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Organization Overview

• The nation’s first environmental charter high school, preparing students for college success and environmental leadership. For four straight years, our students have made some of the state's largest test score gains, and more than 90% of our students have moved on to college
• An environmental education center, offering summer camps, children’s programs, weekend workshops, festivals, youth employment, and other programs.  This year, more than 8,000 community members join in our programs.         
• An urban farm and 20-acre site, modeling sustainability and contributing 5,000 pounds of fresh, local produce to the community. 

For more information on Common Ground, see www.commongroundct.org.

The Campaign for Common Ground

Common Ground recently completed a 10-year Master Site Plan and updated its strategic plan to set clear, measurable goals for the next three years. Through this planning process Common Ground identified a number of strategic investments we must make in our site and facilities to grow and strengthen the impact of our work. Common Ground is now planning to launch the Campaign for Common Ground to raise the funds necessary to make these investments. We have already been awarded a $1.5 million construction grant from the State Department of Education toward construction of a multipurpose facility and 3 additional classrooms for its high school. We have hired an outstanding architecture firm and the design process for these new facilities is well under way. We also plan to make over 30 additional improvements to our site and facilities that have been identified in the Master Plan. When completed, these improvements would allow us to safely accommodate thousands of additional program participants on our site each year.

In order to complete construction of the planned new facility and make the essential site improvements identified in the Master Plan, Common Ground will need to raise $2 million in individual donations on top of approximately $5 million from other sources (including the $1.5 million SDE construction grant already received). To this end, Common Ground will launch the Campaign for Common Ground, a three year campaign to raise the necessary funds. In addition to raising $2 million dollars in individual donations in the short term, this campaign will also be used to build the foundation of a robust major gifts program that will continue to provide significant funding for Common Ground programs in the years to come.

Job Description

Working directly with the Executive Director, the Director of Development and Community Engagement and the Campaign Committee, the Campaign Manager will be responsible for running the Campaign for Common Ground, a campaign to raise approximately $2 million in individual donations over 3 years.

The Campaign Manager will:

• Implement and manage Campaign activities from silent phase (present) through campaign completion (January 2014)
• Work with the Campaign Committee, Board of Directors, Development Director, and Executive Director to refine overall Campaign strategy.
• Support the ongoing development and work of the campaign working, advisory, and event committees.
• Manage the donor cultivation process: establishing solicitation priorities, managing prospect lists and research, developing specific donor cultivation strategies, preparing staff and volunteers for solicitations.
• Work with campaign administrative staff to ensure that data related to prospects and donors is recorded and tracked in electronic and hard copy file; manage campaign record keeping, evaluate progress towards goals, and prepare periodic reports
• Manage the writing and development of campaign print and electronic collateral materials and coordinate their design and production.
• Ensure donor acknowledgement, stewardship, and public recognition, as appropriate.
• Organize donor cultivation and recognition events.
• Provide support to both the Executive Director and the Director of Development related to their campaign activities.
• Directly engage in donor cultivation and solicitation as appropriate.

Minimum qualifications for this position are:

• Campaign and/or major gifts experience with an established non-profit
• Demonstrated ability to raise funds through major gifts
• Excellent administrative and organizational skills
• Outstanding written and oral communication skills
• A strong work ethic and the ability to work independently with minimal oversight
• Proficiency in Office applications and online research tools
• A flexible work schedule

 Additional skill areas  (not required as minimum qualifications, but highly desired in a strong applicant):

• Passion and experience related to education and/or  environment
• Familiarity with the greater New Haven philanthropic community
• Familiarity with Giftworks, WealthEngine, and/or other donor research and management tools

Compensation:  Commensurate with experience

Position Type:  Full time with benefits

Position Length:  One year renewable basis

Due to the extensive statewide weather-related power outages, the LOI deadline has been extended until Noon on November 18, 2011 for CHEFA’s Nonprofit Grant Program

CHEFA RFP & Exhibit.pdf

CHEFA invites Connecticut nonprofits with a mission focus of meeting basic human needs’ to submit a Grant Letter of Interest to the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority byNovember 18, 2011.

