Dear Friends,
Plywood People is a nonprofit in Atlanta supporting a global community of Social Impact Leaders.
At the core responsibility of every nonprofit is impact. This is why we report to you how we are doing. We want you to know that our work and your investment are making a difference.
This year we are taking it further by engaging in a two year research project measuring our impact internally (through quantitative and qualitative data) to understand how we can teach even better principles
and externally to compete with the training of Social Impact Leaders globally. This is a landmark project that will position us for continued global impact. This research is the start to our strategic planning process and capacity building season. When you give to Plywood, you give to hundreds of organizations, and we are on a path to serve thousands more. In the pages ahead, you will see what we do everyday, how we do it and how you can contribute more than ever, so we can grow our impact even greater in the years ahead.
Thank you for investing in our team and our community.
Jeff ShinabargerTHANK YOU TO OUR 2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jim Dudley, Board Chair and Entrepreneur
Nikolle Reyes, Vice Board Chair, Metaleap
April Stammel, Board Secretary, Sr Vice President at Newport
Elizabeth Burdette, Director of Giving at Signature FD
Joel Iverson, Founder of Monday Night Brewing
Andrew Case, Board Treasurer, Tax Partner at Frazier & Deeter
Chris Bledsoe, Entrepreneur
Chanel Dokun, Founder of Women of Consequence
David Allman, Owner & Chairman of Regent Partners
Chris Carneal, Founder and CEO of Booster Enterprises
Lydia Mays, Founder of See Beautiful
Claudine Miles, Co-Founder of Restore More
David Farmer, SVP Restaurant Experience at Chick-fil-A
Jonathan Rich, Founder of J.Rich Atlanta
Jeff Shinabarger Founder + Executive Director McClaine Wellem Community Manager + Marketing Coordinator Emily Giordano Program + Partnership Manager LaTasha Brown Senior Fellow Tuere K. Butler Director of Operations Kayla Stagnaro Executive Assistant + Director of Special Projects Designed by Ben Farnham Cover Photo by KJB Studios Centerfold Art by AliMakesThings182,000+ minutes of entrepreneurial training watched online for free $60,000 awarded to three Social Impact Leaders through the Plywood Impact Fund
33,686 followers across social platforms
26,500 Podcast downloads between Love or Work and Plywood Podcast $11,900 in scholarships provided to attend Plywood events and Programming
1,823 people in attendance for Plywood events
768 hours of free one-on-one consulting given by the Plywood team and Advisors
316 leaders platformed through events and campaigns
130 monthly members at Plywood Place
22 Partner events hosted at Plywood Place
Revenue: $1,706,500
Expenses: $1,705,297
Revenue: $1,414,839.47
Expenses: $1,346,269.05
DONATIONS $619,946.09
44% PROCESS $300,762.95
21% PLACE $287,243.36
20% EVENTS $116,109.07
8%
IMPACT FUND $82,993.62
6% OTHER $7,784.38 1%
Plywood Presents was created for the community that cares about making things better. For 13 years, we have been gathering to hear inspiring talks, to learn about projects making our communities better, and to be connected to people we need to know that we may not.
If you are a nonprofit leader, this is a place for you. If you are a social entrepreneur, there is education waiting for you. If you love to get involved in projects that make a difference, you will be surrounded by people to serve alongside. If you are a corporate leader, this space will bring you innovative new thinking that will change how you work.
The year 2020 changed all of our lives, relationships, organizations and businesses. 2022 was a year of rebuilding for our team, for Plywood, and for our greater community. It was important to our team to create an experience that brought people together in the same room to learn, celebrate, and connect.
In the fall of 2022, we embarked on a risky idea: The What’s Good Tour. We pulled together an incredible line up of speakers and hit the road visiting our friends in Athens, Chattanooga, Birmingham, and back in Atlanta.
Along with Jeff Shinabarger, we brought along our friends Nate Butler, Kitti Murray, Eryn Eddy, and BT Harman.
The What’s Good Tour fostered new connections and meaningful conversations in a local context. Our team connected with old friends and new. We brought people back together and connected people in a unique way.
Chick-fil-A Impact Accelerator helps nonprofit organizations take their work to the next level, by providing training, support and resources – and fostering connections with fellow nonprofit leaders and change makers. The partnership between Chick-fil-A and Plywood contributes to the overall empowerment of our communities.
Through a one-day conference, nonprofit leaders have the opportunity to hear from leaders and participate in capacitybuilding sessions on topics such as strategic marketing, organizational growth, innovation in programming, DEI, financial planning, telling your story, and more. Following the conference, participants are invited to apply for a grant to gain additional in-depth training, development and networking through a 10-month cohort program.
400+ leaders educated at the one-day event and 24 organizations trained and awarded $165,000 in grants.
Real talk for Social Impact Leaders.
Think of The Plywood Podcast as a kitchen table conversation debating the pros and woes of running a business and sustaining a nonprofit. We dive into building business plans, sustaining relationships (personal and professional), diversity and inclusion in the workplace, forming values while being a part of true cultural change for good. We do this through interviews, startup spotlights, and pro tips. To date, we have released 50+ episodes with more than 10,000 downloads. The Plywood Podcast is made up of a few different segments: interviews with experienced entrepreneurs, Pro Tips with niche experts, and spotlights on start-ups.
Learn how to make moves with practical advice from Pro Tips:
How to Plan a Fundraiser
How to Build a Better Board
How to Pitch
How to lead a small team
How to navitate difficult decisions
50 episodes and counting Sponsor the Plywood Podcast for the year for $2500.
BY THE LEADERS.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.”
Sarah Buchanan-Sasson Founder of Kula Project
“We cannot allow fear to stop us from doing the work that needs to be done.”
