Be Fearless

How to Go Over The Edge in Three Steps

Posted on by Case Foundation

Over The Edge (OTE) takes you to great heights for a great cause. On Saturday, October 18, 2015, the height was 365ft and the cause was brain cancer research.

Brain cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among children and young adults. More than 600,000 people in the US are living with a brain tumor diagnosis and another 66,000 new diagnosis are expected this year. Meanwhile, there are only four brain tumor treatments approved by the FDA. [See Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2)’s new website for more information.]

The common goal of finding a cure for brain cancer motivated 80 plus participants to rappel off the top of San Diego’s Grand Hyatt. My sister and I were just two of the many “edgers” who went over in memory of a loved one that we lost to the disease. We went over for our grandmother, Elisabeth Clark, and for all of those who are fearlessly fighting the disease today.

Here’s how we got the courage to take that first step over the railing and go over the edge:

    1. Do it for an Organization Worth Going Over the Edge for

ABC2 teamed up with OTE for the third year in a row to raise money for brain cancer research and awareness. ABC2 is a grantee of the Case Foundation and a nonprofit organization that drives cutting-edge research and treatments for brain tumors.

In 2014, OTE for Brain Cancer raised over $215,000 to support San Diego-based brain cancer research. The total for 2015 is still growing, and you can keep up with this year’s fundraising progress here!

ABC2’s mission is to invest in research aimed at finding the fastest possible route to a cure. They let urgency conquer fear by taking bold strides in brain cancer research. They aren’t afraid to be unconventional in their tactics to raise awareness about brain cancer—including rappelling off the side of a building!

    1. Rappel Down a Building with a View

If you’re going to go over the edge, why not enjoy the view while you’re up there? For the third year, OTE for brain cancer rappelled 365ft from the 33rd floor of the beautiful Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, the tallest building on the San Diego waterfront.

When standing on the edge, don’t look down, but be sure to take in the view! From the top, edgers get a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and downtown San Diego. You’ll be back on the ground before you know it, so take advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity and take your time. It’s not everyday that you’re higher than the seagulls flying over the San Diego marina!

    1. Be Fearless.

You’d be surprised to discover what you’re capable of when you reach beyond your bubble and be fearless.

Walking backwards off the edge of a 365ft building is no easy task. However, the strength and inspiration necessary to make the descent can be found in the survivors’ courageous battles against the disease. If they can fight against brain cancer, you can go over the edge!

Love conquered fear as the cheers from the crowd below gave strength to the edgers above. Some superhero edgers were brain cancer survivors themselves, and many others were being fearless in honor or in loving memory of friends and family. Together as one, it was a day bursting with love, support and hope for a cure.

Want to see what going over the edge is like? Check out photos from OTE2014 or watch the video below of my OTE experience this year:

 

Be Fearless Spotlight: The Henry David Thoreau Foundation

Posted on by Case Foundation

This Spotlight is crafted in partnership with GOOD and authored by guest writer Caitlin Kelly as part of a special blog series by the Case Foundation featuring Be Fearless stories from the field. Follow along with us as we meet people and learn about organizations that are taking risks, being bold and failing forward in their efforts to create transformative change in the social sector.

The Henry David Thoreau (HDT) Foundation, first established in 1998, has spent the last 17 years handing out funds to some of the most delightful—and unpredictable—people imaginable. HDT’s grant recipients are bursting with ideas and enthusiasm. They’re also passionate about the environment, offering dozens of innovative strategies each year to prevent further damage to the oceans and the air, the rivers and the soil. And they want to get started on all of it, right now.

Who is this elusive group of Thoreau Scholars? High school seniors—who are often thought of as capricious teenagers rather than the changemakers, social entrepreneurs, scientists and world leaders that they will soon be.

Dr. Jennifer Galvin, the HDT’s director, likens the foundation’s investments to a very smart wager. “We are making big bets on individuals and institutions – more of a social venture,” she says. The foundation provides funding to faculty members and to individual students. Their Thoreau Scholars arm has provided up to $30,000 to eight to ten Massachusetts high school seniors every year for college tuition. For this limited number of slots, the foundation receives about 1,000 student applications. Students apply online and supply letters of recommendation to support their proposals. The applicant pool is always so impressive that, Galvin jokes, “They’re either making it up or they’re the next Bill Gates! We definitely have to cross-check their credentials.”

