Philadelphia Nonprofit Success Story: From Seed to Impact | Launch Philly
A Full Circle Moment Explained
Sometimes you help plant a seed — and years later, you return to find a strong, growing tree. That’s what a full circle moment feels like. In this Philadelphia nonprofit success story, we take a closer look at a powerful full circle moment featuring Raquel Easley, a former leader at Communities In Schools of Philadelphia, and an early pioneer of Launch of Philadelphia, which continues to shape community advancement today.
I had a recent talk with Raquel Easley. She formerly served as the Chief Financial Officer for Community In Schools (CIS) of Philadelphia. Raquel began working there in 2005 — starting as an accounting manager and then working her way up.
We talked at the home of what CIS Philadelphia has since become: Launch of Philadelphia. Launch is a new organization but it abides by a time-tested mission to help Philadelphians build better futures through education and jobs. You can feel the positive energy of Launch programs here!
I asked Raquel what she learned from her old job.
“I learned a great deal,” she said.
“I learned how to manage my stress.” She laughed.
Anyone who has worked for a non-profit knows that laugh. Our work can be difficult, but it plays a significant role in driving the improvement of underserved communities. She highlighted the work’s most important feature:
“We learned how to work well with people… with our community.”
Now, Raquel has a great job as a Senior Accountant at a company called MANNA. But she came back to visit her old team, to check on the seed she’d helped plant.
“Are you happy to see what Launch has become?” I asked.
“Yes, I am very happy,” she said, smiling. “I’m glad that I was able to be a part of it in the beginning.”
Her visit helped Raquel see how many programs Launch has added since she left. Raquel learned about our violence prevention initiative which now engages middle school kids from our neighborhood — while providing supportive services to their families. We’ve also added cutting edge workforce training programs to help workers from marginalized neighborhoods learn the skills they need to work with Artificial Intelligence in the workplace.
That’s when I saw it. The full circle.
We were glad to have her back. She was happy to see how well the programs were operating. The person who helped guide our finances at the very start was now seeing the dream in full color.
Raquel’s story is important. It’s an aha moment for people who work hard behind the scenes. Team members who answer phones, manage budgets, and organize files — their work matters. It creates and maintains the foundation that drives big change.
You may not see the results right away. But if you keep caring and keep working, you might just get a “full circle” moment of your own. One day you may get that opportunity to step back and say, “I helped that grow.”
Welcome back, Raquel. Thanks for helping to plant the tree.