WBG Retirees play a HUGE role in the Community Connections Campaign

I was born in Washington, DC, and I grew up in the DC metro area.  I have loved and enjoyed this wonderful city and its people, culture, and institutions all my life.  When I came to work at the World Bank Group, I was thrilled to find such creative, bright, and diverse colleagues from all around the world here in DC enriching the community and bringing their talents and cultures to my hometown.

As a staff member, I was so happy to learn about the Community Connections Campaign (CCC) – a high-impact way I could directly support community needs in the DMV.  Because as much as I have loved this city, I have sometimes grieved for it.  There is so much need.

In 2018 I joined the Community Connections Fund Board.  This role has given me insights into how the program runs, and – even more exciting – has introduced me directly to the organizations that are supported through the CCC.  It is an incredibly rich set of nonprofits: large and small, local and global, delivering assistance in health, housing, hunger, legal support, workforce development, education and more to the neediest people.

As a fellow retiree, I want to pass on a few things you may not know:

• During last year’s campaign, retirees contributed 33% of the total amount donated, almost 2 million dollars! Retirees are critically important to the CCC!
• Alumni do not lose eligibility for the WBG match when we retire. Our contributions are eligible for the 100% match provided by WBG just as when we contributed as staff members.  By contributing to the CCC retirees can double the impact of their generosity. I don’t think I would have known that had I not already been on the CCF Board when I retired.
• We deliberately include retirees among the CCF Board. Their expertise and commitment help to ensure good oversight and governance of the program.
• Among our retiree donors are people who retired many years ago. In fact, there is one donor with a 2-digit UPI number!  We are in this for the long haul.
• There were approximately 600 retiree donors last year. I bet there are additional retirees who would take advantage of this benefit if they knew about it.

I have had opportunities to see directly how important Community Connections is to the nonprofits we support.  I recently visited Community of Hope, a family health and birth center in a part of DC that has been sorely lacking in access to health care; and DC Central Kitchen, which provides healthy, high-quality food to hungry people and to institutions across the DMV as well as job training and job creation for at-risk populations.  It is humbling to see the commitment the leaders and staff at these organizations bring to delivering excellence with compassion as they achieve outstanding results.  The people I meet during these visits know the World Bank Group: they know we support them, they are so appreciative of the generosity of our staff and retirees, and they are proud that year after year they can count on us.  During the extraordinary difficulties of the first year of the Covid 19 pandemic, needs grew as resources shrank.  And yet WBG Community Connections was there throughout.  For some nonprofits, this made the difference between survival and failure.

WBG retirees provide help beyond just financial contributions.  Many retirees volunteer their time with these nonprofits, across the DMV and in global organizations as well.  They bring their development expertise, financial and governance knowledge, and experience delivering and monitoring impact.  This is critical during the early days when an organization is just starting, and in the longer term as the organization scales up and expands its impact. It is inspiring to see all the ways in which WBG retirees show up, stay engaged, and make a difference.

Please join me in supporting the current Community Connections Campaign, which is up and running until December 15.  And tell your fellow retirees!  They will thank you.  We can all be very proud of Community Connections’ generous support of the organizations that need our help, and of the crucial role retirees play in achieving this success.

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• The author is Chair of the Board of the Community Connections Fund (CCF) and a member of the 1818 Society.

KEYWORDS   community, connections, donor, give, volunteer