2021 Social Capitalist: Donations In Review

I wanted to follow through on my last post (A Letter from Mike: Becoming a Social Capitalist) to share with all of you the final donations I made this year as the newest Social Capitalist.

I will say that this experience (in the short time I’ve been doing it) has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. The number of conversations that I’ve had and stories I’ve got to listen to has been incredibly impactful.

There are a lot of good people out there doing some pretty incredible things. I have so much gratitude for Charlie, Meghan, and Macky for their leadership and for giving me this opportunity. I also appreciate those that have reached out to me and given me support, it’s really cool. This truly is an awesome community and I’m so glad to be on this journey with all of you!

Outside of the individual donations I made, I made a decision to do a match up to $10,000 to the Prototype community for any donations that they supported. Within 2 hours of sending an email, we hit the $10k donation match. It was truly incredible.

Second, both Macky Bergman (Next Jump’s 1st Social Capitalist) and I decided to gift $5000 of this Social Capitalist money to our wives so they could be part of this experience with us. So on Christmas Eve I gave Erin (my wife) $5000 to give. She chose two organizations to support which are detailed below.

Below is an overview of what I have done in December and the organizations that I have supported. Thank you for reading and supporting me on this experience!

Total: $35,000

-Founder: Tom Slicklen

PROVISION MINISTRY, INC.

7 Thomas Newton Drive

Westboro, MA 01581

(this is the company I shared with you yesterday)

The mission of Provision Ministry, Inc. is to equip nonprofit organizations with the resources they need to maximize their impact on the people they serve; but also, to engage corporations, foundations, churches, and individuals to better understand the needs within their communities and to help them get involved in community development and fulfill corporate responsibility.

Reasoning: I really like the founders’ story and background. He found he had a bigger purpose in life and had some very low points in his life to create lessons learned. Provision is an efficient org that has grown fast and he is doing really good work. He has 20+ years in the nonprofit space and started Provision only 4.5 years ago. To date, they have given $27M in products and supplies to other nonprofits while only spending less than $1M to do so. Tom is an incredible guy and is making a major impact in the community that is growing more and more each year.

Donation made: $10,000

TMI Project

65 James Street

Kingston NY 12401

Founder: Eva Tenuto

Mission Statement:

TMI Project’s mission is to help craft and amplify radically true stories to ignite human connection, challenge the status quo, and inspire both storytellers and listeners to take action for positive social change.

Since 2010, TMI Project has led more than 100 true storytelling workshops and staged live storytelling performances by nearly 2,000 storytellers, which have been presented to audiences of nearly 200,000 people in schools, colleges, prisons, mental health clinics, theaters, community centers, the United Nations and online.

Reasoning: When hearing Eva’s story and what they do, it resonated with me so much. Reminded me of the first Leadership Academy… the drive home. The power of being your authentic self, coming clean, processing trauma… it’s a big part of what they do, but on stage. They also collaborate with other org’s and do it in a meaningful way, through telling stories. Another thing is that her sister is a member at our gym, so there is a really cool connection to our community at Prototype. But the “Better Me” side here is it makes me feel good to help a member of our community and help a organization do the great things they were meant to do.

Donation made: $5000

Founder: Brendan Aylward

AdaptX

5 Cole Rd

Sterling, MA 01523

Mission statement: To make the fitness industry accessible [for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities] through education, advocacy, and inclusion.

Reasoning: This is the only org that is for-profit but has a non-profit (endowment fund) arm through Easter Seals. Brendan came to my gym back in 2014 to learn about a program we used to run when we had a big kids program called “Ignite!”. We lost touch since then, but have been connected through social media. I’ve seen him grow his business and could tell from outside looking in and through our calls, he is very mission-driven. I feel he is truly good from within. From the work he is doing with disabled athletes to the sacrifice he makes to help others, he’s truly a special person. I also really value that he came to learn from us. I see myself in him and have made a lot of the same mistakes and can see he can use some help. I want to give him some money to get the endowment fund started and to see how that grows. 

Donation made: $5000

500 Legacy Farms North

Hopkinton MA 01748 

(508) 435-6938

Email: info@baypathhumane.org

Mission Statement: Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton is dedicated to providing shelter, care, humane treatment and loving homes for stray or unwanted companion animals.

Note from Erin: Several years ago, I volunteered at Baypath and the experience had a big impact on me. I have always loved animals (we have a dog, her name is Koda!) and want them to be in the right home. When I got the opportunity to choose where to give some of the social capitalist money, Baypath was the first place I thought of. This makes me feel good and I’m glad I can help support them!

Donation made: $2500

Saving Mothers

555 Madison Avenue, Suite 585

New York, N.Y. 10022

Email: information@savingmothers.org

Mission Statement: We are Saving Mothers because no woman should die giving life. Saving Mothers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating preventable maternal deaths and birth-related complications in low-resource settings.

Note from Erin: My sister is an OB/GYN Doctor out in PA. Family is really important to me, so I reached out to my sister and both her and her fiance are really passionate about this organization. They have even gone on service trips with Saving Mothers to support clinical staff and patients. I’m happy to help this organization and also pay it forward for my sister!

Donation made: $2500

After talking with Macky Bergman ( Next Jumps first Social Capitalist and founder of Steady Buckets ) last week, he gave me a great idea as to how I could both help others and support the community I’ve helped to build at my gym, Prototype Training Systems. I started Prototype in 2012 and since then, our community has been through a lot but has always supported one another. Similar to the COA community.  I posted in the LIP Community board last week about the letter I sent out about matching any donations to organizations that members of my gym made in 2021, they just need to respond to the email. Within 2 hours, the $10,000 match cap was hit and I was blown away. There were donations that ranged from $25 to $2500. In addition, there are large organizations like St. Judes and smaller, more local organizations like the Beth Tikvah Synagogue. It was truly a reminder of how many “good from within” people there are at Prototype and I feel so good to be able to support the organizations that several of them support on a yearly basis. 

Donation made: $10,000 (total)

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