The New York Foundling and She’s The First Launch “Adopt A Cause” Movement
Today The New York Foundling and She’s the First are announcing the launch of a new movement, “Adopt a Cause.” The initiative encourages businesses that have offices with extra space to temporarily “adopt” smaller nonprofits (organizations with 10 or fewer employees) and share their office space, at virtually no cost to the small nonprofit.[i]
At 147 years old, The Foundling is one of New York City’s oldest and largest child welfare organizations, providing a wide range of services to more than 30,000 children and families each year. They are teaming up with She’s the First, a younger organization in the nonprofit space, that has a mission to help educate women and girls around the world by providing scholarships, mentorship opportunities and empowerment initiatives to girls in low-income countries.
The two organizations partnered at the beginning of 2016, when The Foundling began serving as a “host” to She’s the First in their Manhattan offices, providing access to desk space, phones, technology support, conference space, and storage. The partnership encompasses mentorship opportunities as well as physical resources. The Foundling staff have provided business advice to She’s the First employees on topics such as how to implement more effective human resources processes, while She’s the First staff have provided The Foundling with valuable insight around social media, including their inaugural social media campaign to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention Month. Their collaboration demonstrates the positive and mutually beneficial impact that this movement will have on participating organizations across the country.
“The skyrocketing cost of real estate around the country is creating a sad reality—nonprofits are needed now more than ever, but they increasingly cannot afford offices in the communities they serve. Adopt a Cause tackles this unacceptable reality one partnership at a time,” said Bethany Lampland, Chief Operating Officer, The New York Foundling.
“Our success story is not meant to be an anomaly,” said Tammy Tibbetts, CEO of She’s the First. “We want to share what we’ve done so other nonprofits can reap the same benefits and have the same transformative growth.”
“We are thrilled to have been a part of the creation of the Adopt a Cause movement. The New York Foundling has gained invaluable experience by working alongside the passionate and driven staff at She’s the First, and we’re proud to help another nonprofit grow,” stated Bill Baccaglini, President and CEO of The New York Foundling.
At their annual Mentor Breakfast on November 17, She’s the First will honor The New York Foundling as partners, presenting Bethany Lampland, Chief Operating Officer, and Morgan McCray, Manager of Business Operations, with an award for “Mentorship Duo of the Year.”
Lampland and Tibbetts first met 18 months ago and developed the Adopt a Cause movement inspired by their work together. The event in November will bring together mentors and mentees from various organizations to celebrate the impact that they have on each other’s lives and raise money for She’s the First initiatives.
[i] Adopt a Cause is intended to be a pro-bono partnership. Parties can decide together if a nominal financial contribution to defray attendant costs should be put into place.
