Curtis Hill- Grant Review volunteer

After spending many years in the corporate sector at Hewlett Packard, Curtis Hill opted for an early retirement and in July of 2002 found his passion in Concepts for Adaptive Learning. Curtis is now the Executive Director for Concepts for Adaptive Learning, a non-profit organization that aims to help public school children improve their education through the use of technology.
As a businessman with a specialization in technology, Curtis understands how important it is for young children to embrace the newest trends, for they will soon become the standard. “There is nothing like watching a child explore on a computer and helping to give them the opportunity to learn,” said Curtis.

In addition to Concepts for Adaptive Learning, Curtis is often busy mentoring at Conte West Hills School, and attending meetings as a board member of the New Haven Family Alliance, the Greater New Haven Literacy Coalition, and the New Haven Network for Public Education. He is a community volunteer with Casey Family Services and has also volunteered with United Way of Greater New Haven for three years.

When Curtis first volunteered with United Way, he thought it would provide him with the opportunity to expand his knowledge of the large non-profit community in Greater New Haven and allow him to meet other people with similar goals to his own, but he learned even more.
“I have a greater knowledge of the needs of the community, and I could have never achieved that without volunteering for the grant review process,” said Curtis. “The significant degree of need shocked me, but I was also shocked by the degree of amazing work being performed by the agencies.”

Seventy-five volunteers and nine United Way of Greater New Haven staff members participated in the 2007-2008 Grant Review Process. The reviewers were responsible for reading and evaluating 8-10 applications as well as conducting 2-4 site visits. Applications were assigned to a volunteer based upon expertise, interest, and avoiding conflicts of interest. Each of the 126 applications that were received from Greater New Haven non-profit organizations were reviewed by at least 5 volunteers. In the end, $1.5 million dollars was distributed to non-profit organizations in Greater New Haven.

Company/Position
Concepts for Adaptive Learning. Help public school children improve their education through the use of technology. (www.eachchildlearns.org) The organization has been active since 2001 and I have been involved since July 2002 as the Executive Director. I left Hewlett Packard through early retirement to help this organization.

Other volunteer activities?
I mentor 3 children a week at Conte West Hills School. I am on the boards of the New Haven Family Alliance, the Greater New Haven Literacy Coalition, and the New Haven Network for Public Education.

I have volunteered with United Way of Greater New Haven for three years. I also am a community volunteer with Casey Family Services and I am a reviewer for them.

Why did you choose to be a part of the Grant Review process?
I thought it would be a good opportunity to expand my horizons in terms of learning about the non-profit community.

How did the process impact your views of the community?
I have a greater knowledge about the needs of the community. I could never have achieved that without volunteering for the Grant Review Process.

The significant degree of need shocked me, but I was also shocked by the degree of amazing work being performed by the agencies.

The most challenging part is the end point where you have to make choices to distribute a limited amount of funds to a significant amount of need.

Was there any part of the process that you found particularly rewarding?
You form relationships. It became a wonderful networking opportunity.

The whole experience was very rewarding. I gained great knowledge and relationships. I have volunteered to be a part of the process in the future as well.