June 2011

Leap of Reason Takes Flight

As a part of its mission, VPP works to inspire other donors to help increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations. Sharing knowledge has been an integrated part of its activities over the ten years of operation, and last month, VPP took the biggest step thus far to share what it has learned.

On May 19, VPP, VPP Chairman Mario Morino, and McKinsey & Company released Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity. The impetus for creating the book came from the strong positive reaction readers had to several of Morino’s VPPNews columns over the last year.

The book is anchored by Morino’s monograph, which provides practical advice for social-sector leaders who know they want and need better information to fulfill the mission that compelled them to dedicate their lives to serving others. Morino makes a convincing case that the nation’s growing fiscal crisis will force all of us in the social sector to be clearer about our aspirations, more intentional in defining our approaches, more rigorous in gauging our progress, more willing to admit mistakes, more capable of quickly adapting and improving—all with an unrelenting focus and passion for improving lives.

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An Entrepreneurial Spirit and a Devotion to Children

At 18, Ebony Jones is already thinking of the skills and experience she needs to start her entrepreneurial venture of choice: A daycare center.

“I decided early on in life that I wanted to own a daycare,” said Jones. “Probably when I started having a lot of god kids. I liked them a lot, so I figured that was something I wanted to do.”

She has been taking each opportunity she can get: Playing with her god children, babysitting, and this past year, working at KIPP DC’s early childhood Discover Academy in Ward 8, a job which she got through Urban Alliance’s internship program.

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Mario Morino

Listening and Learning Before Leaping Forward

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Leap of Reason Takes Flight

As a part of its mission, VPP works to inspire other donors to help increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations. Sharing knowledge has been an integrated part of its activities over the ten years of operation, and last month, VPP took the biggest step thus far to share what it has learned.

On May 19, VPP, VPP Chairman Mario Morino, and McKinsey & Company released Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes in an Era of Scarcity. The impetus for creating the book came from the strong positive reaction readers had to several of Morino’s VPPNews columns over the last year.

The book is anchored by Morino’s monograph, which provides practical advice for social-sector leaders who know they want and need better information to fulfill the mission that compelled them to dedicate their lives to serving others. Morino makes a convincing case that the nation’s growing fiscal crisis will force all of us in the social sector to be clearer about our aspirations, more intentional in defining our approaches, more rigorous in gauging our progress, more willing to admit mistakes, more capable of quickly adapting and improving—all with an unrelenting focus and passion for improving lives.

Morino’s monograph is augmented by essays written by a dozen experts and practitioners with hands-on experience leading the transition to an outcomes-focused culture, a framework to help organizations get started on this transition, and a compendium of highly relevant readings.

In the first day, messages about the book reached over 800,000 followers through Twitter. Seventy-five hundred people received hard copies through the mail and 5,000 received an email about the launch. Thus far, more than 1,000 people have downloaded their own digital copy. Traffic to the book’s web site and orders of the book increase each day.

Copies of Leap of Reason are available to download for no cost on the VPP website. You can also purchase for a minimal distribution fee a Kindle copy, a single print copy from Amazon, or soon an iBook edition through the iTunes app store. Please contact us if you need multiple copies of the book. Leap of Reason has an expansive copyright notice that encourages sharing far and wide.

An Entrepreneurial Spirit and a Devotion to Children 

Ebony Jones with students from KIPP DC: Discover Academy

At 18, Ebony Jones is already thinking of the skills and experience she needs to start her entrepreneurial venture of choice: A daycare center.

“I decided early on in life that I wanted to own a daycare,” said Jones. “Probably when I started having a lot of god kids. I liked them a lot, so I figured that was something I wanted to do.”

She has been taking each opportunity she can get: Playing with her god children, babysitting, and this past year, working at KIPP DC’s early childhood Discover Academy in Ward 8, a job which she got through Urban Alliance’s internship program.

Jones fills multiple roles at the school, from working at the front desk, to helping out the office manager, to reading with the students in the classroom. Like all Urban Alliance interns, she works at the school three hours a day, four days a week, during her free periods as a senior at IDEA Public Charter School. She says her time at KIPP, especially her time in the classroom, has helped her think about her future career.

