Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

Hello! 

Week 2 of working at The Overwatch Partnership taught me the importance of time management. For my second week, I was working as a camp counselor at an Ohio State music camp while also balancing remote work at my nonprofit. There were times where these two commitments overlapped, and I felt very overwhelmed. It was during this time that I remembered one of my favorite quotes by M. Scott Peck. “Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” I knew that I needed to take some time to take care of myself in order to do both jobs functioning at my highest, so that is exactly what I did. I spent one night pampering myself by doing skincare, listening to music, and meditating. After that night, I was ready to do both jobs as best as I could. For my second week, I sat in meetings that my boss Eric led. One example was sitting in on a meeting to plan the upcoming annual golf outing that OWP started doing last year. Another meeting was strategic planning. I did not realize how much work goes into running a nonprofit. I find it amazing how everyone on the board works part-time for OWP, and still has time to make the organization a priority. During week 2, I emailed the board members about having short Teams calls with them to interview them. I would ask them questions such as “How did you get involved in Overwatch” and “What is something you’d like to see from me as a fellow this summer?” Eric was the one who gave me the idea to interview each of them. He has stressed the importance of making connections this summer and learning from those with much more experience than me in different fields and topics. 

During week 3, I got to meet with a couple of the board members who responded and interviewed them. I met with Grant Burden, Jon Rust, and Mike Rogers. They each told me about their backgrounds, how they got involved in Overwatch, goals they had, and what they were looking for from me to do this summer. Their insight was very encouraging for me. I now know what people are expecting of me and I am determined to be as helpful as possible! Tomorrow, the fellows are going to see Rick Ross with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. I am really excited to get the other fellows more and spend time with them at a fun event. On Sunday is Overwatch’s golf outing. I will be there from 7:00am-3:00pm. It will be a lot of work but I’m sure it will be a very pleasant experience getting to know veterans and running the silent auction booth. I am looking forward to giving this fellowship everything I’ve got! 

Until next time, 

Kindall Benjamin 

Good afternoon, Fellows!

Courtney Moore here! We’ve officially wrapped up another impactful week at Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I’m excited to share a few meaningful highlights from my experience.

This week was truly inspiring. One of the most valuable moments for me was attending our staff learning session on child safety. While I can’t share the specifics due to the sensitive and confidential nature of the content, I can confidently say this: the safety and well-being of every child we serve is at the heart of everything this organization does.

I had the opportunity to speak with one of our Match Support Specialists, who is also a new mother to a beautiful baby girl. She shared how her dual role as a parent and child advocate has deepened her empathy and commitment. Her words reminded me that when we support children through this work, we are doing so with the same care and reverence that we’d hope someone else would have for our own families. That was a powerful moment of connection for me.

Another exciting development this week is a new project I’ve begun—developing an AI-supported template to enhance quality assurance within the Impact Team. This initiative blends technology with human-centered design to better support Match Support Specialists and streamline their processes. I’m also curating a set of training resources focused on:

• Conversational support
• Mentoring children with unique disabilities
• Mental health support

At the start of this fellowship, I shared that I expected to be challenged—and this week certainly delivered. After presenting my early work on the AI template, I received constructive feedback that helped sharpen my perspective. While I naturally hoped for immediate validation, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of the feedback process. My team reminded me that excellence isn’t about being perfect—it’s about progress, and I’m learning to give myself the same grace they’ve extended to me.

Nonprofit work requires both heart and resilience. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it. The impact we’re making has long-term value, and I’m honored to be part of that.

I’m grateful for this journey, and I truly believe that every challenge, victory, and lesson is preparing me for what God has purposed in my career—whether that be in nonprofit, the private sector, or beyond.

On a fun note, I ran into Kat, one of our amazing cohort members, at a local supermarket tonight! It was such a joy to catch up, and it made me even more excited to see everyone tomorrow at the concert!

Onward and Upward to Week Four!

Warmly,

Courtney Moore

Hi All,

It’s the end of my third week with Huckleberry House — and what a busy week it has been! It started out with (as I mentioned in my last blog post) the rest of my interviews with Huck House’s directors and some of their key managerial staff, particularly those who oversee the Transitional Living Program and the Youth Outreach Program. Respectively, these programs help young people aged 17-24 and youth aged 12-24 who need help finding housing, getting a job, finishing school, learning how to parent, etc.

