About Us
Melissa C. Phillips, MSW | Founder
Melissa brings 20+ years of experience in philanthropy and has personally raised over $200 million. She began her career as a social worker on a medical floor at a hospital, followed by a position within the mental health crisis unit; she later worked in private practice as a family therapist. She previously served as the executive director of The Erin Brockovich Foundation. Melissa has spearheaded the launch of legacy, annual, and monthly giving programs and marketing and public relations efforts. Melissa earned a master’s degree in social work from Florida Gulf Coast University. Melissa and her husband Jon live in Naples, Florida, with their two children, Chess, Vizcaya, and their miniature dalmatian Lucky. Melissa likes to create memories with her family in her free time, travel, and study fashion.
Who We Are
In an evolving global economy, we know one thing for sure a growing expectation exists for the private sector to act as a force for the public good. At Impact Philanthropy, Corporate Social Engagement represents how a company engages with its employees, consumers, and the community to address vital social needs, business objectives, and stakeholder expectations. We work with our clients to analyze their current civic engagement strategies and determine how to align better and meet their goals, and then we chart the following steps to see how they can get there. We seek results for our clients that reinforce their brand, create measurable social impact, build employee morale and connect with consumers. We can help your company translate business strategy into social impact.
Corporate Citizen Strategy
We take a research-based approach to help you achieve tangible business & social goals for your program. From stakeholder interviews to competitor benchmarking to community needs analysis, our methodology convenes diverse perspectives to deliver an integrated, organized, and implementable plan to take your corporate citizenship efforts to the next level.
Employee Engagement & Volunteerism
Our employee engagement programs boosts participation rates, employee satisfaction, retention, & camaraderie. Services includes: crafting full-scale volunteerism strategies, managing signature & à la carte activities, formulating policies & procedures, developing board service & skills-based program components, creating frameworks for tracking & measuring successes.
Program Design & Implementation
Whether a small local initiative or an international signature program, we will lead you from guideline development and application creation to proposal review and partner selection. We develop programs of all sizes by combining your social vision, business objectives, and your unique company assets.
Measurement
We work with you to develop a customized performance assessment framework that integrates with your strategy at any stage of your program. We help you envision the results you want to achieve and establish the appropriate indicators to measure progress. The result is the ability to demonstrate your ROI & tell a compelling impact story to key stakeholders.
TRANSFORM YOUR PHILANTHROPY.
PHILANTHROPY ISN’T WORKING!
Philanthropy is a billion-dollar business, especially in South-West Florida. However, it is often not managed optimally, resulting in lost funding or volunteering benefits for the community. This is due to various major challenges that need to be overcome:
- Non-profits are experiencing unsustainable funding due to donor fatigue, a prohibitive cost per dollar raised, and a lack of strategic planning or campaign development expertise to achieve major gifts from the next generation of donors.
- Philanthropists lack transparency and accountability: they write the checks but do not know where their money is going or if it is being utilized optimally.
- Large corporations have disjointed or unclear employee volunteering programs with non-profits not aligned to their values, resulting in low employee engagement and retention
BEYOND THE TRIED-AND-TRUE
Impact Philanthropy is an advisory firm specializing in consultancy services for non-profit, philanthropist, and for-profit clients in South-West Florida. We are based in Naples, Florida, and launched operations in September 2021. Our founder Melissa Phillips, MSW, is well-known in the industry, and personally raised $200 million in 26 years in senior management roles at leading non-profits.
Impact Philanthropy advises non-profits in sustainable fundraising; philanthropists in optimal giving; and large corporations in social engagement programming. Our innovative and tailored services are divided into three distinct areas: