Columbus Foundation Fellowship Programs

This week at Green Columbus I assisted Green Columbus’ Executive Director with grant applications and continued planning for the upcoming fall tree giveaways.

On Monday, my boss was out sick so I spent most of the day working on social media and prepping for the LSAT. Balancing studying for the LSAT while working has taken more effort than I had thought it would this summer but I’m grateful to be taking the LSAT soon and being able to work at Green Columbus.

During the rest of the week, I continued working on grant applications for Green Columbus’ community tree plantings. Green Columbus has planted 500 trees at schools around Columbus and I have gotten to visit several schools and check on the trees. Seeing the trees at the schools was very impactful for me and I’m excited that I get to help apply for funding that way Green Columbus can keep planting trees at schools! Applying for grants does make me a little nervous because of the possibility that I could be responsible for Green Columbus not receiving a grant, but I think this feeling should go away as I continue to submit more grants.

Next week Green Columbus has an exciting meeting with a community partner, so I’m excited to attend that meeting and share about it on the blog.

Until next time,

Emma

Good evening Fellows! 

I hope all of you had an amazing week at your host sites. As this fellowship is quickly coming to a close, I wanted to at least share some updates that have occurred during my time at Big Brothers Big Sisters. So, this week I completed creating the staff survey for the upcoming event that BBBS is having early August. I sent an email to my program lead, stating that with our learning session coming up and some new team members recently joining, I’ve put together and framed the approach of the game to sound like a short, fun survey to help everyone get to know each other better. It includes lighthearted questions about work habits, favorites, and team culture, which are all designed to keep things engaging and a bit of a surprise for the activity. This is to keep the surprise of the game and to ensure that staff won’t be suspicious of the survey/responses. From there, I sent over the drafted survey for her to send out to all BBBS. We will be using the responses to create a game in mixed of “Family Feud and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader/BBBS Specialist?”. The best yet unexpected part about this email being sent out was that my program lead gave me a shoutout on the email for building the survey. While I am only a temporary employee here, I felt like part of the family, which was amazing. 

I have developed a one-page document, regarding yellow and red matches, or matches that are at risk or currently vulnerable and need immediate attention and support. For a match to become green, this means to be healthy or with minor to no challenges. My team requested me to address and formulate a process for documenting critical indicators & yellow/red matches. Also, to receive completed survey with critical indicator result and update survey name to include critical indicator and if intervention is in progress or resolved. The example of this would be “John Doe SOR 7-11-2025 CI Safety In progress”. This process would be done by Match Support Specialists or (MSS) going to match page and put match into Yellow or Red. Then, filling out match details page to include “survey CI reason and date put in yellow”. If no CI and just putting yellow/red, list reason why in match details and date. BBBS states that it must emphasize convo with supervisor and before putting resolved or back to green. Lastly, is when putting it back to green is to add that to the match details along with the date and reason why it went back to green the same when making it yellow/red. While my director and one of my program leads has not been able to fully take a look at the completed document and will plan to by Monday morning, my program lead informed me that just by a quick glance, it looks lovely. Well folks, that’s all that I have for you. Until next time! 

Here’s to Week 8! Let’s go Week 9!

As always, Onward and Upward! 

Courtney Moore

The past two weeks at OYO have been all about creating smoother systems, elevating visuals, and thinking ahead for the upcoming 2025–2026 season.

I started Week 6 by meeting with Mike to update the website with the new season information. We also began laying the groundwork for online season ticket sales which was something that needed to be updated on the website. It’s exciting to help move OYO toward a more seamless and user-friendly experience for our audience.

To prepare for fall, I also created pre-registration forms for both the Children’s and Adult Dance programs. The goal of this was to make the actual registration process less chaotic when it goes live. These forms are simple, accessible, and already making it easier for families and adults to express interest in our offerings.

On the content side, I put together a series of creative filler posts that OYO can use year-round such as celebrating National Dance Day or giving shout outs on National Ballet Day. I also made a graphic thanking GCAC and our sponsors, which is an important piece of keeping our supporters in the spotlight.

