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How is the Economy Affecting Your Job Prospects?
November 19, 2008
Earlier this week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy hosted an online discussion about how the current financial downturn is affecting the job prospects of nonprofit professionals.
The discussion explored if the financial crisis is causing shifts in the nonprofit job market, and how particular people are being affected. On one end of the spectrum, people seem to be postponing retirement and staying at their jobs longer. Younger employees are concerned about their long-term prospects in the social sector.
The overall financial situation may also result in sector-switchers from the corporate world wanting to enter the nonprofit sector, which creates more competition for fewer jobs overall.
How is the economy affecting you in your job search and/or current position?
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Hiring Advice, In the News
November 11, 2008 On Friday, November 7, 2008, Commongood Careers was proud to co-host a
Open to the public, the session was hosted at Northeastern University,
The panel opened with James Weinberg providing framing remarks about the
It was a powerful event and we would like to thank each of our
Comments (0) Events & Career Fairs, Social Entrepreneurism
November 10, 2008 During his campaign, Barack Obama spoke at length about his commitment to accelerating social entrepreneurship in this country, including making sure the neccessary funds were available for new social ventures. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle explores this further, including:
Obama has pledged to create a Social Entrepreneurship Agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service, to generate more venture capital for socially conscious startups. The new agency would make it easier for small nonprofits to get federal grants, plus come up with a results-driven accountability system so government officials could make better decisions about which charities to fund.
Obama also wants to create a Social Investment Fund Network, which would steer private and government money to cities that identify innovative solutions to their most pressing social issues.
He estimates his ideas will cost $3.5 billion a year. He plans to pay for them through savings found by ending the war in Iraq and eliminating some corporate tax deductions.
Comments (0) In the News, Social Entrepreneurism
November 03, 2008
Join us for an exciting discussion about SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Friday, November 7, 2008
Northeastern University
Moderator:
Panelists:
This panel is open to the public with an RSVP and is being organized as part of the 2008 Coro National Alumni Gathering.
Session Overview: Social entrepreneurship is increasingly recognized as one of the world’s most powerful forces for bringing about positive social change. Leaders in this hybrid field, which exists somewhere in-between the private, public and nonprofit sectors, are often at the helm of rapidly scaling ventures that offer “game-changing” solutions. But from where does all this power originate and where is it all headed? This panel will discuss the essential nature of social entrepreneurs and the factors that make them such a unique lever within our society. We will also explore what the future of the movement might be, especially in these uncertain economic times.
RSVP ASAP to Maureen Sarna, , 617-542-1404 x 29
Event Sponsors:
Commongood Careers is an innovative not-for-profit search firm that supports social entrepreneurs with their recruitment and hiring needs at every organizational level. Commongood Careers offers personalized, engaged services to jobseekers and nonprofits throughout the hiring process, as well as access to a wealth of knowledge about nonprofit careers. Ultimately, Commongood accelerates social change by placing the best talent in the right roles at the nation’s most effective mission-driven organizations.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PANEL DIRECTIONS
Northeastern University
Parking is available at the Renaissance Parking Garage, 835 Columbus Avenue, Boston. The Egan Research Center is located behind the parking garage, on the other side of the Ruggles T Station.
Traveling by Public Transportation:
GREEN LINE: From downtown Boston, take an “E” train outbound to the Northeastern stop, the first stop above ground. From the Northeastern stop, walk down Huntington and turn into the campus by walking down Forsyth Street. The Egan Research Center is toward the end of the street.
ORANGE LINE: Take the Orange Line going outbound to Forest Hills and get off at Ruggles Station. The Egan Research Center is toward the end of the street.
Comments (0) Events & Career Fairs, Social Entrepreneurism
October 31, 2008 Nearly 1,000 nonprofit leaders will gather in Philadelphia on November 9-11 to attend Independent Sector’s Annual Conference. New at this year’s conference is a special program called NGen for nonprofit professionals under the age of 40. This program is designed to help emerging leaders build their leadership skills and professional networks.
As an NGen sponsor, we at Commongood Careers are excited to see these issues being addressed at one of the most well-attended and influential nonprofit conferences.
