When the
GreenLight Fund, a Boston-based nonprofit network for children and families, decided it was time to expand, they searched nationally for the right city. After a year of research and many lengthy visits, they chose Philadelphia.
The fund has launched with $2.3 million dedicated to establishing two nonprofits --
Single Stop USA and
Year Up -- in the region.
"A lot of it came down to where there was receptivity, where were folks excited about the model -- Philadelphia rose to the top of that process," says Matt Joyce, executive director of the GreenLight Fund Philadelphia. (Joyce works out of The Exchange, a coworking space for the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors
recently profiled in Flying Kite).
To effect change on a local level, GreenLight works with community leadership to identify needs, then searches nationally for best-practice programs they can import. In Philadelphia, they met with members of city government,
the Philadelphia Youth Network,
the Philadelphia Education Fund, and the
Community College of Philadelphia. From these discussions, college persistence and workforce development were identified as central issues for local youth.
The program is partially funded through the
Social Innovation Fund, a federal program. Additional funding was provided by the
William Penn Foundation, the
Barra Foundation and the
Bank of America Foundation.
GreenLight has operated in Boston since 2004, where they’ve established seven programs -- all are still operating and some have become independently sustainable.
"We were looking for an appetite for innovation and new ideas," says Joyce. "Among the folks we talked to, there was a lot of interest in trying to get some of the best ideas from around the country launched in Philadelphia."
Source: Matt Joyce, The Green Light Fund
Writer: Dana Henry