You must be the change
you wish to see in the world.
Find out more about joining Be the Change, Inc. We are currently looking for the following:
Be the Change, Inc. seeks a talented Senior Writer and Publications Manager to join its team. Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Senior Writer and Publications Manager will be primarily responsible for leading production of a wide array of communications products necessary to support Be The Change’s communications and development departments as well as its two campaigns, Opportunity Nation (http://www.opportunitynation.org) and ServiceNation (http://www.servicenation.org). The position can be based in any of Be The Change’s offices, but there is a strong preference that the position resides in the New York office.
The ideal candidate will have a keen ability to distill complex issues into language that can be easily understood by the general public. However, he/she will recognize that different audiences absorb information through different methods, and as such will be able to customize language and presentation to appeal to specific audiences.
Applicants should have experience conducting original research and creating compelling messages/narratives that resonate with various audiences, whether talking in 140 characters or 1500 words. He/she should possess a desire to see beyond the task at hand and understand how their individual actions are contributing to the organization’s broader outreach and communications goals.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS:
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.
Please send resume, cover letter and three writing samples (2 short and 1 long) to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
ABOUT BE THE CHANGE:
Be The Change creates national issue-based campaigns that are driven by broad, diverse, and cross-partisan coalitions. Through our campaigns we are able to inspire culture change and accelerate public policy development to bring about positive changes in our society. Be The Change currently runs two national campaigns, ServiceNation and Opportunity Nation.
Launched in 2008, ServiceNation brought together more than 270 organizations to help pass the bipartisan Kennedy Serve America Act, the greatest expansion of national service in the U.S. in 60 years. Since that achievement, the campaign has expanded its reach and taken on additional efforts, including initiatives to unite the civilian and military communities through shared community service. With funding for national service currently in jeopardy in Washington, ServiceNation will once again redouble its efforts at preserving the important role that service plays in our country.
Be The Change’s second campaign, Opportunity Nation, launched to critical acclaim in November 2011, landing on the cover of TIME Magazine and being named one of “10 Nonprofits to Watch in 2012” by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Opportunity Nation brings together 200 diverse organizations all working collectively to provide more Americans with access to the American Dream. The campaign has already helped raise the profile of the key issues behind improving opportunity by releasing the Opportunity Index, a new measure that pulls together more than a dozen data points to rank every state and award nearly every county in the country a first-of-its-kind Opportunity Score. Over the coming year Opportunity Nation and its coalition will work to see that improving opportunity in America is a key part of the national discussion in 2012.
Be the Change, Inc. is a nonprofit that creates national public awareness campaigns to build momentum for citizen service as a practical solution to problems facing our communities and our country. Vibrant coalitions, collaborative policymaking, bipartisan advocacy, galvanizing events and online outreach are hallmarks of Be the Change, Inc. campaigns.
ServiceNation is the first campaign launched from Be the Change, Inc.’s platform. It is a campaign to increase service opportunities and elevate service as a core ideal and problem-solving strategy in our society. Reaching an estimated 100 million Americans through 270 member groups, ServiceNation played a leading role in the drafting and April 2009 enactment of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which authorized the greatest expansion of national service in America since the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Now that the Act has passed, the ServiceNation coalition is working to inspire a powerful culture of service in America through the promotion of national days of service and strategic partnerships across the philanthropic, government, military, entertainment, retail and other corporate sectors. We envision an America in which a commonly asked question is, “Where do you serve?”
OpportunityNation is our second campaign, launching publicly in 2011. OpportunityNation will leverage America’s spirit of service and volunteerism to fight poverty and create more opportunity for citizens everywhere. We have spent the last six months, completing a comprehensive listening tour and meeting with policy experts, practitioners, social entrepreneurs, and potential strategic and funding partners.
We are working to unite a nationwide coalition of practitioners and thinkers and ensuring that our work is broad-based and non-partisan. OpportunityNation envisions an America where every single child will have equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
Be the Change, Inc. interns are offered the opportunity to work on a variety of projects across campaigns. We make an effort to provide diverse experiences including individual and team projects and short-term and long-term projects.
