2022 Week 2: Non-profit Management

Genesis Aire | Public Justice Center

Lately I’ve been adjusting to a different kind of remote working environment. Last summer, working remotely meant that I had to be on Zoom for about five hours a day. Eventually, that work environment became more difficult as I had to be accustomed to Zoom fatigue and talking to blank screens all day. Working remotely at my placement this summer means hopping on occasional orientation Zoom calls while working on an assignment from my supervisor. My remote work this summer also means coming in person, not only to the office, but city hall or the courthouse. I suppose I’m struggling a bit with mapping my schedule. I usually find out from my supervisor where I’ll be needed in person for the following week. There isn’t a set schedule because events change on a weekly basis. On Wednesday I struggled the most since I had to be in person for the first and last events of the day, but expected to jump on two Zoom calls in between. I was conflicted over whether or not I should work in the office all day versus the comfort of my room. I ended up going in person to city hall, then back home for the two calls, then down to the office for my final meeting. That day I was left feeling quite exhausted before I had to run down to the CSC for bites an hour or so after. After going through it once, I recognize now that some of my days might look like that. Overall, I enjoy having assignments and tasks throughout the day that I’m able to do from home, but I also enjoy being immersed in the Baltimore community. Last week I observed Rent Court and this week I was able to attend a press conference about the inclusionary housing bill. I was able to talk to Baltimoreans in various organizations, mostly Balitmore Renter’s United, about the history of gentrification in Baltimore and the harsh realities of the housing market. One advocate mentioned that Baltimoreans pay 50% of their income on housing. I learn a lot just by interacting with community organizers and advocates, and I’m looking forward to being more immersed in their work.

Rebecca Baxter | Corner Team, Inc.

This week was once again filled with a lot of prepping and lesson planning for the Summer Champions Camp that Corner Team will be running starting in July. I’ve really been enjoying the flexibility that a hybrid work environment has been giving me in terms of setting my own schedule, and it will definitely be an adjustment when the camp starts and I’m working fully in person.

I’ve now gotten to meet everyone who I will be working with this summer for the camp and it seems like it is going to be a really great team. Everyone seems very passionate about what they do and about making this camp as enjoyable as possible for all the kids, and I’m very excited to get to work with them.

This week, we did a virtual training session about incorporating youth voices into our work. It felt a lot like some of the stuff we did at orientation and brought up some really important points. The presenter talked about how it is important to make sure that youth know that their voices and ideas are important and that they actually have a role in decision-making that affects them. While this role can vary based on the organization, it is important to ensure that youth aren’t used in a tokenism-based role and that all youth have a voice, not just the “top performers.” The presenter also mentioned that youth shouldn’t be asked to only speak on their experience as youth, as there is a lot more complexity to their individual identities. In the lessons I’m planning, I am trying to incorporate youth voices by allowing the campers to suggest topics in STEM they’d like to learn about and also providing forms they can use to give feedback about what is and isn’t working for them in the program. Overall, I thought the training brought up some really important points that could be applied in many situations – that giving people a voice doesn’t mean just tokenizing one part of their identity or only picking the “palatable” of a group. It is important that everyone knows that their voice matters in decisions and organizations that affect them.

Ayla Frost | Station North Tool Library

This week has been pretty fun for me. In contrast to last week, this week has been less about onboarding and more about actual tasks. Now that I know the systems, I was able to do my first library shift this week, in which I hold down the fort with a volunteer as members come in and rent out tools. This was pretty fun. The Library was lively and had a great energy, and it was cool to see what the heart of the Library is about. That being said, it was also a challenge for me. One part of the challenge was just operating the inventory system quickly as Tool Library members lined up in wait. This was challenging, and I made a few minor mistakes, but I think this aspect of the job is something that I will quickly get used to.
A bigger challenge for me was navigating conversations about money. Jessa has told me that it is never the Tool Library’s intention to bankrupt (or financially stress in any way) our members over late fees, and we will never charge more than a tool is worth. On my shift on Wednesday night, someone came into the Library with 96$ in late fees and was unable to pay the fees that day. We ultimately decided he could come to pay the late fees at a time later next week, and an appropriate discount would be decided then. It was an uncomfortable conversation for me to have because of course 96$ is truly a lot of money and I didn’t want to put financial stress on our member, but I also wasn’t sure how much was appropriate to discount, and whether it was okay for him to leave without paying any fees. I think I will get better at navigating these conversations, but it is a tricky balance as the Library is truly community-centered and not driven by profit, but of course, relies on profit to run daily operations. Another challenge for me on Library shifts has been not knowing the tools well enough, but I’m hoping I’ll improve. I did some simple fixes on my bike the other day and have done a little cutting wood to prep for Tool Library classes, so I’m already feeling like I’m improving. Overall, I’ve had a lot of fun doing a variety of crafts this week (painting a sign, cutting wood to certain dimensions, making a basket etc.) and am enjoying the position.

