Impact Is a Choice

Even if you didn’t see Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance, I’m sure you heard about it this week.

I LOVED IT.

My eyes were glued the entire 13 minutes — the setting, the choreography, the costumes (those trees!), little Benito (who’s from Costa Mesa, where I live 😉), the storytelling, the real wedding, the sheer creativity. It was layered, immersive, electric. I love a good halftime show, but this one…this one was off the charts. I am officially obsessed.

And then I learned something that made me love it even more: Bad Bunny has his own foundation. And it’s called the Good Bunny Foundation.

Honestly, the name alone is 🔥. But beyond that, I love what the foundation does.

Established in 2019, the Good Bunny Foundation focuses on empowering children and youth from under-resourced communities in Puerto Rico through music, arts, and sports — areas that directly reflect Bad Bunny’s own journey.

And the impact doesn’t stop there.

Bad Bunny’s concert residency in Puerto Rico last year generated significant economic activity for the island. A study from the University of Puerto Rico estimated at least $176M in economic impact, including production, jobs, and attendee spending. Discover Puerto Rico projected roughly $200M in visitor spending tied to the residency, from hotels to restaurants to transportation.

We’re no longer talking just entertainment here.

We’re talking ecosystem-level impact.

When artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders invest in the places that shaped them, something powerful happens. Culture meets capital. Visibility meets infrastructure. Platform meets purpose.

That’s some kind of (AMAZING!) impact.

With love and appreciation,

Sarah

p.s. — I did a thing. I launched another newsletter, this time on LinkedIn. Because you can never have too many newsletters, right? On the alternate weeks when this beehiiv newsletter doesn’t go out, I’ll be writing there about volunteering, philanthropy, and CSR (from a slightly different angle). You can read and subscribe here.

First time reading this newsletter, Word It Out? Subscribe here for a regular roundup of things I’m thinking about.

🖤 A CENTURY OF BLACK HISTORY COMMEMORATIONS

In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson — the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the son of formerly enslaved parents, and the second Black person to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University — launched the first Negro History Week. He chose February intentionally. The Black community had already commemorating the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14), honoring their contributions to emancipation and abolition.

Fifty years later, in 1976, Black History Month was officially recognized and proclaimed by President Gerald Ford.

And now, in 2026, we find ourselves at a moment when Black history is facing threats of being rewritten or erased.

Earlier this month, Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead, current President of ASALH, issued this Black History Month Proclamation, urging all of us to take up “the shared work of protecting, promoting, and preserving Black History as a significant part of the American story.” May we do just that, in all of the communities in which we belong.

🌏 VOYAGER SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

The Obama Foundation has opened applications for the 2026-2028 Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship, which will support 100 students pursuing careers in public service with financial aid (up to $50,000), travel opportunities, network access, and mentorship.

This is a very cool collaboration between The Obama Foundation and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, whose $100M gift funds the program.

Eligible applicants are U.S. college sophomores who plan to be juniors in Fall 2026. The scholarship is intended to help students refine their values-based leadership approach, build bridges across communities, and nurture curiosity as they prepare for careers that serve the public good. (Ok, love this sooooo much!)

Visit this page to learn more. The application deadline is March 17.

🚀 SERVICE ENTERPRISE WITH AL!VE

I recently joined the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement’s (AL!VE) Service Enterprise Advisory Council and I’m pumped about it. Why? Because Service Enterprise is the premier organizational accreditation recognizing commitment to strategic volunteer engagement.

And strategic volunteer engagement delivers SOOOO MUCH, but at its core, it leads to greater organizational capacity and deeper impact.

If you’re curious about having your organization go through the Service Enterprise process, you can learn more here. AL!VE also hosts free monthly info sessions; sign up for the next one here.

🧩 FROM WRITING TO DOING

Many of the ideas I share in this newsletter — about volunteering, philanthropy, social impact more broadly, etc. — also show up in my consulting work with companies, funders, and nonprofits. If you’d like to explore ways to work together, you can find more at Services - Mission Up.

💘 NONPROFIT LOVE

Founded in 1983, MADRE is an international human rights organization advancing sustainable gender, racial, climate, and disability justice across the world.

The organization began when a group of women activists, poets, teachers, artists, and health professionals traveled to Nicaragua to witness the impact of the U.S.-sponsored Contra War. They returned to the U.S. with a mandate from Nicaraguan women: bring our stories to the American public and mobilize people to demand changes in U.S. policy.

MADRE answered that call.

From the beginning, the organization has worked to build real alternatives to war and violence by supporting the priorities of grassroots partners and fostering people-to-people solidarity. Their model connects women and families globally through direct relief, shared understanding, and sustained partnership.

Since its inception, MADRE has provided more than $69M in grantmaking and in-kind support to partner organizations in 40+ countries.

Check out MADRE’s toolkits, policy papers, and reports here. Learn more about the organization’s work here. Take just five minutes to look over MADRE’s website — the beautiful, powerful photos and stories will draw you in.