All Together Now
This evening I finally got around to organizing my notes from a workshop I had attended last week at the headquarters of Citizen’s Bank in Providence, Rhode Island. The private banking team of Citizen’s hosted an extremely informative workshop on capacity building for non-profit organizations. Matt Chittim, a major gifts officer of Providence College, delivered a presentation on fundraising approaches. His colleague, Sarah Osowa, PC’s director of annual giving, presented a session on engaging volunteers. Participants in the workshop included representatives from the Providence Performing Art Center, the Highlander Charter School, the Providence Children’s Museum, the Visiting Nurse Association and other nonprofit organizations. Citizen’s Bank was a very generous host and has committed significant resources to helping nonprofit organizations scale and grow.
I learned a great deal from the workshop. One of the key takeaways for me was Matt’s presentation of the research finding that 90 per cent of Americans are not fulfilled in their jobs, such that engaging them in the work of a mission-driven organization can address needs that are not satisfied in their regular employment. My interest in part-time non-profit work has been driven, in part, by the ability to learn better ways to fulfill a socially-oriented vision while working with extremely limited resources – lessons that benefit my own business.
The other takeaway for me was the importance of small business owners in supporting the essential services that nonprofit organizations deliver to communities. I believe that as the Rhode Island economy revives and attracts more private sector employers, one of the first beneficiaries will be the local nonprofit organizations as they are in need of entrepreneurs to contribute their time and expertise.