Week 7 brought a shift in design direction. Rachel, OYO’s director, met with a marketing professional from another organization who offered fresh insight. One of the topics they discussed was that we needed to tone down the heavy graphics in our promotional flyers and lean more into real performance photography. I redesigned materials for both our One Light holiday performance and Sleeping Beauty: A Family Show, replacing stylized backgrounds with real images, dancers and moments from our stage. The results feel much more aligned with the heart of the company. Honest, human, and connected.

I also wrapped up flyer designs for the Adult Dance Program, focusing on clarity and accessibility without losing the vibrant personality of OYO’s brand. There’s something really rewarding about being in the middle of creative work that has an immediate impact. Not only for the design of it, but helping build tools and visuals that move the company forward. I’m proud of how much more streamlined and aligned our materials feel now, and I’m excited to see how the public responds once everything goes live.

Hello everyone! This week, I got to experience what direct service with the Center for Disability Empowerment looks like. I joined Ann Heilbrunn, the CDE’s employment specialist, for a couple of days and accompanied her to a training session, meetings with consumers, a consumer intake, and she showed me how CDE data and records are filed and organized online.

On Thursday morning, Ann and I attended a Columbus Chamber of Commerce training session for their Inclusion Series. This particular session was focused on mental health in the workplace, and how mental health intersects with DEI. This was super interesting, and showcased different perspectives on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace through a panel of speakers. The panel included mental health specialists from Ohio Health, Health Without Limits, and Somocom Lab, as well as the Executive Director of A Tribe for Jazz. Something that stuck out to me from the program was the concept of ‘psychological first aid,’ and how individuals can learn simple concepts and adopt certain attitudes which create a culture based on community and support in the workplace. Ann also uses these events as a chance to network and inform people about the CDE, so I was able to meet a lot of people from various organizations in Columbus. 

On Thursday and Friday I joined Ann for her routine meetings with consumers, which is how the CDE refers to people who use their services. Even though Ann is officially just the employment specialist or job coach for consumers, I noticed how she had genuine connections with all of her consumers and cared about them deeply as people beyond her work. I also observed Ann do a consumer intake, which is meeting a consumer for the first time and identifying their needs, goals, and how best the CDE can serve them. Ann is incredibly personable and I admired how she made the consumer feel safe, heard, and positive about the future. All of the interactions Ann and I had with consumers showed me the personal impact of the CDE on individuals’ lives.

I really enjoyed the direct service I did this week. While I found the administrative/event planning interesting and gratifying as well, I liked the human connection aspect and quicker pace of direct service. I can definitely see myself doing nonprofit direct service in the future. 

Until next week, 

Rachael McCague 

Week 8 at ETSS Tewahedo Social Services is finished, and I cannot believe there are only two weeks left until the Youth Summit! Event planning is fully underway, with many meetings to finalize every aspect of the day. I have been finalizing our catering orders and negotiating discounts with restaurants, using a grant we received this summer to order ETSS-branded book tote bags as goodie bags, and checking on our volunteer platform, where roles are being snapped up. I participated in a meeting of the Youth Council to hear about our student representatives’ experiences and suggestions for ETSS programming in their own words.  

On Tuesday, we held a walk-through of the Youth Summit venue, the Ohio State-Central Ohio Technical College campus in Newark. We talked through the schedule, and I took down room assignments for workshops and seating arrangements. It was a wonderful chance to meet representatives from many of our community partners who are holding workshops, such as the Port Authority, Columbus Museum of Art, and the Audobon Center. I had also never visited the beautiful OSU-COTC campus.  

Because of our unexpected funding changes, I’ve doubled down on grant applications to secure funding for the Youth Department. Submissions require director approval, and I have to request information such as line-item budget breakdowns and demographics to answer many of the questions, so it is a slow process. This week I applied for another grant, as well as working on several applications that the Youth Department will be able to submit in the fall after I leave ETSS.  

This Friday, I visited our site at Sullivant Elementary School, which hosted a cultural exchange day with the students from Whitehall. They performed a song (“Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, a personal favorite), showed off their Ethiopian and Central American garb in a fashion show, played basketball and soccer, hit a piñata, and made new friends while learning about each other’s culture. Thoroughly adorable!  

