Looking Back and Looking Ahead — NOTY 2015
It’s hard to believe that more than a year has passed since I was named YNPN-NYC’s 2014 Nonprofiteer of the Year. I’m excited to pass the torch to one of the amazing 2015 nominees at our annual celebration on Thursday, February 4 (tickets available here), but before I do, it’s time to reflect on the year we’ve had.
For those of you who don’t know me, here’s a little background: I’m the Campus Program Coordinator at She’s the First, an organization that provides scholarships to girls in low-income countries who will be the first in their families to graduate from high school. Most of my days are spent working with an inspiring crew of high school and college students working to make global gender equality in education a reality.
2015 was a huge year for She’s the First.
Our on-campus program nearly doubled in size with the addition of 77 new chapters, an elementary education curriculum, and an alumni association. We hired our 4th staff member, a full-time Director of Resource Development. Our co-founders were featured on the TODAY Show. We added an 11th partner school in Sierra Leone and ended the year with over 1,700 total years of education funded for girls. Oh, and we raised a million dollars.
Like I said, 2015 was good to us.
The good fortune wasn’t limited to my own little corner of the nonprofit world!
Support for general operating funds is on the rise. On-campus activism captivated the national spotlight in a major way. Best of all, a recent survey says a majority of nonprofits saw an increase in revenues in 2015 over previous years.
It’s time to look ahead at the year to come and the leaders who will be shaping the sector in 2016.
Among them are the five finalists for YNPN-NYC’s 2015 Nonprofiteer of the Year:
Claudia Espinosa, Founder and Director of L.O.V.E.
“I created the L.O.V.E. Mentoring Program with the goal of supporting and empowering young Latinas to strive in school, and ultimately increase high school graduation rates, college enrollment, and healthy lives among young Latinas.”
Kimberly S. George, Executive Director, Rebuilding Together NYC
“My passion for social justice work led me to a career in nonprofits. At Rebuilding Together NYC, I have the opportunity to work with the best people on issues dear to me. RT NYC’s work addresses the core issues at the heart of social disparities: housing, health, and wealth. I do what I do because we make a difference.”
Tiasia Obrien, Associate Development Director, MOCADA
“Communities are built on comradarie; coming together to ensure the stability, advancement and health of neighborhoods. To me, nonprofits are the facilitators in making this happen. I truly enjoy working to help people and communities improve because the end result is a more positive city, state or world!”
Mary Dinski, Deputy Executive Director/Camp Director, Fiver
“I believe wholeheartedly in committing to children for 10 plus years and feel fortunate to grow with them and their families throughout their childhood and young adult life. It is a true privilege when you get to work with young people and see how they change, evolve and better themselves over time. Every day I learn and I am inspired by the youth I work with. They are inquisitive, hopeful, resilient, compassionate, sincere and hilarious. Being a support for these kids and hopefully a role model is an honor and something for which I am truly thankful. To put it simply, I work at Fiver and with Fiver youth because I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Isabel Sheinman, Director of Business Development, Library for All
“I joined the Library For All team because I’m a firm believer that reading is a basic human right. My team and I have built a digital library to address the lack of access to books in developing countries. I’m totally inspired by the passion that my teammates have, and I love working to build a community of support behind us. We’re a bunch of dreamers, motivated to work harder each day by the responsibility we feel to make sure every child grows up with the opportunity to learn and to dream through books.”
It will be an honor to pass on the Nonprofiteer title to any of these outstanding women next week, and I have no doubt that 2016 will be the best year yet under their leadership.
Will you join me in celebrating their accomplishments on February 4th? Put on your party pants, because your event ticket also includes your annual membership to YNPN-NYC! I can’t wait to see you there.
For more information about the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of New York City, visit www.ynpn.nyc.
The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of New York City (YNPN-NYC) supports the professional development of the next generation of nonprofit leaders by providing opportunities for skill-building, information sharing, and networking.