“Each of the Case Foundation’s five principles are markers for us,” she adds. “Our Faculty Grant Program allows us to take risks on programs that might never get off the ground otherwise. We want longevity, not one hit wonders. We want to incentivize people to stick with environmental work… so that our scholars and faculty members can take the risks they want in the environmental arena—and whatever problems they want to solve, I want to support them.”

While all the Thoreau Scholars selected are bright and creative, 65 percent of them are also drawn from public high schools. That includes Christopher Golden, who today is a Harvard graduate, as well as the director of a nonprofit in Madagascar. His team, according to HDT’s website, has “developed a ‘recipe book’ of remedies based on local plants, which has been distributed to numerous villages to preserve and promote indigenous remedies in an area where hospitals are distant and expensive.” Golden believes that kind of optimism is precisely why Thoreau Scholars stand out.

“The program is designed to reward people based on their passions, to foster their belief that they might just be the person with the solution,” he says. “My fellow scholars are all hyper-intelligent, but the point of the scholars program isn’t test scores or academic accolades. It’s about passion and leadership.”

Galvin says the question at the heart of the HDT program is, “’How do you build resilient, energetic, environmental leaders?’… I want them to think of themselves as fearless leaders now, whether interested in policy or education or bench science, whatever drives them the most. They all have incredible stories about why they care so much.”

Galvin also does much more than write a check and await a report, treasuring the close personal relationships she fosters with—and among—her scholars and faculty members. “I email. I’m on the phone. Some are now my closest friends and colleagues, and they are in the four corners of the world. It’s like herding cats, but I love that!”

The first class of Thoreau Scholars graduated in 2003, and some of them have already gone on to start energy companies or become college faculty members in their respective fields. Galvin measures the impact of their work in different ways, she explains, whether it’s about honing scholars’ critical thinking abilities, their individual connections or their leadership skills. “Some are easy to measure in the short-term and some take longer to play out.”

“I saw the connections at a very young age between environmental health and our physical health,” she says. “I was always really good at zooming in and out, and seeing how the dots are connected.” That might be why the foundation casts such a wide net and looks for those who are taking risks, experimenting and forming unique collaborations—offering support to biologists and botanists alongside those pursuing public health, law and chemistry. “I want to cross-fertilize different sectors to reframe the narrative and shift thinking,” says Galvin. “Environmental problems don’t fit neatly into boxes and their solutions don’t either.”

Feeling inspired? If you’re ready to begin your own Be Fearless journey start by downloading our free Be Fearless Action Guide and Case Studies.

“Making Ideas Move” at ComNet 2015

Posted on by Case Foundation

More than 500 social sector communications professionals from foundations and organizations across the globe gathered this month for engaging dialogues on using the power of digital storytelling to drive social impact, demystifying design and the making of movements. They joined together for the Communications Network conference in San Diego themed “Making Ideas Move.” Fellow communicators from organizations like the Ford Foundation, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Center for American Progress, Rockefeller Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, ONE Campaign and many others trekked to sunny California for the two-day learning event.

Here are highlights from two of the sessions that I participated in over the course of the convening and takeaways on how to move ideas forward, by making big bets and failing forward.

  • Fireside Chat with Soledad O’BrienI had the pleasure of joining Soledad O’Brien, one of the most well respected working journalists of our time, on stage for a fireside discussion on opening day. Our talk included a discussion on: the changing dynamics of news agencies; the rise of Millennials and how they are consuming news; and her launch of Starfish Media Group. A multi-platform media production and distribution company, Starfish Media Group is dedicated to uncovering and producing empowering stories that take a challenging look at the often divisive issues of race, class, wealth, poverty and opportunity. O’Brien produces two hit series “Black in America” and “Latino in America,” which are among CNN’s most successful domestic and international franchises.

