Clients + Core Values
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Our Recipe for Success
2022 Annual Report
From our partners:
2022 was a year of exceptional growth for Purpose Possible. We added several new team members and opened a second regional hub in Washington, DC. The DC office, led by Starsha Valentine served 27 clients while Atlanta, led by Susannah Darrow and Laura Moody, grew its client base by 52%.
But what about ROI for those clients? Our fundraising clients who contract with us for implementation – meaning, our team is actively raising funds for the organization- raised an average of 17 times their fees for service. Beyond our fundraising work, organizations were ready to jump back into strategy after a few years of significant changes in their methods of program delivery. Additionally, funders looked to Purpose Possible for strategy, program development, and management.
Looking back, we asked ourselves, what were the key factors or (ingredients ;) that made this recipe for success? For Purpose Possible, it always starts with our clients. Our client base is made up of primarily small to mid-sized organizations with relatively small teams who are doing incredible work across the nation (and beyond). Their commitment to their missions and increasing their impact make our job of storytelling a true joy. Thank you for the work that you do to make our communities more vibrant, equitable, and healthy places to grow and be.
Internally, our firm has deepened our focus on our Four Core Values and used them to guide our decision-making in every facet of the company. By using these principles as our north star, we can continue to pursue our mission of transforming our communities by empowering mission-led organizations.
Thank you to each of you who has added your own special spice to our work.
Purpose Possible supports nonprofits across a range of budget sizes, but our sweet spot is in working with small to mid-sized organizations who may be starting, moving to the next level of growth, or are going through a period of transition in their structure. Our team has decades of experience working in small shops, so we know how to sprinkle in expertise with a dash of creativity to raise the funds needed to make daily operations and programs thrive.
Raised for Arts & Culture
Raised for Youth Development & Education
Raised for Food Systems
Raised for Service Organizations
Raised for LGBTQ Organizations
Raised for Affordable Housing & Homelessness
Total raised for all clients in 2022
Total raised since inception (2020–2022)
Soul Food Cypher
We began a pro bono partnership with Soul Food Cypher in 2020 as part of our commitment to supporting Black-led nonprofit organizations. That year, we wrote their Metro Atlanta Arts Fund Grant, and they were awarded this vital, unrestricted funding for the first time. Since then, we have continued to support their grant writing and individual giving efforts and have increased their year-end revenue goal by 295%. We were thrilled that in 2022, SFC’s Executive Director was able to begin drawing a competitive salary.
Community Youth Advance
Community Youth Advance came to Purpose Possible in need of a strategy to grow the intricate organization serving youth in Prince George County, MD. Our team assembled a robust fundraising plan and strategy that created a roadmap for the next phase of growth for the organization. Community Youth Advance layered on the support and retained Purpose Possible to create a communications plan and database migration.
Atlanta Land Trust
Over the past four years, our partnership with the Atlanta Land Trust helped make their purpose possible. In 2019, the Atlanta Land Trust, a historically volunteer-led organization, required a full suite of marketing, fundraising, and board development services following the onboarding of its Executive Director, Amanda Rhein. Through trust and mutual respect, the Atlanta Land Trust has successfully branded itself, developed a talented and supportive tripartite Board of Directors, and quadrupled its annual philanthropic and government operating and program-specific revenue from $250,000 to over $1 million in 2022. Today, the Atlanta Land Trust is leading the way toward a more sustainable approach to affordable housing in the city of Atlanta. By 2025, the Atlanta Land Trust aims to collaborate with communities to develop 300 permanently affordable, energy-efficient homes creating a more inclusive and equitable Atlanta.
National Center for Civil & Human Rights
Our team has been serving in an interim development director, institutional giving manager, and events director capacity for several months. This was pivotal work to maintain continuity within the fundraising arm of the organization as the Center is in the middle of a capital expansion campaign. Our team was able to secure and support the raise of $9,235,000 for the organization in 2022.
Purpose Possible’s Strategic Philanthropy team works with grantmakers to create and track impact across their companies in the communities they serve–whether through developing new philanthropic programs, supporting annual evaluations, or managing a grantmaking database.
Give Where You Live was a campaign led by Intuit Mailchimp, Kin, and Purpose Possible to encourage people to support organizations doing good work in their own backyards. The campaign featured 57 nonprofit organizations across 6 cities–Atlanta, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles in partnership with local NFL players. Our team provided outreach to nonprofits in each city and coordinated their participation in the unique campaign. Each organization received $3,000 and advertisements that ran from Thanksgiving through the end of the year sponsored by Intuit Mailchimp.