Neal Lim | Baltimore Urban Baseball Association

This week, I had an experience that I didn’t deserve, but received anyway.

There’s a father who takes his two sons to the Baltimore Urban Baseball Association (BUBA) facilities almost every day. For this post, I’ll call him John. John’s older son is the one who comes to practice batting. John’s younger son, however, is not a baseball player, but an aspiring football player. While his older brother goes to work in the batting cage, the football brother does sprints and agility drills. In between breaks, I get to talk to him about his cool Pokemon backpack.

One of the highlights of my time here at BUBA so far has been getting to know this family. John goes to work almost every day at 4:00 AM so he can take his boys to work out at BUBA in the afternoon free open session. His work ethic doesn’t stop there, either. While at BUBA, he either tosses balls to his older son or keeps track of his younger son’s progress. I can tell how good of a mentor and father he is because his sons both emulate his determination and spirit in their respective sports.

I have grown to admire John and view him as an example to me of how to put forth effort in difficult tasks, but this week, he surprised me with a revelation into another side of his wonderful humanity.
One day, he showed up with two Burger King meals – one for me and my boss. When I turned to thank him, he said, “No problem, man,” and headed out to help his sons with their training.
I’m not sure if I could adequately express or if John could completely understand how much the meal meant to me. It was what I needed that day. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to get to know truly amazing people here in Baltimore. If I can make an infinitesimally small fraction of an impact on Baltimore that John and his boys have made on me, then I would be so happy.

Amira Rady | Fusion Partnerships

The second week at my placement involved much more hands-on work than the first week. I was able to attend meetings with two of our team’s Partner Engagement Coordinators, each with a different summer project. It has definitely been an adjustment to have so much independence and flexibility when it comes to deciding how to execute projects; I was not left a lot of instructions so as to leave room for me to innovate and take each project my own way. To keep myself on track, I find I am feeling to inclined to ask a lot of questions of the PEC’s and my supervisor; this keeps me grounded and allows me to get positive constructive feedback on where I want to take each project. I love that I bring fresh perspective to the team and they bring knowledge and experience to me. With one PEC, I was able to create a streamlined spreadsheet with partner event information and to transfer these to the calendar last year’s CIIP intern created (we love a good legacy project!). With another PEC, I was able to hone in on how we can create some sort of resource database for Fusion’s community partners; we are in the process of researching, but what makes it so exciting is that I have a lot of say in how this resource directory will be implemented and integrated into Fusion’s internal/external communication platform (another summer project). As a people person, working behind the scenes in itself is an adjustment for me–I am so used to constantly being around people and chatting. However, I find the work I’m doing now to be grounding; it makes me appreciate what is happening behind the scenes in nonprofits all the more. I am striving for balance in this way by also looking to attend partner events in the community; there are a lot of voices to be listened to, and I feel that will give me the fulfillment of interaction that I seek while still being able to propel the incredible work Fusion and its partners are doing!

Jane Slaughter | Impact Hub

This week flew by at Impact Hub! The majority of my week was spent helping finalize the logistics for our two events on Friday, June 24th. It was a lot of technical details such as making YouTube playlists, figuring out a livestream, helping set up, and finishing certificates for the 81 graduates of Impact Hub Baltimore’s Empower program. Planning throughout the week went by very quickly, and before I knew it was time for our events on Friday. I got to act as a reporter for the event, as I will be writing a profile on the happenings of the event throughout Week 3. The morning Small Business Mini-Summit was a great event to be a part of, and I really valued hearing from all the small business owners, particularly in our Empower panel, where alumni shared the lessons they learned within the program. I got to speak with a few different small business owners about the event, and one in particular expressed to me how much she loved the energy that she felt in the Impact Hub space, something that she felt like had been missing in the years since the pandemic.
In the evening, I stayed for the Empower Celebration, which was basically a huge party for the graduates of the program. While their success with the completion of their websites was very apparent, one thing that I really felt throughout the celebration was the sense of community that this program had created. All the program graduates learned from one another and just seemed to really respect and admire one another. Impact Hub has created a wonderful community for small business owners in Baltimore, as well as clearly stressed that small business owners cannot work on their businesses effectively without taking care of themselves. The community and joy that was evident in the Empower celebration made me very thankful to be a part of Impact Hub Baltimore!