Purpose Possible
Transforming our communities by empowering mission-driven organizations.
2023 Annual Report
Letter from our Partners
Reflecting on the past year to produce our annual report with the theme of “Powering Purpose” is an opportunity to pause and take stock of how much growth, change, and impact have happened over the last several months. As women business owners, it is so easy for us to keep our heads down and focus on the tasks at hand like planning for the future or strengthening our team culture. However, being forced to stop and absorb it all is an opportunity for gratitude and a sprinkle of pride in the work of our team.
In 2023, we focused on internal efficiencies and procedures to provide our clients with the very best customer experience while planning for smart company growth. We also doubled down on our efforts to provide free, accessible professional development content and peer-to-peer learning through weekly regional-specific newsletters, webinars, blogs, and presentations. We invite you to subscribe now - don’t miss out!
As our client base continues to grow, so too do the stories of impact and change our clients (you!) are powering nationwide. We hope to shine a light on your tremendous work with this report showcasing a few highlights from last year.
We hope these successes provide inspiration for the year ahead-
Powering Purpose
Our team stretches across the United States, and our impact even farther.
Team Locations
Client Locations
Powering Philanthropy
Purpose Possible’s Strategic Philanthropy team works with funders - private family and corporate grantmakers - to create and track impact across the communities they serve and to ensure that the processes by which they deliver funding are accessible and equitable. Recent work includes developing new philanthropic programs from the ground up, delivering technical assistance for grantees, supporting annual evaluations, and managing grantmaking databases.
Strategic Philanthropy Client Highlights
T. Rowe Price Foundation
Capacity Building Focus Groups
As a part of T. Rowe Price Foundation's (TRPF) commitment to its Baltimore constituency, TRPF hired Purpose Possible to conduct a series of focus groups to improve their capacity building program for grantees and other leaders within their network. In collaboration with foundation staff and volunteers, the Purpose Possible team determined the appropriate groups, developed the content, and implemented the focus groups - creating a safe space for feedback and recommendations.
“In our work leading the Capacity Building program of the T. Rowe Price Foundation, we have had the fortune to work with the Purpose Possible team in several ways. Each engagement with Purpose Possible is organized, strategic, and thoughtfully-managed, and we have had a wonderful time getting to know their team members. We take pride in the way we show up with our community partners, and we can always feel assured that when Purpose Possible is involved, we’ll be showing up in the right way.”
– Sabrina Thornton, T. Rowe Price Foundation
Kataly Foundation
Capital Campaign Training Program
Since 2022, the Purpose Possible team and Kataly Foundation have worked closely to develop a capacity-building program for their grantees that supports their capital project grantmaking. The PP team developed a comprehensive 6-month training and coaching program that equipped participants with resources to support their work at various stages of development. We hope to offer this program annually in partnership with Kataly.
Powering Process
Strategic planning, board retreats, and facilitated sessions guide nonprofit organizations toward their goals. These vital tools facilitate alignment of vision, reaffirm roles and responsibilities, and energize staff and volunteers alike. Nonprofits leverage these tools to better navigate the unexpected (hello, a global pandemic!), refine goals for increased impact, communicate intended outcomes to funders, and thoughtfully plan for sustainable growth.
Organizational Strategy Client Highlights
Our most talked about retreat guest this year:
Cornflake the Corn Snake!
The Organizational Strategy team served clients in a wide variety of sectors including:
Advocacy
Affordable Housing
Arts and Culture
Athletics
Community Development
Education
Environmental Conservation
Food Systems
Health & Human Services
Human Trafficking
LGBTQ+ Issues
Mental Health
Science and Engineering
Social Justice
Youth Development
Strategic Plan Highlights
Purpose Possible prioritizes the values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access, ensuring they remain central to our efforts at every stage of client engagement. In our strategic planning with the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School (ANCS), we got to literally play with gathering input from the community. Recognizing the importance of voices from all age groups, we introduced Tallymade’s gamified surveys tailored for participants as young as 5, fostering inclusivity from an early age. We also got to relive our awkward years through onsite surveying at the Middle School dance. Our commitment to comprehensive engagement extended to conducting surveys, listening sessions, and interviews with more than 150 stakeholders, including current school families, faculty, staff, neighbors, and community leaders. By actively seeking and incorporating diverse perspectives, ANCS was equipped with invaluable insights to inform their planning for the next five years.