In partnership with Mailchimp, we are investing in the unrestricted growth of 15 Atlanta-based organizations over the next three years. Three organizations–College AIM, The Counter Narrative Project, and the Hand Heart and Soul Project–each received $200,000 in unrestricted grants to be paid out over the next three years as well as $25,000 in customized consulting services from Purpose Possible. Twelve additional finalist organizations will receive grants ranging from $5,000-$11,000 from Mailchimp.
Of the three grant winners, two have used the funds to expand staff capacity. One hired two new coaches, allowing the ED to fully focus on development and advocacy, leading to an increase in revenue and doubling the number of students served by the program.
Our team helped guide the Truist Foundation through the migration of their grantmaking program data from one database to another. We ensured that the new database launched with accurate information and that processes and operating procedures were streamlined and documented for future grantmaking cycles.
"College AIM first connected with Purpose Possible through Mailchimp's Forward Project in January 2022, and they've been a wonderful partner of ours ever since. The funding that we received from Mailchimp through Forward Project will allow College AIM to more than double the number of students we support, from 1,200 in 2022 to more than 2,500 in 2024.
Rapid growth is exciting, but comes with its challenges, and having Purpose Possible in our corner has helped us navigate the expansion. Development and communications plans, board development, succession planning, and even informal coaching for me as an Executive Director—they've done it all!"
– Sam Aleinikoff, Founder and Executive Director
Whether making small transitions to accommodate programs in a pandemic or wildly shifting the way they do business from the ground up, every organization goes through changes. These changes mean that organizations need support for the immediate day-to-day changes and for the adjustments over the next several years. We work with our clients to imagine their futures and plan for sustainability in times of great uncertainty.
Strategic Plans Written
Organizational Strategy Projects Completed
Board Retreats & Facilitated Sessions
Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies
Purpose Possible facilitated a board retreat for Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia. This retreat reviewed feedback reports, defined what success looks like in three years, and set an action plan for future success.
HumanitiesDC
HumanitiesDC illuminates and celebrates the people, places, cultures, and events within Washington, DC that define humanness. In 2021, the organization experienced a major leadership transition welcoming new staff and board members, including a new Executive Director, Rebecca Lemos-Otero.
The Mid Atlantic team worked with Humanities DC to create a 2-year interim strategic plan to support the new leadership and rebrand of the organization.
“I have greatly enjoyed working with the Purpose Possible team in DC. As a new Executive Director at my organization they helped staff, board and myself to work together and create a really exciting and user-friendly strategic plan.”
– Rebecca Lemos Otero, HumanitiesDC
Cultural Planning & Community Engagement
Through our work in cultural planning and community engagement, we help mold our cities and align the desires of residents and local business owners with the proposed strategies and investments in their neighborhoods. Weaving local artists and creatives into that process from the outset yields a more flavorful and fulfilling community for everyone.
Central Atlanta Progress
Purpose Possible began working with Central Atlanta Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (CAP/ADID) in June 2022 to develop a placemaking plan for Downtown Atlanta, specifically the areas of Poplar/Fairlie Street, Peachtree Street, and the Broad Street Boardwalk. We gathered community feedback through surveys, interviews, and group meetings with various stakeholders. Finally, a series of thoughtful recommendations were presented to CAP/ADID leadership along with projected budgets and people resources that would be needed to implement the plan.
Gwinnett Place To Be
As part of a multi-firm team, Purpose Possible cooked up a successful cultural plan, community engagement strategy, and funding recommendations for the Gwinnett Place Mall Revitalization Study that became known as The Global Villages. To bring members of the community to the table, we designed a series of creative online surveys made available in 4 languages, which garnered more than 3,400 participants.. Then, to provide an in-person, low-tech option for engagement, we designed a booth with games and art activities that attracted over 2,500 visitors during two major international night markets.
Our clients do amazing work. We help them to effectively tell those stories in a variety of ways including strategy, annual reports, customized newsletters, and ongoing social media.
social media accounts managed for
organizations
Annual Reports
Communications Plans
Blog Posts
Webinars & Videos
Our team is comprised of nonprofit professionals with deep experience in leadership, fundraising, organizational strategy, research, communications, community engagement, and CSR program management. We are parents, caregivers, pet owners, and siblings. We live and work across the country and share a wide variety of interests, hobbies, favorites, and unique abilities. Our expertise, individuality, and collective identities are valued aspects of every person on our team.
In 2021 we grew our team to 24 members. In 2022 our clients increased to 147 from 79 in 2021. In response, the size of our team also doubled to include 29 additional members in 2022!
Here’s where our people are located:
Our Favorite Baked Goods
Take a peek inside the team’s recipe box! Click on any card to see more.
In the pantry:
How we spice things up
Keep it saucy with our favorite condiments.
Let’s cook up something together in 2023!
What’s your special spice? Let us know!