Social enterprise Cause4 makes hottest 50 startups list – Third Force News

Recognition: SVC2UK co-founder Sherry Coutu

The firm supports charities with strategy, fundraising and social development

29th November 2016 by Gavin Stuart 0 Comments

A social enterprise company that has raised more than 46 million for charities in the past seven years has been recognised on a prestigious annual list of technology businesses.

Cause4 supports third sector organisations with strategy, fundraising and social development and raises an average of 500,000 for charities every month.

In the past year, the firm has invested heavily in digital strategy, helping its partners select the best services and partnerships to support their growth and maximise income.

It has now been recognised by entrepreneurship forum Silicon Valley Comes to the UK (SVC2UK) as one of the UK’s 50 hottest startups that have successfully scaled up.

If charities are going to survive in this post-Brexit environment, they have to take the same attitude to success as private sector companies

The list includes the fastest growing new businesses boasting an average growth of 47% over the past year.

Cause4 founder Michelle Wright said: “Charities that don’t make best use of technology will get left behind or face collapse.

“The charity sector deserves the same investment as the private sector.

(WKYT) – Blue Grass Community Foundation and Smiley Pete Publishing will host the GoodGiving Challenge to raise funds for 120 Central and Eastern Kentucky charities.

The Challenge is an online giving campaign designed to engage the entire community and to make charitable giving easy and fun.

Since its inception in 2011, The GoodGiving Challenge has raised over $5.5 million for Bluegrass nonprofits, making it among the most successful giving events in Kentucky. At Blue Grass Community Foundation, we believe in investing together for our community and the GoodGiving Challenge is the perfect opportunity for charitable giving to be fun, accessible and rewarding for the whole community.”

The GoodGiving Challenge is powered by BGgives.org , an online giving website featuring 120 hardworking nonprofit organizations.

CFO to award annual Arts & Culture grants to kick off First Friday Art Walk CFO to award annual Arts & Culture grants to kick off First Friday Art Walk

”+

At the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes another capital-letters holiday signpost on Tuesday a but one devoted to giving, not buying.

A variety of nonprofit and service groups in Napa County are taking part in Giving Tuesday, an online and social media drive to boost fundraising and publicize the work of some 40,000 community groups worldwide.

By teaming up Tuesday to seek contributions a of volunteering time as well as cash a in a full-court press on Facebook, Twitter and other sites, nonprofits can make their voices heard to an audience that increasingly is moving its charity to the Internet, according to Terence Mulligan, president of the Napa Valley Community Foundation, one of Napa Countyas Giving Tuesday partners.

aEverybody is trying to take advantage of this giant cultural force that is social media, and figure out what it means in getting people to contribute to their good works,a said Mulligan, whose foundation issues grants to various area charities.

Last yearas 24-hour campaign raised $116.7 million in contributions, according to AndrA Ory, spokesman for the 92nd Street Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association. Participating charities, which do not pay a fee to the 92nd Street Y, will seek support for causes ranging from organ donation to expanded education access and alleviating poverty and child hunger.

The agency partners with other nonprofits to provide advice, support and toolkits for Giving Tuesday participants, and tracks the amount of donations, Ory wrote in an email.

Some local nonprofits hope to use Giving Tuesday not only to raise funds directly but to steer would-be donors to long-established charitable efforts.

For example, those visiting the Napa Valley Education Foundation on Facebook a or receiving the groupas special email Tuesday a will see encouragements to view the Give!Guide and support one of the charities listed in the annual Christmas-time handbook, said Jennifer Stewart, the foundationas executive director.

aThe last quarter of the year is when we are focused on first-time donors, and any amount makes a difference,a she said Monday.

Local nonprofit groups taking part in Giving Tuesday include (but are not limited to):

– Napa Valley Community Foundation

– Napa Valley Youth Symphony

– Connolly Ranch Education Center

– Mentis

– Big Brothers Big Sisters of the North Bay

– OLE Health

– Girls on the Run Napa & Solano

– UpValley Family Centers

– American Canyon Family Resource Center

– Napa Wildlife Rescue

– Community Resources for Children, Napa

– Community Health Initiative Napa County

– Napa Valley Education Foundation

– Boys & Girls Club of St.

‘Ozarks’ Promise’ to waive tuition for 372 OTC students seeking health care careers’Ozarks’ Promise’ to waive tuition for 372 OTC students seeking health care careers

Mary Ann Rojas, director of workforce development for the city of Springfield, and Dr. (Photo: Nathan Papes/News-Leader)Buy Photo

Citing the growing demand for health care workers, the city’s Workforce Development partnered with Ozarks Technical Community College to repeatedly apply for millions of dollars in grants to provide training at little or no cost for individuals.

The partners announced Monday that the persistence paid off.

The city and OTC were awarded a $3 million America’s Promise grant by the U.S. Department of Labor grant awarded to Springfield’s Workforce Development that will go towards waiving tuition for 372 OTC students seeking health care careers will have on the health care industry in Springfield on Monday, Nov. But, they didn’t seek the federal help on their own.

The following entities provided letters of support: Branson Area Chamber of Commerce, Burrell Behavioral Health, Citizens Memorial Health, Clark County Behavioral Health Center, CoxHealth, Mercy, Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Health, Oxford Healthcare, Ozark Region Workforce Development Board, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

Willow Brook Elementary receives grant from author James Patterson, Scholastic Reading Club for school library

Posted at 7:13 pmNovember 28, 2016
By

Willow Brook Elementary School is pictured above in May 2012. To learn more, listen to Patterson’s exclusive interview about the critical need for school libraries on the “Scholastic Reads” podcast.