"What makes Purpose Possible special is the way that the team combines leading thought and process flexibility to accelerate nonprofit impact.
The approach of engaging teammates, the Board of Directors, funders, and interested parties strengthened Wholesome Wave Georgia. Purpose Possible is our first and only call when it comes to complex, multi-constituent engagements. Wholesome Wave Georgia is a better nonprofit because of their work.
We LOVE Purpose Possible!"
– Will Sellers, Executive Director
Wholesome Wave Georgia
We worked with Georgians Advancing Communities Together (Georgia ACT) to provide capacity-building workshops with their statewide membership of organizations dedicated to advancing equitable housing and community development.
We collaborated with community members to provide interactive and immediately usable strategies and techniques to support board development, mission and vision development, strategic planning, succession planning, and nonprofit best practices.
One Common Unity's Board & Leadership Retreat Facilitation evolved into a comprehensive Board Development initiative and Strategic Plan under the guidance of the Purpose Possible team. Initially enlisted to organize and facilitate retreats in the fall of 2023, PP's successful engagement identified critical organizational development needs. Subsequently, One Common Unity's leadership acknowledged these needs and extended our support to continue board development activities and initiate a strategic planning process slated to commence in summer 2024.
Powering Place
We are passionate about our communities and the people who make them. Our team brings together a wealth of experience from a range of sectors to support communities in their efforts to plan for physical improvements to their neighborhoods. These can range from greenspaces and trails to public art. We partner with architecture, planning, and economic development firms to provide community engagement, arts and cultural planning, and funding recommendations to take the plans from vision to vertical.
Community Input Gathering
Over the past year, our team has heavily engaged in community input gathering as an integral component of our organizational strategy projects. This initiative encompassed activities such as community public input meetings, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to solicit feedback from various stakeholders including faculty, staff, and community members. These concerted efforts significantly enrich our understanding of communities and informed strategic initiatives for our clients.
City of Atlanta, Council District 2
Arts & Culture Plan
Cultural Plan and Community Input
Purpose Possible collaborated closely with Atlanta City Council Member Amir Farokhi and his team to envision the future of arts and culture in City of Atlanta District 2. Over 11 months, we led a thorough engagement process involving diverse stakeholders: local government, neighborhood associations, NPUs, arts practitioners, businesses, residents, and more.
This inclusive approach aimed to capture current sentiments and ensure the lasting vibrancy of arts and culture in the district. The resulting strategy is both ambitious and grounded in the authentic needs and aspirations of the community.
City of Norcross
Arts & Culture Master Plan
Purpose Possible conducted extensive community engagement, surveys, and interviews with City staff and Public Arts Commission members, and peer research to produce the community's first arts and culture plan.
The plan was crafted through a lens of equity and inclusion, with a focus on implementation and funding.
Community material and the final plan were written in English and Spanish to ensure accessibility for the community’s largest demographic segments.
Powering Presence
Our clients do amazing work and have amazing stories.
We help them tell those stories more effectively in a variety of ways including strategy, annual reports, customized newsletters, and ongoing social media.
In 2023, the communications team managed 26 social media accounts for a range of organizations, while also creating weekly, monthly, and quarterly newsletters. Our teams also provided website support, brand development, and created innumerable graphic projects including annual reports, brochures, logos, and campaign materials.
“Purpose Possible has taken our nonprofit's communications and fundraising game to a whole new level. The team took time and care to get to know our organization and has completely reshaped the way we message to our members. We have seen our email and social engagement increase and refined our fundraising strategy for future success. They are diligent, responsive, and curious - the perfect partner for us!”
– Claire Cantrell Wood, Deputy Director
Together Georgia
Communications Highlights
In 2023, the Purpose Possible Communications Team managed Open Doors’ social media presence and quarterly newsletters. We also crafted an annual report, developed bespoke marketing collateral, designed template graphics and emails for the organization's team, and began a communications strategy to unveil a newly enhanced Property Locator Platform.
Beyond our primary offerings of social media management, newsletter creation, and website maintenance for communication clients, our teams frequently join forces to provide innovative support for diverse organizational needs, encompassing campaign messaging, branding, and a wide array of design services.