“Being around the kids prepares me for what I have to face as far as how they react to certain things, what they do like, what they don’t like, ways to keep them learning as opposed to just babysiting,” she said. “Little valuable lessons that will mean a lot to improve the quality of my daycare.”

Urban Alliance, which places low-income DC seniors in professional internships around the city, and KIPP DC, which is a network of high-performing DC charter schools, are both members of VPP’s youthCONNECT network. Along with four other area nonprofits, they will work together to help students like Jones achieve their life goals. One of the network’s primary outcomes is to fill in the service gaps of a network organization with that of another.

KIPP DC is also an investment partner in VPP’s second fund.

Jones found out about Urban Alliance through a friend, like most participants do. She helped her friend with Urban Alliance’s year-end project and became interested in the program herself.

“She was telling me about her experience and how she enjoyed being a part of Urban Alliance and how it placed her in the job field she wanted to go in after she finished college,” Jones said. “I thought I could have the same opportunity.”

Urban Alliance tries to place its interns in positions that will build their resumes for careers of choice after the program ends. For Jones, it was clear that her interest was working with young children. She says it is hard to pull herself away from the classroom when she is needed at the front desk.

“They are just a pleasure to be around,” she said. “They can be the change in your day, they can spark a lot of excitement with their joyous spirits.”

However, she only wants her daycare to enroll children up to seven years old.

“They start developing different behaviors and attitudes after that,” she said.

Jones shows a lot of initiative—she approached the principal of Discover and asked if she could spend more time in the classroom to gain experience—but understands she cannot jump right into opening her daycare. She says she would like to open the center in four years, after she has had some time to take college classes and learn as much as she can.

“Businesses do take time to grow. I want mine to be successful,” she said. “So I want to get a little more experience dealing with children and just learn as much as I can, grow as much as I can, before I open my business.”

Speaking, Awards, and Events for VPP Community

Matthew Bishop, Paula Ellis, Jean Case, and Mario Morino at the Do More than Give Event

Last month kept VPP staff busy with awards and speaking events across the DC area.

Most notably, VPP Chairman Mario Morino was honored by the American Jewish Committee with its Civic Achievement Award. The night included a keynote speech by VPP co-founder Senator Mark Warner, and tributes to Morino from VPP Board member Charito Kruvant and VPP President and CEO Carol Thompson Cole. The speakers lauded Morino for his impact on the region and commitment to its children and youth. They also thanked him for being a devoted friend and mentor.

Victoria Vrana, VPP’s Vice President of Communications and Assessment, served as a judge for the final round of BUILD DC’s Annual Youth Business Plan Competition. BUILD, a four-year entrepreneurial college preparation program for high school youth, helps students design their own business plans. The students then compete for a $1,000 prize to develop the business. This year’s winner was Sweetz and Treats, which makes lollipops.

On May 4th at the Congressional Country Club, VPP Investors Cliff and Debbie White hosted a discussion on wealth and families with Charles Collier, Senior Philanthropic Advisor at Harvard University. JPMorgan sponsored the event, which had over 30 guests.

Finally, Morino participated in a panel discussion on catalytic philanthropy and the book Do More than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World. Morino joined VPP Investor Jean Case of the Case Foundation and Paula Ellis of the Knight Foundation on the panel, which was moderated by Matthew Bishop of The Economist. Do More than Give highlights VPP as a catalytic philanthropic organization, and the discussion brought out many examples of best practices from each panelist’s experiences. They also touched on VPP’s recent publication, Leap of Reason.

The discussion was filmed by CSPAN and will be re-broadcast soon.

Second Investment Partner Professional Development Meeting Focuses on Major Gifts

VPP hosted its second Professional Development for investment partners meeting last month, convening development staff from portfolio organizations to discuss cultivating and securing major gifts. Through the discussion, it became clear that major gifts are an important resource for a financially stable nonprofit. Close to 80% of all charitable contributions come from individuals.

The convening of investment partner development staff was the idea of SEED co-founder Rajiv Vinnakota. The goal is to create an informal network of colleagues to share experiences in fundraising and development, while also learning from experts on specific issues.

“Major gifts are clearly the most cost-effective form of revenue for a nonprofit,” said Danielle Leahy, Director of Investor Development at VPP. “Major gifts typically cost five to ten cents per every dollar raised, as opposed to something like a fundraising event which is extremely staff intensive and can cost about 50 cents for every dollar raised. And a major donor's involvement in the organization can have a lasting and profound effect in many different ways."

