Pilot Project: Unlimited Potential Baltimore
How We Leveraged Donor Dollars 12X Or More
When we started this project we asked ourselves a simple question. What is the maximum social impact we can make for the minimum amount of dollars and how can we measure our results? With initial funding of $200,000 from Founder Russell G. Redenbuagh, we began to study this question in depth. We settled on the idea of testing the hypothesis: “Can we improve the effectiveness of a local leader already doing good work through financial support, mentoring, and leadership training? With a $10,000 grant from Jeff Goldfinger, we began to support Haneef Hardy of Unlimited Potential Baltimore who Jeff identified as an excellent candidate with whom to test our theory.
In our pilot project with Haneef, we found that local leaders know the needs of their communities better than anyone else. Our initial attempt to guide program direction was not successful. However, when we focused on supporting Haneef in the projects he had already developed the results were overwhelmingly positive. In four months, Haneef went from a nascent local leader to a focused, organized driver of social impact. Haneef has filed incorporation paperwork including 501(c)3 application, fundraised an additional $65,000, received over $50,000 of in-kind donations, and recruited corporate sponsors for events. Additionally, Haneef has been elevated from partner to leader in local projects and events.
With our assistance Haneef has been able to expand his programs and offer new ones:
The Big Clean-Up Philly removed 138,000 cubic feet of trash from six neighborhoods. That is 9 school busses worth of trash. This is a conservative saving to the city in the hundreds of thousands. See The Study.
See The Cost Of Crime.Get On Track will train students in Finacial Literacy in 8-week cohorts. Improved financial literacy is correlated with better financial decisions.
Shop Talk is an ongoing program of mentoring for inner-city youth. Mentoring has been shown to improve high school graduation rates as much as 52%.
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Initial Investment
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Amount Fundraised By U.P.
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Donor Dollar Amplification
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45 School Busses worth of trash removed
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Lower Crime Saves Us All Money
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Residents Feel Safer