Common Cents Mission: Common Cents, creator of the Penny Harvest, nurtures a new generation of caring and capable young people between the ages of four and 24 by enabling them to strengthen their communities through philanthropy and service-learning.

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What's New at Common Cents and the Penny Harvest
Join the 2012 Run for Change! Create your profile and recruit your team today, keep the Penny Harvest going and growing in your school for years to come.
Spring Madness: Roundtables are meeting across the city debating important community needs! Visit the Coaches Page for tips and tools.
2011 Penny Pick-up, Check back every day to see the pennies add up!
March 29 2011
Penny Harvest coach defies the impossible with her colleagues. Brooklyn P.H. coach guns for #1 Run for Change! team.
March 28 2011
A Drop in the Ocean: A Conversation to Prove the Power of One NYC Middle school: why bother caring?
Check out the issue of Time Magazine for Kids featuring the Penny Harvest (pdf)!

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Home > Penny Harvest > Location > NYC / Metro NY > Grantees > Register on The Organization Finder > Tips for your profile
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TIPS FOR YOUR PROFILE

Students search The Organization Finder to find organizations they wish to learn more about and possibly fund. Your profile should not say everything about your organization; instead try to pique student interest enough to contact you to learn more in person.

The fields you will be asked fill in are listed below with tips to make each section stand out. After reading through them, REGISTER or SIGN IN!

Organization Overview
Explain the problem your organization address and how it helps.

Keep this short. Don’t copy and paste your mission statement. Focus on one or two programs or services that students will identify with. Remember that your audience is aged 4-14, so you have to explain jargon or complex vocabulary. Our best advice: focus on issues of fairness and justice, as kids always say “That’s not fair!”

Take the mission of Common Cents as an example:

Before

After
Common Cents, creator of the Penny Harvest, nurtures a new generation of caring and capable young people between the ages of four and 24 by enabling them to strengthen their communities through philanthropy and service-learning. It’s not fair that kids have so many ideas about how they would make the world a better place, but it’s hard for them to show it because they don’t have the chance. Common Cents believes that all kids can make a difference if given the chance. Each year, Common Cents helps students in 800 schools gather pennies, make grants to organizations that help people, places, and animals in need, and help out with their hands. Each student becomes a philanthropist – that is, giving of their time, talent, and treasure to help others!

Description of Cash Grants
Describe how the students funding will be used.

Students want to know how to spend their Penny Harvest funds – down to the last penny. Each roundtable has a budget of $1000. Some split up their funds among many organizations, and some choose only one. Try to give a few examples of what different sums could purchase. Of course, your organization has many needs, but think about the needs that would be most interesting and tangible to children.

A children’s hospital may list:

• $100: New art supplies for the waiting rooms, including crayons, markers, and construction paper. Every day, 500 kids come through these waiting rooms.
• $500: Blankets for 100 children.
• $1000: 10 birthday parties for kids in the hospital who can’t celebrate their birthday at home.

Service Opportunities
How kids can do more than give money to help your organization.

Students prefer organizations that have service opportunities listed. Service doesn’t have to be complicated, doesn’t have to cost money, and can be done in addition to or in place of a cash grant. See the Preserve page for more ideas on service.

Notice how the above cash grant examples can easily be converted into service projects:

• We need new art supplies for the waiting rooms. Since you know what art supplies kids like better than we do, you can buy whatever you think they would like.
• Kids in the hospital are comforted by blankets just as you are. If you or someone you know knits, you can donate hand-made blankets.
• Some kids have to celebrate their birthday in the hospital. Make cards for those kids to wish them a happy birthday like you would for your friends.

Personal Introduction
Personalize your profile, share information about you.

Students want to know about you and why you’re involved in your organization. Briefly explain what you do at your organization and what you like about your job.

Ready to get started with your profile? 
New user? REGISTER
Existing user? SIGN IN
Lost your username and password? Contact grantees@commoncents.org.
 
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