subject matter expertise
Anna Taylor
What's your YES?

Each year, about 64 million Americans - one-fourth of the adult population - are invited to volunteer. For many, volunteerism is a source of great joy and satisfaction. In fact, the National Institutes of Health has found improved mental and physical health in folks who volunteer. April is National Volunteer Month, and nonprofit organizations across the US are celebrating their volunteers and asking more people to get involved with their causes. If you’ve found volunteering less joyful than you’d hoped, or even just an obligation, I’d like to have a word with you this month.

Anna Taylor
The Greater Sum Is Turning Four!

Four years ago, I could never have predicted that we’d have 65 deserving nonprofits growing today in sustainability and innovation through our incubator. Three years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed we’d have awarded $375,000 to deserving nonprofits by mid-2021. Two years ago, I couldn’t have known that our volunteer ranks would continue to swell, helping so many altruistic people contribute to world-changing nonprofit movements. And one year ago, as the pandemic raged, I would never have guessed that the forced migration to virtual competition pitch and incubation would push us to unimaginable tenfold growth in our first four years.

Greater Summit 2020: Resilience in Uncertain Times

When we wrapped up Greater Summit 2019 in Boston, there were lots of hugs and high fives, and enthusiasm for coming together again in 2020. Like so many organizations, we’ve moved our event online and gone through many iterations of what a virtual summit looks and feels like. We’re mourning the hugs and high fives, but we’re savoring the opportunity to include many participants who couldn’t travel to our live event.

Greater Summit 2020 won’t try to pack a two-day conference into one marathon online event. We are hosting an education event for nonprofit leaders next week, an annual meeting for ALL friends of TGS next month, and an exciting live announcement in December.

The theme for our education event is “Resilience in Uncertain Times” and we’ve lined up some exciting speakers to get you thinking about both personal and organizational resilience. We can’t wait to update you on bright spots from 2020 and our plans for the future at our annual meeting. And once you meet our Virtual Incubator participants at the annual meeting, you’ll be as excited as they are about the live announcement in December.

Register for the education event HERE and be sure to follow @greatersumfound on your favorite social media channel for updates.

Grant Partner Spotlight: 7000 Languages

7000 Languages helps indigenous communities around the world teach, learn, and sustain their languages through technology. To date, they’ve created 36 courses in 19 languages, at no cost to communities. Language revival is linked to happier, healthier kids, advances in science, and more resilient communities. And of the 7000 languages in the world, over half of them are endangered. The need for this organization’s work is vast - every language course means that new generations are able to enjoy this critical connection to their cultural identity.

We’re proud to support 7000 Languages as a member of The Greater Sum’s 2020 Nonprofit Cohort! Visit their website to learn more, and follow them at @7000Languages for updates.

Virtual Volunteers: High Impact, Low Risk

COVID-19 changed the way many of us live and work, AND volunteer. Virtual volunteering opportunities are becoming more plentiful as nonprofits adjust to pandemic-related restrictions on their operations. The benefits and drawbacks will be familiar to many who are also adjusting to working from home. There’s no commute, you can fit volunteering into your schedule, you can volunteer in locations you couldn’t get to in person. But many virtual volunteers are missing the socialization opportunities of a communal project or a welcoming volunteer workplace.

Greater Sum’s Executive Director, Anna Taylor, recently spoke with Liz Hack of the Small Shop Fundraising podcast about virtual volunteerism. This is new territory for many, but Greater Sum connects skills-based volunteers virtually with nonprofits across the country. We’ve learned a few things about successful remote volunteer activities, and are happy to share!

If you are looking for a new virtual volunteer opportunity, Greater Sum is gearing up for our Fall pitch competition and we will need volunteers to serve as pitch coaches and evaluators. Fill out a volunteer interest form if you’d like to know more!

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Grant Partner Spotlight: Cures within Reach for Cancer

Cures Within Reach for Cancer is a nonprofit startup creating new and affordable cancer treatments using artificial intelligence (AI) to repurpose non-cancer generic drugs. We’re happy to spotlight their work, and to have them as a member of The Greater Sum’s 2020 Nonprofit Cohort.

