National Junior Tennis League organization. Attracting over 30,000 adult and youth spectators, Arthur Ashe Kids Day honors tennis legend Arthur Ashe and continues his mission of using tennis as a means to instill in kids the values of humanitarianism, leadership and academic excellence. To see the coverage, tune in to CBS Sports TV on Sunday, August 24th, from 12 - 1:30 PM (EST) for the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day national broadcast featuring a short video on Tenacity.
We congratulation our partner Tenacity for being recognized on this special day that celebrates the importance of shaping and encouraging youth in the classroom, on the court, and in the community.
Comments (0) Events & Career Fairs, In the News, Social Entrepreneurism
August 20, 2008 Yesterday, the New York Times Magazine published a cover story on education reform in New Orleans. The article focuses broadly on the reform efforts here in the city and features one of New Schools for New Orleans’ incubated schools, Miller McCoy Academy.
The article also highlights the work of Teach For America, teachNOLA, and New Leaders for New Schools and shows incredible images of students of Langston Hughes Charter School.
We applaud the tremendous effort of New Schools for New Orleans and its supporters to further the transformation public schools in New Orleans.
Comments (0) In the News, Innovations in Education, Social Entrepreneurism
August 14, 2008 Newsweek’s reporter Donna Foote recently spent a year following four Teach For America Corps Members from their training stage to the end of their first school year. In addition to writing a book about it, she also wrote a article for Newsweek about what she learned.
Plus, Foote cites some impressive stats, for example that about 10 percent of Yale, Georgetown and Harvard seniors apply to be a part of Teach For America’s corps of world-changing teachers. She also writes about the realities of the challenges facing America’s education system and how Teach For America is offering solutions.
Encouragingly, the article notes that many of Teach For America’s alumni are inspired by their experience to do more. Foote points out that KIPP, whose impressive education successes we recently blogged about, was started by Teach For America alums.
Comments (0) In the News, Innovations in Education, Social Entrepreneurism
August 14, 2008 Achievement First’s mission is to close the achievement gap and deliver equal educational opportunity for all children in America. Thanks to support from public, private, and individual donors, Achievement First’s new school in Hartford, Conn. is able to open in time for the new school year.
Due to lack of state funding, the school’s future was uncertain just a few weeks before it was to open. Fortunately for Hartford and its students, local figures like Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez, and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving came forward to champion Achievement First’s cause and energize donors to help get the schools ready for the fall.
With Achievement First’s success in education, it’s no wonder so many in Hartford were ready to step forward to support the organization. A recent report shows that students at a similar school in New Haven, Conn. performed an average of 56 percent higher on all sections of the state test than their peers in non-Achievement First schools in that city. Now that’s putting achievement first!
Comments (0) In the News, Innovations in Education, Social Entrepreneurism
August 13, 2008 Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about how today’s donors are looking for more control over the money they give. It perceptively notes that while we’re not all millionaires looking for total control over every dollar we give, it’s nice to know our donations go to supporting the cause we donate to in the best way possible.
That’s where the article recognizes organizations like Kiva and DonorsChoose.org. The article advises: “if you want to exercise the kind of control that deep-pocketed philanthropists enjoy, consider donating to one of a new breed of charities that allow donors to browse descriptions of specific projects online and fund them, in whole or in part. “
Both Kiva and DonorsChoose.org use the Internet to connect individual donors directly with recipients of the donation, whether through Kiva’s microloans or DonorsChoose’s donations to classrooms. They champion diverse causes, but they’re both doing what’s great: helping people exercise their philanthropic spirit, no matter the size of their bank account.
Comments (0) In the News, Sites We Like, Social Entrepreneurism
August 04, 2008 KIPP works to prepare students in underserved communities for success in college and in life through a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools. Their results have been inspiring, setting students up for all kinds of success, including a 90 percent high school graduation rate and an 80 percent continuation of KIPP grads on to college.
Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews recently wrote an article about KIPP’s focus on finding the cause for any drop-outs from its schools and its continuing research on learning how its graduates are doing once they reach college. He highlights the importance of KIPP’s dedication to looking at the data to achieve results.
And achieve they do. The article also notes that in addition to being much more likely to graduate high school and go to college than their non-KIPP school peers, middle school students who completed four years at KIPP increased their average math achievement level from the 40th to the 82nd percentile and their reading level from the 32nd to the 60th percentile. Dare we say “KIPP up the good work”?
Comments (0) In the News, Innovations in Education, Social Entrepreneurism
August 02, 2008 We love success stories, so we’re so happy to share with you the latest achievements of Rare’s Latin American Pride program graduates.
Pride partners throughout Latin America use social marketing tools to change attitudes and behaviors critical to conservation. Rare provides the tools, along with in-depth training and technical support as its local partners launch two-year Pride campaigns that have resulted in truly impressive results.
One Pride program alum, Martin Castillo Paniagua of Mexico’s National Park Service, helped lead a campaign that grew knowledge of one area as protected in the target community from 35 to 98 percent. You can read all about his and other Rare Conservation success stories here.
Comments (0)From SSIR: What’s Online Got to Do With It?
KIPP takes on Colbert!
Cast Your Vote in Members Project ‘08
City Year Gets Air Time
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Encourages Outstanding Nonprofits
Social Entrepreneurs Offer a Lesson on Education Innovation to Presidential Candidates
Commongood Careers Partners Deliver in a Pinch!
Tenacity Honored at 2008 US Open
Transforming Public Education in New Orleans
A Year with Teach For America
School is in Session for Achievement First
Give Like a Millionaire
KIPP’s Commitment to Evaluation Gets Noticed
Rare Conservation Raises Awareness in Latin America