5 big changes Generocity made in 2015

The mission hasn’t changed for Generocity in 2015, but lots has. A few significant changes have made a world of difference for our social impact coverage.

1. We got a new publisher

This is the big one. In September, local media publisher Technically Media announced that it would be publishing the five-year-old Generocity, thanks to an agreement between the site’s founding nonprofit, Generocity Community Alliance. The deal crystallized in something called a program-related investment.

2. We got a new team

Along with the transition, Technically Media brought on two new editorial team members: me, Julie Zeglen, as editor, and Tony Abraham as lead reporter. We both had experience writing for Generocity as freelancers, so we were already familiar with the social impact community. Previously, I worked as the managing editor of the River Wards newspaper Star Community Newsweekly. Tony was the lead reporter for Technically Media’s Delaware-focused tech site, Technical.ly Delaware. 

Mo Manklang stayed on as our community manager. She’s been with Generocity almost since the beginning and is in charge of planning our awesome events (see #5) and generally connecting us with the people making the biggest moves in the sector.

Members of the Technically Media team have been lending their expertise to our transition, too. They work mostly behind the scenes but have been essential to getting our new branding off the ground.

3. We got a new look

First, in November, we rolled out the new logo, designed by Mo. Then, just two weeks ago, we rolled out this fancy new website you’re looking at right now. We’re incredibly excited about our grown-up look.

4. We got more specific

We’ve been refining our mission, and that means we’re covering the social impact scene differently. We’re interested in the same general topics — sustainability, social justice, education, etc. — but now, we’re writing about them with the lens of how organizations and individuals are being smarter about impact. We’re specifically focusing on Purpose (unique mission stories about impact that matters), People (game changers making waves in the social impact scene), Funding (how an organization is being smarter about delivering capital, and how others can get ahold of it), Results (how an organization got it done, better) and Method (tips and tricks about executing mission well).

5. We got events

Ignore the poor grammar of the above statement, please, and celebrate the most social of our changes. In the past two months, we’ve held three social impact-focused happy hours, including one programmed meetup — the first in our Impact Solutions series, at which social impact leaders shared specific lessons about the nature of community building. Our next one, to be held on Wednesday, Jan. 13, will focus on measuring success. We anticipate that we’ll be announcing more events in the coming year.

Thanks for following along, and here’s to many more.

P.S. Ready for next year? Check out our roundup of social impact plots we’re looking forward to following in 2016.