Helping people find jobs is pretty cool. There’s a reason that I’ve been doing it for the past 5 years. I’ve built a nice list of success stories, but there’s no way that I “created over 218,000 hours of employment and generated $2.5 million in wages” in 2010 like Chrysalis did. They’re a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that is “dedicated to creating a pathway to self-sufficiency for homeless and low-income individuals by providing the resources and support needed to find and retain employment.” Employment solves all kinds of societal and individual problems, but creating jobs isn’t nearly as easy as politicians make it sound. Luckily, Chrysalis has developed programs that help people turn themselves into desirable employees. It’s the next best thing.
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Some may describe the non-profit world as slow moving. It’s funny to think that a world filled with progressives isn’t really all that progressive when it comes to its own practices. Things are changing, and more and more organizations being run like startups, but there are bigger picture issues that need to be addressed to help the non-profit world move forward. That’s what the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy does and has been doing for more than 35 years. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that serves “as the country’s independent watchdog of foundations.” In other words, they promote “philanthropy that serves the public good, is responsive to people and communities with the least wealth and opportunity, and is held accountable to the highest standards of integrity and openness.”
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I was a total wimp when I was a kid. Despite many opportunities to do ropes courses and other similar challenges, I always sat on the sidelines. To be completely honest, it was because I was chubby and figured that I couldn’t actually complete the courses. I’m now more adventurous, but I still prefer adventure with a functional goal (like climbing down into a gorge to go fly fishing). Project Adventure is a Beverly, MA non-profit organization that offers adventure with a goal, but it’s all about personal and group development. They “seek to expand Adventure-based experiential programming, with the goal of developing responsible individuals, productive organizations and sustainable communities.” They’ve been doing it since 1971, and they keep growing their ability to advance active learning.
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I was at a wedding last night. It served as a reminder that I can’t dance. I still try, but I don’t think that it’s ever going to happen for me. That’s ok–I can leave the dancing to the dancers. Maybe I would have different feelings if I had been involved with Dancewave. They’re a non-profit that “transforms the lives of New York City youth through unique exposure to world-class, pre-professional performing arts training.” Dance is right at the intersection of arts and athletics, which makes it an ideal activity for youth programming–it builds confidence, gets kids active, and introduces them to new cultures.
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I grew up in a house next to a post office. This was the ultimate location for a lemonade stand. From 11 AM to about 1:30 PM people would take their lunch breaks and stop by to pick up their mail. They couldn’t resist my cute face and amazing pitch for a nice, cold glass of lemonade. I raked it in, and I hoarded my earnings (and never paid my parents for ingredients). My intent wasn’t nearly as noble as Alex Scott, a 4-year-old who “announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer” in 2000. At the time she was in the middle of a fight against neuroblastoma, and she wanted to do everything that she could to help other kids facing a similar struggle. That lemonade stand grew into a movement called Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which is now a Wynnewood, PA based non-profit. Alex passed away in 2004 at the age of 8 having raised over $1 million to cure pediatric cancers. That’s an amazing accomplishment that becomes even more amazing when you see what her lemonade stand has grown into.
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I was nearly kicked out of preschool. Some kid bit me, and I responded by biting other kids. I’m not sure what my mom said, but she convinced the school to let me stay. It doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but it may have been a very important moment in my life. Early education has a huge effect on educational outcomes, so there’s a decent chance that the negative effects of not going to preschool would have followed me through the rest of my life. That’s the kind of problem that many children from low-income families encounter–though it’s because they never even got to go to preschool not because they got kicked out. Jumpstart is attacking this problem head on–they are “the only national supplemental program that leverages the power of community and adult-child relationships to build the key language and literacy skills children need to take on the world.” They’re based in Boston, MA and working in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, California, Florida, and Washington.
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This morning I got an e-mail from Amazon.com. As part of a settlement with book publishers, I will receive an automatic credit to my account “that it will range from $0.30 to $1.32 for every eligible Kindle book that [I] purchased between April 2010 and May 2012.” That’s good news, but it’s indicative problem. We live in a time when intellectual property is becoming a massive economic issue. The patent stuff between Apple, Samsung, Google and dozens of other players is getting ridiculous, and our government is trying to pass legislation that significantly inhibits our ability to share information. As someone who has built a business based on intellectual property, I understand why rightsholders are being defensive, but I also think that they’re hurting their businesses by limiting use of their content. We need some sanity, and that’s exactly what Public Knowledge is aiming to restore. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that “preserves the openness of the Internet and the public’s access to knowledge, promotes creativity through balanced copyright, and upholds and protects the rights of consumers to use innovative technology lawfully.”