    O’Brien also created the Starfish Foundation, an organization that sends young women to and through college. The organization has supported dozens of young women in their educational pursuits, believing that they too can succeed when faced with difficult circumstances. In her book, The Next Big Story: My Journey through the land of possibilities, O’Brien shares valuable lessons and insights into her journalistic career, many of which we discussed during our time on stage.

    “My storytelling is an exploration of the world’s problems—that people have the potential to do good and make good and seize from the bad if they will only make a choice to do it,” she noted. O’Brien also shared her lessons on failure with the audience, saying, “Making mistakes should be about learning lessons, not wallowing in failure.” You can watch the complete interview, below (beginning at 14:55):

https://vimeo.com/142297055

  • “You’ve Got the “Big Idea”, How the Heck Do You Execute It?”I also joined the panel discussion “You’ve Got the “Big Idea,” How the Heck Do You Execute It?” with Kate Emanuel of the Ad Council, Alex Kennaugh of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Amy Levner of KaBOOM! We shared with attendees how communications can turn big, audacious goals into a tangible, executable and measurable strategy—that doesn’t take years to achieve—and how to use smart research to achieve those goals.

    Case in point, NRDC aims to combat food waste in the U.S., where 40 percent of food goes uneaten equating to more than $165 billion in wasted food each year. Kennaugh explained how the NRDC published an essential guide called the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook, packed with “engaging shopping checklists, creative recipes, practical strategies and educational infographics” offering an easy ways to save food and money. Meanwhile, Levner explained how research confirms that play—physically active, imaginative and interactive play—is a powerful, healthy living solution that benefits the whole child. KaBOOM! has teamed up with the 50 Fund and the NFL Foundation to support nine counties of the Bay Area alone, helping to transform sidewalks and spaces that encourage activity.

I look forward to joining Communications Network in 2016 as they head to Detroit and gather social sector leaders from foundations and nonprofits who share the belief that big ideas, coupled with smart and strategic communications, have the power to transform society, improve lives and change the world.

Be Fearless Spotlight: Krochet Kids intl.

Posted on by Case Foundation

This Spotlight is authored by guest writer Caitlin Kelly as part of a special blog series by the Case Foundation featuring Be Fearless stories from the field. Follow along with us as we meet people and learn about organizations that are taking risks, being bold and failing forward in their efforts to create transformative change in the social sector.

The affluent shoppers in upscale stores like Nordstorm, Whole Foods, Anthropologie or Canada’s Holt Renfrew may not realize that the backpacks, baby booties, wool scarves and T-shirts they’re buying are employing 175 women in Uganda and Peru.

For Kohl Crecelius, CEO and co-founder of Krochet Kids intl., a seven-year-old nonprofit based in Costa Mesa, CA, the focus is training workers in new skills they can eventually use on their own—not simply hitting his firm’s production numbers, or making sure there’s enough inventory.

That’s what makes Krochet Kids intl. so fearless—their willingness to make a wager. “We’re in the process of making a big bet that people will truly care about how our products are made,” says Crecelius.

While many organizations focus on teaching skills, Krochet Kids intl.’s approach is riskier and embodies the notion of fearlessness by making sure their clients will eventually leave Krochet Kids, often to open a wholly different sort of business on their own.

That’s fine with Crecelius. His longer-term goal is to teach entrepreneurial values and skills, no matter how they’re eventually put to use. “What we saw far too much of when we were creating Krochet Kids intl. was a cycle of dependency. Hundreds of aid organizations focus on short-term need, but not on equipping their clients to be self-reliant individuals.” So far, the program has graduated 50 women into their own businesses.

Like many working in the nonprofit field, he was first inspired by his own travels, the aid work he witnessed in Uganda spurring him to experiment and create a different model. “I saw how short-sighted that was and how it needed to be done differently. The women I met wanted to work and to be capable of changing their own circumstances,” he says.

Crecelius’ brother had learned to crochet while attending college in San Diego, CA, a skill he passed on and which they decided might be a skill useful to women in northern Uganda, where they started with 10 workers. This realization sparked the creation of Krochet Kids intl., and over the course of the last eight years Crecelius’ big idea has been refined through experimentation and a series of unlikely partnerships.

