Amos House (Providence, RI) is a recipient of funds raised through the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K.  In addition, proceeds from the “Rhode Island Trivia Challenge” will go to the nonprofit.  (Read about the trivia contest here.)

Artists for Humanity (Boston, MA) is mentioned in this article as a recipient of Deutsche Bank Championship charitable funds.  The nonprofit also received proceeds from a recent fashion show at Harvard University.

The Tillotson Fund recently awarded Bonnie CLAC (Lebanon, NH) a $50,000 grant to support its Personal Transportation Purchase, Counseling, and Financial Literacy Program.

Online gifts from first-time contributors to the Building Materials Resource Center (Roxbury, MA) will be matched, up to $5,000, from now through December 31st.

ITNCharlestonTrident recently became the second ITNAmerica (Westbrook, ME) affiliate to reach the 10,000 ride mark.  (The first was ITNPortland.)  And, ITNOrlando is seeking volunteers.

The Center for Maine Craft, a project of the Maine Crafts Association (Dover Foxcroft, ME), just completed its first week of operation.  Here’s a Portland Press Herald article — “Food, fuel and crafts?” — about the Center and its recent opening.

The “Help is Here Express” bus tour will make a stop at Crossroads Rhode Island.  The nonprofit will also be a stop on the “Hasbro Holiday Express,” which will distribute blankets, cereals, and diapers for the holidays.

Here’s a story about how “plummeting commodities prices have cut into ReCycle North’s revenues.”

eWaste Alternatives, a project created by two Great Bay grantees, Skills, Inc. and Information Technology Exchange, is a semi-finalist for the first ever Collaboration Prize.  (I’ll write more about this in a later post.)

Meet 17 year old Jake Gallagher, who was recently awarded the Outstanding Youth in Philanthrophy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Northern New England chapter last week for his fundraising and volunteer work for Safe Passage.

Artists for Humanity’s blog notes that on Tuesday, November 11th the Boston Opera House will host the 3rd Annual Rock & Art Charity to benefit Artists for Humanity and ABCD, a Greater Boston antipoverty agency….And Artists for Humanity students are working to design and build bike racks that will be installed in the Mission Hill section of Boston in the spring of 2009.

Tradingmarkets.com has an article on Bonnie CLAC and its expansion to Lowell, Massachusetts….Bonnie CLAC also participated in the recent “It’s Your Money” show in Franklin, New Hampshire.

A “blog dedicated to providing resources to business owners, entrepreneurs, and inventors” highlights social entrepreneurship, Katherine Freund, and ITNAmerica….And Katherine is also quoted in an article at ColumbiaTribune.com.

ReCycle North Executive Director Tom Longstreth recently authored a piece in the Burlington Free Press on how his organization has benefited from its partnership with the United Way of Chittenden County.  (A month ago, I posted a link to an article from Tiffany Bluemle, another Vermont grantee who also wrote about the importance of supporting the United Way).

Safe Passage (Camino Seguro) is looking for an English Program Coordinator…And three Ellsworth (Maine) High School students are raising money to fund a week of volunteer work with the nonprofit in Guatemala.

If you’re interested in starting your own sheep farm or in learning about all aspects of lambing, then there is an internship for you at the Smokey House Center

The Washington Hancock Community Agency is part of a collaborative effort to assist the 25 workers recently laid off from Hinckley Yacht in Trenton, Maine.

Great Bay recently awarded a second grant to the Center for Maine Craft, a project of the Maine Crafts Association, led by Tracy Michaud Stutzman, Ph.d.  The Center, to be located in the new West Gardiner Turnpike Authority Rest Stop, is designed to increase profits and visibility, as well as build more year-round retail opportunities, for artisan businesses.  It will open its doors on Friday, November 14th, showcasing products from 225 Maine craft artists.

Many of Maine’s artisans struggle to earn a livable wage.  The Center will provide an unprecedented opportunity for these individuals to build business skills and expand their markets.  The Center will facilitate access to technical assistance, mentoring, and Maine’s Community College System.  It is also expected that the retail operation and website will generate increased visits and sales at artisan studios across Maine.  In addition to the direct impact on the lives of Maine craft artists and the tremendous boost given to Maine-made products, the Center will help to preserve Maine’s rural culture.

