Common Impact Connections Newsletter: Capacity Commons Edition

Skills-based volunteerism has skyrocketed in popularity over the past few years, but pro bono support can be harder to come by in certain regions of the U.S. Even where it is easily accessible, social impact organizations sometimes need help in creating and managing successful skilled volunteer projects. 

Enter Capacity Commons, a website we launched in June with the help of Charles Schwab and a remarkable advisory board. Capacity Commons is a virtual one-stop shop for skills-based volunteering! This free, open-source tool guides organizations through an interactive process to evaluate their readiness for skills-based volunteering, identify capacity-building projects and connect to skilled volunteer sources. It also helps nonprofits calculate the dollar value of a project and communicate the results of effective skills-based volunteer engagements to their stakeholders.

Visit Capacity Commons today to learn how your organization can leverage skills-based volunteering to improve your operations and better serve your constituents!

Interested in learning more about what's going on behind the scenes at Common Impact?

Find social impact inspiration through our new Pro Bono Perspectives podcast episodes

Hear from Susan Portugal of Bank of America on making CSR and ESG sustainable; Marcy Scott Lynn of Facebook about building community resiliency through human connection; Erica Tavares of the International Medical Corps on creating cross-sector partnerships for disaster relief; May Malik of the NYC Office of Immigrant Affairs about creating a fairer New York; and Martin Cominsky of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston on uniting faith groups and fortifying communities.

Gain insight into the power of skills-based volunteering projects

• The Florida Nonprofit Alliance (FNA) recently set out to double its membership base in just two years as part of a strategy to diversify its revenue streams and lessen its reliance on grants. To achieve this ambitious goal, Common Impact partnered FNA with the JPMorgan Chase Virtual Service Corps to create a new membership development strategy.
• The volunteer team provided recommendations for an enhanced membership structure and developed a two-year roadmap that included structured implementation phases and metrics for FNA to track its progress towards meeting its membership expansion goals. Ultimately, the JPMorgan Chase team provided FNA Executive Director Sabeen Perwaiz a structured plan of action and gave her a strong case for additional support from the board to implement the proposed solutions.

Please welcome our new Board members!

• Bhavani Pyla, as COO for the Prime Brokerage (Americas) business at Credit Suisse, brings 11 years of leadership experience driving and executing business strategy at the bank. As a member of the Common Impact Board of Directors, Bhavani will support our team in structuring and expanding our sector-wide and field building programs. An engaged philanthropist, she is drawn to Common Impact’s work to mobilize human capital to make a greater impact in society. Bhavani is a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
• Michi Kono currently serves as Senior Director, Software Engineering at Capital One, having built strong expertise in product development and emerging technologies during several roles as a co-founder of technology start-ups. Michi will support Common Impact’s initiatives to bring skills-based volunteerism to scale through technology, such as Capacity Commons. Michi graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Cognitive Sciences and a specialization in Computing.

Join us at our upcoming events

• Skills for Cities Boston (Sept. 30): Join corporate volunteers, local leaders and impactful nonprofits to make a difference in the community and help Boston deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals! At the first-ever Skills for Cities Boston event last year, more than 80 volunteers representing 14 civically-engaged companies collaborated with 15 Boston-based nonprofits to provide an estimated $80,000 in pro bono services to the Boston community in just one day of service. Click here to learn more about the event and sponsorship opportunities!
• SSIR Nonprofit Management Institute (Sept. 10-12): Join CEO Danielle Holly on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, CA for her panel on maximizing skilled volunteer talent, part of this year's NMI conference on “Transforming Anxiety into Active Leadership."
• Impact Investing (Sept. 17): Attend Skytop Strategies' social purpose investing summit to hear Danielle Holly speak on the panel "The Gender Lens: A Look at Investment Models Across the Continuum of Markets."
• BBCon (Oct. 15-17): Register for Blackbaud's annual conference today and don't miss Danielle Holly's session, "Measuring the Outcomes and Impact of Skills-Based Volunteer Programs in the Social Sector."
• 3BL Forum: Brands Taking Stands (Oct. 29-30): In the D.C. area this October? We'll be meeting with a diverse group of private and social sector leaders to share insights and collaborate on solutions to urgent sustainability issues.
• BSR Conference (Nov. 12-14): Look out for us in San Jose, CA at this year's BSR Conference, "The New Climate for Business," which will explore topics at the intersection of business, social good and sustainability.

Check out our full newsletter to stay up to date with the latest and greatest at Common Impact!