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I was lucky enough to spend a week in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks this summer. Our national park system is truly one of our country’s treasures–it’s one thing that the federal government actually seems to do really well. However, our national parks also benefit significantly from the help of volunteers. One organization that has done a lot of great work is American Conservation Experience. They’re based in Flagstaff, AZ, and they offer “opportunities for both American and International volunteers to take part in challenging outdoor projects in many of the most beautiful National Parks, National Forests and wilderness areas in the Western United States.”
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It’s my birthday! Amy, my fiancée, has a great day planned for me, and my parents are coming into town tomorrow. Next weekend we’re having a party. Even if it means that I’m creeping towards 30, I’m glad that I have family and friends who are excited to help me celebrate. Unfortunately, there are a lot of kids out there who can’t get excited about their birthdays because of their family situations. I think that every kid should be able to get excited about his or her birthday. Luckily, there are a multitude of non-profits that provide birthday parties, gifts, and cakes for underprivileged kids. How cool is that? A Very Merry Birthday is one of these organizations, and it’s based in New Haven, CT. There are tons of others across the country. I couldn’t find any with current job or internship postings, but quite a few of them have had past interns at the very least. Since there are so many of these organizations, I’m going to recommend that you find one near you and reach out to them about opportunities while I go enjoy being 28.
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Chances are that where you live has some sort of historical society. It’s an organization that is devoted to preserving and researching the local history. They almost certainly have some sort of an archive, and they may have a museum. There are all kinds of historical societies out there, but I was still surprised that The Capitol building has its own historical society called… wait for it… the United States Capitol Historical Society. The non-profit organization is quite obviously based in Washington, DC, and it was founded in 1962 and “chartered by Congress to educate the public on the history and heritage of the U.S. Capitol building, its institutions and the people who have served therein.” The organization is not publicly funded, so they get their money from “individual and corporate memberships, gifts, grants and the sale of educational items such as the book, We, the People: The Story of the U.S. Capitol, calendars, tourist memorabilia, videos and books of general interest and academic research.”
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I’m getting a dog! It’s still many months away at the earliest, but I’m extremely excited. It’s going to be a sporting breed, and I’m hoping to train it to do what it will be bred to do. I’ve been reading a few books on training in preparation, and I’m simply amazed by what dogs are capable of. The combination of good breeding and patient training is extremely powerful. And nowhere is that combination put to better use than at Canine Companions for Independence. They are a Santa Rosa, CA based non-profit that “enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.” They have regional training centers across the country, so they’re able to match amazing dogs with the people who will benefit from them most–free of charge.
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Even though it will be another year until we celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day again, I don’t think that we’ve had enough pirate talk for the week. Just kidding, no pirate talk today, but we are going to take a look at a non-profit called Story Pirates. They’re based in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA, and they pair “experienced teachers with talented artists to collaborate with schools and community organizations in creating exciting, dynamic classes covering a broad range of academic topics.” That’s actually a kind of boring way to put it. One of the programs that they’re best known for is taking stories that kids write and acting them out. How could that not be absolutely awesome?
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When I was a kid I was jealous of the kids who went to one of the other elementary schools in town because they had an awesome carnival. I was kind of a wimp about carnival rides, so the most intense ride that I would go on was called the Himalaya. All it did was spin you around kind of fast. While the painting on the ride was certainly accurate to the name, I’m not sure that it was a very good representation of Himalayan culture. The Rubin Museum of Art in New York, NY is. It’s “a dynamic environment that stimulates learning, promotes understanding, and inspires personal connections to the ideas, cultures, and art of Himalayan Asia.” It also won’t make you nauseous like the ride might.
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There’s currently a lot happening on the foreign policy front, and it’s hard to imagine a future where foreign policy isn’t even more important than it is now. Our world has become extremely interconnected, and it’s becoming more and more important that we get along with our neighbors. There are all kinds of non-profits working on these issues, and one is the Center for The National Interest, which is based in Washington, DC. The organization was founded by former President Nixon as the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom, but they rebranded in 2011. They typically take the Realist perspective (here’s the Wikipedia article) on foreign policy, which is based on the belief “that mankind is not inherently benevolent but rather self-centered and competitive.”