His ethos informs how Krochet Kids intl. combines running an apparel company with a larger, long-term goal of teaching its workers the skills they need to eventually leave and run their own businesses. Their program gives the women a three-to-five-year commitment of consistent employment at a set wage based on piecework, a three-year educational curriculum that includes literacy, numeracy and financial planning and one-on-one mentorship.

That long-term commitment is essential because, like many such organizations, they work within a larger cultural context, one in which women are often more highly valued for keeping their labor within the family for its benefit. That requires its own sort of fearlessness on the part of their women workers; the women who choose to work with Krochet Kids intl. need to know that other income they may be giving up will be consistently replaced for several years—their families rely on it.

Working with local in-country partners, Krochet Kids intl. aims to break the cycle of poverty through rigorous and ongoing measurement of its impact. Every month, they track 45 indicators of progress across six areas: economic health, educational progress, physical health, social well-being, psychological well-being and spiritual well-being. Local social workers act as mentors to the women, insuring they can count on ongoing personal support.

“One of the questions we ask the women is ‘What are your perceptions of poverty?’ ranking their answers from 1, (the depths of poverty) to 10, (feeling completely free of it),” says Crecelius. “All the way through, we see a trend towards them having more confidence.”

Their metrics also indicate that the women they employ enjoy incomes 10 times higher than before, savings 25 times higher and—crucially for women earning good local wages—are 40 percent less likely to suffer from domestic violence. They are 25 percent more likely to participate in major family decisions, and their children are eight times more likely to attend high school.

“Impact is results, not action,” he says. “We have chosen to put impact first, through offering jobs, education and mentorship. That’s one of our main differentiators, that we’re a nonprofit and we have led with impact.”

The two regions they work with are culturally and economically very different—rural northern Uganda and the outskirts of a major city, Lima, Peru. Local churches, government agencies and local staff make home visits to find and select women who most need to learn new skills and boost their incomes. In Uganda, the attrition rate is less than two percent because they work in rural areas with few other competitors for labor. That rate is higher in Peru, which has a higher rate of transience and many more employment options available there to urban women. When the women leave, however, they may choose to use their new business skills and confidence beyond apparel production, like buying a motorcycle and renting it out as a taxi, or purchasing a piece of land and farming it.

The women now also make a much wider array of products, from T-shirts to backpacks, which “helps to smooth out seasonality from a business perspective,” Crecelius explains. “Our whole premise is based on a lot of risks—like, who makes headwear out of sub-Saharan Africa?” Yet product sales today bring in 80 percent of the group’s revenue.

An unlikely bet in 2012, fueled by urgency and a potentially huge win, meant heading briefly in an unusual and unlikely direction. The “most nerve-wracking night of my life” came for Crecelius then as he waited to learn the winners of a competition created by Chase Bank’s American Giving Awards whose top prize was $1 million. Krochet Kids intl. won second prize—taking home $500,000, which they used to create a new sewing floor in Peru. The contest, he admits “was not merit-based. It was a popularity contest,” but the potential gain was great enough that “we just shut down and went all hands on deck,” gaining “millions of impressions” on Facebook and other social media sites.

His business model also includes partnering with a wide range of others, from sneaker manufacturer Vans—using Krochet Kids intl.’s Peruvian fabric—and the consumer products distributor Birchbox, to VSCO, a photo-sharing app. “They’ve allowed us to reach unique and specific audiences,” he says. “Partnership is a two-way street and we’ve realized the amount we have to offer. It’s a really beautiful thing. It’s a win-win.”

Feeling inspired? If you’re ready to begin your own Be Fearless journey start by downloading our free Be Fearless Action Guide and Case Studies.

Paying it Forward

Posted on by Case Foundation

I’m pretty sure that the first time I saw the inside of a professional office I was a 15 year-old high school student in Florida. The child of a single mom working to raise four children, I was fortunate enough to attend a private school on a scholarship. At the time, I thought I wanted to pursue a career in law, so I was quite excited to be reporting for an internship that my school had arranged in a prominent law office. I had no way of knowing then, but the man I would meet in that office, who would later become my mentor (and my boss), would change the trajectory of my career, and my life. Looking back on those early days, I know that without the generosity of others – those who gave of their time and resources, and who took me under their wings to provide access to opportunities that might otherwise have been out of reach – I would not be where I am today.