I’d say my biggest takeaway from my meetings with these staff is the importance of being intentional, empathic, consistent, and nonjudgmental with young people in crisis to ensure they not only feel seen and heard but also supported and encouraged while they take their next steps. As someone still figuring out being a young adult myself, it was great to learn about how much Huck House works to holistically care for young people during their times of need and even after — I can’t even begin to describe how much the support and love of my parents and mentors have helped me become the woman I am today

However, I’d say the highlight of this week was helping to plan and then host the Juneteenth celebration we held for the youth on the 18th. It was great not only to get to meet some of the youth Huck House serves but also to share with them a little bit about the history of Juneteenth and how important it is for everyone, though especially those in the Black community, to know about it as part of U.S. history.

Until next week,
Emoni

Hi All,

I would say the highlight of my second week at Huckleberry House was the meetings I had with about half of the organization’s directors. Through these meetings, I learned a bit about their journey to Huck House, what they do in their current role, the skills they find essential to the work they do, and their hopes for Huck House’s future.

What stood out to me most from these meetings is how many of Huck House’s directors (and administrative staff) have been with the nonprofit for 10+ years, often starting out as a volunteer or intern and then moving up. Also, since many of them have served in various roles within the organization, they take a lot of pride in being able to not only do their executive duties but also direct service work. The decade or more of organizational knowledge they bring to their roles is evident in how they talk about what they do now as a director and in their hopes and plans for the future of the nonprofit. I really hope to one day intimately know and support an organization I work for so well.

Lastly, in between these meetings, I started acquainting myself with the project I’ll be working on for the rest of the summer (i.e., updating and expanding Huck House’s Safe Place program). Through Project Safe Place, Huck House partners with over 130 organizations in the Columbus area to provide youth ages 12-17 with safe places they can go, from which Huck House will arrange for them to get to the Crisis Shelter safely.

I would say my meetings, especially with the Director of Residential Programs and Director of Professional Development, helped me get an idea of how Safe Place works in relation to Huck House’s other programs. Moreover, I was even able to brainstorm with them some potential partners I might reach out to in order to expand the program.

All in all, I feel I now have a more in-depth understanding of some of the organization’s executive team and how what I will be doing in the next few weeks will help Huck House. Now, I am even excited about my meetings next week with the other directors to learn more about the housing and youth outreach programs.

Best,
Emoni

Hello everyone!

I am finishing up my third week at the McConnell Arts Center (MAC)!

On Monday, I had a day off since I had worked Saturday and Sunday at the Worthington Arts Festival. The arts festival was a great success this year as we had around 30,000 visitors between Saturday and Sunday and very positive feedback from visitors and vendors alike. We also had beautiful weather for the festival despite previous threats of rain and storms. I would have to say my favorite part about being a part of the entire festival process was getting to interact with staff, volunteers, and artists, and also being able to really enjoy and experience something that I was able to have a hand in creating.

On Tuesday, I started off the day by uploading a bunch of Worthington Arts Festival pictures to our OneDrive. Staff and volunteers, including myself, had taken the time this past weekend to capture wonderful moments at the festival for marketing purposes. Pictures of staff, volunteers, visitors, vendors, artwork. What you learn in marketing is that pictures and captured moments are crucial to drawing people to your organization. When someone opens your website, for example, they do not just want to see words describing or listing something. They want to see moments that illustrate what is written, a visual demonstration that tells a potential participant or reminds a former participant that they will get their time and money’s worth: experiencing the joy and wonder of the arts. On Tuesday, I also got the chance to continue with my scanning project.

On Wednesday, I started out my day by visiting three Worthington Library locations, as well as the Worthington Community Center, to drop off some marketing materials to these places to be displayed and distributed. It was nice to get a feel for the community and audience we serve and reach as a nonprofit. I then spent some time browsing some non-profit related websites to gather some pertinent information. I also got to explore some information on GuideStar and look at some 990s. I ended the day by helping our Development Coordinator with a donor acknowledgement task. She taught me how she goes about the process of mailing out donor acknowledgements from accessing the data, to doing a mail merge, to physically assembling envelopes. Acknowledging the people who donate anything to you as a nonprofit is extremely important work, so I enjoyed this task.

As an organization, we had Thursday off because of Juneteenth.

