GivePulse 2022 Showcase and Impact Awards

On October 4, 2022, we celebrated the second annual GivePulse Showcase. This year’s theme was “Transforming Lives through Service & Belonging.”

This virtual event highlights the social impact that members of the GivePulse community make in communities across the country. We ended the event by celebrating individuals, institutions, and organizations who are making a transformative impact in their communities during our Impact Awards Ceremony.

We are honored to continue showcasing how institutions are transforming lives and creating meaningful opportunities for growth, service, and development. It was inspiring to learn from members of the GivePulse community who have distinguished themselves and their institutions through their passion, dedication, and innovation.

Learn more about GivePulse by connecting with a member of our team!

Main Sessions - Introduction, Panel, Keynote, IMPACT Conference

We kicked the event off with a welcome by our co-founder and CEO, George Luc and co-founder and chief technology officer, James McGirr. We then transitioned into the Carnegie Elective Classifications Panel Discussion.

Panelists, Dr. John Saltmarsh, Dr. Carla Santori-Ortega, Lauren Bartshe-Hanlen and Dr. Marisol Morales, representatives of the Carnegie Elective Classifications, discussed the importance of continuous improvement within higher education, and the importance of Experiential Learning for our future leaders.

Dr. Marisol Morales delivered a powerful keynote address on engaging sameness and personal connections to service, highlighting the findings of her dissertation research on Latinx students and faculty at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). She discussed the need for asset-based critical engagement and provided four cornerstones of an emerging framework within higher education that seeks to uplift community cultural wealth and transform institutions from the inside out.

Following the Awards Ceremony, we welcomed Jed Shireman, co-chair of the IMPACT Conference Board of Directors for an announcement about their 2023 spring conference. The last two years have been virtual conferences and they are excited to welcome students, faculty and staff back in person! Watch the video to learn more about the conference and the event location for 2023.

Watch Intro and Panel

Watch Keynote

IMPACT Conference

Breakout Sessions

For our two breakout sessions, we invited IHEs and NPOs to discuss their insights on using the GivePulse platform to support initatives ranging from addressing food insecurity and volunteer recruitment to grant management for a community service learning program.

Showcase 1 - A) Healthy BR | Geaux Get Healthy (Municipality/NPO)

Geaux Get Healthy: Using a Collective Impact Model to Grow Food and Community

Presenters: Kelli Rogers and SK Groll

Join Kelli and SK as they share about a robust coalition that is co-creating a thriving local food landscape using a collective impact model in Baton Rouge, LA. Since 2019, Geaux Get Healthy has reached more than 38,000 community members to meaningfully engage regarding their level of food security. Kelli and SK’s presentation demonstrates how they use GivePulse to drive community engagement, provide educational resources and evaluate program impact across multiple partner organizations.

Showcase 1 - B) Community Service-Learning in the Health Sciences (Higher Ed)

University of Texas - Health San Antonio - Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics

Presenters: Jacqueline Tovar and Melanie Stone

During this breakout session, four members of the following two leading health science centers shared the following:

Community service learning (CSL) requires a multi-layered organizing structure to be effective. Members of UT Health San Antonio’s Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics, Jacqueline and Melanie, share how GivePulse enabled their CSL program to be student-led, instead of relying heavily on administrative staff. This session also speaks specifically to grantmaking, management and reporting.

University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Presenters: Jess Guthrie and Monica Thompson

Addressing social determinants of health in the Mid-South region and across Tennessee is the primary focus for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC). Jess and Monica share insights on how UTHSC used GivePulse to not only recruit, manage and track over 5,000 volunteers as the primary organizer for Covid-19 mobilization in Shelby County, TN, but also continue building on this momentum to connect students to meaningful service opportunities.

Showcase 2 - A) Hope to Thrive (NPO)

Going from 0 - 50 Volunteers in Four Months: Leveraging Technology for Volunteer Recruitment and Scaling Social Good

Presenter: Joy Williams, Executive Director, Hope to Thrive

This presentation is geared towards small grassroots organizations that have a small staff and need to manage many volunteers and other staff easily and efficiently. Joy highlights successes from serving as the founder and Executive Director at Hope to Thrive in Winston-Salem, NC. Follow Joy as she reviews how the GivePulse software has made her life more strategic, especially when it comes to grant writing and streamlining daily operations.

Showcase 2- B) GivePulse Staff Share

Insights for Higher Education

Presenters: Brian Halderman and Tiffanie Braun

Learn from members of the GivePulse team about the best practices they have witnessed while working with institutions of higher education across the country. Tiffanie and Brian explore institution-wide adoption of the GivePulse software and offered an opportunity to answer commonly asked questions regarding deploying GivePulse for campus and community. They also explored how campuses assess their initiatives and create actionable steps from what they are learning. This is your chance to learn more about adoption, implementation and ongoing use of GivePulse for your campus and community.

Awards

We were honored to celebrate nine members of the GivePulse community who are making outstanding contributions and transforming lives through their service.