 Until next week,

Sanay

Week 8 at LifeCare Alliance was filled with preparations for our upcoming half-day session and further development of ideas for the Customer Journey project. The week began with the Advancement staff huddle where each team shared updates and priorities. I spent much of the day reviewing and preparing the physical materials for next week’s event: printing graphics, organizing large-format sticky note sheets, and beginning to assemble visuals for the group activities.

On Tuesday, I met with our Customer Journey Core Team for a planning session. We walked through the slide deck for the half-day event, revised language on the activity guides, and talked through facilitation strategies. I also shared key takeaways from my (now 24) completed interviews so Claire and Leah could better understand the staff experiences we’ll be exploring next week. Later that day, I interviewed the head of LifeCare’s Chief Human Resources & Inclusion officer, Andy Nowlin and created a playback sheet using the interview recording and transcript. Andy had some great insights, especially around volunteer branding ideas that could double as marketing tactics for LifeCare. Some of these ideas included magnetic car signs or branded gear for volunteers. I also began creating visual mock-ups for journey maps on a platform called Mural to guide participants during the event.

Midweek, I continued designing activity visuals, created a large printed agenda for the event, and explored Operational Excellence materials in preparation for my next project. I reviewed tools like DMAIC, Kaizen, and root cause analysis frameworks including Fishbone Diagrams and the 5 Whys. These frameworks will help inform process improvement strategies for the Meals-for-Kids program and the Frozen Choice meal packages.

I ended the week by visiting Conference Room 2 at Harmon, the space we’ll use for the session. We evaluated the setup and started mapping out where printed materials would be displayed. The week was a strong balance of creativity, logistics, and planning, all tied to the larger goal of improving the Meals-on-Wheels program experience for both staff and volunteers. I’m excited to see it all come together in the upcoming event.

Until next week,
Kat Jolley

Hi everyone! I can’t believe we are already done with week eight and only have two weeks left! It has been such an incredible time at Netcare and I can’t wait to make the most of my last two weeks at the nonprofit. This week I dove into our newer fundraising campaign and watched a couple of webinars as well.

Our new fundraising campaign is about donor-advised funds, more commonly known as DAFs. DAFs are a type of account where individuals can keep money, stocks, or assets and then can give these investments as grants to different organizations. In fact, The Columbus Foundation is one of the organizations that serves as a sponsoring organization. There seems to be an increase of DAFs in the nonprofit sector, so our upcoming mission is to increase the amount of support and donations we get through this new form. 

For this campaign, I spent the week drafting up a rough calendar of when we would want to post and send out content starting in September and spanning the first few weeks of October till DAF Day. After creating this calendar, I made many different graphics and caption ideas for content, as well as created an email that we could send out to our supporters on DAF Day encouraging them to create an account. This was a very fun campaign to start and I hope that my mentors are able to continue it once I leave.

I also had the opportunity to watch a couple of virtual webinars about AI in Marketing. These were super interesting as marketing is predicted to take more of a shift with the introduction of AI. We learned how to use AI to create content calendars as well as what are the most effective methods of storytelling when it comes to increasing awareness and support. Both webinars were very fun and good learning experiences as well.

Overall, I had another amazing, more relaxed week and got to make a lot of progress on my campaign project!

Best,

Anaika

Greetings Fellows,

I hope you all enjoyed a refreshing weekend and are ready to tackle another impactful week at your host sites.

This past week, I had the opportunity to support my colleague in developing optional training modules for our mentees. Looking ahead, I’ll be shifting roles to train that same colleague on Quality Assurance (QA) for Match Support Contacts within MatchForce—an ongoing project I’ve been deeply involved with since the beginning of my internship.

In addition to my QA responsibilities, I expanded my scope by reviewing enrollment contacts for the Enrollment team. This process involved assessing the profiles of prospective mentors—those who’ve submitted applications, completed interviews, and undergone training with the organization. Next on my agenda is reaching out to applicants who have yet to begin the process, to confirm their continued interest in becoming Bigs.