The following is a sampling of projects that Be the Change, Inc. interns have supported in the past:
Interning with Be the Change, Inc. provides significant opportunities for professional growth and development; interns will gain experience transforming visions to action and developing the skills necessary to support an innovative system of policy development and widespread citizen mobilization. They will have the opportunity to participate in organizational meetings and community events on a regular basis. In addition, throughout the internship, interns will participate in a variety of workshops on topics such as campaign management, community organizing, social entrepreneurship, web communication, resume building, grant writing, and non-profit administration. Finally, an internship at Be the Change, Inc. will provide opportunities to develop relationships with leaders in the nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, policy, and political leadership fields.
Qualifications
The fall and spring internship programs run for 12-15 weeks starting in September and January respectively. Both programs have 4-6 part-time internship positions. A minimum of 15 hours per week is required.
The summer internship program runs for 10-12 weeks starting in June. The summer internship is a full-time 40 hour/week position. Interns must be able to commit to working 10-12 consecutive 40 hour weeks.
We encourage students to use this internship for undergraduate or graduate credit with approval from their respective college or university.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
Fall Program (September – December): Apply by August 1st
Spring Program (January – May): Apply by December 15th
Summer Program (June – August): Apply by April 15th
Interested candidates should send a cover letter explaining your qualifications and interest in the position, as well as a resume and writing sample (no more than 2-3 pages), to Jennifer Oriola at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Be the Change, Inc. is a nonprofit that creates national issue based campaigns by organizing coalitions of non-profits, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, private sector leaders, academics, and citizens. Vibrant coalitions, collaborative policymaking, bipartisan advocacy, and galvanizing events and online outreach are hallmarks of Be the Change, Inc. campaigns. Our combined grasstops and grassroots approach engages well-known voices in entertainment, retail, government, and philanthropy—and, through their megaphones, Americans of all ages and backgrounds. ServiceNation, the first campaign launched from Be the Change, Inc.’s platform, achieved the greatest government expansion of national service in our country in 60 years. OpportunityNation, our second campaign, launching in 2010, will leverage America’s spirit of service and volunteerism to fight poverty and create more opportunity for citizens everywhere.
Be the Change, Inc. is led by a talented leadership team with expertise from a variety of sectors, and is experienced in using interns and pro-bono support to advance its work. Graduate Interns will be expected to participate as members of the ServiceNation campaign team, the OpportunityNation campaign team, or the Be the Change, Inc. team that oversees development, finance, operations, and administration.
A successful candidate will be a Masters-level student in business, human resources, public administration, public policy or related field. He/she will have an understanding of the nonprofit sector, best practices in the field and organizational theory as well as excellent written and oral communication skills. A positive attitude, flexibility and a collaborative work style with the ability and willingness to lead and participate on teams will be crucial. Professional experience in a nonprofit organization or related field is preferred.
1. ServiceNation: Service as a Strategy Support
Since the launch of Cities of Service on September 10, 2009, over 100 mayors from cities all across the country have joined the initiative and are developing blueprints for service to better coordinate the efforts of employers, nonprofits, and academic institutions to solve challenges throughout their communities. In addition to that effort, ServiceNation will launch Service as a Strategy - a national initiative designed to elevate service as a core strategy for addressing local challenges. The ultimate goal of this initiative is the development and implementation of over 100 service strategies in action that are solving problems in small, medium and large cities nationwide.
Service as a Strategy will bring together local government officials, nonprofit experts, corporate leaders, and academics to work in teams – known as “issue councils” - focused on developing solutions to problems in a particular issue area. Issue council members will guide the overall Service as a Strategy process and provide suggestions for individual programs, ideas, and case studies that will be delivered to cities of service. Based on the collective input of mayors, issue councils will focus on topics like: education, financial literacy, sustainability, veteran reintegration, disaster relief, or other key impact areas important to cities.