Hannah Song
CEO of Liberty in North Korea
“The majority of people are marginalized by the way we insist work happens at some point in their career…We are humans first. We’re not worker bees.”
Stephanie Nadi Olson
Founder of We Are RosieListen wherever you get your podcasts.
“My participation in the 10-month Impact Accelerator Program is by far the best thing that’s ever happened to Students Without Mothers in our 18-year existence.”
Mary Torrence-Williams Founder/Executive Director of Students without Mothers, Inc
We like to think that Plywood is a place to get work done and to connect with others. People come here to make a difference out there. Plywood Place features spaces for whatever kind of work you need to do. There are spaces to workshop ideas on a whiteboard, spaces to take phone calls or virtual meetings, spaces to connect with others, and spaces to focus.
Plywood Place is home to 10 small teams who are leading businesses and nonprofits across the city.
Serving 130+ people monthly made up of small business owners, nonprofits leaders, creatives, and hybrid workers.
• 22+ Partner Events hosted at Plywood Place
• Proudly serving Portrait Coffee, roasted here in West End.
• Home to 100+ commuter members each month.
Book a gathering in our event space. Host a Board Meeting in a conference room. Meet a colleague for a change of scenery with a day pass. Become a member at PlywoodPlace.com
Sponsor Taco Tuesday, our monthly event to bring members together for $1500/month.
Over the past 13 years, Plywood has worked with over 1000+ social impact leaders. These are individuals working to solve problems in our communities. Through the experience of advising, challenging, and encouraging these business owners and nonprofit leaders, our team has developed our own Process.
Path is the first step, and it is a 7 week digital training. Path is used for for two kinds of individuals: People with an idea who want to make it reality or legacy organizations implementing new initiatives to accelerate their organizations.
Foundations is a two-day experience designed to set the groundwork for creating an entity or program. The leaders walk away with a business model, and gain knowledge in areas ranging from marketing, finance, legal, partnerships, operations, and more.
Layers is for those in need of consistent community, feedback, and mentorship. These groups meet monthly and challenge the leaders toward growth.
“The hands-on exercises were the most useful part-- having space to reflect, discuss, plan, and get ideas down on paper. The highlight though was the mentor dinner. There’s nothing like having a thought partner spend dedicated time on your business with you.”
“The process gave me the opportunity to do a lot of self reflection on how to be a better leader who is present and focused on relationships instead of transitions, appreciating the importance of rest and how it benefits our work, and gave me the accountability and motivation to make a positive impact
47 people through Path, 26 people through Foundations, and 62 people through Layers
Jen Owen, Educator and Founder, Co-CreatED
in my community. “
Aysha Pennerman, Artist and Founder, Impactful Brush
In August 2022, we launched the Plywood Impact Fund, community grants for social entrepreneurs. Our goal is to educate, fund and connect the innovative leaders in Atlanta, who are committed to doing good work, through community grants and scholarships.
We scholarship aspiring social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders through the Plywood Process, which includes mentorship, small group coaching, and education. We invest in social entrepreneurs with a proven track record through financial grants and mentorship. We grant innovative nonprofits through financial gifts and mentorship to those working to solve the greatest social challenges.
A community grant is a collection of funds given by individuals, families, and corporations of any dollar amount. When you give to the Plywood Impact Fund, you invest in the work of real people doing the hard work of making their communities better.
Plywood defines “startups doing good” as organizations (for-profits or nonprofits) that make significant or positive changes that solve or address social challenges and or injustices.
It could look like this:
• Social impact programs that create public value— ideally, in systemic, sustainable, disruptive, and innovative ways.
• Social impact programs that exist to address a local or global community need.
• Social impact programs that work with the hurting, the oppressed, the under-resourced, and those experiencing poverty.
$60,000 given to three organizations.
Become
plywoodimpactfund.com
In 2022, The Impact Fund selection committee met to create standards and review applications. We received over 30 applications, and selected two organizations to receive funding for their requests.
Introducing Bridge of Light and 3D Girls, Inc. Both organizations presented scaling ideas and received funds to catalyze their impact.
We also awarded Culturally Relevant Science with funding as the winners of the 2022 Plywood Presents Idea Competition.
The Plywood Advisors is a curated group of seasoned entrepreneurs and subject experts who wish to steward their expertise by advising the Plywood People community. We rely on our Advisors in a variety of ways: from serving as a coach to someone in our community who needs one on one advice, a facilitator in our groups, or as a content provider to our participants in Plywood's programming (The Process: Path, Foundations, and Layers).
Plywood Advisors are a dedicated group whose interest is to support our community of startups doing good whether with their time, connections, and/or monetary gifts. We remain grateful for the servant leadership and generosity of this group.
Stat: 150+ hours from 27 different Advisors donated to social impact leaders in the Plywood Community Opportunity: Become an advisor! plywoodpeople.com/advisors
ADVISOR OPPORTUNITIES:
Facilitate
This person leads group discussion covering the content in Path by Plywood (our digital curriculum), leads a weekly Zoom connection call, and answers questions.
Commitment : 7 weeks, 2-3 hours/per week (prep & facilitation)
Coach
The advisors who are interested in coaching can serve through the year and offer as many hours as they want to the Plywood Community based on their expertise. Coaches can also serve at Foundations to be paired with a program participant for a conversation over dinner.
Commitment: 1 time meeting, usually 1-3 hours
Teach
This individual leads a session around a specific content topic during Layers or our Foundations retreat. The opportunity is for a seasoned presenter with niche expertise. Commitment: ~2 hours during Foundations or Layers, prep, presentation, Q&A
150+ hours from 27 different Advisors donated to social impact leaders in the Plywood Community Become an advisor! plywoodpeople.com/advisorsOUR WORK IS MADE POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF YOU. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT. PLYWOODPEOPLE.COM/GIVE