In 2022, and repeated in 2023, the WHY I LEAD end-of-year fundraising campaign unfolded as a joint endeavor between the Purpose Possible fundraising and communications teams, acting on behalf of our client, L.E.A.D. Center for Youth. Together, we crafted the campaign theme, messaging, communication schedule, solicitation letters, landing pages, and board involvement, while also devising strategies to engage both the organization's large public audience and existing donor base. The communications team spearheaded the creation of the campaign logo, social graphics, e-solicitations, and other collateral for use by staff and board members. This effort helped L.E.A.D. to secure more than 250 end-of-year donations during the two campaigns.
“Having a distinguished, unique and eye-catching brand is imperative in the competitive, non-profit world. Our Comms consultant with Purpose Possible has worked with us for the past 3 years and has helped us increase our followers and present a very mature, uniform social brand that's a value add for us in addition to our various stakeholders.”
– Kelli Stewart, Co-Founder and CEO, L.E.A.D. Center For Youth
Powering Profit
Purpose Possible supports nonprofits across various sectors, locations, and sizes with a sweet spot in working with small to mid-sized organizations. Our team works closely with clients to understand their immediate and long-term needs and goals.
Decades of diverse lived and professional experience across our team help to position nonprofits into a place of sustainability, growth, and weather periods of transition and uncertainty. Our team extends its fundraising and nonprofit management expertise with an infusion of creativity, allowing our clients to deliver their missions.
$51,710,709
Total raised since inception (2020–2023)
non-capital, operational & program-specific dollars
Fundraising Client Highlights
21st Century Leaders has been a Purpose Possible client since 2021. In 2023, our team expanded its ongoing support of 21st CL’s development efforts to consult on an 18-month, $1,000,000 endowment campaign, ‘Empowering Our Future,’ to help fund organizational sustainability, scalability, and accessibility of their youth leadership development programs across Georgia.
“Purpose Possible is our go-to agency for development needs and organizational strategies. They’ve helped to streamline our work, provide organizational structure, and helped diversify our funding portfolio. I always recommend their team to all non-profits!”
— Kate Hewitt, Executive Director,
21st Century Leaders
Second Helpings Atlanta experienced a leadership transition in 2023. Our team worked with the organization on numerous aspects of development including strategy, fundraising events, annual and individual giving, and grant writing. This support aided them in overcoming a fundraising gap of more than $600,000 and allowed them to hire a new staff member to support the organization's mission.
Central Outreach & Advocacy Center (COAC) is a long-time client, having worked with Purpose Possible since 2019. In 2023, the teams from PP and COAC collaborated to create the organization’s first-ever, monthly giving program called STRIDE. Our communications team created a campaign logo, the development team guided the launch and strategy, and the COAC team created content including videos and social posts. With board, staff, and volunteer support, the eight week campaign nearly tripled the number of active monthly donors for COAC.
“We have continued to be pleased with the work of Purpose Possible for Central Outreach and Advocacy Center. In addition to grant writing, Purpose Possible helped us to focus on monthly giving this past year. We developed the STRIDE program to encourage people to give on a monthly basis. As a result, we have added around 25 new monthly donors thanks to this effort.”
—Kimberly Parker, Executive Director
Central Outreach & Advocacy Center
The Purpose Possible team has worked with Washington, DC-based affordable housing nonprofit Mi Casa since 2022. Initially hired in an interim role, we have continued to support their growth as an organization. In recent months, we have supported the leadership transition and helped develop a new fundraising strategy that will help Mi Casa continue building its legacy within the affordable housing landscape of DC.
By building a fundraising strategy that aligns with the new leadership vision, PP has helped lay a foundation for sustainability and growth for years to come.
Black Dirt Farm Collective (BDFC) began working with Purpose Possible in 2021 to build its infrastructure and capacity to support its work. Completely volunteer run, BDFC is a collaborative of Black farmers, agrarians, scientists, and educators seeking ways to activate Black agrarian communities around political education and movement building.
The PP team has been able to support raising more than $500,000 in funding for the Collective since 2022, allowing them the opportunity to hire staff and increase outreach programming in 2024.
Powering Professional Development
Our communications team and client-facing consultants are dedicated to being a resource for our clients and the nonprofit community nationwide! We publish leading practices, tips of the trade, and industry insights throughout the year.
We are over the moon to spotlight the incredible impact our clients have had in their communities over the past year. They have empowered individuals, uplifted neighborhoods, and ignited positive change through their dedication and creativity.
The Purpose Possible team is honored to contribute to this ongoing work. Together, we will continue to champion causes that matter and empower communities in 2024 and beyond.
