Partnering with Purpose: Our Journey with the Satell Institute

At 12th Street Catering, community impact has never been an add-on — it has always been part of who we are. But like many mission-driven companies, we reached a point where passion alone wasn’t enough. We wanted to make a bigger difference, and we knew we needed a better way to do it.

It Starts with Passion

We have always led with heart. Long before Satell came into the picture, our team was deeply engaged in community work — volunteering with local charities, organizing neighborhood cleanups, donating catering, and supporting fundraisers throughout Philadelphia. Giving back wasn’t a program. It was part of our DNA.

But even with all that energy, our efforts were spread out. We were supporting many causes in many ways, without a focused strategy behind it. So, we asked ourselves a new question:

What if we could take all this good and make it stronger, more intentional, and more lasting?

Harnessing the Good

That question led us to the Satell Institute, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to elevating corporate social responsibility and amplifying community impact. Satell offers something rare: a framework that helps companies transform well-intentioned but scattered efforts into focused, measurable, long-term impact.

One of Satell’s most meaningful requirements is also its most powerful — a four-year commitment to the nonprofit partners you select. Instead of spreading resources thin across dozens of causes, companies are encouraged to invest deeply in one or two organizations.

For us, that was a turning point. As Michele Leff, Founder of 12th Street Catering, puts it:

“Instead of giving a little to every organization we care about, we now choose one or two and make a significant commitment for four years. It strengthens the charity’s stability, deepens the relationship, and makes the impact meaningful on both sides.”

With Satell’s guidance, we selected our anchor nonprofit partners:

• Morris Animal Refuge — America’s first animal shelter and a leader in humane animal care

• Ronald McDonald House Charities Philadelphia — supporting families with seriously ill children

This shift changed everything — not just externally, but inside our company.

The 12th Street Difference

The benefits of this focused approach have been felt throughout our company:

• Our team feels deeply aligned with the causes we support and proud of the work we’re doing.

• A stronger philanthropic culture has taken root — staff members actively volunteer, participate, and advocate.

• We’ve built genuine, long-term relationships with our nonprofit partners and collaborate with them in meaningful ways, not just during fundraising season.

• Our impact is no longer scattered — it’s measurable, focused, and growing year after year.

At 12th Street Catering, food can do more than fuel a celebration — it can fuel change. Satell helped us turn passion into purpose, and purpose into real impact.

Because great catering shouldn’t just make an event memorable — it should leave something meaningful behind.

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