UCB 2023 Impact Report

Growing and Leading with Purpose 2023 Impact Report

Growing and Leading with Purpose

The mission of Union Capital Boston is to transform social capital into opportunity by rewarding community engagement. Our vision is that community collaboration cultivates equity for all Bostonians.

Founded in 2014, Union Capital Boston is almost a decade old. We have moved through our start-up stages and overcome the exhausting challenges of the pandemic. Now in our ninth year, UCB has entered a new stage of growth and purpose.

This past year UCB embraced our new hybrid reality, launched our new leadership programs, and invested in the sustainability of our talented team. We refined our mobile rewards app, strengthened our community partnerships, and welcomed the invitation to pilot our model in Springfield, MA.

Most importantly, we continued to provide vast resources, host hundreds of community gatherings (both virtual and in-person again), build thousands of relationships, and award hundreds of thousands of dollars for our members taking actions that strengthen our community. These daily repeated actions serve as the foundation for creating social capital: the connecting of resources and relationships that build power and opportunity in our community.

“ I thank God for UCB allowing me to provide services for people in my community and getting to socialize with other people. At the same token the UCB Visa gift cards are a financial blessing too.“

UCB Member

Growing and Leading with Purpose

We invite you to read our Impact Report and review the gains our members are making, both quantitative and qualitative. Our members report measurable employment gains, improved finances, and higher voter participation. Our members also report immeasurable benefits for their mental health, self-worth, and sense of collective power.

We are grateful to our Core Team, our Network Coordinators, Board of Directors, Advisors, partner organizations, and countless members, allies, and supporters who bring our mission to life.

This past year our Board made an incredible investment in the sustainability of our team by creating a new Restorative Leave policy, providing for a 3-month paid sabbatical for all Core Team members with five years of service. Both our Lead Organizer and Director of Networks were able to take these 3-month leaves over the past year and return to work restored, with a renewed commitment to our mission. Along with demonstrating new ways to build power and opportunity in our community, UCB is proud to also demonstrate new ways to build sustainable nonprofit organizations.

As we enter into our tenth year, we look forward to continuing to grow and lead with purpose, both in Boston and beyond.

With deep gratitude for our collective community,

The UCB Core Team

Diana Garcia // Network Manager

Semhar Habtehans // Network Support Administrator

Shavonne Herrington // Director of Partnerships

Dennis Hicks // Director of Leadership

Eric Leslie // Founder/Lead Organizer

Jalina Suggs // Director of Networks

Quantifying Community Engagement in 2022

The need for social capital is personal and collective; our community benefits when we get a job or advance our education, and we benefit when neighbors do as well. The decline of social capital is harder to measure than decreases in financial or human capital, but it can be just as devastating.

Upwards of 80% of all jobs in the United States are obtained through personal networks. It is not just a matter of what you know or how much money you have; accessing successful employment is about having a broad and diverse network that can connect you with resources, and references to open doors. These relationships and resources are not just beneficial for obtaining a job, they impact every facet of our lives, from educational

Engagement of individuals improves economic prospects for communities, but those with less time, income, and resources cannot always choose volunteerism over making ends meet. Providing an invitation, incentive, relationship, and connection to resources lifts barriers, sparks social capital, and builds collective power.

The UCB mobile rewards app aggregates hundreds of resources in a calendar. Members access opportunities, such as workshops and community events. Members log their activity to earn Points, earning Visa gift cards. Average engaged members earn about $200 per year (non-taxable maximum of $500 per year).

In 2022, almost 3,700 UCB Members tracked over 185,000 hours in the UCB App for engagement activities ranging from school

The Impact of UCB Visa Gift Cards

2%

5%

31%

Groceries

25%

Household Necessities

Transportation Groceries

Bills

Household Necessities

Since our founding in 2014, UCB has awarded over $1.7 million in rewards to our members for their community engagement. This averages to about $200 per engaged member per year. While this money does not drive our outcomes alone, it provides additional support in times of need, a recognition for giving back, and an invitation to take a step into our shared community spaces.

We asked our members how they have used their Visa cards this past year. Their feedback demonstrated how it has made a small but valuable impact, in much the same way that mutual aid has made such a difference throughout the pandemic.

