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"I was working in corporate America for one of the world's largest retail companies, and it was challenging and wonderful in many ways.
But I was finding my truest fulfillment on Saturday mornings in this cramped office where I volunteered for Suicide Prevention Services," Matthew Goldstein, CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based nonprofit Besa, tells Philanthropy Roundtable.
"It was in that space I learned about the nonprofit sector and built relationships around volunteerism that changed the trajectory of my career."
Goldstein, who quit his job to start Besa 11 years ago, says those early morning phone calls to Suicide Prevention Services made him want to do more, to give more.
"Even now, that feeling never gets old," he says.
"Watching people come together to uplift others, and being part of that, just lights me up."
According to a Fidelity Charitable report, 61% of charitable donors are also recent volunteers, and 39% of volunteers support a nonprofit by volunteering with the organization before they make a financial donation.
Millennials, for example, give more to the nonprofit they volunteer with than they would if they didn't, with 33% saying they give more to the organization than they would if they didn't volunteer, compared to 21% of Gen Xers and 12% of baby boomers.
Goldstein's
Selected Grant News Headlines
A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
Foundation: Johnson Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is giving $325 million to help communities that have suffered from "a historic lack of investment" in areas such as housing, water, and infrastructure, the New...more
The Avangrid Foundation, the philanthropic arm of sustainable energy company Avangrid, has announced a $135,000 grant to Habitat for Humanity, continuing the company's longtime partnership with the...more
If you're looking for a place to hang your hat, a new school in London might be just the place for you. Designed by students at London South Bank University, the "Harnessen School of...more
When New Jersey resident Samantha Pearlman Mazuz lost her mother in a car accident when she was 19, she didn't think much of what would happen to her for the rest of her life. "I didn't know what...more
Foundation: Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands
The US Virgin Islands' Old Barracks was built in the early 1800s as a military barracks, but it's long since been forgottenuntil now. The Virgin Islands Architecture Center for Built Heritage and...more
Foundation: Central Valley Community Foundation
California's Central Valley is home to 25% of the US' fruits and nuts, and the state's agriculture-heavy San Joaquin Valley alone accounts for 19% of revenue and 14% of gross domestic product, per a...more
Entertainer Ikechukwu Okafor Samuel, better known as the "King of Soul," has been named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world for the second year in a row. The honor is given to...more
There's a new player in the social-entrepreneurship game in Asia, and it's a woman. Padong Gomer, a 31-year-old entrepreneur from Bangladesh, is the newest member of the Asia Social...more
The Canadian city of Medicine Hat is kicking off the country's first-ever Energy Innovation Challenge to help small energy startups get their ideas off the ground and into the market, the CBC...more
Loneliness has been linked to a host of health issues, including heart disease, cancer, and respiratory depression. Now a Canadian company is hoping to change that with an app it's calling "OOt...more
Community Building News from...
Wells Fargo Foundation
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation
Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas
Dallas Foundation
Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Rhode Island Foundation
Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
California Community Foundation
Arizona Community Foundation
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
Ten Years After Katrina, A New Startup Sector Takes Hold In New Orleans
“I think, by 2018, there’s an opportunity for New Orleans to be viewed around the country, around the world, as a hub of entrepreneurship for the South,” says Tim Williamson, the CEO and cofounder of incubator The Idea Village, referring to the year the city will celebrate its 300th anniversary.
