Misstropolis

Monday, August 11, 2008

A Step Up: Generosity in Numbers

by Robin Hauck

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A Step Up was founded by Carolyn Shaughnessy, Amy Briney, Stacey Keenan, Gina Saltenstall and Pam Foreman. As Carolyn explains it, she was looking for something in her life, she just wasn’t sure what. She wanted to give back but also have something to take away for herself. She wanted to feel engaged, committed, a part of something, not just by sending a check or attending a benefit. Carolyn is like many women - highly educated, skilled, social and keenly aware of the needs of others in the world around her. But she and her partners did something most people never do - they took action.

A Step Up is a giving collaborative, a local, social model for educating people about ways they can truly make a difference and benefit from the wonderful feeling of giving of oneself. Recently Misstropolis spoke with Carolyn about A Step Up.

M: What kind of experience did you have with philanthropy before starting A Step Up?

CS: Before having kids I was always involved in hands-on volunteer work. For me it was through high school, college and beyond. As I had my kids, that stopped and I put my energy toward my family. Philanthropy became more about giving money to worthy organizations. A Step Up was a way to step back in… I think this is similar for all of us.

M: What did you feel was missing from the philanthropic landscape?

CS: I really wanted to learn about worthy causes and know that the donation I gave was having an impact. I also wanted to feel a real connection to the organizations where I was giving money. We guessed other people felt similarly. When the five of us got together and started talking about doing “something” we realized that we wanted to really educate people about worthy, local, grass roots organizations and show that a small donation can make a big difference especially if we give together.

We decided on a three-pronged approach: first, we wanted a speaker who could teach us something about the organization and also teach about what inspired them to get involved. Second, we decided to seek out organizations that had very specific needs where even a modest donation would make a big difference (show people that giving at any level can make a difference). Finally, we wanted to offer women an opportunity to get together and socialize; our goal is to have fun and learn something.

We had a couple of “rules” as well. We felt strongly that A Step Up have NO overhead costs. All of the food and drink and paper goods at our events are donated by local businesses. We had a friend in the stationary business design our logo and invitations (although we are doing on-line invites now) and we host the events in our homes. We are really clear on exactly what the money will be used for and we communicate that to our guests in a follow-up email. This way we learn about all needs of an organization, not just financial but volunteer opportunities as well. We hope that some of our guests continue their relationship with organizations that inspire them.

M: Did you find people were excited to get involved in your organization? What kind of feedback did you get when you explained your idea?

CS: The feedback has really inspired us. As we started to talk to other women (mostly our girlfriends) about our ideas, we were very encouraged. Women have been really excited about the idea. Now people are bringing their friends to the events and the word is spreading. I think that is the best testament for us. Also, people are getting to know one another through ASU and each event seems to become a little more social.

We try to stay somewhat small and uncomplicated and we wondered if organizations would be wary about working with us, but in fact we have found just the opposite. Organizations love our approach and our fundraising really makes a difference.

M: Do you feel like you have built a giving community?

CS: I hope so – We just learned yesterday that one of our guests who learned about Women Of Means (WOM) through our recent event, recommended the organization to her company which is now donating $5000.00 to WOM.

On a different note, I think the women who come to our events feel good about their contribution and feel that the request for $35 is reasonable. We have many guests that generously give more then the $35 suggested donation, but we truly feel that any gift is an appreciated and important one. I think we have made giving easy and hopefully fun. Also, people are approaching us more and more with ideas for charities to support.

M: How do you identify organizations with whom to work, and how do you find the groups of women or men and women?

CS: The first organization was one we read about in the Boston Globe. We are open to any avenue for finding organizations to work with. We do have specific criteria – we want to learn something new at our events so we look for organizations that have found an innovative approach to meeting a need or solving a problem. We also require they be willing to speak to our group. They need to be relatively small and be very specific about how they will use the gift.

M: What are some of the challenges you have faced with this endeavor?

CS: I think what has been surprising is that it really hasn’t been hard. We are having fun. One of the things the five of us talk about often is how we want to grow. We really enjoy the intimacy of a small group but love the idea of getting the word out in a broader way. I think for now, our goal is to get a website up and running and use that as a way to get the word out about A Step UP but the conversation will continue I’m sure.

M: Have there been any surprises? For example have people surprised you - with generosity or creativity or support or on the other hand, reservations about involvement?

CS: First, the creativity of the organizations we have showcased has amazed us each and every time. The speakers have astonished us, sharing their experiences dealing with huge issues: the foster care system, lack of medical care for homeless women, children who have suffered trauma, domestic abuse and others issues that are just as serious. After each event we wonder if we can find another organization and speaker that offers so much hope and can teach us from their example – I think the greatest surprise is that we do.

In terms of our guests – At our first event, a guest was so inspired by the organization that she gave $10,000. When you are only asking for $35 that is pretty exciting! We’ve received wonderful feedback from people who love the concept and are excited to be involved with us.

Finally, I don’t know if it’s a surprise, but it’s certainly important - the five of us work so well together as a group. We support each other’s ideas and share the responsibility easily. I really love the way we work together.

M: Any stories of extraordinary happenings during your time running the organization?

CS: Our first event raised $14,000. We were raising money for an organization called Camp to Belong. They bring siblings together who have been separated in the foster care system for a week-long camp experience. It costs $500 to send a child to camp and we had hope to send two or three. We sent over 25 kids!

I think what is most extraordinary is that we are building relationships – we are meeting people who are doing amazing work in our communities and spreading the word. Our hope is that when we get our website up (soon we hope), we can put our model on-line and people in other communities will start to do the same thing. We are hoping to be contagious!