Surgance, Inc.

Established in 2006, Surgance is a team of people working together to deliver community transformation. Recognizing the power of collaboration utilizing individual strengths, a history of accomplishment and shared core values, they maximize efficiency and effectiveness working as one organization.

Surgance focuses the power of that partnership toward changing lives. Through Surgance, more than 400 communities have been physically transformed by corporations, governments and nonprofits working together with compassion and generosity. Their investments enabled an immediate and long-lasting impact on thousands of lives.

By empowering socially minded individuals with a heart to help others in their communities or with a specific idea that could be reproduced elsewhere. These grassroots level individuals represent Surgance locally and enjoy immediate legitimacy, leverage, resources and training to accomplish their plan to change lives for the better.

The Surgance organization can be explained with a picture of a three legged stool.

The Surgance PLATFORM is a legal, 501c3, nonprofit organization.

Leg one is Surgance PROGRAMS, which provide issue specific experts focused on delivering transformation and life change on common ground issues like feeding the hungry or clothing the cold. Any common ground issue that unites people around a need can be addressed off of the Surgance platform.

Leg two is Surgance PLACES, which provides geographic or population specific experts focused on delivering comprehensive transformation and life change on common ground issues in a specific location. These experts care about seeing transformation come to a specific place, however that looks.

Leg three is Surgance CORPORATE, which provides the related infrastructure, economies of scale and operational efficiencies that centralized operation structures have provided in the business world for years with great success. This allows the social entrepreneur, whether focused on PROGRAMS or PLACES, to thrive in an environment with the tools they need to be successful so they can focus on their area of passion.

As a grassroots movement of socially minded individuals and organizations, Surgance is first supported by the people that use the platform and tool to make their world a better place. Additional volunteers, resources and funding come from personal and corporate donors, grants and fees for services. Churches and community-based organizations support the work as well, when their goals of social betterment align with Surgance in a community.

Surgance is about innovative solutions to address social needs. According to the Fall 2008 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, "A social innovation is a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than present solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals."

Say you are a motivated individual with a desire to make your world a better place. You even have an idea for a new initiative that would change lives for the better. What should you do? Start your own nonprofit organization? Maybe. That could be the right thing to do. However, most people do not realize how much work is involved in getting that done. It is an incredibly difficult endeavor for the average person to start, operate, manage and grow a nonprofit organization from scratch. The barriers to entry and the skill sets needed to survive and thrive are large. Most people don't want to manage an organization anyway. They just want to get to work and make a difference!

Enter Surgance.

Surgance helps these social entrepreneurs by removing the barriers to entry, helping them to get up and running (and funded) faster. Surgance has a track record of success and experience mobilizing and managing tens of thousands of volunteers in more than 50 nations around the world. Surgance has a team-based approach to comprehensive community transformation that allows the social entrepreneur to engage with a community of like-minded individuals in a peer learning network. This provides immediate leverage and legitimacy, helping to create instant momentum.

Process for Becoming a Surgance Program:

1. Have an initial discussion with the President and CEO about the potential for the new program

2. Present a written proposal to the President and CEO (see Basic Elements of the Written Proposal to Establish a New Surgance Program)

3. The President and CEO will present the written proposal to the Executive Board of Surgance

4. The Executive Board approves the proposal by majority vote if no further discussion or research is deemed necessary

5. The Executive Board presents the proposal to the Board at Large for majority vote on recommendation from the Executive Board

6. The Board at Large votes to approve the new program

7. The program becomes an official program of Surgance

1. Surgance transforms communities by uniting uncommon partners on common ground to change lives

2. Demonstration of the need for a new program toward that end (data/research)

3. Proposed solution of the new program (objective of the new program)

4. Return on investment (ROI) (measurable goals of the new program)

5. Strategy to achieve the desired ROI (strategy of the new program)

6. Components of the new program (pieces, parts, initiatives)

7. Operational description (how it works)

8. Implementation strategy (short term, long term, phased?)

9. Budget

10. Funding strategy

11. Proposed next steps for implementation

12. Founder (person)

13. The founder's story including credentials and why Surgance is the right platform for the proposed new program (demonstrate understanding of the strategy of Surgance to deliver community transformation)

14. Demonstration of the founder "fit" with Surgance culture (founder demonstration of understanding of the Surgance culture of collaboration)

15. Additional support if necessary

16. Executive summary (one page)

Website: http://surgance.com/

Blog: http://surgance.typepad.com/surgance_central/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5476121589

Twitter: http://twitter.com/surgance

Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/Surgance

"It is rare that organizations involved in community development in the same area align as closely as we do. Here at World Vision, we describe our work as transformational development. It is the process and actions through which children, families and communities move toward fullness of life with dignity, justice, peace and hope. The goals and staff of Surgance fall directly in line with our vision of transformation."

Tim Bomgardner
Storehouse Director
World Vision New York

"The team...made an outstanding contribution to the New York City schools that benefitted thousands of New York's children. The leadership of these three gentlemen reflected the professionalism of the Paint the Town program. Their dedication to the mission as well as to the quality of the work performed has drawn the admiration of all of us in the Division of School Facilities."

James F. Lonergan
Executive Director
Division of School Facilities
The New York City Department of Education

"Making a difference in our community is important to The Staubach Company. In the Summer of 2006...we sent 40 of our employees to work with (them) on a program which partnered volunteers from within as well as outside the community to transform New York City public schools. The leadership team made an outstanding contribution to our community by helping us transform a local school. The Staubach Company is grateful for the opportunity to participate with them in this program and would love to participate in similar programming led by their team."

Peter B. Hennessey
President
The Staubach Company New York

"We worked with churches, the government, the school systems and businesses to accomplish our goals together. This would not have been possible without the visionary leadership, network connections and the ability to get things done by Brian Audia and his staff."

Caz McCaslin
President
Upward Unlimited

"I would like to thank the Surgance team for locating groups that could best benefit from the IBM grant program. It seems that I had wasted so much time trying to locate places to give these grants to and when I was introduced to your services, you were able to complete my plan seamlessly and in record time.

Your business of collaboration, forging and nurturing relationships across systems and agencies, has proven to be a priceless service for IBM."

Christina Centera
Administrator Analyst
IBM

The Surgance partnership paradigm is based on a "centered set" approach. We don't care what you believe or what your motivation is. If you care about the things we care about, like bettering the Foster care system, feeding those that are hungry, clothing those that are cold, or helping young children learn to read, then we can work together!

Volunteer at a local event or at the corporate level. Lead a new initiative or expand an existing program to your community. Network and make connections or give to make it happen. Whatever your skill level, there's room here for you to make a difference and use your uniqueness to change the world for the better.