Paul Carttar Speech Released on YouTube 

Those interested in the intersection between nonprofits and government can now watch Paul Carttar’s speech at VPP’s youthCONNECT Briefing on its YouTube page. Carttar, Director of the Social Innovation Fund, spoke on the federal government’s role in and responsibility for creating social innovation, and described how the Social Innovation Fund is an effective model to create the change society needs.

The speech was delivered to a group of community leaders that gathered to learn more about VPP’s new youthCONNECT initiative, which is a part of the inaugural portfolio of the Social Innovation Fund.

You can watch the video in full here and learn more about the event here.

Two New Blogs on Evaluation and Learning

Two new blogs were recently launched that focus on evaluation and performance management in the nonprofit sector. One, What’s New?, from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, gathered thoughts on learning and evaluation leading up to their Learning Conference on June 6th and 7th. The blog is still available and serves as a repository of knowledge and commentary on evaluation from leaders in the nonprofit sector. Posts will continue even though the conference has ended.

The other is Bridgespan’s blog on Performance Measurement. The first blog post, by Matt Forti of Bridgespan’s Perfomance Measurement Practice, says that measurement should only be done to improve the impact of nonprofits, not to prove it. There will be monthly entries on the blog, which will explore the worlds of monitoring and evaluation in depth.

AALEAD Students Celebrate Cultural Heritage During APA Heritage Month

Thanks to Rick Chen, Director of Development, for this update.

This May, officially known as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, AALEAD students took the opportunity to participate in a number of local events to showcase their cultural pride to the community. On a Saturday, May 21, 2011, AALEAD students gathered at Fiesta Asia in Washington D.C. to introduce and perform a Filipino cultural dance called Tinikling. After the performance AALEAD students, alumni, staff, mentors, volunteers, and several families marched in the cultural parade. For the next few minutes, it was a sea of orange AALEAD t-shirts, and smiling faces.

AALEAD students show their cultural pride during the 2011 Fiesta Asia parade.

“Marching in Fiesta Asia was very meaningful because it was a time where I was able to show off, not as an individual, but as a whole, as AALEAD,” said an AALEAD high school student.

The festivities continued the following week with DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration on May 26th. Seven of AALEAD’s Bancroft Elementary School students performed a contemporary dance to Asian pop music. In addition to the students’ performance, the event had performance by other Asian young people, awards for community service, and speeches by Mayor Gray, Allen Lew, City Administrator, and Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA). Several parents of AALEADers also joined in the audience. As a closing highlight, students had the opportunity to take photos with Mayor Gray.

Boys & Girls Clubs Celebrates 125 Years of Service at the 26th Annual Tim Russert Congressional Dinner

Thanks to Andrea James, Communications Manager, for this update.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW) celebrated 125 years of service to children, teens and families and continues at the 26th Annual Tim Russert Congressional Dinner on Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

Honorable John Boehner, Diamonia Jackson (2011 BGCGW Youth of the Year, Fredericksburg Regional Branch), Trenton Truesdale (Germantown Branch) and Luke Russert

A true advocate for youth, Russert served on the BGCGW Board of Directors for 13 years, and through his leadership, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support BGCGW’s programs in education, technology, diversity and career exploration. Diamonia Jackson, 2011 Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington’s Youth of the Year, was honored at the event alongside Honorable John A. Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (R-OH).

“Greater Washington Boys & Girls Clubs proudly looks forward to the future as we recognize significant contributions of local and national leaders to youth here in Washington, D.C. and to Boys & Girls Clubs across the United States,” said BGCGW President and CEO Pandit F. Wright. “With strong supporters and partners throughout our 125-year history, BGCGW will continue providing programs and opportunities for learning, growth, and creativity to ensure each of our Club members has an individual plan for their future.”

The Child & Family Network Centers’ 2011 Annual Spring Benefit

Thanks to Manager of Development Anna Berke for this update.

Auction Co-Chair Ellen Walter, Congressman Jim Moran, LuAnne Griffin, Robbie Aiken and Tom Scully.