Great Bay first supported this project a little over a year ago, when we provided $123,500 in funds to cover staff development, sales/office equipment, display units, merchandising expertise, and signage.  With the Center’s opening right around the corner, we’ve provided a second grant in the amount of $100,000, to be used for purchasing inventory and covering operating costs during the first year.  Half of the funds were provided in the form of a “recoverable grant,” a zero-interest loan that will be paid back in equal payments over the next two years.

The Morning Sentinel has a story about Robert Chambers and Bonnie CLAC.

U.S. News and World Report has an article on Anne Nolan, the President of Crossroads Rhode Island, the parent organization of The Copycenter at Crossroads.

Here’s a blog post from someone who ran the Wine Flight 5K on behalf of Hardy Girls Healthy Women.

Here’s a blog post from the Center for Maine Craft’s new Assistant Manager.  (The Center is a division of the Maine Crafts Association.)  And here’s another post about the Center’s November opening.

Erin Reilly and the organization she co-founded, Platform Shoes Forum, are profiled by thejournal.com.

Nine circus artists and performers will be traveling to Safe Passage in Guatemala to give lessons.

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Stay tuned next week for posts on our newest grantee and Paul Light’s new book.

Amos House will provide the dinner at The George Wiley Center’s seventh annual silent auction, “Together We Have the Power!”  Proceeds will support efforts for an affordable energy plan and an end to utility shut-offs in Rhode Island.

The Independent Transportation Network’s model was the focus of a recent “Aging Successfully Forum.” Katherine Freund, Founder and President of ITNAmerica, was the keynote speaker. (Here’s an article leading up to the event.)

Ben & Jerry’s has overhauled its flagship ice cream scoop shop in Burlington, VT.  The company used local resources as much as possible to complete the renovation work.  ReCycle North’s Waste-Not-Products “provided salvaged wood fixtures, display cases and birdhouses used as taste-stick receptacles.”

Z-Z Cowen, a member of the Bowdoin College Class of 2008, started working in May for Safe Passage, a non-profit that was founded by Hanley Denning ‘92.  She reported on her work to the Bowdoin Orient.

Tiffany Bluemle, Executive Director of Vermont Works for Women, joined community leaders in protesting the Burton snowboard company’s controversial new line of boards.

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In other news, Matthew Bishop’s keynote address from last week’s Social Capital Markets conference can now be viewed online at http://fora.tv/.  There are also videos from the “Mission Related Investing” and “Market Creators” panels.

Boston.com has an article on Bonnie CLAC, a “NH-based nonprofit car purchasing program, established in 2001, to provide financial literacy training, car buying assistance and loan guarantees to individuals from all walks of life.”…And WalletPop.com blogs about the organization.

Hardy Girls Healthy Women will be a beneficiary of the Wine Flight 5K, an event on October 25th that combines fitness with food and wine.

Meet Paulette Dumais of Enfield, Connecticut.  She’s taking advantage of the new rides-for-seniors program being offered by ITNNorthCentralConnecticut, an affiliate of ITNAmerica.

Here’s a blog from a woman who quit her job and moved to Guatemala, where she’ll be spending some time as a Safe Passage volunteer.

SoCap08 has officially ended.  After three days of keynote speeches, panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking conversations, attendees now head back to their respective organizations, armed with new insights, tools, and contacts.

SoCap08 was the first of its kind.  Never before had so many social investors and entrepreneurs gathered in one place to explore the possibilities of social capital markets.  The energy level at the Fort Mason Center was high for the entire event.  Many of the attendees were relatively new to the field, while others had been at it for years.  Jed Emerson, one of the first to speak and write about social capital markets, was clearly ecstatic that the field had grown to a level that a major conference was even possible.  SoCap08 was that rare kind of gathering that I think attendees will look back on years from now and consider a turning point or catalyst for the development of the field.

