“Nonprofits are Mission-Focused Businesses.” Q&A with Lynn Margherio, Founder & CEO of Cradles to Crayons
Fundraise.com first met the Cradles to Crayons crew when one of their board members, Michael Morris, used our site for hisSunset on Summer event. The Boston-based organization, which endeavors to provide homeless and low-income children with the essentials they require to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued, drew us in with the dedication of their staff and the energy of their board. Not long after, we ventured to Brighton to volunteer as a team in their Giving Factory and fell in love with the cause.
Last night, at the BostInno Meet Up and celebration of the launch of our vertical Social Good, we raised over $1000 for the organization through the generosity of your donations. Beyond being a fun and festive party, it was great to gather together and raise the money that will buy 50 deserving children a pair of warm new shoes just in time for the holidays.
Recently we had a chance to chat with Lynn Margherio, Founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons, who started her mission in 2000 and has been making things happen in Boston and Philadelphia ever since.
1) Your warehouse in Brighton is a personalized but tightly-run ship, your backpack packing day is much like a fun military operative, and your appeals for donations mirror the savviest of marketing campaigns in their ability to connect with people and associate needs with dollar amounts and direct impact. What integral experiences or educational programs prepared you to operate such an effective organization?
Wow, those are some great superlatives! I’m glad we give that impression. Given the large numbers of children we serve each year – about 55,000 this year alone in Massachusetts and growing – it’s important that we set concrete goals, measure our progress against them and always try to find ways to improve the service we provide, as well as our volunteer experience.
There are more than 300,000 children age 12 and younger who are living in homeless and low-income situations, who lack some of the basics they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn and valued. These are the types of items we provide. The good news is that people want to help their neighbors. Our business model is powered by our volunteers, our corporate sponsors, and our social service agency partners. If we do our job well, then we’re creating a platform of service that everyone can plug into, regardless of background or circumstance.
2) How important do you feel it is for non-profits to adopt select/proven practices from the for-profit realm?
Nonprofits are mission-focused businesses. It’s our responsibility to operate efficiently and effectively, and to be good stewards of the resources we receive. In our ongoing effort to improve our organization, we benefit from advice and support from our board of directors and many corporate partners in areas such as operations, inventory management, marketing and public relations, customer service, performance management systems, legal, accounting, and information technology.
3) How important do you feel it is for non-profits to integrate new forms of emerging technology into their existing operations?
When I started Cradles to Crayons in 2002, we received all of our KidPack orders by fax. That created several challenges, not the least of which was trying to read some of our partners’ handwriting! We’ve since moved to an online ordering system and have merged disparate homegrown databases and spreadsheets into a single CRM. Our website is critical to getting the word out about our product and fundraising needs, and for registering the large numbers of volunteers who come to the Giving Factory. We’ve started to build our social media presence and see great potential with these emerging tools. This coming year will be about trying to substantially grow our base of supporters, through social media and mobile devices that make it easy for people to engage with us.
4) What is most needed at C2C right now?
Clothes, volunteers and winter items.
Specifically, we are in immediate need of boys clothing sizes 7/8 through 18/20, girls tops 2T, 3T and 7/8, and all clothing items for boys and girls sizes 18-24 months.
We also have a need for volunteers. We have opened a special evening volunteer shift this Wednesday from 6-8pm to help us fill 1,200 kidpacks before the holidays. People who are interested can send an email to Josh@Cradlestocrayons.org.
There are also volunteer opportunities available during the month of January. People can register to volunteer with us individually or with a group.
We’re seeing record-level demand for children’s coats, boots, and warm clothing and expect the pace of orders to continue well into January and February. We need product donations to keep pace with that demand.
5) What is the best way for people to become involved with C2C?
The great thing about our model is that there’s no single, best way to become involved with us. If you have children and they have “like new” clothing that no longer fits them, package it up and bring it to the Giving Factory or find a convenient drop off location online.
Keep an eye out for after-holiday sales to get bargains on coats, hats and mittens, shoes or boots and send them our way. Sign up on your own, with your company, congregation or family to volunteer at the Giving Factory. Or, donate online. $25 helps a child stay warm.