The Foundation. Serena Porcari and the Example of Paul Newman

Bocconi alumna Serena Porcari perfectly remembers her first steps at Dynamo, a foundation that supports the design and the development of enterprise organizations dealing with social issues. It was 2004 and she had just left a good job at IBM to take charge of a foundation that had not yet been launched. «I wasn't drived by philanthropic spirit», she acknowledges. «All I saw was a business challenge». Porcari eventually became very passionate about the mission of the foundation and now she talks enthusiastically about Dynamo Camp, a recreational therapy camp that is part of the American SeriousFun Children's Network founded by Paul Newman. «Coming from the corporate world, I used my skills and experience to write a long-term business plan and to start recruiting and training people. Big foundations looked at us as we were aliens. They thought that the non-profit sector should be mainly financed by charity, that it makes no sense to invest, that the workforce has to be made up mostly by volunteers. We think that having a noble motivation is not an excuse for being erratic. Volunteers must be selected and trained as in any other company. In the medium term our choices have made the difference: now we can say that Dynamo is a sustainable business».

Today Dynamo inspires profit companies working on corporate volunteering projects, community service, corporate philanthropy. «There are many requests to use the Dynamo Camp when there are no children. Our project, which makes available its expertise through a social enterprise, Dynamo Academy, and promotes Social Education, Corporate Citizenship and Employee Engagement through consultancy and training services, inspires corporate managers in times of organizational change». Ten years after the first camp, Porcari thinks with great satisfaction of the boys and girls who attended the camp in 2007 and who are coming back as staff members. «They return to give back what they have received. It means that it's not just a free holiday. It's a life changing experience».