Community Impact
The Co-Co Founding Team is committed to leveraging our space as a gathering place for thought leadership and conversation on pressing social issues.
Through Social Impact Panel events, non-profit membership, and access to state-level grants, we endeavor to increase the diversity of talent and perspectives in our community and to provide opportunities for our members to get involved in efforts supporting the broader community.
Social Impact Panels
The Co-Co provides a gathering place for dialogue around current trends and key players in social impact. We aim to provide points of connection and potential for impact between the action-oriented Co-Co membership and the non-profits serving local needs. Check our events calendar for upcoming events in this series. Past panels include:
-
Educational Inequity
Featuring Ann Borowiec, Advisory Board Co-Chair, JerseyCAN (moderator) and panelists Akbar H. Cook Sr., Principal, West Side High School, Newark, NJ; Tia Morris, Executive Director, Teach for America, NJ; Janellen Duffy, Senior Advisor, JerseyCAN; Ben Cope, Director of Development, KIPP New Jersey
-
Social Enterprise
Featuring Lily Kanter, CEO of Boon Supply and Co-founder of Serena & Lily
-
Women's Health
Women’s Health featuring Jen Velez, Executive Vice President, Community and Behavioral Health, RWJBarnabas Health (moderator) and panelists Sita Kedia, MD, MPH, FAHS, Chief Medical Officer and Neurologist, Palm Health, Keri Logosso-Misurell, Executive Director, Greater Newark Healthcare Coalition, and Suzanne Spernal, Vice President Women’s Services RWJBarnabas Health.
-
Global Philanthropy
Featuring Maggie Doyne, Founder and CEO of the BlinkNow Foundation and 2015 CNN Hero Awardee.
-
Hunger in the Time of the Pandemic
Hunger in the Time of the Pandemic featuring Taylor Buonocore Guthrie of Convers(ate) (moderator) and panelists Amanda Parrish Block, Founder of GRACE, Jeannie Fournier, Vice President of Programs for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, and Nichelle Holder, Chief Program Officer at South Ward Children’s Alliance.
-
The Digital Divide in Education
The Digital Divide in Education featuring Margarethe P. Laurenzi, Chief Philanthropic Officer, Community Foundation of New Jersey (Moderator), Sarba Arguda - Chief Academic Officer of KIPP New Jersey, Charles Best - Founder and CEO of DonorsChoose, Akbar H. Cook Sr. - Principal of West Side High School, Ben Cope - Chief External Officer of KIPP New Jersey.
-
Public Health
The “Roadmap for Mental Health” conversation engaged The Mental Health Coalition's Co-founder and Creative Partner Pamela Bell and Executive Director Jennifer Moore to offer a roadmap to demystify what "mental health" means and how to talk about it.
-
Global Philanthropy Revisited
The Co-Co welcomed back Maggie Doyne, Founder and CEO of the BlinkNow Foundation, as she released her debut memoir, “Between the Mountain and Sky,” in conversation with fellow member and author, Kara Richardson Whitely.
Non-Profit Membership and Peer Mentorship
The success of The Co-Co community is connected to that of the broader community. We welcome the non-profit professionals who are working to support a thriving New Jersey by offering a limited number of discounted memberships. If you are currently working for a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, you are eligible for a 10% discount on a membership at any level. Just register for your membership with your non-profit email, and we’ll take care of the rest. Co-Co members are also invited to join our Non-Profit Peer Mentorship group.
If you are interested in participating, please email team@theco-co.com to learn about details for the next cohort launch.
Non-Profit Leadership + Partners
The Co-Co membership and team members hold leadership roles in the following non-profit organizations, among others.
Would you like to feature your organization here? Co-Co members can feature their non-profit in this section by completing the following form.
Membership Access for Technology and Life Science Start-Ups
The Co-Co aims to support and inspire founders while growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in our state. In partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA) NJ Ignite program, technology and life sciences startup companies can benefit from up to nine months of membership support at The Co-Co. Interested applicants can learn more here.