Like many organizations, CWR4C has been influenced by COVID-19. Cancer patients are a particularly vulnerable population when it comes to COVID-19 infection. Many of the treatments being evaluated for COVID-19 are repurposed generic drugs, and some also have documented effects on cancer. CWR4C is deploying their evidence synthesis technology to understand how COVID-19 drugs affect cancer. Their findings will help cancer patients who also have COVID-19 make critical treatment decisions. Follow them at @CWR4C for updates!

Grant Partner Spotlight: SafeBAE

We're proud to have SafeBAE as a member of TGS' 2020 Nonprofit Cohort, and happy to share with you their work to end sexual assault among middle and high school students.

SafeBAE continues to support teens during our current period of physical distancing. They are transforming their May 2020 Summits into virtual events, providing important tools for online safety, and exploring what red flags for dating violence looks like in our current state of isolation. Follow them @safebae for important updates during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Going Virtual: NonProfit Events Redefined for COVID-19

Connecting with donors and offering them a compelling experience for their contribution is essential to all nonprofit organizations. That’s why EVENTS have dominated fundraising for 85% of nonprofits. But fundraising events are more than just the donations. They’re about building relationships for your nonprofit and its cause. More important than the amount of money you raise in a single day are the long-term donations, awareness, and loyalty you develop for your nonprofit.

So how do you continue to build these relationships during a crisis when all events are cancelled?

Sight Visit: Digital Harbor Foundation

Hi! I’m Serena Hawtin, Communications Specialist for The Greater Sum Foundation. I recently visited Digital Harbor, a member of our 2018 Nonprofit Cohort, to learn how some of their makerspace innovations could be implemented by after-school programs in other communities. Come along with me on a Greater Sum Sight Visit - a look at how Digital Harbor introduces students to high tech, high demand career skills in a fun, engaging makerspace after school.

Founder Story: MilkCrate

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Morgan Berman combined her professional experience working in nonprofits, design education, and love of tech to create MilkCrate, a company that creates gamified apps for nonprofits. These apps help nonprofits track outcomes and engagement at a reasonable price point, making MilkCrate a great “representative that business can be a force for good in the world.” We sat down with Morgan to talk about how MilkCrate came to be, their work with nonprofit and foundation clients, and how she navigates self care as a start-up founder.

LISTEN to our interview with Morgan

READ a transcript

Interested in connecting with MIlkCrate? They’re hosting a Syposium on Foundation and Nonprofit Impact Tracking in Philadelphia this Friday, February 6th. Click here to learn more!

Founder Stories: Reflecting on 25 Years of Scholarships, Mentors, and Hope with Take Stock in Children Founder Don Pemberton

Twenty-five years ago, Florida’s low-income, academically qualified youth were given a unique chance to break the cycle of poverty and earn college degrees. It all started with a nonprofit program of mentoring and scholarship launched in 1995 by a former school guidance counselor. Called Take Stock in Children, the program, built on the experience of one counselor in one Florida county, had blanketed the state within six months. Founder Don Pemberton cites three key factors to explain the program’s breathtaking success…

Founder Story: Heroic Gardens

Collie Turner, a daughter and granddaughter of US military veterans, founded Heroic Gardens to provide US Veterans and Active Duty members on a fixed income access to free gardening services at home or within their communities. The Philadelphia-based organization is in its second year of operation, and Collie took time to chat with us about the experience of starting a nonprofit, lessons learned, and plans for growth.

The Five Operational Support Resources Every Nonprofit Needs

Many nonprofit founders start their organizations because they see an unmet need and have the skills or resources to fill it.  The process of securing 501(c)(3) status is tedious, and many people assume THAT’S the big barrier they’ll face in starting a nonprofit. But consider the  paperwork, red tape, and frustration still to come! (Sorry. You’ll also encounter lots of inspiration, camaraderie, and celebration -- I promise!)

Five  operational support resources will help you succeed -- some you might have within your own skill set, others you might find among friends and family, and some you will have to outsource.  But don’t launch a nonprofit without thinking through how you’ll handle each of the following…

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