This week, as I participate in Fortune’s 2015 Most Powerful Women (MPW) Summit in Washington, DC, —a convening that brings together preeminent women in business, along with leaders in government, philanthropy, education, and the arts—that office in Florida seems a world away. Yet, I know that just outside the walls of this Summit there are thousands of talented young people who have never been in an office, never been asked to share their opinion and never had someone tell them that they have the potential to change the world.

That is why I am taking part in Fortune’s MPW High School Notebook Mentoring session, which brings together the extraordinary talents of MPW delegates, the Fortune and Time Inc. stage and the career hopes of 30 high school juniors and seniors from the Washington, DC, area. The idea of democratizing opportunity and giving young people access to resources has continuously animated me throughout my career, and I am so pleased to be able to participate in an event that embodies this principle. For this special event focused on STEM careers, Fortune is partnering with Girls Inc., a national nonprofit that helps give high school girls the right tools to succeed in their careers and educational pursuits.

In a field where women (in the US) are 45 percent more likely than men to leave the industry within a year, as noted by a recent study from the Center for Talent Innovation, we need solutions—now. The same study found that one way to address the challenges facing women in science, technology and engineering careers is mentorship, which helps mentees “crack the unwritten code of executive presence, improving their chances of being perceived as leadership material. Most important to the companies employing them, [mentors] help women get their ideas heard.”

We can — and need to — do much more when it comes to giving young women access to mentors who will help shape their futures and allow them to dream beyond their circumstances. That’s why over the years, I’ve looked for opportunities to mentor, whether through Fortune and the US State Department’s long-standing Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership, where I’ve had the opportunity to mentor Ama Pomaa, an incredibly resilient woman from Ghana, who, since first knowing her, has been elected as a Member of Parliament, or through programs like the Georgetown Global Social Enterprise Initiative, and beyond. And that’s why I’m so excited to continue paying it forward today, and urging other leaders to do the same. When more women are supported and empowered to reach their full potential, everyone wins. 

Be Fearless Spotlight: The West Foundation

Posted on by Case Foundation

This Spotlight is authored by guest writer Caitlin Kelly as part of a special blog series by the Case Foundation featuring Be Fearless stories from the field. Follow along with us as we meet people and learn about organizations that are taking risks, being bold and failing forward in their efforts to create transformative change in the social sector.

“We make big bets with small gifts,” says Emily West, executive director of the West Foundation, a 56 year-old Indianapolis-based family foundation working in the international community development sector. With assets of $6 million, a staff of two and four board members, the foundation doles out approximately 45 grants a year. Gift size ranges from $10,000 to $30,000 and grantees can be surprisingly unorthodox. Issuing non-traditional grants is one measure of their fearlessness, says West.

“Foundations, particularly small ones, tend to be quite conservative and often believe they must give only to large, well-established organizations to ensure that not a penny of their grant will be wasted. And yet small foundations occupy a special niche in that they have the luxury of gifting at lower levels and taking the risk to assist emerging non-profits,” she says, arguing that large foundations, such as Ford, Rockefeller and Gates, would find it impossible to help these organizations find their footing. “Imagine how many grants Gates would have to give at the $10,000 level in order to give away the amount of money required of foundations on an annual basis (five percent of the earnings of the fund). They couldn’t – they would collapse under the weight of the number of grants they would have to make and the mountain of paperwork it would generate. But at our size, it’s manageable.”

She adds that “Gifts to small organizations that have never yet had a $10,000 gift, whether made in the U.S. or internationally” can be a real game-changer. Once other funders see that what looks like a risky investment has, in effect, paid off, they soon step up with much larger gifts—making small family foundations like hers crucial as a first indicator of a non-profit’s viability.

