Member Spotlight: A lottery day, an app for entrepreneurs and legal help for nonprofits
March 16, 2018 Category: Featured, People, ShortMember Spotlight is an editorial series shouting out Generocity members’ latest news. Learn more about membership at generocity.org/membership.
Generocity launched membership two months ago and it’s still going strong.
In our second edition of Member Spotlight, where every few weeks we highlight a few members’ latest projects, job changes or personal news, catch an update from three people who’ve invested in us.
(Psst, learn more about why we launched membership here, and become a member here.)
Ivy McDaniels
This past Wednesday, Children Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), where McDaniels works as director of communications and foundations, hosted its Lottery Day.
“I’ve been at CSFP for six years, and get especially excited this time of year because it’s when CSFP selects the final winners of its random scholarship lottery for next school year,” she wrote in an email. “CSFP just held its March Lottery Day celebration, during which staff and volunteers personally call the parents of K-8th grade students selected from the lottery to let them know about their new scholarships. We’re giving out 2,000 total scholarships for the 2018-19 school year — that’s a lot of phone calls!
“That personal connection is what I love most about my work: speaking to families and children who are hype about school makes my day. As the daughter of two retired public school teachers, and the daughter-in-law of two more, education is in my DNA, and I love when kids are able to embrace their schools and really own the path their education takes.”
Jason Cox
The former CTO of MilkCrate’s freelance web firm, Green Life, is working with Oakland-based nonprofit Youth Business USA (YBUSA) to build a mobile web app called Sky’s the Limit.
“YBUSA is an organization that helps underrepresented entrepreneurs by assistance with the process of building or growing businesses,” Cox wrote. “Sky’s the Limit is being built to bring what YBUSA has been doing face to face onto an online platform.”
Sophie Bryan
The executive director of pro bono legal organization Philadelphia VIP named three upcoming events aimed at nonprofits.
First, there’s a free legal assessment clinic for nonprofits on Tuesday, March 27, where established, Philly-based nonprofits can receive free legal assistance from volunteer attorneys.
“The attorneys at the clinic will be walking clients through our Legal Assessment Checklist, which covers everything a nonprofit would need in order to be compliant with the law,” Bryan wrote. “Attorneys will be issue spotting and highlighting areas the nonprofit should consider addressing. VIP staff will follow up with each client afterwards to prioritize what was highlighted and connect the client with volunteer attorneys to provide additional, ongoing assistance to address those specific issues.”
Issue areas could include updating bylaws, revising employee handbooks and creating image release agreements.
Philadelphia VIP is also hosting two continuing legal education (CLE) training for volunteer attorneys, on tangled title for low-income clients seeking to obtain titles to family properties (March 28) and on divorce (April 11).
And the org’s annual awards ceremony will be held on April 19 at City Hall to celebrate its volunteers.