Patterson and Scholastic Reading Club announced in March that Patterson would donate $1.75 million to save school libraries nationwide in the second installment of his School Library Campaign. The grants, valued at $10,000 each, [Read More…]

Willow Brook Elementary receives grant from author James Patterson, Scholastic Reading Club for school library

Willow Brook Elementary School has received a grant from bestselling author James Patterson to support its school library. Auditions are scheduled at the college’s Oak Ridge and Roane County campuses: [Read More…]

Oak Ridge school board to consider opposing use of public funds for private schools

The Oak Ridge school board on Monday will consider opposing the use of public funds for private schools.

”+

The results provide intriguing insights into the challenges and opportunities for leaders in our space.

Between October 2015 and April 2016 we carried out over 40 interviews with social enterprise executives and board members, intermediaries and corporate and government organisations to understand the leadership challenges faced by social enterprise leaders and the implications for the purpose-led organisations they work for.

The interviews revealed a deep commitment to the impact of social enterprise and at the same time highlighted three distinct challenges facing many leaders today: lack of role clarity, limited career opportunities and personal and professional beliefs that limit personal or organisational impact.

My role is what is left over when everyone else is done with theirs

This refrain could be dismissed as the complaint of a start-up CEO, but it was echoed by executives at scaling and mature organisations alike. As well as contributing to an all-too-common personal sense of burn-out, it also entrapped CEOs between managing urgent activity and leading longer-term development of the organisation, which can easily inadvertently contribute to feelings of perpetual stress amongst the wider organisation.

Where do I go next?

The growth of social enterprises over the last ten years has been exceptional, with 35% of them less than three years old more than three times the proportion of SMEs (SEUK, State of Social Enterprise Report, 2015). While social enterprise executives celebrate the growth of the sector, many also expressed concerns about the limited number of large-scale mature organisations, and the resulting lack of professional growth opportunities at senior levels.

Executives shared frustrations ranging from professional and financial stagnation to feelings of being trapped in the social enterprise space with limited opportunities to apply their experience. While this deeply held belief served them well personally, transferring that belief to their organisation may seriously limit the impact it can have.

Expectations of social enterprise CEOs to be “good” are often compounded by the high degree of scrutiny that our relatively small social enterprise world can generate.

”+ ”+ Rapid City middle and high school students will have an opportunity to contribute to a sexual violence prevention initiative that could prove to be a model for other communities nationwide.

Thatas what a team of researchers from the University of New Hampshire hopes to accomplish by partnering with the Rapid City School Board as well as local youth and victim service agencies.

The program will be funded by a $1.8 million federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant, which the school board approved Monday night.

Questions will focus on what experiences students have had with risky behavior or sexual abuse and will emphasize the importance of positive youth development and civic engagement.

Parents will have a chance to exempt their kids from answering the survey questions, and students will be able to opt themselves out, as well.

According to UNH professor Katie Edwards, the survey results will help guide research and lead to the creation of educational material that will be shared with schools and other community organizations across the country on how to create youth-led sexual violence prevention programs from the ground up.

The school board unanimously approved the grant funds to pay for the program.

aThere are a number of people in the community who are going to be detractors,a said school board member Matt Stephens.

Though she expressed some reservations, board member Amy Policky noted that an open discussion about the issue might have saved the life of a 15-year-old girl she knew who recently committed suicide after being sexually assaulted.

aThis kind of violence is real,a Policky said, aand it is happening in Rapid City.a

The board also approved more than $77,000 in other grant funds: A Workforce Education Grant totaling $49,430 will help enhance vocational and technical education programs at Stevens High School, and more than $28,000 from the Rapid City Public School Foundation will go toward various innovative projects in schools across the district.

Daily Press-Ferguson Holiday Fund

Judith Lowery/Daily Press Daily Press-Ferguson Holiday Fund donations from the 2015 season were distributed to recipients at Ferguson Enterprises Nov. From left, Mike Monteith, CEO of Peninsula Community Foundation, John Wilcox, Senior Vice President, Ferguson Enterprises, Marisa Porto, publisher and editor-in-chief, Daily Press Media Group, Shana James, divisional resource development director Salvation Army accepting check for The Salvation Army, Williamsburg Corps, Melissa Hazelwood, Ferguson Cares manager.

Judith Lowery/Daily Press Daily Press-Ferguson Holiday Fund donations from the 2015 season were distributed to recipients at Ferguson Enterprises Nov. Caption Phoebus 21, Lakeland 0

Video of Phoebus’ 21-0 victory over Lakeland during Saturday’s Group 3A state quarterfinal game at Darling Stadium November 26, 2016. Caption Phoebus 21, Lakeland 0

Video of Phoebus’ 21-0 victory over Lakeland during Saturday’s Group 3A state quarterfinal game at Darling Stadium November 26, 2016.

Caption Video: Norview 37, Hampton 31

Norfolk’s Norview High defeats Hampton High School 37-31 during the Group 5A state football quarterfinal game at Darling Stadium on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016.

Caption Video: 2016 Black Friday Shopping

Shoppers looking for deals on Thanksgiving and Black Friday at big box and department chain stores.

Shoppers looking for deals on Thanksgiving and Black Friday at big box and department chain stores.

Caption Fort Monroe Quarters 1 preservation

New preservation work is underway inside the fort at historic Quarters #1.