A great example was their $15,000 grant to Ubuntu Education Fund, a U.S.-based non-profit serving Port Elizabeth, South Africa. It was the first of its kind for the organization, and provided a small program expansion to offer counseling services to children whose families included HIV/AIDS patients. Ubuntu was favorably evaluated by the foundation as it serves a city ravaged by HIV/AIDS with residents who are ultra-poor (those living on $1.25 U.S. or less). And it turned out that the foundation’s bet on Ubuntu was a good one, as only six months after receiving that $15,000 gift, Ubuntu was awarded a 60,000-pound grant ($93,951.00 U.S.) by the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Today, Ubuntu has grown to become an important partner to the South African government in HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and treatment, and has built a $6 million community center to further its work at the request of the citizens of Port Elizabeth.

Irish potatoes harvest woman kid_jan 2013

Taking risks on non-profits without a proven track record is all about establishing trust, says West. “With early stage organizations, that may take various forms,” she notes. “In evaluating the potential of an organization, you may see that they are very well organized regarding best practices from an administrative and/or programmatic standpoint, or they may have a business model that is extremely innovative. Sometimes you gauge the passion of the funder for the mission of the organization and have great faith in that person. There are many factors at play, and some are more tangible than others. Much of our work right now is devoted to nailing down exactly what they are so that we can promote them to our colleagues and encourage other small foundations to be confident risk takers.”

Embracing failure is also a necessary party of risk-taking, and the West Foundation has a philosophy on that as well. “We gave a $10,000 grant to Vittana, a young organization whose goal was to crowdfund post-secondary education tuitions for students in developing nations through new loan models with indigenous micro-finance institutions (MFIs). I thought it was a brilliant idea, and we funded their start-up in the Philippines,” West says, but the organization closed its doors within two years due to its inability to acquire funding for its model. Nevertheless, she sees that grant as a success. “Their model worked, and is still working with the Filipino MFIs where it was established, so good came out of our investment. Vittana also accrued much local knowledge of the field and has passed that on to other crowdsourcing organizations such as Kiva. So their work will live on to benefit others in the sector.”

The West Foundation has set for itself the audacious goal of becoming one of the leaders of a philanthropic movement to motivate donors to do more risk-taking, take a public policy approach by considering administrative as well as program delivery gifts, and listen more to what non-profits are telling them about their needs. In working towards this objective, they are formalizing their program for emerging non-profits so that they can measure the success rate of the organizations in scaling up their donation levels after receiving that first $10,000 grant. West is assisted in this by her program officer, Samantha Alarie-Leca, and her board members, all some twenty-five years her junior, but sharing her passion for assisting the Global South and her willingness to take calculated risk. “They are highly engaged,” she says. “They’re the ones who’ve provided the most input on developing our new program, and we’re very fortunate to have such an amazing group of young women devoting their time and energy to us.”

Only time will tell if the foundation’s current efforts will translate into dynamic change within the sector, but for the time being, West is happy with the direction she, her staff and board are taking. “I believe we are working towards a bold goal,” she says. “We don’t know of many others doing this.”

Feeling inspired? If you’re ready to begin your own Be Fearless journey start by downloading our free Be Fearless Action Guide and Case Studies.

Finding Your Organization’s Digital Road Map

Posted on by Case Foundation

Creating and maintaining a cohesive digital communications strategy – one that brings together proprietary websites, external outlets for content (e.g. Huffington Post, Forbes or Tumblr) and popular social networking platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to name a few) – is a critical way for organizations to connect with audiences and solidify their online presence. However, with thousands of platforms and apps to choose from, and new ones emerging every week, it is becoming increasingly challenging for organizations to effectively utilize these communication channels.

As early adapters to new technologies, our team at the Case Foundation has learned from experience that juggling too many platforms can become a distraction when your goal is quality engagement with your target audience. What is an organization to do? The answer—start by creating your own digital road map.

Collaborating with our partners at Weber Shandwick for the Communications Network’s publication Change Agent (in conjunction with the ComNet15 conference), we’ve identified five simple steps for anyone looking to streamline their online channels and more effectively engage their audiences.

  • Define your audience
  • Map out your digital ecosystem
  • Leave room for experimentation
  • Define and realign your content strategy
  • Make adjustments as you go

Our hope is that these tips will help you focus your efforts in the ever-evolving digital sphere!

