CWV New and Noteworthy
Errata:
Please note that the December 2008 Vanguard article “Power in Numbers”
was accidentally misrepresented as being produced and authored by Stan
Birnbaum, President of MACC CommonWealth, Inc. This article was in fact
compiled by Community Wealth Ventures in consultation with Mr. Birnbaum.
We apologize for any confusion.
Client Highlights
CWV would like
to congratulate
The Gathering Place, a participant in the
Cleveland Community Wealth Collaborative, on the launch of their new
website devoted to their children's book,
Someone I Love is Sick. Visit The Gathering Place’s
website to learn more about the organization and purchase the book,
which is a customizable tool for talking to very young children about
cancer in their family.
Nonprofit Services
Sample of Current Clients
Hui Malama
CWV recently signed a
contract with
Hui Malama Learning Center in Maui, Hawaii thanks to a
grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation's Youth Matters Initiative.
The purpose of this engagement is to support Hui Malama Learning Center
in developing a three year plan that articulates a clear strategic
vision and direction for HMLC and develops research-based, detailed
plans to implement programmatic or organizational priorities for two
specific age groups. The engagement with HMLC is designed to replicate
CWV's proven model of nonprofit capacity building by providing a working
group of key staff and board members with processes for communication,
frameworks for decision-making, and tools/templates for planning and
outcomes measurement. The Hawaii Community Foundation, through its Youth
Matters Initiative, provided the funding to HMLC.
Montana Food Bank
Network
CWV will
begin work in May with the
Montana Food Bank Network located in Missoula, MT. During this
engagement, CWV will work with the organization to complete a business
plan for the Deer Lodge Multi-Use Food Processing Venture that will
help the
organization to define its products, target market, decide which
strategies will be most successful in attracting customers, and set up
operations that will enable the business to be highly efficient and
profitable. Additionally, the project will also consider the
incorporation of the business as an L3C, a low-profit limited liability
corporation whose primary goal is a socially beneficial purpose.
Foundation Services
Sample of Recent and Current Programs
North Texas Community
Wealth Collaborative #2
Eight social ventures were selected to be part of the second
North Texas Community Wealth Collaborative,
a partnership between Community Wealth Ventures and the Center for
Nonprofit Management in Dallas, TX, which kicked-off on March 4, 2009.
The following agencies were selected through a highly competitive
application process to participate in the 11-month business planning
program:
-
Cancer Care
Services (Ft. Worth, TX) is developing and opening a Boutique to
sell wigs, scarves, breast prosthesis and gift items to cancer
patients and their families.
-
All Church Home for
Children (Ft. Worth, TX) is planning to open a nondenominational
wedding chapel and reception/meeting facility on its new Wichita
Campus in Fort Worth.
-
Christian Community
Action (Lewisville, TX) will focus on the expansion of its ReSale
thrift shop. Currently, the store is operating profitably and
employs over 100 people, many of whom are the organization's poor or
homeless clients.
-
Grapevine Relief
and Community Exchange (Grapevine, TX) will focus on growing their
resale operation, which currently includes two retail storefronts "A
Touch of GRACE" and "GRACEful Buys" and a processing center.
-
Helping Restore
Ability (Arlington, TX) will focus on developing a non-medical
homecare business for people with disabilities.
-
Mi Escuelita
Preschool (Dallas, TX) is planning to open a preschool to teach
Spanish to English-speaking children.
-
Nexus Recovery
Center (Dallas, TX) will work on launching a transitional living
facility for its recovering clients and explore the possibility of
launching a sober living facility that provides a more upscale
environment for affluent clients.
-
Special Care and
Career Services (Farmers Branch, TX) will focus on developing a job
skills certification training program for clients with disabilities.
Mahoning Valley
Community Wealth Workshop Series
The
Mahoning Valley Workshop Series
is finishing its fourth month. The teams have been focusing on market
research and on drafting sections of their business plan. The
organizations include:
-
Beatitude House
-
Habitat for
Humanity of Mahoning County
-
HandsOn Volunteer
Network of the Valley
-
Lien Forward Ohio
-
Meridian Services,
Inc.
-
Youngstown Area
Goodwill Industries, Inc.
Cleveland Community
Wealth Collaborative #3
The third
Cleveland Collaborative is
now complete. All six teams completed business plans, and on
Wednesday, March 4, all of the teams made presentations to a panel of
local business and finance experts who provided constructive feedback
and ideas. CWV congratulates all of the teams on their excellent work,
and we look forward to hearing about their success in the future!
Participants in the Collaborative were:
·
Cleveland
Botanical Garden
·
Cleveland
Rape Crisis Center
·
Saint
Martin de Porres High School
·
The
Gathering Place
·
Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio
·
Young
Audiences of Northeast Ohio
Greater
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Community Wealth Collaborative
The
Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
Community Wealth Initiative is finishing its seventh month. All
organizations participating in the Community Wealth Collaborative have
made great strides in developing their ventures. Organizations are
currently finalizing their business plan and looking forward to
presenting them on July 14th. They include:
-
Beech
Acres Parenting Center
-
Children Inc.
-
Clermont Counseling
Center/Family Service
-
Easter Seals Work
Resource Center
-
Everybody Rides
Metro
-
Health Improvement
Collaborative
-
HealthSource of
Ohio
Bill Shore led a luncheon session titled "A Survival Guide for Uncertain
Times" on April 7th as part of the Community Workshop Series in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Approximately 29 people attended to hear his thoughts on how social sector
organizations can not only survive, but thrive during economic
downturns.
