Week 2 : Social Innovation Forum

My second week at the Social Innovation Forum, I was thrown quickly into work. I conducted multiple debrief calls for SIF. As the 2017-2018 Accelerator program comes to a close, I contacted some of the innovators’ (nonprofit organizations that go through the program) executive directors to get feedback. We discussed on the phone what their beginning expectations were, what they got out of the program, how SIF could improve, and ways their organization will continue to grow in the future. The feedback was extremely positive and I’m beginning to further understand SIF’s incredible impact and ability to better position organizations.

Though-out the week, I also conducted market scan’s for SIF’s Accelerator Program. This was the main bulk of my work, and as the application process moves along, will continue to be a main focus. The two “tracks” I am working on are ‘Out of Classroom Engagement’ and ‘Art Programs of New Bedford’. Each track has a lengthy descriptions, and my job is to find small nonprofit organizations that could fit each track. By the end of the week I had collected two spreadsheets of 50+ organizations, and all of their contacts and missions. Next week, I will begin to go through these organizations and nominate certain ones to apply to the Accelerator program. Thursday and Friday were the highlights of the week. Thursday night, I was able to attend a meeting with the funders of the ‘Out of Classroom Engagement’ track. It was hosted at a home in the South End, and I was able to meet all six funders to discuss their interests and hopes for the nonprofits of their track. It was a great opportunity to share the research I’ve conducted so far, and agree on organizations whose missions align with the track.

Friday I had the opportunity to attend a workshop held by RELC (Racial Equity Learning Committee) at the Trinity Boston Foundation. The workshop was about ‘Recognizing and Dismantling White Supremacy Culture in An Organization: Funding’. The topics ranged from grant writing to galas, and at the end I was able to group up with other team members from SIF to discuss what we had learned in the smaller groups we had broken into. Overall, it was a busy week!