“At Christmastime I used my gift cards to buy gifts for my nieces and nephews. Kids look forward to Christmas and it doesn’t matter if we are in a recession, Covid, etc. So I made sure they got toys from ‘Santa’ wink wink. I have used my gift cards to buy groceries, paid my light bill and other bills. These gift cards are a life saver and bill payer!

UCB Member

The Impact of UCB Visa Gift Cards

These cards help me out with food, bills, and bus passes. I look forward to them with my husband not working.

The Visa gift cards allow us to stretch every penny. I am very grateful especially during the pandemic. I remembered my great niece didn’t have baby powder milk and the gift card came in handy. I was also able to support a family friend with a loss.

The UCB gift card was beneficial to my family because I was short on groceries and I remembered I had the $50 gift card. That saved me from the embarrassment of not having enough to pay for my family's groceries.

This card has been a blessing in my family life because thanks to it we have been able to buy more groceries than I could get on my son's WIC card.

The gift card has helped me buy supplies for my classroom. My scholars earned a pizza day and I used it for some very happy children!

This gift card helps a lot because I have to pay too much rent and sometimes I don’t have extra money to buy groceries.

UCB Member Feedback

While the money that our members earn matters, it is just the beginning of the impact that we seek to achieve. Every December we ask our members to share their life changes and feedback with us in our annual survey. We are able to match their annual responses with their entry survey when they became a UCB Member. In this way we are able to directly track measurable changes for each of our members throughout their membership in UCB. We also receive valuable feedback about our program model as we seek to relentlessly improve.

Results from our December 2022 Survey of over 450 UCB Members:

UCB Member Feedback

What is your favorite part of UCB?

How likely is it that you would recommend UCB to a friend or colleague?

Net Promoter Score 71

(81% promoters - 10% detractors)

Detractors (0 - 6) = 10%

Passive (7- 8) = 10%

Promoter (9-10) = 81%

Has UCB connected you to any of the following programs, resources or opportunities that have been helpful to you?

Public transportation access and equity Racial/Social

“I'm grateful for the gift card. To be honest, even if there was no gift card, I'd still attend UCB events because I've learned so much!

UCB

Member

Event and resource information Earning UCB points and rewards Relationships and support from the UCB community

The Impact of Community Engagement in 2022

What is your primary employment status?

What is your Credit Score?

UCB has enabled me to share resources with children and families who are without housing that I volunteer with.

UCB Member

The Impact of Community Engagement in 2022

UCB

Launching the UCB Leadership Program

In 2021, UCB embarked on a new three-year Strategic Plan and a journey to create a new leadership development program. It first began with creating and hiring a new position, the Director of Leadership. With the role filled, the work began immediately to design a program that could be transformative for our members.

challenge their community is facing. The 2nd tier titled UCB Leads invites leaders who are ready to take action and launch their initiatives, creating benefit and impact for the entire UCB community. An additional program, UCB Facilitates, is focused on facilitation training for a select cohort that wants to lead workshop training sessions for the UCB community.

Beginning in November 2021, our new Director of Leadership, Dennis Hicks, gathered insight from members, staff, and partners to design a curriculum for the leadership program. Piloting in the summer of 2022, UCB launched our first pathway titled UCB Learns with 26 UCB Members. Participants learned the principles of the Public Narrative and explored their call to lead others in an effort to make a difference in an urgent

Investing in our members’ leadership development has two reciprocal benefits. First, individual leaders develop their professional skills, which they can utilize in a multitude of capacities and increase their opportunities for employment and impact. Second, the efforts that leaders launch and grow directly benefit our members, who utilize the services they provide, patronize the businesses they launch, and benefit from the civic actions and policies that they influence.

Launching the UCB Leadership Program

In the first year of the pilot program, leaders that completed our full UCB Learns and Leads cohorts developed their plans to address student debt, raise awareness about mental health, improve conditions of homeless shelters, and support families experiencing community violence. They presented their Public Narratives and calls to action at the launch of the Thomas J. Ruffen Community Leadership Fund in January 2023. The Fund is established in partnership with The Boston Foundation to invest initial funding support of up to $10,000 in our newly trained leaders who are proposing to turn their stories and passions into real projects and action.

