March 2010 - Posts
Great news! This week, more than $35,000 worth of grants were distributed from The Blackbaud Fund. I get the easy job - telling the world about the grants. Our employees did all the hard work.
Instead of having grants from the fund be a corporate decision, we have a tradition of putting the decision into our employees' hands. We use the annual process to teach our people how to be grantmakers. Sure, this sounds really fun at the beginning (and it actually is), but over time, the people who get involved learn just how hard it is to determine which worthy cause should receive a piece of the funding pie.
Under watchful guidance from Ashley Cooper of the Coastal Community Foundation, where the fund is held, and Tina Fei, our employee team lead, our people learn how to read a grant application, pulling out the details that give a clear picture of what might be accomplished (and, conversely, what might not). They gather around the table to share their initial reactions and questions... then they head out to do site visits, seeing the organizations in action for themselves.
The site visits, hands down, are the key element of the program from our point of view. They pull people away from their desks, their email, their work and put them into the field with the kinds of organizations we work with every day, just in a different way. They put on their jeans and work boots to go out into muddy fields to watch therapeutic riding sessions with children with disabilities. They sit down with executive directors and talk about long-term sustainability. They travel to rural parts of our community and meet people who have never been to downtown Charleston even though its only 20 miles away.
They come back with perspective. With a renewed sense of what our colleagues in the nonprofit world are accomplishing, about the struggles they face and how the money we grant them will help. This year our team -- Andy, Chanel, Collins, Kelly, Monica, Patrick, Ryan, Ryen, Sarah, Shakeima and Tom -- finished their work by selecting the following recipients:
Please join me in congratulating the 2010 grant recipients and thanking our employee team for a job well done! We are pleased to make the grants. And we're also pleased about what our people learned in the process and how this experience will inform what they do every day.
Last month, I shared the exciting news that Blackbaud had forged a philanthropy partnership with the Charleston Battery pro soccer team. As I said then, it's a natural fit for both organizations -- which were both founded by the same man, Tony Bakker, and both share the spirit of serving others and making a difference in the world.
This past Saturday, at the annual Challenge Cup -- a pre-season tournament that pits Major League Soccer teams against the Charleston Battery -- we honored our first Nonprofit of the Match during halftime. My colleague Sally Ehrenfried joined Andrew Bell, president of the Charleston Battery, on the field with three representatives of HALOS, including Kim Clifton, the organization's amazingly talented executive director.
HALOS' tagline is "turing help into hope." They do this by providing "resources and special opportunities to abused and neglected children and their caregivers." Physically located in the DSS building in North Charleston, SC, HALOS works realy hard to keep children in safe, appropriate situations and to support those people who are stepping in as caregivers. This is difficult work that takes its toll on the soul, but the people of HALOS never show it. They are always enthusiastic, ready to partner and ready to help.
What I love so much about HALOS is that every ounce of energy and assistance you provide is valued like it was a major gift. Whether you're donating an unused bed (yes, beds are in HUGE need and are sometimes the difference between whether a child can stay in a home or not...FYI, HALOS will even pick it up for you), giving your time or making a financial contribution, you're a valued part of the solution.
I want to thank Andrew Bell and the entire Charleston Battery family for making the kick off of our philanthropy partnership such a success. We'll be featuring 12 more nonprofits this season and welcome all of you who live in Charleston to come out for a match. The Charleston Battery did us proud this first game, playing Toronto FC to a 0-0 tie.
Up next....Wednesday, March 17th, Charleston Battery vs. Real Salt Lake. The Nonprofit of the Match is Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Then, on Saturday the 20th, during the closing night of the Challenge Cup, the Battery will face DC United for a much-anticipated rematch. And we'll honor Communities in Schools, a nonprofit that works to keep kids within the educational system so they can lead full, productive lives.
If you can't join us in person, follow us on Twitter - @RachelHutchssn, @SallyEhrenfried and @Chas_Battery.
I am pleased to announced that we have made nine more grants to nonprofits where our employees volunteer. This is through the Reward Your Passion program I have talked about before.
I love this program because it allows us to take corporate dollars and disperse them within communities where our employees work and live - leaving the choice of where and how to volunteer up to each person. Philanthropy IS personal after all.
This round honored employees and their favorite nonprofits from Charleston to St. Louis to New York City to Denver.
Congratulations to these great organizations and the employees who donate their time to further their missions. And thank you to Katie, Stephen, Simone, Victoria, Carolyn, Vanessa, Jennifer and Andy -- our Team Blackbaud Global employee committee, who served as grantmakers!