Digital Road Map 1

Digital Road Map2

Be Fearless Spotlight: Baltimore Corps

Posted on by Case Foundation

This Spotlight is authored by guest writer Caitlin Kelly as part of a special blog series by the Case Foundation featuring Be Fearless stories from the field. Follow along with us as we meet people and learn about organizations that are taking risks, being bold and failing forward in their efforts to create transformative change in the social sector.

Too many people still think of his city as a morass of strife and failure, says Fagan Harris, co-founder and CEO of Baltimore Corps, an innovative two-year-old organization working to change that perception.

In April 2015, after police arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American Baltimore resident who later died in police custody, the city erupted, with at least 20 police officers injured, 250 people arrested and hundreds of businesses damaged. Vehicles and buildings were burned and pharmacies looted. It looked like an episode of the unrelentingly grim television show that, for many, still defines the city, The Wire.

Harris, who grew up in and around Baltimore and who returned in his late 20s, is passionate about the city’s potential, despite the “fact that too many people, when they think of Baltimore, imagine a broken, dysfunctional city. The truth is Baltimore is home to creative thinkers and truly visionary leadership working everyday to strengthen community,” he argues. This understanding of the opportunities that lie within Baltimore—and many other cities that share a similar history—is what drove Harris to develop a bold approach to forging a new talent pipeline for the city.

Baltimore Corps is a committed group of 35 skilled professionals working closely with a range of cause leaders at leading nonprofits, social enterprises and government agencies to accelerate and scale the impact of effective models for social change. Each cause leader and placement organization pays their Fellow(s) stipend and a nominal program fee to Baltimore Corps. Fellows work full-time at their placement and commit for one year.

Fellows earn a baseline stipend of $32,000; Baltimore Corps aggressively markets its fellowship to talented Millennials across Baltimore and the country, and the organization saw 500 applicants last year for its 35 fellowship positions. To insure a strong mix of local knowledge and fresh thinking, “the best of both worlds,” adds Harris, half of those accepted are city residents.

“At Baltimore Corps, we’ve made a big bet that Baltimore is a frontier of social change,” says Harris, a graduate of Stanford and a Rhodes Scholar. “What New York City is to finance and San Francisco is to technology, Baltimore is for social change. If we can get it right here, we can get it right anywhere. We have more models for strengthening communities than many other places.”

The Corps’ work combines several simultaneous initiatives: to attract the best and brightest workers committed to effecting social change, to help local nonprofits and government retain them so they can grow and better achieve their goals and, through those combined efforts, to help Baltimore thrive. The riots lent an urgency to Baltimore Corp’s work as his staff “did a ton of volunteerism” and several fellows, due to begin their jobs in September, began in June instead. “We responded urgently to help clean and build up and relocate people. As a place-based organization, it’s critical that you’re a good neighbor.”

The city needs them to stay—and they need good jobs; nine of ten of the first class of fellows were hired full-time at the end of their work with Baltimore Corps, a result that thrills, but doesn’t surprise Harris. “We work hard to recruit for fit,” he says.

But initially attracting bright, ambitious fellows who’ll choose to make a life in Baltimore after their year’s commitment is a challenge, Harris admits. “It’s working so far, but it is a challenge.” Popularly, Baltimore is still seen as a second or third-tier city, Millennials are “very, very mobile” and many are deeply wary of any work involving government. To sweeten the offer, the program opens a deep network to fellows, offering ready access to corporate executives, even the city’s mayor, which would be nearly impossible in a larger city.

Baltimore Corps, unusually for a new, growing nonprofit, relies heavily on technology and data to keep careful track of fellows’ work, of their satisfaction and their work’s impact, checking in with each of them every 90 days. The hands-on approach can be emotionally draining, he admits. “This is risky, hard work. It can be heart-wrenching and lead to some soul-searching conversations.” The diversity of our corps and placement partners is powerful but it also challenges…A leader with an Ivy MBA tends to rely on different approaches than a leader who hasn’t graduated high school, and pairing the two has produced “abundant examples of friction,” Harris admits. “We ask for humility and patience. It’s not something we try to paper over.”

