Community Connections Program

The FY23 Community Connection Campaign (CCC) closed on December 15, 2022 and set new records. During the Campaign, our staff and retirees in HQ and country offices pledged $6.2 million, which the World Bank Group matched 100%. In total, $12.4M were disbursed to organizations around the world. 

Globally, over 79% of staff from 131 countries contributed with their own money to the campaign.

The CCC runs each year in November and December and is promoted by a grassroots network of staff volunteers. Staff and retirees can pledge to over 400 organizations around the world, all nominated and supported by their colleagues. Their gifts are collected through the next calendar year and distributed quarterly to support the organizations’ general operations. Staff may also donate to the General Fund, which finances capital campaigns meeting pressing needs in the Washington metropolitan region and organizations where many staff volunteer. In recent years, the General Fund has supported capital projects at Bread for the City, Capital Area Food Bank, Community of Hope, DC Central Kitchen, District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) and Higher Achievement.

Following the General Fund’s response to COVID-19 and racial injustice in previous years, in 2022 the General Fund focused on workforce development programs. Grants were awarded to CASA, New Futures, Jubilee Jobs, and La Cocina (Kitchen of Purpose). In addition, the General Fund issued Capital Campaign construction grants to Horton’s Kids, Good Shepherd Housing, and CASA.

The CCC is the starting point for nonprofits interested in engaging with the Bank’s corporate philanthropy program. For information about how your organization can join the CCC, please see "Joining the CCC" below.

Joining the CCC

The HQ Community Connections Campaign (CCC) is the workplace giving program of the World Bank Group at its Washington DC offices, which is conducted over a two-month period in November and Deccember each year. The Campaign’s purpose is primarily to provide support to local nonprofit organizations operating in the Washington, DC metropolitan community. Given the nature of the World Bank Group’s mission, it also supports some international development and relief organizations, as well as some national organizations that have substantial activities in the Washington region.

To be considered for inclusion in the Campaign, an organization must meet the requirements outlined in this document. To receive matching funds, an organization must continue to meet these requirements.

NOTE: The below organizational criteria have been approved by the World Bank Community Connections Fund (WBCCF) Board of Directors for the FY22 Community Connections Campaign. Any organizations already on the CCC list prior to this Campaign that might not meet all of these criteria can possibly be “grandfathered” on to the list.

Organization Nomination and Selection Process

• An organization must be nominated by a group of at least 10 World Bank Group staff and/or retirees. The nomination process is open once a year, typically in the spring.
• Once fully nominated, an organization must complete an application process and undergo a due diligence review to ensure that it meets the criteria for acceptance onto the Campaign list. 
• After the due diligence review, the nomination will be brought to the WBGCCF Board of Directors for approval. 
• WBGCCF Board Members are not permitted to nominate and/or promote new and/or existing organizations on the Campaign list.

Organization Criteria for FY23 HQ Campaign

To be included in the Campaign and receive corporate matching funds, an organization must continue to meet the following criteria:

• Be directly involved in helping improve the lives of poor and disadvantaged people and/or contribute to the socio-economic, civic and cultural well-being of said communities;
• Be nominated by a group of at least ten (10) World Bank Group staff members or retirees;
• Be incorporated as a not-for-profit, income-tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization under the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code;
• Have appropriate licenses/registrations to operate in the Greater Washington metropolitan region (including the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and/or Suburban Maryland);
• Have substantial operations benefiting the Washington metropolitan region, or if operating internationally, work in three (3) or more client countries of the World Bank Group;
• Have a reputation for integrity and success in program implementation, financial management and operational effectiveness;
• Have an active and responsible governing Board of Directors;
• Observe and practice a policy of inclusivity and equal opportunity;
• Account for its funds according to GAAP and submit itself to annual independent financial audits (the organization must have successfully completed at least two independent financial audits at the time of application);
• Prepare and file an annual IRS Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax);
• Produce an annual narrative report to the public; and
• Have objectives and activities that are consistent with the World Bank Group's mission, values and work.

In addition, to be included in the Campaign and receive corporate matching funds, organizations must continue to:

• Not be an elementary, middle, or high school; college or university; parent-teacher association or similar school-related group;
• Not be a hospital or hospital foundation;
• Not be a fraternity or sorority;
• Not be a sports club or center;
• Not be organized primarily for religious, political, or think tank purposes; 
• Not be organized primarily to fund a government entity and/or program;
• Not pose a reputational risk for the World Bank Group. 

Organization Requirements to Participate in the Campaign in Future Years as a Renewing Organization

To remain in the Campaign, an organization must continue to meet the organization criteria and meet the following requirements:

• Receive designated pledges from at least ten (10) World Bank Group staff and/or retirees that together total at least $1,000 during a campaign (new organizations are not subject to this rule in their first year).
• If a returning organization is low for one year, it will need to be re-nominated to remain on the list. If a returning organization is low two consecutive years, it will be removed for two years and can be nominated again after that period.
• Renew its participation in the Campaign on an annual basis through a simplified renewal application procedure. 
• Successfully pass periodic reviews to ensure that it continues to meet the CCC organizational criteria.  