New Orleans Community
Wealth Workshop Series
The New
Orleans Community Wealth Workshop Series concluded on March 25,
2009. After a six month process to develop their business plans, the
organizations made presentations to a panel of local business experts
who provided constructive feedback and ideas. There was an air of
excitement in the room, with all teams eager to move forward with
implementation of their plans!
Congratulations to the following participants in the Workshop Series:
-
Contemporary Arts
Center
-
Good Work Network
-
Louisiana
Children’s Network
-
Louisiana Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
-
New Orleans Video
Access Center
-
Operation REACH
-
Project Lazarus
On
March 22nd, the Times-Picayune profiled their hard
work to create programs even during the economic downturn. Read more
here.
Louisiana
Social Innovators Institute
The
Louisiana Office of Social Entrepreneurship has partnered with
Community Wealth Ventures to launch the
Louisiana Social Innovators Institute, an exciting 6-month business
plan development process designed to help select Louisiana organizations
create a business plan for a new or existing entrepreneurial and
innovative program. The Social Innovators Institute will assist
high-performing nonprofit and government organizations in developing or
growing an entrepreneurial and innovative social program that addresses
a pressing social problem. The screening process has already begun,
with the program kicking off in fall 2009.
Upcoming and Recent Speaking
Events
May 20, 2009
Getting Started With Social Enterprise Workshop
Cincinnati, OH
Suzanne Steffens, Senior Consultant, will conduct a morning and
afternoon session of “Getting Started with Social Enterprise” workshop
for nonprofit organizations in the Greater Cincinnati community
interested in learning more about social enterprise. The event is
co-sponsored by the Leadership Council of Human Services Executives. To
register, click
here.
May 4, 2009
Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship Conference
Washington, DC
CWV Senior Consultant Diana Peacock will lead a break-out
session at the Phoenix Project’s 3rd Annual
Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship
Conference: How Technology is Knocking Down Doors and
Fueling Innovation. The conference will focus on the role of
technology in creating social change and transforming communities.
Topic of Break-Out
Session: “Invest” – Are you the leader of a social sector organization?
Are you looking for practical advice on how technology can improve the
bottom line and make your organization more sustainable or even become a
critical part of your earned-income strategy? If so, you will not want
to miss this dynamic session.
Please visit the
conference website and complete early registration today to ensure
your attendance.
April 29, 2009
Association of Children’s Museums Annual Conference
Philadelphia,
PA
CWV Senior
Consultant Suzanne Steffens will lead a salon session called “Management
in a Challenging Economy:
Building a Sustainable Growth
Plan for Your Organization.” This workshop – geared toward
museum senior executives - will help them understand the drivers of
sustainability and what their organization should be doing to address
its long-term sustainability and even flourish in today's economy.
April 23, 2009
United Cerebral Palsy Annual
Conference
San Francisco, CA
CWV Managing Director,
Heather Peeler presented a workshop called "In a Downturn, Increase Your Impact!
Exploring "Market-Based" Approaches to Social Change," which provided a
look into market-based approaches to social change along with trends in
the field such as social franchising and nonprofit sustainability.
April 15-17, 2009
10th Annual Social Enterprise Summit
New Orleans,
LA
1. Building a
Sustainable Growth Plan for Your Organization
Heather
Peeler, Managing Director, and Diana Peacock, Senior Consultant, led
session attendees in planning for long-term success and sustainability
for their social enterprise and parent organization at a session at the
Social Enterprise Alliance’s 10th annual Summit. By working
through a framework to develop sustainability in the long-term, workshop
attendees ensured that they are providing the most value to customers
and stakeholders and that their organization will prosper in the
long-term. Framework highlights included 1) Performing an external and
internal analysis of an organization; 2) Clearly defining an ambitious
vision for the organization; 3) Identifying the best niche in the
market; and 4) Creating a strong business plan.
2. The Inside Scoop
on Purchasing a Social Franchise: Hear From the Pros
Heather
Peeler, Managing Director, was joined by franchise representatives
Julian Gordon, American Ramp Systems, and David Messenger, ServiceMaster
Clean, in a main conference session on the “inside scoop” on running a
franchise and how social franchises can further mission goals and
generate revenue. Leading janitorial, home health products and direct
mailing franchisors shared the unique value proposition their brand
offers their nonprofit partners. Participants also learned how to
capitalize on findings from the 2008 state-of-the-field Social Franchise
Report.
March 11, 2009
Executive Luncheon Roundtable on Social Enterprise & Getting Started
With Social Enterprise Workshop
Wichita, Kansas
Amy Celep, Managing Director, and Dan Elitzer, Senior Associate,
facilitated an invitation-only luncheon for seasoned social enterprise
practitioners to engage in frank discussion about the issues related to
operating a social enterprise. The Fred C. and Mary R. Koch Foundation,
who generously underwrote the luncheon, will be using the information as
they explore if and how social enterprise development support could be
helpful to the Wichita nonprofit community.
In
the afternoon, the Community Wealth Ventures team conducted a “Getting
Started with Social Enterprise” workshop for almost 70 nonprofit
organizations in the community interested in learning more about social
enterprise. The event was co-sponsored by the Nonprofit Chamber of
Service in Kansas.
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