Today, Friday the 20th, I started off my day early with an event that was being hosted at the MAC. The Columbus chapter of the nonprofit Creative Mornings was responsible for the event. Participants were offered breakfast, coffee, and community to start off their morning. They then entered our theatre to hear a talk given by Joyce Chen on a topic connected to the monthly theme Punk. Participants then had an opportunity to have small group discussion based on offered questions, talk content, and personal experience. A little later in the afternoon, I walked some marketing materials to a nearby senior community center. I also finished prepping the donor acknowledgement letters for the mail.

Overall, I have had another great week at the MAC and in the nonprofit world!

Talk to you soon,

Graci Jackson

My third week at Netcare included some incredible experiences as I have started to get more familiar with the company and the staff.

This week I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting with our CEO and a City Councilmember. Getting to watch what more senior meetings look like was such a wonderful experience.

My mentors and I also met with our co-hosts of our Pickleball Event to debrief all of our thoughts and key takeaways. It was extremely interesting to hear how their perspectives on the event were similar to and differed from ours. It was an engaging conversation as we discussed how we would want to improve this event in future years. I was even able to give some of my own input on the event to hopefully gain more attendance!

My favorite part of this whole week was getting to have a meeting with my two mentors, evaluating the work that I have done while also talking about goals and my big projects. I learned so much from this meeting including why we market our services through our website in the way that we do, and the key parts of a campaign. In this meeting, we came up with the idea to start a campaign that focuses on the “why.” In my first session with The Columbus Foundation, Dr. Lomax talked to us about the importance of our “why.” Having the opportunity to connect that with my work at Netcare has been so rewarding and I am excited to see how this campaign pans out.

I spent the rest of the week drafting ideas for the campaign including focusing on client, donor, and staff testimonials, as well as, posting video content as frequently as other content on our social media to boost engagement. I also worked on various social media posts and organized different lists for fundraising and outreach.

Overall, I had another incredible week at Netcare with my mentors and am looking forward to all my future projects!

Best,

Anaika

Hi everyone! This week at the Center for Disability Empowerment, we have continued to plug away at planning the 35th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We are now just three weeks out from the event, and are trying to pull all of the pieces together. This week, the CDE Executive Director Sue Hetrick was on vacation, so there were many things we had to table for now until she is able to approve or provide insight on them. We have tried to prepare everything so it is not too overwhelming for Sue when she returns and we can quickly start putting things into motion. 

One thing that we have been struggling with in the planning of this event is getting email responses from people. Whether that is sponsors or other planning committee members, we are often not getting the responses and information we need to properly prepare for the event. This has been frustrating for me, and I feel like we would be much further along in the planning process if we had all this information. I have been trying to remind myself that it is okay that there are things out of my control, and I am only responsible for doing my best with what is given to me. I have also been trying to give our sponsors and planning committee members some grace, since I know they are probably very busy and also doing the best that they can. I do hope to get some more responses from sponsors in the next week to properly prepare for registration, name badges, and reserved seating at the event. 

Jackie Martin, who I have been working with closely throughout this process, is also currently working on a grant application for the CDE. She explained the grant to me briefly, and I thought that it and grant writing in general seemed interesting and like a good skill to learn. I am focusing on event planning right now, but I hope that after the event on July 11, I will be able to learn a little bit more about grant writing and grant applications in the nonprofit sector.

Until next week, 

Rachael  

My second week at LifeCare Alliance was all about building my understanding of the Meals-on-Wheels (MOW) program, the incredible people behind it, and the systems that keep it running. I began the week by joining our Advancement team huddle, where each member shared updates and something they were looking forward to. It’s a small but meaningful tradition that creates the culture of positivity and connection here.

Throughout the week, I continued my onboarding meetings with members of the Advancement and Nutrition Operations teams, learning from Brea, Stephanie, Wesley, Claire, Leah, Beth, and Anne about their responsibilities and how their work intersects with the volunteer and client experience. These conversations were filled with information, from donor engagement strategies to managing in-kind donations, and from program grants to building corporate volunteer partnerships.

As I prepare to begin interviews for the Customer Journey project, I’ve been reviewing volunteer communication materials including training videos, the ServeTracker system, outreach emails, FAQs, and even the “Failure to Deliver” online form. All of these have helped me to better understand what volunteers currently experience. I also analyzed survey data from a Volunteer Engagement Survey to identify recurring concerns and ideas for improvement.