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Many job seekers fail to realize how important it is to write well. With so much communication happening over e-mail, your ability to express your ideas clearly and forcefully through the written word will have a direct effect on your career outcomes (and that’s why you need to spend a lot of time on writing great cover letters). While writing is something that most of us work on throughout our lives, the most important development happens in our early years. That’s why 826 National works with 8 centers across the country that “offer a variety of inventive programs that provide under-resourced students, ages 6-18, with opportunities to explore their creativity and improve their writing skills.” The San Francisco, CA based non-profit “provides strategic leadership, administration, and other resources to ensure the success of its network of eight writing and tutoring centers.” The centers are located in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC, and together they’ve serve about 30,0000 students each year.
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One of the most underrated life moments is when you learn how to read. Even though it’s more of a progression than a single point in time, I remember (almost) exactly where I was when I became a reader. My family was headed to Florida on an Amtrak train (we thought it would be fun, and it was… kind of), and I had a Super Mario comic book. Somewhere in North or South Carolina I went from stumbling through it to reading it. From that point on I was a reader and I had the ability to educate myself. Teaching kids not only to read but to love reading is one of the most important things that we as a society can do, which is why I love non-profits like The Literacy Lab. They don’t appear to be very big, but the Washington, DC based organization is aiming “to provide high-quality, individualized reading remediation to low-income students in order to increase their literacy skills, leading to increased academic success and greater opportunities in life.”
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I grew up along the coast of Long Island Sound and spent a few weeks every summer on Nantucket. As a result I’ve always had a fascination with coastal societies. I just love seeing how the natural environment shapes the way people live. Today it may be hard to imagine how a city as large and modern as New York, NY has been influenced by its natural surroundings, but the South Street Seaport Museum shows the history of New York City’s relationship with the sea. The museum “is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history of New York as a port city.” They do this with “16 historic and contemporary installations interweaving the city, the sea, and the Seaport neighborhood.”
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I don’t know why adults even bother asking kids what their favorite class is. They’re obviously going to either say recess or make something up because they know that they’re not supposed to say recess. As a kid I felt bad for liking recess more than the rest of the school day, but now I realize that recess is totally underrated. It’s a time for social interaction, safe risk taking (or are monkey bars banned now?), decision making, and more. It’s also a fantastic way to get kids to burn off energy so that they can be more focused in the classroom. Playworks is an Oakland, CA based non-profit (but they work in cities across the country) that aims to “improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.” In other words, they’re all about recess.
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Last week in my write up on the U.S. Association Of Former Members Of Congress, I touched on the idea that our politicians might be more effective after they retire from public service. I think this is especially true for members of Congress who have no term limits and constantly need to worry about being reelected, but I think that presidents face similar pressures to follow the polls. Once they’re out of office, former politicians are free to work on the problems that they think are important. For President Clinton this work manifests itself through the William J. Clinton Foundation, which is Little Rock, AR and New York, NY based non-profit organization that aims to “improve global health, strengthen economies worldwide, promote healthier childhoods, and protect the environment by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and private citizens.”
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One of the things that I find strangest about American politics is that older people are generally far more worried about the debt situation than young people (even though it’s the older generations that is responsible). At some point we won’t be able to kick the can any farther down the road, and I fear that time will come just as our generation is hitting its prime. It’s an extremely serious issue, but it’s one that is hard to take seriously when you’re young. The Can Kicks Back is an organization that is trying to change that. Though they haven’t launched yet (their website says Fall 2012), the “Millennial-driven campaign to solve America’s fiscal crisis” will be based in Washington, DC. I would have thought that The Can Kicks Back would already be more active considering that the election is barely 2 months away.
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Judging from the current approval ratings, the American people are planning on making a lot more former members of Congress in the upcoming election. Since a group of people with an overall 80% disapproval rating might struggle to find work after they’re relieved of their jobs, we’ll need to find something for all of them to do. Luckily, there’s the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress, which is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that “utilizes the unique skill sets of its 600 members to provide pro bono public service programs and initiatives both at home and abroad.” Apparently, the organization used to be just a “conduit to keep former Members in touch with each other and create social activities” but has evolved to be something far more valuable. As much as I like to make fun of members of Congress, I realize that they’re for the most part extremely smart people with exceptional experience and political leverage. That’s a valuable combination, and a non-profit is a great place to put it to work.
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Over the years I’ve come across quite a few non-profits that use sports as a tool to enact social change. Most of them focus on youth. It makes sense–when you’re young it’s easy to pick up new sports and you stand to gain the most from the positive influences of being on a team. Lately, I’ve started to see a few organizations that are using sports to help end homelessness. A few months ago I wrote about Back On My Feet which “promotes the self-sufficiency of people experiencing homelessness by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem.” Today I came across Street Soccer USA, which is a New York, NY based non-profit that “to get homeless men, women, and youth off the streets, scoring goals on the field, and achieving their goals in life.” It’s a really neat idea, and it seems to be working.
