MAD Friends (Make A Difference)

In 2008, Jo Scharmann a few of her friends and colleagues who were independently actively volunteering with different organizations across the Denver metro area decided that they wanted to do more and engage in a volunteer opportunity together. Through their networks, they found a couple of local organizations to start volunteering with to help with small tasks, such as providing snacks or other materials for a low income elementary school and helping with assorted tasks for the Broadway Assistance Center. As more and more friends and colleagues wanted to get involved and they approached having 20 women in their group, they realized they needed more structure, so they created positions and assigned tasks to members of the group: some would research organizations they could volunteer at, some would manage their projects, some would work on strategy for what orgs to volunteer with, and some on communications and getting the word out about what they were up to. In 2010, they decided to narrow their efforts down to 3 organizations reflecting the 3 major areas they felt were most important to enabling self-sufficiency. They knew they’d be able to make a bigger impact if they were focused on helping a few orgs that already do things well to do things even better with their support. They decided to focus on supporting one organization in each of 3 categories: hunger, homelessness, and education. Then they started researching Denver organizations in each category. They vetted each orgs based on what programs they had in place, how well it was run, how engaged they were in the community, and what the leadership was like, as well as their 990s and annual reports (many women in this group are accountants or businesspeople). They decided on Family Tree, Open World Learning, and Hunger Free Colorado as their 3 orgs and started partnering with them helping out in any way they could, such as charitable giving drives like move-in kits for Family Tree’s domestic shelter, school supplies, thanksgiving boxes, etc. special event organization (like helping at the Open World Learning tech event or hosting summer picnics for the House of Hope shelter), volunteer support (like manning the phones for Hunger Free Colorado at news events) or helping move the Family Tree Treasure Trunk thrift store move from one location to another.  The women also provide professional help or mentoring, as in the case of the project management training for Hunger Free Colorado. In 2012 they decided to start fundraising for these orgs through an annual fall fundraising event. Make A Difference is NOT a 501c3, so during their annual fall fundraiser, the donors write their checks directly to the org of their choice, and often these donations are matched 1:1 by another local business wanting to help. Make A Difference currently has around 27 women who volunteer on a regular basis, and a network of around 300 supporters (Called MAD Friends) who donate/provide materials, volunteer occasionally, provide matching grants for fundraisers, or otherwise offer financial support. Since they started, they’ve been able to raise more than a quarter million dollars and donate over 1,000 volunteer hours.