From a marketing perspective, I’ve started to see how branding, storytelling, and relationship-building play into every aspect of LifeCare Alliance’s work. Conversations with Brea and Beth helped me understand event marketing and the collaboration behind the agency’s annual report, while Stephanie shared insights on building long-term connections with volunteer groups and corporate partners.

My own ideas are beginning to take shape. I’ve been brainstorming ways to improve communication with volunteers and build community such as moving from paper-based systems to a more interactive app or website for route updates and real-time delivery notes. A volunteer portal could track individual service milestones, triggering automatic thank-you messages and recognizing “bronze,” “silver,” “gold,” or even “diamond” level volunteers based on their frequency of service. Even small gestures like branded handouts or business cards for volunteers to share could make a big impact.

Each day I spend here reinforces just how powerful thoughtful, mission-driven communication can be.

See you next week!

Kat Jolley

This week at Zora’s House, I continued to engage in a variety of projects that highlight the crucial role nonprofit organizations play in supporting and empowering women of color. My work provided me with hands-on experience in both community engagement and organizational operations, enabling me to understand how nonprofits operate as both service providers and catalysts for social change.

One of the main events I supported was the WoCo Summer Market. This vibrant gathering offers women of color entrepreneurs a platform to showcase and sell their products, build community, and expand their professional networks. During the event, I helped with setup, vendor coordination, and on-site logistics to ensure a positive experience for both vendors and guests. A key aspect of my role was distributing vendor experience surveys, which enabled us to collect valuable feedback directly from participants. This feedback is crucial for Zora’s House to assess the market’s impact, enhance future events, and ensure that the needs and experiences of vendors remain at the heart of the organization’s programming. Collecting data in this way reflects how nonprofits prioritize continuous improvement while remaining accountable to the communities they serve.

In addition to supporting the market, I continued to organize Zora’s House’s growing library collection, which currently includes over 350 books, primarily authored by women of color. The collection encompasses a diverse range of topics, including leadership, entrepreneurship, wellness, cultural identity, and social justice. Through this project, I’ve seen how nonprofits intentionally curate resources that amplify the voices of historically marginalized individuals and provide members with access to literature that affirms their identities and supports their personal and professional growth, often resources missing from mainstream institutions.

I also attended Zora’s House Leadership Fellowship orientation, where I observed the newest cohort of fellows begin their leadership development journey. The fellowship emphasizes mentorship, community-building, and skill development, showcasing how nonprofits foster long-term individual and collective empowerment. By attending this event, I am gaining a deeper understanding of the program that will help me evaluate its impact. 

Overall, this week deepened my understanding of the vital role nonprofits like Zora’s House play in building inclusive, responsive, and transformative community spaces.

See you next week,

Asia

Hi again! I’m now two weeks into my fellowship, and I already feel more grounded and creatively energized.

This week, I moved from orientation and onboarding into building the core materials that will shape OYO’s public presence for the 2025–2026 season. I started by creating a comprehensive season goal sheet. This included the timeline, themes, content strategy, and digital needs for each major event in the upcoming year. Seeing everything mapped out gave me a clear runway for what the next few weeks of marketing will look like.

To complement the strategy side, I also drafted a social media calendar that visually lays out potential posts, campaigns, and promo periods across the season. It’s a work in progress, but it’s already helping me align our digital messaging with the pacing of our events.

Another big focus this week was OYO’s website. After reviewing the current layout, I made a list of suggestions for updates to improve navigation, formatting, and branding consistency. I then met with Mike, who oversees the web design, to walk through my recommendations. It was a great opportunity to communicate design ideas in a collaborative setting and see how strategy and execution come together behind the scenes.

In Canva, I started mocking up new visual assets for both digital and print. I’ve been playing with ideas for a foldable pamphlet for our CommUNITY Workshop Series, experimenting with layout cohesion, and drafting seasonal cover art for the 25–26 announcement. I even started sketching out some potential invite designs for our whimsical fall gala, Down the Rabbit Hole.

Week 2 was all about building foundations: tools, timelines, and templates that can support consistent and creative outreach. As I continue to find my rhythm at OYO, I’m excited by how much room there is to learn, create, and grow. I’m grateful for the trust they’ve given me to shape the visual storytelling of the season! I can’t wait to keep going!