The Child & Family Network Centers (CFNC) held its Annual Spring Benefit on Friday, May 13at the home of Jennifer and Jim Rooney in Alexandria. Nearly 300 guests, including Congressman Jim Moran, celebrated CFNC’s 27 years and welcomed CFNC’s new Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Margaret Patterson. There was delicious food, wonderful company, a silent auction, and magnificent views of the Potomac River—all in support of CFNC’s mission to provide caring, high-quality, free education and related services to at-risk children and their families in their own neighborhoods in order to prepare them for success in school and life.

“CFNC would like to thank the Rooneys for sharing their home, the 2011 Benefit Committee for their hard work and creativity and the many dedicated sponsors and guests that helped make this year’s Benefit a success!” said Manager of Development Anna Berke.

The Barbara Bush Foundation Awards CentroNía a $50,000 Family Literacy Grant

Thanks to Laura Anduze, Communications and Marketing Manager, for this update.

CentroNía was recently awarded a $50,000 grant by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy to support the activities of its Family Book Club.

CentroNía youth reads with a volunteer

This grant will expand CentroNía’s successful community-based and community-initiated Family Book Club program into the primarily Latino, low income community of Langley/Takoma Park in Maryland. In this model, community parents who have been trained as coaches/facilitators meet regularly with small groups of families with children 3-5 years of age, to promote early literacy and to read books. Parents are given an opportunity to discuss the skills they have learned as well as to practice them while reading with their children. The program hopes to reach as many as 200 families during the year.

“We are so grateful for the support of the Barbara Bush Foundation. Our families will learn about the joy of reading as a family and in turn, inspire children to read more. Nothing is more important to the education process”, expressed Myrna Peralta, CentroNía’s Acting President and CEO.

Awards Abound for College Summit Students and Schools

Thanks to Vinette Brown, Director of Development, for this update.

College Summit-National Capital Region held its Annual Awards on May 6th to celebrate the successes of its students, peer leaders, and partner schools in creating college-going culture and increasing college enrollment. Twenty-four local high school seniors were each awarded 5-year $12,500 college scholarship from Darden Restaurants and the United Negro College Fund. The Darden-UNCF Recipe for Success Scholarship was awarded to College Summit students who have motivated their peers to go to college in exception ways and have been accepted into a two or four year accredited college or university. In addition, two high school seniors, from Surrattsville High and from Crossland High, were chosen to receive the region’s Darden Peer Leader of the Year Award; two schools received the Deloitte Awards for Creating College-going Culture; two additional students received the James Dyke Book Scholarships; and two teachers received the Educator of the Year Awards.

CH Flowers High School receives their award for creating a college-going culture

“Before College Summit, college was almost an unspoken topic. Now it is common to walk down the hall and hear groups of seniors discussing fraternities and sororities, sharing scholarship information, and discussing where they will be attending school in the fall,” said Daniel West, Coolidge High School 2010-11 Peer Leader. “We set out to do what we thought no one at Coolidge had done before—create positive personal growth and change within the students here.”

KIPP DC: AIM Academy 5th Grade Math Teacher Receives the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Thanks to Kristin Jackson, Development Associate, for this update.

On April 29th, KIPP DC AIM Academy 5th grade math teacher, Lisa Suben, received the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). In addition to a Presidential certificate, Ms. Suben received a trip for two to Washington, DC and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation. PAEMST is the Nation’s top recognition of exceptional teaching for kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teachers in the United States. The awards, started in 1983, highlight teachers for their contributions in the classroom. This year, 85 teachers in the United States received this honor, roughly two representatives per state.

Ms. Suben was ecstatic when she found out she was one of this year’s winners. She had the opportunity to spend four days with all the awardees in DC, where they were able to learn from one another and meet with various members of the administration, including Administrator Charlie Bolden of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Administrator Lisa Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency. She also spoke with senior education policy staff from the Department of Education, the White House Domestic Policy Council, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The highlight of the trip was meeting President Obama. “It was amazing and I could not believe he was going to shake all of our hands,” Suben said. “He is such a friendly, smart, charismatic man and I will remember that moment forever.”