In coordination with strategists and consultants, we are looking for additional support for the teams that will collect best practice strategies, identify ways in which existing strategies can connect with cities, and develop a set of materials that will be used by cities, nonprofit organizations, corporations, and other stakeholders as implementation guides. These efforts will culminate in a national summit in 2011.
The first phase will consist of carrying out a fact finding and research process to discover innovative ideas, program and solutions that will effectively address a local problem through service. These findings will result in a draft of best practices, case studies, issue-specific toolkits and measurement strategies for cities, nonprofit organizations, corporate partners and other stakeholders
The second phase will support the national summit by assisting in the curriculum development and event logistics as well as supporting the design and release of follow-up webinars through 2011 and 2012 to ensure that all potential stakeholders are reached.
This is a one-year strategy that will commence in Fall 2010 and will commence with the national summit in Fall 2011. Graduate students would provide support to consultant teams led by the consulting firm, sagawa/jospin.
2. OpportunityNation: Policy Research and Development
As OpportunityNation enters into the policy development phase, we are looking for someone to research major program and policy issues (e.g. education, asset development, workforce development and jobs, family formation), develop policy issue briefs and prepare federal policy information to our coalition and partners. This may also include attending briefings, conferences, and other policy meetings on behalf of OpportunityNation, writing blogs posts and facilitating online and offline discussions about pressing policy issues.
A successful candidate will be committed to social change and political activism and have knowledge of social and economic policy issues and trends and the federal legislative process. It is crucial to have excellent research, writing and editing skills as well as the ability to synthesize complex policy arguments into brief form.
The final deliverable will be policy briefing books for several Working Groups of national non-profit leaders.
3. Be the Change, Inc.: Governance Assessment: Values Alignment
Be the Change, Inc. was founded in 2007. Since that time, we have completed the first phase of our first campaign, ServiceNation, a national effort to increase service and volunteerism in America. Now that we are beginning our second campaign, OpportunityNation, it is an important time to reflect on our organization and how we approach our work.
As an organization dedicated to field development and system change, we have a special responsibility to reflect best practices of the field, especially in light of increased transparency requirements in the nonprofit sector. At Be the Change, aligning our internal policies and approach with our external mission is a core priority. Additionally, we seek to develop a deeper understanding of best practices across the field. Over the next few months, we seek to engage in a comprehensive review of our policies and governance documents and refine them based on this perspective.
The resulting recommendations would likely be presented to the board for adoption and approval.
4. Be the Change, Inc.: Human Resources Assessment and Recommendations
Be the Change, Inc. was founded in 2007. Since that time the staff has tripled its staff and plans to continue to grow over the next few years. As a result we are in the process of reviewing and updating our human resource policies and so that they reflect the growing size and values of the organization. As we move out of start-up phase into a more structured and professional organization, we want to adjust our recruiting, hiring, and on-boarding practices in support of this evolution while maintaining the flexibility and pace required to do our work.
Ideally, we are seeking a set of strategic recommendations related to human resources based on best practices in the nonprofit field that incorporate outreach and hiring practices with a focus on diversity, a comprehensive benefits analysis, evaluation process, on-boarding, and other internal policies and procedures.
5. Be the Change, Inc.: Knowledge Management
Be the Change, Inc does not have a universally used knowledge management system. As the organization continues to grow in terms of campaigns, initiatives, staff and office locations, it becomes crucial that we have a system in place that can guide the storage and sharing of information and materials. We are interested in finding the most effective way to use our current resources as well as researching alternative methods that meet our current needs and can also adapt to meet future capacity.
We are seeking a set of strategic recommendations on the creation and implementation of a knowledge architecture and information sharing policies and procedures that combine best practices and the effective use of resources.
6. Be the Change, Inc.: Measurement and Metrics: Balanced Scorecard
As Be the Change, Inc. grows, it becomes increasingly important to ensure there is strategic alignment of goals and activities among the campaigns, initiatives and staff members. It is also imperative that these goals are clearly communicated and there are metrics and measurement tools in place that can help determine if we have been successful. We are looking for a balanced scorecard approach to managing our internal operations and progress toward external goals.