During the summer of 2023, UCB Facilitates will relaunch with a new curriculum designed to train members on designing workshops as part of our new Community Stewards program. Leaders will be trained to offer workshops led by UCB Members for UCB Members that will be offered

In 2023, the program continues to inspire our members to lead. The current cohort of UCB Learns began in January with UCB Leads being offered to participants who want to pursue developing their call-to-action into an event, program, activity, or the creation of a community organization.

and thankful for being one of those selected to participate. I had an amazing experience and connected with some amazing individuals who I will consider partnering with in other programs going forward.

“

“

UCB Member

Leadership Program Overview: Launching the UCB Leadership Program

UCB Learns: Participants explore their call to lead through the concept of Public Narrative and storytelling.

UCB Facilitates: Participants develop skills and build their confidence in the art of facilitation and curriculum development.

UCB Leads: Participants continue to fine-tune their Public Narrative and explore ways to bring to life their call-to-action through the creation of an event, activity, or organization for their community.

UCB Learns // July 2022

62 Applicants

26 Accepted

22 Completed

UCB Learns helped me feel empowered to address community challenges.

58% Strongly Agree

42% Agree

UCB Facilitates // September 2022

9 Applicants

6 Accepted

UCB Facilitates helped me to meet the needs of adult learners

100% Strongly Agree

UCB Leads // November 2022

12 Applicants

12 Accepted

8 Completed

UCB Leads helped me to confidently share my narrative publicly

80% Strongly Agree

20% Agree

UCB Leads helped me feel more prepared to make a difference in my community.

40% Strongly Agree

60% Agree

I am better able to approach people and talk with them. Leading breakout groups is good practice to get comfortable talking to others.

“

UCB Member

Launching the UCB Leadership Program

As our leadership programming continues to take shape, so do our measurable goals. We continue to seek feedback from our participants and learn how our programs can make the best impact possible. Based on our results so far, in the coming year we hope to:

Fully train 10 new grassroots Boston leaders in developing a plan of action

Create a tracking system for leaders to report back on their results and impact from our trainings including: number of people benefiting from their programs, funds raised, hours of workshops provided, and new EINs created

Support 5-10 leaders landing new job opportunities and/or streams of income from their new initiatives and workshops as a result of UCB leadership training.

Community Leadership Fund into new leaders launching their first initiative, project, website, program series, etc as a means of them establishing new organizations and campaigns that create sustainable impact in our community.

“ This

a great experience and I enjoyed networking and sharing ideas of community realities with others in my community.

was

“

UCB Member

Growing with Purpose in 2023 and Beyond

As detailed in the previous pages, over the past year UCB Members have made personal and professional gains, earned support for their action, and taken on leadership to improve our community.

Looking ahead to 2023 and beyond, we see implications for our work at all three levels of our Civic Engagement model:

LEAD

& ORGANIZE ATTEND & SHARE CONNECT

Growing with Purpose in 2023 and Beyond

At Level 2 we are excited to safely and successfully return to in-person programming, hosting Network Nights across the city and seasonal Resource Fairs. We have also begun to host more specific youth programs for our teen members in Boston Public Schools and focus groups with our members who are men. Our Partner Nights continue to grow in value, providing an opportunity for organizations to directly connect with our members about health, finance, education, and community resources. If you are interested in learning more about our partnership programs and gatherings, please contact

At Level 3 as detailed on our previous pages, we plan to continue to grow our leadership training workshops and measure their impact. Additionally, our Network Coordinator program continues to serve as a pipeline for leadership development for our partnership organizations. We co-identify, hire, train, and stipend over 25 leaders from our partner schools, health centers, community development corporations, and social service organizations. If you are interested in learning more about our leadership training programs and opportunities for mentorship, please contact

Along with our continued growth in Boston, we are excited to share that later this year we will officially launch our second site, Union Capital Springfield! We invite you to learn more about our initial pilot in Springfield and our partnership with New North Citizens’ Council, North End Community Connects, and the MassMutual Foundation. Please visit our Pilot Report at: https://bit.ly/NECCPilotReport

If you are interested in learning more about our initial work in Springfield, please contact Eric Leslie, our Lead Organizer, at eric.leslie@unioncapital.org

Dennis Hicks, our Director of Leadership, at dennis.hicks@unioncapital.org

Shavonne Herrington, our Director of Partnerships, at shavonne.herrington@unioncapital.org

Income Sources

Direct Public Grants

Direct Corporate Contributions

Direct Individual Contributions

Program Income

Expenses

Total Income Salaries and Benefits

UCB Rewards Program

UCB Network Nights & Events

Fundraising Expenses

Leadership Programs

Operations & Technology

Total Expenses

FY23 - Boston

FY24 - Boston & Springfield

UCB Board of Directors

Josh Varon Chair - Legal Counsel, MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

R. Nikki Barnes Vice Chair - Executive Director at KIPP MA

Michael Perez Treasurer - Owner, Perez Law

Melanie Nevin Clerk - Counsel at US Litigation & Investigations at Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.

