Elizabeth Kennedy had never heard of the concept of collective giving before reading an article about Impact100 South Jersey in the Philadelphia Inquirer in the fall of 2018. She found the idea interesting and reached out to the journalist, Kevin Riordan, who then connected her to Nancy Weber. After meeting Nancy and learning more, Elizabeth recognized membership as a great educational opportunity to learn critical skills for assessing nonprofits. She loved that the impact made by the grants was local and addressed the needs of the community, but joining also would meet her own desire to be more educated about philanthropy, particularly collective giving.
Becoming a member in 2019, Elizabeth immediately set out to learn about the nonprofit financial process by joining the Grant Finance Committee. There she was super impressed by the level of skill and professionalism that Amy Leis and other members brought to the meetings, but also appreciated how helpful they were to those committee members not well versed in finance. Serving on this committee, Elizabeth learned so much and found the knowledge really valuable. She was also grateful for the group discussions, seeing how important the process was in evaluating a nonprofit and not making judgement calls without sufficient understanding of their financial health. While she missed serving on the committee during her second year of membership, in 2021 Elizabeth served on the Grant Finance Committee as well as the Community Health & Wellness Grant Review Committee, which she also enjoyed. She would really like to participate in both committees again next year.,
Overall, membership in Impact100 aligns with Elizabeth’s core values and she is proud that it is now part of her legacy. Having lived in South Jersey for more than 40 years, she has been largely involved with organizations and causes connected to her profession as an audiologist, such as professional associations where she helped develop national certifications and credential guidelines and was able to provide peer support. Her career spans working in hospital systems, teaching at Temple University to leading a private practice, and she generously shares her wide range of knowledge and experience as an audiologist with her colleagues. But Impact100 has provided her with the chance to broaden her knowledge of the work of other nonprofits and community causes.
Elizabeth moved to South Jersey from Canada to attend graduate school at Temple University in the 1970s. She was born and raised in Alberta and British Columbia and never anticipated being here for more than 5 years. Nevertheless, she and her husband settled in Barrington for several decades and recently sold their home, downsized to a condo in Collingswood, and are adjusting to a new lifestyle. Elizabeth also sold her practice, Associates in Hearing Healthcare in Barrington and Voorhees, and anticipates retiring in the Fall.
With the pandemic behind them and retirement ahead, Elizabeth and her husband plan to resume traveling. They’ve travelled extensively in Europe and North America and cherish a trip they took to India a few years back to attend a wedding. Capitalizing on the opportunity, they toured the country and enjoyed the hospitality that they were afforded as guests. It was a most wonderful and memorable experience.