When asked what she will take away from this moment, Suben said, “I have been a math teacher for some time and starting next school year, I will be leading professional development for math and science teachers at KIPP DC. It was so inspiring to meet, talk with and hear from the other awardees and to truly build this network. I felt really special and realized my job is so important to the students I teach. I want every math and science teacher to feel just as important as I did during this week.”

Winners of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching with President Obama

LAYC Career Academy Approved

Thanks to Araceli Curiel Rosenberger, Communications Specialist, for this update.

The LAYC Career Academy will open in fall 2012. The fourth public charter school to be founded by LAYC, the Career Academy was approved by the DC Public Charter School Board at its April 25 meeting. LAYC was one of four charter schools approved by the Board, and the only one approved without conditions.
“The Board received a rich array of charter applications – some from founders with extraordinary track records in other states,” said Board Chair Brian W. Jones. “We conducted an exhaustive review of the applications including a rigorous public hearing and poured over mountains of data submitted to the Board. The decisions we made were not made lightly,”

The LAYC Career Academy will provide young adults ages 16-24 with: (1) the skills necessary to attain a GED certificate, (2) vocational training in high-growth occupations, (3) college-credit classes and (4) preparation for success in college, postsecondary education, training programs or the workplace.

The LAYC Career Academy will operate according to proven youth development principles to ensure students gain critical personal and interpersonal skills to succeed in competitive academic and/or work environments. LAYC staff are looking forward to this new educational opportunity for District youth.

Special Guests and Announcements at Grand Opening of New Site

Thanks to Lyda Vanegas, Advocacy and Communications Manager , for this update.

Mary’s Center had a grand opening ceremony for its new site in the Petworth area of DC on May 18th, which brought in several special guests. Redskins Quarterback Donovan McNabb, his wife Raquel, and his mother Wilma flew to the nation’s capital to attend and support the work of Mary’s Center.

“When I learned about Mary’s Center, I was ready to jump on board right away because I think it’s important for everyone to lend a hand and help those in need,” said McNabb.

The guests applauded a surprising proclamation read by another special guest, DC Mayor Vincent Gray, recognizing Mary’s Center’s work.

“I, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, do hereby proclaim May 18, 2011, as ‘Mary’s Center Day’ in Washington, DC, and call upon all the residents of this great city to join me in recognizing the members of this organization for their dedication and commitment to strengthening the foundation of our beloved community –the District residents,” read Gray.

Mayor Vince Gray reads the Mary's Center Day proclamation while (left to right) Julie Martinez Ortega, Mary's Center Board Chair, Maria Gomez, Mary's Center CEO, and David Tatro, Mary's Center COO, look on.

DC Council members Muriel Bowser and David Catania as well as other government officials, key partners, Ward 4 residents, supporters, and friends joined Mary’s Center at this celebration.

The 26,000 square foot state-of-the art new building, located at 3912 Georgia Avenue, NW, is Mary’s Center’s fourth and largest site. It is estimated to serve 11,000 participants a year, has 22 exam rooms and five dental rooms, in addition to other space for its various programs.

Metro TeenAIDS to Offer Services through a Testing Van

Thanks to Colleen Hughes, Development Manager , for this update.

Metro TeenAIDS is thrilled to be DC’s first youth-serving organization with the capacity to bring adolescent-friendly services directly to clients using a mobile testing van. With the generous support of the Philip Graham Fund, MTA is purchasing a mobile testing van that will enable it to increase community-based counseling and testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The mobile unit will also help provide health information and education; pregnancy testing; and screening for, and referrals to, intensive risk reduction programs for youth at high-risk of contracting and/or transmitting HIV/STIs due to co-factors like poverty and homelessness.

A Metro TeenAIDS participant enrolling in testing services

Currently MTA provides HIV/STI counseling and testing to nearly 1,500 youth per year; nearly 70% of those tests occur in community-based settings rather than in its offices. With the van, MTA hopes to double the amount of community testing. Community testing provides youth access to services that they may not otherwise receive. Youth may lack access to health services, and/or knowledge of different areas of the city where testing is provided.

Education, outreach and testing will continue to be based primarily in Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8 — the Wards with the highest prevalence of HIV, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia and the least access to health resources and services. For more information on community-based testing, or to schedule HIV/STI testing services in your facility or community, contact Michelle Palmer, MTA’s Director of Clinical Services: mpalmer@metroteenaids.org.

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