We continue to celebrate these community builders and recognize their inspiring work below. To learn more, watch the GivePulse Showcase and Impact Awards Event.

Partnership Pulse Award - Washington State University and the White Spring Ranch

Awarded to the campus-community partnership that has demonstrated a strong commitment to the principles and practice of collaboration, Washington State University and the White Spring Ranch (WSR) Museum and Archive Library received this recognition with over 4,445 shared hours and 1,278 shared impacts during 2021-2022. With over 703 volunteers serving through their collaboration, WSU’s volunteers have made WSR’s operations possible.

Leader in Learning Award - Hannah Cherry of Portland Community College

This distinction is awarded for the commitment to using technology to deepen community engagement and continually learning via webinars, office hours, and robust engagement on the platform. Of the award finalists, Hannah stood out for her community engagement work as she has centered social responsibility, equity, inclusion, and collaboration throughout her career. With over 5 years of experience using GivePulse and 45 groups that she has connected with through the GivePulse platform, we applaud you for your hard work and dedication to learning how to use innovative tools to support engagement with your community at PCC and beyond.

Power of Reflection Award - Christian Brothers High School of Memphis, TN

Awarded to the group that is deepening the impact of service-learning through robust student and volunteer reflections, this award requires us to look closely at the reflection questions from organizations who use GivePulse to engage students and volunteers in service-learning activities. With Post-Service Reflection questions that ground your students in the core principles of CBHS and compel students to think about how their service not only made a difference, but pushed them to step outside of their comfort zone, your efforts are making a lasting difference. In the last year alone, CBHS students contributed over 7,640 hours of service generating 1,625 impacts for their surrounding communities.

Honorary Team Member Award - Lindsay Tarsovic of the University of Missouri

This award is for the individual who has helped the most to shape the GivePulse platform during the last year to ensure that we meet the needs of our communities and campuses. We honor Lindsay as a leading member of the GivePulse community based on her participation in Office Hours, engagement with our support team, and her overall quantity and quality of interactions with the GivePulse Support Team. Last year she helped launch the MoTax: Missouri Taxpayer Education Initiative on GivePulse and it has already connected over 331 people (and counting!) to the GivePulse platform. The MoTax volunteers have given thousands of hours to help strengthen the financial health of their region. As a lead on this initiative, we are honored to collaborate with Lindsay and support their impactful efforts.

Outstanding Nonprofit Organization Award - Inspiring Minds of Providence, RI

This distinction was externally nominated and awarded to the nonprofit organization that fosters strong partnerships with campuses and other entities to advance its mission. There are countless aspects of the work Inspiring Minds does to have been nominated and recognized for this award. In the last five years of using GivePulse, Inspiring Minds has generated nearly 80,000 volunteer hours creating an economic impact of nearly $1.6M. In 2021-2022 alone, Inspiring Mind’s Volunteers served in 17 schools across 7 zip codes in Providence for 15,528 hours in direct service to school children, contributing an economic impact of $310,560. Their collaborations with University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community College of Rhode Island, plus Brown University’s AmeriCorps VISTA program make them an outstanding example of the power of engagement.

Volunteer of the Year Award - Brianna T. James of the University of Memphis

This distinction is awarded to the student or volunteer who has done outstanding work and made an impact through their service by either helping or teaching others. Brianna was nominated because of her many contributions as an undergraduate student including being a Social Change Scholar and the student Director of the Civic Engagement Board for the university’s Center of Service Learning and Volunteerism. In this role, she helped lead both the board and the center through a time of tremendous growth and transition. She used GivePulse during the four years of undergraduate schooling and gave over 324 volunteer hours during that time.

Most Transformative Volunteer Experience Award - Extra Special People (ESP) of Watkinsville, GA

This distinction is awarded to highlight an experience, program, or activity that contributed to the transformation of an organization, community, or social issue. ESP’s work is grounded in creating transformative experiences for people of all abilities. ESP brings neurotypical individuals together with individuals with disabilities, and the results are truly life-changing for all involved. The transformative impact of their work not only strengthens ESP’s participants, it extends well into the fabric of the state of Georgia with the sheer number of volunteers they engage annually. Thousands of volunteers view their time with ESP as the best time of their life and return annually to be a part of the ESP community. In the last year - ESP engaged people of all abilities across the state through 389 events in what’s called Java Joy, where they provided over 23,000 cups of coffee with joy. This innovative work placement program has hired 10 new Joyristas, creating meaningful employment for adults with disabilities while giving the community a one-of-a-kind opportunity for engagement.

Champion Changemaker Award - All-Stars Club of Denver, CO

Awarded for the most innovative use of the platform, All-Stars Club has held 17 fundraising campaigns and counting on the GivePulse platform. Raising over $200,000 since joining over three years ago, their vision to provide first-class experiences for individuals with special needs, all while giving their parents and caregivers a night of rest, is a true inspiration.

Showcase & Impact Awards

Overview