We're hiring: An executive director to lead Impact100 |
|
We are excited to share the news that starting today, Impact100 Philadelphia is accepting applications for a new position, a part-time executive director. Our organization has grown tremendously over 13 years, from 111 members in 2008 to well over 400 today. Our volunteer Board of Directors and part-time administrator have served Impact above and beyond all expectations, and it is time to secure additional, ongoing support for the organization through this new executive director position.
We hope Impact's members and friends will help spread the word and mention this opportunity to anyone who might be interested. Please feel free to forward this newsletter or the link to the Executive Director Job Description and application process. Note that the application window is open until April 12.
Two changes: Membership deadline & Installment options
|
|
Though we're still in the thick of the current year, we want to emphasize an important date change for next year. Impact100's membership deadline for donating to the 2022 grants will move two weeks earlier, to November 15.
Second, we have a new installment payment plan, thanks to suggestions and requests from members who would like an easy option for making their membership contribution in monthly payments throughout the year.
|
|
You can now join Impact100 by making a monthly payment of $100 (for women age 36 and over) or $50 (age 35 and under). This is open to new and returning members. Anyone starting her monthly payments after December will make a one-time catch-up payment and then begin the monthly installments. (Note that these round numbers for installment payments keep things simple for all of us, but will sum to a slightly higher annual donation — $1,200 or $600 — in order to cover the higher administrative costs of processing monthly payments.)
You can see more or get started by clicking Installments on our website's Join/Donate page.
|
|
This month offers the first in a two-part feature about Impact100's Founders Fellows. |
|
Founders Fellows: Young members instrumental to
Impact's success
First launched in 2015, Impact's Founders Fellowship program sponsors the membership of young women who are interested in philanthropy and bring diverse personal backgrounds and life experiences to our organization. A total of 30 women have been Fellows since the program first began. Within our 2021 membership, there are 15 Fellows: 7 in their first year, 6 in their second, and 2 in their third.
Many of these young women are bringing their expertise and fresh perspectives to our committees — Membership, Grants, Programs, Communications, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Several Fellows are leading Focus Area Committee teams this spring as they review and evaluate grant proposals.
First year Fellow Katie Clark expressed eloquently why she wanted to join the program:
- It is clear to me that philanthropy, small and large, can completely change the trajectory of a person’s life. I am humbled and grateful for the opportunities and doors that were opened for me. I wanted to be a part of the Founders Fellow community to develop relationships with an incredible group of strong, smart women and to help support the growth of Philadelphia nonprofits.
|
|
You'll receive an invitation today to our April 26 education program that will feature a conversation among current Fellows Nia Daye, Sophia Peake, and Inella Ray, moderated by former Fellow Nora Elmarzouky.
Above: A Fellows meeting, Fall 2019
|
|
Discussion Groups: "Recognizing the dangers of racism and bias"
Thanks to Impact member Ellan Bernstein for the article below.
|
|
Last fall, Impact's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee sponsored discussion groups for members to learn about racism, implicit bias, and systemic racism. Separate groups of about 10 members each met over three facilitated sessions to discuss one of these resources:
-
The book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
-
The movie 13th by Ava DuVernay
-
The podcast Nice White Parents
In survey responses, participants said:
|
|
“In our discussions of Caste, facilitated by Lydia Mallett, I felt compelled to look at the disgraceful injustices done to Black people. We put a name to the actions as racism while also reflecting on our own experiences. This made me more aware of my own biases and open to seeing differences as a strength. I hope that as members of Impact100 Philadelphia, we can recognize the dangers of prejudice and bias in how we treat one another and when making decisions about who will receive our grants.”
|
|
“I participated in the discussion group that watched 13th. Our facilitator, Stephanie Taylor, provided a safe space in which we were able to explore misconceptions we held and new ideas to replace them. The most radical change in my thinking is on the topic of reparations. In the past, I was skeptical, not understanding fully how Blacks were economically harmed by the vestiges of slavery. I now understand how these inequalities, particularly in educational and housing opportunities, continue well into the 21st century. I now consider reparations to be justified and an obligation.”
|
|
“I was a member of the Nice White Parents podcast discussion, facilitated by Ilene Wasserman. Being part of this group was an amazing experience. The podcast raised many issues around implicit bias, equity, and systemic racism. Ilene created a space for us to honestly discuss our own reactions to the podcast and express our different opinions. These discussions reinforced the importance of honoring different opinions and experiences which is so important to our Focus Area Committee discussions. Having deep and tough discussions will help Impact100 members make the best decisions possible.”
All survey participants expressed that they would recommend the discussion group series to other members. As a result, the DEI committee is planning to offer another series in the fall of 2021. Our special thanks and appreciation go to Lydia Mallett, Stephanie Taylor, and Ilene Wasserman for facilitating the groups.
|
|
Thanks to Impact member Robbie Shell for the article below.
Prevention Point: Battling Both Covid-19 and Drug Addiction in One of Philadelphia’s Poorest Neighborhoods
|
|
On Christmas Day last year, 527 people lined up outside Prevention Point Philadelphia (PPP) -- a nonprofit public health organization in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood -- for turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, beans, and apple parfait.
The effort, aided by locally-based Catering by Design, was part of PPP’s “Step Up to the Plate” program which has provided more than 500,000 meals to residents since April. That was when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Kensington with the force of a thunderbolt.