Around November 28, CHEFA will invite selected organizations to submit a fullapplication for individual grants of up to $75,000 in programmatic funds from the FY 2012 NonprofitGrant Program.

Please review the full RFP materials carefully. Materials will also be available on their website: www.chefa.com/philanthropy.

Only those entities that address basic human needs of Connecticutresidents are eligible for this program.Elements of the Letter of Interest, with specific statutorily required undertakings, are located on the lastpage of the RFP.

Please contact CHEFA  at 860-761-8428 if you have any questions regarding this opportunity.

Director of Development and Fundraising

Dwight Hall at Yale is an independent 501©(3) non-profit organization with an annual budget of approximately $900,000, a full-time staff of five and offices on the Old Campus of Yale University in New Haven that provides community service opportunities for Yale College students in the New Haven area.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Dwight Hall, this new position will be responsible for organizing and implementing fund-raising for the organization’s programs and operational expenses based on the adopted Dwight Hall Development Plan.

The Director will work to assure that Dwight Hall’s organizational culture, alumni board and procedures support fund development. The Director will serve as a key member of the organization, working with the Dwight Hall staff, Board and students leaders to achieve specific revenue and outreach goals. This is a full-time, year round position.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Plan and implement fundraising strategies for Dwight Hall alumni donors and determine cultivation/solicitation strategies for major donors, including solicitation activity goals.
• With the ED and the Board of Directors, work with print, electronic, web-based and social media to increase the visibility of Dwight Hall among existing and potential donors.
• Participate in general Annual Fund operations, including planning and drafting of direct mail, email and telephone solicitation programs, and strategy sessions with CEO and Program Manager.
• Assess prospect research requirements, determine priorities, and conduct and/or supervise research. Work closely with CFO to secure updated biographic and class note information in data base. Update electronic materials and website content as needed.
• Assist in the identification and preparation of grant applications for programs that support Dwight Hall’s student activities.
• Organize and oversee specialty fund raising programs, including capital campaigns for endowment and facility renovation, and a legacy giving program for Dwight Hall’s donors.
• Provide staff support for Dwight Hall’s Board Development Committee and perform related duties as assigned by ED.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required. Minimum 3 years of development experience, with demonstrated success in fundraising. Exceptional oral and written communication skills, computer skills and highly-developed organizational skills. Interest in and awareness of education, as well as community outreach.

Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent interpersonal skills required to relate to donors, volunteers, staff, and students.
• Self-motivated, innovative and able to work with considerable independence within the context of a team environment and a network of relationships.
• Creative problem solver with the ability to offer innovative, consensus-building solutions. Team player.
• Ability to represent Dwight Hall well in working collegially with peers and colleagues within and outside the organization.
• Knowledge of Raiser’s Edge software preferred.

Dwight Hall at Yale is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is strongly committed to diversity. It welcomes applicants of all races, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations. For more information, visitwww.dwighthall.org.

Compensation: Dwight Hall offers a salary commensurate with non-profit organizational standards and experience and an excellent benefits package based on Yale’s managerial benefits.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, with a preference for those submitted by November 4th, 2011.

Posted October 13, 2011

Application Instructions

Please submit your application by one e-mail, with the following material attached as separate documents: cover letter, resume, writing sample, and contact information for three references. Please send to:alex.knopp@yale.edu

IRIS will host the 5th Annual Run for Refugees- a fund-raising 5K run/walk up East Rock- on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2012.  We are looking for volunteers to help plan the event! 

Most needed are volunteers to ask restaurants to donate food to the post-race party, or to help solicit financial sponsors. 

We will also need help making decisions about the details that go into putting on a race- like what color t-shirts to buy! 

Finanally, we are looking for acoustic musicians to play on the course to encourage the runners along- steel drums, accordion, bag pipes, marching band, etc! 

If you enjoy party planning, running, walking, food, or music, please contact Kelly Hebrank at (203) 562-2095 or khebrank@irisct.org.

Clothes Without Borders, the New Haven thrift store that benefits IRIS- Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, is launching a fun new idea--

Beginning this Saturday 10/22, Clothes Without Borders is having a sale on clothing EVERY SATURDAY-- just $5/bag!

All clothing will be $5 for a bag full!  We give you the bag, and you stuff it!