Organization Notes

• The World Bank Group typically provides a corporate contribution to match staff and retiree donations by 100%.

WBG Staff Donor Notes 

• Contributions to WBCCF may be tax deductible; donors should consult with their own tax advisors as the tax deductibility of their donations.
• Campaign donations may not be used to cover the costs of benefits received by the donor from the recipient organization, including for example a donor’s membership dues.

Last Updated: May 04, 2022

Measuring and evaluating programs is an integral part of nonprofits ability to deliver quality interventions but nonprofits often lack for support in this area. The Community Connections Program is engaged in a variety of ways to meet this demand. Our Measure4Change program, described below, provides funding, training, and a community of practice. We also support evaluation efforts in other ways, including grants. Many of these efforts have been for education nonprofits in Washington, D.C. and we have compiled a series of briefs summarizing the results of some of this evaluation work.

Measure4Change

Nonprofits recognize the importance of measuring their program effectiveness, but their abilities vary widely, and resources for improvement are scarce. With Measure4Change, we join the Urban Institute to fill this long-standing gap between what nonprofits in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region want and what they can do.

This program provides practical, accessible training in performance measurement. Our ultimate goal is for local nonprofits to better understand how they are helping their constituencies and how to better achieve their missions.

Measure4Change uses two approaches: for grantees, financial support and one-on-one, technical assistance help build a sustainable performance measurement program; more broadly, a regional community of practice and knowledge briefs share lessons learned and best practices. The original two-year pilot received very positive feedback and the model and what we learned is described in this brief. We are continuing the program now in year ten.

Grant Support and Technical Assistance

Measure4Change provides grant support and one-on-one, intensive technical assistance for competitively selected local nonprofits. The technical assistance is guided by a curriculum and is also tailored to meet the individual needs of each nonprofit.

Community of Practice

Measure4Change hosts a broader community of practice, which includes professionals from many additional nonprofits and meets quarterly. This series of seminars creates learning opportunities and exposes nonprofits to the tools and best practices they need to build their performance measurement program. The sessions also make performance measurement more accessible by helping nonprofit leaders learn from their peers, understand the range of performance management practices, where they fit into that continuum, and how they can advance their own programs. Topics covered have included:

• Developing logic models and results frameworks
• Building a high-performance culture around measurement, evaluation, data, and learning
• Setting performance targets for programs and staff
• Performance management and measurement software
• Survey design
• Qualitative data collection and analysis
• Race, equity, and inclusion in performance measurement
• Working with secondary data and making use of mapping (geographic information system) tools
• Quantitative data analysis
• Displaying data, data visualization, and data storytelling
• Communicating data to clients and client feedback loops
• Performance-based financing
• Data security and client protections for nonprofits
• Performance measurement–evaluation continuum

If you would like to join this Community of Practice, please contact measure4change@urban.org.

Knowledge Briefs

Nonprofit leaders need more resources about the early stages of performance measurement programs and about how to overcome the practical challenges they will face as they build their programs. Complementing the community of practice, the Measure4Change team has published a series of knowledge briefs that explain key concepts and address relevant topics in performance measurement. The briefs are:

·       Starting Small and Thinking Long-Term: Q&A with Performance Measurement and Evaluation Professionals

·       Strategies for Cultivating an Organizational Learning Culture

·       Navigating Performance Management Software Options

·       Expanding Audience and Impact Nonprofits Communicating Data to External Audiences

·       Performance Measurement to Evaluation

·       A New Model for Growing Impact

Last Updated: May 04, 2023

Our staff give their time and expertise to their communities, echoing our mission in their own neighborhoods by volunteering thousands of hours annually in the cities where they work, from Ankara to Yaoundé. They build websites in Washington, distribute food in Manila, plant trees in Almaty, evaluate programs in Arlington, mentor students in Johannesburg, and much more, all in service of a more prosperous world. In 2021, the Washington Business Journal recognized our staff for total hours volunteered. All World Bank Group staff receive a paid day off each year to volunteer.

In addition, each year we host a Volunteer Awareness Day to help staff find opportunities for themselves and their families and provide guides to the top local volunteer opportunities in the DC area. 

In our Washington, D.C. headquarters, we also have a longstanding relationship with the Urban Alliance to hire talented young men and women from D.C. Public and Public Charter high schools for summer internships. Our staff train and mentor these students through their first professional employment opportunities, which help propel them to future success. Together, we have provided meaningful summer employment, mentorship, and training to over 430 students. 100% of students in the Urban Alliance's programs graduate from high school on time, compared to just 60% of their peers. Over 90% of them go on to college in the next year. These students are bright, talented, and hardworking, and these internships are an opportunity that would not otherwise be available to them.

Last Updated: May 04, 2023