Comments (0) Events & Career Fairs, Talent Issues
October 28, 2008 We were excited to come across a recent article published in the Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin entitled The Coming Transformation of Social Enterprise. The article highlights an interview with Kash Rangan, an HBS professor and founder of Social Enterprise Initiative, now 15 years old.
Positioning social enterprise as a business that creates social value, the article discusses the need for venture philanthropists to better define measures of social return, as well as offers a warning to nonprofits to avoid launching ventures that could potentially distract an organization from its mission-critical work.
Comments (0) What We're Reading, Best Practices, Social Entrepreneurism
October 26, 2008 Some recent news items suggest that social entrepreneurs may be somewhat insulated from the current financial crisis.
In the news story, Investors Focusing on Social Enterprises, San Francisco Bay Area television station KGO reports that venture capitalists are investing their dollars in socially responsible businesses. “Social capital markets” are gaining more attention in investment communities, and both new and existing organizations are reaping the benefits.
Similarly, Venture Beat speculates if “social capital” is the next big market to emerge. With a lens on microfinance, fair trade, environmental, and social change organizations, this article looks at how investors are putting their faith—and dollars—into triple-bottom line ventures.
Comments (0) In the News, Social Entrepreneurism
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!
Comments (0) 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 is Alive and Well in Boston
panel discussion on Social Entrepreneurship along with the Coro National
Alumni Association, which was having its annual gathering in Boston this
year for the first time. Bringing the gathering to Boston allowed us a
unique opportunity to showcase Boston as a nationally recognized hub of
social entrepreneurship and to convene leaders from some of the city’s
most prominent institutions.
drew an audience of over 60 people, and was moderated by the Founder and
CEO of Commongood Careers, James Weinberg. Other panelists included:
James Cleveland, President of Jumpstart for Young Children; Priscilla
Cohen, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Citizen Schools; Jennifer
Macauley, Director of Communications at New Profit Inc.; and Christine
Morin, Director of New Site Development at City Year Inc.
powerful nature of social entrepreneurship as a force for innovative
change throughout the world. Each panelist then took several minutes to
introduce themselves and answer the question: “Who is the most
inspirational social entrepreneur that you have ever known, and what do
you think made them a ‘social entrepreneur’ as you think about and
define the term.” The audience then engaged in an hour of lively
interactive discussion with the panel, followed by time for individual
discussions and networking.
panelists, Northeastern University for so generously hosting us, and the
Coro National Alumni Association for sponsoring the event and making
this important discussion open to the public.
How Will Obama Deliver on Social Entrepreneurism Promises?
Coro and CGC Present Social Entrepreneurship Panel: Friday, November 7th 1-3pm
1:00 - 3:00pm
Egan Research Center, Raytheon Amphitheatre
120 Forsyth Street, Boston, MA 02115
James Weinberg, Founder & CEO, Commongood Careers
Priscilla Cohen, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Citizen Schools
James Cleveland, President, Jumpstart for Young Children
Jennifer Macauley, Director of Communications, New Profit Inc.
Christine Morin, Director of New Site Development, City Year
Coro trains ethical, diverse civic leaders nationwide. Coro leaders develop skills and master tools needed to engage and empower communities. The Coro National Alumni Association (CNAA) is the official alumni association of the Coro Foundation and its regional centers and programs. CNAA strives to foster communication and a spirit of friendship, assistance, and cooperation within the Coro community. To learn more about Coro and apply for its leadership programs, please visit http://www.coro.org or email .
To learn more, please visit: http://www.cgcareers.org.
Egan Research Center, Raytheon Amphitheatre
120 Forsyth Street, Boston, MA 02115
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HBS Examines the Future of Social Enterprise
In Today’s Financial Climate, Investors are Drawn to Social Entrepreneurism
Letter from the CEO: A Momentous Month for Social Change
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!
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- How is the Economy Affecting Your Job Prospects?
- Social Entrepreneurism is Alive and Well in Boston
- How Will Obama Deliver on Social Entrepreneurism Promises?
- Coro and CGC Present Social Entrepreneurship Panel: Friday, November 7th 1-3pm
- Independent Sector Addresses Next Generation of Leadership Issues
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