SoCap08 has informed my work at Great Bay by providing me with new perspectives on the field, its opportunities and challenges.  However, perhaps even more important than the knowledge I’ve gained are the contacts I’ve made on behalf of Great Bay.  I plan to strengthen these connections as time goes on.

The theme of SoCap08—the “intersection of money and meaning”—is relevant to the Great Bay Foundation on two important levels.  First, we insist that all of our grantees utilize money (i.e. earned-income) to achieve meaning (i.e. social impact).  As an organization, we believe strongly in the power of business as a tool to achieve social change.  I’ve learned that we’re not alone in this belief.  Second, as we look to the future, we recognize the potential impact that can be achieved by expanding the range of “tools” we use.  By utilizing social and mission investments in addition to grants, we can go even further in operating at the intersection of money and meaning.  We certainly wouldn’t be the only social investors in the space.

I’ll end this blog post, as well as my reports from San Francisco, with one final thought.  During a panel discussion on Tuesday one of the panelists mentioned that his organization invests in independent newspapers in emerging democracies.  He spoke of how important this work is to the future of these countries.  This is a good example of how a business investment can have a positive impact on a community and, in turn, people’s lives.  With all this talk about business and investing, it is important not to lose sight of what really matters.  We see business as a means to end.  It is a tool to achieve the ultimate goal—social impact.

The third and final participant-led session that I attended today had a dual focus.  The group discussed the ways in which third-party consultants can add value to nonprofits and gain value in return.  In addition, the group explored how for-profit ventures can emerge from nonprofit structures.

In regard to the third-party consultants and nonprofits, the group considered how business and management expertise can be incorporated into nonprofit operations in a way that meets a consultant’s goals and a nonprofit’s mission. One participant stated that with nonprofit/consultant arrangements it is important that both sides make their values clear up front.  The group wondered how nonprofits are made aware of various consulting services.  A question was raised as to whether there is a need for a matchmaking group that would connect those who need a service with those who provide that service.  Kris Prendergast, from the Social Enterprise Alliance, indicated that her organization offers a list on its website of third-party organizations.  A participant spoke to his belief that it is important that nonprofits pay for services (as opposed to being provided services free of charge).  He said that this route brings legitimacy to the services provided, and also creates incentive for both sides to take the process seriously.

One participant asked about Great Bay’s position on making consulting services available to our grantees.  I noted that while we’ve funded such services in the past, we insist that decisions on what services are needed, and by whom the services should be provided, be left to the grantees. I explained that Great Bay takes an engaged, yet non-directive approach to grantmaking.

In regard to for-profit ventures emerging from nonprofit structures, the group had the opportunity to explore a case study in depth.  A participant described her current situation in which she has been hired by a nonprofit to develop an income-generating venture.  The concept is to create a marketplace where eco-friendly fabric suppliers and clothing designers can find each other.  It is clear from her initial work that the venture has the potential to succeed as a stand-alone for-profit; however, there are issues relating to ownership and governance that need to be ironed out.  The participant was peppered with questions from the group, but in the end received beneficial advice as to how she can create a viable social enterprise model.

During yesterday’s cocktail reception I had another opportunity to chat with Rob Katz from the Acumen Fund.  Rob runs NextBillion.net, on behalf of Acumen and the World Resources Institute, and also blogs for the site.  Rob and the NextBillion team recruited ten bloggers to make posts from SoCap08.

Rob informed me that he’ll be in Maine next week to attend and blog from the annual Pop!Tech conference, “a three-day summit explores the cutting-edge ideas, emerging technologies and new forces of change that are shaping our collective future. The conference brings together 500 visionary thinkers in the sciences, technology, business, design, the arts, education, government and culture.”  Rob is not the first person I know to have raved to me about Pop!Tech, and I’ve decided that I need to attend the event at some point.  I mentioned to Rob that I knew that Van Jones spoke at last year’s Pop!Tech.  (I blogged about Jones in a previous post.)  Rob noted that Jones is actually returning to the event this year.