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One of the most important skills for both internship searching and starting a successful career is creativity. That’s why I devoted an entire section to it in our Job Search Prep course (it’s free in case you didn’t know). The tough part is that our education system seems to beat creativity out of students with grading rubrics and multiple choice tests. That’s why we need more places like the Children’s Creativity Museum, which is a San Francisco, CA based “interactive art and technology museum for kids.” Creativity can’t be taught in a traditional way–it has to be done through experiences–and that’s exactly what Children’s Creativity Museum offers.
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One of the most underrated job/internship search skills is anticipation. You can do fine being reactionary and trolling job postings, but if you really want to elevate your chance of finding success, you need to take things to the next step. That means seeking out opportunities before they become apparent to other people. How do you do this? Look for non-obvious news items that might indicate future opportunities. The Museum of Mathematics in New York, NY provides a perfect example. They’re opening in 4 months, and they’re aiming “to enhance public understanding and perception of mathematics.” It’s being opened in response to the closing of the Goudreau Museum, which was a small museum of math in Long Island.
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One of the best parts of growing up in Connecticut was the history. As a kid, I was always imagining myself back in the Revolutionary era. There were constant reminders of the past, and I found them fascinating. (One of my favorite hobbies was digging holes in my backyard looking for artifacts.) The tough thing is that New England is a thriving part of our economy, which means that there is constant pressure to erase the past so as to build something better. That’s ok to some extent, but history needs to be preserved. Historic New England is a non-profit that does just that. It’s a Boston, MA based “museum of cultural history that collects and preserves buildings, landscapes, and objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present and uses them to keep history alive and to help people develop a deeper understanding and enjoyment of new England life and appreciation for its preservation.”
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It’s easy to take Google for granted, but the ability to find almost any piece of information in less than a second is pretty extraordinary. Google’s biggest problem is also its biggest strength: depth. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or distracted by all of the information. Sometimes you need a more focused tool–especially in educational settings. That’s what Gooru is all about. They’re a Palo Alto, CA based non-profit organization that is “organizing free, online education resources into searchable collections, accessible from any web or mobile platform.” By combining machine learning technology with human curation, Gooru is able to provide a resource for students to find what they need without the distractions of other search engines.
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A lot of people criticize the NIMBY or “Not in My Back Yard” mentality. I think it’s great. If people stand up for their own interests, then you get a more efficient distribution of externalities. Locally focused organizations are often the most effective because the people are much more deeply invested. That’s likely the case with Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which is a New Orleans, LA based non-profit “environmental health and justice organization working with communities that neighbor the state’s oil refineries and chemical plants.” It’s all about holding industry accountable for the pollution that they create.
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Having so much money that you can give it away is something that we can all aspire to. The Haas family certainly achieved that. The donations started in 1945 through the Phoebe Waterman Foundation when they gave for “relief in post-War Europe, scholarships for fatherless children, and support for medical and educational institutions.” By 1955 the family was making grants of more than $100,000 a year, so they hired someone to manage the foundation. By 1970 the number reached $7 million per year, and the foundation was renamed the Willliam Penn Foundation. Today the fund has nearly $2 billion, and distributes approximately $80 million annually. The organization is based in Philadelphia, PA, and “is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that foster rich cultural expression, strengthen children’s futures, and deepen connections to nature and community.”
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Who’s excited for the Olympics? I’m saving the Opening Ceremony on my DVR for later, but I’m watching women’s beach volleyball this morning. I figure it’s good inspiration for when I head to the beach to play in an hour or so. It’s hard not to love the Olympics. You can get worked up about the politics or the financial stuff, but once the athletes start competing, you just have to watch. The International Olympic Committee is the organization behind all of the magic. They’re based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and they are the “catalyst for collaboration between all parties of the Olympic family, from the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Sports Federations (IFs), the athletes, the Organising Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOGs), to the TOP partners, broadcast partners and United Nations agencies.”
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I’ve always had an amazing appreciation for wildlife, but after a week in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, it’s definitely grown. I’m completely amazed by how many species I was able to experience that were at one point on the brink of extinction. While the federal government has done a fantastic job in that particular situation, they’re not able to act in the same way across the world. That’s where organizations like World Wildlife Fund come in. WWF is a Washington, DC non-profit that “has been protecting the future of nature” for the last 50 years. They work in 100 countries and have more than 5 million members across the world. The organization’s vision is “to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature.” That’s a tall task considering our history, but there are certainly signs of hope.
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