I was also entrusted with brainstorming ideas for our upcoming all-staff learning session in early August, focused on child safety procedures. I’m currently designing interactive team engagement activities that I hope will be implemented to foster collaboration and strengthen our commitment to child safety.

As my internship enters its final weeks, I remain grateful for the opportunity to contribute across departments and continue growing professionally.

Here’s to a productive and inspiring week ahead—let’s make number eight one to remember!

Onward and upward,

Courtney Moore

Last Saturday was a big success at the Columbus Book Festival. I had the opportunity to meet so many people in the community, plug Zora’s House, and introduce attendees to the incredible services and programs we offer. One of the most exciting aspects was being able to sell books written by Zora’s House members; a meaningful way to showcase the talent, creativity, and brilliance that exist within our community. It was amazing to see people stop by, show interest, buy a book (or two), and walk away with a piece of our members’ stories in hand. Hopefully, I attracted people to visit Zora’s House to experience it in person.

Thanks to Zora’s House, I also had the honor of attending the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club, Inc. Luncheon and Conference (Columbus Chapter). During the event, Zora’s House Founder and CEO, LC Johnson, received a Community Service Award for her leadership and service. Seeing her work acknowledged in such a public way was inspiring. Community-based and nonprofit work, especially when led by women of color, often goes unrecognized; therefore, it was powerful to witness her receive the recognition she so profoundly deserves.

Although this was a business-focused conference, the lessons shared were easily transferable to the nonprofit space. I was especially moved by the conversations with other women in attendance, many of whom shared similar experiences working in corporate America and the nonprofit sector, navigating how to lead and still be seen and valued for their work. A key moment from the conference that deeply resonated with me came from keynote speaker Daphne E. Jones, who has held executive leadership roles at top Fortune 500 companies and served on the boards of numerous nonprofits. One of her most powerful messages was about working for organizations or an entity: “Never diminish your value or feel like you have to compromise or hide who you are. If you feel like you have to do that, then go where you’re celebrated, not just tolerated. It may be a hard decision, but a necessary decision not just for your career but the respect you have for yourself and your talents.” That quote has stayed with me and served as a reminder that integrity, self-worth, and community matter especially as I pursue next steps in my career.

I also supported Zora’s House Pop Market at The Yard in Easton, where women of color vendors came together to sell their products and connect with the community. It was beautiful to see how nonprofits and small businesses can work in partnership, supporting one another and creating space for visibility, empowerment, and economic opportunity.

This week reinforced the power of community, collaboration, and recognition, and why creating spaces like Zora’s House continues to matter.

Until next week,

Asia

Hi All,
The weeks have truly flown by this summer, as it is somehow already the end of my seventh week with Huckleberry House, which means I sadly only have four weeks left with this lovely organization. As you can probably tell, over the past few weeks I’ve been very diligent about making progress on Safe Place — and I still am, little by little.

But, to give this week a bit of a change of pace, I decided to primarily focus on making some headway with the research project Carol gave me last week. As a result, I spent a lot of this week doing what you do when you research the long-term individual impact and social return on investment (SROI) of youth using services like ours at Huck House versus entering the foster and/or juvenile justice systems (i.e., reading, annotating, and some math). On Thursday, I met with Carol to go over some of my initial findings, after which we decided it would be best for me to make a short report overviewing what I had found and how it might be helpful for Huck House if they decide to work with a consulting firm to develop an SROI report in the future.

Lastly, this week was Huck House’s All Staff Meeting! The main focus of this meeting was to have all the staff meet Jennifer, the new CEO, and vice versa. So, we all got to eat lunch together, and then afterwards Jennifer answered questions staff had about herself and the future of the organization as Huck House plans for the next few years. Although I won’t be with the organization as this unfolds, it was interesting to learn about Jennifer’s approach to strategic planning (i.e., prioritizing all staff having both involvement and input) and meet some of the staff I haven’t yet had the chance to.

All in all, a good work week!

Till next week,
Emoni