ServiceNation Background
ServiceNation, the first campaign on this platform, played a leading role in developing the framework for what became the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which authorized the greatest expansion of national and community service in America since the Great Depression. The ServiceNation coalition, consisting of over 270 member groups, reaches an estimated 100 million citizens.
ServiceNation was launched September 11 and 12, 2008 with the ServiceNation Presidential Candidates Forum and Summit in New York City, where Senators Obama and McCain publicly endorsed the policy framework developed by ServiceNation and its coalition. The Presidential Forum was watched live by 7 million viewers on all major cable networks and the Summit was attended by over 750 leaders. The Summit resulted in strong announcements about and commitments to service from all sectors: corporate, military, entertainment, cities, states, colleges and universities, the media, and the non-profit sector.
Following the Summit, ServiceNation organized a national Day of Action on September 27, 2008 in which 2,721 events engaged 250,000 citizens in all 50 states and local, state, and national leaders in the campaign for increased national and community service. Following the passage of the Serve America Act on April 21, 2009, ServiceNation continues to work toward our ultimate vision of 1 million people in national, full-time service and 100 million people volunteering annually. The ServiceNation campaign has resulted in increased energy and activity in the service field, engaging new partners and developing emerging leaders to carry forth its vision and mission. The iParticipate campaign, a multi-year initiative led by the Entertainment Industry Foundation to engage the industry in service and volunteering, created a roadblock of programming on all major networks dedicated to service themes and highlighting stories of service. Cities of Service, launched last fall in New York with Mayor Bloomberg’s office, now includes over 100 mayors committed to establishing blueprints for service in their cities. Mission Serve, ServiceNation’s civilian-military initiative, was launched on Veterans Day 2009 with First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and Alma Powell celebrating 36 partnerships across 50 organizations. We are both humbled and inspired by the power of our collective work to engage citizens and sectors in a shared movement for change.
OpportunityNation Background
OpportunityNation, a campaign on the Be the Change, Inc. platform, is working to build a national coalition of traditional anti-poverty non-profit organizations, social entrepreneurs, innovators, private sector leaders, the faith-based community, leading thinkers, grass roots organizations, and other natural allies in an effort to build support for a non-partisan agenda to enhance economic opportunity and mobility. Over the course of the next two years, OpportunityNation will launch a sustained campaign that will bring poverty and opportunity into the mainstream debate, transform our nation’s cultural approach to poverty and opportunity, and help scale innovative efforts to fight poverty and create opportunity. OpportunityNation envisions a world where every single child born in America will have equal opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
As we move forward with this campaign, we commit to starting with the data, highlighting solutions that work, uniting a coalition of practitioners and thinkers, and ensuring that our work is broad-based and non-partisan. We have outlined a set of key activities and events that will help build the momentum of the OpportunityNation campaign over the next two years. First, we will engage partners and stakeholders through a Listening Tour, a coalition of organizations committed to the goals and vision of the campaign, and a transparent and collaborative governance and leadership structure. The campaign will build momentum, support, and public attention through 2010, culminating in a national launch event in November 2011, a year before the Presidential election of 2012. The key campaign activities include a participatory policy development, positioning and framing of the issue through traditional and new media strategies, a national OpportunityNation summit, and local and regional Days of Action.
Interested applicants should send a resume, cover letter and writing sample to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Posted on Feb 02, 2012
By linking the working poor with 1,500 volunteers, many from the Chicago area’s top companies and universities, Ladder Up empowers families and enriches communities with practical financial solutions.
Posted on Jan 24, 2012
On January 16, 2012, ServiceNation, along with many close partners, helped put together a service project proving that " “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted on Jan 18, 2012
It had been another successful event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Camden, Arkansas. The weekend had seen families come together to share in the history and values of the Civil Rights Movement, the recognition of community leaders who had embraced in service the values of Dr. King, and an opportunity for children of all ages to learn a little something about his dream.