(Household goods, furniture, jewelry, books, and accessories are exempt, but we have LOTS of clothing in great condition- men's, women's, and children's.) 

Clothes Without Borders is located at 900 Grand Ave, just a block and a half from State St. 

Hours are Monday - Saturday, 10:30am - 5:30pm.

Find us on Facebook.

SOCIAL IMPACT EXCHANGE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF
2012 BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

New York, NY: October 3, 2011 – The Social Impact Exchange announced today the launch of its 2012 Business Plan Competition. The Competition identifies social sector scaling initiatives with demonstrated impact and readiness to grow, and supports the winners with financial and consulting awards.

“There are many strategies for achieving scaled impact, it’s not just about scaling an organization” said Cynthia Massarsky, Vice President and Director of the Social Impact Exchange. “We are also interested in scaling programs, policy initiatives, media and advocacy campaigns, nonprofit collaboratives, social movements and marketplace solutions,” she said.

The goal of the Competition is to help develop a strong pipeline of scale-ready initiatives and provide them with the resources to successfully take the next steps in their growth trajectory. Despite all the important work accomplished by nonprofit organizations over the last several decades, significant growth or scale has remained an elusive goal for most of them. The inability to achieve scale – that is, to make a meaningful and sustainable impact by reaching larger numbers of those in need – has limited the potential of these organizations and the people they serve.

U.S.-based nonprofit organizations with a focus in education, youth development, health, poverty alleviation and community economic development are eligible to enter. Nonprofits enter the Competition in one of two tracks: Early-Stage Scaling Initiatives or Mezzanine-Stage Scaling Initiatives. Click here for eligibility criteria.

During an 8-month evaluation process, entrants develop and submit business plans to scale their “social solutions”. Competition entrants have access to a website of resources on growth, take part in group training and one-on-one consulting, and receive customized written feedback on their plans.

Judging is conducted on a pro bono basis by professionals from the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Criteria for evaluation includes demonstrated quality, effectiveness and impact, marketability and scalability, expansion readiness, strength of the management team, systems for monitoring and assessing performance, and strength of the financial model and sustainability over the long term.

The final round of the Social Impact Business Plan Competition will take place in June at the 2012 Symposium on Scaling Impact in New York City.

The Social Impact Exchange is a cross-sector, member-driven association for sharing knowledge and increasing investment in scaling effective social programs and solutions.

About The Social Impact Exchange
The Social Impact Exchange is a community of funders, practitioners, wealth advisors, intermediaries and researchers interested in developing practices for studying, implementing and funding large-scale expansions of top-performing nonprofit programs and organizations. The Exchange serves as a focal point and gathering place for those interested in collaborating to further build the field of scaling and to developing an efficient capital marketplace that provides reliable funding for scalable social solutions.

The Exchange was established by Growth Philanthropy Network (GPN), in partnership with Duke University’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy and Civil Society at the Sanford School of Public Policy, and the university’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. The Exchange receives primary funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a group of charter members including The Rockefeller Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Mayer Phillips Foundation, The Starr Foundation, W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation and American Express.

In an inaugural effort to describe New Haven’s economic climate, we present this data profile to convey New Haven’smulti-faceted character. It is intentionally selective, and summarily descriptive of the particular qualities that makeNew Haven unique. As a small city, New Haven is as complex and vibrant as a much larger city, however the Cityretains an intimate small-city social network that can propel new ideas into reality quickly. The following topics rangefrom traditional economic metrics to distinctive qualitative information in order to round out our story.

1. Major Sector Profile—A Full Spectrum Economy, Anchored by World Class Institutions

2. Employment--Resilience Through a Recession

3. Grand List Increase--A Trend in Growth

4. Demographics—New Haven’s Diversity and Youth Culture Set it Apart

5. Migration--A Magnet for Jobs and Community

6. Residential Housing Market--Affordability and Desirability

7. Commercial Rental Market--The Competitive Advantage

8. Education Innovations: School Reform----A National Pioneer

9. Measures of a Vibrant Community—New Haven as an Innovation Hub

more...

https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edcnewhaven.com%2Fpdf%2F2011NewHavenNine.pdf