Insight Impact: July 2022
Highlights
Grantee Updates: Butterfly Dreamz, our 2021 Impact Grantee, continues to make a difference; Schools That Can, our 2019 Impact Grantee, has a leadership change.
New calendar: We have over 150 pledged members for our 2022-2023 cycle. Renew now and you’ll be able to participate in both Impact and Equity Grant Review Teams.
New Leadership: Jess Horan and Ritu Trivedu join our Steering Committee.
Women and Philanthropy: Four Impact100 New Jersey chapters granted nearly $1.2 million to NJ nonprofits in the past year.
What’s up with Our Grantees
Butterfly Dreamz
Butterfly Dreamz, our 2021 Impact grantee, runs the Cocoon Club program to connect girls from marginalized communities to mentorships, scholarships, and youth-led community action, equipping girls to become confident leaders.
Last month Butterfly Dreamz was one of fifty organizations to receive a significant multi-year Impact Grant from Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women initiative. Grants were awarded to Black women-led and Black women-serving nonprofits focused on delivering innovative and transformative solutions to narrow opportunity gaps faced by Black women. We’re so proud of you, Joy. Keep on dreaming! Click here for more information on the Goldman Sachs grants.
In other news from Butterfly Dreamz:
By the end of the first grant quarter (April 2022), over 60% of Butterfly Dreamz’ Essex County girls received acceptance to a 4-year college or university. To date, 100% of girls who were matched with a Coach or Peer Mentor have received acceptance to a college or career program! Click here to see where some Cocoon Club seniors are headed.
29 high school and college students participated in paid internship programs to learn skills to co-create and co-lead the organization’s initiatives. Watch this video to meet three Essex County Butterfly Dreamz youth interns.
90 girls joined the Essex County Cocoon Club in the first quarter of the year - exceeding the organization’s expectations.
Butterfly Dreamz reports that many of the Cocoon Club girls in Essex County are experiencing stress from standardized testing; difficulty balancing academic, personal, and job commitments; continuing to heal from the loss of loved ones and the impact of the pandemic. Nonetheless, with the support of their Cocoon Club community, these young women continue to strive towards their goals. In March, 94% of girls reported that mentoring from their Butterfly Dreamz volunteer Leadership Coaches was beneficial and over 80% reported that those relationships were helping them improve their mental health.
Schools That Can
Ashaki Goodall will serve as the new Executive Director of Schools That Can (STC) Newark. Ashaki formerly served as Director of Programming for STC Newark. Our 2018 Impact Grant funded Ashaki’s initial position which focused on expanding the Career Skills Program to prepare Newark high school students for middle-skill, in-demand careers upon high school graduation.
STC Newark has emerged as a leader in supporting real-world career pathways for students. At Impact100 Essex we are excited that Ashaki is joining us this year as an Every Voice Fellow!
Hearty congratulations to Erin Sweeny, STC’s former Executive Director, who successfully led this organization for the past seven years!! Erin recently completed law school and is now studying to pass the bar. She leaves behind an incredible legacy of commitment to Newark, innovation, and passion for the futures of Newark's young people. We wish her the best of success.
Our new grant cycle timeline
We have developed a new grant cycle calendar this year for both our Impact Grant and Equity Grants so that members can participate in both review processes, if they choose, and to avoid the busy end of year time. Take a look at our grant timeline key dates and mark your calendars. We will likely be offering both virtual and in-person options for review teams. Look out for emails to sign up for review. Every perspective helps!
Where we are with Membership & Engagement
Our Numbers
Deadline for membership for the 2022-23 Grant cycle is September 30. We are pleased that, at this writing, we have over 150 pledged members including 18 new members. If you have been waiting until the last minute to renew, that time is NOW. Please let us know you are in for this cycle by renewing HERE.
Including All Voices
Last year, we had 7 new Every Voice Fellows join our organization who brought engagement and representation from the community. This year we are excited to report that we are able to fund 10 new Fellows. We need your help to connect us to women who might be interested in joining, particularly those from the nonprofit sector, women of color, Latinas and young women early in their careers. Please send recommendations to
co-conveners@impact100essex.org.
Events
Over 40 of us gathered in June at the Welcome Event/Garden party, including Joy Lindsay of Butterfly Dreamz (our 2021 Impact Grantee) and Robin Peacock of MEND (our 2019 Impact Grantee.) Joy and Robin, inspired by the work of our organization, became recent members.
And We’re Off! Join us September 15th at the Grant Cycle Launch Pad. Gather with fellow members to celebrate, discuss and sign up for this year’s Grant Review season.
And, mark your calendars now for April 25, 2023 for our 6th Annual Awards Meeting.
Who’s New on the Steering Committee
The following members were recommended by the Nominating Committee and approved by the Steering Committee as ‘Members at Large.’ Jess Horan is filling the remainder of Barbara Curran's term and Ritu Trivedi is filling the remainder of Danielle Moss’s term. You can learn more about them here.
Jess Horan
Ritu Trivedi
Many thanks to Danielle Moss for her leadership and support. We are sorry to lose her experienced perspective in our conversations, but are grateful for her offer to remain available as a resource and to stay connected to the work ahead.
How Impact100 NJ chapters are making a difference
Four New Jersey Impact100 chapters gave a total of nearly $1.2 million in the past year! Together we’re an amazing group of women making a difference in focusing on community needs in our state. Check out the grant recipients from all the Impact100 NJ chapters..
We welcome your suggestions on what you’d like to see. Please send your feedback to communications@impact100essex.org. Contributing writers and editors: Mayuri Chandra, Sunita Chaudhuri, Kate Clark, Jill Edinburg, Sara Ann Erichson, Margo Greenfield, Helen Mazarakis, Mindy Propper, Renee Reso.
