Common Cents

Common Cents is a national educational, not-for-profit organization, which specializes in creating and managing service-learning programs for young people between the ages of four and 14. Common Cent's most popular and best known program is The Penny Harvest, the largest child philanthropy program in the United States.

Other Common Cents programs include the Student Community Action Fund (a high school leadership council.)

History
Common Cents grew from the desire of a four-year-old Nora Gross (co-founder) to feed a homeless man in 1990. That need led her to ask her father (Teddy Gross Co-founder and executive director), how she could help. In 1990, Teddy Gross and Nora Gross conducted the first Penny Harvest in an effort to collect money to feed and clothe New York City's homeless.

Awards
Common Cents is the winner of the 2007 NY1 New Yorker of the Year award. Common Cents was also shortlisted for the 2007 Carl Bertelsmann's Award.

Leadership
The organization's co-founder and executive director is Teddy Gross.

Funding
Common Cents receives major funding from several major foundations and the government including: The Ford Foundation, Foundation for Jewish Community, JPMorgan Chase, The New York City Council, The New York City Department of Education.

Board of directors

 * Judith Shapiro (chair), retired president of Barnard College, New York, NY
 * Susan Andersen, professor of psychology, New York University New York, NY
 * Margi Booth, president, M. Booth & Associates, Inc., New York, NY
 * Elizabeth Campbell, Vice President for Programs, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, New York, NY
 * Jonathan Dorfman, Citi Alternative Investments (CAI) - Global Fixed Income, New York, NY
 * Gardner Dunnan, New York, NY
 * Jon Goldman, Chairman & CEO, iContaqt, Venice, CA
 * Laird Grant, Retired Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager, US Trust Company, New York, NY
 * Nora Gross, Co-founder Common Cents, New York, NY; Director, Writing & Media Center, North Lawndale College Prep Charter High School, Chicago, IL
 * Teddy Gross, Co-founder & Executive Director, Common Cents, New York, NY
 * Evelyn Lipper, M.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Weil Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
 * Jeanne Mininall, Retired Managing Director & Associate General Counsel, JPMorgan Chase, New York, NY
 * Michael Pohly, Portfolio Manager- Fixed Income, Kingdom Capital, New York, NY
 * Adam Rich, Senior Government Relations Associate, Law Offices of Claudia Wagner, New York, NY
 * James Seuss, CEO, Cole Haan, New York, NY
 * Molly Tschang, managing director, International Programs, Cisco Systems, New York, NY