The four-year old nonprofit Gearing Up has made an effort to track its community impact through comprehensive annual reports. Its latest report, looking at 2013, was released last week, and the data shows increases in participation and effectiveness. “Data is really important to Gearing Up so that we can quantify our work and learn from […]

Pictured here: The East Girard commercial corridor.  Talk to almost anyone working to improve commercial corridors and they will mention two programs from the city’s Commerce Department: the Storefront Improvement Program and the InStore Forgivable Loan Program. Both designed to make physical improvements to the businesses and storefronts that are the building blocks of commercial […]

A recently convened session brought together thought leaders, stakeholders, community leaders, people with lived experiences, and funders together. Nonprofits based in Greater Philadelphia are looking at the idea of “collective impact” as a means of achieving their goals. The Foundation Strategy Group (FSG), an international nonprofit consulting firm, which has embraced the idea, defines collective […]

On Saturday, 300 Comcast volunteers rose early and made their way to the Germantown Boys & Girls Club. It was Comcast Cares Day, so they ditched their corporate wear for oversized green t-shirts and jeans. The 130-year-old Germantown Club was due for a facelift. Its adjacent park called for grooming, and a cluttered basement needed […]

Media Mobilizing Project has released two of three videos in their series “Revival From the Roots: Tour of Philly’s Neighborhood Schools” which follows Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, and Helen Gym, parent and award-winning education advocate, as they tour Philadelphia’s schools and speak to students, parents and teachers. ” The Revival […]

Philly has a litter problem, and community organizations are trying different solutions based on their capacity and needs. The Frankford Community Development Corporation (CDC) has teamed up with the PhillyRising Collaborative, an initiative to coordinate government action at the neighborhood-level, to provide 50 trash cans and 50 recycling bins to residents living between the 4300 and […]

UPDATE: This story has been changed to reflect that the kick-off event has been postponed. Social Chang(h)er, a support system for female dreamers, thinkers and creatives in Philadelphia, was originally schedule to have it’s kick-off event at Benjamin’s Desk on April 26, but it’s been postponed and will probably launch this fall. However, you can still check […]