Services offered by PPP, a 2019 Impact100 grantee, can be a lifeline for substance users who live in the area, one of the worst open-air drug markets on the East Coast. A local pastor once described the Kensington Avenue corridor as “the Walmart of heroin.”
|
|
But bringing positive change to Kensington is a big order. The per capita income is $16,000, making it one of the poorest zip codes in the city, says Jose Benitez, PPP’s Executive Director, adding that the life expectancy of a person living in the Kensington zip code is reportedly 10 years lower than a person in a Center City zip code.
Moreover, an analysis due in April is expected to show that the overdose death rate for the city in 2020 will be higher than in any previous year.
Covid-19 is a major reason. “People are encouraged by health care officials to socially distance and to isolate themselves” in order to contain the virus, says Benitez. “But this is the exact opposite of the message we send to people who are in our recovery program, which is to find groups to be part of, to find positive activities that involve other people.” Person-to-person peer support is crucial.
Trying to cope with Covid-19’s impact on its operations required Prevention Point to recalibrate its programs and shift away from the open-door, hands-on help they typically have offered. “That was rough for us in the first three or four months of Covid,” Benitez says. “How do we carry out our jobs on the phone, how do we do drug and alcohol assessment on the phone, prescribe medications, and make our shelters safe so that staff and participants aren’t exposed to the virus?”
|
|
Prevention Point also needed to constantly replenish the supply of facemasks for those coming to its Drop-in Center, the main gateway to all its services. Many constituents are homeless and have no place to store their belongings from one day to the next.
And yet, despite Covid-19’s unexpected assault on its operations, Benitez and the PPP staff – 152 full and part-time workers plus more than 200 volunteers -- can point to impressive numbers. PPP serves 15,000 Philadelphians annually, which translates into several hundred thousand interactions a year. PPP referred more than 900 people last year for participation in recovery programs.
Three quarters of its participants are men. One quarter are women. The average age of the core group is mid-30s, younger than the mid-40s range 13 years ago when Benitez first arrived.
Our mission “is to work with substance users using common sense approaches,” he says. That means, for example, providing “harm reduction services” rather than focusing only on trying to eliminate drug use entirely. Case in point: the Syringe Service Program, where participants can safely dispose of used syringes at Prevention Point’s facility and obtain free sterile syringes in return. “We know that HIV is transmitted directly if you are sharing syringes in the drug-using community.”
|
|
Other services include medically assisted treatment to evaluate participants and provide medication that can help manage their drug use. In “normal” times, in-person social workers, individual mailboxes, a legal clinic, and classes on drug prevention and recovery programs are offered as well. And recently, the city and Prevention Point announced a plan to move its two shelters onto the campus of Temple University’s Episcopal Hospital six blocks away. The city also plans to open a mini-police station in the heart of the Kensington neighborhood.
PPP’s budget has increased substantially in the last two years, from about $4 million up to $12 million, with approximately 70 percent of that coming from city contracts. “Things exploded when we became one of the agencies the city went into a partnership with,” Benitez says. “Two summers ago, we had a huge outbreak of Hepatitis A,” usually spread through public restrooms used by substance users. “So it was decided to set up restrooms that were monitored by members of the community. We ran that program, and after that, city agencies came to us when there was an emergency to address.”
Even better, some of those hired as bathroom monitors moved up into better and more permanent positions in Prevention Point. “There is a lot of pain and trauma and hurt, given what is happening in the community here,” Benitez says. “But we also have success stories. There are always reasons to celebrate.”
To learn more about Prevention Point, reach out to Impact100 Grant Champion Kathy Moore at moorekm1224@gmail.com. For information about volunteering, visit PPP's website.
Grantee News Alert:
A February 13, 2021, story in The Washington Post reported on the release from prison of Joe Ligon, 83, the country’s longest serving juvenile “lifer.” Impact's 2019 Core Mission grantee Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP) is referred to in the article.
|
|
April 26, 7 pm
Education Program
Following the Founders Fellows: Understanding the Journey
Sit in on a conversation among Impact Founders Fellows Nia Daye, Inella Ray, and Sophia Peake, as they discuss their experiences before and after joining Impact100. Moderated by former Founders Fellow and now Young Philanthropist Nora Elmarzouky. Watch for your invitation coming today!
Monday, June 7, evening
Impact100 Philadelphia's Annual Meeting
a celebratory event to mark the end of the grants year and honor the 2021 grantees
|
|
Would you like to join us or tell others about Impact100? |
|
If you'd like to tell others about our organization, please feel free to forward
this newsletter — and we thank you for spreading the word. The top reason for Impact100's growth since 2008 has been members referring other women as members.
|
|
Women ages 36 and over join for $1,150; of that total, $1,000 is added to the grants pool for 2021 and the balance supports our operating expenses. Women 35 and under join as Young Philanthropists at half that rate, $575, with $500 going to the grants pool.
Members joining now will help fund the 2022 grants.
|
|
We welcome anyone — whether a member or not — to contribute to Impact100 Philadelphia's 2022 grant funding and to leverage a personal donation into large grants that will benefit nonprofits in the region.
Only members may cast a vote for grantees, but everyone is welcome to add to the funds that will support Impact100's 2022 grant recipients.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