“We need more people in the fight putting their shoulder to the wheel and pushing,” says Harris. Bringing talent into Baltimore to partner with the city’s most promising cause leaders and social impact organizations propels ambitious professionals and graduates eager to accelerate their social justice careers, and the city has seen an out-migration of people in their 20s and 30s, leaving local groups and agencies hamstrung, he says. “When we think about scaling the most important and impactful work, we have to ask ‘What’s the hold-up?’ It’s not money or a lack of ambition. It’s deploying the right human capital to drive scale.”

After a local group, Thread, which helps underachieving high school students, found new blood through Baltimore Corps, the program scaled their organization by a third.

The fellows work with a wide range of partners, some with social entrepreneurs who are building organizations with only two or three people to large, bureaucratic and long-established agencies like the City Health Department. “That’s maybe non-traditional,” says Harris, “but we need to work with all of Baltimore. That’s really been a value of ours since Day One.” Doing so effectively means creating what he calls “a tapestry” of small and large social enterprises, nonprofits and government agencies and departments “working together to meaningfully promote the city.” Key to his vision is getting groups together to share information that typically don’t, who normally choose to “silo” their knowledge instead of cooperating.

The Corps’ five-member board “has been really tremendous,” offering “new energy and a new perspective” by attending staff meetings and giving plenty of feedback. “They’re very hands-on. They’re tremendous partners who are not just a board but five really terrific advisors.”

“Our number one goal is to identify what’s working here and grow it,” says Harris. “The families, the neighborhoods, the city–we really want to see things strengthen and improve.”

Feeling inspired? If you’re ready to begin your own Be Fearless journey start by downloading our free Be Fearless Action Guide and Case Studies.

Photo credit: Flickr user Cayusa, used via Creative Commons.

Rim-to-Rim to Beat Brain Cancer

Posted on by Case Foundation

This week, Ironwoman BethAnn Telford of TeamBT and endurance cyclist Maria Parker of 3000MilesToACure will cross the North Rim of the Grand Canyon together with a shared mission: to beat brain cancer. In one grueling day, they will race Rim-to-Rim: from the North Rim down to the canyon floor, across the canyon, then up to the South Rim over 21.1 miles with more than 10,000 feet of elevation change.

Telford is an Ironman World Champion triathlete, a serial marathoner and a 10-year brain cancer survivor who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for research and development of cures for the disease. As Telford wrote recently in her blog, the Rim-to-Rim journey is “a powerful metaphor for the race to end brain cancer. The canyon represents the valley of death of underfunded research.” Her Rim partner Parker is an accomplished ultra-marathon cyclist and was the winner of the 2013 Ride Across America, dedicating her victory in honor of her sister’s battle with brain cancer. She and her family founded 3000 Miles to a Cure—a charity dedicated to raising $1 million for brain cancer research.

Part of their journey includes the filming of “Crossing the Canyon”—a short documentary film about their passage and the organization. The film will extend their impact beyond the walls of the canyon, inspiring and giving hope to those battling brain cancer.

Proceeds raised from their journey will benefit Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), a Case Foundation grantee and nonprofit organization that drives cutting-edge research and treatments for brain tumors. ABC2 was co-founded by Jean and Steve Case, and Stacey Case after Steve Case’s brother (and Stacey Case’s husband), Dan Case, succumbed to the disease after a fight with brain cancer.

Since its inception, ABC2 has awarded more than $20 million in brain tumor research funding to highly qualified investigators and physician-scientists from more than 40 research institutions. Brain cancer is the leading cause of tumor cancer deaths among children and young adults. There are more than 600,000 people in the U.S. today with a brain tumor diagnosis, and another 66,000 new diagnoses are expected this year. It is a uniquely challenging disease that is in need of strategic, focused research funding.

Together, Telford and Parker will cross the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, into the valley, and climb the other side as they bridge effective treatments for brain cancer. These two fearless agents of change are women whose impact will extend beyond the walls of the canyon, inspiring and giving hope to those battling brain cancer. Good luck to them both!  Follow their journey on Twitter at #CrossingtheCanyon.

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