E. Peter Alvarez Emeritis Chair - Senior Vice President, Atlantic Global Risk

Tracye’ B. Booth Board Member at Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (Co-Chair Substantable Committee); UCB Member

Sheena Collier Founder and CEO at the Collier Connection and Boston While Black

Charles B. Green III Associate Director of Retail Operations at Boston Medical Center - Morrison Health Care; UCB Member

Brian Hale Technology consultant

Dr. Tariana V. Little CEO of EmVision Productions

Claudia Osorio Cleaning services, Roxbury Prep; UCB Member

Catherine Owens Artist, consultant

All of our impact is only accomplished thanks to the incredible work of our Core Team, and a diverse array of allies, partners and supporters. We especially want to thank:

THANK YOU

OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS:

Boston Medical Center - MA Community Engagement Alliance

Boston Builds Credit - United Way of Massachusetts Bay

Boston Impact Initiative

Boston Public Schools: Adams, Burke, CASH, Hennigan, Dr. King

Boston Ujima Project

Boston University CTSI Community Engagement Program

Brigham Women’s Hospital Stronger Generations

Codman Square Health Center

Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Duet

East Boston Neighborhood Health Center

East Boston Social Centers - Every Child Shines

Greater Boston Interfaith Organization

Higher Ground Boston

Jewish Family & Children Services

KIPP MA

Massachusetts Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

NOAH

Nuestra Comunidad

Parent Support Program - The Home for Little Wanderers

Project Bread

Project Hope SchoolFacts Boston

Transitional Remedies Solutions

UP Academy Boston

Urban Edge

Vital CXNs

“ We have been so enriched by the participation of some incredible UCB members. We are so fortunate to have them involved and sharing their insights and expertise with us and our partners.“

UCB Partner Organization

THANK YOU

UCB ADVISORY COUNCIL

Dan Binder-Brantley

Jen Block

Brad Braufman

Lina Cañon

Vetto Casado

Lucy Darragh

Mattie Deed

Emilio Dorcely

Katie Everett

Jennifer Gilbert

Rick Grudzinski

Delisa Joseph

Mike Kincade

Jeff Kushner

Rebecca Lin

Josh McFadden

Terry McManus

Jack McPadden

Christian Putnam

Rich Schneider

Luc Schuster

Matt Stein

OUR NETWORK COORDINATORS:

Erika Roxana Aguirre

Sujey Bernardino

Ka'Lorraine Collado

Shondell Davis

Erin DiCarlo

Odette Escobar

OUR NETWORK COORDINATORS:

Elsa Flores

Connie Forbes

Zenaida Gonzalez

Lissi Guerrero

Janet Iraola

Dymon Lee

Karla Mckennis

Faith Morrison

Sonia Satchell

Bishnu Tamang

Pamela Walker

Tasha Waller

Lashaunda Watson

Shakiera White

THANK YOU

OUR SUSTAINING FUNDERS:

Barr Foundation

Berkshire Bank

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Cabot Family Charitable Trust

Comcast NBCUniversal

Cummings Foundation

Liberty Mutual Foundation

Lynch Foundation

MassMutual Foundation

Needham Bank

NeighborWorks America

One8 Foundation

Paul & Edith Babson Foundation

PNC Bank

The Boston Foundation

Trefler Foundation

Tufts Health Plan

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley

Wells Fargo

We would like to thank Summer Metcalf, our College for Social Innovation intern this past semester, for her research that helped produce this report, and Michael John “ALIVIXI" Guadarrama

www.sandyrivercustoms.com for his design of this report.

In February 2023, David Leslie, father of founder Eric Leslie, passed away at the age of 75. In so many ways

UCB represents the values, practices, and life that David lived, and that is no coincidence. David lived a life of service, love of family and friends, and commitment to community. We dedicate this Impact Report and our continued commitment to our mission in David’s honor. He is dearly missed and deeply loved.

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