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Accomplishments

Over the past 5 years, SCI has been a leader in demonstrating how communities can systematically weave a stronger social fabric connecting its members. SCI increases social capital by training and supporting young leaders; using the Web to make it easier for individuals to find community activities and resources; recruiting volunteers to welcome people new to the area and encouraging them to participate; and running events that build bridges and spark a community spirit.

Key Results
  • Engaged nearly 10,000 residents in civic life in 3 communities last year (Dorchester, Lynn, and Woburn)
  • People are more connected because of SCI—76% are more civically active, 82% report increased feeling of belonging in their community, and 62 organizations report increased participation as a result of SCI.
  • SCI develops new leaders—90% of Youth Council members develop leadership skills each year; 75% of youth participating in election forums are more interested in voting and politics.
  • Building the Civic Engagement field- SCI helped organize the resent Mass. Civic Engagement summit for 700+ participants, and is hosting the related web tool at http://masscivicaction.org.
Growth Plans
  • Budget is more than doubling this year, to $700,000—driven by AmeriCorps grant, new fee-for-service revenue and fundraising.
  • Planning to add 10 new communities to the SCI network this year, which will replicate SCI’s civic networking tools—community web portal, Civic Welcome Wagon and weekly civic eBlast.
  • Combining youth & community technology: a program growth area for us combines our youth civic leadership development and use of technology to connect people to civic happenings. Began with a summer pilot program as part of youth violence prevention in Dorchester; we now have 5 full-time AmeriCorps members serving as Outreach & Technology Coordinators, including Joao Ramos:

The story of Joao Ramos underlines the power of combining SCI’s youth and technology programming. Joao lives in Dorchester’s Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood. Six years ago, when he moved from Cape Verde to Dorchester, he didn’t speak English and hadn’t seen a computer. Joao had developed an interest in computers in high school, so he immediately jumped on the opportunity to participate in the SCI Dorchester summer program. In this capacity, he found himself delivering PowerPoint presentations about the SCI website to media and community leaders, and applying his technical skills to improving the community site. The summer whet Joao’s appetite, and he’s now serving as a full-time SCI Outreach and Technology AmeriCorps member at DotWell.

Past Accomplishments

  • Dorchester Site Director Marisa Coleman was recognized by the “Be the Change” Award at the 2006 Massachusetts Conference for Women.
  • The Woburn Youth Council was awarded the Daily Points of Light Award in September 2004.
  • The Boston Globe Foundation recognized SCI’s replicability in naming it as one of its flagship grantees.
  • The Social Innovation Forum featured SCI as one of six Boston area organizations to participate in 2003's “Nonprofit Venture Forum.”